Reflections on ""Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda" 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21; Genesis 35: 6-15

The sermon did not do much for me.  It seemed kind of dry and theoretical without much practical application for the listener.  I enjoyed digging through this important concept to the Reformed church, but could not manage to transition it to a sermon. 

One of the problems I encountered was finding illustrations that seemed to fit the concept.  The one I chose probably did not fit very well.  I found it hard to think of examples of changes that seemed to fit the magnitude of the Reformation.  

"Ecclesia Reformata, semper reformanda!" 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21; Genesis 35: 6-15; October 13,  2013; FPC, Troy; Presbyterian mini-series

Introduction: "Ecclesia Reformata, semper reformanda!" (not often the sermon title is so long that it will not fit on the sign outside the sanctuary – of course, no one driving by would have understood what it said anyway!)>

But now you will know what it means – this hallmark phrase of the Reformation translates as: "the church reformed, always to be reformed!"

In other words, the church is changed, and will always be open to change.

Move 1:  No surprise – when we read the biblical text we discover that change occurs all the time.

            a. In both the Old Testament and new Testament

1.      We the story of Jacob becoming Israel; God changing Jacob’s name to signify the new relationship between God and God’s people, who now will be called Israelites.

2.      This , of course, is a pattern already established when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah as a sign of their new covenant and status as God’s chosen people.

3.      the prophets continually call for God's people to change their ways;

4.      Saul becomes Paul;

5.      How does Paul describe what it means follow the resurrected Christ?  By calling people new creations – people changed by their faith in Christ.

            b. The church always needs to be reformed because the church follows a living God.

1.      To believe that God works in our midst suggests that God works in a variety of different circumstances.

2.      To follow God in new and different contexts means changing.

2.      God decided that the world needed a special group of people to exemplify what it meant to follow God – thus, God calls a special people at that time.

3.      When Christ comes, we see God calling out of the Jewish tradition a new way of relating to God – thus, we see the establishment of the followers of Christ, who become the newly constituted church.

4.      In the time of the Reformation, a new way of relating to God that does not rely on the priests or the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is called for, so God uses the Reformers to create the Reformed church.

The God who speaks in different generations to diverse situations has to be a God who calls God’s people to change.

Move 2:  The church always needs to be reformed because the church is always made up of sinners.

           

            a.  The Reformers made it very clear that humans were sinners.

                        1. none of us could avoid it; all of us needed God to change us.

                        2. Likewise, the church that is made up of humans is, if left to its own devices, a sinful institution in need of change.

                        3. we remember that to repent literally means to change direction 180 a degrees.

            b. We often speak of our church family in reverential terms.

1.      a group of people who faithfully live out their lives supporting one another.

2.      I do not want to deny that.

3.      But, the church too often reflects its human nature, which means the church continually needs to assess and reassess what it is doing and be open to where God is leading the church.

Move 3:  The church cannot reform itself.

a.  “Ecclesia reformata, simper reformanda” is often mistranslated as “the church reformed, always reforming.”

1. That suggests that the church is the agent responsible for making the changes.

2. The accurate translation reads, “the church reformed, the church always being reformed.”

3. Passive tense. 

4. the church is not the one leading the change; God is.

5. The church changes not because it desires change, but because God desires the church to change.

b. Ties the change back to God and how we hear God’s calling.

1. It ought to send us back to Scripture, to discover anew what God calls us to be.

2.  It ought to make us seek out the Holy Spirit, so that we can respond as God desires. 

3. If the change is about what we want, it does not meet the standard for change dictated by the Reformers.

4. The changes we undergo must be at God’s leading.

Only God can reform the church.

Move 4:  when do you change?

a.      Perhaps the Reformers were engaging in some rationalization for their actions to radically change the church as they knew it. 

b.      Women’s ordination in the Presbyterian Church.

1.       The PCUSA, which is our denomination, understood Scripture to allow the ordination of women and that God was calling the church to ordain women as it moved into the 20^th century.

2.      It moved slowly, mind you, but the denomination first ordained women deacons; then elders; then women ministers. 

3.      The basis for the change was both how the church interpreted Scripture and how the church understood the Holy Spirit to be at work in the 20^th century world.

4.      I suspect most of us who gather here today have no problem with those arguments.

5.      Yet, other Presbyterian denominations in the United States today still do not ordain women, and other Christian traditions do not allows ordination of women.

6.      Why? Because as they interpret Scripture and understand how God is at work in the world, women are not allowed to be ordained officers or ministers.

7.      When is change of God?

c.    Look around the Sanctuary – we have just spent lots of money preserving the stained glass windows, which take us back in our history, even as we have added screens and technology to move us forward into the future.

1.      Changes that reflect the God who is at work in our midst, or changes that reflect our own desires?

2.      How do we know?

d. Maybe you remember a story I have told about the church where I worshipped in college.

1.  It sat just off campus next to Trinity University.

2. At one point in its life, the church was the de facto chapel for the university. Students and professors filled the pews each Sunday morning.

3. Then, the University built its own chapel and began its own chapel program. 

4. I imagine that was a difficult adjustment for a church known as University Presbyterian Church.  Ministry as it had known it was changed by a decision the University made.

5. It was forced to change. To focus its energy on other ministries instead of serving the University population.

6. It went from a church that identified itself with the University, to a church with no ministry related to the university.

7.  The fall I arrived on campus, I went to the chapel a few times, but felt then found myself attending University Presbyterian Church because I wanted more family, less college when I went to church.

8. About 6-7 other freshman felt something similar, because they too began worshipping at University Presbyterian.

9.  The church noticed this small group of college students and immediately went into action.

10. They announced a new college age group with activities almost every week, which included a meal!

11. it did not seem that remarkable to me then, but now as a minister who has been involved with churches beginning new programs, I marvel at how quickly they identified and adapted to this ministry opportunity.

12.  this college age group impacted the church in significant ways – we became an integral part of the local congregation, serving as youth leaders and Sunday school teachers; I preached my first sermon from that pulpit; and the local congregation impacted the larger church as three of the group became ordained ministers; several others became ordained officers in their local congregations.

13.  A year or two after we left, the group dissolved because no more students were coming to worship there.

14.  A minor change – yes.  But it had long-term implications.

Conclusion:  Change is never easy; sometimes it is forced upon us; sometimes we choose it.

The Reformers reminds us that the church is always waiting to be changed by the God who calls the church into being and calls us to listen as God’s Spirit reveals to us our next challenge.

**In preparing for this sermon, I consulted and used several ideas from “Our misused motto,” an article by Ann Case-Winters, as found in “What Presbyterians Believe 2,” which is a supplement to Presbyterians Today (26-29).