The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation

Tuesday, October 31st was the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 point theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Though this started the Protestant Reformation, other elements of the reformation are found in our contemporary worship of today. Prior to Luther, the mass was witnessed by, but not participated in by the congregation. Gregorian chants were performed by the priest in a ritual form, the mass was spoken in Latin and elements of communion were withheld from the people because it was deemed only for the priests. Martin Luther believed the church service, much like it was in the early church during the first and second century, was for the believers. He commissioned students who were poets and musicians to write hymns in the language of the day that were scriptural, memorable, and could be sung outside the church while in the field, or while at work in daily praise of Christ. He translated the scriptures from Greek into contemporary German, he was German, so it could be read by all instead of having to learn Latin to read the Vulgate. He preached sermons in German in stead of the Latin mass so it could be understood by all, and opened all aspects of communion to the masses because all believers who wished to remember the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for their sins needed to be shared by the congregation. As we come together to worship Jesus, the son of the living God, in songs of praise, hear a sermon spoken in a language we know from scriptures we can read for ourselves, we also give thanks sharing in communion where we remember that just prior to Jesus being crucified for our sins, he sat with his disciples and told them that as often as they ate the bread and drank the cup, they remembered his death till he returned. If you are a believer in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for our sins his resurrection and his promise of eternity with him, we ask you to join in our time of communion by taking and eating the bread as it is passed and drinking the juice and passing the tray to the next person. Let us pray.