BISHOP’S EASTER MESSAGE 2024
May the peace of the risen Christ, whose resurrection we will all soon celebrate, be with you, your loved ones, and your congregations! Kim joins me in conveying to all of you a blessed upcoming Easter, wherever you are – as well as our prayers for safe travels, including for our dedicated clergy members serving their multiple congregations and those ministering as supply clergy for our congregations. May our neighbors hear our songs of resurrection joy, and then may they receive the Good News for which we sing through the transformational ministry that the risen Christ invites us to do in our communities through His name.
That said, I would invite us to be mindful that participating and sharing in Jesus’ transformational ministry is not a one-way path. When we engage our neighbors in need and tackle the serious issues plaguing our communities and dividing us as people who are all made in God’s image, we are not to act as the colonizers of old. We do not bring, and others take. We do not give, and others receive. Jesus’ transformational ministry works both ways, meaning that those whose lives we encounter also are ministering to us.
On Maundy Thursday, the foot-washing ceremony potently reminded me of this important message. Like Peter, I freely confess that I am more in my element, and much more comfortable washing the feet of others than having my own feet washed. Yet I also freely confess that, as my feet were washed Maundy Thursday by a person who will be reaffirming her baptismal vows in front of me on Easter Sunday, I felt Jesus’ presence so strongly, so powerfully, that it was undeniable. I was not giving. I definitely was receiving. And I was reminded, again, that Jesus’ transformational ministry is never one-way but two-way. Christ transforms us through the actions of those we minister to and makes us stronger followers and believers as a result.
So, as you all go forth into your communities, learning what transformational ministry Jesus is calling you to do in your respective places and how you can help the Holy Spirit bring resurrection into places where resurrection is sorely needed – be open to Jesus transforming you, perhaps even bringing resurrection into places in your life that you didn’t know needed resurrection.
May the risen Christ bless us all in what we do—and especially as the Church that many people don’t expect us to be!
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Jonathan H. Folts
Bishop