The Festival of the Reformation
Jesu Juva
“Faithfulness
and Freedom”
Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 8:31-36; Romans
3:19-28
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The estate of marriage is not what it used
to be. It is being attacked by those who
want to change the definition of marriage so that it is no longer a union of
one man and one woman. It is being
attacked by those who see no use for it, and simply choose to live
together. It is being attacked by those
who see it as unnecessarily binding and restrictive – just a piece of paper
ruining the relationship they already have.
. . . But while marriage is being
attacked from the outside in all of those ways, far more damaging is the attack on marriage from the inside – from
those who are married; from those who have taken marriage
vows with no intention of keeping them; from those who say “until death
parts us,” when they really mean, “until I grow tired of you;” or, “until
someone better comes along;” or, “until I fall out of love with you.” And so rampant is divorce these days that you
don’t even have to show cause anymore – just tell the court you don’t want to
be married anymore and the deal is done.
And so for many in our world today, being
married no longer carries with it the security it used to. Now, many married people no longer live with
the security and confidence that their spouse will always be there for them,
but now live in constant fear, that if they don’t look good anymore, their
marriage will end; that if they do something wrong, their marriage will end;
that if they don’t please their spouse, their marriage will end. And the stress of everyday life is simply
added to when they go home at night . . . having to fulfill the desires and
expectations of others now by day and by night. There’s no rest, no relief, no security.
Now I bring that up not as a social
commentary, but because in the Old Testament Reading from the prophet Jeremiah,
God talks about Himself as a husband
– a husband to His people, Israel. They
had taken vows, as we heard: “I
will be their God and they shall be my people.” God promised to be faithful, and His people
promised to be faithful. They had a
covenant. And what a wonderful thing for
Israel, for they did not have to worry about God changing His mind, or falling
out of love with them, or leaving them for a nation that was bigger, or better,
or more glamorous. He had promised to be
their God, and they had security in that promise. That even when they messed up, God would
still be their God.
And that’s a good thing, because they did
mess up. We heard in Jeremiah that
And that is the promise that has been made
to you and me, when in Holy Baptism we are brought into the family of God and
into the Church, the Bride of Christ. We
have God’s promise of faithfulness, that He will be our God, our Saviour. And when we are confirmed into the Church, we
make that same vow back to Him, saying that we will remain faithful unto
death. And in that promise of God we
have tremendous freedom, knowing that God is faithful, and that even when we
break our vow – as we always do! – when we are filled with sin, and unlovable,
and stubborn, and adulterous, and ugly . . .
God will not divorce us or leave us, but forgives us, and
restores us. And when we hear His
absolution, as we did again at the beginning of this service, it is as if God
were saying to you, “Yes, not only do I
keep my promise and forgive you, but I would marry you all over again.” And what wonderful words they are to
hear! Just as a spouse cannot hear “I
love you” often enough, so we get to hear those words of absolution over and
over again, each and every week we gather here in God’s house!
And it was this understanding of God’s
faithfulness that was at the very heart of the Reformation.
For the Church at the time of Luther
misunderstood, and had corrupted, the truth of God’s forgiveness and love and
faithfulness. Instead insisting that
forgiveness and restoration for the believer back into God’s good graces was
dependent on what you did – in effect, the bride making herself desirable to her husband again. And so in order to merit forgiveness, you had
to buy your way back into God’s favor, or work yourself back into God’s favor,
or show by your actions that you were really, really, really sorry and plead
for God to take you back. Or another way
was to get one of God’s friends, the saints, or Jesus’ mother Mary, to plead
for you and convince God to take you back.
And God, generously and condescendingly, would take you back once you
proved you really meant it, and were really worthy!
And, you know, we ridicule that attitude
sometimes – or a lot! – and wonder how they could
think such a thing! . . . But we do
it, too . . . only in a little different way. But we too, if you’re honest with yourself,
think that we can make ourselves lovable, and that we can mostly keep the Law, and improve, and do better, and show God that
we’re worthy of His forgiveness and His
taking us back. And perhaps we think
that because of what we heard from Romans, that “all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God,” and we think that doesn’t sound so bad! For “falling short” means that we almost
made it, right? Just fell a little
short; just need a little help . . . But
try telling that to your spouse! That
you were just a little adulterous;
that you almost kept your vow; that
you’re improving . . . Would that make
it all better? And even if it did, the
first time, what would happen when you fell again, and again, and again? . . .
What would happen if our relationship with God depended on us?
But thankfully, it doesn’t depend
on us! On us making ourselves worthy, or
improving ourselves, or proving that we’re lovable. That’s not what God is like at all. The Scriptures speak of God as a loving,
forgiving, and faithful husband. Not a
demanding tyrant of a God, of whom we have to be afraid and wonder whether
we’re good enough for Him, but a husband who takes care of and makes His bride
glorious and radiant and clean. A God so
dedicated to His people, that rather than lose us to sin and death and the
power of the devil, He instead came to take us all over again, and to (in a
sense) renew His vow to us at the altar of the cross. And in Jesus Christ, He did. Not demanding repayment for our sins, but
making payment for us. Not shaming us
for our spiritual adultery, but taking that shame upon Himself. Not divorcing us for our unfaithfulness, but being
forsaken in our place. And because our
Groom laid down His life for us – for us tainted brides, stained full of sin –
we are forgiven. We did nothing to
deserve such a gift, our Saviour did it all.
It is as we read in the book of Ephesians, “Christ loved [us] and gave
Himself up for [us], that He might sanctify [us], having cleansed [us] by the
washing of water with the word, so that He might present [us] to Himself in
splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [we] might be holy
and without blemish.” (Eph.
5:25-27)
“Yes,
not only do I keep my promise and forgive you, but I would marry you all over
again.”
And when you understand
that, you understand the meaning of Jesus’ words in the Holy Gospel that we
heard earlier, when Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my
disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” For
the Word of God and His Truth tell us that He is a faithful husband to His
bride, the Church, and therefore we know that His vow to us is certain and
good. We have the security of knowing
that when we approach Him in repentance as broken and sinful beings, He will
not send us away in shame or divorce us, but will forgive us and welcome us
back. And so we are free. Free of the burden of having to prove ourselves
worthy; of having to earn His love and forgiveness; of having to make ourselves
acceptable to Him. No, He has set us
free from that, so that rather than earning His love, we can return His love. To Him, and to each other.
Once Luther realized that, and once you
realize that, it changes your life. It
started a Reformation. And just think –
every week, you get to hear it again! That you are forgiven and made clean. Your wedding gown made white in the blood of
the Lamb. The love of
God for you. Joining in the
wedding feast He has here prepared for you, as He feeds you and rejoices in
you. . . . Can we even begin to comprehend the love of
God here for us?
And realize even more, that this has only
just begun! Because of the resurrection
of Jesus and our resurrection in Him, you are in His love and feast with Him
not only here, but even forever, in Heaven.
His resurrection means that not even death can part us from Him, but
that we can look forward to the feast and celebration and love that has no end!
That’s what this day is all about. A day we celebrate not ourselves, or a man,
or an event, but the wonderful Gospel that has set us free. “And if the Son sets you free, you are free
indeed!”
In the Name of the
Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Amen.