"Costly Grace," based on John 8:31-36 (reading follows sermon)

Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.”

For many of us, truth is based on living our lives with integrity. A value that seems in short supply today.

The Reverend Elizabeth Edman is a lesbian Episcopal priest, who once shared a story about what she learned from her mother about being true to oneself.

Elizabeth was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1962. Back then, her world was defined by rigid binaries: white and black, rich and poor, north and south, male and female.

Being a tomboy, the last one didn’t work so well for Elizabeth. But her family had taught her: “Be who you are, even when people give you guff.”

When she was five, Elizabeth went to a shoe store with her mother to shop for sneakers. But the shoes she liked were in the boy’s section. Elizabeth dragged her mother there, saying, “Mama, c’mere! Let me show you the ones I want!”

When they took the shoes to the counter, the store clerk said with a disapproving tone, “Those are boys’ shoes.” But Elizabeth’s mother didn’t hesitate, and firmly told him: “Yes, size four, please.”

I believe Elizabeth’s mother demonstrated the kind of radical acceptance and love that’s central to our Lutheran understanding of grace.

I also believe our Christian faith is about accepting yourself. It’s about being the person God created you to be, fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God.

As Jesus said, “The truth will make you free.”

Of course, sometimes living out that kind of grace in our lives can be challenging and risky, even scary, especially in our modern world.

During World War II, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and Lutheran theologian, who grew up in Berlin, where his father worked as a prominent professor. His mother was one of the few gutsy women of her generation to obtain a university degree.

Eventually, seeing what was happening around him, Pastor Bonhoeffer gathered up the courage to speak up against Hitler and his administration. Because of his daring witness, Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis in April 1943.

Before his death, Bonhoeffer wrote and preached extensively about the cost of following Jesus. He challenged Christians to consider what it means to truly live out grace in our lives. Bonhoeffer made a distinction between cheap grace and costly grace.

For him, cheap grace was the blind following of Christian doctrine, or Church hierarchy, or a dysfunctional government, without any questions.

In contrast, Bonhoeffer described “costly grace” as:
“The treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it, someone will gladly… sell all [they have]. Such grace is costly… because it costs [your] life, and it is grace because it gives [you] the only true life.”

As Jesus said, “The truth will make you free.”

500 years ago, Martin Luther, the founder of our Lutheran tradition, demonstrated what costly grace really means. During the Reformation, Luther preached that Christians are saved only by the grace of God, and not the institutional church, which he claimed was corrupt and misleading.

In response to Luther’s 95 Theses and other writings, the Catholic Pope Leo X charged him with heresy. The pope called Luther to defend himself at the Imperial Diet of Worms, an assembly of political leaders of the Holy Roman Empire. Kind of like an impeachment hearing for Luther.

In April 1521, Luther testified and refused to recant his teachings. At the end of his speech, Luther spoke the famous words, “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.”

The trial ended with Luther’s excommunication. The emperor also declared Luther an outlaw—making it a crime for anyone to give Luther food or shelter, and actually encouraging people to kill Luther without any legal consequence.

Threatening words that weirdly echo our modern political discourse.

Not many of us Lutherans today face the kind of threats Luther faced. But I believe God still calls us to live our faith with the risk of losing what is precious to us.

The risk of losing our social status because we stand up for the oppressed.

The risk of losing friends or family because we dare speak out for immigrants or children in detention camps. The risk of losing a job or career, because we dare to come out of the closet.

That’s what is meant by costly grace. That’s the kind of freedom Luther discovered by carefully listening to the Gospel of Jesus.

And that’s the kind of freedom we Lutherans can share with one another. The kind of freedom where God calls us to be fully and freely human, despite and even with all our character flaws and past mistakes.

As Jesus said, “The truth will make you free.”

That kind of truth makes it possible for God’s grace to become real here among us. Including those of us who are gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgender. Including those who are often forgotten—the homeless and those struggling with mental illness or chemical dependency. Including those of us in broken relationships or dealing with grief. Including those of us condemned by other Christians.

Here at St. Mark’s Lutheran, I believe we are a community that steadfastly lives out the true meaning of costly grace.

Something that Martin Luther started so long ago. Something that, by doing what we do here, we stay faithful to the word Luther preached.

Something that, as we follow the call of Jesus—both as a community and as individuals—will bring us true freedom.

As Jesus said, “The truth will make you free.” Amen.

----------------------------------------------------
1 "Devotional Classics," edited by Richard J. Foster & James B. Smith; "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

+ + +

GOSPEL LESSON: John 8:31-36
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So, if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”