Celebrating Light!
Reflecting on the Reformation
On this day, 508 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Technically, the Reformation had already begun long before that, but Luther’s act created such a wave throughout Europe that many historians mark it as the beginning of the Reformation.
Today, Protestants across the world celebrate October 31 as Reformation Day.
Studying history has taught me that there’s no such thing as a perfect human hero.
Martin Luther did much good, but he was an imperfect man like the rest of us.
I am also not blind to some of the painful consequences that arose from the conflict between Catholics and Protestants.
But the Reformation did bring some tremendous blessings to the world.
One of the greatest of these was the accessibility of Scripture.
For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church insisted that the Bible should be read only in Latin, or the original Greek and Hebrew, and not translated into “common” languages.
Luther and the other reformers saw the absolute importance of every person being able to read the Scriptures for themselves. Luther himself translated the Bible into German, the language of his own people
Since then, the Bible has been translated into hundreds of other languages.
Today, the New Testament is available in almost 1,800 languages!
It’s easy for us to take for granted the immense gift that the Bible is. The Bible is a great history book. It tells us the story of who we are. It is a book of wisdom, it is a work of art, it contains the finest poetry in the world, and more.
But above and beyond any of this, it is the main way in which the Creator of the universe communicates to us human beings. It is a Book unlike any other!
My church has been going through Psalm 119 lately, and this journey has emphasised to me the power and immense value of the Bible in a whole new way.
When I think of the men and women who burned to death because of their love for this Book, it puts me to shame.
As we think about Reformation Day, and the controversy surrounding it, let’s focus on the light.
As Psalm 119 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (verse 105). And, “The unfolding of Your words gives light;” (Ps. 119:130).
October 31, 1517, was the day when a man who had been convicted by what he read in Scripture took action.
The Truth had been hidden from ordinary people for centuries, but as Isaiah says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Is. 40:8)
And as Psalm 119 shows us so beautifully, it is one of God’s greatest gifts to humankind.
Something my family often likes to do around Reformation Day is to watch this 1954 movie that portrays Martin Luther’s journey quite accurately.
It’s available for free on YouTube and is well worth a watch if you enjoy history-based movies.