For me, today has been the day of the rose.
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| Luther's rose seal on the fabric draped at the altar inside Castle Church, Wittenberg. |
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| Luther's rose seal in the center of the ceiling in Castle Church, Wittenberg. |
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| Luther's rose seal on the opening archway to the spiral staircase that leads up to the balcony at Castle Church, Wittenberg. |
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Luther's rose seal on the footpath in Eisleben. The first one seems to appear just outside of the church where Luther's funeral service was held.
Today, we began our Luther Pilgrimage Tour by returning to Wittenberg. There, I was able to get more photos of the Castle Church and learned several other significant things about much of the art and monuments inside and outside of it. Then, we went down into the little town of Wittenberg and visited the courtyard of Lucas Cranach, the famous painter of the Protestant Reformation. Luther brought the words for the Reformation but Cranach brought the imagery. We know what many of the important people of this period of time look like because Cranach painted them. Cranach was also a good friend of Luther and was fully supportive of the Reformation. He used art to convey Reformation concepts.
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| Lucas Cranach's Courtyard |
Next, we went to City Church in Wittenberg. This is the church where Luther spent some time pastoring. It was loaded with Cranach art. The most striking piece was the painting that was used at the altar area. It shows a version of the Last Supper but Luther is one of the disciples and Cranach's son is handing him the cup. To the left, Luther's friend, Melanchthon baptizes a baby as Cranach watches. Luther is also depicted in the painting on the right-hand side. Unfortunately, there is also a carving on the exterior of this church that is a subject of debate lately. Up near the top of the altar section of the exterior of the church is the depiction of a pig nursing Jews. This is an indication of Luther's anti-semitism. Some are calling for it to come down. Others argue that it needs to remain as proof of the history of Luther's prejudice against Jews. This is important because years later, Hitler used Luther's inflammatory writing about Jews to justify his plan to exterminate thousands of them.
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| Wittenberg Town Church |
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| Inside the Wittenberg Town Church |
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| Cranach's painting at Wittenberg town church where Luther pastored for many years. |
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| Center Painting |
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| Left painting. Melanchthon baptizes a baby. Cranach observes. Are Martin Luther and Katherine the parents? |
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| Painting to the right also depicts Luther. |
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| Steps to the pulpit where Luther pastored the Wittenberg Town Church |
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| Anti-semitic carving on the exterior of the Wittenberg Town Church. |
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| Cranach's depiction of Melanchthon |
Next, we toured the home of Phillip Melanchthon, the professor of Greek at Wittenberg University and also Luther’s dear friend and co-reformer. You always hear about Luther but Melanchthon’s work was just as important and necessary as Luther’s was. Melanchthon is depicted side by side with Luther in paintings at the Wittenberg Castle Church and in various statues that are erected inside the church and outside in the town square. Melancthon's grave is also inside the Wittenberg Castle Church, along with Luther's.
After touring Melanchthon's home, I was able to find myself a pin with Luther’s rose seal on it. I had already seen the seal in several places inside the Wittenberg chapel and have looked forward to getting one on this trip. I have been collecting pins from as many places as I can. Luther’s seal can be found at the front door of his home and of course, it was also used for sealing letters, as was the custom back in those days.
Luther explained the meaning of his seal as follows:
"First, there is a black cross in a heart that remains its natural color. This is to remind me that it is faith in the Crucified One that saves us. Anyone who believes from the heart will be justified (Romans 10:10). It is a black cross, which mortifies and causes pain, but it leaves the heart its natural color. It doesn’t destroy nature, that is to say, it does not kill us but keeps us alive, for the just shall live by faith in the Crucified One (Romans 1:17). The heart should stand in the middle of a white rose. This is to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace—it puts the believer into a white, joyous rose. Faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives (John 14:27). This is why the rose must be white, not red. White is the color of the spirits and angels (cf. Matthew 28:3; John 20:12). This rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that a joyful spirit and faith is a beginning of heavenly, future joy, which begins now, but is grasped in hope, not yet fully revealed. Around the field of blue is a golden ring to symbolize that blessedness in heaven lasts forever and has no end. Heavenly blessedness is exquisite, beyond all joy and better than any possessions, just as gold is the most valuable and precious metal." (Quote found at --- https://lutheranreformation.org/history/the-luther-seal-summary-of-the-gospel/)
After a satisfying lunch with some friends, we went on to visit the home of Luther & Katherine von Bora. Our guide was very knowledgeable. Luther’s home was certainly interesting. It was previously a monastery and the couple continued to entertain large numbers of people on a regular basis. Many of them were former monks and nuns who were transitioning to life outside of the monastery. Our guide’s remarks about Katie Luther's intelligence and industriousness were great. There is a new statue of Katie Luther outside of the home which depicts her in motion. She is moving through an object that resembles a doorframe. It is intended to show her as busy and always on the go but also leaving one time period behind to enter a new era. Being reminded of Luther’s affection for her was significant to me.
After leaving the Luther home, our group traveled to Eisleben, the small town where Luther was born and also where he died. By the time we arrived, it was dusk. So, I do not have good pictures. There we saw what the home Luther lived in may have looked like. We also saw the interior of the church where he was buried and also the interior of the church where he was baptized. It was when we were in Eisleben that another lady began to notice the Luther Seal on the footpaths wherever historic buildings stood that were associated with Luther.
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I have thought of this day as "Eisleben and Back Again" because it is interesting to me that Luther was born in Eisleben, baptized there and also happened to be there again on the day that he died (most likely of a heart-attack). He lived a huge life that has impacted Christianity for 500 years but it all began and ended in the same little town. It reminds me of that scripture, "Despise not small beginnings."
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| Inside the modernized church where Luther was baptized. |
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| Inside the church where Luther was baptized. |
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| The new baptismal pool at the church where Luther was baptized |
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| When I walked behind the altar at the Catholic church where Luther was baptized, I found this! LOL. I couldn't resist the photo. I think I have proof that the Catholic in church Eisleben sometimes has contemporary worship... I hope someone besides the statues plays that keyboard when they do, though! |
On a Side Note: Our Trip to Prague (Thursday)
I did not blog yesterday because it was a day off from all things Luther. However, I think it is significant that my husband had the splendid idea to ride the train from Berlin into Prague. I had remembered reading about Prague but never realized how significant and beautiful a town it was. Prague looks the way I would imagine Rome to look but, as I understand it, it is much smaller. There are grand cathedrals there, and the winding streets are lined with homes and businesses that are centuries old. Statues are everywhere. I probably took a hundred pictures and will post some to my Facebook page when I have time. It is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I did not want to leave it. We enjoyed touring it with our friends, Beth & Mikkaela Bailey & Fariel Hosein.
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| Left to Right: Me, Chip, Beth, Mikkaela, Fariel |
Besides being beautiful, Prague is also where the famous priest, Jan Hus (John Huss) was from. Prague was previously known as Bohemia and Hus was a key figure in the Bohemian reformation. This is important because Hus believed much the same way as Luther did but he had lived the century before Luther. Luther discovered the story of Hus and his writings and it greatly inspired him. The city of Prague supported Hus's views. He believed that many practices and beliefs of the church during that time were wrong and that the church should return to reading the scriptures. Unfortunately, Hus was locked away for this and eventually, he was stripped of his priestly garments, walked by a large bonfire of his books and then burned alive. His friend, John Wycliffe met a similar fate. Wycliffe had translated the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible into middle-English because he believed the common person should be able to understand it. After his death, his bones were dug and burned for his disruptive ideas. Wycliffe and Hus both stood firm in their convictions to the end. Executing Hus and burning Wycliffe's bones did not silence their ideas. Rather, their supporters continued to support their ideas and in the next century, Martin Luther became the next to carry them into the public eye. This time an audience was demanded.
So, though my trip to Prague was not about Luther, in a way, it was still about the history of the Church and the beginnings of the Reformation.
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| A View of Prague (in the Czech Republic) |
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| Side street in Prague |
One more thing about Thursday!!!! This is interesting:
Chip and I rode a train into Prague with a great young German woman named Lara. We enjoyed her company so much and got along like old friends. It was a four-hour trip and we had such a good time talking together most of the way there.
Lara is an Indi German singer who had just visited in America to study the music industry there (and came back with a cold - poor thing). We talked about music, culture, social issues and family for most of the ride. Before we parted ways, she showed us one of her new videos. She explained to me that in this video, she is in an abandoned hospital and is singing about inviting people into her lonely head. She wanted to play with the concept of how a person can become self-centered and/or preoccupied with irrelevant things and how it only leads to them looking crazy and feeling empty. Yet, they long to invite people into that lonely space. Her boyfriend writes and orchestrates all her music. She writes lyrics and melody lines and designs the videos. Her most popular song is "Berlin, I Love You."
Wild, huh? You never know who you are going to meet. The videos are interesting to watch but they are all in German. She has been trying to decide whether to sing in English and try to break into the Indi music scene in America or not. She says that Germans are into techno music and are not very supportive of Indi artists. However, she does not feel totally confident and "herself" when she sings in English. So, she has decisions to make.
Here's a link to two of her videos. Give her a vote of encouragement. :
Welcome To My Lonely Head ---- https://youtu.be/Ve-UwJhDj_s
Berlin, I Love You ---- https://youtu.be/lMiv_4dU99Q
