March 22, 2008
Tell the Good News—Easter Message from the Bishop of Chicago
Dear Friends,
“There is so much good news out there!” That was a spontaneous outburst from one of the participants in a gathering last month of clergy who are in new positions or new to the diocese. It came in response to a question I asked about what the priorities should be for our work together as a new bishop and leaders in the Diocese of Chicago. This was one person’s answer to that question: “There is so much good news out there … in our churches and in the communities we serve. We need to hear about it and celebrate it.”
I agree. As I have begun traveling around the diocese I am struck by just how much good news is being made real in the lives of individuals and congregations and agencies of our church. From parish food pantries and feeding ministries to the dedication of a new, multi-million dollar residential facility for at-risk youth at Lawrence Hall Youth Services. From the heroic response of chaplains and congregations to horror on the Northern Illinois University campus to the joyful celebration of the latest youth gathering at Happening. From quiet acts of prayer in a hospital room to public advocacy for the passage of just hunger legislation. From the introduction of a child to the story of the Good Shepherd to our ongoing organizational struggle to address the sin of racism. In large ways and small the Episcopal Church in Northern Illinois is announcing the Good News that Jesus brought: the Kingdom of God, the Reign of God is in our midst.
The author Brian McLaren says that for too much of Christian history the good news of Jesus has become the good news about Jesus. And he says the good news of Jesus is just this: God has chosen to enter into partnership with humankind to save this world from self-destruction. In Jesus God has entered the human condition to save it, to save us from our selfishness and greed, from our murderous mistrust and hatred of one another. The great and mighty good news of Easter is that not even death could stop that project. God will not fail.
Given its obvious shortcomings and even sinfulness we should not need to be reminded that the Church is not the same thing as the Kingdom of God. But the Church is a sacrament, a living sign of Christ himself and it serves as an effective sacramental sign when it is working to make God’s Kingdom, God’s Reign of justice and peace and love, a visible reality. My heart sings when I look around this diocese and see many, many signs of how that is happening here. It is happening in the Diocese of Chicago and, by God’s grace it is happening all over the Episcopal Church. The most striking thing about attending my first meeting of the House of Bishops was to note how many stories there were about the Good News of God’s Reign from all over the country. I believe the overwhelming majority of the bishops of our church want to focus there and not on the issues that divide us. This world is dying to see an example of what it could mean to walk together in love without needing to agree on everything. That in itself would be a powerful sign of the Kingdom. I believe God wants this church to be such a sign.
So in this Easter season I invite you to look for signs of the Kingdom of God. They are all around you. Look for ways you can join with members of your church, with friends in your community to make the love of God real for someone else. Tell the Good News. The resurrection of Jesus Christ sets us free to act in ways that can transform the world. We will find challenges. We may be misunderstood or opposed or worse. But there is nothing to fear. Christ has overcome the world and God’s Reign is very near.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Jeffrey
The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee
Bishop of Chicago
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