Sermon – 10/27/24 – Reformation Sunday
Almighty and gracious Lord, as Your baptized people, You have called us to follow You. By Your Holy Spirit, grant that we abide in Your Word that we might know the truth, which sets us free; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Amen
When was the last time you said: “I’ll never do that again!” Those are the words that usually come out of our mouths just after really messing up. We feel like idiots, embarrassed, and hoping no one else finds out. “I’ll never do it again.” But we do– do it again. Why is that? We want to do it right– but we just can’t seem to make it work. Instead, we trip up & fall again.
That’s one of the one common thread that every person–all tribes and nations, races and tongues all suffer because we sin. In the second reading from Romans today, Paul puts it in plain language. He says to us, “There is no difference between people. Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory.” It’s been that way this side of Eden. It’s been that way for every single descendant of Adam and Eve. We’re all in that same patch of thorns.
But here’s the problem. We have a tendency of not remembering. It’s not a pleasant thing to be reminded that our very nature is flawed. Paul’s words, “All have sinned,” nobody likes to hear that. And so like memories of a bad dream, people ignore it; we have selective amnesia—it’s related to selective hearing. That’s what was going on in today’s Gospel lesson.
You see, this exchange between Jesus and some of his followers happened in the middle of several other intense confrontations. A group of religious teachers had just brought a fallen woman to Jesus. They wanted to trap Him. They said to Jesus, “We caught this woman in adultery. Our law says that she should be stoned. What should we do?”
Jesus knew that if He said, “stone her,” they would accuse Him of breaking Roman law. You see, only the Romans could sentence people to death.
And if He said, “Don’t stone her,” they would accuse Him of ignoring the Jewish law. So what does the Lord do? He reminded the religious leaders about what they had conveniently forgotten – that they too were fallen. Their condition was the same as the woman. He said, “The first one without sin can throw the first stone.” When they realized that Jesus had just stripped them of moral authority, they dropped their stones and left the woman alone.
In the Gospel Lesson that we just read, Jesus was teaching. He tells some of his Jewish followers that if they continue in his word, they will be truly free. But they react in almost shock. They denied that they needed anybody to free them. Had they forgotten about “Moses-leading-them-out-of-slavery-in-Egypt”? That was the very reason they celebrated Passover. And what about the Romans that were parading up and down their streets. What about the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate? How could any Jew ever forget about all that?
Nevertheless, the Jewish believers in today’s gospel say that they do not remember. My guess is that they didn’t want to hear what Jesus was saying to them – they were slaves. “Whoever lives a sinful life is a slave to sin.” Boy that hurts. It’s always easier to hear that other people have a sin problem. But it’s hard to hear that we are the ones who need to be freed – that we’re the ones who’ve made the same mistakes, said the same stupid things, & never learned our lesson.
There are two fundamental mistakes that we make as we confront our brokenness. The first is to conveniently forget; to forget that they were no different than the woman they planned to stone – that as sinners – they too, needed God’s forgiveness; to forget that we are slaves to sin & need to be freed; to forget that we stand before God and before each other, as broken messed up people.
The second tragic mistake that we make is to think that we can take care of the problem ourselves. We believe that somehow – by jumping through religious hoops – we’ll end up in heaven. That has been the corporate problem of the church for centuries. When the reality of man’s sin raised its head, the church has offered all kinds of solutions. Its sold forgiveness. Its prescribed ritualistic prayers and pilgrimages. It pointed the faithful to sacrifices, and punishments and penance. It’s offered everything under the sun – except what Jesus offered in today’s Gospel Lesson – the truth –only the truth makes people free!
The Reformation that we celebrate today is critical and vital. It isn’t the pride that we feel as we remember the events of some 500 years ago. Celebrating the Reformation is critical and vital because it points us to the awesome things that God did to preserve his truth among us. When it seemed that His truth was nowhere to be found: God made it shine brightly. Kings and paupers, priests and monks gave their lives to defend that truth; to restore it; to proclaim it; to honor it; to lift it up as the only beacon of salvation: that while we were sinners, Christ died and rose from the dead to give us a relationship with God.
And today, that truth that is still setting people free. That truth is still reforming hearts. That truth is still shaping eternal destinies. That truth continues to bring comfort to our fallen lives. It tells us that even though we fall and we forget – God does not forget; and God keeps his promises. That same truth points us to one place and to one place only – to Jesus and his Cross and his empty tomb. God preserves that truth, beloved, to bless his people – You and me – those who have been chosen from the foundation of the earth!
The Name above all names – Jesus won’t forget that we need forgiveness and to be set free. If we forget, Jesus said – the stones will proclaim it. That truth is the heart of the Reformation.
From the Augsburg confession in 1530, Martin Luther said: “It is… taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith…” Amen.
