Biblical Text: Matthew 11:12-19

Reformation Day has been a lot of things through the years. This sermon is a bit of a clip show (a new show that relies on past clips to carry some of the action). In this case I think there are certain sermons that can be preached from the various assigned texts for the day. And they slot into how the preacher or the age wants to think about Luther and the Reformation. Young and Old is a reference to young Luther – skinny, single, revolutionary, and old Luther – heavy, husband and father, re-former. Most of the potential texts, and the choice of Oct 31st itself, prefer young Luther – the great Romantic Hero. You can pick the firebrand of the angel with an eternal gospel from Revelation. You can go with the doctrinal sermon from Romans, the text Luther claimed as his evangelical breakthrough. Or you can be the liberation theologian and take John’s gospel and the “son setting you free.” Me, I like the Matthew 11 gospel reading. It doesn’t let you just choose Romantic Young Luther. You have to contemplate actually re-forming the thing you tear down. It is the experiential text of law and gospel. Not just the doctrine, but what it means to live it. And Luther lived it. He didn’t get lucky and die the great Romantic Hero. He had to be a re-former. This sermon walks through those “clips” and tries to claim something of the Reformation for us.

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