From the Pastor: Martin Luther, Not King Have you ever heard of Michael King, Jr.? I had not. It turns out that he was very famous, under a different name. His father, the Rev. Michael King, Sr., changed his son’s name and his own after a 1934 trip to the Holy Land and Germany, where he “discovered” the 16th-century Reformer, Martin Luther. Every year we observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on the third Monday of January to remember this fallen civil-rights leader. He was killed shortly before I was born, so those who are my age and younger, who did not live through that time period, know him as a historical figure. This can cause some confusion, especially for young people for whom the 1960s might as well be the 16th century. Occasionally, therefore, I have to explain that our denomination is not named for Martin Luther King, Jr., but that he was named after our founder. Being named for a 16th-century German monk causes its own confusion. I’ve heard people say, “Lutherans worship Martin Luther.” We most certainly do not! Others say, “Lutherans follow the teachings of Martin Luther.” That’s less inaccurate, but it’s still not the way I would phrase it. I would not want to give the impression that “Martin Luther is King.” Lutherans are, first and foremost, Christians. For us, Jesus Christ is King. We “follow the teachings of Martin Luther,” not because Luther came up with them, but because he directed us back to the Word of God, back to the Gospel of salvation through the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As the years pass, people seem to be forgetting more and more how much of the Bible was quoted in the civil rights movement, or even that its leader was the *Reverend* Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister. His father, MLK Sr., was also a leader in the movement; perhaps he was inspired by the effect of Martin Luther and the Reformation in transforming society. Now many of those societal and political changes of the 16th century were side effects of the theology that Luther promoted and not his own emphasis. However, it is true that Martin Luther believed in equality: both that all human beings are equally sinners and that all human beings are equally saved, not by their own works, but by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the message that we continue to proclaim as, centered on God’s Word and Sacraments in Christ, we share His Truth and His Love among ourselves and with the world, in this new year and always.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 05:01:49 +0000
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