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Friday, July 22, 2022: Heidelberg, Rothenburg

Today we begin with a morning on our own or a tour of Heidelberg Castle.  The university town of Heidelberg nestles along the scenic Nekar River, its landscape dominated by the crumbling red sandstone of hilltop Heidelberg Castle.  Heidelberg features a bustling Old Town, an idyllic market square, and the longest pedestrian-only shopping street in Europe.  Countless artists and writers have been inspired by its beauty over the centuries, earning Heidelberg UNESCO’s City of Literature designation.

A bit of history

The first settlement in present-day Heidelberg dates back to Roman and Celtic times.  The community of Heidelberg was planned and built, together with the castle, in the 13th century.  During the Reformation, its rulers first embraced Lutheranism but soon turned to Calvinism.  The town gave its name to the Heidelberg Confession of 1563.  Toward the end of the 17th century, poets and philosophers, such as Friedrich Hölderlin, Clemens Brentano, and Joseph von Eichendorff, made Heidelberg the “City of Romanticism.”  In 1945, American forces took the city with little destruction, making it U.S. and NATO headquarters.

Our next stop is Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the fairytale-like village which is considered Germany’s best-preserved, walled medieval town.  Most of the buildings standing today were built by 1400.  Rothenburg features cobbled streets, stately towers, massive fortifications, churches, and unique museums. 

A bit of history

Rothenburg was granted a city charter in 1274 and flourished in the Middle Ages.  As the city grew physically, it also grew spiritually.  Ideas of Reformation emerged early when young men from Rothenburg studied in Wittenberg with Luther and Melanchthon.  This theology combined with Renaissance thoughts brought great change to the city.  However, Rothenburg’s growth stalemated in the 17th century after being defeated during the Thirty Years War, facing financial repercussions from the Catholic church for its Protestant status, and enduring an outbreak of the plague.

The Reformation Unfolds

Even though this has little to do with Heidelberg or Rothenburg, Luther’s life and work continued after the Diet of Worms.  Originally a close associate of Luther, Andreas Karlstadt stepped into the void created by Luther’s 11-month stay at Wartburg.  Unfortunately, Karlstadt was far more radical than Luther, eventually dissenting from him on issues such as religious music and art (he smashed the statuary in the Castle Church), doctrine of ministry (he disavowed clergy robes for peasant’s clothing and being called “Brother Andreas”), and infant baptism (he was against it.)  Eventually, Karlstadt was banned by Frederick and would pursue a more Anabaptist doctrinal perspective.

Karlstadt was not the only reformer whose theology further departed from the Roman Catholic tradition.  Not only did more legitimate reformers emerge like John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Thomas Cranmer and John Knox, far more extremist “leaders” also came forth, gaining in short-term popularity and significantly confusing the theological landscape.  Referred to by Luther as the Schwarmers (fanatics), Luther would spend the coming years trying to draw them back to the truth of the scriptures.

Luther continued to teach, preach and write from Wittenberg, guiding the development of the Lutheran (a name he greatly disliked) faith, referred to as the Evangelisch at the time.  During this period, he would address additional points of doctrinal divergence from the Catholic Church.  In addition to challenging indulgences, relics, and papal authority, he also challenged their understanding of transubstantiation, withholding the cup from the laity, the number and definition of the sacraments, music in worship, and the celibacy of the priesthood (a topic we will cover tomorrow.)  If you’d like more information on these topics, just ask!

Why was Luther allowed to stay in Wittenberg unharmed?  Wasn’t he declared an enemy of the state?  Prince Frederick’s protection of “his theologian” was key to his survival, driven, not so much by Frederick’s faith, but his pride and competition with his cousin!  Additionally, as the popularity of the Reformation grew and more and more reformers emerged, the German nobility came to see that burning every non-Catholic in their realm would neither be possible not wise.  And finally, after the Diet of Worms, Emperor Charles V was kept very busy fighting France to the West and the Turks to the East – which took both his resources and his attention.

What happened in Germany as the Reformation continued to progress?  The Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555 (9 years after Luther’s death), was a treaty between Emperor Charles V and the Schmalkaldic League (a gathering of Protestant leaders), which allowed the rulers to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.  Generally speaking, most of Central and Northern Germany became Lutheran, then advancing further into Scandinavia, while southern Germany remained Roman Catholic.  Calvin’s Reformed tradition (a.k.a. Presbyterianism) spread in Switzerland and through John Knox into Scotland, and Henry the VIII broke from Catholicism establishing the Church of England, primarily for personal power rather than theology.

Reflection verses                                                                                                                                               Psalm 90:1-6

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn us back to dust, and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”

For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.

You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;

in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

Reflection questions

Whenever I come in close contact with history, particularly OLD history, I am struck by the difference between God’s sense of time and my sense of time.  In Greek, there are two different words for time – Kairos (or God’s non-linear time) and Chronos (human, measurable time).  And I always get into spiritual trouble when I forget that distinction, as it inhibits my trust in God’s time.

When my brother passed away nearly 10 years ago, I was so angry at God because he only lived 56 years.  He was a good person, making a positive difference in this world and I just couldn’t understand how God could let his life be cut short by cancer.  Two years later, my mom and I went on a tour of the Holy Land.  It was in the cave in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, that I finally came to peace Paige’s passing.  Through touching those ancient walls which had echoed the sound of Christ’s first cries, God put me in my place – in a good way.  I understood how brief one life is compared to antiquity.  I realized how vast God is, how inexplicable God’s time is, how “a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past.”

How does being around so much history impact your sense of time?  Where have you experienced God’s time on this tour, in your life?  How can your faith grow as you consider God’s goodness in all circumstances and at all times?

Hymn of the day                                                                                                     Lord of All Hopefulness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where we’re staying ~ Printzhotel Rothenburg

 

 

 

 

 

A look ahead

We move into Bavaria and visit Neuschwanstein castle!