Dear People of Christ Church,

Tuesday night, we had our first Lenten Tuesday meeting, which was just delightful. The book we are reading, Resurrection, by Rowan Williams (written back in 1982, when he was an ordinary priest and theologian, not archbishop of Canterbury), is a little dense in parts, but we had a great conversation wading through and puzzling over what it means for us, now. It's easy to wonder what use it is to think about theology; it doesn't put food on the table or house the homeless, and sometimes it gives you a headache.

Williams' basic point in the book is that all Christian doctrine, or belief, is ultimately a reflection on Easter-the resurrection. The resurrection is about Jesus, of course, and God's response to the crucifixion, but it's also about violence-about ending the power of violence over us. It's also about our guilt; our violence is what crucified Christ. Each of us born into that same world that produced the crucifixion. Each one of us lash out in violence because we, first, have been hurt-born into a web of suffering analogous to, but less personal than what we usually call "original sin-" a pendulum of suffering that swings back and forth, from pain to pain. Christ, the victim of our violence, is also the One who releases us by forgiveness. Christ is always there in those who suffer-the guilty as well as the innocent. And, so, our hope is in those we victimize-in Christ as well as in the woman working in a factory for sub-standard wages so we can buy cheap electronics. Our hope is in Christ, and Christ in in her.

So why go to all this trouble of thinking about all of this? Isn't it enough to participate in the sacraments, to be kind, to believe? Of course that is what faith is about. But reflecting on faith has a particular grace to give us. This reflection changes the way we behave, but it takes a long time. Another, maybe counter-intuitive reason we reflect, is that it reminds us just how much there is to know-and just how much we don't know. Just as surely as kindness and joy are part of our faith, so, too, is humility. Theology helps us to realize we don't have it all figured out, and that helps us in conversation with others. I sometimes feel like I say this like a broken record, but one of the reasons I so strongly believe in giving communion to children is that they show us how just to accept being fed; they don't "understand" in a traditional way what any of this stuff is about, but we adults flatter ourselves when we think that we do. A good, dense theology read can make four year olds out of all of us-and that's a good thing.

So many things we don't understand-devastaion and earthquake, nuclear meltdown, tsunami that reaches all the way to Hawaii and California-we are all connected. This Sunday, we'll have an opportunity for offering to Episcopal Relief and Development. The handy thing about being part of an international church is that there are always people already on the ground in a disaster. From The Most Rev. Nathaniel M. Uematsu,

Primate of Japan and Bishop of Hokkaido: "What we can do right now...is pray. Prayer has power. I hope and request that you pray for the people who are affected, for those who have died and for their families. Pray for the people involved with the rescue efforts, and in particular pray for Tohoku and Kita Kanto dioceses and their priests and parishioners during this time of Lent."

See you Sunday!

Blessings,

Sara+

PS: Happy St Patrick's Day! For Mission St Clare's daily prayer service, click here.