Reformation Day

A happy belated Reformation Day to you all! For those who do not yet know, yesterday marked 500 years since Martin Luther, a priest, theologian, and Augustinian monk nailed 95 debate topics to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, challenging the selling of indulgences, which some Catholics even still deny happened (the "church" may never have taught it, but it certainly didn't stop men like Johann Tetzel from doing his selling).

I and my travel companion Sean had the opportunity to be at the very same church (pause for fangirling) on the 500th anniversary. We rose at 4AM and, after a half-hour walk in the dark managed to find our way to the train station (Deo gratias). The ride was a pleasant one, full of beautiful countryside and a breathtaking sunrise. Arriving in Wittenberg, we walked toward the sound of tolling bells which joyously rang out across the city, despite the fact that it was six in the morning. We noted on the horizon two massive towers, which I believed to be the Castle church. Leading the way, Sean and I journeyed toward those two towers. We were followed closely by a small Brazilian family who were the most unbrazilian looking Brazilians I had ever seen. To make matters even more fascinating, their beautiful daughter had a very interesting name which I can neither pronounce nor remember. She was very forgiving of this. Sean and I spoke English as we talked, and before long, we heard a voice behind us saying "are you guys from America?" turning, we met an aspiring pastor by the name of Christian, who was currently studying in Mainz. Christian would prove to be delightful company as we made our way through the city. He was also much more amenable to my intense nerding.

We finally arrived to the church and frantically tried to find a way in. We went to all the doors, but unfortunately were unable to find the thesis door, the massive bronze portal upon which are inscribed the 95 theses. This led us to the conclusion that this was, in fact, not the Schlosskirche, but another church. At any rate, Christian saved the day and managed to help us find our way there. The police had set up all kinds of barricades around the church, and upon going to the entrance, we discovered a line of about 100 people waiting to pass through security to get into the church. We joined the line, and before long were tired, wet, and shivering. It was a damp reformation day, with scattered rain and an unpleasant, chilling breeze. Within about 20 minutes, the line had tripled in size, and by the time security began processing, we could no longer see its end. Having passed through security, we entered the church. It was a beautiful, medieval church with the words "Ein' Feste Burg ist Unser Gott" inscribed on the main tower. inside, the ceiling had been decorated with the Lutheran rose, a symbol which Luther created as a visual reminder of the transformation that comes from life with Christ. The symbol is a heart, red, as it is, which represents our flesh. The cross is right in the middle, symbolizing Christ's presence within those who believe, and around the heart springs a white rose, which represents our changed nature and the overflowing of God's grace. The space was immediately filled with the sound of the organ and about 7 trumpets loudly proclaiming God's might in song, playing "A Mighty Fortress is Our God", Luther's most iconic hymn, and fitting, considering the church in which we resided was built onto a castle. We sat with our Brazilian friends, and before long the service began. The service was done in conjunction with the German state church, a Lutheran denomination from some Nordic Country, the Lutheran Church of America, and the Catholic church in Wittenberg.

To quote Dr. Klein, "It is truly the end of wisdom when the lobotomite speaks more sense than you!" This unfortunately sums up the service. The catholic priest, when it was his turn to speak, was actually very praiseworthy of Luther, ending his words by saying "today is not about Luther, it is about Christ", words which Luther would have absolutely agreed with. When the church that excommunicates someone for being to centered on Christ is more centered on Christ than the church that was reluctantly founded by the excommunicatee (excommunee?), one must ask where everyone's heads have gone. The rest of the service was unfortunately not as christocentric. The preacher, while making a few good points, ultimately mentioned Jesus one time (she was preaching on a reading from the gospel), and spent the rest of the time not talking about anything of substance. The music was fantastic, though.

The service left me feeling a little disappointed. I had hoped for something more of a pilgrimage, but unfortunately it seemed more like a tourist trap. I am loathe to admit it, but I feel somewhat like Christ did shortly before he flipped the tables in the temple. I feel bad admitting this because so much of this desire was to find some sense of belonging, when in reality for that I must simply look to Christ for that. I was literally doing the very thing that I raged against. At any rate, the streets of Wittenberg had, by this point, been transformed into a giant renaissance fair, and all the tourist shops were packed. I did the tourist thing, and we parted ways with Christian and made our way to the train. We got deeply lost, but we finally found our home two hours later. Good times.