Welcome to October, friends! This month should be full of candies, spooky sites, and apple cider! (Ok…pumpkin spice EVERYTHING too).
October is also a month in the life of the church wherein we think about Reformation. Remember: the Protestant Reformation was given an official start date of October 31, 1517 when Luther nailed (or possibly mailed) his 95 Theses. While reform movements had already begun, it was this big act which really started to get the ball rolling on bigger conversations.
During Adult Sunday School of September and October we’re reading a book by the Rev. David Fuquay, “A New Reformation.” In this book, Rev. Fuquay proposes that the lessons learned from Luther and the rest of the reformers are still incumbent upon us all today.
For many years I figured the Reformation was about theological correctness and making sure we had the right answer to every conceivable theological question there could ever be. And to some extent, yes, there was a reform of thinking about a variety of things: sin, salvation, the sacraments, worship, the place and authority of Scripture in the lives of believers, etc.
However, as I’ve sat with these lessons over the years, I find that the Reformation is more about something us: becoming reformed ourselves. Paul tells us that our life of faith is one of being reformed (or to use his word, conformed) into the image of Christ.
Just see how he puts this in various places:
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.” (Romans 8:29)
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:18)
“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” (Colossians 3:9-10)
By God’s grace we were saved by the act of Christ. In this we have faith. And it is by this very same grace that we are be reformed (transformed, conformed) to appear in the flesh and the Spirit more like Christ.
And while this process takes place only by God’s gracious love, it does also require our response in faith. We seek to be reformed by the Great Reformer who is making all things new and giving new life where death once stood and giving peace where conflict exists now.
Being part of the Reformation (which Presbyterians are) means being part of God’s new thing. We cannot hold onto the old and expect for new for Jesus warned us, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, “The old is good.” (Luke 5:37-39).
God is doing new things within us if we’ll join God and do them. God is breaking forth in new and radical ways but we have to have the eyes to see, the courage to embrace it, and humility to admit we’re not always right.
Let us this month seek to reform ourselves and strive more to conform, each day, to the image of the Risen Christ who lives among us and can be seen in the face of the Other.