This year we celebrate the 507th anniversary of the Reformation.

Each week beginning Reformation Sunday we will share “Moments with Marty,”. These moments are brief explanations of Martin Luther and his work.   

“Moments with Marty” will touch on who we are as Christians and as Lutherans, why we say and do what we do and how we worship. 

Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic priest in Germany over 500 years ago.  It wasn’t his intent to create a new denomination, rather he simply wanted reform, changes in the Catholic Church to bring the focus back to our connection with God.  

At the heart of this, and the foundation for his 95 thesis was forgiveness. He felt that forgiveness had become a transaction rather than a proclamation. What he meant was that people were buying their forgiveness and salvation by purchasing indulgences, pieces of paper that said they were forgiven.  He felt that the sale of indulgences was a fundraising activity, raising money for the construction of large churches in Rome as the Popes competed with the Emperors for power and control.  His belief, and a centerpiece of our Lutheran faith is that we are saved by God’s grace, not by our good works or purchasing a certificate.  Luther said we are saved by God’s grace, we are undeserving of it but live in the faith that we are saved by Christ’s ultimate gift to us, dying on the cross. 

When Lutherans speak of the Reformation we are referring to an event that is specific to actions and writings of Martin Luther. Luther was not the first reformer nor was he the last.   

There was a continual struggle between the Popes and the emperors for control of the people. While a few men dared to protest from time to time, the power of the church was so great that it quickly put them down.   Among the reformers were John Wyclif in England, John Huss in Bohemia, Savonarola in Italy and Jerome of Prague. Those who protested were either burned at the stake or hanged as heretics. These forerunners of the Reformation did not fail in their efforts since it led others to think more seriously of the church customs which were not in agreement with what the Bible taught. This resulted in more people trying to reform the church and a more general reference to the reformation. 

A short time after Luther broke away from the Roman Catholic Church other reformers protested the Pope and his authority, yielding the term “Protestants.” Notable of these were Zwingli in Switzerland and John 

Calvin in France, both of whom did not entirely agree with Luther and their followers formed a new church group. The beliefs and confessions of these created other Protestant groups that we recognize today as Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Congregational.

If you would like to learn more, come to our Adult Education.  

We will meet the 3rd Sunday of the month starting in February. 

Who was Martin Luther? 

Martin Luther was born in 1483. His father encouraged him to become a lawyer but after nearly being struck by lightning, he decided to become a monk. He entered a monastery in 1505 at age 22 and was ordained as a priest two years later. A year after being ordained he was assigned to teach at the University of Wittenberg where he spent his entire career. Four years later Luther earned his doctorate of theology degree.   

He continued to be an avid student, lecturing and studying the Old Testament writings of the Psalms and 

Hebrews and Romans in the New Testament. It was his study of these New Testament writings of Paul that caused him to become discouraged with the Catholic Church. After five years Luther began to understand that salvation is a gift of God and is received by faith alone and not by paying for and buying forgiveness. A slogan of the times was. “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” In his 95 theses written in 1517 he took issue with this practice and took direct aim at this slogan with his thesis #27.  

Four years later In 1521 Luther was called before an Imperial Diet (an official assembly) at Worms, in southwest Germany to recant his views. He refused and a result was excommunicated as a heretic, his writings were banned and in effect was sentenced to be executed. He escaped arrest by taking refuge in a sympathizer’s castle in Wartburg where he initially translated the New Testament into German for all people to be able to read. He followed this with the Old Testament translation and continued writings of his theology until his death on February 18, 1546 at age 63. 

The most commonly referred to event in the reformation is Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 theses to the door at Wittenberg Castle church, a common means of communicating viewpoints and stimulating discussion. 

That by itself wasn’t the reformation, rather just the beginning. For the sixty plus years following the posting of the 95 theses, there was considerable reformation activity going on in Germany and between the Pope in Rome and the reformers in Germany. (More on this next week.) Since Gutenberg created the printing press about 70 years earlier, the distribution of written works was easier and widespread. In addition to translating the Bible into German, Luther finished both the Small Catechism and Large Catechism in 1529, 12 years after the 95 theses. A definition of catechism is “a collection of questions and answers that are used to teach 

people about the Christian religion.” Luther was a teacher, so that is what he did best. 

A colleague of Luther at the University of Wittenberg  was Phillip Melanchthon. Though 14 years younger than Luther, he was well known theologian and a prolific writer. He gets credit for much of the writing that was done to prepare for the variety of assemblies (called diets) where reformers were called to present their ideas to political and religious leaders. A close analogy to this would be the Senate hearings we conduct in the U.S. today. 

Last week we mentioned the Augsburg Confession and the Diet of Augsburg. It is not possible to provide all the details leading up to and following the Diet of Augsburg and the presentation of the Augsburg Confession in a few paragraphs here. The full version of the Augsburg Confession fills 35-40 pages in the Book of 

Concord. (More on the back.) The good news is you can go to the link at the bottom of the page for an easy to read 2 ½ page summary in today’s language. 

The first 21 articles of the Augsburg Confession are important teachings and beliefs in Lutheranism based on the Bible. Many of these weren’t a great departure from the Catholic Church, leading to the hope that an agreement could be reached and harmony restored. Articles III and IV are about justification by faith alone and not good works, an important point in Luther’s original 95 theses. Article X is about the presence of Christ’s body and blood at the Lord’s Supper and Article XI covers confession and absolution which we will deal with in more detail in upcoming weeks. 

The last seven articles deal with abuses that had crept into the church in the past few centuries. Some of these are that people received only the bread at communion, priests must be celibate, confession was mandatory, the practice of fasting and the authority claimed by bishops was out of line. 

A few weeks later the Catholic theologians reply condemned 13 of the articles, accepted nine without 

qualifications, and approved six with qualifications. The discussions will continue for more than 40 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg_Confession

In 1580, 63 years after the 95 theses, 34 years after Luther’s death and 20 years after Melancthon died, the Book of 

Concord was produced.  The writings in The Book of Concord are a collection of Lutheran beliefs, many of which 

separated Lutherans from other reform groups.   These writings came because of the close relationship between religion and politics of the time, and the desires of ruling princes, emporors and religious clerics to have a unified people. Over the 50 years following the Augsburg Confession, religious reformers clarified their beliefs into what would eventually 

become the Book of Concord, which we still use. Having already covered the Augsburg Confession, today we will focus on two other parts of the book; “The Smalcald Articles” and “The Power and Primacy of the Pope.

The Smalcald Articles: Following the 1530 Diet of Augsburg, (which produced the Augsburg Confession), the Pope and Emperor promised to meet, and in 1537 a general council came together with the purpose of bringing peace between the followers of Martin Luther and those who remained loyal to the Roman Catholic church. Luther, who was in ill health, and other theologians wrote the Smalcald Articles to prepare for the meeting. These articles identified points where 

Lutherans would stand fast and others where further compromise and unification was possible. The Articles weren’t pre-

sented at the council, but they were very helpful in bringing clarification to what it was these new “Lutherans” believed.  

Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope: As discussions with the Roman Catholic faction was ongoing, the 

Reformers were receiving pressure from the Princes who had declared for the Lutheran side to make a statement about the power of the Pope. It was this environment that led Philip Melancthon to write the Treatise, intending it to be an 

appendix to the Augsburg Confession. The main premise of the document is that the Pope isn’t given his position in the church by divine right, nor does nor does he have civil authority by divine right. Furthermore, it proclaims that it isn’t necessary for Christians to believe in the Pope’s divine authority in order to be saved. Melanchthon said these authorities are without basis in Scripture or history and the abuses of the papal office should stop. How do you think the Pope felt 

about this?

Following the Smallcald Articles and Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope in 1537, the religious 

differences in the Holy Roman Empire continued for the next eleven years. Finally in 1548 (30 years after the 95 Theses and two years after Luther’s death) Roman Emperor Charles V offered a temporary ruling that 

allowed the Lutherans to practice their beliefs in the Empire while everyone continued to work for religious unity, the ultimate goal for all.

Seven years later the Roman Emperor called for an imperial Diet in Augsburg in 1555 to end the religious struggle. Seven months later the end result was Emperor Charles V signed the Peace of Augsburg. This big step allowed the local princes to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official confession of their state. Lutheranism now had official status within the Holy Roman Empire. In an interesting twist, he also granted a grace period so families could choose to move and settle in a region where their faith was 

practiced. The other non-Lutheran Protestants were not protected under the peace, and lived in danger of the charge of heresy. 

All was not well in the rest of the world, either. In the 1530’s the Church of England was formed. It was 

another Protestant group disputing many of the Roman Catholic practices. In 1554 Queen Mary ascended to the throne and set out to reestablish Catholicism in the country. Two English theologians were burned at the stake in 1555 for heresy as they supported the reformation. One of them, Bishop John Hooper surveyed 311 of his clerics and found 186 could not repeat the Ten Commandments and 31 could not locate them or The Lord’s Prayer in the Bible. That would make Martin Luther turn over in his grave, and illustrates the need for what became the Book of Concord in the Lutheran world.

The Roman Emperor signed the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 following a war that was political and economic 

in addition to being religious. Lutherans had been following and practicing the beliefs of the Augsburg 

Confession for 25 years. With the Peace of Augsburg the Roman Catholic Church recognized only the 

Lutherans and those beliefs stated in the Augsburg Confession of 1530.

The years following 1555 weren’t really that peaceful in the Lutheran church. Serious controversies existed among theologians and their understanding of the Augsburg Confession. These divisions were threatening the Reformation. 

In 1576 and 1577 a group of Lutheran theologians drafted a document titled the Formula of Concord which deals with these dissensions and affirms the doctrines. The word “concord” means “agreement” or “harmony” which was the intent of these theologians, to bring all Lutherans together. The group confirmed the existing statements of faith and beliefs and put them in one place. 

It was adopted in 1580 by German Lutheran political and religious leaders; 51 ruling nobles, over 8000 princes, political rulers, theologians, and pastors. These statements of faith were written down and in 1580 became the Book of Concord, ending the controversy and still used by Lutherans today. 

In the first five “Moments with Marty” we covered 63 years of reform. Lutherans and many others are very 

familiar with Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses. While they are important, they were just the spark that ignited much theological discussion. Everything in our first five weeks has been a buildup to 1580 and the Book of Concord. We now understand the events, debate, dissent and writing that led to and make up the Book of Concord and ultimately what Lutheranism is. It is the expressions of our Christian faith - in one single book that has been used for nearly 500 years. 

At the ordination of a pastor he or she promises to perform the duties of the office in accordance with the Lutheran confessions of faith, in other words, following the Book of Concord. When people are received into membership in a Lutheran congregation through confirmation, they confess the doctrine of the church found in Luther’s Small Catechism, which is in the Book of Concord. 

These confessions (statements of faith) are not necessarily easy to understand but they are important. It isn’t a book just for the clergy. Everyone who is a Lutheran should be aware of what the Book of Concord is.   

“A Lutheran is a person who believes, teaches and confesses the truths of God's word as they are summarized and confessed in the Book of Concord.” We will begin an explanation of what it is and what is in it.   

As a teacher, Martin Luther would be pleased with the contents and how it gives us direction for our faith, our worship and our lives. 

After six weeks of the history behind the creation of the statements of faith and the Book of Concord we pull back the curtain and show the ten components of the Book of Concord. 

The creeds were around long before Luther and haven’t changed much. Luther created the catechisms in 1529 as a teaching tool and the last five components came from the fifty years of activity previously covered in “Moments.”  

When the Book of Concord is brought up, some may ask “aren’t we just supposed to follow the Bible?” Others may compare it to documents such as the book of Mormon as if Lutherans were trying to add new texts to the Bible. 

Apostle’s Creed

Nicene Creed

Athanasian Creed

Luther’s Small Catechism

Luther’s Large Catechism

Augsburg Confession

Apology of the Augsburg Confession

Smalcald Articles

Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope

Formula of Concord

In reality the book of Concord seeks to bring unity to what the Bible teaches and to provide clarity on controversial topics. It does this not by adding to the Bible but by pointing to the power of the scripture and its declaration of God's love and forgiveness for all people and that Jesus Christ is the center of the teachings of the Christian faith. 

We begin with the first of the three creeds, the Apostles’ Creed, which most Lutherans and Christians make a declaration of every Sunday. The creeds are described as ecumenical or universal because they are accepted by Christians worldwide as the expressions of what God’s Word teaches and affirms that God is fully present in Jesus. This means that Jesus Christ is both God and human (not a semi-divine or superhuman creature). As you will see by the dates, they predate the Reformation by hundreds of years.

The Apostles’ Creed can be found on page 104 of the red hymnal. It is called the Apostles' Creed not because it was produced by the apostles themselves but because it contains a brief summary of the apostles’ teachings. It was written in the 2nd century AD and used by early Christians in Rome. It is the most commonly used creed today. In Martin Luther’s writing of the Small Catechism he introduces his explanation of the three 

articles with: 

I  believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members.

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the 

Virgin Mary, is my Lord.

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

The oldest statements of faith in the Book of Concord are the three creeds. We introduced them with the Apostles’ Creed written in the 2nd century and continue with the Nicene Creed, found on page 105 of the red hymnal. 

The Nicene Creed was formulated at assemblies in Nicea in 325 and Constantinople in 381 AD (both were in modern day Turkey).  It was meant to bring unity to the church at the time by clearly stating the doctrine of the Trinity, that Jesus Christ is true God, begotten of the Father and equal with the Father and Holy Spirit.  It was written as an opposition to a fourth century movement that said Jesus Christ is separate from God the Father and is subordinate to Him.  It is based on scripture, as is everything in the Book of Concord. 

The Nicene Creed is often spoken during Advent, Christmas, Easter and festive Sundays.  It isn’t accepted by Christian denominations that don’t believe in the Trinity but still believe in Christ. 

The inclusion of the three ancient creeds in The Book of Concord indicates that Lutherans are not a sect but that they embrace and confess the ancient and orthodox (traditional) faith. 

We continue with the contents of the Book of Concord, and the third creed, the Athanasian Creed. 

This is the longest of the three creeds and the least used. The authors of the Athanasian Creed are unknown.  The creed is named after Athanasius, a fourth-century champion against the heretics* who denied the deity of Christ. He was also instrumental in drafting the Nicene Creed. The creed originated in southern Gaul (a Roman territory that is present day France) probably about the middle of the sixth century. 

This creed consists of two parts; the first is the doctrine of the trinity, and the second dealing with Jesus’ 

human birth, being true God and true Man. Line 34 from the creed: Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.

Some Lutheran congregations recite the Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost) 

because of its focus on the Triune God. To read the Athanasian Creed, go to the ELCA.org website, click on Resource tab and type Athanasian Creed.

Earlier in our Moments with Marty series we introduced Martin Luther and his ideas for getting the Church back to the “theology of the cross.” It is appropriate that we visit that theology since it is that cross, the cross we see in all the depictions of Easter that Luther was focused on as he spoke about reforming some religious practices and that ultimately led to who we are as Lutherans today. 

Many of the 95 theses, the points of discussion Luther posted on the church door are rooted in Easter. 

It is because of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection that we are saved. Luther said we are saved by grace and grace alone, not by doing good things to earn salvation or by buying a certificate that frees me.   

God’s grace is there for us, all we have to do is accept it. It is our faith in God and accepting that grace that saves us. Luther points out that we do good things not to be saved but because that is how we express our joy, sharing the love that has been given us. In the coming weeks we’ll see how Luther explains how the Ten Commandments, Communion, Baptism and Confession all relate to this theology. 

Luther was a Priest who was also a great teacher. Since many people were not literate in that day, he created a visual symbol of what his theology is, and he called it his seal. We call it Luther’s Rose (on reverse side.) His seal or rose and an explanation of it is on the back of this sheet. With five simple elements Luther has defined who we are. At Easter, we are centered on the cross, just as Luther has the cross at the center of his seal. 

The meaning of the Luther Rose

These five elements are how Martin Luther illustrates his theology, “the theology of the cross.”  This theology is not unique to Lutherans and is easy to see the references as you go through his Small Catechism.  

At the center is the black cross.  Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin.  We celebrate this not just today, Easter Sunday, but every day of our lives.   

Picture of The Luther Rose is by the photo of Martin Luther on the top of the page

The cross is in the center of a red heart reminding us that Jesus shed his blood for us.  Luther refers to Romans 10:10, “For one who believes from the heart will be saved.”   

Moving outward is a white rose which the cross and heart are centered in.  The rose reminds us our faith gives us joy, comfort and peace.  The rose is white, the color of the angels. 

The rose stands out in a sky blue field.  This symbolized the heavenly joy to come. 

Surrounding this is a gold ring, a precious and valuable metal.  The ring has no beginning and no end and signifies the endless joy in heaven. 

Martin Luther was not only a professor, priest, writer and teacher but later in life became a family man.  Katharina von Bora, or Katie as he referred to her as, was born in 1499 and placed in the care of Benedictine sisters at age 5 for her education. At age 16 she took her vows as a nun.

After several years of religious life, Katharina became interested in Luther’s growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with her life in the monastery.

Living in Wittenberg, Katharina fell in love with a University student who married someone else due to family pressure. Martin Luther saw her heartbreak and ultimately they found romance and were married in the 

summer of 1525 when he was 41 and she was 25.

Luther said "his marriage would please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep.” The Luthers gave birth to six children two of whom died at an early age. Martin quickly learned that marriage means sacrifice, looking out not only for the needs of yourself but also of your wife and family.

After Luther’s death in 1546 Katie managed the property until 1552 when she left Wittenberg due to a poor harvest and the plague. She was badly injured as she was thrown from the cart she was in and died a few months later at age 53.

Luther said Katharina taught him about God's love and care and she was a model in helping to define Protestant family life and setting the tone for clergy marriages. 

If one can judge a man by his choice in wives, Martin Luther deserves high marks since Katharina was a most remarkable woman.

Katharina came from a family of higher social rank than the Luther’s. Martin came from peasant stock. His 

father was a miner who got involved in the business side of the mining and became well-to-do.

After marrying, the Luthers lived in the former Augustinian monastery, a generous gift to them. Katharina 

supported her family by gardening, making wine, raising livestock, and was accomplished at brewing beer, plus she managed the family finances.

Being a former monastery, their home had many small rooms which the Luthers rented to students or visiting clergy. Some were not paying customers either, which put a strain on their financial resources. In effect, 

Katarina was essentially running a boardinghouse to provide additional income for the family.

In addition to their six children, over the years they also cared for one of Katarina’s relatives and six of Luther’s sister’s children.

Imagine the boisterous dinner table with up to 25; children, inquisitive students and debating clergy.

Martin Luther was ahead of his time in other ways, particularly his views on the role of women, which he demonstrated in his relationship with his wife Katharina and that we saw some of over the past two weeks. 

On one occasion, he put Katie on a search committee to hire a new pastor. In those days it was unheard of for a woman to be part of such a decision. Luther’s response was that his wife would show better judgment than he would. It is said that Luther also took Katie’s advice on intellectual and political matters. 

Luther's business sense was a shortcoming. Publishers made nice profits from the books he authored while he saw little income from them. After marrying Katie, he let her handle much of the business dealings with publishers. 

A final rebellious act was that he made Katie his sole heir in his will. At the time the practice was to make the children heirs and they were expected to take care of their surviving mother. Luther wanted Katie to be economically secure and independent after his death.

On marriage, Luther said, “Why not? This is a holy calling just like the priesthood or the ministry. It is sanctioned by God. It is a gift of God.”

Another of his quotes, “A Christian is supposed to love his neighbor and since his wife is his nearest neighbor, she should be his deepest love.”

In weeks five through ten the term “confessions” was mentioned numerous times. In that context a confession was a formal profession of belief and acceptance of doctrines and not an admission of guilt. The confessions in the Book of Concord are lengthy and in depth papers that define who we are as Lutherans. We now look at the term confession in its more common context, the admission of our sins. 

When Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses, one practice that annoyed him was the activity of buying indulgences. This practice was in a sense replacing the true meaning of confession where one expressed a sincere admission of sin. Instead, the people were buying their salvation by purchasing indulgences which became fund raisers for the Pope’s projects. 

Luther found that many of the people in Wittenberg weren’t coming to him for confession any longer. They were going to nearby towns to buy indulgences, an easier approach to forgiveness than trying to think of and admit where one had sinned in the past week. Luther was sticking to his guns by hearing private confession and giving absolution to his parishioners. He emphasized absolution and its basis in the gospel, like Matthew 6:14, “If you forgive men their trespasses, our heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Because confession is very important to us as Christians, we will explore Luther’s perspective and what it means to us in our daily lives. In Book 5 of Luther’s Small Catechism he says, “Confession embraces two parts. One is that we admit or confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself….our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.” 

“Thus you see that confession must not be despised, but that it is a comforting thing.” From a sermon on March 16, 1522. 

Confession is a privilege; a splendid, precious, gift we cannot do without. In it we receive absolution or forgiveness without having to do any special works or actions. Our faith in God and His mercy are all we need to receive this forgiveness. 

Luther and the other reformers said it is impossible to recall and confess every sin. Even before the reformers put the emphasis on faith and not works or payment there were references to confession, which are still a part of our worship. 

In the Apostles’ Creed we state, “I believe in one holy Christian church…..and the forgiveness of sins.” We also make a confession in the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others.” 

By making a statement of confession and receiving the forgiveness at the start of the worship service, we state that we are humans who are held captive by sin. As children of God we are freed from sin by the grace of Jesus Christ. We then receive forgiveness and worship with joy, sharing in Christ's presence with us. 

Luther didn't see confession as a sacrament. He recognized the Eucharist and Baptism as the only two sacraments, those with an outward sign, something tangible such as bread and wine or water. A full explanation of this would take pages, but not calling it a sacrament doesn’t diminish its importance and value to Lutherans.