Sermon May 9, 2021
Pastor Wesley Menke, with recognition to the theological work of Bishop Ismael Laborde of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cuba, Lutheran Synod.
Grace Lutheran Church
Did you hear the news? A woman was recently ordained as a bishop in the Lutheran Church of Cuba. When I read this news story it kind of made my head hurt. First of all, I didn’t know that there was the free exercise of religion in Cuba. I was led to believe that the freedom of religion was not permitted in Cuba. Secondly, I was surprised to find out that the Lutheran Church is growing in Cuba, but so much so that they have multiple bishops in addition to pastors, and that now one of those bishops is a woman. Bishops are pastors to the pastors. And we all know that women make great pastors. Why is that? Because the same skills you need to be a mother, are what you need to be a pastor. Furthermore, the skills that you need to be a bishop, or a pastor, or a mother, also happen to be the same skills you need to be a Lutheran.
So I let my curiosity run wild a little bit. I sent a message to the Lutheran Church of Cuba to say hello. I wanted to know more about the Lutheran Church in Cuba. So I was put in contact with Bishop Ismael Laborde. Bishop Ismael is a man, and not the person obviously who had just made international news. But he was the one who responded to my message and so we found a little time to talk. I wanted to know what it was like to lead a church in Cuba. Was there a lot of persecution?
The bishop was very direct. His answer was, “No.” The biggest problem for the Lutheran church in Cuba isn’t religious persecution. It is confusion as to what it means to be Lutheran. “There are many currents within Christianity,” the Bishop Said. There are many different churches: evangelical, Catholic, pentecostal, and more. We have to teach people why being Lutheran matters. I thought about this problem, and I realized that I too can relate, and I think you can too! With so many churches out there, why be Lutheran?
There are four key concepts for Lutherans. Bishop Ismael calls these “code words.”
- Theology of the Cross
- Saved by Grace through Faith
- Two Kingdoms
- Law and Gospel
Theology of the Cross
Some of the flashy churches out there preach something called “prosperity gospel.” This is the belief that if you believe in Jesus, and follow the 10 commandments they you will be showered with financial blessings. This is a lie. Jesus showed us the power of God by suffering on a cross. He said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Therefore Lutherans don’t seek God in the halls of power, but among those who are suffering. People experiencing suffering are closer to Jesus as when he suffered. You won’t find God in comfort, power, or wealth. You will find God in discomfort, weakness, and poverty. This sounds a lot like the love of a mother. Mothers are constantly giving sacrificial love. That is the Theology of the Cross.
Saved by Grace through Faith
Some people are attracted to a religion because they want to be told what to do. They are looking for a rulebook to follow. There are religions out there that will do that for you. They will tell you exactly how to live your life. How to think on every social and political issue, how many children to have, who to marry, what kind of a car to drive, what kind of music to listen to, what kind of jokes to laugh at, what kind of movies to watch, what kind of music to listen to, which news station to follow. If that is what you are looking for you aren’t going to find it in the Lutheran church.
Again, think about a mother’s love for her child. Does a mother love her child only if the child is an exact clone of the mother? Does the mother wait until the child can perform well at sports and school before they love the child. Of course not! The mother loves the child when it is a helpless baby. The mother doesn’t expect anything in return. That is what we call: Grace! Unconditional love is grace.
Lutherans believe that we are saved by grace. The most important thing we can do doesn’t really matter. To God we are all like babies. We think the things we do are important. God just smiles and laughs at us and loves us just because. We are Saved by Grace.
Two Kingdoms
Some religions believe that a person of faith must totally renounce all earthly forms of government. These religions encourage people to detach from society and live apart in insulated communities. This tendency has been around throughout history. You see people walk away or even rebel against law and order.
Other religions teach that you must be totally obedient to earthly authorities. They teach that a faithful person never questions a leader or a government. They teach that you should blindly follow the chain of command and never cause any controversy.
Lutherans believe in something different. We believe in two kingdoms. The first kingdom is the heavenly spiritual kingdom. This kingdom is the kingdom from which we come and to which we ultimately belong. It is our first allegiance. Baptism inducts and affirms us into that heavenly kingdom.
We also do believe in earthly kingdoms. Cubans live in one earthly kingdom. The United States is another earthly kingdom. We advocate living respectfully in the whatever earthly kingdom you find yourself in. Contributing to society, participating in civic life, doing your best to abide by earthly laws so long as they don’t contradict God’s laws. In a nutshell we believe in the rule of law. But we privilege God’s law.
Law and Gospel
Some religions loot the Bible and see it is infallible inerrant fundamentalist truth. They teach that you must obey everything in the Bible. You must not question. If science, or history contradict the Bible, they teach that that must be the devil’s work. They teach that you really shouldn’t even bother with other books.
Other religions or dogmas teach that the Bible and sacred texts are worthless. They teach that you must not take anything in it seriously because it is full of error. The only thing you should read and take seriously is social media! Just kidding. But not really. They teach that taking time to read the Bible is just a waste of time.
Lutheran Chrisitans believe that the Bible is both Law and Gospel. The Bible does contain ethical instruction. It has rules and stories that teach those rules for how to live. But, we also realize that some of those rules and stories are actually not ones we should repeat. For example some of the rules and expectations placed on women and mothers we understand differently now, than we did thousands of years ago. Women can be pastors and bishops in the Lutheran Church. Mothers can be the head of a household just as much as a man, and teach the faith. How can we do that when you cannot deny there are many passages in the Bible that would contradict that. Because of the Gospel.
For Lutheran the Bible is far more than a rulebook. It is good news. The Bible contains words of comfort and freedom, stories that heal. There is an organic power in the Bible, in the Word of God that is so much more than just rules. Stories of miracles and salvation, and new life, and resurrection, and of healing! Jesus says that you used to be just servants and slaves, but now you are friends. That’s the gospel. God calls us friends!
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Sometimes we get a little confused. We think that a Lutheran has everything to do with lutefisk, lefsa, northern Europe, and Minnesota. There’s nothing wrong with those things. Actually, there might be something wrong with lutefisk. It is the piece of cod that passes all understanding. A Lutheran is somebody who hears the Word of God, and is baptized. There is one thing, and one thing alone that makes a Lutheran. That is the Word of God made known to us in Jesus Christ. God loves you even when you suffer. God saves you by grace. God welcomes you into the heavenly kingdom. Amen.
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