Ripples

Jürgen Moltmann died yesterday– he was 98 years old. Odds are you’ve never heard his name before, but he was a German theologian who greatly influenced how we think and talk about God after the horrors and devastation of World War II. His two most famous books were Theology of Hope and The Crucified God. I read his writing when I was in seminary preparing for the work of ministry.

His life was fascinating and if you have time, you should read his biography online. As I’ve been thinking about his life and passing, I’m struck by how our lives and our actions ripple outwards in ways we never could have expected. His words have been read and discussed by countless theology students over the decades, shaping how pastors and congregations think about God and God’s activities in the world. Most people will never read his works (they are very dense theological texts, and being translated from German makes them that much more difficult to understand. 

For example, if you hear my Good Friday sermon this year, it was very much shaped and formed by Moltmann’s way of thinking about Jesus and his death on the cross. 

What ripples outward have you seen in your own life? When did something you said or did domino outward into something good and new you couldn’t have imagined? Who are the people and places you don’t often think of that have shaped and formed you?

I give thanks to God for the good and faithful life of Jürgen Moltmann, knowing he is at rest and the work of looking for God in the world today continues.