Festival of the Reformation (Transferred)
Matthew 11:12-19
It’s what I call the quintessential hymn of the Reformation, even though it was written some 24 years after Luther posted 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door. It speaks volumes about what the Reformation was all about: The Word of God, God shielding His people from forces opposed to the Gospel, being kept in faith until death, and salvation by grace through faith alone. Today’s translation leaves out some more politically incorrect verbiage, but that does not make Luther’s original any less true, even today. Sadly, many Lutherans push this one aside for an earlier Luther hymn, which is pulled out in all of it’s glory on this day and sung with militant, Lutheran gusto.