A Knock at the Door

Guten morgen! We are ready for another great day and we start our day's activities with a tour of the Erfurt monastery, then off to the church in Eiselben and lastly, we arrive in Berlin and settle into our hotel. 

As you may know, in 1505 Luther made a dramatic change in the course of his life when he pledged to become a humble monk instead of a prestigious lawyer as a result of an encounter with a lightening bolt. The result of Luther's fervent prayer to St. Anne to save his life during the storm led him to knock on the door of the Augustinian Monastery. Well, that infamous knock changed not only Luther's life but set in motion religious and economic changes in all of Western Europe! Here's a picture of that door, or at least one very similar. 

 

While visiting the monastery we could see where Luther worked and studied to become a monk. It was very humbling to walk into the small cell where Luther meditated and to see the church where he worshiped and took his vows to be a monk. Later in his life he came back as a reformer and preached here. 

 

 

The beautiful stained glass windows must have made quite an impression on Luther. He later designed a similar rose as his personal icon. 

 

We then made a quick trip down the road to the small town of Eiselben. It was here at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul where Luther was baptized on St. Martin's Day in 1483 at just 4 days old. One of my highlights for today was directing our group in singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" in a round in the church chancel. 

 

We have now arrived at the historic and reunited German capital, Berlin! But you'll have to wait to read more about Berlin tomorrow!

Now remember the impact one little knock on a door can make! Is there a door waiting for you to knock? Or perhaps, who's knocking at your door?