Psalm 80:12-15…“Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.” vss. 12-13
After Martin Luther had published the 95 Theses in Wittenberg in October of 1517, a firestorm erupted all across Europe. There were scholarly debates and conferences as various scholars weighed in and attempted to refute Luther’s teachings. Rome was aware of what he was doing but delayed responding. Luther took advantage of the lull to print and publish even more treatises that undermined the teachings of the Church and the primacy of the pope. Finally, the pope gathered his finest scholars and they composed a bull of excommunication in June of 1520. The bull was entitled Exsurge Domine and began with these words: “Arise, O Lord, and judge thy cause. A wild boar has invaded your vineyard.” The words are drawn from Psalm 80.
The papacy had used the image of the vineyard to describe the Church, and sincerely believed that Luther, unless he was checked, would wreak devastation upon what God had so carefully crafted. In the years that followed the scholars and cardinals used every scripture they could find to refute Luther’s teachings, but ultimately the Church was divided.
And now, 506 years later, some of the divisions have been healed, but still others have emerged. But we can be confident in one thing! The Church will never be destroyed! Because it is more than a vineyard, it’s the Body of Christ!
Thought for the Day: What are some current divisions in the Church?
0 Comments