Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

In 1517 a young monk approached the doors of the castle church of Wittenberg. The church served the court of Prince Friedrich of Saxony. The monk was Martin Luther. He was educated as a doctor of the church and preached often in the university town of Wittenberg, primarily in the city church before the citizens but sometimes before the prince.

As far as we know, it was actually with little ceremony that Luther tacked up a list of 95 points. He publicly invited his learned colleagues to debate these 95 Theses. The primary subject matter was questionable sale of indulgences. It was a common practice in Europe and in Saxony. Luther felt the church was in need of reform because it had forgotten its mission of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and worst of all, had gone into fund raising. The message of the Medieval Church had become one of conditional faith. It was a message to an anxious world that they needed desperately to do what the church demanded of them in order to please or placate God.

The Medieval Church had created an ingenious system. It capitalized on the uneasy consciences of the people. Though baptized, they were still tortured by the fear and anxiety that they would be condemned at the last judgment. And, they might need further purification after death before they would be suited for paradise. The church conveniently developed a transit zone between the earthly life and that in paradise. It was called purgatory, a fiery place where human souls were refined until they were ready for heaven. Sometimes the church’s calculations indicated that the poor souls would be in purgatory for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years.

The church learned to exploit this very real fear among the people and also to bring in vast sums of money. They would declare an indulgence! Troops of preachers would be sent into the territories announcing that the indulgences would soon be available to the people. Finally, the primary preacher would arrive and the sale would begin. Usually the prince and the church would split the proceeds. The money became very important to the political structure.

For example, in Luther’s day Albert of Brandenburg wanted to become archbishop of Mainz. The position was not just ecclesiastical, but highly political and lucrative. In order to get the appointment, Albert had to promise the Vatican a lot of money which he did not have. The Vatican and Albert made a deal. If Albert could get a loan from the Fugger Bank in Augsburg, he could pay Rome for the appointment. Rome would then declare a sale of indulgences. Prince Friedrich would get his share. Albert would get his share and pay off the loan to the Fugger Bank. Some of the money that was paid to the Vatican was used for the construction costs of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome.

On that day in 1517 when Luther posted his 95 Theses, he was acting as a prophet. He declared that under no circumstances can God be bought. The forgiveness of sin sought by human beings was not for sale because it comes from God freely. It comes to us by God’s grace as revealed clearly in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Luther exposed the church’s sale of indulgences for the fraud that it was.

Perhaps we can see that Luther’s understanding of the gospel did not make him non-political. His understanding of the gospel made him a political threat as he criticized the crown and the church in its shameless pursuit of wealth and power. The wrath of the powers was immediate as copies of the 95 Theses were printed on the newly invented presses made by Gutenberg. The Vatican demanded the monk be silenced. Luther was called to a disputation regarding his Theses. The Vatican excommunicated him, but Prince Friedrich would not allow the monk to be killed. Ultimately he was called before the Holy Roman Emperor and given safe passage to the imperial city of Worms. He was commanded to recant his Theses.

When Luther refused to recant, he assumed that he would be arrested and executed, as was the fate of prophets. But Prince Friedrich secured Luther’s safety so that he lived 40 more years. The shameful sale of indulgences quietly ceased.

I would like to draw your attention to the parallel here with the story of Jesus who enters the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath. Jesus had already begun preaching that the kingdom of God had drawn near. The people should trust this good news and return to the God who was already returning to them.

Today’s gospel presents Jesus as a prophet. Jesus fulfills his role well. He teaches in the synagogue and the people are amazed at his teaching. He has authority and it is not like that of the scribes. Now we must understand what the reference to the scribes conjures up in this story. The scribes are the learned; they can read and write; they interpret the Torah. But, they are in the service of the established power in Jerusalem.

We should recall that the scribes serve the political interest of those who rule in Jerusalem with Rome’s permission. The scribes then interpret scripture in such a way to keep the status quo steadily and solidly established. When Jesus teaches in the synagogue in Capernaum, he is immediately recognized as a competitor with the scribes.

[The people] were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as
one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Mark 1:22)

Then Jesus is confronted by a man possessed by a demon. The demon addresses Jesus in such a way that we the readers can see the social conflict created by Jesus’ presence. The demon asks Jesus what he is doing there; has he come to destroy the demons? The demon then tries to get the upper hand on Jesus by announcing that he knows who Jesus is -- the Holy One of God.

Jesus rebukes the spirit and having silenced him, exorcizes the demon. The people then stand in slack-jawed amazement.

They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” (Mark 1:27)

Dear congregation, it is one thing to say that the church should not be involved in politics. It is another thing for the church to cause political problems simply by the fact that the church remains faithful to the gospel. The gospel is the Word that brings the promise of God’s favor to an undeserving world that would at any time try to sell what God has freely given.

Do not be deceived. When the church carries out her prophetic office, it will necessarily bring out the demons in any society. I still see the pictures in my head of Martin Luther King kneeling in prayer before a phalanx of police and police dogs. Martin Luther’s namesake simply announced that African Americans were fully human and in no way second class. Like any good prophet, King drew out the guarantors of a status quo that had already begun to disintegrate.

In our own day the church must see ourselves as involved in an ongoing pattern of God’s work. We are to avoid supporting a world that tries to establish its own validity by robbing people of their value as human beings. When our bishops go to Palestine or the West Bank to check on the Christians struggling there, or they inspect hospitals that we support, they are not joining a political cause or questioning Israel’s right to exist. Still they will be accused of being pro-Palestinian.

We are in the midst of ongoing struggles. I am proud that Christ the King Church has had in the past the courage to act in harmony with the perceived guidance of the Spirit. The most prominent example is that of the AIDS Care Teams that were formed in this congregation in response to the epidemic which began in the early ‘80s. Many were willing to abandon and condemn AIDS patients because many were homosexual. Dozens of our members carried to the dying the message of God’s love and presence. Such an example serves as an ongoing legacy for future decisions about what God is calling us to do in Jesus’ name.

Yes, I am aware that there is always a temptation to identify special causes with the gospel. This happens when we demand that people be on our side. We should be struggling with the challenge to simply align ourselves on God’s side as we assemble together to hear the gospel in this place.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.