On the first Sunday of Advent.
Rom. 13:11-14.
And because we know this, that the time is at hand, that the hour is come to rise from sleep; because our salvation is now nearer than when we thought it; the night is past, and the day is at hand; let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and let us put on the weapons of light. Let us walk uprightly, as in the day, not in eating and drinking, not in chambering and fornication, not in strife and envying; but draw near to the Lord Jesus Christ, and wait for the body, yet so that it be not made lustful.
This epistle does not teach about faith, but about the works and fruits of faith, and shows how a Christian life should be lived outwardly according to the body on earth among men. For how man should walk in the spirit and before God is taught by faith, of which he writes and teaches abundantly and completely apostolic before this epistle. And if we look at the epistle just now, it does not teach, but stimulates, admonishes, drives and awakens those who already know what they should do. For St. Paul divides the ministry of preaching into two parts, Rom. 12, 7. 8: doctrinam et exhortationem teaching and exhortation. Teaching is when one preaches what is unknown, and people become knowledgeable or understanding; exhortation is when one stimulates and holds to what everyone already knows well. Both are necessary for a preacher, which is why St. Paul practices them both.
(2) For this reason also, that the exhortation may be the stronger and come in sweetly, he uses many pretty flowery words, and makes a fine colorful speech, calls sleep, darkness, light, awakening, weapons, work, day and night; these are vain flowery words, by which
which is understood to be something other than its nature and kind. For he does not speak of the natural night, day, darkness, light, waking, sleeping, weapons and works; but he forms a likeness for us by such natural nature, that he may stir us up and lead us into our spiritual nature. As if he were to say, "You see that men, for the sake of temporal good, rise from sleep and put off the work of darkness and take up the work of the day, when the night has passed and the day has come; how much more shall we awake from our sleep, cast off the works of our darkness and begin the works of our light, because our night has passed and our day has dawned!
(3) By sleep he signifies the works of wickedness and unbelief. For sleeping is a work that is actually done at night, and he interprets himself as saying, "Let us put away the works of darkness." So again, waking up and getting up means the works of faith and godliness. For rising is actually a work of the morning and day; of which he also says 1 Thess. 5:5-8: "Dear brethren, ye
are not in darkness; you are all children of light and children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness: therefore let us not sleep, as the rest do; but let us watch, and be sober. For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk are drunk at night; but we who are of the day must be sober, clothed with the cancer of faith and love, and with the helmet that is the hope of salvation. For God hath not set us for wrath, but for the possession of blessedness, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live with Him."
4 Here it is evident that he does not forbid the natural sleep, and yet needs the same thing from the natural sleep and awake to the spiritual sleep and awake: that is, to live well and badly. And recently, "rising from sleep" is said as much as that he says Tit. 2, 11. 12. 13.: "The saving grace of our Savior has appeared and teaches us that we should renounce the ungodly nature and worldly lusts, and live soberly, justly, righteously and *] godly in this world, and wait for the blessed hope and future of the great God, our Savior Jesus Christ." The renunciation of the ungodly nature and worldly lusts he calls here, rising from sleep; and the sober, righteous, godly living he calls here, waking up and putting on arms of light. The appearance of grace is the day and the light, as we will hear.
Now see how natural sleep and spiritual sleep are the same. He who sleeps neither sees nor feels the things or goods that are in the world and around him. He lies in the midst of things as a dead, useless man, who has neither use nor regard for any thing; and though he lives in himself, yet he is to all things as if he were dead. On the other hand, instead of true things, he goes about in dreams with vain images and useless forms of true goods, and is so foolish that he thinks that they are real true goods; when he
*) So f g instead of: "sober, justified". D. Red.
But when he wakes up, the dream images fall away and are destroyed: then man begins to deal with right things without all images.
6 So also spiritually. The man who lives in an ungodly way, who sleeps and is as it were dead before God, neither sees nor feels the right spiritual goods that are offered and promised to him through the gospel, leaving them in vain before and around him; for such goods can only be seen with the faith of the heart, and are also still hidden. However, they are mixed with temporal, transient goods, pleasure and honor, which are to be respected against eternal life, joy and bliss, like dream images against natural bodily creatures. And when man awakens and comes to faith, all such transitory things fall away and are recognized as nothing; of which the 76th Psalm v. 6 says: "They have slept their sleep, the men of wealth, and found nothing in their hands"; and Ps. 73, 20: "As a dream when one awakens, so thou destroyest their image in the city"; and Isa. 29:8: "As a hungry man dreameth that he eateth, and when he putteth out, his soul is yet empty: and as a thirsty man dreameth that he drinketh, and when he putteth out, ye thirst: and his soul is empty: so shall be the multitude of all nations that fight against mount Zion." Behold, is not this near and shameful spoken of the world's highest power, riches, pleasure and honor, that it is all likened to a dream and a sorrowful image? Who could say that the kings' and princes' kingdoms, goods, pleasures and power are dreams, when they rage and rage about them in this world? It makes that they sleep and do not get up, also do not see this light yet in: Faith.
Since our salvation is now closer than when we believed it.
7 What is this saying? Did we believe before, or do we not believe now? Here it is to be known, as St. Paul says Rom. 1, 2. 3. that God promised through His prophets in the holy scriptures the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, how through Him all the world should be saved, as
The words are Gen. 22, 18. to Abraham: "In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. This blessing, promised to Abraham in his seed, is nothing else than the grace and salvation in Christ, presented to all the world through the gospel, as St. Paul also points out in Romans 4 and Galatians 4; for Christ is the seed of Abraham, that is, his natural flesh and blood, in which all who believe in him and call upon him are given.
8 This promise of God was thereafter almost well driven and expanded by the prophets, who all wrote about the future of Christ, his grace and gospel, as St. Peter says Acts 3, 18. 24. 3, 18. 24. All the saints before Christ's birth believed in this divine promise, and were therefore kept and saved in and through the future Christ with such faith that Christ also calls this promise "Abraham's bosom," Luc. 16, 22, in which all the saints after Abraham were gathered together until Christ. This is what St. Paul means here, when he says: "Our salvation is now nearer than when we believed it. As if he should say: The promise of God, made to Abraham, is now no longer to be waited for, it is fulfilled; Christ has come, the gospel has risen and the blessing has been distributed to all the world, and now everything is there that we waited for and believed in the promise. With this the apostle has described the spiritual day, of which he says afterwards, which is actually the going forth and the light of the gospel; as we shall hear.
009 But because of this faith is not removed, but rather confirmed. For as they believed before in the promise of God, that it should be fulfilled: so we believe in the same promise, that it is now fulfilled; and is one faith like another in itself, without their following one another, even as the promise and the fulfillment also follow one another; for they both cleave to the seed of Abraha, that is, to Christ, one before, the other after his coming. For whoever would now believe, as the Jews did, that Christ was yet to come, as if the promise had not been fulfilled, would be deceived.
He is lying to God, pretending that he has not yet fulfilled his promise, which he has fulfilled, so that salvation is still far away and ahead of us, and we have to wait for it in the future.
Of the two faiths Paul says Rom. 1, 17: "In the gospel righteousness is evidently given by God, out of faith into faith." What is "by faith into faith"? Nothing else, for although it is the same faith, the faith of the fathers and ours, which believes in the coming and appearing Christ, yet the gospel leads from that faith into this faith, so that now it is necessary to believe not only the promise, but also the fulfillment, which Abraham and the ancients did not yet have to believe, even though they had the same Christ that we have. One faith, One Spirit, One Christ, One fellowship of all saints, without those going before Christ and we after Christ.
011 So we (that is, the fathers with us) believed in one Christ in the same common faith, and still believe in him, but in a different way. And as we say for the common faith and Christ's sake, We have believed; when we were not in those days, but the fathers believed; so they do again, saying that they will hear, see, and believe Christ; when they are not in our days, but we do. Thus David says Ps. 8:4, "I will see your heavens, the works of your hands," that is, the apostles, and yet has not experienced it; item, Ps. 9:2, "I will praise the Lord, and preach all his wonders," etc., and many other such things: that one person takes on another for the sake of the common faith, through which they have Christ in their means and find a multitude.
12) Now that he says, "Our salvation is nearer now than when we believed," may not be understood from the nearness of possession; for the fathers had the same faith, and the same Christ, and he was as near to them as he is to us; as Heb. 13:8 says, "Christ yesterday, today, and forever," that is, Christ has been from the beginning of the world to the end, and all have been, and are, from the beginning of the world to the end.
through him and in him. He who believes most is nearest, and he who believes least is farthest from salvation, to speak of possessions and possessions. But St. Paul speaks here of the nearness of the revelation; that at the time of Christ the promise was fulfilled and the gospel went out into all the world, and through it Christ came to all men and was preached publicly: this he calls our salvation nearer, because it was still hidden in the promise and had not gone out. So Titus 2:11 says: "The saving grace of God has appeared," that is, it has gone out and been preached publicly, even though it was in all the saints before.
(13) Thus the scripture saith, that Christ cometh, though he was before in all the fathers: but he came not to every man by public preaching, but only after his resurrection from the dead, of which future the scripture speaketh most, because of which also he came bodily into human nature. For his becoming man would be of no use to anyone if a gospel had not come out of it, so that he would come into all the world and make it known why he became man, so that the promised blessing would be given to all who believe in Christ through the gospel; so that St. Paul says in Romans 1:2 that the gospel was promised by God. As if he should say: God was more concerned about the gospel and this public future through the word than about the bodily birth or future into mankind. He was concerned about the gospel and our faith; that is why he gave his Son to become man, so that the gospel might be preached by him, and so that his salvation might approach and come to all the world through the public word.
(14) Some have set four kinds of Christ's future according to the four Sundays of Advent. But this, which is most necessary, since all power lies with them, of which St. Paul speaks here, they have not seen; for they do not know what the gospel is, or for what purpose and why it is given; they talk much of Christ's future, and yet chase him away from us, as heaven and earth are from one another. What
Is Christ useful if he is not possessed with faith? But how can he be possessed with faith where the gospel is not preached?
The night has passed, the day is coming.
(15) Now this is as much as to say that our salvation is at hand. For Paul means by the day the gospel, which is a day that enlightens the hearts or souls; therefore, because the day has dawned, our salvation is near at hand, that is, Christ and his grace, promised to Abraha, has now risen, preached in all the world, enlightening all men, awakening us all from sleep, and showing us the right eternal goods, that we may have to do with the same, and walk uprightly in the day. Again, by night must all doctrine be understood which is not the gospel; for there is no doctrine of salvation apart from the gospel; it is all night and darkness.
16 And take heed to the words of Paul: thus he describes the most lovely and merriest part of the day, namely, the dear happy dawn and the going forth of the sun. For the dawn is when the night is past and the day is at hand: then we see that at the dawn all birds sing, all animals stir, all men rise up, so that it seems as if the world were new and all things alive when the day dawns and the dawn comes. That is why in many places in the Scriptures the comforting living preaching of the Gospel is compared to the dawning and the going forth of the sun, sometimes with figures, sometimes with public words: as here Paul clearly calls the Gospel the dawning day; item Ps. 110, 3: "Thy people shall be the volunteers in the day of thy power, and out of the uterus of the dawn shall be born the dew of thy children." Here he also clearly calls the gospel an uterus (womb) of the dawn, and day of Christ's power, wherein we are conceived and born children of Christ as the dew, that is, without works of man, from heaven and by grace of the Holy Spirit.
17 This day is made by the most beautiful sun, Jesus Christ, therefore Malachi calls him a sun of righteousness, and says Cap. 4:2: "To you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness rise, and salvation under his wings"; for all who believe in Christ receive from him the splendors of his grace and righteousness, and are saved under his wings. Of which also the 118th Psalm v. 24. says: "This is the day which the Lord maketh; let us be glad and of good cheer." As if he should say: The physical day is made by the physical sun, but this day is made by the Lord himself. He himself is the sun, from whom the shining and the day, that is, the gospel, goes out and shines into all the world; John 9:5: "I am the light of the world."
18) And Ps. 19, 2) he describes both sun and day, Christ and the gospel, in the most beautiful way, and says: "The heavens proclaim the glory of God", that is: As the physical heavens bring the sun and the day, and the sun is in the heavens: so the apostles bring and have in themselves the true sun, Christ, with their preaching etc. And follows: "He hath set the sun his habitation in the heavens, and he cometh forth as a bridegroom out of his bridal chamber; he rejoiceth as a hero to run his course, from the going forth is his going forth, and his coming forth unto the going down, and there is none to hide himself from the heat thereof." This is all said of this lovely dawning of the day, that is, of the gospel, which the Scriptures praise highly and sweetly; for it also makes one lively, cheerful, merry, active, and brings with it all good things, which is why it is also called "gospel," that is, a merry message.
19 But what the day reveals to us, who can tell all this? It teaches us all things, what God is, what we are, what has passed, what is to come, of heaven, hell, earth, angels, devils: there we see how we should hold ourselves in all this and against all, whence, whither we come. Nor has the devil deceived us, that we leave the day, and seek the truth from philosophers and pagans, who have not known a bit of this all, and
Let us be blinded by the teachings of men and be led back into the night. There must be no light, what this day is not; St. Paul and all scripture would otherwise not raise this day alone and call everything else night.
(20) It must be a great plague of divine wrath, that we should seek other lights against the bright and clear sayings of the Scriptures, when the Lord himself is called the light and sun of the world. And if there were no other sign by which it could be seen that the high schools are the most abominable of the devil's whoredoms and abominations, should that ever be abundant enough, that they should so unashamedly raise up and boast of Aristotle as a sidelight, even practicing more in the same than in Christ, yea, practicing nothing in Christ and only in Aristotle.
So let us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light.
(21) As Christ is the sun, and the gospel the day: so faith is the light, or seeing and waking in this day. For it is of no avail that the sun shines and makes day, if the eyes do not perceive the light. Therefore, though the gospel has gone forth into all the world, preaching Christ, yet are they not enlightened thereby, save they only who have received it, and have risen from their sleep by the light of faith. But to them that sleep, the sun and the day are useless; for they have no light of them, and see as little as if there were neither sun nor day. This then is the time and hour of which he says: "Dear brethren, knowing these things, that this is the time and hour to rise from sleep" etc. It is a spiritual time and hour, which has risen in the flesh and still goes out daily, in which we are to rise from sleep and put away the works of darkness etc. With this St. Paul shows that he does not speak to those who are still in unbelief. For as it is said, he does not teach faith here, but the works and fruit of faith. He says that they know that the time has come, that the night has passed and the day has come.
22) But whether thou askest, What needest the-
It is said above that there are two kinds of sermons: one that teaches and the other that teaches and wears. Now man can never know so much; it is necessary for him to be admonished and always to keep fresh in his mind that which he knows, lest the devil, the world, and the flesh, his incessant enemies, make him weary and slothful, and finally fall asleep and become negligent. For St. Peter 1 Ep 5:8 says: "The devil is such an adversary, walking about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone; therefore," he says, "watch and be sober. This is also the intention of St. Paul: because there is no cessation of the devil, the flesh, and the world from disputing with us, there should also be no cessation of exhorting, inciting, and driving to watchfulness and activity. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is also called Paracletus, a stimulator, who incites and urges to the good.
For the same reason, St. Paul puts his words evenly, calling the works of darkness not weapons, but the works of light weapons and not works. Why is this? Undoubtedly to prove that it is a struggle, costing effort, work and danger to watch and lead a good life; since such three strong enemies, devil, flesh, world, resist us without ceasing, day and night; therefore also Job Cap. 7, 1. says:-. "Man's life on earth is a strife and a trial." Now it is a great thing to be in conflict all the days of one's life; therefore it is necessary to have good trumpets and kettledrums, that is, such preaching and exhortation as will strengthen us and keep us manly in the conflict. Good works are weapons; evil works are not weapons, unless we follow them and let them win: otherwise they are also weapons, as he says Rom. 6:13: "Ye shall not yield your limbs unto weapons of unrighteousness"; as if he should say, Let not the works of darkness overcome you, that your limbs become weapons of unrighteousness.
(24) Now it has been said enough that the light here means the faith that shines from the day of the gospel into our hearts from the sun, Christ; therefore the weapons of light are nothing.
arider than the works of faith. Again, darkness is unbelief, ruled by the devil through the absence of the gospel and Christ, out of the teachings of men and their own reason; therefore the works of darkness are works of unbelief. For as Christ is Lord and Governor of the light faith: so St. Paul, Eph. 6:12, calls the devils governors of these darknesses, that is, over unbelievers; as he also says 2 Cor. 4:3, 4: "If our gospel be hid, it is hid only in them that are condemned, in whom the god of this world," that is, the devil, "blindeth the minds of unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of Christ may not shine." But what both works are, will follow.
Let us walk honorably, even as in the daytime.
(25) In the daytime, no work of darkness is done; everyone is ashamed of himself before others and acts honestly. It is said, "The night is impudent," and this is true; therefore those works are done at night of which one is ashamed by day. The day, however, is shameful and compels one to walk honorably. So also a Christian life should be lived and kept, so that all his works are such that they are not ashamed for all the world to see. For whoever lives and works in such a way that he would not like to have his deeds seen or heard in public before everyone, is certainly not living a Christian life. Of this Christ says John 3:20, 21: "All who do evil hate the light, and come not into the light, lest their works should be punished: but he that doeth the truth may come into the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God."
(26) From this you see how necessary it is to have such stimulation and exhortation to watch and weapons of light. How many Christians are there now who could suffer all their works to come to light? But what kind of Christian life is this in us, if we cannot suffer our conduct to be bare before men, which is already bare before God, His angels and all creatures, and must also become bare before everyone on the last day? Therefore, a Christian should live as he
would be found on the last day and before everyone; Eph. 5, 9: "Walk as the children of light. The fruit of light is goodness, righteousness and truth"; and Rom. 12, 17: "You should present the best, not only before God, but also before all men"; item 2 Cor. 1, 12: "This is our glory, the testimony of our conscience, that we have walked in simplicity of heart and godly integrity, and not in carnal wisdom, in this world."
(27) But such a life will remain where there is no faith, since the strong, fresh, manly faith has enough to do to remain in such a life, and not fall asleep or grow weary. Therefore, as it is necessary for the ignorant to preach doctrine, so it is necessary for the knowledgeable to preach provocation, lest they fall away from the good life they have begun, through the opposition of the raging flesh, the crafty world, and the mischievous devil.
Not in gluttony and drunkenness, not in idleness and fornication, not in strife and contention.
(28) There he tells the works of darkness by name, of which he calls one, sleep, as it is written in 1 Thess. 5:6, "Let us not sleep, as others do, but watch and be sober. Not that he forbids natural sleep, but spiritual sleep, which is in unbelief, from which such works of darkness follow. Although natural sleep is also a work of darkness, if it is done for pleasure and other gluttony, as a hindrance to light and its weapons. These six works of darkness comprehend all the others; for Gal. 5, 19. 20. 21. Col. 3, 5. 8. tells much more of the same. And we will also divide them into two sides, on the right and on the left. On the right side, the four contend: gluttony, drunkenness, idleness and fornication; on the left side, strife and strife. For in Scripture the left side signifies repugnance and what comes from repugnance, as there is, wrath, strife etc. The right side means bliss and what follows from bliss, as, pleasure, eating, drinking, sleeping.
29. so it is certain that by the two works of darkness, strife and contention, St. Paul means all such things as those which he relates in Eph. 4:31: "Let all bitterness, wrath, indignation, clamor, blasphemy be put away from you"; and Gal. 5, 20.: "The works of the flesh are, enmity, strife, strife, wrath, war, dissension, sectaries, hatred, deathblows etc.", and lately, all that evil may be done out of wrath by words and works, which is not all to be counted.
30 So under the four pieces: Eating and drinking, loafing and lusting, he understands all the vices of unchastity in words and works, which also no one can tell all. That recently through these six narrated works it may be understood how man does not keep himself pure against his neighbor, who lives under darkness in unbelief; all his being is disorderly against himself and his neighbor. The words may not be used in further glosses; Everyone knows what it is to eat and drink, or to overeat and overdrink, more for pleasure than for need, item, what it is to be lazy in bed and in the closet, and to be lustful, lewd, that is, seeking the pleasure and lust of the flesh by sleeping late, by lazing about, by all kinds of fornication and indecency, which are done in the beds of the full, the idle, the sleepy, the lazy, whether by day or by night, in bed or elsewhere, alone or with one another; which vices also all seek the natural darknesses and secret place, and St. Paul reports them all through the chamber and fornication. So what quarrels and strife is with his own kind, everyone is well aware of.
But draw near to the Lord Jesus Christ.
(31) Here he lately shows in one heap all the weapons of light in that he exhorts to clothe us in Christ. Christ is clothed in two ways: once, that we clothe ourselves in his own virtue; this is done by faith, which relies on the fact that Christ died for him and did all things for him. For it is not our righteousness, but Christ's, that has reconciled us to God and redeemed us from sins.
This way belongs to the teaching of faith; and in this way Christ is given to us as a gift and pledge. [Of this is further said in the epistle on the New Year's Day Gal. 3:27: "All ye that are baptized in Christ have put on Christ." *]
(32) On the other hand, he is our example and model, that we should follow him and become like him, walking in the very robe of virtue in which he walks. Here St. Paul says that we should put on Christ; item 1 Cor. 15:49: "As we have borne the image of the first, earthly man, even so let us also bear the image of the heavenly man"; and Eph. 4:22, 23, 24: "Put off the old way of life after the old man, which is decayed through wrong desires, and become new in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new man, created after God, in true righteousness and holiness."
Now in Christ we see nothing but the vain weapons of light: there is no eating and drinking, but fasting, temperance and mortification of the flesh, with labor, walking, preaching, praying, and doing good to the people: there is no sloth, sleeping, and fornication, but vain discipline, purity, and chastity, watching, rising, sleeping in the field, having neither house, nor chamber, nor bed. There is no wrath, strife, strife,' but goodness, sweetness, love, mercy, patience etc. For this reason Paul uses Christ as an example in short words, which he says in other words Col. 3, 12-15: "Put on, as the chosen saints and beloved of God, a merciful manner, kindness, humility, temperance, patience, that one may think well of another, and forgive one another if anyone has anything to complain of against another, just as God has forgiven you, so also you. Above all, have love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ have the victory in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body, and be thankful"; item Phil. 2:2, where he commanded them to have love one for another, serving one another and being servants.
*) ftÄ
He gives the same Christ as an example, who became a servant to us, and says vv. 5-7: "Find yourselves also so with you, as ye see it in Christ, who, when he was in the divine gift, did not imagine that he had robbed himself of being like God, but manifested himself the same, and took upon himself a servant's gift, and became like other men, and in all gifts was found to be like a man."
(34) Summa Summarum, then, is that the weapons of light are good works against gluttony, drunkenness, lechery and sloth, quarreling and strife: Fasting, watching, praying, working, hunger, thirst, suffering frost, heat, being chaste, chaste, temperate, kind. And that I do not lead my words, let us hear St. Paul himself counting them Gal. 5, 22: "The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, friendliness, faith, meekness" etc. But even more richly he tells it 2 Cor. 6, 1-10.: "We beseech you that ye receive not the grace of God in vain: for he saith, I have heard thee in the acceptable time, and in the day of blessedness have I helped thee. Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of blessedness," as if to say, "Our salvation is now nearer than when we thought it, and here is the time to arise from sleep. "Let us give no man trouble, lest our ministry *) be promised; but in all things let us show ourselves servants of God, in much patience, in sufferings and afflictions, in necessities, in riots, in labor, in watchings, in fastings, in purity, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in sweetness, in the spirit that is holy, in uncontaminated love, in preaching the word of truth, in the power of God, by the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and by dishonor, by good rumors and by evil rumors; as the deceivers, yet true; as the unknown, yet known; as the dying, yet alive; as the punished, yet not killed; as the afflicted, yet always rejoicing; as the
*) Instead of "promised" have f g "blasphemed".
D. Red.
The poor, and yet make much richer, than they that have nothing, and yet possess all things. Behold, what a rich stream proceedeth out of the mouth of St. Paul; thou seest abundantly enough what the weapons of light are on the left hand and on the right. This means to put on Jesus Christ honestly.
(35) But this is very fine in this epistle, that he holds up the highest example, the Lord himself, and says, "Draw near to the Lord. For it must be a rascal who sees his Lord fasting and suffering hunger, working, waking and growing weary, and he would feast and feast, sleep, be idle and live in pleasure. Which master could suffer this from his servant? Or what servant would be able to refrain from it? It may not be, man must be ashamed when he looks at Christ and finds himself so unequal to him in contradiction.
(36) Whoever is not warmed, stirred, and provoked by Christ's own example, who will stir and provoke him? What can the leaves and words do with their noise if these thunderbolts of Christ's example do not move? That is why St. Paul especially added the word "the Lord" and said: "Draw on the Lord Jesus Christ"; as if he wanted to say: "Do not think yourselves great and great, you who are servants, look at your Lord, who also does this and yet is not guilty of it.
And do not do what the flesh seeks for pleasure.
(37) St. Paul addresses two concerns or requests of the flesh here in brief. The first, of course, is that the body may be supplied with food and clothing for its necessities, that it may live and work, so that it may not become sick and useless for work through too much breaking off.
(38) The other is sinful, when a man is careful according to his lusts and desires; which St. Paul forbids here, because there are works of darkness. For the flesh is to be mortified, that it may serve and be subject to the Spirit, and not cast the Lord out of the saddle. Again, so that it might walk and carry the Lord. Sirach Cap. 33:25 says: "A sackcloth, fodder and a rod are necessary for the donkey, for food, for punishment, and for the Lord.
Work for the servant"; does not say that you should flay or lame the donkey, nor strangle or imprison the servant. So, the body is due its discipline and work and its need. And Paul himself says, "I mortify my body, and bring it into service"; not, "I bring it into sickness or death, but that it may serve the Spirit.
39 St. Paul made this addition for the sake of two kinds of people. The first are those who, under the appearance of natural need, atone for and cover their lust; and this is so easily done that many saints complain of it, and, contrary to it, have often done too much to their bodies. Nature is so cunning and mischievous in her desire that no one can resist her sufficiently, and man must walk here with worry and uncertainty. The others are blind saints, who think that God's kingdom and his righteousness depend on the food, drink, clothing and lying down that they choose, and look no further than the work, and think that if they fast in such a way that the head becomes mad, or the stomach perishes, or the body otherwise decreases, then they have done him good. Paul says of this in 1 Cor. 8:8: "Eating and drinking do not please us in the sight of God; if we eat, we shall not have it to spare; if we do not eat, we shall not have it to infirm"; item Col. 2:23: "Beware of angelic spiritualities, which have a semblance of wisdom, in humility and superstition, wherein they spare not the body, neither do they give it its due, which it needeth to preserve its flesh."
40 Gerson praises the Carthusians for not eating meat, even in sickness, if they were to die; thus the great man has been deceived by the superstitious, angelic clergy. But how, if God will judge them for murderers of their own bodies? No order, statute or vow may ever be made against God's commandment; and if it were to happen, it would not count, as little as if you vowed to break your marriage. Now God has forbidden here by St. Paul such murder over one's own body; and one owes to the flesh one's need, be it wine, meat, eggs, and whatever it may be, be it
even on Fridays or Sundays, during Lent or after Easter, regardless of all orders, statutes and vows, even of the pope. Against God's commandment no prohibition helps, even if all angels would do it.
But such wretched foolishness follows from darkness and blindness, that they regard works in themselves as if they wanted to be saved by the greatness and quantity of works. St. Paul wants to make weapons of light out of it and use them to overcome the works of darkness; so far and no further should one need to fast, watch and work. Therefore, whether you eat fish or flesh, drink water or wine, wear red or green, do this or that, is nothing to God: they are all God's good creatures, created to be used. You should only see to it that you are moderate in this, and break off as much as is necessary for you to resist the works of darkness. Therefore it is impossible to set a common measure for this breaking off; for all bodies are not equal: one may do more, the other less; each must have regard for himself and govern his body according to this saying of Paul: "The care or desire of the flesh does not lead to pleasure. If there had been another measure to be set, St. Paul would not have left it at that.
42) From this you see that the ordinances of the clergy, which strictly forbid the eating of flesh, are contrary to the gospel, and are proclaimed by Paul in 1 Tim. 4:1, 2, 3, where he says: "The Spirit clearly says that
In the last days, some will depart from the faith and follow the teachings of the devils, who teach lies in hypocrisy, forbidding marriage and food, which God has created to be used with thanksgiving. No one can deny that these words refer to the orders of the clergy and the ranks of the priests: the words are clear; thus their essence is evident.
(43) Also, you see here that St. Paul does not teach the great devotion of some female saints, who fast for special days, [as a special worship, *] one to this saint, the other to the saint: these are all blind courses and goods built on works. The whole life, without distinction of days and food, is to be moderate and sober; for if they are to be weapons of light, and the whole life is to be chaste and pure, we must never lay down our weapons, but always be found sober, moderate, watchful, working etc. But the mad saints fast one day for water and bread, and then drink and eat every day for a quarter of a year. Some also fast that they do not eat in the evening, but drink their fill. And who can tell all the folly and works of this darkness? Who all come from looking only at the work, not at the use of the work, making a mirror of the armor, not knowing for what purpose they fast or break off, as one who carries a sword only to look at it, and does not need it when he is struck. That is enough of the epistle.
*) [f g]