The Bishop’s Blog

Spiritual renewal is still an urgent call for each one of us as an individual as well as for the communities that we serve. Jesus reminds us that the Gospel always comes with a promise: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

Spiritual renewal is still an urgent call for each one of us as an individual as well as for the communities that we serve. Jesus reminds us that the Gospel always comes with a promise: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

The events of that first Easter morning stretch our imagination. There are humorous moments mixed with the recognition that something of enormous cosmic import has just occurred. The image of an angel perched on a stone that has just been rolled back from the tomb, and Mary mistaking the resurrected Jesus for the gardener—these are almost playful scenes in our minds, yet the world-shaking significance of the Resurrection should bring us to our knees in awe. It must be stressed that the historic Christian teaching has always been that we believe that Jesus experienced a bodily resurrection, not merely the resuscitation of a corpse or a spiritual transformation.

I have always enjoyed a parade, so Palm Sunday has always been a favorite festival of mine. When we planted the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Palm Sunday we arranged for a mini-parade of donkey rides for children from the parking lot to the front door. It was a big hit, although they were disappointed that I didn’t let the donkey carry them all the way inside!

The first and perhaps most important question is, “What are we retiring to?” Not “What are we retiring from?” Bishop Dave Bena, a dear friend and mentor, has retired a number of times. He retired from military service (he served with distinction as a Marine and then in the US Air Force), and he retired as the suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, as my suffragan bishop in CANA, and most recently as the assistant bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word. He is something of an expert on retirement! But he spells it “retire-ment,” declaring that it is an opportunity to change tires and start a new journey.

A few days ago, a friend told me, “You are failure at retirement!” I understood this as a rather backhanded compliment, but it did start me thinking about what success and failure at retirement look like.

In recent days we have all watched with horror as men, women, and children have been brutalized, and many killed, as Russia has continued its barbaric invasion of Ukraine. It is hard to believe that we are witnessing one European country systematically destroying another while the world stands by, seemingly helpless. While we have all been amazed by the courage of these innocent civilians and the inspirational leadership of their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, agonizing questions haunt us all. What can we do? What should we do? Who is our neighbor?