Daily Archives: 12 Jun 2024

Martin Luther and Katherine’s Wedding

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The good folk in Sachsen-Anhalt write

luther_marriageDid you know

… that when Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora on 13 June 1525, the reactions among his contemporaries were by no means all positive. Even his friend Philipp Melanchthon was critical, chiefly because he thought Katharina had ensnared Luther. What finally prompted Martin Luther to ask for Katharina von Bora’s hand in marriage was probably an episode he’d heard from his friend Nicolaus von Amsdorf – who was also well acquainted with Katharina. When Katharina discovered that she was supposed to marry university rector Kasper Glatz (a miser and evidently a generally unpleasant chap to boot), she told Nicolaus that if she was going to marry anyone, it would have to be either him or Dr Luther. Nicolaus told his friend Martin – and the rest is history.

Luther’s Advice on Preaching

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In a word- preach the text!

“In my preaching I take pains to treat a verse [of the Scriptures], to stick to it, and so to instruct the people that they can say, ‘That’s what the sermon was about.’

How different from the preachers of today who tell stories, make jokes, and entertain the crowds.  Which is why, by the way, most sermons aren’t worth hearing.

Laws Never Change Hearts or Minds

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No law, for or against any inanimate object, will ever, ever change the corrupt nature of the human heart bent on evil.  Legislate all you want, nothing will change until you change the heart and mind.  And only God can do that.

Spend Some Time With Jeremiah

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Jeremiah then came back from Topheth where Yahweh had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the Temple of Yahweh and said to all the people, ‘Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this, “Yes, on this city, and on all the towns belonging to it, I shall bring all the disaster which I had decreed for it, since they have stubbornly refused to listen to my words.” ‘

Now the priest Pashhur son of Immer, who was the chief of police in the Temple of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah making this prophecy. Pashhur struck the prophet Jeremiah and then put him in the stocks, in the Upper Benjamin Gate leading into the Temple of Yahweh. Next day, Pashhur had Jeremiah taken out of the stocks; Jeremiah then said to him, ‘Not Pashhur but Terror-on-every-Side is Yahweh’s name for you.

For Yahweh says this, “I am going to hand you over to terror, you and all your friends; they will fall by the sword of their enemies, your own eyes will see it. The whole of Judah, too, I shall hand over to the king of Babylon; he will carry them off captive to Babylon and put them to the sword. And all the wealth of this city, all its stores, all its valuables, all the treasures of the kings of Judah, I shall hand over to their enemies who will plunder them, round them up and carry them off to Babylon. As for you, Pashhur, and your whole household, you will go into captivity; you will go to Babylon; there you will die, and there be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.” ‘ (Jer. 19:14-20:6)