The 500 year anniversary of the Reformation is approaching. Germany is gearing up to commemorate this event with numerous cultural and spiritual events. The Luther sites in Germany, especially Wittenberg, are expected to be swarming with people in 2017.
There is the danger of seeing the anniversary as a celebration of the past, as a historic spectacle. There is the danger of idolizing Martin Luther, the blunt reformer of the church. But there is also a great chance to look at our heritage as Lutherans, and use insights from the past to shape the present and future.
In the end, it's all about identity: who are we? Who are we as 'living' Lutherans in this day and age, and in our neck of the woods (which happens to be the San Francisco Bay Area, with all its craziness and diversity and beauty and ugliness)?
Some may want to shed their heritage, because it seems a burden rather than a gift. Lutheranism in this country is too white, too straight, too European, too stiff. And there's something to that. But how can we find our way if we don't know where we are coming from? We need to find a way to embrace our heritage (especially in a spiritual and theological sense), and at the same time remain open for possibilities God presents to us - and God's fresh breath of air, the Spirit, who blows us in often unfamiliar territory and reminds us that, to paraphrase Luther's words, the church always needs to be reformed.
What a great tradition - a tradition that encourages us to change!
So my hope is that 'we', as people of God, as congregations, as task forces and organizations, can see the Reformation anniversary as a special gift - a chance to celebrate, commune, communicate, and challenge. A chance to be reminded where we are coming from - and where God might be calling us in the here and now.
