Re-formation

Re-formation

As I prepare for another Reformation Sunday, I can't help myself but to trail my thoughts back to a weekend in the Cevennes in the Massif Central of France.

The Cévennes according to Wikipedia are a range of mountains in south-central France, covering parts of the départements of Ardèche, Gard, Hérault and Lozère. The word Cévennes comes from the Gaulish Cebenna, which was Latinized by Julius Caesar to Cevenna.

But, the Cevennes for Protestant Huguenots was a place of hiding and the clandestine continuation of worship. In the caves and rocks of the rugged area, Huguenots kept their Protestant faith alive. The French Reformed Church is the descendant of the efforts of those early 16th century rebels. 

One place in this region is a place of pilgrimage. It is not Mecca, nor Rome, nor Edinburgh, but it is the Musee Du Desert. It is situated in the heart of the lower Cevennes, in the Mas Soubeyran, a hamlet in the commune of Mialet, it retraces a long chapter of Protestant history, which had a great impact on the region : the Desert period. Here, each year the French Reformed Church holds a service of worship. Thousands gather to sit together under the trees to sing hymns, to read freely from Scripture, to be baptized and to remember those in faith who paved the way for religious reform. 

I had the privilege of traveling with my senior pastor and my congregation from Chalon sur Saone to join with congregations from all over France to gather together for worship at the Musee Du Desert. 

There among the trees we spread our blankets and set up our chairs. We laid out elaborate baskets of food to share with one another. We brought our hymnals with us and we began to sing. The Reformation instituted that every family home should have a Bible and a hymnal with the order of worship. Families were to conduct worship in their homes. 
It was a powerful witness to me as a foreigner and not a descendant of the Huguenots to be among the faithful pilgrims. The joy of the voices rising above the trees, and the Word of God resonating over the rocks and hills reclaimed the power of faith within me. 

Touring the museum afterwards to see the tiny Bibles women hid in their hairdos and the barrel converted to a pulpit strengthened my resolve to be faithful to the Word of God and the people of God. 
Religious wars are never right. Religious intolerance is always wrong. And so we do not lift up the injustice on both sides of the Reformation. We lift up the power of God to transform us in our ways and in our thinking. 
The strength of those who hear God paving a new way, being reformed in faith, and seeking to follow God has transformed me. I reminisce on that weekend eleven years ago and my heart is warmed because of the experience and the friendships. 

May God continue to re-form me and transform me to the image of Christ our Lord.