Good Advice

    I am reading Derek Wilson’s biography of Martin Luther.  It is the fifth biography of Luther that I have read.  Each biography has a different interpretation of the reformer’s life.  Sometimes I wonder if each writer is describing the same event or the reasons behind an event that molds and shapes Luther’s life.  In the end, the reader has to take the various points of views of these authors, put them together for himself or herself, and come to their own conclusion about Luther and the role he plays in church and world history.
    One of the differences between Wilson and the other biographers is the information he provides about the relationship between Luther and his mentor Johann vonStaupitz.  All of the biographers recognize the role Staupitiz plays in transforming Luther’s perspective of God.  Before Staupitiz, Luther saw God only as a wrathful judge.  After Staupitiz, Luther sees God as a loving father.  What Wilson does differently than the others is provide three specific ways Staupitiz changed Luther’s perspective of God.
    First, Staupitiz recognized that Luther was plagued by his sins which stopped him from living at peace with God.  No matter how many penitences Luther offered it was never enough to atone for his sin.  To counter the hold sin had on Luther, Staupitiz encouraged Luther to turn his gaze to what God did for him on the cross.  To accomplish this change in perspective, Staupitiz taught Luther, “Clinging to God’s “No” (your sinfulness) when one should celebrate God’s “Yes” (forgiveness on the cross) in the gospel was the worst kind of unbelief.”
    Second, Staupitiz changed Luther’s reading list.  Luther was an expert on the writing of the scholastic scholars such as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham.  These scholars emphasized reason as they tried to make the Gospel relevant to the intellectuals of their day.  Instead of reading the scholastic authors, Staupitiz told Luther to read St. Augustine who emphasized God’s grace as a gift rather than something to be earned.  Luther was also to read the scriptures.  Reading Augustine and the scriptures changed Luther’s understanding about God and his relationship with God.
    Third,  Staupitiz advanced (fast tracked) Luther’s career.  Staupitiz, as vicar general of the Augustinians in Germany, wanted to reform his order.  He needed allies.  Luther was a very promising prospect to help him so Staupitiz gave him assignments which would grow his understanding of the church.  The theory is if you are going to change something, you first have to understand the thing that you are changing.
    Reading about the relationship between Luther and Staupitiz makes me think about the mentors’ in my life.  Did they have a definite strategy?  (For that matter, did Staupitiz have a strategy or did he just respond appropriately when Luther came to him?)  If I had to list what my mentors advised what would be on that list?  Read Galatians over and over again because it is the “Magna Carta of Christian Freedom”?  Read Romans chapters 5-8 (the great freedom chapters: Freedom From God’s Wrath, Freedom From Sin, Freedom From the Law, Freedom From Death)?  My church history professor in seminary advised that I read one biography of a Christian leader a year as a way to see how God works through people in the “real” world.  (Good biographies have both the mountain tops and the valleys.)  I can hear the advice of Dr. Albeck as I write this blog.
Pastor Pete