An Easter Letter from Bishop Hassanally

To the People of God in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod,

The shorter ending of Mark says: “And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.” (Mark 16:8b NRSV)

The words of Jesus at his ascension: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NRSVUE)

What is clear in the story of the resurrection of Jesus, across all four gospels, is the instruction and the impetus to “go and tell.” 

All four gospels emphasize the role of women, who had no social standing or formal power, as primary proclaimers of this good news. 

This invitation to proclamation is expanded when, forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascends into heaven, promises the presence of the Holy Spirit, and tells the disciples to witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in “Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus makes it clear that the proclamation of the new life he brings is not only for the disciples but all of creation, indeed all of the cosmos (John 3:16). 

The good news of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ is good news for all. 

This is a thread that weaves throughout the story of Scripture, harkening all the way back to Genesis, at the very creation of the people of God, when God says to Abram in Genesis 12, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”[1] God doesn’t promise Abram greatness for Abram’s sake. God promises greatness for the sake of the whole world.

Similarly, we are brought into the promise of new life in and through Christ so that new life will be claimed and proclaimed among all of creation. 

We are a resurrection people, but the resurrection is not some promise to be hoarded. The gift of full and abundant life is not a scarce resource to keep for ourselves, nor is it a promise of cultural or political dominance. The promise of the resurrection is a gift of God, and like all of God’s gifts, it is meant to be shared. 

I often quote the musician Carrie Newcomer in the Easter season. In her song “Lean in Toward the Light,” she sings these words: “Keep practicing resurrection.”[2] This reminds me that the resurrection is a dynamic promise, one that invites us into a particular way of life.  

We believe in the power of the resurrection. We believe that in the resurrection of Christ, death and the powers of evil are fully overcome.

And if we believe it, we must, in the steps of the disciples who went before us, proclaim this good news and proclaim it as good news for all.

To practice resurrection, then, means to live in a way that ushers in the fullness of life for all of creation now, while trusting in the promise of abundant life in the kingdom to come. 

The resurrection, the power and promise of abundant life, is not just for us. It is for all of creation. 

This means our work in proclaiming new life includes working toward the fullness of life for all of creation—for our neighbors, those across the street, and those living in countries to which we’ve never been.

Friends, there are so many places throughout this earth in which abundant life can feel so far off. We have global ministry partners in South Sudan, Tanzania, Colombia, and the US-Mexico border. 

In Juba, South Sudan, this church provides life-saving medical treatments for young women at the medical center this synod helped build. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania has a reach of 150,000 people through their HIV/AIDS program. Both of these ministries, which work toward abundant life for our neighbors, have drastically reduced their impact because of the funding cuts to USAID. We must find ways to continue to proclaim the reality of resurrection for those, like the women at the tomb, with no formal power and so much to lose.

The Lutheran Church in Colombia (IELCO), a national church smaller than some of our congregations, provides life-saving ministry to migrants on their journeys from other South American nations.

Our ministry partners at the US-Mexico border have long offered care, welcome, food, and shelter to migrants legally crossing into the United States. 

Each of these ministries proclaims the resurrection as they, quite literally, work to save people’s lives. Our global partners continue to proclaim the promise of new and abundant life, and we must continue alongside them. This is what it means to be a resurrection people: to proclaim and work toward abundant life for all.

If we take the resurrection of Jesus seriously, and on this Easter morning, we find ourselves in front of the empty tomb shouting,
     “Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”
we must also join with the women who first made the proclamation and the disciples who repeated it. 

We must continue to accompany our global partners throughout the world and our neighbors across the street in financial support and advocacy as we work toward abundant life for all.  

Christ is risen. This is a life-changing truth. The intention was never for it to change the lives of a select few. All along, God’s work has always been about using God’s own people to proclaim the good news so that the power and promise of the resurrection might be known and experienced by all. 

Let us joyfully proclaim, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

Then, let us set about living the truth of the resurrection in practical ways: through the dollars we give, the efforts we support, and the ways that we live.

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!

Christ is risen for all.

In the name of the risen Christ. Amen.

Bishop Regina Hassanally
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA

If you’re interested in supporting our ministry partners, you can do so at semnsynod.org/giving. Funds for our global companions will benefit our partners at the US-Mexico Border, in South Sudan, Tanzania, and Colombia. Funds directed to the Synod Assembly offering will benefit our Minnesota-based ministry partners, including Lutheran Social Services, the Minnesota Council of Churches, our two campus ministries, and Good Earth Village.

Read Bishop Hassanally’s Holy Week (bit.ly/4lvkVJ8) and Ash Wednesday (bit.ly/4ij02OD) letters.

[1] Genesis 12:2 NRSVUE, emphasis added.

[2] Newcomer, C. (2016). Lean in Toward the Light [song]. On “The Beautiful Not Yet.” Available Light Records.