With the 500th anniversary of the Reformation coming up, I figured I’d start posting all of the Reformation Sunday sermons that I’ve found so far. This one is from October of 1994.
The gospel text is listed as John 8:31-32. I don’t think that Reformation Sunday is officially in the Revised Common Lectionary, though. Emmanuel Lutheran Church is mentioned by name during the sermon.
RE-FORMING THE CHURCH TODAY Ref.Sun.(10/30/94) Jn.8:31-32
Dear friends in Christ. grace & peace…
Five hundred and eleven years ago, on November 10, 1483, Hans and Margaret Luther had their first child, a son. The next day they took him to a little basement chapel in Eisleben to be baptized. Because it was St. Martin of Tours day, they named the baby Martin—Martin Luther.
They never could have known as they held this baby in their arms, the tremendous impact he would have on the history of the world. Historians yet today list him as one of the 10 people who changed the course of history. Today, 511 years later, all over the world people gather in services like this one to say, “THank you, God, for the birth, life, and work of Dr. Martin Luther, and for the Reformation of the church.
I could talk about Martin Luther all day; about his struggle to please his parents and to please God, about the freedom he found in God’s word, his discovery of a gracious God, about his writings and teachings that transform us. I could talk about his favorite passages of scripture—Psalm 46 “God is our refuge and strength”, and our readings today.
But I have a hunch what Dr. Martin would have me talk about today: our freedom in Christ to ‘re-form’ the Church so that as the Body of Christ, it more closely resembles Christ. Luther loved the Church, loved it so much that he wanted it to be the most faithful it could be. When he saw that there were things that held it back from being faithful to Christ, and resembling Christ—he called the church to be ‘re-formed’. He nailed propositions for renewal on the church doors of his parish, the Castle Church at Wittenberg. He made some noise and raised a lot of dust… and changed the face of history.
I liken the reformation to a volcano. It rumbles almost silent for quite a while as the pressure builds, but one day when the change can no longer be held back, it erupts with power, and heat, and often violence. One thing is for sure, there’s no putting things back where they were once this eruption happens. That was sure true of Luther and the other reformers.
But, you know, there is another way that the reformation is like a volcano, and it has to do with human nature. For a time the volcano is a hot bubbling mass, that shoots up and oozes up with power—but as it flows there is another process that begins to happen….as the cool winds blow over the lava, it begins to harden, to from a crust, and slowly it builds up into masses of rock. It sets into stone….until another eruption changes the landscape again. The church (and other institutions) are like this. As they are born and quickly grow—there is a heat and excitement that bubbles up and flows. They are called liberal because they are new–there are no old ways to preserve. With the passing of time the Church becomes cool, fixed, rigid, and organized. Structures start to become more obvious than spirit, and traditions become more important than mission. This is a fact of life, just as the cycle of a volcano is a fact of science. People who study the life cycle of churches talk about the birth process, the growth phase, ‘middle age’, decline and death of churches. It is only those denominations and congregations that feel the freedom to “re-form” and rediscover their mission that are able to continue in the growth phase and avoid decline.
Jesus tells the secret of ‘re-forming’ the church today in our gospel. He says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” Those words about the truth making us free are probably the most quoted words in courtrooms and on the doorposts of schools. They are the most misquoted words of the Bible, because the first part of the passage is often deleted: “If (and this is a big if) you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth and the truth will make you free.”
This has been the struggle throughout the life of the Church. We become so in love with the institution and its preservation, we forget Jesus’ “If”.
“If you continue in my word”. We skip the Bible study to get on with greasing the machinery of the Church. We skip asking the tough question, “What would Jesus do?” as we struggle with a thorny problem. We forget the source of power for Luther and our ancestors in establishing and ‘re-forming’ the Church throughout the centuries.
The church exists in this world, and we are not immune to the hardening of the arteries that hits all institutions, from the local schoolhouse all the way to the federal government and the United Nations. But, you know, there is something different about us. We were never committed by our leader to self-preservation. The central action of this institution is to gather around God’s word, around the Lord’s table—and to grow in giving ourselves away as Christ taught us. Because we are in the world, we will always have voices who say, “Let’s worry about ourselves first.” Even pastors fall into this trap—after all, we love the institution and depend on it for our livelihood. But Christ calls us to a radical devotion to God’s Word, to a freedom from this world, a freedom from ourselves. We shall know this truth, and this truth will make us free.
What does a church look like that is continually in the growth phase instead of slowly dying? What does a congregation look like that is in a continuous process of ‘re-formation’? I think it is a skeptical church, leery of grabbing all the world’s ideas and advice and blessing them as gospel truth. I think it is an exciting church—in which the Holy Spirit delivers us from the fatal sin of being boring (Lutherans beware). We have a lot to learn from our more spirit-filled brothers and sisters in Christ. Luther made people mad, but he was never boring. He was free in Christ to make things exciting, and even controversial. It is also a Bible church. The ‘re-forming’ church today cancels programs and starts Bible studies and ministry groups….and in giving themselves to Christ and to others experiences a resurrection, a new birth in Christ.
Lutherans have a reputation for being traditional and rigid and crusty (like an old volcano). Where did we get that reputation? How can we shake it?…by being who Jesus and Martin Luther have called us to be…faithful to God’s Word, free to follow Christ, and dedicated to the truth.
This freedom leads to interesting events in the daily life of a church. One pastor shared with me plans for a new church building. The congregation accepted the plan, but rejected the chancel design. Why?.. because there was a rail that separated the altar from the people. The members of the congregation said….we know that there is nothing that should come between us and the altar of God, not even a pastor. That grace is available to each of us in faith. So the building committee and the architect were sent back to the drawing boards. It can shake up a church having members who are dedicated to the truth of God’s Word and to living that truth and sharing that truth with others. The church, like a growing volcano, needs to have the spirit and warmth of God’s presence bubbling up constantly to give it life. And may God deliver us from the crustiness that comes to so many institutions in this world, who try to preserve their forms and structure at the cost of their mission.
Emmanuel congregation is at a crossroads, we show many signs of life and many signs of decline and decay. The process of death is natural, but we know that it is not inevitable if we dwell in Christ. This denomination called the ELCA and this congregation called Emmanuel can find new life in Christ….but we will need to “bust some crust” to do it. Jesus tells us, “If you will continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.