The phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum appears on the Great Seal of the United States, which is on the back of $1 bills. This Latin phrase refers to a new order of the ages that resulted when the United States declared independence.
I think that phrase is fitting to describe what happened on October 31, 1517, when a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther released his 95 Theses at the local bulletin board, the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany, intending to spark discussion about flaws in church practices and doctrines. And that act sparked the movement known as the Protestant Reformation, which led to the formation of many new Christian denominations, putting an end to the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe, and also igniting great passions about religion over the coming years and decades.
As I think about this 500th Anniversary occasion, it makes me think about something that Queen Elizabeth II said about the American Revolution on the occasion of her visit to the United States in 1976, the bicentennial year of US independence. While King George III was ready to give every American a bloody nose, she referred to the American Revolution as a valuable lesson for Britain.
I certainly think something similar can be uttered about the Protestant Reformation as far as Roman Catholics are concerned: The Reformation was a valuable lesson, and Pope Francis is the kind of person who I picture saying something like that, as a strong reversal of the passionate views expressed by previous Popes who reigned back in the 16th Century.
So if we think of this as a lesson, what have we learned?
I think for Roman Catholics, the Protestant Reformation is an opportunity to be aware of the flaws that resulted from losing focus on the purpose of certain practices, and pondering the issues raised by the Reformers helps steer us back to the right focus. While I don't know much about the Counter-Reformation, I sense that it was a good response as the Roman Catholic Church sought to refocus itself.
Furthermore, I think this 500-year occasion is a good time for all Christians to think anew about issues of doctrine and practice, both in learning about other denominations and becoming more acquainted with our own, and gaining a better understanding of core Christian principles. One example that comes to mind is the issue of justification, with the debate on whether it happens by faith versus works. Beyond the either/or is the discussion about how faith is a gift, but has to be shown in some way to be meaningful. I find it valuable to think about both sides, no matter what our stance is, because there is merit to both arguments, because the issue is rather nuanced, just like another major concern raised by the Reformers, the issue of Papal authority.
In my life, I have had the opportunity to experience a variety of denominations, which has given me a broader perspective of Christianity, especially as I compare vast differences and note commonalities. The most notable of these experiences was my time at Valparaiso University. Before starting school there, I'm pretty certain the only Lutherans I knew well were my piano teacher and her family. After starting at ValpU, that number skyrocketed. (It's just like how the number of Jewish people I knew skyrocketed when I started at Julian, whereas before Julian, I can say I only really knew one Jewish person and her family well.)
I got to know a lot about Lutheranism not only because of my Lutheran friends, classmates, and fellow collegians, but also because ValpU itself is a Lutheran school. Desiring a way to connect with faith more deeply, I attended the services held at the Chapel of the Resurrection in the late morning Monday through Friday, which actually employed a different worship style each day, including traditional Matins, Taize, and contemporary praise band music. There were a couple of times or so I attended the longer Chapel services on Sundays, and I saw that these services were similar in form to Roman Catholic Mass, using the same readings from the Revised Common Lectionary and having a similar format to communion.
All of this, though, as I came to understand, was a specialized style of Lutheranism that was unique to ValpU, and while the school is officially independent, it leans more toward the progressive style of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In fact, I had some Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod friends who found the Chapel's style to not be a good fit, and so they attended Roman Catholic Mass at the St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center, even though they couldn't receive communion. And actually, one of my close friends attended Mass with me one Sunday as part of an assignment for his theology class. It was a unique opportunity to hear the perspectives of Roman Catholicism from someone coming in from the outside to something new, especially in what caught his attention.
In my desire to know Lutheranism better, I arranged with my good friend Matthew to attend the divine service one Sunday at the Church he attended while at ValpU, St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Chesterton. The way it worked out with my schedule, I went there on October 31, which was Reformation Sunday, and the actual anniversary of the 95 Theses. Indeed, that was quite a bombshell to tell the pastor after the service ended, who took it pretty well, and was gracious to Roman Catholics in his sermon. Again, I noticed many similarities to Roman Catholic Mass--Matthew actually would refer to the Lutheran services as "Mass", because, in my understanding, it included the celebration of Eucharist, which involves an encounter with the divinity of Jesus Christ. (They, however, at that church, used a one-year cycle of readings, focusing on the Gospel of St. Matthew.)
I also saw the heart of Lutheranism, which the pastor expressed so well in his sermon. He made it clear that this occasion was not about how Lutherans distinguish themselves from Roman Catholics or adhering to a certain denomination as much as it is about a group of people expressing a commitment to the core values of Christian faith, that we are saved by faith, or in other words, "Christ alone. Grace alone. Faith alone."
I think this 500-year anniversary is a great occasion for us to take steps to get to know each other better, even so far as to attend other denominations' church services. And it's a great opportunity for us to get to know our own core beliefs even better--something that looms large in my mind because this past weekend, a large group of teens at my home parish received the sacrament of Confirmation, in which they publicly professed their faith in the principles of the Roman Catholic Church and their commitment to living them out in the power of the Holy Spirit in which they were sealed. Being part of their formation has helped remind me of what I believe and why, as well as my commitment to live out my Roman Catholic faith. Being strong in faith and its core principles enables us to engage in the kind of dialogue that can build bridges.
ValpU President Mark Heckler once remarked at an alumni event that the university holds to the idea that its people have strong faith, and so engage in dialogue with other denominations and religions, which has led to the university's welcoming stance toward other Christians and even religions, like Islam. I definitely experienced this diversity on campus. I even think of my close group of friends, with whom I stay in contact, as Roy arranged for us to have regular meetings over the phone, which include Bible study and fellowship time about things happening in our lives. Our group has incredible denominational diversity: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), nondenominational Evangelical, Baptist, and me as the Roman Catholic. How wonderful it is that we share such great friendship with each other, and faith in one God.
Two weekends ago, I was pleased that Father Hurlbert addressed this 500-year anniversary occasion in his homily, because it gives a lot for us to think about as Roman Catholics, and compels us to reach out to our fellow Christians of other denominations. He mentioned that the big issue that led to the division of Christianity was resolved in 1999, when a group of Roman Catholic and Lutheran scholars, after much study, signed a joint declaration about oneness in belief on the principle of justification by faith rather than works. Truly this is a chance for us to see what unites us, and to use that to help us bridge the gaps that divide us still, in the hope we can build bridges based on what we share in common. Indeed, he remarked that the ecumenical movement started because missionaries of different Christian denominations wanted to unite around beliefs, rather than presenting different concepts of God.
I'm heartened to see this progress toward Christian unity, because of the devastation that has occurred because people are divided and so entrenched in their divisions. It makes me want to utter the words of Rodney King, "Can't we all get along?" Yet it seems that we can't get along, because as humans, we all have differences on how we express our faith in common principles, which is what led Martin Luther to speak up 500 years ago, after having a profound revelation about the meaning of a passage in Romans 1.
But as we let our passions settle, we make the effort to come together, and we can see that there is so much that unites us. And as Father Hurlbert said, while much work remains to be in true unity again as one Christian body, there is hope that if we can find common ground on the big issues like justification, we can find progress further. And ultimately, we together proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ Who Saves, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the greater Glory of God.
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