A sermon for Evensong on Reformation Sunday at the church of
St Michael & All Angels, Headingley, 26 October 2025
Readings: Jeremiah 31:31-34 / Romans 3:19-28
We are here this evening to remember one of the most significant periods in European history: the Reformation of the Western Christian church. It is part of our shared heritage, a pan-European movement of the Holy Spirit. A fulfilment, if you will, of Jeremiah 31: “I will put my law within them, and write it on their hearts”.[i] But without enquiring minds asking difficult questions, the Reformation would never have happened. So in that spirit, I am going to ask, and hopefully answer, several questions myself.
Firstly, what was the original Reformation about?
The short answer, that most people will know, is ‘ a response to corruption in the Roman Catholic church culminating in the 16th century’. But it is more complex than that. As early as the 13th century, forerunners such as Francis of Assisi and the Waldensians sought to live a simple Christian life in contrast to the wealth and complexity of the Roman church. A century later, others, from Jan Hus in Bohemia to John Wycliffe and the Lollards in England, started to consider the idea of Scripture having a greater authority than the Church’s teaching, where the two differed[ii].
Beyond these ideas of church reform, the movement was politically complex. The balance of power between Church and State, the influence and at times threat of Islam, and the invention of the printing press to distribute ideas more widely and rapidly: all these contributed to the Reformation.
Nor was it a ‘clean split’ between Catholics and Protestants. The early Lutherans, it seems, were more conservative in their theology and liturgy than the churches properly called ‘Protestant’ such as Baptists and Calvinists. What they did seek was doctrinal reform.[iii] In response, the Roman church sought to reform its own doctrine.
The reform of the Church in England – what later came to be called Anglicanism – was, if anything, even more complex, both politically (thanks to Henry VIII) and theologically. It was also, more than in other countries, largely a lay movement. The difference between Catholics and Protestants in England was about power structures, putting control back in the hands of the local gentry rather than the King and his Bishops, as much as about doctrine.[iv]
My next question, then, is ‘What do we learn from them?’ A common factor of these various Reformed traditions was to rediscover the principle that Christianity is at its heart a way of life, not a set of beliefs.[v] Or as the theologians of the time put it, the ‘Church invisible’ (that is, the set of people known only to God who truly have faith in Jesus), is more important than the ‘Church visible’ (its buildings, finances, clergy and synods).[vi]
The principle by which the ‘Church invisible’ might be recognised is expressed in the term ‘Righteousness through faith’ as set out by St Paul in the letter to the Romans. This was a particularly strong emphasis in the Lutheran church.[vii] It is by faith in Christ that we are saved, not through works (that is, keeping the commandments either of Bible or bishops).
Another principle common to the various Reformed churches is making the scriptures and liturgy accessible to the common man in his own language.[viii] The treasures of those Scriptures and liturgies: the translations into English by Tyndale and his successors, and into German by Luther and others, the prayer book by Cranmer, are still with us today with surprisingly little alteration.
Another lesson from this period was the importance of appealing to people’s heart, soul and mind[ix] , to the Church’s mission to society and the ‘Christian Social Order’.[x]
But - and there is always a but – these genuine differences of theology and church order were used by some to sow division, just as we see happening today. The tactics of a minority, both Catholic and Protestant, have been described by a leading historian as ‘hooliganism, bully boys, rent-a-gang mobs’.[xi] Both sides claimed their martyrs. This is one result of the Reformation that we must strive to avoid in our day.
Of course the breakup of the European church did not stop in the 16th century. Reform and further divisions continued through several centuries, leaving us with the multitude of Christian networks and denominations we have today. The process continues, as with the Anglican Communion’s division between conservative and progressive wings.[xii] Which brings me, at last, to the phrase at the heart of this sermon:
Ecclesia Reformata, semper reformanda. ‘The church reformed, is always to be reformed’. A phrase attributed to the 17th century Dutch reformer Johannes Hoornbeeck. The principle of Reformation, of listening to what the Spirit is saying to the Church through its Scriptures and traditions, demands that we can never see any one expression of Church as being uniquely and always the best one. If reformation was needed then, it is also needed now.
Before I move on to the question of what reform might be needed in our own day, there is one other important question to consider: Who reforms the Church?
Talk of ‘reform’ in the church may be associated with pressure groups, think tanks, consultations, and so on: the usual channels of democracy. But this is to make the reform of the Church a matter of human choice. On the contrary, the reforms that have lasting and positive impact are those that begin, not with good ideas or majority votes, but with God.
Again we come to the question of the Church visible or invisible, True reform springs from the Church invisible. When the Spirit moves the Church, it is usually from the bottom up. Revivals begin in unlikely places, Ideas come from the people with the least influence, but who prayerfully listen to what the Spirit is saying through the Scriptures.[xiii]
What, then, might need reforming now? As I explained at the start, reform in the church can never be separated from changes and challenges in the world around. As printing changed medieval Europe, so the digital society & artificial intelligence are radically changing our own world, by no means all for the better. The challenges we face seem immense: authoritarianism, racism, war. Some talk of societal collapse; climate catastrophe seems inevitable. How can we see Christ reforming his church in our day to meet these challenges while remaining true to the Gospel?
At this point I confess to being no prophet. But it seems to me that in the face of a society falling apart, there is an even greater need for Churches of all kinds to seek once again our unity in Christ, to agree that there are fundamentals that bind us together in love, that are more important than differences, to show the world that peaceful disagreement is possible.
This must start with a correct understanding of what the church is: ‘small c’ catholic but contextual, both visible in its structures and invisible in its common faith. Beyond the walls (visible or invisible) of the Church, we do see around us examples of the Church joining with all people of goodwill to mitigate, adapt, and resist the ungodly forces in the world around. We share this desire with our Muslim, Jewish, Humanist and other neighbours. This, I suggest, is the basis of the twenty-first century Reformation. Not to divide the Church further, nor to deny the uniqueness of Christ, but to witness to the world what it means to set differences aside and seek common purpose as His body.
As I come towards my conclusion, I become very aware that this need for reform is not only a corporate necessity, but an individual one. Reformandus sum: I must be reformed myself. At one level, this is merely the constant need for spiritual refreshment. We all have what one 17th century Dutch reformer called the ‘Tendency to sag’.[xiv] At another, it is to become aware of how God is reforming the Church around us, maybe in ways that are not immediately obvious.
What we, as Christians, have uniquely that other faith and community groups lack, are the belief in Christ’s resurrection, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise of Christ’s return. His parables make clear that he expects us to continue in good works until that day. Not for our own benefit, not even primarily for the benefit of others, but as servants of Christ for His purposes. The vineyard workers, the wise virgins, the servants given talents to invest: all these were expected to serve their Master faithfully until he returns.
As we approach the season of Advent once again, perhaps this year it is time to reflect on these things. Firstly on what it means to be a child of the Reformation that gave us such benefits: the Scriptures in our own language, freedom to study and apply those Scriptures prayerfully to our local context, freedom to worship in a way informed by our culture and God-given personality.
Secondly, to reflect on how we can seek common cause with those in our communities whose faith differs from our own, in responding to the urgent needs in the world around us. Always seeking to build peace, not sow division.
For that, we must be able to see the ‘Church visible’ as enabling, not controlling: the local congregation, its priests and bishops are there to support and encourage each lay person in their own labours for Christ as part of the ‘Church invisible’, not to dictate or suppress them.
And last but not least, to ask God to make us open to the reforming power of the Holy Spirit, to draw us as individuals and as Church communities into whatever reform he desires for the Church in our day. To that end, may we all be ‘good and faithful servants’. Remember: Ecclesia Reformata, semper reformanda.
Amen.
[i] Jeremiah 31:33, NRSV
[ii] Green, Vivian: ‘A New History of Christianity’, Sutton Publishing 1996, pp 95-97
[iii] Neill, Stephen: ‘Anglicanism’, Pelican 1958, pp 32-33
[iv] Neill p 35
[v] Green p 402
[vi] Sykes, Stephen: ‘Unashamed Anglicanism’, DLT 1995, pp 126-128
[vii] Neill p 49
[viii] Green p 125
[ix] Green p 213
[x] Bush, M D: ‘The history and meaning of Semper Reformanda’, article for The Outlook 1998 (accessed via christianstudylibrary.org 15/10/2025)
[xi] Green p 127
[xii] Green p 188
[xiii] Bush, ibid.
[xiv] Jodocus van Lodensteyn (1620-1677) quoted by Bush
One thought on “Semper Reformanda”