Luther and Liberation
Ok, I will be the first to say that I am probably stepping into this way over my head. I have only the most rudimentary knowledge of what Liberation Theology is, and while I have been a church-going, baptized and confirmed Lutheran all of my life (at least from 3 months old), and have read and studied parts of the Book of Concord, am hardly an authority on Luther.
I am starting this Blog topic in hopes of walking myself, and others, through a deeper understanding of the links between Luther and Liberation Theology. Why? The idea came to me from an e-mail sent to me by Lindsay Mack, a pastor/social worker engaged in a two year mission assignment to Iglesia Cristiana Luterana de Honduras, through the ELCA. In her e-mail Lindsay described the ILCH as a "tiny church built on a Christian Liberation Theology, committed to serving the poor and advocating for justice in Honduras". The e-mail arrived to me this past Monday, as I was immersed in the Transformation Journal sequence on "Jesus and Freedom". Is that blind coincidence? I wonder.
Anyway, I vaguely recall reading of Liberation Theology, I believe from an old, old article in The Lutheran magazine, as something a bit controversial. More recently, with the passing of the Pope, I remember mention of the Vatican's opposition to the teachings and/or practices of Liberation Theology.
So, this is where I begin. Anyone who wishes to join in this thread, please do.
posted by Blueman @ 9:23 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ...
Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
"For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them...""
These words from Isaiah (61:1,7-8) speak to the Lord's covenent with the people of Israel.
In Luke (Chapter 4), Jesus reads from rhe scroll of Isaiah and reiterates these words. His people speak well of him, at first, then subsequently reject him.
Why? Jesus chose to make the point that he was sent to minister to all people, including the Gentiles, not just the Jews. They had expected their Messiah to come and minister to them, to free them, to heal them.
Instead Jesus makes clear that he is sent by God to work through and for the sick, the condemned, the rejected -- lepers, Gentiles, prostitutes. The Kingdom clearly extended beyond the boundaries of his synagogue, his friends, and neighbors.
Lord, help us to discern what our mission -- to love, go, and grow -- means for us in our local and global communities. Amen.
I ordered the following books to fill in some blanks, any of which can be borrowed (though I get first dibs)...
A Theology of Liberation, by Gustavo Gutierrez
Introducing Liberation Theology, by Leonardo Boff, Clodovis Boff
We Drink From Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of A People, by Gustavo Gutierrez (forward by Henri Nouwen)
I recently came across a treatise on "Luther and Christian Liberty", by Dr. Forell, first presented as a lecture at Gettysburg Seminary, and later published in the LTS Bulletin.
Of particular relevence to contemporary liberation theology, I think, are the following excerpts from this work:
"It is apparent that Christian liberty has ethical consequences; it affects the daily life of the Christian. This is particularly true in relation to other human beings, for Christian liberty frees Christians from their obsession with themselves and their own salvation to act in the true interest of the neighbor. Insofar as I act as a justified sinner, I am free to act without any concern for my own self‑interest. God has taken care of me so that I might he empowered to care for my neighbor."
"Again Christ is the model. And here Luther comes to the most daring assertions of this little book. The Christian ought to think, he says,
'Although I am an unworthy and condemned person, my God has given me in Christ all the riches of righteousness and salvation without any merit on my part, out of pure, free mercy, so that from now on I need nothing except faith which believes that this is true. Why should I not therefore freely, joyfully with all my heart, and with an eager will do all things which I know are pleasing and acceptable to such a Father who has overwhelmed me with his inestimable riches? I will therefore give myself as a Christ to my neighbor, just as Christ offered himself to me; I will do nothing in this life except what I see is necessary, profitable, and salutary to my neighbor, since through faith I have an abundance of all good things in Christ.' (Martin Luther, "The Freedom of a Christian" (1520), LW 31:367)
"We have received freedom in order to serve those in need."
'Just as our neighbor is in need and lacks that in which we abound, so we were in need before God and lacked his mercy. Hence, as our heavenly Father has in Christ freely come to our aid, we also ought freely to help our neighbor through our body and its works and each one should become as it were a Christ to the other that we may be Christs to one another and Christ may be the same in all, that is, that we may be truly Christians.' (Martin Luther, "The Freedom of a Christian" (1520), LW 31:367-8)
...
"For Luther, Christian liberty is not a human achievement but a gift of God’s grace. But it is an empowering gift because it enables the recipient to be freed from self‑concern, the obsession with his or her own interest, for the real needs of others. Christian ethics in the more restricted sense is only possible on the basis of this liberation. There are all kinds of good works that people can do. They are works of the law which may contribute to the earthly welfare of human beings. But the life that makes a woman or a man into a Christ to others is only possible for those who have been made one with him and thus can say with Paul: 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me' (Galatians 2:20). For Luther this alone is Christian liberty."
***
Luther followed Paul's understanding of Christian freedom.
Luther asserts : "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all." (Martin Luther, "The Freedom of a Christian" (1520), LW 31:344).
Paul writes: "For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them." (1 Corinthians 9:19).
We are freed, by grace, and called to serve, to bring about (not just preach about) justice.
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