Devotion 10.21.26

Psalm 147

He Heals the Brokenhearted

1 Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

  for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

  he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted

  and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars;

  he gives to all of them their names.

5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

  his understanding is beyond measure.

9 He gives to the beasts their food,

  and to the young ravens that cry.

10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

  nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

  in those who hope in his steadfast love

God's love for his creation is abundant; his delight is not in the strength of beasts nor man, but in those who fear him and turn to him in hope.

We pause every year at this time to observe The Reformation, because Sunday (Nov 1) is All Saints Day, in which we remember the saints, those whose faith in Christ have assured us as believers on earth that they are with Christ.

The Reformation began the day before All Saints Day on All Hallows Eve (Halloween). That's the day which Martin Luther, in 1517, thought would be good to tack on the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. The list of thoughts, referred to as the "95 Theses" targeted reforms he sought in the church at the time. It is a significant date in history because the church responded as any large organization would. It responded as though it had been threatened. Luther thought they would love to engage in dialogue to strengthen the faith and make meaningful reforms to some of its weaker practices. He was wrong. People separated and began to worship under their own beliefs.

The significance of one invention, the printing press, put the 95 These into the hands of the people in †heir language (German). 

Today, what is commonly referred to as "The Protestant Reformation," is observed by people of all mainline denominations in the Christian faith. Its significance historically is lost for the most part. 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of The Reformation and launched a large effort to reteach the meaning of what happened that night in Wittenburg in 1517, yet people don't seem to understand its impact to our world then and now. 

How do I know this? Because people often ask, "Lutherans are like Catholics, aren't you?" The easy answer is, "Kind of." The truth is no. We observe the same calendar (except The Reformation), follow a similar lectionary (readings each week), and use a format in worship that is similar, BUT what we believe in terms of theology is far different.

Luther determined through scripture that faith alone is the only way to heaven, not by works or my measure of faith, but by God's measure - do we turn to him and confess from our hearts through our baptism that faith alone is the only door to heaven? Our hope is found in his steadfast love. The hope delivered in the form of Christ. Faith in him alone is our hope.

So, Sunday, Oct 25, is when on the church calendar we observe The Reformation. 

God seeks us to turn to him for our daily bread. May we receive that every day and in response to this gift, share the Good News of Christ with others. Amen.