Reformation At 500

 

Reformation at 500: What We Can Take And What We Can Leave Behind

October 29, 2017

 

500 years ago on Tuesday…

October 31, 1517, (or so the story goes),

Martin Luther posted 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany,

And the reformation was begun.

 

Since it’s the 500^th anniversary,

There have been magazine and newspaper articles (I’m told there’s one today in the Washington Post);

There have been stories on NPR,

And a month ago, PBS broadcast a movie entitled,

“Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed the World.”

 

It begs the question, “which idea”?

Which idea changed the world?

 

Was it his theological idea –

Stressing the grace of God.

 

Or perhaps it was his education idea –

That there should be free public education for all children –

Boys and girls.

 

Or perhaps his idea about economics –

That a key function of government is to care for the poor-

So he formed this idea called the ‘community chest,’

Whereby towns would have a chest contributed into by those who had more resources to give to those in need.

 

Or perhaps it was his idea about marriage –

That marriage was more than a venue for procreation,

But also a means for companionship and even love –

Revolutionary ideas that Martin Luther had…

Which one changed the world?

 

1517 was in the era called the late Middle Ages.

 

It was a time of discovery in many ways –

Vasco da Gama and Columbus had traveled to places

Other Europeans had no idea existed before.

Copernicus discovered that the earth revolved around the sun,

And not the other way around.

Gutenberg developed the printing press,

And ideas could spread among the people.

 

It was an era of exciting social change.

 

But for the religious life of society,

Things weren’t so hopeful.

 

The people knew of the abuses.

The Western Schism was in recent memory

When there were 3 popes at one time,

All in opposition to each other,

And each ex-communicating each other.

 

Abuse and corruption within the church was known…

And there were efforts before Luther to reform.

 

In Spain, a national council had already outlawed the sale of indulgences.

In Italy, groups of reformers were meeting.

The people already were recognizing the importance of reading the Bible themselves.

The Polyglot version of the Bible in Latin, Greek and Hebrew had been published.

There was even already a German version of the Bible years before Luther’s translation.

 

So what about Luther was new?

What about him was different?

What about him made Time magazine name him as one of the 10 most influential people of the last millennium?

 

For one thing, it was Luther’s ability to speak to the people.

He could be vulgar and crude…

But he also could be engaging, compassionate and passionate.

 

When he taught at the University of Wittenberg,

It was not just his students who showed up in the lecture hall…

People from the community lined up around the room to listen to him speak.

 

Another engaging aspect of Luther is that over and over again,

He stressed a central question – it was a question which was personal to him,

But also one that struck the hearts of his hearers.

The question was, “Where can I find a gracious God?”

 

A seminary professor of mine once noted that the things which are most personal to us,

Can also be the most universal.

 

Luther found that to be so.

 

And so on October 31, 1517 he nailed 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church

(or maybe not – some scholars think he mailed them to the Archbishop of Mainz –

Or perhaps he did both).

 

Luther may have been naïve.

He fully thought that by sharing what he saw as abuses in the church,

He would be laying out some topics for debate –

For academic discussion –

For conversation about how the practice did or did not align with Scripture.

 

He was wrong.

 

There were errors on both sides of the Reformation.

 

The Roman bishops were wrong in that they refused to even consider Luther’s arguments.

They would not listen.

They would not discuss.

 

Luther was wrong because he had a bad habit of demonizing everyone who was opposed to his ideas.

He called the pope the Antichrist –

This does not create an atmosphere of dialog or discussion.

In later years, Luther did the same thing to others who did not agree to his reading of Scripture.

He demonized Jews who did not come to Christ as the Messiach.

He demonized the largely Muslim Turks.

 

There was error on both sides.

 

The German Lutheran theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg once said

That the existence of the Lutheran church

Is the best evidence there is to show that the Reformation was a failure.

It led not to dialog and reform,

But to division and discord.

 

Anniversaries of the Reformation have been marked throughout the centuries.

If you visit Wittenberg you can see dinnerware marking the 300^th anniversary.

You can also see posters of Luther as a German national hero which is the way he was celebrated in 1917, in the midst of World War 1, the 400^th anniversary.

 

But this year is different.

It has to be different.

 

This is the first centennial  we are observing in the ecumenical age.

This is the first centennial since Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialog

Began 50 years ago after Vatican II.

 

This is the first centennial when Reformation Sunday is marked not by

Roman Catholics reminding the faithful that Luther was a heretic who divided the church;

And Lutherans claiming that Lutherans were right and Catholics are wrong.

 

Instead as a result of dialog we have learned something very important

That it took 450 years to realize:

In the most important theological concern of the Reformation,

In Luther’s central question about “Where can I find a gracious God?”,

We actually agree!

Together we agree that we are made right with God (justified)

By grace through faith alone.

 

This discovery has something important to say to us today.

We are in a nation divided – by religion and politics.

 

Perhaps this Reformation we can learn from Luther –

From what he did right and from what he did wrong.

 

Perhaps we can stand up for what we believe – and protest if need be.

But also perhaps we can refuse to demonize those who believe differently.

Perhaps then, real dialog can take place…

And perhaps we will discover that in the central question –

The things most important – we may actually agree.

 

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

You Don’t Have To Be Dead To Be Raised From The Dead

Ezekiel 37:1-14

October 9, 2017

 

I learned something important from my friend Roger:

“You don’t have to be dead to be raised from the dead.”

 

Today we conclude our series, “What Christians Believe And Why It Matters,”

And we’re looking at the last line of the Apostles’ Creed:

“I believe in the resurrection of the body and life afterlasting.”

 

Roger said,

“You don’t need to be dead to be raised from the dead.”

 

He says that it began innocently enough…

He and his wife would have a glass of wine with dinner.

They were foodies, and the wine was always good wine,

And paired well with whatever they were having to eat.

 

Roger had a stressful job,

And when he got home from work he like to have a glass of something to help him unwind.

And at night, when he watched sports on TV,

There’d usually be a glass at hand.

 

It began very innocently.

 

Well his wife was diagnosed with lung cancer.

And for awhile she was in and out of the hospital.

And Roger was anxious, and he was lonely,

And to help deal with the stress he would have more to drink than he had in the past.

 

His daughter was grown by now,

And she came back home for a visit to her parents,

And she was alarmed by the amount her father was drinking.

She confronted him..

And he got angry…and the visit didn’t end well.

 

One day Roger went out to his car and noticed that the passenger side window was missing.

He wondered if someone had sideswiped him when he was parked on the street,

And he just hadn’t noticed it until now….

 

And then one day he came out of the grocery store

And noticed that his car was parked kind of crooked-

He was parked in two spaces instead of one.

 

Once when on his way to visit his wife at the hospital,

He must have blacked out – he doesn’t remember what exactly happened.

He was taken to the ER and they checked him out and had him follow up with his own doctor.

As his doctor reviewed his test results,

He told Roger that his blood pressure was up,

He was a bit anemic, and his liver function tests were high.

 

The doctor asked if he could just ask Roger 4 questions – the so-called “CAGE” questions,

To get a better sense of his alcohol use.

 

So he asked Roger,

“Have you ever tried to cut down on your drinking?”

(The “C” in “cut down” is part of the CAGE questions.)

 

Roger said that he’d been thinking of cutting down –

Maybe after the holidays.

 

And then the doctor asked him the “A” question:

“Has anyone ever gotten annoyed with you about your drinking?”

 

And Roger remembered his daughter,

And his wife, too, had been irritated with him more recently.

He said, “Well, family members always get on your case about something, don’t they?”

 

And then the doctor asked,

“Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?”

And Roger thought to himself that he had felt guilty – and ashamed.

He’d been hiding his stash – some in the car, some at work, some in the garage…

And he felt guilty when he lied about when he’d gone to the bar after work.

He acknowledged to the doctor that he did feel guilty at times.

 

And then the doctor asked the final question  of the CAGE questions –

He asked, “Have you ever had an eye-opener….a drink first thing in the morning?”

And Roger was indignant…

He said, “Never! I am not an alcoholic!”

 

The doctor replied,

“Well I am concerned about your alcohol use – let’s just make a plan for you to come back in two weeks. And in that time, can you agree that you won’t have anything to drink?”

 

Roger quickly mumbled his agreement and left the office.

He never returned.

 

I don’t know how much longer afterwards this happened,

But Roger had a friend who brought him to a meeting one night,

And then the next night,

And then the next one.

And Roger eventually became sober.

 

By the time I met him, he had been in recovery for about 10 years.

And he was a pastor.

And we would meet for breakfast once a week with other colleagues

To talk about the upcoming texts that we would be preaching on Sunday.

 

And when we got to the passages in Matthew about the ‘outer darkness,’

And the place where there is ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth,’

Most of us pastors would groan wondering how we could preach that –

Where is the good news of the gospel in those passages?

 

And Roger would laugh.

And he would say,

“I love preaching those passages….

Because I have been there…

I have been to the outer darkness.

I have been to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I have been in hell.

 

You don’t have to be dead to be raised from the dead.”

 

When we talk about eternal life and heaven and hell,

usually the talk is about after death.

 

We wonder what heaven looks like…is there an after life at all?

 

The Creed says most definitively ‘Yes.’

 

The Bible has surprisingly little about what heaven is like.

In Revelation we have the image of streets paved of gold.

But in the gospels when Jesus speaks about the kingdom of heaven,

He most often uses a different image – that of a wedding feast.

 

Wedding feasts in his day were lavish affairs.

They go on for days and were filled with joy and laughter,

Eating and singing and dancing,

Family and friends.

 

The image of a wedding feast is perhaps as good an image as any

For heaven, for the after life.

 

But…you don’t have to be dead to be raised from the dead.

Jesus also talked about eternal life not as beginning some day in the future after we die..

But right here and now.

 

In our reading from Ezekiel, it’s helpful to have some context…

 

In 597 BCE, the Babylonians conquered and destroyed Jerusalem.

Many of the Jewish people living there were deported –

They were taken back to Babylon (modern day Iraq) to live.

This is often called the ‘Babylonian Exile.’

 

Ezekiel was one of the people who had been deported.

 

Life in exile felt like utter darkness.

There was physical suffering.

There was communal suffering – they were separated from their people and their communal identity in Jerusalem.

 

But perhaps most significantly, those in exile experienced a spiritual crisis.

Jerusalem and the temple were gone.

God had promised that the reign of King David would endure forever – and the monarchy was gone.

And the Jewish people began to wonder….Is the Babylonian god more powerful than God?

 

And so we get to the part of the story we heard in today’s reading.

 

God brings Ezekiel out to this valley – and there in the valley are dry bones.

There were many bones….and they were very dry…the text says.

 

The word ‘bones’ in Hebrew means our deepest self;

Our existential self.

(Recall in Genesis when Adam meets Eve and he says,

“This at last is bone of my bones!”)

 

There were many bones and they were very dry in Babylon.

 

God points to the bones and asks Ezekiel,

“Can these bones live?”

 

Of course the obvious answer would be ,”No.”

But Ezekiel is with the Lord…

So he replies, “You know, Lord.”

 

And then God says to Ezekiel,

“Prophesy to these bones…

Speak to these bones and tell them the Word of God…

Tell them that bone will come together on bone;

And I will place sinews on them;

And flesh and skin;

And then I will breathe on them – and they will live!”

 

So Ezekiel speaks to the bones.

And suddenly he hears something – he hears a rattling sound….

And sure enough, the bones start to come together;

And sinews connect them,

And flesh and skin cover them..

 

But as yet there is no life…the breath (in Hebrew ‘ruach’ – the Spirit)

Has not yet come into them.

 

So God says, “Prophesy to the breath…

Call the Spirit from the 4 ends of the earth to come into these bones that they may live.”

 

And Ezekiel prophesies to the breath…

And God’s spirit, God’s breath comes into the bones which were once so very dry,

And they stand up…and they live.

 

You don’t have to be dead to be raised from the dead.

 

I don’t know where your dry bones place is…

Perhaps it’s Las Vegas…

Perhaps it’s Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands or Florida or Texas…

Perhaps it’s within your family relationships,

Or work or with friends.

 

Where is the place where it seems like utter darkness?

Where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth”?

 

God says, “Prophesy to the breath – call on my Spirit,

And these bones will live!”

 

Roger knew firsthand that bones – even very dry bones – could live.

And so he preached with joy over and over,

“You don’t have to be dead to be raised from the dead!”

 

I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

 

Amen. Thanks be to God.

Faith Story

Shared at worship on October 1 by Katie

This week I received a text from a girl that I’d gone to elementary school with who I hadn’t spoken to in over four years.  It was odd because even though she and I had been really good friends in 4th and 5th grades, we’d had a big falling out.  So, I see her name pop upon my screen and I’m thinking, “Wow, this is weird.  We haven’t spoken in years.  What does she want? Why is she texting me?”

So I did what I feel a lot of teens would have done, I didn’t open it right away.  But now, I just had the little green icon sitting on top of my messages, staring back at me.

I ignored it for awhile, but it was driving me crazy, so I opened it.

“Hey, Katie, I just wanted to reach out and say I’m sorry for being so mean in elementary school.  Looking back I realized that I was extremely rude and unkind.  I was so worried about being ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ I didn’t care about treating nice and caring people right.  Now, I’m over that and have reflected back on my actions and am disappointed in myself.  I wish I had been a better friend.  Hope everything is well and that high school is treating you well.  Best Wishes.”

I was shocked that she actually remembered what she’d done and had the strength to reach out and apologize.  Honestly, I’d held a grudge against her up until this summer.  I was at this camp called TEY or Theological Education with Youth.  We were in our small groups just talking about life and school and some of our not so fun experiences.  She popped into my head.  I thought about what had happened and how long ago it had happened.  We were in elementary school which was so long ago and now she’s probably changed.  I need to forgive her and move on.

So, I responded to her.  “Hey!  Wow, that was so long ago!  I forgive you.  I hope you have a great rest of your year!”

Forgiveness is important for many reasons.  Not only for the person that you’re forgiving, but also for you.

It’s important to let yourself move on.  The person who did you wrong most likely doesn’t remember what they did, so your holding a grudge does you more hurt than anyone else.  Let yourself grow from it.  Don’t get stuck in the past.  You will never be able to change it.

Choosing Forgiveness

Genesis 50:15-21

October 1, 2017

 

In 1984, a man was shot and killed at a gas station in St. Louis.

Witnesses said the perpetrator was about 5’5” and light-skinned.

Nevertheless, Darryl Burton was called to the station for a line-up.

Darryl is 5’10” and dark-skinned.

 

There were two witnesses, both with upcoming trials,

And prosecutors had made a deal with them that if they testified,

They’d receive lesser sentences.

 

Darryl met with his public defender for about an hour.

After the trial, the jury deliberated for about an hour.

And they convicted him.

He was given a life sentence without parole – for a crime he did not commit.

 

Darryl was shocked.

He didn’t think it was possible they could convict him –

An innocent man – who didn’t even look like the person witnesses saw.

 

He was sent to Missouri State Penitentiary –

A prison known to be one of the most violent in the nation.

He recalls seeing a banner as he walked through the gates…

The banner said something like this:

“Welcome To Missouri State Penitentiary.

Leave Behind Your Family, Your Hopes, and Your Dreams.”

 

Darryl had a long time in prison to ponder his predicament.

He felt anger well up within him at being wrongly accused, wrongly convicted, wrongly imprisoned.

 

He wasn’t much of a church goer,

But his grandmother was, and he remembered something she had said to him long ago.

She said,
“One of these days, boy, you’re going to need Jesus.

And I hope you remember to call on him.”