The quarrelsome monk, the turbulent priest, the preacher of Christ crucified, the prophet of Grace, the rediscoverer of the true Gospel? The arch-heretic, the jew-hater, the pet of the princes, the lackey of the bourgeois? The fat doctor, the tender pastor, the grieving father, the mischevious husband?
The many faces of Martin Luther flash by in torrents as I travel through his homelands of Saxony. Soon his image becomes a commodity amongst others, as I browse among the tacky souvenirs of the holy places of the Reformation. But still the last words he wrote down before his death echoes in my mind.
We are beggars, this is true.
Maybe the only important thing to remember about Martin Luther is that he was a sinner, and it was as a sinner that he preached and taught and counseled and argued. As a sinner and a beggar he really has nothing to give us. At least, he has nothing to give us which did not already come from the Lord. Maybe that is more precious than the image we have of him. Maybe that is more precious than all other things as well.
CRUCIFORM THEOLOGY