Martin Luther's Revelation, Inspired by the Prophet Habakkuk

Habakkuk 2:2-4

What will help us live through hard times such as these? 

Can faith in a future of better days, sometimes, hopefully soon, help hold our hand through suffering? 

How many generations before ours have asked these questions at critical moments, whether personal, collective, or both? 

These are the big questions at the core of human struggles -- and these are also at the heart of contemplative life. These are also the building blocks for religious dogma - with both its pros and cons. 

One brief and puzzling response that a 7th century BCE prophet from Judah left behind in his clay tablet of visions, found in today’s chapter of @belowthebiblebelt929 left its mark on a 16th century monk that would go on to change the course of modern history.  

All because of a few words. 

When the prophet Habakkuk began his book in the first chapter he hurled mad words at God and demanded answers - how long do we wait for redemption? How long can the suffering suffocate us? 

In today’s chapter he receives a response:

וַיַּעֲנֵ֤נִי יְהֹוָה֙ וַיֹּ֔אמֶר כְּתֹ֣ב חָז֔וֹן וּבָאֵ֖ר עַל־הַלֻּח֑וֹת לְמַ֥עַן יָר֖וּץ ק֥וֹרֵא בֽוֹ׃ כִּ֣י ע֤וֹד חָזוֹן֙ לַמּוֹעֵ֔ד וְיָפֵ֥חַ לַקֵּ֖ץ וְלֹ֣א יְכַזֵּ֑ב אִם־יִתְמַהְמָהּ֙ חַכֵּה־ל֔וֹ כִּי־בֹ֥א יָבֹ֖א לֹ֥א יְאַחֵֽר׃  הִנֵּ֣ה עֻפְּלָ֔ה לֹא־יָשְׁרָ֥ה נַפְשׁ֖וֹ בּ֑וֹ וְצַדִּ֖יק בֶּאֱמוּנָת֥וֹ יִֽחְיֶֽה

YHWH answered me and said:

Write the prophecy down,

Inscribe it clearly on tablets,

So that it can be read easily.

For there is yet a prophecy for a set term,

A truthful witness for a time that will come.

Even if it tarries, wait for it still;

For it will surely come, without delay:

Lo, their spirit within them is puffed up, not upright,

But the righteous live with their faith.”

Habakkuk 2:2-4

Patience. Eyes on the prize. That’s what Habakkuk receives as the divine response to his reality of crisis. 

Redemption and a better day will come - but it takes time. Hold on to your faith, and please be patient. 

This would become the doctrine of messianic yearning, central to Judaic thought. But like the famous marshmallow experiment - it turns out waiting patiently  is not something most of us are very good at. 

That’s probably why this short verse became such a big deal when a new way to read it with options for instant/infinite gratification of God's presence was introduced. 

In 1515, Martin Luther, a German Augustinian monk, traveled to Rome for penance. As he climbed a famous holy staircase on his hands and knees, as a way to gain atonement through suffering in the footsteps of Jesus, he had a sudden flash of faith - inspired by half a verse from the prophet Habakkuk. 

Scholars claim that it’s this short verse from the Hebrew Bible, quoted in the New Testament, and how Luther understood it, that became the key for the reformation that would change the western world as we know it. 

Luther described the moment and later talked and taught about it at length: 

“Before those words broke upon my mind I hated God and was angry with him because not content with frightening us sinners by the law and by the miseries of life, he still further increased our torture by the gospel. But when, by the Spirit of God, I understood those words – “The just shall live by faith!” “The just shall live by faith!” – then I felt born again like a new man; I entered through the open doors into the very Paradise of God.”

Luther’s revelation would become the cornerstone of the reformation - changing much of Western culture  as we know it. But he was not the first to recognize that what Habakkuk is writing here is a radical and revolutionary way to look at the core tenets of religious life. A Talmudic debate in the  Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Makkot 24. dating back 1,800 years argues that the original 613 commandments given to Israel from God,  by Moses could actually be simplified. In previous posts we read of Micah’s three top rules proposal. But it’s Habakuk who gets the final say in this discussion - with just one perennial commandment that all the others rest on: 

Habakkuk came and established the 613 mitzvot upon one, as it is stated: “But the righteous person shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

The Talmud’s understanding of Habakkuk’s words pins all of religious life on how to hold on to belief. Luther took it as another form of faith and reliance on God's grace. For those of us who don't believe in higher power perhaps the way to read this recipe is to rely on being fully present, a surrender to the force of life, as is, and simply being optimistic? 

Faith or patience, optimism or steadfast messianic consciousness -- this prophetic phrase has made its way into our vocabulary, an invitation for each one of us to ponder and to wonder -- what will help me hope? 

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