by Bishop Bill Gohl
"Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place." – Jeremiah 22:1-5
Will you give faithful witness in the world,
that God's love may be known in all that you do?
I will, and I ask God to help me.
from The Rite of Installation for a Bishop
that God's love may be known in all that you do?
I will, and I ask God to help me.
from The Rite of Installation for a Bishop
This last week, I spent a considerable amount of time speaking with our federal delegations from both Delaware and Maryland, encouraging conversation about the impact of the federal budget on the most vulnerable of our church and society.
I don't have these conversations apart from my installation vow to give faithful witness in the world, an extension of our baptismal vocation to care for others and to work for the justice and dignity of all. Moreover, these conversations are often grounded in the public witness of the larger church and our shared commitments expressed through Social Statements. A Social Statement has been shaped by the teaching theologians, rostered ministers and lay leaders of our church, vetted through a process of church-wide prayer and discernment, and then brought to the triennial Churchwide Assembly for adoption as the official position of our church.
In 1999, the Churchwide Assembly adopted a Social Statement, Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All. It is on the basis of this teaching position of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that I enter into the conversations of the past week, advocating the theological and human need concerns that we share in common as Lutheran Christians. While ELCA Social Statements are not binding on any individual member's conscience, they represent a prayerful consensus of the church.
Through this statement the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America addresses economic life in light of the moral imperative to seek sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all. The statement affirms the biblical understanding that the economy (oikonomia, Greek for "management of the household") is meant to meet all peoples' basic human material needs. It recognizes that the contemporary global economy has brought a better life for many, but also has increased misery for many. We are responsible and accountable for economic life, accepting any economic system without question gives the system, no matter how well-intentioned, god-like power.
In Jesus Christ, God's reign intersects earthly life, transforming us and allowing us to see the ways in which the world falls short of God’s intentions and enabling us to speak out. The ELCA confesses that we sin whenever we put our trust in wealth or fail to question practices that do not serve the good of all. Our baptismal identity and its accompanying freedom gives us license to love the neighbor and be good stewards in economic life, which is God's good creation.
The power of Christ's suffering on the cross challenges us to pay special attention to those who suffer. The plight of people living in poverty is a central biblical concern. Martin Luther's exposition of the Ten Commandments illustrates that neglecting the needs of the neighbor is a violation of the commandments. Poverty is a global problem and calls for particular scrutiny of policies that affect the poorest people.
Ultimately, the public witness I've given this week is grounded in these two premises of the social statement:
God created a world that has enough for all, but it needs to be shared and distributed justly in order to be enough for all; and
Government is to serve God's purposes by promoting the common good, and we are to hold leaders accountable.
This is not a hasty, ill-fated foray into politics by your bishop; it is an attempt to keep the vows that were made for me in baptism, vows that I took in ordination and expectations that come with this office: to “...live among God’s faithful people; hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper; proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed; serve all people following the example of Jesus; and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”
The statement and other supplemental materials can be downloaded online.
"Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation." – Jeremiah 22:1-5
I don't have these conversations apart from my installation vow to give faithful witness in the world, an extension of our baptismal vocation to care for others and to work for the justice and dignity of all. Moreover, these conversations are often grounded in the public witness of the larger church and our shared commitments expressed through Social Statements. A Social Statement has been shaped by the teaching theologians, rostered ministers and lay leaders of our church, vetted through a process of church-wide prayer and discernment, and then brought to the triennial Churchwide Assembly for adoption as the official position of our church.
In 1999, the Churchwide Assembly adopted a Social Statement, Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All. It is on the basis of this teaching position of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that I enter into the conversations of the past week, advocating the theological and human need concerns that we share in common as Lutheran Christians. While ELCA Social Statements are not binding on any individual member's conscience, they represent a prayerful consensus of the church.
Through this statement the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America addresses economic life in light of the moral imperative to seek sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all. The statement affirms the biblical understanding that the economy (oikonomia, Greek for "management of the household") is meant to meet all peoples' basic human material needs. It recognizes that the contemporary global economy has brought a better life for many, but also has increased misery for many. We are responsible and accountable for economic life, accepting any economic system without question gives the system, no matter how well-intentioned, god-like power.
In Jesus Christ, God's reign intersects earthly life, transforming us and allowing us to see the ways in which the world falls short of God’s intentions and enabling us to speak out. The ELCA confesses that we sin whenever we put our trust in wealth or fail to question practices that do not serve the good of all. Our baptismal identity and its accompanying freedom gives us license to love the neighbor and be good stewards in economic life, which is God's good creation.
The power of Christ's suffering on the cross challenges us to pay special attention to those who suffer. The plight of people living in poverty is a central biblical concern. Martin Luther's exposition of the Ten Commandments illustrates that neglecting the needs of the neighbor is a violation of the commandments. Poverty is a global problem and calls for particular scrutiny of policies that affect the poorest people.
Ultimately, the public witness I've given this week is grounded in these two premises of the social statement:
God created a world that has enough for all, but it needs to be shared and distributed justly in order to be enough for all; and
Government is to serve God's purposes by promoting the common good, and we are to hold leaders accountable.
This is not a hasty, ill-fated foray into politics by your bishop; it is an attempt to keep the vows that were made for me in baptism, vows that I took in ordination and expectations that come with this office: to “...live among God’s faithful people; hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper; proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed; serve all people following the example of Jesus; and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”
The statement and other supplemental materials can be downloaded online.
"Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation." – Jeremiah 22:1-5