Living Theology
in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church
In America
Vol. 7 No. 1
Summer 2002
At the end of July last year
the Editorial Council of Let’s Talk
agreed that an issue on “peace with justice” would be timely and fruitful. We asked: How is the church involved in
peace/justice issues at various levels?
Has there been a “sea change” in the Lutheran approach to social
ministry? We recognized the need to
define “justice” from biblical and theological perspectives so as to
distinguish the church’s ministry from a political party’s social program. Possible authors were suggested. Susanne Havlic and Brian Halverson agreed to
serve as issue editors and to begin contacting authors and gathering material.
It was evident from the
beginning that we were not of the same mind regarding the implications of the
new “do justice” language being used by Lutherans. In her introduction Susanne Havlic mentions our struggle to say
what justice means in our world. The observant reader will see this reflected
in the issue if she or he reads Satterlee/Madden, Schwick, and Senn, preferably
in that order. There is a theological
divide, with implications for how we act, between Senn’s column and the first
two articles. We are always pleased
when such differences are expressed so well on our pages because the same
differences surely exist among the people of the synod. Our job is to raise them up in a responsible
way. In our search for unity as the
people of God in this place we must have dialogue, together with prayer,
leading to discernment.
As the issue evolved, the terrible events of September 11 demanded a
place at our discussion table. In the
outpouring of words that followed those events, the issue editors located two
articles—one by Gilbert Meilaender, the other by Leon Spencer—which spoke
especially well to the concerns for justice that we wanted to express. The respective publishers generously allowed
us to reprint them. Meilaender reminds
us of the need for coherent language in our talk of justice, a need the
Editorial Council had already felt. He
says, “…unless and until Christians can bring their talk of ‘reconciliation’
and ‘forgiveness’ into some coherent relation with the equally theological
language of ‘justice,’ that theological talk will be largely idle.” Spencer speaks of evil, of doing justice and
preserving unity in the face of evil, and of the context in which both good and
evil happen.
Brian Halverson and Nicholas
Zook review two important and timely books to round out the issue.
Every issue of Let’s Talk has a story of point and
counterpoint. Now in the planning stage is an issue on liturgical norms and
another on the CWA-mandated studies of ELCA policy and practice related to
human sexuality. We give you this peek
into our meeting room to remind you that you have a standing invitation to join
our discussions (which are really your discussions) with your letters and other
written responses for our pages. Our
addresses, postal and electronic, are in every issue.
Tell your lay leaders about Let’s Talk—we’re on the web. Many of our articles are good grist for
adult forums.
Oh, yes, another thing. You will find a return envelope for your
financial support in every issue. Your
gifts are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.
Wayne Cowell
for the Editorial Council