THE REFORMATION AND THE WESLEYS
ANDREW BOOZER
is a tricky matter. The Methodist movement embodied a theological check on the Reformation, reminding it not to discard the truth of sanctification even as it rightly rejected a moralizing works-righteousness in the name of justification by grace. So, too, the Methodist movement resisted separating or splitting from The Church of England to form a new denomination. Wesley would utterly despise a denomination that had lost its roots in the mission of reformation and had become instead little more than the religious analog of a corporate brand. We might do well to recall and reflect upon Albert Outler’s lament about maintenance becoming the mission of the church, modified perhaps to reflect current realities and pressures as “survival become the mission of the church.” Whatever we celebrate when we mark the Reformation, we must not celebrate schism or minimize the seriousness of divisions in the church.
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WHAT SHOULD WE CELEBRATE?
Without question, Methodism is a proud child of the Reformation, deeply committed to the gospel of justification freely offered by God in Christ. Yet, even as Methodism claims its rightful place in the Reformation procession, it recognizes its providential mission to continue the reformation. Perhaps the first way United Methodists and others in the Wesleyan family celebrate the Reformation is by recalling their reforming mission – to remind the whole church of God’s salvific gift,
The Rev. Daniel Bell
not only of justification or the pardon of sin but also of healing from the corrupting power of sin, of the sanctification that reforms sinners and enables holy living. In this reforming spirit, Wesley was fond of encouraging his followers to “provoke one another to love and to good works.” (Hebrews 10:24) So, United Methodists celebrate the Reformation first and foremost by living reformed lives, that is, living lives that reflect the power of God not only to pardon sinners but to sanctify them as well, forming holy tempers and holy lives. We celebrate the Reformation best by fulfilling our providential mission of provoking one another to love and good works. Moreover, we do this best not by keeping to ourselves, like a pile of salt off in the corner (to use again an image from John’s Gospel) or by celebrating our separated existence, as if schism and division were an inconsequential matter. Rather, it is our “peculiar glory” to exist only for the sake of the whole church, for the sake of provoking our sisters and brothers in other churches to love and good works.
SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2017
This celebration of the Reformation provides a wonderful occasion for us to revisit, or perhaps visit for the first time, the relationships we have with other denominations. Some of those are found in formal full communion agreements, such as we have with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the northern and southern provinces of the Moravian Church and the Uniting Church of Sweden. Others are informal, growing from a host of relationships established in local communities through shared worship experiences and works of mercy. Just as God raised us up so that others might learn of the glorious gift of sanctification, there is much we can learn from our Anglican, Lutheran and Catholic sisters and brothers, among others. In the end, to celebrate the Reformation as United Methodists is to celebrate the God who refuses to accept the separation, the division, the conflict that sin occasions. It is to celebrate the God who does not just pardon sinners but who also sanctifies – breaking down dividing walls, overcoming hostility, healing the brokenness that is sin by making sinners saints and enemies friends in Christ’s one, holy, catholic body, which is the Church. The Rev. Daniel Bell retired this spring from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina, where he was professor of theology and ethics. A United Methodist elder, he is a member of the Florida Conference now living in Salt Lake City.
United Methodist Interpreter
GERMAN UMS JOIN REFORMATION OBSERVANCE Anyone who wants to experience the Reformation will not by pass Wittenberg, Germany in 2017. The city is marking the 500th anniversary of the event with lots of information and experiences about history and today’s churches. The United Methodist Church in Germany is also participating and is part of the World Reformation Exhibition that opened in July. While still in office, now retired Germany Bishop Rosemarie Wenner announced that United Methodists would participate. “If we make the renewal power of the gospel work, reformation will happen at any time,” Wenner said. Participation in the exhibition also symbolized her gratitude for the membership of The United Methodist Church and other Methodist churches in Europe in the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE), which has existed since 1997. Churches from all over the world, international institutions, organizations, initiatives and many cultural creators are presenting their view of the Reformation at the Exhibition. The United Methodist booth has a large, three-dimensional puzzle “Re-formation.” The puzzle, used earlier this year at the “German Kirchentag” (church congress) attracts a great deal of attention there as visitors experience in a playful way how to deal positively with change. An already successfully joined puzzle is to be supplemented by a further part. The puzzle demonstrates how the initially disturbing part can be integrated.
The Rev. Klaus Ulrich Ruof is the communicator for The United Methodist Church in Germany. Contact: communications@emk.de