“Imperial economics is designed to keep people satiated so that they do not notice. Its politics is intended to block out the cries of the denied ones. Its religion is to be an opiate so that no one discerns the misery alive in the heart of God.” — Walter Brueggemann

The voice of Walter Brueggemann has long echoed through pulpits, classrooms, and quiet study corners across the globe — a voice equal parts prophet and poet, pastor and provocateur. Today, the World Communion of Reformed Churches joins countless others in honoring this towering figure in biblical scholarship, whose words continue to stir the soul of the church.

Walter Brueggemann, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ — a member church of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) who passed away on June 5, 2025, at the age of 92, was more than a scholar; he was a prophetic witness to a collapsing world and a vision for new life beyond that collapse. His work challenged the church to face hard realities — the failure of old certitudes, the disintegration of empires, and the urgent call to love neighbour amid economic and social injustice.

Brueggemann’s writings resonate with the same urgency found in the biblical prophets who mourned the fall of Jerusalem yet imagined a world renewed by justice and hope. He spoke of a “collapse or at least we in the West face collapse after the failure of old certitudes and old privileges and old patterns of domination.” Yet, within this collapse, he saw the emergence of a new vision — a call to “love your neighbour… in concrete policy actions” and to resist the “gods of the economy who want to obliterate the neighbour question for the wealth and domination of the few.”

His prophetic imagination was deeply rooted in Scripture, particularly the texts of Isaiah and Nehemiah. These texts, he reminded us, show a path through collapse to vision, from dispute to action: “Collapse, vision, dispute, action! And it is all about neighbour, those in the second great commandment.” This sequence was not merely academic but a summons for the church to enact justice concretely — breaking chains of debt, restoring dignity, and practicing neighbourliness as a public act of faith.

Brueggemann understood that the church’s task is one of resistance: “Our task is to be different because of our baptism. Our task is resistance as it has always been resistance. Our task is critical engagement that exposes sweet, pious, private religion as the handmaid of abusive economics.” His call was clear: to fast “for the sake of the hungry, the poor, the homeless, the naked,” a fast “powered by the self-giving love of God and invites us to self-give as did the One who became obedient unto death.”

Born in 1933 in Tilden, Nebraska, Brueggemann’s theological journey was shaped by deep academic rigor and pastoral sensitivity. He held chairs at Eden and Columbia Theological Seminaries and remained a faithful preacher and teacher until his last days. Yet, his greatest legacy may be the way his words stirred generations to see beyond despair and to imagine, with courage, a world renewed by God’s justice.

Reflecting on his life and witness, the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, said: “Walter Brueggemann’s voice has been a beacon of biblical clarity and prophetic courage for the global Reformed family. His deep commitment to justice, his theological brilliance, and his unapologetic hope have nurtured the conscience of the church.”

As we remember Walter Brueggemann, we hear again the summons of the gospel: “Love God wholly… and love your neighbour.” These are not abstract ideals but “starchy resolve that moves into the world.” In a time of collapse and uncertainty, his prophetic voice remains a guide and a challenge: to move from lament to vision, from dispute to faithful action — breaking chains, restoring neighbourliness, and embodying God’s justice in the world.

For his life, we give thanks. For his words, we listen still.

Note: All quotes from Walter Brueggemann in this article are from his lecture delivered at the 1997 General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Debrecen.