By The Rev. Richard S. Yost
Immanuel Lutheran Church
This month, we in the Lutheran Church commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Specifically, history records that on Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his well-documented “95 Theses” to the Cathedral door in Wittenburg, Germany. Though it wasn’t immediate, that single event marked the beginning of the Protestant Revolution, which is regarded by many historians as one of the events that have most significantly influenced the history of the world. We Lutherans recognize that event each year on the last Sunday of October as Reformation Sunday.
Many reading this article may be aware of the details of the Protestant Reformation. For those who are unfamiliar, allow me to provide a brief synopsis of the events that led up to this history-changing time in history. Martin Luther, from whom the Lutheran tradition derives its name, was raised as a Roman Catholic and, in fact, he was a Roman Catholic priest. However, many of the traditions of the Roman church, notably the selling of indulgences, troubled him, so he sought to have a “town hall” sort of meeting by inviting one or more people from the Church to debate him and answer some of his questions. His 95 Theses were, in reality, an invitation for others to debate the issues he presented in the document he had nailed to the cathedral door.
In no large part due to the development of “movable type” for the printing press, it became quite simple to mass-produce copies of the document and it quickly made its way, not only throughout the city of Wittenburg but throughout Germany. In no time at all, hundreds of others became aware of Luther’s concerns, and in quick order the news spread throughout Europe, including Rome, Italy, where the Pope became aware of Luther’s discontent. Over the next several years, Martin Luther was the subject of many sessions of questioning and demands for him to retract his words and writings in order to preserve his status as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. But rather than deny any of his deeply-held beliefs, he became an even more prolific writer, and his teachings became more widely-read by his supporters. Not all who read his works were impressed and ultimately, he was excommunicated by the Roman church in 1521. From early on, his followers had been referred to as Lutherans as a derisive term signifying their defiance of the pope. The name took root and thus those who remained loyal to Luther and his teaching became the core of the early Lutheran Church.
You may have noticed that I chose the word “commemorate” rather than “celebrate” as I began this article, and I did so for a very important reason. The Reformation was not an event to celebrate because it was fraught with conflict and controversy and yes, even violence. However, it is certainly worthy of remembering for its impact on the history of world religion. Even in this modern era, religion continues to go through change. For example, about 40 years ago, the term “ecumenical” found its way into church vocabulary. The word had no ties to a specific religious denomination and in and of itself was a very non-threatening term. Ever so gradually, the term ecumenical worked its way into the verbiage of mainline religious denominations. Ecumenism was (and remains) an effort to include and incorporate a variety of practices from multiple faith traditions inviting people from differing religious backgrounds to worship together. The word ecumenical or ecumenical worship was never intended to suggest that when people from different faith traditions gather together to worship their core beliefs were to be abandoned by the side of the road in a massive “Kumbaya” moment. The hope was that people from a variety of faiths gathered to worship together bringing with them portions and practices of their respective faith traditions.
The first ecumenical service I attended was back in the 1970s. It was a time that this “ecumenical movement” was being lifted up as an alternate worship style. Traditionalists who feared their own faith traditions were being threatened by this ecumenical movement were very much opposed. I remember those first ecumenical services were highlighted by lots of singing, which I wholeheartedly embraced. As the years have gone by, I’ve continued to embrace the music from other religions. In fact, if you look at our current hymnal, you’ll find that a great many of the hymns we sing regularly are not of Lutheran origin. Yet they are cherished and precious to us for the marvelous stories of faith the lyrics impart.
It is because of the Protestant Reformation that numerous faith traditions came into being. As a result the hymns we sing on any given Sunday in our respective churches number in the thousands because, intentionally or unintentionally, we’ve become very inclusive and very ecumenical in our church music. And while the ecumenical movement breathed new life into the shape and sound of our modern-day worship, it was only a beginning.
In 1997 a Formula of Agreement was entered into by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the United Church of Christ (U.C.C,), the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Reformed Church in America. This was a major step beyond the concept of ecumenical worship. By this agreement, these four denominations openly accepted each other as Full-Communion partners, which means churches from those denominations could call pastors from one of those other faith traditions to serve as their pastor. Smaller congregations could share a pastor because the same person could serve two congregations from different faith traditions. In 1999 the “Call to Common Mission” between the Episcopal Church and the ELCA was agreed upon by those two denominations. It expanded the Full-Communion partnership and ten years later, it grew even larger when the United Methodist Church became the latest denomination to join as communion partners with the ELCA.
There was still one major faith tradition missing from the ranks, however: the Roman Catholic Church. And while there are still many doctrinal issues that separate the ELCA from the Roman Catholic Church as Full-Communion partners, we are coming closer and closer with every year. On Oct. 30, 2015, Catholic and Lutheran churches jointly released “Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist” a document which defines 32 areas of agreement between the two churches. While the conversations and documents that come out of these ongoing discussions will not unify the two churches anytime soon, theologians from these two denominations can envision a time when, at the very least, members of both traditions will come together to share the Lord’s Supper.
We are living in a time when the world around us seems to be changing by the minute — some of it good, some not so good. But maybe the biggest change that awaits us isn’t something different or anything new at all. Maybe the biggest and best change that awaits us is that we are invited to join together with our Catholic friends to receive the gift of the body and blood of Jesus Christ at the Communion table. It may not be seen as the most significant change by those who measure change by fashion trends and technological advances. But it will be a change that will be recorded in the annals of history as an event that brought the Christian church full-circle; back to where it all began. And, for all of our sakes, it can’t come too soon.
