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Series editor’s note: The 2026 theme for “Deeper understandings” is faithful witness in challenging times. This year various authors will explore what it means for the ELCA, and each of us as Lutherans, to face the headwinds of societal fracture, loneliness and political contention, and to bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ that forgives, frees and transforms not only us individually but the whole world. We hope you will be encouraged and empowered to plant your feet firmly on the rock of our faith and speak joyfully and hopefully about the power of the gospel to foster peace and justice in a world desperately in need of both.
—Kristin Johnston Largen, president of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, on behalf of the ELCA’s seminaries
What is a Lutheran witness, and how can we best bear this witness in these times?
There are many ways of articulating what is central to a Lutheran understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ. For me, it boils down to this: Lutherans bear witness to the gospel truth that everyone is a beloved child of God whom Christ came to save, for whom Christ died on the cross. Every. Single. Person. (Insert here the face of the person you find most repellent.)
Every human being is a beloved child of God, no exceptions. We don’t get to make the choice about who is deserving of God’s love and mercy. In Jesus Christ, God has already made that choice, once and for all, and no one is left out or left behind. Lutherans are witnesses to a radical, overflowing, unstoppable grace that washes over and embraces the whole world. Contrary to other interpretations of the gospel that put conditions on God’s love, making salvation an if/then proposition and demanding something in return for a spiritual reward, Lutherans believe in and tell of the completely free and unearnable gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ—God’s unconditional love that welcomes all into God’s family, no exceptions.
Lutherans, then, respond to that gift with joy and gratitude, bearing witness to God’s wondrous love for all the world through our words and deeds, and in the very fabric of our lives. Yet, bearing faithful witness isn’t always easy, and it can be particularly hard in a societal climate such as the one we’re experiencing today.
The world desperately needs this Lutheran witness.
As I write this, residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are experiencing extraordinary stress, as federal agents are engaged in an increasingly violent immigrant law enforcement campaign. Lutherans and other Christians have shown great courage in their faithful witness, leading prayers, carrying signs, singing, and offering support and assistance to those who are threatened.
What can we learn about bearing faithful witness from those Christians and take into our own communities, our own churches, our own homes? For me, the answer is clear: put your body where love is needed. Lift up your voice, open your ears, share your heart and reach out your hands. Who needs your love and presence now in the places you find yourself? Look around—God might surprise you with a call to show up for someone who is right under your nose or just around the corner.
Returning to baptismal promises
This is, of course, much more difficult in practice than in theory. If it were up to me to just put on my big girl pants and “try harder” to love others, I’d be doomed from the start. On our own, bearing faithful witness is overwhelming—impossible, even. The power of sin is strong, and it leads us over and over into doing the evil we don’t want instead of the good we desire.
But we aren’t alone. While God doesn’t promise us an “easy” button, we know we have been promised guidance and help in the form of the Comforter. We don’t have to do the work of bearing witness on our own. Instead, we are empowered, supported and inspired by the gift of the Spirit, whom we have received in baptism. And it is to our baptism that we return to renew our strength and redouble our courage for faithful life in the world. As Lutherans, we take our direction for bearing witness from our baptismal promises. Hear them again:
“Do you intend to continue in the covenant God
made with you in holy baptism:
to live among God’s faithful people,
to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper,
to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
to serve all people, following the example of Jesus,
and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?”
(Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 236).
It’s quite a collection of verbs, isn’t it? But really, they all boil down to the same baptismal call: grounded in Christian community, fed by Scripture and the meal, go boldly out into the world, embodying Christ’s love as an instrument of peace and a herald of God’s grace.
The world desperately needs this Lutheran witness. In our current context, we see so much yelling—even as many people don’t feel heard or seen. There is so much anger, even as so many people’s hearts are breaking with grief. We are surrounded by so many voices, images and opinions, even as many people feel isolated and alone. God’s love has the power to break through all this noise, break down all this division, break apart all this cruelty. One person—you, bearer of this love—can make all the difference. Put your body where love is needed.
Lutherans bear witness to our loving savior Jesus Christ, through whom God brings life out of death and makes all things new. Beloved child of God, let the wind and fire of the Spirit move you into the places where your loving witness can transform hearts of stone and sow seeds of mercy and grace.
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