By Bob Hulteen
This was the time of year that my dad would pull me out of school to spend the day with the North Dakota state legislature. As the State Supervisor of Property Tax Assessments, he worked on the seventh floor of the State Capitol in Bismarck. It was his calling (in a very Lutheran understanding of calling) to ensure fairness and equity in social policy through tax regulation.
Finding me a spot in the gallery, he would trick me into listening attentively to the debate of the senators and representatives, saying he needed to know the best (and worst) arguments for his work. Proud of my father’s vocation, I listened with religious zeal to the elected officials make their best case on this or that side of an issue. I would vigorously record the conversation to share with my dad over the dinner table those evenings.
“I listened with religious zeal to the elected officials make their best case on this or that side of an issue.”
I was amazed at the debate between the giants of the legislature. While I knew even then what my faith-inspired perspective was on most topics discussed, I could appreciate the serious way in which these men and women interacted. They cared for the common good, I believed. Though the route to the end goal differed, I believed that they all were committed to a social order that worked for all, and especially for those most at the margins.
MOTIVATED BY A DEEP political antagonism recently rife in the country, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly last August voted to produce a social message on discipleship and civc engagement. Social messages, like their “social statement” cousins, are teaching documents that address issues worthy of theological and sociological reflection for people of faith. Unlike social statements, which must be passed by a super-majority at a Churchwide Assembly, social messages are prepared and adopted by the ELCA Church Council, the denomination’s highest legislative body.
Currently, “A Draft Social Message on Government and Civic Engagement: Discipleship in a Democracy” is circulating. Drafters are seeking reactions from members of congregations by the deadline of May 27. (You can read the draft social message and fill out a response form.) How should Lutherans engage the world of policy and politics?
While having insights to offer, one of the chief shortcomings of this document is its failure to recognize the sustained and enduring power of the systemic forces that abuse and attack the most vulnerable. Throughout most of the social message, there seems to be an assumption that individual actions can exacerbate or solve problems without acknowledgement of the systemic and structural forces (let’s say “powers and principalities”) at play.
Individual moral actions certainly have a place, and personal accountability is important. But, surely, we can agree that structural forces impinge on the opportunities and options some individuals even have. Fairness and equity cannot even enter the discussion until there is acknowledgment of the invisible (and not so invisible) forces that hold back disproportionately. I would have hoped that would be front and center in this social message.
“And, it’s not like we don’t experience our social, spiritual, emotional, and even physical connectivity.”
In this moment more than most, we are increasingly aware of the critical nature of neighbor-love. Within our church culture, we are stating unequivocally that we choose to self-isolate to ensure that we don’t risk infecting our neighbor or overwhelming our healthcare system, not solely out of fear that we will be infected. Along with the church in Corinth, in a time such as this, we can understand that what the hand does (by washing for 20 seconds) can affect the health of the eye.
And, it’s not like we don’t experience our social, spiritual, emotional, and even physical connectivity. It’s all around us, including in our political and governmental systems.
As the 2020 Minnesota Legislative Session comes to a close, I am mindful of the 2015 Synod Assembly. Assembly planners invited Sen. David Senjem (R-Rochester) and Sen John Marty (DFL-Roseville), both Lutherans, to be interviewed by Bishop Svennungsen in front of the Lutherans assembled. The two senators discussed many controversial issues being debated that very weekend in St. Paul. Representing different caucuses, there were points of disagreement, but also of agreement. The voting members appreciated both the honesty and the humility of the elected officials.
Walking with Sen. Senjem to his car after the interview, he said, “I’m so grateful for this experience. At this point in the [legislative] session, I can forget how much I like John Marty as a person.” Having just “debated” sensitive issues in front of a large crowd, he felt compelled to reflect on his connectedness to someone who sits across the aisle.
That’s the way disciples talk. May we all find that voice.