Second Sermon.
We have heard so far how St. Paul comforted the Christians in their suffering against the future, incomprehensible, eternal glory that will be revealed to us in that life, and drew the whole creature to comfort, just as if it were one person, who is there forever with the whole of Christ.
stenheit suffer. And with his sharp apostolic eyes he has seen the dear holy cross in all creatures. This he presents to us, saying: "It is no wonder that we Christians suffer, for we can earn it for the world with our preaching, punishments and bells: but the creature must suffer.
Suffering innocently, so that she must be imprisoned and subjected to evil people and the devil himself.
(2) If now the sun should speak and tell its legends from Adam, what sorrow and misery it had experienced and seen, it would undoubtedly say of a great cross, how it had to serve many an adulterer, thief, murderer, yes, the whole regiment of the devil. And yet she is such a fine, noble, pure creature, who should serve no one but God, His angels, and the pious Christians who thank God for it; so she must serve those who blaspheme and desecrate God, who commit all wickedness and fornication. Although she does not like to do this, she is still obedient to God, and not only she, but the whole creature.
(3) This is a very fine and comforting thing to say, that he makes of all creatures martyrs, who must suffer all wrongs, but without their will. For the creature does not say that the devil and evil men are right in abusing it so shamefully; but it lets it happen so for the sake of him who has subjected it to vanity, and hopes besides that it will become different and better in time, when it will again come into a right use, and all abuse will be abolished. So St. Paul directs the whole creature to another life, saying that it is just as tired of this life as we are, and is thinking with us of a new being and life. For this is what he calls the finite waiting of the creature, that it does not intend to remain as it is now; but looks up to heaven with us and hopes to come out of this shameful life into a better one, when it will also be free from the service of the perishable being, as the apostle indicates afterwards.
4 And by these words he gives to understand that the whole creature shall become much more beautiful and glorious than it is now, since it must still be subjected with us to the tyrants, who abuse our honor, body and property according to their will; as the devil abuses our soul. We have to suffer this, as those who are caught in the devil's kingdom on earth, and the whole creature with us; for the earth has to put up with many a wicked trick.
and build, and give it its nourishment; likewise air, fire, water etc.; that thus all creatures have their cross, but in hope that the game will one day come to an end.
(5) And it is very well spoken, and comforting, that he draws in the whole creature, as into one person, having a desire with us to pass from this life into another. That we may know for certain that we do not yet live as we ought, but wait for another life, which shall be our right life; as the sun waits for another ornament, which it shall have, together with the earth and all other creatures, that it may be cleansed from all the abuses of the devil and the world.
(6) But this, saith he, shall come to pass, when the children of God shall be revealed. Now on earth they are already children of God, but they are not yet in their glory; just as the sun is not yet in its right glory, because it is subject to vanity; but it wants to wait for the end, which is presented to it, when its service is to end: For this it waits, together with the whole creature and all the saints, with vain sighing, and in the meantime remains subject to vanity, that is, to the devil and the evil world, solely for the sake of God, who has subjected it, but in the hope that it will not last forever.
7. so we too are already children of God here on earth and blessed if we believe and are baptized, as Marc. 16, 16. is written; and Joh. 1, 12.: "as many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of God, who believe in his name" etc. Baptism is seen; the children who are baptized are also seen; the gospel is heard; so we ourselves also feel in our hearts the testimony of the Holy Spirit that our faith, however weak it may be, is nevertheless righteous. But who sees us that we are children of God? Who wants to call such people children of God, who are thrown into dungeons, and are so horribly tortured and tormented in all kinds of ways, as if they were children of the devil, and vainly damned and cursed people?
8 Therefore, St. Paul does not speak verge-
He also says: "Your life is hidden with Christ in God, but when Christ, your life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with Him in glory. Because they live here on earth, they are not adorned with God's color, but with the devil's color. For the children of the devil have heard that they are to be stubborn and staggered, and that they are to put on all misfortune; but this does not happen, but they are in good spirits, rich, powerful, mighty, have honor, money and goods enough, and in addition they bear the color and name of our Lord God, as if they were well pleased with him. Again, they consider us heretics and God's enemies, so that here it is a different matter: those who are God's children must be called the devil's children, and those who are the devil's children must be called God's children. This hurts the pious, yes, heaven and earth and all creation cries and complains about it, and is unwilling to be subjected to vanity, and suffer that the wicked abuse it against God's honor, so that God cannot come to sanctify his name, increase his kingdom and do his will on earth as it is in heaven.
Therefore, because the children of God are so hidden and cannot yet bear their color, all creatures cry out with us, says St. Paul here, that our Lord God would rend the heavens and come down and separate his children from the children of the devil; for his children are too deeply hidden on earth, and too thick a skin is drawn over the eyes of the wicked, that they cannot recognize God's children. Their doctrine, so that they praise God's grace shown to us in Christ, must be called error, lie, heresy and devil's doctrine; therefore he says that all creatures wait with us for the revelation of the children of God. St. John also speaks in this way in 1 Ep. 3, 2: "Beloved, we are now the children of God, but it has not yet appeared that we are; but we know that when it shall appear, we shall be like Him," namely: when our Lord Jesus Christ will come with His
Then he will bring such a light with him among the children of God that they will be said to be rightly adorned according to their name, far more glorious than the children of the world were, who walked along in their lives in velvet, purple, gold and silk, like the rich man. Then we shall wear our right color and shine like the sun in our Father's kingdom, and appear in such glory that no one would have thought that poor Lazarus, who lay so miserable at the kingdom's door, should become so beautiful and glorious. Read more about this in the Book of Wisdom, Chap. 5, v. 2 ff.
(10) This hope, he says, we have, and the whole creature with us, which also for our sake will be most beautifully purified and renewed, so that it will be said: This is first a beautiful sun, a fine, pretty tree, a delicious, lovely flower etc. Because this, I say, is our hope, we should be so hopeful, and not regard the little suffering that may come to us in this life as so great; for what is it but the glory that shall be revealed to us? And indeed we ourselves will have to say against ourselves in that life: "Fie on you! I am not worthy to be called God's child, because on earth I considered my suffering so great and this exuberant joy and glory so small. Oh, if I should still be in the world and know this joy before me, I would gladly, if it were possible, lie imprisoned in the dungeon for a thousand years, be ill, be persecuted, or suffer other misfortunes; for I see and experience it now that it is true that the suffering of all the world is nothing at all compared to the glory that is now revealed in God's children.
(11) But now many, even among those who want to be Christians, are so full of impatience that they cannot even hear a harsh word when they deserve it; and before they suffer a little shame or harm from the world for the sake of the gospel, they would sooner abandon the gospel and Christ. But how will they stand in that day? Therefore, dear friends, let us be prudent, because we are still
We must have room, and not regard temporal suffering as so great, but patiently submit to it according to the teaching of St. Paul, as the creature does. The earth thinks: I let myself be plowed and built, and yet the fewest part are Christians, to whom it is too good, and the most part are bad boys, who enjoy mine; but what will I make of it? I will suffer it, and let myself be plowed up and dug up, because that is what God wants, and besides that, I hope that one day it will be different, that I will no longer be subject to vanity and serve the enemies of God.
In this way St. Peter also speaks of the change of the creature in his 2nd epistle Cap. 3, 10. 13. and says: "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise of fire, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. But we wait for a new heaven, and a new earth, according to his promise, wherein dwelleth righteousness." As if he wanted to say, "Just as most of the people on earth are now husks and boys who do not do the will of our Lord God as it is done in heaven, so on earth in that day there will be righteousness and holiness, that is, righteous, godly, just people; and just as in heaven there is righteousness and the devil has been cast out: So shall he also be cast out of the earth with all the ungodly at the last day; that there may be holy men in heaven and in earth, possessing all things with full joy; so that the elect may possess both heaven and earth alone. This is what St. Peter means when he says, "We wait for a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells." But St. Paul adds that not only we are waiting for it, but also the whole creature groans and cries with us, and waits for it.
13) But that the creature should not be condemned or reproached for this, as if it sinned by allowing itself to be abused in this way, St. Paul says: "It is true that it is subject to vanity, but without its will; just as it is not my will that I should be called a heretic and a seducer; but I suffer it for the sake of God, who has done it.
and through such suffering I do not become a partaker of the sin that the enemies of the truth do to me, who thus reproach me; so it is also with the creature, which suffers such abuse for the sake of him who subjected it. According to this example you Christians should also do. The sun says: Dear God, I am your creature, therefore I will do and suffer what is your divine will. So you, Christian, should also do when our Lord God sends you a suffering and says: "Suffer a little for my sake, and I will pay you well. Yes, dear God, we should gladly answer, because you want it that way, I will gladly do it with all my heart.
[On Hope.
This little piece also belongs to the consolation against suffering, so that one can be sure that it will not last forever, but will have an end one day, namely on the last day, when the wicked will be separated from the pious. For this life on earth is nothing but a carnival play, where people walk around in a disguise and take one for another than he is; the one who appears to be an angel is a devil, and the ones who are taken for children of the devil are angels and children of our dear Lord God. That is why they are inflicted on them, tortured, strangled as heretics and children of the devil. This carnival play must be allowed to go on until that day, when the disguise of the wicked will be taken off, so that they will no longer be able to pretend to be holy people. Continue with the text:
For also the creature will become free from the service of the perishable being, to the glorious freedom of the children of God.
014 Not only we Christians, saith he, shall be saved; but the creature also is a prisoner, hoping, as a poor captive, to be saved with us. So the sun, moon, and all creatures are captives of the devil and of wicked men; for they must serve them for all manner of sin and vice. Therefore it sighs and laments, and waits for the revelation of the children of God, when the devil and all the evil men will be delivered.
The wicked shall be cast into hell, and for eternity shall never see the sun or the moon, nor drink a drop of water, nor need a breath of air, but shall be deprived of all creatures for eternity.
Therefore he says: The creature will be free from the service of the perishable being; as if he wanted to say: It must now serve the shameful being on earth; because the sun, the moon and all creatures must be the servants of the devil and the wicked; because God wants it so, that his beautiful creature must lie under the feet of the devil and his members and serve for a time. Just as many a fine heart must now serve a shameful tyrant or Turk, because our Lord God has thrown it into service in such a way that it must wipe out a Turk's boots, or do even lesser service, and suffer all evil from him for it.
16 Therefore the apostle indicates with these words, when he says: "The creature will also be freed from the service of the perishable being", that before the last day all creatures, which God has created, must be servants and handmaidens, not of the pious, but of the devil and of evil men. Now St. Paul himself laments to the dear sun and the other creatures that they should be servants of the devil and tyrants: but she does not like it, just as we would not like to be under the Turk; yet she suffers and waits. For what? For the glorious freedom of God's children, when they will not only be released from their service, so that they will no longer serve a servant, but will also become free, and much more beautiful than they are now, and serve God's children alone from now on, no longer being imprisoned under the devil, as they are imprisoned now.
For we know that all creatures long with us, and still fear.
This is an adventurous speech of St. Paul. The creature, he says, knows that it should not only be free from the service of the perishable being, but also be splendidly adorned and decorated; it would like to go there soon, and it is as eager to do so as ever it may be to dance;
For she knows how beautiful she is to become, therefore she longs and fears forever; just as we Christians also long and would like with all our hearts that there would be an end to the Turk, the pope and the shameful world. For should no one grow weary of seeing and hearing such evil, sin and blasphemy against Christ and his gospel, as Lot had to see and hear at Sodoma? That is why St. Paul says that the creature waits eagerly and anxiously for the revelation and glorious freedom of the children of God. And they do not do this alone:
18. "But we ourselves also," he continues, "who have the firstfruits of our spirit, long also for filiation, and wait for the redemption of the body," praying and crying out with great groaning and longing in the Lord's Prayer, "Come thy kingdom," that is: Help, dear Lord, that the blessed day of your glorious future may come soon, that we may be delivered from the evil world, the devil's kingdom, and be freed from the terrible plague we have to suffer from within and without, both from evil people and our own conscience. Keep choking the old sack, so that we may one day get another body, which is not so full of sin and inclined to all evil and disobedience as it is now, which may no longer be sick, suffer persecution and die; but which may be redeemed from all misfortune bodily and spiritually, and become similar to your transfigured body, dear Lord Jesus Christ, and so we may finally come to our glorious redemption, amen.
19 However, St. Paul uses a special word here, which we could not have used in any other way than "ängststen. It actually means such pains and sorrows as a woman in childbearing has, who would like nothing better than for the child to be born and recovered, which she desires and hopes for before all the world's money, goods, honor, joy and power. St. Paul gives the same word to the creature here, that it is in need of a child, and is anxious and tormented, so that it would like to be born again and be free of its service. Now tell me, who could tell the creature that it should be in childish distress? No reason nor human wisdom, no matter how high it may be, can see such a thing.
think or believe. No, she says, the sun is such a beautiful, lovely, comforting creature that it could not be more beautiful and lovely. So also, what is lacking in the moon, the stars, the earth etc.? Is it not all finely and delicately created? Who would say that the creature would be in childish distress, or would be unwilling in its being? St. Paul says that it is quite tired of the being in which it now serves, and would as soon be out of it as a woman would like to recover from childbirth. These are true apostolic and spiritual eyes, which see all these things in the creature; therefore he also turns his back on this world, and considers neither the joy nor the sorrow of this temporal life, but only the future and eternal life, which he neither sees nor feels. And so he comforts the Christians very well and powerfully, leads them with the whole creature into that life, but in the hope that this sinful life must have an end beforehand.
20 Therefore let those who believe in Christ be sure and certain of eternal glory, and let them groan and cry with all creatures that our Lord God will hasten to bring the blessed day when such hope shall be fulfilled. For for this very reason He has also called us to pray in the Lord's Prayer: Your kingdom come. May God, who commanded us to do this, also give us grace and help us to do it, and in addition, may we firmly believe that we will finally come to such glory; for our faith is not to be used to gain money or goods in this life, but to come to another life; for we were not baptized into this present life, nor do we hear the gospel about it, but everything is directed to that eternal life. God grant that the same joyful and blessed day of our salvation and glory may soon come, and that we may know all these things as we now hear and believe in the Word, amen.