October 29, 2023 Reformation Sunday The text is John 8:31-36.
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31Jesus 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.”
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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Happy Reformation Day! Exactly what does this mean and what is it we are celebrating this morning? Well, about 500 years ago Martin Luther and other “reformers” determined that the Christian church had lost its way. There were many practices that the church embraced that Brother Martin took issue with, most specifically the selling of indulgences. The church at the time had developed a number of practices and beliefs that Luther was not able to validate through Scripture. The church in Rome had instituted more than a few teachings that were traditional rather than biblical in their origin. For instance, unbaptized babies that died would not go to heaven but to a place called Limbo.
Persons who passed away entered first into Purgatory, where they would remain until a sufficient amount of piety would be obtained on their behalf to atone for their earthly sins, so they might enter into heaven.
Luther felt that some practices of the church were in need of reforming; he did not intend to break away from the established Roman church and the rise of Protestantism was not his goal. That said, there are many theologians who maintain that the church undergoes a reformation of some type every 500 years or so. The first occurred around 500 BCE after the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages. The church entered a period of withdrawal and self-preservation, with clergy retreating into monasteries and the like, displaying a less public expression. Another 500 years or so pass and the church again experiences a reformation of sorts. The “Great Schism” happens, with the Christian church splitting into Eastern and Western branches; this remains the case today with Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches remaining independent of one another. In the 1500’s, Luther and his contemporaries brought about the most seismic changes within the history of the church to date. And this is where we find ourselves today, with Luther’s name on our church letterhead.
And there are many who hold that 500 years after Luther’s reforming of the church that we might just be in the middle of another reformation. In the United States, for example, the church has experienced many changes over the last couple of decades and the effects of the Covid pandemic are still being widely felt. Church attendance is at its lowest in 50 years, and the number of Americans who do not believe in God is at the highest level ever. Church mergers and closures continue at an alarming rate. Earlier this week Laurie and I visited with the folks from St. John’s Lutheran Church in New Britain, Ct. They held their final worship service last Sunday and they are closing their church, one that was founded 131 years ago. They were kind enough to ensure that their legacy would continue, by gifting their silver Communion-ware to Emanuel, to replace the ones that were stolen during the break-in here two weeks ago.
While we were there, the offer of several beautiful banners and many other items was made. These were graciously accepted and are among the items that will be reside at Emanuel.
If we are in fact in the middle of another reformation, what will the church look like in just a few years from now? At a recent meeting at the Bishop’s office we were told that those young Pastors currently serving congregations today will undoubtedly retire from drastically different churches than their predecessors did only a decade or so ago. Most individual Lutheran churches, especially here in the northeast will not be served by a full-time clergy person. Pastors will likely serve two different Lutheran parishes and Lutheran-Episcopalian pairings will be more common. There is a great deal of discussion surrounding bivocationality; pastors may serve a church part-time while also maintaining another, much different career path. Preach on Sunday, sell insurance the rest of the week, for example. This may not be the reformation we’re looking forward to, but all signs point toward this being the future of the church. The days of large imposing parish buildings may be coming to a close, but we should always remember that Jesus’ church was never about the buildings; the church consists of her people, we who are among the body of Christ.
Let’s not forget that when Jesus first instituted his church, his followers gathered in the desert, or on a mountainside, or met in the home of one of its members. In its earliest form, from the very beginning, the church of Christ was not about the buildings, it was all about the people. And this remains true today. All this being said, if the church is going to survive and thrive, buildings or not, it will require that there are people who recognize the that grace of God and the freedom promised by Jesus are necessary for a truly abundant life. If those who have not yet come to embrace the Christian faith see only worship services attended by a small percentage of a congregation’s members, it’s likely they won’t recognize that the church has anything worthwhile to offer them. And if that’s the case, there won’t be an expansion of the numbers of folks who call themselves followers of Christ. And that, my friends is the time the church does in fact become diminished.
Because, when the “people” that we acknowledge are the church, no longer gather as the body of Christ, well that’s when the potential new reformation we face might just be the last one. But all is not lost; the church of Christ will always prevail, no matter the form it takes or how many, or few people call themselves Jesus-followers. But if it is to grow, it’s vital that those who are now part of the church dedicate themselves to discipleship, so that there are sufficient participants in all that the church entails. Worship, fellowship, stewardship, servanthood; none of these requires a building, but they cannot happen without people. And, maybe even more importantly, outreach to those beyond the walls of church buildings to invite them to join the people of God will help to avoid a potentially unwanted reformation.
In the meantime, as is the case with all things that have plans for the future, we look to our young people as the ones who will inherit the church in whatever form it takes. Shortly Ayasha will affirm the baptismal promises that were initially made on her behalf and she now take these promises upon herself as an adult member of this congregation. And as she does so we collectively hope and pray that any future re-forming of her faith will bring her to an ever-closer relationship with the God who yearns for a righteous relationship with us all. We pray that she will always remember this central truth of our faith; that she and all of us are so immeasurably valuable to God that God chose to sacrifice his Son in order to save us all. That God will spend every moment of her life striving to convince her of this ultimate truth, the unwavering expression of God’s grace. That Jesus sets us all free. That we all have a place in the household of God. That buildings or not, we are all the people of God.
God is Good, all the time. All the time, God is Good. Amen.