LWF General Secretary: Take Up Responsibility to Work for Justice
GENEVA, 24 October 2011 (LWI) – Take up the cause of freedom with renewed purpose to mark Reformation Day 2011, Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), has called on the worldwide communion of 145 member churches.
“Reformation churches do not need to regard the concept of freedom with mistrust. On the contrary: by standing by those who suffer injustice, conflict and situations without reconciliation they will, at the same time, give a strong testimony to the way freedom can be understood,” Junge said in a 24 October letter to the LWF member churches.
“Seen in relation to our neighbors and the whole of Creation, freedom will not lead to ruin–it will bring opportunities and promise for the future,” the general secretary added.
Reformation Day is celebrated annually on 31 October by Lutheran and Reformed churches around the world to mark the beginning of the Reformation, launched when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the castle church at Wittenberg in 1517.
Freedom was one of the central themes of Lutheran theology and action and Christians continued to draw strength from this message in the midst of political, economic, ethnic or gender-based oppression, Junge noted.
“This message also opens up new spaces for countless women today. Demonstrating a changed awareness of their own freedom and dignity, they oppose gender-based oppression and violence in the church and society,” Junge continued.
“The promise of freedom by grace alone bursts forth and seeks ways of expressing itself in everyday life. The transforming power of God’s action cannot be confined to a person’s inner life!” he underlined in the Reformation Day letter.
Junge said that in the understanding of the Reformation, Christian freedom had clear boundaries that made it accountable. Citing the vision statement of the LWF Strategy 2012-2017, he pointed out that member churches were “liberated” to live together and in doing so to counter the current trends towards individualism and fragmentation.
At the same time, “the LWF Communion also knows it is liberated to work for justice, peace and reconciliation in the world.” This freedom, which comes through the grace of God, compels Lutherans to serve.
“Christian freedom thus bears a double responsibility: towards God and the neighbor. Or, as is becoming increasingly evident today: towards God and the whole of Creation,” he said.
Christians had made an important contribution to the social and political debates around climate change, ecological disasters and the financial crisis, Junge remarked, helping to point out that when freedom was misunderstood, it could lead to negative consequences for humanity and all of Creation.
“Wherever we lose sight of our fellow human beings and the whole of Creation in our thinking and acting the result is a lack of warmth, it is brutality and the consequences are often fatal,” the LWF general secretary concluded. (492 words)
Reformation Day 2011 | A Letter to the LWF Member Churches | Reformationstag 2011 | Schreiben an die LWB-Mitgliedskirchen | Fête de la Réformation 2011 | Lettre aux Églises membres de la FLM | Día de la Reforma 2011 | Una carta a las iglesias miembro de la FLM
See also:
- LWF Churches Invited to Focus Anew on Meaning of Reformation
- Reformation Is a Continuing Call, LWF General Secretary Junge Tells Council
- Reformation Sunday Sermon Calls for Truth That Sets Free
- Lutherans Everywhere Are Inheritors of the Reformation
- Amidst Upheaval in Middle East, LWF Calls for Just Peace in Holy Land
- Christian and Muslim Theologians Seek Common Understanding on Freedom and Responsibility
- Church Must Speak Up for Freedom of Religion
- LWF Address to ELCA Assembly Underlines Transforming Power of Service
- LWF General Secretary Calls for Prayer and Assistance on Sudan Referendum
- “We Recognize Ourselves as Children of the Reformation”
