Why I am Lutheran

A few days ago I resolved to write a "Why I am Lutheran" post. Damn, that seemed so easy at the time. What follows is hardly comprehensive and probably filled with various heresies. But it is what comes to mind right now. I love being Lutheran, for better or for worse.

• Because Lutherans know that God comes down the ladder. We are not able to climb up some ladder of righteousness or spirituality or piety or goodness to reach God and attain some status of holiness or purity. We are not able to climb up some ladder to achieve happiness, fulfillment, contentment. Though we constantly struggle to get up the ladder, to get above others, the ladders of our world just lead us further and further from reality. Rather, God comes down the ladder to us, blesses us, graces us, loves us. What did I do to deserve this? Nothing.
• Because Lutherans know that God dwells where we least expect God to dwell. We know that God is most clearly seen in odd, out-of-the-way places such as the suffering on the cross, or the shame of the animal stable, or among the outcasts. Or with people who can’t climb a ladder to save their lives. When we humans draw lines, God is usually on the other side. And the Cross forces us to the other side of the line, the other side of the train tracks, the other side of life, to look at and experience God’s presence amidst suffering and brokenness.
• Because Lutherans are serious about sin. In our liturgy many of our churches proclaim, "We confess that we are in bondage to sin, and we cannot free ourselves." Lutherans admit that on our own we cannot escape the power of sin and do good works – from helping a neighbor to accepting Christ as savior. We do not have a free will – it is bound to sin. This explains a lot about human endeavor and our human experience. The Good News is that God comes down the ladder, freeing us from trying to get up it.
• Because Lutherans are a simul kind of people. Simul – Latin for at the same time – reminds us that we live in a complex world that is many things at the same time. Our world and our worldview is not black and white, either/or, but rather a mucky, messy simul. Simul justus et pecador – we are at the same time sinner and saint. God’s Word is law and gospel at the same time. We live in two kingdoms – a kingdom of God and a kingdom of man – at the same time. By the grace of God we are free to live yet are bound to serve – at the same time. Lutherans can’t draw clear lines of either/or.
• Because Lutheran preaching is about God. Preachers in our churches are called to proclaim the acts and comfort of God. Sermons, while addressing our human condition, do not proclaim (for example) 3 Steps to a Better Life or How to Have a Closer Relationship with God (that is, Lutheran preaching is emphatically not about us). Lutheran preachers proclaim God’s grace, love, compassion, presence . . .
• Because Lutheranism embraces the common stuff of everyday life. Martin Luther valued daily life and the vocation of common people (once saying that it is more blessed to change a baby’s diaper than to be a priest). In the tangible things of daily life, Lutherans find God. Our spiritual life and encounter with God is daily – daily we die to sin and daily we rise with Christ. Church is not a Sunday recharging of the batteries that gets us through the week, because in the week itself we Lutherans acknowledge the blessedness of "ordinary" work that might not otherwise seem spiritual or important in the eyes of our world.
• Because Lutheranism has such potential. For me, Lutheranism is less about traditional forms of worship or polity (though I greatly appreciate those things) and more about a theology and appreciation of the grace of God that speaks to humanity in many different ways. As such, I think Lutheranism has the potential to be the church in many different ways, proclaiming the Gospel/Good News and administering the Means of Grace – Baptism, Holy Communion, God’s Word – in creative and comforting ways at the dawn of the 21st century.

This post is what it is – why I am Lutheran. This isn’t a synopsis of Lutheran thought or a list of critical Lutheran Fundamentals. And it probably isn’t even very coherent or systematic. And I am probably missing some things that I really like about my tradition. But regardless, it’s getting late and on this day, at this time, this is why I am in love with the Lutheran tradition.

Post Script, September 24: I have filed a link to this post under the "Posts re: Emergent Church" heading because this is the theology by which and with which I engage the Emergent and Alternative Worship discussions. And as I’ve said in other posts, I see a lot of resonance between our Lutheran theology and the perspective of the Emergent movement . . .