Reform Holidays?
The world loves to get a big jump on it’s holidays. It is barely October and Christmas stuff is already in full bloom. Have you seen the meme with the skeleton decorating a Christmas tree? There is a holiday on the last day of October that I think deserves more attention than it normally gets. The day Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Wittenberg church. Ecclesia semper reformanda est!
How good is your Latin? You may see part of the word “reformation” there. You may know “ecclesiastic” refers to things of the church. ” Ecclesia semper reformanda est” translated means, “The church must always be reformed.” Was this Luther’s battle cry? Luther was an Augustinian monk, maybe Luther got the idea from St Augustine? While I cannot verify definitively, some sources do attribute the thought to St Augustine. However, it was popularized by Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth in 1947; later taken up by Vatican II writings. Luther posted his theses as a call for an academic debate among theologians. He did not know the can of worms he opened would lead to a Diet of Worms. [Hi-brow Lutheran humor!]
Reformation for reformations sake? Reform the institutions? Isn’t that like “cancel culture”? What if I don’t think the church needs to be reformed? Or it should be reformed to what it was before all this reforming?
When his disciples came to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread along. Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
They were discussing this among themselves and said, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”
Since Jesus knew what they were saying, he said, “You of little faith! Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you brought no bread? Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many basketfuls you picked up? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many basketfuls you picked up? How is it that you do not understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Then they understood that he was not warning them about the yeast in bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But you, who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+16&version=EHV>
Jesus reformed the thought processes of his disciples, time and time again: always reforming! He does the same for us, through Word and Sacrament.
The Church was built on the rock: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” This is where Luther wanted to go. This is where we need to go. How we get there is always the question. Four words, many thoughts:
Sharing
Joy
Giving
Hope
It is not about always reforming the Church. “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you test and approve what is the will of God—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 EHV) Sometimes the institutional church needs to be reformed, sometimes the body of Christ needs to repent.
Sometimes a skeleton decorates a Christmas tree. Always Jesus is with us, even to the end of this age! (Matthew 28:20)
Trust the Promises,
Steve Skiver