|
 Dear
Saints:
As much as
we might like for it to—it just won't go away. The July
edition of The Lutheran has published two articles on the
sexuality issues that are currently swirling around in our
denomination. I encourage you to read them both since this is
the year three resolutions from the Church Council (see sidebar p.
26) based on earlier recommendations made by the Task Force for ELCA
Studies on Sexuality will be considered at our Churchwide Assembly in
Orlando, Florida, August 8-14. They represent two very
different views on the issues of ordination of practicing homosexuals
and the blessing of same-sex relationships.
Dr. Larry
Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr professor emeritus of social ethics at
Union Seminary, New York, puts forth the argument in his article Are
We Missing Another Chance to be Lutheran? that the character of
the Reformation was one of change, that much change did occur as the
result of Martin Luther's teachings and those of other reformers, and
that the Lutheran church today ought to advocate for and effect
change when it's needed. Sadly, he laments, we are not.
As he sees it, the ELCA is too concerned about keeping the peace and
not concerned enough about promoting justice. Our challenge is
to, once again, become a "reformed church always reforming,"
to seize the opportunity at hand, and implement change by voting in
favor of changing our current positions on the ordination of
homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex relationships.
On the
other hand, Dr. Robert Benne, director of the Center for Religion and
Society at Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia, asks the question in his
article Can a Divided House Stand? whether the compromise the
Church Council has sought in its three resolutions, for the sake of
unity in the ELCA, can be an acceptable one. He says it cannot
be. For a church that's grounded in "biblical and
confessional authority," not only is the compromise
unacceptable—it's "unfaithful."
It's
unfaithful, he insists, because a church that is urged, as the ELCA
is by the first recommendation, to "live together faithfully in
the midst of disagreements" cannot maintain its identity and
mission with such a critical issue in the balance. He, then,
quotes Matthew 12:25, in which Jesus says, "No city or house
divided against itself will stand."
It's
unfaithful also since the second recommendation is unclear as to its
intent, thus opening the door for the creation of "local
rites" (either privately or publicly done) for the blessing of
same-sex relationships. If this were to happen, it could only
lead to further confusion in a church that doesn't recognize such
relationships as appropriate expressions of God's intentions for humanity.
Furthermore,
he says it's an unfaithful compromise because recommendation three
(against the church's policy) will permit "exceptions" for
the ordination of practicing homosexuals, which Benne is convinced
will then become the norm. By "allowing exceptions at
all," he says, "it bows to those who believe traditional
teaching should be revised&ldots;. And such exceptions might
well lead, as the recommendation ominously suggests, to the
'opportunity for continued discernment of where the Holy Spirit is
leading this church'." He goes on to say that to allow
such "exceptional ordinations" will establish "two
tiers of ordained ministry," which would create its own new set
of problems. After all, few "gays and lesbians will
tolerate exceptional status for long."
The "consensus of the church throughout the ages is clear on
these matters," he says. "The only question is
whether the ELCA will recognize that and properly set its house in order."
The
decisions we make in Orlando on these resolutions by the Church
Council will determine the direction of our denomination for a long
time. I ask you, therefore, my brothers and sisters in Christ,
to be in fervent prayer between now and the Churchwide
Assembly—and especially during the days it convenes. And
may God's will be accomplished.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Larry |
