The last Sunday of October is Reformation Sunday in Protestant churches, commemorating the day on which Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg and challenged church leaders to a debate on the issues. Despite the fact that many others in the Roman Catholic Church were calling for reform--the humanists, the conciliarists, advocates of papal reform, advocates of monastic reform, etc.--church leader chose to condemn Luther, and some even sought to put him to death. However, the political climate was different from the days of John Huss, and the recent invention of the printing press allowed Luther and his supporters to spread his ideas in a way never before possible. The Protestant Reformation began on October 31, 1517, and Protestant forms of Christianity spread throughout Europe and beyond. The Catholic church responded with a certain number of reforms at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), some of which were real reforms and some of which were simply condemnations of Protestant positions. The Protestants divided into various groups, sometimes fighting among themselves, sometimes fighting with the Catholics. Not until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 were the European wars of religion over, and even then internal persecutions of one Christian group by another continued (e.g., in France and England). In many ways reformation, which was desperately needed in the church in the 16th century, wasn't complete until the middle to late 20th century, when Protestant churches began to see past their ethnic prejudices and denominational schisms and Catholics reformed their church in Vatican II. The prophet Jeremiah challenges his hearers to sing joyously to God, who will one day soon restore the fortunes of Israel. It is interesting to note that Jeremiah identifies God's people not as Judah, which strictly speaking would have been the most accurate description of most of those in exile. Instead, he calls the people Israel and Ephraim, names that many Jews would have considered references to a schismatic group, the ten tribes that had split from Judah after the death of King Solomon. Jeremiah describes a return to the promised land that will be joyous not only because the people will return to their ancestral homeland, but also because they will become the restored, reconstituted children of God: whole, not incomplete: Israel, not just Judah. Reformation continues today in the church, for it is always in need of improvement, as people learn more about God and God's work in the world. One of the greatest areas in which reform is needed is in the area of Christian fellowship and communion--Catholics with Protestants, Baptists with Methodists, Presbyterians with Lutherans, Disciples of Christ with Eastern Orthodox, mainline Christians with Evangelicals, even liberals with fundamentalists. We won't ever agree of every aspect of doctrine, practice, or organization, but we can agree that we worship the same God and follow the teachings of the same Lord, and we can agree to love and respect one another. Now that would be a reformation that we all could celebrate!
Have you ever had a dream that was so beautiful, so perfect, that you didn't want to wake up? What if you woke up from such a dream, and it turned out that it had really happened? When Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews in exile to return to their homes, many of the couldn't believe their good fortune. They were dumbfounded, mouths open, speechless. Then their mouths filled with laughter, their eyes with tears, and they jumped for joy before the Lord. The dream that they and their friends and relatives had had for fifty years had finally become a reality. It was time to go home. It's true that life wasn't always great when they returned home, but at least they were home, and that was enough. After more than twenty years of voluntary exile, occasioned by school and work, I was able to return home a couple of years ago, and it was great. Thomas Hardy said you can't go home again, and there is a certain truth to it. The city isn't the same, the people aren't the same, circumstances aren't the same, but so what? My own return, and the circumstances that led to it, reminded me of one salient fact: God is good. A couple of years later, I still have my share of disappointments, I run into difficulties, and I sometimes wish circumstances were different. One thing I don't wish, however, is that I were somewhere else. For me, where I live now has always been home, even when I lived, very happily, in another city, another state, or even another country. God may not have a return trip home in store for all people who have moved away from their childhood homes--many people wouldn't want it--but God does have things in store for us that are equally exciting and worthy of rejoicing, because that's just the way God is.
I'm not a Calvinist. Never have been. I just have a hard time believing that Christ died only for the elect (the L of TULIP). I also have trouble with the concept of irresistible grace (the I). If we can't resist it, how can it be a gift that we freely receive? I know there are theological explanations that attempt to get past my relatively simplistic objections, but I just don't buy them, though I know many people do. One aspect of traditional, five-point Calvinism that I have no problem with, however, is the concept of the perseverance of the saints (the P of TULIP). It's not that I think that those who believe in God through Jesus Christ are incapable of falling away. It's just that I think that God's grip on us is so tight, and God's love for us is so strong, that salvation once received will never be surrendered. The author of Hebrews describes Jesus as the perfect high priest. Unlike earthly high priests who ministered in the Jerusalem temple, Jesus' ministry was in heaven. Also unlike earthly high priests, whose sacrifices were of limited value, because of both their own imperfections and the imperfections of the sacrifice, Jesus' sacrifice is eternally efficacious. As I said, I accept the concept of the perseverance of the saints, but I would prefer to call it the perseverance of the Savior. I believe that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross created a salvation whose extent is beyond our wildest imagination, and I believe that God's love permeates even the darkest crevice of human sin and depravity with the offer of forgiveness. The Savior perseveres in love toward the human race, and in fact in love toward all of creation. Paul, who described himself as a Hebrew of the Hebrews, believed that one day all Israel would be saved (Rom 11:26). That's a good sentiment, but for me, as someone who is not a Jew, it doesn't go far enough. I believe that one day all humanity, no, all the universe will be saved and reconciled to God. I believe this because I see it foreshadowed in Jesus' sacrifice, and I feel it manifested in God's love for me.
When I was a kid I played on a Little League team for a couple of years sponsored by the Helotes Optimist Club. I didn't know at the time what an optimist was, but I later learned that an optimist is someone who tends to look on the bright side of situations, who focuses on the positive rather than the negative, who always tries to see the good in a situation. The opposite of an optimist is a pessimist. A pessimist tends to see the negatives in any situation and imagines that the worst is more or less inevitable. At least it's more likely than a positive outcome. Optimism and pessimism are attitudes that primarily reflect a person's outlook on life as it pertains to him- or herself, but there are also two ways of looking at other people's circumstances that correspond closely to optimism and pessimism. Corresponding to optimists are those who are encouragers. They hope for and believe in positive outcomes for other people who are in difficult circumstances. They believe that life will work out well for others, and they encourage other people to believe the same. Corresponding to pessimists are those who are discouragers. They believe that life is going from bad to worse, and they don't want anyone to get their hopes up. We see both encouragers and discouragers in Mark's version of the story of Jesus' healing of the blind man, whom Mark alone identifies as Bartimaeus. When Bartimaeus heard the crowd approaching, he asked who it was that had the people so excited. "It's Jesus, the healer from Nazareth," people told him. He immediately began to cry out for Jesus, begging him to heal him. "Be quiet," said the discouragers. "Jesus is busy. He can't be bothered by the likes of you. Besides, he's on a tight schedule, and you've been blind since birth. You're a hopeless case." Still, Bartimaeus cried out even louder, "Have mercy on me, Son of David!" Though people around him were still trying to get him to shut up, Jesus stopped and told those around him to call the blind man. Now is was the encouragers' turn to speak. "Be brave, he's calling you! Maybe he'll heal you of your blindness!" In this case, the encouragers were right and the discouragers were wrong. In other circumstances, the discouragers might sometimes be right. Does that mean that it's all right to be a discourager? No! Hope is an important factor in human health and happiness. If people aren't always healed from their diseases, or people don't always get good news, or succeed in their undertakings, is it our place to discourage them? There may be occasions where we need to caution people against unbounded, unwarranted expectations, but hope is always a good thing, even when it is based on only a small probability of success. When Paul lists the various gifts of the Spirit, he mentions encouraging (or exhortation), but he never mentions the gift of "making sure people don't get their hopes up." Just as we will be happier if we are generally optimistic, so we will be a better friend, neighbor, and co-worker if we are encouragers rather than discouragers.