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“Reformed”
a sermon by
Thomas L. Jenkins
Text: Luke 18:9-14
“…for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble
themselves will be exalted.”
DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS today is Reformation Sunday.
We are part of what is known as the Reformed Church.
And, one of the most popular sayings in our denomination is,
“We are reformed and always being reformed.” (repeat)
Today is named Reformation Sunday, but the Protestant Reformation,
historically, is considered to have begun on October 31, 1517, when
Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the front door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany. We call October 31st “Halloween.”
But, in the historical church, it is Hallowed Eve, i.e. Holy Eve;
which is the evening before All Saints Day.
“Hallowed” means holy. “Our
Father who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name…” Therefore, with
today being the closest Sunday to that evening, we refer to it as
Reformation Sunday.
Martin Luther, one of the main leaders of the Protestant Reformation, in
his 95 theses, subjected most of them with correcting the Roman Catholic
Church’s Pope situation, where the Popes could use their spiritual
authority to lead people to become right with God.
Of course, Luther discovered that our union with God is totally
out of God’s grace. “You are saved by grace.” A few years ago the Roman Catholic Church
and the Lutheran Church came together and acknowledged that they now
both affirm the same doctrine of “Justification by Faith.”
Another part of the Reformation was the rediscovery of the written
Scriptures and the preaching of God’s word.
Prior to the Reformation, publicly, people did not own Bibles and
most church worship services were done in Latin Liturgies.
Luther translated the Bible into common German language and
preached sometimes, up to five times a week.
The Word of God was rediscovered and the church was reformed,
based on faith, instead of self-righteous religious works.
Of Luther’s 95 theses, one of the first ones stated that some of the
best repentance for us is to end self-hatred; stop hating ourselves.
Isn’t that interesting?
I think his implication might have been that some Popes were
manipulating self-hatred in order to receive from people what they
believed they should give to and for God, in order to be made right with
God. People often hate
themselves and will pay whatever it takes, even religiously, to make
themselves right with God. Also,
Luther experienced a great deal of guilt with regards to facing his own
sin.
We often connect love and hatred with feelings.
For us, to love someone is to feel a certain way, and to hate
someone is to feel a certain way. But,
there is a sense in which a person may not feel love for another, but
may still be doing something good for them, and that is love.
Likewise, someone may not feel hate in regards to someone else,
but they may be treating them in a way that does them more harm than
good, and in a sense, that is a kind of hatred.
Isn’t that something possible, with regards to us too?
Couldn’t we not actually feel what we think of as hatred toward
ourselves, and at the same time, in some way, be hurting ourselves, or
at least not doing what is best for ourselves?
Jesus’ parables are so interesting.
They are stories that he created as a teacher.
Jesus was so gifted. If
he would have lived that aspect of his life 2000 years later than he
did, people might have been publishing books and making movies out of
his creativity. In this
parable, a Pharisee, being in the temple, prayed in this way, “God,
I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues,
adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.”
Now, if somebody asked us, right away, “Does this Pharisee hate
himself?” We would
probably think that is a dumb question; we would laugh, and then say
“Of course not; he loves himself.”
Emotionally, this Pharisee is not feeling what we think of as
hating himself. He does
have proud feelings about himself.
And in Jesus’ words he is “exalting” himself.
But, he is hurting himself in a certain kind of way and does not
even know it. He is trying
to use his religion to make himself right with God, instead of crying
out to God at another first Adam level, “God
be merciful to me, a sinner!”
Those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble
themselves will be exalted.
Those who are reformed will continue always being reformed.
Obviously, the question that we instantly ask ourselves is, “How can
or how is being reformed going on now, in the church these days?”
That question may be asked about the church in the 21st
century, about certain denominations all around the world, about our
denomination. And we could
talk about each one of those questions, but with 10 minutes left, let us
ask this question in the context of our own congregation.
“How is always being reformed happening in our congregation?”
The first answer is that soon I will start preaching for an hour
each Sunday!! (Smile)
There are times, personally, and individually, that we all exalt
ourselves and likewise, and there are times when we humbles ourselves.
There are times when how we perceive ourselves are based totally
on our own opinion, and then, gracefully, by the real presence of God in
our lives, God corrects us, and leads us to see ourselves as God does in
Jesus Christ.
There are times when we drop our exaltations; often as we have Christ on
our minds: I don’t know
the Bible the way I should; I
don’t pray as I should; I don’t go to church or Sunday school as
much as I should; I’m not serving the church as much as I should.
And, there are times when we are freed from our humility, with
these kinds of thoughts: I am made new by God.
I am not a sinner in Jesus Christ.
I am loved by God, as God the Father loves God the Son in the
Holy Spirit. Jesus knows
the Bible, and when and how to speak God’s Word to me.
Christ knows exactly how to pray; he knows my issues, and He is
praying to God the Father for me. Every
time I am talking with a friend of mine about our faith in Christ, I am
in school and church, sharing in the communion that Jesus Christ has
with God the Father in the Holy Spirit.
When I used the gifts that God has created in me to share with
another person, I am serving the church exactly as God has called me.
We are being reformed in our congregation by being lead by God to
rediscover the doctrine of the Trinity.
It is helping us see prayer, worship, and the gospel in new and
deeper ways.
God is indivisible. God is
never separated personally, within God.
When the Trinity was first being formed, the word perichoresis, a Greek word, was used to show the church’s
doctrine of God. Literally,
it means “interpenetration.” God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are continually,
dynamically in union with each other.
There is never separation. Figuratively,
perichoresis was a picture
of three persons holding hands and dancing together.
The Trinity. The dancing God.
As we experience God’s blessings in our lives and here at church.
As we have times where we a humbled after self exaltation and
lifted up after self –shame, we are now starting to see that we are
not just being guided by a distant divine being; we are included in the
personal fellowship, union, and love of God the Holy Spirit, God the
Son, and God the Father.
We were reformed in Jesus Christ. We
are always being reformed in Christ’s understanding of truth.
Let us pray…
Amen
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