This sermon is read between two people: one in front of the congregation and one hidden.
10.28.07
John 8:31-36
31Then Jesus said to the Judeans who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?"
34Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Good News: God in Jesus makes us free
The Reformation Dance
Voice: Here we go; another Reformation sermon…
VT: Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication
Nail your thesis to the door, lets have a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!
Voice: Ugh. I don’t like that song….
VT: Pretty great song, isn’t it? Its for laughs of course, most of those lyrics don’t apply anymore.
Voice: None of them do…
VT: But don’t forget why we’re here today. We’re here to celebrate the Reformation, an event that took place more than 500 years ago. It’s like a drop in the water that ripples out to today. Today, we still feel the effects of the Reformation.
Voice: Ok, I’ve got to cut in here…Hello? Is anyone listening?
VT: Hello? God, is that you?
Voice: Not what you were expecting?
VT: Well…
Voice: Never mind, I am who I am. What was that stuff about the Reformation that you were saying? I was there, remember.
VT: Oh yeah. Well, I was just saying that we’re here today to celebrate the Reformation, an event that, like a drop in a pool of water, has ripples that continue to affect us…
Voice: Very dramatic. Seriously, though, the Reformation was not just an event, it is an ongoing process. It would be wrong to say that you just celebrate the Reformation; it would be better to say that you celebrate Reformation, the continual reforming of the church into the people of God.
VT: But we must not forget the past! Remember what Jesus said in today’s Gospel. He tells the Judeans that God has freed them, and they say, “We’ve never been slaves to anyone.” But they had. They had forgotten their past. God freed them from slavery in
Voice: It is true. We must never forget the past, and those hearers of my word back then had forgotten their heritage. But freedom doesn’t come in remembering the promises of the past, God’s freedom comes in hearing the promises for the future.
VT: Yes, the promise for the future. The truth! And the truth is that Luther had it right…
Voice: Nice try. There you are again, living in the past. The truth is that the word of God frees people from having to have it right. The word of God, the promise of God, is that you are loved because you are Gods, not because you have it right, or of what you do.
VT: Ah, exactly. That’s why Luther was so mad when people thought they had to give money to buy salvation.
Voice: Right. He was mad because salvation is not something you can buy; it’s something that only God can give. Something God did give in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
VT: So, why do we celebrate the Reformation, then, if it’s something that happened in the past.
Voice: Because the promise still stands and God continues to speak. The truth is, the freeing truth is, that God loves you and will stop at nothing to show you that. Throughout time, throughout space, you are continually being called to stay true to that love and accept it for what it is: a free gift from God. The Word continues to call you to that truth.
VT: The Word of Scripture, and the Word that we see in the person of Jesus.
Voice: Yes, especially in Jesus. Jesus is the Word made flesh; is truth, is light, is salvation. Read those words found in John again.
VT: If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
Voice: Yes, that is the truth of the Reformation, that event back in 1517, and more importantly is the truth of the re-forming that continues to happen today. The church must live in the Word, God’s grace seen through Jesus.
VT: Because God’s grace is truly freeing. We fill our lives with things that we think will be allow us freedom: money, power, addictions, control, guilt. But God’s love, the selfless love found in Jesus is truly freeing. But how?
Voice: Because, in God’s love we learn that money, power, addictions, control, and guilt are only useful if the world is running the show. But God’s in control, not the world. That’s why the people of God are free to love everyone, because there is no need to put others down to get ahead. That’s why the people of God are free to give of their time, money, and resources, because we don’t need to stockpile and be greedy. Greed only weighs people down. That’s why God’s people don’t need to seek out power and control over other people because they know that God desires that people be free to love and serve each other.
VT: And the Reformation should continually remind us that we need to guard against falling into the traps of power, greed, and control.
Voice: Yes. God frees people, and the church, from having to have those things. Those things are Sin at work in the world, and God has freed people from Sin.
VT: The Reformation is not so much an event to be celebrated, although it was an event and we do give thanks for it. But it is more a process to be reviewed and renewed. A promise to re-form ourselves around the Word of God alone, the Grace of God alone, and Faith in God alone.
Voice: I’m glad that I could have this conversation with you all.
VT: Yeah, thanks for the interruption.
Voice: That’s what I do best: interrupt lives to give love. You might say that I re-form your lives into my love.
VT: Amen.
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