Sermon manuscript:
“Jesus said to the Jews who had
believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you
will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Today we commemorate the Reformation. One of the greatest
consequences of the Reformation was that western Christendom was divided. Prior
to the Reformation the Christians in Europe were united under the pope and the bishops
under him. After the Reformation there continued to be Christians under the
pope and the bishops, but there were also other Christians who no longer
recognized the legitimacy of the pope and the bishops.
As you might be aware, this division continues to the
present day. There continue to be Roman Catholics who are under the pope and
the bishops. And then there are also Protestants, Lutherans included, who do
not recognize the pope or bishops as having any divine authority over them.
Although the Reformation is a very large topic, and we could
spend many hours going through the history and the issues involved, the fact
that Christendom was split is a good way to get at what is especially important
about the Reformation. Martin Luther’s rejection of the divine authority of the
pope and of the bishops is what made him so despised at the time. The pope and
the bishops would have been willing to put up with an awful lot, but they would
not tolerate a Christendom that was outside of their jurisdiction.
And as I mentioned, Christendom remains divided to this very
day. Therefore, at least among traditional Roman Catholics who have an
understanding of church history, Martin Luther is the arch villain. Martin
Luther broke the power of the pope over the peoples of Europe. Prior to the
Reformation the pope was able to keep kings, princes, and other authorities in
line by the power of his excommunication. After the Reformation, vast swaths of
Europe no longer recognized his legitimacy. He never again had as much power.
And it is not like that was an unmitigated good. A vacuum of
sorts was created. What filled that vacuum was the power of kings and princes. The
church lost more and more power. Eventually the kings and princes were replaced
by other forms of government, but, still, these governments had all the power.
And today maybe it’s the corporations and hedge funds who have all the power. What
power does the church have? Very little. The churches, regardless of their
denomination, are very easily ignored.
So it’s not surprising that people who care about
Christianity, who want Christianity to succeed, would trace the church’s
seeming impotence in today’s world to Martin Luther. He broke the power of the
pope and the bishops. He divided Christendom. He’s the reason why we’re in the
mess that we’re in.
But Martin Luther is terribly mischaracterized if it is
believed that he was some kind of revolutionary. If anything he was the
opposite. He didn’t set out to destroy the power of the pope or the bishops. He
was quite content to live under the pope and the bishops. The problem, though,
was that he was not content to live under the pope and the bishops no matter
what. If the pope and the bishops were siding against Christ and against the
truth, then that was the end of Luther’s loyalty.
This was how Luther broke the system that was in place. There
was a system for handling disagreements, a chain of command. If a disagreement
came up that the local priest couldn’t handle, he could pass it along to the
bishop. If the bishop couldn’t handle it, then he pass it along to the pope.
The pope usually could handle it, but he did have the option of calling a
church council made up of all the bishops. Perhaps the most important part of
this system was that whatever was decided by this structure needed to be
followed by the people.
And Luther was willing to go along with all of this. Again,
he was no revolutionary. But if the end result of this chain of command was
something false, then Luther wasn’t willing to deny the truth for the sake of
keeping the peace. This is what stirred up all the trouble. Luther wouldn’t
give up on what was true.
This is where what we heard in our Gospel reading applies: “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide
in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free.’”
It’s Jesus’s words that matter—not the church’s word, not
the pope’s word, not even any Lutheran pastor’s word. Jesus’s words teach what
is true. And it is the truth that sets free. It’s not lies that set free. The
truth.
And this is where we can easily find much applicability to
us today. This is not just some history lesson so that you can better
understand the Reformation or Lutheranism. The burning issue at the time of the
Reformation remains the burning issue in our time too: Is the truth going to
prevail among us or are we going to be content with lies?
In fact, this has always been the issue since the very
beginning, and it will remain the issue until the end. The truth that God spoke
to Adam and Eve was replaced with a lie. Adam and Eve preferred the lie to the
truth. God, however, was merciful to them and restored them in the truth.
But, as we see in Adam and Eve, it is always hard to come
into the truth. When they heard God walking through the garden in the cool of
the day they had never been more scared or unhappy. They went and hid in the
bushes to try to stay in the lie. It was painful for them to come into the
light of God’s judgment. They preferred the lie to the truth.
And at the time of the Reformation, Luther could have avoided
all kinds of trouble if he only would have left things be as they were. If he
would have left the powerful officials alone, he could have lived out his days
in peace and quiet. He would have been on the wrong side. He would have been an
enemy of Christ and his truth—siding instead for those in power and for
personal advantage. He also wouldn’t have had peace with God. He would have had
a guilty conscience, but sins and lies have a way of deadening our conscience
so that it eventually doesn’t bother us too much after a while.
So it is also for each one of us. Are we on Jesus’s side or
the devil’s side? Are we fighting for the truth or are we content to live peaceably
with lies? Being on Jesus’s side is not easy. Jesus tells us that explicitly: “If you wish to be my disciple, then take up your cross and
follow me.” That doesn’t sound like a very good deal. If you want to be
his disciple, then a cross and suffering are going to be there. Jesus says more
about being a disciple in our Gospel reading today too: “If you remain in my word, then you will truly be my disciple,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
So it looks like we have a choice before us. We can either
embrace the way of lying or we can embrace the way of truth. The way of lying
has its advantages. You can be unscrupulous. You can be extremely practical—do
whatever works for you. If you’re a good enough liar you can keep doing almost
anything you might want to do as nobody will find out about it. And finally, after
a long life of wickedness and covering it up, we can hope in one final lie,
that there won’t be any judgement at the end of it.
The way of truth is very different. It is uncomfortable. It
is awkward. It can be embarrassing. It can mark you as a target for those who
don’t want their lies exposed. As Paul says, “We are
like sheep being led to slaughter.” Going the way of truth looks like it
won’t work. It looks like it’s a bad deal. Jesus himself appeared to be a
failure as he was hanging on the cross.
But, on the other hand, there’s nothing like the truth. It’s
divine. It sets us free. The truth of Jesus’s words speak of a hope in Christ
for a better existence—a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness
dwells. We don’t have to hide. The truth of forgiveness and righteousness in
Jesus means we don’t have to lie. We know Jesus, and he has set us free.
A lot of people have blamed Martin Luther for dividing
Christendom, weakening it, allowing other forces to rise up with nobody to keep
them in check. These forces certainly are out there living it up, with no fear
of God or man. Our churches, in contrast, look weak and miserable. We have so
very little clout in the world.
But to dream of something different seems to me like the temptation
when Jesus was shown all the kingdoms of the world. He could have them all if
only Jesus would bow down and worship Satan. That’s not the way of truth.
Salvation comes through the cross.
So we do not need to dream of something different. We are
fully equipped for the kingdom of God with the truth of Jesus’s words. But we
must use of it. If we reject Jesus’s word, if we reject God’s commandments, if
we prefer lies and power to the truth, then we would be doing no good even if
we managed to become the biggest church in Fairmont with all the trappings of
success. Even if we managed to become as powerful as the medieval popes, it
would be for naught, for that is not the way the Church of Christ goes forward.
The church of Christ goes forward by holding to the truth of
Christ, come what may. This necessarily means that we take up our cross and
follow him. When we abide in Jesus’s word we ourselves will be saved, and we
will prove to be a light to others, leading them to Christ as well.
The work goes on. Luther didn’t fix things—come up with some
magic formulas—so that there is no work, and he certainly didn’t wreck everything
either. The words of Christ, the truth that sets free, must be presented to
every individual of every generation. We must be sure that we don’t substitute what
is false for what is true just because it is easier or looks like it will work
better. The truth is in Jesus.
“Jesus said to the Jews who had
believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you
will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
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