Reformation Freedom
This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church on Sun., 10/25. The gospel was John 8:31-36.
All of humanity longs to be free. The Jewish people longed
for freedom from Egypt and in Jesus' day, freedom from the Romans. Today we
have refugees leaving Syria and Iraq--in order to be free. All those under
occupation want freedom.Those who are imprisoned by fear want freedom. Over the years many songs have been sung about the longing
for freedom--from "We Shall Overcome" to the song, "People Got
to Be Free," by the Young Rascals.
What does this have to do with the Reformation and today's
gospel? Everything.
As a monk, Martin Luther struggled mightily to be free from
the sin he was certain permeated his very being. He took harsh measures to
subdue his body and its desires. It wasn't until he read God's word in Romans
that his eyes were opened to the way of freedom from sin and the power of the
devil through Jesus. The word "free" appears throughout today's
reading. Jesus is the word, the truth that gives freedom and the son.
Today's gospel text follows Jesus teaching the Jews in the
temple about his own identity. This passage begins a dialogue in response to
the Jewish people who had believed in Jesus' message. However, these Jews did
not understand what Jesus was talking about when it came to freedom. If the
Greek was translated literally, it would say, "We have never by no means
ever been slaves to no one." But since that is bad English grammar, it was
not translated that way. It is incredible that the Jewish followers would make
such a claim! Certainly they had short memories when it came to their past:
they were enslaved by the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Assyrians and others.
In Jesus' time, it was the Romans who were occupying the Jewish homeland. In
the history of the ancient Jewish people, they were enslaved more than they
were free. What were these people thinking????
The Jews were centering on the biological connection between
Abraham and themselves (v. 33) and their confession in one God (later in v.
41). But that is not enough. Jesus, the Son of Man, is a descendant of God!
Jesus is reforming the thinking of the Jews of his day, but they just don't
seem to get it.
One's actions may be as slaves or as free children. The word
free implies that one is no longer dominated by something or someone--one is
not a slave. One can be free in Christ, even when dominated by society or a
political regime. On the other hand, one can be in bondage even as he or she
lives in a free country. Many Americans could echo Jesus' opponents, "We
are already free! After all, we live in the land of the free and the home of
the brave."
If we are in bondage to sin, we are anything but free. Sin
enslaves, while Jesus frees. Luther expressed it in this way:
"...if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a
fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a
sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for
he is victorious over sin, death, and the world... Pray boldly – you too are a
mighty sinner." (Luther's Works, Vol 48, p. 281-282)
In other words, we are to do something--not just sit idly
worrying that we may be doing something wrong. Another way to express Luther's
statement about sinning boldly can be stated in A recent motto from the
business world, "Make sure that you generate a sufficient number of
excellent mistakes."
Luther understood sin as self-centeredness, being turned in
on ourselves. Some people think of freedom as being able to do whatever they
want to do. That definition of freedom, means slavery to one's self. True
freedom means having our desires and centeredness turned away from ourselves.
As a free response of love, as a result of being connected to Jesus' word, we
can give of ourselves to others. We can honestly care only when we are free to
not care.
In modern literature, movies and TV, we hear these words,
"the truth will make you free" when a character is trying to decide
whether or not they should tell the truth about a situation or whenever they
feel compelled to explore the depths of a mystery to get to the bottom of it.
This is a general truth, such as the truth about bacteriology and medicine sets
people free from superstitions about disease and makes possible cures. However,
this is not what Jesus means by truth. In John's gospel, truth is personal and
it is embodied in Jesus himself (14:6). It is the Word of God, present in
Christ, that sets people free.
The word "truth" is repeated several times in
today's gospel. In fact, truth and freedom are connected. Those who desire
freedom, will not receive the kind of freedom Jesus expresses without the truth
about him. Freedom is entirely dependent upon truth. In New Testament times,
truth was "what is firm or sure, and thus reliable." A true friend is
one who is reliable, genuine and trustworthy.
What is the key to truth? It is the close and continual
connection between the disciple and Jesus' word. In its original sense,
disciple meant learner. Through welcoming Jesus' word, we know the reality
about God and this is what frees us. We are forgiven, as God's word assures us.
Today's gospel reading is all about freedom. The whole
Reformation is all about freedom as well. From Paul's declaration that we have
been justified by grace to Luther's hammering his 95 theses on the Wittenburg
Church door to remind us of the supremacy of God's grace--what the Reformation
tells us is that there is nothing we can do, say or accomplish to earn God's
love. God's love is a free gift. We have problems when we forget that we
already have loveas a gift from God and try to earn it on our own.
The hard things in life that we experience matter. Whether it
is illness, hurt or anything else, it does matter and may be true of us. But
these things do not define us. God calls us his own beloved children and that's
what defines us. Our identity, freedom and truth are found in Christ.
The third verse of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God,"
speaks of "hordes of devils" filling the land. What is God's
response? He acts, but not in the way we would expect. God does not make his
army bigger, but instead, "one little word subdues him." It is the
word of grace from the cross of Christ that defeats the enemy. The one little
word is Jesus and the work he has done for us on the cross. This word frees us
and it is in this word that we find the hope of the world.
And so we are free. Free to risk and serve and help and care
and try and struggle and laugh and love. We are free to love just as God loves
us.
Amen!
Resources:
Ginger Barfield, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2659
David Lose,
http://www.davidlose.net/2015/10/reformationpen-22-freedom/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+davidlose%2FIsqE+%28...In+the+Meantime%29
Luther's Works, Vol
48, p. 281-282
Brian Stoffregen,
http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john8x31.htm
Sundays and Seasons
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