“A poet’s work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it from going to sleep.” Salman Rushdie
I copied this quote into my journal recently. I love it. It is brash, forthright and declares a bold position towards the world. In essence, Rushdie says, the job of the poet is to always be seeking truth – not a truth that allows us to sit back and rest, but a truth that wakes us up and makes us engage with our world. But note that despite the confrontational nature of the tasks Rushdie describes, it is the poet who does it. And a poet’s tool is beauty.
As my graduation from seminary approaches, I have been asking myself the past few months why I began seminary in the first place. There aren’t many jobs available and even fewer that I would really love to do. But this quote puts it in perspective. I began seminary because I wanted to live the life of a poet in the way that Rushdie describes. And even more so, I believed and still believe that the church can do this as well.
Because really, this is what Jesus did. He named the unnameable, pointed at frauds, took sides with the poor and oppressed, started arguments, shaped the world inalterably, and refused to let those around him go to sleep. And he did it with beauty and love.
In this season of Easter, we are reminded that the love of Christ is stronger than the violence and evil around us. This truth-telling love goes beyond death, beyond the lies of our world, pulses in our world and in our very veins with unrelenting force.
This can all seem very big and beyond our reach, but all of us, in our families, in our workplace, in our communities, in our churches, have places where we can do the work of a poet. Easter gives us freedom to live boldly, to paint truth in strokes of beauty, to love without restraint.
He is risen. Let us also rise and do the work of a poet in our world.
