We are now firmly in the month of October. September was not the normal back-to-school, back-to-choir, back-to-Sunday-school kind of month we often find comforting. It was another month of living into the pandemic with a mix of caution and trust. Caution so that we continue to be healthy and keep our communities as virus-free and possible. Trust, because we know that God holds all life and all of us in God’s hands and we can continue to journey faithfully into God’s future together. And November is also unlikely to be ordinary as we move at times anxiously but inexorably toward a presidential election and the unfolding of its results.
Squeezed between these extraordinary months is October, the month we in the Evangelical Lutheran Church celebrate the Reformation. But we are not only joyously (and sometimes with excessive pride!) feting our theological roots in the grace-focused and freedom-focused theology of our denomination’s 16th-century catalyst and cathechist Martin Luther. We are reviving, reinvigorating the Spirit of renewal and growth that is at the heart of our tradition.
One way we tap into that Spirit of renewal is to connect with the inspiration that comes from being part of a nation-wide (ELCA) and global (Lutheran World Federation) Christian movement. As we worship together, listen for the sounds of Lutheran music from around the world in the hymns that we sing as part of liturgy. Listen for the wisdom of theologians from countries and cultures other than our own.
Another way that we promote the ever-reforming nature of our Church is to let the Spirit of renewal move us to reflect on our practices and lead us to imagine new ways of embodying the love of Jesus Christ. One way we will be doing that in coming weeks and months is through a new group in our church, the St. Matt’s Racial Equity Group. This group of members, joined at times by community members, will use the recent ELCA’s Statement “How Strategic and Authentic is Our Diversity; A Call for Confession, Reflection and Healing Action” as inspiration for our congregation.
How we are ever-reformed, personally and as a congregation, is really only limited by our spiritual imagination and our willingness to receive God’s wisdom and inspiration.
My prayer for us all this week is that we will open our hearts and minds widely to God’s transforming love and mercy, for our sake, and for the sake of the world!
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