2017 marks 500 years since Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, sparking the Reformation. The Evangelical Church in Germany celebrates a different theme each year in the decade leading up to this anniversary. The theme for 2013 is Reformation and Tolerance. For those familiar with Luther and other reformers, this theme may cause you to hesitate. Luther held strong views about other faiths and ethnicities and was not afraid to share those often negative and hurtful views. But the Reformation itself is rooted in a desire for tolerance.

The reformers knew that the Church needs constant renewal and they worked for that renewal and for recognition of new ways to understand and experience God’s love and grace. They wished for Church authorities to be tolerant of new ideas that would better help people experience salvation through Jesus Christ.

Today, we need to remember that desire to be accepted and loved despite disagreement. Tolerance does not mean indifference; rather it means to actively seek to know and understand those who are different than us. As we remember Luther and the Reformation this week, let us celebrate the various ways we and our neighbors experience God’s love and grace.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may move every human heart, that the barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease, and that, with our divisions healed, we might live in justice and peace; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
(from the Lutheran Book of Worship)

Contributed by Jennifer
Monday October 28, 2013
Liturgical Year C: Week 48
Liturgical Color: Green
Sunday Gospel reading: Proper 25
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost