Reformed and Always Reforming

October 29, 2017
Romans 3:22-26 (CEB)     Matthew 22:34-40 (CEB)

It’s Reformation Sunday. 500 years ago Tuesday (Oct. 31) is when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany. Neither he nor most of the other protesters of the day initially had any intention of breaking off from the Roman Catholic Church—they just wanted to reform it somewhat. But the Church was not interested in being reformed and, well, the rest is history.

It’s been a 500-year divorce between Roman Catholics and Protestants, but there are some signs of reconciliation going on. Over the last year or so, there have been meetings and joint worship services between Catholics and Lutherans, Catholics and Anglicans.
Just this week Pope Francis met with the Moderator of the Scottish Presbyterian Church, Derek Browning. (And no, I have no idea what that hankie is all about!) Over the years, Catholics and Protestants have been coming closer together in many ways.

Will they re-unite at some point? I’d like to hope so … but I won’t be looking for it any time real soon.

 

This morning I’d like to look at what it means to be a Protestant in the Reformed tradition—a Presbyterian—today. We’ll start with our reading from Romans, as this is where the Reformers started.

All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus. (Rom 3:23 CEB)

You see, at the time of the Reformation, the Catholic Church taught that it was our actions that would determine whether we were saved. But reformers started actually reading the Bible and, particularly in reading Romans, were convinced that it’s God’s grace—God’s free gift—that saves us, not we ourselves. We are saved through faith, not through actions, and faith itself is a gift from God. Sola Fide—only faith, the Reformers said, and Sola Gratia—only grace.

This, then, is at the bedrock of what it means to be a Presbyterian. We do not need to fear eternal punishment because God has already ransomed us. Forgiven us. Chosen us. Through Jesus. That’s why the Presbyterian seal is based on a cross—the symbol of God’s love for us made incarnate in Jesus.

Our bedrock belief in God’s gift of grace through Jesus is also behind the first question we ask when someone is to be ordained—as deacon or elder or minister:

Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

Solus Christus, the Reformers said. Through Christ alone.

Note the beginning: “Do you trust in Jesus Christ.” Not “do you believe in Jesus Christ.” Believing is an intellectual exercise—we believe that certain things are true about Jesus. But trusting is about our relationship with Jesus.

We acknowledge Jesus as “Lord of all”—the boss. The one in charge. The one to whom we owe our fealty.

Our second ordination question looks at the Bible.

Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?

Sola Scriptura, they said. “Only scripture.” And what they meant was, look at scripture, not at the Church, for guidance from God. For they knew that churches can be corrupted, can make mistakes, but scripture is from God.

Presbyterians take the Bible seriously. As some say, we take it too seriously to read it literally. We believe God gave us intelligence and reason as well as faith, and we’re big on education for clergy. In fact, most Presbyterian pastors wear black academic robes as a nod to our belief in an educated clergy. The robes don’t show up in the seal, but the pulpit does! Presbyterians emphasize strong preaching, based on scripture.

We also believe that the Holy Spirit guides our reading of the Bible.
(There it is, symbolized by a dove, on our seal.) As the question reads, the Bible is “by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ” and to God’s word. By the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit. The scriptures themselves can be interpreted many different ways; we rely on the Holy Spirit to show us what we need to hear.

Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?

Officially, Presbyterians look first to the Bible and second to the confessions to articulate what we believe. Unfortunately, most Presbyterians know very little about our confessions. Some of us get most of our theology from Christian radio or from our old favorite hymns, and we may never realize that our beliefs don’t really line up with Presbyterian thinking.

This question always stuns me a bit, as we all blithely agree to be “instructed and led” by confessions we may never have heard of! (If you’re interested in learning more about our confessions, let me know.)

Will you be governed by our church’s polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?

Polity means the way the church is organized, the way it’s run. Presbyterian polity is different from just about every other church’s: We’re a connectional church (like Episcopalians and Methodists and Lutherans), but we have no bishops. Instead we have councils and committees!

Presbyterian government is concerned for balance and order; authority is divided between ministers and elders and between different governing bodies. The implied triangle in our seal reminds us not only of the Trinity but of the balance and stability of our polity—our working together as colleagues.

Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?

Our constitution says that we as Presbyterians are called “for salvation and for service.” God hasn’t called us just to be part of a happy family of righteous people; God has called us to love our neighbors and to work for the reconciliation of the world. The reconciliation of the world!

There it is in our seal—a fish representing Jesus feeding people.

We too are called to feed people—and stand up for their rights and go to court for them and call our senators about legislation that affects them. It’s not enough to be relatively good people in our own lives. We are called to follow Jesus the Christ, whose love for us and for all calls us in some radical directions.

Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church?

In other words, it’s about the church, not about you yourself. I’ve spoken over the last month or so about how “you” in the Bible is often actually a plural you—you all. Presbyterians believe that the Lord called us into covenant with each other and with God. We are part of a “we” that includes God.

American Christianity often emphasizes our personal relationship with Jesus, but for Presbyterians, that covenant relationship—that community—comes first.

As we come as a community, not on our own, to the sacraments—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Here in the seal is … a font? a chalice? Both? A representation of the importance of those sacraments in our lives as Presbyterians.

 

Will you pray for and seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?

This is my favorite ordination question. We vow to “pray for” and to “seek to serve” the people—the people in the church, the people in our families, the people throughout the world:

With Energy. Not passively, not routinely but energetically.

With Intelligence. God gave us brains, and God expects us to use them as we pray for and seek to serve.

With Imagination. How can we best serve others? How can our creativity, our openness, our dreaming lead us to more effective ways to pray for and serve the people?

With Love. Love for God and for all God’s people. Energetic love, intelligent love, imaginative love.

Because at root, we are Christians before we are Presbyterians, and so we look to what Jesus said to all Christians:

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.

 

Now, if you’ve been keeping track of the parts of the Presbyterian seal I’ve mentioned, you know there’s one left. The flames.

The burning bush, the flames of Pentecost … God’s revelations show up in lots of different ways. That’s why I love the descriptions of Presbyterians that says we are “Reformed and always reforming.” We are of the Reformed tradition, but we are not done reforming. We are always open to new ways the Holy Spirit will speak to us, new directions God will send us, new ways of loving Jesus will teach us.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is smaller than it was 50 years ago—as are all churches in the U.S. and Europe. (Christian churches in Africa and Asia? Growing like crazy.)

We don’t know what the future looks like. We don’t know if Protestant churches will unite, or just keep on splintering. We don’t know what our descendants will be looking back at 500 years from now.

What we do know is that, ultimately, the church isn’t about us. It doesn’t belong to us.

It’s about God. It belongs to God. We belong to God. And God is in charge—Lord of all.

Thanks be to God.
Amen.