Reformation Sunday

We Lutherans set this Sunday aside to celebrate our roots. We remember from where we came, so we can understand better who we are. We do that this year mindful of the recent Pew Foundation report that indictaed 20% of Americans now claim they have no religious affiliation. These “Nones” are predominately young people and are growing faster than any religious group. Most of us are concerned about this group, because it includes beloved friends and family.

When interviewed, many “Nones” say they no longer belong, because churches have become too political. I think if we probed, we would find they are really not so turned off by too much politics as too much doctrine. Too many of our churches have been laying out all sorts of doctrines they claim you have to believe if you are a real Christian. And they have become so rigid about this; they insist these doctrines determine how real Christians vote.

We share this discomfort, because our Lutheran heritage also objects to piling up doctrines, one on top of another. We can speak honestly with the “Nones” and with each other about the basics of our faith: what is a god, who is our god, and why do we gather in churches.

Most of the “Nones” say they are not atheists. They believe in some higher power they call god. So let’s begin listening to how Martin Luther’s defines a god in his Large Catechism.

A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress. To have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol…That upon which you set your heart and put your trust is your god.

In other words, to have a god is more than believing some higher power exists. Our real god is whatever we trust at the last resort, when the chips are down. That might be money, weapons, education, nation, family, or anything else we depend on for saving us. For Christians this is the Father of Jesus Christ whom we trust to care for us in all situations. When we speak with each other and the “Nones”, we should be asking if we can trust our lives to whatever we call God. .

But our conversation has to go beyond that. Most of the “Nones” describe themselves as spiritual persons who find no use for a religious community. We Lutherans gather in churches, because we feel you can’t be a Christian by yourself. Listen to how the Augsburg Confession, the Constitution of all Lutheran churches, defines the Church. Notice it is talking about the bare minimum, what is “sufficient”.

It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel. For it is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian Church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with the pure understanding of it and the sacraments be administered in accordance with the divine Word. It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that the ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places.

An “assembly of believers” means at least two people. We believe that is necessary first, because Christ Jesus promised to be present when two or three gather in his name, and second because we need at least two people if one is to speak God’s Word and one is to hear, if one is to pour water and one is to be bathed in baptism, and if we are really going to share the meal.

Augsburg says this assembly of believers gathers to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments. Notice it does not say preach the Bible. We believe in the authority of the Bible when it comes to discerning how God spoke in the past and how people responded in the past. We believe we should study the Bible alone at home and with other believers at church. However, we know the Bible is only dead words on paper until we proclaim the Gospel found in it.

We gather to speak the Jesus’ story to each other. This is the Gospel that transforms people when it is heard as “for you” and “for me”. We speak the Gospel when we tell each other “God loves you” or “God forgives you”. “No matter what is happening in your life right now, God loves you, God forgives you”.

We Lutherans believe the Gospel is summed up in the phrase “justification by grace through faith”. We think that any doctrine we ask other believers to accept has to be based on “justification by grace through faith”. Many of us here learned the implications of this when we studied Luther’s Explanation to the Third Article of the Creed in the Small Catechism.

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and preserved me in the true faith; just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and abundantly forgives my sins, and the sins of all believers, and on the last day He will raise me and all the dead and will grant eternal life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true.

We Lutherans do not believe you have to have uniformity in all ceremonies, all doctrines, all traditions, or all political positions. There is no litmus test for being a Christian except for “justification by grace through faith” that asserts my salvation does not depend on what I do or say, but in what Christ has done and said for me on the Cross, while I was still a sinner and helpless.

We understand what the “Nones” mean when they speak of being spiritual persons, but we know the danger of living the Christian life without community. When alone, we too easily read the scriptures in ways that please us. When alone, we too easily end up talking to ourselves. Being a Christian is to engage in a conversation with the Bible, the Creed, the Clergy, the Ceremony, and most important with the community, with each other. We gather with other believers to hear God speak in the lessons, the sermon, the anthems, the sacraments. We gather to respond with our prayers, hymns, and confessions.

Lutherans do not believe everyone must respond in the same way. Faith is not about accepting man-made doctrines. Instead we have confidence if we proclaim the Gospel accurately and share the sacraments with each other, God will grant us faith appropriate to our particular needs. We gather to proclaim unconditionally “God loves you” and God forgives you” Now what are you going to do about that?

Tags: "Nones", Atheists, Augsburg Confession, Church, Justification By Grace Through Faith, Lutheran Heritage, Martin Luther, Reformation, Reformation Sunday, Sermons