Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
I have just returned from a Reformation tour in Germany. For ten days 21 pilgrims considered the teachings of an unknown, seemingly inconsequential Augustinian Monk who would change the course of history. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Luther had committed his life to the Roman Catholic Church, but the church he loved had lost its way. The words and teachings of Jesus had been replaced by fear and superstition. Common peasants had fallen victim to the extortion of the world’s most successful money-making enterprise. The Gutenberg printing presses worked overtime as Luther’s call for debate spread from Wittenberg to the far reaches of Europe. This solitary monk found himself in the crosshairs of an institution that had no reservations when it came to executing heretics.
Three years later after much debate and Luther’s continued criticism of the Roman Church, Luther would be summoned to the German city of Worms by Charles V, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. This political assembly would be known as the Diet of Worms. There Luther was called upon to defend his positions and finally to recant his writings, a series of treatises critical of the Pope that were judged to be heretical. He stood before the emperor, the powerful electors and representatives of Rome. Luther asked for one night to pray for direction and to consider his response. A failure to recant would most certainly lead to Luther’s death. Martin Luther’s speech the following day at the Diet of Worms is considered one of the greatest pieces of oratory in world history. Here you have the final portion of Luther’s speech dated April 18th, 1521.
“Since your most serene majesty and your highnesses require of me a simple, clear, and direct answer, I will give one, and it is this: I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to the council, because it is clear that they have fallen into error and even into inconsistency with themselves. If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”
Luther was summarily convicted. By luck or providence Luther was entered into the witness protection program by Frederick the Wise, a very rich and influential German ruler. Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, becoming a target for arrest and execution in this life and condemned to hell in the next life. He would live the rest of his days as a fugitive. In fact, 504 years later Luther is still excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.
Will there be a moment in your life or mine when we will be called upon to stand against the powers of this world? Might the day be coming when our conscience or our faith will demand that we stand and be counted? Like Luther, will we garner the courage to say, “Here I stand, I can do no other. May God help us.”?
One beggar, telling another beggar where to find bread, I am your,
Pastor Jim
rvlindus@whidbey.com
