Poenitentiam Agite
Poenitentiam Agite
Happy Reformation
Day! I bet you were expecting Happy
Halloween instead. Most of the rest of
the country seems obsessed with the latter instead of the former. My granddaughter left for school this morning
with her angel costume on. My oldest
grandson jumped up and down asking, “Papa Rick, do you know that it’s Halloween
today?” But that is kind of normal
compared to when I was a kid. When I say
obsessed, I mean in the sense that people are spending money like never
before. Some observers are saying that
Halloween is the fastest growing holiday in America in terms of dollars
spent. It already is the second largest
holiday for dollars spent on home décor.
If the trend continues, Christmas is in big trouble. But then, we should have seen it coming with
the popularity of shows like “The Walking Dead,” and movies like – well you
know… all those horror movies. I think
the last horror movie I paid to see was the original “Halloween” – when it
first came out. But let’s not get
distracted like the rest of the world, let’s get back to poenitentiam agite and
the Reformation.
On October 31, 1517, it is
recorded that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the church door in
Wittenberg. Luther was upset with the
Vatican’s decision to raise funds for the building of St. Peter’s basilica by the
selling of indulgences, pay to the priests for prayers shortening one’s stay in
Purgatory. Luther’s 86th
thesis reflects this sentiment and perhaps betrays his feelings regarding the
issue:
86. Again: —
“Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the
richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather
than with the money of poor believers?”
Luther was experiencing a
spiritual transformation at the same time that the Pope was selling absolution
of sins. A humble German monk was
studying God’s and marveling at God’s grace and the seat of authority for the
Roman church was cheapening the cross by selling forgiveness. It is no wonder that Luther’s desire to
debate the issues is today seen as the motivating factor for the
Reformation. His 95 Theses were copied,
printed and distributed widely. Thus,
Luther’s debate inquiry also has the distinction of being one of the first
controversies aided by the printing press.
The title of today’s blog
comes from Luther’s first thesis. I like
it. I like its tone, I like its premise,
and I like its biblical foundation. It
is based upon the words of Jesus in Matthew 4:17, “From that time on Jesus
began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Here is what Luther concludes from his study
of Scripture:
“1. Our Lord and
Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole
life of believers should be repentance.” (When
Jesus said "repent" he meant that believers should live a whole life
repenting)
The word repent has such
negative connotations that people upon hearing or reading almost always
conclude that only those really evil must repent. The rest of us, and especially me, we often
think to ourselves, are basically good people, so we don’t really need to
repent. Or, we conjure up some image of a
hell fire and brimstone preacher casting judgment upon the whole human
race. It is better to think that Jesus
started His ministry reminding all of us that we have fallen short of the glory
of God, that all mankind is busy doing their own thing, and what He calls us to
do for the rest of our lives is to stop living life our way and start living it
His way. I assume that only the most
hard-hearted Pharisee would assume this applies to all but their selves.
What a way to start the
Reformation! To call the world to Christ’s
first words in ministry, “Start to live the way God intends you to live!” But then, I also like the way Luther ends his
list:
“94.
Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their
Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;” (Christians must follow Christ at
all cost).
“95. And
thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations,
than through the assurance of peace” (Let Christians experience problems if
they must - and overcome them - rather than live a false life based on teaching
that tickles one’s ears).
Now that I think about it,
Luther didn’t start the Reformation – Jesus did!
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