Restoration Reform Theme: The historical role of Martin Luther. This drama is set in the year 1525, the year in which Luther and Katharina von Bora would be married, and also when Friedrich the Wise would die. Cast: 3 Martin Luther (early 40 s) Katharina, Luther s wife-to-be (mid 20 s) Friedrich the Wise, Luther s friend and protector (early 60 s) Set: Costumes: Props: none those from 1525 time frame table and three chairs teapot and cups a cane for Friedrich the Wise Lighting and Sound: standard Special Instruction: Background information regarding Luther and his times can be found on various Internet sites including: http://www.reformation.org/luther.html Time: 15 minutes Script: Luther and Friedrich are sitting at the table, talking, Reform. Reorganization. Restructuring. Renewal. Promises from Rome! Words. Only words. Rome talks but does nothing! Now, now, Martin, calm yourself! It is not good for the heart or mind to carry on so! Trust me, I know these things, my health is not well, and, having now achieved my sixty-second birthday, I can warn you young pups to take better care of your health than did I. Luther, laughing: Young pup am I? Dear Friedrich the Wise of Saxon! You know very well that I am exactly but twenty seasons younger than yourself. Restoration Reform Page 1
Oh what I would give to be forty-two again, to be as you, Martin Luther, with my whole life still ahead of me. Do not be too sure on that matter, friend Friedrich! With the attitude of the Emperor and of Rome itself, my longevity is hardly assured. Katharina comes on stage carrying a teapot, winces at Luther s words Please don t speak so frivolously of such things Martin. My apologies, Katharina, but you of all people are aware that the church would do anything to silence me, to have me burned at the stake as a heretic. Fine, so it is, but must you talk about death in such a cavalier manner? You know full well of my feelings for you. Dear, dear Katharina! As you know, I have found husbands for all of the other nuns who have left the convent; I could have found a worthy husband for you as well. Stop speaking of me as one who needs assistance to find a man. I have found the man who will be my husband, and if he cares not marry me then I shall die a spinster.. (looks at Luther and smiles).. or perhaps I might simply return to the monastery, I am sure that the nuns would welcome my return. Friedrich, chuckling: Dear sweet Katharina von Bora! You, a former nun, presently one of the most beautiful young ladies I have known, and headstrong as well! I hardly think there is chance that you shall ever again be a nun. And if my good friend Martin Luther here has any brains in that learned head of his he will, here and now, be down on his knee to you, begging you to be his bride! Katharina, smiling: On his knee you say? Now that I would give the world to see! Oh my, what is this modern world coming to? A former priest marrying a former nun! Keeping you two safe will strain the influence which I am supposed to have with Emperors and princes! You are a marked man Martin! A marked man, yes, but for a cause worthy of the shame. I find it unthinkable that we still, in the year 1525, remain slave to outmoded practices from the past. Surely Rome must know that change, reform, is Restoration Reform Page 2
long overdue. Yet it is so entrenched that no one in power wishes to upset a system that makes them rich. And those not in power have not this much, (snaps fingers), input. It is not that I disagree philosophically with what you say Martin. But the wheels of progress turn slowly. Slowly indeed, and with great squeaking and squealing! My prayer is that God may use me as the lubricant to move change along at a faster and less frivolous pace. God has used you mightily Martin! History, I just know it, will record the contribution you have made as a church reformer. The shame is that I am seen not as a reformer but as a destroyer of the church. Of all who would be church reformers, no one has wanted to destroy the Holy Roman Catholic Church less than I. But the efforts at reform have done so little. Councils have created some better laws, but laws are neither kept nor enforced. This is an enlightened age, with learning spread with the invention of the printing press, yet men have not grown wise. Erasmus, Ximenes and others have tried, but in spite of their accomplishments the face of the Church is still soiled. As you well know it is my habit to form my opinions after exact consideration of the state of affairs by my advisers and listening to the opinion of recognized experts. And there is no expert more skilled and clear-minded than Erasmus von Rotterdam, he a firm believer in your position versus Rome. It is frightening to see how this is developing into a struggle of Martin Luther versus Rome. They are so powerful, so rich, so many, and dear one, you are so alone in facing them. It is not my wish that I be seen in opposition to the church of Rome. My wish is and always will be to develop close friendship with God. Always I have believed: Man is little, God is great. Man is evil, God is good. And because God is good he must be angry with the evil in man. And because he is great, his anger is dreadful. Make no mistake; I striven to give my all to meet the demands of God and Christ. I have fasted until my cheeks were hollow; confessed my sins for six hours without ceasing. But I realized that man will never gain a claim on God, since man's goodness, even at best, is not worthy to satisfy the All-mighty, All-holy One. And certainly, never good enough to make up for wrong already done. I turned to the Virgin Mary and all the other saints for help, hoping their extra goodness would cover my deficit. But I learned no human has any extra goodness. And I discovered no one can Restoration Reform Page 3
stand before God unless first he be called by God. And man must be forgiven and healed through the suffering, the love, the power of Jesus Christ. Man must believe and trust in what God has done. As Paul said: we are saved by faith and not by works. A man of passion is what you are Martin Luther, but although I love the fact that you have a passion for the word of God, I fear for your safety if I am not around to give protection. Yes, I share your concern dear friend, Friedrich the Wise. But we can not ask Martin to be other than true to his beliefs. Those matters such as indulgences are clearly contrary to the holy word of God. Indulgences! How I hate those practices! Salvation for sale. How I hate the very thought of it! That worm indulgence seller Tetzel would approach a town and beat loudly on a drum to summons the people. And then he would proceed to offer his license to sin for money. The very idea! That the free gift of God should be bought and sold like a commodity in the marketplace! Well here s what I said: "I shall put a hole in his drum." Friedrich, chuckling: Dear, dear Martin! Of your many strengths, a compromising spirit is not one! Luther, annoyed: You expect me to compromise on matters such as this? No, no compromise there Martin, and not for me either. The fact that the Pope desperately needs money to build St. Peter's in Rome is no reason to fleece the common German people of their savings. And what I find particularly repugnant is that now forgiveness of sins is being offered for a price murder, adultery, lying, theft, swearing etc., etc. One can even buy forgiveness for future sins.... Yes, salvation bought and sold like any common marketplace commodity. The very thought, that the Gift of God can be treated so contemptuously, that truly is the last straw! Have these priests and popes never read the word of God? Not all have studied the Bible as you have Martin, this to facilitate your work in translating the word into German. Restoration Reform Page 4
No, no, dear one, it goes back much, much further, back to a day many years ago when I discovered an old Bible in a dusty attic in a monastery. The truths therein, the plain and simple message of God s salvation led me to realize that at the heart of the gospel is the doctrine of justification by faith--the teaching that Christ's own righteousness is imputed to those who believe, and on that ground alone, they are accepted by God. But your revolt is about Rome s abuse of power. No! No! No! No! This reformation is something far more important than a revolt against ecclesiastical abuses. First, last and always, mine is a fight for the gospel. I would happily yield every point of dispute to the Pope, if only the Pope would affirm the gospel. And nowhere in the gospel is there mention of indulgences supposedly releasing dead persons from years of purgatory by transferring to them extra credits of the saints. The Bible clearly states that no one has any extra credits. Then in what do you believe Martin? In what do I believe? I believe what the Bible says. I believe there is no such thing as a stored up credits; and if there were, the pope should use it to empty purgatory. And, clearly there should be no payment required for the forgiveness of sins or for the reduction of penalties. Why should the poor German people pay for the rebuilding of the church of Saint Peter in Rome? However your differences with the church go well beyond that. Yes, yes they do Friedrich. I believe that popes may be wrong, and that only the Bible is inerrant. If it is true that the Bible alone is to be followed, then the Church should give up what the Bible does not teach. I disagree with the church on the issue of Mass. The Bible teaches a Lord's Supper, not Mass. Christ said, This is my body, meaning the bread is already his body, a priest s words don t make it so. Christ said, Drink ye, all of it, meaning everyone should take the wine, not only the priest. And nothing in the Bible tells us sacraments could be said only in Latin, why not in German? Christ did not initiate seven sacraments, only two: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The other five are not sacraments. This does not mean they are not necessary, although, some such as extreme unction for the dying, may well be. Marriage is not to be given up, even if it is not to be a sacrament. Marriage is not a sacrament since marriage is for all people, while sacraments belong solely to Christians. So, then, marriage should be kept, monasteries given up. Monks, nuns, and clergymen should be free to marry as they wish. In ancient times Restoration Reform Page 5
when the entire world was the under the attack of barbarian invasions, living in monasteries made sense. But now, Europe is a Christian society, let Christians do the work God has called them to, whether as shoemakers, teachers, rulers, and even priests. But my friend, though I share your concerns and many of your convictions, still you had to realize that your stand on these issues would bring harm to the image of the church as it is now, and has always been. I did not want to harm the Holy Catholic Church, only to bring about changes. However, when I attacked not only indulgences and the sacraments but also exclusive rights of the pope, he called for my excommunication. And what did you do with the excommunication dear one? What did I do? What could I do? I threw the excommunication decree on a bonfire! Excommunication only keeps a man from sharing in the sacraments of the Church; other penalties must come from the State. Make no mistake dear one, I am proud of what you have done, the stand you took, the pronouncements which you made, your statement to your examiners. I felt I carried off what must be said, as I recall my words went something like this: (clears throat and talks formally) Most serene emperor and most noble lords, if I forget to call you by name, please forgive me. I have lived in a monastery, not a court. As for my books, they are of three kinds. First, there is what I have said of the Christian belief and life. Even the bull against me admits that some of my teaching is harmless. If then I should take it all back I should be taking back what everyone accepts. Secondly, there is what I have said about all the money that goes out of Germany. If I should take that back and you German princes approved, poor Germany would get worse treatment. Thirdly, there is what I have said against people. I admit I have been too hot, but I am not being judged on my life but on my teaching. As one who was there with you I also recall the words of your examiner who said: (clears throat and talks formally) Brother Martin, you haven't divided your works enough. You should have divided them into those that are bad and those that are worse. Of course there is some good in what you say. But because of this, people will believe the good along with the bad. And what makes you think you are right and all the teachers of the Church for so many centuries have been wrong? The faith was given by Christ, taught by the apostles, scaled by the blood of the martyrs, worked out by the doctors and councils and Restoration Reform Page 6
given to us by the pope and the emperor to be believed. Now do you or do you not take back your teaching? Give us an answer without horns. And to this I answered: (clears throat and talks formally) Since Your Majesty and Your Lordships ask for a plain answer, I will give you one without either horns or teeth. Unless I am shown out of the Bible, I neither can nor will take back anything. My conscience is a captive to the Bible, and I cannot go against conscience. God help me. Amen. My beautiful foolish man! And so it was that the die was cast, the outcome assured, you would be hunted down, arrested and burned at the stake. Praise God I was able to arrange hiding for you. Thank you Friedrich for keeping him safe for me. See, I never thought of creating a new Church, but when the leaders of the old Church refused reform, I found no choice. In time the Mass was stopped and the monastic orders ended. Church services were simplified and led in German. Clergy, monks and nuns began to be married. The movement did indeed spread, and the form of Christianity was, somewhat against my will, changed, forever, I think. Yes, Martin. Forever changed. And so you must change as well. It is time that you too move on. I am an old man, I am not well. I intend to go to my hunting lodge in Lochau, to rest, to rejuvenate if that is God s will. I want to live sufficiently long that I may see the two of you married. Katharina, flustered: Dear friend Friedrich, your words embarrass me, I am not sure that marriage is Martin s wish, and if so whether I would even be his chosen one. Do not give me any of that coquettish mumbo-jumbo, I have seen the way you two look at each other. It is true Friedrich the Wise! Truly you are my good and wise friend! And if the lady will have me, I could hope for nothing better than a life together with you Katharina! It is, in its own way, a part of reform. And reform must continue as we mortals seek to maintain harmony with the purposes of God. lights out Restoration Reform Page 7