"From the Pulpit" - reflections on the weekly texts from Pastor Greg Shreaves, Living Lord Lutheran Church, Vero Beach, FL
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:31-36
"Everyone Gets an 'A'"
Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ.
In my middle year (of three years) of seminary, I signed up for, and was accepted into, a Doctorate level course led by world renowned Luther scholar, Dr. Timothy Wengert. The class was a small, independent study class, where each of us was supposed to choose their own Luther-related topic, and work the whole semester on it, and then report on it to the rest of the group. Being in a doctorate level course was very intimidating to me at first, with people who had already been in the pulpit for a number of years, academics, and more. None of which I was, believe me! I'm sure it was a clerical error that I got in.
Anyhow, as we gathered on that first day of this particular spring semester, after brief introductions, Dr. Wengert said this to the class, "Everyone gets an A in this course." Say what?! We looked at one another in disbelief, but we quickly learned that Wengert was serious. So, the pressure to get an A in the course was off. We could concentrate on putting together our very best research on our topics, fine tune it for the class presentation, and not have to worry about getting a good grade.
Every Reformation Sunday, I think of Wengert's class, and that freedom we all felt when we heard that grace-filled message, "Everyone gets an A". There was freedom in his words. Freedom from having to worry about getting a good grade. Freedom from all the stress that comes with doing your own research and then presenting it all to a group of colleagues/peers. Especially for me, a latecomer to all this theology stuff. And there was freedom to...freedom to be creative in the subject we chose. Freedom to do our research. Freedom in how we presented our final product to the group, and more.
The lessons for this particular Sunday in the church year - Reformation Sunday, are the same for all three years of the 3 year lectionary cycle. Check them out on your own:
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
They all are about "freedom". Then, when Israel was under the law, for example. And now, when we are free from the law, and so forth. Slaves to one thing, and then free after that.
The prophet Jeremiah reminds Israel that God has taken the law, and has written it on their hearts. No longer are they required to "remember" it in their heads - to study the law. God gives Israel freedom by writing it on their hearts. If you can remember falling in love, or hearing a beautiful song, or seeing an amazing sunset, these things you carry with you the rest of your life. The become part of you. In much the same way, God gives God's love to Israel now by imprinting that amazing love on the hearts of Israel, so they wouldn't have to struggle to remember or recall it. It became a part of who they were.
And now, in Christ, St. John reminds us all that God goes a step further. God in the flesh comes to us all, Jew and Gentile alike, and gives us freedom in Jesus' saving act on the cross. God, in essence, says, take all your sin, take all your suffering, and give it to my son, who takes on all your sin and suffering, and even your own death, and he will take it all on as his own. Freedom. Freedom. No longer will we have to worry about our salvation. No longer will we have to stress and worry about what happens beyond this life, because Christ, in his saving act of atonement for us all, has taken it all on as his own, and goes to the cross on our behalf. Freedom is given to us in Christ alone.
Luther always said, "sin boldly, for where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more abundantly." So, I say let us live into this freedom, both as individuals, and as the church. Let us worship in this freedom. Let us live our lives in this freedom. Freedom to love our neighbors. Freedom to make mistakes. Freedom to "sin boldly." Isn't that a freeing message? Of course it is. Thanks be to God. Amen? Amen.
Annoucements -
Hurricanes Helene and Milton - Just because these tragic events have moved out of the headlines doesn't mean they've all gone away. Recovery from these storms will take a generation to fully complete, if then. The ELCA - your church, is already engaged in recovery efforts for both storms. You have lots of venues to support relief work, but if you feel led, prayerfully consider giving to the ELCA's Lutheran Disaster Response fund. You can do so by going to www.elca.org, and clicking on the "Give" button, or by bringing a check or cash to the church, and we'll see that it gets to the ELCA. Thanks.
"A Mighty Fortress is Our God" - little different rendering of this classic song
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