Reformation Sunday
     Reformation Sunday is celebrated in Protestant churches on the Sunday nearest October 31, anniversary of the day in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his Ninety Five Theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenburg.
     The day is devoted to a restatement and reaffirmation of Protestant doctrines and to thanksgiving for the heroic people of Christian history.
     Consider this important contribution of Martin Luther, one of the main leaders of the reformation.
     Luther’s life was threatened due to his protesting of certain activities he felt did not befit the Church. He went into hiding and found refuge as the guest of the ruler of Saxony in Waterbury Castle.
     How was Luther to pass the time until it was safe for him to begin preaching and teaching openly again? He translated the Bible from the original languages into German. It was not an easy task. There were various versions of the German language spoken across the country. The different dialects made it difficult to communicate easily with those from another.
     Luther’s Bible, therefore, was a great gift to the German people. The words he used, which by the way, he checked with the castle’s butcher to make sure the common person could understand, actually enabled the German people to have a unified language. In a real sense, Martin Luther was the father of the German language used today.