Did you see that Archbishop Justin Welby, the leader of the world-wide Anglican community created a stir on Easter morning? In his messages at different services he both affirmed the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, and called for justice and compassion in ways that made people in power uncomfortable.
Not only did Welby decry the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he directly challenged the British government's recent, awful decision to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, clearly as a deterrent to these people who are desperately seeking a new life. In one of his sermon's at Canterbury Cathedral he said that the UK has a national responsibility to not sub-contract responsibilities.
Predictably, some Tory MP's immediately criticized Welby's remarks, saying that his outlook is clumsy and naive and that he should stay out of politics. This is curious because in the odd British parliamentary system the Archbishop is one of the "lords spiritual" appointments. And the reality is that engaged religion is always political in that it addresses the needs of the people, particularly the marginalized, even if it isn't partisan. Jesus was perceived as political even though his reign was misunderstood (ask Pilate) and he was executed as a result.
I am impressed by Welby's boldness, and on Easter Sunday, no less. I'm glad that he ruffled feathers, speaking truth to power. Here are some of his thoughts from his early Easter message:
The resurrection of Jesus is not a magic wand that makes the world perfect.
But the resurrection of Christ is the tectonic shift in the way the cosmos works. It is the conquest of death and the opening of eternal life - through Jesus, a gift offered to every human being who reaches out to him.
Not just for individuals but setting a benchmark for all of society because God is lord of every society and nation...
Jesus is alive – and he addresses head on all of our fears, together and alone. It means whilst we wake in a world so often characterised by pain and suffering, there is another more defining, more compelling, more true story to wake up to.
It is not complicated to receive the gift of the life of Christ. It costs no more than to surrender our lives to God, lives we cannot keep. In that surrender we join the journey into life everlasting, we are caught in his hands as was Mary who returned to the disciples saying “I have seen the Lord”.
Jesus’ resurrection, dead first, now alive, changed history. It changed societies, shaped nations. It calls us each to live resurrection shaped and filled lives now, and to mould resurrection filled societies in our world today and in the future.
Amen!
Earth Week and speaking for the trees in today's Groundling blog groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.com/2022/04/earth-
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