| | |
Download PDF
Version of Bishop's Message
An Easter Vision of Life on the Royal Road
Historically, El Camino Real was any road under the
jurisdiction of the Spanish king. We, of course, know El
Camino Real as the 600 mile stretch of our state that
marks the historic mission trail; of which our diocese
geographically inhabits a portion, and for which we are
named. Legend has it that the mission fathers planted
the
mustard seeds that produce the vibrant, yellow
bushes we see this time of year along the side of the
road. When I see them I am reminded of Jesus words, “The
kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that someone took
and sowed in a garden. It is the smallest of all seeds,
and it grows into a very large bush, and the birds of
the air come and make their nests in its branches.“ In
other words, the kingdom of God may seem small and
irrelevant, but it is not. It is vibrant, colorful,
makes its presence known and is home to God’s creation.
Mustard seeds were a major annoyance to farmers of the
first century; no one would ever plant one intentionally
in their garden, since this is hardly where one wants
unintended species or an abundance of birds!
There is no denying the presence of the Kingdom of God
once it is planted in the heart. You just know it when
it happens. It suddenly is. The resurrection of Jesus
Christ was a once-and-for-all planting of the kingdom in
the world – not to be removed. In these past weeks of
Lent, Holy Week and now Easter, we have worshipped with
stories of Jesus’ miracles, converting conversations,
passion and resurrection, all of which called people to
see life differently; something had suddenly appeared in
their lives that they were not even aware had been
planted. Their world view shifted as these encounters
with Jesus changed their lives; and sometimes people
responded by trying to uproot that which God was sowing.
Think of times in your life, where seemingly out of
nowhere, God suddenly was. Did you live more deeply into
that new reality, or try to uproot it?
In January we had three excellent vision days that began
as the planting of tiny seeds, and which produced many
beautiful images of the kind of diocese we are, and want
to become more of. Indeed, the vision days are just one
of the seeds God has been scattering around this diocese
over these past years; bushes are everywhere! As we
celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ today, let us
also realize and give thanks that we are in the midst of
a resurrection event in this diocese.
Throughout the vision days, fear of change and risk was
expressed amidst beautiful words of hope and energy. The
Kingdom of God is tenacious in its sowing, the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ is permanent and eternal.
Fear of living more deeply into our new reality may be
intertwined with our future, but it is not more powerful
than God. Death exists - and so does resurrection. One
of the meditations that emerged from the vision days
was, “what would it be like if we were to receive from
God impossible dreams, persevere with them and nurture
them into being? ” Might we faithfully submit to living
more deeply into our reality as the church, the
resurrected body of Christ? I have every confidence that
we have all we need to answer the call that God has
planted in our midst: to be vibrant communities of deep
faith, restoration and transformation.
The questions used for the Appreciative Inquiry process,
the raw data and the
meditations from the vision days are all online, and
you may access them at I encourage vestries or whole
congregations to use the process we used as a diocese in
order to identify the tiny seeds God may be scattering
in your midst. As well, deaneries have already met in
order to continue moving forward with the creativity,
energy and joy so present at all three of the days. It
is exciting to see what might emerge as several parishes
discover the power of working together. When
resurrection is taking root, the Holy Spirit is at work.
It is important that we not micro-manage the seeds or
the scattering, but instead receive “the impossible
dreams, persevere with them and nurture them into
being.” The potential use of all that we wondered about
in those three days is limitless. You may need to wonder
about it a bit more to discover more seeds! To clergy, I
have found the meditations and the raw data to be
wonderful meditation aids and preaching tools. The
spiritual principles woven through all our work in those
three days are in line with Holy Scriptures and provide
great links to this life of faith which we are called to
help God illuminate.
As I have noted, the communications team will work
together to utilize the language of the vision days to
create a vision statement for our diocese. Again, this
is not in an effort to control or micro-manage the work
of the Holy Spirit by providing absolute directives from
me, but to allow the richness of our time together to
also feed us not only at the local level, but also to
impact the overarching language of our corporate
ministry.
Finally, I want to say that these vision days were never
intended to be a program that would solve our problems,
tell us what to do, or be a quick-fix answer to how to
do church. They are rich moments in our life of wonder,
grace and joy in Jesus Christ and can be mined for their
treasure. The new ideas, the programming, the changes we
are called to make will happen as we receive what is
planted in us and have the perseverance to nurture it.
Praise to Jesus Christ, died and risen to live with us
throughout all eternity. May these days of Resurrection
give you complete Joy!
+Mary
Download PDF
Version of Bishop's Message | | |
