Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

The third person of the Trinity and the work of G*d in this world – it is the Holy Spirit that builds faith

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 6, 2015
Tags: , Holy Spirit   

Ninety-Five Theses – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 6, 2015 – “N” is for Ninety-five Theses

Lutherans teach that, on October 31, 1517, Dr. Martin Luther decided to nail a document onto the church door at Wittenberg. It contained 95 points of interest – mainly points of concern that Luther had with the Catholic Church – concerns about practice.

“Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses centers on practices within the Catholic Church regarding baptism and absolution. Significantly, the Theses reject the validity of indulgences (remissions of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven). They also view with great cynicism the practice of indulgences being sold, and thus the penance for sin representing a financial transaction rather than genuine contrition. Luther argued that the sale of indulgences was a gross violation of the original intention of confession and penance, and that Christians were being falsely told that they could find absolution through the purchase of indulgences.”

Within two weeks of mailing out copies of his theses, some of the copies had spread throughout Germany; within two months throughout Europe. In January 1518 Christoph von Scheurl and other friends of Luther translated the Ninety-Five Theses from Latin into German, printed, and widely copied them, making the controversy one of the first in history to be aided by the printing press.

What is the legacy of the 95 Theses? Somehow, this simple act of speaking out rallied others into supporting the need for change. It began the perfect storm opening the door for discussion and debate on practice and the understanding of absolution. What had become of the church? How could the sale of indulgences resolve any inner struggle with sin? The Indulgence was a document that, when purchased resolved the purchaser, or a family member, of their sin. Johann Tetzel had transferred his career from simple Dominican Priest to Papal commissioner for Indulgence. His goal was to collect money for the building of St. Peter’s Basilica. Martin struggled with his own sense of salvation and finding the love of G*d. For all of his actions to earn G*d’s love, he never felt worthy, or never felt that he had done enough. And then, in returning to scripture, he realized that it is faith, not works, that brings G*d’s love, mercy and Grace. G*d’s love could not be bought or earned through money, actions of piety, actions of service, or actions of any kind. And it was through the 95 Theses that Luther expressed his dissatisfaction with the direction of the church he loved.

Pastor Dave

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

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