Wendell Berry’s poem Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front ends with the counsel, “practice resurrection.” Wendell’s countercultural poem invites us to live the countercultural spirit of Easter. Resurrection in a time of hopelessness. A way made when there’s no way ahead. Life emerging when death is all around. Hope when others have given up.
These days, we need to practice resurrection. The world is too much with us, as 19th century poet William Wordsworth complains. And he did not live with COVID, climate change, Russian aggression, millions of refugees, a prevaricating president, racism in the halls of Congress, and incivility abounding, not to mention inflation and national unrest.
Practicing resurrection involves imaging a different world and then making it happen. It involves hoping and then acting. Living by a different set of values than our society. Embracing the pain of world and empathizing with the vulnerable. Experiencing God in broken bodies and healed spirits.
Jesus, the resurrected one, is known not in his glory but by his wounds. Resurrection does not erase the pain of life, but rather gives us the courage to respond to tragedy and injustice with hope and persistence. Wounds do not magically go away. In fact, we may become more sensitive to the wounds of others and our own woundedness, precisely because we know Jesus is alive and is our companion in our quest for healing and wholeness.
Practicing resurrection is not denial of the pain of life, but hope immersed in the world and grounded in spiritual practices. The Risen Jesus pronounces “peace be with you” and then breathes on his followers and says, “receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 19:20-21) As part of our practices, we need to breathe. We need to pause and notice God’s energy of love flowing through our cells and our soul. In breathing prayerfully, we are connected with others and with the living spirit that flows through all things.
Peacemakers and justice seekers must cultivate resilience for the long haul through spiritual practices. As we picket, we need to pray. We need to surround our protests with prayerfulness. In deepening our spiritual lives, we can face the challenges of a world that changes far too slowly. We can face, as Martin Luther King says, finite disappointment because we will have infinite hope.
Practice resurrection. Rejoice in beauty. Cultivate health and wellbeing. Let your joy be manifest in acts of kindness, reconciliation, hospitality, and protest.
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