Power & Passion: Six Characters in Search of Resurrection  
by Samuel Wells

When Andrea and I made the move from Tacoma, WA to Durham, NC for her to pursue graduate studies we did not imagine we would end up calling Duke Chapel our church home. Duke Chapel is a grand gothic cathedral that physically is the central focal point of Duke University. It is beautiful and hard to miss. But we thought we were looking for a church that represented the full spectrum of the wider community of Durham not the formal high setting that is Duke Chapel. However, we decided we would start there and in the end we never left. One of the reasons for this is the Dean of the Chapel, Sam Wells. Wells’ preaching and leadership anchor Duke Chapel and contribute to it being a vital part of Duke University. Being located on the campus of a ‘prestigious’ school like Duke with a well respected Divinity School  means that the opportunity to hear great thinkers and speakers is never in short supply. Just in the past few months, N.T Wright and Walter Brueggemann have spoken.  Wells himself is considered one of the leading theologians in the world when it comes to issues of ethics but it is his thoughtful communication, intentionality and ability to make connections between scripture and daily life that continually call me back to be challenged and encouraged.  

I’m not sure Sam Wells ever thought he would be leading an institution with the powerful platform that Duke Chapel and Duke University provide. Much of his early pastoral call was spent serving in economically and socially challenged neighborhoods in his homeland of England. (Personally this is of course another reason that I was drawn to Duke Chapel. Having a British accent in a beautiful gothic church is good for this dual citizen and reminds me where part of me is from!) I am grateful and encouraged to see that even with this very visible platform and position Sam’s heart still beats strongly for the marginalized in the world. Yet most of those who attend Duke Chapel would not be thought of as marginalized or the least, last and lost in any material sort of way. Most of us who fill the pews each week are privileged if not powerful by most of the world’s standards. But in a wonderful way, Sam always invites us to enter a world where we are all broken and our shared calling is to walk with each other and carry each other’s burdens. Sam Wells is a brilliant thinker, but brilliance means nothing if it does not move us to practically engage with the other – those who are most different and even those who most threaten us in some way.

As I have sat in the pews and in other public gatherings listening to Sam I have realized that ultimately all his thoughts and words come down to the fact that he believes the resurrection is true. And he has spent a lot of time thinking about the ramification of this. If the resurrection is true, the ever present question is how will this change the way we live our lives in the world today? Wells is able to continually bring this question to life and to reality in a way that is convicting and challenging while also being lovingly invitational. He weaves stories from scripture together paying careful attention to place and context and then makes the connection to our modern day. Wells is able to make living and profound connections in a way that shows deep insight into the human condition.

In 2007 Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams invited Wells to write a book for the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official Lent book series. The result of that invitation was titled Power & Passion: Six Characters in Search of Resurrection. Wells’ intended title was “Power & Passion: The Resurrection of Politics” but the publisher didn’t want the word ‘politics’ in the title which ironically only serves to highlight the weight and complexities of these four focal words: Politics, Power, Passion, and Resurrection. In the six chapters of this book (one for each week of Lent) Wells takes on power, passion, politics, the past and the present seen through the resurrection and through the words and actions of six characters present during Holy Week. It is through the lens of the lives of Pontius Pilate, Barabbas, Joseph of Arimathea, Mrs. Pilate, Peter and Mary Magdalene that the reader is invited to a life of repentance, empowerment, and encourage­ment.

In this book Wells explores the different kinds of power that exist in the world. As he highlights each of the six character’s words and actions during the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, Wells contrasts the politics of resurrection (and subsequent abundance) with that of the power that ultimately denies the resurrection producing a politic of scarcity.

“The power based on property and control of resources presupposes a world of scarcity where there is never enough – never enough food, never enough wisdom, never enough time, and, deep down, never enough God. The power based on resurrection is a power that presupposes abundance – plenty of life, and therefore plenty of time, of gifts, of companions, of revelation, of forgiveness – and an overwhelming plenty of God….Fundamentally the transformation of politics is about the transformation of the reality – and perception – of power.” (p. 20-21)

In Wells’ preaching and writing he often returns to the power of forgiveness which has the ability to restore the past AND the power of the resurrection which restores the future. If you have both these, Wells argues that you can live your life very differently.  You don’t need a gun anymore and everything the power of a gun can represent.

“In resurrection passion changed the nature of power from control over limited life to access to unlimited life. In so doing, it transformed the potential of passion from the epitome of hopeless gestures in the face of finitude to a glorious anticipation of God’s way of salvation. For in the end, the repentance, empowerment, and encouragement offered by this book come down to one question. We are God’s passion; is he ours?” (p. 22)

In Power and Passion, Wells writes that he was heavily impacted by the reading of John Howard Yoder’s The Politics of Jesus and admits to wanting to give the reader a similar taste of that experience that created tangible connections between Jesus life and the way we live today. In a world where power and passion and politics are always at play in our lives and those around us (whether we know and or admit it or not), this is a book that gives space to consider “that Jesus is the template for the power and passion of our lives. What if we are called to follow Jesus in one specific respect above all others: his willingness to walk the way of the cross in contrast to the host of political and social alternatives available to him?” (p17) Wells slows the text down and gives the opportunity to see another way of living, loving, conversing and even dying.

In this book Wells reminds the reader that God is still God and the church is still the church as fallible as it is and neither will be overcome. When talking about Peter, Wells writes, “If this story tells us exactly who Jesus is for today then it also tells us what the church is. The church is still Peter. That is, the church is a fragile people inspired by God to speak the truth about Jesus. Peter was sometimes stupid, selfish, scared and just plain wrong; so is the church. But Jesus chooses Peter. And Jesus still chooses the church. Who are we to differ? Fallible and clumsy it may sometimes be, but the church will never be overcome by death or evil. We already know the result. God wins.” (p 137)

A Lenten Invitation

I’ll be facilitating a study group using this book during the upcoming Lent season at Duke Chapel. I would love to widen the circle of participants and invite you to read along with us. (You can purchase it here if interested.) At Duke Chapel we’ll be meeting for six weeks each Wednesday beginning on Ash Wednesday. I would love to see some comments and feedback on GOG that I could share with the group here in Durham. Perhaps you could read it with a friend or someone in your community. Each chapter ends with several “wonderings” to help initiate responses, thoughts and further discussion. Join us as we journey through Lent in the shadow of the cross to an empty tomb and explore what the real­ity of God’s power and passion means for us in our daily lives. This is a characteristic ‘What if…’ book in true Sam Wells style. Discerning and powerful, it sneaks up on you and asks again and again, What if the gospel and all we say we believe is really true? What difference will this truth make in our lives?

Duncan Wilson
TCK, Therapist, Traveler
Loves: growing things, all creatures great and small, all things international
Has an odd fixation with airliners.net