conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

sermon: continuing the reformation

Follow the extended link to read the sermon. Let me know what you think about it if you have a moment. I have my own opinions, but I would like to hear yours.

Yes, that means you too.

It was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg. Many of us may know a little of the history. The church in the West (This is an important distinction, for there never was a reformation in the East.) was practicing some disciplines that Martin Luther found suspect…like the famed selling of indulgences to get into heaven…gifts to the church that purchased your own salvation or that of a loved one. Luther was making an in-house protest, expressing a desire to reform the existing institution. As you can likely imagine, this was met with some disagreement.

Other Reformers followed Luther’s lead…Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin are two you may have heard of. The generations that followed quickly gave up the notion of reforming the existing institution and began competing institutions that became the loci for political and ecclesial power in a variety of countries and city states. The stories of England’s Henry VII and his children, Mary and Elizabeth, are perfect examples of how national identity was tied up in theological debate. New countries were born. Denominations were born.

It has been almost five hundred years and we have to ask ourselves if the Reformation has actually been successful. Some have been asking this question for a while. Has the Church actually been reformed? With over 20,000 denominations, splinter groups, and para-churches in the world, I believe one could successfully argue that the Reformation has been a colossal failure. The desire of Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli and others to reform the One Church in Western Europe has instead led us down a road to the creation of distinct institutions and communities. Some are in communion with one another through bodies like the World Council of Churches. Others claim to be the one true church to the exception of all others. Interestingly, there are several of these bodies as well.

What a mess.

I must confess that I have never been a part of a worshiping community that has celebrated Reformation Sunday. And I have to say that it has been quite a puzzle for me.

What is it that we are celebrating?
What has been reformed?
And if we are a sign of a Reformed church, then what about everyone else?

Lordy, but my head spins with the very idea of it.

Can we, as an ecumenical (and yet Baptist) congregation that allows people to maintain their original denominational identity while still becoming a member of this congregation, celebrate Reformation Sunday?

And yet, here we are.

Wow.

You know. That is the best news I have heard in a long time.

10:46 They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.

How often have any of us felt this way…blind? And how often have we prayed for or even begged someone to restore our sight somehow…our actual physical sight or some kind of inward vision, an intuition or for wisdom?

Have you felt harried, overworked, preyed upon somehow?

Have you ever wondered how you were going to keep up in this world?

Have you simply needed some kind of rescue or perhaps a spiritual renewal?

I know I certainly have.

10:47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

The cry of Bartimaeus has been my cry. In times of darkness and deep sadness his cry has been my own. When I have felt burdened, his cry has been my own. And thanks be to God, there have been answers to my cry.

Have your cries been answered?

C.S. Lewis, in his Narnia series, tells a story of a boy named Eustace. If you have not had the chance to read these tales I would encourage you to do so. Listen to this word from C.S. Lewis.

(paraphrase up to Eustace’s telling of his Baptism)

Now I am still getting to know many of you, but it is my sincere prayer that none of you are really like Eustace Clarence Scrubb, collector of beetles…especially dead ones pinned on cards. It is also my hope, however, that you can remember for yourself a time when God has given you such grace as C.S. Lewis’ Aslan gave Eustace. Whether it was through the challenging kindness of a friend, within a community, or that still small voice in the midst of a storm, I pray that you have been touched so by God.

So, are we celebrating the nailing of Luther’s theses upon that Wittenberg door or are we celebrating something else this morning (I know that some of you may be celebrating the work of Martin Luther and his contemporaries. We’re a diverse body.)? I think we are actually celebrating something else this morning.

I believe that we are celebrating the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, the continuing ministry of Jesus to the blind, those in need of grace, and we are celebrating the graceful work of God in the world…the continual transformation and reconciliation of all our hearts and lives.

At its most general and most generous, the Reformation is about the community’s journey toward God.

31:8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.

31:9 With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

God calls us together. God calls us to one another and into God’s own presence. This is what makes the work of the Reformation so difficult. It is by its very nature communal as well as individual. And all of it takes place within the presence of the divine in the world. To neglect one aspect is to neglect the other.

Specifically the Reformation was and is about…
liturgical reform,
theological reform,
ecclesial reform,
communal reform
and personal or individual reform.

I pray that there are ways to do this without splintering the church, without crafting factions opposed to one another. But it is arduous work.

Father John Breck, an Orthodox priest, says this:

Because pious traditions – even erroneous ones – can have such a hold on the popular mind, it requires courage, patience and a great deal of prayerful discernment in order to make this continual reassessment of our various theological interpretations. Nevertheless, we should not fear the process. We should accept it as a function of the Church’s Living Tradition, given and sustained by the Spirit of Truth.

Though he is speaking specifically to the issue of theological expression and reform, the discipline can hold true across the spectrum of practices within the Church.

All of these reforms (liturgical, theological, ecclesial) are to be intentional, an exercise of deepening faith and belief. Like our friend Eustace, a Reformation is to take us closer to God so that we, members of the One Church, can better express this divine membership, receive grace, and reveal God to the world.

31:7 For thus says the LORD: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, "Save, O LORD, your people, the remnant of Israel."

A friend commented on my blog that at St Olaf College, that great Lutheran center of higher education and our own Molly Wingader’s alma mater, you can get a “Luther on a Stick,” the Luther bobble head doll, and a surfing Luther bumper sticker. Perhaps this kind of joy and humor is what is called for as we celebrate such a strange holiday.

In the midst of such humor, however, I would call us to something more…

Let us gather together like the remnant of Israel…in praise and proclamation. Let us cast off our cloaks like Bartimaeus, our sight restored, and follow God. Do we have such strength? Do we dare proclaim to the world that we were blind but now we see?

Can we cry out for mercy?

Do we have the courage to continue the reformation in our heats our families and our communities? Dare we allow God to touch us as he did Eustace Clarence Scrubb?

"Take heart; get up, he is calling you."

10:50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

Amen.

Posted by tripp at October 29, 2006 11:41 AM