LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 77

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THE CONVENTION ESSAY 77

variant forms they take? What is the first and fore-
most priority of the church? Is it social action?

Let us establish first that there is a role, an important
role, for the church as a social agency. Christ did
indeed heal the sick and feed the hungry. However, it
is important to note that Jesus never attempted to heal
all the sick, and the Gospels report His feeding the
hungry masses on only two occasions. Indeed the
physical help that Jesus gave was a sign, a symbol, a
pledge of final and complete restoration at the end of
time. Note that when the people came to make Him
a king because of His ability to provide, Jesus cau-
tioned: “Truly, truly I say to you, you seek Me not
because you saw signs but because you ate your fill
of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes,
but for the food which endures to eternal life, which
the Son of Man will give to you. ... This is the work
of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
(John 6; 26-29)

Nevertheless, we remember that deeds of love and
kindness will be the outward evidence of an inner faith
when Christ judges on the Last Day. You remember
His words in Matthew 25: “Come, O blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave
Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was
a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and
you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was
in prison and you came to Me.” (34-36)

Note also the words of James: “Religion that is
pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to
keep one’s self unstained from the world” (James 1: 27).
And Jchn writes: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we
also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). The
same apostle writes: “But if anyone has the world’s
goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart
against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little
children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed
and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18)

Yes, indeed Christians have social responsibilities.
Remember that also Paul in this very Second Letter
to the Corinthians was promoting a collection for the
poor congregation at Jerusalem (8:16-24). Scripture
is full of admonitions to be alert to the physical plight
of our fellow human beings and, because of the love
of Christ, come to their aid.

The church has indeed often done this work down
through the ages. The origin of hospitals, orphanages,
and schools is to be found with the church and not the
state. In the early centuries aid was given to those in
need. History records that during the years A.D. 398
to 407, when John Chrysostom was patriarch in Con-
stantinople, 30,000 needy individuals were on the relief
rolls of the church.

The history of our Synod shows early attention
given to helping the needy. Lutheran Hospital in St.
Louis was founded in 1858. The Lutheran Home for

the Aged in Arlington Heights, Illinois, goes back to
1892. The Evangelical Lutheran Institute for the Deaf
in Detroit came into being in 1873. There have always
been individuals who spoke and worked for the needy.
Much social welfare has gone on and is going on quietly
today without the fact being publicly proclaimed. More-
over, today our church counts 82 health and welfare
agencies operating in our midst. Synod’s Department
of Social Ministry and World Relief deals with such
subjects as racism, welfare reform, prison reform, and
ecological concerns. Our World Relief Program has
ongoing programs on every continent. [This past year
we have aided cyclone victims in Pakistan, flood victims
in Romania, earthquake victims of Peru, and war-torn
people in Jordan. Through projects of self-help and
housing we have brought assistance to Mexican-Ameri-
cans, blacks, Indians, and Appalachian whites.]

All this is done in the name of Jesus because His
love leaves us no choice. We have not done enough,
I am sure, but certainly we have recognized the princi-
ple that we are to play the role of the Good Samaritan.

However, let us come back to priorities. In answer-
ing let us recognize that providing material relief in
itself is not proof of Christian love. Non-Christians
often show the same compassion and spirit of service.
Moreover, our deeds of kindness by themselves do not
bring a man, a woman, a child one inch closer to eternal
life. Those of us who are blood donors, as we watch
the pint of life-sustaining fluid being carried away, often
wonder into whose veins it will be transfused. Our
gift may save the life of a man undergoing heart surgery.
It may spell the difference between life and death for
a child after an accident. But our gift of blood by itself
will not bring that man, that child, one inch closer to
eternal life. It does not save them from eternal dam-
nation. Neither will housing, food, shelter, racial
equality, and all our other important social goals by
themselves bring men closer to God.

We are ambassadors for Christ, and it is the word
of reconciliation that is our first priority. Those who
advocate involving the church in revolution and re-
structuring by force or even by political influence and
pressure need to consider Paul’s words: “For though
we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly
war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly,
but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We
destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the
knowledge of God and take every thought captive to
obey Christ” (2 Cor.10:3-5). [Moreover, revolution in
the sense of overthrowing properly constituted authority
falls under the judgment of St. Paul: “He that rises up
against authority sets himself up against God’s insti-
tution.” (Rom. 13:3) ]

Indeed the way in which the Gospel changed the
Roman Empire and ended its system of slavery shows
the power of God’s Word. The church avoided bloody
and disastrous rebellions like that of Spartacus. Instead
it worked by changing the hearts of men, by restructur-
ing the thought patterns, the value systems of both

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