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Dear Friends in Christ,
Blessings to you on this Feast of Our Lord’s Resurrection!
Where do you see resurrection hope in our world? Recently, the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops spent part of our spring retreat visiting the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, dedicated to 400 years of African-American history in North America. It was an overwhelming experience; being confronted with that visceral history all at once struck us very deeply in our hearts. Afterward, we were fortunate to hear a presentation from Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Legacy Museum and the author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. He said something that has stayed with me:
“Hopelessness is the enemy of justice.”
Hopelessness is the enemy of justice. To me, that is a central theme of Holy Week and Easter. In Holy Week, we dive into the depths of hopelessness, despair, and death. On Easter, we discover hope. Absolute hope. Hope that transcends any kind of despair, death, or hopelessness in our world. Because our Christian hope is not only a hope for new life in the future after our death (though we do trust in that glorious hope!). It’s also hope for this life. Our task as Christians is to live into that hope and bring hope to birth in the world.
During Holy Week, I joined with other ecumenical leaders* in writing and submitting to the Union-Tribune an article about all the suffering that happens on the US-Mexico border. In that article, we wrote that when we sing on Good Friday, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”, we acknowledge that Christ is present in all aspects of our lives, good and bad. Therefore we know that Christ is present in the midst of all of that despair on the border, just as he is present in all human suffering. Christ’s love is present with us always. His love is what brings us together as Christians; his love is what brings hope into the midst of hopelessness. Our job as Christians is to shine resurrection light, hope, and love into all the places of darkness and despair in the world.
Amid all the divisions in our world, there is one thing that unites us as Christians: our absolute hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Lazarus meant that the resurrection of Jesus wasn’t just something that happened one time to one human who was also the fully divine Son of God. The resurrection of Lazarus is a sign that points to a great truth: that resurrection life is God’s gift for all of us too. Resurrection means that Christ holds out his hand to us; Christ calls out to us to exit our dark tombs of despair and enter the light of the resurrection that leads to eternal life. That is hope. Christian hope. Everlasting hope.
Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
Easter Blessings,
Bishop Susan Brown Snook
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