Reformation Reconsidered
Reformation Sunday, today, October 27, 2024, does not mean what reformation means. It is not what reformation says. Reformation means (and says) a fixing of what is the case, a re-working of the existing order, a “re-forming” of the (same) form. Nothing wrong with that in business, economics, social structures or lifestyles. Reforming the form in so many places can be redemptive, that is to say, life-purchasing. But in theology, in the deal of talking of changing how we understand and structure not only how we talk of God but, critically and most importantly, how we live with God, reformation means a blowing up and destroying of a structure, that system of believing and acting, and replacing that infrastructure with something entirely different (that doesn’t even have a structure save that of flesh and bones in a person).
The thing destroyed in theology’s reformation is what religion (and Christian Scripture) call “the Law” – the structure of a relationship with God that is based on correct behavior and belief, an agreed upon set of stipulations that require adherence in order to maintain the relationship. Mostly, throughout history and prevalent still today, the church gets reformation wrong because it’s a correction of the infrastructure of Law rather than a destruction of and death to the Law. The church wrongly reforms by saying and believing things about Jesus that keep the Law’s reciprocal system in place. For example, Jesus fulfills the Law so we don’t need to do so. But the Law is still the deal. The Law is still the deciding factor. Or this: Jesus destroys the Law (there is a destruction, not a re-working) but replaces it with a new Law. The new Law is that of believing and behaving in accordance with Jesus instead of the old system. In both cases, fulfilling the Law or replacing the Law, the Law lives.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) engaged the big God and Life Thinkers, people like Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas. But Luther’s day job was as a Bible Professor and it paid off. As he taught Bible (most notably Psalms, Romans, Galatians, Genesis, but really the whole shootin’ match), he saw something going on that liberated his soul: God kills and makes alive (First Samuel 2:6 was a favorite) and God destroys the Law and replaces it with nothing (not even a new law of needing to believe in God) but God-Self (Romans 10:4 was also a favorite).
In Jesus Christ the Law’s game is over. There is a new Sheriff in town: Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead. Can you believe it? We are free from everything? Even God?
No, we cannot believe it. Or more correctly, we will not believe it because then we’re taken out of the religion game (benched!) and left powerless, agent-less, helpless. Who wants that? My belief and behavior matter! Right?!
Wrong, but OK, since we won’t take God at God’s word God gives us Godself in God’s Holy Spirit delivered through spoken and visible sacrament to continually set us right. We will not believe it so God even takes care of that and God believes for us.
Do we see what Reformation Sunday is? Not a salute to religious greatness in history (or today) where we get to celebrate the Law’s profundity cloaked in Jesus language. But this: the SuperBowl of Sundays where Christmas and Easter are all rolled up into one huge party celebrating the “absolution of the Absolute” (the only thing that can get rid of God is God!), the liberation for each of us from depending on our spirituality of personal self-help or our religion of corporate God assistance in order to find out who we are, where we belong, what the purpose of our life is or what will become of us in the end. All of that: identity, community, meaning and destiny simply and profoundly given to us, no questions asked.
Wow. OK! Reformation as Death and Life! A Mighty Fortress is Our God!
