So what was the Reformation, and what does it have to do with us as Episcopalians?
On this Tuesday … Halloween … October 31, Christian Protestants around the world will celebrate Reformation Day. The town of Wittenberg, Germany will host the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church … named All Saints. The town, which has a population of 50,000, is expecting 400,000 tourists. For most historians this began the Protestant Reformation.
So what was the Reformation, and what does it have to do with us as Episcopalians?
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Printer-Friendly Version The lessons we read each Sunday morning are part of a three-year cycle which begins with the First Sunday of Advent … usually the Sunday after Thanksgiving. This is called the Revised Common Lectionary and is used by a vast number of Christian denominations. These lessons were chosen by a committee of folks … mostly scholars. In year A … the one we have been reading from since last December … we predominately hear from Matthew’s gospel. In year B it is Mark’s gospel. And in year C it is Luke’s gospel. Readings from the Gospel of John are thrown in the mix … always the Sunday after Christmas … and also in the Church’s liturgical season of Easter.
Interestingly, to fill an institutional need, every mid-October we hear some story from the gospels that includes something about money … the widow’s mite … where your treasure is so will your heart be also … render unto Caesar. Why is that? It is so the preacher can have an excuse to talk about the Fall Stewardship Campaign seeking pledges of financial support for the coming year. How clever of that committee of New Testament scholars. What do you make of a God that is so angry at a group of people for being disloyal that he is willing to kill all of them? And what do you make of a king who forces folks to come to his party and then criticizes and punishes one of them for not being properly dressed? Does this sound like the God from whom you seek healing when you are ill, or the God from whom you seek solace when you are grieving? Does this sound like the God of unconditional love? Does this sound like the God that you worship?
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