Reformation Sunday 2021
Pastor Paul's Sermon
We live in a world of MUSTS.
That is just the way it is.
Our human approach to things is to provide
Rules and regulations in order for us to live
Well, ORDERLY.
Parents have certain rules for the household.
Couples set up rules for how to manage their finances
And schedules.
Teachers have musts that are to be obeyed in order to avoid
Chaos in the classroom
And provide for true and effective learning
For their pupils.
Of late, here in the United States
And especially here in New York City
There have been some MUSTS put into place
For our safety.
One MUST get the vaccine.
Especially if one works for the city of New York,
Or in the health professions.
(There has been some pretty significant pushback to this –
As one member of the Fire Department of NY stated:
It is not the vaccine to which I object.
It’s the MANDATE!)
If one wants to eat inside a restaurant these days
One MUST show proof of the vaccine.
And one MUST wear a mask when at all possible.
All of this is done, we are told, for our own safety.
In fact, even here at Trinity, when we worship In person,
One MUST wear a mask.
We don’t distinguish between those who have been vaccinated or not
ALL ARE WELCOME.
And to protect us all, we wear masks.
In our political world these days, there are MUSTS.
Regardless of whether you are politically on the Left or the Right
It seems that one MUST believe and act in a certain way.
There is no longer much wiggle room
In one’s political beliefs and arguments.
You want to be orthodox – and go with the crowd.
Even in our speech, there are MUSTS.
If you don’t want to be CANCELLED.
Don’t want your whole life put out there
And shamed by all and kind of
At least wiped off the face of the digital world
You MUST speak and think in a certain way.
No opportunity for mistakes from the past
If you are a public figure,
Or you say something that is not popular
Folk will look up EVERYTHING you ever said or did
And share it with the world.
With appropriate vitriolic commentary
About what a BAD PERSON you are.
So to avoid that, one MUST keep opinions in check.
No making speeches that would not be welcome
By certain groups.
MUST
MUST
MUST.
The world is filled with MUSTS
And it can be exhausting trying to live up to
All these expectations.
Don’t get me wrong:
Some of them are essential for our safety.
One MUST stop at a red light.
And some are essential for us to live a faith-filled Christ revealing life:
We MUST repent of our self-centered and hurtful attitudes,
Comments and actions toward those who differ from us.
But the MUSTS can squelch the life out of a person.
That’s why the theology and teaching of Martin Luther
Are so powerful for me.
That’s why I love REFORMATION SUNDAY so very much.
Because it is the one day of the year
(if we aren’t doing it EVERY week)
When we can acknowledge that
We can NEVER live up to all the MUSTS of life.
Especially all the MUSTS we find in the bible.
Jesus says, toward the end of Matthew’s version
Of the Sermon on the Mount:
YOU MUST BE PERFECT,
EVEN AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT.
AND WE CAN’T.
Luther says that we will NEVER measure up to that standard.
The joy of the Reformation is that
With God, there is no MUST.
FOR IT IS DONE FOR US IN JESUS CHRIST.
IT IS GOD’S LOVE.
Luther once wrote:
One is not righteous
who does much,
but one who, without work,
believes much in Christ.
The law says do this
and it is never done.
Grace says believe in this
and everything is already done.
This is the heart of who we are and whose we are
As Lutheran Christians.
Those who champion the gospel of God’s love.
I read a post on Connection Church Pastor Daniel McGhee’s Instagram
This week.
He was quoting Preston Sprinkle who wrote:
Jesus upheld a ridiculously high standard of obedience
and yet excessively loved those who fell short of it.
(Go and do likewise)
Luther said:
All laws and philosophy merely tell us what SHOULD be done,
but they do not provide the strength to do it.
And I say to you:
If we are able to do it on our own by following God’s law,
there would be no need of the Cross and Jesus died in vain,
for no reason.
But in fact, we are not able,
and Jesus’ death and resurrection
are essential for our life with God and with each other.
This is essential in our teaching and preaching and living.
We hold that a person is set right with God (justified)
By faith
APART FROM WORKS OF LAW.
In other words,
We TRUST in God’s love for us.
More than in our ability to love and obey God.
We trust God’s love given to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
With no strings attached.
NO HAVE TO’S.
NO MUSTS!
It is at the heart of what it means to be a Lutheran Christian
But there can be a problem with that.
This is the 8th year that I am leading
Making Peace with Your Past
Help for adult children from dysfunctional families
The gift of this amazing program was given to me by a
Southern Baptist Female ordained pastor
(try to wrap your head around that!!!)
She and I were studying at Presbyterian School of Christian Education
In Richmond VA
She challenged me greatly when she said to me one day:
You speak and teach and preach so much of
God’s unconditional love.
You’ll never amount to much as a pastor
for those who have never experienced love.
And after that shocking comment, she gave me the book that has
Changed my ministry.
And we talked for a long time, not only about the book, but the content of it and how it might shape my ministry.
If one has never experienced love –
let alone UNCONDITIONAL love,
what does that mean?
What does love look like?
How does love feel?
How does one respond to love that will not let them go?
These are very good questions
Essential to those who are recovering from dysfunctional relationships
And living into this love
For ALL of us
Is a process.
It doesn’t just INSTANTLY come.
That is why we talk about faith.
About grace.
About trust.
In our children’s sermon today,
We talked about what love is
What it feels like
And what it looks like.
And at one point, I have shared with the children
Who, in my experience, really DO get what love is
God be praised
I take them to our side chapel
And show then the cross, on our old altar
Which is a Crucifix.
And share with them the words of Jesus:
No greater love can one have than to lay down one’s life
For one’s friends.
AND YOU ARE MY FRIENDS.
THAT is what love
Unconditional love
NEVER ENDING LOVE looks like.
And our spiritual life as Lutheran Christians
Is trusting in THAT love.
Which is so much broader
So much greater
So much more powerful
Than any expression of love we humans can experience
Among ourselves.
And living into that love
Experiencing it
Day in and day out
We can begin to trust that it is real
EVEN IF WE HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED
UN-CONDITIONAL LOVE in our lives before.
As the AA folk say:
Fake it till you make it.
Trust that it is true.
And live in such a way that it IS true.
Let that unconditional love
That embrace of a God who lives beyond the MUSTS
Of this world
Begin to shape your identity
You way of being
Your way of living.
As we shall sing shortly
Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone;
And rests in him unceasing.
All blessing, honor, thanks and praise
To Father, Son and Spirit.
The God who saved us by his grace;
All glory to his merit.
O TRIUNE GOD IN HEAVEN ABOVE
YOU HAVE REVEALED YOUR SAVING LOVE
YOUR BLESSED NAME WE HALLOW.
AMEN