A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, October 25, 2009
Ephesians 4:1-16
Have you ever heard of Reformation Sunday? We usually just give it a nod on the last Sunday in October every year. It’s a day to remember the faith and courage of those who began the re-forming of the Christian Church nearly five hundred years ago, braving the power and anger of the Vatican and the Pope, and shaping the Protestant tradition.
Today is also a time to name some of the particular ways we’ve inherited the Reformed world view and worship style that we may take so for granted. As a Congregational, United Church of Christ, we’re within that Reformed tradition. As for my sermon title “Who is John Calvin and Should I care?” I’ll try to answer the first half of the question and you can decide whether you care. I’m no church historian, and while I’ve done a lot of reading and research for this morning, I don’t claim to know anything more about the topic than you might quickly learn. And I confess that 15 minutes demands simplicity more than depth.
Still, I want to talk about John Calvin today for three reasons. 1) 2009 is the 500th anniversary of his birth in France; 2) as we conclude our own congregation’s 275th anniversary celebration it’s important to recognize the Calvinist convictions of our founders; and 3) many aspects of our church life, particularly in our understanding of worship and the roles of clergy and laity, are rooted in the Reformers, including Calvin.
Remember: from New Testament beginnings until the 11th century all Christians were part of the catholic church – with a small “c” meaning the universal church. Over time the Bishop of Rome was elevated as first among many – the highest authority, the Father of the Church, the Pope. That’s what prompted the term “Roman Catholic Church.” In 1054 the Eastern church split from the Roman Catholic, or western church, and formed the Orthodox Christian tradition, and so it remained for 500 more years. But as the church grew, dissent grew. The teachings of the Roman Catholic Church regarding theology, doctrine, worship, and governance created tension and protest. Those who wanted to re-form the Church were often call Protestants.
Martin Luther, an ordained priest in the Catholic Church in Germany, was the first to openly express dissent, but the protest spread rapidly. Right next to Luther stood John Calvin, born in 1509 in France. His father wanted him and his two brothers to become priests, but John first studied philosophy and law. While at the University he encountered a small cadre of professors and students who believed the Catholic Church had lost its way. A short while later Calvin had a profound conversion experience that charted the direction for the rest of his life. He wrote a number of books and theological studies that significantly shaped the religious institutions of Europe, and died in 1564 in Geneva.
Calvin was a bulldog about his convictions and exhibited the skill and determination of a trial lawyer when advocating for his beliefs. Just what did he believe? I begin with a brief summary of his five key theological convictions, which are often referred to by their acronym, TULIP, T-U-L-I-P.
T: Total Depravity means we are infected by sin in every aspect of our lives. An unsaved person is unable to gain salvation on his or her own. Salvation is only possible if God wills it and causes it through the work of the Holy Spirit.
U: Unconditional Election some are saved and some are damned, solely by God’s choice and without consideration of our merits or deeds or faith. In fact our destiny is completely predestined and was decided before the world was created.
L: Limited Atonement means Christ died for the sins of those predestined to heaven, but not for those predestined to hell.
I: Irresistible Grace means God extends grace to those who are predestined for heaven, and that they cannot resist the gift of grace or its effect.
P: Perseverance of the Saints means those whom God has saved will always remain under God’s protection until they are brought to heaven.
{See – http://www.sullivan-county.com/news/mine/calvin.htm}
I don’t believe any of these, do you? They were certainly part of the faith of our founders and are still very evident in evangelical and fundamentalist Christian churches today.
Calvin’s strict and rigid theology played through the Reformation of the Church in Europe. He advocated strongly for the church to influence government and social patterns in Geneva. The notion of separating church from state was the last thing on the Reformers’ minds. To the contrary the new Reformed Church in Europe was strongly tied to the power of earthly kings in many countries. But they strongly advocated for the Church to shape the society rather than the other way around.
It’s no wonder, then, that when King Henry VIII of England established the Church of England – the Anglican Church – and declared himself the head of the Church in the 1530’s, the Reformers were furious. Put simplistically, King Henry rejected the Vatican’s assertion that the king could not divorce his wife and marry his mistress. In effect he decreed a new Christian Church of England and declared himself the head of the church, though he had little interest in theology.
The Anglican Church, however, remained substantially like the Roman Catholic Church in its worship, theology, and sacraments. This move was a catalyst for the Reformers in Britain. John Knox of Edinburgh, one of Calvin’s most prominent disciples, brought the Reformation to Scotland and fought against the English crown which tried to make Scotland Anglican.
In their zeal the Reformers caused great destruction, burning Roman Catholic Churches to the ground, or somewhat less drastically, smashing stained glass windows, tearing down icons and statues and otherwise transforming the old-style buildings to suit their convictions. The Reformers won, and established the Church of Scotland, governed by Elders or Presbyters, and the church today still carries the unmistakable influence of John Calvin, and John Knox.
Remember there are three forms of church governance. The first is Catholic meaning governed by a bishop; the second is Presbyterian meaning governed by Elders. I’ll return to the third in a moment. As the Reformation unfolded in England, Calvin’s influence spread to the Puritans – members of the Anglican Church who believed the British Kings (Henry, James and Charles) had abandoned the right and proper, biblical model for the church.
In addition to the Puritans, there was another religious group in England in the late 1500’s, called Separatists – a small band of renegades who’d separated from the Church of England entirely, seeking freedom of conscience and religious practice. They believed that neither bishops nor elders was the biblical model of Christianity. For them the purest form of church governance was congregational – governance by the will of the congregation (perhaps I should stop here for applause!)
These Separatists were considered a great threat by the Crown and were repressed and persecuted. After many of them relocated to Leyden, Holland for a while, to escape the torment of the king, they returned to England and quickly undertook their voyage from England to New England, with the hopes of religious freedom.
So on the voyage of the Mayflower, 1620, were two quite-different groups whom we sometimes mingle together: there were Separatists who intended to create a new religious community, and there were Puritans who intended to plant a renewed and reformed Anglican church that had some autonomy from the king and more involvement by the people. Let’s be clear: far from advocating the separation of Church and State, the Calvinists believed the best society was one shaped by Christian theology and administered by strict Christian clergy.
Fairly quickly the Puritans moved south to the mid-Atlantic States and the Separatists or Congregationalists remained in New England, spreading throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony and into the newer Colonies of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.
The early days of our community were much like hundreds of other towns across New England. The European settlers cleared the land, either subdued or bargained with the natives, established small communities, built block houses and meeting houses. They sanctuaries were plain and unadorned, no stained glass or decorations. As Calvinists they lived austere and sober lives with strict rules that were preached from the pulpit of the town church, and enforced by the constable – laws by which scriptural mandates governed civic affairs: Sabbath-keeping, marriage, property, and many other matters. Like their European and British ancestors they believed the Christian faithful – the elect – should influence and govern the people.
Ironically, while the Separatists and Pilgrims sought religious freedom from interference by the King, they were quick to replicate it here in New England. The Congregational church was established as the official church here until Maine became a state in 1820, and Massachusetts until 1833. In order to vote in a town election, you had to be a white, land-owning male, who tithed 10% of your income to the congregational church… hardly a separation of church and state!
In the time remaining I want to touch on a few characteristics of the Reformed Church tradition that we may take for granted, and in them hope you hear something that encourages you to care about the contributions of John Calvin and other Reformers.
First, God has created us, and our highest calling is to know and praise God, then to discern how we can live God’s will.
Second, the tools for discerning God’s spirit and will include scripture, tradition, faith, intellect, revelation, and mission. Prayer and worship are essential but not enough. God has created us whole and every element of our being is a tool for engaging God.
Third, our worship is centered in preaching and teaching the Word (capital “W”). Roman Catholic worship centers in the sacrament of communion, called Eucharist or simply “the mass.” Reformed worship is centered in the work of the people through music, prayer, scripture and preaching, then in responding with our gifts and offerings.
Fourth, ministry belongs to all God’s people, not just those who are ordained into particular roles as clergy. In and through our baptism, we’re welcomed into the household of faith and commissioned for ministries. As we read from Ephesians 4, each of us is called by God and our common task is to equip the saints for ministry.
Fifth, following Jesus is not only about personal faith and salvation, but scripture calls us to justice and mercy, both within the church and in our desire to help our communities reflect justice and mercy.
• While we may take them for granted, these five fundamentals under gird our life together.
• While we may not want to think about high-minded ideas like “ecclesiology” we know we’re congregational and not catholic.
• While we may have rejected much of Calvin’s theology, we know that God is at work and that our life together constantly evolves and moves forward through the ages.
• While we may not have the words to describe it, we know that we encounter the living spirit in our worship, our communion, our music, and our fellowship; in coffee hour, and food pantry, and soup kitchen, and common desire for every corner of our society to reflect the dignity and humanity with which God has blest us.
On this Reformation Sunday, in the year of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin, let’s resolve again to live our lives together with intention and direction and hope, blessed by the Holy Spirit, which is always with us.