Resurrection gift

The 33rd Poetry party is posted at Abbey of the Arts. There's a new way to link to this week’s theme of Practicing Resurrection so please visit the website to join the party. Christine's introduction (below) really resonated with me. I had a sense of being let down on Sunday when I realised suddenly that I was reading the final Lent Event prayer. I haven't settled on any Easter discipline as yet - but have been aware of the need for some way to mark the season of Easter. My reflection is also informed by a weekend spent in a tourist resort in Fiji while the country underwent massive political upheaval and by a rather heavy and very interesting book I am reading Can these bones live? in which Barry Harvey cites the work of Victoria Barnett on the contrast between the handful of ordinary citizens who took action to rescue the victims of the Nazi regime and those who continued to go about their daily lives unaffected by what was occurring all around them (echoes of Auden's Musee des beaux arts here too). Contrary to the stereotypes of my youth, "strongly held religious religious feelings and beliefs were not significant factors for distinguishing bystanders from most rescuers", rather the rescuers were distinguished by a vision of themselves as citizens of an alternative society, a vision that "compelled them to be attentive, to see that they had a personal stake in what was happening around them" (Harvey, p.93-94)

Christine writes:

A few years ago it occurred to me that we spend a lot of time in church talking about what practices to take on for Lent, but when Easter comes, this glorious season of resurrection, we often slip back into our ordinary lives and everyday prayer. Hopefully we arrive transformed by our Lenten journey, but the season of Easter is not just that amazing day when the tomb was discovered empty. We celebrate Easter for a full 50 days, days that slowly grow longer in the Northern hemisphere and more vibrant as the blossoming of the world unfolds around us.

As I pondered this topic, the image that immediately flashed into my mind is the one you see [below] — a little girl playing at the beach, giggling with delight. She is fully embodied in this moment, free of self-consciousness, fully herself, luminous.

I invite you to write a poem (or other form of reflection) about what your practices of resurrected life might look like. How would it feel to really embody resurrected life in your own being? If you made a commitment for the Easter season to complement your Lenten commitment, where is the invitation you discover?

You live

How do I now live
in this rich depleted place
information-filled and justice-empty?

Responding to an invitation
not fully understood
a poor recording of your voice

Undertaking to find out
what is going on around me
being attentive

Fifty days to connect
inextricably with context
holding a stake

What gift!