Sermon 25th October 2020 – Reformation Sunday
Text:
John 8:31-36 – Freedom
I’m
sure many of us were glued to our TV screens last Sunday and scouring the news
to see the list of freedoms that we were granted as we slowly began our relief
from stage 4 lockdown. For many it was the freedom they were looking for – but
for others it still seems as if they are locked down and have to wait a little
bit longer. Freedom.
That
has been the focus in all this time of pandemic. When do we get our freedoms
back? Freedom is important and it was for freedom that Luther fought extremely
hard to bring about the Reformation because he had seen that we had lost our
freedom as children of God and sadly it was his own church that was
responsible. Luther brought about a reformation in his church because he
believed that the church had failed in the message that Christ had sent them to
proclaim.
If
we think back to Easter when Jesus came to the frightened disciples locked away
in fear of their lives – he proclaimed firstly their freedom – peace be with
you. They had been in lockdown – in fear. Once freed from their lockdown in
fear, Jesus sent them to proclaim freedom
to everyone – if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them. Or as
Jesus said on other occasions – whatever you loose on earth is loosed in
heaven.
Freedom
– that’s the Reformation message today and it comes through loud and clear in
our bible readings today: Jesus, similar to Luther, had found that the
religious leaders of his time had also strayed from the pure teaching of the
Gospel. He says to them: If you hold to MY teaching you are really my disciples
– you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Freedom is at the
heart of the Gospel. Freedom is what we lose when we stray from the Gospel. And
when we stray we begin to find ourselves trapped in our sin and guilt. St Paul
says we are slaves to sin. And that’s what Jesus came to set us free from as he
reminds us in John 3:17 – For God did not send his son into the world to
condemn the world but to save the world through him. To free the world through
him. And likewise St Paul in our 2nd reading today focuses us on freedom from
sin. He says that we are justified freely by the grace of God through Jesus
Christ. And what Paul highlights is that we keep slipping away from our freedom
because sin has a unique way of recapturing us. And it does this by convincing
us that the way out of imprisonment to sin is by doing good works. It sounds
logical. We do something bad so to offset it we do something good. But that’s
the spiral that Luther sunk into.
Luther
struggled with sin and guilt. So he did more and more to try and undo the mess
he was in. But the more good he tried to do – the more he became aware of just
how bad he was. And instead of finding freedom from his sin and guilt by doing
good – he just found more and more sin and guilt to the point where he even
stated that he hated God because God was a tyrant – a dictator. A tyrant who
wanted more and more from him and drove him to breaking point where Luther
finally discovered that it wasn’t about trying to please God but receiving his
grace and mercy through forgiveness. And that’s why Jesus when he sent his
disciples into the world instructed them to proclaim repentance and forgiveness
of sins – not obedience to the law. Repentance and forgiveness free us while
obedience keeps us trapped and locked away in fear.
That’s
why Luther, when he was driven to breaking point at his guilt and sin that was
weighing him down cried out “I AM BAPTISED”.
Many
times Jesus points out that God is not a tyrant: In Matthew 7 he says: Which of
you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask him! Or the woman caught in adultery. Jesus didn’t
bring her comfort by saying she had done nothing wrong but proclaimed her
forgiven.
And
that’s why King David when writing Psalm 32 says: Blessed are they whose
transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose
sin the LORD does not count against them. He doesn’t say blessed are they who
do no wrong. He doesn’t say blessed are they who keep God’s law. No. Blessed
are they whose transgressions are forgiven.
God’s
relationship with us is about freedom – freedom from guilt and sin. And it is
the truth of the Gospel that does that – and the truth sets you free. Jesus
says – come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest
for your souls.
But
it’s not just sin and guilt that enslave us for which the Gospel brings
freedom. The Gospel can also bring comfort from our earthly anxieties as we
discover a God who loves and cares for us. There is so much anxiousness in our
world created by Covid19 especially amongst those who don’t know God in their
life. Even though we take great precautions with sanitising, cleaning, wearing
masks, social distancing – there is still a level of anxiety that this pandemic
has caused.
A
lot of that anxiety can come because of our fear for the future.
Worrying
about the future is not new – in fact it goes right back to the beginning of
time. Adam and Eve had everything they needed. They had not a care in the world as God
provided for their every need. But the devil got into their ear and caused them
to worry about the future. He tempted them to eat the forbidden fruit after
which their eyes would be open and they would be like God. They would be in
control. And isn’t that what causes us to be anxious – when we are not in
control of our future. Jesus knew all too well that worrying about the future
was part of the human condition because we like to be in control of our
destiny. In Matthew chapter 6, verse 34 he says: do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Martin
Luther was worried about his future. But not his earthly future but his eternal
future. He was worried about what would happen to him after he died and whether
he would go to heaven. And it made him very afraid – which is what not knowing
the future does to us – whether it’s our future on earth or in the afterlife. Luther
wanted to be sure about his eternal future so he worked harder and harder to
please God. He deprived himself of any luxuries. He did so much just so he
could be sure about his future. And then he discovered that he didn’t need to
worry about his future because God has taken care of that through Jesus.
God’s
love for us is shown through Jesus’ death for us and his death assures us of
our eternal future in heaven and that’s what Luther was not hearing from his
church. No one knows what our earthly future holds. And it doesn’t matter how
successful you are – how much money you have – how popular you are. Our lives
can change in an instant. No one knew that this year was going to turn out the
way it did. No one was prepared for it. And that’s why Jesus said – don’t worry
about tomorrow. Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be taken
care of by God.
I
know that God is in control of what’s happening even if it doesn’t look like
it. Our church doors are still closed but I still believe God has a purpose in
all this. God made a very special promise to us in Jesus. As Jesus was about to
ascend into heaven after defeating death by rising on Easter Sunday he said to
his disciples – and to us – I am with you always until the end of time. A
promise that comes to us in our Baptism.
So
if you are anxious about the future – just remember that Jesus already knows
your future and he has taken care of the most important part of your future-
your eternal life in Heaven. So do not worry about tomorrow but let Jesus, who
is the beginning and the end – the same
yesterday, today and forever – let him take care of all your concerns as you
put your faith and trust in him.
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