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Reformation 2009
". . . the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe." Romans 3:22 Imagine that someone were to give you a rare, expensive painting – say, a genuine Rembrandt. Like most of us, you would cherish it. You might place it somewhere in your home, or keep it in a safe. But you certainly wouldn’t add anything to it . . . would you? “Say, Honey! This Night Watch by Rembrandt is missing something. Get me that can of spray paint so I can paint in a little smiley-face down here in the corner.” Of course, this is ridiculous. But that’s what we often do with salvation by grace through faith for the sake of Christ Jesus. Ask ten Lutherans how they will get to heaven, and most will answer off the top of their heads with something like: you have to keep the ten commandments, you have to live a good life, you have to go to church. In other words, being saved by grace is good, but there has to be something more. The picture is missing something. I know we would never make more rules to add to this free grace. We would never say that real Lutherans don’t have crucifixes or chant or offer the Holy Supper each week. We’d never make up a rule that you can only commune at a certain age. We’d never be tempted to say that being saved by grace is good, but really, we have to make a commitment to Jesus in public. Naah! Not us. We’d never make a statement like that, because we’re already saved by grace through faith - and not by making up any rules . . . would we? Don’t put something more on the Rembrandt; it’s fine the way it is. A man can join a monastery, Luther says, so long as he doesn’t join to earn his salvation. You have been saved by grace through faith for the sake of Christ Jesus. Your other ideas are spray paint covering up God’s work. The second picture is a confirmation shot. I love these. Images of people who suddenly felt the urge to be Christians in junior high school and haven’t been able to get it back ever since. It is a gallery of AWOL Christians. The perfect picture for the other side of what we do not mean by being saved by grace through faith for the sake of what Christ has done. One former Roman Catholic called our confirmation style the great Lutheran Crap Shoot, the talisman that we can hold up against all odds. “I don’t go to church; I don’t practice acts of mercy; I refuse to have anything to do with those people in the congregation. But never fear: I was once confirmed.” In other words, “I’m saved by grace through faith for the sake of Christ Jesus’ work on the cross. Now I can forget about doing anything Christian ever again.” It’s as if we have a new indulgence, except this time we didn’t buy a piece of paper from the Pope that would give us a guarantee of salvation. Instead, our confirmation picture will do the trick. We are saved by grace alone. But faith is never alone. If you truly believe that being saved by grace through faith for the sake of Christ Jesus means liberation from worship, freedom from Christian teaching and lifestyle, then you have the wrong picture. A man may come to faith on his deathbed and die before he has a chance to live as a Christian, true enough. But it’s not typical. Don’t get the wrong picture. Good works, worship, acts of forgiveness and love are the natural consequences to being saved by grace for the sake of Christ Jesus. Grace is not an excuse to tear Christian living to shreds. The third picture I would like to present to you is of Christ, with His people, communing them at His altar. It is a picture of what happens in the church every week. Luther once said that whenever we go to the Holy Supper, Christ picks up our every burden. But Luther then goes on to say that, just as Christ picks up our burdens of sin, we pick up the burdens of all those communing with us. We receive mercy. Then we take it, use it for others, and return it to Christ as a gift that bears a thousand-fold fruit. Life lived by grace through faith alone is a life filled with giving out to others what God first gives you. If he gives forgiveness, you give forgiveness. If He gives you money, you give money. If he gives you time, you give time. For the keeners in our stewardship campaign, this is what it means to be a steward. You get it, you give it, then you get some more. Plain speaking is called for here. To be your friend is to be honest. Otherwise, I may as well not pretend I care about you at all. Here goes. If you refuse to forgive, the rest of your love is questionable. The same is true if you love and respect only some people. If you long for revenge, you forfeit your salvation. If you refuse to give your time to people in need, you are false. If you do not give at least 10% of your income, you are a thief and a robber. There, I’ve said it. Disgusting, I know. This morning there will be plenty of room at the altar for thieves and misers, misanthropes and narcissists. God has a very clear picture of who you and I are. We will start by communing the thieving, self-loving pastor first. Then you will join me. That is a picture of a reformation church. A church saved by grace, filled up with the uninterrupted, continuous forgiveness of sins. They say the church is always in need of reformation. I know we are. Jesus knows it, too. So there will always be more grace for us, more blood of Jesus than sins committed. Don’t touch up that shot! There is nothing wrong with that picture at all. The Reverend Sean M. Smallwood cruxprobatomnia -- the cross tests everything For the idea of the Rembrandt illustration, thanks to Pastor Gottfried Martins, Berlin. Credit for the idea of being honest with congregants goes to the late Dr. Kenneth Korby, the bravest pastor I ever met. For the Luther monastery illustration, credit goes to the late Bishop Bo Giertz, the greatest Swedish Lutheran I regrettably never met. For the idea of the uninterrupted, continuous forgiveness of sins, thanks to Pastor Mark Sander, who has taught me compassion. For the Luther Lord’s Supper illustration, credit to Pastor Matthew Harrison, who inspires the crowds to show mercy. The Jesus’ Blood comment is all Dr. Norman Nagel, St. Louis. Finally, the Lutheran crap shoot observation is a jewel from a Christian woman at St. Matthew in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Thanks to all. Soli Deo Gloria - Crux probat omnia |
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