Sermon for Reformation Day 2014
Sermon for Reformation Day 2014
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer,
Jerusalem
Joint German/English/Arabic Service
Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my beloved, just as you
have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my
absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who
is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
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Grace and
peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
One day last
week, I escaped from my office here at Redeemer to spend some time in prayer,
around the corner at the Holy Sepulcher (Church of the Resurrection). Even with
all the tourists and the nearly constant flurry of activity there, it still
feels like holy ground. If I can find a spot to sit out of the way of the
crowds, one of my favorite things to do there is to just watch people. Young
and old, from near and far—and though they may not have entered a church back
home for years—pilgrims are still coming to Jerusalem to touch stones, to light
candles, and to be as close as possible to events that happened more than 2,000
years ago. This is a visible sign of the enduring power of the cross of Christ
and his resurrection.
On this
particular day, however, I was doing more than praying and watching people. I
was also thinking about this sermon. Sitting just steps away from the tomb of
Christ—the site of the radical event that re-formed the whole world—I was
contemplating what I should say on this, my first Reformation Day in Jerusalem.
How do we understand “Ecclesia Semper Reformanda” (the church is always to be
reformed) in this place where changes turn holy sites into battlegrounds, where
buildings and traditions are carefully preserved, and where even ladders shall
not be moved?
Was ist das?
What does this mean? How are we to be a reforming church in this time and
place?
In the style
of Martin Luther, the Apostle Paul might reply:
We are to
fear and love God, working out our own salvation, for it is God who is at work
in us.
This is most
certainly true.
These are
the words Paul wrote to the church in Philippi: “Therefore…work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you,
enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Theologians and
preachers in the Reformation tradition have pondered these two brief verses for
nearly 500 years. Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and Bonhoeffer (among others) have
all tried to make sense of what Paul means for believers to “work out their own
salvation”, when Scripture has revealed that salvation is by grace alone,
through faith alone. As heirs of that tradition, we boldly proclaim the Good
News that it is God in Christ Jesus who declares us saved, apart from any good
works. Here we stand, we can do no other!
And Paul
says, “Now quit standing there, and go work it out.”
I doubt the
Apostle Paul meant for these verses to be so problematic for future generations
of Christians. In fact, we know he wrote these words from prison, not to start
a debate, but in order to comfort and strengthen the church in Philippi. He
wrote to them as a pastor, thanking them for their faithfulness to his
ministry, but also reviving their spirits in his absence, in a time when they
faced opposition and persecution. “Work out your own salvation” may seem at
odds with “for it is God who is at work in you”, but remember, this is the same
letter in which Paul writes “For we put no confidence in the flesh”, and then a
few verses later, “I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly
call of God in Christ Jesus.”
“Work out
your own salvation—for it is God who is at work in you.” There is much that
could be said here about the proper relationship between law and gospel,
between faith and works. In fact, Luther (who was a famously prolific writer)
probably already said most of it! But when the words of Scripture remain in the
realm of theological debate and church history, they are of little use to us
today. It’s when we let them speak to us and to our situation that they become
living words, carrying the Good News to those who desperately need to hear it.
And God
knows we need to hear some Good News today.
All around
there is so much darkness, so much pain, and so much conflict. Here in
Jerusalem, it seems every day brings news of another child killed, another home
demolished, another rock thrown, another political maneuver, another step
further away from a just and lasting peace. Across the Middle East, our fellow
Christians are persecuted, harassed, and killed. Epidemics of diseases like
ebola, but also of poverty, of extremism, and of violence, threaten God’s
children everywhere.
More than
ever, the world needs the gospel of love.
More than
ever, the world needs the light of Christ.
And more
than ever, the world needs the church to work out its own salvation through radical
peace-making, reconciliation, and forgiveness.
We need
pastors and church leaders who will speak boldly and prophetically for peace
with justice for all God’s people.
We need
congregations who will resist the pull to become merely social activity
centers, and who will instead be catalysts for transformation in their
communities.
We need young
people who will raise their voices to prophesy a better future – and institutional
structures which will allow them to speak.
This is a
lot to ask, isn’t it? Our Lutheran ears may start to tingle, afraid of slipping
into the perils of works righteousness. True, the task before us is huge, and
the darkness can seem overwhelming. But we have not been given a spirit of
fear! We do not face the enemies of the gospel as ones who are afraid. Paul’s
phrase “fear and trembling” never implies we are “weak in the knees”, but
rather that we humbly stand in awe of the precious gift of grace we have
received. For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were lost
in sin, we were given a new birth through the waters of baptism. And although
we did nothing to earn such a gift, we have been reconciled with God our
Creator, through the radical self-emptying love of Christ Jesus.
Therefore,
we, the church, will answer the Apostle Paul’s call to work out our salvation
in confidence, because we know that it is God who has been and continues to be
at work in us.
It is God
who was and is at work in this church.
It was God
at work when the Lutherans first came to Jerusalem and established hospitals
and schools.
It is God at
work when children from Gaza are able to receive medical treatment at Augusta
Victoria Hospital, funded through proceeds earned by volunteers harvesting the
Mt. of Olives’ 800 olive trees.
It is God at
work when young adults come from the United States to spend a year volunteering
at ELCJHL schools and ministries.
It is God at
work when our Lutheran schools educate Christian and Muslim children side by
side, raising a generation who knows how to work and play together.
It is God at
work when Palestinian youth have the opportunity to preserve their culture—and
express the next generation’s interpretation of it—through art, music, and
dance at Dar al Kalima University in Bethlehem.
It is God at
work when Lutherans, Presbyterians, Mennonites, UCCers, Catholics, Orthodox and
others come together to pray and sing on Reformation Day—a festival that in
many places is little more than an exclusive “Lutheran Pride Day.”
On this Reformation
Day, I give thanks for our shared Lutheran heritage, with its clear and
uncompromising message of grace. I give thanks for the many ways that the
Lutheran church in this place has worked out the gift of that salvation through
its hospitals, schools, congregations, and other ministries. I give thanks
especially for the reforming spirit which makes it possible for me, a woman, to
stand before you today as a called and ordained pastor of the church.
And it is
this reforming spirit which I hear coming to us as a living word and a
challenge for the church today. For immediately after the Apostle Paul
encourages the church to work out its own salvation in the confidence of God’s
grace, he writes this in Philippians chapter 2, verse 14:
“Do all things
without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.”
My sisters
and brothers in Christ, the world needs us to shine like stars. In this time of
darkness and conflict, the church must provide the light of hope. The world
needs the church as a whole, giving respect to our differences of theology and
practice, to nevertheless be one bold and prophetic voice for peace, justice,
and reconciliation. We do this best when drawing our strength of voice not from
perfect agreement, but from the mighty fortress of God’s word, the firm
foundation of Christ’s love, and the communion of the Holy Spirit we have
received in baptism. Nearly 500 years after Luther, this reformation of the
heart, and reclamation of our voice, is one powerful way we can work out our
salvation for the sake of our neighbors.
And now, united
as one by the Holy Spirit, and in the confidence that God is already at work in
us, we are sent from this place to work out our salvation. You, the church of
Jesus Christ, are shining stars in this dark and broken world. Let your light
shine. Amen.
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