EASTER MESSAGE FROM NEMN SYNOD BISHOP AMY ODGREN
APRIL 2024
Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ when she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to the the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her. |
Dear siblings in Christ,
When my son was about three years old, he had to compete for parental attention from his two older sisters and several of his cousins who lived nearby. The older children knew how to finesse the right times to state their needs or “report” on the other’s misguided antics. Feeling ignored, oftentimes my son would take my face in his small little hands, and turning it towards his, he would say, “Mommy, look at me!” Then he would make his needs known. “Look at me.” We all want to be seen and have others hear what we’re thinking about, what we have to say. On that first Easter morning, as Mary made her way to the tomb, she expected death. She was on her way to put more spices and fragrant oils on the shroud of Jesus. As the Gospel of John relates, the world must have seemed a dark place for her. I imagine that her hopes were dashed as she scurried along. Maybe she lamented the promise of the just, merciful reign of God drawing near, the new political economy of the last first, the hungry are fed, tyrants are cast down from their thrones, the low being raised up are now over - all gone - as the ruling powers silenced such hopes with the death of the one who many called God’s Son, Jesus, the one who captured the dreams of so many with the liberation of new life in Christ. Mary saw the tomb, empty. She observed the cloths that had wrapped the body of Jesus, and then she encountered the Risen Lord. In her profound grief, in her lament of all that could have been, Mary did not recognize Jesus. Perhaps Jesus wanted to take her face into his hands and say, “Look at me!” But it was only when Jesus called her by name that she was able to see the risen Lord. Jesus saw Mary. Jesus knew Mary. Jesus spoke, “Mary.” From the darkness of unknowing and confusion, God brought light. Into the emptiness, God gave life. Instead of sorrow, God made her joy overflow. It was being completely seen, utterly known, and lovingly called by name that opened Mary Magdalene to the hope of the resurrection and into a deeper relationship with Christ. Because Mary was seen, she could see. We too have been seen, known, and called by God through the crucified and risen Savior. In fact, having received the Spirit in baptism, we can all now see. We can see Christ in our midst, we can see Christ in our neighbor. No one is invisible to God, and no one is invisible to us, if we but look. Perhaps we need to adjust our perspective – to look more closely, but the reality is that in Christ, we are a new creation. This new reality has been realized in the death and resurrection of Jesus and poured out upon all flesh through the Spirit! Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s love has been poured into our hearts and through this Spirit the promise of resurrection lives in us. This same Holy Spirit draws us together as the one Body of Christ who is free to love God and serve our neighbor. Imagine the freedom to live lives of integrity - of wholeness – because we have been seen and known exactly as we are and called by name to this new life. Imagine a world where every individual is clothed in the dignity of being made in God’s image – each being knit into one vibrant tapestry! Of course, we live in a world where this vision is not universally apparent – we get glimpses. Yet, we still “see in a mirror dimly.” But God has made us a people of hope with vision for what God’s mission is – vision for what God’s intention of living as ones made in God’s very own image means – a yield that might bear much fruit. So beloved ones, with newly opened eyes, let us be bold to say, “Christ is risen. Christ is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!” Happy Easter and may the Risen Lord who is present to you fill your hearts with joy! In Christ, Bishop Amy Odgren |