Practicing Resurrection: An Eastertide Invitation

This Eastertide, our sermon series is inspired by Kentucky farmer, essayist, and poet Wendell Berry. In his poem, Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, Berry offers a bold and joyful invitation: “Practice resurrection.”

 

Berry paints vivid word-pictures of lives shaped by hope, courage, and holy resistance. He writes, “Love the Lord. Love the world.” He urges the reader to “be joyful though you have considered all the facts,” and to “laugh… at the things that frighten you.” These words are powerful, calling for acts of defiance against despair. They are practices of resurrection.

 

Berry’s life and work are deeply rooted in the rhythms of the natural world, truth-telling, deep spirituality, and authentic community. For Berry, resurrection is not only something to believe in, but something to live into. It’s something we practice not just with our minds, but with our bodies. From tending soil and planting seeds to resisting the powers and principalities of death, resurrection is something we practice over time, in everyday life.

 

Throughout this Easter season, we will turn to the Gospel stories of the risen Christ and notice where resurrection happens: along the road in conversation, at tables in shared meals, in moments of fear and doubt, and in very ordinary moments of life.

 

We look forward to walking with you on this journey, as we not only continue to proclaim: “Christ is Risen!” but also practice resurrection—again and again, in ordinary ways, here and now.

 

~ Pastor Tara