reformation sunday …

Jeremiah 31. 31-34
We don’t save ourselves, god saves us!

Today’s Reformation Sunday. It’s nothing more than a footnote, an asterisk, on most church calendars. But – and I hope you don’t take this personally – this is OUR day! Not yours. OURS! We’ve been celebrating it, for a long, long time! It’s a holy day, of sorts. Right up there with Christmas, Easter! At least, it is for us! And this morning, out of the goodness of our hearts, we’re sharing it, this morning, with you! (Now how could anyone take that personally!)

Truth is, there’s not much history behind it. Most of it’s legend, myth. After all, it’s hard to know when, exactly, something important begins. So, more often than not, facts are lost in the fog of hindsight. Speculation. Conjecture. Assumption. But for better or worse, Reformation Sunday is ours, nonetheless. Actually, October Thirty-First is the real day. All Saints Eve, as the story goes. When Luther may – or may not – have walked up to the church doors and tacked up his theses. But the day’s so important for us that if the Thirty-First falls on a weekday, as it does this year, we move it to the Sunday before. Just so we can tell the story, one more time.

Funny thing, though. Until this past year … Until this past week … I hadn’t really thought much about it. But even though this day is so important to us, it’s not all that important for you! For us, Reformation Sunday’s all about Luther! All about Lutherans! But you Presbyterians aren’t Lutherans, are you? You’re different from us! Distinct! And I don’t know if you’re aware … You have your own story to tell! It may not be as dramatic as ours. Or as well-known. But it’s yours! It begins not as an act of academic freedom, but as one of civil – and ecclesiastical – disobedience.

It’s March Ninth, Fifteen Twenty-Two … The First Sunday in Lent …. In Zurich, Switzerland … At the home of a local printer. According to the church – and the state, as well – eating meat during Lent is prohibited. But that Sunday, a dozen men gather for the express purpose of breaking the fast. With them is a priest. From the local congregation. Father Ulrich Zwingli. He’s there to witness the uprising. But more importantly, he’s there to justify it to the world. It doesn’t seem like much, but together, they eat two smoked sausages. Two weeks later, Zwingli preaches the sermon “Regarding the Choice and Freedom of Foods.” So, begins the Swiss Reformation and the Reformed Church is born.

That’s YOUR story! And YOUR day isn’t Halloween; it’s the Ninth of March! And although there was much ado made over it at the time, seven-and-a-half months ago marked your five hundredth anniversary! Two men. Two moments. Two movements. One yours, the other ours. And twenty-five years ago, our two denominations – along with the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ – came together as full communion partners! Recognizing each other as church in the fullest sense of the word! But that’s not why we’re here, together, today. Not entirely. We’re not here because of Luther’s courage or Zwingli’s appetite. We’re here because of the grace, because of the love, both men – both reformations – discovered (or rather, rediscovered) in Christ!

It sounds so simple. Too simple. But that’s the truth that sparked both our revolutions! The truth that changed the world! Again! Forever! God loves us! Period! Full stop! End of sentence! For Luther, the catalyst was indulgences. Buying and selling forgiveness. For Zwingli, it was what you could and couldn’t eat. Both reformers, you see, lived at a time and in a place where life with god was just one big transaction after another. It was all “quid pro quo.” This for that. One thing for another. There was no receiving without first giving. No opening without first knocking. No finding … No being found … without first seeking.

The world – and the church in it – believed that god wouldn’t act – couldn’t act – until we took the first step, unless we made the first move. And both reformers – yours and ours – said it just didn’t work that way! Reading the bible doesn’t save us! Saying prayers doesn’t save us! Not even loving god and loving with all our heart and all our mind and all our being does it! The only “thing” that saves us is god! God and god alone!

That’s the covenant – the NEW covenant – Jeremiah’s talking about in the first reading. “I will put my love within you,” says god! “[Not you, but me!] And I’ll write it on your hearts! I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine! All because of what I’ve done! Because of what I’m doing!” Unconditional election! That’s what Calvin called it! Irresistible grace! Our life with god is in god’s hands, not our own!

We don’t choose god; god – GOD – chooses us! That’s why we’re here, this morning … TOGETHER! We don’t choose god; god chooses us! That’s the reason for, the cause of, both our reformations! The substance and sum of each of our stories! And the crazy thing … that’s why our reforms continue, to this day! After twenty-five generations … people STILL don’t trust god! We don’t believe in grace! In charity! In love! No more today than we did back then.

We still think – especially here in the good old U.S. of A. – that it’s all up to us. And that god does nothing more than sit and wait and watch. Sit and wait and watch for us to push the right button. Sit and wait and watch for us to pull the right string. For us to jump through the right hoop. “God loves you” the church in America says, “loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.” Not gives, but only offers. You must do something. To receive it. The plan. The love. You see, the church of the twenty-first century isn’t much different from the church of the middle ages. The church before the Reformation.

But we’re still here. You. We. Still tacking theses to church doors. Still eating sausages on a Sunday afternoon. Telling church and world that god loves! God loves and saves! This isn’t the start of a new reformation. It’s just that the first one never ended! It goes on! And on! And on! One generation after the next! No matter what else happens, we Lutherans and you Presbyterians make sure the spotlight stays on Christ. Christ our light! Christ our life! Christ our love!

Faith isn’t about ethics or morals or principles. No matter how biblical, how spiritual. It’s about god! About god and god’s grace! About god and god’s charity! About god and god’s love! God loves! And god saves! That, my friends, is our message! Presbyterians and Lutherans alike! And because of that message, our Reformations continue!


Midland Lutheran Church
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