Did Luther Want to Throw the Epistle of James in the Stove?

Did Martin Luther want to throw the Epistle of James in the stove? Roman Catholics use this comment to demonstrate Luther's abandonment and utter disdain of it. There are at least two sources I'm aware of in which Luther is said to have wanted to throw James, in some sense, into the fire. Let's take a closer look at each statement. 

The Licentiate Examination of Heinrich Schmedenstede (July 7,1542).
One example comes from a 1542 writing entitled, The Licentiate Examination of Heinrich Schmedenstede (July 7,1542). The text is in the form of disputation, set in the form of a scholarly dialog between the participants. The text reads: 

XIX. Against Thesis 21

James [2:22] says that Abraham was justified by works. Therefore, justification is not by faith.

Master Heinrich [Schmedenstede] responds: James is speaking of works as the effect of justification, not as the cause.

Dr. Martin Luther: That epistle of James gives us much trouble, for the papists embrace it alone and leave out all the rest. Up to this point I have been accustomed just to deal with and interpret it according to the sense of the rest of Scriptures. For you will judge that none of it must be set forth contrary to manifest Holy Scripture. Accordingly, if they will not admit my interpretations, then I shall make rubble also of it. I almost feel like throwing Jimmy into the stove, as the priest in Kalenberg did. (LW 34:317; WA 39.2:199).

In this brief context, Luther says he has been interpreting the Epistle of James "according to the sense of the rest of the Scriptures." While he doesn't expound on what he meant, an obvious fact emerges, that Luther found a way to harmonize it with the rest of the Scriptures. Here we find that in practice, Luther admits to weighing it as Scripture. He then speaks of his papal detractors: "Accordingly, if they will not admit my interpretations, then I shall make rubble also of it." That is, Luther was prepared to reject the canonicity of the Epistle of James in disputes with Roman Catholic controversialists rather than present reasoning for interpreting it according to the sense of the rest of the Scriptures (as Heinrich Schmedenstede was doing in his response). 

Luther finishes his response with an anecdotal sarcastic comment: "I almost feel like throwing Jimmy into the stove, as the priest in Kalenberg did." The editors of Luther’s Works explain, 

The preacher of Kalenberg, when visited by the duchess, heated the room with the wooden statues of the apostles. The statue of James was the last and as the preacher shoved it into the stove he exclaimed, “Now bend over, Jimmy, you must go into the stove; no matter if you were the pope or all the bishops, the room must become warm (LW 34:317).

An aspect of this explanation that's lost on modern readers is that Luther is not recounting an historical event (See for instance Roman Catholic apologist Trent Horn who misses this: "Luther was referring to an episode in the German village of Kalenberg, where a priest burned wooden statues of the apostles in order to provide warmth for a visiting duchess"). The priest in Kalenberg is a fictional Character: Der Pfaffe vom Kalenberg by Philipp Frankfurter (1473). A helpful overview of this work can be found here and here. In the farcical tale, the duchess visits Kalenberg and watches the sly priest burn statues of the apostles, commenting on them as they're put into the fire, James being the last. Is Luther saying here he hated the Epistle of James so much that he wanted to burn it in the stove? No. Luther’s comment is an expression of frustration with Roman Catholic polemicists and his use of a fictional character augments this. 

Table Talk 5854
The second statement is a Table Talk comment "believed to have come from the pen of Jerome Besold" (LW 54:465). Besold recorded Luther's remarks in 1544, though LW includes a pinch of doubt that while the comments are said to have been recorded by Besold, "there is no compelling evidence that the particular pieces that follow originate with him" (LW 54:467). Utterance 5854 is not included in the English edition of Luther's Works. The comment can be found in WA Tr 5:382.

The Latin text records Luther's disagreement with his Roman Catholic critics over the Epistle of James. It begins by saying Roman Catholics accept the epistle because it teaches righteousness by works, and because of this, Luther is recorded as saying it therefore cannot be the writing of an apostle ("Only the papists accept James on account of the righteousness of works, but my opinion is that it is not the writings of an apostle"*). He then comments on James 2:26 as being absurd and contrary to Scripture ("For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also"), though no explanation is provided. Then the utterance states in German, "Ich werde einmal mit dem Jekel den offen hitzen" ("Some day I will use James to fire my stove"*). Finally, the text states in Latin "Possumus eum ornare et excusare, sed profecto difficulter" that reconciling the Epistle of James with Scripture is difficult.

*English translation from this source. 

Conclusion
Did Luther want to throw the Epistle of James in the stove? I can see how Rome's defenders take this sparse evidence and say yes. They will though have a poor basis of proof if they rely only on the first quote from The Licentiate Examination of Heinrich Schmedenstede. In context, that quote shows Luther viewed the Epistle of James "according to the sense of the rest of the Scriptures," and then made a sarcastic comment with Luther's papal opponents in mind. While the second comment is more direct, it's not something Luther wrote, but is purported to have said. Roman Catholics have a history of gravitating to the Table Talk, so this second-hand context-less comment may be their best proof that Luther wanted to burn the Epistle of James in the stove. 

Certainly, both comments demonstrate Luther held lifelong doubts about the canonicity of James. One thing that I've noticed over the years though is those doubts are almost always against the backdrop of his Roman Catholic critics, otherwise, he doesn't raise any fuss over James. He positively quoted from it and occasionally preached from the book. There are even instances in which he accepts the typical Protestant harmonizing solution of James and Paul (see my old entry here). The point: Roman Catholics can explain or at least excessively highlight Luther's negative comments about the Epistle of James, because he certainly made multiple comments, and he certainly had "papists" in mind. They are correct in noticing them because papalism spurned him on to make those comments! But what I challenge my Roman Catholic readers to grapple with is... why did Luther positively quote from the Epistle of James and occasionally preach from it? If he was such an enemy of James as noncanonical, why these positive instances throughout his career? The best explanations make sense of all the pertinent facts. I challenge Rome's apologists to explain Luther by evaluating all the evidence, not just picking and choosing what fits their narrative.