Skip to main content

The Upload

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I pray you have had a good week.

I know everyone is getting ready for Halloween, but I am looking forward to Monday, October 31, 2016, for a very different reason. Aside from Halloween, October 31st is also the day that the church celebrates the Reformation. The anniversary remembers October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. At the time, Luther posted the theses in hopes of sparking a dialogue about ways to begin reform in the church. Unfortunately, the leadership of the church at the time didn’t see it that way, and division occurred. That action did, however, spark a series of reforms in our theological understanding of God’s grace, worship practices, the notion of offering scripture in the language of the people, and much more. And this Monday starts a year-long celebration in the Lutheran church worldwide, and in other denominations, as well, including the Catholic church, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation that will culminate on Oct. 31, 2017. In fact, on Monday, Pope Francis will be in Sweden to participate in a joint ecumenical commemoration of the start of the Reformation, together with leaders of the Lutheran World Federation and representatives of other Christian churches. This is a big deal, not because of what happened 500 years ago, but because, since that time, the reforms have not stopped. Oh, I know, at times it seems like the church never changes, but when we talk about the reformations of the 16th-century we cannot, and should not, speak of them as a one-time event. Reformation is ongoing. The church of Jesus Christ always stands in need of reform. As it was 500 years ago, and as it is today, God’s word is alive, speaks truth, it surprises with grace, and it sets us free. This is what we are celebrating.

My prayer for us as a congregation and for the church as a whole is that we always be willing to focus on being a “reforming” church. We should always be seeking new ways to express and share the gospel. As a congregation in a reforming church, the Lutheran church, we should never stop seeking ways to stand with the poor, outcast and the homeless as our Lord did when he came to show us how to live out our faith.

I am excited about celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, I pray you are, too.

Have a blessed and holy week!

Shalom,

Pr. Dave

Tags: Weekly Word