In seminary learning about the history of the Reformation, I remember being astounded about Martin Luther’s account of the state of churches. After churches of the Reformation in Germany broke away from Rome, Luther and other leaders made a tour of parishes. He observed large swaths of ignorance, illiteracy, superstition, and priests who recited the mass in Latin but couldn’t understand anything they said. Simple truths of the faith were unknown despite most people going to church. I used to think how fortunate we are to live in a time when that level of ignorance and trust in conspiracy theories is no longer possible. At least today no one believes the earth is flat, right?
Today we have people elected in BC who think the government is poisoning us through chemtrails. We have a presidential candidate next door and former president in the US election who said “I need the kind of generals Hitler had.” He instigated an armed insurrection against the US government after he lost the previous election, and who is unlikely to concede defeat if he loses again. And this is just one of the major news story in 2024. I’m feeling like maybe we have more in common with Matin Luther and his time than we are comfortable admitting. And a sense that maybe we haven’t come as far as we would have liked since the Middle Ages.
We feel overwhelmed by the world in different ways. In the face of anxiety, one takeaway from today’s gospel reading from John is the word “abiding.” Abiding in Christ isn’t just something we do. Abiding in Christ grounds us in God’s freedom. God’s freedom transforms our hearts when we find ourselves divided from one another, divided within ourselves. Messages that manipulate and divide us into trusting in conspiracy theories. Messages that offer grandiose political promises that make a few people rich and powerful, robbing us of a world in which everyone has enough. Abiding in Christ saves us from divisions and paths that lead to death. Abiding in Christ is also political, but not in the partisan sense of telling us which political party to vote for. Political in the sense of abiding in a world God entrusts us to preserve for future generations. Abiding leads to action that heals and unifies. Abiding in Christ orients in a direction away from a world of perpetual war and strong men who promise us greatness but deliver us poverty and misery. Often we hear ourselves say things like, “At least we live in Canada” or “At least we live in BC” or “At least we live on the island.” But repeating these phrases do not protect us and they are not true. The problems we face, we face together with our neighbours in other provinces, in other countries, with the whole world.
And yet we also know that we are not capable of abiding on our own. Our works cannot save us. We cannot through shear effort be faithful followers of Jesus. Which is why on Reformation Sunday we emphasize the solas: through Christ alone, through scripture alone, through faith alone, through grace alone, and through glory to God alone. The Reformers’ emphasis over and over is that while we are people who divide ourselves from God and one another, God unites us in love. Abiding in Christ is a gift that the Holy Spirit enlivens within us. Luther despite him being a towering historical figure, constantly felt that he wasn’t enough. He felt that God would punish him for his mistakes. He thought that by listing every bad thing he did every day that would appease an angry God. But then Luther’s aha moment was realizing God isn’t angry at us. God doesn’t hate us. God loves us and desires for us to flourish.
And so we all need the gift of abiding in Christ as a gift of God’s love. God tells us we are enough, sustained by the love of God. We all need to hear that message to stop beating ourselves up. To stop worrying that we don’t measure up. That we aren’t good enough. It’s only harming us and harming our relationships with one another. We need grace. We need love. And the Reformation twist reminds us that God’s love is for us.
And we aren’t that different from the religious folks in the gospel reading. Sometimes the people in the gospel are translated as “Judeans” we need to be careful not to interpret these polemics in anti-Semitic ways. The religious folks think Jesus is telling them they lack outward freedom, that they are slaves. But instead Jesus is talking about a different kind of freedom that comes from within. He’s talking about the kind of individual and collective freedom that comes from being set free by the Word of God. I know I need to hear this reminder because I become focused on the external things that bind me. Whether that’s rent or a mortgage, whether that is success in work, studies, or family, whether that is good health, physical beauty, etc. We’re all beholden to these outward standards in various ways. Jesus reminds us that he came to us free from these divisions. Abiding in Christ grants us rest. Abiding in Christ reveals Jesus as love.
One way we abide in Christ is gathering worship together. We abide in Christ gathering in community together. On Friday evening some of us gathered together in community for the Halloween Party. Some of us also met during the party planning for the Confirmation Class beginning in November. A Halloween Party might not sound like the epicentre of abiding in Christ. But we gathered around the table as kids, youth, students, young adults, middle-aged folks, and elders. Everyone was sharing the same pumpkin slime covered tools carving jack-o-lanterns, enjoying a hot dog or veggie dog, spending time together. There were kids and unviersity students scooping out pumpkin guts slopping it in a bucket in the middle of the table. It is important to build community together by celebrating something as everyday as Halloween. We need to get to know each other in order to build communities together. We need to sit around tables together sipping apple juice and coffee. Think about the ways we are abiding in Christ in community, by showing up whether in-person or on-line for those who are joining us from home. It is the consistency of being church, the body of Christ together. So the love of God is manifest in our midst.
Before we wrap up I want to pivot and invite you to play a short quiz game together. It’s called Reformation Insult Smackdown. Luther was all about grace and God’s unconditional love, but he also didn’t shy away from spicy comments in his rhetoric. I am going to read three phrases and you need to choose between A, B, or C which one is from Martin Luther. The other two are phrases I made up. Are you read to play?
Reformation Insult Smackdown – a quiz with 3 questions – multiple choice
- Which of the following phrases did Luther use in his explanations of the 95 Theses?
A – You are quibblers of the gospel and twist the Lord’s words in unsavoury ways.
B - You are the most insane heretics and ingrafters of heretical perversity. (P. 88 of vol. 31 of Luther’s Works, explanations of the 95 theses)
C – You are haughty devils and smell danker than a chamber pot.
- Which of the following did Luther write concerning the ministry?
A – I would not smell the foul odour of your name. (P. 17)
B – Your head has become inflated and all sense has spilled out.
C – I wouldn’t darken the door of your church and it’s wiley lies.
- Which of the following did Luther write in The Bondage of the Will (from vol. 33 of Luther’s Works)?
A – You are a toad whose croaks fill a vast swamp.
B – Your ignorance is so astonishing that even the devil is ashamed.
C - Perhaps you want me to die of unrelieved boredom while you keep on talking. (P. 244)
