The Encourager Spurring one another to love and good deeds Read, Mark, Learn and Inwardly Digest! by Jane Meyer An anniversary like the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation provides impetus to delving into its history. Over the past few months, I ve been reading up on the reformer Martin Luther and his contemporaries: a biography by scholar/theologian Martin Marty,*several articles by professors and pastors of the Missouri Synod, and watched a documentary (free on line) that outlines how the Reformation has influenced modern secular life. I had no idea! I learned that it has influenced education, the structure of our democracy, the pluralism of religious practices that we take for granted in the U.S., the belief that an honest vocational calling is an honorable and respectable way to live a Christian life. And more. My brain has been flooded with quotations and facts and dates and names and theological terms. I enjoyed reading about Luther, but it s summertime, and who wants to write a scholarly article or read one, either! So, I ve settled upon a list of Did you know...? sorts of Reformation Trivia: Read, Mark, Learn, and Inwardly Digest! Reformation Trivia: Martin s parents were Margarethe Lindemann Luder and Hans Luder or Ludher. Hans Luder was a leaseholder of mining operations. Did you note the original surname that later morphed into Luther? It may have happened naturally, or Luther may have plucked it from the Latin Eleutherius, the free one. Baby Martin was baptized at Sts. Peter and Paul Church and was named after the saint of the day Martin (You guessed that, didn t you!) St. John s Lutheran Church Hebrews 10:24-26 1
He was born into a precariat society that was a new word to me! It has to do with the perception that life was exceedingly precarious: plagues, famine, witches, poltergeists, poverty, sheer hard work, princes and emperors and popes (Oh, my!) affected the ordinary person s life to an extraordinary degree. At the age of seven, Martin was sent to three different Latin schools (not at the same time), each a trivium school; the subjects were trivial in the trivium school only because there were basically three of them. Grammar, rhetoric, and logic made up the triumvirate. Aesop s Fables may have encouraged Luther to salt his sermons and writings with stories and parables that were appealing to listen to. Martin s father, Hans, wanted his son to be a lawyer. In 1501 he entered the University at Erfurt, earning a Master s Degree in 1505, but he soon dropped out of law studies. Luther always longed for certainty, and found too much uncertainty in the law. From his modern professors he learned to test theory by experience; for him that meant even the authority of the church. That seems to be a revolutionary idea, and he was still a student! You ve probably heard of Luther s version of Paul s on the road to Damascus life-changing event? It s true. A terrifying thunderstorm was the catalyst that led to his vow to St. Anne that he would become a monk if he got out of it alive. Must have been quite a storm! He himself said that he became a monk out of fear. He entered the monastery in July 1505, and his father was furious! His monastery, the Order of the Augustinian Hermits, prized scholarship. They also encouraged self-denial and even self-punishment, and enforced a strict regimen, under which Luther began to chafe. Definitely wasn t a party school! Nevertheless, the young man Luther did his best to follow the monastic life, but it brought his increasingly conflicted mind little comfort. His studies, such as Aristotelian logic and reason, brought no certainty about God to his heart and mind, and this is what he always sought so he continued to wrestle, like Jacob, really for his entire life. He wanted to know God, and in the solitude of his monk s cell, he focused to the point of obsession. Was God a God of wrath and judgment or of love and compassion? He spent many a tormented night. By now Luther had decided he must rely solely on Scripture to reveal God s truth, rather than on Aristotelian logic. He was ordained a priest on April 4, 1507. To his surprise, his father showed up and challenged him about the 4th Commandment: had he not dishonored his father and mother in not following their wishes for his vocation? Ouch! Did You Know? 500th Anniversary Year October 31, 2017 is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther s writing and posting of his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany. It was this act that was Protestantism s shot heard round the world, for with it began the Reformation. This year let s learn more about Luther, what he was so fired up about, how the Roman Catholic church responded and how we became Lutherans! St. John s Lutheran Church Hebrews 10:24-26 2
Johannes von Staupitz (the Vicar General) became a father-figure, friend and Luther s confessor who described him as a virtuoso at confessing. Apparently, he could go on for hours! Frederick the Wise was an Elector, one of seven princes who elected the Holy Roman Emperor, also a sponsor and protector of Luther. In 1508 he was sent to Wittenberg, a university started by Frederick the Wise and not chartered by the church. Luther said it was like existing on the edge of barbarism! (p. 12). In 1510 or 1511 he made a trip to Rome. He didn t think much of it, but he did visit the Catacombs and see some relics; he hoped to gain points to shorten his parents time in purgatory, though he doubted the worth of doing so. He even said he wished his parents were already dead so they wouldn t continue being sinful and thus end up longer in purgatory! On October 19, 1512 he became a Doctor of Theology which he said gave him courage. But still he felt uncertainty; how could he know that he truly was a saved sinner? He doubted the church s authority but what about Scriptural authority? YES! The authority of the Word gave him hope. Wittenberg, on the edge of barbarism or not, did have a printing press! SOOO IMPORTANT! Frederick the Wise stocked the Castle Church in Wittenberg with thousands of relics in order to raise money. An inventory counted 17,443 items! Visitors believed that they could cut 1,902, 202 days off their suffering in purgatory. (p. 19) People flocked to see the relics on display, and Frederick got even richer! Luther studied commentaries on Genesis, the Psalms, Romans and Galatians, and taught Romans and Galatians. He was a master of Greek and Hebrew. He and other scholars and humanists of the day were rescuing the Bible from neglect. He turned to a grammatical or literal approach to the biblical text, (p. 21) which made Scripture starkly clear. He continued to be conflicted! He felt assaulted by bouts of delicious despair which he called Afechtungen ; these onslaughts, though, opened up opportunities to grow in faith. (p. 24) In his struggles, he coined a wrestling phrase, that God had him in his arms in a wrestling hold, pressed to his heart. Luther sometimes called himself Eleutherius, the free one. (p. 25, p. 33) Pope Leo was building St. Peter s Basilica and needed funds for it. Upon becoming Pope, Leo had said, God has given me the papacy; let us enjoy it! So, Johannes Tetzel was sent in 1517 to sell indulgences, also called leniencies, or generosities. The Archbishop of Mainz and Tetzel himself also got a cut. It was a lucrative business. Luther was appalled. Everything he was discovering in his spiritual struggles denied the validity of selling forgiveness. Luther s response to the Pope s latest fund-raising ploy was posted in the form of 95 Theses, or statements, on the wooden door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Luther intended these theses as points for discussion; theses were unfinished products intended to provoke debate. (p. 32) St. John s Lutheran Church Hebrews 10:24-26 3
However, not a single person showed up for a scheduled discussion! (p34) Luther rather naively assumed that Pope Leo would appreciate being informed about Tetzel s misuse of indulgences, fleecing poor parishioners and leading them astray. Wrong! Few heard Luther teach; maybe hundreds heard him preach; but thanks to the printing press, thousands throughout Europe could now read what he wrote, thanks to the printing press in Wittenberg and now all across Europe. Luther later described what he d done as an assault on the heavens and a setting of the world afire. (p. 35) Almost from the beginning, commentators agreed that his theses and other teachings had the potential to shake the church and significantly alter the Western Christian world. (p. 35) Was any one thesis most important? Perhaps #62: The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God. (If you re interested, you can find all 95 Theses on line). For the next four years Luther had to defend himself against skilled debaters representing the Pope and who believed they were upholding the unity and sanctity of the Catholic church. However, he was never heretical, and never called for the abolition of the Papacy. Let s look at the rest of the story in the October issue, including the famous Here I stand line and its consequences. Note: Any page references are from the book entitled Martin Luther, by Martin Marty, published in 2004 by Viking, the Penguin Group. I recommend this book if you d love to dig into details. It doesn t avoid theological terms, but a lay person can find it readable and interesting. Financial Peace Do you want to live debt free? Do you want to build wealth so you can be more generous? Dave Ramsey s Financial Peace University can help you do just that. We will be starting this 9 week class here at St. John s on Wednesday September 6 th. 6:30-8pm. This course is great for couples of all ages newly married, newly retired, or anything in between. It teaches you to have a new appreciation for money and how to handle it; helping your hopes and dreams come true. You won t want to miss it! Dozens of couples connected with St. John s have already taken the class and seen great success. To register, please call the church office at 815-923-2377 or go to https://fpu.com/1043750 Registration Cost: $100. Get Connected Check out our website! Go to stjohnsluth.org or you can also find us on Facebook! St. John s Lutheran Church Hebrews 10:24-26 4
Governing Board Update By Jim Johnson The Governing boards focus has been on looking ahead the next one to two years, the direction of ministry here at St. John s. We met with the staff and a town hall meeting with the congregation asking what areas were of priority. Three areas of ministry were expressed; they are, small groups, care ministry and new members-visitors. These three areas of ministry were passed on to pastor Caleb at our June meeting, he will have his ministry plan for these three areas ready at our August 17th meeting. Our nominating committee is contacting individuals for our December meeting, we have two board positions to be filled this year. The budget committee will be meeting next month to start formulating plans for 2018. The final budget will be presented at our Dec congregational meeting. Please note all governing board meetings are open to all members Church History: by Betsy Papp During September and October we will be featuring members that were a part of our church since 1965 and before. This group consists of many family members who have spent their entire lives at St. John's. Pictures of these families will be displayed in the History Cabinet. Helen Meinke remains our longest living member of St. John's. History Tidbit : In 1891 the Pastors Otto and Paul Doederlein were serving our congregation. It was at that time that the church was experiencing some difficulties. The church lost about 50% of its members. In 1892 there were long discussions which lasted a whole year, whether they should close the church and join another congregation. They decided to stand firm and keep their own identity. That proved to be a very wise decision. In Case We Missed You The Encourager is published tri-annually; our next issue will be in December. If you have an article, ministry or event please email details to paulhoban@sbcglobal.net. St. John s Lutheran Church Hebrews 10:24-26 5
Our preschool staff of highly qualified and motivated Christian educators: Jen Sauder Lead Teacher Shannon Heimsoth Lead Teacher Haley Gifford Co-Teacher/Driver Gail Perkins-Director Our preschool is supported by a wonderful, caring church staff: Caleb Schauer-Pastor St. John s Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod 6821 Main Street Union, Illinois 60180 Phone: (815) 923-2733 Lauren Olsen-Deaconess Sue Ziller-Church Secretary Jenny Arevalo-Business Manager Email: littleblessingslc.info@yahoo.com Shining For Jesus! Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Mark 10:4 God is the center of our learning here at Little Blessings Preschool. The following are the curricular highlights of our program: One in Christ Curriculum, a Lutheran curriculum published by Concordia, creating a joyful learning environment for everyone. Integrated Literacy, Math, Science, fine and gross motor and the Arts Christian Education is the very core of our program Jesus is evident daily in our actions and activities. St. John s Lutheran Church Hebrews 10:24-26 6