Power of the Soul
Eastertide 2025
Last year I read “A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward An Undivided Life” by Parker Palmer. On the third to last page, in a description of the soul, he writes about the need “to bring down the wall that separates us from our own souls and deprives the world of the soul’s regenerative powers.” This idea, that the soul has regenerative powers, caught my imagination. It places power in the soul and agency within each of us to tap into that power. Moreover, the power is regenerative. It is not finite. Imagine!
There are a surprising number of animals with regenerative powers. Starfish can grow back their arms. Many lizards and salamanders can regrow their tails. Sharks, sea cucumbers, crabs, and axolotls can regenerate missing body parts as well.
Some deer shed their antlers and grow new ones on purpose! Even spiders can generate new limbs. It is truly astounding how many creatures can grow back lost appendages. It is not something we have ever associated with humans, because we can’t grow back physical body parts. But the idea that our soul can regenerate, that what once was lost can be found, what was dying can become living, and that resurrection is possible is a thoroughly Christian concept.
We are now in the season after Easter. Eastertide is about new life where there didn’t used to be any. It coincides with spring in the northern hemisphere, where the land is slowly coming back to life after the dormancy of winter. What if a soul can also regenerate after lying dormant?
Regenerative powers also means that the power isn’t finite. It’s not zero-sum, like in the Harry Potter world. In the last book in the original series of seven, Harry and his friends must track down the splinters of Voldemort’s soul that he has hidden in various objects. Once they find and destroy them all, Voldemort will no longer be able to survive. But our soul isn’t finite. Our soul cannot be divided into pieces. Its wholeness may be hidden, per Parker Palmer’s book title, but if we listen, if we pay attention, if we give it space, then its voice may change our life, and change our world.
Our soul can regrow, renew, and resurrect itself. More importantly, these regenerative powers can always be tapped into. This is a soul that is creative and has access to the unending divine creative flow that is always around us, if we but remember. Your soul can regenerate any aspect of your life that has become dormant. We don’t need to give up because it is never hopeless. Resurrection is always possible. The new may not look like the old (and probably won’t), yet new life is possible. When we use our soul’s regenerative powers, we can change the world. The power won’t die out because it’s not coming from us. This is good news not only for us, but also for the soul of our country. It is never too late.