Deeper understandings Talk the walk
Imperative to bring unique Lutheran voice to public square for the sake of world Editor’s note: This series is intended
to be a public conversation among teach- ing theologians of the ELCA on various themes of our faith and the challenging issues of our day. It invites readers to engage in dialogue by posting comments online at the end of each article at www.
thelutheran.org. The series is edited by Philip D.W.
Krey, president of the Lutheran Theologi- cal Seminary at Philadelphia, on behalf of the presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries.
By John A. Nunes T
here is no quick and easy healing to the fallout from the fall (Gen- esis 3). Even while the core of
our faith abounds with the good news of God’s reconciliation accomplished for us in the life, death and resurrec- tion of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18), the ongoing consequences of sin in society are as painful and pervasive as they are unpopular to talk about. This can be further complicated for
us by being 1) U.S. citizens living in a quick-fix culture and by 2) our ver- sion of Lutheran culture that some-
Author bio: Nunes is former president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod pastor and a professor at
Valparaiso [Ind.] University.
times tends to be reticent to engage in those public dialogues we consider unsettling. On a positive note, Lutherans in
North America have a solid reputa- tion for loving our neighbors, locally and globally, not only in “word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3:18). For example, a signature of Lutheran World Relief ’s work con- sists of its commitment to remain for the long haul in situations of human suffering, helping communities to rebuild more resiliently after disasters. LWR does this even when the novelty is gone, in places with names no lon- ger mentioned in the media. A Christian’s true colors will often
be seen shining most vividly as light for the world while accompanying those who work their way out of cri- ses. But how do we respond faithfully to the biblical imperative to speak as well as to act in Jesus’ name, to talk and walk, as theologian Joseph Sittler once put it, as “heralds with legs”?
Proper place of religion The decline of religiously informed, public discourse in the West is often viewed positively, as contributing to civility. A genius of the Reformation was putting religion in its place, so to speak, with its teaching about “two realms” or “kingdoms.” Too much blood had been shed under theocra- cies. God is at work in spiritual and secular structures. But life together as community
(conviviality) doesn’t come easily in the complexly enlarged commons we now inhabit. In this pluralistic real- ity of the 21st century, our Christian confession will find new ways to bear
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witness creatively and boldly to the ancient faith in Jesus Christ and tradi- tions of justice. If we do not, the indict- ment of Isaiah may describe us: “Jus- tice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter” (Isaiah 59:14). Speaking our faith in this context
will extend beyond morally neutral, socially nice Jesus jargon or the kind of churchy chitchat that wins friends, consoles the influential and fills pews with homogeneously smiling faces. Sometimes our speaking emanates
from a broken heart, an exasperated spirit, like a burning fire shut up in one’s bones (Jeremiah 20:8-9). Some- times the message is both tough for us to speak and rough for the world to hear. Like this raw example of an unappetizing excerpt from one of Jeremiah’s messages: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Human corpses shall fall like dung upon the open field’ ” (Jeremiah 9:22). The liturgical responses “The word of the Lord” and “Thanks be to God” do not flow easily. The imperative to speak difficult
truth comprises a transgressive ele- ment of God’s word. By transgressive I’m referring to how the Spirit carries the message of the cross disturbingly and surprisingly across those lines to which we are most comfortably accus- tomed: boundaries are disestablished. Lepers are healed. Power is decen- tered. Categories are confronted. Tax collectors are transformed. Pri- orities are tested. Sinners are wel- comed home. The dying are loved to life. Fragmented communities dis- cover new friendship. Privileges are upended. Dignity is respected at every
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