Robert Smith – Page 38 – What Does This Mean?

Luther Greeted by Crowds as he Arrives in Worms

Aleander, Pope Leo X‘s ambassador to the Diet of Worms was worried. Reports of the crowds cheering Luther on had reached him. He knew the imperial herald and many of the princes, lords and territories were very critical of the Papacy and its supporters. They favored Luther and many of his reforms. He suspected that many in the the Imperial court were also sympathetic to the Wittenberg monk. The Imperial Confessor, Jean Glapion, made a secret offer to meet Luther outside of Worms to come to some kind of settlement. He had the support of several nobles and the future reformer, Martin Bucer. Spalatin did not trust the Franciscan and Luther suspected a trick to invalidate his safe conduct. So Luther declined the offer.

Aleander tried to discourage Luther’s friends from entering the city, claiming they would fall under his excommunication. He tried to get the Imperial Court to have Luther enter the city quietly and stay at the Emperor’s lodging, so that he could be kept away from others. He worried that the court would try to strike a compromise with Luther. He was not successful.

Five Hundred years ago, on April 16th, Luther entered Worms from Mainz. A trumpet fanfare sounded from the cathedral announcing his arrival. The imperial herald led the way, followed by the Wittenberg wagon. Justus Jonas followed on a horse obtained by Saxon nobles for him. Two thousand people are said to have been lining the route. Luther and his party stayed in the same lodging as two of Elector Frederick’s counselors and the imperial marshall, near to the place where the Elector himself was staying. Beginning on the 17th, a steady stream of princes, nobles and lord of all ranks visited with him. One of these was Philip von Hesse, who would later become a Lutheran. Later that morning, the imperial marshall brought Luther a summons to appear before the Diet at 4 O’Clock.

Luther Begins his Journey to Worms

Luther began his journey to the Imperial Diet at Worms during the first week of April 1521. Yet he was by far not alone. The Imperial Herald Caspar Sturm escorted him. Augustinian monk Johann Petzensteiner accompanied him, along with Nicholas von Amsdorf, his Wittenberg colleague and friend. Peter von Suaven, a Pomeranian noble and several students came along. The city of Wittenberg supplied a cart and the University paid him traveling expenses. Judge Justus Jonas joined them at Erfurt. Melanchthon could not go, since he had teaching obligations.

The route took them across the river to Leipzig, whose city council presented him with a gift of wine. From there it was on to Naumburg, Weimar, Erfurt, where he attended University and then on to Gotha and Eisenach, where he was born and would die 25 years later. In Naumburg, he was the guest of the Burgomeister. In Weimar, Duke John, the brother of Elector Frederick, presented him with a gift to cover travel expenses. He there learned of an imperial order to confiscate his books. The herald asked if he wanted to continue. Luther replied that only force to prevent him would stop him from presenting himself before the Emperor.

On April 6, he entered Erfurt, escorted with an honor guard of sixty horsemen. He was greeted with a celebration, complete with public speeches. Luther could not help but compare the reception to the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It was not a very comforting thought. Luther preached to a packed Augustinian church on April 7th, Notes were taken and the sermon immediately published. He would also preach in Gotha and Eisenach. He fell ill in Eisenach, but soon felt better. The procession reached Frankfort on 14 April, where he felt well enough to party with his friends and play the Lute. There Georg Spalatin met him. He told the elector’s secretary: “But Christ lives, and we shall enter Worms in spite of all the gates of hell and the powers in the air … even if as many devils were in that city as tiles on the roofs.”

Think Like Jesus Thinks

Sermon on Philippians 2:5—11
Palm Sunday
28 March 2021
Our Hope Lutheran Church

Text: “Think the way Jesus thinks. Even though he was fully God, he did not think to assert his equality with God, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a slave, being born fully human. Being human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Yahweh, to the glory of God the Father.” (translation by Robert E. Smith)

Intro: Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin
O’er captive death and conquered sin.

The Ministry of Jesus is full of contrasts. Jesus, as both God and Man at the same time has a right to use all his power as God, yet he performed no miracle for thirty years. When he first performed miracles, he did just enough to create faith in him — and then told those who saw them to keep quiet. He lived in every way like we do and performed most of his ministry the way we do. Then there was the Palm Sunday – and its lead up.

“It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish,” prophesied Joseph Caiaphas, the High Priest. (John 11:50) On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had healed a blind man, performing a sign of the Messiah. A week before the first Palm Sunday, Jesus was at the Bethany home of his friends Mary and Martha. In this bedroom community, he raised their brother Lazarus, who had been in the grave four days. On Palm Sunday, he did not calm the fears of his opponents, but intensified them. Like Solomon had done one thousand years earlier, he rides a donkey into Jerusalem along the road from Bethlehem. The people spread their coats and palm branches on the road before him, sung praises to God and shouted, “Save now! Son of David” Jesus not only did not discourage them, he accepted their praises. The leaders of the people united in their plans to kill Jesus. He was in their minds a blasphemer and a threat to them and to the nation. What they missed was that Jesus the Messiah was not intent on earthly revolution, but to die for their sins and the sins of the world and rise again to open the tombs of all believers. He agreed with Caiaphas. He must suffer and die —and rise again.

A few decades or so, everyone was encouraged to think, “What would Jesus do?” Jesus answered that. Die … that is what he would do. We heard last week Jesus ask James and John if they would do same. Are we ready to die with Jesus?

Paul urges us to think like Jesus thinks.
1. a. Serve God above all things.
1. b. Put the welfare of others first.
1. c.Set aside personal glory.

The world prizes glory, fame, honor above all else.
1. a.We celebrate the rich, glorify entertainers and athletes.
1. b. We dream of being like them, work hard at it, and sometimes try to take shortcuts.
1. c. We think that people are troubled because they lack self—esteem.
1. d. Some preachers play to this culture, insisting God wants to make Christians rich.
1. e. Self—service ends in conflict, quarrels and discord.

Jesus thinks differently.
1. a. He set aside all His glory and was born to Mary.
1. b. He took our nature and went to the cross.
1. c. He died so that we might live and rose that we might live forever.
1. d. He is with us to strengthen us for our journey.
1. e. So… Think like Jesus thinks.

Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die;
bow your meek head to mortal pain,
then take, O God, your pow’r and reign.

What Does This Mean? Blog Programming Note for Holy Week

Dear Regular Readers of our blog:

As you know, I have three fellow pastors writing posts for our modest site. That has been a great blessing, for it has made it possible to have enough material to share something each day — either new or from the post series we’ve run in the past. The embarrassment of riches overflows this week. Between us all, we will be running from two to four posts a day and sometimes written forms of at least two sermons. Typically, I keep people up on this activities by posting links on multiple forums on multiple social media platforms. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that for all of the posts this week.

If you want to keep up, we invite you to visit the blog’s main feed each day this week: http://whatdoesthismean.blog. There is also a subscribe feature available in the left column of all our posts. I’m not sure how well it works, since no one who uses it has told me yet. 😉 In theory, it should email you the title and a link to it each time we post. It could be intense this week. Let me know what you think.

May God bless your meditation on the sufferings, death and resurrection of our Lord — this week and always!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Luther Summoned to the Diet of Worms

In January of 1521, Pope Leo X, formalized the excommunication of Martin Luther in his bull Decet Romanum Pontificam. The decree removed, as far as the Pope and the structure of the church were concerned Luther’s right to teach the faith, exercise the pastoral office and receive the sacraments. It was not published until October of 1521, since it also excommunicated most of Germany’s princes and city-state governments. Emperor Charles V needed their financial and military support, especially against Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, then rising in power. His armies were marching towards Belgrade through Serbia and Hungary as these events were happening.

To address these challenges, and the threat to religious unity Martin Luther and his friends represented, Emperor Charles convened a diet (a cross between a parliament and a diplomatic conference) at the city of Worms in Southwest Germany. In January of 1521, negotiations began between the Emperor and his advisors and Elector Frederick the Wise and his advisors to summon Luther to the Diet to defend himself. The Emperor favored the papacy and the institution of the Church, but he knew to move too strongly against Luther would at best deprive him of badly needed support. Frederick was the key prince in the empire and Luther’s protector. So he agreed to give Luther the hearing that the reformer requested and a safe conduct pledge to go to Worms and return to Saxony.

The imperial summons was worded very graciously, addressing Luther with all the titles due to him as a priest and professor of theology. It was vaguely worded, stated as a request for Luther to answer questions about his books. It could be viewed as allowing everything from a full hearing to a simple demand to renounce them all. The safe conduct was generously worded and issued also by Frederick the Wise and Duke George of Saxony. In the back of everyone’s mind was a similar safe conduct given to Jan Hus one hundred years before, which was violated by the then Emperor. Hus was burned at the stake shortly thereafter. Luther and his prince would be relying on the young emperor’s sense of chivalry and his desire to keep peace in Germany.

To placate the Pope and his supporters, the Emperor also issued a mandate to sequester all of Luther’s books. The Emperor’s officials conveyed to Georg Spalatin that this was for show, that the intent was to give Luther a fair hearing. The Elector, his advisors and Luther’s friends were not entirely sure what the truth was, but advised Luther it was likely safe to attend, given the support of the princes and the estates. Luther was determined to confess the truth before the empire, even if it cost his life. He agreed to go.

Leo X Excommunicates Martin Luther

On January 3rd, 1521, Pope Leo X carried through on his threat to excommunicate Martin Luther. The proclamation, Decet Romanum Pontificam was little noticed at the time since Luther had been effectively excluded from the church when he failed to retract all his books and reject the teachings the Pope had declared “errors” in the more famous bull Exsurge Domine and had instead burned a copy on December 10 . Luther would later refer to this as the second of three excommunications he had suffered — his friend and monastic superior Johann Staupitz had first released him from his monastic vows, the Pope had now removed his pastoral office, his right to serve as a professor and barred him from receiving the sacraments as a “notorious heretic.” The third would come later that year at a convention of the princes and territories of the Holy Roman Empire in the city of Worms. More about that at its 500th anniversary.

Even still, it took awhile for the document to take effect. It was executed by Leo’s De’ Medici cousin on January 28th. It was sent to Emperor Charles V, then in Worms, on 18 January, but did not arrive until 10 February. The Papal Nuncio, Hieronymus Aleander, made immediate use of its contents, but prevented its publication. The reason is the document excommunicated anyone who supported Luther, including Elector Frederick the Wise and other princes and territories. He feared retaliation from them at a time when the Emperor needed their support. It did not officially take effect until published in October of 1521.

The bull also labels all followers of the teachings of Martin Luther “Lutherans” and declares them all excommunicated and that no sacraments may be performed in the territories that support Lutherans. Called an interdict, this punishment was sometimes effective in bending secular authorities to the will of the Pope and other times not so much. In this case, it was a complete failure, ignored by both supporters and opponents of Luther alike.

Negotiations had already been underway between Elector Frederick and Emperor Charles V to have Martin Luther appear before the Diet of the empire at Worms. These discussions now intensified at set the stage for the next turning point in the history of the Reformation.

God is not at a Distance

Sermon on Galatians 4:4-7
1^st Sunday after Christmas
27 December 2020
Our Hope Lutheran Church Huntertown, Indiana

Text: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

Intro: In most of the world’s religions, God is very far away. For some, he is the high god that made the world and left it to lesser gods and humans to manage as they can. In Eastern religious traditions, everything is god, a single being without differences. According to them, the problem is we think we’re individuals and weighed down by our bodies and material things. Deists of the enlightenment — like Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin — think of God as a craftsman — like a watchmaker — who made a fine watch — the world — wound it up and let it run as designed.

Over the last few decades, we’ve caught glimpses of this in popular song. In the 1970s, We were told “the three men I admired most, The Father, Son, and The Holy Ghost, They took the last train for the coast.” and in the 90s that “God is watching us … from a distance.”

Yet God is not far from us and never has been. He made us to be with him. Though sin separated us, he longed to be with us. He spoke with Abraham. He led the people of Israel and lived with them – first in a tent and then in a temple. He sent events in motion to become even closer to us. At just the right time he was born one of us at Bethlehem.

Sin separates us from God – and each other.
1. Rather than live according to God’ will, we live by what we think is best.
2. The result is we are separated from God and at odds with each other.
3. Sins and sorrows grow; Thorns infest the ground; death reigns.
4. We think we are alone, yet we need God and each other.
5. We are the ones who wonder away.

Jesus became one of us to save us.
1. Yet to God we are precious, a lost treasure, a pearl of great price, a lost coin and a lost sheep.
2. He has been looking for us and become one of us.
3. Born at Bethlehem, the same way as we are, except no sin of his own.
4. He dies reconcile us to God and to call to each other.
5. He is with us by our side, now and forever.

Rejoicing in the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Third Sunday in Advent
Our Hope Lutheran Church
Huntertown, Indiana
13 December 2020

Text: “Αlways rejoice. Do not stop praying. For everything give thanks because this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you … Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

Intro:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear. Amen.

You may have noticed that the third candle in the Advent wreath is a little different than the others. It is a rose-colored candle instead of a purple or blue candle. The rose color stands for joy and is the theme for the third Sunday of Advent, as we begin to turn from thinking about the Second Coming of Christ and prepare to celebrate his first coming.

On Thursday this week, the antiphon for midweek services changes each day to consider a title of Jesus and pray for him to come. They are called the O Antiphons, because each is a prayer that begins with the word “O.” We know them from the Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”

Our secular world is also moving towards the Christmas and to joy and merriment. This celebration is ancient. As the Winter Solstice approaches, we have less and less natural light in the world, which is kind of depressing. And so the pagans would also celebrate, give gifts, make merry and party hoping to lift the gloom – a little. Many modern practices trace back to these times. And so the church taps into the sentiment and rejoices – in the first coming of Christ. “ God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day…”

Yet often there is little to be happy about – especially this year.
1. The constant drumbeat of COVID reports hangs over our lives.
2. The restrictions our governments have imposed in vain hope of controlling it bring their own misery.
3. There is also the evils that enter life even without COVID also cast the shadow of death over us.
4. “Don’t worry! Be happy!” Doesn’t quite seem to do it, does it?
It is into this darkness that the light of Christ shines.
1. Because he loves us, Almighty God leaves his throne to be born one of us.
2. He lived our life, shared our sufferings, gathered them and our sins to himself.
3. On the cross he paid the price of our sin and broke its power over us forever.
God also gives a way to cope with our dark world.
1. Rejoice all the time, don’t stop praying, give thanks for everything….
2. God is making us holy, fit for eternal life.
3. He will have his peace set guard over your hearts and minds.
4. So it is we rejoice at his first coming, looking forward to his second coming.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Amen.

Luther Burns the Bull — and Other Things

On December 10, 1520, the grace period given Martin Luther in Pope Leo X‘s bull Exsurge Domine expired. The proclamation labeled Luther’s views heretical and gave him sixty days to condemn his own views or be excommunicated. No one, least of all, Martin Luther, expected him to do so. The document also ordered the burning of Luther’s books. Very few places, all devoted to the papacy, actually succeeded in doing so. When the rumor spread that Leipzig, just across the river Elbe from Wittenberg had done so, Luther’s friends planned a response.

On that morning, Philipp Melanchthon announced that the University would respond by burning truly heretical books. They gathered several editions of the Canon Law, the works responsible for turning confession into an ordeal and the books of Eck an other opponents of Luther. John Agricola, an early friend of Luther, organized the bonfire, set just outside the city gate. He could not convince any of the professors to give up their copies of scholastic theology, so they were content to burn what they had. In the middle of the burning, Luther comes up and throws in his copy of the bull. With this action, Luther and his friends parted company with the Pope and all those loyal to him. Then he and the university professors returned to the city. The students, however, organized a funeral for the canon law, complete with songs. Rumor embellished the action. Luther wrote Spalatin to inform the Elector, who gave it tacit approval.

Why don’t you come already?

Sermon on Ezekiel 36:22-28
Tuesday after the Second Sunday in Advent
Kramer Chapel
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana
8 December 2020

Text: Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Intro: O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior, Come and save us, O Lord our God. Amen.

“Come, Lord Jesus, Come!” we’ve been saying for weeks now as we reviewed last things: the signs of the end, the Lord’s urging: “keep watch!” the Second Advent, the great judgment seat, sheep and goats, the heavenly Jerusalem, eternal life at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. “Come, Lord Jesus!” Indeed! So, we shout with Isaiah, “why don’t you tear open the heavens and come already! 2020 has been a miserable year in the world, in a vale of tears, in the shadow of death. ”Why don’t you come already?” We think, even though as Christians we know better – especially as pastors, seminarians and professors. Yes, we know what St. Peter told us Sunday, that the Lord is not slow as we suppose. But it doesn’t change our longing for him to get on with it! We’re like kids on a long road trip – are we there yet?

The people of Israel in exile thought the same thing. So he repeated his promise to his people – he would return them from exile – and much more.

They didn’t deserve God’s action to save them – and neither do we.
1. Though he was a husband to them, they went after every idol and put their trust in them.
2. They claimed his name, worshipped him sometimes, yet ignored his law and abused others.
3. And so they cheapened his name, ruined his reputation and gave reason to gentiles not to believe in him.
4. Their hearts were hard as rock.
5. Yet he loved them and did not wish that they would die.

Therefore he made a New Covenant with them – and us – in His own Blood.
1. He did rip open the Heavens when he came, not in glory, but in a baby born to a virgin.
  1. With his own blood he bought us, his holy bride, and for our life he died.
  2. With Water and the Word, he cleansed us of our sins.
  3. He put his Holy Spirit in us, giving us beating hearts that love him and our neighbor.
  4. While we wait for him, we are not alone. He remains with us until the end of time itself.