Month: October 2026

I have always liked Halloween. After all, what’s not to like about dressing up in a costume and gathering free candy from your neighbors? As a kid, I dressed up for school, for a party at our local Y (where my dad was youth director) and of course, for trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. In fact, I went looking for candy until junior high, when one neighbor had to ruin everything by scowling at me and asking, “Aren’t you a little old for this?!?”

My mother used to make my costumes (no store-bought plastic masks for me!), usually making me look like Dracula with red lipstick flowing from the corners of my mouth. As an adult, I revived the look when I had a dentist appointment on Halloween, and wore a set of plastic vampire fangs, which I bared for the dentist, causing him to jump back a foot from my chair when I opened my mouth. (About a month after I did that, he had a heart attack, which means I won’t be doing that again!).

Since beginning dialysis, I once again began dressing up for Halloween, (which this year is on Halloween!) but now I don’t go as Dracula. Now I dress in my Martin Luther costume, the same one I used to wear for sermons on Reformation Sunday. That’s because, although I have always liked Halloween, I like it even more now that I know why the day is so special: it was the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses (theological questions) to the door of the Castle Church on October 31, 1517 in Wittenberg Germany, thereby beginning the Protestant Reformation.

(Me as Luther, back when I bulked up for the role)

Why did Luther choose to post his theses on Halloween? Not because of our modern holiday, nor to get Süssigkeiten (sweets), but because the next day was All Saints’ Day (All-Hallows’ Day), a well-attended Church festival, when lots of worshipers would see the theses when they came to church. It certainly accomplished the purpose, creating quite a stir. Before long, copies of his theses  spread throughout Europe, thanks to the recently invented printing press.

What was the topic of the 95 Theses? Primarily the Church’s practices of selling indulgences – papal releases of a person from purgatory, a Roman Catholic teaching that when a Christian dies, he or she must spend time before going to heaven in order to have their sins “purged” from them. A person could purchase such remission by paying the Church to see a saint’s relics (bones) or by doing a worthy deed. Typical of Luther’s  questions was this: “If the Pope can truly get a person out of Purgatory, why doesn’t he just do so out of Christian love, and not charge for it?” Of course, later, Luther and the reformers realized the doctrine of Purgatory was wrong.

The Reformation was not just a cleaning up of the Church’s practices or of its corruption. It was fundamentally a call to return to the Gospel. It called for the following reforms:

1. A call to Scriptural authority. The Church had claimed both the authority of Scripture plus tradition plus pronouncements of the pope. The pope could reinterpret the Bible, claiming Christ’s authority to do so, since he was considered to be “The Vicar of Christ on Earth.” This multiple authority had led to many unbiblical doctrines and practice. The reformers called for ad fontes (back to the sources, the source being the Scriptures). The Reformation declared, Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone is the only authority, over what popes and councils may declare.

2. Recognition that we are saved by God’s grace alone, or Sola Gratia. This is the only reason we are saved. God’s mercy is extended to us by his great love and though the sacrifice of his Son. If God did not grant it by grace, it wouldn’t happen, no matter what popes say or declare. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

3. We receive this grace through faith alone, sola fide. It is not by our works, though they may be commanded or beneficial. Our works are a sign that we have faith. James 2:18 says, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” The Catholic Church taught that God infuses grace into us so that we can do meritorious works. But Luther taught that faith alone saves us apart from our works. He said, “Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works.” Romans 3:28 says, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

4. Next, the Reformation declared that we are only saved by the meritorious sacrifice of Christ alone – Solus Christus. This was done once on the cross, and is sufficient for all time. The priests do not sacrifice him again in the mass, nor can anyone else save us – no pope, no priest, no saint. Peter said in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

5. Finally, the reformers taught that all this is done by and for the glory of God, which they expressed as soli Deo gloria! Everything God has done through creation and salvation, plus our purpose and works as Christians, is all for God’s glory. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:28, “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.”

Other reformation improvements included translating the Scriptures into the common languages of the people, writing songs the people could sing (such as Luther’s A Mighty Fortress), and worshiping in people’s native tongues. Add the writing of catechisms for the teaching of families and pastors, the primacy of the congregation, the reduction of the sacraments from 7 to 2*, and the establishment of kindergartens! And don’t forget the abolition of indulgences, belief in Purgatory, prayers to saints, and the primacy of the pope.

Wow! All those treats just because Luther knocked on one door for Halloween!

Of course, the full Reformation with its Gospel theology was not completely fleshed out that day in 1517. It would take many more years of struggle and work to write out all the doctrines and establish what became the Protestant churches. But what Luther began that Halloween over 500 years ago would spread and blossom because of the Truth of the Gospel which he sought so fervently to restore. And that is the reason I like Halloween (even more than playing dress-us and eating candy!).

And now my the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Romans 3:27-28; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:5-8.

* Famously, Luther wavered between two sacraments – baptism and communion, and three – adding penance. As the Reformation continued, the Lutheran Church settled on the two sacraments.

Ah, yes . .  . it’s Fall – the time of year for pumpkin spice lattes, leaves turning colors, a nip in the air, and shortening days. The dog days of summer are over, and the kiddies are back in school. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons; the only problem is . . . that’s not the kind of Fall I’m talking about.

No, the Fall I’m talking about is humanity’s Fall from grace into sin and death, caused by our first parents’ willful disobedience to God’s command, thereby dooming all mankind – and indeed all creation – to God’s curse and the effects of sin on the world.

The news is full of the evidence of the Fall: a mother kills her own children, a terrorist sets off a car bomb, a school shooter targets a grade school, someone burns a church, vandals deface a synagogue, a crowd of teens does a smash-and-grab looting a store, missiles blast an apartment building, and so on. We ask, “What is the world coming to?” forgetting that this has been happening, in one form or another, since almost the start of mankind’s run. In fact, it is what US soldiers coined in World War II: SNAFU, an acronym standing for Situation Normal All Fouled Up*. In other words, what’s gone wrong is normal. We can expect problems, because that’s the way things are. We shouldn’t expect anything different, because mankind has fallen.

What are the effects of our Fall?

1. First, because we disobeyed God and tried to become gods ourselves, God proclaimed a curse on all creation. Genesis 3 tells what happened, how we ate the forbidden fruit, believing the serpent’s lie,  “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” We incurred God’s wrath, hearing his words of punishment:   “cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
2. So, one consequence is that we all die. In fact, death comes not only to people, but to all living things. Animals which were created vegetarians (as we were) suddenly were changed into predators and prey. Peaceful creature became “red in tooth and claw”** Even if nothing is killed violently, it will age and die. Scientist have identified a specific gene they call the “kill gene,” that limits the number of times cells can reproduce, leading to the eventual death of that cell. When enough cells die, so does the person or other creature.
3. The Law of Entropy took over. Entropy in the wearing down, running down, of all things and systems. Energy is lost, and heat is dissipated. Things go from organized to chaotic. It takes energy, human and otherwise, to keep everything working. The system ends in what is called, a “heat death.”
4. And then there is the effect on human thought and action. The very first person born on earth became a murderer, killing his own brother due to jealousy (Genesis 4:8). As the first generations grew and multiplied, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6). God acted to wipe out mankind by the Great Flood, sparing only Noah and his family to start over. That purge did not end man’s sinfulness – God’s angels destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because there were not even ten righteous people in them (Genesis 18:22-33).
5. The effect of sin on human interactions was evident from the start. First, Adam and Eve tried to hide from God (feeling guilty, maybe?) Confronted with his disobedience, Adam blamed Eve (and God) for what he did. “This woman whom you gave me!” (Genesis 3:12). Then Eve blamed the snake. The snake had no one else to blame. All received God’s judgment.
6. Even microscopic beings are out to kill us! Bacteria, viruses, prions (Mad cow disease, anyone?), allergens, fungi, molds, parasites. (I was going to say, “pick your poison,” but lets just include poisons on this list.)
7. The Bible, and all other written history, is full of accounts of war, murder, theft, betrayals, slavery, conquest, and genocide. Pick a time when you would have rather lived – and I can show you just how evil that time was as well.
8. The world is full of false religions that teach falsehoods about God – or deny him – and lead people astray. Multiple gods and goddesses, or demonic entities, self- deification or atheism – all substitutes for the true God, will lead a person to the grave and hell. As Paul put it in Galatians 1:8-9, “ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Most evil among these are those which distort Jesus and make him anything other than the Lord, Creator, and Judge of all, “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

By now you are saying, “My, what an uplifting blog this is, pastor.  Do go on!” We could continue, for there are many examples of how messed up the world is because of the Fall. But you get the point, and you already know it is true, because see it for yourself. So do we just give up because the situation is hopeless? No. God knew the situation when he sent his Son into the world to provide salvation and hope. He sent the Holy Spirit to  change us, to sanctify us, to make us better than we were. God has created a situation-not-so-normal. Here’s what we do:

1. Believe in the One who came to save us, paid the penalty for our sins, and rose victorious from the grave to defeat death and show that we are forgiven.

2. Read God’s Word, to build our faith, and to guide us into right living – not to earn forgiveness, but to shape our lives to live holy and righteously. The Bible teaches us what God’s standards are, and his Holy Spirit works in us as we read to conform us to a life that honors God and transforms us to live rightly.

3. Love God through good works (which glorify him) and biblical worship, and love those people around us by serving their needs. Reject the world’s lies to grab what we can and get away with; put others first. Live humbly. give generously, speak honestly.

4. Tell people why you are acting differently from what the world expects. This is not bragging; it is modeling and giving credit to Whom it is due. Share the Good News.

5. Get an eternal perspective. Everything you have on earth is passing away. You cannot hang on to it. Wealth, youth, popularity, health – “All is vanity” according to Ecclesiastes 1:14, “ I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.” Instead “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

6. Pray often – even constantly – and let the fruit of the Spirit grow in you. Let love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control guide your feelings, actions, and words. (Galatians 5:22-23).

We are all victims of the Fall, but more importantly, by faith in Christ we are children of God, and therefore we share in Christ’s victory over all the horror of the Fall. Let us not despair; for the time has come when the Fall will be reversed, the curse lifted, and a new heaven and new earth established. Let us look forward with joy to that great day!

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 3; Romans 8:18-25; Revelation 21.

* Yes, I know, the soldiers used a different word for “Fouled,” but this blog is rated PG-13, so I used “Fouled” instead of the more historically accurate term. 

** A term authored by Alfred Lord Tennyson at the death of a friend at age 22 from a brain aneurysm. In Memoriam A.H.H., published 1850,