Reformation Sunday 2023
Text John 8:31-36 & Romans 3:19-28
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
As a child, I absolutely feared cemeteries, especially around Halloween or All Hallows Eve. The cold, damp air, the constant thoughts of being watched, the absolute darkness – it caused my heart to race, my breathing to become shallow and rapid, and my mind to succumb to paranoia.
What is the paranoia that causes fear in your life? What wraps you into bondage? Is it the lack of power and control? Is it the thought people are watching you or the belief they are out to get you? Is it a present darkness that no one knows besides you, a darkness of grief and despair that seizes your heart and won't let go?
Our fear is what gives birth to sin and the things that continue to haunt us throughout this life.
Martin Luther was also haunted as you; he would be driven by the torments of this world to confession for hours at a time. The voice of Satan would whisper into Luther's ears seeds of doubt - are you genuinely sorry enough for your sin? Have you enumerated every sin? Have you stopped sinning?
All this is enough to enslave a man and drive them mad.
But, where all this madness eventually drove Luther was to read the Holy Scriptures all the more, to pray feverishly, and to confess what is true and right.
In the first of the 95 theses nailed to the Castle Church door of Wittenberg, Luther wrote, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
The first of the 95 theses began with Reformation.
Our world is constantly looking to reform, except their reform is not a return but a way forward. A way to advance a cause. A method for change.
Reform the economy, reform the police, reform education, reform the IRS code, reform election laws, reform, reform, reform... The desire for reform today is seen as a method to improve life, advance, and transform institutions.
But, to reform is not to look forward but to look back. The "re" in reform means to return or go back to the original foundation. One word that comes to mind is "redeem," which means to buy back again.
And the “form” for reform should bring to mind a former likeness or condition once experienced. So, the point of Reformation is to bring the Church back to its original resemblance or condition.
What is the former condition and likeness the Church should desire - the image and likeness of Christ Jesus.
How does this Reformation happen?
Hear the words of Luther again, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
A repentant heart springs a correct fear of God that begins with faith and trust in the only Son of the Father.
Repentance begins with remorse and the feeling of guilt then leads a man to a confession of their sin. And finally, repentance calls man to have a change of behavior, a change of heart. To go another way…
Where do you need a change of behavior? In what ways does your heart need to be reformed?
Have the words you have spoken to your neighbors caused your heart to race and your breathing to become rapid? Have you become paranoid of others, telling the devil's lies under your breath? Do you have an email you wish could be buried and never seen again? Or have you sat silently, unsure what to do, failing to speak the liberating Words of Christ Jesus to your neighbor?
The torments of the heart and mind enslave and lead you into doubt and sin. Yet, abiding in the Word of God leads you into the truth, and this truth does not set you free in the shallow American way of thinking – it liberates man's heart. The truth Jesus speaks of dwells within you through His death and resurrection, emancipating you from the chief enemy of sin, death, and the devil.
So run to the waters of Holy Baptism and learn again from the Small Catechism your need to return to your baptism again and again and again. In fact, you will need to remember that you must return to your baptism daily to drown and put to death the Old Adam and all sins and evil desires that possess you through contrition and repentance so that you may daily emerge and arise anew to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. (Fourth Part of Holy Baptism, Small Catechism Paraphrased)
This is the way of an ongoing Reformation within each of us. Confession and absolution, returning to Jesus, and His forgiveness.
So, when Satan whispers into your ears seeds of doubt regarding the contrition of your heart, run to the font and say, “I am baptized!”
When the night comes, and you are haunted by the ghosts of your sin, say and believe with all your heart, “Yes, I have fallen short of the glory of God, but I am justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Through the daily drowning of the old Adam within you, live a life of repentance so that a new man will emerge daily.
When you return to Christ Jesus with sorrow and repentance, your fears are put away, the devils torments are put to flight, forgiveness is present for you, and the assurance of everlasting life will abide forever and ever – even until the day when Christ returns and the cemetery is seen as nothing more than a garden, whose seeds are the true children of God. +INJ+
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
