Reformation Day, October 31, 2016

Today’s Hymn   
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing.
Our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe.
His craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he.
Lord Sabaoth his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him.
His rage we endure,
for lo, his doom is sure.
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth.
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also.
The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still.
His kingdom is forever.

Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (tune: Ein’ Feste Burg)
trans. Frederick Henry Hedge
from Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal

Reflection
Today is Reformation Day, a day we celebrated in worship yesterday, as we always do on the last Sunday of October. So we have recently sung this hymn with all the stops pulled out! The great reformer  Martin Luther adapted Psalm 46 and gave the hymn this shape.

Psalm 46 is always assigned for Reformation Sunday and I’ve wondered why that might be. For when I think of the images used for God in this hymn (fortress and bulwark), I imagine things that don’t move, don’t change, are certainly not open to reform. Yet when we pay attention to the Reformation movement in our history, we are led to also pay attention to our call to continually be open to the reforming, new winds of the Spirit. Paying attention to our historical Reformation nudges us to recognize the tension of living in a space where we celebrate who we have been, while knowing we have not yet arrived on our journey of sanctification.

This creative tension between past and future reminds me of the great line in our Book of Order when it talks about innovation in our use of language and expression. It states that in worship, “while respecting time-honored forms and set orders, the church may reshape them to respond freely to the leading of God’s Spirit in every age” (The Dynamics of Christian Worship, W-1.2005). In other words, even in our worship, we try and find the balance between order and chaos, honoring and holding on to the best of our past while actively moving into the promise of our future.

So why do we sing this hymn on Reformation Sunday? How is it that this hymn aids in our continual reformation? Might it be that this fertile tension of “being a Church Reformed, always willing to be reformed according to God’s Spirit” (our Reformation slogan) is precisely why Psalm 46 is always read and sung on Reformation Sunday? James Mays, Old Testament scholar, offers a potential rationale for tying this Psalm with the call to be open for constant reformation. He writes, “the Psalm does not invite us to trust in a place, but in a Presence” (Mays, James, Psalms: Interpretation (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox) p. 185). So I wonder if the images of God as bulwark, as mighty fortress, are not images meant to suggest a static, stay in one place kind of God who is closed and locked up tightly; but rather, images meant to evoke a trust in the promise of a Divine Presence who is always constantly with us, even as we move, change, shift. I wonder if Luther’s adaption of this Psalm is meant to give us tools for being ready to be reformed.

After all, if we remember that God travels along with us every step of our journey, doesn’t it change the way we feel about possibilities for our future? If we know and trust that no matter how often we feel the chaos of change; no matter how often our own strength begins to fail;’ no matter how often “though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,” because we are grounded in God’s abiding and constant presence, we can still be unafraid. God’s presence is the solid rock on which we stand, the mighty fortress in which we make our home, and the promise of God’s presence is what does not change, no matter what. May God’s promise of presence continue to give us courage, both as a church and as individual disciples, as well.

Prayer
O Mighty Fortress, bulwark of love and presence, open our eyes to the ways you travel with us on this day. Open our hearts for the constant reforming and renewing work of your Spirit. Don’t let us grow content with what is but give us vision for what, who, we might become as your people and as a church. Amen.

Written by Shannon J. Kershner, Pastor

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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