John 8:31-36
Beyond Reformation
Think about this question: Do we have a list of things that could be debated in the church today like the “95 Theses” of Luther?
Think about the following fact: In Luther’s day the community of believers was denied Bibles, hymn books, and even the privilege of praying prayers.
There is a valley in Romania that is called “Freedom Valley.” It is called that because a community of Anabaptists lived there. This was a small group of believers from a wing of the Protestant Reformation known for its commitment to uncompromising freedom. I believe that we currently belong to a church that in the present and the future would be designated as “a freedom place.” That designation seems appropriate as the most natural form of community for followers of Jesus who declared, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Martin Luther was a theologian whose biblically based faith caused him to seek reformation in the Roman Catholic Church of his day – only reformation. The monk from Wittenberg never intended to undermine the ecclesiastical institution of which he was a part. Luther wanted only to eliminate some abuses of power by church leaders in his day and reassert basic truths in the church that he loved and to which he was devoted. Even in posting his 95 theses for debate, Luther envisioned preserving the institutional church as he knew it, not altering it significantly. Likely no one was as surprised as Luther by the extent of the consequences of his call to reform.
Is that what is needed within the church – our church – today? I think maybe, but maybe not. My hunch is that the greatest inspiration and the best models for emulation in the church of today come from the believers who went beyond reform and shaped new congregations across Europe – those whose locations became know as “Freedom Valleys” and some even “Freedom Mountains.” Both truth and the Son make people free, Jesus said. And so they do. These persons saw no need to reshape tradition that was itself a problem. Rather, they attempted to recover a type of Christian congregation that was so old it appeared new.
Tinkering with adornments in the church without noticing that something essential is missing in the soul of the church has little lasting value. A similar judgment can be pronounced regarding long-range strategic plans for a church that disregards the distinctive nature of the church. For example: Changing or messing with the order of worship proves unhelpful in a church that cannot distinguish the corporate worship of God from the public entertainment of its members.
Many years ago, one of the canons of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London announced that mathematical measurements indicated that the church structure was moving down Fleet Street at the rate of one inch every 100 years. If that is the rate at which a congregation is advancing its ministry as the body of Christ, renewal is inadequate. Likely, only a new church – a dramatically new venture – can meet the challenge confronting God’s people in that situation.
But even for people who seek truth and celebrate freedom, tradition is a terrific challenge. Freedom threatens people under many circumstances. The very thought of having the freedom to change scares some people half to death. Jesus found that many people prefer bondage to tradition over the good that can come from something new. Finding new ways to perpetuate old traditions does not necessarily change a church for the better. Putting a contemporary face on old habits is not necessarily change.
Our gracious God brings us into historical moments in which clarity regarding what is wrong is complemented by opportunity to do something new and right. It is a moment not unlike that faced by Luther on the verge of a reformation. Not to seize such moments and act positively is to disregard our commitment to the truth to which Jesus commissions us. We are to live as people made free by the Son to serve God, the church, other people, and lastly ourselves, more effectively. (Jesus, Others and You what a wonderful way to spell: JOY! J is for Jesus who takes first place. O is for others we meet face to face. Y is for you and whatever you do, put yourself last and spell: JOY!)
The love for God and for the church that led Luther to reform may be leading some of us to give birth to or build something new. If so, let us take our stand on the front edge of tomorrow even as Luther did at the Diet of Worms.
Clarence Jordan, the noted biblical translator and founder of Koinonia Farms, once preached a sermon on racial harmony in a congregation in the deep south. Afterward, a woman approached him with fire in her eyes and anger in her voice. She spit her words into the preacher’s face: “I want you to know my grandfather fought in the Civil War, and I’ll never believe a word you say.” Jordan’s response was, as usual, gracious but straightforward, “Ma’am, your choice seems quite clear. It is whether you will follow your granddaddy or Jesus Christ.”
The spark that lit the fire of the Reformation was the truth of the Word of God that gave guidance to people set free by the Son of God. I believe that the church entered a new day of integrity and ministry. Do you think that perhaps the Son has set us free and given us the truth by which to do something new again?
Let us pray that we will seize the needs of this moment, unshackled by anything that has gone before, so that we might build a new church devoid of the prejudices, exclusion, and passivity of the past. Perhaps 100 years from now, people coming near the location of our place of ministry will point in its direction and say to each other. “There was a place of freedom. The persons who met there and worshipped there led the freest lives imaginable as they served God and people.” A freedom place and a grace place – for the good of others and for the glory of God. Think about it.
So, if the Son makes us free, we are free indeed! Amen!
PRAYER: O God, you are a mighty fortress and we turn to you as a refuge. Breathless from our running, impatient with our failing, and anxious about continuing, we count on you as eternal certainty – a bulwark never failing. Make us strong, God, but save us from trusting in our own strength, when striving would be losing. Turn us toward the One of your choosing who gives us the ability to enjoy freedom and the power to live responsibly with the blessing of liberty. Keep us true to Christ and His word that we may know your Holy Spirit and serve with the gifts of your Spirit. Amen.
