Sermon for Reformation Sunday
October 25, 2015, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wallis, Texas
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 10:1-5
Sermon Theme: “The Reformation and the Rock of Our Refuge”
(Sources: Luther: His Life and Times by Richard Friedenthal; Rocks, PhysLink.com; Online Lutheran Jokes; Online “You Know You Might Be Lutheran If”; Online Rocks and Gems; Footnotes from the Concordia Self-Study Bible; Protestant Reformation, Online Theopedia; my original ideas; “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over,” Online Bible.org; Nelson’s Three-in-One).
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
We Lutherans are a unique group of Protestants, maybe not so much now as we were in the past. I wonder if we have changed very much. When I was growing up Lutheran in the 1940’s, you knew you might be Lutheran if a midlife crisis meant switching from the old hymnal to the new one. You knew you might be Lutheran if you were 57 years old and your parents still wouldn’t let you date a Catholic. You knew you might be Lutheran if you believed the Eleventh Commandment was “If we’ve never done it that way before, thou shalt not do it.”
You know you might be Lutheran if you actually think your pastor’s jokes are funny.
Today, Lutherans are unique in that they are no doubt the only Protestants who still celebrate Reformation Sunday, and, of course, Catholics, for obvious reasons, never did. The Reformation, led by Martin Luther, began in Germany and spread first to the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Scotland, and parts of France before becoming a world-wide “revolution.” The Reformation is much more complicated than just a German monk nailing 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door.
The Church, which Jesus wanted to remain One, was split in two and soon would be splintered even further, ultimately into more divisions than you can count on both hands and both feet.
There’s a funny story that shows what it’s like after the Reformation. It seems that Pastor Hubert, a Lutheran Pastor, Father Joe, a Catholic Priest, and Brother Bob, a Baptist Preacher, were fishing together in a boat not far from the shore.
Pastor Hubert had to make a trip to the port-a-potty located on the shore, so he got out of the boat, walked across the water, and, in the same manner, came back to the boat after he was finished.
A little later, Father Joe had to make the trip also. He got out of the boat, walked across the water, visited the bathroom, and in the same manner, came back to the boat.
Still later, Brother Bob needed to go ashore. He got out of the boat and immediately sank. Pastor Hubert looked at Father Joe and said, “Do you think we ought to tell him where the rocks are?” I guess that’s one way to lead into the subject of today’s sermon – rocks. And The Rock. Continue reading →