On the Eve of All Saints in 1517 a professor at Wittenberg University posted on the door of the Castle Church a proposal for a debate about the Medieval Church’s practice of selling Indulgences. Luther wanted honest open substantive dialog about the authority of the church of his day and the ludicrous practice of selling the grace of God.
Luther was about dialog. The church door was the local bulletin board which often announced debate and a call for dialog. Luther’s intention was never to start a new church but rather to actively participate in the ongoing reform of the church. Ecclesia Semper Reformanda est – Latin for ‘the church is always reforming’ – is the heritage that we as Lutherans carry.
Luther attempted to bring the church back to its center: the Gospel and Grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He openly challenged the Medieval Church to return to her roots in the grace and mercy of God. He championed everyone to take seriously their baptismal calling not just as believers, but ‘priests’ that carry out the mission and ministry of Christ. The universal priesthood of all believers was indeed
one of the central tenets of the Protestant Reformation.
Diakonia carries on such a ‘reformed movement.’ You, who are taking the journey of this 2 year program, are participating in a reformation. Not only will you be ‘reformed’ and re-shaped by this learning and communal experience, but you become ‘reformers of the church catholic.’ You will become seeds planted in a church that is always being made new.
This is both an exciting and challenging experience. New friends and a supportive community of learners are exciting. New insights call us to the challenge of new ways of being the church.
This ‘always being made new’ did not begin with Luther, but it continued with him. God is ever creating the church anew. God in Christ continues to make all things new even through humble beer drinking monks and people like you and me.
Pr. Kenn Storck
www.diakoniausa.org
