Well, we are continuing on in our series of remarkable women you should know and love.
So, and this morning, we're going to hit a different period, a little bit earlier from last time.
So, she described herself as a splinter from the rib of that blessed man, Matthew Sell.
There is Matthew Sell.
This is the one-time pastor of the cathedral in Strasbourg.
He referred to her as mein Hilfe, or my helper, or from the old king, my strong warrior.
The first help that she gave him was when he was under excommunication by the bishop for having married her.
Opponents of the Reformation, seeking to discredit Sell,
they had circulated the tale that she had caught her husband cavorting with the maid,
and that when she confronted him, he beat her black and blue.
These were hardy days of lampoon.
To lay to rest this dastardly effort to wreck her husband's reputation,
Catherine published a refutation.
First off, let me clarify, I have never, ever had a maid, she writes.
And as for thrashing me, my husband and I have never had an unpleasant 15 minutes.
We could have no greater honor than to die rejected of men from two crosses
to speak to each other words of comfort.
Well, in addition to flouting the fable of her husband's infidelity,
Catherine continued with a very spirited defense of clerical marriage,
that it is actually legitimate for pastors to marry,
because in the Roman Catholic tradition, this was forbidden.
And it was a timely task for that year, 1523,
seven priests in Strasbourg, including her husband,
were excommunicated for having married.
So at this time, Reformation teaching was getting out,
and among the tenants was, well, you know, there's no real biblical basis
for pastors not being able to marry.
So it's our freedom, so let's go ahead and do this.
The tradition was otherwise.
No, no, no, no, you can't marry.
But a priest taking a mistress was winked at,
indeed provided a good source of income for the bishop,
who would levy a fine for the favor.
But as to marriage, that's impermissible.
So you kind of see the way the arrangement was.
Okay, you can't be expected to kind of go without,
so we'll just charge you as a priest.
Can't marry, but you can pay a fine
for your indiscretions on the side here.
And you can make a lot of money that way, as you would think.
Well, the man who had taken the lead in this matter
was Martin Busser,
who married the erstwhile nun,
Elizabeth Silberstein,
cast out on every quarter
for this daring and denounced deed,
it was Matthew Tsel who took them in.
Busser, Martin Busser, was bullish on marriage
and tried to convince all of his reformer friends
to follow his lead,
including his host, Matthew Tsel.
Accordingly, he directed letters
to eligible lady candidates,
trying to see who might step up
and marry these pastors.
To the noble and honorable Christian lady,
Ottilie von Hohenheim of Basel.
He begins by reassuring her
that the men he has on offer
are not looking for a wife
simply to gratify their passions.
No, they are all capable of continence,
but rather are acting to render
the marriage of ministers reputable.
He then flatters Ottilie by informing her
that of all the women he has taken
into review for the task,
none has outscored her for suitability.
He writes,
your deportment hitherto has been exemplary.
Then came the final stirring appeal.
Will you crown your witness
by assuming a reviled and crucified marriage?
I beseech you in the name of Christ,
crucified and accursed.
But alas, Ottilie did not feel
that this was her cross to bear,
so Busser had to look further.
It would be,
if you did marry a priest at the time,
you would probably be shunned in society
because this was such a rare thing to do
at that time.
But before long,
Matthäus Tsel, Matthew Tsel,
was standing at the altar,
yet alas, only officiating
for his minister friend Anton Fion.
Now a priest marrying was still
the cutting edge of novelty in Strasbourg.
So Tsel had to be very careful
at one point in the service.
You've probably guessed what it is.
If any know any just cause
why these two may not lawfully be joined together,
let him speak now or forever hold his peace.
So,
hitherto it has been the custom,
said Tsel,
for the minister to ask this question.
This is a wholesome practice,
but there are those who come forward
with very unjust causes,
claiming that priests should not marry.
Tsel commended the couple's step,
predicting that more and more brothers,
God willing,
will follow your example.
Well, as it turned out,
the next brother to follow Fiern's example
was Matthäus Tsel himself,
taking up his own exhortation
and taking the hand of Katharina Schutz.
Martin Busser,
with no small relish,
brought the number of married ministers
up to four by solemnizing the union.
And Martin Luther sent out to the bride
a letter of congratulation.
Catherine was 25,
and Matthew, Matthäus Tsel,
was 20 years older than that.
There he is,
about that age.
Well,
Luther's letter of connubial congrats
was not the first
that he had written to Catherine.
Like Luther,
Catherine had suffered
dire anguish of spirit,
struggling after an ever-elusive forgiveness
and a sense of acceptance before God.
And it was a gospel track
of Martin Luther's
which had delivered her
from her slough of despond.
And again,
like Luther,
Katharina constantly battled
with a proclivity
to depression of spirit
and was rocked
by recurrent wrestlings
with doubt.
Doubt of God's love
and his forgiveness of her.
She was prone
to think that her childlessness,
the cells lost
two infants,
as a mark of defined
displeasure over her sins.
Many notions
that had just been
so customary
and superstitious
just continued on,
had a long afterlife,
even after you have
good biblical teaching.
It takes us a while
to shake off
a lot of our superstitions.
But
all of these struggles
of spirit
certainly did not
render her inactive.
Indeed,
one wonders
when she would have had
any time
for doler
or doldrums
as her days
and nights
seemed not merely laced
but larded
with acts
of mercy
and kindness.
It's often a good way
to get over
your depression
or your sense
of discouragement
is this thing.
Well, let me help
some people
whose lot might be
even a little worse
than mine
and then you forget
you could forget
some of your own
difficulties.
Well,
she definitely had
the gifts of helps
and hospitality.
The edict
of Worms
against Luther
and his followers.
Remember,
that's where Luther
made that celebrated
statement.
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
I need to go
by my conscience
well.
And then
the emperor,
Charles V,
declared Luther
and all his followers
illegal,
religiously illegal
so that any
of their followers
he could be killed
as a just act
of legality
at that time.
That's why
he had to go
into hiding
and it ran
into difficulty
for any sort
of Lutheran
followers.
So,
that edict
of Worms
against Luther
and his followers
sent many a pastor
into hiding
or exile.
A hundred
and fifty
of the men
of the town
of Kensington
accompanied
their pastor
for several miles
to see him
off into some
sort of hiding
place,
trying to protect
him against
the Austrian
troops that were
coming in
to just kill
these pastors.
So,
they're accompanying
him for several
miles to see
him off,
only to discover
when they tried
to come back
into their
town that the
Austrian soldiers
had closed the
gates against
them.
One of their
number was caught
and executed
there and then,
prompting the
others to flee
for their lives,
leaving their
wives in the
town.
They fled to
Strasbourg,
and there,
Catherine put
up eighty
of them herself
in her own
home,
feeding sixty
men for
three weeks.
Quite a
remarkable
achievement.
A veritable
hotel manager
and short
order chef
all rolled
into one.
And in the
midst of all
this,
including finding
and organizing
provision for
the others
elsewhere in
the city
of Strasbourg,
she managed
to write
a letter
to the
wives left
back in
Kensington,
which proved
so mightily
consoling that
it was
published.
Here it is,
the suffering
of believing
Christian wives
from the town
of Kensington
with
sisterly,
with your
sister in
Christ,
always at
your service,
Catherine
Schutz,
that was
her maiden
name.
She writes,
to my
fellow sisters
in Christ,
day and
night I
pray God
that he
may increase
your faith
and that you
forget not
his invincible
word,
my thoughts
are not your
thoughts,
saith the
Lord.
The Lord
would wean
you from
this world
that you
may rely
solely upon
him.
Faith is
not a
faith which
is not
tried.
And on
it goes
from
scripture
to
scripture
fostering
faith and
hope in
their sore
trials.
Wonderful,
wonderful
piece.
I'm not
aware that
it's in
English,
but it's
a wonderful
piece published
there.
another
challenge to
Catherine's
skills of
hospitality,
mercy,
and
administration
came when
the
peasants'
war of
1525
broke out.
There was
a kind of
a peasants'
rebellion and
they were
largely
slaughtered.
And
thousands
upon
thousands
were
massacred
in a
gruesome
bloodbath.
And the
widowed and
the wounded,
the mangled
and the
maimed who
survived of
the peasantry
flocked to
Strasbourg.
Strasbourg was
a city in
Europe that
had a
reputation of
being very
welcoming of
the afflicted,
that wonderful
Christian
reputation.
So they're
flocking to
Strasbourg to
the tune of
3,000 refugees
coming in,
all desperate
for care.
That would
have been,
just to give
you a sense
of the
numbers,
that would
have been
a ratio
of one
refugee for
every eight
inhabitants of
the city of
Strasbourg.
So it's a
pretty remarkable
challenge.
So Catherine
Zell was
one of the
two given
charge of
this challenge.
So she
had to
organize the
lodging,
requisitioning a
large Franciscan
church for
starters,
and then
spreading the
rest throughout
the city in
private quarters,
and then
food.
She had to
feed them
all.
So just
call her
Catherine the
Catering Queen.
And this
crisis lasted
for a half
a year
before the
war subsided
and the
refugees were
able to
return to
their farms.
So I
speculate that
it was during
this period
that Catherine
acquired a
certain
executive
tone.
She is
a trifle
imperious,
Busser once
remarked of
Catherine.
Well,
compared to
these feats,
it must have
been child's
play to
host Zwingli
of Zurich and
Uckelampadius of
Basel on their
way to meet
Luther and
Melanchthon for
their colloquy
of Marburg.
For 14
days, I was
their cook and
maid, writes
Catherine.
No doubt she
was hoping for
reproachment
between the
Reformation
leaders and
when news
came back to
Strasbourg that
Luther had
declined to
unite.
You remember
at the
colloquy of
Marburg,
Zwingli and
Luther produced
an agreement
on 28 of
29 tenants of
their faith and
the one thing
that they didn't
agree on was
their understanding
of the Lord's
Supper.
Zwingli took a
symbolic view
and Luther
took a
realist view.
So when
Zwingli offered
Luther his
hand at the
end of
Christian
companionship,
Luther wouldn't
take it.
So Catherine
darted off a
chiding letter
to the great
theologian,
pleading that
love ought to
be above all
else.
She got a
swift response.
Yes, wrote
Luther, except
where God's
word is at
stake.
Catherine and
her husband
were not
always the
hosts, for
they also
traveled a
good bit
together.
They did
so together
to Switzerland,
Constance,
Swabia,
Nuremberg,
the Palatinate,
and even
once the
600-mile
journey to
Wittenberg to
visit Luther and
Melanchthon.
Now the
cells, Matthew
and Catherine,
were wider in
their friendship
and fellowship
than Luther.
Theirs was a
refreshing breeze
in an age of
pretty stormy
animosities.
Anyone who
acknowledges
Christ as the
true son of
God and the
sole savior of
mankind is
welcome at our
table, said
her husband,
Matthew.
And it is
clear that
Catherine had
an equally
hospitable
soul.
Even when she
didn't see eye
to eye
theologically with
another, this
was to her
no disqualifier
for showing
them charity
and kindness.
This is
Melchior
Hoffman
there, who
is kind of a
fringe figure,
and indeed
neither this
radical fringe
figure of
Melchior
Hoffman.
When he was
imprisoned in
Strasbourg, it
was Catherine
who visited
him and
showed him
kindness,
never neglecting
neighborliness
despite doctrinal
disagreements.
Melchior
Hoffman had
come to
Strasbourg
because of a
prophecy that
he would be
imprisoned there
for six months
and then at
the coming of
the Lord would
lead the
144,000 saints
in a slaughter
of the ungodly.
So a fringe
figure.
Only the first
part of that
prophecy came
true.
He was indeed
imprisoned in
Strasbourg and
that was only
partially fulfilled
for he languished
in prison there
not for six
months but for
ten years
until his
death.
But we
find
recurring
again and
again in
the council
records this
entry in
their book.
Mrs.
Zell granted
permission to
visit a poor
prisoner under
sentence of
death.
No one
else visited
him.
In 1548
her faithful
friend and
companion of
25 years,
her husband,
whom she had
helped so
well, bid
her a final
farewell.
After
Gusser
delivered the
eulogy,
Catherine
delivered an
address.
Women
in that
day and
the incident
incited the
allegation that
she aspired to
a preaching
post in the
city.
Dr.
Katarina,
some dubbed
her disapprovingly.
Well, she
fired back,
I am not
usurping the
office of a
preacher or an
apostle, she
insisted.
I am like
the dear
Mary Magdalene
who has
not thought
of being an
apostle,
who without,
sorry, who
with no
thought of
being an
apostle,
came to
tell the
disciples that
she had
encountered
the risen
Lord.
Catherine
made it
through the
immediate
aftermath of
her husband's
death, but
shortly
thereafter she
collapsed.
Her friends
persuaded her to
take a break,
to get away from
Strasbourg and
for some rest
and restoration
and Basel was
suggested.
And Busser
knew a
pastor there,
Oswald
Myconius,
and wrote to
him to receive
her.
Here is,
there's Oswald
Myconius there.
So Busser
writes to
him, his
reforming
pastor friend,
the widow
of our
wonderful
cell, a
godly and
saintly woman
comes to
you that
perchance she
may find some
solace for her
grief.
She is human,
I suppose with
her achievements
some doubted
this.
How does the
heavenly father
humble those
endowed with
the greatest of
gifts?
Her zeal is
incredible for
Christ's lowliest
and afflicted.
She knows
and searches
the mysteries
of Christ.
Comfort her
patiently for
the love of
her husband,
a sincere and
faithful servant
of Christ.
From Basel,
Katharina went
to Zurich for
a visit in the
home of the
eminent Hebraist
Conrad Pelican.
There is
Conrad Pelican.
Her thank you
note after
staying with
Pelican,
with the
Pelicans,
along with a
very nice
gift.
I am sending
your wife and
your daughter-in-law
each a pound of
flax for spinning
shawls.
Reported
the,
her concern
with the
introduction of
the interim
compromise into
Strasbourg.
So as battle
between the
Protestants,
literal,
literal warfare
between the
Protestants and
the Catholics
kept unfolding
across Europe.
The upper hand
went to the
Catholics at this
time and
they imposed
an interim
compromise
into Strasbourg.
We do not
know what
is in store
for us in
Strasbourg.
She was
relieved,
however,
that she was
not evicted
from her home,
but if it
would be so,
she had
another dwelling
place.
She writes,
I have been
allowed to
keep the
parsonage.
I take
anyone who
comes,
it is always
full.
I don't
know how
long I
can keep
it.
One thing
have I
desired of
the Lord,
that will
I seek
after,
that I
may dwell
in the
house of
the Lord,
to behold
my noble
husband and
all the
saints in
the vision
of God
and Christ.
Well,
this
Catholic
enforced
interim,
which
concerned
Catherine,
meant
exile for
two of
Strasbourg's
eminent
ministers,
Busser and
Faggius,
and actually
there were
three,
also Vermilli,
Peter Martyr
Vermilli.
They were
determined to
immigrate to
England,
but couldn't
quite pack up
all the kids
and the crates
in the time
that they were
allotted.
They had a
very specific
time allotted
that they were
allowed to get
out.
so they
overstayed
their immunity
to arrest
by a
hazardous
three weeks.
And remember,
once their
time was up,
anybody was
free to
take their
life.
So very,
very dangerous.
So during
this time of
three weeks,
Catherine
managed to
hide them
in different
places.
And she
certainly knew
all of the
places that
you could
stuff people
in Strasbourg
from the
refugee crisis,
her refugee
placement program.
Well,
when they
finally got
off safely,
they left
her two
gold pieces
out of
gratitude.
She wrote
back,
you put
me to
shame to
think that
you would
leave money
for me as
if I would
take a
heller from
you poor
pilgrims,
a penny.
My
reverend
ministers,
I wish
I could
have done
better for
you,
but my
Matthew
has taken
all of
my gaiety
with him.
I intended
to return
the two
gold pieces
with this
letter as
Joseph put
the money
in the
sack of
his brother,
but a
refugee
minister
has just
come in
with five
children and
the wife
of another
who saw
her husband
beheaded
before her
eyes.
I divided
the one
gold piece
between
them as
a present
from you,
the other
eye
enclose.
You will
doubtless
need it.
So Catherine
was now
60 years
old and
her health
began to
fail,
but her
indomitable
zeal did
not flag.
In 1558,
one of the
chief magistrates
of Strasbourg,
Felix Ambrosioter,
was stricken
with a
dreaded
leprosy
and
consequently
quarantined
in a little
hut beyond
the city
walls.
They would
separate you
way away
from any
society
at all.
Not even
his family
were given
leave to
attend to
him.
No one
dared to
relieve his
utter
isolation.
They were
so afraid
of
contagion
except
one,
Catherine.
She
visited him
frequently
and even
wrote for
his
consolation
a little
treatise.
Here's
how it
begins.
My dear
Lord Felix,
since we
have known
each other
for a
full 30
years,
I am
moved to
visit you
in your
long and
frightful
illness.
I have
not been
able to
come as
often as
I would
like because
of the
load here
for the
poor and
the sick,
but you
have ever
been in
my thoughts.
We have
often talked
of how you
have been
stricken,
cut off
from rank
office,
from your
wife and
friends,
from all
dealings with
the world
which recoils
from your
loathsome
disease and
leaves you
in utter
loneliness.
At first
you were
bitter and
utterly cast
down,
till God
gave you
strength and
patience,
and now you
are able to
thank him
that out of
love he has
taught you to
bear the
cross.
Because I
know that your
illness weighs
upon you
daily and
may easily
cause you
again to
fall into
despair and
rebelliousness,
I have
gathered some
passages which
may make your
yoke light in
spirit,
though not in
the flesh.
love he has
done.
She takes the
lonely yet
loved leper
through various
verses with
her comforting
comments for
his meditation.
Catherine also
sought to care
for a nephew
who was plagued
with syphilis.
In fact, to
this end, she
temporarily moved
into the
institution in
which he was
being treated.
and no
sooner had
Catherine moved
in than the
gifted administrator
in her discern
numerous changes
that were
absolutely needed.
She shot off a
letter to the
town council
and in it
she writes,
the manager
and his wife
live in luxury
and neglect
the patients.
beds rot,
water is not
heated for
baths,
tough,
and sometimes
wormy meat
is served
indiscriminately,
whereas some
require a
soft diet.
There is no
religious instruction
and some
patients do not
even know
the Lord's
prayer.
The manager
grumbles a
grace so that
one cannot tell
whether he
might not be
swearing.
The mercury
cure martyrs
the patients.
There should be
a dedicated
couple in
charge.
The number
of maids
should be
reduced.
The fewer,
the less
quarreling.
Get rid of
the savage
dog which
mangles all
the cats.
Give up
swine and
goats in
favor of a
hundred hens.
Have religious
instruction every
morning while the
heart is fresh.
For medication,
use only
goyak.
Whatever that
is.
Well, it was
obvious that
Catherine knew
just how to
run that
place and
her
recommendations
were adopted
in toto,
much to the
relief of the
grateful
patients.
Not only
elemasinary but
also educational
efforts animated
Catherine.
Early, while her
husband was still
living, and
Matthew
incidentally
shared her
concern for
popular education
composing two
simple catechisms
for children,
Catalina issued
a collection of
hymns sold in
four little
pamphlets for
a penny a
piece to
ensure wide
circulation.
Very, very
cheap for that
day.
A heller.
In the
preface,
Catherine wrote,
when I read
these hymns, I
felt that the
writer had the
whole Bible in
his heart.
This is not
just a hymn
book, but a
lesson book of
prayer and
praise.
When so many
filthy songs are
on the lips of
men and women
and even
children, I
think it well
that folk
should, with
lusty zeal and
clear voice, sing
the songs of
their salvation.
God is glad
when the
craftsman at
his bench, the
maid at the
sink, the
farmer at the
plow, the
dresser at the
vines, the
mother at the
cradle, break
forth in hymns
of prayer, praise,
and instruction.
Well, when the
interim ended in
the situation in
Strasbourg, in
her mind, scarcely
improved, at
least from her
point of view, for
the city then came
to be dominated by
stridently doctrinaire
Lutherans, zealous
to discern and
denounce the
slightest dogmatic
deviance from
their own narrow
creed.
once during a
Christmas sermon,
one of the most
rabid of them
all, his name
was actually
Ludwig Rabus, he
digressed from his
edifying text and
descended into
unedifying railing
against Schwenkfeld
by slandering him
as Stinkfeld, that
emissary from
Satan.
It was so that you
can kind of pun on
his name and make
it sound a lot
like a stinking
manure field.
So, in those days
they were no
strangers to
lampoon.
Well, Catherine
considered this
bereft of charity
and she
remonstrated with
Rabus in
private.
For this private
rebuke, Rabus
called Catherine a
disturber of the
peace.
But with this, he
seemed to have
tripped a wire and
she gave him a
peace of her mind.
And I certainly
think he had it
coming.
A disturber of
the peace am I.
Yes, indeed, my
own peace.
Do you call this
disturbing the peace?
That instead of
spending my time in
frivolous amusements,
I have visited the
plague infested and
carried out the
dead.
I have visited those
in prison and under
sentence of death,
often for three days
and three nights.
I have neither eaten
nor slept.
I have neither mounted
the pulpit.
I have never mounted
the pulpit, but I
have done more than
any minister in
visiting those in
misery.
Is this disturbing the
peace of the church?
Why do you rail at
Schwenkfeld?
You talk as if you
would have him burned
like poor Servetus in
Geneva.
You say that you have
left Strasbourg and
gone to Ulm because the
ministers here are too
lenient toward the
Schwenkfelders, the
Zviglians, or the
Anabaptists.
You behave as if you
have been brought up by
savages in a jungle.
The Anabaptists are
pursued as by a hunter
with dogs chasing wild
boars.
Yet the Anabaptists
accept Christ in all
essentials as we do.
They have borne witness
to their faith in
misery, prison, fire,
and water.
You young fellows tread
on the graves of the
first fathers of this
church in Strasbourg and
punish all who disagree
with you, but faith
cannot be forced.
You say that Strasbourg,
by her laxity, is a shame
and a scorn to all
Germany.
Not yet, my dear fellow.
She is rather an
example of mercy and
compassion.
My Matthew testified in
private, and from the
pulpit also, that he
would not be guilty of
the crucifixion of these
poor folk.
The good Samaritan, when
he came upon the man who
had fallen among thieves,
did not ask him to what
denomination he belonged,
but put him on his ass
and took him to an inn.
Remember the words of the
Lord Jesus, I am meek and
lowly of heart.
Well, Catherine's last
service was to a disciple
of Schwenkfeld, the wife
of a distinguished
physician.
On her death, the husband
asked if one of the
pastors would conduct the
funeral.
Only on the understanding
that I will declare her to
have fallen away from the
faith, came the reply.
Well, the husband sadly
declined and planned the
service-less internment at
6 a.m.
when none would notice.
Well, somehow Catherine
heard.
Too weak now to walk, she
had a carriage bring her to
the spot at that hour and
herself conducted the
service.
The town council, hearing of
the act, decreed that if
Catherine got well, she
should be reprimanded.
Well, the reprimand, that
reprimand was never given.
Indeed, perhaps the reverse
was given her.
For shortly after that, she
died in her 64th year, 16,
sorry, 1562, leaving behind
her, in many, a memory of a
strong and sweet savor of her
savior.
She had welcomed the
stranger, comforted the
sorrowful, befriended the
lonely, allayed the wounds of
the suffering.
Her gospel wells ran deep, and
out of them she drew to
refresh many.
Her life was a veritable
orchard of the fruits of the
spirit.
Oh, God, to raise up more
Catherine Zell among us.
Well, I have another profile
that I'd like to hit, but I
wondered if you, we may take
a few minutes if you had any
questions about Catherine Zell,
and then I'm going to finish up
some of the time that we have.
Do we still have a little
time?
Okay.
Or would you like me just to
go on, and then we can ask
questions about both?
Strasburg was German at this
time?
Yes.
Yes, exactly.
German speaking.
All right, I'll go on, and then
we can ask them.
Oh, that was, that was, there's
Schwenkfeld, there's Schwenkfeld.
Vibrondus Rosenblatt.
Surely, one of the most inside
views of the Reformation would
have to have been that possessed
by the much married Vibrondus
Rosenblatt.
For in her matrimonial migrations,
she would be the wife for,
she would be the wife successively
of three of the principal leaders
of the Reformation.
Vibrondus was born at Basel in 1504.
1504.
There's Basel in the time.
Ironically, she was named after
the remains of a saint, Vibrondus,
which lay in the altar of the
Basel Cathedral, from which very
pulpit, one of her future husbands
would denounce such relic-revering
practices as being named after the
relic of a saint.
Not quite 20, she was married to the
esteemed Basel humanist, Ludwig Keller.
Among the several things Keller must
have liked in his new wife was her
name, for he decided to call the
daughter that she bore him by that
very name, Vibrondus II.
The first marriage proved short, for
her husband died only two years after
their marriage, leaving Vibrondus a widow
with child at 22 years old.
Her consequent availability proved a
happy circumstance for a certain Basel
bachelor.
It was unlikely that she would not have
noticed him in the city, for his post as
principal preacher would have rendered him
as prominent as his pendulous promontory
of a nose.
Look at that guy.
Wow.
Gaunt, stooped, ill-nourished.
He appeared to some as a mere sack of bones
and friends of the gospel feared that he
might, that they might lose him to the
cause unless there would be someone to
feed him some square meals and tell him
when to blow out his candle for the
night.
Concern was heightened now that his
mother, who had tried to perform that
role for him, had died, leaving him to
fend for himself and to take care of his
aged father.
His old friend, Wolfgang Capito, who we
saw before, wrote to prompt him,
Marriage is honorable and especially for a
Christian pastor.
If a suitable person is pointed out to you,
I think you should not decline.
To have a mate of like zeal will be a
glory to the Lord.
Then wondering if the old bachelor might
be inadequately discriminating, added,
but there is no greater cross than to be
married to a daughter of Belial.
So watch out for that, gentlemen.
Seeking to allay his fears, Ucullumpadius,
so that's who that is, Ucullumpadius.
That's kind of a, that's a aggressor-sized
version of his German name, Hauschein or
Hauslamp.
So Ucullumpadius is Latin for, sorry,
Greek for Hauslamp.
He replied, don't worry about my
marrying.
Either I will find a Christian sister like
Monica, that's the mother of Augustine,
like Monica, or I'll remain unmarried.
Such a woman is a rare bird, but perhaps
one can be netted.
Well, he found in Vibrondus a Monica-like
sister and netted her March 15th, 1528.
She was 24.
He was 45.
Some thought them ill-matched, focusing on
the physical.
One commented uncharitably, a decrepit
old man with trembling head and body,
so emaciated and wasted that you might
well call him a living corpse, has
married an elegant and blooming girl of
20, more or less.
Erasmus teased that it was a rather
indulgent thing to do for Lent, scarcely
castigating the flesh to take a 20-year-old
wife.
But Ucullumpadius had not netted her for
form or face, but for her faith.
He wrote to Pharrell,
The Lord has given me a sister and wife.
She is well-versed in the knowledge of
Christ, with several years' experience of
bearing the cross.
And before long, she was also bearing a
son, Eusebius, born on Christmas Eve, 1528.
It would be an eventful year for the Ucullumpadiuses, for the
arrival of their first coincided with the dramatic crescendo of the
Reformation surge in the city, the storming of the cathedral and the
bonfire of the vanities.
Happily, their new baby was not colic.
Eusebius, reported Ucullumpadius, is a gentle and quiet child, unless hungry, thirsty, or in
need of a change.
But the father also noted, he is very subject to colds and coughing, and I fear he will
not live long.
He would live only to 13 years old.
Other children came, two daughters, whom they named Alethea, Truth, and Irene, Peace.
Vibrondus, her ever-burgeoning home, was constantly the site of hospitality, offered to many of the
leaders of the Reformation.
Zwingli visited, and Wolfgang Capito sampled her cooking, little knowing that in the future
he would enjoy a good bit more of it.
Even Servetus dropped by.
Soon, Vibrondus was exchanging letters with Anna Zwingli, Agnes Capito, Elizabeth Busser.
When in 1531, Zwingli died upon the field of Capel, Ucullumpadius was invited to Zurich
to replace the fallen leader.
He declined, probably sensing that for him the sands were low.
And indeed, in a month, he followed his friend to the grave.
So Vibrondus was thus at 26, for the second time a widow, now with four small children.
That very month, in Strasbourg, Capito's wife, Agnes, was taken.
And Busser, you remember, who was always active in finding wives for his colleagues, cast his
eye about for a new wife for the widower, fearing that, given Capito's inclination to depression,
the bitter loss would take a devastating toll.
He didn't have to look very far.
He revealed to a friend his matchmaking ambition.
My choice for Capito is the widow of Ucullumpadius.
And it seemed Capito already had Vibrondus on his mind, feeling for her loss.
He, referring to Capito, Capito writes me that he has been very touched by the sight of the
widow Vibrondus and all her orphaned children.
Busser proposed to Capito that a trip would do him good and suggested the beautiful city
of Basel.
Why, you could drop in on the widow Vibrondus while you're there and offer her some comfort.
Capito thought the trip a fine idea.
When he arrived at Basel, he offered Vibrondus more than comfort.
He offered her his hand.
Oh, my, here is, there is Wolfgang Capito, her next husband.
Um, uh, they were married on August 11th, 1532, much to the glee and satisfaction of Busser.
Uh, of course, when Capito returned with his new wife, the family included the four children
and Vibrondus' mother.
Okay.
So she, remember she had, she had children from first marriage, Keller.
She had, uh, two from, uh, uh, then she had Aletha.
So Eusebius, Irena, and Alethea from Ucculumpadius.
So those four, uh, Vibrondus slotted into the new routine quite easily as her new husband's
life, uh, scarcely differed from that of her late husband, both being pastor professors.
Uh, the daily round she took in stride.
Her energies were strained, however, by keeping the cradle full.
To Capito, she bore five more children.
Um, her good friend in Strasbourg, Elizabeth Busser, had born her husband, Martin, 13 children.
Uh, those after church picnics must've been pretty lively when both the Capitos and the
Bussers showed up in full strength.
Uh, but in 1541, the plague struck Strasbourg, claiming 3,200 lives across the city.
At the Busser household, only one child of the 13 survived the deadly scourge.
Uh, Nathaniel, the one that survived, was a severely mentally and physically handicapped
son.
And Elizabeth herself was taken.
Uh, she might have saved her life had she left the city at the outbreak of the epidemic.
But her husband, Martin Busser, would not leave his flock and she would not leave her husband.
In the Capito household, the plague took Eusebius, the son of Vibrondus by Ocolampadius and Dorothea
and Wolfgang and Christoph, uh, two of her other children by Capito and Capito himself.
So Vibrondus was again widowed with four surviving children and an aged mother.
She's 47 now.
As Elizabeth Busser lay stricken, it's hard to keep all these names.
Elizabeth Busser lay stricken on her deathbed with the plague.
Catherine Sell came to bring the news of Wolfgang Capito's death.
Elizabeth, aware that for her, the bell would shortly toll, asked her husband, Martin Busser,
to take the place of his colleague Capito by taking the widowed Vibrondus to be his wife.
Now, Busser answered only by tears.
I mean, his wife's not even dead yet and she's arranging for the next, the next wife.
Uh, yet Elizabeth insisted and sent for Vibrondus who, having been only just widowed the night
before, hesitated to be seen in public by day.
She came by night and received Elizabeth's dying plea to care for her husband as his wife
when she died.
The wish of Elizabeth was fulfilled.
In April 1542, Vibrondus took her place beside Martin Busser as his wife, he being her fourth husband.
So there's Martin Busser.
That's her husband now.
Vibrondus proved a good wife to Busser.
He wrote to a friend,
I only hope I can be as kind to my new wife as she is to me,
but oh for the pang for the one that I have lost.
The new Busser household, though sorely reduced by the plague, was still not small.
And Vibrondus certainly had her hands full.
So Busser had a surviving son.
Vibrondus brought her mother and four children, making for a family of eight, along with Vibrondus'
mother and Busser's father with his father's second wife.
So a lot of, a lot of ages.
And soon more children arrived to the new couple.
Though they were now at double digits of kids, they decided to augment their brood still further
through adoption.
They adopted a niece of Vibrondus, Margareta Rosenblatt.
So it must have felt like a Sunday school when they all gathered around the table.
Before and after every meal, Busser would read a chapter from scripture, followed by comment.
Said one lodger,
I always went away from this table more instructed, with doubts dissolved and confusion clarified.
I find myself wondering how Busser was able to get so much done in his life, in the midst of this nursery of little needy ones.
There's indication that he managed by staying up the balance of the night.
An Italian immigrant who stayed in the Busser household for 17 days recalled of Busser,
he devotes his nights to study and prayer, and I have never awakened to find, without finding him still up.
It's probably what made him so susceptible to plague is they were sleep deprived too.
Not a helpful thing.
But even if we imagine Busser helping with a burgeoning brood, went around during the day,
there were plenty of seasons when he was not around,
and Vibrondus had to hold down the fort without him.
On one occasion, Busser was away on a trip for an entire year.
She did, of course, have a mother to help out,
but not infrequently she, being well advanced in years, required more help than she could offer.
In February 1548, a friend wrote,
Another long absence came when Busser was called away to England
to fill the Regis professorship at Cambridge of theology.
He went out ahead and hoped Vibrondus and the family would join him once he was settled into a home.
She must have been quite secure in their relationship,
along with a possession of a robust humor,
for her old friend, who was with Busser in England, wrote to her teasingly,
You'd better come to care for Busser, else he might marry someone else.
The Duchess of Suffolk would have him in a moment.
She is a widow.
Well, whatever were the hopes of the Duchess of Suffolk, it is clear what Busser wanted.
He wrote expressing the hope that she might join him soon.
How I'd love to have you here, but we are in the Lord's hands.
While it is obvious that it was Vibrondus he missed,
it was also evident that he missed all the practical ways in which she took care of him,
for he was not managing too well on his own.
At the end of his plea for her to join him, he adds,
But if you cannot come, I wonder if a trusty brother and his wife might come and cook for me
and look after the house.
You know what kind of a housekeeper I am.
If I could have that hope, I could the better spare you until the times improve,
but I am in the Lord's hands.
His final PS was a request for certain books she might obtain for him.
Thus, Vibrondus also acted as a book agent, it seems.
It was not easy for Busser to be away from his family.
Truly, it is no light cross to give up one's own household, he wrote.
But before too long, she was restored to her husband's side,
making the trip to England with an advanced contingent to the family.
Surveying the scene, she decided to return for the rest of the family,
leaving Agnes Capito, that is, daughter by her third husband,
to look after her fourth husband.
She got back to Strasbourg to find that the Catholic authorities
were trying to confiscate their property.
Vibrondus was summoned to appear in court.
We have a hint as to her plucky nature from this incident.
It seems one of the local friends, Sol,
was concerned that Vibrondus would give the magistrates a piece of her mind
over their injustice.
She wrote to Busser,
Sol confided in me his fear that if I appeared in court,
I would say something hot,
and indeed I might certainly have done so.
Instead of appearing in court,
she had the fine idea of a relaxing visit in a spa.
They did have spas back in those days.
It seems hot spring spas were a favorite retreat
for the fast-paced Busser household,
for Martin fantasized over his German thermal baths more than once
during the cold, wet winters in Cambridge.
While refreshed from her spa tune-up,
Vibrondus packed up the rest of the family,
grandma and all,
and made the journey back to England.
But scarcely had she finally arrived
when Busser fell ill.
Vibrondus, in caring for her husband,
grew so exhausted herself,
she remembered that teasing about
an admiring Duchess of Suffolk
and actually asked her
if she would be willing to help relieve her
of her incessant nursing
through the final stages of Busser's illness.
The Duchess cordially obliged
and by taking part of the load
probably saved Vibrondus a breakdown.
With her husband gone,
there was no reason for her to remain a foreigner in England,
so she worked on getting the whole family back to Strasbourg.
But alas, money was lacking,
and she had to appeal to Cranmer,
Thomas Cranmer,
the Archbishop of Canterbury's kindness,
to help them get home.
This he gladly did.
She did leave the Archbishop Busser's books.
What was left of them,
Cranmer complains in a letter
that I think the Duchess got them all.
So she did get something.
Vibrondus managed to get the family home,
grandma and all,
but most were now gone
that she had once known and loved.
So she moved on to the city of her birth,
Basel.
One wonders if a prospective fifth husband
was waiting in the wings.
In any case,
her matrimonial migrations
had finally come to an end.
In 1564,
a terrible plague carried off
7,000 in the city,
and Vibrondus was among them.
She was laid to rest beside her second husband,
Ucullampadius,
remember the long-nosed guy,
in the cloister walk of the cathedral.
And now,
I suppose the pressing question
is that of the Sadducees.
Whose wife shall she be in the judgment?
She was cast by the hand of providence
into demanding callings.
She answered that call
with a life of courage,
character, and commitment.
Firmly established upon the Rock of Ages,
she was able to stand in the midst
of tumults,
life,
and weather
the fierce storms of that age.
And upon that great rock,
she was able herself
to be a little rock
for the many God had given her
to love
and care for.
Neither could they have been
what they were without her.
And if history stints her praise,
its author,
the author of history,
who sees all
and knows all,
shall not.
Its
history
sees her
behind her husbands,
God sees her
beside them.
Okay.
Thank you.
I don't know how much time
we have, Tom.
I will remain
to answer any questions
that people have,
but we might need
to dismiss soon.
Yeah, I think the folks
want to go there again.
Yep.
I think the service
is still going,
so,
I believe,
so,
it's probably going
to be too long.
You are dismissed,
but I will remain
if anyone has any questions
or comments
or anything.
Yes!
I have a question.
Thank you.
It was great.
If you could go back
and capture it
for a moment.
I just got some notes.
Yes.
So,
she was a remarkable person.
A capable administrator,
an earnest peacemaker,
quietly courageous.
But I think
a really outstanding
that came across
was just her
generous
and welcoming hospitality.
Yes.
And I was wondering
if you would comment
on what you think
the role of hospitality
is in the church today.
Yes.
Oh,
that's a great question.
You know,
if you think about it,
hospitality
is a wonderful expression
of the gospel.
If we think about
what,
hospitality
is taking
the riches
that we have
and enjoy,
the joys
and the delights
that we have
in our family
and extending
those to others.
And is that not
what our salvation is?
There's the wonderful
mutual joy,
delights within the Trinity,
that rich dance
of love
and all this blessing.
And from that richness,
there is an extension
of that
and a welcoming in
of others
to enjoy that.
At great cost,
often hospitality,
costs us a lot
to extend
that gift
of welcome
and coming in
and to enjoy.
And again,
God,
at great cost
to himself,
extends
the richness
of the savor
that he enjoys
to us,
unworthy,
without respect
to our worthiness
of it.
And yes,
that's a,
yeah,
so it's a wonderful
and critical
picture
or expression
of the gospel.
So this should be
absolutely central.
And if you look
in the New Testament,
it is not distinct
from the Old Testament,
but reinforced
in the New Testament
how central this is.
For example,
an elder
needed to be given
to hospitality.
This is something
indispensable.
So whether or not
we think that we have
gifts in it,
it's commanded to do
because it is so central
to the gospel.
So,
and the joys in it
are wonderful,
aren't there?
It's,
we never quite know
how we're going
to be blessed
and entertaining.
Is it what,
Hebrews 13,
I think one,
maybe,
where I'm talking about,
hey,
keep offering hospitality
joyfully.
Who knows?
You may end up
entertaining angels
unaware.
There's always
a wonderful blessing
that comes to us too.
So,
yes.
Yes,
Tom.
So,
it's just
the grief
that some of these folks
went through
and it's stunning
and heartbreaking.
I was wondering
if you had any
impressions
on how they
handled that grief
and if,
you know,
there's cases
of them
where it just
wandered in
for decades.
Yeah.
Because sometimes,
you know,
it sounds like
when you hear the stories
that kind of got over it,
so to speak,
like a little crass,
and they're like,
I'm just wondering
what you're expecting
to do with that.
Yeah,
yeah.
It was,
I mean,
you just think of it,
it's just a wave
of all these woes.
You know,
how,
just unimaginable,
to bury your children.
It's got to be
one of the hardest,
hardest things.
things.
And some of it,
I think,
is they had
a profounder sense
than we often do,
certainly than I have,
as to what we expect
in life.
And they took
very seriously
the fact that
we are in
a fallen world.
And woes
will be the lot
of the children
of God.
Not distinct
from those
who are not believers.
believers.
Indeed,
it was their
expectation
that being believers,
our woes
will be greater
because we will not
be trying to avoid
them at all times.
We will wade in.
We are salt and light.
We need to bear
the burdens
of one another.
We go in
and try to carry them.
And so,
particularly for Christians
in this world,
you shall have
much tribulation.
And they,
they actually expected
that and counted
on that.
So,
it was actually true,
remember in Peter,
beloved,
don't be surprised
at the fiery ordeal
among you
that comes upon you
for your testing
as though some strange
thing were happening
to you.
So,
so that was when
they seemed
to,
to have a better
sense that
this is our
lot.
Uh,
uh,
then,
uh,
there is,
uh,
a,
a literature
that,
that ends up
developing
during the Reformation.
There's a scholar
named Ron Ritkers
who's written a lot
on this
that just looks
at some of the,
the consolation
literature
and,
uh,
much of what
there is.
And,
and Catherine's
was a wonderful
example of it
where,
what do we do?
Well,
let's take
these wonderful
biblical truths
and let's make sure
that we are
building our house
on the rock
of these promises
of God.
And that is a
stability
in which we can stand.
And you remember
in Matthew 7,
23,
24,
uh,
that,
uh,
that the wise
one hears
these words of
mine and he
puts them into
practice.
They shall be
like one who
builds their house
on a rock
that when,
not if,
when the winds
and the rains
and the storms
batter against
the house
will stand
because it's
established on
the rock.
So there was
a sense that
we need,
uh,
to really be
building.
And a lot
of times
in,
uh,
they,
you,
they,
they did a
good job.
It seems Tom
always seeking
to,
to take in
the comfort
of those promises
and building
even in the
times that
weren't so
difficult,
knowing that
they will
surely come.
Uh,
so almost
like Joseph,
uh,
look,
what,
let's,
let's harvest
some of the
fat years
for lean
years will
be coming
and that
sort of
practice.
So if we
wait to try
to reach out
and grab
the consolation
of the word
when we are
in our
distress,
that often
seems too
late.
We really
need to be
building that
fortification
for when
those times
will come.
And they
seem to have
been good
at,
at that.
Uh,
they also
seem to be
really willing
to share.
Did you
notice how
they,
they weren't
isolated.
They weren't
even isolated
in their
marriage.
You know,
oh my
goodness,
your husband
died.
Well,
I,
here,
I have a
husband.
I'm about
to die.
Here,
you have
him.
I mean,
they really
are,
they,
they're in
a common,
common lot
and they
really are
seeking to
lean in to
bear one
another's
burdens.
And I
think that
this is,
this is really
critical and
we ought not
to think that
the measure of
our strength
is our
ability to
take all
of these
things alone
in an
isolated way.
But,
but to,
to share
and bear
one another's
burdens and
to be involved
in each
other's lives.
So,
and they
seem to
have done
that well
as even
evidenced by
some of
these stories.
Yeah.
Your comment
about Martin
Luther not
shaking the
hand of
the,
Zingley,
yep.
Zingley over
the Lord's
Supper.
Yep.
I think
about
Edwards'
community
controversy
where
sometimes
secondary
matters
become
primary
court.
Yep.
Or Edwards,
Bar,
unbelievers,
the Lord's
table.
Yep.
What would
you say
would be
an appropriate
circumstance
where a
secondary
matter
should take
primary
court?
So,
I think
you want
to tell
us,
you want
to affirm
our
privateary
brother and
sister,
the Lord
Christ,
the Lord
Bible.
when should
those
secondary
matters
become
primary
courts?
Yeah,
yeah.
Great,
great question.
Challenging
one.
I think
one,
I think I'd
want to say
it first,
I think we
should always
keep a
distinction
between
primary and
secondary
matters.
secondary
matters.
So,
when you
say sometimes
a secondary
matter might
function as
a primary
matter,
I don't
know that
that would
be the
best way
to put
it,
because that
could then
blur that
there is a
distinction
between
primary and
secondary
matters.
So,
maybe what
you're asking
is,
when do
secondary
matters
actually come
to be of
some
importance
that we
would want
to give
them expression
and not
just say,
oh,
well,
they don't
matter because
they're
secondary.
And I
think in
those,
there are
times we
think,
well,
actually,
this is
where we
want to
give expression
to the
faithfulness
of God.
So,
for example,
in this
church,
we think
that a
faithful
expression
to the
truth of
God
is in
baptism,
in
believer's
baptism,
where
faith and
baptism are
united and
not separated,
because it
seems like the
scripture links
those things.
Whereas infant
baptism pulls
them apart.
So,
we think,
hey,
that's an
important expression.
We recognize
that it's not
primary.
We welcome
people into
fellowship,
but we
practice that
truth here in
this congregation,
following our
conscience and
in good conscience
and happy to
do so.
So,
we do give
it importance,
but we
recognize that
that doesn't
mean that a
person cannot
fellowship with
us and we
receive them as
sisters and
brothers.
we just
follow our
conscience in
this matter,
hopefully always
with charity.
So,
and there'd
be all kinds
of other
illustrations or
examples,
but we can
talk a little
bit more
later about
particulars.
But,
yeah,
yeah.
Sure.
Thank you so
much for
sharing the
stories of
these really
remarkable
things.
It seems
quite a
monumental
task to
be looking
after so
many,
this many
children,
visiting the
leprosy
ridden and
incarcerated and
providing comments
on, like,
hospital care.
you mentioned
that they had a
network of
support amongst
themselves.
Was there a
sense that their
husbands lifted a
finger to help
them in these
tasks, like
visiting the
sick, visiting
the imprisoned?
Yes, they
definitely did,
and that was
considered part of
pastoral care.
And even
domestic duties,
we might imagine
that this is
kind of
traditional,
but in one
sense,
there were,
the scriptures
were kind of
coming into
fresh prominence,
and these
reformers were
really trying to
engage with the
scriptures to
figure out,
well, what does
this look like?
And family
life for
ministers, for
pastors, this
was a new
thing.
Because otherwise,
you just had
clerical celibacy
before then in the
Roman Catholic
Church.
So they were
coming to
scripture to
feel like,
well, what does
this look like?
And many of
them concluded,
hey, we need to
love our wives,
is what it says,
we need to help
them in this
way.
So Martin
Luther,
changed
diapers.
Martin
Luther,
changed
diapers.
He didn't
say, hey,
that's
Catherine's
thing.
Many of
these men
were extremely
helpful, and
they kind of
saw it in
terms of, okay,
how do we
survive?
How can we
each bring our
best to bear to
the extent that
we can do
this?
things?
And there
wasn't always
and even
typically clear
roles established.
That tends to
come a lot
later.
When you've
got frontier
time, when
you're figuring
out what does
it look like
to have a new
family as a
pastor, it's
improvisational.
And a lot of
times it's so
challenging, you're
just thinking,
what do we do
to survive?
We're making
this up as we
go along.
So you don't
see as many of
the traditional
roles in this
first generation.
You almost need
to wait for
custom to
kind of begin
to take shape.
So they're
pretty creative,
frankly.
Yeah, that's
certainly true.
And, you
know, I
just see
a
willingness
on both
part to
do what
needed to
be done.
To
take care of
our families
well and to
take care of
other people's
families well and
to take care of
the poor.
And we just do
what we can do
according to our
gifts, according
to some callings,
and as the
Lord provides
strength.
And it
looks really
different from
different people
not a lot of
clear, you
know, in this
first generation,
not a lot of
clear patterns yet
because they're
making stuff up
as they go along.
It's kind of new.
It's a new time.
Yeah.
I think we
probably better
conclude.
Well, thank you,
team.
And if you're
able to make it,
we'll see you
next week,
Lord willing.
Yeah.