499
– Will We Make 500?
I wonder how many of you knew,
before arriving this morning, that today would be our annual observation of
Reformation? Had this realization dawned
on you at any point during the week?
Were there any discussions or conversations about “wearing red”?
There is something wonderful about
either answer to these questions. If you
found yourself responding “Yes,” let’s celebrate your awareness of the
significance of an annual lifting up of a series of events and tradition which
truly has changed history.
If you answered “No,” let’s
acknowledge the end to a terrible time in church life when an annual bashing of
the Roman Catholics and everything “Not-Lutheran” is behind us. And good riddance.
But today is Reformation
Sunday. And this is a significant
Reformation Sunday. Even Pope Francis
has had something to say about this Reformation Sunday. Today we begin a year-long observance of the
500th anniversary of the Reformation. It was on October 31st, in 1517,
that Martin Luther penned a letter to the Arch-bishop of Mainz, asking for a
discussion of the Church’s practices.
The ensuing discussions and divisions altered religious life and
political life and the world as we know it.
I am not exaggerating. Do your own Google search. Be impressed with where Martin Luther falls
in the rankings of history’s most influential persons. And in a world where religious upheaval
figures so heavily into current events, you can betch ‘ya bottom dollar that there will be discussions of the
Reformation and the Peasant’s Revolt (not to mention the Smalcald Wars.) The deaths and destruction associated with
those events may equal (in significance and scope) the current strive within
Islam between Sunni and Shia and within Islam and ISIS.
I don’t know if you will be pulled
into water-cooler discussions of such matters, but you might. It is highly likely that there will be
reports in the secular press about the 500th anniversary and the
events associated with The Reformation.
And as possibly the only real-life, living Lutheran on your block you
might have the opportunity (or the challenge) to speak of these events and
their significance. You might find
yourself being asked questions about The Reformation.
So this week, I want you to take
out your bulletin for a different reason. I would ask you to start making a
list of the things you really should try to learn during these next twelve
months. Things which are important
(perhaps even essential) to the tradition in which we stand.
You can start by putting The
Peasants’ Revolt and Smalcald War on the list.
Here is the next thing for your
list: Luther never wanted folks to be
called “Lutherans.” Every copy of the
Book of Concord (you also need to have “Book of Concord” on your list) has this
quote from Luther: “Who is Luther that
any should be known by his name? There
is but one name by which we are to be known and that is the name of Christ.”
Reading and re-reading that Martin
Luther quote is one of the reasons I can get away with saying that Luther would
have been delighted with those of you who drove to a “Lutheran” church this
morning without remembering it is Reformation Sunday. Luther wanted us to be Christians, and the
sooner we leave behind our fractions and fissions the better.
But there were some things which
Luther was not willing to ignore – even for the sake of the unity of the
Church. Those things are outlined in The
Augsburg Confession which is contained in the Book of Concord. The Smalcald Articles are also in the Book of
Concord. (Book of Concord – Augsburg
Confession – Smalcald Articles. Your
list keeps growing.) The Augsburg
Confession was written by the Reformers as a last attempt to prevent the Church
from dividing. It lists the Articles of
Faith, most of which were readily agreed to by all Christians. There are several matters of dispute. The “Unaltered Augsburg Confession” is the
guiding document for our denomination.
Not that every Lutheran pastor or theologian will agree on how to apply
the Confession.
Every Lutheran pastor is going to
pull from the Augsburg Confession the articles they consider to be most
significant and offer an interpretation as to what it means. So this is your reminder to get other opinions. But it is difficult to overlook the one which
continues to dominate Christian conversation.
And that would be the articles which speak of justification – or as we
are inclined to speak of it – salvation.
Every Christian in the world will
readily agree to the Reformation tag line of “justification by grace through
faith.” But not every Christian, not
even every Protestant, nor every Lutheran will be in agreement to what it
means. “Justification by grace through
faith.” Make sure this is on your list –
and pay more attention to this than practically anything else. In fact, write it out. So you can see the words.
As a footnote, let me admit that
equating “justification” with “salvation” is its own problem. The words don’t mean exactly the same thing,
but unless you want another thirty minutes added to this sermon, let me get
away with lumping them together. End of
footnote.
So look back at that phrase –
Justification by grace through faith.
Everyone who reads it or speaks it will give a nod of approval. Everybody agrees with this statement – until
you start to discuss where to place emphasis.
Is it the “grace,” or the “faith” that brings the salvation.
Is it “faith” which makes it
possible for us to receive the “grace” which brings “justification”? Or is “grace” the gift which makes “faith”
possible and “justification” a reality in our lives?
This is the stuff of division. This is the battle which started as soon as
Luther was in the ground. This is the
current division within the Evangelish
communities of Germany. It is the
discussion which resulted in Halle and Geneva becoming contested centers of
Reformation.
There are articles in the Augsburg
Confession which address these issues.
Your homework is to read them and form your questions for further
discussion. And, with any luck, you and
I will discover together that our newly arrived Parish Pastor has somewhat
differing opinions than your worn-out and one-horse Campus Pastor. A healthy discussion between he and I on such
topics could model how we discuss such topics in a way that is healthy and
helpful.
There are a few more entries for
that list on the back of your bulletin.
The Small Catechism needs to be there.
The three confirmands can attest to my approach to their final instructional
meeting. Pastor Danielle had been
meeting with them. There was one
instructional session remaining and that one was to cover the Small
Catechism. We did meet and discuss the
Small Catechism, but in the weeks prior to our meeting we reverted to the
original purpose of the Small Catechism.
We turned it into poster-sized handouts and told them to put it on the
wall in their home where their families could review this material with them. The Small Catechism was written for parents
to instruct their children in the home.
Parents – don’t send your kids to
confirmation ministry class to learn about the faith. Teach it at home. And if you don’t know the Small Catechism
yourself, don’t ask them to learn it.
Another mark of Luther’s reform?
His instruction that every day every Christian would repeat from their
heart the 10 commandments, the Apostle’s Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer.
I have been missing in action most
of this first month that Jon has been with us.
So he and I haven’t discussed a shared strategy for this 500th
anniversary year. It is obvious that I
plan to pay attention to this history and am likely to talk about it over these
next twelve months. We are not to hold
to the Lutheran identity as if it were in itself that important. It isn’t.
And at least one of the reasons why our Lutheran congregations seem to
be in decline may be due to something which lies at the base of our whole
existence. Our Lutheran Theology is
crystal clear that when it comes institutions – there is no reason – ever – to
place the survival of a particular denomination above the preaching of the Word
and the distribution of the sacraments.
Learn more. Then decide if this is where you belong or if
there is a reason for any of us to belong.
Learn more. So you can turn those water-cooler
conversations into fruitful discussions of God’s desire to love his children
and help them to live meaningful lives.
Learn more. Not because it will change the way God sees
you or how deeply God loves you – but so that you might more joyfully
celebration the justification which, by the grace of God, has come into your
life.
Amen.
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