Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 76:1 (Spring 2014)
Article: All Creatures Are Martyrs: Martin Luther’s Cruciform Exegesis Of Romans 8:19–22
Author: Steven W. Tyra

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WTJ 76:1 (Spring 2014) p. 27

All Creatures Are Martyrs:
Martin Luther’s Cruciform Exegesis
Of Romans 8:19–22

Steven W. Tyra

Steven W. Tyra serves as the pastor for students and young adults at First Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Kent, Wash.

I. Introduction: “He Who Knows And Understands These Groans”

On December 26, 1542—the Tuesday after Christmas—an aging pastor sat down to compose an especially difficult letter of “spiritual counsel.”1 From his study in Wittenberg, Martin Luther penned his condolences to his closest friend and colleague, Justus Jonas, who was then leading the evangelical Reformation at Halle. “I have no idea what to write, this sudden disaster of yours has so laid me low,” Luther confessed.2 Jonas’s wife, Katharine, had died in childbirth. She had been dear to Luther and even more so to Luther’s wife, who was also named Katharine. Between “my Katy” and Katy Jonas there was una anima unitissima, “one soul, as closely united as souls could be.”3 And so Katy Luther was “lifeless” with grief, while Luther himself offered his friend “these my sobs.”4

Even today, Luther’s “spiritual counsel” models good pastoral practice—at least, initially. Having begun so tenderly, however, the letter’s tone suddenly takes a sharp and (to twenty-first-century sensibilities) disconcerting turn: “But how great a chasm separates Turks, Jews, and (what’s worse) papists, cardinals, and all our opponents from this glory and consolation!”5 The violent rhetoric of the letter’s second half may leave readers questioning Luther’s pastoral wisdom. Why does he choose now to rehearse polemical talking points? How does tough talk about “papists” serve to comfort his friend? The sense of disconnect persists as the pastor invites another “counselor” to join him at Jonas’s bedside:

WTJ 76:1 (Spring 2014) p. 28

And as we read happened in the time of Noah they grieve the Holy Spirit, until he is weary of the whole creation—the creation which groans at one with us with groans that are inexpressible for our mutual redemption. He who knows and understands these groans will swiftly hear the creation. Amen.6

The reference to Noah and the flood in Gen 6–9 lies on the surface. Digging deeper, we find that this familiar story has been interpreted within the ...

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