Embraced by the Cross
Metro Chicago Bishop Wayne Miller wrote an article for The Lutheran magazine Synod Supplement titled, “Who are we?” He shared a story about a recent gathering he attended of interfaith leaders. A young Greek man serving lunch saw Bishop Miller’s nametag and said, “Hmmm, Lutheran . . . Oh yes, you are that really white church, right?”
Bishop Miller reflected back on that encounter and said, “It was a bone-chilling reminder that if we don’t know who we are, we may be shocked and horrified to discover the identity that others give us to fill our silence.”
“So what exactly does it mean to be a Lutheran?” Bishop Miller was asked another time. He writes, “This question should have been a no-brainer, right? After all, I’m a Lutheran bishop. But as my mind silently raced through a thousand sophisticated theological responses, I realized that I could not think of a single clear, intelligible answer that I could offer in response to that simple question.”
The season of Lent is upon us. Lent is such a different season than the first three seasons of the church year (Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany). Lent is a time of reflection and contemplation of Jesus’ suffering and death. It’s a time to think about our faith in Jesus as our crucified Savior—crucified for our sins. To know who we are as Lutherans, we need to understand who we are as children of the crucified Savior.
Martin Luther discovered through his reading of St. Paul that the path people choose to find Jesus is rarely the path that will get them there. Bishop Miller writes, “In the face of this disappointment, the cross of Christ comes to us with an astonishing and incomprehensible promise:
- Strength is perfected in weakness
- The path to victory is surrender
- The path to abundance is generosity
- The path to freedom is servanthood
- The path to life is death
The cross of Christ bears witness to the truth that:
- Joy comes by owning our grief
- Wholeness comes by owning our brokenness
- Goodness comes by owning our sin
- Acceptance is God’s gift to the unacceptable
- Security belongs to the vulnerable
- And clarity of understanding comes only to those who are free to sink more deeply into the quiet darkness of this incomprehensible mystery.
Who are we as Lutheran Christians? “We are ones who have been totally embraced by the cross of Christ.” Amen and Amen.
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