Beloved members of the Metropolitan New York Synod,

 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” (The opening line of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities). I am confident that many of you have heard this quote before. It describes both the realities of the times in which we live and the different perspectives we bring to those realities. Who cannot be aware of the deep divisions in our society that see the same condition as the best or the worst?

 

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13. In contrast to the changeable nature of our feelings, our faith rests on the unchangeable nature of God as revealed in Jesus the Christ. In my call as pastor to our synod, I want to remind you of this truth amid the anxiety and volatility of our time and address some of those anxieties that I believe especially touch on our life of faith.

 

Our world is in a state of turmoil. This is nothing new for some, especially our siblings, who have historically been pushed to the margins. For others, this is a strange, new experience that is particularly unsettling. I will admit that I am tempted, at times, to follow the example of Chicken Little and run around in a panic, screaming that the very sky is falling. But then my spirit is drawn back to the faithfulness of God “in season and out of season,” as we read in Second Timothy, and to the different responses to those things which make me anxious. This does not legitimate every response, but it does invite me to pause and consider. In other words, as brain scientists will tell us, considering other people’s feelings and perspectives invites me to get out of my reptilian brain (which can only react) and move my thinking and feeling to my higher brain function, which allows me to be thoughtful, non-anxious, and reflective.

 

My prayer for you, my dear fellow disciples, is to be grounded in a Spirit of calm and grace. It is so tempting to react, to box people in, to assume, and to reject. But God’s Holy Spirit invites us to a different perspective, one that sees the very person with whom we are most frustrated as an equal child of God. This is not an invitation to passivity and carelessness but to action grounded in thoughtfulness, faith, and love.

 

In that Spirit, there are some specific concerns I want to raise with you for your faithful response. First of all, you may have heard some misinformation about the work of our Lutheran Church and our various social and justice ministries. Bishop Eaton released an excellent statement challenging that misinformation, which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liqz0VdZG1E. One of those ministries that has come under severe attack is Global Refuge (formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services). I cannot help but remember that I am the child of immigrants (four generations back), as all of us are to a varying degree unless we are Native American. I encourage you to visit the Global Refuge website to get a better idea of the work they do. https://www.globalrefuge.org/

 

Finally, a matter of utmost importance is the reaction of some to the preaching of Bishop Mariann Budde at the Inaugural Prayer Service, a concern I have addressed previously. PLEASE CONTINUE READING! For us as Christians, the question is not whether or not you agree with what Bishop Budde said but her right as a called minister in Christ’s Church to say it. There is currently a Resolution submitted to the House of Representatives (H. Res. 59) that asks for a sense of the House to “condemn” Bishop Budde for her “distorted message,” which is characterized as “a display of political activism.” We are on very dangerous ground! The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution maintains the separation of Church and State and, therefore, prohibits the State from dictating what a person of faith can preach or believe consistent with that faith. I do not easily resort to “the slippery slope” argument, but we are definitely on one here. I encourage you to reach out to your representatives in the House, asking them to reject this resolution.

 

Dear ones, some see these as the best of times and others as the worst of times. During these times, as in all times, we are called to be people of faith, courageous in following the example of Jesus. Where does that take you? Inevitably, discipleship takes us to works of justice and love. May we, as God’s people, stay open to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit together, living like Christ in our communities and in the world.

In Christ,
Bishop Egensteiner