I cannot do otherwise.
God help me. Amen.”
That was the summary statement delivered by Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms.
Now, for those to whom a “diet of worms” sounds high in protein, but extremely unappetizing, rest assured that in this particular context a “diet” is the term for a church trial...
and “Worms” is the city in which the trial was held, just South of Frankfurt, in Germany.
At that trial, Luther stood behind his sermons, books, and writings.
He stood by his principle of Sola Scriptura… that SCRIPTURE ALONE was the sole authority for the Christian Faith.
He stood by the principle of Sola Fide… that we are made right with God by FAITH ALONE and not by any works, penance, or human achievement, but by the gift of...
Sola Gratia… GRACE ALONE… a completely free gift given to us by the Holy Spirit, independent of any human merit or cooperation.
For those of you who were raised in the Lutheran Church… particularly those who endured “Old School” confirmation, memorizing all the things, sometimes in multiple languages! I see you! YOU know what Luther stood for! You know!
But today, rather than diving more deeply into WHAT Luther stood for,
I want us to focus more on the WAY Luther stood.
Luther was not one to hold up his moistened finger for 9 days or more to see how the winds were blowing before he spoke out.
When his reformation partner, Philip Melanchthon, expressed a reluctance to be vocal, fearing he might be “getting it wrong” Luther encouraged him to boldly preach what he believed the Holy Spirit had led him to preach.
Luther told him to “Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.”
This, of course, was not meant to be a license to go out and commit crimes or act immorally.
It was encouragement to boldly and vocally follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, even while knowing that, as flawed human beings, there would always be things we unconsciously twist or get wrong along the way.
Luther encouraged Melanchthon to speak boldly and with conviction, secure in the knowledge that where he inevitably got it wrong there would always be Divine Grace to make it right.
There will always be Divine Grace to make it right…
for all of us.
Always.
That assurance is not just meant to help us sleep at night.
It’s also meant to free us… to embolden us.
That assurance is meant to give us the courage to stand up, stand firm, and speak out, even in the hardest and most terrifying times… boldly saying what needs to be said and courageously doing what needs to be done, regardless of what doing that might cost.
And as we all know, standing up, standing firm, and speaking out can cost… well… EVERYTHING.
Luther knew that and experienced it.
Niemöller knew that and experienced it.
Certainly Bonhoeffer knew that and experienced it to the ultimate end!
All of them knew that in spite of what we might face in this lifetime, Divine Grace will see us through all of it, up to, and including seeing us through death itself.
None of us, I hope, will ever face the sorts of consequences that Luther faced for standing up and speaking out.
None of us, I hope, will ever face what Martin Niemöller faced for standing up and speaking out,
and I certainly hope that none of us will ever face the Cost of Discipleship as high as that which Bonhoeffer paid for standing up and speaking out.
But Reformation Sunday is here to remind each of us today that no matter the Cost… standing up and speaking out is what our Faith demands!
From Presiding Bishops to local bishops, from pastors to priests, from Sunday regulars to Holly/Lilly Christians… all of us know in our bones what is right and what is wrong… all of us know what is good and what is evil.
And all of us understand that “Knowing it” isn’t the hard part!
The hard part for all of us, from Presiding Bishops to local bishops, from priests to pastors, from Sunday regulars to Holly/Lilly Christians…
the HARD PART is in making the choice to stand up.
The hard part is in making the choice to speak boldly.
The hard part is not waiting to see if someone else will lead the way, but to boldly speak without any other sort of net than Divine Grace.
The hard part is choosing not to remain silent when all around us we hear only crickets.
The hard part… and the part that each Reformation Sunday calls us to, is the part that calls us to stand up and boldly declare,
“Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”
