The
hands of Christ .....
Bishop MacPherson's message for June/July 2010
At the end of World War II, a couple of American soldiers were helping some villagers rebuild a small village church that had been destroyed by artillery fire. In the rubble they uncovered a statue of Christ. It was unharmed except for the outstretched hands, which were gone. “Shall we discard the statue?” the soldiers asked the priest. “No,” he said, “let’s place it inside the church door for all to see as we enter and leave. It will remind us that Jesus has no other hands than ours.”
Or to look at it another
way, Meister Eckhart, the 13th century German mystic, put it with unusual
boldness, “God can as little do without us, as we without him.”
That is not arrogant boasting, but a statement of high responsibility. We
are essential instruments in the fulfillment of the eternal purpose of God.
This means that you are important, you are somebody, you are of unique worth,
you are essential to the fulfillment of the eternal purpose of God.
One day a woman stood in the midst of a group of starving children in Ethiopia, their bodies ravaged with hunger; their fearful eyes bulging from their listless faces. She said she wanted to scream out at God, until she realized God was calling her ...
My brothers and sisters, God has entrusted to us - to you and me - the responsibility and glorious privilege to carry out Christ’s mission. We are partners with God. It seems God has no other plan, and Jesus has no other hands, than ours.
The lead story in ALIVE! this month is one of financial blessing for us as a diocese, but we can only become that which God has made us to be when we are master of our money, and not its servant. Jesus says it plainly, if we are going to call ourselves one of his disciples, we must realize our grip on the externals of life. Jesus is not saying that we cannot possess anything, but what he is saying is that we must not allow wealth to possess us.
As previously announced,
I will name a committee of clergy and lay leaders to share in the development
of a proposal that will be presented to Diocesan Convention this October.
It is my intention for us as a group to prayerfully seek to discern how God’s
business can be worked out, and his goals and purposes for the diocese unfold
in a manner in which he will be glorified.
One of the primary focuses of this proposal must look toward the enhancement
of ministry at the local level by providing for a reduced Asking from the
diocese. There is a fine balance in lowering the Asking while at the same
time endeavouring to determine what the future looks like with respect to
the outside funds. I believe deeply that we can determine this, if we keep
our eyes on the Cross before us, and not lose sight of the fact that the real
treasure before us is within us, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Please pray with me for this work to be undertaken, and being always mindful that we are the hands of Christ, the only hands he has.
Faithfully in the Risen
and Living Christ,
The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson,
D.D.
III Bishop of Western Louisiana
