PENTECOST XXIII
REFORMATION DAY
October 31, 2021
From “I Am Not Ashamed” to “Here I Stand!”
For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith . . . The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans 1:16
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. Martin Luther on trial in Worms, Germany, 1521
Martin Luther gained a great deal of insight through many of the Apostle Paul’s letters that are part of the New Testament. Several of Paul’s statements of faith as a gift from God, that works cannot earn us salvation, and that the sole authority of Christian belief is the Word of God, resonated with Luther, opening doors for enlightenment and understanding.
You may recall that Paul — then known as Saul —was an educated man, a faithful Jew, who persecuted the followers of Jesus with fierce intensity. His life changed when God called him to ministry and mission in a dramatic and terrifying experience. (read Acts, Ch. 9).
Luther was a young man with a university education, who was caught without shelter in a terrible thunderstorm, and as lightning struck nearby, he cried out to God for protection, promising to become a monk if he was spared. Well, he wasn’t killed, and he did become a monk, but as part of a formal religious community, he found himself struggling with self-loathing and overwhelming feelings of sinfulness and unworthiness. There was no reason to hope, no possible way to do enough good works to earn eternal salvation.
Although they are separated by centuries of history, the lives of Paul and Martin share some similarities, as God’s grace and love was at work in and through them, as they were called to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Through God’s power, they became articulate preachers and teachers, stood firm in their beliefs, and laid the foundations on which our faith continues to rest. Although they were persecuted and exiled for what they were doing, they continued to write, to learn, and to encourage others in their work. They helped establish communities of faith that were far outside the existing institutions, and both, by their presence and their writings, supported and enlightened new believers and new non-Catholic Christians.
The life of a Christian is not a solo act. Looking at the faith, the dedication, the insights that are part of our Lutheran Christian heritage, we are humbled by these ancestors and many others. We are the beneficiaries of a rich heritage, as across the millennia and the centuries, once again we hear these words for all humanity:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God . . .” The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 2:8
Amazed at such grace,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers