We must speak a little about today's feast of the Holy Cross, because a great abuse has arisen from it. The feast is called the "Raising of the Holy Cross," and came from the fact that the emperor Heraclius carried the cross in his banner when he overcame the king of Persia and marched home with great splendor, attributing the victory to the holy cross; for which reason the feast was thus instituted.
Now, as you know, in all matters concerning God, the evil spirit has always wanted to imitate and do so, so that nothing is too great for the devil, he has also wanted to imitate and draw people away from the right path to abuse and foolishness. We see this here in the holy cross, also in God's dear saints, yes, also in His holy name. As you know, and as you heard the other day, that God commanded us to honor the saints, the devil made a noise to us and lifted up our eyes, so that we fell on the dead saints and forgot about the living ones. He has done the same to us here with the holy cross. Let us first look at the abuses that have resulted from it; then we will say a little about the right custom.
3. first, Christ carried his cross, which is the wood on which he died for all our sins, and for the sins of the whole world, as John says 1 John 2:2. now the cross which Christ carried is not commanded for us to carry, nor will we have much reward if we carry it at once; but we are to carry our cross, as the Lord himself says in Matthew 16:24: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Therefore, the first abuse is to build churches on the wood where Christ hung, and to pay other outward respects with gold,
Silver and precious stones, also in abundance, as here in Wittenberg the foundation is endowed on the crown of thorns and much interest and rent is turned to it; which is not the right custom nor reverence. Now, that one would also trample the holy cross underfoot, that would not be good. To honor it is fine, but to fall on it, to endow churches on it, to place the blessedness of souls in it, and to leave the right cross and what is more necessary beside it, that is not right.
But there is the abuse of tradition, that where one has a piece of the holy cross, much silver and gold has flown to him, there they have endowed churches and the poor people sit next to them. The bishops, the idols of indulgences, found them and gave them indulgences, so that they would open the mouths of the people, so that they would come running: that is where the pilgrimages came from. Then God also gave his grace that one cut a piece from a gallows and prayed for the holy cross; for there are so many pieces in the world that one could build a house of them if one had them all: just as the head of St. Barbarian is at so many ends that if one counts it, it has almost had seven heads; since one has created such a mess with organs, violins, lyres, pipes that there has been no measure.
Thus God has blinded us, for as we seek Him, so He finds us again. If we want to be fools, he will let us remain fools. Thus is fulfilled the saying of St. Paul in 2 Thess. 2, 10-12: "Because they have not received the love of the truth, that they might be saved, God will send them strong error, that they may believe lies; that they all may be judged who do not believe the truth, but delight in unrighteousness." This is just so he-
went out. For when one preached to help the poor, it went in one ear and out the other. So, when God's commandments come to pass, when God's eyes look and His works lead, we leave them behind and follow our own fancy and foolishness; therefore God also afflicts us, that we must accept lies, serve idols, worship stone and wood, because we do not respect the latter; as Paul says 2 Tim. 4, 3. 4. "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but according to their own lusts they will load themselves with teachers, after which their ears will itch; and they will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn to fables."
6 Therefore notice that this is the first abuse, that one decorates the wood in this way, and think that you do much more when you give poor people ten pennies than when you give twenty guilders. For God does not care if you do not decorate it outwardly; indeed, if you had none at all, it would be just as much if you only had it in your heart. Therefore I would that no crown of thorns, nay, no holy cross, had ever come forth, because of the grievous abuse; for there men fall down and adorn it with gold and silver, and leave the poor people to sit by it. If a piece of the holy cross were given to me and were in my hand, I would soon put it there, so that the sun would not shine on it much, only because man is so much inclined to abuses, and thus plunges into them, gives to them, and misses the poor beside him.
Now, what I have said of the holy cross, that I will have said of all sanctuary. For sanctity is nothing other than a seduction of the faithful, therefore always among the earths. Vigilantius also wrote about this. Jerome has laid himself hard against him, so that I wish he had let it go. And if Vigilantii book existed, like Jerome, I think he would have written much more Christian about it than Jerome. It is true that it is sacred to the bones of the saints; but to fall for it, and to do such foolish work, yes, blasphemy with it, and to
To despise one's neighbor is an unchristian act. Therefore, that the abuses might remain behind and the works of love might come forth, I would that it were under the earth. Can't the blindness be taken out of our eyes for once, so that we can make a difference which would be better or not? The poor man is there, where God's word lives in him, body and soul are together, that is a living sanctuary; one leaves him, and runs away, and overpowers a dead man. Oh, how blind and senseless we are, that we thus despise the sanctuary of the Gospel. For what can St. Peter, since he is a Christian, have more than I or you? He may have more gifts and more powerful works, but the faith he has is equally directed to Christ as ours, has the same Christ and the same spirit that we have, if we believe otherwise. Therefore mark this, that you esteem all the noise and honor of the dead as brass, and the honor which you do to your neighbor as gold and precious stone, so that you may separate one thing from another. So now you can see what you should think of monasteries: they come here and make a racket, and open people's eyes, in that the Franciscum, the other Augustinum, and the third Benedictum are extolled, yet nothing of this is commanded to us. This is from the first abuse.
8 After that another abuse came by Thomam of Aquinas, who was painted the dove in the ear. Yes, I think it was a young devil. He has given great cleverness with dulia, hyperdulia and what is more of the thing, and says that one should worship it, but still so far that one ties together the one who is in heaven with the one that the painter has painted. Yes, tie it also to the devil and worship him too. These are the little words that make people change their minds. For how can a common man come to be thus drawn up per relationes and attach Christ to it; it is not possible. For this reason, all the aversions should be put out of the way, and only pure faith should be taught. For this reason, I wanted all the crosses to be overturned that had sweated and bled, so that the pilgrims would be able to go up to the crosses.
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The devil is always gone, for it does no good, as we have now learned, praise be to God.
(9) Now let us also seek the right invention and raising of the holy cross. Christ commanded that every man should invent and raise his own cross, as he hath found his; which thou shalt sanctify, even as he hath sanctified his own with flesh and blood. But where can you find it? You must not take a grave stick in your hand and dig deep for it, not ride to Jerusalem; but to find is "to know". If God sends me a calamity, whether it be sickness, harm to body or goods, by evil men, dig that thou mayest find, that is, see that thou knowest the same. If you know that God has inflicted it on you, you have found it with your heart; God is more interested in finding it than if it were carried on diamonds or emeralds. But this is the meaning of a cross, that it is first a suffering, and is painful, and then it is borne with shame and disgrace; as Christ's suffering was with great weakness. For no one could praise it; indeed, everyone mocked it and said, "He has helped others; now let him help himself," Matt. 27:42. This is also a cross, if I stand there and suffer, and do not have those who comfort me; but this is still a bad cross: but if I stand there and suffer, and all people sing and jump to it, and say: It has happened to him rightly, yes, he would have deserved even more, as happened to the apostles; this is the right, true cross, so be abandoned both by men and by God.
(10) There go the right storms in the psalm. As when David speaks Ps. 25, 16. 17.: "Turn to me and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and wretched. The anguish of my heart is great; lead me out of my troubles." And in the 142nd Psalm v. 5. he says: "Look to the right hand, and behold, there is none that knoweth me; for my flight is lost, no man seeketh after my soul." The psalms are full of lamentations and cries. And this is the right cross. Therefore, the other sufferings are those of labor and sickness; but they are not the
right cross. For the right cross must have included shame and mockery with the suffering. This is now buried deep; one also digs it out with the heart alone. But then one finds it, when one recognizes that God has imposed it. When the pope arrives, condemns and burns the true Christians (as he is already doing), as if they were the devil's own, and the whole world falls to it and says: "It is right for them; and God be with them, the devil with us.
(11) Flesh and blood does not see this, but the spirit is well aware that it is right, even if the whole world mocks, scorns and does wrong. These are holy spirits and deeply enlightened people who recognize and carry the cross, but there are almost few of them. Therefore, to invent the cross in our hearts is to let the disgraceful image of the world pass over us, to lift up and sing the little song in the psalm: "I am alone. I am wretched and forsaken," Ps. 70, 6, 86, 1. But such shame and disgrace does not last long; even over a little one we see the contradiction. As it happened, when he was hanging on the cross, all the world stood against him, he was mocked and ridiculed, and abandoned by all creatures; but soon the game was turned around, since he was barely dead, and all creatures there had to testify to his innocence before the whole world. The sun lost its glow. The moon became pale. The earth shook; the graves opened; the dead walked among the people; the Jews went back into the city and beat their breasts; the Gentile Centurion freely confessed: This is truly the Son of God; the curtain in the temple was torn in two, Matth. 27, 51-54, and what other miracles happened there. All of this is written for our comfort, so that even when we are standing in the cross, we should think that it will not last long.
This is called finding the cross. When it is found, it must be lifted up: not as Heraclius or the Stationers, who deal with Chresem and other foolish works; but when we realize in our hearts that God has laid it out of His gracious will, that we thank Him and praise Him for it.
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that you may praise and glorify God in the cross. But this is done secretly, not like Heraclius, who rode with great splendor to Jerusalem today; that is nothing: but if you do it alone before God, so that no one sees it, like Paul Apost. 16, 25, who praised and glorified God in the dungeon with Sila, and the apostles who thanked and glorified God that they had been made worthy to suffer for Christ's name, Acts 5, 41. 5, 41. Now this is not done outwardly, but inwardly: the outward gives money, the inward praises God and adorns heaven. Therefore the right holy cross is invented and lifted up, if you know it and are in faith, and thank God that he has put it on you, you sanctify it with your heart, as Christ sanctified his. Christ's blood and suffering has sanctified you; so you lead to and sanctify your cross with your heart, if you willingly and kindly accept what God inflicts on you.
(13) Then it comes to pass that what was most contemptible in the sight of the world becomes honest, great, and pleasing in the sight of God, even finally praised and glorified in the sight of the world, just as Christ's cross was. This was also not in honor of the first, as now; it went to, like
one hangs on the light gallows or radebrecht. But now it has come to this, that it is vain honor and all shame is forgotten. So also our cross: because we are still in it, it is more shameful than the wheel and the gallows; but when one has borne it in faith, it becomes delicious, as Christ's cross is now. And as his is now manifest, so shall ours be manifest also.
14. Now there is one more thing: when the cross is thus found, lifted up and sanctified, one must follow in Christ: Just as Christ bore his suffering wholly in vain, not for himself but for us; so you also must do and follow him, suffering wholly in vain, and not having a mischievous eye, that I may seek my reputation and glory in it, but for the good of my neighbor, that the gospel may arise, that people may also follow you as you follow Christ, and take a good example from you; so that it may all be done in love.
15 Let this be said of the holy cross. I also wanted to have preached something about the gospel, but the time was too short; however, I let myself believe that this was also necessary. We want to call upon God for mercy.
On the day of Matthew, the apostle and evangelist.
Matth. 9, 9-13.
And as Jesus departed from thence, he saw a man sitting at the receipt of custom, whose name was Matthew, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat in the house, behold, there came many publicans and sinners, and sat at meat with JEsu and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners? When JE heard this, he said to them: The strong have no need of a physician, but the sick. But go and learn what this is: I am pleased with mercy, and not with sacrifice. I have come to call sinners to repentance, not the pious.