20 September 1542 A.D. Martin
Luther Grieves His Daughter’s Death—As She Was Dying, Died and Was Buried. A letter to Mr. (Rev.) Justus Jonas.
Dr. Rusten tells
the story.
Rusten, E. Michael
and Rusten, Sharon. The One Year
Christian History. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003. Available at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Year-Christian-History-Books/dp/0842355073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393302630&sr=8-1&keywords=rusten+church+history
Martin Luther was the father of
the Reformation. In 1525, he married
Katharina Von Bora, a former nun. They
had 6 children: Hans, Elizabeth, Magdalena, Martin, Paul, and Margaretha.
In 1542, the Luthers sent their
eldest son, Hans, age 16, to Torgau for education.
Just after Hans arrived in
Torgau, the father wrote the teacher—a letter seeking his son’s return upon the
bad news of his ill daughter, Magdalena, age 13. Bruder Martin wrote:
“My
daughter Magdalena is nearing her end and will soon go to her true Father in
heaven unless He sees fit to spare her
She longs so much to see her brother, for they were very close, so I am
sending a carriage for him, in the hope that a sight of him will revive
her. I am doing all I can lest
afterwards the thought of having neglected anything should torment me. Please
ask him to come at once, without telling him why. I shall send him back as soon as she has
either fallen asleep in the Lord or been restored to health. Farewell in the Lord.”
Hans returned home, but his
sister’s health continued to deteriorate.
Luther prayed, “Oh, God, I love
her dearly, but Thy will be done.” He
asked her, “Magdalena, my little girl, would you like to stay with your father
here and would you just as gladly go to your Father in heaven?”
Magdalena answered, “Yes, dearest
father, as God wills.”
For all his might in theology and
the Reformation, Martin was disconsolate.
On 20 September 1542, kneeling at her bedside, praying through tears,
with Katie standing at the end of the bedroom, unable to watch her die in
Martin’s arms, she died. Martin said to
Katie, “Dearest Katie, let us think of the home our daughter has gone to; there
she is happy and at peace.”
As Magdalena was laid in the
coffin, Luther said, “My darling, you will rise and shine like the stars and
the sun.” He turned to Katie and said,
“How strange to know that she is at peace and all is well and yet to be
sorrowful.”
Luther wrote the epitaph for her
grave:
Here, I, Magdalena,
Doctor Luther’s little maid
Resting with the saints
Sleep in my narrow bed.
I was a child of death
For I was born in sin
But now I live, redeemed, Lord Christ,
By the blood you shed for me.
Three days later, he wrote a
letter to his friend, Justus Jonas:
“I expect
you have heard that my beloved Magdalena has been born again into Christ’s
everlasting kingdom. Although my wife
and I ought rejoice because of her happy end, yet such is the strength of
natural affection that we cannot think of it without sobs and groans which tear
the heart apart. The memory of her face, her words, her expressions in life and
death—everything about our most obedient and loving daughter lingers in our
hearts so that even the death of Christ (and what are all deaths compared to
His?) is almost powerless to lift our minds above our loss. So would you give thanks to God in our
stead? For hasn’t He honored us greatly
in glorifying our child?”
Questions:
- What can be learned here of death and grieving? Of pastoral wisdom?
- How might this be used for funeral services? Especially for children and infants?
- 4 years later, in 1546, Bruder Martin would be buried from the Castle Church of Wittenberg, the same Church with the great wooden doors to which he affixed his 95 Theses. Was Magdalena buried from the same church? What liturgy was used? What hymns? What lections? What became of Hans Luther or the other children thereafter?
Sources
MacCuish. Luther and His Katie
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