Sermon Sunday, October 28 2007
Reformation Sunday
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am going to start my Reformation Sunday sermon by doing something that I know Martin Luther would not want me to do. I am going to talk briefly about Martin Luther. Because you see, on Reformation Sunday we remember when Martin Luther pounded his ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle church at Wittenberg, and thus began the Reformation.
But the Reformation was also about much more than that. The Reformation was about much more than the ninety-five theses. And the reason why Luther would not want preachers talking about him from their pulpits today is because that could send the message that Reformation Sunday was about something that Luther did, and that is just not the case. Reformation Sunday is not about something that Martin Luther did, it is about something that happened to Martin Luther. And what happened to Martin Luther which we remember today could be summed up in one word; "truth."
You see, Luther was living in the midst of lie. Luther had been had, he had been bamboozled, he had been hoodwinked, he had been sold a bill of goods. And he was miserable. The devil had convinced Luther that righteousness before God came from within oneself and one’s ability to adhere to God’s law, and Luther had been convinced that his adherence to God's law was inextricably tied to his allegiance to an extremely human and fallible church hierarchy.
In short, Luther was in bondage. He was in bondage to the law. He was in bondage to tradition. He was in bondage to his ego. And he was of course in bondage to sin. And no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t escape that bondage and find the peace he was looking for. And so eventually he got to a point where all he could do was to cry out and ask "Where can I find a gracious God?"
And that is when the truth began to take hold of Luther. Not long after this, Luther was given the opportunity to study the book of Romans for the first time. Through the words of the Apostle Paul the truth began to take hold of Luther. Of particular note was the truth that we read in verse 28 of today’s lesson from Romans which of course says that we are justified by faith apart from works of the law, and verse 21 which says that the righteousness of God is disclosed apart from the law.
And so now the truth was taking hold of Luther, and the Word began to come alive to Luther and he began to see God’s Word in a completely different light. Where Luther had been duped into believing that the gospel was a taskmaster and the righteousness of God a goal for Christians to seek through their own good works and piety, the truth in Christ Jesus came in and took hold of Luther and completely flipped everything around.
The Gospel that he once saw as a taskmaster he now heard as a promise, and the righteousness of God that he once believed he could pursue and attain, he now saw as a gift received through faith in Christ Jesus. And so in spite of the best efforts of sin, death, and the devil, the truth would not be denied. The truth had taken hold of Martin Luther and he had been set free.
And the same truth that set Martin Luther free from his bondage is the same truth that sets you free. It’s the same truth that claims you in the waters of baptism. It’s the same truth that reveals itself to you in the Word and sacraments. You have been set free, so I guess the only question that remains is ‘How are you enjoying your freedom?’ The truth has indeed set you free, but are you really free? Are you really utilizing the freedom that has been given to you? Or do you simply find yourself reverting back into bondage on a daily basis?
In today’s Gospel lesson Jesus says to these Jews who believed in Him that if they continue in His Word then they will be His disciples, and that they will know the truth and the truth will make them free. And these Jews, apparently having forgotten about the Hebrew people once having been held in captivity in Egypt or their time in exile, tell Jesus that they are descendants of Abraham and claim that they have never been slaves to anyone.
And so I ask you, ‘Are you continuing in Jesus’ word?’ or are you like these descendants of Abraham clinging to your heritage and your traditions? When a new idea or a change has been suggested or proposed in church have you ever found yourself doubting the new idea or proposal because "We never did it that way before?" These words; "We never did it that way before." have been referred to by some as the "deadly seven last words of the church."
Indeed they are dangerous and deadly words in the life of the church, and I am sure that they are words that Martin Luther himself heard on many occasions.
But the binding will of sin, death and the devil do not use just tradition and heritage to try to lure us away from the truth of Christ Jesus that claims us. There are many other ways in which the devil tries to rob us of our freedom in Christ including one that is rampant in our contemporary American culture, and that is by trying to convince us that freedom is defined as doing whatever we want to do.
But that’s not real freedom. That’s bondage to our own selfish desires. Paul tells us time and time again that we are slaves to sin. Jesus Himself says in our gospel lesson for today that anyone who commits sin is in fact a slave to sin. That is us, we are slaves to sin. And so if we are living our lives doing what we want, putting our wants before our neighbors, then we are just putting ourselves right back into bondage to sin, death and the devil.
Real freedom comes not in doing what we want to do, but in doing what we have been freed to do. And the very truth that claims us is the very truth that frees us just for that. The truth that Jesus speaks of, the truth that sets you free is more than information, it is Christ Jesus Himself, coming to you in His Word, bringing you His promise of forgiveness, freeing you from the sin that enslaves you. It is Christ Jesus coming to you in His Supper tangibly reminding you of the freedom that He has given to you in His death where He took your sin upon Himself and His resurrection, where death was defeated for you. It is Christ Jesus coming to you in baptism claiming you as a child of God and thus giving you your eternal place in the household of your Lord.
And so to the question, ‘Are you continuing in Jesus’ Word?’ Well on your own, you can’t. But Jesus comes to you daily, keeping you in His Word, freeing you, forgiving you, redeeming you. He comes to you nurturing and sustaining you in your faith.
And so when sin, death, and the devil attack and try to lure you away from the truth, look not to yourself, but to the source of your righteousness Christ Jesus, your Savior and redeemer, because where you find your righteousness you find your faith and you find the truth that has set you free.
And so hear the words of Paul from Galatians who reminds us that we are called to freedom, not as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love to become slaves to one another, for the whole law is summed up in a single commandment "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." As a child of God you are called and freed to not be ashamed of the Gospel but to treat your neighbor as a fellow child of God, sharing with them the truth that has placed you in front of them because it has set you free.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am going to start my Reformation Sunday sermon by doing something that I know Martin Luther would not want me to do. I am going to talk briefly about Martin Luther. Because you see, on Reformation Sunday we remember when Martin Luther pounded his ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle church at Wittenberg, and thus began the Reformation.
But the Reformation was also about much more than that. The Reformation was about much more than the ninety-five theses. And the reason why Luther would not want preachers talking about him from their pulpits today is because that could send the message that Reformation Sunday was about something that Luther did, and that is just not the case. Reformation Sunday is not about something that Martin Luther did, it is about something that happened to Martin Luther. And what happened to Martin Luther which we remember today could be summed up in one word; "truth."
You see, Luther was living in the midst of lie. Luther had been had, he had been bamboozled, he had been hoodwinked, he had been sold a bill of goods. And he was miserable. The devil had convinced Luther that righteousness before God came from within oneself and one’s ability to adhere to God’s law, and Luther had been convinced that his adherence to God's law was inextricably tied to his allegiance to an extremely human and fallible church hierarchy.
In short, Luther was in bondage. He was in bondage to the law. He was in bondage to tradition. He was in bondage to his ego. And he was of course in bondage to sin. And no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t escape that bondage and find the peace he was looking for. And so eventually he got to a point where all he could do was to cry out and ask "Where can I find a gracious God?"
And that is when the truth began to take hold of Luther. Not long after this, Luther was given the opportunity to study the book of Romans for the first time. Through the words of the Apostle Paul the truth began to take hold of Luther. Of particular note was the truth that we read in verse 28 of today’s lesson from Romans which of course says that we are justified by faith apart from works of the law, and verse 21 which says that the righteousness of God is disclosed apart from the law.
And so now the truth was taking hold of Luther, and the Word began to come alive to Luther and he began to see God’s Word in a completely different light. Where Luther had been duped into believing that the gospel was a taskmaster and the righteousness of God a goal for Christians to seek through their own good works and piety, the truth in Christ Jesus came in and took hold of Luther and completely flipped everything around.
The Gospel that he once saw as a taskmaster he now heard as a promise, and the righteousness of God that he once believed he could pursue and attain, he now saw as a gift received through faith in Christ Jesus. And so in spite of the best efforts of sin, death, and the devil, the truth would not be denied. The truth had taken hold of Martin Luther and he had been set free.
And the same truth that set Martin Luther free from his bondage is the same truth that sets you free. It’s the same truth that claims you in the waters of baptism. It’s the same truth that reveals itself to you in the Word and sacraments. You have been set free, so I guess the only question that remains is ‘How are you enjoying your freedom?’ The truth has indeed set you free, but are you really free? Are you really utilizing the freedom that has been given to you? Or do you simply find yourself reverting back into bondage on a daily basis?
In today’s Gospel lesson Jesus says to these Jews who believed in Him that if they continue in His Word then they will be His disciples, and that they will know the truth and the truth will make them free. And these Jews, apparently having forgotten about the Hebrew people once having been held in captivity in Egypt or their time in exile, tell Jesus that they are descendants of Abraham and claim that they have never been slaves to anyone.
And so I ask you, ‘Are you continuing in Jesus’ word?’ or are you like these descendants of Abraham clinging to your heritage and your traditions? When a new idea or a change has been suggested or proposed in church have you ever found yourself doubting the new idea or proposal because "We never did it that way before?" These words; "We never did it that way before." have been referred to by some as the "deadly seven last words of the church."
Indeed they are dangerous and deadly words in the life of the church, and I am sure that they are words that Martin Luther himself heard on many occasions.
But the binding will of sin, death and the devil do not use just tradition and heritage to try to lure us away from the truth of Christ Jesus that claims us. There are many other ways in which the devil tries to rob us of our freedom in Christ including one that is rampant in our contemporary American culture, and that is by trying to convince us that freedom is defined as doing whatever we want to do.
But that’s not real freedom. That’s bondage to our own selfish desires. Paul tells us time and time again that we are slaves to sin. Jesus Himself says in our gospel lesson for today that anyone who commits sin is in fact a slave to sin. That is us, we are slaves to sin. And so if we are living our lives doing what we want, putting our wants before our neighbors, then we are just putting ourselves right back into bondage to sin, death and the devil.
Real freedom comes not in doing what we want to do, but in doing what we have been freed to do. And the very truth that claims us is the very truth that frees us just for that. The truth that Jesus speaks of, the truth that sets you free is more than information, it is Christ Jesus Himself, coming to you in His Word, bringing you His promise of forgiveness, freeing you from the sin that enslaves you. It is Christ Jesus coming to you in His Supper tangibly reminding you of the freedom that He has given to you in His death where He took your sin upon Himself and His resurrection, where death was defeated for you. It is Christ Jesus coming to you in baptism claiming you as a child of God and thus giving you your eternal place in the household of your Lord.
And so to the question, ‘Are you continuing in Jesus’ Word?’ Well on your own, you can’t. But Jesus comes to you daily, keeping you in His Word, freeing you, forgiving you, redeeming you. He comes to you nurturing and sustaining you in your faith.
And so when sin, death, and the devil attack and try to lure you away from the truth, look not to yourself, but to the source of your righteousness Christ Jesus, your Savior and redeemer, because where you find your righteousness you find your faith and you find the truth that has set you free.
And so hear the words of Paul from Galatians who reminds us that we are called to freedom, not as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love to become slaves to one another, for the whole law is summed up in a single commandment "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." As a child of God you are called and freed to not be ashamed of the Gospel but to treat your neighbor as a fellow child of God, sharing with them the truth that has placed you in front of them because it has set you free.
Amen
posted by Steve at 9:44 AM
1 Comments:
Great sermon. I actually said much of the same that Luther would hate the fact that I talked about him in the sermon I preached on the Reformation Day service I held.
I loved this line:
" And the very truth that claims us is the very truth that frees us just for that. The truth that Jesus speaks of, the truth that sets you free is more than information, it is Christ Jesus Himself, coming to you in His Word, bringing you His promise of forgiveness, freeing you from the sin that enslaves you. It is Christ Jesus coming to you in His Supper tangibly reminding you of the freedom that He has given to you in His death where He took your sin upon Himself and His resurrection, where death was defeated for you. It is Christ Jesus coming to you in baptism claiming you as a child of God and thus giving you your eternal place in the household of your Lord."
Wonderful job. You've been on a role lately.
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