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Holy Wednesday
Meditation at the Service for Healing
April 20, 2011
David E Cox, PhD
Sisters and brothers in Christ—grace, mercy, peace and wholeness be yours this night, in the name of God our Father, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We come this night seeking the blessing of God in the midst of our lives, our church, and our world. We seek a word of blessing as we come tonight, for we live in a broken world, tarnished, worn, needing healing.
To seek a time for healing is actually seeking a time of salvation.
The root of the word salvation in English is “salve,” like a salve which is placed on our bodies to provide healing and restore health. One of the main Greek words for salvation is θεραπεύω, from which we receive the word “Therapy.” So, the ideas of saving and healing go together, and have done so for centuries.
As Jesus came to be with us, to live in our midst, to be the incarnate presence of God, he did many things. High on Jesus list of ministry actions was to heal. In some ways, we might say that Jesus came to do “Divine Therapy” for not only our souls, but for our entire being. In fact, if we think like Israel, the children of Abraham, we would acknowledge that what happens with our bodies, our mind, our spirit and our strength are inextricably tied to what we might call “soul”. The Hebrews called this nephesh, a word that has something to do with throat, with esophagus, with this inner center of our selves through which the breath of life enters and exits. For Israel, there is no sense of the “immortal soul” that Plato describes in his Greek philosophy… All things are interconnected between body, mind, spirit…
This is why the “resurrection of the body,” that theology we confess and uphold is crucial in our proclamation. The idea that Jesus, say, died on the cross and then had his spirit or soul set free is Greek philosophy. It is New Age claptrap. It is fantasy at its finest. If we all simply have a divine spark within us that is our soul, to which nothing can touch or harm from this world, why is the Easter message so un-nerving?
The Easter message is unnerving because Jesus dies. Dies… and not just a little bit, or mostly dies. He dies. And God raises Jesus from the dead. Jesus is dead… Jesus waits for the resurrection promise… and God the Father raises him from the dead, from the tomb. It is not that his “divine spark” or “soul” was waiting for someone to open the door. The tomb opens, and Jesus is raised bodily. He is raised from the dead… body and mind and spirit, all together. The tombs will be opened for us on the last day. Until that time we rest in the promise of God, or as it has been called, within the arms of Jesus. I happen to like the picture from the Book of Revelation with the saints being under the altar waiting, each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer (Revelation 6:9-11). We await the resurrection of the dead, trusting in the promise of the resurrection of Christ, ours in baptismal faith.
But, enough with theology and anthropology and trying to figure out things that are best left within the hands of God. We come tonight seeking the blessing, the anointing, the touch of therapy and wholeness given by Jesus. We come seeking the peace of God, a peace not like the world gives, a peace that implies the essence of the Hebrew word “Shalom” – a “peace” which is “wholeness.” We come to the place where we know the blessing of God as revealed in bread and wine, in water, in anointing with oil, and where a word is given that we trust as God’s own promise.
Mark’s gospel gives us a day in the life of Jesus… one where we see the promise of God being made known to people in the village of Capernaum. We meet Peter’s mother-in-law to begin with. It is a pity we hear
nothing of Peter’s spouse or other family members, but this was a world in which in men’s stories women are mostly invisible if they are not either a source of trouble or delight. Here is an exception. Even if unnamed, we have a woman. She matters. Jesus cares about her. He heals her. Her temperature drops. She serves them. Let us not romanticize Mark. He is a man of his time as are those who passed on to him the story. The woman remains unnamed. She is healed to do what women stereotypically did: look after the men…
But this story is not a story attempting to emphasize or support the subservience of women. This is a story that says something about the coming of Jesus, and the coming of the dominion of heaven in our midst. In fact, this story tells us why the coming of the kingdom of God in Christ is good news: People are healed. People are set free. People receive liberation and healing. This is the fulfillment of prophesies found in Isaiah 61:1; 35:5-6; 29:18-19 and elsewhere. In Jesus and Jesus ministry healing comes… θεραπεύω… healing that is saving, that is salvific. So these events are important both in themselves and what they point toward—the presence of God among us.
Observance of Sabbath law rather than climate is reflected in the fact that people waited till the evening to bring their sick and deranged to Jesus. The Sabbath ended at sunset, so such work was acceptable in the evening. 1:32-34 is a short summary through which Mark tells us that the two kinds of activities, exorcism and healing, which he has recounted as events on the first day were typical. They were repeated in the evening and on following days. Notice how Mark carefully builds links to what has gone before and what follows. Crowds at the door – we shall find that happening again in 2:2. Demons who knew him – this recalls the incident in the synagogue, but also recalls what they knew, namely the truth set forth in Jesus’ baptism. This one is the Son of God, with whom God is well pleased. And the bottom line of the story tells us of the presence of Christ… and that people come to seek healing, hope, and salvation.
We come this night, as the evening has set in, and come to the altar, our doorway of sorts for the touch of Jesus in prayer, laying on of hands, and anointing with oil. We come as people did in Capernaum, seeking the aid of Jesus, seeking healing, hope, and salvation. For what do you seek healing this night? For what do you seek salvation? In what ways might you desire the hope of the promise of God? How might this healing be strength and hope to your bones, your life?
Consider these things as you come this night. And may God bless you as you are anointed. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Advent A—November 29, 2010
St Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sioux City, Iowa
Isaiah 2:1-5-"Neither Shall They Learn War Any More" David E. Cox, PhD
Sisters and Brothers in Christ, God's Beloved People, Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Amen
It was April of 1964. My family and I were on one of our Spring trips to my Grandmother Mary's home in Ocean Grove, NJ. My parents were-as was their pattern and custom! - cramming in just about every cultural and historical site one could see. We had been to Washington DC, and had a tour of numerous buildings and memorials. We had visited battlefields, and sites important to the founding of our country. We even took in the New York World's Fair. On one of those days in New York, we went to the Empire State Building, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and the United Nations. I remember standing at the United Nations, and seeing on the main building wall a set of words. My father stood by me as I read them aloud: "He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."
I asked my father-"What does that mean? They shall learn war no more?" Do you remember the times? The 1962 October Missile crisis with Cuba made Americans giddy, but then President Kennedy had been assassinated in November of 1963. Issues in South East Asia were escalating. The world was in a tumult for a nine-year old. Dad, ever patient on these types of things, said to me, "Davy: these are words from one of the Hebrew Prophets. They point to a day for all the peoples in the world when issues will be worked out, and wars will cease." "Will that ever happen, Dad? Will there ever be a time when people will learn war no more?" I asked. Dad sighed, and looked at me, and said, "I don't really know...but we can always hope so, Davy. We can always hope for it, pray for it, and look for it to be so." Those words have stuck with me for many years. At different times and places I have remembered my father's words, as well Isaiah 2.
It was August of 1972. I had been studying abroad in France for a summer session at a Grand Lycee—what we would call a Prep School—and was on a trip home. As a supplement to our studies, we were given the nickel tour of France and England. While in London a day before we returned to the States I experienced a moment of introspection. On the bus, the tour guide pointed out all the sights...Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus. But at one point, a traffic accident cropped up, and the bus driver decided to take an alternative route. We went into what one might first mistake as a tough part of town. Gutted out buildings, blackened bricks, mounds of broken building materials were pushed up and on to sidewalks so the streets were clear. There were no people on these streets... strange for a city. And the tour guide was uncharacteristically silent. After we got back to an area of people, and traffic, the tour guide apologized to us. His voice held a sense of shock, and deep emotions. "We just went through a part of London that has not been reclaimed yet from damage suffered during the Blitz in World War II. I am sorry you had to see that...lets go on to something more exciting." And I remembered the words of the prophet... "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." "When will we learn war no more?" I remember saying aloud. No one was there who had an answer.
It was November of 1973. Even though I had a draft number of 347, I decided to enlist in the Marine Reserve. I was slated for officer training in naval intelligence. I had been taught by my father that even though war was abhorrent, that also to work to no longer have war one at times must be willing to fight for peace. Yet even in this I wondered, and asked myself, "When will we learn war no more?"
It was the summer of 1979. I was doing archeological work in Israel. The tensions in the Middle East had escalated with organized PLO activity, especially after the Camp David accords. Digging close to the “so called” secret Israeli Air Defense Base in the Negev desert, we were frequently the imaginary targets for the helicopter and fighter pilots making dry, practice strafing runs. I remember one July morning eight of the then newly delivered Israeli F-15's going over us, filled to the gunnels with armaments, turning toward the Mediterranean Sea, and heading north by the sound of the sonic boom. In the span of 45 minutes these same F-15's returned, both squadrons of planes, but empty of armaments. The BBC reported that in a space of 7 minutes 21 Syrian MIG's were downed by the Israeli Air Defense over Lebanon, a report denied by Israel. I remember that same summer being knocked to the ground in East Jerusalem by PLO bombs detonating close enough for concrete chucks to land around my body, prone on the ground. I was saved from being stabbed and stoned from a mob of angry Palestinians as well in the streets of the "old city." I remember diving into an archeological ditches at Tell Dan in the far north, close to the convergence of the Israeli, Lebanon and Syria borders, while Israeli tanks and infantry responded to small arms fire attacking our site. And I remember, very distinctly, asking the question, "When will we learn war no more?"
It was January of 1987: a cold, drab, grey day. I remember on another trip to Israel going into the "demilitarized zone" between Israel and Syria, where United Nation's forces patrolled-and still patrol-to visit the town of Quinnetra. Quinnetra was at one time a town of about 10,000. Quinnetra fate was in having been situated in a militarily adventitious position between the Syrian and the Israeli controlled frontier. In the Yom Kippur War of the 70's, Quinnetra had been taken, and retaken by the opposing sides over 13 times in seven days. I have friends who fought in that zone, some with terrible injuries from phosphorus used in the battle. The people of Quinnetra simply could not take it. They moved away. All that is left even now are empty shells of buildings, marked by the shells that pot-marked the walls. When I stood in Quinnetra that January day, there was nothing but an eerie silence. Nothing was there, no animals, no people, no weeds or vegetation. Everything stood sterile from the absence of humanity, and the work of humanity. And the words of Jeremiah came to my mind: "I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked to the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and lo, there was no human, and all of the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and lo, the fruitful land had become a desert, and all of its cities were laid in ruins, before the Lord, before his fierce anger." I shouted the question to the cold north wind, "When will we learn war no more? When will we learn war no more?"
It was March of 1988. I was on a trip to Coventry, England, on a family holiday from St. Andrews University in Scotland. I stopped by the sight of one of the worst examples of human destruction and wrath on humanity during war: Coventry Cathedral. The Allied Intelligence services had broken the codes of the Germans during the Second World War, but did not want the Germans to know that this had happened. They needed to use this intelligence advantage at a crucial juncture of the war. A message that the town of Coventry -a wonderful garden city with little strategic value- was about to be bombed into nothing came through. Winston Churchill, knowing the importance of saving lives in the future invasion of Europe, had to make the decision not to warn the citizens that destruction was coming. Coventry Cathedral, and most of the town were caught up in a horrific firestorm of bombs falling in the night. In the morning amidst the destruction of Coventry, the wall like shell of the cathedral was all that remained. Hundreds of nails from the once glorious wooden ceiling and roof, built in the mediaeval period, scattered the floor. In the midst of the clean up, citizens of Coventry came together to erect a new altar where the old one had stood. Using the nails, the people made two words to give a message to anyone who would come and see the destruction. The words? "Father, Forgive." Standing there years later, the words erupted in my mind, my heart "And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore." "When, O God," I prayed, "when will we learn war no more?"
There have been many other moments since these incidents in your life and mine. We all have stories like these, where we have wondered if there would be a time, or if it was the time, that humanity could learn war no more? Do you remember the Berlin Wall coming down, and there was dancing all around the Brandenburg Gate of Berlin? The Soviet Bloc, the Warsaw Pact unraveled. And then there was the Gulf War, the first one. The breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and Bosnia, and ethnic cleansing. The unraveling of Middle and Eastern Europe by having poor infrastructure and even poorer economics. There was Yitzhak Rabin and Yassar Arafat together, trying for peace. And there was an assassinated Rabin, and a time of intafada. Kosovo, and its aftermath. There were the Wye River proposals, and then there was 9-11. There was Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and horrendous insurrections in the city streets and outer byways of Iraq. There was the death of Yassar Arafat, and continued offensives against insurgent sites in Afghanistan, in Fallujah, in Mosul, in Baghdad. There is the continued destabilization of these places, along with areas named Gaza, Myanrnar, Darfur, and Pakistan. The news gives us a teaser of information—Israel and Palestinians “might” continue peace talks. But, wait for it—then North and South Korea decide to shell each other over a disputed island, and our fears return.
There are some of us who have yellow ribbons on our cars that have been bleached white with the sun. We have prayed and prayed for our sons and daughters in harm's way; others of us wonder about security in a broken world, who out of a sense of faith, or frustration, or hope, or even despair cry, "When will we learn war no more!"
O God, when will it be? When, O God, when will this dream come true, this hope be fulfilled, this word of the Lord be revealed, realized, occur? For Lord, we know such a peace will not be able to be achieved by human effort. We know that something greater than our own selves must arbitrate the causes for conflict. We know that to "walk in the light of the Lord" means to trust God and light's power in the night, rather than our military might. Israel in Isaiah's time would not trust in you, but trusted in horse and chariot. We trust in things like Predators, F117 Nighthawks, B-1s, B-2’s, F24 stealth fighters and bombs that shower destruction through day and night. Something greater than ourselves is needed for us to destroy our weapons, and place trust beyond our own efforts. When will this peace come?
We wait, with the heart and faith of a child for the time when swords shall be beaten into plowshares. We wait, with the desire of a parent who wants wars to cease in the entire world. We wait, with the desire of the nations that no longer will one raise up weapons against another. We wait, looking for a sign. We wait, looking for the world to change. We wait, and wonder if God would create faith to replace the fear of our hearts. Will there be a time when we will trust that God will bring peace, and that we will learn war no more? Not only in the world, but within our families, our church, and within the dark recesses of our hearts?
God also waits. God waits for a people who will walk in the light of the Lord. God waits for a people who will trust beyond the comforts of this present age, and the false sense of security purchased by suppressing other nations, to trust in God above all things. God waits for us to stream to the city of God where a vision of peace was given, though it was rejected. God waits for us to have a king different than any the world could come up with, a king who entered Jerusalem on a donkey, the one who is the Prince of Peace. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
In the days to come—In the end of days—In God's time—all things will be made new. In God's time there will be a new heaven, a new earth. In God's time there will be a point where the people of God will learn to trust the light, instead of embrace the darkness. In God's time the dimly burning wick will not be quenched. In God's time, different in kind from ordinary time, the radical new light of God will dawn upon us. In witness to this promise, in witness to this hope, in witness to this longing beyond our abilities, we have as fools for Christ lighted a single candle. It burns in hope for the coming of God. It burns in protest against the power of the darkness. It burns as a light to awaken us from our worldly slumbers, our worldly pursuits of war. It burns, and calls for God to see, to hear our prayers, and to speak the gospel to our hearts that Christ does resurrect us.
Come let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths...He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many people’s; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
O house of Jacob, come-come let us walk in the light of the Lord. O people of God, come-come let us walk in the light of the Lord. O, Almighty and Merciful God, come-come and save our world, and make us new. For without you we can do nothing, and in you—in you alone—there is life and light. Amen.
October/November 2010
A Wittenberg Door Moment…
October 31, 2010 provides the 493rd anniversary of Dr Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door (October 31, 1517).
Remembering the 95 Theses on a yearly basis has been fundamentally an exercise of nostalgia—a remembrance of one of the family stories that allows for a small get together. But before we pass the German potato salad we need to stop and actually read these theses one more time. When that happens, nostalgia goes out the window. It is replaced by theological focus and evangelical mission.
Thesis one gives thought to the hopes of Luther: Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance. Repentance, or penitence, was the hope of Luther as he captured his thoughts regarding ecclesiastical teaching, polity and abuse. Luther was certain that such repentance was not solely within the administrative prevue of the clergy. Such repentance was being turned by God, both within the believer and then within the community. Such repentance was to produce the effect of humility, from which confession and reformation of life were the results due to the gift of the grace of God.
What happens when an idea catches the imagination? For Luther it was shocking. His 95 theses were intended as a basis for a theological debate, an academic exercise with the representatives of Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg. As the story goes, someone industriously read these words in Latin, translated them into German, and the Reformation was off to the races, beyond anyone’s wildest imaginings or control. German nationalism was also a spinoff activity, due to the unifying nature of opposing outside and affirming German thoughts and language for Germans. The one-time East German government recognized this day each year because it was for them the beginning of Modern Man, and the German Consciousness, embodied in a monk’s mallet pounding on a corrupt institutional doorway.
As I ponder the impact of such a seminal moment in the life of the greater church, I also consider the life of our ELCA post August 2009. The 2009 Minneapolis Assembly vote regarding Human Sexuality might appear as a micro moment causing a macro result—but it is no less seminal than the pounding of the 95 Theses on a church door. What was done in Minneapolis was nothing less than a statement of standing firmly in the grace of Almighty God in Christ. As the effects are still occurring from the sound of this statement being affirmed, the theological focus and evangelical mission of the church has shaken—and reaffirmed—in the midst of the synods and congregations of the ELCA. The bottom line is one where we are forced to consider whether or not God’s grace and reception of all sinners—sinners who are simultaneously saints by baptism into Christ Jesus—is stronger than the power of the church which has lock blocked the wheels of justice through moral piety.
A simple word study will allow us to ask this question: are 7 verses of law regarding homosexuality more important and powerful than 209 verses of God’s gracious love, God’s gift of righteousness by grace through faith? As faith and repentance and gospel power are not solely within the administrative prevue of the clergy, but are the gifts of God, how are we to consider this action of mercy and welcome by the Churchwide assembly? Is it possibly a moment of repentance for the violence we have inflicted on each other, a violence that somehow has moved us beyond the sight of compassion, community and commitment to the gospel?
I would suggest that the present time is one which resembles the evangelical fervor of the early Reformation. After Martin Luther tacked up those 95 Theses, he was embroiled with debates, writing, preaching and teaching that defended the gospel of grace as being the radical and wondrous work of God in Christ. There was much dissention, and great emotion in the conversation: in the end, however, the grace of God won the day for the “Lutherans.”
Is it time for us to consider this moment in time as another Wittenberg Door moment? If so, we are in need of remembering that first thesis of Martin Luther, and building upon its call for repentance and renew in the foundation of God’s grace. Moving on from the past, and looking forward to the future from a place of grace—this is the focus of our ministry in the present. And, perhaps instead of worrying about institutions as the greatest good, we need to take the time to create a vision for institutions to serve the greatest good, the radical gospel of Christ. Our piety, our worship, our prayers, our actions: all of these and more are to be centered in a posture of humility, but not one of weak resignation to the evils perpetrated within our greater Lutheran church family in the name of moral piety.
The gospel is our great heritage—a heritage that is always under assault without and within the church due to the posturing of self righteousness that poses as faith. I will rather live by faith in the word that alone can save, and alone is sufficient—the Word which proclaims and incarnates grace of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. “Though all the world with devils fill and threaten to devour us, we tremble not, we trust God’s will: they cannot overpower us. Though Satan rant and rage, in fiercest war engage, this tyrant’s doomed to fail; God’s judgment must prevail! One little word shall triumph[1]…”
[1] From an English translation of verse 3, Ein Feste Burg by Martin Luther; Frederick H. Hedge, 1805-1890; copyright 2006, Augsburg Fortress, ELW 505.
The philosopher John Stuart Mill is known for his defense of free speech as being a primary public good, essential within a democratic society. I have gleaned some information from his writings to provide a framework for this month’s offering in INSPECTUS. Mill writes:
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We have now recognized the necessity to the mental well-being of mankind (on which all their other well-being depends) of freedom of opinion, and freedom of the expression of opinion, on four distinct grounds; which we will now briefly recapitulate. |
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First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility. |
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Secondly, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied. |
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Thirdly, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds. And not only this, but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost, or enfeebled, and deprived of its vital effect on the character and conduct: the dogma becoming a mere formal profession, inefficacious for good, but cumbering the ground, and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction, from reason or personal experience. |
All too often in the church, especially within our public discourse, there is an underlying impression that speakers interacting with others embody an attitude of infallibility. Whether this occurs during debates in our Synodical or Churchwide Assemblies, or in the conversations of members within congregations, an assumed infallibility of a speaker will often cause good dialogue and conversation to cease.
I especially see this phenomena occurring in discussions where the Bible is being utilized as a part of the greater conversation. Being a Biblical Scholar, and an ordained Lutheran Pastor (ELCA), I of course uphold the importance of the Scriptures within theological, ethical, moral, or church polity discourse. As a stated norm and authority of faith and life the Scriptures are given a special place within our reflections and deliberations.
However, as the Bible becomes a part of such intentional discussion it can either be used to support the Body of Believers in their deliberations, or it can be used as a club to knock out ones opponents. Issues on the Bible’s authority become important to consider, especially if we consider the Scriptures to be inspired (God breathed) writings. I consider the Bible to have been a document created over the centuries by the community of the faithful, who chose what would and would not be within the “canon.” This document, as attested by Luther and other reformers, is certainly a place where the Christ is revealed in faith for faith. Luther reminds us that the Scriptures as we have received them are the “cradle in which the Christ Child lays,” implying that even in the inspired process of transmission that the Bible is the container wherein Christ may be found, but that the Bible is not to be worshipped as the Christ. Indeed, to consider that the living Word of God—Jesus Christ, incarnate Word—is limited to the Scriptures as being the only place to see God (what about the sacraments, or prayer, or worship, or service to the neighbor) creates an attitude called Bibliolatry (Bible Worship). Such a Bibliolatry would be idolatry, rather than an upholding of the faith. Indeed, the issues of Bibliolatry have caused much harm and devastation to the lives of the faithful in the church. Literalistic readings of the Scriptures, with no room for interpretation by the lens of God’s grace in Christ or the gospel word of salvation solely by God’s grace through faith in Christ, have caused more arguments than blessings, and have sullied the name of Christ in the process.
When we read the Scriptures as the means to support our own personal biases or prejudices we negate the hope we hold in the promise of the gospel. In such activity not only do we use the Bible to support ourselves (rather than allowing the Scriptures to seep into our hearts and teach us the love of God and neighbor) but to justify a practice of turning into ourselves and creating a position of infallibility that neither the Scriptures nor God intended.
This is where Mill is important in helping us. When we uphold an ideology other than the gospel word of promise, love and life in Christ Jesus our Lord, we create a forum for falsehood to be exalted, rather than a place for truth. We paint ourselves into a corner from which we cannot reconsider, and cause destruction no matter where we step. In reading the Scriptures there is a need to read them from a position of fluency in their concepts, themes, cultural context, and inter-contextual vision. It is not helpful for any of us to consider that, beyond the proclamation of the gospel word of freedom, forgiveness and life, that we have the ONLY word allowable. To do so is to take infallibility upon ourselves, and foist opinions on others that have more to do with our foibles and fears than the truth of God.
For the purposes of respectful, reflective and deep consideration of the Scriptures, the image of the rabbi’s in seeing the text as a rare jewel that has numerous facets—thus showing light in numerous refractions—is important to consider. These facets of light are the sharing of insights into the text, conversing about them, being subject to their work upon our community hearts though prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To consider that we may have the last word or the only word that could be considered is already stepping along the path toward personal infallibility. The four points of Mill become important in our discourse and discussion, so that there is no repression of opinion, but an open dialogue where we are all willing to consider, think, pray and ponder.
Only as the community of the faithful guided the Holy Spirit, centered around Word and Sacrament, and intent on uplifting and interacting with the neighbor can we even come close to interpreting the words given to us in the Scriptures for this place and time. When this happens the word of God is indeed the viva voce, the living voice of God. When this happens the voice of God becomes living in us, present in our faith and life, rather than dead words from a dusty past that may not provide guidance and strength in these times. Mill, as he gives pointers to us about free speech, open discourse, the discernment of truth, and the need for not losing the doctrine of our lives—as the church most specifically being the gospel—grants us insight into the power of the openness of information, community interaction, and the vitality of the insights to give power to our character and conduct as a community of grace and faith. We need to choose to foster such openness and interaction, not suppress it out of a sense of censorship or fear.
June 6, 2010
St Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sioux City, Iowa
David E. Cox, PhD
Sisters and brothers in Christ, Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who came to set us free and give us life abundant and eternal. Amen.
There was once a lady who was a regular attendee of church, who resided just off Morningside Avenue… Her name was Sandra Susan Stieglitz. She always came in her Sunday best, and had a special seat in the church. From her pew she could keep her eyes on the altar, see the pulpit well, and know what the musician was doing during those times when they were not required to sit at the instrument bench. She liked getting to church about 5 minutes before the service started, so people could see her hat and clothes for that Sunday, and of course to see the way she took care of herself. Besides, her purse cost money (let alone what was in it) with the monogrammed SSS in beautiful script.
Now, Ms. Triple S never sang the service with vigor or loud sound, but with appropriate and polite Lutheran involvement. She read her bulletin with a red marker in hand—always sending the bulletin to the office whenever there was a mistake, or things were simply not perfect. While the lessons were read, she watched with deep piety, and listened with “trap like” attention. Every time a person seemed to slur a word, or mispronounce a word, or simply did not read well, her mind made a mark against their name.
Sandra Susan Stieglitz liked being noticed and liked paying attention. She, you see, considered herself to be the witness of a perfect Christian. She considered herself the one all others should use to imitate. It was her duty, her purpose. She rarely uttered a sound, but she had a vivid and active mind and heart. She never seemed to stop talking to herself. And this talking to herself was often in her mind the same as talking to God.
“Look at old Annalee up there. My, she does seem to need help—she never seems to get it when choosing clothes that you don’t mix those two types of red together… Ah, there is that “man” over there. I wish he wouldn’t sit there, because I always have to look at the back of his head, though perhaps that is better than looking at the front of him… Marlene and Liz: those two should sit farther apart. Don’t they realize that we all know about them renting a house together? … I wonder: will that young man over there ever get his children in line? Children should be seen and not heard—I am certain that Jesus said so! Otherwise, how could we listen to the preacher… and we all know that he sure needs ever bit of help he can get, my oh my… Hey, there is Donna… I wonder how she feels after getting her unpaid parking ticket printed up in the Sioux City Journal?”
On and on it went inside the mind of Sandra Susan Stieglitz. It was her Sunday morning ritual. She was very thankful that she was not like one of those people, people who seemed to huddle in church seeking salvation though they didn’t deserve it, or by crying for mercy and forgiveness. Sandra Susan Stieglitz’ God knew her heart, and knew she was righteous… “God, thank you very much that I am who I am—saved and showing it in every action I do.”
Yet, today there was something different. Something started to really upset her. That minister – one of those Intentional Interims, whatever that was, must have been moving the furniture around again… and he had moved the baptismal font, and the Christ Candle, and the Processional Cross—all three!—right into the center of the steps. And if that wasn’t terrible, he cut off the perfect view Sandra Susan Stieglitz had of the altar, and the Musician. What bother! Did that fool not know that we put things like that off to the side, and out of the way! Those things are in the way of my line of sight. They are in the way of the altar! They are not where I want them to be! Note to self—write a note to the Congregational President. That pastor is simply acting with too much freedom. And look… he has sandals on today.
Sandra Susan Stieglitz was beginning to squirm in her pew… and she was upset within in her perfect world. And that simply, simply cannot happen, neither will it do. Looking at the bulletin, there was also an Alternative Service for Communion. Ugh. And out of that new, Cranberry Colored hymn book. My goodness: if the liturgy was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for us. Sometimes I think the pastor is acting like a Catholic, sometimes like a Methodist. I do wish he would settle into where I think he ought to be.
The service began with a confession of “sorts”… and hymns were chosen for a hymn sing, and then children came forward for a Children’s message. The scriptures were read, but by a seventh grader of all things. Quite unsatisfactory, Sandra Susan Stieglitz said, even if the child is reading “reasonably” well. Elijah and a dead child… humph, not much in that reading. The responsorial psalm... “You shall turn my mourning into dancing,” not today, thank you very much. Galatians 1… Paul sounds angry about something, oh well. Ok, the gospel, stand up… St Luke…Glory to you, O Lord. Another widow… at Nain… Jesus sees her…dead son… touches the bier… the son is raised up, alive… the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. Everyone sits down, except the preacher… and he starts his sermon.
“You may have noticed some things have been moved around today,” the preacher began. “I moved the baptismal font, the Christ Candle and the Processional Cross to the steps leading up to the altar. I moved them here to illustrate a point from the Second Reading we heard read today. That is the reading upon which I have based my sermon.” Sandra Susan Stieglitz leans back in the pew, and looks to the fan in the ceiling, and complains quietly… “Well why then didn’t he just forget the gospel reading? Now I have to open the pew bible… really!”
“The placement of these items at the steps reveals the purpose of our mission as Christ’s church in the world. Don’t worry… I will move them back to their places by next week, safe and sound. But I have them in a central place today to bring to focus how we are welcomed to be God’s people, and how we are called to come to the altar for communion.”
Sandra Susan Stieglitz wrinkles her nose. After all, Ms Triple S is a charter member of this church, as were her parents and grandparents. “I come to the altar because of being a holy person, as well as my checkbook,” she mused. “I think pastor ought to have put offering plates on a table in that line-up on the steps. A copy of the 10 Commandments might not hurt either—I wonder if the pastor could even recite them if he had to in front of God. I know that I can!”
The preacher continues: “Paul is mad about what had happened at the Galatian congregation. He abandons the standard word of thanksgiving to God and immediately turns to confront them. Paul is amazed that the Galatians had turned away from the gospel he had presented to them. It wasn’t that they reverted to their pre-conversion beliefs. They had been swept off their feet by a new set of preachers who were much more like Jewish fundamentalists than Paul. These newcomers upheld scripture literalistically and so insisted that the Galatian Christians must be circumcised, as Genesis 17 requires. They saw Paul's mission—which excused Gentiles from circumcision—as a sell-out of the truth. Paul was making faith far too easy. No wonder he was successful - all those God-fearers sitting up the back of the synagogue holding out against being circumcised could all jump down and join. It was a coup for Paul's mission, but they saw it as a betrayal both of scripture and of Israel. To Paul their approach is anathema - a real curse, as it still is in Christianity today, though we are generally more polite.”
Sandra Susan Stieglitz thought, “I think that those folks Paul is talking about are right… I mean, really: if Paul is abandoning scripture, betraying Israel, then he must be committing apostasy! And all for this “gospel” business: How do you then approach scripture if you are not going to accept all of it? Won't abandoning rules lead to lax behavior and moral disaster? What basis is there in the biblical tradition for arguing that only faith and grace matter? Better to simply “like” Jesus and try to keep the law—at least then God will know that I have the right intentions.”
The preacher continued to speak—“This gospel that Paul was preaching was not based on fulfilling the law, but on believing in Christ—and upon Christ alone for salvation. The folks who came after Paul confused the Galatians into believing that they had to “do” or “contribute” to being saved if they had any hope of eternal life.”
“We are all sinners gathered together in this room, in need of a savior,” the preacher remarked. “There is no one here today, in this room or anywhere else on this planet who has earned the right to come to the altar by their works, or by being a charter member of a church, or by being a strict keeper of the law. In fact, those who think that they can merit God’s love and forgiveness by keeping the law have not trusted in the gospel. Nothing in your hand do you bring—simply to the cross must all cling! The gospel is rooted in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And we have been joined into the death and resurrection of Christ by God’s grace and mercy through our Baptism into Christ. There is one way to journey from the pew to the altar, and it is right here on these steps. Through Baptism, through the Light of Christ, through the Cross we are given entrance to the altar. Some of you might even think that these things are in the way of the altar—I tell you they are the way to the altar of God, and they are all gift—by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Do you see these things—they represent the choice of God to give you life, believing in the amazing grace of God through Christ Jesus.”
Sandra Susan Stieglitz struggled in the pew at these words. These words just did not “fit” for her. These words implied something different than what she had believed for her life time. “Yes, Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so” she thought, “but that is because I am one of those who has worked at being the witness for Christ that I am! I have kept all of the commandments of God, all my life long. I am a good Christian. What does God want from me?
“Baptism is the God’s great welcome into the faith of the church, into the faith in Christ we hold. Christ in us moves our hearts to life, to hope in God’s promises, to believing in the gospel word that by grace through faith we are saved. None of us can hope to fulfill God’s Law. In fact, if we want to base our salvation on this we are dead in our trespasses, and will be dead in our sins, rather than alive in Christ. Our hope is in Christ and Christ alone. That is why Paul, in our text today rails against those who insist that the believers in Galatia must become Jewish before they become Christian. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And this is a gift—a pure gift given to transform us by the Holy Spirit of God sent by Christ.”
Sandra Susan Stieglitz sat amazed: could what she was hearing be true? “There must be something that I “do” to be saved? God simply gives salvation to us, by a little bit of water and the words ‘In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit?’ God gives us the Holy Spirit—even if we don’t know it, since we are children—so that we might come to believe, come to be transformed? Listen buddy, I am in charge here! If it weren’t for me this church wouldn’t even be here… God expects me to do certain things here, or I will not be saved. Saved by grace through faith—and faith is God’s gift! That leaves “me” out, doesn’t it—and leaves it in the hands of God?”
The preacher said: “God has given us this gospel to uphold over against any other—the gospel that Jesus Christ died for sinners and that Jesus Christ seeks the lost. Jesus Christ tells us that he is the way, the truth and the life. God is in charge of our salvation, and is the hope we hold on to for life eternal. God comes in Christ—for you. For you in bread and wine; for you in life and death; for you always and forever. For you as you believe on the promises of God. As you confess your faith and your life is in Christ Jesus, you know that you are saved by God’s grace, and God’s grace alone. Salvation isn’t something you can produce; it isn’t about fulfilling the law or whether you are circumcised or not; Salvation is not about pointing to your “good person” list, or that you think God loves you more than others. The gospel is this: when you and I were still sinners, Christ still died for us… and even now, welcomes you into the Kingdom of Heaven. God in Jesus did not die and rise from the dead to make ‘bad’ people somehow ‘good’ people. God in Jesus died and rose from the dead to take each and every one of us from death to life. Jesus died to make the dead alive—to make you alive. God loves you whether you like it or not… and wants faith to grow in you. That is why these three things are on the steps—and that, in short, is the gospel we uphold and proclaim in our church. Amen.”
The hymn was announced, and the congregation stood to sing, Ms. Triple S remained in her pew, dressed to the nines, ready to judge the world around her. But for one small moment, she wondered—is that word, the gospel word—is that what I am to be about? Not by judging, not by acting righteous in myself, but trusting by faith in the grace of God? Can the Apostle Paul be right in claiming that the Gospel given to us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ? Is this most certainly true?
And as the Hymn of the Day was sung, the prayers offered, and communion was made ready for all to eat and drink, Sandra Susan Stieglitz wondered if this gospel word could truly be enough: “that Font, that Light, that Cross… is that all sufficient? Is that what God does to save—and is it really all gift?”
Sisters and Brothers in Christ: You bet your life it is—and so do I. For you and I will stand on the last day—God will raise us up, and if we have a word to speak at the Great Judgment seat, if we are asked why God should allow us into the Kingdom of Heaven, it will be this: “By your grace, Gracious Father, for by grace through faith in Jesus Christ I believe.” So with Luther we declare: “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian Church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.” Amen, and amen.
As I pray, think, and consider the faith of Christ—and how that faith becomes a part of my life by God's free act of grace—I often come to a point of confession. The point of confession occurs when the totalities of my experiences are the sole or only criterion for decisions made and carried out.
In each situation I find myself in interim ministry, personal life, or interaction with others, the one constant that I can count on being present is “me, myself and I.” I am the one who is the constant. And I am the one who brings such a perspective to interactions. At times this is nothing more than Luther’s observation of being “incorvatu se,” or turned in on one’s self. At other times, however, there is a moment where the experiences do involve being in interaction or community with others—a community, I pray, based in Christ Jesus.
Now, I think I am bright enough to realize that the sign over Carl Jung’s Garden, “bidden or unbidden, God is present,” is a truism. The question remains, however, how God’s presence changes the situation, changes the brokenness of the world, and changes the outcome of others. I see God’s presence moving in these ways, in these actions within the world. Of course God is present in the breaking of the bread, the pouring of wine and water, and the prayers, reflection, and study of Scripture. Of course God is present in the midst of our communities of faith, and in the lives of the creation. But the point of this discourse comes from the desire that God be in me, with me, under and around me. And this is not something that simply is for my benefit. This is for the benefit of Christ’s body, the church. And the wholeness of this body is the desire of my heart. And I also believe that the wholeness of the Body of Christ for the sake of the world, especially as it interacts and lives within this existence, is the desire of the greatest relationship of community and grace in the universe, the Triune God.
I find that most often our conversations go off center, or off point, when we desire to hold that which we consider “holy” as the most important thing, rather than standing in the presence of God for God’s own purposes. Along with the taste of the bread and the wine, and the washing of water and the word, standing in the presence of God as life in its complete interaction whirls and moves about us is as close to heaven and its wonders as I will ever be in this creation. It is standing in the presence and the reality of the holy that gives me more than wonder, but also illumination. Such illumination is beyond my intellect, power or strength. It is a gift of God, granted to bring life and hope to the church. Such gifts are holy, trustworthy and true—beyond positions of absolutist posturing of the “only meaning” of a bible verse, or the moral piety of those who think that their insights are the sole interpretation of right and wrong.
You see, along with the grace of God that moves within and around me, I have been carefully taught. Taught to distrust the other. Taught to distrust anything that is not like me. Homogeniality, and being one with the other has been taught as being uniform in my opinions, my attitudes, and my actions with others expectations in the community. How funny it is then that homosexuality brings out such powerful angst and emotional turmoil when it exists? We want homogeniality—but why? Perhaps because we receive a sense of safety in numbers, or safety in sameness… and being, well, mostly heterosexual in the church and the creation we attempt to force others into that which is our experience.
So many questions fill my mind. Why do we cry out against those who are different in creation? Is it not possible, if some are homosexual, and some are heterosexual, that God might have been involved in the creation of these, and then sexuality, as a divine gift might need to be reexamined? Is the requirement of acting in a certain way, when it is a demand, a condemnation, a forced contrivance—is that not violence against the created order? Though for some there may be choice involved, I consider one’s sexual orientation to be a given more than a chosen awareness. How does this change the conversation? And, even after all of these thoughts, what happens when the community of God attempts to provide the entrance of others for the sake of the gospel—an action of gift, rather than entitlement or earned action—and then we set up one sin as the litmus test beyond all others?
As I began, I said I desired to find the center. I must admit that this is something I cannot find on my own. For my actions and abilities are too limited, and the desire is too illusive for my human self. The center is only provided by the Holy Spirit, sent to those who have been named, claimed, and called to life. The center comes when this Holy Spirit is poured into our hearts, and eaten and drunk as a moment of deep and concentrated grace. The center is received, not accepted; given, not taken; offered freely, not purchased by some coin of morality. Yet, if we as community cannot agree on these simply profound things, how can we ever come to a point of standing in God’s grace—especially if we consider this grace something we have to control, lest it let in those beyond our vision of life?
Oh, “love one another even as I have loved you,” Jesus asks. “Do not call profane anything that I have made” Peter is told by God. “Behold, I make all things new,” says the Alpha and Omega. Do we believe such words? Do we want such words to be a part of our discussion? Or even do we want to realize that God wants newness to move us to even greater places of faith, life and the dominion of God?
Christ as center is a position we do not hold as church, save in our declarations of faith… for when Christ is center, there is no room for us to push Christ aside… And if, the faces of our sisters and brothers of the faith are the face of Christ among us, then are we pushing Christ aside when we forget to love those who come to hear this word of salvation? One Lord, one faith, one baptism… I sense this is to what we are called to proclaim. Christ dead and risen and ascended… I sense this is what we are called to proclaim. The Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts, giving us gifts and fruit and life… I sense this is what we are called to proclaim. Is all else simply subsequent to these words? Or, have we done (which I fear we have done) something truly abominable, truly abhorrent, and truly an abomination—preach a gospel dependant on our own specific moral codes and piety…
Christ, I pray, in this and all things come and take the center of me, of us, of your church, and of your world… for I fear that beyond this we will work toward death, rather than life.
Whereas, we believe that the church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and our wisdom, our righteousness, sanctification and redemption; and
Whereas, we are called by the Holy Spirit to become a part of this body of faith by baptism in the Triune Name of God, and are claimed, named and marked as Christ’s own people forever; and
Whereas, as a church we affirm the Bible as interpreted by the Lutheran Confessions, declaring that we are justified in God’s sight not by works of the law, but by God’s grace appropriated by faith in our Lord Jesus; and
Whereas, as a part of the Lutheran Movement and Confession within the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church we have for centuries upheld a tradition of debate, the respect of “bound conscience,” and unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace, publicly affirming as the gospel Christ Jesus is our Lord and Savior, who calls us to seek reform and understanding as the church of Christ amidst our diversity within this creation; and
Whereas, in the words of the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we declare that we who were once far off from God “have been brought near in the blood of Christ, who is our peace… in his flesh having made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us…by his very presence reconciling us both to God in one body through the cross… and that we are fellow members with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;” and
Whereas, we continue to uphold this message which we received, and in which we stand as a church in all of its expressions within the world, a message central to our understanding of salvation; be it
Resolved, within the 2010 assembly as the Western Iowa Synod of the
Resolved, and that this unity binds us together in service and support for all expressions of the ELCA, and calls the congregations of this synod and the ELCA to continued and increasing financial support of our ministry together; and be it further
Resolved, that we uphold the congregations and pastors of the Western Iowa Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and the churchwide expression of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, through our communal defense and support of the neighbor, speaking well of others, defending each other in our differences, and affirming our unity in the midst of diversity as the gift of God in Christ Jesus; and be it
Resolved, that as a sign of our unity in Christ we sing together in assembly the hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation,” to remind both us and the world of our common relationship in Jesus Christ, as well as our loyalty and faithfulness in the gospel and Theology of the Cross which binds us together; and be it further
Resolved, that we encourage the Western Iowa Synod to communicate this action to the ELCA Church Council, asking the ELCA Church Council to offer this resolution to other ELCA congregational and synod councils, so to reaffirm our unity in Christ through resolutions, worship, prayer and increased financial giving as we join together in the mission and ministry of Christ in the world.
April 2010 Article submitted by Pastor Mark Groves, Mission Developer, New Life Lutheran Church, Sgt. Bluff, Iowa
From the Dumpster to the Cross
On Monday I was driving down the street and I found myself behind a garbage truck that had pulled out of a church parking lot. As I followed it down the street my eye caught something sticking out from under the scoop that pushes the trash into the large compactor in the back of the truck. Sticking out of that garbage truck was a bunch of palms that must have been thrown into the church dumpster that the truck just emptied. It made think that not much has changed in two thousand years since Jesus enter Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday.
When Jesus finally arrived on his last journey to the holy city, the people of Israel had been waiting for centuries for the promised liberator; their new king. They were exhausted from the centuries of conquerors and occupiers in their land, as well as exile, oppression and slavery. They had heard about Jesus and how he'd healed the sick and the lame, spent time with the least and the lost, his powerful teachings and the way he stood up to the religious that kept those who desired faith at bay and powerless.
So, when the day finally came they lined the streets to welcome Jesus, carpeted his path with their coats and waved palms as a sign of honor and celebration as he entered Jerusalem. And when the parade was over, they threw the palms in the trash and turned to crucify him... and so do we.
On Sunday past we waved our palms in the air and then threw them into the dumpster and began to prepare ourselves for the Easter celebration to come, when we will shout with joy, "Christ has risen!" Unlike those long ago who celebrated as they witnessed Jesus' entrance into the city, we know what is to come; the supper and his promise of new life in his body and blood; his arrest; his trial; his scourging and his suffering on the cross.
They yelled "crucify him" out of disappointment, fear and hate - we do so out of hope and gratitude for His sacrifice. Yet, we cannot do so if our journey ends at the dumpster.
Had the first followers of Jesus skipped from Palm Sunday to Easter, they would've never heard his words of promise in the meal, they would've never known the darkness of Friday and the Day of Resurrection would've revealed nothing; meant nothing.
So step away from the dumpster and do not look past the journey for we are not there yet. Turn toward Jerusalem as we walk through this Holy Week to the Three Days to come. And though you may know how the journey ends, as His follower, you cannot know the hope of the Resurrection, the power of the Cross and the promise of faith until you see with your own eyes; Christ, broken and lifted up in glory - for you.
Theses Reflections… regarding the need for Inclusivity, Diversity, and the Reform within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America implicated by the Human Sexuality Study proposed to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in August.
As God’s people, we have been allowed to be in relationship with God in Christ Jesus through our baptism into the name of the Triune God.
We are washed with water and called by name, marked with the Cross of Christ forever, and we become God’s people. This is what saves us, as those who are simultaneously saints and sinners, held redeemed solely through the claim of God in Christ.
This Baptismal Grace is something offered by God, received by faith, and as a covenant in Christ an irrevocable gift to the people who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.[1]
This Baptismal Grace is not something to be revoked by the church through moral statements or impositions of morality. Such moral piety is shallow, thinking that the church might rescind the gift of God due to its attitudes in any given generation, circumstance or social statement position.
Baptism invites us into the life of Christ: this life is abundant and eternal, and is a life that transforms us: from death to life; the disunity of sin to the unity of community in Christ; and moves us from a life of self to death of self that Christ might be our life and light.
Christ has declared a new way of life, where there are no longer Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, male and female, but all are one in Christ. There are no outsiders—for all have been made insiders through the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. This inclusivity of insiders through Christ means that there are no longer black, or white, or brown, or red, or yellow; there are no longer Palestinian and Israeli, French and German, English and Italian, Buddhist and Hindu and Muslim and Roman Catholic and Jew and Lutheran and Universalist and Baptist; there are no longer rich and poor, or gay and straight, or heterosexual or homosexual, nor classes, nor voiceless, nor insignificant… but all are one in Christ Jesus.
Desmond Tutu said it well: “The truth is that we need each other. We cannot survive and thrive without one another… a person is a person through other persons…set in a delicate network of interdependence with our fellow human beings and with the rest of God’s creation.[2]”
Our attitudes on diversity and inclusiveness as a church are not dependant upon either affirmative action “liberalism,” or some kind of “political correctness” doublespeak, or some present day secular relativism that negates previous attitudes. Our attitudes on diversity and inclusiveness as a church reach to the ministry of Jesus Christ, who used the pattern of “compassion, community and commitment” as the basis of evangelism and salvation. If previous attitudes are changed, these are changed by a reading of scripture, prayer, and insight given by the Holy Spirit alive within the church. Through this Jesus intentionally crossed the boundaries previously maintained by the law, so that grace might abound in those who could not fulfill the law, and to bring in the entire world to a relationship of grace in Christ.
Jesus’ pattern is to include, rather than to exclude. The Holy Spirit confirmed this in the inclusion of those in Cornelius’s Household (Acts 10), and in the gift of the Holy Spirit being present with the churches of
The church finds its heart in service to the mission of the gospel, and service to the welcome of Christ for life, shalom, and renewal. When the church acts in ways that do not support the ministry of Christ, becoming oppressive with the world, it has need for reformation and repentance, just as individual Christians continually need to live a life of penance.
Assimilation to one set of expectations, so to create an artificial state of purity, is antithetical to the unity we experience in Christ. In the progression of the scriptures, “Purity” as known in the Holiness and Purity Codes of the Pentateuch is often corrected and superceded by the call of the prophets to “Justice.” Justice is often interpreted and superceded by the call of Christ to Compassion, which is the means to create community and prompt commitment.
“Assimilation and Domination” are the old Adam/Eve mechanisms to force artificial unity. Even as Christ prayed “that we might all be one, even as Jesus and God are one,” this oneness was achievable only through the death and resurrection of Christ, not some moral adjustment or imposed new regulation of law. The one law that is given in the New Testament which is truly new is that “We love one another as Christ has loved us.”
Unity in Christ is gift, not accomplishment. Unity is not unity when one group of individuals manipulate with calls for the “unity for the sake of the church” when said actions actually exclude, marginalize, and dehumanize others. Unity which is not received as gift is domination for the sake of some over against others.
Unity is unable to embrace exclusion, because these are incongruent concepts. Indeed, when unity is held up as the most important concept of all, over against the all for whom Christ died, we make unity an idol no different than the golden calf of Exodus, and we worship false Gods for the sake of seeming magnanimous. Such actions are idolatry, as well as fail to love ones neighbor as ones own self because bigotry is exalted as holiness.
Since Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and to eat and drink and live with publicans and sinners, why do we choose to cater to those who are Pharisaical among us, with the price being the exclusion of those very ones for whom Jesus showed particular care? Jesus did not seek for the exclusion of sinners, but instead was at odds with the Pharisees for misunderstanding the word of God and destroying the greater community of Abraham and
God detests the exclusion of others, and in Christ comes to draw all people unto God’s own self. My neighbor includes those whom I do not like, do not trust, and do not wish to recognize—for the face of Christ is seen on the face of all who are made in the image of God.
It is one thing to be heterosexual, and another to be a heterosexist. The first is not a preference, but an orientation; the second is the attitude of forcing others to exhibit life and living in a manner that excludes the inner nature of a human, demanding unity and uniformity for the express purpose of repressing reality.
Heterosexuals and Homosexuals are both in need of grace, and stand simul justis et peccator—simultaneously saints and sinners, both needing Christ and claimed by Christ in Baptism.
Systems theory has given the perspective of the church, both in its congregational and greater constituency manifestations, as being systems which work toward survival and internal stability. Actions of justice, or of reconciliation, or of renewal, are hardest for church systems to embrace and address, since such conversations are often perceived as threatening the survival or stability of the system in place. The system becomes the dominant and pervasive attitude of its members, and becomes anxious when other influences and concerns are presented that might change the “status quo” of the system.
Each system has a sense of its inner workings, even if these inner workings are not discussed or detailed in an open manner. Often such inner workings become a quasi “spirituality” when addressed and revealed within church systems.
A quote from Walter Wink gives a perspective of dealing with the powers of the world as they affect the inner core and spirituality of institutions and therefore systems: “The Powers That Be are not, then, simply people and their institutions, as I had first thought; they also include the spirituality at the core of those institutions and structures. If we want to change those systems, we have to address not only their outer forms, but their inner spirit as well.[3]”
I assert that to revoke or to deny passage of the whole Human Sexuality Document because we are in disagreement with certain sentences or sentiments detailed within the document treats the heart of Lutheran Theology and its voice within the Church catholic as being false rather than true. We should affirm what is worthy of affirmation.
One might amend anything—but to refuse to adopt the document because of a minimal number of lines, rather than attempt to amend the document—shows a depth of misunderstanding and recalcitrance.
I sense that the ELCA, and all of us as members of this institution, have a great deal of work to do within the various expressions of the church as we attempt to discuss and implement the Human Sexuality Document… but its passage has more to do with a Theology of the Cross than is normally declared.
[1] Martin Luther, The Small Catechism, 1528. Translation of the original German into English is found in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) Pew Edition, Minneapolis, MN, Augsburg Fortress Publishers; Copyright 2006, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; page 1162: “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.”
[2] Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for our Time (
[3] Walter Wink, The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium (New York: Doubleday, 1998), page 4.
Biblical Fluency Required
Perhaps like me you, dear reader, are perplexed by the lack of Biblical knowledge, culture, and the devotional interaction between the Bible and members of the church these days.
Certainly, Biblical “Illiteracy” is something which is bothersome and debilitating. It has forced me to change my approach to preaching and teaching. I can no longer assume that the central stories, teachings, and parables of Jesus are known by those in attendance. Perhaps that is also good—that I cannot assume any familiarity—in that the task of making Christ known starts at the beginning, Baptism, and moves through the Scriptures carefully, contextually, and with a depth filled reading of Scripture.
My concern, however, is not simply the status of Biblical “Illiteracy:” there is also a problem with folks who have some Biblical Literacy, but have not delved deeply into the central story of the Scriptures, the grace of God in Christ. Too many times I have found folks who are reading the Scriptures as if they were a cook book for life, reading into the text whatever they wish, as long as it justifies a favorite behavior, a specific judgmental attitude, or personal fetish. Such times promote the attitude of having a “Paper Pope,” rather than a living conversation with the words of the faithful from times past. And, unfortunately, there is also the danger of “worshipping the Bible” rather than the God who is revealed within the Scriptures: such Bibliolatry is an insidious idolatry, replacing the God of Grace with a “Paper Pope.”
Martin Luther was clear in his understanding the Scriptures as being “the cradle/manger wherein the Christ Child lays.” The Scriptures are where we find the Christ, and yet in them there are also places where there is straw, or things other than Christ, and we must diligently seek Christ. Luther, in attempting to bring out understanding from the ancient texts, rather than from ourselves, quotes Hilary as being a guide to translating and receiving illumination from the texts (Hilary, De Trinitate, I, 18, says: “The best reader is the one who looks for the understanding of the words from the words themselves, rather than imposing his own understanding, and takes something out, rather than bringing something in, and does not force the words to seem to contain what he had assumed must be understood before reading.”[1] )
Ask yourself the question: How often do we force the English text to say things that are not implied by the Hebrew or the Greek text, so to make our points appear meet, right and salutary? All of us are guilty of “i-segesis” from time to time, but must we encourage such practice as an acceptable norm in our decision making, thus denying the textual considerations? The issue for me is that we want to tell the text what it should tell us, rather than using the lens of God’s grace to help us see the text in its richness.
So, is there a better way to approach such concerns and issues—Biblical Illiteracy or limited Biblical Literacy? Yes, I believe there is: Biblical Fluency. Biblical Fluency is required among the faithful, a fluency that reads the scriptures in context with other scriptures, and has the ability to come to a deeper reading of the texts with the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.
In the midst of my considerations on this topic of Biblical Fluency, I came across comments from Leslie Dixon Weatherhead (1893-1976), the onetime Pastor of Temple Church in London during the middle of the Twentieth Century. These remarks are from his sermons: "I reject unchecked subjectivism as the authority in religion. No one can suppose that the final authority in religion is what the individual happens to think is true, unless their decision is preceded by long meditation, the weighing of all the available evidence and prayer for guidance.…For myself, I refuse mentally to close the canon as if inspiration had run out! Why should we follow traditional thought more than modern thought? We must resolutely refuse to judge Jesus by the Bible. We must judge the Bible by Jesus; by the total effect of a consistent personality made upon us from all sources, including our own experience."
We must judge the Scriptures by Jesus, not the other way around… that sounds much like Luther, and the Reformers, who insisted in the Augsburg Confession, the Apology, and the Formula of Concord that justification by grace through faith in Christ is the lens through which we understand the faith, life, and proclamation of the church.
To approach such a mature reading of the scriptures, and to consider our faith in a manner that rightly holds the Scriptures with respect, we need to bring prayer, meditation, study, and reason to bear. This allows for the possibility for the Bible to communicate to us in the present, becoming a path to the living word within our hearts and lives—and by that I mean Jesus Christ incarnate within the church community of baptized believers—we need Biblical Fluency more than the simple ability to quote this or that Scriptural reference.
In our preaching, our teaching, and our living, Biblical Fluency is a necessary part of the process of faith seeking understanding and purpose. As we worship, receive the Sacraments, and sit at the feet of Jesus, we are invited and welcomed to know the One who makes all things new. And this comes by the pure grace of God in Christ, who calls us to life, and names us as God’s own people.
We need our members to immerse themselves in the Scriptural record, seeking familiarity and a level of literacy: but most essential is to come to a point of Biblical Fluency.
David E. Cox, PhD
Easter Season, 2010 AD
[1]Luther, Martin: Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (Hrsg.) ; Oswald, Hilton C. (Hrsg.) ; Lehmann, Helmut T. (Hrsg.): Luther's Works, Vol. 10 : First Lectures on the Psalms I: Psalms 1-75. Saint Louis : Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1974 (Luther's Works 10), S. 10:18
