The Festival of the Reformation (Observed) 2018

Today we commemorate Luther’s posting of his Ninety-five Theses, his formal request for an academic debate over the topic of indulgences and the sale of forgiveness.  As we celebrate the 501st anniversary of the Reformation, perhaps we hear the words of Ronald Reagan in our head: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.  We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”  We replace the references to America and freedom with references to the Church and the Gospel: ‘The Gospel is never more than one generation away from extinction…it must be fought for, protected, and handed on…or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children…what it was like when we had the Church and the Gospel.”