Tag Archives: Faith

Faith in Jesus Christ which comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 4, 2015
Tags: Faith   

Martin Luther – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 4, 2015 – “L” is for Luther

Here is a passage of a sermon preached by Martin Luther on Easter Sunday in 1538:

“The second point, that is more important and necessary, and on account of which the narrative has been recorded and is preached, is the power, benefit and comfort of the joyous resurrection of the Lord; and the use we are to make of the same faith. Concerning this Paul and all the apostles and the entire Scriptures teach and preach gloriously and richly; but most gloriously of all did Christ the Lord himself preach, when he manifested himself first of all to the women. Therefore, in order that we too may hear and gather something useful from it, let us consider the words Christ spoke unto Mary Magdalene, as recorded in the Gospel according to John 20:17: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father; but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.”

This is the first sermon our Lord delivered after his resurrection and, without doubt, also the most comforting; although in words very brief, but exceedingly kind and tender, and spoken first of all to his beloved Mary Magdalene, and through her also to his disciples after their deep woe, grief and sorrow, caused by his departure and death, that he might comfort and gladden them by his resurrection. And since this Mary is far more deeply and tenderly concerned about the Lord than the others, and is first at the grave to anoint the body of Christ with costly spices; and especially because, when she fails to find him, she is frightened and bewildered, deeply troubled and in tears, supposing him to have been taken away; therefore, he permits her to enjoy this evidence of his love, in that he appears first of all to her, comforting her in her fears, and preaching this beautiful sermon, which we will now consider.” (A beautiful Easter sermon delivered in the presence of the Elector of Saxony. Dr. Martin Luther, Wittenberg, 1538)

Martin Luther lived from 1483 – 1546. He is well-known for a number of writings and actions. He nailed the 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg; 95 complaints with the Catholic Church – the church that Martin loved. He wrote the Small and Large Catechism – teaching tools for families and pastors alike. He, along with Calvin and Melanchthon were considered major participants in the reformation. Luther did not hope to have a church named in his honor, he just wanted to reform the church he loved and had served for so many years.

Early in the Reformation, on April 4, 1523 (the day before Easter that year and six years after the 95 These were circulated) twelve Cistercian nuns escaped from their cloister at Nimbschen. With the help of Leonard Kopp, a citizen of Torgau, they made their way to Wittenberg in three days. The twelve nuns simply rode inside a covered wagon hidden from the watchful eyes of the cloister’s guardian monks. Once they reached Wittenberg, the nuns came under the protection of Martin Luther, the leader of the Reform movement in Germany. He agreed to help them, even though the penalty for aiding runaway nuns was death under both Canon and Civil Law. Soon, some of the women rejoined their families, some became governesses, and some married. One of the women was a bit of a problem – Katherine von Bora was past the normal age for marriage. She still managed to attract a suitor, Jerome Baumgartner, whom she also loved, but the match never came to pass because the man’s family objected to his marriage to a renegade nun. Late in 1524 efforts began to find Katherine another suitor, efforts that she firmly resisted. Then she stated her willingness to marry either Luther or his associate, Nicholas von Amsdorf. A confirmed bachelor, Luther agreed that at the age of forty-two, the time was right for him to wed. So on June 13, 1525, the ex-monk and the ex-nun wed. Their marriage did blossom into a relationship which was equally beneficial – Luther the theologian and teacher – Katie the cook and brewer – students would come to their table to be fed physically, spiritually, and intellectually.

Take some time this week to consider Martin Luther, or read something written by Luther – maybe even return to the Small Catechism — which many of you have not read since your own confirmation.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 3, 2015
Tags: , Faith, ,   

About-Face – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 3, 2015
Sunday

“Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.” Acts 8:26-38

“There are a number of conversions described in the New Testament. You think of Paul seeing the light on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19), or the Ethiopian eunuch getting Philip to baptize him on the way from Jerusalem to Gaza (Acts 8:28-40). There is also the apostle Thomas saying, “My Lord and my God!” when he is finally convinced that Jesus is alive and whole again (John 20:26-29), not to mention the Roman centurion who witnessed the crucifixion saying, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Luke 23:47). All these scenes took place suddenly, dramatically, when they were least expected. They all involved pretty much of an about-face, which is what the word conversion means. We can only imagine that they all were accompanied by a good deal of emotion. We don’t know much about what happened to any of them after their brief appearance in the pages of Scripture, let alone what happened inside them. We can only pray for them, not to mention also for ourselves, that in the absence of a sudden shattering event, there was a slow underground process that got them to the same place in the end.” Frederick Buechner

Baptism is an outward action that is supposed to cause an inner change. And that inner change is supposed to cause an outward response. In the Lutheran Church we have tried to recapture the “life-defining” moment that Baptism is supposed to be by reminding people to remember their baptisms every day. Remember your baptism, and then live it out – let the remembrance of your baptism be the about-face you need today – turning away from self-centeredness, begin the inner change you need to move toward a life of baptismal living.

Pastor Dave