October 27, 2019

Reformation Sunday
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
grace and peace to you
 from the one who sees us through the eyes of Christ. Amen
 
This month my bookclub
read one of the best books I’ve read in awhile,
 Wonder by R.J. Palacio,
yes there was a movie made of it with Julia Roberts
 a couple of years ago.
 
The book centers around the character of August Pullman
who is starting 5th grade at a new school,
 actually it’s his first school,
he’s been homeschooled up to this point
because he was born with some genetic mutations
 that wreaked havoc with his face,
 
from how it’s described in the book,
 nothing is quite where it should be
and is quite startling
to people who have never seen him before
 
 he’s come to expect that people will stare and react
 but even the expected isn’t easy
when he is the center of attention for looking so different,
 when really he is just another smart, funny kid.
 
Which is why August’s favorite holiday is Halloween.
 He gets to dress up and put a mask on
 and when he does
 he becomes just another kid celebrating Halloween,
there is no longer any distinction between him and everyone else
he is free to just be a kid.
 
It’s this kind of freedom Jesus proclaims to us today.
The freedom to be what we truly are.
 
 all of us want this freedom
And when we think of it from our human perspective
 Sometimes it looks like being like everyone else.
 
Because there are so many ways to be divided and categorized,
 and while not all of them are bad,
 it seems like we humans are obsessed
 with figuring out just which box everyone including ourselves fits into,
 
 and if we’ve been placed in a box
 we’re not happy with
we go to great lengths
 to try and change how people see and categorize us,
 
 we go into credit card debt to get those things that will make us fit in,
we exclude certain other groups of people to fit in,
 we constantly try to figure out where people fit in and where we fit in,
 and in our quest for freedom
we become bound to these things
 and it’s exhausting.
 
But of course we don’t stop there,
we take this logic and apply it to God.
 We want to know just where we fit in with God
and we think we can determine that
 based on our own actions,
 
 which is why people are attracted to interpretations of religion
 with a lot of rules or strict codes of ethics
 so they know where they stand,
 
 if they do everything right then they are clearly on God’s good side
and as an added bonus
feel justified pointing out to others
 when they break the rules
 and therefore logically are on God’s bad side.
 
And this too is an exhausting way to live
 because no matter how many rules we follow
or things we do right
 the law will always end up showing us
just how short we fall of perfection.
 
This is what Paul is talking about in Romans
when he says “through the law comes knowledge of sin”
 
  the law shows us that if it is up to us,
 we will never be good enough
and that quickly leads to despair.
 
So it’s a good thing it’s not up to us,
Paul continues: “But now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”
 
There is no distinction,
 just like August Pullman on Halloween,
 we are all the same,
 according to the law we’re sinners,
according to Christ we’re saints.
 
God knows that the system of the law only takes us so far,
it gives us structure for living with one another,
 and it shows us how much we need God
but that’s about it,
 
humans need more than the law
 and God loves humans
 so God sent Jesus to do whatever needed to be done
to bring God and humans together,
 and that’s what Jesus did on the cross
a free gift given in love
so that now there is no distinction
 when God sees us, God sees us through the eyes of Christ
 and Christ sees us each as we are,
 fearfully and wonderfully made by God.
 
Thinking about this reminds me of an experience
that I had the summer after my first year in college.
 I taught swim lessons as part of my summer job
 and in one class that I had,
I had a very energetic little boy,
he loved swim lessons and the water,
though he struggled with holding on to the wall
and waiting his turn while the other kids had their turns
but I could see that he really wanted to be there
 and I was happy to teach him
 
but the other kids rejected him,
 they didn’t want to be near him on the wall
and were impatient with his struggles to hold on,
 
and I was struck by the contrast,
his peers saw him as annoying,
 someone to be avoided,
who they wished weren’t there,
 
and I saw him as an energetic little kid
who wanted to learn how to swim,
who was worthy of being there. 
 
When God looks at us through the eyes of Christ,
 God sees that little kid in all of us,
 the one who is excited to participate in life,
 who is worthy of being here in our own way.
 
In Christ we are set free from distinctions
 and allowed to be fully ourselves,
 not because of anything we have done but as a gift
and we accept that gift by trusting that it is so,
by having faith that God keeps the promises God makes.
 
Jesus tells his disciples
 “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
 
The word of Jesus
 is that nothing can separate us from the love of God
we have been set free,
free from the distinctions that others place on us,
free from the distinctions that we place on ourselves,
and Christ invites us to continue living in this freedom through faith.
 
Confirmands, this is the faith you publicly proclaim today
the faith that you are freed from sin
to love and serve your neighbors,
 not because of anything you’ve done
but because of Christ
 
and as you stand before us, you are saying
 you intend to continue in this faith,
to continue in the gift of freedom
 living as Christ sees you, with no distinctions.
 
And it’s true,
there will be times when you feel different,
when you feel bound by the distinctions the world places on you,
 
but that’s why we gather as a community
where we hear the proclamation that there is no distinction,
and Jesus brings us to the table,
 feeds us with his body and blood,
 forgives us and reminds us of the gift that is already ours,
 and strengthened we go out to live in freedom once again. 
 
So dear confirmands,
 dear people of Christ,
in whom there is no distinction,
continue in the word of God,
 you know the truth and the truth has set you free. Amen