{"id":3238,"date":"2021-10-31T11:00:19","date_gmt":"2021-10-31T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/?p=3238"},"modified":"2021-11-01T11:15:11","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T15:15:11","slug":"the-bach-experience-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/2021\/10\/31\/the-bach-experience-31\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bach Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click here to hear the full service<\/a><\/p>\n

John 8:31\u201336<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to hear just the sermon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Rev. Dr. Jessica Chicka, University Chaplain:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Good morning! Can I say what an absolute thrill it is to get to share God\u2019s word with you today? I\u2019m always excited to preach when the Dean offers, but to get to share those duties with my friend and colleague, Scott, discussing Luther and Bach on Reformation Sunday which also happens to be Reformation Day? It\u2019s like the Lutheran Superbowl! I even wore my team\u2019s colors \u2013 Red – (and insignia \u2013 the Luther Rose that appears right here on the bottom of my stole)! While I know today is another holiday observed in the US, *ahem* Halloween, October 31st<\/sup> will always be Reformation Day for me, first and foremost.<\/p>\n

All kidding aside, Reformation Day is a significant marker of changes within the church and a reorientation to the personal, unmediated relationship people have with God. It is where many of our familiar forms of Protestantism find their roots, in one way or another, emphasizing the role of justification by faith and God\u2019s unconditional gift of grace. Many of us are familiar with the general story of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the doors of the Schlo\u00dfkirche, or Castle Church, in Wittenberg. What began as a conflict with the Church over the use of\u00a0 indulgences to assist people in attaining absolution, not only for themselves but for those who had died, resulted in centuries-long changes and divisions within Christianity that continue to this day. It also began a major shift in theology, emphasizing the ever-present role of God as our foundation as mediated through the Means of Grace, which for Luther are the scripture and the sacraments. The abuses of the Church were causing people to falsely put their hope in what they had to \u201cdo\u201d to achieve salvation, straying them from the true guidepost for a life of faith, the Gospel. As we heard Dean Hill say in his sermon last week, Luther risked fracturing the Church apart for the sake of the Gospel.<\/p>\n

One of Luther\u2019s driving factors in challenging the church was that people\u2019s souls were on the line. In convincing people that they had to buy indulgences to ensure salvation, the church was misdirecting and misinforming people about how salvation is attained, notably through faith, Sola Fide<\/em>. Luther\u2019s focus was not to separate the Church into factions, which is what ultimately happened, but to reform the church to a radical return to the Gospel as the guiding principle, Sola Scriptura<\/em>, by scripture alone. Luther\u2019s theological perspective removed power from human institutions, which are inherently corrupt because they are made by corrupted beings (we are all sinners), and instead emphasized that God is the only true source of power, love, and grace. God\u2019s effort is what saves us, not our own. It is difficult to hear this in a culture that puts so much emphasis on achieving whatever you want in life if you just work hard enough. The Lutheran message of salvation Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia,<\/em> (scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone) squarely places responsibility for our salvation in the hands of God.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s Gospel, we hear a familiar phrase, \u201cYou will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free.\u201d Despite the fact that this line of scripture does not occur in our regular readings, we have heard it, or forms of it, echoed in our society. Hearing this quote out of context may cause us to question \u201cwhat is the truth?\u201d as some sort of abstract concept, or what are we being made free from? However, in context, Jesus all but tells the disciples and us what the Truth is. In the first half of this sentence Jesus states, \u201cIf you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples\u201d then follows it with \u201cyou will know the Truth and the Truth will make you free.\u201d Continuing in Jesus\u2019 or God\u2019s word makes one a disciple of God. The Greek word used here is \u201c\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u201d meno, which is more than just continuing to follow in Jesus\u2019s teachings. Instead \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9 indicates \u201cabiding\u201d in the word \u2013 accepting and remaining in relationship with Jesus who is the word. The question here is not \u201cWhat is the truth?\u201d but rather \u201cWho is the Truth?\u201d Abiding in God\u2019s Word enters us into a transformative relationship with the Divine in which we come to know the Truth by having our lives completely reoriented through the radical love we encounter in Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection. We are made free through our faith, which comes in abiding in God\u2019s word. In Luther\u2019s language, we are justified in by our faith in Jesus Christ, made free from our sin through God\u2019s gift of grace.<\/p>\n

When we are set free from sin through God\u2019s grace, we are set free to love and serve one another. One of the most common critiques of Lutheran theology is that it de-emphasizes the role that works play in the life of the Christian. Yes, Lutheran theology does say that faith and not works is what justifies us to God, but the freedom that comes from our faith and trust in God and God\u2019s promises enables us to share love with and be in service to others. Good works flow out of a life grounded in faith. The relationship we have in trusting in the triune God transforms how we think and act in all ways in the world. \u00a0The problem with how many of us conceptualize our approach to a life of faith is that we think \u201cGod wants me to do that\u201d as the driving factor for the decisions we make. It may very well be that God does want us to do the things we are intending, but we must be aware that we can\u2019t do it alone. It is faith in God that supports us along the way.<\/p>\n

Psalm 46 speaks to God\u2019s constant support of God\u2019s people throughout the ages. God is not only our support, but our refuge and our strength. When we fear, when we face uncertainty, God\u2019s presence provides the security to help us continue on our way. In the Psalm, the whole world is in tumult. Natural disasters, political upheavals, and even the notion of change itself are realities that the human community has come to face time and time again, including in this passage. I\u2019m sure many of us can relate to this feeling of chaos. It appears as if almost everything is in upheaval and the world does not feel as ordered or certain as it may have in the past. God is still with us through these times of trial, however. God remains steadfast when everything else is in a state of flux.<\/p>\n

Many of us are experiencing fear and trepidation about what the future will hold for our communities, our country, and the world. Turning on the news, looking at the internet, or even hearing the weather report at this point can induce a sense of panic. So much has changed for us in the past year, some definitely for the better, but much that has caused us to feel alienated from the world that we once knew. We do not know what to do in facing such huge societal and global problems such as a continuing pandemic, political division, racism, bigotry, economic upheaval, and increasingly destructive natural disasters due to climate change. These issues are so large and have created so much harm that we are overwhelmed. We come together today as a community of faith to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and lay down these burdens for a while, finding sources of hope and bolstering our faith.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s advice to us in these times, according to the Psalmist, is to \u201cBe still and know that I am God.\u201d Be still. Be silent. Have faith. These are things you need to be a follower of God. You may remember Dean Hill\u2019s call for us to seek out the quiet in order to feed our faith in last week\u2019s sermon. \u201c\u2018Carry out the quiet\u2019 says Dean Hill.\u00a0 You do not need endless cable TV to have a happy life. The same for email, zoom, texting, techne, all.\u00a0 Carry out the quiet.\u00a0 For a good life you do and will need quiet.\u201d When we share in this stillness, this time of reflection with the Divine, we can discover the ways we abide with Jesus. We can hear the still small voice within us, helping us to see the world in a new way. Silence sustains us for action.<\/p>\n

Psalm 46 was also the inspiration for Martin Luther\u2019s hymn, A Mighty Fortress, which most will probably identify as \u201cthe\u201d Lutheran Hymn. I believe our Music Director might have some more to tell us about \u201cA Mighty Fortress\u201d and how another famous composer, J.S. Bach, interpreted Luther\u2019s original hymn and theology for BWV 80. Scott?<\/p>\n

Dr. Scott Allen Jarrett, Director of Music:<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Text forthcoming)<\/p>\n

The Rev. Dr. Jessica Chicka, University Chaplain:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you, Scott. This Reformation Day, we are reminded of all the ways the Church has faced challenges in the past and have the opportunity to envision what hope we can bring to the Church of the future. In coming together today and each Sunday as a community of faith to share in God\u2019s word, including the musical offerings we are about to hear, we are emboldened in our assuredness of our salvation through Jesus Christ. May God guide us in the spirit of this ongoing reformation, awakening, affirming, and strengthening our faith. God is our foundation, and we are constantly renewed and reformed by abiding in God\u2019s Word. We are set free from the bondages of sin by the Truth established for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God\u2019s one true Word. \u00a0Amen.<\/p>\n

-The Rev. Dr. Jessica Chicka, University Chaplain and\u00a0Dr. Scott Allen Jarrett, Director of Music <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here to hear the full service John 8:31\u201336 Click here to hear just the sermon The Rev. Dr. Jessica Chicka, University Chaplain: Good morning! Can I say what an absolute thrill it is to get to share God\u2019s word with you today? I\u2019m always excited to preach when the Dean offers, but to get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25,36,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3241,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238\/revisions\/3241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}