Festival of St. Martin of Tours, Bishop and Confessor
Posted on November 11, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 24:29-35 (NKJV)
24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Devotion
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
Oh, how we treasure the things of this world! And yet, they will all pass away. We know it, yet still they allure us. Today we remember St. Martin of Tours. He lived in the fourth century.
According to one tradition, he cut his cloak in half when he saw a poor beggar shivering in the winter and gave it to him. The cloak would pass away anyway, and here was a man who needed it (or half of it). St. Martin later became a bishop, and dedicated his life to the Words of the Lord.
Long ago, Hans and Margarethe Luther had a son (born Nov. 10). He was baptized the next day, on St. Martin’s Day, and so he was named “Martin Luther.” Thus the legacy continued, in a way. Martin Luther let the bright light of our Lord’s Words shine out in the Church again. We lay hold of those Words, the Words of repentance and forgiveness, through faith in our crucified Savior. We cling to those Words. All else will pass away, but the Words of the Lord will not. And since His Words declare us righteous and bespeak eternal life to us, we endure unto all eternity, just as our risen Jesus does, and just as His Words do.
Prayer: O God, who didst call Martin to preach the Gospel, grant to Thy servants steadfastness in the confession of the true faith that they would preach that unchanging Gospel in the midst of the darkness of this age, through Jesus Christ, Thy
Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
