Similar and Different

In the tradition of resurrection, just when you thought it was over, it’s not!

In many places throughout the Christian world, Easter Monday is a recognized holiday and a part of the Easter celebration.  So we will continue the tradition here.

Before we go further, however, it’s probably important to say that we really don’t know how to explain the resurrection of Jesus. If you find yourself with questions and doubts, you’re in good company!

What we know is that he died at the hands of the Romans. Was placed in a tomb. And a few days later, he was not there anymore. Period. Even the Roman guards who were watching the tomb had no words for what happened. I can imagine the dialogue:

Guards: I’m telling you, last night he was there, and today’s he’s not!

Chief Priests: What are you talking about? Did anyone take the body? Did you see anything?

Guards: Nope.

Chief Priests: Well, here’s a little money to “help you remember” what happened…

Guards (nodding and putting money in their pockets): Ah, yes. Someone DID come and get his body if I recall…

What we do know about the resurrection is what we hear in today’s gospel: his followers experience him in a similar way and a new way. He’s recognizable, but transformed somehow.  He bears the marks of his wounds, but they do not determine or limit his life any longer.

This is likely true for many of us. We have “come back from the dead” on numerous occasions – spiritually, physically, emotionally. We are recognizable to those close to us, but we’re different.  We still have our wounds but they do not determine our lives any more.

One of the lines I love in today’s gospel passage is that the resurrected Jesus “greeted them on the way” as the two Mary’s were going about their business.  Jesus does the same for us.  He shows up in the midst of things and as we are on our way – sometimes, as Fr. Jim says, in a “humble disguise.” Unlike the Mary’s, we may not always recognize him at first, but when we do, there is a form of elation that comes to us.

Easter Monday, and every day after this, begs the question, “What does it mean to live as an Easter people?” This event that defies easy explanation invites us into a new way of being and encourages us to think about what it means to “practice resurrection.”

One source of wisdom that I turn to every year at this time is the work of poet Wendell Berry.  Berry, a farmer, poet and philosopher offers some beautiful reflections in his poem Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion – put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.