Pastor's Letter

Dear Friends in Christ,

I want to share with you this month one of my favorite Luther quotes:

"By telling you that 'the first shall be the last,' God takes all arrogance

out of you and forbids you to set yourself above any whore, though

you be Abraham, David, Peter, Paul. And when he says, 'the last shall

be the first,' He checks all despair and forbids you to place yourself

beneath any saint, even though you be Pilate, Herod, Sodom and

Gomorrah."

I—frequently—get pretty frustrated with the Lutheran Church and all its works and ways. I cast my eyes toward other churches that, at least from the outside, seem to have their act together more than we Lutherans do. Roman Catholics have that ancient dignity, Episcopalians have better taste, the UCC takes braver social justice stands, etc. But I keep coming home to Lutheranism for a very simple reason of cowardly self-interest: I am a woebegone sinner. The Lutheran Church understands better than anybody that "I am in bondage to sin and cannot free myself." Calvin's doctrine of sin is darker, Erasmus' is lighter, but Luther—for me—gets it right. I am a sinner in the hand of a loving, generous, compassionate God who will never let me go and never tire of forgiving me even though I tire of having to ask. I am more likely to give up on me than God is.

I think that Jesus understood that if you want to renovate the human race, neither guilt nor license works. Forgiveness is what works. (Forgiveness is just love in one of its many guises.) I saw a movie recently that speculated that Jesus was able to walk on water, not because of supernatural power, but because he was so light because of his simplicity of soul—he was all love, all the time. I find that a very charming notion.

I think that being a forgiven sinner gives us a similar sort of lightness. We don't have to pretend that we're saints, but neither can sin any longer drag us down into darkness and despair. The fact that I will fail to be perfect today doesn't unduly distress me either, because I know God will accept what I can do, make the best of it, forgive its deficiencies, and give me another boost tomorrow. This is what Luther had in mind in another of his most famous sayings: "Sin boldly, but believe more boldly still."

This month we celebrate Thanksgiving. I always have lots to be thankful for, but most of all, I am grateful for this God whom Martin Luther, out of his tortured soul, rendered to me. This God, this love, this forgiveness allows me to get up each morning and give it another try. He allows me to be the partial, finite, unfinished person I really am without excuses and lies, without pretending. The Lutheran Confessional rite is correct—I am in bondage to sin and cannot free myself. But then, here comes God in Christ and his love and forgiveness do set me free. This is not make-believe freedom—this is the real thing!

Yours in Christ,

--Pastor Bastien