Happy Birthday, Church! Muchas felicitaciones on this historic day! On this Reformation Sunday we are500 years old as a Lutheran church! That might sound old but don’t let the gray hair of the church fool you. It’s often the gray hair that keeps the church going! Right, pastor Sylvia? I have some too!
25 YEARS AGO I WAS ORDAINED A PASTOR RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF YOU. So it’s great to be with you to celebrate this special Reformation Sunday as a SON OF THE CHURCH!
Today, all over the world in all seven continents the Lutheran church is commemorating the day in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany! As Pastor Sylvia pointed out in her excellent article that she wrote for the Monitor and that appeared on Friday, Martin Luther never intended to divide the church universal of the Holy Roman Empire. By posting those arguments on the church door in 1517 he was inviting the community to come and debate with him 95 theological arguments that he hoped would reform the church that he loved.
What he didn’t realize was that the GUTTENBERG PRINTING PRESS that had just been invented would PUBLISH his arguments and spread them all over the EMPIRE. The PRINTING PRESS BECAME the Social Media of the day! Today we have I Phones and Facebook and the WORLD WIDE WEB to spread our ideas throughout the world in a matter of seconds! Well that’s what happened with the PRINTING PRESS in Germany. IT SPREAD Luther’s ideas like WILDFIRE and the rest as they say is HISTORY! The Protestant movement then spread throughout Europe and eventually it reached the shores of our country – all the way down to the Rio Grande Valley 100 years ago THROUGH FAITHFUL LUTHERANS!
By QUESTINING THE CHURCH PRACTICES of HIS day, MARTIN LUTHER forced the church to examine HERSELF to see if SHE was being faithful to the FREEDOM OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS Christ. When LUTHER discovered that the Christian was JUSTIFIED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH WITHOUT THE NEED OF WORKS FOR SALVATION, Luther TURNED A PAGE IN WORLD HISTORY! LUTHER INITIATED A MOVEMENT THAT MOVED THE MEDIEVAL AGE TO THE MODERN AGE THAT BEGAN WITH THE ENLIGHTENMENT, the age of REASON, with CRITICAL THINKING as one of HER hallmarks!
THIS IS WHAT MY SEMINARY STUDENTS ARE LEARNING. THIS WEEK I TAUGHT A CLASS IN LUTHERAN ETHICS AND RAISED THIS QUESTION: WHAT IS MY DUTY IN THE WORLD? IF THE GOSPEL HAS SET US FREE, THEN WHAT ARE WE FREE FOR? LUTHER PROVIDES AN ANSWER: WE ARE FREE TO SERVE AND LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE, WHAT THEY BELIEVE OR WHERE THEY COME FROM.
MY STUDENTS ARE LEARNING THAT TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE GOSPEL ONE HAS TO GET COMFORTABLE WITH DIFFICULT QUESTIONS AND LEARN TO LIVE WITHOUT JUDGMENT IN THE GRAY AREA OF LIFE, WHERE THE ANSWERS ARE NOT ALWAYS FORTHCOMING. THEY ARE LEARNING THAT CRITICAL THINKING IS A WAY OF FAITH. THAT IS WHAT DROVE MARTIN LUTHER TO DISCOVER THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S GRACE APART FROM THE WORKS OF THE LAW.
Today, 500 years later we the church universal IS turning a page as well! I INVITE YOU TO TURN IT WITH ME. FOR We are moving into another age, one that may be unfamiliar to us, but one that will shape the next 500 years. A SIGN OF IT IS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Here are some highlights OF OUR CONVERSATION OVER THE YEARS:
In 1999 the Vatican and the LWF signed a JOINT DECLARATION ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. Our two churches agreed that “WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN JC and not by works OF THE LAW” This was a major step towards the Unity of the Church!
Last year, RC Bishop Anders Arborelius stated: “we are leaving the past behind us and focusing on what we have in common, that we can together go out and help people!” That sounds like GOOD NEWS to me!
On Nov. 1 of last year, in LUND, SWEDEN, POPE FRANCIS AND THE CHILEAN SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION, participated in a JOINT COMMEMORATION OF THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REFORMATION. Pope Francis stated: “We acknowledge that the Reformation helped give GREATER CENTRALITY TO THE SACRED SCRIPTURES in the church’s life.” THERE IS THE IMAGE UP ON THE SCREEN OF THIS HISTORIC EVENT.
SINCE THEN, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SERVICES OF FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD CONFESSING THAT WE ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST.
THE LATE RC THEOLOGIAN VIRGIL ELIZONDO PUT IT THIS WAY: AS DIFFERENT AS WE ARE FROM ONE ANOTHER, WE HAVE A COMMON SOUL! ¡SOMOS UN PUEBLO!
SO DO WE AGREE IN ALL THINGS THEOLOGICAL? NO! BUT EVEN LUTHER RECOGNIZED THAT THERE WERE SOME NON-ESSENTIALS ELEMENTS TO THE FAITH; THAT’S A WAY OF SAYING THAT WE CAN AGREE ON THE ESSENTIAL CONFESSION, that we are saved by grace through faith in JESUS CHRIST, and we can ALSO AGREE TO DISAGREE on the non-essential matters of faith. What we gain IS OUR UNITY IN CHRIST THAT THE WORLD MIGHT BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL KNOW CHRISTIANS BY THEIR LOVE. THAT WAS THE CONFESSION OF THE EARLY CHURCH.
SO ON THIS DAY, IT IS TIME TO TURN A PAGE IN OUR OWN HISTORY, ON OUR OWN FAITH STORY.
IT IS TIME TO LET GO OF OUR THEOLOGICAL BAGGAGE THAT WE HAVE BEEN CARRYING AROUND WITH US AS A SOURCE OF HUBRIS, HUMAN PRIDE THAT SERVES NO ONE AND KEEPS THE CHURCH DIVIDED. IT IS TIME TO TRULY LOVE THE NEIGHBOR, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY COME FROM, WHAT LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK, WHAT FAITH TRADITION THEY BELONG TO OR WHO THEY CHOOSE TO LOVE.
WHEN WE DO THAT, WE WILL TASTE THE TRUE FREEDOM THAT MARTIN LUTHER DISCOVERED 500 YEARS AGO, THE FREEDOM TO LOVE AND SERVE THE NEIGHBOR IN THE NAME OF THE CRUCIFIED AND RISEN CHRIST.
SO LET US TURN THE PAGE TOGETHER AND CONFESS OUR UNITY IN CHRIST. SI SE PUEDE! AMEN
Este domingo celebramos la Reforma de la Iglesia que empezo hace 500 anios. Esta reforma la empezo el Doctor Martin Lutero cuando descrubrio la gracia de Dios en su fe en Cristo sin la necesidad de las obras de la ley. Su doctrina se hizo famosa con la fuerza de la imprenta que se invento en esos anios. La imprenta fue como el internet de hoy, una manera para que las ideas de Martin Lutero se conocieran por todos lados. Y eso fue lo que le dio a la Reforma su impulso.
Martin Lutero le dio a la iglesia la abilidad de ser criticos para cuestionar y reformar la iglesia. Se dio cuenta que la iglesia siempre esta llamada a ser reformadora en todo tiempo. La Reforma nunca se acaba, si no que adquire nuevas preguntas que piden nuestras respuestas.
Martin Lutero voltio una pagina en la historia con sus ideas criticas. Le ayudo a la iglesia y al imperio Romano de su epoca dejar la edad media atras y empezar una epoca llamada La Ilustracion, el tiempo del uso de la razon como medio de encontrar la Verdad. Y ahora nos encontramos en un tiempo semejante. Estamos invitados a voltiar la pagina de nuestros a tiempos y recibir el anticipo de una nueva epoca de la historia.
Senia de este cambio historico es nuestra relacion con la Iglesia Romano Catolica. En 1999 el Vaticano y la Federacion Mudial de la Iglesia Luterana firmaron un acuerdo en donde se acordo estar de acuerdo con la Doctrina que nos dividio hace 500 anios: La doctrina de la Justificacion por la Gracias a traves de la Fe.
El anio pasado, el Papa Francisco fue a Swecia y junto con la iglesia Luterana Mundial participo en un culto de oracion para expresar el intento de Unidad con toda la Iglesia. El Papa dijo: Reconocemos que la Reforma le dio mayor centralidad a las sagradas escritura en la vida de la Iglesia. Veanlo en la pantalla arriba.
Desde entonces la iglesia ha ceelebrado muchos cultos semejantes por todo el mundo. El teologo Catolico Virgilio Elizondo lo puso asi: Aunque seamos distintos, tenemos un alma comun! Somos un Pueblo de Dios!
Asi que estamos de acuerdo en todo? No, pero aun Lutero reconocio que existian cosas de primacia en la fe y cosas no esenciales para la fe. No tenemos que estar de acuerdo en todas las cosas teologicas. Mientras que confesamos que Jesucristo es El Senor, podemos expresar nuestra Unidad al mundo.
Asi que este dia tenemos la oportunidad de voltiar la pagina a nuestra historia. Es tiempo de dejar nuestros prejuicios atras y servir el projimo con el amor de Cristo, sea quien sea. Al hacer eso, conocermos la LIBERTAD VERDADERA, de amar y servir al projimo en el nombre del Cristo crucificado y resucitado! Juntos, voltiamos la pagina y confesamos nuestra unidad en Cristo. Amen
