Reformation Day - October 31

Tomorrow, October 31, children and adults across North America and Europe will celebrate Halloween. A walk around both my neighbourhood and my workplace reveals that many have spent time and money to decorate their houses, yards, and office doors and windows. There are bats, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, coffins, gravestones, black cats, hideous faces carved in pumpkins, witches on broomsticks, cobwebs, mummies, and much more--and that's not even counting any of the costumes that will be walking about tomorrow.

They will celebrate Halloween. As for me, I choose to celebrate Reformation Day. This is the commemoration of the day on which Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, Germany. That was October 31, 1517. That act, 491 years ago, instigated the movement known as the Reformation.

Make no mistake. The Reformation was no small or insignificant event. It influenced politics, economics, society, literature, the arts, and even the development of the English language. And it reformed the religious system of the day.

At the core, it was religious movement that celebrated the rediscovery of the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

That good news has not changed; it is as true today as it was when Luther posted his document on the church door. He originally wrote in Latin, but his theses were quickly translated into German and printed and distributed throughout Europe. You can read the 95 Theses at the following web site: www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm

Ninety-five of anything sounds like a lot, and "theses" sounds awfully academic, but actually, what Luther wrote were 95 simple statements (that's what's meant by "theses.")

Scholars debate whether Luther actually nailed his document to the church door or not. For sure, we know that on Oct. 31, 1517, he wrote a letter to his superiors protesting the sale of indulgences. With his letter, he included 95 propositions or statements protesting against various corrupt practices of the church. He was the first Protestant.

Regardless of whether or not Luther ever had a hammer and nail on that day, the Castle Church door has become famous as a symbol of his act. The original door burned down, but in the 18th century, bronze doors were fashioned with the 95 Theses permanently engraved on the panels of the doors.

As for Luther, he left the priesthood, was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church by the Pope, became an enemy of the state, translated the Bible into German, wrote hymns, got married to a (former) nun, and fathered six children.

On this day, may Christians everywhere remember their heritage and the great cloud of witnesses who surround us.

It's Christmas All Over Again!

I know Christmas is over for another year (although driving past a friend's house this morning on the way to work, I noticed their Christmas tree still lighting up their living room window!), but a delivery card in my mailbox let me know that a parcel for me was waiting to be picked up at the post office. I went down after supper and yes, it was Christmas all over again! A box of books. Can there be anything better!

This delivery brought a treasure trove: The Geneva Bible, 1560 edition. Advertised as "the Bible of the Reformation," this Bible is a bit different from what we used to. Who knew that the letter "s" used to look like the letter "f" or that "v" looked like "u"? What this means is that "love" is "loue" and "bless" is "bleff." So it will take us a bit longer to get through this than perhaps we anticipated. The interesting thing about this edition, though, it that it contains notes in the margins by various Reformers. We think these annotations will be precious and revealing. (This book really was a Christmas present that didn't arrive in time!)

The other book was The Reformation: A History by Diarmid McCullough. I'm looking forward to reading this. It's quite hefty, but I want to make more time this year for reading.

The last thing I uncovered in the box was a five-set DVD on the history of the Bible and of the Reformation. These I plan on watching while walking on the treadmill. Talk about redeeming the time! The minutes and miles just flash by!

Although I receive lots of e-mail everyday at both my work e-mail and personal e-mail addresses, I'm still excited to receive a box of books from the post office!