Resurrection and the final weapon of tyrants

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bishoptomwright.jpg

Bishop Tom Wright has prime space in the Times today (and available to read online too) to talk about Easter and - no surprise - grabs the opportunity with both hands.

It's a wonderfully concise and stirring piece on the significance of a bodily resurrection for a world that "lurches between anarchy and tyranny" and a church that needs to take up the tasks of "beauty and justice".

Here's a flavour from the last few paragraphs - do go and read the rest.

Easter is about a new creation that has already begun. God is remaking His world, challenging all the other powers that think that is their job. The rich, wise order of creation and its glorious, abundant beauty are reaffirmed on the other side of the thing that always threatens justice and beauty - death. Christianity's critics have always sneered that nothing has changed. But everything has. The world is a different place.

Easter has been sidelined because this message doesn't fit our prevailing world view. For at least 200 years the West has lived on the dream that we can bring justice and beauty to the world all by ourselves.

The split between God and the "real" world has produced a public life that lurches between anarchy and tyranny, and an aesthetic that swings dramatically between sentimentalism and brutalism. But we still want to do things our own way, even though we laugh at politicians who claim to be saving the world, and artists who claim "inspiration" when they put cows in formaldehyde.

The world wants to hush up the real meaning of Easter. Death is the final weapon of the tyrant or, for that matter, the anarchist, and resurrection indicates that this weapon doesn't have the last word. When the Church begins to work with Easter energy on the twin tasks of justice and beauty, we may find that it can face down the sneers of sceptics, and speak once more of Jesus in a way that will be heard.

1 Comment

Great piece. He's a dude.

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This page contains a single entry by Richard Frank published on April 11, 2009 4:08 PM.

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