Birthday of Martin Luther,
1483
Saturday, November 10, 2012
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 529 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.
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.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
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