Hear, O mighty gates of Wittenberg

Seokwon Kim

Do you seek to purchase heaven
with a handful of silver coins?
The kingdom of God is entered by faith.

Throw open the gates of Wittenberg-
drag the doctrines into the light,
make them kneel,
and summon ecclesial authority
to stand before faith itself.
The silken tassels that once
swayed with pride from the hems
of Wittenberg’s priests,
and the jeweled crowns that seemed
to rise as high as heaven-
all of these are but burdens,
like antlers on a deer
hunted by a starving lion.

Become Peter-walking the wilderness
with only a dry staff and a single garment.
Hold in your heart the scent of burning soil
on the wide plains of Judea,
and the deep, blue fragrance
of the waters of Tiberias.
Then sing-that the young Jesus
whom you crucified is Himself
the Lord and the Christ.

As the narrow doorway of
the upper room of Mark
was filled with the rushing wind of
the Spirit, like tongues of fire-
and when that same wind swept across the gates
of Wittenberg-the sharp spires of Rome’s
great cathedral, which once screamed like
Jericho falling, were brought low.

Before the cross, indulgences lost their power.
Theology faded, and only faith remained.
The Kingdom of God-possessed by faith-
is ours today, tomorrow, and forever.