From a new clergy couple, serving as co-pastors, we now begin life as a clergy couple serving different congregations. As of May 24, Ruth Ann is serving a new call at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Richfield, NC. Life for us is changing once again.
While many things remain the same - both work on Sunday, both on call 24/7, both have sermon and worship preparations to make during the week, many things are different. For one, we cannot operate on quite the same schedule. For example, as Ruth Ann buries a member of her new parish today, I am home housecleaning and working on tomorrow's sermon (and spending some time on the computer). Where for almost 6 years we have done almost everything together, now we have to learn to do some of things apart and on different schedules.
In one way, this is a return to how things were before seminary, when I was traveling over 50% of the year. Our schedules only rarely coincided, and then only with great planning. We will have to recover that intentionality in planning our personal lives that has somewhat gone by the wayside. Instead of planning everything for the church and using what is left over for ourselves, we will now have to carve out space for ourselves in the midst of planning for church. It also means that our opportunities to worship together - even as worship leaders - will be few and far between.
Being in separate places also creates issues with meals - how, when, and where do we eat? So far, we are managing to eat more meals together than apart, but we will have to go back to planning meals as to who is going to be available to cook. We are operating on different office hours, including some time at home for sermon prep so we can share our library (don't have duplicate commentaries), so scheduling study time and menus will have to happen soon.
Life as a clergy couple has its ups and downs, and certainly adds some complications, but then it also has the plus side of truly understanding what it is like to be a pastor - the long, inconsistent hours, late night phone calls, early mornings at the hospital for surgery visits, and the deep frustrations when God's people don't act like God's people.
For now, we will struggle along as we work out the new schedules and get used to having to prepare a sermon every week instead of every other week. We have to get used to saying "I" instead of "we" when talking about "the pastor(s)", and we have to go from sharing almost everything told to us so we can each be aware of situations in the congregation to sharing only public knowledge - even about members that we both know.
Many changes in the works, but most certainly God is active and working in our lives. Some things change, others stay the same, but God remains constant. For this we give thanks, especially when so much else is up in the air. So begins the next chapter in our lives.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Where does time go?
It is discouraging to see that there has not been a post to the blog since Christmas! It has been a very busy time with many things going on. It was my intent to post more often during Lent, but that has not happened.
Now that we are in Holy Week and my hope to blog during Lent is pretty well a lost cause, I hope to find more time to blog about grandchildren (after Easter).
One of the many things that has happened in recent weeks is the birth of three grandchildren. That's right, three! Our daughter had triplets on March 3. We were fortunate to be able to be present for their birth. After several days in the hospital, they are now home. Mother and babies are doing well.
Along with all of the other changes in our lives -seminary, internship, graduation, ordination, and so on - we have also had an explosion of grandchildren. In three years, both of our children have gotten married and had children. We have gone from non to six grandchildren in just three short years! Like our fast-paced journey to and through seminary, I don't necessarily recommend this method of gaining lots of grandchildren, but then, these sorts of things seem to happen to us. With twins in one family and triplets in the other, plus one - we have six wonderful grandchildren now.
Now that we are in Holy Week and my hope to blog during Lent is pretty well a lost cause, I hope to find more time to blog about grandchildren (after Easter).
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve Sermon 2009
Luke 2:11 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
When I hear those words from Luke 2:11, especially in the King James Version, I think of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special where Linus stands on the stage and recounts our Gospel text for the actors in the Christmas pageant. I hear the words in the voice of Linus as he reminds his friends of the true meaning of Christmas.
We spend weeks and weeks getting ready. We clean the house and decorate, we shop and shop and shop, then we wrap and wrap and wrap. We cook and we bake and we plan. We work so hard at getting everything just right so that our friends and families will enjoy Christmas. But what is Christmas? What are we ready for?
That is what has happened at the pageant – Lucy and others have planned and have these plans for a huge, elaborate pageant. Charlie Brown has been sent out to find a Christmas Tree. He brings back a small, pitiful looking tree and the others make fun of it – and of Charlie Brown. He can’t even bring back a decent tree! Then Linus reminds them – “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.” The tree doesn’t matter, the size of the pageant doesn’t matter, nothing that we do matters – it is what God has done that matters.
We get so caught up in the preparations for Christmas, that we forget what we are celebrating. We forget that it is God’s gift to us that gives us reason to celebrate. It is God’s action, not ours, that is important.
As we hear the Christmas story – we hear about Mary, and about Joseph, and their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We hear about the birth, and the angels and the shepherds, and we have Christmas pageants and nativity scenes depicting the story, with all the characters and all the animals, and the star – don’t forget the star! We make costumes and decide who will be shepherds and who will be angels and who will be wise men and we try to think of new and interesting ways to tell the story. We get caught up in making it special. We get caught up in the doing.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” A gift is given. A gift from God, a gift of God, given to the people of God.
Usually, when we receive a gift, we express gratitude for the gift – we say thank you, or we write a thank you card, or send a thank you email, or sometimes we even reciprocate with a gift of our own – another way of saying thank you. But how do we thank God for the gift that he gave us, in that stable long ago? What kind of thanks does God want for this gift? Where do we send the thank you card?
The Christmas text is only the beginning of the story. It is the giving of the gift. Through the reading of the gospels we find out what this gift is all about. We find that through this gift, God is reconciling the world to himself. Through this gift, we learn what it is to be obedient to God. Through this gift, we see what it is to have compassion. Through this gift, we know what it is to be loved. Through this gift, we know what it is to be freed – from slavery, from sin, from the powers of evil. Through this gift, comes our salvation.
In the end, this proclamation from the angels is not just about God’s gift to us, but also about how we give thanks to God for this gift. We don’t have an address for that thank you card because we aren’t meant to send on. Instead, we are to do as the angels did – proclaim the story! Tell others what God has done. The gift is not for us to keep to ourselves, but to be shared with all who will listen.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” A gift – a gift to be shared. A gift that shows us what it is to be completely unselfish. A gift so big, so perfect, that it only gets better by sharing it with others. Pass the word around! Unto YOU is born this day in the city of David A SAVIOR, which is Christ the Lord – the messiah – God incarnate – the Word made Flesh.
6For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Celebrate! Sing Hosanna! Share the Good News with all the world! Christ the Lord is here! Amen.
When I hear those words from Luke 2:11, especially in the King James Version, I think of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special where Linus stands on the stage and recounts our Gospel text for the actors in the Christmas pageant. I hear the words in the voice of Linus as he reminds his friends of the true meaning of Christmas.
We spend weeks and weeks getting ready. We clean the house and decorate, we shop and shop and shop, then we wrap and wrap and wrap. We cook and we bake and we plan. We work so hard at getting everything just right so that our friends and families will enjoy Christmas. But what is Christmas? What are we ready for?
That is what has happened at the pageant – Lucy and others have planned and have these plans for a huge, elaborate pageant. Charlie Brown has been sent out to find a Christmas Tree. He brings back a small, pitiful looking tree and the others make fun of it – and of Charlie Brown. He can’t even bring back a decent tree! Then Linus reminds them – “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.” The tree doesn’t matter, the size of the pageant doesn’t matter, nothing that we do matters – it is what God has done that matters.
We get so caught up in the preparations for Christmas, that we forget what we are celebrating. We forget that it is God’s gift to us that gives us reason to celebrate. It is God’s action, not ours, that is important.
As we hear the Christmas story – we hear about Mary, and about Joseph, and their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We hear about the birth, and the angels and the shepherds, and we have Christmas pageants and nativity scenes depicting the story, with all the characters and all the animals, and the star – don’t forget the star! We make costumes and decide who will be shepherds and who will be angels and who will be wise men and we try to think of new and interesting ways to tell the story. We get caught up in making it special. We get caught up in the doing.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” A gift is given. A gift from God, a gift of God, given to the people of God.
Usually, when we receive a gift, we express gratitude for the gift – we say thank you, or we write a thank you card, or send a thank you email, or sometimes we even reciprocate with a gift of our own – another way of saying thank you. But how do we thank God for the gift that he gave us, in that stable long ago? What kind of thanks does God want for this gift? Where do we send the thank you card?
The Christmas text is only the beginning of the story. It is the giving of the gift. Through the reading of the gospels we find out what this gift is all about. We find that through this gift, God is reconciling the world to himself. Through this gift, we learn what it is to be obedient to God. Through this gift, we see what it is to have compassion. Through this gift, we know what it is to be loved. Through this gift, we know what it is to be freed – from slavery, from sin, from the powers of evil. Through this gift, comes our salvation.
In the end, this proclamation from the angels is not just about God’s gift to us, but also about how we give thanks to God for this gift. We don’t have an address for that thank you card because we aren’t meant to send on. Instead, we are to do as the angels did – proclaim the story! Tell others what God has done. The gift is not for us to keep to ourselves, but to be shared with all who will listen.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” A gift – a gift to be shared. A gift that shows us what it is to be completely unselfish. A gift so big, so perfect, that it only gets better by sharing it with others. Pass the word around! Unto YOU is born this day in the city of David A SAVIOR, which is Christ the Lord – the messiah – God incarnate – the Word made Flesh.
6For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Celebrate! Sing Hosanna! Share the Good News with all the world! Christ the Lord is here! Amen.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
"There are so many hindrances and temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint, and sometimes we also stumble. Therefore, the Sacrament is given as a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so that it will not fall back in such a battle but become ever stronger and stronger." From the Large Catechism Part V: The Sacrament of the Altar.
A FaceBook friend posted this as his status today, and it struck me how appropriate these words were for today. We were having a discussion just yesterday about how hard we see Satan working in the world today, and here we are reminded - in Luther's words - about the temptations of the devil and how weary we become.
Here we are, approaching the 4th Sunday in Advent, preparing for Christmas Eve service and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and Satan is working so hard to make us miss the whole point of what we celebrate. For we celebrate not a cute, cuddly baby born in a barn with cute, adorable animals, but the coming of God in the flesh - incarnate - not because it is "cute" but because we are such wretched sinners that we need God to be among us - the word made flesh, to show us how to live, and to die for our sins.
As we celebrate Christmas, we should take a look at the temptations that we have let lead us astray - success, personal agendas, our need for power and control, money - and instead look at what we are called to give up. Jesus came to give up his life; what are you called to give up? In last Sunday's Gospel text, John calls on anyone who has two coats to give one away. Rather than looking at what you might get for Christmas this year, why not look at what you can give away instead?
It is easy to fall into the temptations of the devil and the world - they look good, they feel good, but they are just that - temptations of the devil and the world. Look instead to the manger - look at what God gave us, look to the cross - look at what Jesus gave up.
May you be blessed during this Advent season, and may this time give you the opportunity to look at your own life. See what you can give up, how you can help someone else, rather than looking to your own wish list for Christmas gifts.
A FaceBook friend posted this as his status today, and it struck me how appropriate these words were for today. We were having a discussion just yesterday about how hard we see Satan working in the world today, and here we are reminded - in Luther's words - about the temptations of the devil and how weary we become.
Here we are, approaching the 4th Sunday in Advent, preparing for Christmas Eve service and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and Satan is working so hard to make us miss the whole point of what we celebrate. For we celebrate not a cute, cuddly baby born in a barn with cute, adorable animals, but the coming of God in the flesh - incarnate - not because it is "cute" but because we are such wretched sinners that we need God to be among us - the word made flesh, to show us how to live, and to die for our sins.
As we celebrate Christmas, we should take a look at the temptations that we have let lead us astray - success, personal agendas, our need for power and control, money - and instead look at what we are called to give up. Jesus came to give up his life; what are you called to give up? In last Sunday's Gospel text, John calls on anyone who has two coats to give one away. Rather than looking at what you might get for Christmas this year, why not look at what you can give away instead?
It is easy to fall into the temptations of the devil and the world - they look good, they feel good, but they are just that - temptations of the devil and the world. Look instead to the manger - look at what God gave us, look to the cross - look at what Jesus gave up.
May you be blessed during this Advent season, and may this time give you the opportunity to look at your own life. See what you can give up, how you can help someone else, rather than looking to your own wish list for Christmas gifts.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Avent
What does it mean to wait, and to watch, and to prepare for the coming of our Lord? Does it mean that it is time to push our own agenda? Or does it mean that it is time to take seriously our discipleship?
These are issues that the church struggles with. These are issues that some people struggle with. They are also issues that some just shrug off, pushing their own agendas no matter what. The coming of the Lord is not something they either believe in or take seriously. Live for today, for tomorrow is someone else's problem.
For some, Advent is a tired and worn out effort by the church to delay Christmas and to get people to give money to charity rather than to spend it on gifts. Advent just gets in their way. Some even wish the church would just drop Advent and start singing Christmas carols right after Halloween, just like the stores and radio stations have done this year. Do you ever wonder why our economy is in such trouble when businesses are actively competing with the church for your Christmas dollars?
The church can no more stop celebrating Advent than they can stop celebrating Easter. Christ came, Christ died and was raised from the dead, Christ will come again. How can we take that statement of faith and ignore the part about Christ coming - the first time or the second time?
Together with the all the church and all of the saints, both past and present, we shout, "Come Lord Jesus!"
These are issues that the church struggles with. These are issues that some people struggle with. They are also issues that some just shrug off, pushing their own agendas no matter what. The coming of the Lord is not something they either believe in or take seriously. Live for today, for tomorrow is someone else's problem.
For some, Advent is a tired and worn out effort by the church to delay Christmas and to get people to give money to charity rather than to spend it on gifts. Advent just gets in their way. Some even wish the church would just drop Advent and start singing Christmas carols right after Halloween, just like the stores and radio stations have done this year. Do you ever wonder why our economy is in such trouble when businesses are actively competing with the church for your Christmas dollars?
The church can no more stop celebrating Advent than they can stop celebrating Easter. Christ came, Christ died and was raised from the dead, Christ will come again. How can we take that statement of faith and ignore the part about Christ coming - the first time or the second time?
Together with the all the church and all of the saints, both past and present, we shout, "Come Lord Jesus!"
Friday, November 27, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Ministry never slows down, never allows a lot of free time, and can at times, consume every waking hour. It has been like that lately. In spite of this, we take this time to be thankful - thankful for a couple of days off, thankful for time with family, thankful for an abundance of food, thankful for time to slow down and relax.
We all have much to be thankful for - jobs, a place to live, food on the table, friends or relatives safely back from active duty in the Middle East, family, and so much more. We are especially thankful this year to have our nephew back home from his last tour, thankful to spend time with my sister and her husband, thankful for a weekend spend with the twins, thankful for Thanksgiving dinner with aunts and uncles and cousins and friends, thankful for our playful puppy.
What are you thankful for this year? Think about it, post something if you don't mind sharing, and praise God for all that He has given you.
We all have much to be thankful for - jobs, a place to live, food on the table, friends or relatives safely back from active duty in the Middle East, family, and so much more. We are especially thankful this year to have our nephew back home from his last tour, thankful to spend time with my sister and her husband, thankful for a weekend spend with the twins, thankful for Thanksgiving dinner with aunts and uncles and cousins and friends, thankful for our playful puppy.
What are you thankful for this year? Think about it, post something if you don't mind sharing, and praise God for all that He has given you.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A Sermon for Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31–34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19–28
John 8:31–36
People of God, I have something to tell you this morning that you are not going to like. We are nothing but slaves – you and I – all of us – are slaves – we are all slaves – to sin, to the world, and as slaves, we are all condemned. None of us are worthy to be here, to come to the altar and receive the body and blood of Christ – none of us!!!
We sin, we choose our own wants and desires over the needs of others. We hoard our time, our money, our family, our resources. Daily, we let people around the world starve. We even let our neighbors right here go hungry, go without food and shelter, even though we have enough – for ourselves, our families, and even enough to share.
We demand that things be done the way that makes us happy, no matter what. Our happiness comes first – over and above the needs of others. We pay lip service to keeping the commandments, but don’t really care that we break them – daily. We don’t even pay lip service to keeping the laws of the land – like speed limits and traffic laws. How about the command of Jesus to love our neighbor? If they are good neighbors, we might at least try to like them, but if they cross us just once, we don’t even speak to them anymore.
And yet, somehow, God sees fit to bless us anyway; sees fit to create a covenant with us, claiming us as his people; through the means of grace, God cleanses us, washes away our sin, frees us from our slavery, and justifies us by his grace, through his only son, Jesus.
This is the mystery of salvation that Martin Luther struggled with so greatly. Luther could claim himself as a sinner, unworthy of any attention from God whatsoever. Luther understood the need to confess his sins and be forgiven, and his need to forgive others. Luther understood that he could not keep the law, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he punished himself, no matter how hard he studied and prayer. But deep down, Luther also understood that through his baptism, through the covenant God made with his people, that is was God who had the last word.
For all that we hear about Martin Luther and the Reformation of the church, we don’t often hear about Luther’s struggle in life – the same struggle that each of us has. We struggle daily with sin, our desire to be our own person, to do those things that satisfy ourselves, rather than those things that might satisfy God. We may not spend hours each day in confession as Luther did, but we certainly, at the end of the day, can look back and see those things that we are (or at least should be) ashamed of. We know our own imperfections, and even if we don’t there is surely someone who is willing to point them out for you.
Luther understood all of this, but he also understood who and whose he was - a child of God. Luther, through much study, despair, and soul-searching, found that God had not abandoned him to slavery. Through Luther’s study of the writings of the apostle Paul, he realized that God had not just made a covenant with Israel, as we read about in the first lesson, but had indeed made a covenant with all of his people.
If you will turn to page 1162 in the back of your hymnal, and read Luther’s response to the second article of the creed with me:
"I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true. (hold your finger in this page)
Here, we see that Luther found that his salvation, his redemption, was not dependent on his own actions, or even his own understanding, but completely dependent on what God has done, through Christ Jesus. As Paul wrote, “…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…”
Redemption – forgiveness – cleansing – freedom – all these gifts we receive through the actions of another, not through our actions, not through anything that we could possibly do, not through our own self-righteousness, but through the selfless act of Jesus, the messiah, on the cross. Through this one act, so Luther tells us, we are saved (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 1162)."
Now the question becomes, saved for what? Jesus did the hard work – we are forgiven and redeemed children of God. Now what?
That seems to be the question that has plagued Christians ever since the Reformation. While Luther mourned the loss of unity, others reveled in it, even going so far as to split off again and again and again – any time they disagreed over something. Many of these dissenters would even point to Luther and say that he led the way, and that when we disagree on theology, or doctrine, or even the color of the carpet, we should pack up and leave, finding or creating a place where our viewpoint is accepted.
I would imagine that if anyone actually asked Luther about this, it would be to find that Luther’s greatest regret was that the church had split, rather than worked toward reconciliation. Even today, almost 500 years later, we as Lutherans still look for the opportunity to reconcile with our sisters and brothers in other denominations.
For Luther, the “now what” question had much more to do with this, how am I – sinner by birth and saint by the grace of God – to live a life that in some meaningful way shows God that I have accepted His gift of Grace and want to respond to it in such a way that it shows how much it means to me? How is it that I – a sinner – can live a life that shows that I am also worthy of being called a saint?
If anyone understood how hard this would be, it was Luther. Luther most certainly knew that his justification by grace did not let him off the hook. How does one thank God for a gift this great? This wonderful? This unbelievably fantastic? Certainly not by saying, “Oh thanks” and then just going on with life like nothing had happened. This gift does come with a string attached – no, not something that we have to do in order to earn or keep it – but a string that ties us forever to Jesus, a connection that cannot do anything but change the very core of our being. Sure – we can try to ignore it, or even try to cut it, but there is a problem. You have been claimed through your baptism, and marked with the Cross of Christ forever. You are branded! That string won’t go away just because we don’t like it. You have been made holy. Turning back to page 1162, here is what Luther says in his response to the third article of the creed on being made Holy:
"I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins – mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true (ELW, 1162)."
Through the Holy Spirit, we – the church – this gathering of believers – we are called, enlightened, and made holy. Can you imagine? That is what happens to those who are redeemed by the Cross – we are made holy.
We are called through the gospel to do as Jesus taught the disciples to do – to feed the hungry, care for the poor, to share the good news with all people. We are called to keep the commandments, especially the two great commandments – to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor – just as much as we love ourselves. We are called to care for the widow and orphan, and all who are oppressed. We are called to give for the mission of the church – not as we want, but as the widow gave with her mite. We are called to follow Jesus – all the way to the cross. We are called, like Paul, to have our lives transformed, and to suffer for the sake of the gospel. We are called, to be Christ to one another. Not so that we will be saved, but because we have been saved – by faith, through, through God’s amazing grace. This is most certainly true. Amen.
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19–28
John 8:31–36
People of God, I have something to tell you this morning that you are not going to like. We are nothing but slaves – you and I – all of us – are slaves – we are all slaves – to sin, to the world, and as slaves, we are all condemned. None of us are worthy to be here, to come to the altar and receive the body and blood of Christ – none of us!!!
We sin, we choose our own wants and desires over the needs of others. We hoard our time, our money, our family, our resources. Daily, we let people around the world starve. We even let our neighbors right here go hungry, go without food and shelter, even though we have enough – for ourselves, our families, and even enough to share.
We demand that things be done the way that makes us happy, no matter what. Our happiness comes first – over and above the needs of others. We pay lip service to keeping the commandments, but don’t really care that we break them – daily. We don’t even pay lip service to keeping the laws of the land – like speed limits and traffic laws. How about the command of Jesus to love our neighbor? If they are good neighbors, we might at least try to like them, but if they cross us just once, we don’t even speak to them anymore.
And yet, somehow, God sees fit to bless us anyway; sees fit to create a covenant with us, claiming us as his people; through the means of grace, God cleanses us, washes away our sin, frees us from our slavery, and justifies us by his grace, through his only son, Jesus.
This is the mystery of salvation that Martin Luther struggled with so greatly. Luther could claim himself as a sinner, unworthy of any attention from God whatsoever. Luther understood the need to confess his sins and be forgiven, and his need to forgive others. Luther understood that he could not keep the law, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he punished himself, no matter how hard he studied and prayer. But deep down, Luther also understood that through his baptism, through the covenant God made with his people, that is was God who had the last word.
For all that we hear about Martin Luther and the Reformation of the church, we don’t often hear about Luther’s struggle in life – the same struggle that each of us has. We struggle daily with sin, our desire to be our own person, to do those things that satisfy ourselves, rather than those things that might satisfy God. We may not spend hours each day in confession as Luther did, but we certainly, at the end of the day, can look back and see those things that we are (or at least should be) ashamed of. We know our own imperfections, and even if we don’t there is surely someone who is willing to point them out for you.
Luther understood all of this, but he also understood who and whose he was - a child of God. Luther, through much study, despair, and soul-searching, found that God had not abandoned him to slavery. Through Luther’s study of the writings of the apostle Paul, he realized that God had not just made a covenant with Israel, as we read about in the first lesson, but had indeed made a covenant with all of his people.
If you will turn to page 1162 in the back of your hymnal, and read Luther’s response to the second article of the creed with me:
"I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true. (hold your finger in this page)
Here, we see that Luther found that his salvation, his redemption, was not dependent on his own actions, or even his own understanding, but completely dependent on what God has done, through Christ Jesus. As Paul wrote, “…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…”
Redemption – forgiveness – cleansing – freedom – all these gifts we receive through the actions of another, not through our actions, not through anything that we could possibly do, not through our own self-righteousness, but through the selfless act of Jesus, the messiah, on the cross. Through this one act, so Luther tells us, we are saved (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 1162)."
Now the question becomes, saved for what? Jesus did the hard work – we are forgiven and redeemed children of God. Now what?
That seems to be the question that has plagued Christians ever since the Reformation. While Luther mourned the loss of unity, others reveled in it, even going so far as to split off again and again and again – any time they disagreed over something. Many of these dissenters would even point to Luther and say that he led the way, and that when we disagree on theology, or doctrine, or even the color of the carpet, we should pack up and leave, finding or creating a place where our viewpoint is accepted.
I would imagine that if anyone actually asked Luther about this, it would be to find that Luther’s greatest regret was that the church had split, rather than worked toward reconciliation. Even today, almost 500 years later, we as Lutherans still look for the opportunity to reconcile with our sisters and brothers in other denominations.
For Luther, the “now what” question had much more to do with this, how am I – sinner by birth and saint by the grace of God – to live a life that in some meaningful way shows God that I have accepted His gift of Grace and want to respond to it in such a way that it shows how much it means to me? How is it that I – a sinner – can live a life that shows that I am also worthy of being called a saint?
If anyone understood how hard this would be, it was Luther. Luther most certainly knew that his justification by grace did not let him off the hook. How does one thank God for a gift this great? This wonderful? This unbelievably fantastic? Certainly not by saying, “Oh thanks” and then just going on with life like nothing had happened. This gift does come with a string attached – no, not something that we have to do in order to earn or keep it – but a string that ties us forever to Jesus, a connection that cannot do anything but change the very core of our being. Sure – we can try to ignore it, or even try to cut it, but there is a problem. You have been claimed through your baptism, and marked with the Cross of Christ forever. You are branded! That string won’t go away just because we don’t like it. You have been made holy. Turning back to page 1162, here is what Luther says in his response to the third article of the creed on being made Holy:
"I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins – mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true (ELW, 1162)."
Through the Holy Spirit, we – the church – this gathering of believers – we are called, enlightened, and made holy. Can you imagine? That is what happens to those who are redeemed by the Cross – we are made holy.
We are called through the gospel to do as Jesus taught the disciples to do – to feed the hungry, care for the poor, to share the good news with all people. We are called to keep the commandments, especially the two great commandments – to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor – just as much as we love ourselves. We are called to care for the widow and orphan, and all who are oppressed. We are called to give for the mission of the church – not as we want, but as the widow gave with her mite. We are called to follow Jesus – all the way to the cross. We are called, like Paul, to have our lives transformed, and to suffer for the sake of the gospel. We are called, to be Christ to one another. Not so that we will be saved, but because we have been saved – by faith, through, through God’s amazing grace. This is most certainly true. Amen.
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