Living Theology
in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church
In America
Vol. 7 No. 1
Summer 2002
In This Issue
Shall Justice
Flow like Streams?
“Who shall put his finger on the work of justice,
and say,
‘It is
there’?
Justice is like the kingdom of God:
it is not
without us as a fact;
it is within us as a great yearning.”
—George Eliot:
Romola, Bk.III, ch 7
The question of justice is the
subject of this issue of Let’s Talk.
As the Editorial Council discussed the direction and possibilities of the
content, we asked ourselves: “What does justice mean in our world, especially
in the wake of September 11?”
Is justice the fulfillment
of, “…a new heaven and a new earth,” or is justice punishment or even revenge?
Is justice primarily a
political action to bring about fairness in society, or is justice commanded by
God in the words of the prophets and the words and actions of Jesus?
Is justice really social
ministry with another name?
These
are among the questions puzzled over and discussed by the authors with richly
divergent viewpoints. Ah, but that’s what makes Lutherans what we are. We hope
you find the articles interesting and thought provoking.
Craig A. Satterlee, writing with Trish Madden,
traces the historical change in the Lutheran approach to social ministry.
Satterlee and Madden develop the shift in Lutheran understanding of social
ministry from “inner missions" to “justice making.” They say, “As
Christian and cultural values diverge, the church’s social ministry moves from
caring for those who have fallen through the cracks of a ‘Christian society’ to
working to make society more just.”
This movement, they say, is
often met by resistance as congregations “hold tightly to a doctrine of the
separation of church and state that understands public policy as an
inappropriate topic for preaching.”
Encouraging pastors to
carefully consider how they will lead their congregations to embrace their
calling to be communities of justice Satterlee and Madden offer six preaching
realities. They conclude: “That Christian preachers are called to proclaim
God’s justice and mercy is undeniable. The question we are called to consider
is how we will preach justice as our response to God’s grace.”
Dan Schwick also considers the past and present of justice. He says, “Today’s vision of justice must
still be informed by the ancient biblical vision of God’s shalom—the whole cosmos in balance.”
Schwick asks us how often do we as individual disciples of
Jesus or as church communities take a step back and ask hard questions about
why there are hungry or homeless or otherwise deprived people in our
communities? He then challenges the Metropolitan Chicago Synod to undertake a
process of “consciousness-raising” in our own community.
In conclusion, Schwick says
that the men and women who helped shape the mission statement that calls the
church to “Preach Christ, Make Disciples, Do Justice” understand that doing
justice is not an after-thought or an add-on to the church’s ministry.
Hopefully we do also.
Frank C. Senn takes another viewpoint in his column “As I See It...” He asks, “When
did we move from having social ministry committees to having justice teams in
our synods and congregations?”
Senn says he doesn’t believe that
doing justice necessarily goes along in a continuum with preaching Christ and
making disciples. “Belonging to Christ means being initiated into and
witnessing to a new creation with a new way of being even in this world, while
doing justice means making things work in the old creation.”
Christian morality,
according to Senn, is always a matter of going beyond justice because justice
is not always desirable. He reminds us that God does not do justice with regard
to human sin; God forgives it.
The final two articles deal with justice in the wake of
September 11. As indicated in the credit lines both originally appeared in
other publications shortly thereafter.
Gilbert Meilaender gives us three points he would like to hear in any discussions about
justice in relation to the attacks of September 11. First, Christians should
care about justice. Second, Christians stand in relationships of special moral
responsibility to certain people. Third, Christians need to talk seriously
about Islam.
Leon Spencer writes that if we are to find peace in a world where both good and
evil exist, we must first do justice. He gives us a litany of ways we have
neglected to do justice in the name of national self-interest.
The above are all lively
articles which could and should lead to lively discussions—and perhaps even
justice.
In addition
to the five articles, two book reviews add to the wealth of this issue. Brian Halverson reviews The Battle for God, by Karen Armstrong,
a close look at fundamentalism across three world religions. Nicholas J. Zook reviews Bioethics: A Primer for Christians, by
Gilbert Meilaender, which looks at moral debates through the “Christian Vision”
formed by Baptism and life in the context of God’s faithfulness.
Enjoy.
Susanne Havlic