Today the Episcopal Church remembers Martin Luther, a key figure in the Reformation. James Kiefer writes:
Martin of Erfurt, born in 1483 of German peasant stock, was a monk (more exactly, a regular canon) of the Order of Saint Augustine, and a Doctor of Theology. In his day, the Church was at a spiritual low. Church offices were openly sold to the highest bidder, and not nearly enough was being done to combat the notion that forgiveness of sins was likewise for sale. Indeed, many Christians, both clergy and laity, were most inadequately instructed in Christian doctrine. Startling as it seems to us today, there were then no seminaries for the education of the clergy. There were monastic schools, but they concentrated on the education of their own monks. Parish priests, ordinarily having no monastic background, were in need of instruction themselves, and in no way prepared to instruct their congregations. Brother Martin set out to remedy this. He wrote a simple catechism for the instruction of the laity which is still in use today, as is his translation of the Scriptures into the common tongue. His energy as a writer was prodigious. From 1517, when he first began to write for the public, until his death, he wrote on the average one book a fortnight.
Today, his criticisms of the laxness and frequent abuses of his day are generally recognized on all sides as a response to very real problems. It was perhaps inevitable, however, that they should arouse resentment in his own day (Brother Martin, and for that matter many of his opponents, had controversial manners that my high school speech teacher and debate coach would never have tolerated!), and he spent much of his life in conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities. The disputes were complicated by extraneous political considerations on both sides, and, as one of his admirers has observed, each side was at its best when proclaiming what the other side, well considered and in a cool hour, did not really deny. Brother Martin, for example, was most ardent in maintaining that salvation was a free gift of God, and that all attempts to earn or deserve it are worse than useless. But he was not alone in holding this. When his followers met in 1540 with Cardinal Contarini, the Papal delegate, in an effort to arrive at an understanding, there was complete agreement on this point. The Cardinal, by a study of the Epistle to the Romans, had arrived in 1511 at the same position as Brother Martin in 1517. So had Cardinal Pole, the Archbishop of Canterbury (who had, ironically, been appointed to combat Brother Martin's influence). So had the Archbishop of Cologne, and so had many other highly placed Church officials.
In Brother Martin's own judgment, his greatest achievement was his catechism, by the use of which all Christians without exception might be instructed in at least the rudiments of the Faith. Some of his admirers, however, would insist that his greatest achievement was the Council of Trent, which he did not live to see, but which he was arguably the greatest single factor in bringing about. While the Council’s doctrinal pronouncements were not all that Brother Martin would have wished, it did take very much to heart his strictures on financial abuses, and undertook considerable reforms in those areas It banned the sale of indulgences and of church offices, and took steps to provide for the systematic education of the clergy. Putting it another way, if I were arguing with an adherent of the Pope, and I wanted to point out to him that many Popes have been, even by ordinary grading-on-a-curve standards, wicked men, cynically exploiting their office for personal gain, I would have no difficulty in finding examples from the three centuries immediately preceding Brother Martin and the Council of Trent. If I were restricted to the centuries afterward, I should have more of a problem. And this is, under God, due in some measure to Brother Martin's making himself a nuisance. Thanks be to God for an occasional nuisance at the right time and place.
Behold, Lord
An empty vessel that needs
to be filled.
My Lord, fill it
I am weak in the faith;
Strengthen me.
I am cold in love;
Warm me and make me fervent,
That my love may go out
to my neighbor...
O Lord, help me.
Strengthen my faith and
trust in you...
With me, there is an
abundance of sin;
In You is the fullness of
righteousness.
Therefore I will remain
with You,
Whom I can receive,
But to Whom I may not give.
Martin Luther
Let us pray: O God, our refuge and our strength, who raised up your servant Martin Luther to reform and renew your Church in the light of your word: Defend and purify the Church in our own day and grant that, through faith, we may boldly proclaim the riches of your grace, which you have made known in Jesus Christ our Savior, who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
REVIVAL! In the Episcopal Church? Sound a bit far-fetched? Not when you hear what The Very Rev. Rob Wright is suggesting. Rob is the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta and an inspiring speaker on revivals, renewal and our Christian call to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. And, he is going to be with us on February 25 and 26. Hosted by the Galveston Convocation of Episcopal Churches, Rob will be at St. Thomas in Nassau Bay on Friday evening from 7:00-9:00 and at St. Christopher’s, in League City, on Saturday morning, February 26, from 9:00-12:30 to discuss with us how we can more effectively respond to that call. And you are invited.
In these days in which mainstream denominations and their people are struggling, St. Paul’s in Atlanta is thriving. What are they doing that we might find helpful? Come be part of this discussion and see. Rob was with us at our Annual Clergy Conference in October and quickly became the talk of the Conference. His style is inviting, plainspoken and equally applicable to all Christians. As a sign of the effect he has on groups of people his first workshop at Clergy Conference attracted 20-25 people - about average for the workshops. The next morning at the second session, folks having heard all the buzz the night before, there was an overflow crowd of 75+ people, spilling out into the hallway. He’s good, real good.
If you are available on either Friday evening or Saturday morning, better yet both, come see for yourself. You won’t be sorry; it will be time well spent.
HISTORY PROJECT: As discussed this Sunday, this month we celebrate Black History month. It is a time to remember the shoulders of those we stand upon who have been courageous in their fight for equality and freedom. St. Augustine's is an integral part of that history not only in the Diocese of Texas, but in the State of Texas. As a tribute to those who have come before us, and as a blessed reminder to those who will come after us, we are duty bound to capture the stories of the people who have made up St. Augustine. I would ask that you collect the stories of your families, photos and news articles so that we may record the treasures that are in our midst.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
This Saturday, 19 February, from 1 pm to 3 pm: Jo Soske and Karen Lehr's ministry takes them to the Rio Grande Valley where they teach English to the children who live in the Colonias. You can be part of that ministry by making sock puppets for the children to use. We will have a sock puppet making day at St. Augustine's--all socks welcome (clean of course). Please join in on the fun and the reaching out!
20 February, Sunday after the 9:00 a.m. service, Bishop’s Committee Meeting.
MARDI GRAS FUN AT ST. AUGUSTINE'S: Stayed tuned for a new tradition at St. Augustine's to be inaugurated by a famous Mardi Gras King and his Queen at St. Augustine’s!
Clothing is still welcome for the people of Lord of the Streets.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially all those in nursing homes.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Martin of Erfurt, born in 1483 of German peasant stock, was a monk (more exactly, a regular canon) of the Order of Saint Augustine, and a Doctor of Theology. In his day, the Church was at a spiritual low. Church offices were openly sold to the highest bidder, and not nearly enough was being done to combat the notion that forgiveness of sins was likewise for sale. Indeed, many Christians, both clergy and laity, were most inadequately instructed in Christian doctrine. Startling as it seems to us today, there were then no seminaries for the education of the clergy. There were monastic schools, but they concentrated on the education of their own monks. Parish priests, ordinarily having no monastic background, were in need of instruction themselves, and in no way prepared to instruct their congregations. Brother Martin set out to remedy this. He wrote a simple catechism for the instruction of the laity which is still in use today, as is his translation of the Scriptures into the common tongue. His energy as a writer was prodigious. From 1517, when he first began to write for the public, until his death, he wrote on the average one book a fortnight.
Today, his criticisms of the laxness and frequent abuses of his day are generally recognized on all sides as a response to very real problems. It was perhaps inevitable, however, that they should arouse resentment in his own day (Brother Martin, and for that matter many of his opponents, had controversial manners that my high school speech teacher and debate coach would never have tolerated!), and he spent much of his life in conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities. The disputes were complicated by extraneous political considerations on both sides, and, as one of his admirers has observed, each side was at its best when proclaiming what the other side, well considered and in a cool hour, did not really deny. Brother Martin, for example, was most ardent in maintaining that salvation was a free gift of God, and that all attempts to earn or deserve it are worse than useless. But he was not alone in holding this. When his followers met in 1540 with Cardinal Contarini, the Papal delegate, in an effort to arrive at an understanding, there was complete agreement on this point. The Cardinal, by a study of the Epistle to the Romans, had arrived in 1511 at the same position as Brother Martin in 1517. So had Cardinal Pole, the Archbishop of Canterbury (who had, ironically, been appointed to combat Brother Martin's influence). So had the Archbishop of Cologne, and so had many other highly placed Church officials.
In Brother Martin's own judgment, his greatest achievement was his catechism, by the use of which all Christians without exception might be instructed in at least the rudiments of the Faith. Some of his admirers, however, would insist that his greatest achievement was the Council of Trent, which he did not live to see, but which he was arguably the greatest single factor in bringing about. While the Council’s doctrinal pronouncements were not all that Brother Martin would have wished, it did take very much to heart his strictures on financial abuses, and undertook considerable reforms in those areas It banned the sale of indulgences and of church offices, and took steps to provide for the systematic education of the clergy. Putting it another way, if I were arguing with an adherent of the Pope, and I wanted to point out to him that many Popes have been, even by ordinary grading-on-a-curve standards, wicked men, cynically exploiting their office for personal gain, I would have no difficulty in finding examples from the three centuries immediately preceding Brother Martin and the Council of Trent. If I were restricted to the centuries afterward, I should have more of a problem. And this is, under God, due in some measure to Brother Martin's making himself a nuisance. Thanks be to God for an occasional nuisance at the right time and place.
Behold, Lord
An empty vessel that needs
to be filled.
My Lord, fill it
I am weak in the faith;
Strengthen me.
I am cold in love;
Warm me and make me fervent,
That my love may go out
to my neighbor...
O Lord, help me.
Strengthen my faith and
trust in you...
With me, there is an
abundance of sin;
In You is the fullness of
righteousness.
Therefore I will remain
with You,
Whom I can receive,
But to Whom I may not give.
Martin Luther
Let us pray: O God, our refuge and our strength, who raised up your servant Martin Luther to reform and renew your Church in the light of your word: Defend and purify the Church in our own day and grant that, through faith, we may boldly proclaim the riches of your grace, which you have made known in Jesus Christ our Savior, who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
REVIVAL! In the Episcopal Church? Sound a bit far-fetched? Not when you hear what The Very Rev. Rob Wright is suggesting. Rob is the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta and an inspiring speaker on revivals, renewal and our Christian call to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. And, he is going to be with us on February 25 and 26. Hosted by the Galveston Convocation of Episcopal Churches, Rob will be at St. Thomas in Nassau Bay on Friday evening from 7:00-9:00 and at St. Christopher’s, in League City, on Saturday morning, February 26, from 9:00-12:30 to discuss with us how we can more effectively respond to that call. And you are invited.
In these days in which mainstream denominations and their people are struggling, St. Paul’s in Atlanta is thriving. What are they doing that we might find helpful? Come be part of this discussion and see. Rob was with us at our Annual Clergy Conference in October and quickly became the talk of the Conference. His style is inviting, plainspoken and equally applicable to all Christians. As a sign of the effect he has on groups of people his first workshop at Clergy Conference attracted 20-25 people - about average for the workshops. The next morning at the second session, folks having heard all the buzz the night before, there was an overflow crowd of 75+ people, spilling out into the hallway. He’s good, real good.
If you are available on either Friday evening or Saturday morning, better yet both, come see for yourself. You won’t be sorry; it will be time well spent.
HISTORY PROJECT: As discussed this Sunday, this month we celebrate Black History month. It is a time to remember the shoulders of those we stand upon who have been courageous in their fight for equality and freedom. St. Augustine's is an integral part of that history not only in the Diocese of Texas, but in the State of Texas. As a tribute to those who have come before us, and as a blessed reminder to those who will come after us, we are duty bound to capture the stories of the people who have made up St. Augustine. I would ask that you collect the stories of your families, photos and news articles so that we may record the treasures that are in our midst.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
This Saturday, 19 February, from 1 pm to 3 pm: Jo Soske and Karen Lehr's ministry takes them to the Rio Grande Valley where they teach English to the children who live in the Colonias. You can be part of that ministry by making sock puppets for the children to use. We will have a sock puppet making day at St. Augustine's--all socks welcome (clean of course). Please join in on the fun and the reaching out!
20 February, Sunday after the 9:00 a.m. service, Bishop’s Committee Meeting.
MARDI GRAS FUN AT ST. AUGUSTINE'S: Stayed tuned for a new tradition at St. Augustine's to be inaugurated by a famous Mardi Gras King and his Queen at St. Augustine’s!
Clothing is still welcome for the people of Lord of the Streets.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially all those in nursing homes.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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