Wittenberg


Driving to historic Wittenberg this morning, I found myself reflecting on my morning's devotion from Psalm 3, which starts,

O Lord, how many are my foes!
   Many are rising against me;
many are saying to me,
   "There is no help for you in God.

Martin Luther
Could there be better verses to describe the upheaval caused by Martin Luther when he nailed 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle? The Church of his day, the very institution entrusted with proclaiming salvation, had turned grace into currency. What began with one man's frustration over the corruption of the Mother Church became the rebellion we call the Protestant Reformation. 

Initially, Luther was responding to his own crisis of faith. As a catholic monk and scholar, he could not reconcile the stories of God's unqualified mercy with the church's practices and teaching on indulgences. In his struggle, I imagine him praying the next section of Psalm 3.

But you, O LORD, are a shield around me,
   my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
I cry aloud to the LORD,
   and he answers me from his holy hill. 
I lie down and sleep;
   I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.

Luther was not planning a revolution – he was calling for a return to the gospel of grace. To his way of thinking, if God's mercy could be purchased, then Jesus died for no reason. But Luther was mistaken if he thought he was sparking a civil discussion with the Church powers that be. The Church went after him and tried to silence his ideas. They discredited, silenced, and persecuted him. His resilience is captured by the rest of the Psalm.

I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
   who have set themselves against me all around.
Rise up, O LORD!
   Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
   you break the teeth of the wicked.
Deliverance belongs to the LORD;
   may your blessing be on your people! 

Historic Wittenberg
All this was running through my head as I arrived in Wittenberg. The bucolic countryside, the charming buildings, and the polite shopkeepers painted a very different picture from Luther’s fiery complaint. As I walked through the village, I wondered, “Where were the monuments of defiance, the placards of protest, the battlegrounds for new ideas?” It was all too nice, sweet, and pleasant. 

Wedding in the Town Square - bride on motorcycle 

Crusader Praying

That is until I started noticing that all these churches had monuments to the Crusaders. These 13th-century buildings each featured sculptures depicting the men who led the ultimately unsuccessful holy war that attempted to regain control of the Holy Land from the pagan Muslims. On top of that, I learned that Wittenberg, up until 1989, was part of East Germany. Among all the monuments to the father of the Protestant revelation, there were reminders of all the times humanity has made stupid choices to facilitate suppression and oppression. Maybe this place wasn’t so amiable after all. 


Stadkirche St. Marien
I needed to go to worship to sort out my jumbled thoughts. Fortunately, there was an English service at St. Mary's Church, the church where Luther preached over 2,000 sermons and worked out his theology of grace. The pastor led a prayer which stated, 

"By Your power, O Lord, You order the nations of the earth and hold our leaders accountable for justice, for the promotion of virtue, and for peace. Bless us with good and honest leaders who will hear and heed Your voice."

There it was. Martin Luther reminds us that the theology of grace must be coupled with the call to accountability. Our quest for truth must be marked by challenging the ones in power to be responsible to God. Our longing for God's kingdom CAN lead to a new world order marked by restoration and healing.  

Martin Luther reminded me that all it takes is one person of faith to set off a reformation. 





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