The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
October 31, 2010
Vol. 13 no. 43
Reformation appears to be passé in many a church today. I suppose something celebrating its 493rd anniversary is going to run out of gas eventually. Just wait until 2017 - you’ll be tired of all the talk about the Reformation then! Who knows, someone may have posted another 95 or so ideas on somebody’s church door and we’ll start it up all over again.
Two ways to talk about the Protestant Reformation and sometimes we talk out of both sides of our mouths. The historical events and repercussions of the challenges of Martin Luther and others still shape who we and our society are. The fact that we can no longer remember or recognize the impact of these events is simply a witness to our poverty. Today is only Halloween, All Saints Eve, as it was in 1517.
The notion of reformation was never intended to be a history lesson long ago evaporated in the mists of time, but an attitude, an instance of perpetual motion in the Spirit. There really has never been a time when the Church was not reforming itself in critical ways, and certainly, Christianity has been reshaping itself in the last 50 years: some parts have declined, others have ascended. The call for a new Reformation is building momentum everywhere.
If there is a historical lesson from October 31, 1517, in Wittenberg, it is that if you are waiting for the past to return, it will always be too late. The Church then was still strong, but the Reformers boldly risked insisting upon a better way of being Church - never an easy assignment, and never without some pain and false steps. “They’ll know we are Christians by our love,” we love to sing, but we are most recognizable as Christians when we are reforming, regardless of what our denomination is.
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan