I confess that as a life-long Lutheran I often incorrectly assume that all who worship know about our eponymous leader, the great reformer Martin Luther. With so many of our parishioners coming from Roman Catholicism, of course they have much knowledge on the man! What an interesting life, what an interesting man Herr Luther was (Herr is Mr. in German).

Deep in October, we reflect on the event that unofficially began the Protestant Reformation, that being when Luther nailed 95 statements or theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Every 500 years, give or take, something seismic happens in Christendom. Maybe a Google search will be helpful about the details. For this blog post, I will only focus on a few insights about his personal life. As I said, he was indeed an interesting man with an interesting life…and an interesting wife.

Katherine von Bora was born in 1499 in poverty. As a nun, she was one of nine convent sisters who fled in April 1523 to Wittenberg. Martin was essentially a third choice for a suitor. The marriage was considered a very bad idea for both. The jurist Hieronymus Schurff commented, “if this monk gets married, the whole world and the devil will laugh, and he himself will ruin everything that he has accomplished”. But Martin Luther was anything but conventional (get the pun, “convent-”).

The Reformer knew the unconditional love that was Luther’s assurance and comfort. Your life is no less extraordinary than his, in the eyes of our Blessed Redeemer.

Pastor Art