One of the loveliest of the Easter stories in the Bible is Lukes description of two travellers walking on the road to Emmaus after Jesus crucifixion. They are not in a good mood: dejected, hopeless and disillusioned by what has happened. Then an unknown stranger meets them on the way, shares with them a message of good news, and joins them for a meal. As he breaks the bread, they realise that the stranger is Jesus, and they feel that their hearts are burning within them with rekindled hope.
Over the last six months, it has been my privilege to travel widely across the diocese, visiting communities, schools, churches, projects, and workplaces in Staffordshire, North Shropshire and the West Midlands. Young people in village schools caring for a fellow pupil with disabilities; asylum seekers meeting together to share with enthusiasm their new-found Christian faith; people taking time to look out for and listen to those suffering from dementia; churches and mosques twinning with one another to serve their local communities these are just a few examples of so many good things going on in our area.
The more news we hear, watch or read, the more we can feel that the world is a dark, divided and depressing place. But the message of Easter is a message of hope. As we learn to walk together, we meet unexpectedly with people who inspire and encourage us, and we sometimes find that, like those travellers on the road to Emmaus, our hearts are burning within us. That is what St Chad, the first Bishop of Lichfield, found when he walked around Mercia fourteen centuries ago; it is what I have found for myself today, and it is the direction of travel on which churches, schools and communities across our diocese are embarking. We are inviting everybody who wishes to join us: Come, follow Christ in the footsteps of St Chad.
Well be exploring this further at a celebration at Lichfield Cathedral on 20 May. Find out more here
+Michael
The text of Bishop Michael's sermon at Thursday's Chrism Mass (pictured above) - in which he talked about the need for Christians to be 'oily people' - is also available here.