As soon as he became Pope, Leo went about beautifying Rome and his grandest pet project was that of expanding and refurbishing St. Peter’s church in Rome. But how to fund such a grand venture? He would need millions. His gaze fell on Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, who, having expensive tastes himself had racked up a sizable debt, which he owed to the Papal throne. Leo capitalized on this opportunity and prevailed on Albert to raise the money to pay back the debt by selling indulgences. The funds collected would then be funneled into Leo’s  new project for St. Peter’s. Albert was agreeable and he proceeded to enlist the help of Johann Tetzel. Tetzel was peculiarly suited for the position to which he was called. He was Grand Inquisitor of Heresy in Poland, which made him very good at terrorizing people and he had also had some prior experience in the business of peddling indulgences. Tetzel took Germany by storm, going from village to village with his entourage and promising people unconditional forgiveness for sins past, present, and future, for the living and the dead, if they would but invest, for a small fee, in a certificate of papal indulgence. His campaign slogan was “the very moment the money clinks against the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory and flies to heaven” Some flocked to him while others heckled, asking if the the Pope were able to spring people from purgatory so easily, why he didn’t do it as a matter of charity. Regardless of all this, the coffers of Rome soon began to fill under the able theatrics of Tetzel’s sales pitch.

Luther never set out to revolutionize the world or even revolutionize Catholicism. He simply chose to stand on the side of truth and it was this seemingly innocuous act that set in motion one of the greatest revolutions the world has ever seen. You don’t need to turn the world upside down to be a circuit breaker, you just need to be faithful to God where you are called and circuit breaking will follow.