By Mike Poole
If Martin Luther could be transported from the 16th Century to today, how would he answer the questions of a modern-day enquirer?
Martin Luther
Person
LUTHER: Good morning, I am Martin Luther, and I’d like to thank you for inviting me to be here on this Reformation Sunday. Even though we use the term Reformation, the period of the church’s history during which I lived and worked was more than a reforming of the church. It was much more a time of renewal.
PERSON: Dr. Luther. I heard you were going to be here this morning, so I thought I might ask you a few questions. I am a typical Christian. I attend worship fairly regularly, but frankly, I find the whole Christian faith less and less relevant and meaningful for me in the world in which I live. Church is just something I do, not necessarily who I am. And I find more and more reasons, not only to NOT get involved, but to not even come for worship.
LUTHER: What kind of answers are you looking for?
PERSON: You know, like what is God really like. And does God have anything to say to the people in a today’s world?
LUTHER: Today’s world! How is today’s world different from the world of the 16th Century, in which I lived? Oh, I know you’ve made technological advances. You can fly around the world in the time it took me to travel to the next village. You’ve developed television and the internet. And you’ve been to the moon. It’s true that the circumstances of your life and the environment in which you live have changed quite a bit. But the essential problems of living are the same. And human nature surely hasn’t changed. I’m not convinced that today’s world is really all that different from mine.
PERSON: You say that the problems of living are the same as in your own day. Come on, that was a much simpler time. People in your day couldn’t have had the stress level I have to live with! My boss is always on my back. I have to work 50-60 hours a week. My paycheck never seems to cover the expenses of living. I’m trying to cope with high blood pressure, and it seems like my kids are always needing to be somewhere.
LUTHER: Sounds like you may have your priorities in life all out of balance.
PERSON: My priorities? What do you mean by that?
LUTHER: Well, as I look around today’s world, it seems like everything is so focused on material possessions. There are some pretty nice cars out there in the parking lot. And most of you have your closet stuffed with clothes you don’t need and never wear. You provide your children with all of the latest gadgets, but seem to have little time to spend with them and nurture their spiritual growth. All those hours at work I guess.
PERSON: Spiritual growth! That’s another thing. With everything else stressing me out, the church has to add its demands. You should hear our pastor!! Love you neighbor… give everything to the poor …. Give up everything ….. get involved with the needs of the world ….. care for other people….! Most of the time, I’m just too busy, or too tired to respond to all these demands.
LUTHER: Maybe that’s your problem.
PERSON: Maybe what’s my problem?
LUTHER: Seeing your church and your faith as something that places demands on you. That’s not what the Gospel is all about.
PERSON: It isn’t?
LUTHER: You’re not the first person, not the first generation of people to struggle with that issue. I had to learn it myself, the hard way.
PERSON: What do you mean?
LUTHER: In my early years, I believed that God was angry and demanding, and that I couldn’t do enough to please God. Believe me, I tried. When I lived in the monastery I’d spend hours alone in my cell, kneeling on the hard stone floor praying. I tried to whip my sinful self into spiritual submission. I tried to be perfect in everything I did. I though God demanded all of that from me. Talk about a demanding religion. My faith was a terrible burden to me in those days.
PERSON: And something changed that for you?
LUTHER: I’ll say! I’d probably read the passage in Romans a hundred times. But one day it jumped out at me with a whole new meaning.
PERSON: What passage?
LUTHER: I’m talking about St. Paul’s words, where he said in Romans: “The just shall live by faith”. And that verse in Ephesians 2: “For by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God.”
PERSON: Ok, so what does that mean?
LUTHER: It suddenly became clear to me that God doesn’t demand all those things of us. Instead, God gives us everything. That’s what God’s grace is all about. It means you and I don’t have to “do” anything to make ourselves acceptable to God. God has done it all for us in Christ. And God offers it all to us as a free gift.
PERSON: So that’s what grace is. I thought it was something you say before meals.
LUTHER: Funny! God’s grace is what Christianity is all about. But for some reason, people today, just like people in my day, can’t understand God’s grace. They want a “do it myself” faith to go with their “do it myself” life. They make a burden out of something God intended as a wonderful free gift.
PERSON: So the Bible did that for you? You know, I’ve never really spent much time reading the Bible. Honestly, it seems outdated to me. It is difficult to read. I mean, I know some of the stories. But when people start saying “the Bible says this and the Bible says that”, I am totally lost.
LUTHER: Well, many times people say “the Bible says this”, and the Bible really doesn’t say that. Or they take the statement out of context, to prove their own point, not God’s point. That is one reason I felt the need to translate the Bible from Latin to German. That way, anybody could read what it actually says, and what it doesn’t say. The Bible doesn’t have to be hard to read. You just need to find a translation that speaks to you.
PERSON: So that’s why we’re called Lutheran. Because you wrote the Bible!
LUTHER: I really never liked the term Lutheran. I didn’t want my name being the one lifted up. You don’t worship me. We worship the Triune God. It was a term people used to describe the reformers. Just like Protestant. They called us Protestants – people who are protesting. But how could we protest against God? Both of these were used as negative terms to describe us. But now today’s world lifts these terms up. I just felt we were all Christians, members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. It isn’t about me, it’s about God. There is a hymn, “God’s Word is our Great Heritage”. Do you know it?
PERSON: I think it’s one of those hymns that pastor makes us sing every once in a while.
LUTHER: Listen to how is describes God’s Word: “Through life it guides our way; in death it is our stay.” What a reminder that is that God’s Word has real power – power to change our attitudes and even our lives; power to help us meet every kind of stress and anxiety.
PERSON: That’s hard for me to understand. To me, power is what people have who are over me. Power is how fast my computer works. Power is that I feel when I press down on the accelerator of my car. What’s this power that God’s Word is supposed to have?
LUTHER: It’s a power that helps us meet and deal with those stressors you were talking about. It’s a power that helps us cope with our fears and anxieties in life.
PERSON: I still don’t understand how a book, or some words can do that.
LUTHER: God’s word can help us deal with pain, overcome temptation, or just cope with the problems of everyday life. God’s word also speaks to us when we can’t deal with the pain, when we fall into temptation, and when we can’t cope with what life has brought us.
PERSON: I’ve never really experienced that power. Maybe it’s because I haven’t taken God’s word seriously. Oh, I listen sometimes when the lessons are read in church. And I marvel at the power Jesus seemed to exercise back when he walked this earth. But frankly, I just sort of turn all that off when I walked out the church doors. I’ve rarely thought about the Bible as having any real power out there in the difficult world where I live.
LUTHER: You have experienced this power. You just may not have known where it came from. You see, today’s world of commerce and business and politics is God’s world too. And God has given us the power to do all that we have done in today’s world. All that you have accomplished has some of this power behind it. God has given us a real tool to us in tough decisions and hard problems that we face. We should be using it the other 6 and a half days that we aren’t sitting here. But this power is so huge, it is there for us even when we aren’t looking for it.
PERSON: So you’re saying that trusting God and taking God’s Word seriously can help in some real ways? Even when I’m afraid or frustrated, and even when I don’t even try?
LUTHER: Where do you think the strength came from when my life was on the line? PERSON: Yeah, but you are the great Martin Luther!
LUTHER: I’m not any better than you. That is what we meant by Priesthood of all believers. We are all priests in Christ’s church. We are all equals. Our whole lives are dedicated to God. Everything we do is in God’s service. And none of us are any higher in status than anyone else. So there is no need to call me great.
PERSON: I hear what you’re saying. God really does take care of us. God’s word must really have the power that you claim it has. How can I experience that power?
LUTHER: You already do! It’s not really complicated or difficult. It was promised to you from God in your baptism. It’s God’s free gift to you.
PERSON: Promise. What promise did God make to me?
LUTHER: The promise to save you from the power of sin and death. The promise to walk with you in every dark valley of life. The promise never to leave you nor forsake you. The promise that you live in eternal life. The promise that you will spend all eternity in the very presence of God.
PERSON: And all that is God’s free gift to me? That’s a wonderful message. God’s word really does have power that can help me in my life. And I don’t have to do it myself. What a freeing and life-giving gift that is.
LUTHER: That is the Gospel. Christ lived, died and rose again to guarantee the promises to us.
PERSON: Dr. Luther, thank you! Thank you for sharing your story with me and with all of us today. Thank you for reminding us that God’s Word is indeed our great heritage. And that its power is just as potent today as it has always been.
LUTHER: God’s Word never changes. Remember that. God’s promise is as strong and sure today as it ever was. In Jesus Christ God has given us the free gift of life. What a wonderful and powerful God we have. Let us each strive to serve him daily in faith and obedience.
PERSON: Amen!
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© Copyright Mike Poole, all rights reserved. This script may not be reproduced, translated or copied in any medium, including books, CDs and on the Internet, without written permission of the author. This play may be performed free of charge, on the condition that copies are not sold for profit in any medium, nor any entrance fee charged. In exchange for free performance, the author would appreciate being notified of when and for what purpose the play is performed. He may be contacted at ironpreacher@aol.com