4th Sunday after Trinity - Devotion in semi-Exile

Lection for Sunday after Trinity IV 
Joshua 23:1-16      Acts 12:1-25

Some of you came to this blog by way of the devotions I am writing here. You had never visited my blog before. A couple people asked me, “Why do you call in Northwoods Table Talk?” Well, the concept of doing a blog was conceived on my birthday 08/08/08 (Right? I thought so too!) and it took me a couple weeks to write my first blog post, and until I started doing these devotions because of the onset of coronavirus, I had written a grand total of 21. It was not truly something I was motivated to do. But, I did not want to confine myself to any one topic, so I figured the topics I would address would all over the map – from any of the things I truly enjoy talking about, doing, or addressing.

So, what to call a blog that would be eclectic, a blog that would not be confined to one topic?

Because I do a bit of reading, and one of the things I enjoy reading are the writing of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther. One of my favorite things to read is the volume of Luther’s Works entitled Table Talk.  Here is the introduction to that volume:

As a result of the Reformation the Augustinian friars who had previously lived in the Black Cloister in Wittenberg abandoned their monastic life. However, Martin Luther continued to dwell there, and from the time of his marriage to Katherine von Bora in 1525 until his death in 1546 it was also the home of his family. The spacious building was almost constantly overrun by all sorts of people. “A miscellaneous and promiscuous crowd inhabits Dr. Luther’s home,” a friend reported in 1542, “and on this account there is great and constant disturbance.” In addition to Luther and his wife and the six children who were born to them, the Black Cloister was for years the home of a maiden aunt of Katherine and several orphaned nephews and nieces of the Reformer. Several poor students roomed and boarded there in return for clerical and other services, there was a constant flow of guests from near or far, and a few servants completed the number.

      In Luther’s household the day began at sunrise, and the principal meal of the day was eaten about ten o’clock in the morning. About five o’clock in the afternoon supper was served, and this meal was often shared by exiled clergymen, escaped nuns, government officials, visitors from abroad, and colleagues of Luther in the university who frequently stopped in, men like Philip Melanchthon, John Bugenhagen, and Justus Jonas. The relaxed atmosphere of the hospitable home was conducive to spirited conversation, and John Mathesius, who was often present in 1540, has left this description of what the scene was like:

     Although our doctor often took weighty and profound thoughts to table with him and sometimes maintained the silence of the monastery during the entire meal, so that not a word was spoken, yet at appropriate times he spoke in a very jovial way. We used to call his conversation the condiments of the meal because we preferred it to all spices and dainty food.

     When he wished to get us to talk he would throw out a question, “What’s new?” The first time we let this remark pass, but if he repeated it—“You prelates, what’s new in the land?”—the oldest ones at the table would start talking. Dr. Wolf Severus, who had been the tutor of his royal majesty of the Roman Empire, sat near the head of the table and, unless there was a stranger present (like a traveling courtier), he got something started.

     If the conversation was animated, it was nevertheless conducted with decent propriety and courtesy, and others would contribute their share until the doctor started to talk. Often good questions were put to him from the Bible, and he provided expert and concise answers. When at times somebody took exception to what had been said, the doctor was able to bear this patiently and refute him with a skillful answer. Reputable persons often came to the table from the university and from foreign places, and then very nice talks and stories were heard.

     Some of the men who listened to these conversations at table began to take notes. There was nothing strange about this. After all, the same persons were taking notes of Luther’s lectures and sermons, and they were interested in recording the opinions he expressed at table too. Not everything that was said was noted but only what interested one recorder or another. The notes were taken for private use—as personal remembrances of a revered teacher or as guides for the solution of problems—and were not intended for publication. Luther’s Works, Volume 54. by Martin Luther; Hilton C. Oswald; Helmut T. Lehmann; Jaroslav Pelikan. Publisher: Fortress Press., 1967.

So, my blog has been that way – a bit about everything. But now that I have 115 published posts, 94 of those are devotions written in the midst of this COVID-19 ‘pandemic.’ So, although they were not intended for publication, they did end up published. What I share with you here are some of those snippets from the table conversations in the home of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther. 

No. 49: Luther’s Evaluation of His Wife   -   Summer or Fall, 1531

“I wouldn’t give up my Katy for France or for Venice—first, because God gave her to me and gave me to her; second, because I have often observed that other women have more shortcomings than my Katy (although she, too, has some shortcomings, they are outweighed by many great virtues); and third, because she keeps faith in marriage, that is, fidelity and respect.

“A wife ought to think the same way about her husband.”

No. 115: Contempt for and Love of God’s Word   -   Between November 9 and 30, 1531

When there was talk about contempt for the Word of God among peasants, noblemen, and townspeople, he [Martin Luther] said, “Such contempt ought to be both a consolation and a warning to us, so that we give thanks to God for the blessing of being among those who love his Word, diligently hear and learn God’s Word, and find delight in the Holy Scriptures. For it is a great punishment and a severe judgment of God if a man so hates God and his Word that he is unwilling to hear it and neither honors nor esteems the ministers of the Word.”

No. 139: Luther Drinks to God’s Honor   -   Between November 30 and December 14, 1531

“If our Lord God can pardon me for having crucified and martyred him for about twenty years, he can also approve of my occasionally taking a drink in his honor. God grant it, no matter how the world may wish to interpret it!”

No. 273: Despair of Grace the Greatest Sin   -   May 18, 1532

“The sin which Judas committed when he betrayed Christ was a small sin because it could be forgiven. But to despair of grace is a greater sin because it cannot be forgiven, for God has determined for Christ’s sake to forgive the sin of those who believe. This sin is so great and wicked that it leads either to despair or to presumption. Consequently one ought to be disposed to say, ‘It is true. I have sinned. But I will not despair on this account or commit the sin again.’ However, it’s a calumny to conclude from these words of mine that it is permissible to sin and then to believe, for one can’t believe in Christ unless one declares and resolves not to sin again. Sin carries us down to despair or up to presumption. In either case the sin is not repented of, for sin is either exaggerated or not acknowledged at all.”

No. 274: Dog Provides Example of Concentration  -  May 18, 1532

When Luther’s puppy happened to be at the table, looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes, he [Martin Luther] said, “Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope.”

No. 453: The Trials of a Preacher and Reformer   -   Early in the year 1533

“If I were to write about the burdens of the preacher as I have experienced them and as I know them, I would scare everybody off. For a good preacher must be committed to this, that nothing is dearer to him than Christ and the life to come, and that when this life is gone Christ will say to all, ‘Come to me, son. [You have been my dear and faithful servant].’ I hope that on the last day he’ll speak to me, too, in this way, for here he speaks to me in a very unfriendly way. I bear [the hatred of] the whole world, the emperor, and the pope, but since I got into this I must stand my ground and say, ‘It’s right.’ Afterward the devil also speaks to me about this, and he has often tormented me with this argument, ‘You haven’t been called,’ as if I had not been made a doctor.”

Pastor Jerabek here again…  As you can see, Luther’s conversations at the dinner table ranged far and wide.  I hope that something here was of benefit to you, whether it made you think, smile, or something else. Anyway, that is why this blog is called, "Northwoods Table Talk." I am not sure that my stuff is as noteworthy as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther's is, in fact I am sure it is not, it is what it is and I pray that you find it interesting and that maybe the Holy Spirit will find it a fit vehicle to work through.

Peace of the Lord be with you.