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Bishop Scott’s April Reflection
March 18, 2026
Many times you delivered them, but they rebelled through their own schemes,
and were brought down in their iniquity.
Nevertheless, you saw their distress, and heard their lamentation.
You remembered your covenant with them and relented out of your steadfast love.
You won for them compassion by all who held them captive.
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting;
and let all the people say, “Amen!”
— Psalm 106.43-48 —
Dear siblings in Christ,
This year, we come to the end of the season of Lent and enter into Holy Week with perhaps more uncertainty and anxiety than we had on Ash Wednesday — at least, that’s how it feels to me. Political turbulence continues to roil here in the United States, and we have further enmeshed ourselves in international conflicts with very little planning and very few allies. Financial uncertainties lead to volatility in markets and prices, inflation is
on the rise, and wages for many struggle to keep up with the cost of living. Conversations with congregational leaders across the synod tell me that we’re all anxious about the future of our churches, and we know that prolonged anxiety is as toxic to our spiritual and psychological well-being as any other kind of prolonged dysfunction. In these times of high anxiety, however, I take solace in knowing one thing for certain: we’ve been here before.
The story of Easter is a story of resurrection, but we often forget that resurrection has a prerequisite: death. No death, no resurrection. True for Jesus, true for all of us, but also true for more than just our bodies in the sweet by and by. The very nature of our relationship with God is one of death and resurrection, a cycle that has repeated itself over and over throughout the centuries and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Luther even defined baptismal living in these terms: baptism signifies that “the old person in us with all sins and evil desires is to be drowned and die through daily sorrow for sin and through repentance, and on the other hand that daily a new person is to come forth and rise up to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” Death to new life is the movement that defines us as God’s baptized people, both as individuals and as a community sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.
Friends, the church we have known is dying. It always has been, for that is the nature of our existence before God – we move from death to new life. The promise of Easter is this: death is where the work of God begins, over and over again. Hear the reassurance of the angel at the tomb: “Don’t be afraid.” We’ve been here before. We’ll be here again. The steadfast love of God will continue bringing new life out of death, and we will be gathered in to give thanks and praise, from everlasting to everlasting.
Questions for Discussion
- Proverbs 26.11 says, “A fool that returns to their folly is like a dog that returns to its vomit.” But at the same time, we often confess that “we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves” or something similar. Can you identify certain struggles, issues, or sins which have been difficult for you to avoid in your life?
- In what ways have you experienced death and resurrection in your life? In the life of your faith community?
- What are some healthy ways you’ve learned to cope with anxiety, and how do you make them part of your daily life?
Prayer (adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, © 2006 Augsburg Fortress)
Merciful God, remembering your covenant, you graciously and steadfastly pardon us when we rebel against you. Grant that, where sin abounds, your steadfast, loving grace may abound more, that as we die in our sins, we rise through your Holy Spirit to new life. We pray this through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Bishop Scott Alan Johnson