A person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.
(Galatians 2.16
NRSV)
Many of you know that famous story. The year was 1505. Luther was traveling from his home to the university at Erfurt, Germany. In his heart he was struggling with his relationship with God. Would he be acceptable if he were to appear before the Judgement seat of God? He wondered. Suddenly a violent thunderstorm filled the sky. A bolt of lightning struck. He was thrown breathless and terrified to the ground. He cried out: "Saint Anna, save me!" He was so fearful he made a vow: if his life were spared, he would become a monk.
That's not so uncommon, is it? Is there anyone of us who has not made a promise to God in a time of great distress? Luther was a young man of character, though. He kept his promise. To the anguish of his family who wanted him to be a wealthy lawyer, he entered the priesthood. With sadness and apprehension he left his home and made his way to a monastery named "The Black Cloister."
It was a troubling time for Luther. He had said good-bye to family and friends, he had thrown off all his worldly possessions and pretensions, he had entered the restricted and reverent life of a monk, but still he felt the terrible weight of his sins. Perhaps he wasn't doing enough. Perhaps he should give himself to more self-denial, more discipline, more fasting, more praying, more reading of Holy Scripture. And he did and still the fear of damnation and eternal torture haunted him. He read the Bible constantly, but what he read there only made him feel more strongly God's righteousness and his own wretched sinfulness. He repented of his sins as best he knew how, but found it impossible to believe that he was really pardoned.
Then, seven years after forsaking the outside world for the cloistered life of a monk, Martin Luther was sent to Rome to transact some business with the pope. This was a high moment of expectation for him. He was going to what he imagined to be the center of both piety and power for the church he loved.
Surprise. When Martin Luther arrived in Rome, he received a terrible revelation. Instead of finding a church of exemplary devotion and conduct, he discovered a very worldly church weighted down by corruption. His mind and heart went reeling. How often that has happened to idealistic young men and women when they discover that the church they love is not always what the church ought to be.
A shaken Luther made his way to the cathedral and began climbing the Scala Sancta, the "sacred stairs." As he climbed the stairs he kissed each step as was the custom. In a few minutes a verse of Scripture began to ring out in his memory, "The just shall live by faith--the just shall live by faith." What was he doing kissing these stairs? he wondered. "The just shall live by faith." Thus began a transformation of Luther's heart and life. It was a transformation that was to shake the Christian world forever. Later he would write: "It was as if the gates swung open, and I entered into paradise."
Luther went on to lead the Protestant Reformation, as you know. He also made an important contribution to German literature with his translation of the Bible. He wrote more than four hundred works, from pamphlets to large books. He wrote catechisms for the common people and introduced singing by the congregation. Of the 125 hymns that he wrote, the best known is "A Mighty Fortress is our God."
Quite a string of accomplishments for a young man who entered the priesthood because he was afraid of lightning. The body of Christ can give thanks this day for that providential storm and his misinterpretation.
And yet, half-a-millennium after Luther, there are many followers of Christ who still have not made the discovery that transformed Luther's life.
Dear God, help me to grow the faith that you have entrusted to me. Amen.