Reformation Day
Oct. 28, 2012
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.
There
was an article recently in Christian Century magazine called, “The Gospel in Seven Words.” I was so intrigued by
this that, despite my dedication to reading things in order, I skipped ahead to
read that article first. Christian Century asked several big names in the church – pastors, theologians, mission
developers – to do just what you’d expect from the title: to condense the
entire essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that Christians
claim to cling to, into seven words or less. Then each contributor also had the
chance to explain in a couple sentences why they had chosen the statement they
did. Here are a few of my favorites:
·
“We are the church of infinite chances.” (Mary Karr)
·
“Divinely persistent, God really loves us.” (Donald
Shriver)
·
“In Christ, God’s yes defeats our no.” (Beverly Roberts
Gavanta)
·
“God, through Jesus Christ, welcomes you anyhow.”
(Martin Marty)
·
“God gets the last word.” (Martin Copenhaver)
·
“We are who God says we are.” (Nadia Bolz-Weber)
What
do you think? It’s kind of fun! Do you think those are accurate statements of
your understanding of the gospel?
I
was so intrigued by this project because I think this is such a worthwhile
exercise! The gospel, condensed into sound bites – of course in some ways it is
impossible. But it is also extremely helpful. It’s sort of the “elevator pitch”
of the Christian life. You may have heard that term, “elevator pitch,” in
relation to business. The idea is that you should be able to tell someone all
the essential aspects of your product in the time it takes to ride a couple
floors on the elevator. Well, we don’t normally refer to our faith as a
product, but what if we did? What if you had the chance to tell someone in an
elevator why Jesus matters, or what Christianity has to offer? Maybe it’s
because I hang out with a generation that is known for its question-asking, or
maybe it is because I am a pastor, probably it’s both, but I have on more than
one occasion been asked some variation of, “What’s the point of being
Christian?” I can do nice things on my own, they say. I can be a good person
and still sleep in on Sunday morning.
But
the thing about it is that being Christian isn’t about being a good person.
Because those questioning people I come in contact with are right: I can be a good person without going to church, without
giving money, without praying, without joining a committee. But Christianity
and the gospel of Jesus Christ don’t offer good news to you, the good person.
Christ’s gospel offers good news to you the broken person, you the sinful, you
the resentful, you the hurting, you the guilty, you the imperfect. Oh, wait… I
guess you could say that Christ’s gospel offers good news to, you got it, you
the human. Each and every one of us.
I
have always loved Reformation Day. When I was a kid it was because of all the
festive red, and because I’m a sucker for all those good hymns. As I matured in
faith, it became more than the red and the hymns – it was because the texts
that we hear today are some that, although more than seven words, best lay out
the essence of the gospel. After each
one, I just want to shout, “Yes! Read it again!” Because each of them speaks
such a wonderful word of grace and hope to each one of us broken and hurting
sinners. They speak of the grace that was such a consolation to a young monk
named Martin Luther that he wanted to share it with the world – and hence, the
Reformation.
So
what particular grace do these texts express? Well let’s look at them. First we
hear from Jeremiah. Until now, the understanding of God that the Israelites have comes from the
covenants God has made with them, in which “You shall do this” and “I’ll do
that.” While these covenants certainly had and have their merit, the problem
was that, being human, the Israelites were constantly failing to hold up their
end of the deal. That is, they were “breaking” the covenant. I don’t know about
you, but failing at things is not really my cup of tea. I don’t mean I don’t do
it – I mean I hate it when I do! Even if I don’t get flack for it from anyone
else, I certainly know how to tear myself down about each and every mistake I
make, every failure I experience! Who doesn’t know the sting of failure? But
this new covenant that God is promising – it will be something different. It
has multiple parts. First of all comes the promise that despite our failures
and disappointments, God is not leaving our side. “I will write my law on their
hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people.” God is ours, and
we are God’s, and there’s nothing we can do to mess it up! Second, he promises
that we will know God – that is, God promises to build a relationship with us,
and not just tolerate us! But the last part of the promise is the most powerful
of all: for all those times that we fail and fall short, God will forgive every
one of them. And not just forgive, but also forget. I don’t know about you, but
there are a lot of failures in my life that I would like if people would just
forget about, let them disappear into oblivion. And God promises to do just
that – he will remember our sin no more. That is certainly a grace-filled relief!
Our
reading from Romans confirms many of those promises, and brings them to the
next level. Paul reiterates that failure is something familiar to all of us,
“since all” – not some, or most, but all – “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Try as we might, we will never, ever be perfect, and if we say we are, we are
fooling ourselves. As our confession began this morning, “If we say we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” But the gospel promise
that Paul insists upon is that even if we were perfect and never did any wrong,
it wouldn’t matter, because we aren’t saved by works anyway. Our successes and
triumphs don’t earn us a place in God’s kingdom – but likewise, neither do our
failures exclude or disqualify us. It’s not really about what we do. What gives us a place in God’s kingdom is grace,
not works. It is the work of Jesus, not us. It is God’s gift to us, even if we
totally mess everything up.
And
then this is where our Gospel reading from John comes in. Because it is not our
own works, but the work of Jesus and the grace of God that makes us children of
God’s kingdom, we are free. We are free from the eternal bondage of sin, free
from wallowing in self-hatred, free from feeling like we are no good, broken,
worthless individuals. We’re also free from feeling the need to strive for
perfection all the time, knowing that we will always fall short no matter how
hard we try. We are free from all of that, not because it won’t still exist. It
will. But we are free because despite all that, God still loves us, still
claims us as God’s own, still promises to be with us, to forgive us, and to
forget our shortcomings.
And
that freedom from brokenness and sin becomes another sort of freedom – not just
freedom from, but also freedom for: freedom for service, for loving one another, for
seeking justice, for taking risks in faith. Because we know that if we fail at
those things (which we will), God still has us. We can be bold enough, free
enough to do those things because we know that God won’t let us fall completely
down. God will still claim us as God’s beloved children.
So
there it is: the essence of the Gospel in three short readings! So let’s go
back to that first challenge: the essence of the Gospel in seven words or less.
Do you think you could do it now? Maybe you don’t think these readings or I
have touched on the part of the gospel that means the most to you. Maybe they
and I have. Either way, I invite you to reflect on this – for the rest of our
time here together, throughout your day, your week, and your life.
You will find in your bulletin a
small sheet of red paper. Have a shot at stating the gospel in seven words or
less. Give it to me after church, or hold on to it – put it on your mirror, or
in your wallet. I’ll post a question on Facebook – leave your seven-word
statement as a comment. But don’t stop thinking about it. You never know when
you might be in an elevator with someone who needs a sound bite full of gospel!
Let
us pray. Gracious, freeing, forgiving God: the good news you give us through
your Son is bigger than words. Your promises are more than we can comprehend.
But give us the courage to try anyway, for each time that we talk about you, we
come closer to knowing you and your love. We pray in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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