Finding Faith ... in knowing that our church has always been reforming

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Oct. 29, 2023.

This week's scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 3:19-28

Jeremiah 31:31-34: The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.  33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Romans 3:19-28: 19 Now we know that, whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no human will be justified before him by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus.

27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? That of works? No, rather through the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

The message:

Today is Reformation Sunday, Faith Family, the day in our church year that we pay tribute to the wide, sweeping reform that took hold of the church in the early 1500s across all of Western Europe.

I suspect that you may know some of the story, but it doesn’t hurt to review a little of our church history to help us understand how we got to this point in the life of our church.

After all, reform … or change … or evolution … is in our faith DNA. … And given our current chapter of our own church, I think it’s healthy to review the fact that the church -- with a big “C” -- is ever changing.

Much like we do with many big historical events, we tend to simplify what we call the Reformation. And we tend to attribute the beginning of the movement to a famous act of defiance that I bet most of you recall. 

Starting at a young age we are taught that in 1517, a German priest and theologian by the name of Martin Luther tacked a list of 95 theses -- or grievances -- to the wooden doors of the Wittenberg church, thus sparking a revolution that took hold, and spread across the European continent.

While this is a simplification of a religious movement that began to play out even decades before, it’s as good of a starting point as any. Because, after all, with any historical movement, there is always disagreement about what was the initial spark.

The point is, that Luther, among many other priests of the time, took offense at the many abuses of the people practiced by the church in the Middle Ages.

Given the church’s prominence and power at the time, most people’s daily lives were guided by the church. From the moment they awoke until the moment they slept, the church was involved in the average person’s daily life.

And as with most earthly created powerful institutions, let’s just say that whatever might begin by divine inspiration, drift some degrees off the course of moral certitude.

One of the particular practices that Luther vehemently objected to was the practice of indulgences, which essentially was a way for sinners to pay their way into forgiveness in the eyes of the church.

In other words, those with means had the ability to pay the local priest or bishop to wash away their sins … to obtain forgiveness in the eyes of the church.

Where this especially came into play was in the rescuing of loved ones from purgatory. Now, as Lutherans, some 500 years after the Reformation, it’s hard for us to understand the ramifications of purgatory to the average person.

Purgatory, as defined by the church then, was this intermediate state between heaven and earth. It is this metaphysical place in which your earthly body resides until you or your soul is finally purified enough to ascend into heaven.

And in the middle ages, you could actually hasten your loved ones ascension into heaven by buying their purification on their behalf.

So, if when your loved died, you could grab your bag of coins out from whatever hidey-hole you had in your house, go down to the local priest and literally buy your loved one out of purgatory … and thus into heaven.

Which wasn’t a bad deal if you happened to be one of the few in the Middle Ages who had the means to do so. … 

Additionally, it wasn’t such a bad deal for the church priests and bishops either … who in some cases made tidy fortunes selling these indulgences to the people.

But for the vast majority of people in the Middle Ages who were essentially living hand to mouth … imagine the anguish of knowing that your loved ones may never get out of purgatory … or worse yet may be forced into hell … because you didn’t have the means to buy them salvation.

Faith Family … imagine what that was like to live with that burden!

But then there was Luther, and many like him, who came along and said, “Wait a minute! … This isn’t right. Where in the Bible does it say anything about purgatory, or indulgences or buying our way into heaven? … It’s just not there!”

And so Luther would write a doctrine that to this day is the fundamental bedrock of our Lutheran faith … and that doctrine is “Justification by Faith Alone.” 

I’m not going to take you back to confirmation class here, Faith Family, but it is absolutely imperative that as Lutherans we understand what “Justification by Faith Alone” means.

And … as I teach the confirmands … it means there is absolutely nothing we can do to separate ourselves from God’s love … but even more importantly there absolutely nothing else we can do to EARN God’s love either.

Faith Family … that’s it folks.

If you believe in the fact that Jesus Christ went to that cross on our behalf, died as our benefactor to wash away our sins once and forever, and then was raised in a new life by our gracious and loving God.

Then that is it. … You are saved, Faith Family.

You … and you … and you … and your neighbor … and your neighbor’s neighbor … and that person who never comes to church … and those who don't give to charity … and those who may seem fairly selfish and arrogant and otherwise unkind …

None of it matters. … Faith alone. … You … me … us … them. … Faith is our entry way into heaven. … Despite our best efforts to create roadblocks for others … Despite the many gates we may want to put up to keep others unlike us out of heaven … faith alone grants us entry. … grants everyone entry … into heaven. … Into eternal salvation.

Now, Family Family … This may seem elementary to us this morning, sitting comfortably in our beautiful sanctuary. … But in the 1500s … I can assure you that this idea was revolutionary. … It turned the church on its head.

Because, for the church, the doctrine of “Justification by Faith Alone” cost them a lot … a lot in power, a lot in the influence in people’s daily lives … and a lot in wealth. … After all, indulgences were a major moneymaker for the church.

And that is a small slice of the much larger pie that is the Reformation, Faith Family. … But let’s just say that thanks to Martin Luther and other reform-minded priests and theologians like him some 500 years ago, the church as we know is much … much … different. 

Reform. … Today, we are celebrating reform. … And the Reformation itself was a major turning point from the church.

But looking at church history isn’t the only way to understand that the church has been reforming since its earliest inception. Our scripture tells us too …

Readings today in Jeremiah and in Romans demonstrate to us that our church was already reforming in the days after Jesus’ birth.

Both the writer of Jeremiah and the Apostle Paul, who wrote Romans, teach us that while the people of Israel had God’s word, the very dictates from the Creator himself that were written down through the ages -- in some cases on stone tablets! 

And that Word was the law, and as long as the people lived their lives according to the law, they would always have a covenant with God.

Follow the law, Israel … and you will always be God’s chosen people. … Right? That was God’s covenant with them. Live by the law; you will be saved. 

And then came the Messiah. … Jesus Christ. Born into a human body, lived out his earthly ministry and was crucified on our behalf. … He became our Advocate, as he is sometimes called.

And we know that God had promised this by what we are told in Jeremiah:

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when …”

The law gave way to the born and crucified Christ.

In other words … God was reforming our church even some 1,500 years before Martin Luther upset the boat! …

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told the faithful that, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

The law will be replaced with love, Faith Family. … God shared with the people through his prophet Jeremiah that all the people now needed was faith … they just needed to be reminded that if God is written on their hearts … then they will indeed be saved.

And, in Romans, Paul tells us the same thing … just in different words.

No human makes himself right with God -- or justified which just means righteous -- through works of the law. … So, Paul, what are you saying? … How do I get to heaven?

Going to church. Nope. … Giving money to the church? Nope. … Taking communion? Nope. … Being kind to others? Nope. … Well, what then? How do I get into heaven?

“For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.”

Through a right relationship with God. Through faith, Faith Family. … And faith alone. … And then, if we are truly living in faith, all of those other things should just be natural reactions to wanting to live in faith.

Faith Family, as I tell the confirmands each year when we begin class, as Martin Lutheran teaches us: Faith certainly frees us from the obligations of having to live in Jesus Christ’s footsteps here on earth, but true faith should inspire us to joyfully live in those footsteps anyway.

So … enough of the 2,000-year-old history lesson for this Sunday. … Important stuff to reflect upon on this Reformation Sunday, which should remind us that the church has been reforming itself since the days that Jesus walked this earth.

And so, what does this mean for us today, Faith Family? … What lessons do we take away from Martin Luther, and the prophet Jeremiah and the Apostle Paul … today? 

Well, I can’t believe that it is a coincidence that we will meet this coming Wednesday night with synod leaders to begin the process of our own Rural Revival.

I have no idea what this means for our church. Will it mean change … or reform? … I suspect likely so. … But I can’t tell you what form or shape or transformation that may take for us. … We must go through the process to find out.

But I can tell you a couple of things I do know for certain.

First, the church … the big church, with a capital “C” … led by the Holy Spirit … is always changing. … It’s always been changing since its earliest days. Since its inception.

Second, this church  of ours has seen its own share of change.

Just in my seven years here … I could rattle off a number of ways we’ve changed. And I know you could too.

And third, and most importantly, God means for the church to change. After all, he wrote a new covenant for his chosen people, the nation of Israel when the time called for it. So who are we to expect not to change?

Faith Family, God is now writing a new chapter for our church as well. And I pray that you will join us to determine what that new chapter looks like … beginning Wednesday night. 

And that is the Good News, on this beautiful Reformation Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. … Amen.