December 11, 1523.
To the elect beloved of God, to all the members of Christ at Augsburg, to my dear lords and brothers, grace and peace in Christ JEsu our Savior.
(1) It has come before us, brethren and gentlemen, how that among you some have fallen into adversity for the sake of a priest's marriage, innocently, and have to suffer mockery and shame for the harm done by those who rejoice when Christ is crucified and laugh when their father Noah's nakedness is seen. But now, by God's grace, we are in the fellowship of the saints and members among ourselves, we must, as Paul says, Rom. 12:13, 15, "accept the need of the saints and suffer with those who suffer. Carry compassion". For just as St. Paul says again, 1 Cor. 12:26, "If one member suffers, the others all suffer with it; if one is honored, the others all rejoice." Now whether it be honor or dishonor, peace or adversity, with you and among you, we take heed that it be ours also, and that it come upon us. As we also take care of your love, let our joy be your joy, and let our calamity be your calamity, for the sake of the common faith and word, so that God has counseled us by his great mercy. For this reason, I have not wanted nor should I have failed to give your love a reward.
To exhort and comfort with consolation, that we may be comforted by God," 1 Cor. 1:4, that is, by His holy word: that your love may not only suffer these things patiently, but also be refreshed and strengthened to wait for and overcome greater things; though I respect that my poor writing is not necessary to your love.
2 First of all St. Paul says, Rom. 8, 17. 2 Tim. 2, 11: "If we want to reign with him, we also have to suffer with him. For if we delight in the gospel and desire to partake of its unspeakable riches and eternal treasure, we do not have to reject its cross, Matth. 10, 38, and whatever adversity it brings, considering that its riches and treasure are eternal, and its adversity temporal, even instantaneous. He himself said, John 15:20: "In the world you will have trouble, but in me you will have peace." If we want to have peace in him, then we must have trouble from the world. Nothing else will come of it. "Remember," he says, "my word which I said unto you: The servant is not better than the Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you," John 16:32, 34. A lazy, useless servant would be to me, who would want to sit on a cushion and live well,
1918 L- 53, 225-227. III. Main st. - 0. of the Father-Our esp. 7. request. W. X, 2205-2208. 1919
because his master hungers outside, works and fights against his enemies. Yes, a foolish merchant would throw away his gold and silver, or would not have it, because it was bound in coarse, unclean bags and not in velvet or beautiful silk, or would be hostile to his treasure because it was heavy and not as light as a feather; The nature of the treasure is that it is heavy, and the larger the heavier; and the custom is not to carry gold and silver in beautiful bags and pouches, but in black, coarse, unclean cloth, which no one else likes to wear on the body.
(3) So it is and so it is with our treasure, 2 Cor. 4:7, which is truly great, precious, excellent and noble; but we must carry it in trouble and suffering; this is its burden and its unclean sacks wherein it is hid. Whoever then wants to carry this treasure publicly in beautiful sacks, that is, whoever wants to be a Christian and wants to be held gloriously, to have pleasure and joy, good and honor from it, and does not want to be despised, to have unpleasure, shame, harm and enemies from it, what does he seek but to be deprived of the treasure? Carries it too gloriously and publicly and too seemingly; but if the treasure is of such a nature that it wants to be hidden under shame, harm, suffering, as in a rusty bag or sack, so that the world does not recognize it or steal it, which happens when it would honor, love and promote us for it. For this reason Christ also says, Matth. 13, 44, that the man who found the treasure in the field buried it again and buried it. This is no different; the gospel will not and cannot burst forth and float up in great honors, chamber, air and goods, or it will not remain; but it must be buried and hidden under adversity and shame, so that it does not burst forth before the world and make itself pleasing to it; thus it remains safe and free.
4 For this reason God also now graciously looks upon you and proves your treasure, that He may also keep it; for this you should thank and praise God with joy, who makes you worthy to have such treasure and to hold it in the right bag, so that it may remain with you. Therefore be confident, my dear sirs
and brothers, it is well with you, and it will be good. Only do not fall from the hand of God, who has now seized you, to make you righteous Christians, who should not live evangelically by words alone, as I and my kind unfortunately are, but by deed and truth.
5 It is written, Isa. 64, 8: "We are his clay, he is our potter. The clay does not have to master the art and hand of the potter, but must let itself be mastered and made. That is why the Gospel also uses its rhyme, which St. Paul gives it, 1 Cor. 1:18: Verbum Crucis "a word of the cross". He who does not want the cross must also lack the word. True, there is nothing more lovely in heaven and on earth than the word without the cross. But the pleasure would not last long, because nature is not able to bear joy and pleasure for a long time; as it is said: "Man can well suffer everything without good days, and must have strong legs to endure good days.
For this reason God has seasoned this sweet, lovely treasure a little and made it tasty with vinegar and myrrh, so that we will not grow weary of it. For sourness maketh eating, they say; so also maketh trouble on earth, that our heart is made the more glad, and fresh, and ever thirsty after this treasure. For its power is tasted and explored by how it comforts the heart in God. Therefore also Solomon, Sprüchw. 9, 5. gives it the name: Vinum mixtum (mixed wine), since wisdom says: "Come and drink the wine that I have mixed for you", and Psalm 75, v. 9: Calix in manu Domini meri vini plenus mixto: A pure wine it is, which makes the souls drunk; but still mixed with suffering, so that it remains tasty.
(7) But what more shall I tell you? Your love itself knows well that in all the Scriptures God's word is always praised in such a way that it brings adversity, disgrace and all kinds of affliction at the same time; besides this, it also admonishes and comforts you, telling you how great a treasure is and how well it increases through such afflictions. For this reason you can comfort yourselves among yourselves. But what I am doing is probably
a presumption. But because I see that God has given you the same riches with us through the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, I cannot refrain from it. I cannot refrain from being a fool, and for the joy and pleasure I take in your fellowship, from chattering with you and exhorting you, if I myself had need of both exhortation and teaching.
For this reason I ask. Your love wanted to keep this writing, done in good opinion, too good for me and to command me weak, poor, frail vessel to God through your prayer. I beg you, let also this
M. Jacobus, be commanded to do so. May the God of all grace, who has begun to reveal Himself to you and to renew His Son's image in you, according to the riches of His glory, accomplish His work abundantly, both in you and in us, until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ; that we may wait with comfort, that He may deliver us from the rest of all evil in this flesh, Amen. God's grace be with you all, Amen. At Wittenberg, Friday after Nicolai, Anno Domini 1523.
Martinus Luther. D.