Lesson 8 Don't try it alone!

Photo above taken in Wittenberg museum shows Melanchton (front right) and Luther( left back)
 (Text below part of presentation to musicians, artists and worship leaders in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 2017)

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Lesson 8.  It is important that we surround ourselves with strong people whom we empower and trust. 

If Luther had not surrounded himself with those whose capabilities in certain areas far surpassed his, I doubt that the Reformation would have the wide spread impact that it did.

Sadly, many creative people with great potential fail to realize their potential for God because they try to do things alone.  Unlike many leaders, Luther was not threatened by other strong individuals. Instead, Martin Luther understood that collaboration with others is essential.​

Recognizing the need for a systematic theologian and educator, Luther asked Melanchthon to take the truths of Scripture that he was unveiling and present them in an organized structured fashion so that they  could be understood, preserved and taught. Although Luther believed in the value of education and was a passionate teacher, he knew that he was not a designer of educational systems like Melanchthon.  

Philip Melanchton Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) was called the "Teacher of Germany" for a good reason. Active in the establishment and reform of schools for more than forty years, Melanchthon guided the development of the educational system in Germany. He wrote the constitutions of many reformed schools, composed the ordinances of several newly founded or restructured universities, and advised academic administrators throughout Europe. He also wrote many textbooks, grammars, and handbooks of education. As professor in the Arts faculty at Wittenberg University, Melanchthon taught hundreds of students who as teachers later implemented educational changes throughout Germany. And as the reformer most inclined to intellectual culture, Melanchthon sought to define a theory of education that was based on scriptural principles.

Luther was a fine tenor singer, lutist, composer and arranger. However, he knew that the task of creating a new German hymnody was beyond his capabilities and energy. We have already made mention of how Luther surrounded himself with the finest musicians of his day. He called together Conrad Rupf, chapelmaster to the Elector of Saxony, and Johann Walther, cantor at the Court of Frederick the Wise, and with them in 1524, published the Order of the German Mass. Johann Walther was also Luther’s musical adviser and friend. Walther helped Luther construct a new liturgy and composed tunes for many Lutheran hymns. Walther also pioneered the "dramatic" musical setting of the Passion in German. Luther also worked with Ludwig Senfl, court Kapellmeister at Munich and the finest German composer of the time. 

In striving for excellence Luther encouraged some of Germany’s finest poets to write texts for evangelical hymns.

When Martin Luther began translating the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible into German in the 1520s his main intention was to create a text in a common dialect that would open up the word of God to the laity. Yet, he felt it important that illuminating artwork be included.  He did not need to look far to find a suitable artist. There was already a local artist by the name of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) who was a court painter for the Electors of Saxony. Cranach met Luther sometime around 1520 and developed a strong bond with him that would last for the remainder of his life. The two even became godparents to each other’s children. Cranach and Luther worked closely together on numerous propaganda pieces against the extravagancies of the Papacy at that time. Luther called on Lucas Cranach the Elder to use his God-given talents to open the word of God to the eyes and the imagination as Luther himself was opening the word of God in such an accessible form to the German people.  Cranach used his medium to do spiritual battle against the dark forces within the church. One of their first projects together was that of Luther’s Bible

Without the work of Lucas Cranach the Elder, we may never have known what Martin Luther looked like! Known as the "Reformation Painter", this German artist not only lived and worked in Lutherstadt Wittenberg at the same time as Luther, but also painted his portrait. Cranach made it a point to convey Lutheran ideas through his works, which in turn had a radical impact on the way religious paintings were composed. He emphasized man's individuality. In large altarpieces, for example, he showed how faith alone was the way to salvation, positioning ordinary people in everyday settings, often close to Christ, and banishing saints and noblemen to the background.

A famous and early Cranach-Luther collaboration is the Passional Christi et Antichristi, (Passional of Christ and Anti-Christ).  This beautifully illustrated book of 1521 contrasts Christ with the pope in the role of the anti-Christ.

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Perhaps the most famous Luther-Cranach piece is Gesetz und Gnade (Law and Grace, a.k.a., Law and Gospel).  (A web search will quickly find this image.) This image depicts one of the most pivotal elements of Luther’s theology, the idea that heaven is reached through faith and God’s grace. Luther despised and rejected the Catholic idea that good deeds, what he called “good works,” could play any role in salvation.  On the left is the Law and judgment symbolized by a man being forced into hell by Death and Satan, Moses delivering the Ten Commandments, Christ sitting in judgment, and Adam and Even partaking of the forbidden fruit. On the right is Grace and the Gospel with Christ’s cross crushing Death and Satan and the blood of Christ covering those near the cross. The tree that divides the painting is dead on the side of the Law but vibrant on the side of the Gospel. In The Law and the Gospel (below), two male figures appear on either side of a tree that is green and living on the “Gospel” side to the viewer’s right, but barren and dying on the "law" side to the viewer’s left. Six columns of Bible citations appear at the bottom of the panel.

All of Cranach’s Lutheran painting rests upon this pictorial type, which also influenced other artists.

Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515-1586), together with his older brother Hans,  followed in his father's footsteps. The Protestant faith was also the central theme of his work.

When you consider use of song, the printing press, education and art, you might say Luther was a social media giant of his day.  ​

We would be amiss to not also mention the incredible contribution of his wife Katharina von Bora. Following their marriage, Katharina, whom Luther called Katie, began to manage the large former monastery where she and her husband lived. Her responsibilities included raising cattle, running a brewery, operating a hospital, and providing housing for boarders who came to learn theology from her husband.  But most important she was his soul mate. 

We would all do well to seek out and empower the best we can find, to do the things we don’t have time for, cannot do well or cannot do at all. ​​