The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
Luther does not separate the person of Christ from his work. Rather, Christ himself, both his person and his work, is the ground of Christian righteousness. Christ is, in this unity of person and work, really present in the faith of the Christian. The favor of God (i.e., the forgiveness of sins and the removal of God’s wrath) and the “gift” of God (gift, God himself, present in the fullness of his essence) are united in the person of Christ… Christ is both the favor and the gift. And this unity is…both inseparable and unconfused.
At first I was drawn into the way we describe Holy Communion. We say that Christ is “really present” in the meal…in the community…in our lives. With God’s forgiveness comes a reality in which God is present with us in Christ. The divine, you might say, is a part of our life together…not merely a concept to understand or accept. For Luther, the crucified and risen Christ is present and brings among us salvation – the promised life within the reign of God. It is a part of the Good News message…the reality - the real presence - is not to come at a later time…it is now and we are invited to partake in its life…a divine gift – a divine life.
Connection: Picture yourself as part of a grand mural called the Reign of God…and there you are…in all your today-ness as a part of the promise of life that you may not see completely just now. This kind of vision can really have an impact on how we move on into the rest of the day’s activities.
Lord of Life, your life is offered to us so that we would have another way of encountering this day. Remind us of the life of grace that is given to us and for the living of this day. Amen.
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