bobjots : redux

Since this is Reformation Month after all, I think at least one Lutheran themed post would be appropriate. A lot of the stuff here is courtesy of Sivin Kit, who’s been preaching on the priesthood of all believers throughout the month of October at Bangsar Lutheran Church. I believe its part of a unified series that has been recommended by the Lutheran Church in Malaysia & Singapore in conjunction with Reformation Month this year.

Psalm 82 reads:

God presides in the great assembly;
    he gives judgment among the “gods”:

“How long will you defend the unjust
    and show partiality to the wicked?

Defend the weak and the fatherless;
    uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
    They walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

“I said, ‘You are “gods”;
    you are all sons of the Most High.’

But you will die like mere mortals;
    you will fall like every other ruler.”

Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
    for all the nations are your inheritance.

Among Luther’s many thoughts on this Psalm, he mentioned the following:

So then, this first verse teaches us that to rebuke rulers is not seditious, provided it is done in the way here described: namely, by the office to which God has committed that duty, and through God’s Word, spoken publicly, boldly, and honestly. To rebuke rulers in this way, is on the contrary, a praiseworthy, noble, and rare virtue, and particularly great service to God, as the Psalm here proves.

Luther then takes it a step further by proclaiming:

Here we must in the first place oppose injustice, wherever truth or justice suffer violence or injury, and we must make no distinctions of persons, as do some who are all too keen to combat any injustice suffered by the rich and the powerful and by friends, but who remain quiet and patient when this happens to the poor and despised and to enemies ..

.. How beautifully (the old human) covers up his own self-interest in the name of truth and justice and God’s honour .. There really is a multitude of good works to be done here, since the majority of the powerful, the rich and one’s own friends inflict injustice and violence on the poor and humble and on their enemies ..

.. And the greater the man, the greater the injustice. Where one can not put a stop to it by force and so allow the truth to prevail, one must at least speak out courageously and do what one can with words; one may not support or agree with them but must freely speak the truth.

Of course, I’d like to ask Luther about his own unjust attitudes against the Jews .. but that’s something to ponder upon for another day. I reckon that’s why Sivin keeps telling me that Lutherans have to learn to live with paradox. Perhaps Luther was an early post-modern prototype after all

I’ve actually come across quite a few more gems but I’ll stick to the conventional wisdom that one main point per blog post is more than enough. Until the next time … here’s a toast to one of the original Reformasi activists.