Seyyed Hossein Nasr. “The Wisdom of the Body” in Religion and the Order of Nature, Oxford University Press: New York, 1996.
As long as we consider the body as a mere machine, it is not possible to take seriously the religious understanding of the order of nature nor to live in harmony with it. To rediscover the body as the theater of Divine Presence and manifestation of Divine Wisdom as well as an aspect of reality that is at once an intimate part of our being and a part of the natural order is to reestablish a bridge between ourselves and the world of nature beyond the merely physical and utilitarian. To rediscover the body as the abode of the Spirit, worthy of Resurrection before the Lord, and intimate companion in the soul’s journey in this world, sacred in itself and in the life which permeates it, is to rediscover at the same time the sacredness of nature.
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Every Easter I struggle to understand the meaning of the resurrection. It is somehow easier for me to understand the importance of crucifixion and the ways in which my suffering connects me to others. The word resurrection is mysterious, suggesting supernatural occurrences with which we are not familiar. But Seyyed Hossein Nasr locates resurrection in our humble bodies as we rediscover them as the place of the Spirit, the home of the part of us that knows God, the place in which we are present to sacredness. Just as death and crucifixion are always with us, the hopefulness and aliveness of resurrection is always with us, available to us in this moment.
Loving God, help me to reawaken with you and to you this Easter.
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