The Sign on the Door

Special Installment: Reformation Sunday
Homiletics offers some advice on what to tell your congregation about Martin Luther.

We love to celebrate anniversaries.

Sometimes, the celebration is more of an observance than a joyous occasion. This year, for example, is the centennial year of America's entrance into the "Great War," World War I. Any celebrations so far have been somber, remembering the fallen in that conflict.

But birthdays are celebrations. They're anniversaries in a sense. In fact, the French expression for "happy birthday" is joyeux anniversaire. Chances are, someone in your congregation is going to celebrate a birthday this very week. You might ask.

We celebrate wedding anniversaries, too. New lovers celebrate the day they met, the day they kissed for the first time, the day they went grocery shopping for the first time -- everything. Kids in love celebrate everything.

And we celebrate notable events or discoveries in history.

We celebrate the birthdays of people who made a difference in the world, like presidents Washington and Lincoln, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.


And, speaking ...