Reformation Sunday 2009                                            Christ Church , York

Truth seems to be in scant supply in our world today. Politicians of all stripes and in all nations fail to tell the truth. Students lie about their papers and too many people applying for jobs have been caught lying about their resumes. And as we know only too well from these past two years, many of our businesspeople in all areas regularly fudge the line between truth and untruth. You would think that telling the truth would not be all that difficult but still the truth does seem to be in short supply these days.

It is the question of truth that lies at the heart of the Gospel lesson this morning. Jesus accuses the Pharisees of not only failing to tell the truth but of refusing to recognize the truth when it is standing right before their eyes. Listen again to Jesus when He says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” Jesus is telling these Jews who were proud of their ethnic heritage, their religion and their grasp of the truth, that they didn’t know the truth. And because they don’t know the truth, they can’t recognize the truth about themselves. And the truth is that they are not free at all. They are slaves – slaves to sin. Now the Jews didn’t like to hear what Jesus was saying. They were descended from Abraham, a proud people that had survived a great deal to become who they were, a nation with a strong sense of religion and faith. How could Jesus ever think that they were not free, let alone call them slaves?

Like those 1^st century Jews, we in this country are proud of our heritage. This is America , the cradle of democracy, the land of the free and the home of the brave. We, the last great superpower on earth, we are free, enslaved to no one. We admit that we may make a few mistakes sometimes, that we don’t always get it right. But sin! Sin! That sounds too harsh, too impolite, to judgmental. The truth of the matter, however, is that are not as free as we like to think. The truth of the matter is that, like those Jews of an earlier day, we too are enslaved and cannot free ourselves. Always having to buy the latest toy on the market, the bigger car, the larger house, has made us slaves to the consumerism of our society. And the sexual revolution which claimed to bring us freedom has only made us slaves to diseases and death. Jesus puts His finger on it so well when He says, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who commits a sin is a slave to sin.” These are important words for our world to hear today even if the truth is not pretty, even if it is not popular and even if the pollsters tell us that such truth telling will not win high ratings or make us rich and successful as those peddlers of falsehood like Joel Olstein would have you believe. Nevertheless it is the truth and the truth is that which Christ spoke and now the Church is called to speak. And surprisingly, even amazingly, Jesus seems to believe that such truth telling is ultimately going to set the world free.

Today, on this Reformation Sunday, we gather to remember that great reforming movement of the 16^th century, begun by Martin Luther, which literally challenged the truth of the day and spoke a real truth to the Church and the world of that day. For while Luther launched his reforming movement because he believed the Church was doing more than a few things wrong, was going about things in the wrong way and had made far too many mistakes which needed to be corrected, the heart of Luther’s attack on the Church of his day came about because he believed that it was no longer telling people the truth. Luther believed, rightly so, that the Church should be an island of truth in a sea of lies. And the truth, which the Church announces, is two fold - that, on the one hand, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel today, we are slaves to sin, trapped, broken, evil, perverse and at odds with God. And, despite our best intentions, we cannot help being anything different. But on the other hand there is another truth - that Jesus is the Christ, the One sent from God and by looking at Jesus we see what God is really like – gracious and merciful, even though we don’t deserve it. This is the truth, the only truth and this truth can set us free. The political and religious establishment of Jesus’ time could not bear to hear Him talk this way and so they put Him to death. In 16^th century Christian Europe the political and religious authorities also could not bear to hear the truth from Luther and so sought to silence him. In that world the church had stopped telling the truth and instead found it more convenient to peddle the lie that Jesus wasn’t really good enough to get you right with God. Instead they maintained that you had to do something else, you had to do something more – like buy indulgences, obey the pope no matter what, run off and join a monastery, make sure you went to confession or mass so many times a year and so on. And they also peddled another lie, that you weren’t really enslaved to sin. Instead you really could do something to improve your spiritual plight if you just worked a little harder or followed their system for making it easier, what Luther called “works righteousness” In other words sin wasn’t all that bad and you could always do something to gain a bit of God’s approval.

But this is not the truth and the Church needs to tell the truth. And the truth is that we are enslaved to sin and can do nothing to pull ourselves out of it. And the more we try to do so, the more righteous and arrogant we are, for in doing so we think that we can manipulate God. The truth that can set us free from the slavery of sin is Jesus and only Jesus. If the church isn’t telling that truth then it is no longer the Church and it needs to be reformed. Such truth telling is what sets the Church apart from every other kind of organization in the world. Other clubs and associations may have rituals as we do and holy meals and baths and their sacred books and priestly leaders. But the truth the Church speaks is the truth of the Gospel – the truth that can set you free. The Church must be an island of truth in a sea of lies and that is why there is no substitute for truth and honesty in the Church. Telling the truth is the most important thing that we can offer the world.

But it is this truth which our optimistic, do-it-yourself, success oriented world cannot stand to hear. It is this truth which says we are in sin even though the world and even many in the church refuse to accept even the notion sin and say that it is alright for us to do as we wish if it makes us feel good! So why bother to tell the truth if no one will ever listen? Because ultimately it is possible to face this deadly truth about ourselves since we know we have that other truth to tell – that in spite of our slavery to sin, God has chosen to forgive us. We cannot do that for ourselves but God does it for us in and through Christ Jesus Our Lord. And when we believe that truth, we are able to come to terms with that other truth. When we trust to the grace and mercy of God, we are able to risk telling the truth about ourselves. We are free to admit our slavery, because God has already forgiven us.

So today once again we affirm the essential truths of our faith: the truth that this God we worship is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the truth that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of the Living God; the truth that the Holy Spirit guides and guards the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church of Christ; the truth that we are all sinful human beings but that we are redeemed solely by the precious blood of Jesus Christ Our Lord who freely gave His life for us so that we might live. These are the truths of our faith and even if the world does not wish to hear the truth, for it would rather live in its lies that we can save ourselves and make everything right by ourselves, we are called to proclaim the truth.

In our baptisms we were all strengthened to tell the truth and in that telling we know that the truth can be a blessing not only for our own lives but also for the life of the Church. Where the world is in error today - and it is - we are called to speak a word of truth. Where the Church is in error today - and it is - we are called to speak another word of truth. The truth of the Gospel cannot be compromised, it cannot be fudged, it cannot be manipulated to meet our needs, wants and desires. Because of the truth of the Gospel, we can dare to tell the truth in our lives. Because of the truth of the Gospel we can live life with honesty and integrity. Because of the truth of the Gospel we don’t have to make excuses or tell lies when we are wrong, pretend to be somebody we are not, use and manipulate others for your own gain or be burdened by those dark truths that we are sure no one will understand. Instead we are free in Christ to tell the truth, not only about God but also about ourselves. For in Christ we know the truth – the only truth that can make you free, the truth of what God has done and continues to do for you and for the world in Christ Jesus Our Lord. Yes, we are a slave to sin but in and through the waters of baptism you are also the free sons and daughters of God in Jesus Christ. And that, my sisters and brothers, is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Amen.