Law and Gospel
Sunday May 28th, Psalm 1: Blessed is the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers, but rather blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the LORD. We Lutherans don’t talk much about delighting in the law of the Lord. We use the excuse of works righteousness as an excuse. But the law is important. Luther in his small catechism changed the way we look at the law from a list of don’ts to a list of do’s. Instead of not “bearing false witness” we are asked to take it upon ourselves to speak well of others and interpret what they do in the best light. Instead of not committing adultery, we are asked to respect others sexuality in all that it means. Instead of not stealing, we are asked to help our neighbor take care of all they have. Delighting in the law is wanting to do what God wants us to be doing in this world. We only fear the law when we are trying to get away with something.
posted by Dan at 12:56 PM
2 Comments:
Your point on how brother Martin shows us that viewing the law from do not's to do's is good. However, I practically spit water all over my keyboard when I came to your explanation of not committing adultery, "we are to respect others sexuality in all that it means." Er... Quite frankly I have no idea on earth where came up with that. Though if you give me a quote from Martin along these lines I would be happy to give you the point.
Luther’s small Catechism, AFP 1979. "We are to fear and love God so that in matters of sex our words and conduct are pure and honorable, and husband and wife love and respect each other."
Yes, I take poetic license with the interpretation to extend "in matters of sex our words and conduct are pure and honorable" to all matters of sex and sexual orientation. Sorry if you have a problem with that, I think it is an appropriate extrapolation.
Pastor Dan
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