To be Lutheran is to preach Christ and him crucified!

Romans 1:16,17 says, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”’

‘What is a Lutheran?’ and ‘How should we commemorate the Reformation?’

They say that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, and there is a famous picture from the history of the Reformation period that gives a simple but profound answer to these two good questions.

In the German town of Wittenberg, where Dr Martin Luther preached, taught and made his family home with his beloved Katie, there is a painting in St Mary’s Church by the artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. I have included a photograph that I took of this painting for you. It is a very large painting above the altar at the front of the church, and the painting was finished in the year 1547.

In this painting, we see Luther in the pulpit, looking towards the congregation. His right hand is raised, pointing towards the image at the centre of the painting between Luther and the congregation, showing our Lord Jesus Christ suffering and dying on the cross for the sins of the world.

If you look carefully at the way the artist has painted the figure of Luther, you can see that his other hand is placed firmly on an open Bible, with him in the pulpit.

In this painting, the artist has given a good explanation of what it means to be ‘Lutheran’. If you look at Luther, he will be pointing away from himself, saying, ‘Don’t simply look to me; look to Christ, your Lord and Saviour!’

A Lutheran studies the Scriptures and listens to the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures, to learn Christ and him crucified for the salvation of the world.

In recent times, some folk have added the word ‘Confessional’ to the word ‘Lutheran’ to distinguish between Lutherans. Many are uncertain whether or not they are ‘Confessional’. This Wittenberg painting gives a simple explanation of what is ‘confessed’. Confessional Lutherans are those who confess the good news of Christ and his cross, pointing away from ourselves to what the Lord has done for us. This good news is at the heart of all our Lutheran Confessional writings.

Finally, how does this painting from Wittenberg help us to discern how best to commemorate the Reformation? Reformation is the time of the church year when we recommit ourselves to be people of the gospel. We recommit ourselves to the mission that God gives us, to find good ways to share the good news of Jesus Christ with friends, neighbours, family members and work colleagues, with the heart that the Apostle Paul describes in his letter to the Corinthians:

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some (1 Corinthians 9:20–22 NRSV).

God bless your Reformation reflections and your community’s commemorations, that the light of the gospel would shine to the ends of the earth as we confess with one voice, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’

I have included two prayers for your reflection. The first is from our church’s liturgical resources for the Commemoration of the Reformation. The second is a prayer for the unity of the church by William Laud.

Almighty and eternal God,
in mercy you give the light of your gospel
to your church.
Keep us in sound teaching,
so that we may firmly believe
and faithfully follow
your saving word,
and finally, with its holy comfort,
die in peace and joy.
We ask this through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Gracious Father,
we humbly pray for your holy universal church,
fill it with all truth; in all truth with all peace.
Where it is corrupt, purge it;
where it is in error, direct it;
where it is superstitious, rectify it;
where in anything it is amiss, reform it;
where it is right, strengthen and confirm it,
where it is in want, provide for it;
where it is divided and torn apart, reunite it,
O Holy One of Israel. Amen.
– William Laud 1573–1645

Pastor Paul Smith
Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand