One of my favorite questions to ask is “Why do we do what we do?” That might feel like a tongue twister, yet it gets at a question of purpose. It helps us surface assumptions, question the way things are, and hopefully keeps us from giving into the church’s temptation  of saying, “Well, that’s the way we have always done it.”

Reformation Sunday needs little introduction for Lutherans and mainline Protestants. The challenge, perhaps, in preaching, teaching, and leading is finding something unique to say. When pondering this from a stewardship perspective, perhaps this year we are being invited to put things in right order and proper perspective. Doing so means asking, “Why do we do what we do?” and then taking it a step further by wondering what God might be calling us to do now in light of that understanding. 

We hear directly from Jesus in the Gospel of John, as he tells those early disciples and followers of the Way, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32). The concept of freedom is important. In the sociopolitical and economic world of the Gospels, one’s sense of freedom was directly tied to their status–grounded in gender, geographic origin, connection to political and religious elites, and wealth. A couple thousand years later, it is debatable how much, if anything, has changed. Keeping this in mind makes Jesus’ words all the more important. Through Christ, there is another way. Through the truth of the Good News of God’s grace, love, and promise, there is freedom for one and for all.
 
This gift of freedom is grace, and as a gift, it is truly just that: a gift. It’s not something that can be earned or deserved. We hear language that might sound familiar from the order of confession and forgiveness in the liturgy in the gospel story this week too. Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). We are enslaved to sin and cannot free ourselves. No matter our best efforts, we will come up short time and time again. We know this. It’s our human nature. But the good news is that sin doesn’t have the last word. For Jesus says, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (8:36).
 
Jesus makes us free. Full stop. End of debate. That might sound overly simplistic, especially to those of us whose ears and hearts are attuned to the law and a human conception of fairness and justice, rather than God’s conception. This is imperative to name on Reformation Sunday and, really, any day. Because this is all about putting things in right order and proper perspective.
 
Without this perspective, we might think that we have to work to earn our way with God. We might be tempted to think that some are deserving and others are not. We might think that there is only so little to go around, and not enough for everyone. Such thinking is grounded in the lies and sins of scarcity. But Jesus, who makes us free, offers us something different. Through Christ, there is life, salvation, and abundance. All of this and more, God in Christ provides for one and for all as part of God’s kin-dom and abiding, abundant love.

On the one hand, it is worth noting that the understanding of God’s love and grace that Martin Luther emphasized during the Reformation has become obscured in parts of the church over the centuries. On the other hand, this serves as a poignant reminder of what can happen when power is corrupted and how the marginalized, the downtrodden, and all those who are denied freedom pay the price. We remember Reformation Sunday not because any church denomination or Reformer is perfect, they are not, but because we believe in a living God who continues to reveal new insights, challenge our assumptions, and call us into deeper understanding. We trust that God is still at work in, with, for, and through one another. 

The Apostle Paul brings us home in his letter to the Romans. He names the reality that Martin Luther would highlight centuries later: we are both simultaneously saint and sinner. Paul declares, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). It’s God’s work to justify and save. It is a gift to receive this grace that we could never deserve. We cannot earn our way, despite what the ways of the world might suggest. Paul concludes, “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law” (3:28). Every year, Reformation Sunday offers us an opportunity to be reminded of this Good News. For as Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Part of the work of stewardship is to take stock of what God has entrusted to us, and to ensure that things are put in right order and held in proper perspective. Are the things that truly matter being lifted up as important, or have other things seemingly become a priority? How are we doing as God’s people, living as children of God who are freed in Christ and, at the same time, bound in Christ to our neighbors as the Body of Christ today?

When we wonder why we do what we do, we might ask ourselves whether our actions are the result of living as changed Children of God, made free through God’s gift of grace. If not, perhaps we need to reorient our understanding and embodiment of our stewardship of all that God provides. Today might be a great opportunity to ask such a question. If what we do flows from this understanding, then oh, what wonderful stories we might share of God’s love being made real! What witness we might offer to the world! And what new life and breath God might bring, breathing new life into the church and the world, so desperately in need of God’s love, grace, presence, and promise.


In Worship
Rarely is it said that Lutheran Christians sing loudly and make head-banging music. Yet, some may say that Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress,” is a true “Lutheran head-banger.”

Even so, if you are looking for music that truly underscores the question “why we do what we do,” then consider Jonathan Rundman’s “By Grave We Have Been Saved.” Singing it at a fast tempo may create a meaningful, head-banging worship moment. Particularly as the people of God sing the chorus, “By grace we have been saved- saved by grace through faith, not because of what we do; it is the gift of God.”<sup>*

*Jonathan Rundman and Nathan Hogue, “By Grace We Have Been Saved,” as found in All Creation Sings, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2020), 1006.</sup> 



With Youth
If you are looking for an opportunity to remember or reimagine the story of the Reformation, consider playing with the idea of a church door and inviting youth to lead by posting questions on it. These could be written on post it-notes, tacked up, or even nailed to the door, depending on what is useful and appropriate in your space.

Rather than trying to come up with 95 new theses, invite youth in worship and Sunday School to write down questions that they have about why we do what we do as God’s people. These might be questions for God or Jesus, or questions about the church or your congregation. Chances are, if one person is wondering about something, they are not the only one.

Invite youth to start the process and, depending on how it unfolds, invite the whole congregation to join in. You might not get 95 questions, or you might get many more! Either way, what a gift to give people the space to ask questions about faith. Those questions might open up new opportunities for learning, teaching, preaching, and serving as God’s people in your context.  



With Children
Perhaps this week might be an opportunity to teach the story of Reformation briefly during the Children’s Sermon. 

There’s a wonderful pop-up book that I love by Agostino Traini called, The Life of Martin Luther.* In a few pages, with great color and many pop-ups, the book highlights some of the key events of the Reformation. Simply read the story and close with prayer, or, if time allows, read the story, ask a question, and then close with prayer.

This might be an accessible way to briefly teach children and remind the congregation as a whole about the history of the Reformation while inviting a new sense of learning, wondering, listening, and creativity into the mix. 

^{*Agostino Traini, The Life of Martin Luther, (Minneapolis, MN: Spark House, 2017).}


Previously published reflections for Reformation Sunday, Year A or Proper 25, Year A:
2020 – Justified by grace; freed to love
2017 – Reformation 500 Mash-up
2014 – The Days are Surely Coming
2011 – The Truth About Freedom