_

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,…”

_

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.” These words begin Martin Luther’s famous 95 Theses. They are considered to be Luther’s first word and signaled the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Nearly 30 years later, on a scrap of paper found next to his deathbed, Luther wrote his last word; “We are beggars. It is true.”

The events that occurred in the decades between the writing of these words were among the most important in all of history. Luther’s reforms changed the religious, social and political face of Europe, their effects eventually reaching the New World and beyond. Luther’s quotes frame a life’s work the effects of which you have felt, whether you know it or not.

But the quotes above also tell another story. They point not to the great ebb and flow of history, with its’ momentous moments and grand scale. Instead, they reveal the struggle of one man. At the end of a tumultuous life Martin died as he had lived, at the foot of the cross with his hand out. From first word to last word, he was utterly dependent upon his gracious God. This is what it had always been about. It still is.

“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts ad minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

_