Reformation Sunday 2009

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I’m doing something unusual with this sermon, for in my 17 years as pastor at Zion, it has been very, very rare for me to preach on Sunday from a manuscript. Furthermore, just about everything I’m going to say is not my words, but the words of another pastor, Frank Senn, whose name many of you will recognize as the Senior of the Society of the Holy Trinity. This is a sermon that he has offered to be preached in many churches throughout the ELCA for this particular Reformation Sunday, one that is being preached in one form or another by a few dozen pastors across our church who are in the process of uniting to proclaim a clear word within the church we have been called to serve. So, here goes.

Ecclesia semper reformanda. "The church must always be reformed."

Martin Luther didn’t invent it; it was a medieval slogan. In fact, as the Luther biographer Heiko Oberman, reformation was "a medieval event." It grew out of the experience of the monasteries, which were always growing lax with regard to the observance of their Rule, and which required calls for reform and renewal. Sometimes this led to splits in monastic communities: for example, the Cistercians split off from the main body of the Benedictines. Martin Luther belonged to the "observant" branch of the Augustinian Order rather than the "conventual" branch. By the way, Luther was not, strictly speaking, a monk; he was a friar. Monks are cloistered religious; the friars were out and about on the streets and highways. Anyway, calls for reform were not new by the 16th century; and schism had been experienced—not only in religious communities, but in the papacy itself. The Protestant-Catholic schism was not the first schism in church history; but it was a pretty major one.

"The church must always be reformed." Once Luther’s reform movement settled into being a church established by law in the cities, territories, and nations of central and northern Europe, it too needed reform. The first major reform movement within Lutheranism was Pietism in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, which set out to "convert the outward orthodox profession into a living theology of the heart." Later in the 19th century, after the period of rationalism during the Age of Enlightenment, there was a confessional revival movement that sought to recover the confessional identity of Lutheranism.

Our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America came into existence in the 1980s on a wave of ideologically-based culture wars. The idea was to transcend the differences between the merging church bodies by creating a "new" Lutheran Church which cut continuity with preceding traditions. Sometimes in silly ways. For example, when I receive a notice from the ELCA I am addressed as "rostered leader," not "pastor." If you’re trying to be relevant to the contemporary world, who in the world knows what a "rostered leader" is? But there have been more serious issues raising the concern among many about whether "this Church" takes seriously the Scriptures, creeds, and confessions.

Not surprisingly, almost from the very beginning of the ELCA there has been agitation for reform. In the early 1990s, when I was still in seminary, there were two "Call to Faithfulness" conferences sponsored by three independent Lutheran journals and held at St. Olaf College. They attracted nearly a thousand participants who paid their own way, people whom at the second conference then-Presiding Bishop Chilstrom insinuated didn’t love the Church. In the year 1995 a document called The 9.5 Theses came out, claiming a "crisis of faith" in the Church. More than 700 pastors and some 300 lay people subscribed to them. The leaders of this effort appealed to then-Presiding Bishop Anderson to at least have the Theses discussed within the Conference of Bishops, but he refused to put it on the agenda, saying that he would be proposing his own faith formation initiatives. No one seems to remember what those were.

Out of this intransigence, the Society of the Holy Trinity was born in 1997 as an inter-Lutheran ministerium that seeks to renew the ordained ministry, a Society I joined shortly after its formation and which after our latest General Retreat last month now numbers over 260 pastors in 8-9 different Lutheran church bodies in North America. In the wake of the most recent ELCA Churchwide Assembly, a coalition of reform groups numbering 1200 people came together in Indianapolis a few weeks ago (again, at their own expense) to propose forming a free standing synod that will include pastors and congregations that are in the ELCA and those that are not in ELCA. I think there is promise in this proposal, if groups that have quite different, sometimes diametrically opposite, views on the nature of the church and ministry, can transcend those differences and organize an annual convocation in which pastors and congregations come together to do what the church needs to do: worship, study the Bible, discuss mission strategies and congregational life, and move beyond the culture wars that have dominated ELCA assemblies for twenty-one years.

Back in the 1530s there were lots of ideas about reforming the Church. Since early in the Reformation, Luther had been calling for a free synod under the presidency of the Emperor, rather than the Pope, to deal with the differences in theology and proposals for reform. He called for such a synod one last time in a 1539 treatise called On the Councils and the Church. People were confused about where the true church was found. He said, "not in Rome; not even in Wittenberg," but where the word of God is preached and the sacraments of Christ are administered. In other words, not in the churchwide structure, and not even in the local judicatory, even if that local judicatory is more to your liking. He expanded this to discuss Seven Marks of the Church, which Society of the Holy Trinity has spent the last three years studying.

Here in these Seven Marks is the basis of church reform and renewal, based not on human effort, but on the divine means of grace. In a time of crisis when reform is needed, you go back to the basics. Here are the basics, said Luther, but in their catholic fullness. It’s not just, as one reform movement has coined, "word alone."

In this treatise, Luther wrote:

The Children’s Creed [that is, the Apostles’ Creed] teaches us… that a Christian holy people is to be and to remain on earth until the end of the world. This is an article of faith that cannot be terminated until that which it believes comes, as Christ promises, "I am with you always, to the close of the age" [Matt. 28:20]. But how will or how can a poor confused person tell where such Christian holy people are to be found in this world?

And thus Luther introduces these Seven Marks of the Church, which some of you may find familiar from a Lenten series Pastor Lund and I taught a few years ago. The Marks are:

1. "The Holy Word of God"

Luther writes:

First, the holy Christian people are recognized by their possession of the holy word of God....

[W]e are speaking of the external word, preached orally by men like you and me, for this is what Christ left behind as an external sign, by which his church, or his Christian people in the world, should be recognized....

Now, wherever you hear or see this word preached, believed, professed, and lived, do not doubt that the true ecclesia sancta catholica, "a Christian holy people" must be there, even though their number is very small. For God’s word "shall not return empty," Isaiah 55 [:11)

God’s strong word is creative and accomplishes what it sets out to do. The word which the hymn writer Martin Franzmann wrote cleaved the darkness and created light can create and sustain the church.

2. "The Holy Sacrament of Baptism"

Luther writes:

Second, God’s people or the Christian holy people are recognized by the holy sacrament of baptism, wherever it is taught, believed, and administered according to Christ’s ordinance. That too is a public sign and a precious, holy possession by which God’s people are sanctified. It is the holy bath of regeneration through the Holy Spirit [Titus 3:5], in which we bathe and with which we are washed of sin and death by the Holy Spirit, as in the innocent holy blood of the Lamb of God.

God claims us as his own people in Holy Baptism and places his Name on us. In times of difficulty we affirm with St. Patrick, "I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity."

3. "The Sacrament of the Altar"

Luther writes:

Third, God’s people, or Christian holy people, are recognized by the holy sacrament of the altar, wherever it is rightly administered, believed, and received, according to Christ’s institution. This too is a public sign and a precious, holy possession left behind by Christ by which his people are sanctified so that they also exercise themselves in faith and openly confess that they are Christian, just as they do with the word and with baptism.

The Eucharist has served as the glue that binds together in one fellowship the body of Christ on earth. We are bound together not by our organizations, but by the body and blood of Christ.

4. "The Office of the Keys publicly exercised"

Luther writes:

Fourth, God’s people or holy Christians are recognized by the office of the keys exercised publicly. That is, as Christ decrees in Matthew 18 [:15-20], if a Christian sins, he should be reproved; and if he does not mend his ways, he should be bound in his sin and cast out. If he does mend his ways, he should be absolved. That is the office of the keys. Now the use of the keys is twofold, public and private.... Now where you see sins forgiven or reproved in some persons, be it publicly or privately, you may know that God’s people are there.

A real church, as St. Matthew’s Gospel taught, has to deal with real forgiveness of real sins.

5. The Office of the Holy Ministry

Luther writes:

Fifth, the church is recognized externally by the fact that it consecrates or calls ministers, or has offices that it is to administer. There must be bishops, pastors, or preachers, who publicly and privately give, administer, and use the aforementioned four things or holy possessions in behalf of and in the name of the church, or rather by reason of their institution by Christ, as St. Paul states in Ephesians 4 [:8], "He received gifts among men…"

A public church has a public ministry which publicly preaches God’s Word and publicly administers the sacraments of Christ. In other words, the public ministry does God’s work, not just the work of human institutions.

6. "Prayer, public praise, and thanksgiving to God"

Luther writes:

Sixth, the holy Christian people are externally recognized by prayer, public praise, and thanksgiving to God. Where you see and hear the Lord’s Prayer prayed and taught; or psalms or other spiritual songs sung, in accordance with the word of God and the true faith; also the creed, the Ten Commandments, and the catechism used in public, you may rest assured that a holy Christian people of God are present. For prayer, too, is one of the precious holy possessions whereby everything is sanctified, as St. Paul says [1 Tim. 4:5].

The church is visible in public assemblies for worship and in its public catechizing of the people.

7. "The holy possession of the sacred cross"

Luther writes:

Seventh, the holy Christian people are externally recognized by the holy possession of the sacred cross. They must endure every misfortune and persecution, all kinds of trials and evil from the devil, the world, and the flesh (as the Lord’s Prayer indicates) by inward sadness, timidity, fear, outward poverty, contempt, illness, and weakness, in order to become like their head, Christ. And the only reason they must suffer is that they steadfastly adhere to Christ and God’s word, enduring this for the sake of Christ, Matthew 5 [:11], "Blessed are you when men persecute you on my account."

The true church will experience trials and tribulations and persecution for the faith.

Finally, Luther writes as a conclusion:

Now we know for certain what, where, and who the holy Christian Church is, that is, the holy Christian people of God; and we are quite certain that it cannot fail us.

The Seven Marks are signs of the true visible Church. Where you see and experience these marks, you see and experience a real church. But these marks also serve as a basis for reform and renewal, whether we’re talking about the 16th century, the 21st century, or any other period of the church’s history.

Ecclesia semper reformanda. "The church must always be reformed." It’s been a church slogan for nearly 1000 years.

Renew the preaching of the Word, the practice of Baptism, Holy Communion, and Penance, the holy Ministry, and public prayer and worship, and experience the cross of Christ in our common life — and the church will be reformed.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

N.B. The quotes from On the Councils and the Church are as they are found in Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings, 1st edition (1989), edited by Timothy F. Lull, pp. 545-564.

What I Didn't Get to Say at Fishers

During the open discussion time last Friday evening at the Lutheran CORE Convocation in Fishers, Indiana, I stood in line to speak. But because of time restrictions (and having yielded to another at my mic to ask a follow-up question), I was unable to do so (though I did get to express part of my second point the next morrning). My intent was to say something like this:

I'm Steven Tibbetts, Pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peoria, Illinois.

I stand before you to say to you all the same thing I told my congregation from the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, and the same thing I said last Tuesday evening before the pastors and lay leaders of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod during our annual conference:

By the actions of the Churchwide Assembly, I lost my church.

Nevertheless, I am not leaving. As I've been saying, with a smile, for several years, "I'm threatening to stay." I have been called to serve in my congregation and in my Synod, and I intend to continue participating as fully as I can for as long as I can. I don't know that I can do this all the way to my retirement, but the Churchwide Assembly committed the ELCA to respecting the bound conscience of those of us who believe the church needs to repent of its errors, and that can't happen if we all leave.

Not everyone here can make that sort of commitment, and I understand that. But some of us here who have been with Lutheran CORE from its very beginning four years ago have made that commitment. And you need to remember that. We can do no other.

Second, many of you are having difficulty with the idea of a "free-standing synod." I've been writing about it some since the Churchwide Assembly on my Pastor Zip's Blog, and I hope some of you will take the opportunity to check it out tonight if you can. But whether you do or not, I encourage you to focus not on the word "synod" -- a good churchly word that has been hijacked by the ELCA for other purposes -- but on the word "free."

Those of you who know about the Free Lutheran heritage might then begin to see how those of us united as we are in matters of faith and doctrine can do so inside or outside the ELCA, and can continue to work on a common mission free from the encumbrances of the ELCA when they get in the way, while still being able to take advantages of the good things that continue to happen through the ELCA.

And some of you may be able to think of the Free Synods in the Churches of Sweden and Norway, who for some 25-30 years were able to remain in the State Churches, sometimes even to participate fully in assemblies and be elected to diocesan offices, while holding firm to orthodox Christian faith as the Churches increasingly persecuted it, using the gatherings of the Free Synod for mutual support and encouragement.

No, it will not be easy, and in Sweden and Norway the Free Synods ultimately could not continue. But they enabled faithful proclamation in the church for another generation or two even as church leadership controlled by atheistic governments fell into apostasy. I think we have a better chance than they did.

Finally, to those of you asking tonight, "When are we going to do something?" we are indeed doing something right now. We have tonight, and we will tomorrow, speak the truth to the leaders of the ELCA and to those in our society who care to listen that the Churchwide Assembly has led the ELCA astray and we will not just sit there and let that continue. We will go home to speak the truth in our congregations and synods, to encourage congregations and synods to express consciences bound by the Word of God and the Creeds and Confessions of the church to do what we're doing right now -- rejecting the teachings of the Churchwide Assembly.

One key factor enabling the various parts of Lutheran CORE to work together these last 4 years is that we were all in the ELCA. I do not think it is too much to ask that we spend the next year figuring out how to continue to work together -- that is not waiting -- now that we no longer can hold that in common.

A Free Synod?

Lots of questions about this from Bishop Spring's latest letter about the Lutheran CORE Convocation:

A free-standing synod, carrying out synodical ministries, apart from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Here is how I understand it, as I posted on ALPB Forum Online. Note, this is not definitive, but it is what I understand and will advocate at the Convocation.

Our problem as 21st century American Lutherans is that we hear the word "synod" and immediately think "denomination" or, worse, a sub-division of a denomination or "judicatory."

A "synod" is a gathering of pastors and congregations. That's it. A gathering of pastors and congregations for a particular purpose. "Synod Assembly" is like "The La Brea Tar Pits" (forgive the Southern California reference; it's a major historical site in Los Angeles: "la brea" is Spanish for "the tar pits").

If we wanted to be really precise about it, we could call the Convocation itself a "free synod," that is, a gathering that is open to anyone interested in the purpose of the gathering. It is "free" because it is not associated with, in this case any official gathering of the church.

So, a Free Synod of ELCA pastors and congregations is a gathering of ELCAers separate from the formal structures of the ELCA for a particular purpose -- in this case to provide support for those pastors and congregations in the ELCA who are conscience bound, by Scripture and Confession, to reject the errors of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly and the ELCA's leadership.

That "support" happens primarily at the Free Synod, that is the gathering (something we seem to be forgetting of our ELCA synods), but since it must be on-going support (until the ELCA repents of its error) the Free Synod will likely have some sort of continuing existence to co-ordinate relationships with various ministries and missions, to provide common suggestions for alternatives to the anti-Gospel portions of the ELCA (such as curricula that will portray gay "families" or a pastor's "partner" as just another option, or liturgical/prayer resources that neuter the Lord God or emasculate the risen Christ, etc.).

A Free Synod within the ELCA enables those of us who reject the CWA's actions to stay together in mission to live out the mission that brought us together in the first place, the mission expressed in the Constitution of the ELCA, its synods, and congregations. (See my "Why Stay?," originally posted on this online forum, for why we want to do that.) A Free Synod of faithful ELCA folks would call upon the ELCA to return to its stated purpose. The CWA's actions specifically provide for our voice to be there, and we should challenge the ELCA's leaders to be true to their word is every way we can, and that challenge includes participating as fully as possible in official ELCA, synod, conference, etc. activities. (So, yes, it challenges us, too.)