Traditions

The Rev. Joseph Winston

May 24, 2009

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
It is very difficult to start a new family. Almost immediately after the wedding,
changes need to occur on both sides of the aisle. The bride must make the trans-
formation from being a daughter into her new role of being someone’s wife. The
same sort of adjustment certainly must happen for the groom. He needs to become
a husband for his new wife. Trouble will definitely come if the new wife and the
husband do not do this.
In the upcoming weeks and months, the newly wed couple continues making
many modifications in their relationship. After a few tense moments, they finally
learn how much time it really takes them to get ready in the morning. What do
you mean that you need to take a thirty-minute shower every day? Why does it
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

1
take so long to put on makeup? The dinner table teaches them more lessons that
they need to learn. What do you like to eat? How long can you wait to eat? Who
is cleaning up the kitchen? Once again, both parties need to give and take if they
expect the marriage to last.
During the first year of marriage, other important decisions must be made.
Who does the chores? Where do we go for Thanksgiving dinner? When do we
open the Christmass presents?
Over time, all of these different choices become like second nature to the hus-
band and the wife. The man learns what it means to be a husband. He lets his wife
take as much time as she needs in the morning. He learns to like new foods. He
even can pick up after himself and might do the dishes when asked. Slowly, the
wife makes the needed adjustments. She lets her husband take the long showers.
She tolerates the way he keeps the house. She modifies her schedule for him.
Finally, everyone in the family just knows what they will do. Without being
asked, the older boys know that they are responsible for mowing the grass and
taking care of the animals. Normally, the girls go to town for our groceries. Ev-
eryone realizes that they must do their own laundry. The same thing can be said
about the holidays. We always eat Thanksgiving dinner at home and then we go
to your mother’s house. We open Christmass presents early in the morning before
going to “church” and we spend the evening with Mom’s family.
We have a name for the normal or customary way that we do things. It is
tradition.
All communities have traditions. Your family does things in a certain way. So

2
does mine. Towns have traditions. For the last fourteen years, Beasley has had a
“Beasley Bash” and Wallis holds an “Old-Time Fun Festival.” The Church is no
different. We have our own share of traditions that we keep.
In the Church, we group the customs that we hold dear into three areas: the
calendar that we keep, the way we worship God, and the teaching that we trust.
We Christians do not have the same calendar as the rest of the world. For us,
the first of the year is not January 1 but instead it is the first Sunday in Advent. This
year that date is November 29. For the next three hundred and sixty five days, we
have many minor days were we remember the witnesses that God sent to the earth
and four major festivals. The first large holy day that we celebrate every year is
Christmass, which traditionally in the West falls on December 25. The remaining
three holy days have dates that appear to change from year to year. They really
do not move around but it might seem that way because these dates are set based
on the moon rather than the sun. Good Friday, the day of our Lord’s suffering and
death, falls on the first Friday in spring that follows a full moon. In 2010, this
date is April 2. Easter is on the next Sunday, which happens to be April 4. The
Ascension of Jesus to heaven is always forty days later. This forces Ascension to
be on a Thursday. Next year this will be May 13 and this year’s Ascension was
last Thursday. Pentecost is ten days after Ascension. That makes next Sunday fifty
days after Easter.
Our tradition shapes the way that we offer God our thanks and praise since
we use the same form for worship that has been passed down by generation

3
 2
after generation. This is a requirement of our Lutheran Confessions. Philipp
Melanchthon, the author of the Augsburg Confession and its defense, makes this
point abundantly clear. Time and time again, he states that we continue to worship
God in the same way as the Roman Catholics.3 We both follow same readings
of the Scripture.4 Like the Roman Catholics, we use the ancient prayers of the
Church. Priest and pastors wear these types of clothes known as vestments both
here in Lutheran congregations and Roman Catholic parishes. Just like them, we
continue with the customary ceremonies. Following ancient practice, when the
congregation is present, we offer the Lord’s Supper to those who have been in-
structed, examined, and absolved on Sundays, holy days, and at other times.5
Lutherans also look to tradition as the way to read and understand the Scrip-
tures.6 This is not new with us. Martin Luther started translating the New Testa-
ment from Greek into the German the people spoke in 1521. This work was fin-
ished in September of 1522. Luther then worked with other scholars to translate
the rest of the Bible. When this Bible was completed in 1534, Lutherans shared the
same Bible as that found in the Roman Catholic Church. The major difference be-
2
The Reformers in general and Melanchthon in specific did allow for changes when he wrote
that different rites do not harm the Church. Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Articles VII
and VIII, n. 33; Theodore G. Tappert et al., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959),
p. 174; Augsburg Confession, E PILOGUE TO XXI, n. 4-5 (Latin); ibid., p. 49.
3
Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV, n. 9 (German); Ibid., p. 57; Augsburg Confession, Article
XXVIII, C ONCLUSION, n. 5; ibid., p. 95; Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Articles VII and
VIII, n. 33-34; ibid., p. 174-175; Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV, n. 1; ibid.,
p. 249.
4
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV, n. 1; Ibid..
5
Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV, n. 34-35 (German); Ibid., p. 60; Apology of the Augsburg
Confession, Article XV, n. 40; ibid., p. 218.
6
See for example Paulson in Lutheran Assertions Regarding Scripture .

4
tween the two was that the Lutheran translation was in German while the Roman
Catholic version was in Latin. Luther and the other early reformers would con-
tinue to confess that their interpretation of the Bible was not new. Rather, it was
nothing more than a return to the apostle Paul’s understanding of the gift given to
us by Jesus. That is why when asked to state how we are made right before God,
Phillip Melanchthon summarized Paul’s letter to the Romans, which says that our
works never save us.7 Instead our salivation comes from somewhere else. We con-
fess what the apostle Paul taught almost two thousand years ago. Jesus forgives
everyone. This gift is yours if you do not reject it.
This understanding on how the Church views the proper use of tradition should
make you uncomfortable when you learn the next fact. We are not hearing the
lessons assigned for the day. Rather, we are listening to the lessons from last
Thursday. We have moved Christ’s Ascension into heaven from the fortieth day
of Easter to the forty-third day of Easter.
It is not as if this lesson is an insignificant part of our life in the Church. It
is. It is a crucial aspect of our belief and the Ascension is a critical part of our
understanding of who we are. We find the first indication of this fact in a time-
honored way of driving a lesson home: repetition. Twice we heard the account of
Christ’s Ascension into heaven.
The first version of the Ascension was from the first eleven verses of the Acts
of the Apostles.8 After a brief introduction that reminds us of Christ’s forty days
7
Augsburg Confession, Article IV is a summary of Romans 3 and 4.
8
This book that should be really named the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

5
on earth after His resurrection, the narrator tells us that Jesus commanded the
apostles to say in Jerusalem and wait for the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 1:1-4). On the fortieth day, the apostles want to know when all the promises
of God would be completed (Acts 1:6). Jesus simply replies that this was not their
concern (Acts 1:7). Repeating an earlier message, Jesus reminds them of the gift
of the Holy Spirit and His command to go into the whole world with the message
of salvation (Acts 1:8). During this discussion, Jesus is taken away from them
(Acts 1:9). Flabbergasted, the men continue to stare into heaven until interrupted
by two messengers from God (Acts 1:10). These messengers tell the apostles that
Jesus had been taken to heaven and that He will return some day (Acts 1:11).
The second account was from the very end of the Holy Gospel according to
St. Luke. Jesus has been raised from the dead. He has appeared to Cleopas and
his unnamed companion on the way to Emmaus. Peter and all the other apostles
have seen Jesus. They have shared a meal of fish. Jesus now explains one more
time that He is the complete fulfillment of the law, the prophets, and the psalms
(Luke 24:44).9 He continues teaching them and then tells them what they will do
(Luke 24:45-46). Starting in Jerusalem, they will tell the whole world that their
sins are forgiven (Luke 24:46-48). They are to remain in Jerusalem so they receive
the promised gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49).
Now, Jesus leads them a little way out of town and there He blesses them one
more time (Luke 24:50). God takes Jesus away from them (Luke 24:51).10 The
9
This alone should be enough reason for us not to change the Bible into a gender neutral
account because when we do this, we cannot see how Jesus fulfilled the law, the prophets, and the
psalms.
10
The text has two different verbs for movement διΐστημι and ἀναφέρω. The first verb means

6
group then falls on their face and worships Jesus (Luke 24:52a).11 They finally
go back to Jerusalem and there they tell others about Jesus in the temple (Luke
24:52b-53).
Not only do we hear the lesson about Ascension twice today, but we also
confess this in all of our creeds that Christ returned to heaven. This belief is in the
Apostle’s Creed that is used at every baptism. It is found in the Nicene Creed that
defines what we believe as Christians. The Ascension is even in the long creed that
many people would like to forget. It is part and parcel of the Athanasius Creed that
teaches us about the nature of the Trinity.
The action by God the Father that takes Jesus to heaven redefines the Holy
Trinity itself. No longer is the First Person of the Trinity in charge. This is now
Christ’s work (Ephesians 1:20-21a). The Father also relinquishes His control of
creation and gives it to His Son (Ephesians 1:20). The re-division of authority
does not end here. Now there is One name above all others (Ephesians 1:21b).
At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth (Philippians 2:10). The Son has changed. Now the Second Person of the
Trinity has a human body that was crucified. He has borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4a). He did this so that we could live. The Third Person of
the Trinity has accepted a new role. The Holy Spirit comes to each of us so that
we can be witnesses of what Jesus has done for us.
moving away and the second, an imperfect passive verb in the text (ἀνεφέρετο), indicates carried
up. Luke Timothy Johnson; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Gospel of Luke, Volume 3, Sacra
Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 404.
11
The verb used here, προσκυνέω, literally means to place one’s face on the ground in order to
pay homage.

7
 In many families, it is the mother who gets asked all the hard questions by her
children. “Mother, why do we have to do chores?” “Because I told you.” “Mother,
why do we eat Thanksgiving at home?” “Well, we do that because I want to be
with my family.” “Mother, why do we open Christmass presents in the morning?”
“If I let you open them on Christmass Eve, you would never wake up in time for
church.”
The name that we give to a mother or anyone else who answers these types of
difficult questions is teacher. We also have teachers in the Church and our instruc-
tors are responsible for answering all the “why” questions that we might have.
Here in the Church, our teachers have been letting us down. They have not
told us the answers to all the “why” questions. They have not reminded us of the
reasons we have our own calendar that models the Church year. They have not
taught us about the richness of our worship. They have not faithfully instructed us
in God’s Word.
The root of this problem is frightening. Many of our teachers in the Church
simply do not have faith in what Jesus has done for us. I am not speaking about
the lack of trust. We all doubt. I am referring to the constant denial of our short-
comings and then refusal to give the cure to our problem. Our teachers do not or
cannot say, “You have sinned and for that you will die.” They will not tell you,
“Your sins have been forgiven by the death of Jesus.”
That Word of law that drives us to despair coupled with the unconditional
promise of new life in Christ is what the authentic tradition of Christianity is all
about.

8
 We do not say if you believe you will be saved. We do not teach that if you
want to believe then you will live forever. We do not tell you that if you are sorry
for not believing that you will be forgiven.
All of these examples are wrong because each one of them depends on some-
thing that we do.12 That is not the Good News because there will be times that
I cannot believe. This is not the Peace that passes all understanding on the ac-
count of I do not always want what it good for me. This is not the Gospel since
sometimes I am not sorry for what I have done.
Your Good News, your Peace, your Gospel is given to you freely. Your future
is good because the Crucified lives as Lord. He has ascended into heaven to make
a place for you. He will come for you because He loves you no matter what.
We all know that traditions do not come about overnight. It takes a family
years before all the repetitions eventually sink in and the habit finally becomes a
tradition that lasts.
We also realize that traditions in our family change. Beloved members leave
when they die and new ones are welcomed in through marriage, birth, and adop-
tion. We understand that traditions are also forgotten when we do not tell people
why we do what we do.
We have a decision to make. With God’s help, we need to select what traditions
we value and then teach others why we keep these customs.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
12
For a good explanation of this way of thinking see Lutheranism The Theological Movement
and Its Confessional Writings.

9
minds through Christ Jesus.”13

References

Gritsch, Eric W. and Jenson, Robert W., Lutheranism The Theological Movement
and Its Confessional Writings, (Fortress Press, 1976).

Johnson, Luke Timothy; Harrington, S.J., Daniel J., editor, The Gospel of Luke,
Volume 3, Sacra Pagina, (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: The
Liturgical Press, 1991).

Paulson, Steven D., ‘Lutheran Assertions Regarding Scripture ’, Lutheran Quar-

terly, XVII (2003), pp. 373–385.

Tappert, Theodore G. et al., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959).

13
Philippians 4:7.

10