October 31st is Reformation Day (and also All Saints Day Eve, which these days is affectionately known as Halloween). This blog started as a reflection on the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Protestant Reformation in 2017, and I’d like to think the reformation spirit is still at the root of these writings, even as I’ve gone on a bit of a detour with posts about the Church Calendar over the past year.
For Reformation Day this year, I’ve particularly been pondering how the Protestant Reformation would never have amounted to anything if the original reformers just sat around and chatted about their thoughts or wrote it down in isolation. If Martin Luther had never nailed (or mailed) his 95 Theses, it would have remained a personal journal entry at most. Action was required.
We too, cannot expect our world to become better—and more of the Eternal Kingdom that Jesus envisioned—if we just sit around and do nothing. Even our prayers are mostly useless if they are not followed up with action. When we pray the model of the Lord’s Prayer and plead for “God’s Eternal Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done”, it is a rallying cry for us here and now as much as it is a hopefully gaze towards the future. If we believe we are called to be co-workers on our Lord’s behalf and it is to be “on earth as it is in heaven”, then we must act to bring about the expansive vision of the gospel in our world today.
The reformers 500+ years ago understood that doing nothing meant neglecting our Eternal Kingdom builder duties. Despite the powerful structures around them that would likely crush their efforts, they chose to act boldly. We need to hear the same rebuke of the Holy Spirit within our individual and collective consciences these days and respond by leading protests and pushing for reforms that carry on the spirit of the reformers—indeed the Holy Spirit of our Lord and God.
Reformation Day becomes a natural segue into All Saints Day that follows the day after. Another part of our calling as a community of Christ-followers is to continue the lineage and legacy that others have demonstrated through lives of faith in our Lord Jesus and their actions fueled by the Holy Spirit. We must be careful to not put any person on a pedestal so large that it blocks or distorts our view of the Lord Jesus, and yet we can also find inspiration from those that have lived as faithfully as they could during their times.
With the encouragement of the saints (anyone of true faith) that have gone before and with our eyes constantly set on our Lord Jesus, let us not be complacent with the world as it is, or turn our eyes to the atrocities around us. Let us instead push forward with faith and courage—protesting what we must and reforming where we can.
Relevant Reformation 