While the rest of the North American world is today enamored with a “holiday” (and that word may be the biggest misnomer ever) that I’m doing my absolute best to avoid, the history geek in me is reminding me that 491 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and reshaped the face of the Western, Christian church.
I think I write a post like this every year, but it’s such a beautiful concept. No, not the resulting centuries of bloodshed, the bitter divide between Catholic and Protestant over who holds “exclusive rights to truth”. Not the proliferation of denominations, because once the splintering began, it was difficult to stop. (And, if you’re history geek enough to have actually studied Luther, keep in mind that he never really wanted a split from the Catholic church in the first place, but that it was something ultimately forced upon him.)
But the idea of reformation, of reform, of being re-formed – that is one that is beautiful to me.
It’s one that I need.
Re. Form. To remake. To be made new again.
To be formed speaks to me of hands of a creator. Hands gently twisting and tugging and manipulating until the result is beauty. And, when the creation becomes marred, dirtied, a re-forming. Hands again gently twisting and tugging and manipulating, repairing, until the result is beauty.
And, reforming didn’t start 491 years ago. That’s the beauty of it. Sure, for nearly 500 years we’ve been acknowledging this process of change and reformation within the church, but it’s been going on since the world began. The hands of a creator shaping and forming and re-forming. Creating beauty. Restoring marred beauty. Bringing hope and redemption.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Another Church Thought
Another thought from Henri Nouwen on church...
Focusing on the Poor
Like every human organization the Church is constantly in danger of corruption. As soon as power and wealth come to the Church, manipulation, exploitation, misuse of influence, and outright corruption are not far away.
How do we prevent corruption in the Church? The answer is clear: by focusing on the poor. The poor make the Church faithful to its vocation. When the Church is no longer a church for the poor, it loses its spiritual identity. It gets caught up in disagreements, jealousy, power games, and pettiness. Paul says, "God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others" (1 Corinthians 12:24-25). This is the true vision. The poor are given to the Church so that the Church as the body of Christ can be and remain a place of mutual concern, love, and peace.
Focusing on the Poor
Like every human organization the Church is constantly in danger of corruption. As soon as power and wealth come to the Church, manipulation, exploitation, misuse of influence, and outright corruption are not far away.
How do we prevent corruption in the Church? The answer is clear: by focusing on the poor. The poor make the Church faithful to its vocation. When the Church is no longer a church for the poor, it loses its spiritual identity. It gets caught up in disagreements, jealousy, power games, and pettiness. Paul says, "God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others" (1 Corinthians 12:24-25). This is the true vision. The poor are given to the Church so that the Church as the body of Christ can be and remain a place of mutual concern, love, and peace.
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