OCTOBER 31—REFORMATION DAY Please listen to this link for a moment: youtube/watch?v=y5Mw0O0BdwU Listen to this sound. It is the sound of building--Of renewal and repair. Implicit in its rhythm—the hope in the future and a determination to build toward that blessed day. To the Believer, the sound of a hammer and nails is often associated with the Crucifixion of Christ—A strident and staccato clanging of massed iron on sharpened spike. But this is not that sound. Those spikes on Good Friday some two thousand years ago—driven in obvious anger, brought forth Blood that washed clean the putrefying wound of man’s fall—and bridged the formerly-insuperable gulf that had distanced every child from their Heavenly Father from Eden to Calvary. In a stroke, as Our Savior said in His agony that dark day—“It is done.” This hammer sound in the recording is a different rhythm and certainly conveys far less anger. Surely it is the sound of patient workmanship—earnest and purposeful, but not fueled by hatred or fear. It is the sound of a new world arising, almost in a whisper—like new plants breaking forth in the soil of the forest floor—unheard and unseen at first, but with a power and purpose that cannot be long denied. Almost five hundred years ago this day, a man in Augustinian friar’s tunic walked the damp alleys and chilly streets of Wittenburg, in what is now Germany. Under that tunic was a man in turmoil, a scholar and professor of Theology—trained in secular law before taking Holy Orders, a man of education who still sought to know more of his God—a man of conviction to whom that God had revealed the light which illuminated the deepening malaise of the Christian Church. He was a man on a mission. Already, Martin had crossed theological swords with his superiors in the Church—having challenged their raising of funding to restore St Peter’s, in Rome, through the selling of indulgences throughout Christendom. In fact, he had written what became the document most closely identified with his life and person, Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences as part of an analysis and protestation of the papal practice of selling indulgences—long before this fateful day. His bishop and the political elite of Saxony were well aware of the disputatious professor. But today, his minor infamy in his little town was about to blaze into eternal fame, as he carried a copy of his Disputations under his cloak—and with them, a small hammer and several nails. Martin approached the main entrance of what is now known as All-Saints Church and, as was the custom with other public notices regarding Church matters, he began tacking page after page of his “Ninety-Five Theses” to the cathedral door. In short order, this barely audible hammer blows were to propel Martin into the vortex of a maelstrom of retribution by the Church and the State. He would be kidnapped and held prisoner, threatened with death and torture, excommunicated and vilified—but never would he recant and in the end, the power of his revelation and of the Spirit of God broke the back of the evil practice of selling indulgences and began the process of Reformation which is still ongoing to this day. One would think that this was enough for one man in a single lifetime, but one would be wrong. Almost as an outgrowth of Martin Luther’s persecutions, he was placed in a position to translate the Latin and Greek bible into his Native German, thus empowering the common folk of Germany to seek God without the intermediary of the clergy. He also became famous throughout Europe and people flocked to hear him speak and teach and he wrote many significant works of theology. There are many historical works on Martin’s life and his effect on the Reformation. Here is a very brief article available on the internet, the article touches on many of his accomplishments. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther#At_Wartburg_Castle I hope you take a little time to read about this man who, although living an obscure life in a remote town, allowed the power of his God to shine through him—and in so doing, changed the world. OH! And Happy REFORMATION DAY!!
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:38:49 +0000