August 31, 2005

JERUSALEM/BETHLEHEM – "We have come to Bethlehem to listen, to witness, to challenge and to pray for a lasting and just peace," the President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Bishop Mark S. Hanson told participants in this year's LWF Council Meeting being hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).

Presenting the President's Address to the annual LWF governing body, Hanson, who is also Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) reminded the LWF Council participants from all over the world that they were in the region to also witness the faithful and powerful testimony of the ELCJHL Christians and to share the people's cry.

"May the cries for peace and justice provoke confession, repentance and become a prelude to reconciliation," Hanson said in his address before some 170 participants. "The Church: Called to a Ministry of Reconciliation" is the theme of the 31 August * 6 September meeting, taking place at the ELCJHL's International Center Bethlehem.

The LWF President noted that the ministry of reconciliation begins and is renewed as the assembly gathers in Christ around the means of grace on behalf of the whole creation. "Therefore, we are so bold as to claim there is joy and celebration in the ministry of reconciliation. May we as the LWF Council experience that joy as we renew our commitment to a ministry of reconciliation for Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth."

New Way of Describing the Reality of Suffering in the Middle East

Hanson referred to US theologian Dr Cynthia Moe-Lobeda in her book Public Church for the Life of the World, and her critical questions therein about discerning God. He called the LWF Council members to a new "Christian discernment" that would make it possible to perceive and describe the world in a new way. This was particularly necessary where dominant forces distort historical realities by describing them falsely.

He expressed hope that participation in this year's meeting should enable those taking part to start re-describing the reality of suffering in the Middle East. This would make it possible to understand more clearly the complexity of problems involved and "the imperative for an independent, viable Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with a secure Israeli state," he said.

Hanson stressed the importance of continued efforts by the LWF in creating "channels for hearing" those who do not wield power especially the outcasts, suspects, those who are abused, the powerless and the oppressed, whether they are within the Lutheran communion or from without.

Commitment to Eucharistic Hospitality

Referring to worldwide ecumenism, Hanson raised the issue question as to how the LWF should respond to Pope Benedict XVI's commitment to Christian unity, and whether it was possible to build upon the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) together so that that it remained a living letter. An important aspect in this context led Hanson to question how LWF member churches could continue to manifest their commitment to eucharistic hospitality and sharing with the Roman Catholic Church without minimizing the theological issues that remain. He wondered whether the year 2017 and the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation could provide an opportunity for shared reflection with Roman Catholics on joint contributions and commitment to the unity of Christ's church and to global work for justice and peace.

Global Ecumenical Council on Christian Interpretation of Scripture

The LWF President referred to a suggestion made by the President of the Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa/USA, Dr Duane Larson, that the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican and Lutheran communions and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople convene a global, ecumenical council on the Christian interpretation of scripture.

He pointed to an article by Larson in the Dialog magazine, in which the theologian had expressed the opinion that Christianity was in the midst of a global identity crisis, which in his opinion stemmed from not having ecumenically addressed questions about the interpretation and authority of scripture. Hanson proposed that Larson's suggestion for a global ecumenical council should be discussed in the context of the current LWF Council meeting.

Proclaiming the Gospel in the Interest of Reconciliation

Hanson cited some of the challenges he encounters during his travels as LWF president. He spoke of hearing about the frustration and conflict created when evangelists preach a prosperity gospel "that promises financial gain and success to those who follow these leaders." In the USA where a consumer driven culture values a privatized spirituality and demands a "feel good" religion, there is great pressure on pastors and congregations to get their "market share" of members by "offering some gospel other than the radical good news of God's reconciliation and forgiveness by God's grace through faith for Jesus' sake," he said.

Concerning his travels to Central America and West Africa, Hanson mentioned how he witnessed LWF members engaging in truth telling for the sake of reconciliation. Central American Lutherans had spoken the truth regarding those who benefited or did not gain anything from the peace accords in El Salvador and from free trade agreements. Liberian and Sierra Leonean Lutherans described the painful truth of the horrific cost of extended civil war. Hanson stressed that the truth about violence and exploitations had become the context for broad interfaith initiatives seeking human rights, justice, and lasting peace.

A ministry of reconciliation, the LWF President stressed, begins in Word and Sacrament and leads to a critical analysis of power within the communion. For Hanson, the question remained whether the communion of Lutheran churches felt it was being called to continued conversation regarding commitment to the ordination of women and to women in positions of leadership.

A ministry of reconciliation in the LWF, he said, is reflected in relationships of accompaniment, and not by domination.

Lutheran World Information