Practice Resurrection

In an Easter Reflection a Loretto Sister introduced me to Wendell Berry’s Poem, Manifesto:  The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.  The last line of the poem says “Practice Resurrection”.  Her reflection was powerful but it created  all sorts of energy in my heart about what it means to “Practice Resurrection”.   So here are my musings:

 Practice Resurrection

Walking forth from the death within us
we know life in a new way
a joyous, grateful, more powerful way
but the getting there isn’t all that easy.

There is the choosing life
that happens each morning
with each foot touching the floor with the words Thank You.
There is the staying in the present moment
when we’re yearning inside to cling to a more comfortable
“the way it’s always been”.
There is the claiming victory
taught to us by Jesus, the Christ,
on one amazing Sunday morning
but also each day we allow this Jesus
to live and rise within our heart.

 Each time we truly allow ourselves
to encounter a brother or sister we practice resurrection,
each time we affirm another,
put another’s interest above our own
or even walk gently along side someone
for whom there is much pain,
in each of these moments we
practice resurrection.

Walking in the rain was glamorized in Hollywood movies
but often the rain is hard and
we feel wet and cold
wanting the warmth of our own home.
But, if we’re willing to look another in the eye and say
“I have no umbrella
but may I walk with you,”
we practice resurrection.

The daily rising to our better self
to a more compassionate and loving heart
is, for me,  what it really means
to practice resurrection
but I’d still like to know
what was in Wendell Berry’s heart
as he wrote those words..