Talking Points with Pastor Lucas: Go First! Life Together
Jesus calls Christians into a community of life together. That community is a part of the Holy Christian Church that we confess in the Apostles’ Creed. At the core of this life together is the message of the justification of humankind through the shed blood of Jesus. The local expression of this life together is most often seen by believers gathering for weekly worship at with their congregation. The marks of these gatherings are the clear teaching and preaching of the Word of God and the faithful administration of the sacraments.
Each local congregation has a life together, made up of the faces and voices of members. However, every Christian congregation, near and far, is united by the life of Jesus. In short, our life together is a life that follows Jesus. We go where He goes.
Last month I unpacked the Go in the Go First initiative. We looked at some of the various places Jesus calls disciples to “go,” even as He went there ahead of us on His way to the cross. The heart of this initiative is the life we have together through the cross. It binds us together in a community of faith and love as we together “go” about our lives.
The Go First! logo (above) highlights His cross as the center of this initiative. He went first to win our salvation and thus inspires us to go first as willing servants in our life together. That life together makes up the first corner of the logo. It signifies that everything we do is rooted in the truth of God’s Word. Our faith and worship are rooted in the Word. Our daily vocations are shaped by the Word. Our interactions with one another are guided by the Word.
Lutherans have a tremendous confession of faith that catechizes and strengthens believers to bear up under the pressures and temptations that come from the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. We acknowledge that our life together must deal with the guilt and the shame of the sin in our lives. We sin and we are sinned against, but it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from both (1 Jn. 1:7). That is why our life together centers upon the forgiveness of sins earned by Jesus, which is regularly delivered to us through Word and sacrament worship. There we are forgiven and freed, renewed and refreshed, discipled and dispersed to “go” out into our daily vocations to serve our neighbor, love the Lord, and give witness to His mercy. (See the logo arrows pointing out.)
The Advent blue coloring of the “life together” corner (along with the other liturgical colors of the remaining corners) reminds us that we follow the life of Jesus from His birth, through His ministry, to His death, to His resurrection and ascension, to the sending of His Holy Spirit, all the way through the growth of the New Testament Church.
The Holy Christian Church is a community of faith. We do not live in isolation of one another, but together as brothers and sisters in Christ. We need His reconciling grace to guide us to reconcile with one another. The Word of God stands at the center of our life, with the cross of Jesus lifted high. We proclaim it, teach it, and lift it high even as we live out its truth amid a broken and hurting world. That is our life together. Go first!