„Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Mark 10:46-47). Last Sunday was mission Sunday at Zion and Trinity, the two SELK churches in Hamburg, Germany, where I proclaim the Gospel to Iranian immigrants in Word and Sacrament. The visiting missionaries were Rev. Christoph Weber and his wife Sigrid, who serve in South Africa. They gave fascinating reports of their work at Luther Church, Durban, which is located in an economically depressed part of town. The church also runs a kindergarten, serving children who would have no place to go during the day if it were not for this facility. Rev. Weber shared with us that a highlight of his week is to bring food to local beggars. Since he has to buy groceries for them anyway, on occasion he asks them what they would like to eat. But they always modestly decline to give an answer, explaining: “No, no…we can’t choose what we get to eat. We’re beggars…” The last written words of 16th-century Reformer Martin Luther were found on a piece of paper lying on his desk (some claim, stuffed into his coat pocket): “Wir sind alle Bettler, hoc est verum” (“We are all beggars, that is true”). “Beggars can’t be choosers,” you sometimes hear. Indeed, when it comes to our salvation, we bring nothing to the table either, since we are incapable of earning our salvation with good works, purchasing it with indulgences, or much less acquiring it through the intercession of departed saints. Our salvation is given to us solely by the grace of Jesus Christ and received through faith in Him. We gratefully and simply trust in Him who has covered all our sins with His blood on the cross. Bartimaeus was on the right track and the homeless of Durban, South Africa would probably agree too; but Martin Luther nailed it: before Christ, we are *all* beggars.
The Tiews in Germany 