Sermon - 2013-10-27 - Reformation

John 8:31-36

31Then Jesus 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.

Reformation Sunday, this is the one Sunday in the year in which we recall that we are Lutherans and different from other divisions of other forms of Christianity. So to coin the popular phrase that Martin Luther asks within his Catechisms, What does this mean? Today I wish to talk about what we as Lutherans believe and where we came from.

It all started on the cross some 2000 years ago. Here we have Christ dying for the sins of the world because God loved us so much that not even death would separate us from Him. For the next 1500 years, the church struggled to explain that to others. To present it in such a way that made sense to others and realize that this is the foundation of the Christian faith. Yet on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in which Luther wanted to academically debate some of the traditions of the church that were not supported by the Holy Scripture. Now at this time in history, the Bible was in one language, Latin. This was the academic and universal language of the medieval time period. So to have an academic debate on Biblical matters was not unheard of and rather a common experience. Yet the questions that were being raised were something that brought many to call into question the practices of the church.

This may be a history that you are familiar with, yet just a few years prior, a theologian by the name of John Hus spoke many of the same problems within the church. Yet Hus was brought to Rome for questioning and was burned at the stake for his teachings. As time went on, the church and all Christian nations were facing war in the East with the Turks or Muslims. The pope, the vicar of Christ on Earth, the one who was interpreting the Holy Scriptures and announcing what the traditions should be for the church, was calling for money to support the efforts of the war. Germany was not united but still within separate nations. Now this is important information because people at this time knew what happens to those who tried teaching new concepts and did not adhere fully to the Pope and yet at the same time, the entire force of Christian armies were needed to fight the Muslim armies.

So this monk, this Doctor of Theology in Old Testament was calling into question the practices of the entire Roman led church. The most well-known tradition that Luther was seeking to change was that of Indulgences. Much of Spain, France, and Britain were already sought to provide money for the church so now the people were looking to German nations to draw money for the continued efforts of the church and the war against the Muslims. Since this was on Luther’s nation, this was the key tradition that Luther took to change. The people were being asked to pay for their faith and the ability to even worship. They were being taught a theology that had people earn their way into heaven by climbing up the ladder of faith that would allow them.

After many years, struggles among peasants and leaders, Luther wrote the entire Bible into the language of the people so that they could hear the word of God in their own language. The Holy Roman Emperor allowed to hear the teachings of the people who were starting to call themselves Lutherans. Yet even despite this name, Luther did not like the name for Christ is the true unifier of the people and the church. The faith of the Lutherans was brought together within the various writings that are gathered in the Book of Concord: The Small Catechism (the basic lessons of a Christian designed for children to memorize and live), The Large Catechism (the lessons of a Christian more fully explained), The Augsburg Confession (the confessions of the reformers that were brought before the Holy Roman Emperor), The Smalcald Articles (Luther’s statements of faith and testimony for others to hear), and the Formula of Concord (a composition for people to understand some of the controversies that have been among the Lutherans).

Now the Christian understanding according to Luther went to other lands and passed through areas through the means of the Printing Press. As the faith of Christianity was passed one person to another, the ideas of Luther spread. Now let us fast forward today. We are a people who have two Sacraments, Holy Baptism and Communion. These are two Sacraments that are found within Scripture. The 3 Ecumenical Creeds: Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds, yet we as God’s faithful people uphold God’s Holy Scripture as the Word of God. We are able to understand this Word through the faith that has been given to us through Jesus Christ. It is through grace that we are even given faith. God’s grace is the very source of our faith, it is the reason that we have the Word of God. It is precisely the very reason that we gather together on Sunday for Worship, to hear the word of God and be reminded that it is not something that we earned or have chosen but it is something that we are indeed given. For just as today’s gospel notes, “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Yes it is not something that we do because then we cannot screw it up. It is something that is given to you out of love and grace. Yet it is out of this love and grace that we are set free, not to sin as much as we want but to love and care for those around us. Those who are still longing for comfort and to hear of the grace that has been given to you.

For we as Christians, as Lutherans, gather to fear and love God because there is only One God. We may seek other gods within our lives, we may wish that our lives are different, we may even desire others to change. However, there is only one God. God who created each and everyone of us. This is the relationship that God has given to you. God has gathered us together here in this place to form relationships and traditions that remind us of the relationship that God has with us. It is up to all of us, to be in constant conversation so that we all understand the reason behind the traditions and if the tradition does not make sense. Perhaps it is time for our own Reformation. For us to return to the relationship that is between God and you and build from there, to be Lutherans means to be in constant change because we are in a constant relationship with God.