Thursday, November 9th, 2017
In 1505, a 21 year old law student at the University of Erfurt Germany, oppressed and afflicted with guilt over his sin, dropped out of school and joined the local Augustinian Monastery known as “The Black Cloister” for the color of the monks’ habits. His father was furious over what he considered a waste of his son’s education. Desperate to find relief from the weight of his guilt, the young man once spent six hours in the confessional with the vicar of the monastery Johann Von Staupitz. Rumor had it that the comprehensive breadth of his confessions rivaled that of Saint Augustine himself after whom the monastery was named. Staupitz would later say of this young man, Martin Luther, that he would confess for hours on end without confessing “anything interesting.”
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Sunday, November 5th, 2017
Despite their best effort and a few great plays against Northwestern Saturday, the Huskers racked up another loss. I’m no sports analyst, but the Huskers’ outlook seems bleak this year, struggling on both sides of the ball with a quarterback prone to throwing interceptions. I remember the days when our defense was a force to be reckoned with, intimidating every team in the nation. Now our defense intimidates no one. Like a championship football team, the Gospel’s place in our hearts requires a strong defense.
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Tuesday, October 31st, 2017
October 31st marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and the birth of the Reformation. Luther’s insistence that being made right with God was accomplished solely by faith in Christ and not the performance of righteous deeds faced opposition on two fronts. The religious leaders of his day scoffed at the idea that scoundrels and miscreants could attain a righteousness equal to, and in fact superior to, those who dedicated years of their lives in service and ministry to the church. Others argued that if all our righteous acts of service count for nothing, we may as well do as we please, living lives of selfish indulgence.
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