Birthday of Martin Luther, 1483
November 10
The Lord be with you
Martin Luther’s birthday isn’t actually on our liturgical calendar. As far as I know, it isn’t on any official liturgical calendar. No doubt this is because most of the dates commemorated are death dates, that is, when we are “born” into heaven. This was a much easier date to acquire as well. However, in recent centuries, birthdays have grown in importance and better records are kept.
If Martin Luther was alive today, he would be a spry 533 years old. The cake alone would set off the smoke detector in his home.
The main reason for this post is simply to say, “Happy Birthday, Martin,” and to thank God for the blessing he was to the Communion of Saints. The date he is actually commemorated is February 18, the anniversary of his death. I put up a short post concerning him back then. You can find it by clicking here.
Martin Luther is considered the Father of Protestantism and the founder of Lutheranism. He was one of the most influential men of history and, to be honest, you cannot understand the world we live in without having some understanding of Luther’s influence.
One way to measure a person’s influence is by noting how much has been written about them. In the case of Martin Luther, no one has had more written about him except our Lord Jesus. Of course much of what has been written about him is in foreign languages. In the English language he drops to number three, preceded by Jesus (again number 1) and Abraham Lincoln.
You may be interested in knowing why Martin Luther was named “Martin.” Before the age of modern medicine, child mortality rates were high. After the birth of a child, to ensure their spiritual security, they were typically baptized on the following day. This is exactly what Hans and Margarette Luther did with their newborn. As was the custom of the day, the child was given the name of the saint that was commemorated that day. (In those days most days had multiple names to choose from.) Luther was baptized on November 11, which is the Commemoration of St. Martin of Tours, and so was named Martin. To learn a bit more about this saint, see tomorrow’s post.
Another little bit of Luther trivia is that he was the first person in history who could be readily recognized by the masses who had never met him. That was because of the printing press and woodcuts. The Reformation was a media sensation, being carried by the new invention of printing with movable type. Luther was a writing machine and everything he wrote sold. Many of these tracts, pamphlets and books had woodcut representations of Martin Luther. Through this medium his face became known far and wide.
On this day we give thanks for Martin Luther, the Father of the Reformation.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert