Our Calling
“...learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” — Isaiah 1:17
Legend has it that on the 31st of October 1517, 493 years ago today, Martin Luther tacked what became known as the 95 Theses on the door of the Cathedral in Wittenberg. Wittenberg was a university town. It was the custom to post things meant to fire public debate on important topics. So, one posted what was offered in that spirit on the door of the church.
There is no clear proof Luther actually posted this document on the door of the university church on this very date, the Eve of the Feast of All Saints. But it is known the monk both sent the work to members of the hierarchy of the church and published it about this time of the year. Written in Latin, the writing was translated into Greek and into the German vernacular nearly immediately and spread all over Germany within two years.
So, is the debate Luther started still going on today and what was the main point these words addressed? Yes, the debate still smolders, nearly 500 years later. And the main point was this: is church about preservation of the institution or is church about our relationship with God and one another?
Now, to be clear, that is my very brief analysis of a central issue. I am sure my Seminary Church History professor would not be pleased that I have reduced it to a single point. One could easily list numerous other issues. The truth was and is the situation was and is more complex. There are, after all, 95 theses.
However, I do not think the full breadth of what happened and what was triggered by this initiation of the Reformation is fodder for a Sunday sermon. (On the other hand, many of my Lutheran colleagues often do try to accomplish that task on this day, or at least feel the burden of doing that. So be glad we are not Lutherans.) But certainly we can look at this small piece of it: is the church about the institution or about relationship?
I think Luther’s thrust was clear: it’s about relationship and if we are to be a relational church, how does that happen? I do need to note that in this case neither Luther nor I am using the word ‘church’ to mean an institution. The word ‘church’ means a group of people gathered in relationship to God and called by God to be in a specific and special relationship to one another.
Now, the institutional church of the time, the institutional church of which Luther was a good and a loyal member, had obviously come to a point where the functioning of and preservation of the institution had become a dominant theme. In disagreeing with the direction in which the church was going, Luther said two things: first, the basis of church is a relationship with God and with one another. Second, Scripture is all you need as a guide to building the relationships called church.
Indeed, at least in principle, it seems we, in this church, agree with Luther. This is a quote from the By-laws of our church here in Norwich: “This Church acknowledges Jesus, the Christ, as its head and finds in the Holy Scriptures its guidance in matters of faith and discipline, as interpreted by the Divine Spirit through reason, faith, and conscience.” (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah: “...learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Slight pause.)
I am in the process of reading a book filled with statistics about the make up of congregations of all stripes, people who gather for worship in churches, mosques, temples, gather in all these institutions of worship. This, the author insists, is at least one metric of ‘religiosity.’
This enumeration of the people and of these ‘institutions of worship’ counted include everyone from those who populate Catholic Churches to those who fill Shinto Temples. In short, the author defines ‘religiosity’ by saying people who attend institutions of religion are ‘religious.’ (Slight pause.)
Would it surprise you to know that, as a whole and measured in that way, Americans are more religious than the citizens of Iran? Americans have a higher regular church attendance rate than people who live in a country most of us would label as and believe to be a theocracy. [1]
I, therefore, need to say I disagree with the place this author comes down on how to measure religiosity. Let me use a shorthand way to explain why I disagree.
Forgetting for a moment those who attend mosques and temples, let’s restrict my shorthand description to those who attend churches. If I do that, if I count just those who attend church, I maintain I have not counted all the adherents of Christianity.
What I have measured is how many people are involved in the institutions commonly called church. I have counted the adherents of “churchianity,” not the adherents of Christianity.
And that leaves us with exactly the same issue Martin Luther was challenging some five hundred years ago: ‘what does it mean to be church?’ Please note: that is not what does it mean to ‘have an institution called church?’ but what does it mean to ‘be church?’ (Slight pause.)
In the reading from Isaiah Yahweh, God, rails against mere religiosity. (Quote:) “Do not bring your useless offerings. It is futile; their incense is an abomination to me and fills me with loathing” [2] (unquote).
Further, God clearly invites us to be relational with one another (quote): “...learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” And it may surprise some, but God invites us to be relational not just with one another. God invites us to be relational with God in an amazing way. (Quote:) “‘Come now— let us argue it out; let us look at the choices before you,’ says Yahweh.” [3]
And it needs to be noted God has set a clear choice before us and the choice is not between the institution and the relational. The institution is not even considered. The choice is how will we sort through all the relational choices, the myriad of relational choices we face?
That brings us back to Luther and what needed to be faced in the early 16th Century and perhaps what needs to be faced also now. Luther’s great call was that we be justified by faith, not by works. And I think Luther was a master of the path Scripture lays out for us.
Luther was, indeed, not opposed to institution but a member in good standing. Luther understood the need for institution. But Luther also understood that, we, the church, must first be faithful or the institution was and will be doomed to failure. We must be church. We must be relational.
So, what are we called by God to do and to be? What is our calling? (Slight pause.) Earlier in the service, in explaining All Saints Day, I said November 1st is the Feast of All Who Are Holy. And I said the word ‘holy’ means set aside to do the work of God. We are all set aside to do the work of God. [4]
We are called to be holy, called to do the work of God, called to be relational, called to build relationships. But perhaps what is more challenging to many, is that we are not called to churchianity. We are called to Christianity.
The call to be Christians is not a call to the institution. Indeed, there is no quicker way to make an institution die than to be dedicated to the institution as opposed to its goals. And, indeed, the call to us from God is there is but one goal: to be relational. (Slight pause.)
A short time after this service, just after we’ve had some coffee, many of us will gather to hear some information about what next year’s budget might look like. Since I agree with Luther and say the institution is necessary, I invite all of you to be with us and to sit and talk about the institution and its challenges.
As you do so, I invite you to remember two things. Our By-laws say this (quote): “This Church acknowledges Jesus, the Christ, as its head and finds in the Holy Scriptures its guidance in matters of faith and discipline, as interpreted by the Divine Spirit through reason, faith, and conscience.”
Second, in the Prophet Isaiah Yahweh, God, says this (quote): “...learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
What is our call? What is our true calling? To be church. To be relational. Amen.
10/31/2010
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “I have offered this here before. It bears repeating. The Anglican theologian Nicholas Thomas Wright has said modern times and New Testament Times are essentially the same. In Ancient Rome, most people believed in God or the Gods. After all, they offered sacrifices at the Roman temples. Few people took that belief in God seriously. The more things change...”
[1] Chart, Page 9; American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert D. Putnam and David E Campbell; Simon & Schuster, New York, 2010.
[2] Isaiah 1:13a
[3] Isaiah 1:18a.
[4] This was said before the start of the formal Service of Worship, during the ‘Welcome and Announcements.’
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