In Touch October 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

October has arrived, and the shops are full (rather dishearteningly!) of Hallowe’en merchandise. But there is a much better reason to remember October 31st: it is the anniversary of when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, an action that would start the Protestant Reformation. This is why, for me and many others, the 31st October will always be known as ‘Reformation Day’.

Around the time of the Reformation, times were very dark across Europe. There were several outbreaks of plague, severe economic instability, growing poverty, and many had become disenfranchised with an oppressive Roman Catholic Church, which had abandoned the teaching that it is faith alone in Jesus Christ that saves us.

Times were so difficult that the city of Geneva adopted a motto - stamped on official government documents, coins and signs: ‘Post Tenebras, Spero Lucem’, which is Latin for ‘After darkness, I hope for light’. People were so lost in the darkness and the sadness of the times they were living in that they clung to the faintest hope that better days might someday return.

As the Reformation grew, many were converted as the wonderful truth that salvation is only by Jesus’ work on the cross exploded across the continent. New Churches were founded, and the Bible was translated into many languages so that everyone could read it for themselves. As a result, people found freedom from the weight of the Roman Catholic Church’s erroneous teachings. This led to Geneva changing its motto to ‘Post Tenebras Lux!’ - ‘After darkness, light!’

For the people of Geneva, and many across Europe, ‘the light that shines into darkness’ (John 1:5) was no longer a vague and uncertain hope; it was a steadfast confidence that they had a Saviour who had defeated sin and who would one day banish the darkness forever.

When I think about our Church, one could say that we, too, are going through some difficult times. Many of you are grieving or have concerns about the future, some of you are exhausted by the daily pressures of work, and others of you may be struggling mentally or spiritually. But we have the same confidence as the Reformation Church: after darkness, light will always come.

Jesus reminds us in John 8:12 that “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. So despite all of the darkness around us, we as a Church can have confidence that although we may not know precisely what the next chapter holds for us all, we have complete confidence in the glorious final chapter that awaits us: Jesus will come back, He will take us home and we will worship Him in the new Heavens and new Earth where there will be no more darkness.

Post Tenebras Lux!

Jonathan

Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.