The Very Reverend Michael J. Pitts
March 2008

Dear Friends,

Those of us who live in the 21st Century, and, at the same time, struggle to make sense of the Jesus tradition have to listen to two stories about life.

One story, drawn from modern knowledge, tells of the emergence of life in some, as yet only conjectured way, from a primeval chemical soup somewhere between three and four or more billion years ago. The story then tells of the evolution, growth and differentiation of life forms, leading (if we follow just one of the many threads) to the primates and homo sapiens. In this story, the end of the individual life lies in dissolution of the body into its molecular components. The life of the species continues through the passing on of genes to the next generation. It is a story of life whose factuality has been subjected to testing in many scientific disciplines, and whose hypotheses are constantly changing as more is discovered. It is a story about life as seen from the outside, about its materiality. Other branches of modern knowledge speak in a similar was about the growth and development of society, civilisation and culture.

The second story is the one we draw from our faith tradition. This story speaks in a mythical way about the beginnings of life and in a legendary way about the development of society, civilisation and culture. It is a story of life as seen from the inside. Unlike the first story, it is less concerned with the material, more concerned with the spiritual, moral and aesthetic qualities of life. For Christians the heart of this story lies in one human being, Jesus of Nazareth. This Jesus was a historical person, born somewhere around 4BCE in the northern part of what is now Israel. Historical facts about his life are scarce, but it is generally accepted that he was a teacher of a radically new view of life and faith, a healer, perhaps an exorcist, and certainly a challenger of contemporary religious, social and political realities. Because of this last he was put to death by the religious and political powers of his time and place, working in cooperation with each other. It is not the historical facts, however, which are of the greatest importance. The centre of this story is about how Jesus was perceived after his death, as both alive and life-giving. The story of his life in the community and in individual hearts continues to the present day, to your faith and mine. Like the story of beginnings, the resurrection story is expressed in ways that are legendary and mythical, metaphorical and symbolic. This has to be, since we are hearing here about hidden inner things, the inner life of the soul, the inner life of society and the inner life of God. It is a narrative about meaning and beauty, about goodness and hope, about joy and wholeness. It is also a narrative about the power to leave behind ugliness and despair, evil and meaninglessness, brokenness and sadness. It is not a story that can be tested and verified in the same way as the first story. It is true for us when it transforms our lives. It is true for us when we meet the life-giving living Jesus in the Liturgy of the Church.

In our world today some reject the second story and try to live only with the first. But does not such a life, resting only on material foundations, miss out on so much that can make us truly human? Some confuse the language and purpose of the two stories, rejecting the first story, and trying to live the second as though it was told in scientific language. How sadly misguided they are. Others live mostly in the first story, and pay occasional lip service to the second. How can that be other than a life of shallowness which misses the possibilities of the height and depth of the joy and meaning in our humanity? Living between the two stories is not easy, and we are not alone. Those of other faith traditions have to struggle with different religious stories, but the problem of living between two stories is theirs also.

In Holy Week and Easter, our liturgy tells the heart of the Christian story, of the teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. As always in the Cathedral, the narrative will be accompanied and interpreted by dramatic liturgical action and magnificent music. All this calls us to continue to dedicate ourselves to the task of living in the two stories (with all the difficulties which that creates), as witness to the world around us. It calls us to taste of the life which the evangelist John calls eternal life, a life of depth, of goodness, of wholeness and of joy.

Happy Easter!


Michael J. Pitts,
Dean and Rector