Revelation 14:6-7
October 29, 2017
Reformation Sunday
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~
This Sunday—this 500th anniversary of the Reformation—it reminds us of where we have been . . . AND it reminds us of where we are going. This day points us back in history . . . AND leads us into a promised future. It tells, ultimately, of what God Himself has done . . . AND it tells what God will do—for His whole church, for all who believe, and for you.
First, the history—the looking back at where we have been.
Five hundred years ago this Tuesday an obscure Augustinian monk did something that would forever change the course of history on this planet. Nobody realized it at the time—not even Martin Luther himself. He was a doctor of theology at the University of Wittenberg. And Doctor Luther had been doing something radical—something that practically no one—not even his fellow doctors of theology—had been doing. Martin Luther had been reading his Bible—studying the Word of God.
And the more Luther studied those words, the more troubled he became. Because what he was learning from the Scriptures about grace and the forgiveness of sins and righteousness before God—was completely contrary to what was actually happening around him in the church of his day. In the church of his day, grace and forgiveness and righteousness had to be earned by the sinner—or, worse—paid for by the sinner. What the Bible describes as a “gift” was being treated as a commodity that could be bought and sold with gold and silver. Well, Luther needed to talk about this. He wanted a thoughtful, scholarly debate. And so, he crafted 95 theses—95 propositions for discussion and debate—and posted them on the community bulletin board—the doors of Wittenberg’s biggest church—the castle church. (That was “social media” in the sixteenth century.) And the rest, as they say, is history.
I visited the Castle Church this past July. Today Martin Luther’s bones are buried in that church. His legacy is enshrined in stained glass and it sounds forth from the massive pipe organ. His 95 theses are engraved in bronze on the church doors. On the top of the massive steeple are engraved the words of Luther’s most famous hymn: Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott, A Mighty Fortress is our God. That church is everything you would expect . . . with one glaring exception.
Suspended from that high, gothic ceiling is the strange figure on the front of today’s bulletin. It’s new, from what I understand.
Today’s first reading from Revelation provides a tantalizing clue: Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made heaven and earth. I would like to think that the flying Luther in the Castle Church is no superhero, but the angel of Revelation chapter 14—the angel with an eternal gospel to proclaim.
No, people don’t become angels in the narrow sense. People are people; and angels are angels. But the word “angel” in its broadest, most basic sense, means “messenger.” And who can deny that Martin Luther was a messenger from God? He was self-admittedly a sinner—a sack of maggots. He didn’t always get it right. But what he did get right—what he did proclaim with purity and precision—was the gospel—the unchanging, eternal gospel—that sinners who always fall short of the glory of God and who deserve nothing but death and hell—can become righteous before God only by God’s grace, only through faith, only for the sake of Jesus Christ. Sola gratia, Sola fide, Sola Christus.
God’s gift of salvation is found exclusively in Jesus Christ; but as the angel of Revelation 14 makes clear, that gift is offered and proclaimed in the most inclusive way possible—“to every nation and tribe and language and people.” There is no one so bad that they cannot be saved by Christ; and there is no one so good that they can be saved without Christ.
The angel of Revelation 14 sounds suspiciously like Luther. “Fear God,” says the angel. Luther took that simple phrase and multiplied it tenfold as he explained each one of the Commandments in his Catechism: We should fear and love God. To fear God means to take God seriously—including His threats, His warnings, and His Commandments. But in each of our lives there is a terrible famine. Not a famine for lack of food, but a famine of fear—a famine for fearing the Lord. Oh, we fear what our friends think of us. We fear what our neighbors and co-workers think of us. We fear being unpopular, being unloved, being wrong. We fear what we cannot control. But we do not fear the God who controls heaven and earth. Luther once confessed his sins for six hours straight; we would be hard-pressed to confess our sins for six minutes straight. Why? Because we do not fear God as we should.
But the angel’s message is not just one of Law, but of Gospel: Fear God and give him glory . . . and worship him. Give Him glory and worship Him. You give God glory when you confess your guilt and your sin. You give God glory when you admit to the famine of fear in your life, trusting and believing that He can do something about it. You worship Him by receiving His gifts—His absolution—the blood-bought forgiveness that Jesus Christ earned for you. He is bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh. Jesus suffered as you suffer. Jesus was tempted as you are tempted. Jesus mourned the death of loved ones as you mourn the death of loved ones. Only He has done something about it. And when you come here, believing His promises and receiving His gifts, that is the highest worship you can offer.
Jesus Christ was crucified as your sacred substitute, bearing all the sins that should rightly bar you from heaven. And on the third day Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, defeating the power of death over you and all creation. You will live forever. Your body is destined, not for destruction, but for resurrection. We call this good news the gospel. Martin Luther preached it. Your pastors proclaim it. It is the main message that every angel is given to proclaim. It’s there in the book of Genesis; and it’s there in the book of Revelation, as we now hear: Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim.
Think about it this way for a moment: God could just walk away. God could just give up. God could clam up, and corral His angels, and cause His messengers to go mute. He would be completely justified to disengage from a world that is increasingly intoxicated with the liquor of Satan’s lies. It would be completely understandable were God to abandon all those men and women who have abandoned Him and rejected Him and turned their backs on Him—and just say, “To hell with them.” There, but for the grace of God, go you.
But our God—He has an eternal gospel—good news that doesn’t quit—and that eternal gospel is to be proclaimed and preached until the Last Day. He will not stop speaking. He is still working to woo and win the lost. He still sends His messengers—His angels—His pastors to preach the good news, to wash away sin in Holy Baptism, to serve His holy supper to His holy people. He just can’t keep quiet because He has an eternal gospel to proclaim.
This day reminds us of where we have been—five hundred years’ worth of history. But it also reminds us of where we are going. We are going to heaven. We will see and hear the sights and sounds of Revelation 14—which is nothing less than a sneak peek into the glories of the life of the world to come. There you will see all the company of heaven, with angels and archangels flying overhead. You will be reunited with those you love who have died in the faith. You will be gathered around the throne of the Lord Jesus, singing the songs of heaven, with every tear wiped away from your eyes. A grand a glorious future awaits you—a future we can hardly begin to imagine.
Beloved in the Lord, this is why the Reformation matters. This is why we fear God, and give Him glory, and worship Him. This is why we give thanks to God for His angel, Martin, and the eternal gospel he proclaimed.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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