Hallowed Reformation

It’s October 31, 2019, and I’ve already had four conversations about how I “celebrate” this day of the year. Is it Halloween or Reformation Day? In the words of President Obama’s first Secretary of State, “What difference does it make?”

In some ways, I suppose it doesn’t make much difference at all. That is, in decent weather (which today is not), my kids dress up in costumes, go door-to-door, and politely say the magic words–“trick-or-treat” and “thank you!”–to collect exorbitant amounts of candy from willing homeowners in neighborhoods around local towns, or they participate in trunk-or-treat events at their school. We remind them that this is not an event to celebrate evil, and they understand that.

In other ways, though, we make a point of teaching our kids and reminding one another of the importance of Reformation Day. A coworker asked me this morning, “Which reformation day?” Noting that she and I are on “opposite sides of the ecclesiastical fence,” I said, “Martin Luther’s.”

“Oh,” she replied. “Well, same God. Same Jesus, same Holy Spirit.” And she’s right, but…

In 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses, or discussion points, to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, to initiate a conversation with church authorities regarding teachings that seemed in contradiction to God’s Word, he was met with resistance from the establishment. He had been reading the Bible for himself, and he’d found that Official Church Teachings about salvation were not in line with the Word of God. Concerned that the Church was in error and needed correction, he attempted to initiate discussion on the apparent inconsistencies, hoping to reform the Roman Church from within.

Among the teachings that concerned him were the selling of indulgences as a means of earning salvation, a practice most heinously conducted on All Hallows’ Evening (October 31), which deprived the poor and illiterate populace of any hope of forgiveness of sins, while falsely promising them such. Luther had found in the book of Romans that forgiveness of sin was a gift God’s grace, not something to be purchased by money: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Rather than conversation, he was threatened with ecclesiastical charges for heresy for daring to challenge church traditions. Luther stood firm, though, declaring the Bible as the only infallible and authoritative Word for life and practice. His actions ultimately triggered the Protestant Reformation of the Church, defined by the understanding that salvation from sin is by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

So what do we celebrate on October 31? For me, it is a hallowed Reformation. It is a remembrance of the men and women throughout history that have walked with the Lord, faithfully proclaiming his Word to this lost and fallen world. By the grace and mercy of God, I have been called into the kingdom of Christ. It is my humble duty to pray for my fellow travelers on life’s road, believer and unbeliever alike. That the former will remain faithful to Christ our Savior and know his love and sustaining power in their lives, and that the latter will be drawn into saving knowledge of Jesus, forgiven of their sin, and live as part of the body of Christ.