Christ the King Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

October 25, 2026 / Reformation Sunday

Psalm 46; John 8:31-36

Happy Independence Day.

No, you haven’t entered a time warp.  Summer really is over, as the overnight temperatures have reminded us.  And no, I haven’t gone off my rocker, thinking that it’s early July rather than late October.  I say “Happy Independence Day” because that’s how some have viewed the events of October 31, 1517:  a declaration of independence, of freedom from the shackles of Rome.  Certainly that’s how some of Martin Luther’s contemporaries viewed the Reformation and its aftermath:  a reshaping of political power within the Holy Roman Empire.   And sadly, in my opinion, many Lutherans throughout history have largely remembered Reformation Day as a celebration of Lutheran culture and, more generally,  Protestantism’s  independence from (and presumed superiority over) Roman Catholicism.  Just as those in the crowd misunderstood the freedom Jesus was talking about in John chapter 8, so, too, do we miss the point if we think this day is about ecclesiastical freedom.

Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  And those who were listening to him responded indignantly that the Jews were never not free.  Aside from the fact that the descendants of Abraham had spent hundreds of years in slavery in Egypt, the people were also not really free in Jesus’ day since their country was occupied by Rome.  But even their historical and cultural amnesia was not the point.  Jesus wasn’t talking about political freedom; he was talking about spiritual freedom.

Spiritual freedom, as Jesus clarifies in his response to his listeners, is a freedom from sin.  That doesn’t mean that we are not capable of sin – we all that’s not true.  But we are freed from its deadly effects, whether you want to take the long view and say that means we are freed from hell, or whether you want to take the everyday view and say that we are freed from hell on earth, which is what we would experience if our sin cut us off from God’s loving presence. Freedom = forgiveness.  Our spiritual freedom is also a freedom from fear.  We know that whatever troubles may come our way, God’s got us covered.  We’re not in control.  And while that sounds very scary, if it’s a choice between the power that I have to effect change and the power that God has, I’m gonna go with God’s power every day, and twice on Sunday!  That’s freedom – not to have to worry about the final outcome . . . of anything.  Freedom = trust.   And our spiritual freedom is freedom from that sense of isolation and loneliness that comes to all of us at one time or another.  Although there are more communication tools than Jesus’ listeners could ever have imagined, and although we may have family and friends around us, still we are keenly aware that no one can fully understand our struggles and pain – except Jesus.  He can.  And he has promised us a permanent place in his household; he has promised his presence forever.  Freedom = never being alone.

Now I’m going to get all geeky on you.  I’m going to talk about prepositions.  So far we’ve been considering what our relationship with Christ frees us from:  from sin, from fear, from being alone.  But what is a Christian freed for?  What is the purpose for our Christ-given freedom?  One of Martin Luther’s most influential works was his treatise, “On the Freedom of a Christian.”  In it, he wrote that "A Christian is the most free lord of all, subject to none.   Christians are free, that is, subject to no one on this earth.  That’s the freedom from part.  But Luther continues, without pause, to the second equally true statement:  “A Christian is a most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.”  That’s freedom for service.  We are freed by our relationship with Christ to serve one another.

November is right around the corner.  And November is going to be a big month of serving here at CTKE.  You’ll read more about this in the newsletter, but let me give you a preview of all the ways you’ll be invited to join us in serving one another.  Three ways you’ll expect because we have a history of these events.  The tried and true ways of serving are   collecting food for the Survival Center’s Thanksgiving dinner distribution; distributing our Starbucks funds – those moneys set aside in our budget to help different agencies; and asking for your annual stewardship pledge to support the work of this congregation in the year to come.  The new project this November is Rick’s Place, an organization here in Wilbraham whose mission is to help grieving children, teens, and their families.  That’s a lot of projects we’ll be asking you to support next month, in addition to the giving that you already regularly do.  And your elected leadership sometimes gets a little nervous about making too many asks.  But here’s the thing:  you can decide which projects you want to support.  And here’s the other thing:  our freedom in Christ allows us to serve one another without fear.   We can give freely, knowing that God does not require more than we can offer, and that God will provide for all of our needs.  Freedom = loving one another.

And the loving and serving aren’t just about money.  Our freedom from sin, our forgiveness, allows us to offer forgiveness to others.  If there’s someone who has hurt or offended us, let us pray that God will help us to pass on the forgiveness we have received.   Our freedom from fear, our trust, is another wonderful gift that we might share.  When we encounter someone who is struggling because they feel as if they’ve lost control of their lives, we can remind them of the one who is our refuge and strength, our very present help in trouble.  And when someone in our community is feeling lost and alone, we can show up for them with the comforting presence that Jesus has offered us, whether that’s by offering a ride to worship or giving them a meal from our community freezer or sending a card or picking up the telephone.  Our relationship with Christ, and the gifts that he freely offers us, free us to love one another in these tangible ways.

"A Christian is the most free lord of all, subject to none.   A Christian is a most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.”   Those two sentences sound contradictory.  And yet they are both true.  Let us give thanks for our freedom in Christ – a gift that shows us that we are loved without reserve.  And then, trusting that the Lord of hosts is with us and the God of Jacob is our stronghold, let us use our freedom to recommit ourselves to the work of love.  That is the true spirit of Reformation!  We are freed from all that would limit us, and freed to love with God’s limitless love!