Title: ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson's Easter Message
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 1, 2002

ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP MARK S. HANSON'S EASTER MESSAGE
02-039-JB

     No God-forsaken places!  That is the good news of Christ's
resurrection.  Women went to the tomb grief stricken.  They must have
felt that in Jesus' death God had forsaken them.  An angel startled them
with earth-shaking news: "Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus
of Nazareth who was crucified.  He has been raised.  He is not here."
(Mark 16:6)  Not even the cross and the tomb are God-forsaken places.
     What a profound word of hope this is throughout the world.  To
those weighed down with guilt and shame, to those wandering the earth,
seeking shelter and safety, to those longing for hope and hungering for
food comes the Good News: Christ is risen!  God has not forsaken you.
     "Go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to
Galilee.  There you will see him, just as he told you." (Mark 16:7)
Words of promise and challenge spoken to the women at the tomb and to
us.  Christ is risen -- alive in the world -- forgiving, loving,
reconciling and setting us free.  God's power and presence are
everywhere.  God will not be confined even to our churches and
cathedrals, nor remain only in our hearts.
     Christ is alive!  We go to meet him in a world of terror and fear.
This is God's promise for a new day.  No God-forsaken places!

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html