Reformation Day (Observed)
October 26, 2025
500th Anniversary
of The Bondage of the Will &
Luther’s Marriage to Katharina
von Bora
Text: Rev.
14:6-7; Rom. 3:19-28; John 8:31-36
“(T)here is nothing new under the
sun,” writes the Preacher in Ecclesiastes (1:9; ESV). In our day, it is nothing short of a
revolutionary act to get married, and have children, and establish a Christian
home for the upbringing of those children in the fear and admonition of the
LORD (cf. Eph. 6:4). In case you’ve been
living under a rock, that option has fallen out of favor among our
contemporaries. But what may surprise
us, is that it was just as revolutionary in Luther’s day, especially for a
clergyman to do so… in fact, a monk and a runaway nun. Yet five hundred years ago, on the evening of
June 13, 1525, Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora were married. Actually, they were just engaged that very
morning! A little fast, perhaps, if any
of you decide to follow their example.
Although, why prolong the waiting period? Too many in our day wait years, looking for
the time and the conditions to be just right before they tie the
knot. I’m telling you right now, as with
so many things in life, if you’re waiting for everything to be perfect, it’ll
never happen.
What was so revolutionary about the
Luther marriage? As you know, by
Luther’s time, priestly celibacy was a requirement, as was celibacy among the
so-called “religious,” which is to say, monks and nuns. It was thought that celibacy is a higher
estate than matrimony. Some even thought
(and taught!) that celibacy is meritorious before God. Now, it is true (listen up, you Lutherans,
because here goes one of your sacred cows) that celibacy among those who have
the gift is praised in the Scriptures.
Jesus tells us of some who have made themselves eunuchs for the
Kingdom (Matt. 19:12), which is to say, they have remained celibate. And St. Paul grants that it is good
for a Christian to remain celibate, that they may be concerned with the things
of the Lord, and free from care concerning the things of their spouse (1 Cor.
7:32-35). But both Jesus and Paul
maintain that such celibacy requires a divinely given gift. “Let the one who is able to receive this
receive it,” Jesus says (Matt. 19:12). And Paul says that, for most of us, we should
take a spouse, lest Satan tempt us with a lack of self-control (1 Cor.
7:1-5). That is one of the purposes for
which God has given us holy marriage (the other two purposes being
companionship and the procreation of children).
And so, marriage is good. God
designed us for it. We should foster
it. Those who desire it should pray for
it. Those who are not given a spouse
should remain chaste, and rest in this praise for celibacy from the mouth of
Jesus and the pen of St. Paul, even as they pray and patiently wait upon the
Lord (and let’s, all of us, pray along with them… they have a good and godly
desire). And we should all rejoice in
the matrimonial example of Dr. and Mrs. Luther (500 years married! Now, that’s a milestone!).
Theirs is not your typical love
story. For his part, Luther said he’d
never get married. After all, there was
a bounty on his head. But this group of
nuns in Nimbschen got ahold of his writings about monasticism, and with some
assistance, several escaped the convent in herring barrels. Among them was Katharina. When they arrived in Wittenberg, despite
their intoxicating scent, Luther successfully married most of them off. But there was one holdout. She had been engaged to one young man, but
the family objected, and the engagement was called off. Luther tried to marry off to another friend,
an old duffer to whom she was not at all attracted, so that didn’t work. After two years, she insisted, “It’s you, Herr
Doktor Luther, or nobody!” Luther,
for his part, once said, reflecting on his marriage: “Had I desired to marry
fourteen years ago, I would have chosen Eva von Schoenfeld, now Basilius’
wife. At that time I did not love my
Catherine at all. I always suspected her
of pride.”[1] Okay, men, don’t say things like that. Luther is not infallible, obviously. But after the happy day, he came around. Well, mostly. He once said in a Table Talk, “I would not
trade my Kate for France and Venice for three reasons: (1) Because God has
given her to me and me to her. (2) I
have seen, time and again, that other women have more faults than my Kate. (3) She is a faithful marriage partner; she
is loyal and has integrity.”[2] And, again, he said, “To have grace and peace
in marriage is a gift second only to the knowledge of the Gospel. . . . Kate,
you have a god-fearing man who loves you.
You are an empress; realize it and thank God for it.”[3] That last one isn’t bad.
There are at least three
revolutionary consequences of the Luther marriage we should highlight
here. Although, perhaps “revolutionary”
is the wrong word, because these things are really a return to the biblical
teaching, which is what the whole Reformation is about. First, Luther and Katie set the
pattern for the Christian parsonage: The pastor’s home. They establish it, appropriately, in an old
monastery, the Black Cloister. There,
they raise a family. Six children. Katie, ever the Proverbs 31 woman, runs both
household and a farm, makes the very best beer (according to Luther and
everybody), and opens her home to a revolving door of students and other guests
who show up unexpectedly (at Dr. Luther’s invitation… she had some words for
him from time to time), some of whom simply moved in (don’t get any
ideas!).
Which leads us to the second point:
The Luther home upholds the model of the Christian home as place of refuge, and
center of worship. Ever a place of
hospitality. Shelter and provision for
those in need. And always, the sound of
Scripture and sacred song. Most of us
can’t, and shouldn’t, open up the doors quite so wide… or with invitations so
enduring… as Dr. Luther. But our homes,
too, should be marked by hospitality, generosity, and above all, God’s holy
Word.
But even above these two points, in
a world and Church that had come to devalue, and even reject, marriage as God’s
good gift, Dr. and Mrs. Luther reassert Holy Matrimony as a high estate, a
praiseworthy and sacred vocation, as chaste as religious celibacy, and, in
point of fact, more chaste than the impure celibacy practiced by so many
in the priesthood and monasteries.
Allowing clergy to be married is the cure for so much scandal and
harm. Which, of course, is not to say
scandalous things don’t happen among married clergy, but it is to say, marriage
is the godly remedy for fleshly desire. And…
again, in a culture where marriage was viewed as a lesser good, or even a
necessary evil, look how important it is that the Luthers simply serve as a
model of how good, right, and holy (not to mention, joyful and fulfilling)
marriage can be. Christian husbands and
wives, you have a mission here!
Even more, when you who are
unmarried pray that God would grant you a believing spouse and children… or,
when you take a spouse, and receive children, if God so grants them, and raise
them in the holy faith of Jesus… and when you pray for those who are
married, and promote biblical marriage between one man and one woman, united in
love and faithfulness as long as they both shall live… or, when you look back
on your life with a spouse who has now died, and is with the Lord, and you
rejoice and give thanks for it, and pray that others may have what you were
given… or, when you pray for those who desire marriage, but, for whatever
reason, God has not given them a spouse… when you have a spouse, and you bear
with them patiently in all their faults and weaknesses, and cover over their
sins with the blood of Jesus, and forgive them;… or, when you sit at the
kitchen table and struggle with your finances, or worry about the kids, even as
you pray for them… when you change diapers, and do the laundry, and wash the
dishes, and fill the car with gas… when you gather around the table and rejoice
in the good things God has given you, hopefully even saying something like,
“Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest”… etc.,
etc. … you are doing a high and holy work for God. Higher and holier than all the works of monks
or nuns in all the monasteries. Because that
is faith in action. That is faith
bearing fruit in vocation… in the estate God Himself has established, and given
for your good, and for the good of society.
And the Christian husband and wife,
like Dr. and Mrs. Luther, become a living, fleshy preaching of the Gospel… the
very icon of Christ and His Bride, the Church, as Paul describes them in
Ephesians 5: The Church submitting to Christ, receiving His redemption, His
love, His gifts, His Headship, His protection and providence; Christ giving
Himself unto death on the cross for His Bride, His Church, you… covering
over all your sins with His blood, that you appear before Him, resplendent
with His own righteousness and holiness, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing; without blemish.
Marriage is a picture of Christ and
the Church. And it is, therefore, one of
God’s highest gifts. This Reformation
Day, we rejoice with the Luthers on the occasion of their 500th wedding
anniversary. And we thank God for the
good that marriage is for the Church and for the world.
There was one other momentous event
that took place 500 years ago… I had meant to preach on the 1525 publication of
one of Luther’s most important books: The Bondage of the Will. Jesus gives us that teaching in our Holy
Gospel this day, from John Chapter 8.
But we’ll have to do that another time.
For now, I’ll just paraphrase the way Luther often ended his sermons:
I’ve gassed on long enough. Amen. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] What Luther says
(St. Louis: Concordia, 1959) p. 887.
[2] Quoted in Treasury of
Daily Prayer (St. Louis: Concordia, 2008) p. 1035.
[3] Ibid.
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