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| Our group standing outside the place where Martin Luther is said to have nailed (posted) his 95 Thesis |
Alles klar?!?
Tiny Luther here and I am SO excited to share with youa little bit about my day today!
He was born on March 31, 1685 and died on July 28, 1750. A favorite quote of Pastor Aaron's comes from Bach who said, "The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul."
Bach lost his parents as a young child and went to live with his brother, a church organist. When Johann played music, he felt his soul praising God. In fact, he once said, "I play the notes as they are written but it is God who makes the music." After a few years, Johann got another job as church organist and choir director at a small German church. He directed the choir and wrote the worship music used in the church service. On each piece of music Bach composed he inscribed, "SDG" Soli Deo Gloria, To God alone be the glory.
How can you follow Bach's example and do all for the glory of God? Read 1 Corinthians 10:31 and find some of the ways you can do this.
After this short stop, we made our way to Wittenberg! (I'm a big fan of this place)
Since I, Tiny Luther, am a friar and not a monk, I was free to have a secular job, like teaching at the University in Wittenberg. After receiving my doctorate in Theology in 1512, I took a position as Theology Professor at the Wittenberg University 'Leucorea'. I gave lectures over the Psalms (1514-15), Letter to the Romans (1515-16), Letter to the Galatians (1516-17), and Letter to the Hebrews (1517-18).It was during an intensive study of the Letter to the Romans during which time I came to realize that people receive justice through the grace of God, not through good works: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
From 1514 I was not only theology professor at Wittenberg University but also the priest at the City Church in Wittenberg. While there I observed that many people in Wittenberg were not coming to me for confession any more. They were going to towns in Brandenburg or Anhalt like Jüterbog or Zerbst to buy Indulgences (primarily the Peter's Indulgence).
This did not sit well with me. I didn't see the justification for indulgences in Scripture. I had preached against the indulgence trade, prior to October 31, 1517. And after reading an instruction manual for indulgence traders, I wrote a letter to my church superiors hoping to get rid of this abuse. In this letter I included 95 Theses which were to be used as the basis for a discussion on the topic.
But is was on October 31, 1517 that my 95 Thesis were posted on the Wittenberg Castle Church door.
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Our group got to worship on this day, twice! Once in German and once in English! It was very exciting!
The first time we worshipped was an all German speaking service at the Castle Church, the All Saints' Church, commonly referred to as Schlosskirche (Castle Church).
While here we also saw where the real Martin Luther is buried. He died on February 18, 1546. One month before, he wrote to a friend complaining of the infirmities of his age, “I, old, weary, lazy, worn-out, cold, chilly, and, over and above, one-eyed man.” He then sighs, “Half-dead as I am, I might be left in peace.”
Luther, however, would not be left in peace. His hometown of Eisleben faced a crisis. A dispute threatened the civil order and even the ecclesiastical order. Worn out as he was, Luther decided to travel to his hometown to settle the dispute. He set out from Wittenberg with his three sons, and a few servants.
Just before he died, Luther preached what would be his last sermon from his deathbed in Eisleben. The “sermon” consisted of simply quoting two texts, one from the Psalms and one from the Gospels. Luther cited Psalm 68:19, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.” Then he cited John 3:16. Our God is indeed a God of salvation, and that salvation comes through the work of His Son.
It has been suggested from Luther's letter writing and descriptions of how he felt, that Luther died from a heart attack (some say stroke, but in Luther's death house tour, it said heart attack).
Worshipping in English
After Nigel, our local tour guide gave us some facts and tidbits, we walked into Stadtkirche (the Town Church) of St. Mary's – and sometimes known as the Reformation Memorial Church – a Lutheran church in Wittenberg, Germany. It was here that we worshipped in English and sang "A Mighty Fortress is our God" written by Martin Luther.
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Once there we got settled into our hotel and went on a dinner boat tour of Berlin. It was quite a lovely evening filled with good weather, good people, all having a good time.We then went to Berlin.
Here are the pictures from the day:
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