The Light

Just an hour train ride away lies the small town of Wittenburg, pronounced "Vittenburg". On this one-road town lie several singular buildings marking the life and times of Martin Luther. The man who jolted the Reformation to a start in 1517 with his 95 Theses, lived and died in this small town. At one end lies his home and on the opposite end is the Castle Church where Frederick the Wise worshipped. Let us start the tour!
Martin Luther's home entrance is framed by two stone "benches or stools" with two circle coverings holding a likeness of Luther on the left and the flower of Katherine von Bora on the right. Here the couple sat as the townsfolks came by and chatted. Within the house lies a treasure trove of original personal belongings and original publishings of Martin Luther. A Vulgate Bible with his notes in red ink is visible along with his multiple sermons. His "upper room" where he talked with students remains as it was with the exception of a stove installed in his honor later on. It was thrilling to stand in this room and observe the woodwork and painting on the walls.
Down the street is Lucas Cranach's home, the artist responsible for many likeness of Luther. He was so close to him that he knew he'd been captured and not killed when Frederick the Wise captured him and enclosed him in the castle to protect his life.
The University where Luther taught and developed his thinking still stands and functions as a location to learn the German language.
Luther's church, the common people's church, stands between the town plaza and his home. It has two tall steeples (as pictured) and is a dull brown and grey rock structure. Inside are unique paintings with "lutheran" figures who stand starkly different to other figures depicted in those days of Catholic people. There is a huge alterpiece painting in the front. It is really quite large with about four rows of pews wide!
to be continued....

The Dark Side

While in Berlin on a missions trip to pass out 25,000 tracts to a darkened city, our group toured downtown Berlin. We went down to Checkpoint Charlie where the city was divided in four between the US, Britian, France, and Russia. A line two bricks wide, marks the spot where the Berlin wall stood dividing the city and families for years. A sector of the wall remains as a memorial, and it stands on a historic spot marking the roots that grew such a devisive wall. On one side stands tall with cold marble the headquarters of the German air force. Underneath, the foundations of the Nazi Secret Service headquarters remain and sit as a visible and terrible reminder of the horrors it created. Large white posters describe the events that once occured within these brick ruins, stories of torture, false trials, and deportation. In the picture you can see the brick and the posters. This was a touching and realistic display. I appreciated how close you could get to this display and how untouched it still was, letting us see the original foundations. I think this display speaks volumes, how such an evil organization sprouted the air force building just a few feet from it and the Berlin Wall above it's foundations. The trees now growing above and the new company which occupies the air force building display how the righteous will one day triumph. How the righteous man will look for the enemy who'd spread itself like a luxuriant tree and find him no more.

So in this sense the city stands as a silent testimony how evil will fall one day and Christ will triumph in the battle between the dark side and the light.

Germany: land of contrasts

Berlin, Germany. This is a city rich with history, stories that contrast starkly. I was blessed this last month to visit and learn about this city's past and hear the stories and see the places where Godly and devilish things occured. This is the land of Luther and it is the land of Adolf Hitler. Hitler has left a city marked and scared with people whose faces are hardened by hardship, sorrow and darkness. According to the Pergamum Museum display, the stories of Daniel in Babylon are "mythos", myths. The truth is a myth, yet there stand cathedrals full of architectural beauty products of those who believed these "mythos". They are products of Martin Luther's teaching, the Gospel of faith in Jesus Christ.
Berlin holds the historic sites of the old Nazi Secret Service headquarters and holds the home and church of Martin Luther in Wittenberg. The German people refute both and stand lost without a foundation, without a comforting rock of strength. How difficult to minister in a land hardened to the truth.