Luther land

I spent 8 days in Luther Land.   Had I known that the Israel portion of my trip would be canceled, I would have extended that, taken it more slowly, an included Worms (and likely a few days am Rhine).   But it was what it was, and what it was was wonderful.   In chronological order I visited

1. Wittenberg.  Probably the most important Lutherstadt, this is where he spent the vast majority of his life as a professor at the University.  Doctor Luther was evidently very learned, he clearly was very intelligent, but he was also deeply involve with the lives of his students and friends.   I did a full set of museums here, Luther House, Melanchthon House, Luther Oak, Asisi panorama, Cranach House, SChlosskirche, including the tower, Market square with Luther and Melanchthon statue, and Stadtkirche.  I also worshipped with pilgrims at the Schlosskirche and an with a small but vital community of nuns in the tiny Corpus Christi chapel.

2.  Erfurt.   I had the wonderful opportunity to actually sleep in the Renaissance courtyard at the Augustinerkloster.   I visited the site of the University, the building where Luther was housed, The Catholic Cathedral where he was ordained a priest, and the also Catholic Church next door, and of course, the Kloster itself, where I not only did the tour and slept and ate a wonderful breakfast (and lunch, to be honest) from the buffet.   I traveled north of the city to the LutherStein, where Luther prayed that he would become a monk if allowed to live.  I also enjoyed the view from the Petersburg, a fortress overlooking the city, and enjoyed a little bit of beer mixed with local seasonal raspberry soda at the Erfurt Oktoberfest.

3. Eisenach.  I did this as a day trip by rail from Erfurt and visited the Wartburg, one of the two best castles in Germany in my opinion, and walked into town to visit the Luther House in town, where he lived as a young student, briefly.

4. Eisleben.   Luther was born here and died here.  He was baptized here, which is important in Lutheran theology, of course.   I was not able to see the Andreaskirche, where he preached his last sermon.  By I did see the birth house, the death house, and Sts. Peter and Paul church where he was baptized and which is now a baptismal center.  

5. Mansfeld.  Luther grew up here, living here till he was 13, and then presumably on school breaks until he entered the monastery, and then presumably visiting family here throughout his life.   I was able to visit the family house, the school where he was, the local Luther monument and walk around the church.  I did this as a day trip from Eisleben by bus.   It was pretty easy as I lucked into a bus that went the right way. 

So what did I learn about Luther?

First, that he was unusually blessed with gifts and opportunity.   His genius did not come out of nowhere.  He was born into a family that was hard working an entrepreneurial, and he no doubt learned well from them.    He was the recipient of an excellent education from the beginning, and seems to have taken particularly well to languages, learning Latin as a boy, well enough to go to college.   It is also clear that his family was warm and caring, that parents worried about not being too strict an that forgiveness and reconciliation was a part of his growing up.   Having that modeled to him from his early days, Luther had a framework to understand grace when he was thinking about his heavenly father as well.    

Second that this very liberal (for that time) environment extended to the monastery, where his questions were engaged seriously, where he was given a great deal of experience and opportunity, despite the seeming limited character of the experience of being a monk.  It was here he was finally able to read the Bible.  It was here that he was encouraged to think for himself.  It was here he was presented with the opportunity to go to Rome. 

Third, that he was not, ever, a solo player.  Even as he shouldered the focus of the reformation, in reality people like Melanchthon were at his side.   He regularly collaborated with people (especially on his translation of the Old 

Testament) and he constantly revised his work.  Indeed he was still revising his Bible right up until his death.

Fourth, that he made serious mistakes.   Mistakes that were a factor in tragedy on a massive scale.  I’ll write more about this tomorrow.  

And now on to Greece, and St. Paul.