Reformers to Know- Zwingli and Bucer

DAY 36- 4/5/17- DAY 36 REFORMERS TO KNOW- ULRICH ZWINGLI, MARTIN BUCER
“Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8

Ulrich Zwingli (1/1/1484- 10/11/1531) was a humanist scholar who studied at the University of Vienna and the University of Basel and became a priest.  Luther was concerned about his own salvation and studied scripture, while Zwingli was concerned about being a good pastor to his congregation, and studied Erasmus’ translation of the New Testament (Latin and Greek).  In 1519 the pope sent a representative to ask that people pay indulgences (paying to relieve sins for the living or the dead) in order to build St. Peter’s in Rome.  Zwingli convinced the rulers and the gates were shut not allowing the representative (Sanson) to come into the city.  In 1519 he became the pastor of the Grossmunster church in Zurich and began preaching straight through Matthew. This year a plague broke out that killed a fourth of the population.  Most were encouraged to leave the city, but Zwingli did not leave his post.  Eventually he contracted but survived the plague.   In 1522 he began preaching his ideas of reform by breaking the Lenten fast publicly by eating sausages.  By October 1523 Zurich had taken all images and statues of the saints out of their churches.  Zwingli was a leader of Zurich and was instrumental in forming and breaking alliances among the Swiss Cantons and Philip of Hesse and Strasburg. In 1529 Zurich formed a Christian Civic Union with Bern and Constance (other cities such as Basel joined).  Five Swiss Cantons formed the Christian Alliance of Catholic states.  A war occurred in which Zurich won and Zwingli pushed for the free preaching of Protestantism there.  In 1529 the Marburg Colloquy tried to unite Lutheran and Reformed (Zwinglian) thought.  It agreed on fourteen points but disagreed about the sacraments.  Zwingli saw baptism and the supper not as sacraments but as an ordinance (command) in which we remember Christ.  On October 11, 1531 the five catholic states attacked Zurich which was unprepared and only musterd 3,500 men to face an army twice its size.  Zwingli was killed, once again refusing to leave his people.  The love he had for Switzerland and for his people made his teachings stick with them.  Afterwards Henrich Bullinger succeeded Zwingli.  He was able to unite the Protestant Cantons and achieved a relative peace, writing the Second Helvetic Confession which is part of the PCUSA’s Book of Confessions. 
      Martin Bucer was a humanist scholar who mainly lived in Strasbourg Germany (11/11/1491- 2/28/1551).  He originally was a Dominican Friar as well.  He met Luther in 1518 and renounced his vows and was excommunicated- fleeing to Strasbourg. Bucer tried to mediate between Luther and Zwingli at Marburg, and later with the Tetrapolitan Confession and Wittenburg Concord (which he helped write with Melanchthon).  Bucer took Zwingli’s views about the supper as a memorial, but thought this was a secondary, indifferent matter.  He noted that Luther rejected “impanation” (the idea that Christ became the bread), but Luther rejected Bucer’s saying there is no difference.  In September 1530 Emperor Charles V declared that all Protestants should join the Catholic Confession or be forced to do so by the military.  Melanchthon and Bucer wrote a common nine theses in response to try again to unite the Lutheran and Reformed confessions.  Luther met with Bucer and, though he disagreed with him asked him to continue to try to unite.  Zwingli neither agreed or disagreed, but Bucer traveled to many different German and Swiss cities pleading for unity.  He once said, “If you immediately condemn anyone who doesn't quite believe the same as you do as forsaken by Christ's Spirit, and consider anyone to be the enemy of truth who holds something false to be true, who, pray tell, can you still consider a brother? I for one have never met two people who believed exactly the same thing. This holds true for Theology as well.”  Bucer continued to work to join the Lutheran and Reformed churches- helping to write the First Helvetic Confession and the Wittenburg Concord- but full agreement was never achieved.  When Calvin was fleeing for his life- Bucer welcomed him in Strasbourg.  Bucer tried to get the Catholics and Protestants to form a German National Church separate from Rome, but this failed with the Schmalkaldic Wars.  He was exiled to England in 1549 where he helped Thomas Cranmer with the second edition of the Second Book of Prayer.  When Mary Tudor came to the throne, she tried to restore Catholicism and had Bucer’s body dug up and burned.  Elizabeth I, later put a plaque down at the place of Bucer’s original burial.  Bucer lived a holy, sincere life in which he valued love over theological differences. 

Prayer: Lord, Help me to value the boldness of Zwingli and the love and unity treasured by Bucer.