Artistic Reflections on Reformation

Poem: The Truth about Reformation

Reformation rumbles

when we try to make sense

of the world around us,

when we go looking

for clarity and comfort

in things we already know,

traditions and tools we already have

and still, we find them lacking.

Reformation remembers

how often faithful dissent

and brave wonder have been

confused with harm and heresy,

a theology of transformation

conditioned to stay fixed in place

and devoted to more of the same,

a kingdom compromised and captive.

Reformation refuses

to hustle and borrow and earn

what God has declared generous,

a gift beyond mortal measure

so wild and free it disrupts everything

that aims to contain and conserve

what is meant to keep moving,

an ancient blessing and truth about love.

Story-ing the People

Once upon a time there was a man

who tried to save himself, to earn

God’s pleasure and life after death.

If anyone could do it, he could.

Martin was a monk and knew the law.

He spent his days in study and prayer,

tucked away from much of society

to focus on higher, spiritual things.

But the harder he aimed at perfect,

the more lonely and lost he felt,

the more he searched and questioned

his own motivations and God’s, too.

Could there be another way,

a wider way to fear and love God,

one that honored his humanity

instead of resenting it so much?

What would it look like to entrust

his eternal salvation to God in Christ Jesus

and to live like he’d been set free,

to be honest and beloved and whole?

Martin wrote a catechism for parents,

so families could practice faith together

at church and at home, in daily life

and everywhere God is with us.

When scripture gets in the hands of the people,

reformation rekindles and sparks

from embers of a faith that always finds

new words and ways and will for asking:

What does that mean?

Where did it take place?

Who did that law benefit or harm?

How does that story transcend time?

Why does any of this matter today?

It’s a tool to use, a lever to pull,

a lens to help us see that God delights

in high altars and dinner tables,

grand sanctuaries and hearths at home.

It’s a reminder the sacred story

is still spilling into our lives, quenching

our dignity, belonging, and purpose

with promises that never run dry.

Reformation rumbles

not just once long ago, but whenever

the people start asking and

keep asking and can’t stop asking:

What serves our own piety

and what serves the living God?

What truths are contained and captive

and who benefits from keeping them small?

Where does the kingdom need our resistance

for this faith to be more fully free?

What is passing away

and what is being made new?

A Blessing

The God who knows what it’s like to be human,

who makes and keeps the very promises we need,

who works through ancient wisdom and new experiences,

who is with us in the suffering and tension and pain of this life,

who delights in our goodness, not our grind toward perfection,

who is still speaking in scripture and the mysteries of the Spirit,

who is love and mercy that interrupt judgment…

meets us in the curiosity, grace and freedom of faithful conversations

that never end.