495 years. We pause to give thanks to God for Reformation Day 2012. We thank God for the renewal movement that begun with the nailing of 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517.
On this Reformation day, it is my hope that member churches of the World Communion of Reformed Churches and our partners would renew our commitment to being God’s instruments of transformation in the world today. Our vision includes participating in God’s mission, that all may experience the fullness of life in Jesus Christ. We live in a world in which fullness of life eludes millions of people. We cannot remain complacent. We have to engage in transformative actions that gives more people the opportunity to experience fullness of life.
The seeds of the renewal movement sown by Martin Luther on October 31 1517 also brought along those seeds sown by Huldrich Zwingli, Bullinger and John Calvin whose legacy have shaped the Reformed family. We are reminded of the vision of John Calvin’s preparedness to cross ten seas for the sake of Christian unity. May this vision inspire us to be relentless in doing everything possible to overcome forces of disunity and work towards Christian unity.
The Reformed renewal movement beckons us to link our justification with justice and societal transformation. It is important for us to listen again to the words of prophets such as Micah telling us that the things the Lord requires of us are “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6: 8). The world is in need of expressions of doing justice more than ever before. Christians need to be at the forefront of fostering communities in which the gifts of women and men are appreciated, and all are committed to building just communities in which no one suffers because of race, economic status or any other factor – communities which respect and nurture the natural gifts of the earth without plundering them towards selfish or greedy ends. Doing justice includes concerted efforts to expose all forms of injustice in the world today.
The question for this Reformation day is: As members of a communion committed to justice, to what extent are we and people who belong to congregations of our member churches agents of renewal and transformation? May we pray for God’s renewal of the church in our times. May we in that prayer express our readiness to be used by God for the work of renewal and transformation. May we have a meaningful Reformation Day.
Setri Nyomi (Rev. Dr.)
General Secretary World Communion of Reformed Churches