Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, Oct. 29. The gospel text is John 8:31-36.   Today we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, a movement that not only impacted the church of that age, but all ages. What one word would you use to describe the distinctiveness of the Lutheran movement? Is it grace, justification, the good works we do through Lutheran Disaster Relief, ELCA World Hunger, or something else? These are all good answers, but they are not unique to us as Lutherans. The word freedom is the one most celebrated by Martin Luther. He was in bondage to a view of God as judge and went to great lengths to try to appease God by bringing his body into submission by extreme deprivation such as intensive fasting and beating himself with a whip. It was not until reading in the book of Romans of salvation by grace through faith that the burden of working to be saved was lifted from Luther’s shoulder...

This impressed me today as I read it. God is so faithful through all the days of our lives. At the end of his life, this was Luther's declaration: ON THIS DAY... ...in 1546 Luther died in his birth town of Eisleben. In order that his opponents couldn't say he recanted, Luther was asked this final question: 'Doctor Martin, honored father, do you die in the faith in Christ and in the teachings that you have preached in his name?' Luther's answer and final word was 'Yes.' Old Lutheran May the same be true for each of us. Google Image