Arisen

For Jessica, my Southern Alter Ego:

Yesterday was the first warm, gorgeous day of spring, and I spent part of the afternoon laying out in the grass, contemplating resurrection.

Setting aside the question of whether Jesus physically rose from the dead on the third day, I think we too often forget what a miracle it is that he was alive at all.

Jesus was human, and as a man, he had a body.  That means that his body did all of the embarrassing things that bodies do.  And all of the lovely things.  Jesus could laugh and dance and sing and stumble, like the rest of us.  He sometimes felt abandoned by his friends and by God, but he also had an immense capacity to feel joy and love.

And we have bodies, which is pretty miraculous when you think about it.  Our bodies do all of the embarrassing things that bodies do, and all of the lovely things.  We can touch each other and comfort one another.  We get to fall in love and have our hearts broken just so that we can learn how much more we can love.  And we woke up this morning―joyfully or groggily, alone or next to someone we love.  That too is a miracle.

Happy Easter.