Lutherstadt – The Good, The Grand, and the Ugly

We ventured by Regional Train 3 down to Lutherstadt in Wittenberg today, a welcome break from our challenging theme. We focused on the two churches where Martin Luther worked and preached, St. Mary’s (aka, the Town Church or Stadtkirche) and All Saint’s Church (aka, Castle Church or Schlosskirche).

The beauty of these churches forced us to ask questions about why churches look they way they do in the United States, and if our modern structures have lost a perhaps irreplaceable means by which to install awe into our communal worship experiences. The creative and intricate design, the expert craftsmanship, and the preservation of these places left us speechless. We also felt the weight of history as we contemplated how the world changed as a result of what happened here 500 years ago.

Finally, we were also forced to confront the long history of what is now called antisemitism in church history. We could not escape considering the way in which human fallenness infects even the heroes of our faith. (But then again, has not Holy Scripture also led us to this realization time and time again?) What a relentless pursuit of truth demands of us is often a hard thing to pin down, but at the very least we are learning that it requires an appreciation for complexity and a suspicion of simplicity, especially regarding the moral lives of individuals, communities, and cultures.

The pictures below reflect a day of adoration, contemplation, lamentation, and playful exploration.