Reformation Sunday / Affirmation of Baptism       John 8: 31-36        October 26, 2008

In today’s Gospel reading we heard the following words: “If you continue in my word, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Let’s begin with this thing called freedom.
Mary is a middle-aged housewife.
The joy and zest in life has begun to fade for her.
She feels imprisoned by the intense anger and hatred welled up inside her toward her mother.

Mike is seeking to be delivered from constant feelings of insecurity.

John seems stuck.
His attitudes cause him to strike out and hurt others, even when he doesn’t really want to.
As a consequence, he has few friends, and is trapped by the four walls of his apartment more often than not on the weekend.

Sandy doesn’t sleep at nights.
She is obsessed with the urge to constantly compare herself to her friend and always seems to come up short. Her obsession is killing her, and she doesn’t know where to turn.

Bradley can’t concentrate in school anymore.
He has betrayed a friend and can’t seem to get up the courage to come clean and ask forgiveness.
His grades are suffering. So is his social life.

All of these people have a common problem. They are not free.
Maybe you could add your own name to the list.

Perhaps it’s the story of all humankind. We hurt, become alienated, and then we become prisoners of our own doing. We want to be delivered, we want to be bailed out, we want to be renewed and set free. We would like to live more joyful, abundant and secure lives, but we are unsure of where to turn.

Our reading from St. John’s Gospel provides us with a direction to turn to as it talks about freedom, the freedom I suspect we are all in need of.

Today as we celebrate Reformation Sunday we are reminded of the great truth about life:
Real freedom is found in only one place—in fact in only one person—Jesus Christ. 
Jesus said: “If you continue in me, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

It was Martin Luther who helped us see that freedom from sin; death and despair are rooted in the grace giving word of God—the Gospel!
That—Gospel—Good News—is found weekly here in the community of faith through preaching, teaching and the sacraments.
That word of God is not a set of beliefs and rules.
It is not about moral values.
It is not a collection of sentences or merely what God has done in the past.
The Gospel speaks to the now, to today, to you and to me.
The Gospel is the energizing force that changes us, transforms us, challenges us and shows us the truth.
That in turn sets us free to live in the manner that God created us, with hope, with purpose, with grace, joy and with a conviction that all people are children of our heavenly Father.


Strange thing, though: Christ has made us free—by tying us to himself.
You see, true freedom is not found in a lack of ties or relationships.
But precisely the opposite: true freedom is found in being tied to Christ.
Recently I was at an airport waiting for a flight home and I saw a young child of about 3 years old and she was wearing a funny looking harness with a little backpack incorporated unto it.
From the harness was a leash, and the leash went back to the mother of the child who served as an anchor, the one who held the child tight.
Within the limits of that leash, the child was free. Free to walk, run, skip, jump, wander, and explore. The child was safe from getting lost, abducted and that many dangers that could lead to despair and in the worst-case scenario—death.

In a similar fashion I have seen children and their parents out flying kites—kites that danced freely in the huge expanse of the sky. Each of these kites is free to sail and soar while at the same time they are attached—tied—to someone’s hand. It is that hand that gives the kite its freedom.
Without the string and hand, the kite would not be free; it would fall, crash or get gobbled up by some tree in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

This morning 11 of our youth will be affirming that tie to Christ. Each of them will affirm that tie called baptism—renewing the promises made on their behalf at their baptism some years ago.
Why do we do this you might ask?
We do it because it is always good to remind oneself to whom you belong.
We do it because we all need to remind ourselves that we are all accountable to someone or some thing.
The moment we forget to whom we are accountable to or to whom we are tied to we are prone to wander aimlessly and eventually wake some morning lost and unsure of how we got there.
Perhaps this is why our society is filled with good, decent, respectable people whose lives were once anchored to the gospel.

Most of us would not have to look very far to find good people who knew at some point in life that in Christ, all things were being made new, whole, better.
And yet, there are many, far too many who would admit that they are now drifting in a sea of uncertainty, confusion, purposelessness and bondage to something—something that is sucking life out of them rather renewing their lives.

There are many, who while they might not admit it, are living lives with that notion that the glass is perpetually half empty, that the world is going to hell in a hand basket and that you can’t trust anything or anyone—they are living lives consumed by anger and resentment.
And for those who live with and around them, it is sad to watch such lives wasting away, eroding.

Most folks never deliberately turn their backs on their faith.
They just quietly, gradually, cut the ties and put their God given faith in a drawer—and now they can’t remember which drawer they put in. Jesus said: “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

“If you continue in my word…”
If you abide with me…
You will be my disciples, you will learn from me…
You will see the world in a new light…
You will see and experience the world from God’s perspective…
And you will be set free from that which holds you in bondage and you will be set free to serve and be like Jesus.

Such freedom, such a faith does not come in a vacuum.
And while there is some truth to the sentiment seen on bumpers stickers: Freedom isn’t free” – the freedom that Christ extends to each of us is in fact free to each of us gathered here this morning—it is a free gift we could never earn or merit or fight for—and it is a gift we are not forced to keep.
The freedom that Christ offers comes through hearing and receiving the grace given through Word and Sacrament, and through others who are experiencing the same.
The truth is God wants us to have that freedom.
The truth is God is for us, not against us.
If God were against us, the human race could have been wiped out a long time ago.
Instead, God, in the person of Jesus, paid the price by carrying and dragging a cross, a cross he was eventually nailed to on a Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem over 200 years ago.
Bleeding and dying—even at the last breath, Jesus, full of grace said, “I am still for you” to those gathered below—even those who nailed him to the cross.

The truth is—God was there for each of the confirmation students gathered here this morning.
God was there for them at their birth—
At their baptism—
When they headed off to their first day of school—
When they received their Bibles as 3rd graders—
When they received the Sacrament of Holy Communion as 5th graders—
God has been and will continue to be present at every significant faith milestone in their lives—
From their borning cry to their last silent breadth.
God has always and God will always be there for them—and for each of us as well.
For you see—the good news this morning is this—in Christ we are truly free—free from that which prevents us from truly living in the image of God and free to be the people God created us to be.

Jesus said: “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
This is truly good news and it is news we can stake our lives on. And that’s the truth. Amen
 

Pastor Stephen P. Blenkush
Zion Lutheran Church
Milaca, MN

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