"Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light"

If you were listening to Garrison Keilor's Writer's Almanac you may have heard him mistakenly attribute today, January 3rd, as the day in 1517 on which Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, sparking the Protestant Reformation. Luther actually nailed the theses to the door on October 31, 1517, but a few years later on this day in 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated him. This of course was the church's typical response for centuries to any attempt at undermining its authority. And even though Luther was essentially correct in pointing out that the practice of selling places in heaven (i.e. "indulgences") for money was not supported by the Scriptures, he was exiled nonetheless. Refreshingly, the truth in his writings eventually became obvious and Christian leaders later cracked down on abuses in the church. It is therefore fitting that we honor Luther for his gutsy stand against the ideological monarchy, and for being right. His devotion to truth, at least at that moment, should remain an inspiration to us all.