March 23, 2003

This pastoral letter is to be read in all diocesan churches on Sunday March 23, 2003

Dear Friends in Christ:

I am writing to you from a House of Bishops meeting that finds us poised on the brink of war. All of us gathered here in the mountains of North Carolina are grieved by the current situation and I want to assure you of the church’s pastoral concern for you in these anxious and frightening times. We need to be aware, as Christian people, of our obligation to search the Gospels of Jesus Christ for answers to the questions that weigh heavily on our spirits. As Christians we enter the Gospels to know what is expected of us. I urge you all to do that with the guidance of your clergy and spiritual leaders.

This letter is about faith and what Jesus teaches us about responding to evil. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells us, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus’ life, teaching, and ministry always confronts evil with a nonviolent response. As Episcopalians, we may not all agree politically about our government’s response to the situation in Iraq, but all people involved must be held in prayer: those serving in our Armed Forces and their families, people who may themselves be conflicted abut the war, but live under orders; the one million Christians living in Iraq who fear their fate under a different government, the children here and there who have never known war, those who live in all countries involved who are caught in the war decisions of others while trying to go about the routines of life, the leaders of all nations involved, and we who are trying to be faithful to the Jesus we profess to follow.

At this anxious time our churches need to be open for prayer, lights on as beacons of hope in the darkness. As we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross this Lent, the nonviolent Jesus who risks his life to confront evil is a strong image in my prayer time. The Jesus, who upon his arrest, heals the ear of the soldier attacked by Peter says clearly that he will not participate in violence to another. The Jesus who stands before Pilate confronts evil by being willing to lay down his life for the sake of a kingdom in which death is not the end but the beginning of something new and whole. I urge you to gather together with your families and friends to pray, reflect on the scriptures, and be a witness to the gospel of peace.

Faithfully yours,

+Robert

the Right Reverend Robert R. Gepert
VIII, Western Michigan