Fall is coming: the air is thinner, shadows darker; the sap is down in the trees, and, on the way to church last Sunday, I saw the first yellow leaf break away from its limb and go floating on the wind.
Seeing this reminded me of how someone once told me that, when Von Braun came to North Alabama from Germany, he chose this area because it reminded him of home. Having visited Germany and seen the mountainous landscapes of Bavaria, I know this to be true. Thus, although we inhabit what is known by historians as “The New World,” there is, nevertheless, something in it of the Old, and it’s to this fact I’d like to turn briefly.
It was in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church that my wife and I first observed Reformation Day. Celebrated on October 31, it’s a day devoted to Martin Luther’s presentation of his “Ninety-Five Theses” or “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences.” In them, Luther, an Augustinian monk, argued that forgiveness of sins was much more an affair of the heart than in performing acts of penance—the Church’s prevailing view of the time. Of course, what started out as Dr. Martin’s desire to debate such issues, ended in what we know as the Protestant Reformation, complete with all the historical fallout with which we are familiar. As mentioned above, we celebrated this, my wife and I, beginning in Tallahassee, Florida, around 2008, and have, in one form or another, observed it ever since.
We were much younger during our first Reformation Day, and the celebration usually involved getting together with friends for modest amounts of German beer, as well as pretzels and beer cheese, but also talk about Luther and Calvin, the times in which they lived and the doctrines they espoused. Later, when we moved back to Alabama in 2014, we visited a Lutheran Church in Scottsboro, where the observance was expanded: there was not only what is mentioned above, but also schnitzel, sausages, and German potato salad, as well as other items aus dem Deutschen. In short, if we decided not to join this wonderful church, it was not because of a lack of devotion to their own sacred traditions, but because, after much prayer and meditation, we learned the Lord was simply leading us in another direction.
Every year around this time, I think about the Reformation. However, this year, I can’t help but see similarities to the condition of our own time. For we, in a fashion similar to the medieval Church’s focus on indulgences and penance rather than the heart—i.e., form over substance—are similarly going through our inherited motions without stopping to ask what they really mean.
For instance, Christmas will be here before long; it will evoke news coverage and once-a-year church attendance, as well as family gatherings, but when all is said and done, our people will by and large return to the old devotions of ease and materialism that prevailed through the earlier part of the year. Indeed, it is one of the great mysteries of our time that, in this information age—in an era when our people are arguably more informed than ever before—we nevertheless cannot see this: that is, how we move from one hollow, vaguely perceived routine to another without pausing long enough to look into the heart our activities.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
In 2 Kings Chapter 22, during the rebuilding of the Temple, the Book of the Law was found by Hilkiah the High Priest and later read in front of King Josiah, who rent his clothes and said prayers of repentance over the state of idolatry into which his nation had fallen. Similarly, when Luther rediscovered the words of the Scriptures as they relate to the sinfulness of man, there was a rebirth of orthodoxy, a movement by the Holy Spirit that served to rejuvenate, not only the Church but much of Europe as well.
We, as inhabitants of the New World, can draw on this also. For, in a manner similar to those mentioned above, we have a past to harken back to, a story as ancient as the mountains that reminded Von Braun of home. We should embrace this, and not be afraid to follow this storied tree all the way back to its prehistoric, life-giving root.
As the fall season begins, let us remember the historical events that help define us, reflecting on the fact that, choosing the proper way forward cannot be achieved without some reconciliation with the past.
For only then will we understand what King David meant when he said, “The lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a goodly heritage.”
Along with his father, Allen Keller runs a lumber business in Stevenson, Alabama. He has a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Florida State University and an MBA from University of Virginia. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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