Guten Morgen! Wie geht es Ihnen? Ah, yes, es geht mir gut. Are you people friend or foe? Friend, yes. We must be careful in these times of Reformation. But I hear from your singing and your liturgy and the place of the Scripture in your church that I believe you are friends of the Reformation. Would you believe? that some people are even calling themselves Lutherans now. But I am but a man, and a sinful man at that. We must stay the course. We must praise the Lord and give the word of God out to people. And me, today, I am old, but I am on my way to Eisleben. Once again, they must call upon me to settle some type of dispute there. and my dear wife, Katie. She worries about me so much when I travel. You know, my health is not so good now and the people are always so kind to me in their town. They give me these rich German pastries. And you know us Germans and our pastries. Well, when I get home, Katie must nurse me back to health and she makes sure I eat plenty of vegetables out of the garden She is such a strong woman of faith. I sometimes jokingly call her my lord or my chain, but I think the best nickname I have come up with for her is the Morning Star of the Reformation. Because without her, I don't believe I would ever have accomplished as much. I probably wouldn't even be here today with my health. And in fact, even though some say there's no precedent for it and it may not even be legal, I plan on leaving my care, the care of my children and my estate to her at my will. The Proverbs reading is so true, describing her, an excellent wife who can find, she is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain. Katie, she does have an amazing testimony. She was born on June 29th, 1514, 99. She was born into a family of landed gentry, but tragically her mother died when she was very young. Her father would remarry, but his new wife had no interest in raising Katie. So they took her to the local convent and dropped her off Can you imagine that? Being separated from your siblings and your father and placed into a nunnery? And there she was raised, but as God would have it, her Aunt Nina was a nun at that same very convent. The same convent that helped look out for her. And she was also able to learn Latin, which she uses to dust off an impression But after I posted those 95 theses, maybe you've heard of that. Well, some of my writings were smuggled into the convent, and she and some of the other nuns read them. They began to see things change in Germany and around the world. So much like me in my early life, my story that Katie wanted to be loved. She wanted to be loved by God. but she only saw Him as a harsh judge. But as she began to study the Bible, she realized that God was indeed justly angry at our sin, but He was also truly loving. He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world, and then, by grace through faith, He loves us, He receives us as His children. All that drudgery and ritual at the convent not showing her that she was loved and accepted by the Lord. She began to want Alice. But you know you just can't walk out of a convent. So she wrote me a letter. Can you believe that? It was very grisly. But she wrote me a letter. She said that her and eleven of the other nuns in the convent, they wanted to leave. They were forbidden to do so. So I got together got together and devised a plan. You see, Heracropi, he is a merchant, and he makes deliveries all around this area of our fair land, including the convents. So, one day, he had a load of barrels full of fish herring, if I remember correctly, and he made the delivery of the herring at one of the convents, and then, with those empty barrels, he went to Cady's convent. and heard those other nuns that wanted to escape, they climbed into those fish barrels and they escaped. Could you imagine how unpleasant that must have been? Oh, the smell of those barrels. But they got out. Now, three of the nuns went elsewhere. They had family elsewhere they wanted to go to, but Katie and the others, they came to Vandenberg. So Katie and her Aunt Lena came. Now Lena was older, she had no desire to marry, but those other nuns, including Katie, they were very much interested in marriage. They never thought they would experience the love of a husband and children, but now they had their chance. So we went about matchmaking, and we were able to find husbands for all of the other nuns, except, you guessed it, Katie. She is so strong-willed and opinionated, must be a trait of us Germans. She lived as a servant in the household of one of my friends, Professor Reichenbach, and she actually fell for a young man named Hieronymus. But he was weak. He failed to protest because when his parents learned of the plan, they said, no, you must marry a more wealthy woman, not a runaway nun, someone with some kind of dowry, Then I got the idea, well, she can marry Pastor Casper Glass, but he was much older than Katie, and she refused to do this. I remember thinking, the nerve of this girl. I mean, we are working so hard to find her a husband here, and she says she wants to get married, but then every time we try to set something up, she won't do it. Finally, someone suggested, I was 42 at that time, she was only 26. And besides, I'm a confirmed bachelor. I'm working all the time, teaching at the university, writing sermons, tracts, meeting with other leaders of the Reformation. But finally, I gave in. I gave in as she had got this in her head, this was going to happen. And I finally gave in. And you know me, once I decide to do something I don't believe in dragging my feet. So I proposed one day and we were married the very next day, June 13th, 1525. And as a wedding gift, Duke Frederick, well, he gave us the black oyster, you know, the old monastery. I was actually living there. Big style, that's how it was described, our bachelor had there. So Katie had quite the task when we got married. She had to set about getting everything in order and making this house into a home. Now I must admit to you today, when I married Katie, I didn't even know if I was in love. I just thought this would be a good arrangement for both of us. She wants a husband, I need to set an example, because you see, I've been writing that it is acceptable for pastors to marry and have children. So I was advocating this, but yet I had no wife and children of my own, so I figured I'd better set the example, and she wants a husband, so let's make this happen. I'm sure the angels laughed that day at my marriage, and I'm sure that the Pope and the devil were quite riled But I must also tell you that after our marriage, I grew to love Katie more than you can ever imagine. I don't think I would have lived this long. I would not be as happy without her. She really is like that Proverbs 31 woman. She runs the household with such great efficiency. She wakes up at 4 a.m. Well, she sleeps in till 5 a.m. in the winter, but she works so hard. She provides food for the family. She's a great seamstress. She's wise. She's caring. She's brave. When the plague came to Wittenbergen, I hear that you people know something about a plague that is spreading in your area. Well, she stayed right there with me, caring for, ministering to the sick and the dying. She has good business sense. She's even convinced me to purchase a few properties, including Her old family estate in Zollstor, where we get away to at times, at her urging. And you wouldn't believe it, but she's even got me tending a little garden to make sure I eat my vegetables. Oh, and I must also mention that she oversees the brewing. Now, what German man wouldn't love a woman who brews her own beer? Well, I fashioned myself as a pretty good theologian, I seem to have a knack of taking theological ideas and putting them in words that the people can understand. I can combat false doctrine. She does rein me in sometimes when I'm a little too harsh. But as I said, I'm horrible at keeping home, I'm pretty bad at finances, and I can even be a poor judge of character at times. You see, we have all this space, so I'm constantly inviting people over for dinner or even to stay with us. Sometimes they're well-meaning university students who need help, but sometimes they are simply ruffians who just want to get in and steal from us and live rent-free. Katie keeps the place going. She gives me advice on those who are simply trying to take advantage of us. Her Aunt Lena has even come to live with us and we have several servants. Now, it's quite the operation, all managed by Katie. As I have often said, in domestic affairs, I defer to Katie and everything else to the Holy Ghost. Well, I apologize because I haven't even mentioned yet the love of Katie's life, other than her Lord and Savior, of course, is her children. You see, locked away in that convent, she could only dream. She could only dream about being a mother and sharing the love that a child brings. But after we were married, she would give birth to six children. I, too, never believed that I would be a father, but indeed it was the Lord's will. Our oldest Hans, who we affectionately call Hanschen, well, he was born in 1526, about a year after we married. We named him Hans after my father. And you know, my father, he's a fairly demanding man. I don't know if he's ever really got over me not becoming a lawyer, but you know what? Little Hanschen wants to be, he wants to be a lawyer. So perhaps my father will get that Luther lawyer after all. And Hanschen, he's always getting into trouble. I remember that one time he went into church and with a knife, carved his name in the back of a painting. The pastor's kid. I believe Katie has spoiled him a little much. After Hanschen came two girls, Elizabeth and Magdalena. who we often call lynchin. Maybe you've seen that famous portrait of her that my friend Lucas Connock has painted. Then two more boys, Martin Jr. and Paul, named after my favorite apostle, of course. And then finally, our youngest, Marguerite, was born in 1534. Katie's a great mother. Again, Proverbs 31, her children call her blessed. Her husband also, he praises her. Well, I must be honest, at least most of the time. Katie loves being a mother. She's always teaching the children things, planning fun family activities, trying to get me to take a break from my busy schedule. The bond of love between a mother and her children is strong. The plague almost took Hanschen from us. As we often do in times of challenge, we turn to Psalm 91. I say to the Lord, my refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust, for he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. No evil shall be allowed to befall you. No plague come near your tent, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. The Lord saw fit for Hunchen to pull through. But our second child, Elizabeth, she would be taken by the angels to glory when she was only eight months old. It's hard to accept, but his will, not ours, must be done. Our third child, Magdalena Lentjen, she suddenly grew ill, passed away at age 13. And in these tragedies, I see the love that Katie has for her children ever the more. be surprised that her last words were, I will stick to Christ as a burr on a fur coat. Our four other children are all well. Their prospering thanks be to God for his provision. Yes, an excellent wife is hard to find, but not impossible, as I have learned. Well, I suppose that I've gone on about my dear Katie for too long. You know, she would be the first to shrink away from this type of praise. She would say, I'm just a poor, miserable sinner like you, like the rest of us. But she was ready for love. Ready for the love of God that called her his own. A redeemed sinner, but loved, saved by our heavenly father. And this love of God, she also found love in her husband. her children, her vocation. So I guess I must be on my way to Iceland. It's my hometown, you know. Off to settle those disputes, eat too many of those rich pastries that Katie warns me about. But you here, as I depart, stay strong in the faith. Look to the Word. Christmas time, isn't it? I see you have your Christmas tree up. No German home is complete without one. But people put them up so early now, even before Christmas Eve. Well, nevertheless, prepare to celebrate once again the birth of Christ. Prepare for His return. Be ready for that. Be ready to receive His love. Auf Wiedersehen.