Risen
The Real Resurrection Runs Through Our Veins
Applaud the sounds
and miss the sermons
preached from pulpits
of Calvaries lost.
Children, teach your parents
well
what they missed
when a man emerged from a tomb
and they saw a savior
but forgot the corpse.
Don’t you know that every dead body
will someday
rise?
He is risen, they say,
Without acknowledging the ground
from which he came.
He is risen, they proclaim,
without remembering the hell he condemned
that we all had a hand in
creating.
We want a Christ
without the criminal
forsaken by friends who preferred a king—
broken and battered, he came
and went
and we still tell stories about a god
made man
when the real resurrection runs
through our veins.
Too bad, Mr. Dylan.
They didn’t see the times a-changin’
and were content instead
with storybooks
and myths
about blood sacrifices, the thirst
of angry fathers
quenched.
Too bad
they couldn’t see the spring.
He is Risen!
Easter season is a time of hope. There still is fear, there still is a painful awareness of sinfulness, but there is also light breaking through. Something new is happening, something that goes beyond the changing moods of our life. We can be joyful or sad, optimistic or pessimistic, tranquil or angry, but the solid stream of God’s presence moves deeper than the small waves of our minds and hearts. Easter brings the awareness that God is present even when his presence is not directly noticed. Easter brings the good news that, although things seem to get worse in the world, the Evil One has already been overcome. Easter allows us to affirm that although God seems very distant and although we remain preoccupied with many little things, our Lord walks with us on the road and keeps explaining the Scriptures to us. Thus there are many rays of hope casting their light on our way through life.
Henri Nouwen
PRAYER
Almighty, everlasting God,
on this day you conquered death
and opened for us the path to eternal life.
And so we celebrate in joy the feast of his resurrection.
Make us new through your Spirit,
so that we too may rise and walk in the light of life.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
Powerful piece of writing Jeff! Thank you.
Was re-reading a section of Story by Steven James and this short poem hits the mark:
“when death fingered your throat,
hoping for a final victory.
it didn’t realise that it was
actually strangling
itself.”
Steven James (Story)