THE Church isn’t party political, but “nothing on this world” will stop it from obeying God’s will by taking and calling for motion for those suffering in poverty and in conflict, the Archbishop of Canterbury said in his Easter sermon.
In recent years, Archbishop Welby has included criticism of certain features of presidency policy in his Easter sermon (News, 22 April 2022).
Preaching in Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday morning, he spoke of “moments which change us eternally” — because the lives of the ladies and disciples were modified when Jesus died, and again when the tomb was found empty. “Everything modified. The universe shifted to a recent mode of living.”
Suffering was a part of the Christian faith, he said, and this suffering was a call to “love-in-action. It have to be motion driven by prayer, directed in wisdom.
“We will suffer in our broken world, because God did; but God’s life is all the time stronger than the worst deeds of this world. . . We must confront evil and pain. Whether it’s the evil of individuals smugglers, or county lines in our schools, or the pain and suffering in a family riven with grief, or rage, or substance abuse.”
He continued: “The Church isn’t party political, for its members are all different in our politics. But we don’t pick causes by opinion polls or human pressure: we show love in motion and word due to who God is, revealed in Jesus.
“We act due to what God says, present in the Bible and to be lived out by the Church — in over 30,000 social projects — in 8000 food banks. We proclaim the righteousness of God who acts for the poor and vulnerable, for the wealthy and cozy, with love and excellent justice for all, good and bad.
“Nothing on this world will stop us in search of to obey God faithfully, regardless of the ridicule, the value, or the result, for Christ is risen and he will likely be our final and excellent judge.”
Archbishop Welby urged the congregation: “Therefore, allow us to seek motion amongst the ravenous children of Gaza and Sudan — and the parents who try desperately to search out food for them; motion for the hostages held by Hamas; motion for those within the trenches and cities and fears of Ukraine; motion in at the very least 30 but probably closer to 50 other places of armed conflict; motion for the 25-30 per cent of kids on this country in poverty.
“Because God is revealed in Jesus, action-in-love means we must live sacrificially and generously, for others not ourselves.”
Preaching in York Minster, the Archbishop of York also spoke of “the terribly inequalities and depravities of our world, which suggests that, even in a rustic like ours, the sixth wealthiest on this planet, child poverty and inequality continues to rise; asylum seekers fleeing terror and torture themselves are treated with indignity; where Christians in Gaza and the West Bank usually are not in a position to worship today as we’re, where war foments, where antisemitism and Islamophobia are on the rise, where conflict smoulders — within the Holy Land itself, in Ukraine, Yemen and Sudan, in human hearts bent on countless retribution, unfound by grace, endlessly banging the table for what we’ve decided is just, but with no mercy in any way.
“This is the world where Christ isn’t recognised; where he reaches out to our sorrows and pleads with us to reconsider — but we don’t listen, so conditioned [are we] by vengeful hatefulness and all that has proceeded from it, that we don’t hear him calling our name, we don’t see him standing amongst us.”
The only hope for the world, he said, was to search for Christ, “And to forgive, as he forgives.”
The Pope, in his annual Urbi et Orbi address to a packed St Peter’s Square within the Vatican, addressed most of the troubled areas of the world, amongst them Ukraine and Gaza, Syria and Lebanon, Haiti and Myanmar, the Caucasus, and huge tracts of Africa.
“May the risen Christ open a path of hope to all those that in other parts of the world are affected by violence, conflict, food insecurity, and the consequences of climate change.”
With particular reference to Gaza, he said: “How much suffering we see of their eyes! With those eyes, they ask us: Why? Why all this death? Why all this destruction?”
War was all the time “a defeat” and “an absurdity. . . Let us not yield to the logic of weapons and rearming,” he said, and emphasised: “Peace isn’t made with arms, but with outstretched hands and open hearts.”
In a transient Easter message, the Prime Minister paid tribute to “the amazing work churches and Christian communities do in parishes across the country. Your values of compassion, service and family are at the center of our national life,” he said.
Similarly, the leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, in his Easter message, described faith as “really priceless. It’s a spot where people can invest plenty of themselves and find comfort, hope and a way of security. This Easter I’d like to precise my gratitude to the Christian community within the UK and beyond, for his or her generosity and compassion.”
The Easter story, he said, was “one in all hope and renewal, of overcoming adversity and light-weight prevailing over darkness. As families and friends gather to have a good time the vacation we turn our thoughts towards recent beginnings, our future and the way things can change for the higher.”
