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Re-Forming
This year in chewing on the Word in preparation for
Reformation Sunday; I had John Lennon rasping as the soundtrack in my mind, his
famous Beatles’ tune Revolution. “You
say you want a revolution—Well, you know, We all want to change the world. You
tell me that it's evolution—Well, you know, We all want to change the world. But
when you talk about destruction… Don't you know that you can count me out! You
say you got a real solution—Well, you know, We'd all love to see the plan. You
ask me for a contribution—Well, you know, We're doing what we can!
Are we really doing all what we can do? Do we truthfully want to change the world
with the Word: JESUS? Or more or less
are we bent upon our own destruction…
Jesus says: 31b…“If you continue in my word, you are truly my
disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will
make you free.” However, we’re probably
hearing Jack Nickelson’s famous line from ‘a few good men,’ say in the back of
our “saint/sinner” minds: “You want the TRUTH?!
You can’t handle the TRUTH!” The
truth is that we can’t, it is revolutionary, it is radical and counter-cultural
to our “way” of doing things in this world!
500 something years ago, a bold monk in a tiny town in
Germany decided to “Voice” his concerns on a piece of paper he would hammer to
the cathedral doors… Little did he know
or truthfully, desire, that those 95 statements or theses would cause a revolt. This “revolt” would later productively take
the shape of being known as the Reformation. This would be a Re-formation back to desiring
a Christ-centered discipleship and ministry fueled by love which is why we are
here and now together as “Lutherans” in the church of the Reformation.
Let’s take a look at the roots of these Words: Revolution
and Reformation. Revolution is basically
a worldly term that entails working against something that needs to be
over-turned. It is both a revolt as well
as it is de-constructive and destructive!
The opposite end of radical change is known as reformation or
re-formation. We are re-shaping as
individual and collective disciples of the church of Christ. Formation is all about building, modeling,
constructing as well as being constructive!
The Spiritual formation of the disciple also known collectively as a
member of the Body of Christ—“the Church,” is or should be willingly engaged in
a covenant of transformation to be the faithful bride of Christ… as His hands
and feet in this world… TRUTH be told,
we are not.
We are not living as justified by GRACE citizens of the
Kingdom of God but then, do we need to hear the cutting edges of the broken
mirror of the Law over and over again?
Jeremiah’s prose in the previous chapter before today’s message of
future Hope reveals that ugly mirror: 11b… (says the Lord) “I will chastise you in just measure, and
I will by no means leave you unpunished. 12For
thus says the Lord: Your hurt is incurable, your wound is grievous. 13There is no one to
uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you. 14All your lovers
have forgotten you; they care nothing for you; for I have dealt you the blow of
an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous. 15Why
do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is
great, because your sins are so numerous, I have done these things to you. 16Therefore all who
devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, everyone of them, shall go
into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on
you I will make a prey.” Yikes!
Obviously
this snippet is more or less YHWH’s curse before the Blessings He would reveal
in the following chapter of Hope for radical, transformational change… but on
another level, we can clearly hear the accusing, condemning “voice” of the
Law. It is destructive more than it is
constructive or instructing for that matter.
As we know, with Jesus we receive a radical NEW Law which tears down the
world of the former external understanding of Law and its system of outward sacrifice
with an internal Re-Formation of the Heart.
Basically Jesus verbally performs “bypass surgery” on his disciples with
establishing the core of what he came to do for the world: Set it free, set us
free! Setting us free from the bondage
of sin, death and the devil imparting a Gospel of unconditional,
transformational, revolutionary love that is GRACE itself!
The only
thing de-constructing about the radical re-formation Jesus brings to humanity
to spiritually take action upon is tearing down the well established “church”
of the world catering more or less to the un-Holy Trinity of I, Me and Mine.”
The Gospel
of GRACE gets its’ heralds into trouble…
Jesus died for us for this message to be heard LOUDLY and accomplished
in many ways what Jeremiah started out to do in calling for change. As we know for Luther, the Roman church did
everything in its power to persecute and condemn him, even excommunicating
him. Excommunicating a loyal servant
leader for the Will of Christ! The
established hierarchy of a physical church— Jesus didn’t necessarily intend for
us to “build” but BE “building up” each other in fellowship to spread the Good
News. Like those nails in Christ’s hands
and feet, Luther sealed his fate with pounding those nails into the hardened
walls of the “closed” Body of Christ.
Those nails only nicked into the surface of a radical call for change
that the Romans may have not heard with an open heart but those outside the
walls heard deeply and joined Luther in starting a revolt which would later
transform into being the Reformation.
We are
celebrating today as a “remnant” of what Luther never intended… BUT what God intended and still is insisting
that we continuously do!: RE-FORM or more or less TRANSFORM into GRACE-filled
beings living into the Gospel of Love centered around Christ Alone, GRACE
Alone, Word Alone and Faith Alone! As St.
Paul’s snippet from Romans today says: 19Now 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. 20For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by
deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of
sin. 21But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has
been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For
there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a
gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom
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; 26it was to
prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies
the one who has faith in Jesus. 27Then what becomes of
boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of
faith. 28For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart
from works prescribed by the law.”
The whole world needs to be living in the light of
accountability, reciprocity for we have been redeemed, justified, aligned in a
new relationship with God because of Christ Jesus. Because of Christ Jesus we have been re-formed
but through faith which is the manifestation of GRACE—we are called to
transform not only ourselves but the World!
We need to live into that calling no matter how difficult or
contradicting the journey may become at times…
We need to hear the Psalmist’s song of praise, that God is our refuge
and is with us while we take on the ever mounting challenge to be BOLD
witnesses for the Gospel. We must be
urgent, we must be persistent not just with ourselves but TRUTHFULLY for Christ
Jesus. Living into the light of GRACE is
a continuous journey; but it is one not lived Alone.
AMEN
Reformation Sunday
October 27th, 2013; Lectionary 30; 23rd Sunday after
Pentecost; SOLA Lectionary
Psalm 46; Romans
3:19-28; John 8:31-36 & (RCL)
Jeremiah 31:31-34 Nicole
Collins
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