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December 20
Katharina von Bora and Ruhanna Kuddus
David Barnhart
December 20, 2025
Stairs at the house of Lucas Cranach the Elder, where Katharina von Bora stayed after her escape from the abbey. 2022, own photo.
Today marks the death, in 1522, of Katharina von Bora, the wife of Martin Luther, who, along with other nuns who converted to Protestantism, escaped from her abbey by hiding among empty fish barrels in a covered wagon. Though the other nuns married off easily, she insisted she would only be married to Luther, and he agreed because, as church historian Roland Balinton said, it would “please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep.” She was known as the mother of the Reformation, and Martin Luther’s pet names for her included “Lord Katie” and “Doctor Katie.”
Today is the birthday, in 1884, of Ruhanna Kuddus, an advocate for women’s education in Indonesia. She became a journalist and newspaper editor that published articles mostly written by women.
Today is also the U.N.’s International Human Solidarity Day, intended to remind people of the world and their governments of the Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate poverty and protect the environment.
Reflection:
On her deathbed, Katharina von Bora said,
“I will stick to Christ as a burr sticks to cloth.”
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are:
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries.
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
I know most people think these goals are unrealistic, but I would argue that the biggest obstacles to these goals right now are 1. the existence and growing power of billionaires and their government enablers and 2. the proliferation of energy- and water-depleting AI data centers. The original deadline for these goals was 2030, which again seems unrealistic, but reflects the urgency of the polycrisis we face. And as the day’s name indicates, an important piece of the pursuit of these goals is solidarity with the poor, a (supposedly) core Christian value. I believe Christ’s command to “seek first the kingdom of God” requires pursuit of these goals.
Prayer: Christ, help us to stick to you as a burr sticks to cloth. Empower us to relentlessly seek your kin-dom which includes solidarity with the poor. Amen.