"...know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. "
Galatians 2:15-16 (NIV)
One of my favorite things about hearing young children learning the nuances of language is hearing their cute mistakes when they mispronounce words or mangle phrases. My daughter, Marion, has always loved to tell stories. Even as a toddler, Marion Ruth would weave a yarn or a tall tale in order to entertain herself, or her parents, or her most adoring fan, her younger brother Tom. When she was a little girl, her favorite way to begin a story was with the following phrase: "One OLD night..."
Joel and I thought it was the cutest thing we had ever heard. Privately, we wondered how a night got old...and what happened when a night got old, and how did an OLD night differ from a NEW night, or a MIDDLE-AGED night. But mostly, we wondered what was going on in that pretty, cute, creative, smart, curly-haired head.
Tasked by our staff in the weekly worship meeting to write a devotional about Martin Luther and Reformation Day, I find myself struggling. I started this devotion twice only to delete. I have written creative, funny, witty, pithy comments and paragraphs in my head several times in an attempt to make you, the "average" lay person care about how Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany and it changed the lives of Christians forever.
And when I sat down to write again tonight at the end of a long day, a long week, and a long year, with many things heavy on my heart, worry in my head, and burdens on my shoulders, I find I understand deep in my bones the phrase, "One OLD night."
One old night over 500 years ago, a young Catholic priest had grown weary of injustices being carried out in the Catholic church. So, he sat down and wrote 95 different talking points. Lacking a church bulletin board (because they hadn't been invented yet), and declining to air his grievances on social media (see previous parenthetical statement), he chose to start the discussion by nailing his ideas to the door of the church.
That hammer and nail on All Hallows' Eve (what we now call Halloween) marked the beginning of a revolution within the church, theology, and even birthed a new denomination. And if you want to read the 95 theses for yourself, I'm sure they're available with a quick internet search.
How are all of us still benefiting from the Reformation Luther set in motion?
If you don't have to pay for the forgiveness of your sins...if you can read the bible in your native tongue...if you can hear a worship service in your own language...if you can sing a hymn in your own language...if you understand the theological notion of justification through faith in Jesus Christ alone and not works...if you claim John Wesley as your spiritual parent...well, you're really sitting in the shadow of Luther as he nailed his theses on the door.
Perhaps Luther understood that one OLD night eventually gives way to a brand NEW day.
Written By: Christie Robbins