Saint and Sinner

            One of the things that you may have heard about Martin Luther is how he said that we are all simul justus et peccator (simultaneously saint and sinner).  He knew this from first-hand experience, and was always aware of his own sinfulness, even while giving thanks for the grace of God that forgives us and accepts us and makes us saints.

            One of the things that you will discover, if you have ever read some of the things that Luther wrote, is that he was quite prejudiced in some respects.  He often wrote against the Turks, the Jews, the papists, the sectarians, and the Anabaptists, among others.  Because of this, the Lutheran church has apologized, on various occasions, for some of the things that Luther wrote, stating that these things do not reflect our Christian faith or our attitudes today.

            There are a number of reasons for some of Luther’s attitudes, which is not to excuse him, but simply to understand his context.  First off, the society in which Luther grew up was decidedly anti-Semitic.  Jewish people in the Holy Roman Empire had to wear yellow stars on their outer clothing to identify them as Jewish.  It was common for Christians to blame the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus, and the town church in Wittenberg has an anti-Jewish frieze near the roof of the building.

            At the same time, Muslims had to wear a blue symbol on their outer clothing to identify them as Muslim.  When Luther writes about the Turks, he tends to mean Muslims.  However, interestingly enough, Luther and Melanchthon wrote a preface to the Koran, which is the only reason it was allowed to be published in Wittenberg.

            As for the papists, the sectarians and the Anabaptists, these were actually groups of Christians that Luther disagreed with.  Seeing as many of Luther’s opponents wrote nasty things about him, Luther responded in kind.  In some ways, he was often on the defensive, as the papacy continued to reject what he had to say and had declared him to be a heretic.

            My suspicion is that if Luther were to look at some of the things that he wrote with sober second thought, he might be just as dismayed as others have been.  His attitudes were shaped by the time in which he lived, but he also never repudiated the prejudices that were all around him.  Many of the worst things that he had to say were written during the last six years of his life – a time when he was in constant pain and was haunted by some of the mistakes that he had made.  This is also not an excuse, but was part of the context.

            At the same time, though, there is no doubt that much good came out of Luther’s life.  People were truly set free by his message from the Scriptures about God’s grace and forgiveness through faith in Christ.  People were also able to read the Bible because of his translation of it into the German language.  And many of the abuses that Luther identified in the church of his time have now been corrected.

            Luther and Melanchthon also started schools where children could learn to read the Bible and could learn the gospel message through music.  At the same time, community chests were set up in each town where money would be collected and then used to feed the poor and to fund education.  Prior to that, the church hierarchy had been taking most of the money raised.

            I have mentioned before how Luther had never wanted anybody to call themselves Lutheran.  “Don’t call yourselves by my poor, miserable name.  Call yourselves after Christ!” – in other words, Christian.  But you all know how well people listen J  Luther always wanted to point to Christ, and he always wanted to be “in Christ.”  He didn’t always succeed, but then neither do the rest of us.  Thankfully, we all have a God of mercy and grace.

                        In Christ,

                        Pastor Lynne Hutchison