A Diet of Worms?

(A somewhat irreverent explanation of the Christian Faith from a Lutheran Perspective)

Written, Begged, and Borrowed by Rev. Meredith Wilkins-Arnold

We're tired of eating worms - Let's reform!

Martin Luther

Every 500 years the Christian faith has experienced some kind of change or reform. In the late middle ages, a young man named Martin Luther (1483-1546) embodied the spirit of change and reform. His father wanted him to grow up and be something respectable, like a lawyer. But, Martin had a powerful spiritual experience that called him into the ministry of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin became a monk, and underwent a grueling schedule of study and prayer.

At that time, the church taught that a person was saved by his or her good works. We call this ladder theology. It goes something like this... God is far away and hard to get to (like in this cloud) and there is a ladder that people hop on and try to get to the top. The problem is, people mess up (this is called sin.) And with each sin, a person comes down a rung or two. And so on and so on...

So, this is the theology Martin was learning and professing. However, it brought him great anxiety. So much anxiety that he couldn't seem to get out of the confessional. He was so worried that a sin of his would go unconfessed and he would never get to God. Martin, in fact, knew the human condition and knew that he would never make it... that he would always be a sinner and this made him even more anxious.

Well, Martin must have been pretty smart, because the boss monk (a guy named Johann von Staupitz - with a name like that you have to be the boss) ordered him to become a doctor of Holy Scripture. "Yes, sir," said Luther. In his study of the Bible, Luther rediscovered what had long been ignored: a person is reconciled with God by having faith rather than by any moral effort. The work of saving is God's through Jesus Christ and people can't earn it.

If Martin had been an artist and had drawn this theology, it would look like this:

God

Jesus

Us

God chose to come down to the people in the person of Jesus Christ. There is no ladder - people can't get to God or impress God by doing good stuff!

"Wow, this is really cool. I've got to tell people about this," thought Martin. So, he began a campaign by shouting in the streets, yelling at people to get off the ladder. Just kidding about the yelling - he did, however, feel moved to share his revelation with others.

At the same time, there was a major fundraiser going on in Luther's hometown of Wittenberg, Germany. A guy named Johann Tetzel was selling indulgences - permits sold that granted forgiveness of sins. The money went to help build a cushy resort condo in Italy, called the Cathedral of St. Peter's.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther made a poster with some Sunday School supplies and listed 95 statements against the practice of indulgences. These are called the 95 Theses. He believed that Jesus Christ and he alone had the power to forgive sins. Luther felt so strongly about his statements that he nailed them to the door of his church. He got in a heap of trouble, so they made him go on a diet of worms!!! Yuck!

A Diet of Worms?

I've been fooling you. They didn't really make him eat worms. Actually, in 1521, because Luther had stirred up all this debate in the church, he was excommunicated. He said things like the papacy (the pope and his authority) is the result of human development and not a divine institution. It was that kind of stuff that got him excommunicated by papal bull. No, that's not what I think of it, that's really what they called it - a papal bull. Well, some of Luther's friends, like Prince Frederick, thought Martin got a raw deal, so they arranged for another hearing in the German city of Worms. The name of this assembly was the Diet. So, it got the name Diet of Worms.

Cool stuff Martin Luther did

Martin Luther was asked to retract all his writings, and he took a day to think about it, but in the end said, "I cannot. Here I stand." And for this he was truly excommunicated. But, the ideas that Luther introduced were already making their way around Europe, thanks to that first copy machine -the Guttenberg Printing Press. Yup, it's true Martin had opened up a big can of worms.

Truth is, he didn't want to start a new church, he truly loved the church and wanted to reform it. But events went out of control, and many new churches were formed - all of them as a result of the worms being let out of a can.

Martin Luther did some awesome things for the church

• He translated the Bible from Latin into the language of everyday - making it possible for all people to read the Bible.

• He said enough of this Latin worship stuff, let's sing and pray in our own language - making worship a way for people to grow spiritually.

• He wrote some great music. One of his most famous hymns, "A Mighty Fortress is our God," was written to the tune of a favorite pub song - making church music less "churchy" and more known for the people. What was he doing in a pub anyway?

• Even though he was a priest/pastor Martin got married, had a family with a Nun named Katherine. Together they had a bunch of kids. He wrote stuff like the small catechism to help parents teach their kids about God and Jesus.

• Martin reemphasized that God's desire is to forgive us and love us, thereby forcing tons of Lutheran pastors like myself to yell at people, "get off the ladder - God loves you!" I haven't actually yelled it, but I've come close.

Some key words (that's words, not worms)

Sin - And before you ask.yes, we do have to talk about it. Hate to say it, but yup, you and I are sinners. Most of the time, we think we have a better idea about how to live our lives than anyone else, so we just live it. The funny thing is we keep getting it wrong. We mess up. People we love and some we don't even like get hurt by our behavior. A good definition of sin is that which breaks our relationships with one another and with God. Some examples are lying (even little ones break trust), stealing, gossiping. You know the drill. Anyway, no matter how hard we try, we still can't seem to get it right all the time. That is why we need...

Grace. This is the love of God, embodied by Jesus Christ, that makes us holy and beloved people of God. It's a free gift, on the house, at no cost to us. Since we rebel against God, we place ourselves at God's mercy. But, God would never abandon us. Rather, God embraces us with love and support even when we think we don't deserve it or others tell us we don't deserve it. In every way, God is for us. This is grace.

The Word. God's Word comes to us in the Bible, and we see God's Word in the life and death of Jesus. The Word is the Bible and it's in the Bible. When we read the Bible, we do more than just learn about Jesus, we have an encounter with Him. That's why we interpret the Bible as inspired by God. We see the Bible as alive! Read one of these Bible passages to learn more about this idea: Psalm 119, Romans 5:1-2, Luke 11:28 or 2Timothy 3:15-17.

Faith - means two things. Faith is belief, as in I believe in these things about God. But, it is also trust. Faith is trusting in God to do the things God promises.

Enough Worms, let's have Bread and Wine

A common question

I always get asked this question: What's the difference between Lutherans and _______________ (fill in the blank)? Maybe it's Roman Catholics or Methodists or Baptists. Whatever. Well, here's a brief but totally incomplete answer:

Sacraments.

Lutherans celebrate two sacraments: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. The sacraments are concrete, touchable, tasteable forms of God's word of Grace for us.

Lutherans teach that a sacrament is a holy or sacred act that 1) communicates God's grace; 2) uses some visible means, such as water, bread or wine; 3) was commanded by Christ to do.

People become a part of the spiritual and tangible Body of Christ through Holy Baptism, and are nourished for a life of faith through Holy Communion.

Some traditions, like the Roman Catholic Church have seven sacraments, others like Assembly of God don't have any sacraments.

So, what's the big deal with Sacraments? Why so many? Why so few?

• Sacraments are for all God's people, therefore we don't call Priesthood or Marriage a sacrament.

• We call sacraments "means of grace" because God communicates divine love in and among us through them.

• We celebrate the sacraments because to receive faith and forgiveness from God is truly a joy.

• We want to celebrate Communion frequently because we are hungry for God (and besides, we're tired of worms).

More Information

Q: Hey thanks, Meredith, but I'd like to read something a little more serious, what should I pick up and read about this stuff?

A: The Bible, especially the book of Romans and the Gospel of John. And some other books like:

Introduction to Lutheranism by Eric Gritsch, copyright 1994 by Fortress Press.

The Book of Concord translated by Timothy Wengert, copyright 2001 by Augsburg Fortress Press.

Lutheran Basics, a small booklet from Augsburg Fortress Press .