Nebraska Synod ELCA

In the summer of 1520,  Pope Leo X published the papal bull Exsurge Domine, a decree that ordered Martin Luther to stop preaching and answer to charges of heresy against the church. In response to that decree, Luther wrote three treatises, all of which continue to shape the church to this day. The last of those treatises was On the Freedom of a Christian, written with an open letter to the Pope in hopes that he might come to understand Luther was trying to help the church become more faithful, not attempting to rebel against the church or to break away. In the treatise, Luther laid out a central argument about the way Christians exist within the world:

• A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
• A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

This dialectic (an argument which appears to be an impossible paradox) has defined Lutheran faith for over 500 years, even as we Lutherans ourselves continually struggle to understand, incorporate, and embody it. In this month of July, when American Christians celebrate Independence Day, it’s worth taking a minute to consider just what freedom really means for us today. 

Most 21st century American citizens enjoy a level of freedom Luther would have found astonishing. The overwhelming majority of the people in 1520 were peasant laborers. The lands we know today as “Germany” were beginning to become a noteworthy center of manufacturing and industry, but 90% of the population lived in rural areas and spent most of their days farming land they did not own. The nobility of Luther’s time were themselves servants of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, though that servitude had been chafing long before Luther came along. “Freedom” meant something very different to most of the people who would have read Luther’s treatise.

The core argument, however, remains the same. When we children of the Reformation talk about freedom, we mean true freedom, bestowed upon us by God and by God alone. “All Jesus did was announce that truth and tell you it would make you free. It was admittedly a dangerous thing to do. You are a menace. Be he did it; and therefore, menace or not, here you stand: uncondemned, forever, now. What are you going to do with your freedom?” (Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon and Three). 

This is where the second half of Luther’s dialectic weighs in. We are now free to live, not for ourselves, but for the loving God who created us and for our beloved siblings who are our neighbors.  “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:13-14). Consider this: if celebrating our freedom makes the life of our neighbors miserable or less free, is it really a celebration God would bless? Again, Luther: “Why should I not therefore freely, joyfully, with all my heart and with an eager will do all things which I know are pleasing and acceptable to my neighbor, just as Christ offered himself to me; I will do nothing in this life except what I see is necessary, profitable and salutary to my neighbor, since through faith I have an abundance of all good things in Christ.”

Join me in giving thanks to God for setting all of us free in Christ, and in living out that thanks by serving our neighbors in faith, hope, and love. May your freedom be a blessing to your neighbors, now and always.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Scott