Bishop's Letter - Central States Synod

Central States Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
God’s work. Our hands.
This message from Bishop Mansholt may be read in the place of the sermon on Sunday, June 9, 2013 or used or
quoted at the discretion of the pastor. It is offered on the occasion of the Central States Synod Assembly, June 6-9,
in Overland Park, Kansas.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I greet you in the name of Jesus, who gives life to the dead and makes all things new.
Most of you will hear these words on Sunday morning as the Central States Synod Assembly is concluding in
Overland Park, Kansas. This year is the 25 th Anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
1988 being the year our three predecessor church bodies merged to form the ELCA. We have been meeting
under the anniversary theme of “Always Being Made New,” the text for which is the Second Letter to the
Corinthians, chapter 5, where Paul says, “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has
passed away; see, everything has become new!”
As we look back over 25 years since the merger we give thanks for the many ways God in his mercy has renewed
and given us life. And as we look forward to the next 25 years and more, we do so with great hope,
trusting that God will continue to make us and all things new, shaping us as the Body of Christ for mission in
the world.
The Gospel reading for today is the story from Luke of Jesus’ raising from the dead the son of the widow from
Nain. The widow was overcome with grief, having lost so much, first her husband, and then her son. She
faced an uncertain future, one most probably filled with poverty, isolation, suffering and an early death. Such
was the plight of widows in 1 st century Palestine, women so vulnerable in the wider culture, marginalized and
neglected as they were. That is why the letter of James (1:27) says that “…religion that is pure and undefiled
before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.” Widows needed help, protection,
and care from others, but often they were cut off and forgotten by society.
The woman did not come asking for help, she didn’t say a word. In the preceding story (Luke 7:1-10), the
Gospel for last week, the centurion had spoken up. He had sent others ahead of him to ask Jesus to heal his
slave. But in this story the woman is silent; she says nothing as she moves with the graveyard procession;
she is quiet in her sorrow, alone in her tears.
So notice that Jesus speaks, without being asked. He comes to her aid without anyone’s prodding. He is
moved with a heart of compassion to reach out to her. “Do not weep,” he said to her with words that must
have left her bewildered and confused as he brought the procession to a standstill. He touched the coffin and
with his presence confronted death.
Did these people know Jesus Know something of his reputation Have any idea who was before them or
what God was doing What did they think he was doing touching the coffin “I say to you arise,” were Jesus’
words to the young man. And the coffin was needed no longer.
We think the bringing of the son back to life is the point of the story, the intent of the miracle. But look
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what Jesus did next. Jesus returned the son to his mother. I imagine Jesus looking the woman in the eyes,
perhaps shedding tears as her life is made new, as he reunites mother and son, and restores her to a life in
community with others. The miracle is more than we thought at first. The life Jesus brings is both in raising
the son to life and in restoring the woman to a life of dignity and community.
As God wraps this story around our hearts and minds this day, I hear the Word of God offering us the Promise
of healing and life restored, or, in the words of the 25 th Anniversary theme, God promises to keep making all
things new.
In the wake of the devastating tornado in Moore, Oklahoma we are reminded once again of the fragility of all of
life. But while death and destruction do come, and the sorrow and loss is great, the final word belongs to God.
In two weeks I will be with Peace Lutheran Church in Joplin, Missouri as they dedicate their new church building,
the old one destroyed two years ago with so much of the community and neighborhood around them.
While we grieve in the face of death and struggle with the challenges to rebuild our lives and communities, we
have the Promise of God who raised Jesus from the dead and makes all things new.
I often hear members and leaders from our congregations ask what can be done to help the congregation to
grow, to find some energy, life and direction. Many of our congregations are feeling life drained from them as
membership dwindles and people are absent from worship. We may be depressed over declining numbers in
church life, even fearful of what lies in the future. The tendency is to circle the wagons in fear and protect what
little we have left. In an effort to preserve what life we have, we isolate ourselves as we preserve the past.
We cease to see the gifts God has given us and grow timid in our witness and service.
Can we see ourselves lying in the coffin, carried by others Can we see ourselves in the procession toward
death and hear the voice of Jesus addressed to us. “Do not weep,” he says with compassion. “Arise, I give
you life,” he says to you and to me, and all of us in our life together in the Central States Synod.
This is the Christ who tasted death himself, who went to the grave for your sin and mine. This is Jesus whom
God raised from the dead for our life and salvation. This is the One of whom Paul said: “If anyone is in Christ,
there is a new creation. Everything old has passed away; see, everything has been made new.”
I invite and encourage everyone in the synod to spend time in these words, in this Promise of God. In this
Holy and Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are Always Being Made New. So take time to sit in
silence, open yourself to the presence of God and the power of the Spirit, and receive the life God alone gives.
Here is where renewal begins for all us—for your life personally, for the life of your congregation, for our life as
a synod in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Here is where hope and healing begins for a world in
the grips of death and self-destruction.
Today God has given us this powerful word of Jesus, who with a heart of deep compassion gives life to a
widow and her son. And to we who pray, who open ourselves to his presence and promise, God still gives life
and makes all things new.
Thanks be to God!
Bishop Gerald Mansholt
Central States Synod