DECEMBER 20
KATHARINA VON BORA LUTHER, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH, died 1552
Katharina von Bora (1499 – 1552) was placed in a convent while still a child and became a nun in 1515. In April 1523, she and eight other nuns became supporters of Luther’s reforms and were rescued from the convent (smuggled out in empty herring barrels) and brought to Wittenberg. There Martin Luther helped return some of the women to their former homes and placed the rest in good families. Katharina and Martin were married on June 13, 1525. Their marriage was a happy one and was blessed with ten children, six by childbirth and four by adoption. Stories about their household and about Luther’s students are recorded in the Table Talks. After Luther’s death in 1546, Katharina remained in Wittenberg but lived much of the time in poverty. She died as the result of injuries received traveling with her children to Torgau in order to escape the plague.
DECEMBER 26
STEPHEN, DEACON AND MARTYR
Stephen was one of the Church’s first seven deacons who helped distribute food and other necessities to the poor in the growing Christian community in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin falsely charged him with blasphemy. Stephen’s confession of faith led to his martyrdom being stoned to death. Stephen is honored as the Church’s first martyr and for his words of commendation and forgiveness as he lay dying: “Lord Jesus receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 6 – 7)
DECEMBER 27
JOHN, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST
John was a son of Zebedee and brother of James, also called to be an apostle. John was among the first disciples to be called by Jesus (Matthew 4:18 – 22) and according to tradition became known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” as he refers to himself in the Gospel that bears his name (e.g. John 21:20). Of the Twelve, John alone did not forsake Jesus in the hours of His suffering and death. With the faithful women, he stood at the cross, where our Lord made him the guardian of His mother, Mary. After Pentecost, John spent his ministry in Jerusalem and at Ephesus, where he became a bishop. He wrote the fourth Gospel, the three Epistles that bear his name, and the Book of Revelation. John was banished to the island of Patmos by the Roman emperor Domitian. John lived to a very old age, a martyr in will but not in blood as the other Twelve, and died at Ephesus around 100 AD.
DECEMBER 28
THE HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS
The children, possibly some 14,000, who were murdered by King Herod in his attempt to kill Jesus, were martyrs in place of the Christ Child. For their innocent deaths, the faithful commend them to the saving blood of Jesus shed for all innocents from the blood of righteous Abel to the Last Day (Matthew 2:13 – 18.
DECEMBER 29
DAVID, PROPHET AND KING
David, the greatest of Israel’s kings, ruled from about 1010 to 970 BC. The events of his life are found in 1 Samuel 18 – 1 Kings 2 and 1 Chronicles 10 – 29. The Psalms are also traditionally attributed to him as the song master of Israel. His public and private character displayed a mixture of good (for example his defeat of Goliath, 1 Samuel 17) and evil (for example his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah, 2 Samuel 11). David united the Twelve Tribes of Israel and established Jerusalem as the political and spiritual capital. David’s greatness lay in his fierce loyalty to the LORD coupled with his willingness to confess his sins and seek forgiveness (for example Psalm 51). Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior is descended from the line of David and fulfills the promise that the Son of David will rule forever.
