Resurrection
Easter, 2025
I write this on Resurrection Sunday 2025, 23 days after our lives were turned upside down by a small stroke. My wife, the bravest and brightest of us, now works diligently to bring her day to day world back into some sense of the order that once defined it. Our plans for our retirement future, 2 years in the making, were placed on indefinite hold in the space of the time it takes for a clot to be transported the distance from heart to brain. The planning for a new chapter in retirement is now all about determination, doubt, tears, exhaustion and hope.
As a young believer in Christ, I learned to be on the lookout for heresy. The heresy I heard today from the pulpit made Jesus out to be a magician who possesses power that transfers to us as our faith increases: as if by increasing one’s faith, all health will be restored and anxiety relieved. The damage done by that sermon will reverberate through our home for the foreseeable future.
No lack of faith caused this pain, this now endless disruption in our lives. What caused it was biology and neurology, unseen imperfection in a miraculous design. The key element of Christ’s resurrection is not the great victory over evil, or even substitutionary atonement. It is the great reality of His presence. He is present in our joys, in our sorrows, in our pain, confusion and doubt. He is present in our current reality no matter the condition of that reality. In these last weeks, we’ve seen the presence of Christ in so many who I once would have assumed were not faithful to a true God, by virtue of their theology-or lack thereof. I humbly seek their forgiveness, because they’ve exemplified the Risen Christ in our lives by their grace and care.
Jon Kolb, the man in this picture, has earned 4 Super Bowl rings-I know because I once watched him pull them out of the sock where he stored them. He is a pioneer in training methodology, a scientist who was once the strongest man in the NFL. He could be training multimillionaires and going home to a very large house, or retired on a sunny island. Instead he has chosen to be present-in the lives of brain injured people who have lost hope. His presence transfers to them hope and healing. His presence removes burdens of doubt and provides peace and determination. The woman in the picture? I mentioned her earlier in this essay.
Many in my former Evangelical community have responded these last weeks with suspicions about vaccinations, platitudes, with proof texts chosen under some unseen spell to be repeated like incantations for healing, and promises for prayer lists while they refocus on their political agenda.
Those who are present, who bring hope, a smile, and such wonderful selfless caring are Christ in our lives. Resurrection Sunday reminds me of the promise they exemplify: of presence and love, no matter the state of the individual receiving that love.
Happy Easter. Be Present.
https://www.adventurestraining.org/
Hi DF, I was introduced to your beautiful essay through Karen, who shared an excerpt that immediately resonated with me—and I wanted to take a moment to share with you directly as well.
This line pierced me: “the promise... of presence and love, no matter the state of the individual receiving that love.” It echoes something I’ve been carrying in my own journey and writing. Your reflection on seeing the presence of Christ in those once judged or dismissed—simply for their theology, or lack thereof—is such a necessary confession. It reminds me of the kind of resurrection love we’re all called to embody: one that shows up with presence, not critique.
In a recent piece I shared on my Substack, I wrote: “I share my poem now not because I have emerged triumphant, but because I am still learning to fold my grave clothes and lay them down—one sorrow, one burden, one memory at a time.” Like you, I’m exploring how Christ meets us—and teaches us to meet others—especially those carrying invisible wounds.
If you’re open to it, I’d be honored to share that reflection with you—it’s called Grave Clothes, and I think it speaks to many of the same themes you’ve expressed so beautifully here.
Thank you for this tender and honest offering. It’s such a gift this Easter season.