| Happy Easter! |
| An Easter Message from the Bishop of the Diocese (2007) What if much of what you’ve been taught about Christianity is wrong, or incomplete? What if Christ’s Truth has been buried beneath lies, or hidden from you, because Church authorities didn’t trust you with His over-arching message of love? What if you could uncover Christ’s real Truth – as they say in court: the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth - and use it to improve your life, the lives of others, and the world? First, some real Truth, that you have been taught all your life, and that is still true today - Christ did rise from the dead. But now, some Truth that the Church has never wanted you to know. After the stone was rolled away, and after Christ rose from the tomb where He was laid, He was eventually entombed again, this time by the Church itself. Yes, Christ lived, but the Church held him captive, or at least they thought they did. What the Church actually captured, or perhaps held hostage, was Christ’s Truth – the Truth of His radical message of welcome and love for all. You see, the Church quickly became a tool of the state. Kings, tyrants and politicians used and mis-used the Name of Christ to further their own agendas. They’re doing it still today. Leaders of churches and nations twisted and used Christ’s Holy Name to persecute or kill those they called “unbelievers” or “heathens” or “pagans,” and even to kill other Christians. They’re doing it again today. Leaders of churches and nations used and abused the Name of Christ to teach hatred, intolerance and exclusion of those who seemed “different.” And sorry to say – they’re doing that today, too, in towns and churches across America. Over the years, as the Church grew, Christ’s Truth was buried deeper and deeper within stone walls. The stones used to build those churches had names like Bigotry, Slavery, Persecution, Violence, Deceit. Eventually, as a famous 20th-century tyrant said, “Tell a lie, make it a big one, tell it often, and soon, everyone will believe it.” The Big Lie was that you were supposed to follow the so-called “Rules” of your church, or rules laid down in ancient Bible stories, even if those rules or stories contradicted Christ’s eternal message of welcome, acceptance, and love – for each and every one of God’s children - not just those of the same church, or language, or skin color, or sexual orientation, or nation, or creed. Eventually, the Church began to collapse under the weight of these lies, and many people thought Christ had died in the rubble. People began to look at the Church as some kind of archaeological artifact, an ancient ruin, with no relevance for their daily lives, and certainly not the place where Christ’s Truth lives. Many people in modern America, who still believe in the loving message of Christ, now think Christ and His teachings are dead and buried in a Church that instead teaches guilt, shame, and division. But now, for the real Truth – Christ lives! Even though many people think He’s been buried – killed – beneath centuries of debris, Christ is risen! And while we celebrate His bodily Resurrection today, Christ actually needs our help – your help – to Resurrect His teachings, His message – a message of love for all humankind. For nearly one hundred years, the Liberal Catholic Church, and other progressive churches, have been laboring to remove the rubble which traps Christ’s Truth, but we can’t do it without you! Remember – Christ came to save us, but here’s some more of the real Truth – He needs us to help save His message! Remember this phrase? “We live in Christ, and He in us.” Christ is present within each and every one of us. Christ wants to shine through each and every one of us. Christ wants us – needs us! – to take away the rubble of half-truths and lies under which His message has been buried…His message that either every one of us is a child of God, or none of us are. Please – on this day when we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ’s Body – please commit yourself, with me, to resurrecting His Real Presence – His message of joy and love – his “Welcome Home” for every human being that walks upon the earth. It’s not enough to celebrate the Resurrection of His Body. To be true disciples of Christ, it’s up to us to resurrect within ourselves the spirit, the message, and the teachings of Christ, and through our faith, to hold the Living Christ in our hearts – to show the Living Christ to others – and to be Christ’s head and heart and hands, to make our world a better place – to stop waiting for the Kingdom to come – to start building that kingdom right here on earth. Christ came to save us. Won’t you help us save Him? Please contact me to find out how you can join with us in our mission to resurrect Christ’s love on earth. In His Holy Name, +Bennett |
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