Scripture Lesson: John 8.31-36
Reformation Sunday
Today is Reformation Sunday. It is the commemoration of a historical turning point in Christian witness and thought. The action of a German monk nailing 95 concerns he had about church witness and leadership led to a missional and theological frameworking that affirms
that salvation is by grace alone – a gift given freely by God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
that faith is a gift that comes from one God, that unites God’s people, and calls all of God’s children to a common witness to salvation, peace, reconciliation, justice and love
…challenges and invites the Christian community to see the Holy Scriptures as the faithful and main exposition to inspire and order our life of faith, and actions of witness
As one who is a minister, a regional church leader, a person passionate about power of the gospel and its witnessing by the Church, I also celebrate Reformation Sunday as an opportunity to pray for the continuing reformation of the Church. Karl Barth, the noted swiss theologian, popularized a phrase we hear often in describing the theological and missional tradition of our church: Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda – The reformed church always reforming. I pray that we as the church, and the larger church we are a part of, will continually find ways to challenge its discipleship and its witness.
It Begins with Discipleship
The Gospel of John feels like a constant narrative of Jesus teaching - Sometimes to crowds, sometimes to smaller groups over dinner, or in the temple’s courtyard (as is the case of today’s lesson), sometimes to his closest followers and friends, sometimes even one to one. This is important to notice because it teaches us that the Holy Spirit – the person of the Trinity we are endowed with to encourage our Christian life and witness – will not only remind us of what Jesus taught, but will manifest in similar ways: to crowds, to smaller groups over a meal, to congregations gathered, to the faithful followers of Jesus, and even one on one.
By chapter 8 Jesus is in the temple speaking to Jews, seeking to make connections between the promises found in the prophecies, his ministry and himself. By verse 31 Jesus is speaking to a smaller group – think of being in Manhattan with a group of singers doing their thing in a corner of Time Square: as the performance continues, folks who are hard core about whatever is going on will remain, while most folks will leave. Same thing happened to Jesus, and Jesus went deeper with them. Are we those who perceive Jesus in the sanctuary, in the in the street corner, in the lunch line, on public transit and will pay attention a bit longer than most would?
Faithfulness to that which Jesus taught and did is the mark of a disciple. Faithfulness and steadfastness to learning from Jesus and doing like Jesus will teach us about freedom. Truth will set us free!
Careful with the Stories we Believe of Ourselves
The response from the Jews to Jesus call to discipleship was curious for two reasons:
I wonder how you hear their response, but it seems rather quick… like a response that would begin something like, “wait, what? Wait a minute?”
The statement that they make is simply not true.
In a commentary of the lesson, the Mexican biblical scholar Eliseo Pérez-Álvarez argues, “could it be that these Jews were so deep in assimilation that they felt they were Roman instead of Palestinian? What kind of amnesia was this that they had forgotten the foreign military boots that burdened their motherland!” I would add, had they forgotten Scripture and liturgy? In Exodus and Deuteronomy, for different reasons, Jews are called to remember they were slaves in Egypt and that they were freed by the mighty hand of God. Had they forgotten their own history?
We need to be careful ourselves. We live in the greatest empire known to humanity. Some of us are citizens. Many of us are also members of the PCUSA, a denomination which is led by a theological tradition that has been complicit with the narrative of the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny – the theological and sociological arguments that guide the imperial pursuits of the United States. There are many throughout our church and throughout the American Reformed tradition that if invited to be disciples of Christ in order to know the truth and to be set free, they might say – we are American citizens, we are American Christians. We are the bulwarks of freedom.
As we celebrate the Protestant Reformation, we are confronted with a relatively short lesson that is packed with the significance of the first century Palestinian context, the teachings and actions of Jesus considered by many in his time as subversive (even revolutionary), and with our lens as Christians in the United States. As your brother in Christ, as a leader in this Church, but most importantly as a Christian wanting to be a faithful disciple of Jesus I am found in the need to know the truth, and to be set free – and I hope you are found in a similar place also.
We Need to be Set Free, and Freedom is a Journey
Three terms that are essential to the challenge on our lives from the lesson this morning are Truth, Sin, and Freedom. I don’t mean to show off any special knowledge of biblical Greek this morning, but I do find it important for us to understand what these terms mean in the language in which they were originally handed down to us:
ἀλήθεια – translated in English to “truth”, it means more than actual state of a matter, as in fact. Aletheia also means reality, certainty, objectivity. Siblings, truth has nothing to do with opinion. And I say this because as responsible as we all want to be, we will always show partiality because we cannot avoid it! We live in a time and a context where the communications we are receiving are full of opinion and often with little fact. The lesson this morning is compelling us to tune ourselves not simply to a source, but to the source of certainty, reality and fact - “You are truly my disciples”, says the Lord, “if you remain faithful to my teaching. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
ἁμαρτία – Curious word, the one we translate to “sin.” I believe that the English definition to the term is very unfortunate. It suggest willful and deliberate violation of a moral or religious principle. The term in Greek means to miss the mark, to fall short because an action was originated by an individual and not by God. There are many times we fall short in our life and witness to the Gospel because we trust our strength, our wisdom and our opinions. And I think there is where the arrogance of the response from Jesus’ audience lies. Yet, Jesus continues with the conversation and breaks it down for his audience in verses 34-36, “Jesus answered, ‘I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave isn’t a permanent member of the household, but a son is. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you really will be free.’”
ἐλεύθερος – Perhaps one of the most beautiful words in Scripture. It means to be freed as if someone who was a slave and is not anymore. But it also describes what that looks like – unbound, unshackled, exempt, unrestrained, no longer under obligation. Slavery is still real in the world – there are folks who need to be set free. But there are also many who need to know they can be unrestrained, unbound, no longer held under the obligations of theological interpretations, interpretations of rules, and ties of tradition. “…You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
It’s a journey. It begins with discipleship. It continues with faithful and steadfast pursuit of the teachings and actions of Jesus. It will end in freedom. Will you join this journey towards freedom? All it takes is to truly believe in Jesus, be faithful to the teachings of the Christ. The rest, the Holy Spirit will reveal, inspire and encourage in our lives now and forever more.
Amen.