#being lutheran

[iirulancorrino]

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Ephesians 2: 8-10

Happy Reformation Sunday! As we approach the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, it’s a blessing to remember that we are saved by faith alone through God’s grace alone.

[iirulancorrino]

me

[iirulancorrino]

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2: 8-10

[iirulancorrino]

Me: I'm functioning on coffee and the grace of God alone.

M: that's the perfect Lutheran motto.

[iirulancorrino]

This social statement addresses the question: how do we understand human sexuality within the context of Jesus’ invitation to love God and love our neighbor (Romans 13:9–10; Galatians 5:14)?

A relative of mine sent me a facebook message on Saturday saying she noticed I shared a lot of stuff about LGBT inclusion in the church, and wanted to ask for my thoughts about same-sex relationships since the Bible says homosexuality is a sin. (She also asked if I was gay.) In preparing to answer her I ended up reading the ELCA’s social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust in full for the first time. While it very much avoids taking a firm stance on gay relationships in either direction, overall I found the statement to have a lot of beauty.

[mattschuler]

First thoughts on Being Lutheran

I wanted to share some first thoughts I had after reading Trevor Sutton's book Being Lutheran. I'll be writing a review for Concordia Theology. Look for that soon.

Who will save us?

Many years ago, there were a couple of people walking away from their capital city, dejected and defeated. Less than a week before, they were striding into the city, hopeful and shouting hosanna, literally save us now, as their teacher, Jesus, rode in triumphantly to change their lives and the world forever. As they walked away, a stranger started walking with them and invited them to share their story. “We had hoped he was the one,” they explained about their teacher but he had been delivered up to die, crucified just three days earlier. Their hosannas became whispers. He was supposed to save them and was slaughtered.

It’s amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same. In our country and in our communities people are still shouting hosanna. They’re looking for salvation and they’re shouting save us now.

In his book, Being Lutheran, A. Trevor Sutton writes, “a meaningful relationship has the power to change your entire life.” For the two walking on the road, seeing the stranger with open eyes revealed their redeemer. Jesus was not dead. Jesus is alive. Sutton shows us how we can speak with certainty about the world around us because Jesus has revealed his love, grace and forgiveness in His Word and sacraments.

“Being Lutheran,” Sutton says, “is actively confronting new challenges.” We don’t run away from the culture or our community because it got hard to talk about Jesus. We live in a world seeking meaning. Being Lutheran means pointing people to the one who gives life its definition.

But like all people, we have a problem with thought, word and deed. Sutton says, “it is possible to think as Lutherans, yet never act as Lutherans,” but also that “it is possible for us to act as Lutherans, yet never think as Lutherans.” The challenge comes in merging thought, word and deed in “theologically informed practice, biblically based behavior, and godly action.” Being Lutheran is deeply theological and deeply practical. It’s filled with wisdom and insight that has stood the test of time and practical application for the daily lives of Jesus’ disciple.

Where we see vivid actions alongside vivid teachings of Jesus, is where the true church is found. When we center ourselves on Jesus as he has been revealed to us, it is the foundation of authentic community that lasts for eternity. In Jesus, we’re connected to the past and to the disciples who act as a cloud of witnesses for us. We’re also connected to the future, our Gospel proclamation a signal for future believers that grace and love are found in Jesus.

Sutton’s work is a shot in the arm for the drowsy disciple, because he repeatedly points the reader to the Redeemer in a refreshing way. “Being Lutheran is ultimately about following Jesus. We go where Jesus goes, we listen when Jesus speaks, we trust when Jesus promises, we learn when Jesus teaches. And we live because Jesus lives. This is what it means to be Lutheran.”

[buggie-hagen]

I'm glad my presiding bishop is willing to call out relativism.