Martin Luther was a troubled man. He could not find peace anywhere in his life until he began to translate the Bible from the Latin language into the German language. He was a scholar, a professor at the university and a Pastor. In translating, he came to Romans 3:23, our second lesson, where the Bible says, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." When Martin made this discovery it was as if a light went off for him, mind, body, and soul. This singular idea, that we are "justified", or made right, with God by grace through our faith would be a rally cry for the Lutheran church forever.
He insisted on the "reform" of the church, which happened over time, and thus he is called a "Reformer" and every last Sunday in October our ELCA has "Reformation Sunday!" The lessons we will hear today are the same ones every year: Jeremiah reminds us of God's covenant (promise) to always be our God. The Psalmist is Ps. 46:10 where the "peace" verse appears in verse 10 "Be still and know that I am God!" In these days of stress and anxiety and chaos, hold these close to find your own peace. Our peace is not in the world, it is in Christ Jesus.
The Gospel is John 8 where we once again hear John "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Friends, when we put these all together: the covenant of God, the offer to "be still" in that covenant, and to know that we all sin, we can turn to Christ and be reminded that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free."
Thanks be to God! A Blessed Reformation Day to all,
Pastor Doug
Don't forget to also download Jim's Temple Talk!
