Reformation Monday: indulge me

For those of us who were confirmed in a Lutheran denomination having completed with varying degrees of success a 'confirmation program' we have at least a passing knowledge of the medieval Roman Catholic practice of indulgences.

Indulgences as they were known in 1517 were tied up with the theological concepts of salvation, forgiveness and purgatory.  The underlying question to all of this was 'How do I get to heaven (eternal life/ salvation/ the afterlife)?'

Clearly Jesus was an important part of the answer but Luther argued in his 95 theses that Roman Catholic teaching and practice pointed to the need for the sinner to 'merit' his/her salvation by adding good works throughout their lifetime in order to adequately qualify for life with God.  Furthermore, our capacity for daily sinning far outweighed our capacity for good works and so purgatory became a kind of 'holding room' where the final balance of remaining sins were burned off and then....you could enter eternal life.

Now this teaching/practice would lead to some serious questions around just how effective Jesus' sacrifice of love was in the eyes of God.....we'll talk about that under the heading of 'the sufficiency of Jesus' but here is where indulgences come in.

Because no person could be absolutely assured that they had done enough good works to be in good standing with God, everyone expected to spend unknown years in purgatory getting the final touches before the final leg of their faith journey.  No one expected purgatory to be a pleasant experience.  So anything which could reduce the number of years any one person spent there was a valuable asset.

And for a price, you could buy just such a piece of paper....an  indulgence.  The Pope certified that the holder of this indulgence would be granted any number of years 'reduction' in their time in purgatory.  In fact, for a fee, you could purchase one for a dead relative if you wished.  It was a spectacular money making operation and built St Peters in Rome.

Luther, however, said it was all a lie.  From Luther's point of view, if Jesus himself wasn't enough to carry you into God's present, no piece of paper from the Pope could either.  Repentance and amendment of life were the necessary steps that were needed.  Receiving the gift of forgiveness from Jesus in faith and then living out the reality of that forgiveness in your life was all that was needed.  Indulgences were a fraud and gave false hope to the faithful.

I think Luther might have flown under the Pope's radar if he hadn't interfered with the collection of money to finance the building projects underway.  People do get so bent out of shape when there is money involved.  For Luther it wasn't the money, it was the 'illusory hope' given to the ignorant.  And so began what was not to be stopped.

Just a final note: in the current ordination vows taken by ELCA Lutheran clergy, the ordinand vows that they will not give 'illusory hope' to those who seek the Lord.  Of all the vows I made, it is this particular one that has always struck me.  It seems to me to be particularly Luther - an.