June 26, 2017
Devotions: Timeline of the Reformation: Defender of the Faith 1521

King Henry III was conferred with this title “Defender of the Faith” on October 21, 1521 by Pope Leo X. The king had written a pamphlet titled Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum, or in English “Declaration of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther”. As you may have determined by the title, it was written against Luther. King Henry VIII had started to write it in 1519 when he was reading Luther’s attacks on the practice of selling Indulgences by the Catholic Church. As you may recall, Luther saw this practice as simply a way for the church to extort money from people who were already poor, and to keep them in constant worry about their salvation and the salvation of their departed loved ones.

By June of that year, Henry had shown it to a certain Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey was a churchman, statesman, and Cardinal in the Catholic Church. Wolsey was Henry’s Almoner, the church official who distributes money to the poor. By 1514 he was the Archbishop of York (the second most important cleric in England). By the time Henry completed the “Assertio septem…” it was not only in response to Luther’s arguments against Indulgences, but also his treatise “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church”. It is believed that Thomas More, also known as Saint Thomas More by the Catholic Church, who was a councilor to Henry and the Lord High Chancellor of England, was also involved in the composition of the piece. One author (J. J. Scarisbrick) describes Henry’s document as “one of the most successful pieces of Catholic polemics produced by the first generation of anti-Protestant writers.” It went through some twenty editions in the sixteenth century and, as early as 1522, had appeared in two different German translations. King Henry VIII may best be known for his six marriages, and in particular his efforts to have his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. His disagreement with the Pope on the question of the annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation – separating the Church of England from the authority of the Pope and appointing himself as Supreme Head of the Church of England. Though a complicated figure, he remained faithful to the core teachings of the Catholic church and expanded royal power during his reign. He used his authority with deadly aim, executing many without formal trials, and many of his own ministers were also executed when they fell out of his favor. He was an author and composer. As he aged, Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterized in his later life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh, and insecure king. (adapted and adopted from wikipedia, britannica.com, Defender of the Faith)

Pastor Dave

June 25, 2017 Pentecost + 3A

“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:24-39

“In adulthood we may not be living in fear of what bumps in the night, what’s under the bed, or in the closet… But how many of us are scared to death of people finding out what our life is really like? How much energy do we expend trying to keep a failing marriage, crumbling finances, problems with the children, our health issues, etc. locked up in an emotional vault so that no one will ever know our struggles? How much focus do we expend on trying to project to others that we’re competant, talented, and successful so that no one will ever know our inner thoughts of critique and failure? It’s the fear that we’ll be “found out.” Found out that we’re not as put together, smart, or care-free as we’d like to project to the world. Found out that our lives have problems, that we have problems, and that sometimes those struggles consume our thoughts through the day and keep us up at night. Our ancestors feared famine, war, the rise of an evil leader. They feared for their lives, and the lives of their children, day in and day out. I’m not interested in minimizing our modern fears and feelings…because I think at their core they are the same thing. The fear of being “found out” is the fear of death. It’s the fear of our own mortality, and the reminder that we aren’t even close to invincible.We’re held together by tendons and synapses, and the lives we live are held together by so much less. I’m a mess, and if it weren’t for a little spit and scotch tape I’d crumble onto the floor. And so would you. And, I can either let that eat away at me from the core of my being… I can try and numb it with a bottle of wine or a bottle of pills… Or, I can let it go.”

And, that’s what Jesus offers us. So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known…even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid.
Do not fear the teacher. Or the master. Or the boss. Or the next-door neighbor. Your supremely successful high school classmate who has his own jet. The person who critiques your work…your art…. Do not fear them. There is nothing to be afraid of anyway, because God has counted your every hair, your every wrinkle, your every cell. And you are loved. It sounds easier than it is. We’re wired to fear death from our very genes. And, our culture has wired us to be “successful,” and has very helpfully defined what that success actually looks like. (Thanks, culture.) One of St. Benedict’s central spiritual truths is to consciously recall our mortality every day. Every day we’re to remind ourselves that one day, perhaps even today, we’re going to die. There’s wisdom there. Because, for Christians death is nothing to fear. It’s not an end, but a new beginning. And, so who cares if we got a “C” in European History, or the big client fired our firm, or our front hall closet could be a SuperFund site, or if our marriage has fallen apart, or if we’re considering filing for bankrupcy, or if we can’t get past a second interview, or if we’re found out. It’s ok. For even those who lose their whole lives will be found, along with their every hair. So, do not be afraid.” (Rick Morley, Every Hair, (A Garden Path), rickmorley.com)

Pastor Dave