How do we grow ‘fearless’ in generosity and in service? We practice. We grow in trust and courage by practicing our faith – by being generous with our time and ability and resources – by stretching and extending ourselves to be about Godly things – as we recognize God’s grace and presence, both in the world and growing within us too.
Luke 4:16-21
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
I know it’s tough this week to focus too far beyond baseball – keeping hope alive – lots of excitement and emotional energy spent – so as we recharge this morning, I invite you to look back and to look forward as we think about Martin Luther and the start of the Reformation – and more importantly as we look at the legacy we have as those who continue to serve and be renewed in this faith we have been given.
Today, on this Reformation Sunday, as we recognize the 499th anniversary of those 95 theses being nailed to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany – we remember Martin Luther. It is difficult to quantify the impact that Luther’s actions have had on these past 499 years – he certainly would have never imagined it – in fact, a few years ago, Martin Luther came in at number 3 in the top 100 most influential people of the millennium.
And we are the ones who carry his legacy forward today. But what does this mean? A very Lutheran question to ask, by the way.
In order to think about what it means to live into this legacy – we must consider what was at the heart of the reform that Luther sought. At its core, Luther was upset with the idea of indulgences – simply said – indulgences were certificates that were sold by the church to people in order for them to obtain forgiveness.
One of the marketing approaches in Luther’s day was to sell indulgences to families so that their loved ones who had already died could have their sins forgiven and thereby be released from purgatory into heaven.
This really incensed Luther. He could not abide by the concept that God’s forgiveness could be bought or sold. There were other issues and practices that Luther struggled with in the church, but this is the one that really put him over the edge.
It can be easy to forget that Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic priest and professor of theology. He was a part of the Catholic Church.
It might also be tempting to say that, at the start, Luther was simply inviting some kind of pedestrian, theological and academic debate. But the reality is, from the start he is pretty confrontational and his rhetoric can border on inflammatory at times. So yes, he was seeking debate, but there was nothing pedestrian about it.
Truthfully, I don’t believe Luther was seeking a split in the church – nor could he have really known how much of a nerve he would hit with his writing – but the impact on the church and really the world is undeniable.
And as I think about it, for Martin Luther, reform was really less about change and more about reclaiming what had been lost. And what was lost, was actually still there, it was just buried underneath layers of stuff that had accumulated – layers that obscured the practice of faith and the relationship with God that Luther sought for himself and for the church.
Luther wanting so much to reclaim the presence and power of God for the people. To reclaim the mission that Jesus brought into the world – to his disciples and followers – to the community of the church that Jesus commissioned to share the grace and mercy of God with all the generations to come.
As we think about what it means to be fearless in our generosity and fearless in our faith and service – I would call out two characteristics that Martin Luther exhibited – those are trust and courage. Luther could not have done what he did without trusting in someone beyond himself – his trust in God enabled him to act with the courage of his convictions that God’s grace and power were not for sale – but were active in the world and present in the lives of God’s people.
With the advent of the printing press, it wasn’t long before Luther’s radical ideas about God’s grace and salvation had spread far and wide and soon others, particularly powerful people began to raise their own grievances with the church hierarchy – Luther’s desire for a theological debate soon became very political – princes siding against him and for him – society in an upheaval as a result of those 95 ideas – or at least those ideas opening up a floodgate that swept away everyone and everything in its path.
Chuck Infelt was my internship supervisor and the pastor at Holy Family Lutheran Church in Chicago, right in the heart of what was formerly the Cabrini-Green Housing Project. Chuck is now retired and the last I heard was the mayor of Waverly IA. But he was always what I thought of as a wheeler-dealer in the best possible sense. The needs of the community he served were immense and sometime early in his career, he decided to focus in on children and education.
In doing so, he and Holy Family Lutheran began a K-8 school. It was pretty well established by the time I got there, but even still the financial situation was seemingly always day to day and month to month.
I can remember sitting with Chuck in his office one night – and him telling me that until that evening he wasn’t sure how the school would make payroll that month. In fact, he was beginning to put some contingency plans in place – but that afternoon he opened his mail and right there was a contribution to the school that would allow it to get through the next couple of months.
The problem wasn’t solved – but in that moment Chuck recognized the power and presence of God and the affirmation of all of the hard work that was being done by so many, in order to provide a good education and a safe place for the students of the community.
Chuck told me that it actually wasn’t the first time this had happened – that over the years he had learned to trust and to be courageous in doing the work – that when you are about Godly things that God will make a way.
I’ve never forgotten those words. And for me, for us – they are at the heart of our ability to act fearlessly in our generosity and in our service. For most of us, the ability to live this way, doesn’t just happen – Chuck Infelt’s trust and courage came after decades of learning and experiencing God’s presence.
It’s the same for us – we grow in trust and courage by practicing our faith – by being generous with our time and ability and resources – by stretching and extending ourselves to be about Godly things – as we recognize God’s grace and presence, both in the world and growing within us too.
This is the legacy that has been passed down to us from Luther, but importantly we have also heard Jesus claim his trust in God’s grace and power when he announced:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-20)
Godly things.
The gift of God’s grace – growing in us the ability to trust and act with courage – to be open to the challenges and opportunities that surround us – to be open to the power and presence of God changing our lives and through us, transforming the world.
This is the church that Luther sought and it is the church that God brought into being through Jesus Christ. Let us be that church. Amen.
Rev. John Berg
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (ELCA)
Northbrook, IL
