Reformation History: Of Word and Sacrament

Reformation History: Of Word and Sacrament

It's October! The excitement of Reformation Day will soon be upon us: Zion will be filled with Martin Luther’s A Mighty Fortress Is Our God – the battle hymn of the Reformation. Red paraments and vestments will adorn the church – reminders of the power and fire of the Holy Spirit, who gives all people the power to call upon and share the name of Jesus Christ. And for me, especially this year, I will be reminded of the week I spent walking Lutheran history in Wittenberg, Germany – birthplace of the Reformation.

In August, Tirzah and I were very blessed to be able to attend a work conference with her missionary team, specially hosted this year in Wittenberg. We visited the homes of Luther and Melanchthon (writer of the Augsburg Confession). We went to the Castle Church and saw the doors where Luther nailed the 95 Theses. We looked at original books, writings, and signatures of the Reformers and walked the same streets they walked. We ate in a bar Martin Luther himself frequented.

A couple weeks ago, a picture hanging in Pastor’s office caught my eye, and I thought "Hey! I've seen that before." It is of the altarpiece which stands in St. Mary's City Church in Wittenberg. Tirzah and I attended Matins with the missionaries there each morning. It was my favorite church I saw in Europe (and we saw some impressive ones). St. Mary’s is the church Martin Luther attended and often preached, and where he and Katie married and had all their children baptized.

The painting was done by Lucas Cranach, an artist who captured much of the Reformation while it was happening. The altarpiece consists of four panels. Three panels across the top depict Philipp Melanchthon at a baptismal font, Martin Luther at the Last Supper, and Johannes Bugenhagen (Luther’s pastor at St. Mary’s) administering Confession and Absolution. If you aren't familiar with some of these names, I encourage you to learn about the Luther’s, Melanchthon, Bugenhagen and Cranach this Reformation month. They are, after all, among our Lutheran forefathers.

The artwork of the altarpiece teaches some of the very central themes of the Reformation: Word and Sacrament. Melanchthon, the only one of the three who is not a pastor, accompanies the Sacrament of Holy Baptism (since that is the sacrament a layman could administer in an emergency situation). Pastors Luther and Bugenhagen accompany the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and the Office of the Keys, the work that Christ gave specifically to called and ordained pastors to administer.

The fourth panel under these three is the most important. It depicts Luther preaching the Word of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins to the congregation. But note the position of Christ in the bottom panel. With His hands positioned at the top of the panel, it is as if He is holding up the three panels above Him, which of course He does! Christ’s Word powers and holds up the Sacraments and the Office of the Keys. The work of the Church [AC.VII] is on display in Cranach’s altarpiece – to preach the Gospel and administer the forgiveness of sins to Christ's flock through the Sacraments and Absolution. But the work of the Church always rests on the Word, on the power, and on the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ and His forgiveness of sins given to all freely by faith.

“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” [Rom. 10:17]. Here is a picture of me, standing in the pulpit of St. Mary’s City Church, Cranach’s altarpiece in the background. Note how far into the pews the pulpit stands. The altar is almost 100 feet behind me in the pulpit. The pulpit is just about in the center of where the people sit. This was a change implemented by Martin Luther, because he felt the Word had to be in the midst of the people, so they could hear it and have it work on their hearts. This Reformation, let us give thanks to God for the Reformation and the Reformers He used to make His Word and Sacraments available to the people once again.

In Christ
Vicar Musolino