Romans 3:19-28 on October 27th, 2024
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
Below is transcript pulled from the video and formatted by artificial intelligence. There may be inconsistencies or errors.
This past Monday through Wednesday, I was at a Lutheran Camping Conference Center for the South Carolina Rostered Leaders Convocation. And if that sounds like a mouthful, that's because it is. To translate that into normal language, the conference was for pastors and deacons in South Carolina to get away for a time of rest, Bible study, and fellowship. But like with most church meetings, rest consists of waking up early and then sitting in the same chair for hours on end. But it was good to see friends and colleagues.
Now for the Lutheran part, Lutheran is a camp in Western North Carolina just outside of Asheville. It was hit hard by Hurricane Helene. And I'm not lying when I say that there are over a thousand trees down on camp. And in fact, the first bill for tree removal from on top of buildings was $77,000. And while we did an excellent job during our noisy offering collection, it seems like a drop in the bucket on the way to recovery.
Over to the entrance road got washed away on an already precarious part heading toward the top of the hill. And while the main buildings weren't damaged, there are a few older buildings that are lost because of trees falling on them. Some buildings have water damage, but that is likely to be repaired in time. And there are halfway cut up trees all over the place.
We, the rostered leaders of South Carolina, were actually the first group back after the storm. There is still a boil water advisory in place for that part of North Carolina. So we were all asked to bring up a couple gallon jugs of water, a reminder that things aren't quite back to normal. And while a lot of our programming and time together felt conventional inside, any walk around camp outside revealed a different story. Everywhere you look, there were still remnants of destruction.
Camp has been reformed. And here's the thing about reformation. Sometimes you don't want it to happen. Sometimes it is just simply thrust upon you. And that's what happened to Luther Ridge and all of Western North Carolina in Tennessee. And that's what happens to us. Change happens whether we like it or not. It can be simple things like a diet or a new computer, or it can be harder things like the loss of a job or a change in our own physical ability or a surprising diagnosis. It's funny how we don't want change and yet it just keeps showing up.
Martin Luther didn't want to spark a revolution when he nailed his 95 feces to the church door in Wittenburg in 1517. He just wanted to talk about how maybe the church was getting a few things wrong. It was more tweaking than reforming. They were like 95. Are we sure this is what Jesus had in mind? Comments. The heart of Luther's theses was the idea that God's grace could not be bought or sold, no matter how fancy your indulgence paper was. Luther argued that God's love and forgiveness were gifts, free, abundant, available to everyone.
But the Catholic church at the time didn't exactly welcome that conversation. So the church kicked him out and he kicked off the revolution. That would reshape the church, spark debates, and inspire reformation and reformers across Europe. Luther did not set out to form a new church. He just wanted people to rediscover the good news. God's grace alone.
And let's be honest, Lutherans, despite our heritage, aren't always a big fan of change. Change is hard. And reform is even harder. But the God's word has something to say about that. And in each of our lessons today, we see change, reformation happening. Not because we're great at it, but because God has always up to something new.
When our reading from Jeremiah, God sees the people breaking the old covenant over and over and over. But instead of giving up, God does something radical. God promises a new covenant, not carved on stone tablets, but written right on our hearts. And it's not about tossing out the old. It's about going deeper, about transforming us from within. God doesn't give up on us even when we fail. God offers a fresh start, a relationship that grows and evolves. It's a reminder that reform doesn't come from external rules, but from God's grace working on us from the inside out.
Paul's letter to the Romans flips everything upside down. We are not saved by following the letter of the law. Instead God justifies us by grace. It's not about earning our way to God. It's not about the law defining righteousness. It is about God showing love and that there's nothing that we can do to make it more true. We aren't meant to hold on to old life draining ways of living. And instead we are to embrace the grace that God gives us. God reforms us and the world through that gift of grace.
And finally Jesus' words in John offer us freedom. Freedom not from physical bondage, but from the chains of sin and self-righteousness. He tells the crowd that true freedom comes not from lineage or outward status, but from continuing in his word. The sun has set us free. So we are no longer defined by sin, but by grace, by true freedom, by that gift of Jesus. This freedom continually reforms us. It's a new way of living, learning, and growing constantly being renewed and set free by Christ.
It's almost like the text were picked especially for today. Not only are they clear on what God is doing, a new covenant written on our hearts, grace as a fundamental gift. Christ has made us free indeed. But they also let us know that this isn't a once and done thing. Reformation is a continuous opportunity and a gift. We don't always want to be reformed, but the truth is we need to change if we're going to grow as individuals and as a church. Change to be more faithful to disciples. Change to enhance worship. Change to welcome more people into this community. Change to better serve the world.
And while us needing to do something doesn't sound like gospel good news, God doesn't leave us alone in our need. God gives us gifts for reformation. Practically we already have a community of people with skills and gifts to move us forward. We have talented musicians and assistants in worship. We have dedicated leaders looking to the future. We have people passionate about this community ensuring that we keep pointing to Jesus Christ and Him crucified and risen.
Tangibly we have bread, wine, water, signs of God's love and grace. Sacraments that remind us that we are fed and forgiven, that we are nourished and sent, that we are made whole and holy. God gives us all those good things in communion and baptism, gifts that grace us with goodness and love.
And theologically we have God's promise in Jesus Christ to give us those things that we don't deserve. Salvation, freedom, covenant, all because God loves us that much.
I mentioned at the outset that camp has been reformed with all these trees that have come down. The place looks different. But also it has been reformed with new unhindered views from the top of the hill. Views that help you see the sunrise, the mountain tops and the distance and the breadth of God's creation. And while it's different and these changes aren't ones that we probably would have chosen, there is a powerful beauty in being reformed.
And that is the glory and the grace of God. God is continually at work reforming us. We are always being made new. And through God's grace we are invited to live for others, embracing that gift of freedom and Christ and stepping boldly into whatever changes and reforms come our way. All because we are strongly always rooted in God's unchanging grace. Amen.