Essential Grace

There is a huge debate in the ELCA today about issues of sexuality.  There are several different views on the matter, many of which are in bitter opposition to one another.  Some congregations are leaving the church.  Some people are leaving their congregations.  Some, despite opposition on both theological and social grounds, are staying.  But how can we stay together in one church with such differences?  With such heated debate over whose interpretation of the Word of God is right?

We are not the first to have a major conflict within the church.  There have been times before when serious differences of practice and belief have challenged our ability to be a unified church.  This has happened many, many times over the history of the church, over issues that continue to be major and over issues that to us today seem to be largely irrelevant.  What can we learn from our forbears in the faith?  For the reformers in the 16th century, who were trying to create a new identity as Christians after having left the Roman Catholic church that had defined Christianity in the West since the very beginning, the solution was to divide things into essentials–those things that could not be compromised–and adiaphora–those things that were largely peripheral.  Adiaphora might be (and often was) comprised of issues that were at the heart of everyday life and practice of religion.  It was often bitterly fought over.  But those on differing sides of the issues could still come together as the body of Christ.  If we apply that question today, what are the essentials, to us?  What things are adiaphora?

As Lutherans, we hold that the core of the Gospel is justification.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; we are all sinners.  But we are also all saints, called and redeemed by God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Nothing in this world can separate us from the love of God.  We are saved by the grace of God, by his steadfast love.  No action or inaction of ours can change God’s saving will.  This is the core of the Gospel.  While other theological interpretations may change, this stands firm.  No one on any side of the issue is challenging this.

The sexuality question is not one of Gospel, but of morals.  How does God want us to live in this fallen world?  And while the Gospel does not change, morals can do.  A century and a half ago, there were Lutherans in America who believed that slavery was morally acceptable.  A little over half a century ago, there were Lutherans in Germany who believed that Hitler’s treatment of Jews was not only morally acceptable, but even praiseworthy in some cases.  There is a great deal of material in the Bible that can be taken to support either position (much of the Old Testament in the former case, though most emphatically not Exodus, and the virulent anti-semitism of the Gospel of John, in the latter).  Despite their claim to Biblical support, today we believe them to have been horribly, tragically wrong.

I believe both slavery and anti-Semitism to be of much greater concern to Christianity, much closer to issues concerning the heart of the Gospel, than issues relating to homosexuality.  There are only five references to homosexual behavior in the Bible.  Paul’s letters and the holiness codes of Leviticus each contain two one-verse references to homosexual behavior included in a laundry list of forbidden behaviors.  Then there is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, in chapters eighteen and nineteen of Genesis, which in the text is an issue primarily of inhospitality, violence, and xenophobia in which homosexuality is a manifestation of the depravity of those two cities, not the main problem.  (Compare with the parallel story of the Levite’s Wife in the nineteenth chapter of Judges; compare also with Jesus’ reference to Sodom in Luke 10:12 or Matthew 10:15.)  Commentators did not begin to cite homosexuality as the main problem of Sodom and Gomorrah until several centuries after Christ’s death and resurrection.

The Bible is saturated with stories about the grace and mercy and love of God, and with commands to love one another and protect the vulnerable.  And yet we are tearing our churches apart–tearing the Body of Christ apart–over four verses and one dubiously-interpreted story.

For further study, here are a collection of responses to the sexuality issue collected by the faculty of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.

One in Christ: meditations in the week following Martin Luther King Day

This last Monday was MLK day, the day our government sets aside each year to honor the life and work of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.  Some congregations remembered him in their prayers on Sunday; some held small prayer services or sang a gospel hymn in his honor; some did nothing at all.  As with all secular holidays that may be observed in church, I think it’s important to think about why we as a church care about this observance decreed by our political leaders.

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

–Genesis 1:27

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

–Galatians 3:28

For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. 9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

–Romans 12:4-10

There are many divisions in this world, divisions that we see as fundamental, that so deeply permeate our society and our ways of thinking that we don’t even recognize them.  This was true in St. Paul’s day; this is equally true today, though the categories that divide us have changed.  And yet, as in Paul’s day, we have all been made one in Christ.  But  more fundamentally even than that, every human being on this planet was created in the image of God.  Christian or not, we are made in the image of God.  That’s an amazing thing!  Every time you see a person, you see God!  That image may be twisted or broken, that image may be hidden beneath layers of differences you can’t understand and perhaps don’t want to.  But it cannot be denied.  Think about that for a bit.

Do we treat one another as if that is the case?  Really?  It’s fairly easy to do when we are dealing with people like ourselves–skin color, gender identity, orientation, class, ethnicity, etc., etc.  It’s a lot harder when dealing with people who don’t look like us and share our cultural backgrounds.  We see the differences and the divisions, and let them blind us to the image of God, created by God’s loving care.  The tragedy comes when people know they should do that and yet,  ingrained in their mind deep down, are the prejudices that are created by and thrive on the divisions that separate us.  It’s so much easier to ignore those darker voices within us, to allow them free reign while believing they don’t exist, than it is to face them.  It’s always difficult to face the ways in which we ourselves are broken by sin, both as groups and as individuals.  And yet unless we can, unless you and I can acknowledge our sin, our failure to treat all of God’s children as God wants them to be treated, we not only allow sin to flourish, we hurt other people through what we do and what we leave undone.

This is the duty all humans owe to God who created us in his image, to ourselves, and to our neighbors throughout the world.  As Christians we owe still more, for we know that our fellow Christians–no matter how different from us they may look or seem–are truly members of the same body, the body of Christ.  We are called not only to respect them, but truly love them as our brothers and sisters, to accept and cherish both the similarities that bind us together and the differences that could tear us apart if we’re not careful.

It’s a tall order, and we could not do it alone.  Thank God for our lord and savior Jesus Christ, into whose life, death, and resurrection we were baptized and whose body and blood we are given in the Eucharist, even as we are formed into Christ’s body in this world.  Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the empowering and renewing wind that blows through our lives and sends us out into the world to do God’s work.  Thank God for forgiving us when we fall short of his commands.

And thank God for the life of our brother Martin, who lived and died for the work of God to unite us all as brothers and sisters in one holy family.

Practical resources for dealing with issues of race, ethnicity, and other kinds of prejudice:

Talking Together as Christians Cross-Culturally (A good Lutheran resource)

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (A classic essay that has shaped discussions of racism, feminism, prejudice, and equality for the last twenty years)

Check my what? On Privilege and what we can do about it: some tips on going from pro-equality in theory to pro-equality in deed. A clear, concise explanation for what to do and what not to do, and why, complete with helpful links to more in-depth essays on a wide variety of issues and sub-issues.

In Christ

Second Sunday after Christmas (Year C)

Sunday, January 3

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Psalm 147:12-20
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:1-18

Preached by Anna C. Haugen

St. Mark Lutheran Church, Salem, OR

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I worked on this sermon, Friday afternoon, Dad watched the Rose Bowl and Mom took down the Christmas decorations.  First to go was the train around the bottom of the tree—Lars sent it around the track one last time before it was packed up.  Then the ornaments were taken down from the tree and put in their places, the homemade ones in layers of tissue paper in shoeboxes, the store-bought ones in the boxes they came in.  After the ornaments came the garlands, and then the colored lights, carefully coiled up so that they will hopefully be free of tangles when the time comes to take them out again.  After the tree was taken care of it was time to tackle the smaller tasks of the stockings and knick-knacks on the mantel, my brother’s nutcracker collection, and the Christmas art on the walls.  Last of all went the crèche, and the baby Jesus and his world were carefully wrapped up in tissue paper, to sit in a box in a closet for the next eleven months.  And yet, here I am, to preach a Christmas sermon.

In our world, we’ve grown very used to putting Christmas in a box.  Throughout the months leading up to the holiday, we spend enormous amounts of time and effort (and sometimes money) on presents to give to our friends and loved ones.  We fuss over decorations, parties, what we’re going to wear, what food we’re going to have, who we’re going to visit, who we’ll invite to visit us.  We stop, every so often, to remind ourselves that Christmas is not about the material things, it’s about love, and then go right back to our usual flurry of preparations.  On Christmas Eve we come to church to hear the story of the baby born in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, with angels and shepherds in attendance, and sing beloved carols.  We open our presents, thank everyone, and then put the Christmas decorations away and go back to our regular lives while the radio stations and TV channels go back to their regularly scheduled programming.  And yet, the God who came to Earth to become fully human, fully with us, who created the world and broke the bonds of sin and death, will not be kept in a box on a shelf.

One of the first things they teach you in seminary, when analyzing a passage of scripture, is to look for things that are repeated.  Obviously, if the writer of the passage wanted to stress something, it must be important.  Look at today’s second lesson, from Ephesians: it’s only twelve verses long (and in the original Greek, is all a single sentence!).  Yet in those twelve verses, Paul repeats the phrase “in Christ” eight times.  English has to use different prepositions to express all the nuances of Paul’s words, but still the thundering repetition comes through: in Christ, we are blessed.  In Christ, we are chosen.  In Christ, we are adopted.  In Christ, we are redeemed.  In Christ, we are forgiven.  In Christ, we are shown the mystery of God’s will, and in Christ, we are marked by the seal of the Holy Spirit.  In Christ.

Christ is the Word of God through which the world was created.  Everything in heaven and Earth, everything that has ever been and ever will be, came into being through Christ.  Do we see this, when we look at the world?  There’s a song I sing with just about every group of children I work with, called the Hippo Song, about how God created everything, and how “God’s finger-prints are everywhere, just to show how much he cares.”  Do we look for God’s finger-prints, or do we only see the darkness in the world, the broken things, the pain and suffering and problems?  Can we see Christ, the light of the world, the light shining in the darkness, the light no darkness can overcome?  Can we see the true light, the light for all people, that Word incarnate, truly God and truly human, flesh and blood and bone and yet divine?

All too often, the answer is no.  We are not alone in this, of course; the story of humanity is the story of people who reject God, who are given the true light in one form or another and yet do not know it, do not accept it.  From time immemorial we humans have been so absorbed in our own sin that we cannot see the grace that is given to us.  And so we turn away from God even as God reaches out to us.  From Adam and Eve on down, the Bible is full of such stories, which are echoed in all of human history.

When I read the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, I am frequently struck by how grateful I am that I don’t have to face the things many people in the Bible did.  Jeremiah, the author of today’s first lesson, is one of the people I am most grateful not to be.  He was a prophet of the Lord in the days leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.  Despite the attempts of King Josiah to reform Judah, despite the words of the prophets, the country and its people remained corrupt, and refused to listen to the Word of God.  Jeremiah tried to show them their sin, tried to tell them that their destruction was coming, tried to get them to hear God’s word, that they might be saved.  For his troubles, he was threatened, imprisoned, tortured, and almost killed.  When the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and conquered all of Judah, Jeremiah went into exile in Egypt.  He died without ever seeing the promised redemption of his people.  And yet, even in the midst of some of the darkest days the people of Judah ever faced, Jeremiah could see God’s light.  No matter how bad things got, God was with them, and God would save them.  Even if Jeremiah himself never saw it, he trusted God’s Word and knew that it was coming.

The world is a pretty dark place these days, as well.  America’s economic problems have left people from all walks of life jobless, homeless, hopeless.  Around the world, things are even worse.  The global hunger crisis deepens every month.  We are engaged in a war on Terror with no end in sight.  Every year, there seem to be more diseases and viruses to be afraid of.  It’s no surprise that a national poll recently found that Americans are significantly less hopeful than they were ten years ago.

And yet, in this world of darkness, Christ is still here.  Our shepherd calls us by name, to lead us back home, to walk in straight paths and not stumble, to redeem us out of our captivity to sin and death, to give us every good thing.  Christ comes to us to be our light and our life, our salvation and our joy.  Christ comes among us, the only son of the Father, full of grace and truth, to bring that grace and truth into our lives and make God known to us.  Christ breaks into our fallen world to make us new, to make everything new, to make us children of God and forgive us for our sins, to mark us with his cross and seal us with his Holy Spirit, now and forever.  Amen.

Reflections on the Passing of the Peace

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” –1 Corinthians 1:3

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:7

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” –John 14:27

Peace is talked about many times in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  Practically every writer of Scripture has something to say on the subject.  Every Sunday we wish peace for one another in worship.  What is it about peace that makes it such an integral part of our worship, our faith, and our lives?

Peace is a way of seeing the world, a way in which our faith in God helps us stay calm in a turbulent world. When God is present with us and in us, when we put our trust in God, we know that we are in God’s hands and don’t need to spend our time worrying about what to do or what will happen.  We know that we belong to God, and he will take care of us.  This inner peace is ours no matter what happens in the world around us; it is a gift from God, and beyond our understanding or ability to explain.  It is something we deny ourselves too often, when we shove our faith into a box marked “only for Sundays” and try to seek fulfillment in endless busyness instead of in God.  It is something we ignore when we focus on our fears and anxieties instead of on God’s promise of love and forgiveness.

Peace is also a way of relating to others, a way of treating others with love and justice.  It happens when we act with Christ-centered hospitality and respect, when we air disagreements honestly and openly with charity and compassion instead of storing up grudges and disagreements and bitterness.  It can take hard work to practice peace in the midst of conflict, but it can also bring great rewards of growth and harmony.

When we wish each other the peace of the Lord each Sunday, as Christ wished it to us and as Paul wished it to his congregations in every letter, we’re not just mouthing pious good wishes.  We are affirming that God is truly present in us and in the congregation, that his presence brings that peace that surpasses all human understanding.  We are reminding one another that God’s peace isn’t just some abstract pie-in-the-sky proposition, but a present reality with us here, now, in this place.  And we are promising that we will reflect that peace in our lives together in Christ.

God’s work, our hands

Today I had the privilege of listening to John Nunes, head of Lutheran World Relief, speak and preach in church.  One of the things he said was that historically, Lutheran World Relief and other Lutheran charities have not had to advertise themselves–Lutherans gave regularly, as congregations and as individuals, and so money that other organizations had to spend on marketing and fundraising, LWR could commit directly to projects.  That’s changing, and so Lutheran World Relief has just had to hire their first director of marketing.  And it seems to me that part of the problem is that we as Lutherans haven’t been good at spreading the word about all the good things we do.  As children of God, we are called not only to spread the Good News, but to be what Luther called “little Christs” to our neighbor, spreading the love of God through tangible means of food, shelter, healing, companionship.  We give and we work, not to earn God’s grace, but to share the love God has given us.  Here are some of the ways we as Lutherans do this:

Lutheran World Relief works in 35 countries throughout the world.  They seek lasting solutions to poverty and injustice in some of the poorest places in the world.  While they do disaster relief, their focus is on building communities and helping people raise themselves out of poverty so that when disasters strike, be they natural or manmade, the people can take care of themselves and are less dependent on the charity of others.  They work with and through local people and organizations, creating sustainable growth and working towards peace and justice.  And they do all that while staying financially stable in today’s economy, and while spending less than ten cents of every dollar on administration (which is an incredible ratio–a lot of charities are good if they get less then twenty cents per dollar for administration).  LWR’s projects include collecting and distributing quilts, health kits, clothing, etc, made by American Lutheran congregations, Fair Trade coffee, chocolate, and gifts (perfect for this holiday season!), disaster relief, and working with people in poor,  rural communities to figure out what they need and find a sustainable way to get it.

Lutheran Services in America is the largest social service organization in America.  It’s larger than Catholic charities, larger than the Red Cross, larger than the Salvation Army.  It’s an alliance of over 300 Lutheran health and human service organizations. Working neighbor to neighbor through services in health care, aging and disability supports, community development, housing, and child and family strengthening, these organizations together touch the lives of one in 50 Americans each year and have aggregated annual incomes over $16.6 billion.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.  For over 70 years, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has led a ministry of welcome to some of America’s most vulnerable newcomers.  They help people seeking safety from persecution in their home countries and reunite families torn apart by conflict. They resettle refugees. They protect vulnerable children who arrive alone in the United States. They advocate for compassion and justice for all migrants.

Lutheran Disaster Response works with local people and volunteers to rebuild lives and communities, both in the initial aftermath of a disaster and in the years of rebuilding that long-term recovery requires.

Through these and other organizations, Lutherans do great work in the world.  I encourage you to give as you are able, of your money, time, and talents.  And spread the news about what we do!

God is not a vending machine: the problem with the prosperity gospel

Oh Lord, wont you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?

My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,

So Lord, wont you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?

–Janis Joplin

This song was written to be a satire on the materialistic culture of America.  Like all satires, it’s funny because it’s true: we do pray to God for that ‘Mercedes-Benz,’ whatever that may be for us.  There is a widespread belief that in the “prosperity Gospel”: if God loves you, you will be healthy and wealthy.  If you are spiritual enough, if you pray the right prayers, if you go to the right churches, if you have the right positive attitude, God will give you what material gifts you ask for.  And it makes sense–we all know people who self-sabotage, who assume the worst or prepare for the worst and through that very belief cause, in some sense, the worst to happen to them.  So if the opposite is true, that you can influence what happens to you by having a positive attitude, well, that seems fair.  And after all, didn’t Christ say “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).  It seems clear enough.  Decide what you want, trust in God, ask, and it’s yours.

A best-selling book was written about the Prayer of Jabez from 1 Chronicles 4:10, explaining how this one verse can lead you to a deeper spirituality that will result in material prosperity, as if God were a vending machine.  Put in the correct change (the right belief and the right attitude), make the correct selection (the right prayer) and the treat drops down into your hand.  Joel Osteen and other televangelists make similar claims, as do a wide variety of other spiritual figures from Conservative Christians to New Age gurus to business consultants and life coaches.  (And what does it say about our society that business consultants give spiritual advice?)  We all want a good, long, prosperous life.  God loves us and wants us to be happy, and has said he’ll take care of us.  Surely, putting the two together can’t be a bad thing?

But what happens when things go wrong?  What happens when we don’t get that Mercedes-Benz?  What happens when bad things happen–abuse, illness, injury, the death of a loved one, the breakup of a marriage, the loss of a job?  If God rewards the right attitude, the right faith, and the right prayers with material prosperity, then the only explanation is a failure of the person in trouble.  Maybe they didn’t have a positive enough attitude.  Maybe they didn’t pray for the right things.  Maybe their faith wasn’t strong enough.  This is the fundamental problem with the prosperity gospel: during the darkest times of our lives, when we need the love and presence of our God the most, we are abandoned.

Now, I don’t mean to say that God actually leaves us, because he doesn’t.  But if we assume God only works through material prosperity and good fortune, if we assume that bad things are a sign that he is not with us, we will almost certainly blind ourselves to the ways that he is with us during times of trouble.  And then we have nothing to fall back on.  God is always with us, even if we can’t see him.  But if we can’t see or feel him, we feel as bereft as if he was truly absent.  I worked for a summer as chaplain in a mental facility, and one of the people living there was a woman with severe depression who had suffered many things in her life and so believed God was not with her.  However untrue that belief was, her anguish over the perceived abandonment was real.

But God does tell us “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8).  How do we interpret this if not through the lens of the prosperity gospel?  How do we pray to God and share with him our needs and concerns without assuming that if those needs and desires aren’t met, God has ignored us?  Let’s compare Jesus’ words in Matthew with those of James in his letter to the church:

You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

-James 4:2-3

Why do we ask for things?  How do we decide what we need, and how does that relate to God?  James points out that our attitude and our greed matter.  If we try to treat God like a cosmic vending machine, handing out treats on demand, we’re asking wrongly.  It’s not that pleasure is by itself bad, and it’s not that wealth itself is bad.  The problem comes when we allow our wants and desires and appetites to direct our thinking instead of our relationship with God.  If we’re focused on our own wealth and well-being, we’re probably ignoring both God and our neighbor.  James points out that selfish thinking separates us from the community as we try and get what we want through whatever means we can; we shouldn’t be surprised if it has the same effect of separating us from God, so that we cannot see the ways in which God is calling us and supporting us.

God is always with us, even when we can’t see or feel him.  God is with us even when we focus on our own selfish desires.  God is with us in good times and bad, and God knows our true needs better than we do ourselves.  God will never forsake us, in good times or in bad.  God’s love cannot be measured by health or wealth, but only in the fullness of his grace and mercy.

From Seminary President Michael Cooper-White: On Heresy and Humility

The president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Reverend Doctor Michael Cooper-White, recently wrote a short piece on the recent conflict within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America regarding human sexuality:

When teaching about conflict, I advise folks to expect some rhetorical excesses when individuals or communities are anxious and engaged in a heavy duty struggle. So while it’s no surprise that some things appearing in speeches and print following the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly are “over the top,” I would feel remiss without challenging one of the most blatant—the accusation that by its decisions in adopting a social statement on human sexuality and changing ministry policies the Evangelical Lutheran Church has “fallen into heresy.”

Reflections on the ELCA churchwide assembly

As some of you may be aware, the ELCA recently voted to “recognize publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships.”  In other words, while the Churchwide Assembly did not endorse homosexuality nor give monogamous same-gender relations the same status as heterosexual marriages, it did state that homosexuality is not inherently sinful.  Now, this is a hugely controversial thing to say, even when you’re trying to be even-handed and take a middle of the road coarse (which the ELCA is trying to do).  This is particularly controversial for a church body, and there is a great deal of confusion as to the scriptural basis (or lack thereof) on which the decision rests.  There are also a great many accusations from both sides of the argument that the other side is acting based on their own personal prejudices and politics rather than the will of God.  There is also a great deal of confusion on what it was exactly that the ELCA voted to do.  What happened can be explained fairly easily from the ELCA FAQ on the subject.  The theological basis on which those decisions rested are a bit more complicated.  Here’s a helpful article by Timothy Wengert:

“If there is one rule we need to follow in the wake of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, it is this: Do not break the eighth commandment (against false witness) in order to defend the sixth (against adultery and other sexual sins).  Both those who supported the changes in policy and those who did not need to remember this.  We must speak what we know and not cast aspersions on those who disagreed with us.  Luther’s comments on the eighth commandment in the Large Catechism are helpful here.  Even when forced by one’s office to speak out, one must not lie or distort the truth.

“In light of some implied (and explicit) attacks on the decision, however, it is also necessary to make one thing clear.  The change in policy was grounded in Scripture.  In fact, the calls for justice toward gays and lesbians in committed relationships and the recitation of examples of healthy same-gender relations, as important as these are to some folk, finally do not in themselves constitute a complete standard for changing church policy, since even calls for justice must for Christians be grounded in and normed by sound interpretations of Scripture as God’s Word for us….”

Timothy Wengert is an outstanding theologian of the church.  He is an expert on Luther and the early Lutheran church, having been one of two editor/translators of the latest edition of the Book of Concord (the collection of documents that form the basis of the particularly Lutheran understanding of Scripture and the Christian life, of which the Augsburg Confession is a part). He is a professor of Reformation History at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and a regular contributor to the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.

In the Flesh

Have you ever noticed that when Jesus appears to people after the Resurrection, there’s usually a fleshy part of his visitation?  His followers touch Jesus  (Matthew 28:9, Luke 24:37-40, John 20:20, 27-28) or Jesus eats with his followers (Luke 24:30, 24:41-43, John21:12-13).  Almost every time he appears, there’s some proof that this is not just a “ghost” or “spirit”–this is a real, flesh-and-blood person coming among them.

What does this mean?  Why does it matter?

Well, first, it means that resurrection isn’t just about the soul–the body gets resurrected, too.  The whole package deal, body and soul, is redeemed and re-created and resurrected.  We don’t leave our bodies behind.  Instead, our whole being is taken by God and made holy and pure.  We like to think of the world as dualistic, flesh=bad and spirit=good.  We like to think of the physical world as evil, corrupted, temporary, something that will be destroyed when Christ comes again, while the spirit is pure and holy and eternal, merely waiting to be freed from the evils of the material world.  This is not the case, as Jesus showed us in his appearances after the Resurrection.  The body is just as involved as the spirit.

Remember that in Genesis, when God creates the world he calls it good, repeatedly.  It has been corrupted by sin, yes, but was created good, and ultimately belongs to God.  Our souls, as well, were created good but were corrupted by sin.  Both are alike, that way.  Both need to be cleansed of sin and death.  Both depend on the mercy and grace of God.

Again, what does this mean?  What effect does it have on our daily life?  It means we can’t just ignore the world around us.  Too often, Christians try to withdraw from the world and concern themselves only with “spiritual” matters.  Or we separate “spiritual” concerns from “worldly” concerns, as if they have nothing to do with one another, as if God has no use in the everyday world.  But God is the Creator of all, God is the Redeemer of all, God is the Sanctifyer of all.  We are called to live as God’s people in the world, to spread the light of God, to spread God’s Word, to work for God’s kingdom.  And we can’t do that if we try to separate the physical from the spiritual.

Christ came to his disciples, and ate with them.  He let them feel his flesh.  He was truly among them.  Let us, as his disciples, follow his example.

The Light of Christ

Hello all!  It’s been a while since I posted, for which I apologize; personal struggles have gotten between me and my blog.

Last Saturday night, I participated in an Easter Vigil service at my home congregation.  For those of you who don’t know, the Easter Vigil is a worship service that takes place the night before Easter, celebrating all of God’s creative and redeeming activity from the creation of the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Since it takes place after dark, by the Jewish calendar which Christ and the early disciples used it’s already Easter.  Although it will not be announced to the world until morning, Jesus Christ is risen and the tomb is  empty.

Easter Vigil starts off with a fire, outside.  The Paschal/Christ Candle for the coming year is lit from the flame and the pastor holds it up, chanting “The Light of Christ!”  The congregation responds “The Light of Christ!”  Each holds a candle.  The Christ Candle lights a few, and those light the flames of others in turn.  As the flame is passed from person to person, the one giving the flame says “The light of Christ!” and the one receiving the flame says “Thanks be to God!”

The congregation then processes to the church and inside.  Now, this year there was a bit of a wind that night, and so peoples’ candles kept blowing out.  But every time a candle blew out, the person next to them gave them a new flame.  “The Light of Christ!”  “Thanks be to God!”

It struck me that this is a metaphor for the Christian life.  We don’t create our own fire, our own light, our own faith.  It is given as a gift from God, often through the care and attention of those around us–parents, friends, mentors.  Christian means “little Christ.”  As part of our Christian lives we are called to be “little Christs” to our neighbors.  As we have been given light, so we are to share that light with all around us.  So far, everything seems great, right?  But as wonderful as it is to have the light of Christ in us, to be light for the world, we can’t sustain that light on our own.  The trials of life sometimes blow it out.  But through God’s grace, those around us can share their light with us, and help rekindle the flame of faith within us.  As we are called to be “little Christs” to them, so they are called to be “little Christs” to us.  This is most certainly true within the community of faith, but also outside of it.  Many times, it is the ones outside our communities of faith that are most in need of Christ’s light.  And many times, the light of Christ comes to us from people and places that we least expect.

Now, I realize that the world is a broken, sinful place, and because of that sin Christ’s light doesn’t always seem to work like that.  Sometimes, there isn’t anyone around when we need help the most.  (Sometimes, the ones around us who should be the ones to help kindle that flame are the very ones causing the winds that blow it out.)  But for the most part, it works pretty well.  It’s one of the reasons that we have congregations and other communities of faith, why participating in the faith life of a group of fellow believers is so important.  So that when you feel the light of Christ in you and around you is dimming or has gone out, you already know who you can go to for spiritual renewal and support.  We form communities so that you can be renewed by Christ working through those around us, and when others need help we can be a “little Christ” to our neighbors in turn.