Luc. 2:1-14.
But it came to pass at that time that a commandment went out from the emperor Augustus that all the world should be protected. And this protection was the very first and happened at the time when Cyrenius was governor in Syria. And every man went to be assessed, every man to his own city. Then Joseph also departed out of Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, into the land of Judah, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; that he might be esteemed with Mary his trusted wife, which was with child. And when they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she bare her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger: for they had no other room in the inn. And there were shepherds in the same region in the field by the hurdles, tending their flock by night. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came unto them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel
said to them: Fear not: behold, I proclaim unto you great joy, which shall be to all the people: for unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ the HEART, in the city of David. And this is the sign that you will find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And immediately there was with the angel the multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and goodwill toward men.*)
(1) This history ye have heard often before, and must hear it this day and every year, which is an abomination to lazy sleepy Christians, who are full and full, that they should hear one thing continually: but to them in whom is the right true faith, it is new always: for the Holy Ghost can speak of one thing often, and so that it doth dampen his own anew always. Now, there would be much of this history to preach, for it is a rich text, if we had time, and could meet it; but let us say this much, what God will give.
(2) You have now heard how the angel himself interprets this whole history, and interprets it to mean that it is preached for our sake; and this is the fruit of the whole history, that we know what use we are to make of it. For thus the angel himself says to the shepherds, "Fear not! Behold, I proclaim unto you great joy, which shall be to all people: for unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord, in the city of David." Then hear ye that we are to receive his birth, because he saith, The Saviour is born unto you." For the Lord Christ came not at last for his own sake, but to help us. Therefore we must diligently see to it that we believe the angel, and so we shall have it. I also said before that the gospel preaches nothing but faith; this is also what the angel preaches here, and all preachers must preach in this way, or else they are not true preachers; the angel here was a beginning and model for all preachers. Now here we have to speak of two kinds of birth, of our birth and of Christ's birth. But before we speak of this, we must first tell you the story, so that you may take it to heart and grasp the joy that the angel proclaims here. Of the first the evangelist says thus:
*Marginal gloss to v. 1: Estimated. To estimate is here that each one has to show how much he was able to do.
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a commandment from the emperor Augustus, that all the world should be done. This was the very first of the treasures, and it came to pass at the time that Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And every man went to be appraised, every man to his own city.
(3) You know that the Jews had a promise from the patriarch Jacob that from the lineage of Judah there would not be a ruler, master or teacher among the Jewish people until the Messiah promised to them would come. For thus the words are clear, which Jacob said to Judah Gen. 49, 10: "The scepter shall not be taken from Judah, nor a master from his feet, until the hero come." Now it was at that time that the Romans had taken the Jewish land and set up a governor there, whom the evangelist calls Cyrenius. The Jews had had priests as kings for a long time before that, when the Maccabees had taken over the kingdom, so that the government of the tribe of Judah had been suppressed for a long time before that, and no prince or teacher had been set before the people from the lineage or blood of Judah. That Christ or Messiah should come was a great sign, and had now stood for a long time, so that the prophecy was in full swing, Messiah must come; the Jews knew this well.
4 Therefore he says here, that at the time when Christ was born, the emperor Augustus set a governor in the Jewish country, under whom the Jews were to be assessed. As if he should say: He is just born, when he should be born; all treasurers, who were under the Roman emperor, had to testify that they were subject to him. The Jews knew this, but did not understand the prophecy. So Jacob had said, "The scepter shall not be taken from Judah, nor a master from his feet, until the coming of the hero.
is not to cease to be a ruler and teacher in Judah until Christ comes. With these words Jacob has indicated enough that it should cease when Christ would come. But that they understood it as if such a hero should come, who ruled with the sword, is a false understanding, and the text does not give it either; for it says thus: When Christ shall come, then the same temporal regiment of the Jewish king shall cease. So Lucas indicates here the time when it had to happen. Further follows in the text:
Then Joseph also arose from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into the land of Moses, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and family of David, that he might be esteemed with Mary his familiar wife, which conceived.
(5) Joseph and Mary also obeyed this imperial commandment and, like other pious and obedient people, went to Bethlehem, which was the capital of the family of Judah, and had themselves estimated. Mary, being with child and near to giving birth, could have excused herself for such a journey, but she did not, not wanting to cause trouble to others. It also had to happen that they came to Bethlehem because of the prophecy of the prophet Micah, which says: Christ shall be born in Bethlehem in Judah, Micah 5:1. Behold, this treasure had to serve this purpose, which the emperor Augustus nor his governor did not know. So God still does today with His works, for which Gentiles and evil people must also serve Him, so that He may make us poor miserable people, who are so deeply immersed in flesh and blood, certain of our faith; this is especially urged by this evangelist Lucas, who always indicates the time and place in the histories, so that we should not lack Christ. How then this birth came to pass, the evangelist further says, saying:
And it came to pass, while they were there, that the time came for her to bear. And she gave birth to her first son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; for they had no other room in the inn.
(6) We shall not be grieved nor vexed to see how poor and miserable the Lord comes. He gives the world a great blow with this entrance, and makes it altogether a fool. Behold, was not this a great thing, that the virgin, who was thought to be a young bride, who had come to man only this year, should not have given birth in her house at Nazareth, but had first to make a journey with her pregnant body, almost three days' journey, without any pomp (for they were poor, Joseph and Mary). And now that she was there, she did not have so much room that she could have given birth in the inn in a room or chamber. It was full in the inn, nor was it possible to lay anyone in the house, but this pair of people had to be sent to the stable. There was no one who could have cleared out this pregnant woman's room or chamber: she had to go into the stable and give birth there to the Creator of all creatures, to whom no one here wanted to give way. God gives us to understand what we should think of the world, gives it such a blow that we should know what the world is and what we should do with it, namely: that it is blind and without understanding, does not see the works of God; and even if it sees them, it cannot send itself into them.
7 From this we should learn that we should not be moved, even though we are poor and miserable and forsaken by the world. For here we have a great consolation: If Christ, the Creator of all things, and his dearest mother had to lie in such misery, why should it not also happen to us, or why would we poor, miserable creatures not also like to suffer such things when he sends us misfortune and misery? But this is a plague, that we put such examples out of our eyes and still much further out of our hearts. We could well suffer if we believed, and would have a strong consolation, because we see that the Lord Christ has suffered such hardship, poverty and misery. Therefore this is the first thing that you see, how Christ came into the world with such great poverty, in such a great city, where there would not have been one who would have shown him some friendship or good deed. So it happened
on earth with this birth, over which the whole heavenly host rejoiced, as follows:
And there were shepherds in the same region in the field by the hurdles, tending their flock by night. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came unto them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.
(8) Then you hear what God is doing in heaven about this birth, which the world despises and does not know or see. This joy, which is in heaven, is so great that it cannot remain in heaven, but must break forth and be proclaimed and communicated to the world; for there the angels proclaim great joy to the shepherds. This is a great comfort, which the world despises and rejects, but the angels hold it in great honor, and if they had been allowed to do it, they would have held it much more glorious and delicious. But it was not to be; for God had to give an example with this Son of His, that one should despise the splendor of the world, and one day realize what the world is.
9 Human reason is so wise that it always casts its eyes upward, sees only what is high and does not want to see what is low. This is a consolation, that the angels and the whole heavenly host so take care of him whom the world despises, that we learn, when the world already despises us, that we nevertheless have those who take care of us and look upon us. We do not believe this, we do not turn our eyes to it; but we look at great, delicious, high things, like the world, and immediately tremble when things go a little bad for us, we do not think nor know when such a misfortune befalls us that it is God's will. Believe it truly: if it were not God's will, He would not have let His most beloved Son be placed in the manger, would not have let Him be born so poor, miserable and despised. But how poor and despised he is in the eyes of the world, the more God, his Father, and the whole heavenly host took care of him. That we should also comfort ourselves, and certainly believe: the more we are despised before the world, the higher we are regarded before God.
10. there are many of them, which are thus
and have such devotion: If I had been there, how I would have served the child so diligently, I would have washed his swaddling clothes. Oh, if I had been as blessed as the shepherds, that I might have seen the Lord lying there in the manger. Yes, now you would have done it, knowing that Christ is now so great: you would have done as little at that time as the citizens of Bethlehem; childish and foolish thoughts they are. Why do you not do it now? Because you have Christ in your neighbor, and you should serve him and do good; for whatever you do to your neighbor, who suffers hardship and is miserable, you have done to the Lord Christ himself; as he will say to the elect on the last day, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it to me," Matt. 25:40. Therefore it is annoying, even foolish, to have such childish thoughts. Therefore let us open our eyes once, so that we do not hear so many good examples in vain; otherwise great punishment will come upon us. What were the words that the angel spoke to the shepherds? The evangelist says thus:
And the angel said to them: Fear not! Behold, I proclaim unto you great joy, which shall be to all people: for unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this is the sign that you will find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
11 From these words of the angel learn that you know how to use this birth of the Lord Christ, and do not let it be enough that you have it alone. A great treasure, if it lies hidden under the earth or otherwise, is of no use to anyone; but if it is opened and has been made workable so that it can be used, then it is useful and delicious. Therefore think that you can make use of this birth, otherwise it will be of no use or comfort to you. For the fact that you know the bad story of how he was born, and that he was born poor and miserable, is as much help to you as if you heard a story about the king of France or any other great king, from which you receive neither benefit nor comfort.
012 But how shall we use this birth aright and profitably? As I have said: that we take it for granted that he is born to us, that his birth is mine, as you have also heard in the prophecy of Isaiah, and that therefore his birth and mine are brought together. Our birth is such a birth, since there is nothing but sin, as David says Psalm 51:7: "Behold, I am made in iniquity, and my mother conceived me in sins." As if he wanted to say: There is nothing but sin both in the conception and in the birth; what I bring from the womb, that is all damned thing, belongs to death, devil and hell. Since our birth, skin and hair is evil in us, what good can come of it? This is our title, which we have from Adam, of which we may boast, but nothing else, namely, that every child that is born is in complete control of sin, death, the devil, hell and eternal damnation; it is a miserable, wretched birth, without what else follows for misery and distress in the world.
To help this birth, God sent another birth, which had to be pure and undefiled, if it was to purify the impure, sinful birth. This is the birth of the Lord Christ, His only begotten Son. And for this reason he did not want him to be born of sinful flesh and blood, but to be born of a virgin alone. He did not leave anything unclean or sinful in the flesh, but took it all away, made it full of the Holy Spirit, and left nothing there but the misery and distress that comes from the flesh and blood, hunger, thirst, misfortune and death, except sin; as the epistle to the Hebrews Cap. 4, 15. says that he was tempted in all things, according to the likeness, without sin.
(14) This is the great thing which our Lord God hath done unto us, wherein no man shall bring forth fruit to help him, save he that believeth it. But no one will believe it easily, except he who has felt what his birth is. He who does not feel his misery does not taste this birth of Christ; but he who feels it
If we feel that we are in sin, we must also cry out, like the prophet David, and say, "Behold, I was made in iniquity, and my mother conceived me in sins"; for we feel sin and our evil birth. When death comes, and we feel the sorrow of the heart, we would like to taste it and thirst for it, and be glad to have this blessed immaculate birth: but now, because we do not feel sin, nor taste the bitterness of death, we let it go coldly into the heart. Yes, we do hear it, but it certainly does not enter the heart with any seriousness; for if he believed that this birth had happened to him too well, he would fear neither sin nor death. Therefore I have said that a Christian man should believe and have no doubt that Christ's birth is as good as it is of the Lord Christ himself; and as he has pure blood and flesh from a virgin, so he is also pure; and this virgin is his mother spiritually, as she was the mother of the Lord Christ bodily; of this the heart must rejoice and be sure, otherwise it would not be well [for us *].
015 This is what the angel meant by these words, when he said, He is born unto you. This is what is said: All that he is and has is yours, and he is your Savior: not only that you look at him, but he is able to save you from sin, death, the devil, and from all misfortune; yes, as great as he is, he is born to you, and is yours with all that he has. If therefore he is mine, and hath changed his birth into mine, my flesh and blood is his mother's also, and with all that he hath he is mine; that I may say to the mother, Behold, the child which thou hast born is mine, his flesh and blood is my flesh and blood; therefore thou art my mother also, must thou also think me thy child. For what Christ brings with him must be mine, as he is mine. If therefore his birth is mine, of a virgin, without sin, full of the Holy Ghost: so must my birth also be of a virgin, without sin. Now there is Eve, who
*) (c d)
first mother, never my mother; for the same birth must die and pass away, that there be no more sin; then must I set against the mother, from whom I am born in sins, this mother Mariam.
(16) So the angel brings great joy with him, for it is not possible that the heart should not rejoice when it receives this Savior for its own. When it comes to the meeting that we feel our misery and distress, there is no comfort nor help, my heart cannot rise above the burden that presses it, but must go to failure. But if I go there and do not doubt that Christ's birth is mine and that my sins are gone, I must be glad and receive comfort so that all misfortune will go away. This is the comfort, and no other, that makes a good conscience, which fears neither death nor hell; for it relies always on the word of God, which gives us Christ. Therefore it is a wretched and miserable thing to seek such a good conscience and merry heart in other things than here. You will not find joy or peace of conscience either in heaven or on earth except in this birth, of that be sure and certain. Therefore leave all other things and keep thyself here alone. If thou wilt be bold and courageous against sin, death, the devil, hell, and all calamities, here is the Lord and Savior.
(17) You understand this well, for you have now heard it so often, only that you see how only one thing is taught at all ends of Scripture, that you may be well grounded and assured. That is what I have said, that one must know how to use this birth. Those who seek something else and do not need this birth are lost, as you have now heard. You have also finely expressed this in this hymn (whoever made it, it was well done), namely, that Christ, the infant, alone is our consolation; which are great, excellent words and should be taken with all seriousness. For thus you have sung: A little child is born to us this day, of a virgin cleanly, to comfort us poor people. If the little child had not been born to us, we would have been
lost at all times. Then you hear that it says that there is no other comfort than Christ alone, and that is true. Of course, the Holy Spirit must have taught the one who made this song to sing in this way.
(18) If this is true, then all monks, nuns, priests, and what runs from this child must be lost, and want to use other ways and do other works, and think to go to heaven with it. For they say they may not have the child; otherwise they would have to confess that their thing is nothing. Therefore it is nothing but a degradation*) to provoke the hearts away from Christ and to lead them to the devil. For this reason it is a beautiful song, and there is also a thanksgiving in it, because it says: Salvation is for us all: O sweet Jesus Christ, that you were born man, protect us from hell; and therefore I would like you to understand it. Everyone sings it in the whole world, and there is no one who believes it. That is why they go on and argue against it, especially those who know the most about it, shouting and screaming, so that I fear that Christ will never suffer greater blasphemy than today and on the greatest feasts; that it would not be a miracle that God, when He is blasphemed in this way, would let the whole world be devoured, if the last day were not near.
(19) Therefore, see to it that you also say this beautiful song with your heart, and believe it as you sing it with your mouth. Is it so, that all is lost, where the child is not: what may there be of much substance, what dost thou then add, and wilt do other works, that thou mayest build thee a seat in heaven? And this is what they do most, who pray so many rosaries, and adore the Mother of God with their mouths without ceasing; but with their hearts they adulterate more than all others, not only Mary, but also Christ Himself, their Lord and Savior. Therefore take it that ye may judge for certain, that whatsoever begineth other than to take hold of this child, all is damnable;
*) The issues c d have "seduction". D. Red.
Otherwise the angels would have lied. This must certainly be kept, without addition, and not this added: It is not enough to think that one must do more. If then the angel says that this child does it and that he is the Savior, if not, then it is lost: how then can it follow that you must do something, if it is done before? What dost thou dare to do, that thou mayest obtain it? The child cannot be grasped or acquired by works, whether you already do [all *] works. If thou hast not yet the child, thy works also are unclean, that they cannot merit such a treasure, be they ever so holy; but it is to be grasped with the heart, that thou mayest believe, and say unto the angel, I believe that it is true as thou sayest, and I hold the child to be certainly a Saviour which is born unto me. And the piece we have now said is about faith.
20 Again, here we have the other part of the Christian life, namely, love, so that one does not reject works. If you want to do works, do not do them in order to gain something from God, but follow the example. As Christ did to you, so do to your neighbor. If you only look at the example of Christ, you cannot feel anything but love. That he condescends and is born in such poverty is pure love that he has for us; it compels him to become my servant, as Paul says to the Philippians Cap. 2, 6. 7. who could have remained in divine honor; but this he has done for you, he has looked upon your misery and sorrow, he has taken pity on you that you are such a wretched man, even condemned and full of sin. Your birth is unclean, your heart is full of sorrow and wretchedness, you deserve nothing but the wrath of God and eternal damnation; and even if you were a Carthusian for a thousand years, you could not help yourself from such misfortune and damnation. But Christ helps you, he is rich and strong enough to do it; because he can do it, he does it, and has the will to do it gladly. So love urges him to do it,
*) (c d)
that he puts everything on you and stretches out for you what he has and is able to do.
(21) Therefore, since Christ has shown such great love for you, and has done all that he can do for you, do the same to your neighbor. If you want to do works, do them for your neighbor, who is also in misery and distress. You must not do anything because Christ needs you to make him rich; for he did not do it because his Father needed him to earn anything from him, but because the Father would be pleased with him for giving himself to his Father's will and loving us so much. We must do the same with our works toward our neighbor, which we should do only for this reason, that we thank the Father that he has shown us a gracious will in that he has given me his dear Son, and has let him put for me all that he has had. For if I believe this to be true, then I go forth and say, "If God has shown me such kindness and grace in His most beloved Son, and has made Him put all things for me, then I will do the same again, and also put all that I have to serve and love my neighbor. So now I do not look up to heaven, but go where my neighbor lies in misfortune, poverty, sickness, sin or error, and help him in whatever way I can. And think, Christ helpeth out of poverty: as thou wouldest that they should do unto thee, when thou art thyself in it, so will I do unto my neighbor. Therefore, if your neighbor is a sinner and you see, but you are not in sin and have the holy birth, go and preach to him and help him out. And all these things shall I do freely, as Christ hath done unto me, without any works or merit, but by grace, love, and mercy.
(22) So do works, if you want to do good, righteous, Christian works. God does not need them, but he wants you to do them for his service, so that it will please him and he will have it so. This means doing righteous good works. This is not done by those hypocrites who want to earn heaven by their chastity, poverty and obedience. Whom hel-
f such works? I have no need of them myself, nor do they serve my neighbor: therefore it is vain deceit to give works a name, as if they should deserve heaven, and if they are nothing, no one else helps either. Take this to heart and act accordingly.
(23) So in the whole gospel you have acted these two things, faith and love, through and through. If you grasp these things, the holy birth of Christ will also come to your help, benefit and comfort, and you will also be the child of the mother, spiritually, as Christ Jesus is her child bodily. We will say more about this birth at another time.
24. what else in this gospel more
I have sufficiently explained in the Postil how the angels' song: "Praise be to God in the highest, and peace on earth, and goodwill toward men" is to be understood; now we will leave it at that, and call upon God for mercy, so that He may give us the benefit and comfort of His Son's birth. The other two Gospels, which are usually read at the Early Christmas Mass and at the High Christmas Mass, are also found in the Postil. But we want to put the text from the Evangelists together with the sums afterwards, for the sake of those who would like to have them here in this booklet.