Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 3:19-28: John 8:31-36
Today Lutheran congregations around the world recognize today as the anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. It’s a celebration of the day Brother Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses against the sale of indulgences to the door of the City Church in Wittenburg. He proposed some changes in the way we are assured of God’s forgiveness, based on today’s readings and some others. Not all were happy with his changes.
The word “reformation” often causes anxiety. It implies that
change is coming, and change implies that we have been doing something wrong.
Our egos tell us that being wrong is shameful, so we resist change, we resist
reformation.
… Here’s one way to not do re-formation. Mike and I were watching a series of Egyptian archaeology TV shows. One of them was about Akhenaten, who decided to eliminate all gods but Aten, the sun god. He demanded that god statues be destroyed, and that worship of other gods cease. And his governance destroyed the economy. Akhenaten’s son Tutankhamun, who reigned for 10 years as a teenager, restored the old gods and revived his kingdom’s spirit and economy. An all-or-nothing approach definitely doesn’t work for re-formation.
… So, yes, re-formation can be about the congregation. It is also about us, and it’s about the people we reach. At heart, what Martin Luther was concerned with was the way the Church (capital C church) made people feel guilty for their sins and depended on the pope for forgiveness. Or, they could pay a “presumably licensed” vendor for a piece of paper that said they were forgiven. They could conceivably buy their way into heaven! And they could buy forgiveness for people who had already died and were spending decades in God’s waiting room called purgatory.
Luther studied the scriptures and discovered in the prophet
Jeremiah that God is a forgiving God, a God who even forgets our sins. Our God
loves us and abides by the covenant of relationship established with Noah, with
Abraham and his family, with Moses and the twelve tribes. This covenant is not
a legal document, filed with a court of law, but a promise written on the hearts
of believers.
In the letters of Paul, Luther discovered that no one is
exempt from this covenant of promised love and forgiveness. All fall under the
gift of grace given to us through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.
We are free from fear of condemnation for our sins. We are
free from shame for things we don’t dare confess to anyone, even to ourselves. We
don’t have to pretend to be perfect, because we can’t ever be perfect. We are
free to love ourselves as God loves us, as imperfect and beloved children of
God. And we are free for loving others the same way. We are free to love other
imperfect, beloved children of God.
We are free to tell the judgment that arises within us to “shut up”. We are free to silence the self-judgment that happens when we compare ourselves to others and come up wanting. And we are free to silence the judgment that compares others to ourselves and finds them wanting.
…We remember we are baptized, loved by God, and forgiven. And we are free to reform ourselves daily by the power of that love. Because Luther knew he was baptized and free to speak up, the Christian world changed 500 years ago. With our baptism, we are not just free from guilt for our sins, from the ways we really messed up, but we have Holy Spirit power. We have power to discern what needs reforming in our congregation, in our community, and in the world that surrounds us
… Congregational Council members are reading a book called Leading Faithful Innovation. One of the stories in the book is about a few leaders who took a walk together in their neighborhood. They entered a building they hadn’t noticed before, and learned that it was affordable housing for HIV/ AIDs patients.
Over several months, the congregation began to build a
relationship with the staff and residents. They started with the church
providing winter clothing items, like hats and mittens. Later, it was a monthly
meal in the community room hosted by a few church members. Then, another local
organization contacted the congregation’s leadership asking for a way to help
the HIV/AIDs folks. Eventually, some of the residents began to worship with the
congregation, and the pastor was invited to lead a memorial service for a resident
who died.
The congregation’s leaders trusted that God was leading
them, and that the Holy Spirit had empowered them to make the connections. They
were free to try something, and it worked.
… We are free to try things that express Jesus’ hands, voice, and love. What do we see that needs more of Jesus’ kindness and love for all? What happens if we speak up? We are free to take risks because we know God loves us and forgives us.
I hope this week you will consider: What do you feel free to
try that you have never tried before? Amen
