We have By Marcus Kunz R
ecently I was talking with a friend about one of the huge global problems that confronted us this past summer
in stunning succession. Millions of people are involved. For those most closely con- nected, their livelihoods, their very lives, are at risk. Te situation is dire. Urgency is high. My friend and I are both privileged people with access to a range of resources and opportunities for action. We wondered: What shall we do? How shall we act? I’m a preacher. I use words to do my daily work. I’m
not the only person who responds with words, of course. Broadcasts and online discussions, print media and coffee conversations continue to be intense. Advocates are pas- sionately making their cases for their causes. As I listened and shared my thoughts, I felt a familiar
tug. It pulls most insistently when I’m anxious about an outcome or when I’m exasperated, frustrated with oth- ers, at the end of my rope, weary, resigned. It’s the tug to employ heavy-handed words—the ones that stoke indig- nant anger. Tese are the words that sharpen contrasts and drive people to choose between mutually exclusive alternatives—the words that shame the indifferent and hector those seemingly hesitant to respond, as if it were our job to scold people into becoming better people. Fiery warnings from the prophets and stern, unyield-
ing demands from the saints make convenient scripts for such heavy-handed rhetoric. Te Scriptures have long been used as a club in partisan crusades. Tat midsum- mer conversation with my friend, however, reminded me that the Scriptures have something much better to say, and that I can use my voice to say it. Mercy. Mercies flow every day from God’s abundant love. Te rising sun and falling rain give tangible wit-
ness that even in the midst of the troubles humankind has brought upon itself, God daily renews the face of the earth. In that daily mercy is a wealth of resources for us. We have the means. Tere is more than enough to meet the challenges that concern us all as one human family. More mercy. In Jesus, God liberated us from reli-
gious, moral or other necessity to treat others as feared or despised enemies. We need not surrender to modern mythologies that divide us into deserving and undeserv- ing, powerless (though innocent) victims and oppressors, godly and ungodly. In Jesus we have the promise of a life where God has reconciled the entire human family. In that promise God set us free from the debilitating cycle of blaming and shaming. God liberates us for shared endeavors where we find each other at our best. Still more mercy. God’s Spirit is abundantly generous
in providing giſts for the common good. Te problems we face call for a wide range of giſts from people of every station in life. With the dignity and grace of God’s mercy flowing through us and the “living, daring confidence” in God’s mercy that Martin Luther treasured, we will meet challenges before us. When the Spirit is at work among us, all have a share in the work. All contribute to the delibera- tion and decision-making. All have access to the resources that have been given to all for the common good. Mercy, mercy, mercy.
Te challenges are indeed daunting. Yet it turns out that God’s promised mercies are greater still. We have something much better to say.
Author bio: Kunz is executive for discernment of contextual and theological issues in the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop.
November 2014 33
something way better to say
SHUTTERSTOCK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68