In a just a few hours, untold millions will don costumes as Indiana Jones, Batman, Snow White, the Incredible Hulk or a plethora of other possibilities and travel from door to door inviting a "trick or treat." Indeed, another generation will be raised thinking October 31st is a special day in that it is the occasion to receive copious candies and other assorted goodies. But for me, the final day of October will be celebrated because of what happened almost five centuries ago. I will be sure to teach my children the real importance of this day–Reformation day.
Historians mark October 31, 1517 as the start of the Protestant Reformation. It was on this day that the German Monk, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 Theses to the door at the church in Wittenberg. This was not seen as an act of defiance, nor were his actions provocative. We know this because Luther wrote his Theses in Latin–a language known only to the learned. By not writing in the common vernacular, and instead, choosing to write in the language of scholars, he wanted a serious discussion concerning the abuses he witnessed concerning the practice of indulgences.
Nonetheless, when several students took Luther’s Theses and had them translated into the German language and mass-produced by the printing press, a firestorm of controversy ensued. What originated as a condemnation of indulgences rapidly expanded into a critique of Roman Catholic doctrine. Luther dared to speak against the corruption that infiltrated the church and by so doing, garnered a large following. His supporters grew in number over the course of the next three years until Luther and his followers were excommunicated in 1520, officially ending any attempt to reform the church from within.
The simple act of nailing a list of grievances to a church door in 1517 was the catalyst that gave the world the Reformed tradition. So the next time you think that you are too insignificant to change the world for good, just remember that an Augustinian monk in a small German town changed the course of history by daring to speak the truth. You never know how the Lord might use you for his purpose -- perhaps you might be the next Martin Luther to set the world ablaze with a zeal for God and truth.
And that is the real importance of October 31.
