29 Oct 2023
Text: Matt
11:12-19 (Rev 14:6-7, Rom 3:19-28)
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
Like many extraordinary events in history, the 16th Century Reformation that began in Germany started with something ordinary: the posting of some academic theses for the professors to debate in Latin. This was nothing unusual in the college town of Wittenberg, and the castle church door was the academic bulletin board.
But this little act by a professor named Dr. Luther grew into a big, worldwide movement to correct centuries of corruption and error. For what began with a dispute over fundraising in the church became a debate over how we are saved. Can we buy God’s mercy? Is God’s favor something that we can earn by good works? And as a result of these discussions, we had to come to grips with the question of who has ultimate authority in the church to settle disputes. Was it the Word of God, or was it the pope and the bishops?
The ordinary event of October 31, 1517, the posting of the 95 Theses, unfolded into a movement that we at Salem Lutheran Church are still a part of. We called it Evangelical Catholicism, but our opponents called it by an insulting name: “Lutheranism.”
The Reformation and its remembrance give us yet another chance to talk about Jesus: His work on the cross to save us, the forgiveness of sins by His blood, by grace, and through faith; and by God’s use of His Word and His Sacraments to convey forgiveness, life, and salvation to us, through His ministers, all according to the Scriptures.
And so on this Reformation Sunday, we’re not going to spend that much time talking about the sale of indulgences, the church doors, Martin Luther, and the University of Wittenberg – as interesting as this all is. Dr. Luther would be the first to remind you that Dr. Luther didn’t die for you. What is important is that we talk about Jesus: His incarnation, His Good News, His passion, crucifixion, and death, and His glorious resurrection. We talk about what Jesus taught and continues to teach through His Word: namely, that as we heard St. Paul write to the Romans: we are not saved by our works, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” St. Paul also wrote to the Ephesians: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
So, dear friends, it doesn’t matter what your past life looks like, how many sins you have committed, nor what those sins are. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, how much you give to the church, or how much theology that you know. It doesn’t matter what positions or titles you hold in the church, and it doesn’t matter what some pastor or bishop or pope or synod or TV preacher says if they are citing their own opinions.
What matters, dear friends, is that Jesus came into our world, died on the cross to pay the price of all of our sins, that He rose again and promises to raise all believers from the grave, saw to it that you were baptized, provides a pastor to absolve you of your sins, and gives you His very body and blood as a free gift. This free gift is called “grace” and the fact that you believe it is called “faith.” And even faith itself is a gift of God.
And since we have been given this Good News, what Scripture calls “an eternal gospel,” we confess it, preach it, and tell the whole world about it: “every nation and tribe and language and people.” For Jesus came into the world as a Good Shepherd, seeking and saving the lost sheep – meaning each one of us poor, miserable sinners. He does this out of love, not to be paid. He does this out of mercy, not to manipulate us into doing something or paying for something in the church.
For listen yet again to the Word of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” Jesus put an end to the pretense that you can violently seize God’s grace. The opponents of God laid violent hands on John, and then on Jesus. But they could not claim the kingdom by force. They killed Peter and Paul and nearly every other apostle, but they could not silence the Gospel. They arrested and tortured Christians for centuries in the name of the Roman Empire, but they could not destroy the church. And even taking over the church by means of greed and corruption and false doctrine, they burned faithful Christians at the stake, and put a price on Luther’s head, but ultimately, as we sang in Luther’s words: “This world’s prince may still, scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done; one little Word can fell him.”
One little Word, dear friends. The Word made flesh. The Word who had no beginning, the Word who is God, the Word becoming little in His mother’s womb, the Word at the cross, and in the tomb, the Word who rose again and is proclaimed here in time, and praised forever in eternity: this Word, this Jesus, lives and reigns eternally, and He reigns for you!
This is the truth recovered by Luther and the reformers at Wittenberg. For it’s not about them, but it’s about the truth: the truth of the Gospel. It’s about Jesus. It’s about what Scripture teaches. It’s about grace and faith and everlasting life by virtue of God’s grace and mercy. It’s about Word and Sacrament, and the resurrection of the dead. It’s not for sale, not at any price. It can’t be earned, not for any great deed. It is there for you as a free gift.
And so, because of God’s grace and mercy, because of this Good News rediscovered in the Scriptures at the time of the Reformation, because God permitted this extraordinary event to happen even in the ordinariness of our own lives in this fallen world – we live lives of gratitude in response to God’s mercy. We do good works out of love for our neighbor, not looking for personal rewards or salvation. We give time, treasure, and talent to the church in order that this eternal Gospel may continue to be proclaimed “to those who dwell on earth,” not to buy God’s favor. We visit historical places and reflect upon our heritage not in order to receive time off of purgatory, but to be reminded of God’s gracious work in space and time: not only in Jerusalem, but also in Wittenberg, and even here in Gretna – as well as “to every nation and tribe and language and people.”
On that ordinary October 31, 1517, when that ordinary university professor posted the ordinary notice of debate on the ordinary church door, the extraordinary truth about the Christian life was confessed. The first of these 95 Theses read: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matt 4:17), He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” And this is most certainly true!
And so, dear friends, our entire lives are lives of belief and repentance, out of gratitude for what Jesus has done for us: His life, His death, His resurrection. His grace, His Word, and His Sacraments. His body, His blood, His Baptism.
We thank God for Dr. Luther and the other reformers who put their lives on the line, even in the face of those who would try to take the kingdom of heaven and the lives of confessing Christians by violence and by force. They could not have the kingdom when they exercised violence against John, against our Lord Jesus Christ, nor against the apostles and reformers. They cannot have it now. For we have an eternal Gospel to proclaim in our life of repentance under the cross.
So let us celebrate the extraordinary grace of God on this ordinary October day. And let us confess in song with Dr. Luther and with Christians around the world, singing: “Our victory has been won; The kingdom ours remaineth.”
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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