Freed From -- Freed For

John 8:31-36

Today we celebrate the Reformation. We celebrate the work of Martin Luther as he on this day in 1517 posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church. Today we celebrate the past, the present, and the future. We celebrate where we have been, where we are now, and where we hope to go.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the meaning for Reformation is, “a 16th century religious movement marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine and practice and establishment of the Protestant churches.” The Reformation is over. This word in its capitalized form refers to the 16th century movement. Under the leadership of many influential reformers, several doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church were rejected. As a result, Protestant churches were established. So, in this sense the Reformation is over.

However, I do not think that reformation is over. The definition for reform is to amend, change, or improve. As we work towards ecumenical agreements, ordain women, and look at the sexuality statement, we cannot deny that we are a church that is ever changing and continuing to make amendments. If the reformation were over we would continue to be a denomination that looked exactly like it looked in the 16th century. That is not the case. We, as Protestants, have not become stagnant. We, as Lutherans, are part of a church that continues to reform.

Luther knew the truth and the truth set him free. The Son made him free and he was free, indeed. So, he acted. He acted for freedom. He acted for reform. In Luther’s work titled “Freedom of a Christian,” he explained the doctrine of justification. He said, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” Let me repeat that, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” This doctrine of justification is two-fold. In this, Christians are given the ability to live in freedom and servanthood.

Jesus sets us free from, and Jesus sets us free for. Jesus sets us free from “sin, death and the power of the devil,” to quote Martin Luther. Jesus defeats all those things that would separate us from God.
Jesus also sets us free for – for a life that reflects his life and strives for the positive impact on people’s lives that Jesus achieved in his life. The incredible gift given to us by our Lord is that we are freed from having to try to earn God’s favor; we have that as a gift. We can now steward that freedom through a life dedicated to praising God and serving those people with whom we travel on our journey through life. We don’t have to count the cost of being a servant to those around us. We can simply serve them because our place in God’s household has been secured.

A steward is, by definition, one who cares for that which belongs to another. Our freedom is not our own, it comes from God. What a joy to have the gift of freedom. What a privilege to live a life in which we care for that freedom through caring for others.

Another way that we can think about this two-fold freedom is to think about the beams of the cross: vertical and horizontal. The vertical beam refers to God’s relationship with us. We are freed from. We are the slaves. We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. Jesus paid the price of freeing us from our bondage to our sin. Jesus paid the price with his own life by standing in humanity’s place, enduring the judgment that we deserved for sin. Jesus gave his life as a ransom for humanity. In response to that ransom we are redeemed for good works. We are freed for good works, not because we must, but because we are able.

The horizontal beam refers to our relationship with each other. We are freed for service. We are called to shine the light of Christ into the dark places of our world. We are called to live in justice, love, kindness, and service to all people. Often this servant way of life calls us to make personal sacrifices, sacrifices of our finances, our time, and our talents. We are called to live in relationship with the rest of the world, which is not always easy. Despite the difficulty we might face, we are called to mission, God’s mission.

This year as Pastor Omholt and I began teaching the confirmation class, we started with Martin Luther. As we talked about Luther’s 95 Theses and the Reformation, I asked the class how the church has been reformed in their lifetime. Now, I ask that same question of you: How has the Lutheran church been reformed in your lifetime?

Maybe you remember the Lutheran church prior to the formation of the ELCA, back in the day of the ALC, the LCA, and the AELC, prior to 1988. Or maybe you can recall a time when churches were divided by race. Some of you can likely recall a time when women were not permitted to be pastors and when women were not allowed to be acolytes, crucifers, and other worship assistants. Maybe you can recall a time in the church when communion was not typically offered weekly. Most of us can recall a time when homosexuals did not feel welcome in the church and were not allowed to be ordained. These are all products of a reforming church. These are all products of a free church.

The next question I asked the class was how would they like to see the church reformed in the future. Again, I will pose the same question to you: How would you like to see the Lutheran church be reformed in the future? Maybe there needs to be more biblical education. Maybe we need to increase our evangelism efforts. Maybe we need to be more involved in inter-faith dialog. I am not certain how the church needs to be reformed in the future, but I am certain that we need to continue to be a church body that is open and willing to be reformed.

We know the truth. The truth has made us free. The Son has made us free. We are free, indeed. May we live as people who have been freed from sin and freed for service to our neighbors. May we walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther, who has showed us how to reform the church. May we, together, be the reformers of the church in the years to come. Amen.

Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Mustard Seeds

Luke 17:5-10

This week I celebrated an anniversary – my baptismal anniversary. When I decided to go to seminary I had to put the date of my baptism on the forms I submitted. I never quite knew what the date was, so I had to research it a bit. This year, for the first time, I remembered that date when it arrived. I think it was partially due to the fact that we celebrated a baptism last Sunday. That baptism aided me in remembering my own baptismal anniversary. As I went about my day on Tuesday, my baptismal anniversary, I thought about grace. I thought about the waters of grace that were poured on my head when I was just over two months old. At that age I had no idea what baptism would mean for my life or why it was even happening. Now I know that it was happening because I am an unworthy sinner. I am a worthless slave. I am undeserving. In the act of baptism I was given the gift of God’s grace and God’s unconditional love. In baptism I was given faith – the same faith that the disciples in our text today asked Jesus to increase.

In the four verses that precede this text Jesus sets a standard for discipleship and servant hood. Jesus tells the disciples to repeatedly confront and forgive those who sin. The disciples are not sure that they are up for this challenge. They demand, “Increase our faith!” I don’t think Jesus responds the way the disciples were hoping. Jesus says, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed…”

When we hear “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,” it is easy to think “of course I don’t have that much faith.” In Greek, this sentence has a different emphasis—the gist of this sentence is: "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed (and you do) ..." or “Since you have faith the size of a mustard seed…” Luke is affirming that they have the faith to do what is expected of them. No increase in faith is necessary – they already have ample faith. If they would believe and act on the faith that they already have, then they would be able to rebuke and repent and forgive within the community. In essence, he seems to imply that they don't need more faith, but to make use of the faith that they already have.

While the faith I have today is similar to the faith given to me at my baptism, it is also different. I think that our growth in faith is nearly always a movement from faith to faith, rather than from unbelief to faith. Similarly, who I am today is both the same and different than who I was as an infant. My essence – my DNA is exactly the same, but my knowledge, physical size, abilities, etcetera have changed considerably since birth.

The same is true of the disciples in our text today. They have faith. They have DNA. Their essence has not changed. However, their life circumstances have. When the disciples were each called to follow Jesus I bet their faith leaped to a new lily pad in the pond. When they witnessed Jesus doing miracles I would imagine they hopped to another. And in today’s text they are challenged to adopt the attitude of servants whose actions are responses to their identity rather than works seeking reward.

The same is true for all of us. We have the faith that was given to us at baptism. We have a DNA that is exactly the same as it was the day we were born. Our essence has not changed. Yet, our life circumstances have. Maybe your faith was altered when you traveled to Nicaragua or Zambia. Maybe your faith leaped to a different lily pad when your first child was born. Maybe it was when you helped with the food pantry or participated in the walkathon for the homeless shelter. Maybe it was when someone you loved died. The beauty of being individuals is that our faith is not identical. Faith cannot be shaped by a cookie cutter or a Jell-O mold. For this reason we cannot measure our faith by its quantity, nor can we compare our faith the person sitting next to us. Faith is ever-changing for all of us, yet different for each one of us.

We are each disciples. We are each called to servant hood. We are each called to adopt the attitude of servants whose actions are responses to our identity, rather than works seeking reward. We are called to live in a manner that proclaims “For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith—and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is not about living a life of servant hood “if” we have faith. It is about living a life of servant hood “since” we have faith.

I spent Friday and Saturday at the Bolger Center with the church council and the chairs of the ministry committees. We spent our time together strategizing how to live out the new vision statement for St. Paul’s: “SAVED by God's grace and nourished through Word and Sacrament, we, the community of believers at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, are SENT by the Holy Spirit to SHARE the Good News and to SERVE our neighbors following the example of Jesus Christ.” We prayerfully considered what this church and its members are being called to do in the years ahead “since” we have faith. We don’t need God to increase our faith. Since we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we are called to be active in the way we live as servants who already have faith.

May we be filled with faith so that we can live lives of servant hood in response to our identity as God’s children redeemed and forgiven by Jesus’ gift of grace. As we work together in the kingdom, may we remember that we do not need Jesus to increase our faith, because Jesus has already given us all the faith we need. May we have the courage to live out the reality that we already have faith the size of a mustard seed and can therefore do whatever it is God is calling us to do.

Let us pray. O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Lesson About Dinner Parties

Luke 14:1, 7-14

I want to invite you to take a moment to think about the tables you have sat at throughout your life. The one from your childhood. The one in your current home. The one in your friend’s home. The one at your favorite restaurant. The one at the biggest dinner party you have ever been to. The one you sit at for holiday meals. I remember going to my grandma’s house for holiday meals. Our family was too big to fit around her dining room table, so we ended up using several tables. Of course the adults got to sit at the dining room table and the kids ended up at the kid’s table. Well, most of the time I am still considered a kid there, because we still don’t all fit around the dining room table. Sitting at the dining room table is a place of honor, a place for the eldest in the family. Until there is room at the dining room table the “kids” still sit at the other tables waiting for the day when they will be invited to move up to the table of honor.

Oh, the wisdom shared around the table! Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see again and again how in much the same way that he never passes up an opportunity to share a meal with others, he rarely misses the chance to use a table as an occasion to teach. Whether it’s welcoming a woman who anoints him to the table, or using the table as a way to talk about the kingdom of God, or employing the elements of a meal to describe who he himself is: the table, for Jesus, is always about right relationship, about how we are to live in community and communion with one another.

As we read the gospels, it becomes clear that Jesus had no “proper” standards at all about whom he ate with. His utterly indiscriminate table fellowship, in a society with strict rules of precedence and protocol for dining, caused plenty of critical comment. People noticed and complained that he ate with sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes – all sorts of unsuitable people! Luke's Jesus always has a very open table for his dining. Everyone is welcome at Jesus' table – rich and poor, men and women, all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations. In today’s gospel Jesus appears to be eating with suitable people, but are they really suitable?!

At this dinner party the guests each stroll in thinking they are the greatest, smartest, richest, most important person at this dinner party. They are each vying for the best seat in the house. When Jesus sees how these so-called suitable dinner guests are acting he decides to tell them a parable. Jesus often uses parables to teach listeners a life lesson. Usually this lesson is a bit cryptic, but today his teaching is very real. He doesn’t say, “When a person is invited…” He says, “When YOU are invited…” This life lesson is really about the here and now. This life lesson is for the guests and host of this dinner party.

Jesus directs his attention to the gathering guests, jockeying for the best seat at the table. Jesus warns them to be humble and to not assume a higher place so that they might be lifted up. In that day they did not have place cards at the table. There was a mad rush to get to the best seats. Their seats were a bit different than the chairs we think of today. They typically reclined at the table. So, at a table there were three places to recline on each side. On one side there would be seats one, two, and three. Seat two would be the seat of honor. On another side there would be seats four, five, and six. Seat five would be the seat of honor. The other two sides of the table would be numbered in similar fashion. So, there would be a total of twelve seats and four seats of honor. When the cook said, “Soup’s on,” there was a mad dash of guests trying to land their seat of honor.

Jesus does not think this is an appropriate way to act. Instead, when we receive an invitation to share in the table of another, Jesus says we should come with no expectations, no intent to grasp at a seat of honor—from which, Jesus says, we might be ejected. When approaching the table, Jesus says, our stance, is to be one of humility, a posture that leaves room for surprise and for grace. The teaching point of Jesus’ parable today is, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Being humble is about being content under God’s grace and not thinking you are bigger and better than you really are. Humility is about keeping yourself grounded, close to the humus of the earth. Humility is not boasting in your status and success. This can be very difficult in our society that finds status and success to be very important. We want to have a bigger home, a better job, a faster car, the newest technology, and the nicest clothes. As soon as the bigger, better, faster, newer, and nicest things are released we think we need to have them, too. This is not a new problem. The guests at the dinner party in our text struggled with this, too. They wanted to flaunt their status and success. They wanted to have the best seat in the house.

At the table that Luke tells of in this Sunday’s gospel lesson, Jesus turns his attention not only to the kind of guests we ought to be, but also to the kind of hosts we are to be – inviting those who owe us nothing. Turning to the host of the dinner party Jesus encourages him to not throw a party in hopes of getting something in return. Share your banquet of abundance with those who are living in scarcity. Don’t invite your successful neighbors, relatives, and friends, because they could repay you by inviting you to their house for another party. Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Invite those who cannot invite you to another dinner party.

Now I invite you to take a moment to think about this table. The one that we receive the bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, from on this day. At God’s table all are welcome. The guest list is very diverse. The young and old. The rich and poor. Women and men. All ages. All ethnicities. All races. All religions. All gender orientations. God's heavenly banquet is open to all and if we attend and expect that everyone at this banquet will look like us, we will be very disappointed. If we come expecting a seat of honor, we will likely be sent to a lower seat. Come in humility and you will be exalted. Invite those on the margins of our society to come to your dinner party and you will be blessed. All are welcome for the table is ready. Amen.

Revolution and Revolutionaries

August 15, 2010

Luke 1:46-55

What do you think of when you hear the word “revolution?” The French Revolution. The Civil War. The Industrial Revolution. The 95 Theses. The Digital Revolution.

Who do you think of when you hear the word “revolutionary?” Nelson Mandela. Martin Luther King, Jr. George Washington. Martin Luther.

As I wrestled with this text from Luke over the past week, I couldn’t help but think of the words revolution and revolutionary. The song Mary sings, the Magnificat, is God’s fundamental principles of the Christian revolution. God has given Mary a mission and a purpose. Mary is the bearer of the revolutionary, the one who will turn things upside down. Jesus will be the one who moves those who are the top to the bottom and those who are on the bottom to the top. Jesus will put people back where they actually belong. Jesus will create a revolution. Mary’s response to this revolution is to sing, because she believes that “nothing will be impossible with God.”

Mary is one of the least powerful people in her society. She is young, perhaps as young as thirteen. It is shameful for her to give birth at this age. She is female in a world that is dominated by men. She is poor in a stratified economy. She is living in Nazareth in Galilee. Nazareth has a population of about 1,600 to 2,000, which makes it significantly less important than a city, like Jerusalem. She is engaged to Joseph, a carpenter, who is also of relatively low social status. Regardless of Mary’s situation in life, God chooses her to bear the Savior of the world. God chooses her to bear the revolutionary, Jesus.

Mary’s response to her pregnancy and the pregnancy of her relative Elizabeth, who was said to be barren, is to sing. She says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” When has your soul magnified the Lord? When have you felt blessed? When has your spirit rejoiced? My spirit rejoiced when I safely arrived in Washington, DC after traveling for over 1,400 miles to begin my mission as the Vicar of St. Paul’s. My soul magnified the Lord as I walked into the parsonage to find flowers and a cupboard full of food. I have felt blessed from the moment I arrived here and I am certain that I will continue to feel blessed throughout the rest of this year. Along with Mary, I can confidently say, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Throughout my life there have been many occasions when I have met others whose souls magnify the Lord. Let me introduce some of them to you.

His name is Gene. He lives in poverty near New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina he had very little and after the hurricane he had even less. He lost all his photos and personal mementos in the hurricane. When I, along with some other college students, helped him with his house (a house none of us would ever find livable), he gave us each a rose from his rose bush. It was the only thing he had to give. His mission was to give back to those who had given so much to him. Gene’s soul magnifies the Lord, and his spirit rejoices in God his Savior.
Her name is Sandra. She lives in a township in South Africa. She lives with her father, mother, and two brothers in a house that is the size of most master bedrooms in our country. She is in high school, but she still has a mission. Someday she would like to go to college and become a doctor so she could help others, but her family cannot afford a college education for her. Yet, she will not stop dreaming of her future. Sandra’s soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior.
His name is Eduardo. He lives with his family at the bottom of a canyon in Guadalajara, Mexico. Everyday he walks up the steep canyon to go to school and then back down the canyon to go home. It is a very long walk, but at twelve years old his mission is to become educated. He speaks Spanish and I speak English, but we can still communicate. A smile is universal. Eduardo’s soul magnifies the Lord, and his spirit rejoices in God his Savior.
Her name is Angie. She is in her mid-forties. She is a schoolteacher in Nicaragua. Angie and her family lived in a very small house with minimal electricity. Every day she strives to fulfill her mission by providing the best life possible for her three daughters. Yet, when I visited, Angie gave up her bed and prepared wonderful food for me, while her and her daughters shared a small room and ate very little food. Angie’s soul magnifies the Lord, and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior.

God had a mission and purpose for Mary. She was to bear the revolutionary. She was to bear Jesus. God has a mission for Gene, Sandra, Eduardo, and Angie. God has a mission for me and I know that God has a mission for each of you as well. In addition, I believe that God has a mission and purpose for this congregation. Our mission is to bring down the powerful from their thrones and lift up the lowly. Our mission is to fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty. Our mission is to be radical revolutionaries in this city and in our world. This mission is not possible without us and this mission is certainly not possible without God.

Our response to the mission we are given through Jesus Christ should be to celebrate, to sing. Our response should be to let our souls magnify the Lord and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior. Today we are celebrating. Today we are celebrating the work of Christmas, which would not be possible without Mary, the Mother of our Lord. Today we are celebrating the revolution that Jesus, the revolutionary, began many years ago. Today we are celebrating the revolution of Christianity that still exists today. Today we are celebrating our mission to be like Jesus, to be revolutionaries.

In the words of theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman,

“When the song of the angel is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The Work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers and sisters,
To make music in the heart.
Then indeed we shall be blessed!”

Then indeed our souls shall magnify the Lord and our spirits shall rejoice in God our Savior. Amen.

Day 10

"I was drawn to the strong old women in the congregation. Their well-worn Bibles said to me, "There is more here than you know." And made me take more seriously the religion that had caused my grandmother Totten's Bible to be so well used that its spine broke. I also began, slowly, to make sense of our gathering together on Sunday morning, recognizing, however dimly, that church is to be participated in and not consumed. The point is not what one gets out of it, but the worship of God; the service takes place both because of and despite the needs, strengths, and frailties of the people present."
--Kathleen Norris

Day 1 - Ash Wednesday

"The great commandment, to love God with all your heart and soul, and your neighbor as yourself, seemed more subtle than ever. I began to see the three elements as a kind of trinity, always in motion, and the three loves as interdependent. It would be impossible to love God without loving others; impossible to love others unless one were grounded in a healthy self-respect; and, maybe, impossible to truly love at all in a totally secular way, without participating in the holy."
--Kathleen Norris

Lenten Discipline

Many people give up something for Lent. I have never quite understood this tradition, but have tried it several years. I typically try to add something to my routine, too. This year I decided to just add something--something that will draw me closer to God. It really seems to make more sense. So, I decided to read/study the devotional book "40 Day Journey with Kathleen Norris." As I have time I will post the devotion for the day or my reflections on the text.