Today we mark the 500th
anniversary of the protestant Reformation. And while we may know the folklore
of an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to a church
door, and his words “Here I stand, I can do no other” when he boldly refused to
recant his criticism of the Catholic Church, the significance of the
Reformation, Luther’s role in it, and, more importantly, its meaning, and
relevance, for us today may not be as well known.
Before we talk about what we
treasure from the Reformation, it is important to say aloud that Luther was
human and imperfect and some of his later writings are ugly and address people,
particularly Jews, in language that is rightfully called anti-Semitic, and has
been repudiated in our lifetimes.
What we celebrate today is that five
hundred years ago in 1517, Luther risked his position in the Church and as a
university professor to publish his 95 Theses, a list of topics he wanted to
debate that addressed the ways the Catholic church and the papacy, the
authority in Rome, were corrupt or inept. Luther was neither a church planter nor
a missionary; he never intended to start a new denomination, but he urged
reform. Calling the Bible “the manger in which Christ is laid,” he argued that
common people should be able to hear and understand Scripture; until then, it
was only read in its original languages or in translation in Latin. From his
own reading of Scripture, Luther had discovered the evidence of God’s abundant
grace and taught that God grants this unmerited favor; it is not mediated
through a priest, earned by good works or purchase. Whether he was teaching
Bible at the university, in conversation with students and colleagues, or
writing sermons, catechisms, prayers or hymns, Luther was a teacher and he was
eager for everyone to know God’s grace received through faith in Christ.
Even as we celebrate this
anniversary of the Reformation, we remember that it wasn’t accomplished in one
day, or even one person’s lifetime. Our tradition honors the risks taken by the
Reformers and empowers us to continue to advocate for a Church that tears down
barriers and shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is that God’s grace, given
for you, without exception or condition. The late Lutheran pastor Tim
Lull wrote,
"Many Christians today are
understandably skeptical about how important old confessional issues are for a
future oriented church. There was a time when there was no Lutheran church and
there will come a time -- surely at the end and perhaps long before -- when
there will be no need for a Lutheran movement within the church catholic. My
own sense is that this time has not yet come. A homogenized Christianity would
be unlikely to have the courage to proclaim grace freely, to celebrate
Christian freedom, or to admit that the church itself is often sinful and
deeply in need of reform."[i]
Psalm 46, the psalm
for today finds us in that place that Pastor Lull names – a place where we feel
deeply the despair of sin and brokenness. It is a psalm that was read widely at
community services after the events of September 11, 2001 and it continues to
offer “an anchor against the sense of chaos” that we experience today. Whether
you are suffering, or heartsick about someone dear to you, or just generally
dismayed by the state of the world’s affairs, this psalm speaks to you in your
circumstances.
It is what Old
Testament professor James Limburg calls a psalm of trust, but notably, the
psalm is spoken in plural voice; this isn’t one person praying or singing; it
is a community, standing shoulder to shoulder, proclaiming what we know about
who God is and then listening when God responds with a promise and assurance of
divine presence. Gathered as the church, we are bound together in a common
faith and tradition, and we trust in God’s promises because God has already demonstrated
what God can do, in the lives of our ancestors in faith and in the lives that
we share with each other.
With God’s command to
“Be still and know that I am God” we are reminded that our worries and
handwringing and our angry shouts and frustrated rants are but crude
expressions of the helplessness we feel and we are given permission to respond
differently to the events around us. Naturally, we can respond fearfully and
anxiously. But the psalmist encourages us to, instead, adopt a courageous, even
fierce, defiance toward what makes us fearful, and confront it with quiet
confidence.
Writing about this
psalm, Limburg tells the story of a retired pastor he met who had lived in East
Germany. The man owned a trumpet and had played in brass choirs throughout
Germany during his lifetime. Before he retired, he had a practice of opening
his window and playing two hymns each morning at eight o’clock; as it happens,
his parsonage faced the offices of the communist officials in his town. Like
bells chiming from a church, the hymns were reminders of faith to anyone who
could hear them, including the people working in those offices. When he met
Limburg, he played two of the hymns. Limburg didn’t recognize the first one,
but the second, was “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, one of Luther’s best-known
hymns. In its verses, Luther paraphrased this psalm to proclaim that our
enemies cannot win the day because the kingdom is ours forever!
While it is easy for anniversary
celebrations to become backward-looking forays into a romanticized past, the
500th anniversary of the protestant Reformation compels us to
recognize the ways in which we are semper
reformanda, reformed, and also, always being re-formed, by God. It is not a wistful look in the rearview
mirror but a hope-filled assessment of what God is already doing in us and the
work that God is equipping us to do next.
Let us pray…
Holy and Living God,
When we are wounded or
afraid, you are our refuge and hiding place. Thank you for the gifts of Your
Word and faith, given to us in your son Jesus Christ;
Thank you for the
Church that you have built and the Kingdom you promise; give us courage to
continue to break down barriers, that all of your children would know your
infinite love and mercy.
Amen.
[i] Timothy Lull, The Vocation of Lutheranism, Lund, Sweden,
2000
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