The Morning Star

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” — Psalm 119:130 (KJV)

Imagine a world where you couldn’t read the Bible in your own language. Church services were in Latin, which most people didn’t understand. A few scholars and priests could read the Scriptures. Everyone else had to take their word for what it said.

That was England in the 1300s. And one man decided it had to change. His name was John Wycliffe.

Wycliffe was born around 1324 and studied at Oxford, where he became one of the most respected scholars in Europe. He became more and more convinced that the church of his day had drifted far from the Bible, and he said so loudly. He criticised the wealth and laziness of some religious orders, and argued that the Bible, not the church’s leaders, should be the final authority for Christians.

He was seriously ill at one point, and some of the friars he had criticised came to his bedside, expecting him to take back what he had said before he died. Instead, Foxe says, he raised himself in bed and replied: “I shall not die, but live to declare the evil deeds of the friars.”

He recovered, and then he “set about a most important work, the translation of the Bible into English.” It was copied out by hand, because printing hadn’t been invented in Europe yet. People who couldn’t afford a whole Bible copied out single Gospels or letters. Foxe notes that the more the authorities tried to suppress it, the more people wanted it.

Wycliffe died of natural causes, but his followers, called Lollards, were persecuted for years, and some were burned with scraps of Scripture tied around their necks. Later Wycliffe was given a nickname: “the Morning Star of the Reformation.” A morning star shines before the sun comes up. He was a light in the dark, pointing to the day that was coming.

It is easy to take the Bible for granted. You can probably find dozens of translations on your phone in seconds. People suffered and died so that ordinary people could read God’s word in their own language. Psalm 119 says that the unfolding of God’s words gives light, and understanding to the simple. That gift cost a great deal.

One thing to do this week: read a chapter of the Bible every day this week, and before you start, thank God that you can read it in your own language. Choose a Gospel if you are not sure where to begin.