Today marks the day that, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door in Wittenberg.
The first thesis is this: 'When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" (Matt. 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.' He goes on to say what 'repentance' is not. Obviously, he was speaking against the corruption he identified in Rome. The Greek word for repentance that he is appealing to is metanoia, the word still used in Eastern Orhtodox churches. It implies a turning that happens daily. A turning from self and that which is corrupt and damaging to God and neighbor and that which is whole and healthy. Let us remember, as Luther implores us, to turn our entire life everyday to god.
Later, in thesis 55, Luther writes, 'It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.' One thing I appreciate about the liturgy in my church is that we hear the Gospel read every week and as we do, the pastor moves toward the center of the room. We all stand and face the center and cross our foreheads, our mouths, and our hearts - that the life-giving words of the Gospel would transform us. For Advent, we will sing before and after the reading - our small way of hearing the Gospel with, as Luther proclaims, 'a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.'
Whether we find ourselves in the Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, Anabaptist, or Anglican traditions of the church. We can all be thankful today for the courage and conviction of the reformers. And we should all remember that while our faith is and always shall be rooted in history, it is also always reforming as we seek to live faithfully in response to a changing world.
Comments