Jesus told the religious leaders of his day that they had neglected the weightier matters of the Torah (the “Teaching”). They had not practiced justice, mercy, and faith. They had focused on minor issues, rather than that which was required of human beings. The prophet, Micah, reminded us of what was essential to human praxis: “to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.”
This word of Jesus and Micah addresses the church in our time. It addresses congregations and denominations that seek to secure themselves among competing interests. Some churches give much attention to their brand and to what they believe will appeal to prospective members. Others respond to fears that they are becoming irrelevant. Some are fearful that they are losing a privileged place in society, and they expend energy trying to make inroads with political power. Many congregations are turned inward upon their programs, family relationships, and personal piety in such a manner that little attention is given to the tremendous needs around them in the way of hurting, broken individuals, families, and societies. Consequently, the church is often viewed as simply looking out for itself rather than engaged in the liberating work of doing justice, loving mercy, and living faithfully.
In addition to the above, there are churches that can simply be described as White nationalist, their Christianity a cover for an idolatry of nation and whiteness. There are also churches that espouse a prosperity gospel and churches that are legalistic in nature, manifesting little of God’s grace. My hope is that members of these churches also find there way to this blog and discover an alternative.
The intention of this blog is to address the central issues of justice, mercy, and faith and their relationship to each other and to the world in our time. The community of Jesus’ followers is being addressed in these posts. But because these issues are essential for being human, people from other faith communities or no faith community may find something here that speaks to them as well.
The Author:
David Lowry served as pastor of St. Thomas Lutheran Church in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago for over twenty-eight years and Bethesda Lutheran Church, previously, for four years. At St. Thomas, Pastor Lowry served a congregation with a strong outreach to children in crisis and a ministry to recovering addicts, among other ministries. He has been involved in training lay leaders through diaconal and biblical training programs and was active with SOUL, an organization of churches addressing issues of social justice. Pastor Lowry received a Ph.D. in theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1986.
Recent books:
Participation: Being In Christ
Following Jesus In An Age of Hypocrisy
Released Outward: Liberating Congregations to Do Justice, Love Mercy and Live Faithfully