Sermon for 22nd Pentecost
Grace Alone, Jesus Alone
By The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer -
Next Sunday, October 31, is Reformation Sunday in many Christian churches. We Lutherans celebrate this Sunday because it marks the day, October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 “theses,” Luther’s 95 critiques of the Roman Catholic Church, when Luther nailed these to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany and, unknown to him on that day, began the Protestant Reformation across Germany and all of Europe.
Since we will be having a special celebration of my ordination anniversary next Sunday, I think that this is a good weekend to share again our basic beliefs as Lutherans and also clearly state where Mt. Olive Lutheran Church stands about some important issues before Christian churches in 2021. It seems to me especially important since we have been apart from in-person worship for so many months.
Central to our Lutheran faith is Martin Luther’s most important teaching, that we are justified, that is saved, by God’s grace, by God’s love for us alone. And, thus, that we are not saved by anything we do or have done, good or bad. All we need to do is accept God’s love for us.
We do not earn our salvation. It is a free gift from God given to us through Jesus Christ.
If there is one basic tenet of our Lutheran faith that is most important, it is this one. And, in my experience, it is the one tenet of our Lutheran faith that so many fail to really believe. In all the congregations I have served I have spoken with too many who hold the view that they must earn their salvation, that God is watching them, and noting their good and bad behaviors.
God is not watching you, checking on your behavior. God is not a heavenly Santa Claus, checking to see if we have been naughty or nice.
There are some other Christian churches who teach a different view, of course, but that is not the Lutheran view. You do not have to worry about your salvation. It has been assured once and for all times in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Here are the other great truths of Martin Luther that remain core beliefs for Lutherans:
- We believe in the priesthood of all believers which means that everyone is equal before God.
- We believe that the Bible and its teachings are the root and grounding for our lives as Christians.
- We believe that each person is both a saint and a sinner, sometimes at the same time, and still loved and saved by God.
- And we believe that we are to live both in this world but remain not of this world.
Those are wonderful core beliefs that we Lutherans acknowledge and celebrate to this day. But, truth to tell, none of them alone is unique to the Lutheran Church. Many other faiths, even most other faiths, incorporate all or some of them as basic to their Christian beliefs also.
I well remember a question addressed in the question and answer column of The Lutheran magazine many years ago. The questioner asked, “Is the Lutheran Church the one true church?” The magazine responded, “Yes, as are the other Christian churches.”
When I speak with visitors and new members, I often speak about the differences among Christian groups, differences such as
- Infant or believer baptism – Lutherans baptize from infancy while other Christians wait until children are a little older;
- The number and nature of sacraments – Lutherans have two, baptism and holy communion, while Roman Catholics have seven; and
- The differing views of Holy Communion – grape juice or wine, how communion is shared – at the altar or passed in the pews, how we view the bread and wine during communion, whether it actually becomes the body and blood of Christ, as Roman Catholics believe, or remains bread and wine around which Jesus is truly present, as we Lutherans believe.
To these, I often add some of the important differences that our church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has from some other Christian denominations – we ordain women, for example, and have married priests/pastors, both obvious differences between our church and the Roman Catholic Church and, in terms of women pastors, between our church and the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod which does not ordain women.
And similar to the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church and the Episcopal Church we also ordain people of all sexual orientations.
Our congregation is very clear about our wide welcome on our website where we say, speaking of “Who We Are,” “We are people like you, young, old, single, married, divorced, widowed, poor, working-class, middle-class, well off. We are preschoolers, elementary schoolers, middle schoolers, high school graduates, college graduates, Ph.D.’s, GED’s. We are of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. We are committed to racial equality. We are Black, white, Latino, Asian, Arab, Native American, and more. We are people like you.”
In other words, everyone is welcome at Mt. Olive.
And central to our faith is that it really does not matter if a congregation practices infant or adult baptism or believes the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ during communion as Roman Catholics believe or that Christ is truly present in the bread and the wine as we Lutherans believe. It really does not matter whether one worships with a set order of service, as we Lutherans do, or in silence like the Quakers or very loudly like many Pentecostals. It does not matter if worship music is hymns from the 16th, 18th, or 20th century or yesterday’s rap or hip-hop music.
What is central to the Christian Church, and all that is central, is Jesus Christ. What is central is Jesus Christ.
One very important difference between our church and some other churches is our emphasis on the theology of the cross. Jesus willingly goes to a horrible death to save humankind. His life on earth is not triumphant. He does not wipe out his enemies or, as his followers had hoped, bring God’s kingdom to earth during his life.
All does not go well for Jesus. He is arrested, mocked, imprisoned, and tortured. Then Jesus dies. Not only does Jesus die, his death is by cruel execution, carried out by the Roman Empire.
This Jesus, our Jesus, is not about triumph or glory in any earthly sense. He is about forgiveness and love.
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, his promise of justification, love, for us for all time does not mean that our lives will be simple or easy or without tragedy. Let me repeat that important point – Jesus’ promise of love for us for all time does not mean that our lives will be easy. If you do not believe this, just think of your own family and friends and your fellow members here at Mt. Olive. You know the sadness and sorrow that many carry every day.
Instead, Jesus’ promise is simple – Jesus promises that he will love us and forgive us. Jesus promises that he will love us and be with us for all times. Jesus will be with us through any and all the difficulties of this life, when things go our way and when they do not, in good times and bad times, even when our own lives and those we love are cut short by accident or disease. Through all of life, good and bad, Jesus promises to be with us, always with us.
There is no earthly glory here – for us in this life or even for Jesus. Instead, Jesus brings two promises: His continued love for us in this world, no matter what we may face in this life, and the promise of life eternal with him.
And, when you think about it, that is enough – the promise of God’s presence with us, from now until the end of time. No matter what this life may throw at us.
A wonderful promise from Jesus for us, one we can celebrate every day – God’s love for us today and all days and in whatever is to come!
Amen
The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer
Senior Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Sermon for:
October 24, 2021
