An Ordinary Nail

October 31, 1517. The day that is known as the day on which Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral.

I imagine he used an ordinary nail.

This wasn't the first time he'd had a problem with something going on in the church of that time, and this wasn't the first time he had written about it. He had no idea that this time the effect of his words would be felt across the world, and that his action would be remembered and celebrated five hundred years later.

Interestingly, Luther wasn't intending to break away from the church. He was simply making a critique and calling for a change. But his document caused such a stir that the powers of the time told him that he needed to recant his words, or else. In the end he broke away from the Cathodic Church, and his actions are often proclaimed as the start of the Protestant Reformation.

Luther's actions and words clearly made a significant impact on history, but he was not the first one to make those critiques of the Catholic Church. The way was already paved by others. The Protestant Reformation, though so often attributed to Luther's initiative, was actually the result of countless choices and countless actions by countless people. Did any one of those people know the significance of their actions?

For example, roughly eighty years before Luther's ninety-five theses, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. This played a huge role in setting the stage for the Reformation to happen. The Bible, which before had to be copied by hand, suddenly became accessible to more than just the very rich. And as soon as the Bible was translated into the language of the people, instead of only being in Latin, that too became accessible in a way that would have been impossible before. The printing press also made it possible to distribute other written works further and quicker than ever before - works such as Luther's ninety-five theses.

There are countless others who contributed to the Protestant movement, both before and after Luther. Some helped, some hindered. They often disagreed with each other. There were acts of great faith and heroism, and despicable acts that we cringe to have associated with the history of our faith. The Catholics persecuted the Protestants, the Protestants persecuted the Catholics, the Protestants and the Catholics both persecuted the Anabaptists. The history of the Reformation is not necessarily bedtime story material. But it is full of ordinary people, like us, saying things and doing things.

Like the people of history, we do things and we say things. We call up a friend, say hi to someone we pass on the street, write a blog post, live our lives. We don't know the impact that it will have, seen or unseen. That's a little bit scary, because so often our actions and words are thoughtless and careless. But it is also encouraging, because if you're like me, you'd really like to change the world and make it a better place, and sometimes it seems like you have to nail the right document on the right door at the right time in order to make that difference, but that's not true. The things we do and say may not be specifically remembered years later, but the ripple of effects coming from our normal every-day lives and decisions will continue to spread and make a real difference in the world.

500 years ago, Luther used an ordinary nail, and history was never the same.