wfn.org | Repentance a Theme of Reformation, U.S. Lutheran Bishop Says

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

Title: Repentance a Theme of Reformation, U.S. Lutheran Bishop Says
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>September 22, 2008  

Repentance a Theme of Reformation, U.S. Lutheran Bishop Says
08-160-JB

LUTHERSTADT WITTENBERG, Germany (ELCA) -- Repentance is
God's gift to the world through Jesus Christ, and it is one
central theme of the ongoing Lutheran Reformation, said the Rev.
Mark S. Hanson, president of the 68.3 million-member Lutheran
World Federation (LWF), Geneva, and presiding bishop of the
4.7 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), Chicago.

Hanson made the comment in remarks here Sept. 20 at a
groundbreaking ceremony for a Luther Garden, a project of the
German National Committee of the LWF. Lutherstadt Wittenberg
marked the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's arrival here
Sept. 20-21 with a series of public events, including the
groundbreaking.  Lutheran churches and organizations also kicked
off a 10-year "Luther Decade" leading to 2017, the 500th
anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation.

Luther, a German monk, was a key figure in the Reformation,
which began in earnest after he nailed his 95 Theses to the door
of the Castle Church here on Oct. 31, 1517.  The theses raised a
number of questions about biblical interpretations and practices
of the Catholic Church.

Luther was not a prominent person when he arrived in
Wittenberg, but during the following 10 years a small community
of peers began to notice his theological work, Hanson said.

"What launched him into prominence was that theological
witness that he began with the theme of repentance," Hanson said.
The first of Luther's 95 Theses on the power and efficacy of
indulgences said, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said
'repent' (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers
to be one of repentance," he said.

The Lutheran Reformation continues today as an "evangelical,
ecumenical ... reforming movement within the Church catholic,"
Hanson said.  If the Reformation is to continue its contributions
to the world, repentance must be a "lived reality in our
relationships with one another," he said.

Repentance is not required for humans to qualify for divine
mercy, he said. "Rather, when we talk about repentance, we're
describing the entire life of the Christian lived in faith in
Jesus.  Or even more accurately, we're describing the life of
Jesus living in us, as the new creation raised to a new life in
Christ," Hanson said.

Living a repentant life frees Lutherans to care for
neighbors and for creation, and to reject violence and
misrepresentation of other faiths, he said.  Repentance is
appropriate in view of divisions that occurred in the 16th
century -- many of which have not been healed -- such as
divisions between Protestants and Catholics, nobles and peasants,
and clergy and lay people, Hanson said.

"My prayer is that this garden may be a sign of hope not
only for the people who come to Wittenberg, but will be a sign of
hope for the people of the world -- that the repentant life in
Christ will free us to care for God's creation, and to work for
reconciliation, justice and peace in God's world," Hanson said.

Other speakers at the groundbreaking, attended by more than
200 people, were Bishop Johannes Friedrich of Bavaria, and Dr.
Andreas Kipar, Luther Garden architect.  When completed the
garden will consist of 500 trees from around the world.  The
project also calls for planting some 5,000 trees worldwide.

>----

Information about the Luther Decade is at

http://www.wittenberg.de and http://www.luther2017.de on the Web.

For information contact:

John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog