Martin Luther’s influence still strong in Texas
With 95 Theses, priest wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power
On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. What this Roman Catholic priest did may seem distant and insignificant to many half a millennia later — if it is remembered at all. However, these words of a determined monk developed into a period in history called the Reformation — an era that has provided Houston many blessings. Those of us who live in Texas, those of us who speak Spanish, those of us who read our Bible in our mother tongue, those of us who attended public schools — or Lutheran schools — those of us who enjoy congregational singing, we who receive both the bread/ body and wine/blood in Holy Communion — for all such people, Oct. 31 is a meaningful day. These aspects of our community life, and many more, were affected by the Reformation. Five hundred years of Reformation history is worth celebrating because the debates, councils, papal decrees, imperial mandates and military actions from the time of the Reformation still affect every American citizen today.
Just four years after Luther posted his Theses with the intent of fostering local scholarly debate, Gutenberg’s printing press spread Luther’s theories all over Europe, sparking an international religious crisis. Suddenly, the then-unknown Bible professor at the University of Wittenberg was an enemy of Charles V, who, as Holy Roman Emperor, ruled over much of Europe and lands far beyond. In fact, Charles V’s authority included the very ground Houstonians call home, making the bayou city itself part of the story of the Reformation.
Meanwhile, on April 18, 1521, in the city of Worms, Germany, Luther stood before The Golden One (as Charles V was known) and refused to recant his Theses unless they were shown to be in error by reason or by proof from the Holy Bible. Paul Robinson noted in his recent biography, “Martin Luther: A Life Reformed,” that Luther informed the emperor he was
“bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand, may God help me.”
In Luther’s words we find an extreme example of truth being spoken to power. Here in the words of this humble Augustinian monk from a small village in Germany, we discover a model of a conscientious protester. The German princes present at Luther’s hearing before Charles V recognized the power of his words and, thus, were inspired to formally protest for their religious rights in the form of the so-called Augsburg Confession of 1530. From that time on, such people of faith would be called Protestants. After 25 years of additional councils, colloquies and military actions, the 1555 Peace of Augsburg ushered in a Europe that officially was religiously diverse.
Dedicating himself to a small Latin phrase, plus ultra (meaning “still further”), Charles V was sending his Spanish conquistadores, along with Roman Catholic priests, on missions to spread the Roman Catholic faith in the New World. These “missionaries” came to what is now Texas in 1519, the year Charles V ascended to the imperial throne, coercing native populations to change their spoken language to Spanish as they spread Catholicism. This is why so many Texans speak Spanish today. Because of Luther, many modern Protestant practices also spread throughout the New World.
During the period between 1517 and 1555, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X and was listed as an official enemy of the state; yet, because of political and military protection provided by the Protestant princes, Luther was able to develop one of his most important reforms: translation of the Bible from Latin into verses people could read in their own languages — a privilege people around the world enjoy today.
Beyond providing a readable version of the Bible, Luther recognized that the population was in great need of education. Luther addressed this issue by calling upon the princes to pay for basic education for both boys and girls. Today, this legacy lives on in the free public schools, as well as in parochial schools, such as the many Lutheran primary and secondary schools that serve our community.
Of course, Martin Luther was foremost a priest and a pastor. When he found that little was being taught in churches about the Bible, Jesus Christ or the Gospel, Luther led a movement to allow church congregants — rather than just the choir and priest — to worship through the singing of hymns. He furthermore helped end the common practice in which the priest alone drank from the Holy Communion chalice and partook of the bread/body of Christ. We are reminded when we raise our voices in song and receive communion that these rites reflect the effects of the Reformation 500 years after the original reforms were sanctioned.
Those remarkable reforms affect many beyond the church, as well. For example, 236 years after the Peace of Augsburg came the ratification of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. The first of these amendments established the right to a free press and freedom of religion, two privileges that came about with great pain for Luther, but which today are our legal birthrights.
We have much to honor 500 years after the Reformation, from the language we speak here, to the way we worship, to how we educate our children in schools and in religious life, not to mention the foundational documents of our democracy. As a Lutheran pastor, I urge Houstonians to take part in any number of the many celebrations of the legacy of the Reformation, including cultural and spiritual observances. I expect that one result will be the discovery that “Houston Strong” and Martin Luther’s strength hold a great deal in common.