Reformation is a ringing reminder–reverberating now for 500 years–to “let God be God.” Yes, simply let God do what God does best: infuse me with divine love, so I can love myself and my neighbors as myself. Reformation reminds me to embrace those things Martin Luther so clearly loved: the Word made flesh, good music, faith formation and Christian education, family life, the primacy of grace, the proclamation of the Word–and, I am sure–good German beer.
Reformation reminds me that God’s kingdom, as Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” proclaims, is “ours forever.” That topsy-turvy kingdom is one where the first are last and the last first–where “the least of these” matter greatly to God.
Thank you, Martin Luther, for pointing to Jesus, whose coming The Message describes this way: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14).
This message by Nancy J. Stelling is an excerpt from a Voices column in the March 2017 issue of Gather magazine. Today we remember Thomas Cranmer, Bishop of Canterbury, martyr, who died in 1556.
Sign up for Daily Grace. If you enjoy this resource or our other free resources, please Donate Now.