In Jesus Holy Name October 27, 2024
Text: Romans 3:23 Redeemer
“Will Reformation Replace All Hallowed Eve?”
This year Lutherans around the world will be celebrating Reformation while the rest of the world will be celebrating an ancient traditions we call Halloween. I doubt that the historic event of the Reformation will replace costumes and candy.
We are not very inclined to think of Martin Luther as a hymn-writer, and yet, the great Reformer also had the gift of music and wrote some 37 hymns including "Away in a manger." By 1523—a mere six years after the posting of the Ninety-Five Theses—Luther was committed to providing German-language hymns for the people to sing and was actively seeking gifted poets to work with him on this project. Luther would often say to his friends: “let us defy the devil and sing a hymn.”
Luther’s hymn “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice” was the first hymn, and we are all familiar with his most famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” He promoted singing hymns in the home and in public worship.
Almost everybody here knows that you throw rice at weddings, but not everybody knows why. That's because throwing rice is an old custom whose origins, at least for most of us, is lost in the mists of time. We know such customs; we practice them; but we may not remember their original reason or rationale. So why do we throw rice at weddings?
Throwing rice is an ancient symbol of fertility. It is a way for well-wishing guests to encourage the bride and groom to have lots of kids. We want them to have a lots of children because we want to be grandparents. Of course, at today's weddings we throw instant rice. I’m not sure what that means?
I will bet that almost every family here will celebrate the old custom of Samhain. (Sow-an) It’s an old Celtic custom that almost everybody observes which began in the year 835. October 31st, All Hallowed Eve, is the Celtic celebration at the conclusion of summer and at the beginning of Winter. During the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, (sow-an) people dressed in costumes made from animal heads and skins to ward off evil spirits and hide from ghosts. That's why you give candy to those ghostly and goblin children who show up at your door. Without knowing, without understanding, you are celebrating an old Celtic custom that's a thousand years old.
In America, we call it Halloween. In Mexico and Central America it is called “The Day of the Dead”. In the American culture everything gets mixed up so we call it Halloween, rather than the Eve of All Saints Day.
The Roman Catholic Church under Pope Gregory III (731-741 AD) established November 1st as All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, It was the church’s attempt to change the meaning of an old custom. All Saints Day is a day set aside to honor all saints of the church, therefore the night before became All Hallows Eve.
Just last week Colleen and I were in Oakdale, Ca., the cowboy town, famous for the Oakdale Rodeo. Stores were decorated. We saw lots of women walking from store-to-store shopping, all dressed costumes. Their long black dresses and pointed black hats told us it was almost Halloween.
They were not dressed up to celebrate Reformation. My guess is, that when your children put on their princess costumes, their spiderman costumes, they are not going to a Reformation parade. What parent in their right mind is going to decorate their child in a homemade hymn book to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran hymnal.
As Lutheran Christians we know that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. These 95 debating points changed the world. He intentionally chose the evening of October 31st, 1517 “All Hallow Eve” because he knew that the next day, “All Saints Day” churches would be packed. It was a day of holy obligation, a way to merit God’s grace.
The Prime Minister of Germany's State of Thuringia notes that 500 years have passed since Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the church door, and she acknowledges that although “many things have changed... one truth remains (we human beings) are still sinners in need of-a-Savior. “
Luther, like everyone in his generation, knew that; he was a sinner. He tried, desperately not to be one, but he was. He fasted until he fainted; he confessed his transgressions until his priest got bored with the endless and repetitious list of wrongdoings. Luther knew he was a sinner, even as he knew a perfect God was committed to punishing men like himself. Fear of Divine anger became Luther's motivating force to try to please God with perfect behavior.
Today, people in our culture still want the answer to this question: Does God love me? How can I be sure I have peace with God? These eternal questions that plagued Martin Luther still remain.
Luther might have lived and died with no hope of forgive-ness and without the hope of heaven, if he had not been asked to teach some classes at the new Wittenberg University. As he prepared for his classes on Psalms and Romans, he found that the Psalmists were confident that not only did God love them, they were also convinced that they were forgiven and would enter heaven when they died.
In the classic Latin phrase of the Reformation, sola gratia, “Grace alone.” we are not saved by our intentions, good wishes, exemplary deeds, or right thinking. We are saved only by God’s grace. Unfortunately Americans—have been raised to depend on ourselves. We value our personal freedom to choose our own destiny. We don’t like to think that we can’t save ourselves, that we need to rely on God’s grace alone for salvation.
In the book of Romans, the third chapter, Luther read that while all have sinned and fallen far short of God's expectations, we are declared forgiven and free of our broken commandments if our repentant hearts are connected by faith to God's Son. Luther learned what had been forgotten for centuries and blurred by the “Church”: that while God is a God of justice, He is also a God of grace. Thus, sinful human beings could be saved because God sent His Son to redeem us, to pay the price which would buy us back from sin, the devil, and death.
Listen to the words that expressed Luther’s deepest emotions:
“From depths of woe I cry to Thee, In trial and tribulation.
…If Thou remembers every sin, who then could heaven ever win.
…therefore my hope is in the Lord, and not in my own merit.
Another hymn in the first hymnal was written by Luther’s friend, Paul Speratus
“Salvation unto us has come” by God’s grace and favor,
Good works cannot avert our doom…faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, who died for all the world to atone.” He is our one Redeemer.”
Today our culture still offers a variety of false understandings to the same ultimate questions of life that confronted Martin Luther.
“How can I, as an individual be assured of forgiveness of my broken ethics? How can I find peace with God? How can I be sure that heaven is my eternal destiny?” How can I be sure that I will be granted a glorified resurrected body that will last forever?
Christianity in America is experiencing the same challenge that faced Martin Luther….in the 1500’s. What is the true message of God? Our culture pressures people to accept the false premise that there are no moral absolutes. People demand tolerance. There is an on going attempt to silence Christian values and place the Bible on an “equal ladder” to God, along with other religious theologies. It is a denial of the words of Peter in Acts 4:2 “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Like many others in the 14th and 15th century Martin Luther thought that by becoming a monk and his own efforts, he could find a path to please a righteous God and thus have forgiveness of his sins.
The more he prayed, the more he disciplined his body and mind to be pure, the more anxiety and uncertain he became. While Luther was teaching the Book of Romans at the University of Wittenburg, God convicted his heart with the words written by St. Paul.
“……there is a righteousness from God revealed in the gospel, the righteous shall live by faith.” “A righteousness from God apart from the law has been made known to which the O.T. Law and Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes by faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 5:1 “…since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ…..” Luther’s burden, his fear of death – all flew out the window and his mind and soul and body were set free.
In Luther’s day the average person heard these words: “As soon as the coin in the coffer clinks, the soul from purgatory springs.” With coins you could purchase forgiveness. Those words meant that the death of Jesus on the cross did not purchase total forgiveness nor righteousness.
Today we hear these words: “we are all on a spiritual journey. There are many pathways to God.” The cultural storm facing Christians and Christianity in our century is known as relativism, a secular view of history that would reduce the claims of Jesus to the ash heap of old historical traditions.
In Martin Luther’s day, the truth of justification was tossed out for the sake of coins and a piece of paper called an indulgence. In our day justification by faith in Jesus is tossed out by the demand for tolerance and the loss of absolute truth.
The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Corinth. “For God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might be righteous, holy, forgiven in God’s sight.” In the world of Psychology this is called “transference.” God transferred to Jesus all our sins and transferred to us all of His righteousness. It is a free gift if we accept it.
“The Word of God did it all.” Luther proclaimed: the sinner is justified before God by faith, not by works of righteousness nor purchased by gold and silver – but only by the blood of Jesus, God himself in human flesh who rose from the grave.
Yes, we live in a culture that proclaims that truth is not absolute. Paul writes, “A time will come when men will not put up with sound teaching. Instead, they will gather teachers who will say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from truth and turn aside to myths. Yes, that’s our world.
God has provided the answers to the ultimate questions…. The answer… Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. For there is no other name given under heaven by which we can be saved.
So in the words of Martin Luther: “let us defy the devil and sing a hymn.”
Dear Christians One and All Rejoice. Simply the “gospel” the good news of God’s grace and love set to musical notes.
