Hi everyone,
Welcome to worship this Reformation Sunday, landing on October 27, 2024!
The bulletin for this service can be found here. You can use it to follow along with the service, or you can just use the words that appear on your screen. The sermon for the day is available in the bulletin as well as on this page below the video.
For an enhanced worship experience online, you can have a candle in your space, safely lit at the beginning of the service and extinguished near the end when the altar candles are extinguished after the sending hymn. And you are also welcome to participate in communion if you so wish and are comfortable, by having something small to eat and drink prepared for the appropriate time in the service. Further instruction will be given then.
May God’s reforming and inclusive love fill you with hope and peace, this day and always!
Lord, may your truth ring in our hearts this day, that we might hear your promises, feel your love, and know the freedom that you offer in your name, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
If there’s anything that I’ve learned about people during my almost half a century of life here on Earth, is that we really seem to like being in competition with each other. Sure, there are the fun and games with sports and, uh, games, but I find that in many other areas of life as well, we can’t seem to help but to compare ourselves with others.
Since we started school we are graded and ranked based on our retention of knowledge. In the workplace the goal is to generally produce and produce and be rewarded for our performance. Even in our churches we find ourselves peeking over the shoulder of our neighbours to check how many people they get on a Sunday. And don’t even get me started on our political elections that just happened.
I’m not saying this is wrong or we are wrong for being like this, it’s simply an observation that life is just this way. And it’s not just us in our modern times, I mean people have been comparing themselves to each other since Adam and Eve, Jacob and Esau, and Moses and Aaron, just to name a few. And even in the gospel stories that we read in the past few weeks were full of characters wanting to elevate themselves, with gems like:
“Why don’t you live and do things in the proper way like us?”
or
“We stopped him from doing good because he wasn’t part of our insider group”
or
“I haven’t done a single thing wrong since my youth”
or even from last week
“We are the ones who should sit beside Jesus in his glory”
See what I mean? It’s always, who’s the greatest? Who has earned or deserves the best? Who does God love the most?
Because to many, reaching certain goals, achieving specific milestones, being seen as the hardest working are just a few examples of some of the criteria that helps us determine who is the best. And thus, who is worth more. And thus, who should have more. And thus, this never-ending rat race continues to encapsulate us all as it permeates every corner of our lives. It affects how we see the world, each other, and even ourselves.
So we might brag about our accolades and pat our own backs and self-esteem. We might defend ourselves or maybe go on the offense when our self worth is challenged. We might make wild and perhaps even false claims about who we are and what we can do in order to put others in their place, and us in ours.
You know, something like, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.”
That was the defensive response directed at Jesus after he told his followers that his truth would set them free. I mean, Jesus isn’t wrong here, of course he isn’t. But I guess this choice of words could be misconstrued to sound a bit offensive, so much so that they clap back with, “what do you mean by saying ‘you will be made free’?”
I mean, we’re familiar with this passage right? We should be as we get it like every Reformation Sunday, and you know we love our Reformation Sundays and especially the Bratwurst we usually have after the service. So we get what Jesus is saying. We understand what he means. We might even chuckle at these Jewish folk in the story, whose whole cultural and religious history is about being freed from slavery, as they make this claim that they were never even slaves to begin with.
But of course they would do that, right? We might have done the same if we were put in that position, without the benefit of about 2000 years of hindsight, that is. I mean if someone called us subservient or something, we probably would take offense to that too. If someone were to insinuate that, I don’t know, that our spouse or partner has more authority in our relationship than we do, we might just knee-jerk deny it, even if it were true. If our place in the hierarchy of the world, our position in the scale of importance, or the level of power that we like to think we have is put in question, we might at least be tempted to lash back to reclaim our dignity and honour, just as these ancient Jewish folk did.
So I wonder then, if this is actually the sin that Jesus is talking about. I mean, it seems like we’re all trapped in our hierarchies, these comparisons, the power struggles of the world. We need to be liberated from under the burden of this attitude of determining once and for all who is the greatest. We need to be freed by the truth that Jesus gives.
But what truth is he talking about?
Earlier this week I came across this old article from the religious blog site Patheos, entitled “The Real Story Behind Genesis” by Zach Christensen, where he explains how back in the day creation stories weren’t all that uncommon, and argues that they weren’t written for the purpose that we usually think they are. In that they weren’t supposed to capture any kind of historical accuracy or anything, but rather they’re just stories explaining who we are and what we’re about. Through allegory and metaphor they teach us our role on this planet and our relationship to all that is. So they aren’t so much about the “what” as much as the “why.”
And he highlights the Babylonian creation story, that describes how the Earth was created through violence among the gods. According to this story, people were formed from a mix of the blood of the slain gods and the clay of this newly created earth, and they made to serve the surviving gods and their lives of leisure. Christensen says that this particular story and the others like it tells us, “…that human beings are innately worthless and consigned to endure the evil curse of labour without any meaning.” Yikes.
But our creation story is different from that. While it does talk about the formation of the earth and its creatures and us as people, it is much more intimate. More relational. It has our God breathing God’s own Spirit into us and forming us in God’s own image, not as slaves but as God’s children joined together by a covenant of grace, redemption, and the life that truly is life.
That is the creation story that we hold on to. It doesn’t say that we’re made only to work, toil, and try to earn our place in the world. Instead it says that we are created out of the love of God, much like how babies are made out of the love of their parents, and how we are placed to care for the world not because we have to but because we have a relationship with its Creator, who made us to be just a little less than divine. This is by God’s design. Not by what we have done or can do or want to be seen as. Rather, we are formed to be this out of love.
But if we’re honest, we seem to resonate more with the Babylonian creation story, don’t we? We feel like we need to be placed in hierarchies that we can move up and conquer. We feel like we need to work our fingers to the bone in order to shape our identities and place in the world. We feel like we need to discipline ourselves, put ourselves through trial and hardship, and show the world that we are good enough by our own rights and our own doing. This mentality, that all this is all one big competition to see who comes in first and is best, is what I believe Jesus is saying that we are slaves to and need to be freed from, liberated out from under, reformed from thinking that this is truth.
You see, we don’t need to climb that hierarchical ladder, but not because we made ourselves to be good enough. We don’t need to feel like we’re in constant competition with each other, but not because we’re already just that much better than everyone else. We don’t need to be a slave of this mentality that we must perform and produce in order to be God’s people, but not because we’re so great just as we are and have never been slaves to anyone.
No, we don’t have to do those things because through the covenant and promises that God has for us, each and every one of us, all of us who ever have been and are yet to come, people of all walks, ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, and even positions and paycheques, are saved from the burdensome and debilitating notion that we, by things we have done or have left undone, are anything less than God’s beloved. And as God’s beloved, we are redeemed and lifted up into forgiveness and welcomed to live in God’s kingdom and community forever.
My friends, this is the truth that a benedictine monk named Martin Luther wanted to share with the church and the world a little over 500 years ago. This is the truth that we as followers of Christ across this and all nations continue to preach and proclaim. This is the truth that is divinely and graciously given to us and sets us all free.
So on this Reformation Sunday, may we know the true freedom that is given to us, saving us by grace and reforming us by love, through the faith of Jesus Christ our Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Lord, may your truth ring in our
hearts this day, that we might hear your promises, feel your love, and know the
freedom that you offer in your name, through Jesus Christ. Amen. If there’s anything
that I’ve learned about people during my almost half a century of life here on
Earth, is that we really seem to like being in competition with each
other. Sure, there are the fun and games
with sports and, uh, games, but I find that in many other areas of life as
well, we can’t seem to help but to compare ourselves with others. Since we started
school we are graded and ranked based on our retention of knowledge. In the workplace the goal is to generally
produce and produce and be rewarded for our performance. Even in our churches we find ourselves peeking
over the shoulder of our neighbours to check how many people they get on a Sunday. And don’t even get me started on our
political elections that just happened. I’m not saying this
is wrong or we are wrong for being like this, it’s simply an observation that
life is just this way. And it’s not just
us in our modern times, I mean people have been comparing themselves to each other
since Adam and Eve, Jacob and Esau, and Moses and Aaron, just to name a
few. And even in the gospel stories that
we read in the past few weeks were full of characters wanting to elevate
themselves, with gems like:“Why don’t you live
and do things in the proper way like us?”or“We stopped him
from doing good because he wasn’t part of our insider group”or“I haven’t done a
single thing wrong since my youth”or even from last
week“We are the ones
who should sit beside Jesus in his glory” See what I mean?
It’s always, who’s the greatest? Who has
earned or deserves the best? Who does
God love the most? Because to many, reaching
certain goals, achieving specific milestones, being seen as the hardest working
are just a few examples of some of the criteria that helps us determine who is
the best. And thus, who is worth more. And thus, who should have more. And thus, this never-ending rat race continues
to encapsulate us all as it permeates every corner of our lives. It affects how we see the world, each other,
and even ourselves. So we might brag
about our accolades and pat our own backs and self-esteem. We might defend ourselves or maybe go on the offense
when our self worth is challenged. We
might make wild and perhaps even false claims about who we are and what we can
do in order to put others in their place, and us in ours. You know, something
like, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.” That was the
defensive response directed at Jesus after he told his followers that his truth
would set them free. I mean, Jesus isn’t
wrong here, of course he isn’t. But I
guess this choice of words could be misconstrued to sound a bit offensive, so
much so that they clap back with, “what do you mean by saying ‘you will be made
free’?” I mean, we’re
familiar with this passage right? We
should be as we get it like every Reformation Sunday, and you know we love our
Reformation Sundays and especially the Bratwurst we usually have after the
service. So we get what Jesus is saying. We understand what he means. We might even chuckle at these Jewish folk in
the story, whose whole cultural and religious history is about being freed from
slavery, as they make this claim that they were never even slaves to begin with. But of course they would
do that, right? We might have done the same if we were put in that position,
without the benefit of about 2000 years of hindsight, that is. I mean if someone called us subservient or
something, we probably would take offense to that too. If someone were to insinuate that, I don’t
know, that our spouse or partner has more authority in our relationship than we
do, we might just knee-jerk deny it, even if it were true. If our place in the hierarchy of the world,
our position in the scale of importance, or the level of power that we like to
think we have is put in question, we might at least be tempted to lash back to
reclaim our dignity and honour, just as these ancient Jewish folk did. So I wonder then,
if this is actually the sin that Jesus is talking about. I mean, it seems like we’re all trapped in our
hierarchies, these comparisons, the power struggles of the world. We need to be liberated from under the burden
of this attitude of determining once and for all who is the greatest. We need to be freed by the truth that Jesus
gives. But what truth is
he talking about? Earlier this week I
came across this old article from the religious blog site Patheos, entitled
“The Real Story Behind Genesis” by Zach Christensen, where he explains how back
in the day creation stories weren’t all that uncommon, and argues that they
weren’t written for the purpose that we usually think they are. In that they weren’t supposed to capture any
kind of historical accuracy or anything, but rather they’re just stories
explaining who we are and what we’re about.
Through allegory and metaphor they teach us our role on this planet and
our relationship to all that is. So they
aren’t so much about the “what” as much as the “why.” And he highlights
the Babylonian creation story, that describes how the Earth was created through
violence among the gods. According to
this story, people were formed from a mix of the blood of the slain gods and
the clay of this newly created earth, and they made to serve the surviving gods
and their lives of leisure. Christensen
says that this particular story and the others like it tells us, “…that human
beings are innately worthless and consigned to endure the evil curse of labour
without any meaning.” Yikes. But our creation
story is different from that. While it
does talk about the formation of the earth and its creatures and us as people,
it is much more intimate. More
relational. It has our God breathing
God’s own Spirit into us and forming us in God’s own image, not as slaves but as
God’s children joined together by a covenant of grace, redemption, and the life
that truly is life. That is the creation
story that we hold on to. It doesn’t say
that we’re made only to work, toil, and try to earn our place in the
world. Instead it says that we are
created out of the love of God, much like how babies are made out of the love
of their parents, and how we are placed to care for the world not because we
have to but because we have a relationship with its Creator, who made us to be
just a little less than divine. This is
by God’s design. Not by what we have
done or can do or want to be seen as. Rather,
we are formed to be this out of love. But if we’re
honest, we seem to resonate more with the Babylonian creation story, don’t we? We feel like we need to be placed in
hierarchies that we can move up and conquer.
We feel like we need to work our fingers to the bone in order to shape
our identities and place in the world.
We feel like we need to discipline ourselves, put ourselves through
trial and hardship, and show the world that we are good enough by our own
rights and our own doing. This mentality,
that all this is all one big competition to see who comes in first and is best,
is what I believe Jesus is saying that we are slaves to and need to be freed
from, liberated out from under, reformed from thinking that this is truth. You see, we don’t
need to climb that hierarchical ladder, but not because we made ourselves to be
good enough. We don’t need to feel like
we’re in constant competition with each other, but not because we’re already
just that much better than everyone else.
We don’t need to be a slave of this mentality that we must perform and
produce in order to be God’s people, but not because we’re so great just as we
are and have never been slaves to anyone. No, we don’t have
to do those things because through the covenant and promises that God has for
us, each and every one of us, all of us who ever have been and are yet to come,
people of all walks, ethnicities, genders, backgrounds, and even positions and
paycheques, are saved from the burdensome and debilitating notion that we, by
things we have done or have left undone, are anything less than God’s beloved. And as God’s beloved, we are redeemed and
lifted up into forgiveness and welcomed to live in God’s kingdom and community
forever. My friends, this is
the truth that a benedictine monk named Martin Luther wanted to share with the
church and the world a little over 500 years ago. This is the truth that we as followers of
Christ across this and all nations continue to preach and proclaim. This is the truth that is divinely and
graciously given to us and sets us all free. So on this
Reformation Sunday, may we know the true freedom that is given to us, saving us
by grace and reforming us by love, through the faith of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.