Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
Wartburg Theological Seminary (WTS) has a gym on campus. It is not the best equipment. Most of it dated because it was bought secondhand or donated to the seminary. Before I had a gym membership at the local YMCA I enjoyed going down to the gym. At that time I lived by myself completely broke in a one bedroom apartment and needed something to fill my time. The highlight of the gym wasn’t the gym equipment, the really old TV, or the workout videos from the 1970’s. The highlight of the WTS gym was its name, The Re-Formation Room (REE-FORMATION). How fitting for a Lutheran seminary to name its gym after the reformation. Do you ever give thought to this pronunciation for reformation? The goal of Martin Luther was not to break off of the Catholic Church but rather to reform it. He sought to take this church that he loved and bring it back to something that reflects God’s grace. When Martin Luther was excommunicated he was given no other choice but to start a church movement separate from the Catholic Church. Interesting enough the idea of reforming didn’t stop in the 1500’s. It continues even to and through us. The idea of continuing to reform was reflected in the Second Vatican Council of 1965. Rather than bearing down on our differences both the Lutheran and the Catholic Church have sought to renew our relationship. This is why the celebration of 500 years since the protestant reformation has been done largely in conjunction with our Catholic brothers and sisters. We are on a journey from conflict to communion. So the Lutheran church (at least the ELCA) is seeking to reform through renewing and revitalizing a fractured relationship. As we look forward to October 29th, Reformation Sunday, it is important to think of how God’s grace and love through Jesus Christ is reforming us. Perhaps this grace is calling for us to renew, revitalize, reopen, rearrange, renovate, repair, restart, rekindle, or refresh. After 500 years of reforming, how might Jesus be calling you to reform? **This blog post comes from an article written by Pastor Reed in the October edition of "The Spire", a monthly newsletter for Augustana Lutheran Church. If you are interested in recieving the newsletter on a regular basis please email [email protected].
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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