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October 2023

Dear Friends,

Grace and Peace to you in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. September has flown by! It’s officially Autumn, and now we’re in October. Which means it won’t belong until October 31st…. Reformation Day! You thought I was going to say Halloween didn’t you?

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with Halloween. It did begin as a church holiday, ya know? AllHallow’s Eve or Hallowe’en, is the night before All Saints Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints(hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

And, as many of you know, something big happened on All Hallow’s Eve 506 years ago. MartinLuther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg and lit the fuse on a cultural explosion that would come to be known as the Protestant Reformation. The events of October 31st, 1517, and the days/months/years that followed it, changed Christianity and the World.

But, what does it mean for us now? Is the Reformation something that happened? Or, is the Reformation still happening? Did Martin Luther have the final say on the Church’s need for reformation? Or, was Luther only the beginning? Is the Church done reforming? Or, is the Church always in need of Reformation?

To which I say, and I invite you to say it with me, “Ecclesia Semper Reformanda.” This was a phrase made popular by theologian Karl Barth, it means “the Church must always be reformed”. The Reformation is ongoing my friends. The reformation of “The Church” universal, the reformation of our church body (The ELCA), the reformation of our church (Lutheran Church of the Cross), and the reformation of ourselves as we are continually reformed in the image of Christ.

To continue the reformation as “The Church”, we must continually seek ways to be reconciled to our estranged brothers and sisters in Christ. To continue the reformation as the ELCA, we must continually examine what it means to be a large body of believers affirming our unity of belief in Christ and our interpretation of the Gospel and how we live that out.

But, the big question of the day is, how do we continue the reformation as Lutheran Church of the Cross? And, how do we continue the reformation of Lutheran Church of the Cross? How is God calling us to be reformed to better serve God’s kingdom here in Muncie? How are we answering God’s call and continuing to reform who we are and who we serve as a church? Perhaps talking about change induces too much fear in the church. Maybe we should talk instead about reformation, trusting that it is God who is reforming us in order that we may better do God’s work with our hands.

Last but not least, how is God reforming you to better equip you for this bigger reformation work?

Yours in Reformation,
Pastor Robert