LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 298

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298

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Response to “A Common Word Between Us
and You”
We in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod receive “A Common
Word Between Us and You” with thanksgiving. In a world tragically filled
with violence and hatred the invitation of “A Common Word” to work
for greater peace and harmony between Muslims and Christians is most
welcome.
“A Common Word” invites Christians and Muslims to move beyond
the sound bytes and engage in a serious study of their respective faiths. Its
exposition of the Muslim teachings about love for God and one’s neighbor will help Christians grow in their understanding of these basic beliefs
of Islam. Its exposition of the Christian teachings about love for God and
one’s neighbor illustrates a deep understanding of these beliefs on the part
of the Muslim scholars and clerics who wrote and signed “A Common
Word.” The commands to love God and the neighbor are found in all of
the Abrahamic traditions—as is noted by the quotations in “A Common
Word” which come from Moses and the prophets, the Apostles of Jesus
Christ, and the Qur’an.
With the authors of “A Common Word,” we are also grieved that some
today use religion to promote discord and division. Violence and hatred
exercised in the name of religion are misuses and violations of religion
itself which turn faith and religious fervor into the opposite of their original
purpose. With the signers of “A Common Word” we desire to live “in righteousness and good works.” We pray that we would “respect each other, be
fair, just and kind to” one another, and that we would in love “live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill” with our fellow Christians and
Muslims throughout the world. With the signers of “A Common Word”
we desire that all people living in every land would be able to exercise
“freedom of religion” without fear, coercion, or the threat of violence for
their beliefs.
It is true that Christians and Muslims believe that Jesus was born of
the Virgin Mary, that He performed miracles, that He was pure/faultless,
and is called the Word of God and the Messiah. (Qur’an 3:42, 45–51, 59;
4:157, 171–172; 5:11; 6:85; 19:16–34; Isaiah 7:14; 53:11; Jeremiah 23:6;
Matthew 1:18–25; 8:14–17; John 1:1, 40–42; 1 Peter 2:22–24; 3:15, 18)
Though these teachings are jointly affirmed, “A Common Word” recognizes that Muslims and Christians do not see Jesus in the same way.
Christians confess Jesus as the risen Lord and God, the second person of
the Trinity. “A Common Word” invites Christians and Muslims to discuss
what they believe in common about love for God and the neighbor. From
that common ground Muslims and Christians can begin discussing other
religious positions which are not shared. We welcome the invitation of the
signers of “A Common Word” to be involved in studies that will bring
about greater respect and understanding of our common beliefs and our differences, and greater peace and harmony between Christians and Muslims.
With the signers of “A Common Word” we too desire that our differences
would “not cause hatred and strife between us.”
Christians and Muslims who come together to speak and discuss matters of faith with a frank and open spirit will learn greater respect for one
another. Let us strive to walk together in civility and respect that will bring
about greater harmony and understanding between Muslims and Christians
for the good of the world.
“‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 1:18).

Adopted by the CTCR
April 25, 2009

Living to Serve
We know and believe that we are saved by God’s grace grasped in
faith, not by our works, so no patting ourselves on the back. Ephesians
2:8–9 says so. It’s a great joy and relief knowing that our salvation is not
up to us. We could work and work and never find the end. Instead, Jesus
Christ has paid the price and made us one with God.
But when we think of our new life in Christ, don’t stop with verse 9.
Read on to verse 10: We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works that God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Saved from sin also means saved for service, doing works called good because they are done by people made good by God’s grace. Good fruit coming because of a good tree is the way Jesus pictured it.
So service comes naturally from faith. Martin Luther put it another way
in a famous pair of sentences:
1. The Christian is the perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
2. The Christian is the servant of all, subject to all.
The first sentence speaks of our salvation: since Christ has freed us, no
one can burden us with something to do to be saved. But because we are
saved, we turn right around and serve the people around us. Being saved
by Christ’s grace means we now have a lot of time freed up to find ways
to serve others.
We serve God by serving for him in his place. How so? God gives us all
sorts of “callings” in life—“vocations” in theological talk from the days when
theologians spoke Latin. “Vocatio” = “Calling.” That’s not just a job, how
someone makes a living. Vocations are all sorts of roles people fill in daily
life. Ever since God created this world, both before and after the fall into sin,
he has had people doing things to take care of his world and make things run.
Adam and Eve had callings: care for Eden, care for each other, and care for
the family they started—really the start of society as people multiplied.
Service in vocations has continued ever since. Think of the Small Catechism explanations to the commandments, where we read not only of what
God’s people don’t do, but also how they help others. It’s not that God
couldn’t do things directly himself. He could reach down and teach a class,
but he uses teachers. He could build a building, but he uses construction
workers. He could plow the field, but he uses farmers. He could manage a
home, but he uses homemakers. He could help around the house, befriend
older people, walk the dog, baby sit, and more, but he uses kids. Yes, you
have vocations, too. The Bible does not say much about Jesus’ childhood,
but we know that as he grew up, he found approval in the eyes of God and
people—he filled all the vocations that fell to him along the way.
We like to say God works through means. The Means of Grace are his
Word spoken, read, and heard, as well as his Sacraments of Baptism and
the Lord’s Supper. These Sacraments also give us his promise of salvation.
In matters of daily life, God also works through means to get things done,
through people he puts in different roles. Some of the many examples have
already been mentioned.
But there are other means that are important because they also help communicate the Means of Grace. We are talking about vocations within the
church. Here, too, God uses people to work for him, to communicate his message of sin and grace. So Christ gave us the role, or office, of pastor to preach
and teach, to carry out the Sacraments in behalf of Christ’s people—in short,
to make sure we know that while we are sinners, we also have God’s eternal
forgiving love in Christ—and to remind us of verse 10 in Ephesians 2. In and
since New Testament times, the church has found it useful to set up other
roles, or callings, to work with pastors, to extend God’s work through teachers, deacons and deaconesses, evangelists, and more. These serve as God’s
hands and do his work now in this world and for the eternal good of those they
serve, teaching and telling and showing Christ’s love.
“For all which it is our duty to thank and praise, to serve and obey
him,” says the Small Catechism on the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed.
Vocation is service. Think about that when doing life’s tasks great and
small. And think about service also in the church, in vocations there to
build up the body of Christ. But whether with deeds or with words witnessing to what God has done for me, we know that for his children, vocation is
thanks and praise. This is most certainly true!

Adopted April 23, 2009
Commission on Theology and Church Relations
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

2010 Convention Workbook

2010 Convention.indb 298

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