What to Wear on October 31st - Sermon for Reformation Day (Observed)

Reformation Day, (Observed) October 29^th, anno + Domini 2023
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, Custer and Hill City, SD
What to Wear on October 31^st - Matthew 11:12-19

 What will you be wearing on October 31^st?  

   At the seminary in Fort Wayne, they tell the story of a professor who was offended by Halloween.  I mean, at a Lutheran seminary of all places, October 31^st should not be given over to goblins and ghouls and tooth decay.  Rather, it should be a day of reflecting on and celebrating the Reformation.  Kids included.  So convicted, this professor organized an event at the Luther statue that towers over the entrance lane into the campus.  He suggested appropriate costumes for the kids: Bible characters, or monks, nuns, medieval noblemen, historical figures from 16^th century Germany.  He himself went dressed as, wait for it, the great Reformer, Martin Luther. 

   It turned out to be a doubly disappointing deal.  For the kids, it was disappointing because the prof stood in front of the giant Luther statue and lectured about the Reformation.  He didn’t even pass out any candy.  It was disappointing for the professor, because the kids (and their seminary faculty and staff parents) ignored the costume suggestions.  They came as princesses, firefighters, ghosts and monsters.  And, unsurprisingly, they left his event as soon as they were able, to go trick-or-treating.   

   Halloween, celebrated on October 31^st, is an abbreviation of All Hallows Eve, the night before All Hallows Day, that is All Saints Day, November 1^st.  Halloween is kind of an opposite, or anti-holiday, a dark day contrasting the white light of holiness.  There are traditions like Halloween in many different parts of the world, including Christianized places that developed anti-festivals the day before or around All Saints, like El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, in Mexico.  In contrast with the November 1^st celebration of God’s holy people, alive forever in Christ, on Halloween many people celebrate the wicked and the dead.    

   Of course, October 31^st is also Reformation Day, celebrating that day 506 years ago, when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany.  He called for a public debate about Church teaching, and this sparked the Reformation.  The Reformation was founded on Luther’s rediscovery and explanation of the pure Gospel of free and full forgiveness for all who believe in Christ.  So, it’s not hard to understand the professor’s frustration.  To spend October 31^st dressed like a monster, or something worse, while going around begging for candy, is to miss out entirely on the Good News of Jesus that was rediscovered during the Reformation.

   But dressing up isn’t all bad.  In fact, it is quite Biblical.  Think of John the Baptist.  He dressed and acted like a prophet of the LORD.  He wore camel skins, lived in the wilderness, ate honey and locusts, and preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  John dressed this way and did these things because he was a prophet, the final forerunning prophet.  John was the new Elijah, chosen and sent by God to prepare the Way for the Messiah, the promised Savior. 

   Jesus also appeared a certain way, like a 1^st Century Jewish rabbi, or teacher.  He preached in the synagogues on Saturday.  Then He spent the rest of His time walking around the countryside, teaching His close followers, and the larger crowds that gathered to hear Him.  I don’t know exactly how rabbis dressed, but they would have needed something to stand out, distinctive clothing or mannerisms, to be recognized.  Jesus played the part, not to pretend anything, but because He is the Master Teacher, the Wise One sent from God, come down to give light and life to all people.   

   But, as Jesus pointed out, the Jewish elite didn’t like the looks of either of them.  Pleased with themselves, they would not mourn with the self-denying John; he was too harsh.  They labeled him a lunatic, demon possessed, for his ascetic lifestyle and his bold preaching, which happened to condemn most especially them, the Jewish elite. 

  Neither would they rejoice with the life-giving Jesus, who was too extravagant with His favor, associating with tax-collectors and sinners.  Jesus did not mimic John by living in the wilderness and eating bugs.  No, even more shocking, He made a habit of talking to, blessing, and even eating and drinking with despised and lowly, sinful people. 

   “What are you wearing on October 31^st?” is a good Christian question.  At Halloween, children and adults enjoy pretending to be something they are not, putting on a costume and play acting in a make-believe role.  This can be good or bad.  But the reality is, all of us are donning outfits and play acting all the time.  We can’t avoid it really; it’s been this way from almost the beginning.  Ever since Adam and Eve tried to take on a new identity, when they tried to be like God.  Sadly, they ended up exposed as sinners, naked before the Holy, Holy, Holy LORD. 

   And how did the LORD help them out?  Well, first He made a promise, the promise of a Seed who would come from the woman and crush the serpent’s skull.  And then, God made them clothing from animal skins, covering their nakedness and shame, until it could be taken away forever.  Some un-named animal, perhaps a male sheep, gave his life to clothe our first parents.  And so, in Scripture alone began to sound the saving Word.  These first blood-bought animal skins foreshadowed the robes of righteousness, which Isaiah prophesied, clothes that cover sin and save sinners.  Jesus accomplished the sin-covering atonement, and so revealed the righteousness of God, found in Christ alone.  This is the free gift that saves, which is received by faith alone.  It is not necessary for us to earn this gift: then it wouldn’t be a gift.  And thanks be to God for this, because we could never do the works required to earn it.  God rejoices to give salvation to you, without any payment from you.  Clothed in Christ, the Father declares that we are holy, saints of God, by faith in Jesus. 

   But why does believing in Jesus gain you this new outfit, clothing from heaven, robes of righteousness?  Because Jesus wasn’t just the rabbi who most perfectly fulfilled the teacher’s role.  He was not just a physician who most perfectly fulfilled the healer’s role.  He was not just a man who led His people, showing that a truly good king loves and serves His nation.  Jesus of Nazareth was all of that, yes, but even more, He is God, become a man.  Jesus, the all-powerful and ineffable LORD, the eternal Son of the Father, put on human flesh, being born of the Virgin Mary, the One truly Just Man.  The Righteous One.  And this Incarnation miracle was not just a temporary costume change.  Jesus took on our humanity forever, in order to perfect it, to fulfill our calling as the crown of creation by trusting completely in His Father.  Then He sacrificed Himself, so that He could share His perfection, His holiness, His righteousness and goodness, with us.  Because He is forever the perfect Man, we have forever perfection, in Him.        

   What are you wearing on October 31^st? 

   I would prefer that none of us wear costumes that contradict and corrupt who we are in Christ Jesus.  It can be harmless fun to put on a costume and pretend for a while.  But be wise, because harmless fun can turn dark quickly.  You might dress up as Bigfoot.  But pretending to be an ax-wielding murderer or a flesh-eating zombie would be to celebrate violence, and death, which is the enemy.  Maybe you want to go to a Halloween party as a medical professional.  Fine.  But not as a “sexy-nurse”.  This is not what God, who has given you your body, and gave His Son to redeem it, would have you do with your body.  We who have been clothed in Christ are called to keep our garments pure and spotless.  We can and should make wise choices about the personas we adopt, even if only for a night. 

   But we do not keep our robes of righteousness pure and clean.  Even if we swear off Halloween altogether, and spend our October 31^st reading Martin Luther and the Bible he translated, even still, we daily sin much and soil the righteous robes that Jesus has won for us.  Reading Luther, and especially reading the Bible, are wise and wonderful things to do, on October 31^st and every day.  Indeed, the more consistently you hear and read God’s Word, the more easily you will see the sin that remains within you.  Which sounds bad, but truly is a good thing.  God through His Word will always point out where and when you fail to live the holy life He has called you to live.  But do not despair, for along with conviction for sin, the Word also delivers redemption from sin.  Even as the Spirit shows you your sin, He also shows you your Savior.  The Lord is patient with you, bringing you to repentance, in order to restore you with His forgiveness.  All of this to say that each day God in His Word calls you to wash your robes and make them white again, in the blood of the Lamb. 

   Wisdom is justified by her deeds.  Jesus closes our Gospel reading today by switching metaphors; but in this switch, He ties all His teaching together.  How should we understand this?  Do our wise deeds justify us?  No!  This is what the Jewish elite, the Pharisees and Scribes and Rabbis all thought and taught.  This is the same lie that had choked out the God’s truth in the medieval Church, the darkness that God dispelled through Luther’s rediscovery of the pure Gospel. 

   Our deeds, our works are neither wise, nor can they justify us.  If we human beings could justify ourselves, if we could make ourselves right with God, then there was no reason for Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the altar of the Cross. 

   Wisdom is a person, and that person is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ come down from heaven, the Word of God made flesh.  He is justified by His deeds.  Jesus is justified, shown to be good, righteous and holy before God His Father, through His life of love, the darkness of His death, and the brilliant light of His resurrection.  And the Good News, the Gospel, is this:  His justice, His righteousness, is so great, that He can and does share it with all who see and trust in Him.  By faith, John the Baptist is caught up in the justifying work of Jesus.  And so are you.  Enlightened by Jesus’ glory, justified by His work, you stand innocent and holy before the Father, covered, dressed, in the perfect work of Christ.  Our Teacher, our Savior, has gone before us to the eternal Judge and has secured our “not guilty” verdict. 

   What are you wearing?  The right answer is the same, whether we think of October 31^st, November 1^st, or any other day between now and that great Day when Jesus will appear again on the clouds, to usher us into the new heavens and new earth.  Every day, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus, we go on our way, dressed in the righteousness of Christ.  To be sure, when we look inside ourselves, when we examine our hearts and minds and actions, we feel like we are just wearing a costume.  But the Holy Spirit constantly calls us to look up, to look outside ourselves.  Look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who hung naked on the Cross in our place.  Jesus despised the shame and accepted the suffering, in order to win the victory for us, for you.    

   Christians are little Christs, because we are clothed in Him.  God the Father looks at you believers and sees His beloved Son, and so you are also beloved.  And God is not the only one who sees you.  As you live by faith, depending on God’s grace, as you walk humbly with your God, seeking to love others as you have been loved, as you daily repent, and seek the robe-washing forgiveness of the Lamb, others will see you.  Souls who do not yet trust in Christ will see you, and wonder.  Some may ask, and you get to tell them the reason for your hope.  All of us together get to invite them to join us to find the perfect clothing, in Christ Jesus alone, today, on October 31^st, and forever and ever, Amen.