wfn.org | Christmas Message from LWF President Mark S.Hanson

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

There is Hope for People Faced with Death Instead of New Life
Christmas Message from LWF President Mark S. Hanson

GENEVA, 3 December 2003 (LWI) - As so many people this Christmas
are confronted with the image of death instead of birth, there is
good news. "God in Jesus Christ dwells among us (Emmanuel)." This
is the affirmation of hope in this year's Christmas message from
Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF).

Hanson asks where signs of hope could be found - in an expanding
global economy from which some benefit but many others lack daily
essentials? He asserts that placing "confidence in military might
and terrorist acts as the only path to peace, seems to be the
absurd and dominating logic of our day." He says that the
movement of humanity is more often those fleeing suffering rather
than "the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings
good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God
reigns.'" But, he explains that "God is not overpowering us but
entering into our humanity, taking on the suffering of the
world."

The LWF president bids that those in the worldwide Lutheran
communion be renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit "as we join
with others for the healing of the world."

Hanson is presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. (230 words)

The full text of LWF President Mark S. Hanson's Christmas
message follows:

Christmas Message from Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson 
President of the Lutheran World Federation

Dear sisters and brothers in the worldwide Lutheran communion:

What fills the earth this Christmas season? Is it only the
deafening sounds of war? Do we all hold our breath, dreading what
violence each day might bring? For far too many the prevailing
image this Christmas is not birth, but death. The movement of
humanity is more often those fleeing suffering rather than "the
feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news,
who announces salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns'"
(Isaiah 52:7).
	Where do we look to find signs of hope? Some suggest it
is to an expanding global economy. Yet for every one who
benefits, how many others lack daily bread, adequate shelter and
available health care? Putting confidence in military might and
terrorist acts as the only path to peace seems to be the absurd
and dominating logic of our day. The very creation is at risk
because of humanity's sinful ways.
	Yet, there is good news. God has not forsaken God's
creation nor forgotten God's promises. "And the Word became
flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory
as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth" (John
1:14).
	The angels announced it. The shepherds returned home
glorifying and praising God for it. Yes, the whole creation is
full of grace and truth. God in Jesus Christ dwells among us
(Emmanuel). God is not overpowering us, but entering into our
humanity, taking on the suffering of the world. Such is the depth
of God's mercy and the wonder of God's love. Jesus the
Christ, crucified and risen, is God's power made perfect in
weakness.
	Claimed by God's grace, marked with the cross of Christ
forever, we are sent into the world God loves so. There we
proclaim peace on earth. There we work for justice. There we bear
witness in word and deed to the fullness of God's grace and
truth.
	May we in the Lutheran World Federation be renewed by the
power of the Holy Spirit as we join with others for the healing
of the world. May the wonder of God's grace incarnate in Jesus
the Christ fill you with hope.

In God's grace,

Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson
President, The Lutheran World Federation

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

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