Reformation Sunday

Some church groups are observing "Reformation Sunday" today, and this is a good practice. As one of the most significant events in the history of Christendom, it should remain a continual occasion for reflection.

In the time just before his passion, Jesus prays at length for his Apostles. Central to this prayer is the petition that they be kept in God's name, "so that they may be one just as we are." It is a prayer for a unity beyond even the highest examples of unity we can conceive, for it aims at the level of unity enjoyed between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity. Jesus then turns to pray directly for you and me, for those who will believe in Him through the words of the Apostles. He prays "that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me."

Although many of us tend to think little about unity these days, it would be difficult to overstate the emphasis Christ places upon it. At those times when we do think about unity, we often think of it in vague, abstract terms, rather than the concrete, visible unity which Christ prays will be displayed before all the world.

It is against this backdrop that we must recall the Reformation. Throughout the history of the Church, God has always raised up great men and women to accuse its shortcomings, call it to repentance and reform, and lead it in the paths of fidelity to Christ. Instead of choosing this path, however, Martin Luther chose a path of dissension and division. Whether from ignorance or pride, whether acting on his own or manipulated by others, he and those who followed him turned altar against altar, tearing in two the Body of Christ.

The Reformation marks one of the saddest moments in all of Christian history.

For me, it is easy to become deeply discouraged by this legacy of division, but to do so is wrong. Even out of great evil, God can bring good. The past five centuries, though rife with many problems, testify many goods that God has produced even in the midst of the disunity Christ prayed so strenuously against. It remains for us not to lose heart but to observe and recall this terrible element of our past, to recognize that it is a part of our heritage, to draw whatever good from it that we can, and most importantly to work toward restoring the unity to which we are called: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.