LETTER FROM THE MINISTER

April 2008 Dear Friends, It is easy for me as a minister to stand up and say that Christ is risen, that the world is a different place as a result and you could all say “Alleluia!” and then we'd all go on our way feeling good about everything. But at some point we have to work out what our Easter faith means in light of the real world, because the real world is not looking transformed. It is a place where evil and death seem to reign supreme and unchallenged much of the time. People plant bombs on buses carrying people to work. Politicians become dictators in some parts of the world and people don’t have enough to eat. Relationships fall apart all across the globe and human beings are in danger of destroying the only home we have. So what do we mean when we say Christ is risen and life is triumphing over death? The message of Easter, and its public promotion, is dangerous and disruptive for the same reason that Jesus himself was dangerous and disruptive. It is because it violates and exposes so many of the accepted patterns of our world and our society, and those patterns have become the basis of so many little empires and power bases. Jesus got himself into a lot of trouble because he challenged and undermined the accepted world view on which so many had built their monopolies and empires. They were not going to give them up without a fight, and that fight went as far as having Jesus set up on false charges and sentenced to death by torture. The good news that we celebrate at Easter is that Jesus' radical message of freedom and transformation didn't end there. Just as the tomb couldn’t hold Jesus, so the prison couldn't hold Peter and John. So, as we attested this Easter, from our own experiences, Jesus Christ is alive, and continuing to set people free from all that would destroy them. Jesus Christ continues to be active in the world, undermining the strongholds of exploitation, degradation and injustice. But as exciting as that news is, there is a scary side. The risen Christ stands among us now, as we read of him standing among his followers on the first Easter Sunday, and says, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We are not permitted to stay locked in for ever. Jesus found the disciples locked away in a room together, sheltering from the world outside, and in the encounter he renewed their confidence and commissioned them for action. Of course, there is nothing wrong with us spending time together. God does want us to be together in sheltered spaces, seeking to deepen our intimacy with Christ, and to be transformed and empowered by him. If we are to be Christ's followers we need that. But the risen Christ does not let us stay in this sheltered room the whole time. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We are to go, to witness to the reality of new life, to witness to God's passion for justice and love, and to oppose everything that would destroy and degrade the beauty that God intended for the created world. Out we go to make known the good news of God's all-inclusive love. If we want to live up to our identity as God's children and as followers of Jesus then we must as a community take on his mantle and continue his mission. Whether it be the Holiday Club or a coffee morning, these are signs of Christ alive and Christ active today. May God bless all we do in his name. With love and prayers, Russell J Furley-Smith

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