Title: ELCA Presiding Bishop's 2003 Easter Message
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 26, 2003

ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP'S 2003 EASTER MESSAGE

"Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"
(Mark 16:3) The question which troubled the tiny band of brave mourners
that first Easter morning weighs heavily today.  The power of death is
terribly real in acts of terror and threats of war, in the devastations
of sickness and hunger, in tragedies both surprising and all too
familiar.  The deadly power of sin -- dividing us from each other and
from God is plainly evident in our world, our lives, and even the
church.

Who will roll away the stone for us?  The amazing news of Easter is that
the unmoveable has been moved already.  Christ is risen!  God has raised
him up!  The power of the grave has proven no match for the power of
grace.  Sin's thick walls cannot restrain the free flight of the Spirit.

Breathing the fresh, open air of Easter morning makes life both joyful
and more serious.  For the love which rolled back the stone has set us
free for love.  We are propelled into the world for the sake of every
neighbor, for the healing of the nations.

The stone is rolled back!  The risen Christ is out ahead of us, leading
us to life.  "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes."
(Ps. 118:23)

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
-- -- --
     The ELCA and other Western Christian churches celebrate Easter on
Sunday, April 20.  Eastern or Orthodox Christian churches celebrate the
Great and Holy Pascha on Sunday, April 27.

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