Castle Church, Wittenberg, Germany

 The train leaves the station at 6:44 am and I plan to be on board. I've been looking forward to visiting Wittenberg, Germany. It's the starting point for my "Luther Land" excursion. Tomorrow night I will stay in the house of Lucas Cranach for a few nights and on Sunday sleep in the Augustinian Monastery where Martin Luther knocked on the door and committed himself to life as a monk.  Unlike Luther, I won't sleep on the floor but in a bed--a rather comfortable bed.

One place I am excited about visiting is the Town Church of St. Mary's.  For most of his life, this was Martin Luther's home. Actually, he wasn't a great fan of the Castle Church thinking they were a bit high and mighty. However, in this church, where for most of  his life, was his home church--the church  here he was married, where his children were baptized, and where he preached over 2,000 times--there is a marvelous painting in the sanctuary.  A class mate of mine from Wartburg, and now a German Pastor and Professor of Theology, told me to pay careful attention to the altar painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the Younger, and their school.  The whole wild bunch were in on this painting as well as the early Reformation Protestants who showed up in the altar painting.

In a not so subtle way the panels illustrate the sharp elbows of the Reformation theology. Some of the people are chatting and looking around. Some are watching Luther and some are not. The Sacraments are celebrated and in the Last Supper scene the distraught sinner holds the key to heaven while the man on the right is trying to buy his way--through indulgences of course--finds his hands tied and the key to heaven behind him. in the midst is Jesus, on the cross, where his once and for all death announces the new covenant of the one righteous one who dies for all the sinners. Luther's pictured as the bearded Squire George and is handed a chalice reminding us that in contrast to Roman worship at the time, Protestant services invited everybody to participate in Holy Communion.