Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to you
from the one who sets us free. Amen
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Jesus tells his followers in the gospel this morning,
We’ve been hearing a lot about truth and freedom
in our public discourse lately,
and these things that we tend to think of as absolutes
have been turned relative,
what you define as freedom,
as truth (even when faced with facts and figures)
depends on who you are listening to
and it makes the world feel extra chaotic at the moment.
Now lest we think this is a new phenomenon
remember that in the gospel of John
when Jesus is taken to Pilate
to be tried and put to death
Jesus responds to Pilate’s questioning
by telling him “for this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
and how does Pilate respond?
By asking him:
“What is truth?”
Truth doesn’t matter to Pilate as much as power,
he is willing to ignore the truth before him
for the sake of his own power.
Whereas Jesus will adhere to the truth,
and he will end up on the cross because of it,
for the sake of it,
and in the end
this turns out to be the far more powerful choice
because the power of the world
cannot overcome the power of God
which three days later
raises Jesus from the dead,
he is the living Word made flesh,
the living Truth.
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Jesus tells his followers long before he faces Pilate
it’s a simple formula-
continuing in Jesus’ word,
leads to truth,
which leads to freedom.
What is the truth that we need to hear to be set free?
And from what do we need freedom?
In his teaching,
in his very self,
Jesus reveals the truth
that sin has broken all the relationships in the world,
and the truth that humans on their own cannot fix this,
we need God,
and he reveals the truth
that he has come to the heal the brokenness on our behalf,
and this truth,
the truth of the Word of God
will set us free,
free from sin,
that turning in on ourselves,
the self-centeredness that breaks relationships,
with God and one another,
free from the law
that says we have to repair these relationships all on our own,
Jesus the gospel
gives this to us as a gift,
that is grace.
This was the truth that Luther needed to hear,
and he heard it through Paul’s voice in his letter to the Romans
“But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in 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 show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.”
Faith in God,
continuing in God’s Word
brings us to the truth
that we need God,
and God has given us what we need,
God’s very self.
And this sets us free,
free to do whatever we want?
By no means,
rather we are freed to love and serve our neighbor,
to turn our attention outward
to all the relationships that God has created and called good,
freed to participate with God
in the mending of the universe,
bringing about the kingdom, the way of God.
Luther call this a paradox,
two statements that seem to contradict each other
and yet both are true,
in his paradox of the freedom of a Christian He says:
“A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.”
Anything we do
is done in response to what God has already done for us,
if we welcome others
it is because we have been first welcomed by God,
if we connect to others
it is because God has already connected with us in love,
if we serve others
it is because God served us,
not because God had to
but because God loved us
and offers us the welcome, connection, service as a gift and promise,
a gift we receive by trusting that God keeps the promises God makes,
that God is first faithful.
God has already done the work,
God continues to do the work,
God is alive and active in our world
whether we perceive it or not.
Perhaps this is the truth we need to hear today
that will set us free,
set us free from trying to take responsibility
for the success or failure of God’s mission in this place,
free from looking for truth in places and people other than Christ.
Is this an easy shift to make,
especially when as the psalmist says
“the nations rage and the kingdoms shake”?
No it is not
but even as the psalmist names the struggle
interspersed is the cure,
God,
the refuge and strength,
the mighty fortress,
is a very present help in trouble
and then in verse 10
the psalmist inserts an instruction from God,
is it to go try and solve all the things ourselves?
Is it to weep and gnash our teeth?
No,
it is this: “Be still and know that I am God.”
Be still and know that I am God
In the midst of earthshaking change
God calls us to pause and focus on God.
There’s a prayer practice connected to this verse
that I have found helpful over the years,
a way of praying this that is calming and centering,
we’ll do it together.
It’s very simple,
we will pray starting with the word ‘Be’
and gradually add each subsequent word
until we’ve said the whole verse
and then we’ll subtract a word and end on ‘Be’,
you’ll see when we do it,
and with each set of words
I invite you to inhale as I say the words
and exhale when I finish.
Not only is the spirit of God found in the breath,
controlled breathing is especially good for calming anxiety.
Close your eyes if you like
Inhale Be exhale
Inhale Be still exhale
Inhale Be still and exhale
Be still and know
Be still and know that
Be still and know that I
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know that I
Be still and know that
Be still and know
Be still and
Be still
Be
Amen.
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