Luc. 2, 41-52.
And his parents went up to Jerusalem every year for the feast of Easter. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. And when the days were fulfilled, and they returned home, the child Jesus abode at Jerusalem, and his parents knew it not. But they thought he was among the companions, and came a day's journey, seeking him among their friends and acquaintances. And when they found him not, they went again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass after three days, that they found him sitting in the temple in the midst of the teachers, listening unto them, and asking them questions. And all who listened to him were amazed at his understanding and his answer. And when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said to
Him: My son, why have you done this to us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee with sorrows. And he said unto them: What is it that ye have sought me? know ye not that I must be in my father's? And they understood not the word which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom, age and grace with God and men.
(1) This is a gospel that sets before us an example of the holy cross, how it is with those who are Christians, and how they should conduct themselves therein. For whoever wants to be a Christian must take care to help carry the cross, for God will take him between the spurs and test him so that he will become weary, and no one will come to Christ without suffering. Therefore, here is an example for us to follow. This is what we want to hear.
(2) Although the holy mother Mary, who is blessed and highly graced with all kinds of graces, undoubtedly had the greatest pleasure and joy in her child, the Lord ruled her in such a way that she did not have paradise in him, and saved it for her as well as for others in the life to come. That is why she had to suffer much misfortune, pain and heartache on earth. For this was the first misfortune that befell her, that she had to give birth in Bethlehem, in a strange place, where she had no room with her child but to lie in a stable. The other, that she had to flee to a foreign country, Egypt, with the child immediately after the six weeks, which was a bad consolation. She will undoubtedly have had many more of these shocks, which are not described.
(3) So this also is one to her, but when he laid misfortune upon her neck, he stole away from her in the temple, and so long sought, and she found him not. This has made her so frightened and grieved that she might have despaired, as she also says, "I and your father have sought you with pain." For it is to be thought that her heart will have stood thus: Behold, the child is mine alone, that I know, that God has given me, and commanded that I should wait for him; how is it then that he comes from me? It
is now my fault that I did not wait for him and did not look to him; and perhaps God does not want me to be worthy of waiting for him, and now wants to take it away from me again. Then, no doubt, her heart will have been frightened, that it has faltered and been full of pain.
4. There you see how she is, whether she is the mother and could well boast of the child before all other mothers, so that the joy has been beyond measure, as great as none has ever been; nor do you see how God strips her heart bare and naked, so that she now cannot say, I am his mother; and makes her so terrified of the child that she would have wished that she had never heard or seen him, and so might have done greater sin than any other mother ever did etc.
(5) Thus our Lord God can act to take away our joy and comfort when He wills, and also to frighten us the most with that which gives us the greatest joy; and again, the greatest joy is given by that which frightens us the most. For this was her greatest joy, that she became the mother of the child; so now she has no greater terror than just from this. So we also have no greater fear than of sin and death; yet God can comfort us in this, so that we may boast, as St. Paul says in Romans 7, that sin served precisely to justify us, and that we would also gladly be dead and desire to die.
(6) So here we have the great sufferings of this mother of Christ, that she was deprived of her child, and that her confidence in God was also taken away from her; for she had to fear that God was angry with her and did not want her to be the mother of His Son. But no one will understand how she was afraid, except those who experience it in part. Therefore we should also draw the example to ourselves; for it is not for the sake of
but for our sake. For it is now through; wherefore we must be mindful of it, and prepare for it, that, if such should befall us, we may be able to send ourselves into it.
If God has given us a fine, strong faith, so that we walk in strong confidence and are sure that we have a gracious God, and can also defy Him, then we are in paradise. But if God causes our heart to fail us, so that we think He wants to tear the Lord Christ from our heart, so that our conscience feels that it has lost Him, and then fidgets and despairs, so that our confidence perishes, then there is sorrow and distress. For even though it knows nothing of sins, it is still in such a fidget that it thinks, "Who knows whether God will have me? So, too, when the heart feels such jolts, it says: "Yes, God has given you a fine faith so far, but perhaps He wants to take it away from you and not have you any more. But to hold such blows, strong spirits belong to, and there are not many people whom God thus grasps all. Nevertheless, we must prepare ourselves, if we are so, that we do not despair.
(8) And we have more such examples in Scripture from time to time, as when we read of Joshua Cap. 7:6, 7. God had made a great and strong promise to him that he should destroy the nations altogether, and admonished him himself that he should be bold and go up afresh against the enemies, which he did. But what happened? And it came to pass, when he was in such exalted faith, that once he was about three thousand men, which were directed unto a city, that they should take it: and they were proud, because they saw that it was a small city, and that the people therein were few. And when they were come, the enemies brake out of the little city, and smote the people. Then Joshua fell to the ground on his face, and could not look up to heaven all that day; and he began to cry and to mourn unto God, saying, O why hast thou brought us hither, to suffer us to fall into the hands of the enemy? Then his faith lay low and
wanted to despair, so that God himself had to raise him up. God does this with His great saints, sometimes taking Christ from their hearts, that is, their faith and confidence.
9 But all this is done out of abundant grace and goodness: Grace and goodness, so that we may feel on all sides how kindly and graciously the Father deals with us and proves to us that our faith is exercised and grows stronger and stronger. And he especially does this to protect his own against two kinds of misfortune that might otherwise follow. First, if they are so strong in spirit and defiant, they might at last fall upon themselves, thinking they were doing it of their own strength. Therefore he sometimes lets their faith fail and lie down, so that they see who they are and have to say: Even if I wanted to believe, I cannot. Thus the Almighty God humbles the saints and keeps them in their knowledge. For nature and reason always want to fall on God's gifts and cling to them. Therefore, he must act with us in such a way that we see that he must give us faith in our hearts and that we cannot make it ourselves. So let both the fear of God and his confidence stand together, that we may walk by both, lest a man become presumptuous and too sure, and fall upon himself. This is one reason why God tempts the saints so highly.
(10) Secondly, it gives us an example. For if we did not have an example in Scripture of saints who also suffered in this way, we would not be able to bear it, and the conscience would say: It is I alone who am in such suffering, and God has never left anyone like this; therefore it must be a sign that God does not want me. But since we see that the same thing happened to the Virgin and other saints, we nevertheless have a consolation that we should not despair, and an example that we should keep still and wait until God comes and strengthens us.
11 For we have many examples of such suffering in Scripture, and therefore the prophet David says Ps. 31:23: "I said when I was raptured, 'I am rejected from your presence,'" which means, "I am rejected from your presence.
is when the conscience says: God does not want you. These afflictions are infallible and exceedingly severe; therefore the saints cry out in them exceedingly; for if God did not help them out, they would be in hell. The other temptations and sufferings are all fox tails in comparison, when one's goods and honor are taken away from him and in the same way: as when the innocent little children were killed and Jesus had to flee in Egypt. The prophet also says this in another place, Ps. 94, 17: "If you had not helped me, Lord God, it would not have been a hair's breadth that my soul would have remained in hell. So great is the terror and fear in these troubles. Therefore, God allows us to take such examples and comfort ourselves with them, so that we do not despair; for when death comes, such temptations will fall. Therefore, we must prepare ourselves for it.
(12) This is the history and example of the great suffering presented to us in this gospel; but next to it is again shown where to find comfort. For his parents lost him, and came a day's journey from him, and sought him among their friends and acquaintances, but he was not there; and going on to Jerusalem, they found him not there either; on the third day they came to the temple, and there he was found. God has shown us where we are to find comfort and strength in all kinds of suffering, and especially in this great suffering, that we may find the Lord Christ, namely, that we may seek him in the temple. For thus he says to them, "Do you not know that I must be in my Father's temple?
13 And here it is to be noted that Lucas says that they did not understand the word which he spoke to them. For with this he has shut the mouths of the useless talkers who exalt the Virgin Mary too highly and praise her that she knew everything well and could not have erred. For here you see how the Lord makes her miss, that she seeks him long and yet does not find him until the third day in the temple. Then he goes to them and says, "What is it that you seek me, you do not know?
that I must be in that which is my Father's?" So she does not understand the word that he says to her. Therefore, those are vain lies, and the virgin is not allowed to be falsely praised. God has led her in this way, that he has hidden many things from her and thrown her into many misfortunes, so that he would keep her in humility, so that she would not let herself be thought better than others.
14 Now this is the consolation, as I have said, that Christ cannot be found except in the temple, that is, in that which is God. But what is God? are not all creatures? It is true that all things are God's: but really it is the holy Scriptures and His word; for all the rest is given to us. Summa Summarum is therefore this: Let no man forbear to draw and find any comfort but in the word of God: for the Son thou shalt find nowhere but in the temple. Now look at the mother, who does not yet understand this, does not know that she should seek him in the temple, and because she seeks him among acquaintances and friends and not in the right place, she fails.
(15) Therefore I have often said, and still say, that nothing should be preached in Christendom but the pure word of God. This gospel is also true that they do not find the Lord among their acquaintances and friends. Therefore it does not apply to say that one must believe what the Conciliarities have decided, or what Jerome, Augustine and other holy fathers have written; but one must indicate a place where Christ can be found, and no other, namely, which he himself indicates and says: He must be in that which is his Father's, that is, no one will find him anywhere else but in the Word of God. Therefore, what the holy fathers teach, one should never accept so that one trusts in it with conscience and seeks comfort in it. If someone says to you, "Well, shouldn't we believe the holy fathers?" you can answer, "Christ is not to be found among acquaintances and friends. And it would be right for us Christians to take such an example from the gospel and immediately use it as a proverb against all teaching that is not the word of God.
(16) But in order to make this clearer, we must see what we have been taught other than the Word of God. So far we have had three kinds of teaching. First, this is the crudest, so St. Thomas (is he otherwise holy) has taught; this comes from the pagan doctrine and art, which the great light of nature, Aristotle, has written. They say that it is like a beautiful, light table, and that Christ's word is like the sun. And just as the sun shines on such a table, so that it shines and glistens all the more beautifully, so also the divine light shines on the light of nature and illuminates it. With this pretty similitude they brought the pagan doctrine into Christianity; the high schools alone taught and practiced it, and doctors and preachers were made of it. That is what the devil has called them. So God's word is at their feet; for when that comes forth, it pushes such devilish teachings all to powder.
(17) Secondly, we have been taught and commanded the law of man, which is called the order and commandment of the holy Christian church; by it the fools have meant to lead the world to heaven, and by it they have wanted to comfort our consciences and base them on it. This has been brought to such an extent that it has swept like a flood into the whole world, and all the world is drowned in it, so that almost no one can be saved from the depths of hell. For there they always cry out without ceasing, as if they were nonsensical: "The holy Concilia have decided this; the church has commanded this; this has been held for such a long time, shall we not believe in it?
(18) Therefore let it be answered, as I have said, from this gospel, that if Mary the Blessed Virgin had done it herself, it is no wonder that she should have erred: for she was the mother of God; nor does she come into ignorance, not knowing where to find Christ, and seek him among her friends and acquaintances, and fail not to find him. If she then failed and could not find Christ among friends, but had to come to the temple at last, how then shall we find Him apart from the Word of God in the teachings of men, and that the Concilia or Doctores have decided?
have taught? The bishops and concilia have undoubtedly not had so much of the Holy Spirit as they. Has it then failed: how should those not err, because they think to find Christ elsewhere than in that which is of His Father, that is, in God's Word?
19 Therefore, if you hear one who holds to the two doctrines, and believes that it is right, and stands and trusts in them, ask him if he is sure that he may comfort his soul with them when death comes, or God's judgment and wrath, so that he may say with an undaunted conscience, "Thus the pope and the bishops have said and decided in the councils, I rely on them and am sure that I shall not lack them? he will soon have to say: How can I be so sure? So, when it comes to the meeting, that death comes, your conscience will say: It is true, the Concilia have decided etc., yes, but as if they had failed, who knows whether it is right? If you then come into such doubt, you can never stand, then the devil comes, and moves you around, and overthrows you, so that you lie down.
20. Thirdly, besides these two doctrines, they have nevertheless led us to the holy Scriptures, saying that before all the doctrines of the pope the law and what he concludes in things pertaining to the faith are to be kept; but excepting some holy fathers' doctrines which have interpreted the Scriptures, they have nevertheless made them so great that they are to be considered as much as the pope at Rome, or a little more; and besides this they have said that they cannot err, and also fall to crying out: Ei, how should these holy fathers not have understood the Scriptures? But let fools say what they will, and always reproach them with that which here Christ speaks, "Know ye not that I must be in that which is my Father's?" One must have God's word above all things and cling to that alone, for that is where Christ wants to be and in no other place. Therefore it is in vain that you seek him elsewhere. For how can you make me sure that the holy fathers are the thing where Christ must be?
21 Therefore, this gospel is a hard one.
Push against all teaching and all comfort, and whatever it may be that is not God's word and pushes out of the word. So you can say: I let it happen, raise reason and the natural light as high as you want; but I want to reserve that I do not have to rely on it. The councils have decided, and the pope or the holy fathers have taught, what they will, I will let go; but I will not rely on it. If they will admit this to me, then we will soon be one, that I keep the freedom, that they conclude and set what they only want; but I may say: If it pleases me, then I keep it; but so I do not want to keep it, as if I did something delicious with it. But they will not admit this to us; for they are not satisfied that it should be held freely, but want to have the addition that one should put one's trust and comfort in it, and that it should be as much to trust in it as to trust in Christ and the Holy Spirit. We are not to suffer this false delusion and confidence, that they think that a good work is done if it is kept; and again, that if it is not kept, it is sin. For they say that what the pope and the church command or teach is the Holy Spirit and God's word, therefore it should be believed and kept: which is a public impudent lie; for how can they prove such?
(22) Yes, they say, the Christian church has the Holy Spirit, who does not let it err or fail. Answer, as said above: The church be what she will, yet she hath not had so much spirit as Mary; and though he hath governed her, yet he also maketh her err, as an example to us. If she herself is uncertain, how will you make me certain? Where then shall we go? We must also come to the temple, that is, we must grasp the word of God, which is certain to me and is not lacking, there I find Christ certain. Therefore, where the word is, there I must also remain, if I cling to it. As this goes into the midst of death, and penetrates and remains alive; so must I also penetrate through death and come into life, so that nothing can endure or overthrow me, neither sin, nor death, nor the devil. The comfort and such defiance that
I have from God's Word, no other teaching can give me; therefore, it is in no way comparable to it.
Therefore, it is necessary to understand this and not to trust in the teachings of men and the holy fathers. For God has also shown this in many other temples, so that one can see how it is not at all necessary to build and trust in men; at times even the saints can be missing; as we read in Acts 15:5 ff. 15, 5. ff. that hard after the ascension of Christ, not more than eighteen years, the apostles came together, and the chief company of them that were Christians. Then a question arose, Whether it was necessary to compel the Gentiles to be circumcised? and the rulers of the Pharisee sect and scholars, who had become believers, came up and said: They should be circumcised, and commanded to keep the law of Moses: and there arose an uproar, that the whole multitude would fall unto them. Then Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James alone stood up and opposed it, and Peter stood up specially and concluded thus: "God gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles who heard the gospel from my mouth, as well as to us, and made no distinction between them and us, but purified their hearts through faith. If then they have received the Holy Ghost, and have never been circumcised: why then will ye bind them, and put a yoke upon their neck, which neither our fathers nor we could bear? for we believe to be saved by the grace of the Lord Christ, as they also are.
(24) Now, behold, there were so many Christians here who believed when the church was young and at its best, and God lets them all err without these three or four alone; so that if they had not been and multiplied, erroneous things would have been taught and a commandment would have been set up against Christ. Nor are we such fools and so blind that we could say nothing else but: This is what the Concilia and the church have commanded, they cannot err, and what they conclude is to be followed.
25. more we read also that afterwards the
The most prominent, both Peter and Barnabas, also fell, and with them the other Jews all together; then the one man Paul stood up and publicly punished him, as he himself writes to the Galatians Cap. 2, 11. 2, 11. If then these holy conciliarities and holy men have erred, what shall we trust in our conciliarities? which, if held against those held by apostles, cannot hold a candle to them.
26 Why then does God allow this to happen? For this reason He does not want us to stare at or take comfort in any man's word or teaching, no matter how holy they may be, but to put our trust in His word alone. Therefore, if an apostle comes, or an angel from heaven, as St. Paul says Gal. 1, 8. 9. and says something different, one should freely say: This is not God's word, therefore I do not want to hear it. And just keep in mind that the child will not be found anywhere except in the temple or in the one that is of God. Mary also looks for him among her friends, who are of course great, learned and pious people, but she does not find him there.
27 We have similar examples and figures elsewhere in the Gospel, which also indicate that one should teach nothing but the Word of God and accept no other teaching, because Christ is not found except in the Scriptures. So we read in the Gospel on the day of Christ Luc. 2, 12. There the angel who announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds says: "You shall have this as a sign: You will find the child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." Why does he not give the mother Mary and Joseph as a sign, but takes only the swaddling clothes and the manger? Because God does not want to point us to any saint, not even to the mother herself; for all this can be missing. Therefore, he must point out to us a certain place where Christ lies; that is the manger, where he will certainly be found, even if Joseph and Mary were not there. This is said: Christ is wrapped in the scripture through and through, like the body in the cloths. The manger is now the sermon,
(*) to stalk, that is, to set, to stiffen. D. Red.
In it he lies and is grasped, and from it one takes food and fodder. Now it seems more likely that the child should lie there, where Mary and Joseph are, the great holy people; yet the angel points only to the manger, which he does not want to have despised. It is a small simple word: Christ still lies in it.
28 We see this also in other stories, such as that of St. Simeon, who had a promise from God that he would not die unless he had first seen Christ. He comes to the temple because of the Holy Spirit, there he finds the child and takes it in his arms. But only that is indicated, that he finds Christ in the temple. Therefore, the summa summarum is that God wants to warn us against the teachings of men, no matter how good they may be, so that one does not rely on them, but only clings to the one and right sign, which is the word of God. Let everything else go. It may well be well and rightly said or decided, but let us not trust in it with our hearts.
29. This is the comfort that we have from this gospel, when the great suffering comes, of which we have said above, that we then know how there is no other comfort to be found than in the Scriptures and God's Word. And therefore God has written it, that we may learn these things from it, as St. Paul says to the Romans 15:4: "That which is written is written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." There he also says that the Scriptures are comforting, or give patience and consolation; therefore there can be no other thing to comfort the soul, even in the least temptations. For whatever else a man may comfort himself with, however great it may be, all this is uncertain; the heart is always thinking: Well, who knows if it is right? Well, if I were sure! etc. But if it hangs on God's word, it can say without wavering: "There is God's word, which cannot lie to me nor fail me, of that I am sure. But this is the highest controversy we have, that we keep the word and stick to it; if this is torn from the heart, then the man is lost.
030 Therefore let us ever be ready, when they come and reproach us, that the Christian church may not err, that we may know how to meet it, and be at a loss, saying, Behold, these are not men, but the word of God: for it is written here in the gospel, that the mother is full, full of the Holy Ghost; yet she lacketh. Item, in Actis (Acts), that there was a Christian church of those who believed and had the Spirit, and yet stumbled, and would have made an unchristian law, if the others had not multiplied. Therefore, no one should believe any of the churches or saints unless they bring God's word. Thus we have the main part and summa of this gospel; but what is more in it, let us command them.
to act who are idle; and he who has regard for it will easily find it himself.
(31) They have broken themselves over how it could have happened that Lucas says that Christ increased in wisdom and grace, when he was God and had full grace and wisdom as soon as he came into the womb. Then they have shamefully perverted the text with their glosses. Therefore, let such fictitious talk go, and let the words remain just as they are, without any gloss, and understand only in the most simple way that he has always grown more and more and has become stronger in spirit, like another man, as is said above in the Gospel on the Sunday after Christ's Day.