Resurrection

It being Easter, I’ve been thinking a lot about resurrection. Not the literal resurrection that many believe in, the restoration to life of the actual body of the crucified Jesus, but the kind that I think that the Passion story was meant to teach us. The resurrection that occurs when we are hopeless and lost, when we have been emotionally, spiritually or mentally crucified, and yet, we see our way clear and are reborn in a way we could never have imagined when we were in the grips of our darkest hour.

I am reminded of the many times I have felt defeated and confused, despairing of ever figuring out what I should do to find my way. Yet somehow, through varied venues and many amazing and surprising displays of grace, I have been able to see the path out, to struggle, to persevere and to ultimately triumph over that which I once thought to be an insurmountable obstacle. I have also witnessed complete transformations in the lives of many others, often in the face of barriers that I cannot even begin to imagine.

That’s the resurrection I believe in, one that does not involve the direct action of a divine being, but rather one that calls to all that is Holy in individual people, that which drives otherwise ordinary folks to dig deep within themselves and to rise up and achieve extraordinary things, to act in ways that enable themselves or others to transform their lives in most amazing and unexpected ways. Those are the miracles I look to when I need a reason to go on and they are taking place each and every day. That hopefulness, those displays of resilience and persistence, of tenacity and courage are what I believe is the point of the story of resurrection in the Gospels.

Here’s my Easter benediction:

As we celebrate today the newness of life, the rebirth of the earth and the continuance of the circle of life, let us be reminded too of the resurrection
Not the raising from the dead of a single person through a divine miracle, but the resurrection we see each day in our midst
From the glimpse we get of one we have loved and lost when we look into the eyes of a child, to the rebirth that we witness when those around us triumph over challenges great and small.
May we rest assured that the resurrection is indeed a promise
Not a divine one, but one that we make to one another.
Let us hope that each day we can find a way to keep that promise
And be agents of resurrection for each other.

Courage for our separate journeys to a collective resurrection,
Suzanne