PASTOR'S PERSPECTIVE FOR AUGUST 2018
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God’s grace and peace and love be with you all,
We are blessed in the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to have a bishop who is a model of the Christian life, a guide to pastors and parishioners alike, and a solid theologian who is able to inspire the faith of the synod. I include his most recent article for your edification and encouragement this month. Peace+ Pastor Kowitz |
“Scripture, Theology and Daily Life”
Not only do Lutherans have a certain lens through which we read, understand, and apply Scripture to our lives, but we also have a time-tested theological lens: We start and end with Jesus, both in the way we read Scripture and the way we understand how God works in the world (theology). For Christians, there is one faithful framing of all theology, and it’s called the Gospel which is this: God so loves the whole world that Jesus came into it to save, make whole, redeem, and bring the entire world into reconciliation. Its response is a transformed life that moves us to live out this love in our daily lives. This is a different framework to life than one which begins with me, or my country, my power, my race, my standard of living, or my ideology first - and then tries to tack on some Scripture and theology to fit it and endorse it. Judging by what we read and hear in the media, this Gospel-way of understanding is certainly not universal. For example, the Christian who simply points and quotes Scripture to bolster her view about this or that social issue will at some point quote a verse that is at odds with the way Jesus lived and taught. Let’s be honest, this is at the heart of Christian debates over many of the grave social ills we live with. When Jesus is not first, when Jesus gets slapped on as an afterthought in our Christian lives, then we have missed our Lord’s tender but courageous leadership which trumps everyone and everything else. His life teaches us that we all belong together, all of us, this whole world! That’s the Christian message. Just one example: At our recent Youth Gathering in Texas, where we spent time each day in faith study, we shared together about how Jesus was and is reconciling all people, granting love and a sense that “you belong” no matter who you are, what your skin color, your age, your occupation, your country of origin, how cool you are, whatever your gender orientation is, whatever your income, status, or politics is, or what your past is. To come to that conclusion, is to let Jesus the Christ, the Lord and Savior of all, be the lens through which insights arise. This week: Think of Jesus, the Savior and Lover of all creation, then read your Scripture and Devotional, then act as his sister, his brother, his life in your daily Christian vocation. +Bishop Thomas M. Aitken |
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