Jesus Christ is Lord
A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost
2 Cor 4:1-6
Eighty-eight years ago, May 29-31, 1934, a group of Protestant leaders met in Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany. They thought something had to be done over against Hitler. Hitler had taken power in Germany in January 1933. All the legal rights and power of the church were made subject to the State. What was to be done about this? People began to worry. There were 138 in that group gathered in Barmen, Germany, to do something. They talked and talked.
Half-way through the second day, when everyone there did what Germans did in those days, that is, take a nap between 1:00 and 3:00, while everyone was napping, Karl Barth drank a strong cup of coffee and wrote what is called the Barmen Declaration. It is only a couple of pages long. Six main points. Scripture, what we hold, and what we reject.
