Remembering Walter Brueggemann

In Memoriam of Gustavo Gutierrrez and Walter Brueggemann - Part 2

Walter Brueggemann: A Prophet for our Time

Hear the word of the Lord…

For the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or loyalty,

And no knowledge of God in the land.

Swearing, lying, and murder, and stealing and adultery break out.

Bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Therefore, the land mourns, and all who live in it languish:

Together with the wild animals and the birds of the air,

Even the fish of the sea are perishing.

                                                                           (Hosea 4:1-3)

Hosea’s lament is stunningly resonant today. Renowned Scripture scholar, beloved teacher and regular preacher in United Church of Christ communities, Walter Brueggemann devoted his scholarly career and his life to pointing that out and drawing the necessary challenging conclusions for faith communities. Like the ancient prophets, he called us to fidelity to our call in a contemporary satiated consumer culture, to fidelity to the word of God, to a God of justice and righteousness, of steadfast love, of compassion and mercy. What does fidelity to God and the covenantal demands require of us today? An answer was his gift to us.

Walter Brueggemann’s was not interested in detailed textual analysis alone. Woe betides students who failed to make the required move to interpret the current social reality in light of their textual analysis, fine as it might be. Gone was the prized “A”!

A short blog does not do justice to the lasting contribution of Walter Brueggemann. Let me simply offer a sense of his main argument in his own words. The Prophetic Imagination, one of Brueggemann’s early and best-known books, envisions an alternative prophetic community whose task is both to criticize and energize:

“On the one hand, it is to show that the dominant consciousness (which I have termed “royal”) will indeed end and that it has no final claim upon us. On the other hand, it is the task of the alternative prophetic community to present an alternative consciousness that can energize the community to fresh forms of faithfulness and vitality…. It is the task of prophetic imagination and ministry to bring people to engage the promise of newness that is at work in our history with God.” 62

At great cost to themselves, the prophets of old preached fidelity to the word of God. Throughout a lifetime of exploring ever more deeply the implications of their message, Walter Brueggemann has left us a blueprint for a communal response. May he rest in peace.

-Sister Joyce Murray, csj

---

An article from On Being with Krista Tippett:

Walter Brueggemann, In Memoriam — When the World We Have Trusted In Is Vanishing

Image: Héctor J. Rivas/Unsplash

Remembering Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez

In Memoriam of Gustavo Gutiérrez and Walter Brueggemann - Part 1

Along with countless others across the world, I grieve the loss of these two giants who died in 2025. They both left an indelible mark on theology and Scripture studies and, perhaps more importantly, on the lives of those fortunate enough to have access to their work. For theirs was a conceptual vision grounded in reality, a muscular hope that transformative social change and a better world are in fact possible. 

Reflection on the work of these two men would fill volumes. I offer a very brief reflection in two parts sparked by the significant personal impact of two professors who were my summer-school teachers at Boston College.

Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez

Gustavo Gutiérrez is recognized as the father of liberation theology. What distinguishes his work and is often overlooked is his communal approach to salvation/liberation and to the “option for the poor.” In his evolving work over the decades, he continued to insist on the salvific significance of poor communities in history. Therein lies a valuable lesson in solidarity with the oppressed for us as a congregation as we struggle to find a foothold in the current world disorder and respond actively to our mission of seeking unity and reconciliation, that is, the communion of all in God.

Given the constraints of space, I choose one quotation among many to illustrate Gustavo’s key insight concerning solidarity as liberative praxis (action for liberation) in the Christian context:

“The praxis of liberation, therefore, inasmuch as it starts out from an authentic solidarity with the poor and oppressed, is ultimately a praxis of love – real love, effective and concrete, for real, concrete human beings. It is a praxis of love of neighbor, and of love for Christ in the neighbor, for Christ identifies himself with the least of these human beings, our brothers and sisters.”

As we carry out our CSJ mission, whatever our own particular circumstances, let us be inspired by the legacy of Gustavo Gutiérrez.

-Sister Joyce Murray, CSJ

Image: Jonathan Dick, OSFS/Unsplash