Over the
years there have been many lists of the most influential people in history.
Martin Luther is listed in the top 100 on more than one list and ranks right up
there with Guttenberg, Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein.
The Wikipedia,
the Free (online) Encyclopedia, states about Martin Luther:
His translation of the Bible into the vernacular
of the people made the Scriptures more accessible to them, and had a tremendous
political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the
development of a standard version of the German
language, added several principles to the art of translation, and
influenced the translation of the English King James
Bible. His hymns
inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity.
Reformation
Sunday is celebrated in many congregations the last weekend in October. I was privileged
to be asked to read one of the lessons during a Reformation Worship at the
National Cathedral in Washington DC this past weekend. The reading was from
Deuteronomy 6:1-9. As I walked down the aisle in a processional behind flowing
red streamers singing “A Mighty Fortress” with hundreds as it echoed in this
cavernous building, I couldn’t help but reflect on what a gift it is to be able
to read the Bible and sing hymns of adoration, praise, and scripture every week
in worship and everyday in my home. If Martin Luther hadn’t nailed the 95 thesis
on the door in Wittenberg, I wonder where I would be today. Would I even be
familiar with a scripture verse that has had a major impact on my life and
changed my family life?
Memorizing
scripture embeds it in the mind and goes straight to the heart. The easiest way
to memorize scripture is the way the brain learns through the arts, motion, and
music. For more than a decade I have been helping congregations to understand
the importance of giving parents tools and a means to be the primary teacher of
faith in their own child’s life. The tools are simple: The Bible, scripture
songs, and an enjoyable, comfortable setting where we learn together. No one is
expected to “know it all”. Everyone is both a student and a teacher. Parents learn
to read scripture, pray with, and bless their children at home.
Thank
you Martin Luther! Were it not for you we wouldn’t be revolutionizing the way
we learn scripture through reading it for ourselves, highlighting it in the
Bible, singing and signing it.
I invite you
to reflect on the gifts Martin Luther has brought to you in your life and to
the life of your congregation. In what ways have you been encouraged to “Keep
these words?”
How do you go about reciting them to the
children, binding them on hands, and writing them on the doorposts of homes?
Hear,
O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord
alone. You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these
words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your
children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when
you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as
an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and
on your gates. Deut. 6:4-9
