Simul justus et peccator- What it means to be a Lutheran in my eyes today (part I)

I woke up this morning inspired to start a new series in this blog.  Over the next week or so, I will offer some different thoughts on what I believe it means to be a Lutheran Christian today.  Each post will try and focus on one theological (or other type of) idea.  I admit that I am not doing this as part of a seminary class, but more so as a way to work through some understandings of my own in the hope that they will help you think about your own understandings of these ideas.  Further, this in the hope that such beliefs will be understood in shaping who I am as a worship coordinator now at a local Lutheran Church.

Today, let us begin with the paradox known in the Latin as "simul justus et peccator."  First of all, as much as Lutherans are comfortable in paradox, I think our comfort here is actually a disadvantage for us in the way we talk with and engage in the rest of the world who wishes things were more clear (ie- politics, Washington D.C., etc.).  But, that said, we are comfortable in our paradoxes as Lutherans, and there is no greater paradox then this one, that we are "simultaneously saint and sinner."

In good Lutheran fashion, I might ask, "what does this mean?"  I am not going to go and quote the catechism here.  Rather, I will offer my own observations.  On the one hand, we believe that we are all children of God and redeemed through Christ in grace and love.  This understanding is that we are saints because we are the people of God.  However, we are sinners because we are "enslaved to sin and cannot free ourselves," as we confess.  This is why having some sort of understanding of the significance of Christ and atonement is important, because without Christ's saving act for us, the "sinner" reality would be the dominant one, and our relationship with God would be much more terrifying and probably negative.

On the other hand, this might be interpreted as we are both "good and bad."  I would not go here for a Lutheran argument, because I don't think I could make a very compelling case.  But, this could be argued that one is good because God works through us, in our callings and vocations, in guiding and sanctifying us, and leading us as we are justified by faith alone to engage in the world around us and love our neighbor.  One is bad because we perpetually come up short, especially when we allow ourselves to focus on our selves and not the needs of our neighbor, and that which God might have us do or call us to do; so when we seem to put ourselves first at the expense or pain of another person, God, a thing, or any part of creation, this would then be bad.

Perhaps this idea of "simultaneously saint and sinner," raises more questions then it answers, but I think it is a good place to start for contemplating what it means to be a Lutheran today.  How does it shape our practice of worship? Our practice of serving our neighbor, of walking with them, and being a part of this world while also of the world to come? (There is another Lutheran paradox for you)... We will keep these questions alive throughout the following posts, in the hope that they spark some ideas, imagination, wondering, and if necessary, some reevaluation and action if my own practices seem inconsistent with my beliefs and understandings.

Drucker as a Writer

Reading through Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker, and I think to myself... what if theologians wrote like this?  I have found Drucker's work to always be accessible, engaging, and well explained. He is not circular, but he is not making stuff up out of thin air, either.  If only all theologians took writing lessons from Drucker, perhaps we would have a better understanding of their theological ideas, and perhaps their ideas would be more accessible.  At the very least, complicated trains of thought might be a bit more clear.  What do you think?