In which I look rather broadly at the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Reformation Sunday tradition. We are still called to re-forming!
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Romans 3:19-28
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
21But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
27Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
John 8:31-36
31Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
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Dear beloved of God, grace to you and peace from that loving God, through Christ by whom we are set free. Amen.
I am struck as I consider these lessons this year, that how we perceive this day of Reformation has shifted dramatically in my own lifetime.
My mother told me that, as a child in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Reformation Day was a day to “lean out the windows and thumb one’s nose at the Catholic Church down the street.”
I remember as a young worship leader, being told by a matriarch of a congregation that “we don’t sing about Mary, that’s a Catholic thing.” Luther’s deep regard for Mary notwithstanding, apparently.
And of course, there’s the characterization of our gathering hymn, “A Mighty Fortress,” as “the Lutheran Fight Song.” Which is silly because each of our Lutheran colleges has its own alma mater.
But I give thanks that the saying so associated with the Reformation, “the church is always reforming” remains true, and has for the most part dispelled these unkind associations.
That saying – “the church is always reforming” – has an interesting history, and is an inheritance from the Reformers themselves. But it was the mid-20th century theologian Karl Barth who really brought it forward, putting a more particular dimension to it by also saying “ecclesia reformata semper reformanda.” The church that is reformed, must always be reformed. It’s said to originate in the writings of St. Augustine, which is quite plausible since Luther was an Augustinian monk.
But in that saying, the two verb tenses of the Latin for “reform” can hold the secret as to whether this day still really means anything.
“Reformata” is a past tense – a settled debate.
“Reformanda” is an active or present tense – an ongoing discussion and continued activity.
Look at the verb tenses in our lessons – they are both present and future tense. Any phrases using the past tense refer to a time or experience to be learned from, not dwelt in.
For Luther, his moment of revelation is his understanding of this passage from Romans – Paul’s declaration that it is God’s grace through our faith, not our works, that saves us. According to his explanation of the Third Article of the Creed:
I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he[she] calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.
The Holy Spirit is not a relic of the past, but a timeless presence of God to all of God’s creation, continuing to move among us in amazing ways.
This is most certainly true! The essential reforms and changes in the Christian church would not happen without the Spirit’s moving, guiding, and sometimes downright pushing us to places of new understanding.
There is another dimension of the “ecclesia” saying that is frequently left out, and that is the ending “secundum verbum Dei” – according to the word of God.
Perhaps that is left out because it is open to vast interpretation!
But I think it is worth considering, particularly while holding today’s lessons in hand. In Jeremiah, God assures God’s people of the new covenant to come. In the Psalm, God’s people claim and pro-claim God as the one who protects and loves them. Paul’s inimitable words remind us to not be swayed by works theology, the idea that you can earn your salvation. And Jesus makes it clear that when the Son sets you free, you are free in ways you never thought possible.
If the church is to remain faithful to the word of God, the church must be constantly reminded by both scripture and experience that this word is LIVING. It is by no means static. A different context will give you a new understanding of how God is still speaking in our day. If the church clings in fear to a human model of operating that has become utterly unsustainable – then I would submit that the church has exchanged its faith and trust in God for faith and trust in earthly things.
Things that, as we know – will pass away.
We are no longer the dominant force in our culture. A very recent Gallup poll tells us that in 2020, only 47% of U.S. adults belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque.
I have wondered for some time if Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in the 4th century was really all that great a thing. Christianity’s association with the empires of the world has an extremely checkered past, and those who seek the Divine in our day are right to ask whether that past is codified and excused, or if it is broken open and questioned.
And we should be doing likewise. Indeed, if we did not question our own past, Luther would never have been taken to task in our day for his truly awful rantings against the Jewish people – writings that were spurred by an argument with a Jewish community in his town.
Just because it’s always been that way – doesn’t necessarily mean it is right.
When we examine and question a thing, as Lutherans we have two guiding principles – one being according to the word of God, as I’ve mentioned. You may have heard it as “sola Scriptura.” How do we see the thing we examine in light of Scripture? And how are we reading that Scripture through the lens that is Christ? Chrirst as the lens is one of our great inheritances as Lutherans.
The second guiding principle is Luther’s theology of the cross. This theology sees the world through the lens of the cross – which is to say, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and through it we come to understand that without death, there can be no resurrection. A theology of the cross (as opposed to a theology of glory) does not try to put a fake sheen on something, or appeal only to the feel-good or “I can do it myself” side of the human psyche. Rather, it calls a thing what it is, and acknowledges our utter dependence on God.
In Christ we are freed from constantly chasing after “enough” good works, and freed for directing those good works instead to our neighbor.
As the church finds itself in yet another time of great upheaval, both in society and in the church, it is not for us to jettison everything. Nor is it for us to feverishly hang onto everything.
But it is absolutely for us to look with complete honesty at our past. Where has the church gone astray? How has the church harmed people? How can we live more faithfully as church moving forward?
In the same way, to what and where is God calling us? How can we avoid mere “busy work” or showiness that responds only to cultural pressures or to achieve worldly ends?
When we are bold to ask such questions and make such confessions, we are lavished with forgiveness and called to repentance. And in that movement of turning to go a new way, we as the church are freed in this time; to consider what in our life together as church continues to hold, as my liturgy professor put it, “deep meaning and purpose.”
That is – not coincidentally – what so very many people are seeking in our time. Deep meaning and purpose. The places where that may be found are vast and certainly will differ from person to person. But to be faithful to Christ’s call as church, we continue to discern direction, we continue to ask questions, we continue – to re-form.
And we never do it alone. Because in this discernment and asking and forming anew, we above all continue to engage with the living word of God.
For God is still speaking, and walks with us on the way toward what will be.
Amen.
Light from the Gorge 