Ten Million Resurrections
This is How Love Wins: Small Acts. Big Love. Endless Resurrection.
A friend told me I should watch the new Superman flic after I suggested to her that in a world of nastiness, Love is punk as hell. (yah - same big idea is in the movie)
This shaggy dog set up is for nothing more than to introduce this bit of wordplay. Maybe this call to Love is Punk as hell. I dunno. I do know Love is my song and I can’t help but sing. So …
I’ve been sitting with this idea for a while now. I think the seed came from Brad Jersak or Steve Bell… or maybe somewhere else entirely. Either way, here’s how it unfolded in my journal:
Love wins not by violent domination, but by resurrection - again and again and again - in ten million small places and in 10 million small ways, until evil finally collapses, exhausted.
Ten Million Resurrections
They thought they’d buried it.
Nailed it down.
Mocked it.
Pierced it through.
“Good riddance,” evil whispered,
licking blood from its teeth.
Love, it seemed,
was crucified for good.
But Love
Love doesn’t stay dead.
It rises.
Again and again
in ten million small places
and ten million quiet ways
a meal shared,
a cheek turned,
a truth spoken in love
when silence would be safer.
Love does not win
by crushing enemies
or by pitchfork and torches
but by giving itself,
come what way may
and rising
and rising
and rising still.
It takes the blows
and does not strike back.
It weeps,
but it does not grow bitter.
It bleeds,
but it does not curse.
It dies a thousand times—
but always,
always to rise once more.
Evil blusters, hisses and schemes
against a Love that won’t relent
Evil exhausted
trying to silence a song
that keeps being sung
in children’s prayers
and widows’ courage,
in midwives
and martyrs
and misfits
and friends.
Love comes back,
not with armies
but with bandages,
bread,
and broken hearts
that beat anyway.
Every act of mercy
is Christ coming again.
Every time we love
instead of lash out,
resurrect.
The gates of Hell
do not stand a chance
against a love
so unrelenting,
so unconquerable,
so beautifully absurd.
So don’t lose heart.
Let your resistance be
your unrelenting gentleness.
Let your protest be
your tenacious tenderness.
Love like a flood,
but with soft hands.
Because this is how the world is saved:
not in one grand gesture,
but in ten million small ones
each one
a resurrection.
_____
Sola Caritas,
𝞃Michael
Up Coming Events:
My friends Jonathan Foster and Tori E. Owens will be visiting with Shaleen Kendrick about Neuro-Relational Spirituality (NRS), an open and relational theology fused with neuroscience, systems thinking, and liberation ethics to re-imagine salvation as embodied wholeness. Sounds pretty heady but trust me: Shaleen Kendrick is a fantastic communicator and her work lands right and ready to work, right out of the box.
A Few Folks you might enjoy:
Josh Rose - LOTR, Superheroes and Literature and more
Thomas Jay Oord - All things Love and Open & Relational
Walter Thiessen - Spiritual growth, development - Prof at SSU.ca
Tim Miller - Big idea’s from Science, Philosophy and Theology
Michael Brennan - Theodivergence,Humour, Smart and a bit of Snark
Brian Felushco - Recovering Xian Con. Neat insights into scripture
Deanna Young - Helping folks land faith in real life - thoughtfully
Erik Freiburger - Disability, Dignity & Hope.
Beautiful poem and idea!