Today is the day we set aside every year to celebrate the Reformation. We sing the old

Transcription

1 1 Sermon Reformation Sunday, Year A Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 46 Romans 3:19-28 John 8:31-36 Today is the day we set aside every year to celebrate the Reformation. We sing the old hymns, we talk about Martin Luther, and we celebrate our tradition. But I m reminded this morning that for some people, remembering the Reformation is not cause for celebration. Last semester I had a class with some students from St. Charles Borromeo seminary, just a few miles down the road from us here in Narberth. And about halfway through the semester, one of the Roman Catholic students training to be a priest asked me, Why do you still celebrate Reformation Sunday? Why would you celebrate the fact that the church was divided and torn apart? And on the other hand I m reminded that some people enjoy celebrating Reformation Sunday just a bit too much like the student at the Lutheran seminary in Mt. Airy who told me just this week that the sermon for this morning only needs four words: Lutheran good, Catholic bad. So just to be sure, I want you to know that Reformation Sunday is not about celebrating division or putting down Roman Catholics. Luther s goal was to reform the church, not to divide it, and when we are divided as the church, instead of united, it hurts our witness to the world. Instead, on Reformation Sunday we celebrate the fact that God alone is good, and anything that prohibits people from hearing the Good News of Jesus must be reformed. Today we celebrate the freedom that Christ brings. That s what the Reformation was really about freedom. Freedom has a special meaning for us as citizens of the United States of America. This country was founded on the notion of personal freedom, and it came into being when colonists decided to revolt against a government that denied freedoms they held to be essential. And

2 2 because of this, freedom is at the heart of this country s identity, and it s an important part of how our country sees and defines itself. Freedom was also an important topic to the Jewish people who lived in Jesus day. That s who he was speaking with in this morning s Gospel lesson. Many of Jesus earliest followers were Jewish converts, and Jesus told them that if they continued in his word, they would know the truth, and the truth would make them free. (v. 31) Now these words implied that somehow they were not already free, and they didn t like that one bit. They prided themselves on their own national identity, and they told Jesus, Listen. We re children of Abraham. We ve never been slaves to anyone. (v. 33) But of course we know this isn t true. If you crack open the Bible and turn to the book of Exodus, you can read the story of how the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. God set the Israelites free from their slavery, and led them to the Promises Land, and this was the defining historical event for the Jewish people. They had been slaves, no matter what these Jewish disciples wanted to say otherwise. Maybe part of the reason they were so prickly in response to Jesus words about slavery and freedom was because in the 1 st century when Jesus walked the earth the Jewish homeland was occupied and controlled by the Roman Empire. Many Jewish people viewed Roman rule as a kind of slavery, and they were waiting for the Messiah to come and destroy their oppressors. You can hear in our Gospel reading that slavery and freedom was a touchy subject. They re protesting just a bit too much. And I imagine that most Americans would respond the same way if you told them they were slaves and could be free. We re Americans! We re children of Jefferson and Washington! We ve never been slaves to anyone! But in this reading Jesus was talking about a different kind of slavery and freedom, something that transcends all national identities. He was talking about our slavery to sin and

3 3 death, and the freedom that Jesus alone can bring. And this is exactly what Martin Luther knew was at stake in the Reformation. You see, back in the early 1500s, Martin Luther didn t feel very free. One day he was caught in a lightning storm, and he was terrified, and he prayed, saying that if God saved him, then he would devote his life to God. Thankfully he survived the lightning storm, and in response he became an Augustinian monk. But no matter how hard he tried, Luther just couldn t find peace as a monk. At that time in the medieval church, life was all about confession and repentance, about becoming more perfect and climbing the spiritual ladder towards God. When you messed up and committed a sin, you were told exactly what you needed to do so you could move from a state of sin back into a state of grace. People went to great lengths to secure their own salvation, to minimize their time in purgatory, to work towards heaven. Those who were serious entered monasteries, where they could become more holy. People would travel for miles to see religious relics like in Luther s town of Wittenberg, where the church claimed to have milk form the Virgin Mary and wood from the crib of baby Jesus. They were told that if they visited these relics and made a financial contribution, they could get into heaven more quickly. (FOAC p. 52, footnote 6) People purchased indulgences from the church, because they were told that this would too would help them get into heaven more quickly. All of these were things people could do to ensure and secure their own salvation. And Martin Luther was haunted by this question: how can I be sure I ve done enough? You see, Martin Luther was a worrier, like some of us are worriers. And he was honest. He knew himself, and exactly what kind of person he was. He was scared that he might forget to repent of a sin, and that this would condemn him. He was worried he hadn t prayed enough,

4 4 or hard enough, didn t believe strongly enough, hadn t done enough. He knew that he wasn t even aware of many of the sins he committed, and that often he only confessed and repented because he was scared he d be punished if he didn t. So he tried harder and harder, but poor Martin was haunted by the fear that he hadn t done enough, because he was surrounded by a system that told him his salvation was dependent on his actions. Even today we continue to think that the solution to our sin and our imperfection is to just simply try harder. To will ourselves to be good, to use the power within us to make ourselves righteous. And so we make rules. Religious folks always have lots of rules, whether in Jesus day, or in Martin Luther s day, or today. There are hundreds of rules in the Bible and throughout history the church has added more, and we still think that if we just try harder and follow the rules, we ll be good enough, that we can make ourselves righteous, perfect, holy. How silly this is! Rules can t make someone good. Rules and laws can only change our external behaviors. I can drive the speed limit and buckle my seat belt and follow all the rules of the road, but that doesn t make me a good person I still want to yell and swear at the driver who cuts me off or is driving so slowly. The IRS has thousands of rules and regulations, but all their rules can t make people good, can t make people want to be honest on their taxes. Rules and laws can only make people act certain ways, they can t change and transform people. Luther knew this. He knew that we can t make ourselves good and holy and perfect no matter how hard we try. He knew the all the rules and laws and regulations in the world can t make people love and trust in God. Luther discovered first-hand that you can never do enough to be perfect, to be righteous, to earn God s love. Not ever.

5 5 And this is how the Reformation was born. Because in the Good News of the Gospel, Luther discovered that you don t have to do a thing, because Jesus did the only thing that was needed. Because of Jesus, we are free. That s the Good News of the Gospel. While laws and rules cannot transform and re-form us, the Good News of Jesus can. This Good News is the word that Jesus spoke about in this morning s Gospel reading when he said, If you continue in my word you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. (v. 32) That word is the truth, the truth that you can never ever try hard enough or do enough to make yourself holy, free yourself from sin, or make God love you. But in Jesus, these things are freely given to you out of God s love and grace. In Jesus, you are declared to be forgiven, holy, loved. And this truth sets us free. We re free from thinking we have to do something to earn God s love. We re free from having to spend all our time and energy trying to climb the spiritual ladder. We re free from the demands of rules and regulations. We re free from the fear of being punished if we sin, free from having to walk on eggshells afraid we ll make mistakes in life. Instead, we re free to simply love God, and love our neighbors. When we hear these words, the truth of the Gospel, it does something to us. It transforms us. It re-forms us. It sets us free. So on this Reformation Sunday, let freedom ring. Today we celebrate the freedom that has come through the faithful proclamation of the Gospel. May we continue to be formed and re-formed by the Gospel of Jesus. May we trust in Jesus, knowing that by grace through faith and not because of a single one of our actions or works we are loved, we are forgiven, we are free. And may we use that freedom as Martin Luther did, to share the Good News of Jesus far and wide. For who the Son sets free is free indeed. (v. 36) Amen.