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Pastor's November 2009 Message |
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LUTHER: A MODEL OF BALANCE The 31st of this month (October) will mark another Reformation remembrance. For all of us, whether Lutheran or another Protestant Denomination, Reformation is very special. On that day our forefather in the faith, Martin Luther, posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, and by that act, sparked the reformation that has resulted in the emergence of the Lutheran Church. You may know that Luther never intended to begin a new church body. His hope was to reform the church body he was in – the Roman Catholic Church. But at the time, Rome was not in the mood to be counseled by an unknown German monk-turned-priest. Luther was excommunicated, but instead of ending it all, that action resulted in the birth of the Evangelical Church that was later named the Lutheran Church (though certainly not by Luther’s choice). Yet my desire in this article is not to share more on that theme but to highlight another aspect of Luther’s genius (or rather, God-given wisdom). Luther was able to discern what to hold onto of the old and what to add of the new. He kept some of his former Roman Catholic practices and added some new ways of doing things. While some other reformers were eliminating anything and everything that the Roman Church had practiced, Luther saw value in much of it and saw no reason to discount it. Thus Luther maintained an emphasis on the Sacraments, though emphasizing only 2 of the 7 that Rome numbered. He retained usage of the arts such as paintings, music, and architecture to help convey the truth of God’s grace, love and will. Yet at the same time, he chose music that the people enjoyed such as the German chorales rather than the 11th – 13th century chants of the Catholic Church. He continued to use the liturgical style of worship that was practiced in the Catholic Church, but he moved it out of the Latin language into the language of the people – German. Along with composing several hymns himself in the chorale style, he wrote a worship service that substituted hymns for many of the liturgical responses normally sung. He upheld the use of much of the Catholic liturgy but removed the parts that venerated Jesus’ mother, Mary, and gave pastors freedom to include or exclude portions, as they judged best for their situations. He supported choirs but added an emphasis on congregational participation in worship. He appreciated church architecture that facilitated worship by impressing the senses, but eliminated the veneration (and worship) of icons or holy relics. More could be added, but I will stop with this.I share this with you because as a model for us today, and as an area for our thoughts and prayers. Change is happening all around us at an alarming rate. Some changes necessitate the church changing the way it operates. But in other worldly changes the church must stand up and say ‘NO’. Discerning which is which, if and how much is very challenging. We need to be open for the new and yet discerning of those things of the new that are not good. That is the wisdom that we see in Martin Luther. I pray that, by the grace of God, we would have a share in that wisdom as well.
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