Second Sermon.
1. Until now, under the blindness of the papacy, nothing else has been known to teach or preach about the dear saints of God, except that they have been showered with intemperate praise and extolment, and only praised for their wonderful lives and works, high devotion and heavenly joys; Just as if they had not been human beings on earth and had never suffered or felt any human misfortune, infirmity and weakness, and as if they could not be praised enough, they had to be turned into wood and stone. And then they strengthened this with false, shameful lies and fables, just as if the saints were highly honored, that only vain miracles were said of them, and such examples, which no one could obtain with his life, nor take comfort in them, should see and learn from them.
*) The previous explanation of this gospel have the issues b, c, d, e; but f and g have the following instead of them.
Hence it came to pass that they were even made idols, and called to be intercessors, mediators, and helpers in need, instead of the Lord Christ, with shameful blasphemy and denial of our dear Savior and High Priest Christ.
(2) Thus also the mother of Christ was thought to be highly praised and to know no greater honor, because she was so highly praised and showered with graces and gifts, as if she had never suffered any temptation, never stumbled nor failed in her understanding nor in any other thing. On the other hand, the Scriptures and this Gospel show us how God deals with His saints in a very contrary and, as the 4th Psalm v. 4 says, wonderful way; and the higher He graces, honors and exalts them, the deeper He puts them both in cross and suffering, yes, in dishonor, shame and abandonment.
3. human reason would undoubtedly teach and counsel God so that he should not let his own son act so shamefully and ignominiously, like a murderer and an avenger, and shed his blood; but much-
that all angels should carry him on their hands, all kings and lords should fall at his feet and do him all honor. For this is the wisdom of man, that he sees, desires, and covets nothing but what is honest, high, and precious; and again, shuns and flees nothing higher than dishonor, contempt, suffering, and misery. etc. So God turns around and plays the opposite game, deals with His most beloved Son, according to human understanding and reputation, so unkindly and angrily as with no man on earth, as if he were not God's or a man's, but the devil's own child. He did the same to his dearest servant St. John the Baptist, of whom Christ himself says in Matth. 11, 11 that no one like him arose from among all those born of women; he brought him to the honor of having his neck danced off by a woman. That was a dishonest and shameful enough death.
(4) He did the same with his dear mother, that she also had to experience and learn how he governs his saints wonderfully. And the gospels show sufficiently that he seldom let her see and experience that which was glorious, delicious and joyful; but that several parts of her had to experience vain suffering and fear, as Saint Simeon had previously prophesied to her, as an example to all of Christendom. In addition, he commonly speaks harshly and sourly to her and immediately rejects her unkindly, as we will hear hereafter.
(5) So this Gospel first of all holds up to us in this mother of Christ an example of the cross and high suffering that God inflicts on His saints. For although the holy virgin was highly endowed with all graces and was a beautiful temple of the Holy Spirit, and was chosen above all others for the honor of being a mother of the Son of God, and no doubt also had the greatest pleasure and joy in her child, more than any mother, as was natural, she nevertheless ruled God in such a way that she did not have to have paradise, but much misfortune, pain and heartache in him. For this was the first sorrow that befell her, that she had to give birth in Bethlehem,
in a strange place, because she had no room with her child, but to lie in an open stable. The other, that soon after the six weeks she must flee with the child into misery, until the seventh year. She will undoubtedly have had many more such miseries, which are not described.
(6) One of these, and not the least, is this also, which he put upon her neck here, when he was lost from her in the temple, and was so long seeking, and could not be found. Then he made her so afraid and grieved that she might have despaired; as she also confesses, saying, "Thy father and I have sought thee with sorrow." For let us think a little how she must have been to mind and courage. Every father and mother understands well what sorrow and heartache it is when a child who is dear to them leaves them unawares, since they know nothing else but that he is lost. And even if it lasts only an hour, what sorrow, weeping and wailing there is, and no comfort, food, drink, sleep or rest, and such grief that they would rather be dead. How much greater is it when this lasts a whole day and night, or even longer? since every hour is not one, but a hundred years long.
Now, on the other hand, behold this mother, who first of all loses her own son, the like of whom she, nor any other, has no more, nor can have; who is only her son and she only mother, without any natural father, yes, is the true only begotten son of God, and is specially commanded and trusted by God that she, as the mother, should wait for him with all diligence, care for him and look after him. She has brought him up so far, not without great effort and care, and has hardly defended him among strangers and enemies, that he has grown up a little, and should now have her highest joy and comfort in him, and should now suddenly lose him, since she thinks that she has him most certainly and should now not be allowed to worry as before; and thus lost not one or two hours, not one day and night, but a whole three days, that she cannot think otherwise than that she has lost him finally and eternally. Who can say here or den-
How her motherly heart had been troubled and saddened for three whole days, that it was a miracle that she was able to live in such heartache.
Now such grief and suffering is not so that she must bear it, as it happened to her by chance and through no fault of her own; but her own conscience also beats, that she must think how God commanded her to have the child, and no one but she must answer for it, and such storms therefore burst and thunder in her heart: Behold, you have lost the child, that is no one's fault but your own; for you should wait and see for him, and not let a moment come from you. Now what will you say before God that you did not wait for him better? You have deserved it by your sins, and now you are not worthy to be his mother; yes, you have deserved that he should condemn you before all men, because he did you such great honor and grace that he chose you as his mother.
(9) Should not her heart fail her here and pine away with anguish from both parts? One, that she has lost her son and cannot find him again; the other, which is first the hardest thing that does not happen to other mothers and makes this suffering the hardest, that she must be horrified before God, who is the father of this child; and must think that he no longer wants to have her as a mother and know her, and thus in her own heart is more miserable and sorrowful than any woman on earth. And is now in the same sin, as she feels in her heart, as our first mother Eve, who brought the whole human race to ruin. For what are all the sins against her, that she so badly neglects and loses this child, Son of God and Savior of the world? And if he would have remained lost, or, because he could not be lost, God would have taken him to Himself again, then she would have been a cause by which the work of the redemption of the world would have been prevented. Such and much more doubtless occurred to her and frightened her heart to the utmost; as without which conscience is a tender thing, and she, as a pious child, had a very tender heart and conscience.
(10) There you see how God deals with the high holy person, the mother of His Son, that although she has been honored by Him to the highest degree, and thus the joy of the Son has been exceedingly great, when never has she had a mother; yet she thus attacks God and must be stripped of glory and comfort so completely that she cannot now say, "I am the mother of the Son. Before, she was lifted up to heaven, now she suddenly lies in the depths of hell, and in such terror and heartache that she would have despaired and died, wishing she had never seen the child nor heard of him, and thus commit greater sin than any man has ever done.
(11) Behold, thus God can act with His saints, taking away their joy and comfort when He wills, and leaving them terrified to the utmost, from which they have their greatest joy. Just as he can also give the greatest joy from that which frightens us the most. For this was the highest joy of this holy virgin, that she had become the mother of this child; but now she has no greater terror and heartache than from the very Son. So we have no greater terror than from sin and death; but God can comfort us in this, so that we may boast, as St. Paul says in Rom. 5:20, 21, that sin must have served this very purpose, so that grace might become all the greater and more abundant; and death, conquered in Christ, makes us also desire to be dead and to die with joy.
(12) Again, when God has given us one of His faith, and therefore we walk in strong confidence that we have a gracious God through Christ, then we are in paradise. But before we know it, God may cause our heart to fail us, so that we think he wants to tear the Lord Christ out of our heart, and so we are covered up that we have no comfort in him; but the devil puts terrible thoughts of him into our heart, so that our conscience feels that it has lost him, and then wriggles and trembles, as if it were all wrath and disfavor against him, which we have earned with our sins.
13. yes, whether it is also not from public
If you know that you have sinned, the devil can make sin even out of that which is not sin, and thus drive your heart and make it fearful, so that it is troubled with such thoughts: Who knows whether God will also have you and grant you Christ? Just as here the dear mother doubts whether he will have her as a mother any longer, and feels such a conscience as if she had neglected and lost the son with her carelessness; yet she is not guilty of this, since he is not lost either. So the heart also says in such a challenge: Yes, God has given you a fine faith until now, but now he may not want to give it anymore: you have deserved that with this or that.
(14) And this is the most severe and highest temptation and suffering, so that God sometimes attacks and exercises His high saints, which is usually called desertionem gratiae, since man's heart feels no other way than as if God had abandoned him with His grace and no longer wants it, and wherever he turns, he sees nothing but pure anger and terror. But not everyone suffers such great affliction, nor does anyone understand it unless he experiences it; it takes strong spirits to endure such blows.
(15) But such an example is held up to us, so that we may learn from it how we should hold and comfort ourselves in our temptations, and also prepare ourselves for it, if God should ever attack us with such or such high temptations, so that we may not soon despair. For it is not written for the sake of this virgin, the mother of Christ, but for our sake, so that we may both be taught and comforted by it.
(16) Therefore, there are more examples of such high temptations of the great saints in the Scriptures, as without doubt was the case of the holy patriarch Jacob, of which Gen. 32:24 is written, how he wrestled a whole night with the angel; item, the like of Joshua Cap. 7:7 ff, to whom God had made such a great and strong promise that he would destroy all the nations who resisted him; he himself admonished him to do so and told him to be confident and undaunted, for he himself would be with him etc. And he also went up joyfully on such a promise, and confidently smote it, and had great victory.
But what happened? Just as he was standing in such courage and faith, and had won and defeated the city of Jericho, it happened that they had not more than three thousand men from all their people at the city of Ai, which they were to win and defeat; they were also proud and bold, because the city was small and the enemies were few. But when they came, they suddenly became despondent and turned their backs on the enemy and fled, since they had not been defeated by more than two and thirty. And Joshua himself lost heart and sank to the ground, and lay on his face all day long, lamenting and crying out to God: "O Lord, why have you led us over the Jordan and delivered us into the hands of the enemy? Oh that we had never come here" etc. Behold, the great contending hero lies prostrate with his faith, who nevertheless had God's word so strong that God Himself must raise him up again. What makes him so despondent now? No one, but that God hides Himself from tempting him and thus takes away his heart, so that he may learn and experience what man is and is able to do when God removes His hand.
17 Such suffering is beyond all measure severe and intolerable to nature; therefore the saints cry and lament in it fearfully and miserably, as such lamentation is much in the Psalter; as Ps. 31:23: "I said in my anguish, I am cast out of your sight," that is: I knew and felt nothing else, but that my heart said to me, God does not want yours etc. And if God did not save them by His power and help them out again, they would have to sink into hell; as also Ps. 94, 17. says: "If the Lord did not help me, my soul would already be in hell" etc.
Therefore, this holy virgin has been a true martyr for these three days, and she has suffered much more than any other saint has suffered from his external pain and torture, and is in such anguish because of her Son that she could not suffer a more bitter hell. For this is the greatest torture and sorrow above all suffering, where the heart is attacked and tormented. Other sufferings are still all more bearable when they befall the body; indeed, in such a one the
The heart must be joyful, so that it despises all outward suffering, as one reads of St. Agnes and other martyrs. This is finely divided and only half suffered, since only the body is hurt, but the heart and soul remain full of joy; but where the heart alone is to bear, only great, highest spirits, and special grace and strength belong to it, so that one can bear it.
19 Now, why does God allow such things to happen to His beloved ones? Of course, it is not without a reason, and it does not happen out of anger or disfavor, but out of great mercy and kindness; to show us how kindly and fatherly he treats us in all things, and how faithfully he cares for his own and governs them in such a way that their faith is always more and more practiced and becomes stronger and stronger. But he does it especially for the following reasons.
(20) First, that He may preserve His own against presumption, lest the great saints, who have especially great grace and gifts from God, fall upon them and rely upon themselves. For if they were always so strong in spirit, and should feel nothing but joy and sweetness, they would at last fall into the sorrowful hope of the devil, who despises God and defies himself. Therefore, they must be salted and mixed so that they do not always feel vain strength of spirit; but rather, their faith faltered and their heart trembled, so that they would see what they are and have to confess that they are not able to do anything if God does not sustain them through His pure grace. So He keeps them in humility and knowledge of themselves, so that they do not become proud or confident of their faith and holiness; as happened to St. Peter when he presumed to lay down his life for Christ, John 13:37.
21 Thus the prophet David confesses that he also had to learn this in Psalm 7:8, 30: "I said when I was well: I shall never lie down: but when thou hidest thy face, I was afraid." And St. Paul 2 Cor. 1, 8. 9. complains about the great suffering he endured in Asia, saying: "We do not want to keep you in suspense, dear brothers, about our affliction that happened to us in Asia, when we were overburdened.
were heavy and overpowering; so that we also refused to live, and had decided in ourselves that we would have to die. But this was because we put not our trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. And 2 Cor. 12:7, 9 he says that a stake was given to him in the flesh, the angel of Satan, who struck him with fists, so that he would not exalt himself to high revelation; and God did not want to take it from him, even though he confessed three times, but had to take comfort in the fact that God had told him to be content with His grace, and through it to overcome in weakness. That is why such temptation is so necessary to the saints than food and drink, so that they may remain in fear and humility, and learn to keep to God's grace alone.
Secondly, God allows this to happen to them as an example, both to frighten the secure and to comfort the dumb and frightened. The reprobate and impenitent may be reflected in this, that they learn to mend their ways and beware of sins, because they see how God also deals with the saints in such a way that they come into such fear that they feel nothing but wrath and disgrace, and fall into such terror as if they had committed the gravest sin that a man could ever have committed. As here the mother of Christ has to struggle with such a heavy conscience until the third day, which accuses her as if she had lost her dear son to God, that no one on earth has committed such a sin, and therefore has nothing but the Most High to fear; and yet there is truly no such sin and no wrath or disgrace.
(23) If such a heavy and almost unbearable terror and fear falls upon the pious hearts, what will become of the others who lie and persevere in right sins without reproach, and only deserve and gather God's wrath? How will they survive when they are suddenly struck by such fear as can befall them at any hour?
(24) Again, such examples shall serve to comfort the frightened and anxious consciences, when they see that God has not only them, but also the highest saints, so
and let them suffer just such temptations and terrors. For if we did not have an example in Scripture that the saints had also been so afflicted, we would not be able to bear it, and the stupid conscience would always complain: "Yes, it is I alone who am in such suffering; when has God so tempted the pious and the saints? Therefore, it must be a sign that God does not want me. But now we see and hear that God has acted in this way with all the high saints and has not spared His own mother, so we have this teaching and comfort from it, that we do not despair in such suffering, but keep still and wait until He helps us out, just as He has helped all the dear saints.
(25) Thirdly, there is the real reason why God does these things in the first place, namely, to teach His saints how to seek right comfort and how to set about finding and keeping Christ. Now here is the main part of this Gospel that teaches us how and where to seek and find Christ. As the text says, Mary and Joseph sought the child Jesus three days, and yet found him not, neither in the city of Jerusalem, nor among their friends and acquaintances, until they came into the temple, where he was sitting among the teachers, where the Scriptures and the Word of God were being read. And when they were astonished, and began to lament, as they had sought him with great pains, he answered them:
What is it that you have sought me? Do you not know that I must be in that which is my Father's?
26 What is this said: "I must be in that which is my Father's"? Are not all creatures of his Father? Everything is his; but he has given us the creatures for our use, so that we should rule with them here in this worldly life, as we know. But one thing he has reserved for himself, which is called holy and God's own, and which we must especially receive from him. This is his holy word, by which he rules the hearts and consciences, and makes them holy and blessed. Therefore, the temple is also his sanctuary or holy place.
Dwelling meant that he showed himself present in it through his word and let himself be heard. So Christ is in that which is his Father's, when he speaks to us through his word and thereby also brings us to the Father.
27 Behold, therefore he chastiseth his parents, that they should err, and seek him in other things, worldly and human, and in business, among acquaintances and friends, and not think that he should be in that which is his father's. Hereby he wants to indicate that his regiment and the whole Christian being stands in the word and faith alone, not in other outward things (as the outward seeming holiness of Judaism was), nor in temporal worldly being or regiment. In short, he does not want to be found, neither among friends nor acquaintances, nor what may be apart from the ministry of the word. For he does not want to be worldly, nor in what is worldly, but in what is the Father's; as he has always shown himself from his birth and throughout his life. He has indeed been in the world, but has not kept himself to the world; as he also says to Pilato, "My kingdom is not of this world." He has been with friends and acquaintances, and with whom he has come; but he does not take on the whole of this worldly being without walking through it as a guest and using it for his body's need, waiting only for that which is the Father's, that is, the Word, there he wants to be found, there one must seek him who wants to meet him rightly.
28 This is what I have said, that God does not want us to suffer, to rely on anything else, or to cling with our hearts to anything that is not Christ in His Word, however holy and full of the Spirit it may be. Faith has no other ground on which it can stand. Therefore this happens to the mother of Christ and to Joseph, that their wisdom, thoughts and hope are lacking and everything is lost, because they search for him from one place to another for a long time. For they do not seek him as they should, but as flesh and blood do, which always seeks other consolation than the word; for it always wants to have something to see and feel, and to cling to it with sense and reason.
(29) Therefore God also makes them fall and lack, so that they may learn that all comfort in flesh and blood, in men and all creatures, is nothing and no help nor counsel, unless the word is taken. Here all must be left, friends, acquaintances, the whole city of Jerusalem, all art, wit, and what they themselves and all men are; for all this gives and helps to no right comfort, until one seeks it in the temple, where it is in that which is of the Father. There he is sure to be found, and the heart gets joy again, otherwise it would have to remain desolate of itself and all creatures.
(30) Therefore, if God would have us come into such high temptation, we should also learn that we then do not follow our own thoughts nor human counsel, which point us to and fro, to ourselves or to others; but think that we must seek Christ in that which is of the Father, that is, that we keep badly and only to the word of the Gospel, which shows and makes known to us Christ rightly. And only learn in this and all spiritual trials, if you want to comfort others or yourself, to say with Christ: What is it that you go on and on like this, that you wear yourself out with anxious and sorrowful thoughts, as if God no longer wanted to have mercy on you and as if there were no Christ to be found, and you do not want to be satisfied until you find him in yourself and feel holy and without sin: nothing comes of it, it is all wasted effort and work. Knowest thou not that Christ will not be, nor be found, but in that which is the Father's? not in that which thou art, or in that which all men are and have. There is no fault in Christ and his grace: he is and remains undecayed, and can always be found. But it is lacking in you that you do not seek him rightly, where he is to be sought, because you go after your feelings and think to seize him with your thoughts. Thou must come hither, where not thine own nor any man's, but God's business and rule, that is, where his word is: there shalt thou meet him, hear him, and see that there is neither wrath nor displeasure, as thou fearest and tremblest; but only mercy and hearty love toward thee, and he as a kind and loving mediator.
Speaks the dearest and best for you against the father. Neither send thee this temptation, that he would cast thee off; but that thou mayest know him the better, and cleave the more firmly to his word, and punish thine ignorance, and know how sincerely and faithfully he meaneth thee.
(31) Behold, this is the goodly doctrine of this gospel, how to seek and find Christ aright; and it sheweth the right consolation, which satisfieth the sorrowful conscience, that all terror and anguish shall fall away, and the heart be glad again, and be born anew. But it will be difficult before it comes to this and grasps it: it must first start and learn that everything is lost and in vain, and that in the end there is no counsel but that you surrender to the Word alone, apart from yourself and all human comfort. In other bodily calamities and distress, you may seek comfort in what is ours, money, goods, friends and acquaintances; but here, in these things, you must have another, which is not man's but God's own, namely, the word, through which alone he can deal with us and we with him. But this is especially to be noted that the evangelist speaks:
They did not understand the word he spoke to them.
Hereby the mouths of the useless talkers are shut, who exalt the holy Virgin Mary and other saints too highly, as if they knew everything and could never be wrong. For here you hear how they err and stumble, not only in that they seek Christ everywhere and do not know how to find him until they come to the temple, but also that they do not understand this word, so that he may punish their lack of understanding and say to them: Know ye not that I must be in that which is my Father's? The evangelist was very diligent in pointing this out, and did not want to conceal it, lest such lying hypocrites should be allowed, who boast of the saints' ignorant, inexperienced and puffed-up teachers of works, and even make them idols.
33. the holy virgin must not have such false fictitious praise: god has thus
that he has hidden many things from her, and has made them happen to her daily, which she did not know before; so that he would keep her in humility, that she would not be thought better than others. And it is praise and glory enough for her that he has governed and preserved her by his grace, even though he has adorned her with many great gifts above others; yet so that she, like others, has had to learn and increase daily through many temptations and tribulations.
34 And such examples are also very useful and necessary to us, showing us how even in the saints, who are children of God and are highly blessed above others, there still remains weakness, that they often err and lack, yes, have many infirmities, sometimes also stumble grossly, yet not willfully or wantonly, but out of weakness or lack of understanding; as is seen in the apostles from time to time in the Gospel. That we may learn not to rely on any man, nor to trust in any man; but, as this gospel teaches, to cleave to the word of God alone. And that we may also have comfort in such examples, that we may not therefore despair, though we are still weak and without understanding; only that we may not become insolent and sure of such grace, as the proud false saints do.
35 And in sum, you have in this gospel a strong example to put down the common cries of both the foolish saints and the great wise men, which they have done before and still do, that they may remain in their deeds only against the word of God, namely, that they reproach us with the holy fathers' writings and doctrines, and with the churches' and churches' ordinances, and that the conclusions must be kept; for they have, they say, had the Holy Spirit, therefore they cannot err etc. With this they want to point us from the Scriptures and the certain place, where Christ himself points us here, where he will certainly be found, to the uncertain, so that it may also happen to us, as happened here to Mary, the mother, and Joseph, that we seek Christ everywhere and yet find him nowhere, unless we also come here at last, where he is. This has so far been forcibly driven into Christendom by the accursed Pabst's regiment, who has both of them with
The teachings and territories, the punishments and penalties are so great that one would neither seek nor find Christ in the Scriptures.
For as it is said above in the postilion of the next Gospel, they have filled the world with three kinds of teachings, by which people have been led away from God's word. The first one was the very crude one, which St. Thomas (is he otherwise holy) and other school teachers (scholastics) wrote, which comes from pagan art and natural reason, of which they thus said: Let the light of nature be like a beautiful light table, and let the Scripture be like the sun shining on such a table, that it may shine the more beautifully. So also the divine light shines on the light of nature and illuminates it. With this similitude they also brought the pagan doctrine into Christendom, which the high schools alone then taught and practiced, so much so that they themselves reversed this similitude, wanting to illuminate Scripture through the art and doctrine of reason and Aristotle, which is the only true light, without which all the light of reason is vain darkness in divine matters and articles of faith, as has often been said before.
Secondly, all the world has been driven into human doctrine and commandment, and the so-called order and commandment of the church of fasting, feasting, praying, singing, dressing, monasticism, etc., of which all the Pope's and the Summists' books are full, have thereby put people off going to heaven. This has been torn down like a deluge, and the world has been drowned with it, and all consciences have been entangled and imprisoned with it, so that almost no one has been saved from such hell. After this, the saints have been led by examples and lies, and it has been confirmed by the popes and councils that such things must be held equal to the articles of faith. Therefore they still cry out without ceasing, as the nonsensical: Yes, this was decided by the holy conciliarities, this was commanded by the church, and it has been held for such a long time etc.
38 Third, besides these two doctrines, they also let the Scriptures go, but in this way they bound them to some of the fathers' writings and interpretations.
Nor can they go further than that, provided it pleases the pope and is not contrary to his law. So that no one must act differently than according to the pope's pleasure, who alone is entitled to interpret the Scriptures, and everyone must live according to his knowledge and judgment. Nevertheless, they do honor to the fathers by saying that their interpretation and interpretation must be followed. All the world has fallen for this, and everything that the fathers said has been accepted as if they could not be wrong. And here again they cry out: "How could so many saints, scholars, and people of high understanding not have understood the Scriptures? etc.
(39) To this shall be answered, as it is said in this gospel, It is called holy, learned, fathers, concilia, or what it may be; though Mary, Joseph, and all the saints be with one another, it doth not follow that they cannot have erred and lacked. For here you hear that the mother of Christ, who has a high understanding and enlightenment, comes into ignorance, that she does not know nor think where she should find Christ, and therefore is punished by him, because she does not know such things, which she should know. If she has failed, and through her ignorance has come into such anguish and distress that she thinks she has lost Christ altogether, what wonder if other saints have often erred and stumbled when they have gone outside the Scriptures and followed their thoughts, or have drawn them into the Scriptures?
(40) Therefore it is not necessary to pretend to believe and keep what the councils have decreed, or what the holy fathers have taught and written; for all these things can and may be lacking. But one must show a certain place where Christ is and wants to be found, namely, that he himself indicates here and says: He must be in that which is of his Father.
(41) And it would be right for us Christians to use such examples from the gospel in common usage, and at the same time to take a proverb from it against all doctrine and what can be brought up that is not the word of God, saying: Christ is not to be sought among friends and acquaintances,
nor in that which man is, how pious, holy or great they are. For the mother of Christ herself errs and fails in that she neither knows nor understands these things.
Therefore, conscience cannot be based on any saint or creature except Christ alone. I will praise, exalt and extol reason and natural light as much as you will; but I will reserve this for myself, so that I do not have to rely on it. The holy fathers and councils have taught, lived, decided and ordered what they will; I let that be as good as it is. But that I am not caught with it, as if I had to keep it and rely on it. Summa: Let all these things be accepted and remain in their value in the things that are ours and human, that one may order what one wants and how one wants. But not to put Christ, that is, the comfort of conscience, into it, nor to teach it to be sought; but let it be such a thing, being and acting among friends and acquaintances, as concerns not conscience, but outward human life before the world.
If our papists had wanted to admit such things, as God's Word teaches them, we would have long been at one with them and well satisfied: that they set and ordered what they liked in such human matters; but we retained the freedom that we did not have to keep it any further, for wherever it pleased us, it was not out of necessity, or as if it should count for something before God. But they do not want to do that, but have added that one is obliged to keep their thing as necessary for salvation; they call it the commandment of the Christian church, and make it a mortal sin who does not keep it that way; we do not want to do that, nor should we suffer it.
(44) Yes, they say, the church, holy fathers and concilia have decided and discussed many things in controversial articles against the heretics, which are accepted everywhere, and everyone must believe and keep; therefore, what is decided by the common church and concilia must also apply in other matters.
45 Answer: Here, however, they must once again leave us the free judgment that we must not allow ourselves to be bound by everything without distinction,
what has been set by concilia or taught by the fathers; but keep this distinction: if they have set and decided something according to God's word, we also accept it; not for their sake, but for the sake of the same word, on which they base themselves and point us to it. Then they do not act as men, but lead us to that which is God's; and are not now among friends and acquaintances, but sit among those who listen to Christ and inquire with him from the Scriptures: there we do them fair and gladly the honor of hearing them. If, however, they set something above and apart from this rule, not from God's word, but according to their own discretion, this is none of the conscience's business. Therefore let it also be human, to which we do not have to be bound, nor hold it as if Christian faith and life were in it; but as St. Augustine rightly said about it: Totum hoc genus habet liberas observationes: What such a thing is, that is to be held or left free.
(46) Then you say, "Yes, the church and the fathers had the Holy Spirit, who does not let them err. To this it is easy to reply from what has been said: "Let the church or concilia be as holy as they will, they have the Holy Spirit no more than Mary, the mother of Christ, who was also a member, indeed at that time the most distinguished part of the church. And though she is sanctified by the Holy Spirit, yet he sometimes causes her to err, even in the high things of faith. Therefore, it does not follow that the saints who have the Spirit cannot err, and that everything they say must be right. There is still much weakness and ignorance even in the highest people, so that one must not judge according to personal holiness about the doctrine and matters of faith, what is of the Holy Spirit; for all this can be lacking: but here you must come, where God's word is, that is certain and does not lack, there you will find Christ and the Holy Spirit certain, and can stand and remain on them against sin, death and the devil.
(47) Such examples that even saints and the great multitude called the church err are found elsewhere in Scripture, as follows
Especially Apost. 15 How soon after the ascension of Christ, not more than eighteen years ago, the apostles met at Jerusalem, and the multitude of them that were Christians. Then the chief and most learned of the Pharisee sect, who had become believers, stood up and taught that the Gentiles must be compelled to be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses, and drew after them almost the whole company. Then Peter, Paul, Barnabas and James alone stood up and opposed them, concluding from the Scriptures: That the Gentiles should be left alone with the law, because God had given them the Holy Spirit beforehand, without it, through the preaching of the gospel, as well as to the Jews. Now, behold, there have been so many Christians here who believed when the church was still young and at its best; yet they are all in the error of thinking that the law of Moses is necessary for salvation without these three or four apostles. So that, if they had not been multiplied, an erroneous article and commandment would have been set up and confirmed against Christ. Item, afterwards St. Peter, who himself had taught this, also stumbled because of the same article with Barnaba, that they pretended with the Jews, who did not want to eat with the Gentiles, and thus gave the Gentiles trouble in the use of their freedom, so that St. Paul had to publicly confront and punish them, as he says Gal. 2, 11. Therefore, let us learn from this example that we should be wise in matters concerning faith and Christ, not allowing ourselves to be pointed to men, but sticking to the Word alone and keeping the rule as St. Paul gives Gal. 1:8, 9: "That even if an angel came from heaven and preached the gospel differently, let him be accursed; and let him only keep to the fact that Christ is not to be found anywhere except in that which is of God.
48 We have also heard this above in many figures and examples. For example, in the Gospel of Christ's Day, Luc. 2:12, when the angel gives no other sign to the shepherds to meet Christ than the manger and swaddling clothes, they find him lying and wrapped up, not on his mother's breasts or in her womb, which would be more appealing.
would have had to see. That is, God does not want to point us to a saint or a person of a man, but to the mere word or scripture, in which Christ is wrapped as in cloth or swaddling clothes, and in the poor little manger (that is the sermon of the Gospel), which has no standing at all, and serves nothing but that the animals take their food from it. Item, so we have also heard about the holy old father Simeon, who, as he was promised by God, should not die, because he would have seen Christ before; but he does not see him until he comes into the temple out of the prompting of the spirit. So also the wise men from the east, when they come to Jerusalem and no longer see the star, they hear no other sign of Christ, where he is born and to be found, than the scripture of the prophet Micah etc. This is the main part and the most important teaching of this gospel. Finally, it should be noted that the evangelist says:
His mother kept all these words in her heart.
(49) This is also said to us as an admonition, that we also strive to keep God's word in our hearts, as the dear virgin did: who, when she sees that she has erred and not understood, becomes all the more diligent afterwards, after she has been instructed, to press what she hears from Christ into her heart and keep it. This is an example for us, that we should keep to the word above all things and not leave it out of our hearts, but always deal with it, learn from it, strengthen ourselves, comfort ourselves and increase in it, as is necessary. For if it comes to pass, when we are challenged or tempted, it is soon forgotten or dropped, even in those who are diligent.
50 But what more is to be said in this gospel, than how Christ goes home again with his parents, and is obedient and subject to them, etc. is easily and well found. Item, how this is to be understood, that Christ increased in grace and wisdom, is said above in the gospel of the next Sunday.