God votes for you.
Maybe you are like me and just turn the channel when you see another political ad on TV these days. No matter who the ad is supporting or trying to point out the flaws of, the message has an agenda…often seeking to manipulate more than inform. They more spark the reptilian fight or flight part of my brain than the reasoning and rational pre-frontal cortex part of my brain. At the end of the ad, I feel even more uncertain what I believe about the candidates. Drawing on Martin Luther’s famous catechism question…I find myself wondering, “What does this mean?”
Martin Luther never set out to start the “Lutheran” church or any denomination that came out of the Reformation. He desired to reform the Catholic Church from within. He was actually not fond at all of people calling themselves “Lutherans.” For him, “christian” was the better descriptor.
Yet, Luther did what he did because he saw the church of his time using scripture to manipulate people out of fear…of hell…of God’s judgment…and not pointing people to Christ, who lived, died, and rose for all to know God’s free gift of mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love. For Luther it was the difference in being manipulated to live faithfully verses living faithfully knowing that God sacrificed all that you may live…and live life to the fullest for self and others.
So, Luther came up with an ad of his own…a symbol that captured what he believed and experienced…an ad centered in Christ for all to understand and be transformed by God’s politics…God’s work to bring life to all peoples and creation.
Some call it “Luther’s Seal” or “The Luther Rose.” Luther explains it this way, “The first thing should be a black cross in a red heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified Jesus saves us.” Romans 10:10. “Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. In other words, it places the believer into a white, joyous rose, for this faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives.” John 14:27 Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed. And around this field is a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end.
No matter what ads you see on TV, know the message of God seeks to calm fears, inspire rich and vital conversations, and speak also to the heart and soul. It is a message of hope, of sacrifice, of loving neighbor and self. The message of God in Christ is not an ad to manipulate us into believing or giving this or that. The message of God in Christ is a PROMISE of what God has done and continues to do for you and for all. We vote based on what we believe this election, but let us never forget that in the cross we see most clearly God, who votes for us.
Peace,
PV
