Elvis risen from the dead?

The so-called appearances of Elvis also raise a question for Christians. What difference is there between a risen Elvis and a risen Jesus? Is the Man from Mississippi on a par with the Man from Galilee because both are said to have come back from the other side? Can we dismiss the Elvis reports and keep the Easter story? The answers to these questions can be found when we consider the Easter experience and the difference it makes. The tomb of Jesus is found to be empty. To this day, neither friend nor foe has been able to produce his body. As far as anyone knows, there is no serious claim that Elvis’ tomb is empty, and no one has bothered to check. The Elvis who is sighted at shopping malls and fast food restaurants seems to make no more than a visual impression. The risen Christ, however, invites the inspection of his wounds, eats and drinks with his disciples, and organizes his followers for their mission. The Elvis who appears looks like a memory from the past. The Christ who appears acts as a force for the future. The Elvis appearances leave people astonished but unchanged. Encounters with the risen Christ turn lives around. This transformation occurred in the first century. The cowardly, quarreling disciples, so often uncomprehending, so often impotent, become, through the resurrection, brave and united, perceptive, able to act. The resurrection happens not only to Jesus, but, in a way, to his disciples as well. They are lifted from the narrow tomb of their former existence and thrust into the sunlight of a spacious life.