On Sunday, this community will gather around three of our young members and celebrate as they affirm the baptismal promises God made to them long ago. As they are confirmed, the congregation too will reaffirm its promise to support of them in their lives of faith. As is the case again this year, we conduct this ritual on Reformation Sunday, remembering our Lutheran heritage for embodying a church that is always being made new. And our focus text will center on the building of the first temple in Jerusalem.
The story of Solomon building the temple invites us to consider how faith communities shape the world around them. Solomon’s temple wasn’t just a grand structure—it was a place where God’s presence was to be experienced, not only by Israel but by people from every nation. In his prayer of dedication, Solomon asks, “When a foreigner… comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven… so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name” (1 Kings 8:41-43). God’s vision has always included all people, inviting us to see faith as a shared, expansive mission.
On Reformation Sunday, we remember how Martin Luther envisioned a church that transcended narrow boundaries. Luther’s challenge to the medieval church was to embrace God’s free gift of grace, which could not be earned or contained within human-made structures. Diana Butler Bass notes, “Grace is not an escape from life, but the embrace of it—living within the presence of God in every moment, every breath, every step.” Just as Solomon’s temple invited the nations in, and the Reformation invited new ways of being church, we are called to live out our faith in ways that welcome others and reflect God’s grace.
This week, let’s ask: How are we building spaces—physical or spiritual—where others can experience God’s love? How can our lives reflect a vision that extends beyond our own comfort zones and into a world in need of hope, mercy, and connection?
May God’s peace find you today. -Pastor Peter
Let’s pray… God of all people, open our hearts to embrace your global vision. Help us build lives and communities that reflect your love, grace, and welcome for all. Amen.