Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
[Intro]
[1]On April 16, 1521, Martin Luther, who months earlier was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, entered the city of Worms in a Saxon two-wheeled cart with a few companions. Although it was evening, more than 2,000 people turned out to greet Luther as he went to his lodging.
That next day – April 17 – Luther was told by the herald and imperial marshal to avoid the crowds as he went on his way to a meeting with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the electors, and German princes, who all waited with anticipation to hear whether Luther would recant his writings, or not.
Luther was about to speak in front of the Church and the Holy Roman Empire with the fear of death weighing upon him. Just imagine what Luther was feeling. Here, we have a simple monk with nothing to sustain him, except his own faith in the inerrant Word of God. Luther knew that he and the emperor alike were called upon to answer before Almighty God.
Upon entering the assembly, known as the Imperial Diet of Worms, Luther was examined by an official of the Archbishop of Trier. Immediately, Luther was confronted with a pile of his own books and was asked whether they were his. Luther replied: “The books are all mine, and I have written more.”
The official said, “Do you defend them all, or do you care to reject a part?”
Luther replied: “This touches God and His Word. This affects the salvation of souls. Of this Christ said, ‘He who denies Me before men, him I will deny before My Father’ (Matthew 10:33). To say too little or too much would be dangerous. I beg you, give me time to think this over.”
After discussion, the emperor would grant Luther until tomorrow. Justifiably so, Luther is terrified. He knew he had to give an answer before Almighty God and before the emperor.
That next day – April 18, 1521 – Luther returned to the Diet, but this time a larger hall was chosen, to allow for a larger crowd. It was standing room only, as only the emperor would find a seat.
The
archbishop’s official reiterated the question of the previous day. As the day
went on, the heat of the room increased. But Luther held his ground.
Eventually, the official got to the point saying, “I ask you, Martin – answer candidly
and without horns – do you or do you not repudiate your books and the errors
with they contain?” Luther replied in his native German language saying:
“Since then Your Majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. Amen.”
Luther was asked to repeat his answer in Latin. As sweat beaded upon him, Luther made his affirmation in Latin. He threw up his arms in the gesture of a victorious knight, and slipped out of the hall. The hall erupted. Some rejoiced; others demanded Luther’s death.
That next day, Luther was declared a heretic. He was condemned and declared the enemy of the pope and the empire. The pope and the empire had placed a bounty on Luther’s head.
Today, we stand in the footsteps of Martin Luther 500 years later. We stand boldly as we continue to proclaim Jesus who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We stand, by the grace of God, steadfast and ready – like Luther, to suffer all rather than fall away. We do not stand on Luther, but we will gladly stand with him, firm on the testimony of the Holy Scriptures to confess the saving Gospel of Christ, our Good Shepherd, who died and rose, in whose name is forgiveness of sins for all people. Here we stand. We can do no other. God help us all.
[Firm Testimony of the Scriptures]
Five hundred years ago, Luther had a choice. He could either denounce God’s Word, or he could boldly proclaim God’s Word. In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus gives us the charter of the Church’s proclamation. Jesus taught His disciples saying, “‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:44-47).
Did you catch what Jesus just said? Here Jesus is saying that to comprehend His teaching, their minds – and our minds – must be opened by Jesus to understand the Scriptures.
Here, Jesus is teaching us three aspects of our Christian faith and what we preach and confess:
·
First,
the death and resurrection of Christ is the central event of our faith. By this
means, Christ reconciles us to God the Father and Jesus is proclaimed the
victor over sin and death. (Luke 24:46)
·
Second,
the Scriptures are the firm testimony of this. The Old Testament prophets
foretold it, pointing forward to the Christ. The New Testament apostles bear
witness to the Christ who has come. (Luke 24:44)
· Third, the delivery and purpose of this central event and the reason for the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures is this: the proclamation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name. The Law calls to repentance by exposing sin; the Gospel proclaims “peace” over such exposed sinners from the wounds of the risen Christ. (Luke 24:47)
Christ’s death and resurrection were accomplished to win a good conscience for us. Our conscience is “bound up” not simply to facts of history for their own sake, but to these blessed facts that are “for us and for our salvation” as we proclaim in the Nicene Creed.
On this day, 500 years ago, Luther was bound to the Holy Scriptures and their inerrant truth because they are the authority of God’s own Word concerning Jesus Christ, in whom we have peace for our consciences in the forgiveness of sins. You see, Luther appealed to the Scriptures, just as Christ did to His disciples.
[Hold Fast the Confession]
Now, due to our sinful nature, our natural tendency is to not perceive that Jesus is the Christ and that He has indeed accomplished our salvation. Our human eyes are blind to the reality of Christ’s presence even when He stands directly in sight, and our ears are deaf to His Word even when He speaks them audibly. Due to our sinful nature, this is a sad reality.
Today, the world around is us changing, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. You see, Satan hates the triune God and he wants us to doubt God’s saving Word. He wants us to question God’s Word. He wants us to turn from God’s Word.
Satan and the sinful world constantly come after us trying to wedge any doubt between us and God as he uses the same tactics he did with Adam and Eve saying, “Did God really say?” Most recently, Satan is coming after us in hopes of causing us to doubt ourselves. He wants us to doubt our own created being as God created us male and female. This is nothing new. He’s done this before. And he’ll keep on attempting to sow any doubts so he can pull us from God’s kingdom. You see, Satan and the sinful world constantly send their flaming darts at us in hopes of stealing one of us from Christ’s flock.
You see, Satan and the sinful world want us to put our trust in human wisdom and rely on shifting ground. Satan wants us to worry. Satan wants us to fail to recognize Jesus. But, do you know what? The more we may worry, the sure and certain Hope is right in front of us. Christ Jesus cannot be hidden. He cannot be locked away. You see, our sinful nature often overpowers us to look in all the wrong places for safety and security. We look in all the wrong places when the right place is right in front of us in God’s Holy Scriptures where God comes to us proclaiming certainty saying, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).
Even in our disbelief, Jesus the Good Shepherd, comes to us saying, “Peace to you!” (Luke 24:36) and “Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 20:27b). “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” (Luke 24:38) He says, “Come, eat and drink. This is My Body, which is given for you. This cup is the new testament of My Blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
Although Jesus is truly present with His disciples that day, He also implies that He is no longer “with” them in the same way as before His death and resurrection. This is as Christ is today, as He comes to feed us His very body and His very blood for the forgiveness of sins and to strengthen our faith.
Here, Jesus Himself heals our spiritual blindness and deafness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit – the “power from on high” (Luke 24:49) – our faith grows and is strengthened. He also gives us the preached Word, which is the instrument through which the Holy Spirit manufactures faith. From this preached Word, the triune God gives us peace, joy, and the forgiveness of sins.
Through the hearing and reading of the Scriptures – from Genesis to Revelation – our eyes are opened through the working of the Holy Spirit. Our eyes are opened as God reveals how we have received peace with Him through our crucified and risen Lord. Our eyes are opened to see that the triune God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Our eyes are opened as these Scriptures – breathed out by God – teach us, reproof us, correct us, and train us in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:15-17).
So, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25).
At Worms, Luther held fast the confession without wavering. He refused to be moved from his teaching except by the Holy Scriptures’ correction, because in the Scriptures we hear the voice and promise of Christ Himself – He who promised, who alone is trustworthy. The Scriptures are that trustworthy testimony of God to us, a promise that brings God with His benefits to us: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
On this third Sunday of Easter – 500 years to the date when Luther took his stand at Worms – the Scriptures remind us what the Church stands for: Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of peace with God and eternal life in His name. Just as Christ stood among His disciples then, He comes to us here, through His Word and Sacraments saying, “Peace to you!” (Luke 24:36)
So whatever political power struggles, social and ethical debates, or humanitarian disasters we must engage in our lives, our mission and existence does not begin or end there. We preach Christ crucified and risen for eternal salvation. That is the center and focus of the Holy Scriptures, to which every other Scriptural truth also leads.
God help us in our day to be bold to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. God help us to stand on the sure testimony of the Holy Scriptures alone as the source and norm of faith and life, to repent of sin and pride, and to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Here we stand! God help us. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
T SOLI DEO GLORIA T
