(Philip and Martin enter from the narthex, walking down the center aisle, arguing with each other.  By about the fourth exchange, they are standing in the chancel for the remainder of the play.  They are both carrying large, old books which are placed on the altar/table.  In this play, especially at the beginning, Martin Luther’s personality is to be passionate and polemical.  Philip Melanchthon, on the other hand, is cool and cerebral).

PHILIP:         
No Martin.  You don’t want to do that, Martin.  

MARTIN:     
We are going to do it.  

PHILIP:         
You are going to get us in trouble again.  You are always getting us into trouble.  

MARTIN:     
Philip, at the core of your personality, you are basically fainthearted…fearful, in fact, somewhat gutless.

PHILIP:         
Martin, I am not gutless.  I am just not you.  I do things differently than you do.  I think through things carefully.  I put things down coherently on paper.  I discuss them like mature adults.

MARTIN:     
You think timidly.   You talk timidly.  You write timidly.  You never say anything that ruffles anybody’s feathers.  This is no time for timidity.

PHILIP:         
Martin, you are just like a wild boar in the vineyard.  You go in and rip everything up.  You make a mess out of everything, Martin.

MARTIN:     
I am not like a wild boar in the vineyard, ripping everything up.  All I know is that the Pope is corrupt, the priests are corrupt, the Roman Catholic Church is corrupt …. Ohhhh …. I’m sorry (looking out at the congregation for the first time).

PHILIP:         
Martin, I don’t think we have introduced ourselves.  How rude.  

MARTIN:     
Excuse us.  (His manner is calmer now.)  Sometimes when we come from class, we get to arguing very intensely and we forget what is happening around us … I would like to introduce my dear friend and colleague of the Reformation, Dr. Philip Melanchthon.  Dr. Melanchton is the genius, the brains, the intelligence behind the Reformation.  He had his PHD by the time he was only twenty years old; he had written his first book, a major thick one, by the time he was twenty-two; he was a teacher of the Greek language.  Ultimately, he wrote a very important document called the Augsburg Confession.  The Augsburg Confession summarizes all the major, theological doctrine of the world, even to this day, all Lutheran congregations subscribe to the articles of the Augsburg Confession … written by none other than Dr. Philip Melanchthon.  (Melanchthon bows deeply and graciously).

PHILIP:         
Thank you, Martin.  And I would like to introduce to you my very good friend and respected colleague, Dr. Martin Luther.  There is no doubt that Dr. Luther’s ideas are the driving force behind the Reformation.  He is the father of the Reformation, beginning it all by nailing his theses to the door at Wittenberg in 1517.    He is a master of languages, the greatest master of the Hebrew language for centuries, and he translated the entire Bible into the German language.  The German people finally had a Bible they could read in their own language.  He is an ordained pastor and theological professor.  You may not know that Martin has a fine tenor voice and has written many, many fine hymns.

MARTIN:     
Let us conclude our worship today by singing, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”  That hymn of mine is based on Psalm 46.  God is our refuge and strength, a mighty fortress, a very present help in time of trouble.

PHILIP:         
Martin is married to Katherine von Bora.  

MARTIN:     
For 21 years, Katie and I have been married.

PHILIP:         
Martin is a family man, a good, loving father.  

MARTIN:     
Katie and I have six children and we also raised eleven orphans.  Katie and I have taken care of seventeen children during our marriage.

PHILIP:         
But there is one quality about you that really troubles me, Martin.  

MARTIN:     
Well, what is that?  

PHILIP:         
You are abrasive!  

MARTIN:     
You always come back with that.  (Philip:  “Yes, abrasive”)  Just because I call the Pope a jackass; just because I call the priests a bunch of jackasses; you say I am abrasive.  (Martin becomes passionately agitated again in this speech and the next.)

PHILIP:         
Martin, you are abrasive, and your abrasiveness divides people.  You must be more careful in the way you say things.  I remember that conversation that you had with John Calvin.  Poor John Calvin, he is perhaps still upset about that.

MARTIN:     
John Calvin.  You bring up his name and it sets my heart on fire.  John Calvin, who doesn’t believe that Jesus is really present in the bread and wine.  Jesus, who is present in every blade of grass.  Jesus, who is present in the petal of every flower.  John Calvin doesn’t believe that Jesus is really present in the bread and wine.  It infuriates me the way he thinks.

PHILIP:         
Martin, Martin.  I couldn’t agree with you more.  You are absolutely right.  It’s not what you said, Martin, it is the way you said it.  Abrasively!

MARTIN:     
And, the gemstone of the Reformation.  Romans 3.  We are justified by grace through faith.  I mean, the gemstone of the Reformation. Do you remember what he did?  Calvin put the gemstone of the Reformation in the epilogue to his book … in the appendix to his book of all places.  When I heard it, I was furious.  He didn’t understand.  He didn’t understand the core of the Reformation.

PHILIP:         
Yes, Martin, that is enough to be very, very angry about, and I couldn’t agree with you more.  Justification by grace through faith.  It doesn’t matter about the quality of our good works, our own understanding, our own merit, our own effort.  But we are saved purely by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  

MARTIN:     
You know, Philip, I remember when I first discovered the truth about God’s grace (calm again).  I had come to Wittenberg as a young man, my first teaching position.  I was preparing my lessons on the psalms, and I read that passage which said:  “The righteous shall live by faith.”  If only I were righteous enough then God would love me.  And there in the psalms, I discovered it was not by goodness or my righteousness that caused God to love me  …  it was God’s righteousness.  And when I finally realized that, it was like this enormous burden was taken off my shoulders (gestures for an enormous burden off his back).  Ahh, so many years ago.

PHILIP:         
You know, Martin, I don’t think I ever told you this, but when I first came to Wittenberg as a professor to teach theology, philosophy and Greek, that day, my first day at Wittenberg, you were preaching, and I heard your words about grace, love, and freedom.  I had been trying so hard to succeed as a new professor  … studying the Greek so hard  … working so hard to know theology … and then, I heard your words about grace.  For me too, it was like a weight had been taken off my back.  (same gestures as Martin’s)  I am not sure if I ever thanked you for that sermon, Martin.  It was a momentous day in my life.

MARTIN:     
Thank you, Philip, you are a kind friend to me.  You always have been.   …   Philip, do you think that little children could understand the doctrine of justification?

PHILIP:         
I believe they could, Martin.  It’s basically a very simple idea.  Shall we invite them forward?  

MARTIN:     
Are there some children here?  Why don’t you children come forward.  (children come forward as during a children’s sermon)  Children, I would like you to meet Dr. Philip Melanchthon.  Could you all say, Dr. Melanchthon?  (the children repeat Dr. Melanchthon)

PHILIP:         
And children, this is Dr. Martin Luther.  Could you all say, “Good morning, Dr. Luther”?  (Children, “Good morning, Dr. Luther”)  Our church is named after Dr. Luther.  This is a Lutheran church.  …  Now, I have a question for you.  Do any of you do anything to get yourself in trouble at home?  What do you do to get yourself in trouble?   (Children:  “talk back”, “don’t do my chores”, “hit my brother”, “don’t go to bed”, “don’t clean my room”)  …  Now, we all do things wrong, do we not?  And, we call that sin.  Justification means this:  God looks upon me, a sinner, “Just as if I never sinned.”  What is justification?

MARTIN & PHILIP:
“Just as if I never sinner.”    

MARTIN:     
Children, can you say that?  “Just”….(Children repeat, “Just as if I never sinned.”)  And God looks at you and you and you and you … and God looks at all of us who are by nature  …  very sinful, imperfect people, and God looks on all of us  …  “Just

MARTIN & PHILIP:         
“Just as if I never sinned.”  

PHILIP:        
Children, notice this waste paper basket I have here with all this waste and garbage in it. Look inside and see all the stuff and junk there. Sometimes our lives are like that, with clutter and junk and garbage in our lives. Now, I am going to place a white cloth over the garbage and now what do you see? The white cloth. Jesus is the white cloth. When God looks at our lives that have so much evil in them, God does not see that garbage can but sees the white cloth that covers up all the sin that is within. God looks on our lives “just as if we never sinned.” God sees only the goodness of Christ.

MARTIN:     
Thanks very much for coming up children.  You may be seated now.  You see, Philip, I do think that children do understand God’s gracious love …

PHILIP:         
So do I Martin.  It’s very simple  …  You know Martin, when we were involved in the Roman Catholic Church at the beginning of the Reformation, it was obvious to us that there were so many abuses in the church.  The church was in desperate need of reformation.  So many abuses.  It was obvious that the church needed reform.  But today, we come into this sanctuary and one of your great hymns is sung; people are here worshipping in spirit; they seem to love and care for each other.   …  Martin, is the church today in need of reform, and if so, what would be the nature of that reform 

MARTIN:     
Philip, Philip, Philip.  The church is always in need of reform.  The church is always in trouble and therefore, always needs to be purified and cleansed.  …  Let me mention at least two needed reforms.  Do you remember 1528 when I went back out into Saxony to visit the German peasants?  Do you remember that?

PHILIP:         
Yes, you were very disappointed.  

MARTIN:     
Disappointed!  I mean, I couldn’t believe that these German peasants, these Christians, didn’t know the Bible at all.  They didn’t know the most elementary things about the Christian faith.  They didn’t even know the Ten Commandments.  They didn’t know the Gospels, and so I wrote a little book  …  it’s called the Small Catechism, and in that Small Catechism. It lays out some basic Christian doctrine - The Ten Commandments The Creed - The Sacraments - The Lord’s Prayer.  And I wrote simply so that little children and their parents could understand some basics about the faith.  …  Now, I am going to ask you some questions about the Bible.  Philip, what is Ephesians 2:8?

PHILIP:         
For by grace, you have been saved through faith.  This is not your own doing but is the free gift of God lest anyone should boast.  A beautiful passage.

MARTIN:     
Romans 3:23?  

PHILIP:         
There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  

MARTIN:     
John 3:16?

PHILIP:         
Ah, the Gospel in a nutshell.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

MARTIN:     
See, Philip, you know these passages.  But I have been studying about American life, and I have discovered that only 30% of this nation can name four of the Ten Commandments.  Americans don’t know the Ten Commandments, and most Americans can’t even name the four Gospels. And this is a so-called Christian nation.  I ask you, the congregation, some questions.  You don’t need to stand nor recite but simply raise your hands.  How many of you here today can recite for me at least five Bible verses?  …Can I see your hands?  …  Can you recite for me at least five Bible verses?  …  Ten-fifteen people out of 400.  See, it’s the same problem of 1528.  The problem is the same.  That common and ordinary Christians did not know the word of God  …  and so the continuing reformation, Philip, is for us to forever persuade our Christians to know and study the Bible, the Word of God.  …  But there is also a second reform needed.

PHILIP:
What is that Martin? 

MARTIN:
Let me briefly explain. In my explanations in the Small Catechism, I always begin, “We are to fear, love and trust God above all things.” We are to fear, love, and trust God above all things. Sometimes, my feeling about American Christians is that they fear, love and trust things far more than the living God. … But, how about you, Philip; what reforms do you see today that are needed in the American churches? 

PHILIP:         
I would agree with what you said, but for me, it has to do with how people understand faith on the one hand, and feelings on the other hand.  It seems to me, Martin, today there is confusion between faith and feelings.  People think they need to have these great religious feelings in order to have faith  …  they need to feel religious, they need to feel the presence of God around them all the time, or they don’t have faith.  Martin, feelings are like this.  A person goes out into the woods and builds a fire.  They crumple up the paper and put on the dry twigs and they ignite it, and soon, they have a roaring blaze which gives off intense light and heat - for a moment.  But just as suddenly as it ignites, it suddenly is reduced to a pile of ashes.  It quickly flames up and just as quickly burns out.  That’s what feelings are like, Martin.  …  Faith, on the other hand, is like when I go home to my hearth and I take my paper and my kindling and I kindle a nice fire.  I ignite it and it flames up, and then I go out to get my alderwood.

MARTIN:     
Your alderwood?  You mean, the alderwood logs?  

PHILIP:         
Yes, my alderwood.  I bring in my alderwood and place it on the well-kindled fire, and soon the alderwood begins to catch fire and to flame, and before long, I have a nice bed of coals  …  coals that glow an even orange color, that gives off an even, steady heat.  You see, Martin, that is what faith is like.

MARTIN:     
I like that Philip.  Faith is like that steady burning, steady, sure, warm fire.  …  For me, faith is belief in the grace of God that is so assured that a person would die a thousand deaths for its sake.

PHILIP:         
Beautifully put, Martin.  

MARTIN:     
Ah, I hear the bell.  

PHILIP:         
Is it that time already?

MARTIN:     
Time to go back to class.            

PHILIP:         
I so enjoy our conversations.  The time flies by so quickly.  

MARTIN:     
Philip, you being the theologian of the Reformation, if you were going to summarize the Reformation into one dominant theme, what would you say?  

PHILIP:         
Well, Martin, that would have to be the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.  It does not depend upon our own merit.  It does not depend on our own works of charity; not on our own understanding or effort of goodness.  Salvation is not dependent upon anything we do.  It is purely a gift of God.  And so it is:  grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone.

MARTIN:    
I will say “Amen” to that, Philip, but we must be going or we will be late for class.  (get their books off the table, begin walking down the aisle, still talking) Maybe you’re right, Philip. Maybe I shouldn’t be so abrasive …

PHILIP:         
Well, Martin, it certainly would keep us out of trouble  …  if you were less abrasive.  

MARTIN:     
There you go again.  Always wanting to keep out of trouble.  I don’t understand that quality in you  …  (leave arguing)

Written by:
Edward F. Markquart
David E. Cox
John K. O’Neal


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