John 2:1-11.
And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of JEsu was there. JEsu and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. And when there was no wine, JEsu's mother said unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? My hour has not yet come. And his mother saith unto the servants, What he saith unto you, do. Now there were six stone water jars set there, after the manner of the Jewish purification, and into each went two or three measures. †) Jesus said to them: Fill the water jars with water. And they filled them to the top. And he saith unto them, Draw ye therefore, and bring unto the Master of the feast. And they brought it. And when the master of the feast had tasted the wine that was water, and knew not whence it came (but the servants knew, who had drawn the water), the master of the feast called unto the bridegroom, and said unto him, Every man giveth good wine at the first, and when they are drunken, then the less; thou hast kept the good wine until now. This is the first sign that Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, revealing his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
1. this is the first miraculous sign that our dear lord jesus did on earth, so that, as john himself reports, he might reveal his glory to his disciples, so that they might know him by such a miraculous sign and believe him to be the son of god and the true messiah, since he can do what no other man on earth can do.
*) In the house, 1533.
†) Marginal gloss: "Such have not been common measures, but, as John calls it, metreta, is harmless such a measure, which holds at half a bucket or more."
cannot do, namely to change the creature and make wine out of water. Such art is only God's art, who is a lord over the creature; men cannot do it.
(2) For this reason, this miraculous work is primarily intended to help us learn to recognize our dear Lord Christ, and to have recourse to him with certain confidence when we are in need or in distress, and to seek help and grace from him, which will certainly come to us in due time. This is the most important part of today's gospel.
(3) Since such teaching and comfort are found in all the miraculous works of Christ, we will now speak especially of the miraculous sign the Lord performs at the wedding, so that the doctrine of the marriage state may remain among Christians, for it is very important.
4 It is especially necessary for this reason. For, as you know, under the papacy the marriage state was greatly despised, and only virginity and chastity were praised. But how God paid and punished the celibate clergy again, we know to a good measure that not only the desire and love for marriage is taken from them, but also the love for women is almost extinguished. It is a great wonder that the godless sodomite crowd in monasteries and convents in the papacy has not long since been set on fire with hellish fire and sunk into the abyss of hell solely because of this sin, which followed from contempt for married life.
(5) That we may have other thoughts of the marriage state, and not, like Pope, flee and hate it, is the purpose of this gospel, in which we see that the Lord performs his first miraculous sign at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, in that poor little town, when he was thirty years old, had already been baptized by John, and had now begun to be a preacher. According to Pabst's holiness and wisdom, it would have been much better for the Lord Christ to have done this before he entered the spiritual ministry and was anointed and called by the Holy Spirit to be a preacher.
(6) But this is an excellent and useful example, not only against the pope's error, which is dead and gone with us, praise God! but also against the future mobs, who consider it a great sanctity to leave the married state and other civil beings, and run away into the desert or wasteland, where one has better and quieter days than in the married state, where one has to quarrel, scold, and sometimes even beat one's wife, children, servants, maids, and evil neighbors. Therefore, the married state could be called a laborious state, since there is enough toil and work involved when you lose sight of God's creature, foundation, blessing and word.
want to put. On the other hand, the monks called their life a holy, perfect life. But, as seen before, it is truly a lazy, quiet, good, sweet and epicurean life, since they have had everything enough, and have left the poor people in the world, to whom their food has had to go sour, and have nevertheless had to guess at the name that they were in a blessed, good state.
(7) Although the example Christ has given us here is great and excellent, it has not helped the hopeless people. It may have been read in the church, but there was no one who could have seen this light and said, "If it is so good to go into the wilderness or run to the monastery, why did Christ go to the wedding? Is it so evil to live in the world and become married: why then does Christ honor the married state with his presence and with such a glorious miracle?
8 Now the hut would have had its opinion if such a monastic or hermit life had been set for two or three weeks, for one year or two. But that one not only flees marriage, but also conspires for eternity, that is, despises and dishonors the marital state to the highest degree, and instead of it seeks not a holy state, but rest and a quiet life, against God's command and order.
9 Therefore learn here that our Lord God honors the fourth commandment. For where there is marriage, that is, father and mother, there must be a household; there will be wife and child, menservants and maidservants, cattle, fields, crafts and food. All these things in particular the Lord has commanded us, as a holy life and blessed estate, that no one should despise him, but honor him and consider him great, as he honors him.
(10) Therefore this gospel is a good sermon for the young people, that they may learn how to serve our Lord God in the home, and that it is not necessary to do anything special, as the smeared and shorn multitude did. For a householder who rules his house in the fear of God, who trains his children and servants in the fear of God and in knowledge, in discipline and respectability, who
is in a blessed, holy state. So a woman who waits on the children with food, drink, cleaning, bathing, may not ask for a holier, more holy state. Servants and maidservants in the house, too, when they do what their masters tell them to do, serve God; and if they believe in Christ, it pleases God much better if they also sweep the rooms or wipe the shoes, than all the monks pray, fast, say mass, and what more they boast of for high divine services.
(11) For this reason, one should by no means despise such domestic life in the married state, nor, as the monks have blasphemed, consider it a worldly, unholy state. For here we see that the Lord Christ himself goes to the wedding. This does not apply to the wedding alone, but to the entire household; God wants to honor this, as the fourth commandment, which is the highest in the other tablet, shows.
(12) Therefore, if you are a father and a mother, remain in that position, and learn that God is pleased with you when you do what you ought to do because of that position. If you are a servant or a maid, learn that God is pleased with your status. For God Himself blessed and honored the marriage state, honored the marriage with His presence and first miraculous work, when He was already a preacher. He might also have said, "I will not come, I will wait for my preaching; it is a worldly thing; I have been commanded a spiritual office, according to which I must keep myself.
13. But he, as the highest bishop, does not let the office, since he had special command to it, err in such, does not despise the marriage, which is the beginning of stewardship, but honors, praises and extols the works in such a state, so that everyone should be willing and say: Because God has set and ordained me to serve as a maid, as a servant, as a child, as a husband, as a housemother, to the married state and to stewardship, I will gladly do it and serve my God in such a state with joy. For I see that the high preacher, my Lord and God, Christ Jesus, gives himself here, and comes on
the wedding, not only in honor of this state, but also to help and preserve it.
This teaching was necessary against the heretics and the pope, and is still necessary today against the red spirits, such as Anabaptists and the like, who come and say: There is nothing wrong with keeping house, things are going this way and that, now one has unfaithful servants, now one must quarrel with the neighbors, now one is entitled to another accident with wife, children, food; how can one think of God and serve God with so much unrest, of which there is neither measure nor end in married life? I did not want to look at it, I want to run away to a monastery, since I am discharged from such unrest etc. So we went in the name of the devil, one to this order, the other to another order and state.
15 Let this be remembered, lest such mad spirits come again. For it is clearly stated here how the Lord Christ himself, coming to the wedding, did not separate the bride and bridegroom from each other, but left them with each other, and even helped to make the wedding more honest. With such a beautiful example he wanted to teach us that it should also please him where one faithfully helps and serves the household. For if there be any lack, let it not dismay thee: only see thou have Christ with thee, and be not ungodly: and he will make wine of water, and so bless thy estate, that thou shalt have enough; and at length whatsoever is needed shall be found, though it be lacking and straitened for a season.
This is also seen in experience. If husband and wife live together in a fine Christian way, our Lord God feeds them so easily that they get more than they think. And I believe that no craftsman who is otherwise diligently dedicated to his work and who fears God would be able to get so much money in one pile on a table, as much as he can earn in a whole year, if he dared to keep it. But God's blessing goes on secretly, so that today a penny is saved, tomorrow another penny, and one helps oneself in such a way that one must feel God's blessing in such quiet housekeeping. So that our dear Lord
Christ will turn water into wine in my house and yours this very day (if we are godly and pious and let him take care). He makes one piece of bread become ten, and one skirt last as long as three. For this reason, if only we would open our eyes, we should say, "Lord, the works of stewardship belong to you, and you are served by them, for you have honored them and still honor them with your blessing. Therefore I will not despise them, but will diligently help them in my state.
The evangelist reports in particular how Jesus' mother was also there. She may have been the bride's mother at the wedding time. For she takes care of the affair as if she were particularly concerned about it, since she sees a lack. For it seems as if it had been a matrimonial wedding, at which nothing but wine and bread had been lacking. Now think, if God did not like the marriage state, should not Jesus have said to her: Mother, you are so glorious and great, you alone among all women are a virgin and a mother of the Son of God, therefore you alone should wait for the church and the service: so you go here to this work, how one performs the wedding well? And it is true, it is ridiculous that the holy mother should give herself to this little work, and be a maid at the wedding, and serve the people with cooking, sending, and other things. But all this is done, as I have often said, so that we may learn to recognize this state, which Christ and the Virgin Mary honor so highly.
18 Nevertheless, such an example has not helped in the papacy, nor does it help the disobedient, unfaithful household. For no one wants to believe or believe it to be true that it is serving God when one serves faithfully and diligently in the home. Otherwise, servant and maidservant, child and servant would be merry and happy to do all the work, and would make a paradise out of their domestic service, saying: I will do and leave whatever they want to please my lord and my wife. Whether I am sometimes scolded, what is the harm? for I truly know that my position is a blessing to our Lord.
For my Redeemer, Christ Himself, went to the wedding, and honored it with His presence and His mother Mary's services: should I now not gladly do and suffer something for the honor and service of such a state? But one finds very few of such wives *) or servants; most of them are so obdurate, even though they hear these stories, that they still do not want to think about it, nor do they want to be moved to have it in the house, so that they can serve God in the best way, more than any nun or monk in the monastery, even if it would be so sour for them. But no one takes it to heart, no one believes it. Therefore, everything happens with unwillingness and reluctance, and it is not possible that happiness or salvation can be with such unwilling servants.
(19) For should not a godly and pious maidservant in the house, who has to cook and do other things, take comfort and rejoice in this example of the Mother of God, and say: That I have to cook and do other things, that was just the service of the dear virgin Mary at the wedding; she also made herself busy and saw to it that everything was done well. And even though it is a small work that I do in the house, and has no reputation, I do it in honor of God, who has commanded it, and wants me to do such obedience and diligence, and I know where I will please the descendant. Let the world therefore respect such obedience, for what it will; but let them that will be Christians count it great, and a right service of God, and perform it with all their will. Thus a maid or servant in the house could take pleasure in his position and in his work and please God, saying: "I thank you, Lord, that you have placed me in this service, knowing that I serve you more than all monks and nuns who have no command of their service. But I have God's command, in the fourth commandment, to honor father and mother, to serve masters and wives with all diligence and fidelity, and to help with housekeeping; therefore, I will comply with it with pleasure and love.
*Ehehalt - spouse, servant. D. Red.
(20) Whoever so engaged in the matter would do what he should do with joy and pleasure, and would already be here in paradise; and our Lord God would also be pleased with it, with all his angels. Likewise, Lord and Lady, who in turn would richly reward such faithfulness and willing service. For faithful, pious servants are held in high esteem everywhere.
(21) But it is seen that they do not follow this, and that everyone would rather consider it a service of God to go into a monastery than to serve masters and wives diligently for housekeeping. But because the fourth commandment has been so trampled upon and the married state so despised, God has done right in making them monks and nuns and bringing them into such a state that they have worn themselves out, and have done God the greatest disobedience and disobedience, for he has never commanded them, nor commanded them.
(22) Therefore let us learn well this example, that every man may willingly and gladly serve and help that estate which our Lord God Himself has highly exalted and honored, and has made a fountain and source of all other estates on earth. For stewardship, or the married state, must preserve all kings and princes: not only because kings and princes come from the married state, but also because there would be neither people nor interest if there were not married couples. For the steward must acquire it, by which all estates in the world, from the highest to the least, are preserved.
(23) Let this be learned, and be willing and obedient to it, that this estate also may be honored and promoted of us; that every husband or servant may learn to say, Lord, it is thy pleasure; thou thyself wast at the marriage of Cana, and thy mother, the most blessed of all women, didst that very thing at the marriage, which I do in my lord's house and service. If she was not ashamed of such little work, but offered herself to do it, why should I, poor maggot, think myself better, and be ashamed of such housework, since I am a mere blasphemer against the pure Virgin Mary?
24 In particular, if a husband and wife are devout and godly, they should take comfort in the fact that God will not abandon them, but will gladly add to them His blessings, and turn away all their deficiencies, as He does here. For there is no other way out, husbands and wives must have much food and other things. But if one has Christ at the wedding, that one is godly, then the blessing and the help should not remain outside. This you should learn and know today; for this is why it is preached that you should remain all the more willingly in the services ordered to stewardship, and not be deceived by those who come and say: Stewardship, becoming married, is a worldly thing; whoever wants to serve God must attack it differently, so that it becomes sour and hurts him.
(25) As the Anabaptists, the blind people, do at this time, they run away from their wives and children, boasting of a great cross and holiness, which is painful. But it is nothing but evil with the skulls. Cause, that does not hurt, what one takes for himself and puts out. That hurts much more; that is why people are afraid to stay with their wives and children, to suffer much from the servants and evil neighbors, because one is caught more than with twenty ropes. The naughty boys get rid of such ropes and live according to their own will. But this is not called hurting oneself. But it hurts that you must be bound by God's command to your wife, princes, neighbors, servants, since you have your hands full on all sides to prove Christian love and patience. For then you must hear, see, and suffer that you would rather have suffered; you must nevertheless remain, and not run away, but say: I will do it all gladly and suffer; for I know that God wants to be with the household with His graces. Yes, I thank God from the bottom of my heart, who has placed me in this blessed and pleasing state. If something is lacking, He can help. And prove it here at this wedding, that he will do it gladly and with pleasure.
(26) Learn these things from today's gospel, and call upon God for His grace, that we may keep them, and so send us on our way in a Christian way, amen.