Isaiah 44,21-23 5521
22. Trinitatis 067. Gedenktag der Reformation
Wolfgang, Bishop of Regensburg, Germany. ✠ 994
31. Oktober 2021
1. O Almighty, Eternal God: We confess that we are poor sinners and cannot answer one of a thousand, when You contend with us; but with all our hearts we thank You, that You have taken all our guilt from us and laid it upon Your dear Son Jesus Christ, and made Him to atone for it: We pray graciously to sustain us in faith, and so to govern us by Your Holy Spirit, so that we may live according to Your will, in neighborly love, service and helpfulness, and not give way to wrath or revenge, that we may not incur Your wrath, but always find in You a gracious Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Veit Dietrich)
2. »„Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I formed you; you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.“ Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.«
3. When Martin Luther was a boy, there was a very popular German Catholic Catechism; it was written by Dietrich Kolde and was entitled A Fruitful Mirror or Small Handbook for Christians; it was first published in 1470; 19 editions followed through 1500. His catechism highlights the state of late Medieval Catholicism: people were religious and pious but they had intense fears of being eternally punished by God. Kolde’s catechism exemplifies this as it includes with these words: „There are 3 things I know to be true that frequently make my heart heavy. The first troubles my spirit, because I have to die. The second troubles my heart more, because I do not know when. The third troubles me above all. I do not know where I will go“ (Janz 127, Three Reformation Catechisms © 1982).
4. Luther himself experienced this Anfechtung (spiritual struggle). He did what the Church prescribed: he went to confession, he attended mass, he fasted, he sought the holy relics for relief of punishment … but still Luther’s conscience convicted him – was I truly repentant? Am I really spared of God’s anger and wrath? What was Luther to do? Johan Staupitz saw Luther’s struggle and in April 1511 sent him to Wittenberg to earn his Doctorate and in August 1513 he began teaching courses there in Holy Scripture (Psalms 1513, Romans 1515 and Galatians 1516).
5. The Prophet Isaiah has the balm for our hurting soul, where He quotes the Lord Himself: »O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.« Isaiah never disappoints to give the sweet gospel to burdened consciences.
6. Luther says this of Isaiah 44: „Thus this passage makes a free offer of the grace of the God who justifies. God is saying: Remember this. Let nothing turn you away, because the conscience is easily deceived by the dangers of unbelief. For that reason the whole Bible and Christ always bind us to this righteousness of God“ (AE 17,115). For it’s by the righteousness of God that we’re justified and saved through Christ (AE 54,194).
7. It should be no surprise then that Luther’s Small Catechism had a completely different conclusion to Kolde’s when it was published in 1529. Luther’s Catechism emphasizes that there are 3 things a person must know to be saved: The Law shows a us our disease, the Creed tells us where to find our medicine and the Lord’s Prayer teaches us how to seek it and appropriate it (WA 7,195f).
8. Kolde’s catechism closes with: I do not know where I will go; it expresses the doubt and fear common in Luther’s day as regards to salvation. Luther’s Small Catechism ends by focusing our hearts and minds upon Christ. Luther writes: „16. Why should we remember and proclaim [Christ’s] death? First, so we may learn to believe that no creature could make satisfaction for our sins. Only Christ, true God and Man, could do that. Second, so we may learn to be horrified by our sins, and to regard them as very serious. Third, so we may find joy and comfort in Christ alone, and through faith in Him be saved.“
9 This certainty of salvation especially troubled many in Luther’s day. While perhaps not as dire in our age, nevertheless the certainty of salvation also weighs heavily upon people’s hearts and minds in the 21. century. How do I appease God? How can I be certain of my eternal destiny? These are questions still pondered today.
10. Luther’s answer ignited the Reformation and eased the consciences of many. May Luther’s answer comfort your soul, too. It is summarized in his explanation of the 2. article of the Creed: „I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to eternity. This is most certainly true.“
11. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
12. Let us pray. O Almighty and Gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.
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