Reformation Sunday Newsletter Thoughts 2024

Dear Friends,

HAPPY REFORMATION!

These words, Happy Reformation, seem a bit odd. We, as Lutherans, celebrate the Reformation as the beginning of the Lutheran Church. But when you really think about it, reformation is not easy!

That first reformation was so difficult that it lead to a major split within Christianity.

Reform means change. Reform is to look at what we are or were doing and recognize what we must do differently. Martin Luther recognized the need to reform how the church understood grace. The whole story is multi-faceted, but the bottom line is the recognition that grace is indeed a free gift, that there is nothing we can do to earn it.

There is another lesson in the history of the Reformation that we celebrate this weekend. That lesson is that even when we are great on something like understanding grace, we can still be so wrong about something else. Martin Luther’s understanding of grace was freeing to many. Yet at the same time he was anti-Semitic. We can explain that he was a creature of his culture. Sadly, though, he was able to move beyond that culture regarding grace, but he was unable to see that his Jewish neighbors are also deserving of grace, deserving of dignity. Instead, they received abuse, that ultimately led to the holocaust. Some of Martin Luther’s most anti-Semitic writing were used in Germany to justify the mistreatment of Jews.

As a Lutheran, I renounce his antisemitism.

Martin Luther is an example of being simultaneously saint and sinner, as are we all.

I share this history for two reasons. First, because it’s always important to remember that we can be “right” on an important issue, while also being very “wrong” on something else. It’s important to continue to be open to the ways we fail to see the humanity of our neighbors.

The second reason is that I’ve heard some dehumanizing language used in political discourse this week. I want to remind us that any use of dehumanizing language is harmful.

Sometimes it is used by politicians. Other times dehumanizing languages used to describe politicians with whom we disagree.

Sometimes it is presented as a “joke.”

There is nothing funny about dehumanizing language. It is actually the first step towards genocide, because when a people are no longer seen as human, it becomes easier to harm them.

The easiest thing we can do is to remember that every person, even those with whom we disagree, is a precious human being, created in God’s image. Of course this is hard to do! As I said, Reformation is hard!

Thankfully we have forgiveness through God’s grace when we fail to fully love our neighbors.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Nancy