Luther's 95 Theses

I can't imagine the courage. He had grown up in and around the church. He had felt the burning call on his life and heart. He had trudged through seminary, and more. He found himself placed in a small, seemingly irrelevant small town parish. He served the people well, cared for them, loved them, even as he struggled with some of the inconsistencies around him in the church, in the lives of his parishioners, and even himself. It took some time, deep prayer, some kind of divine intervention I imagine, as he assembled his 95 presuppositions and suggestions for the greater church. The powers that be would not approve of this young rebel challenging tradition...

But he took the hammer and the nail and the 95 Theses and posted them anyway, in as public a way as possible long before there was Facebook or blogging. He stared tradition, habits, legacies, and old power structures in the face and responded with scripture, prayer, and passion. What a guy.

In today's church, there are young and old alike who are attempting to do the same. The emergent conversation seems to brim with voices of similar passion and direction to Luther. In this Presbytery, I have met and made friends with several pastors and elders who are also reexamining their own congregations and assumptions in favor of doing God's mission instead of maintaining status quo. I am in awe of Luther, and any of Luther's descendants, regardless of denomination, who take on this challenge with humble confidence, and awe-filled courage.

Yet I also realize Luther was not as celebrated in his life as he was long after his death. I imagine most of his life, he found himself supported by some, but opposed or doubted by most. I sense that Luther probably spoke passionately, and confidently. But on the inside, I wonder if all those other voices seeking to hold him in check and to re-assimilate him into the traditional church model didn't plague his dreams, and leave him with a painful skepticism about his own visions. I even wonder if it was this tension itself which might have made "grace through faith" a reality for Luther.

In this season of Thanksgiving, may we be thankful for all that God has done in the church, and despite the church, since the beginning. In this season of Advent, may we be open and willing to the surprising new ways God is working right now among us, and not be so trapped in our habits or expectations that we miss God in our midst. And in the season of Christmas, may we be willing to move quite a distance in our heart and mind, to give our best to the unexpected arrival of God in an unlikely place, and to sing songs of joy to what God has done for us.