Today is one of the highlights of my yearly calendar, namely, Reformation Day! (Or, if you are partial to rhymes, Reformation Celebration.) It was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg Church door – an event that is widely considered to be the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Because of God’s use of Martin Luther and other reformers like John Calvin, John Knox, Ulrich Zwingli, etc. (and perhaps more importantly the martyrs before them – e.g. Patrick Hamilton, Jan Hus, etc.) we now have the five ‘solas’ that stand at the center of our Reformed faith: Sola Scriptura! Sola Fide! Sola Gratia! Solo Christo! Soli Deo Gloria!

That said, how does one go about celebrating Reformation Day? Here are some ways I’ve celebrated in the past:

  • Dress up like your favorite Reformer (it is, after all, Halloween)
  • Play a Reformation trivia game of some sort
  • Drink beer that is somehow (perhaps very tenuously) related to Reformation Day – e.g. any German beer (I’m partial to Warsteiner) or any beer that is remotely ecclesiastical /reformational (e.g. Augustijn, Blackfriars, or, of course, Calvinus – the king of Reformation beers!)
  • Eat Chocolate Indulgence cake (har har) or other (loosely) Reformation-related food (you may have to use your imagination).
  • Visit your local martyrs memorial, which is, admittedly, easier to do in some parts of the world than others (St Andrews, for example, has an obelisk dedicated to Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart, (both of which were executed in St Andrews) and other martyrs of the Reformation era)
  • Watch the movie Luther (2003)

Concerning Luther: This has to be one of my favorite movies. Sure it is one sided (a Roman Catholic will not feel that their position is fully/accurately represented). And sure it is a bit Hollywoodized (Joseph Fiennes, who plays Luther, looks very little like the man himself…)

martin-luther

But, I think this is what you’d expect. It is a phenomenal story and there are times in which I simply want to stand and cheer. As someone who loves Christ and his Truth as well as the Reformation and the reformed worldview, I highly commend the movie. If only they would come out with a movie about Calvin, Zwingli, or Knox…

Anyway, in closing, here is the momentous scene from the movie where Luther makes his stand at the Diet of Worms:

Happy Reformation Day! Praise the Lord! Soli Deo Gloria!