April 24, 2017
Lenten Devotions – Johann Reuchlin

“On this day, April 24, 1514, a tribunal declared Johann Reuchlin not guilty of heresy. Who was Johann Reuchlin? Born on January 29, 1455 he lived until June 30, 1522. “He was a German-born humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day France, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. Most of Reuchlin’s career centered on advancing German knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Reuchlin’s talent for singing brought him to the attention of the Margrave of Baden who made him a companion of his son. In love with learning, the singer seized every opportunity his new position afforded to educate himself. Languages were his forte. He wrote the first Latin dictionary to be published in Germany and a Greek grammar. Hebrew was his dearest love. He ferreted out the rules of Israel’s ancient language by study of Hebrew texts and converse with every rabbi who appeared within his range. His authority became widely recognized. Reputation was nearly the cause of his ruin. A converted Jew and a Dominican inquisitor extracted from Emperor Maximilian an order to burn all Hebrew works except the Old Testament, charging they were full of errors and blasphemies. Before the edict could be carried out, the Emperor had second thoughts and consulted the greatest Hebrew scholar of the age: Reuchlin.

Reuchlin urged preservation of the Jewish books as aids to study, and as examples of errors against which champions of faith might joust. To destroy the books would give ammunition to the church’s enemies, he said. The emperor revoked his order. In 1517 Luther posted his 95 theses. “Thanks be to God,” said the weary Reuchlin. “At last they have found a man who will give them so much to do that they will be compelled to let my old age end in peace.” Thanks to Reuchlin, the Talmud and Kabbala were preserved. Although he died a broken man, freedom for academic production was strengthened because of his ordeal. Soon his studies formed the basis for better translations of the Old Testament. Furthermore, his influence assured Melanchthon a position among the learned and a place in the Reformation.” (wikipedia, and chirstianity.com, Reuchlin Found Not Guilty, Dan Graves, MSL)

Reuchlin began his translations of the Old Testament before Martin Luther began his translations of the New Testament. Luther’s German Bible put the bible into the hands of everyday Germans so they could read the Bible themselves instead of relying on Priests to read it to them. Reuchlin’s knowledge of Hebrew made it possible for non-biblical Hebrew works to be preserved. Both men were instrumental in increasing the German people’s knowledge of the bible and other religious writings. Martin Luther translated the New Testament while being sequestered in the Wartburg Castle following the Diet of Worms episode.

“Luther translated from the Greek text, using Erasmus’ second edition (1519) of the Greek New Testament, known as the Textus Receptus. Luther did not translate from the Latin Vulgate translation, which is the Latin translation officially used by the Roman Catholic Church. To help him in translating into contemporary German, Luther would make forays into nearby towns and markets to listen to people speaking. He wanted to ensure their comprehension by translating as closely as possible to their contemporary language usage. His translation was published in September 1522, six months after he had returned to Wittenberg. In the opinion of the 19th century theologian and church historian Philip Schaff,

The richest fruit of Luther’s leisure in the Wartburg, and the most important and useful work of his whole life, is the translation of the New Testament, by which he brought the teaching and example of Christ and the Apostles to the mind and heart of the Germans in life-like reproduction. It was a republication of the gospel. He made the Bible the people’s book in church, school, and house. (wikipedia)

This week please collect bottles of house cleaner for Trinity’s Table.

Pastor Dave

April 23, 2017
Lenten Devotions – Easter 2A

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John 20:19-29

Our text for today begins with a community of believers who are reeling from the recent events of the cross, and the early signs of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene has reported to the disciples that she has seen the risen Lord – and it seems like a good bet the other disciples are not true believers, yet. They must have been skeptical, although the text is completely silent on this issue. There is no disciple reaction reported by the gospel writer John on the news of seeing Jesus; though Matthew, in chapter 28 reports “when they saw Jesus on the mountain to which Jesus directed them, some doubted”. I just have this feeling their skepticism has gotten the better of them, too. Yet, they are not vilified by readers of this text over the years, not like Thomas. Just were just lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Having witnessed the crucifixion, and then the news that Jesus was missing from the tomb, well their emotions were most likely in turmoil. But, then it happened. Jesus appears in the room. How did he get there? The doors were locked yet there he was – if a stone could not keep him in, a locked door will not keep him out. And knowing that this encounter would most like really frighten the disciples, Jesus immediately ministers to them, by saying to them “Peace be with you”. In other words, Jesus is trying to tell them “easy there, do not freak out on me.”

Experiences with dead people can be unsettling. In the last few years, there has been a movement called “EVP” or Electronic Voice Phenomenon. People go to places that they believe there might be spirits of the dead, and they record themselves asking open ended questions posed to “the formerly living”. When they re-play the tapes, they will hear voices answering the questions, voices they did not hear when they taped the session. To me, this kind of experience is really unsettling. It is unsettling because we just can’t explain what we cannot see, when it comes to the realm of the dead, that is. But that is just one realm of experiences people have with the “formerly living”. Sometimes people see apparitions, they hear voices, they smell smells, they experience things and people that appear out of nowhere, and then vanish as quickly as they appeared. Is this the experience the disciples had with Jesus, appearing out of nowhere, speaking to them, and then disappearing? Is this something we should be frightened about? Were the disciples crazy – crazy from grief, from exhaustion, from emotions that they were just seeing things? I don’t think they were crazy. I think we are blessed with a God who just appears, not just to his disciples, but to us now, in this time and space, appears to us in dreams, in visions, in people, in words, in institutions, in the waters of our baptisms, and in the bread and wine of communion. The truth of Easter is that all of humanity is blessed with a God who defies the confinement of logic and grief and prejudice and fear, a God who blesses us by coming to us when we most need our God, and then sends us, fresh and filled with hope, back into a hopeless world.

Pastor Dave