Reformation Sunday
Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the current climate of election campaign talk, Jesus’ words in today’s gospel hit me in a powerful way: You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Truth appears to be increasingly under attack, increasingly hard to discern, increasingly undermined, increasingly challenged.
And yet, truth is a key topic in Jesus’ teaching, especially in the Gospel according to John. In that gospel alone, Jesus talks about truth 25 times. He famously debates with Pontius Pilate about what truth is. He declares that he himself is the way, the truth, and the life. And today he promises that his truth will set us free.
Add to that the eighth commandment against giving false witness, and we get the strong message about how important truth is, to God and to our life together.
A conversation I had with a member of my last congregation taught me just how important truth and trustworthiness is to the faith-life of our neighbors. Our predecessor pastor had been removed from office because, though married, he had an affair with the congregation’s Christian education director. Shortly after we began our ministry there, a man named Dennis came into my office.
He shared that he had suspected the pastor of having that affair; he had asked the pastor about it, but the pastor denied it. When the affair became public knowledge, Dennis knew that the pastor had lied to him. Dennis said to me, “If he lied to me about that, did he also lie to me about my being accepted as a gay man? Did he also lie to me when he stood at the altar and declared that my sins are forgiven?”
This conversation woke me up to how essential truth is; how essential it is that we are truthful. What we say matters. Being known as a person of truth matters. Being able to trust one another matters.
Only when we can trust one another can we develop the kind of relationships in which we can speak the truth others need to hear for their salvation. This goes for both the challenging and the comforting truths.
In our gospel reading, Jesus challenges his audience in their understanding of the importance of heritage. When Jesus offers to set them free, they balk: “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free?’” They think they are special because of their heritage. They think they need no liberating from anything or anyone. They think they are all that.
And yet, they are quite deluded. We have never been slaves to anyone? The core story of their faith is the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. And then the Jewish people were in exile in Babylon until God through the Persians set them free and let them come home. And right then, as they are talking to Jesus, the whole nation is occupied by the Roman army. Never been slaves to anyone? What are you talking about? Why can’t you admit the truth?
In today’s reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans we read, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. I know many people who balk at this truth. When we held joint Ash Wednesday services in my first parish, the Wesleyan pastor told me that his people didn’t like the long confession at the beginning; they didn’t think they needed that. Why is it so hard to admit the truth that we are sinners? That we need help?
Last week, our youth group leader Lisa did an interesting activity with our youth and catechism group. She had set up a large square cordoned off by chairs. The kids were inside the square. With closed eyes, they were to feel their way along the chairs to find a way out. Again and again, Lisa said, “If you need any help at any time, raise your hand.” She must have said that line at least 25 times. “If you need any help at any time, raise your hand.”
The youth were going around and around the square, not finding a way out. It took quite a while for the first person to raise their hand. Immediately, Lisa moved a chair, created an opening, and led him out. One by one over the next few minutes, kids raised their hand and were led out. It took a while.
It took a while because it is really hard for us human beings to admit that we need help. We are raised with the call to be strong and independent and tough. Admitting the need for help is not encouraged.
We are like Jesus’ audience balking when being told they need liberation. We are like the Romans whom Paul needs to remind that we are all sinners who falls short of the glory of God. We don’t like that truth. And yet, hearing and accepting that truth will set us free.
Admitting the need for help set the youth free from going in circles inside the chairs. Admitting the need for help with and addiction can free people from dependency and the havoc it causes in their lives. Admitting being overwhelmed with work and household and kids and accepting help can free us from collapse. Admitting that we don’t know the answer to a problem and accepting help can free us for collegiality and teamwork and new learning.
Admitting that we are bound to sin and in need help frees us to rejoice in the forgiveness and liberation Jesus offers us.
In the Gospel according to John, sin is not about moral failures but about being in relationship with Jesus. Jesus invites us to believe in him, trust in him, abide in him, have an ever-deeper relationship with him. We are called to continue in Jesus’ truth, to remain in Jesus’ word, to make room for Jesus’ teachings to govern our actions.
That relationship with Jesus is what Martin Luther was struggling with. As a monk, he tried to be the perfect observer of all rules and rituals and commandments. However, he found he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t be perfect. As a result, he feared God and God’s wrath.
Reading the Letter to the Romans, including the passage before us today, opened his eyes to the truth: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All. Including him. But all who believe are justified by God’s grace in Jesus Christ. All. Luther accepted the truth that he was a sinner and couldn’t free himself. This opened him up to receive the forgiveness and grace of God in Jesus Christ.
This truth filled Luther with incredible joy and hope and a deep love for Jesus. It changed his relationship with Jesus completely, and as a result, it changed how he showed up in the world. All his preaching and teaching, writing and living from then on were filled with this truth: That he was a sinner who was liberated by the love of God in Christ. That truth shaped everything he did from then on.
That is what God is wishing for all of us. God would love for us to embrace the same truth, both the challenging part and joyful part; both the part where we admit that we are sinners who fall short of the glory of God, and the part where we gratefully receive the grace and forgiveness Christ offers us.
And then God desires for that truth to guide how we act, how we talk, how we set priorities, how we spend our time and our money, and yes, how we vote.
The biblical prophets, John the Baptist, Paul and Peter, Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Bishop Oscar Romero, saints through the centuries and Jesus himself have all called people of faith to be engaged with public life. They were political, but not partisan. They challenged those in power and spoke on behalf of justice and truth and peace, but didn’t support any particular parties.
It is in this tradition that I am pondering our election next week.
Biblical writers spoke to the social and political issues of their times because God is concerned with the wellbeing of all people. As Jesus’ disciples and citizens of this nation, we have the power and the calling to elect a government that is most likely to strive for such wellbeing of all people, for the values we as Christians embrace.
Today, Jesus stresses the importance of truth. Truthfulness and trustworthiness are values God holds dear, from calling out Adam and Eve for their lie to the 10 commandments to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God holds truth in such high regard because it is essential to a healthy society. When we trust each other, we can work together and accomplish great things. When such trustworthiness does not exist, all kinds of things break down. Think of Russia or North Korea where people cannot trust their leaders or their news outlets to tell the truth; it sews fear, anxiety, mistrust, and hopelessness.
As children of God and followers of Jesus, we are called to be on the side of truth. We are called to work towards a society where trustworthiness thrives.
Pastor Leah Shade writes: “By electing leaders who are aligned with the intention of telling the truth, we influence policies, budgets, and laws at the local, state, and national level. Elected officials have the power to shape people’s reality in either helpful or hurtful ways. Preachers can encourage their listeners to vote with John 8:31-36 in mind so we can know the truth and the truth can make us free.”
I did a lot of research as I prepared and wrestled with this sermon. These additional points spoke to me:
Our mission as Jesus’ followers is not a political victory for whichever side we like; our mission is the kingdom of God coming into people’s lives.
When we vote, we participate in God’s work. The reformers taught that God works through government to create a safe place for all citizens. Our vote contributes to God’s work.
Voting is one way in which we love our neighbors. Pastor Amy Ruemann writes, “Voting serves our neighbors through adding our voices at the ballot box and casting thoughtful votes for the candidates and policies that best represent the kind of community and world we seek.“
Pastor Ruemann also reminds us that voting is a sign of hope. It is future oriented. “We weigh campaign promises and platforms to make our choices in service of a future that aligns with our values and striving for justice and peace.”
In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. In his Small Catechism, Luther writes in his explanation to this petition that “God’s good and gracious will comes about without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come about in and among us.”
As you vote, and I hope that you do, please take your faith with you. Abide in Jesus and his truth as you help shape this society towards the kingdom of God. Amen.