“Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”  – Isaiah 6:5

Beloved of God,

When Isaiah heard the voice of God calling his name one day in the Temple, he began looking for a way out.  After all, who was he—a man of unclean lips—to take on a Divine vocation as a prophetic spokesman for God?  Isaiah wasn’t alone in looking for a way around God’s call.  Moses tried to use a speech impediment as his excuse for not answering God’s call.[1] For Jeremiah the excuse was age.  “I’m too young to serve as a spokesman for the Almighty.”[2] Gideon came from the very least family of the weakest clan of a beleaguered people —and couldn’t imagine how he could possibly be of any use to God.[3] Isaiah, likewise, was eager to find a way far from the line of fire.  But none of these leaders were finally able to elude God’s call to servanthood. Each of them thought their personal limitations were too big to be overcome.  And in each case, God provided what was needed in order for them to succeed.  They each became instruments of God’s purposes in spite of their limitations. God’s strength was made perfect in their weakness. The point?  God can take whatever raw material we provide and fashion it into an instrument that’ll keep working under the most challenging conditions imaginable.  And the challenges of living faithfully as citizens of God’s “kin-dom” and as citizens of our country are reaching new depths these days.

On February 1, in a widely distributed post on X (formerly Twitter), Lutheran organizations like Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) and Lutheran Services in America were denigratingly characterized as “money laundering operation(s).”  This baseless and slanderous accusation was amplified by Elon Musk who commented that the DOGE team is “rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.”  In a follow-up communication, Presiding ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton pointed out the baseless and defamatory nature of these comments. “Neither claim,” she said “was accompanied by proof to support the false and dangerous notion that Lutherans use religion to launder money or that grants to support the work of Lutheran organizations for decades are in any way illegal.  The Lutheran organizations targeted by name in these false claims on X have done the same work for 85 years—beginning during World War 2—in serving legally admitted refugees and immigrants.”  Bishop Eaton concludes: “The ELCA remains committed to our core mission of feeding people who are hungry, caring for those who are sick, and advocating for justice, peace, and the dignity of all people. This has been the calling of the church for over 2,000 years, and that will not change.”  Bravo, Bishop Eaton!  All of us who serve Christ’s church during this extraordinary time are being summoned by the gospel to stand together against the threats that would impede the church’s mission and imperil the rule of law, and Constitutional democracy.  The time is at hand.

Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany who was initially sympathetic with many Nazi ideas. But after Hitler came to power in 1933, he became an outspoken critic of Hitler’s interference in the Protestant Church and as a result spent eight years in Nazi prisons and concentration camps.[4] On June 8, 2023, the 37th anniversary of my ordination, I visited the cell where Niemöller was imprisoned at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp north of Berlin. After the war, Niemöller spoke openly about his own early complicity in Nazism and his eventual change of heart. His powerful words about guilt and responsibility still resonate today.

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

– Rev. Martin Niemöller, German Lutheran Pastor, commenting on the Nazi period

By the time Isaiah’s encounter with God ended, his reluctant “Woe is me!” had become a resounding “Here am I—send me!” Newly cleansed and empowered, Isaiah assumed the prophet’s mantle.  What he and those he mentored proclaimed in God’s name has withstood the test of time.  Jesus turned to Isaiah to encapsulate what his mission was about—and those words are still relevant today.

What ministry at the intersection of Faith and World is God calling you to engage?  How can we together faithfully pursue the mission to which Christ is calling us in these times?  We cannot run away from this moment.  We must embrace it.

With you on the Way,

Pastor Erik

[1] See Exodus 4:1-17

[2] See Jeremiah 1:4-10

[3] See Judges 6-8

[4] For more information, see the Holocaust Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists