Pastor: Let us all pray:
All: We pray for the church, the world & the whole creation.
Pastor: Almighty God, gracious Lord, and Holy Spirit, ever present God, who renews & reforms the church in every age.
All: Fill this church & community with compassion & truth.
Pastor: Rooted in the past and growing into the future, the church should always be reformed to live out the love of Christ in any time and age. Reform us, reunite us, redirect us and restore our faith in Your abundant grace.
All: We trust in the freedom and call given to us in baptism to be faithful servants and committed stewards. Amen
Sermon: “Truth and Freedom.”
The truth will make you free, Jesus says. And it is such a poignant reading and statement on this Sunday, Reformation Sunday, where we celebrate our history and heritage. The Reformation of the Catholic Church that freed the courageous believers of that time to create a way for other denominations, other interpretations and more freedom to be moved by the Holy Spirit, read the Bible and be free from the many Rules and Restrictions of the Catholic Church.
The truth will make you free!
So, we celebrate with gratitude the Reformation of courage and change – and we sang the old beloved Lutheran Hymns: A Mighty Fortress and O Holy Spirit, Come we pray.
But that sense of courage and change, of reformation, still calls us to embrace change and renewal as believers. The Spirit still moves us…. And moves us to also sing newer contemporary hymns. So, we sang: We are called to act with justice, and we will sing about Jesus shining on us and the world….
And at the end of the service, we will be Walking or Rather Marching in the light of God… with the rhythms of Siyahamba; a South African Christian hymn whose Zulu title means "We Are Marching," symbolizing faith, community, and hope.
So, we end the Reformation Sunday with a note to keep marching on, moving and be moved – we are not called to keep sitting idle in the pews, preserving the church like a museum, - we are called to be the church today and keep marching in the light of God.
But before we get to March out of the church, heading to the potluck table, I would like to talk about freedom.
What do you think of when you hear the word freedom? And how does it make you feel? Does the truth always set us free or is the truth sometimes too hard to know and bear?
In this country of the brave and free, we often salute the freedom to be the freedom to gather, speak, vote and worship. We just celebrated 250 years as a Nation including the freedoms – but I do not think this is the best we can be. I hope as a nation, as a country, we aspire to be more.
Never was it said to be more profound and beautiful when poet Amanda Gorman said:
Somehow,
we have weathered and witnessed.
a nation that is not broken
but simply unfinished.
And yes, we are far from polished,
far from pristine,
but that does not mean.
we are striving to form a union.
that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union.
with purpose,
to compose a country
committed to all
cultures, colors, characters,
and conditions of man.
And so, we lift our gazes
not to what stands between us,
but what stands before us.
We close the divide
because we know
to put our future first.
We must first put our differences aside.
The truth will set you free!
When do you feel free?
I feel free when I am free of expectations and wants.
When I finally dare to share a hard truth or deceit, that will set someone else free and me too.
When I let go of guilt that has withered and finally settle like dust.
When I sit at the majestic Pacific Ocean, listening to the waves, feeling the sand between my toes, letting my thoughts and worries rest for a while.
When I look at our sons and feel gratitude and pride to see that they are more than OK despite their parents.
When it comes to freedom it is so much more that simple personal relaxation at the beach – or a patriotic celebration of the country. Real freedom is so much more than that.
Our reformer Martin Luther had much to say about freedom and it is worth remembering today, not least because Luther expalined his understanding of freedom, not with independence, but with interdependence.
The deep realization that all of us are interdepending:
deeply and fundamentally related to God, to each other and to the world. Any concept of freedom that does not start there is never going to set us free.
So, for Martin Luther, freedom – Christian freedom – the freedom Jesus is talking about, - is always yoked to a preposition. In this way, freedom is not something theoretical or an abstract idea, but a force. It is the call for action, movement, and growth that strengthens relationships and strengthens society.
It is not just any prepositions, but two specific prepositions that give freedom its power.
For Luther, freedom is always freedom from and freedom for.
Freedom from and freedom for.
So, Christian’s freedom is always twofold: it is freedom from everything that would hold you back or down. And freedom for everything that sustains a life of faith, love and service. Freedom is our wings.
Freedom from and freedom for – will set us free.
Freedom from the shame and nagging guilt of your worst mistake and freedom for a deep trust that God holds you and loves you despite of it all.
Freedom from always having to work so hard to earn your right to be and give your worth, - and freedom for soaking up the mere joy of being and being good enough and loved.
Freedom from constantly measuring yourself against the lives of others, and freedom for thanking God every day for the many blessings you enjoy and not taking them for granted.
Freedom from a cautious life, lived in the shadows of past bad decisions and regrets – freedom for a bold embrace of life daring to take chances.
Freedom from always having to be right - Freedom for being able to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”
Freedom from needing to rely first and fully on yourself for everything – freedom for asking for help and offering help because we are depending on each other.
Freedom from envy. Freedom for joy
Freedom from bitterness. Freedom for forgiveness.
Freedom from the burden of perfection and Freedom for spectacular failures.
And finally, most importantly, freedom for love—and not just any love, but love that is lavish, insistent, irrational, and unbounded:
for God; for yourself.
for the guy seated next to you on the airplane and the women ahead of you in the checkout line.
for your beloved; for your children’s friends and their annoying parents (and your friends and their annoying children).
for the homeless person you pass on the sidewalk and the politician whose views you don‘t agree with.
for the person who smiles at you on the street (smile back!) and the one who does not.
Love first, ask questions later: because you can, because you are free to do so.
The Truth will make you free!
Freedom from shame, guilt, oppression, and fear and freedom for gratitude, hope, love and good deeds
We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be, a country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.
(Amanda Gorman)
Because we are called to act with justice
We are called to love tenderly.
We are called to serve one another.
To walk humbly with GOD. Amen