Matth. 6, 24-34.
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will cling to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; neither for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than food? and the body more than raiment? Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow, they do not reap, they gather.
870 D. 3,65-67. on the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity. W. xm, is56-iWi. ' 871
not into the barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more than they? Who is there among you who can add a cubit to his length, though he cares for it? And why do you care for clothing? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow; they do not work, nor do they spin. I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as one. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today stands, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more do it unto you, O ye of little faith? Therefore shall ye not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? what shall we drink? wherewith shall we be clothed? The heathen seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about the morrow, for the morrow will take care of its own. It is enough for every day to have its own plague.
This is a rich gospel and a long sermon against avarice, to which our Lord God is especially hostile, because there is no other vice that hinders the gospel more and does more harm to Christians. And yet we see that the whole world is drowned in it. For everyone cares day and night how he will be fed. And this is especially good for avarice, that no one is satisfied with what God has given him; they all want to have more and go higher. To whom God has given a beautiful house, he would like to have a castle; if he has a castle, he would like to have a village, and so on: no one is satisfied, everyone would like to get higher and have more. Otherwise, if there were no stinginess and pride, we would all have enough, and there would be no such worries, scratching and scraping among the people. The Lord would like to counter such un-Christianity with this sermon, and for this reason he does it very strongly. "No one," he says, "can serve two masters; he will either hate one and love the other, or be attached to one and despise the other." There you can see that the Lord is worried that mammon will hinder his service.
2 Therefore it is not a gospel for the young people. For they have the grace, praise God, that they would rather eat cherries than count money; they also care more for a beautiful apple than for a red florin; they do not ask what the grain is worth; for they are sure in their hearts and certain that they will find food.
3 This sermon is especially directed to the fathers of the household and to those who are in office, and most of all to the preachers who are in trouble in the world, some of whom have been killed by
They are forced to think about how they will feed themselves and their wives and children. The Lord comforts them here, wants to relieve them of such worries, and says: "They should look at the little birds: because God provides them so abundantly, they will also have their party, so that they will not die of hunger.
(4) That this sermon does not particularly concern the young, for they think that the kitchen and cellar have already been provided for, and let others take care of them. But we old fools have the particular misfortune of providing for our belly and always fear that we will die of hunger.
Since our dear Lord Christ so harshly rejects the idea that one cannot serve God and mammon at the same time, it is necessary that we learn what it means to serve God.
According to the common usage in the world, "to serve" means nothing else than to do what one has commanded. That it is said in the same way: I serve my lord, as if one said, I do what my lord commands me. That therefore the service is not ordered on the mere person, but on the word and command. For masters and wives of the house must not keep the servants to eat and drink; they can do it themselves. But let them see to it that they do and perform that which they have commanded them. Wherefore if a servant be a wicked man, and suffer his lord's word and command to stand, and do that which others call him to do, it is not serving the right lord.
(7) In this way we must also speak here of worship: that serving God means nothing else than hearing what he says and doing it gladly and diligently. What
But what does God mean? First of all, it means to hear Christ and accept the good gospel. This is the only, right, pleasing service we can do to God, for His command is there before our eyes.
8. According to it, God commands that the children honor their father and mother, that the parents nourish, nurture and teach their children; that a woman love her husband and take care of the household, and that the husband nurture and protect her. etc. Wherefore the children honor their father and mother, with the same they serve God. For there is God's command for them to do so. So servants and maids in the house, if they do diligently what they are commanded to do, they serve not only their rulers, but God in heaven; for there is His word that requires it of them.
(9) So, too, in other states, each one could enter into God's command and service, if only we would learn what it means to serve God. For as I said, the service of God is not in the work, but in the word and command of God. It has a great reputation before the world that a monk forgives himself everything and goes to a monastery, leads a strict life there, fasts, watches, prays etc. There is no lack of work, but there is a lack of command, because God has not commanded him to do this; therefore it cannot be praised for any service. Again, it is a very small thing for a maid to cook, wash, sweep and do other household work in the house. But because God's command is there, such a small work cannot be praised otherwise than as a service to God, and far surpasses all monks' and nuns' holiness and hard living. For there is no command of God; here, however, it is God's command that one should honor father and mother and help to keep house.
(10) So it is called serving God where one does what God has commanded and does not do what God has forbidden. And so the whole world would be full of God's service: not only in the church, but also in the home, in the kitchen, in the cellar, in the workshop, in the field, among citizens and farmers, if only we would send ourselves into it properly. For it is certain that God does not only
The Lord wants to order and maintain the church and world regiment, but also the home regiment. Therefore, whoever serves, father and mother first, then the children, and finally the servants and neighbors, all together serve God, for it is His will and command.
Then a poor maid might first have joy in her heart and say, "I'm going to cook, I'm going to make the bed, I'm going to sweep the house, who told me to do it? It was my master and wife who told me. Who then has given them such power over me? God has done it. Well, it must be true that I serve not only them, but also God in heaven, and that God is pleased with me. How can I be more blessed? It is just as much as if I were to cook for God in heaven.
(12) Thus a man, with all his toil and labor, could be cheerful and of good cheer, and nothing would sour him, if he thus sent himself to his service and occupation. But the devil fights back tooth and nail, saying that there is no joy in it, but that everyone is displeased with what he is supposed to do and is commanded to do; that only people have no love for it, and God no service.
(13) If money were to buy it, so that one could come to the state of knowing that he was serving God in it, don't you think we would give everything we have for it? What did the mad monks and nuns do for the hope that they would think that they were serving God? But as I also said above, they lacked it, since it is all up to them. For if you ask who called them to run to the monastery, it is impossible for them to say that God told them to do so; but if they want to confess the truth, they must say that they thought it was possible to serve God in this way. But the wretched devil thanks them for that. For that is just as much a thing as if I had my maid make a fire, and she wanted to sweep the parlor for it. With such service she would do me little favor, I would not thank her very much; especially if she still wanted to defend this and boast: "Lord, sweeping the parlor also makes me angry.
Thank you for a good year, I should say, who called you? You should have warmed my room now; that's what I asked you to do, not sweep the room.
(14) It is the same with monks and nuns: they praise God's service, and yet God has not told them to do so. Therefore, if you want to serve God rightly, stay in your profession and status, however small it may be; and listen first to God's word in the church, then to your authority, rule or parents' word, and follow it. That is, to serve God rightly.
(15) Therefore, let each man learn diligently for himself, whatever his station, and know well what it means to serve God, namely, to do what God commands through preachers, through father and mother, through masters and wives in the house. If you do this, your heart can be finely guarded against God, and your work or service will not become sour or difficult for you, because you know that God is pleased with it and that it is called serving Him. And what you do in your house is just as much as if you had done it to our Lord God up in heaven.
(16) This is the most beautiful and best adornment, since a human being is adorned above all other creatures, which also walk in obedience to God. For there we see that the sun and the moon, the earth and all creatures walk along in God's order and obedience, and accomplish that which God has commanded them to do. The sun gives light to all the world by day, the moon by night, the earth yields all kinds of fruit every year. So does the water. What command does it have? What should it do? It shall bring fish, says God in the first book of Moses. It does this everywhere, except where people, through their sin, do not withstand God's blessing and hinder His command. Thus all other creatures walk in the most beautiful adornment, that is, in the service of God. Christ says here that even Solomon was not so beautifully adorned in all his glory as a little flower in the field. What does a flower do? What is its command? Nothing else, except that it should stand there, bloom beautifully, smell well, and
and let them be used. If God so highly praises a little flower, what do you think is the adornment of a human being when he is found in the command and obedience of God?
17 A maid who adorns herself for dancing is a worldly ornament. But if you want to judge rightly, you have to say: It is dirt compared to the adornment, if she goes in her office and profession, waits for the children, the kitchen, the house, and does what she is commanded to do. For thus the 45th Psalm praises the Christians, and says v. 10: "In your adornment go the daughters of kings." What kind of adornment can this be, since we know that Christians on earth are poor, miserable and despised? It is a spiritual ornament, and is not called silver, pearls, velvet, or gold pieces, but the command of our Lord God. Such jewelry shines more beautifully than the sun, for it is God's jewelry. So he who walks in our Lord God's command walks in our Lord God's own ornament.
(18) If I were to wear the emperor's ornament, or if a beautiful young woman were to walk in the ornament of the queen of France, that would be a glorious and delicious thing in the eyes of the world, since everyone would open their mouths about it. But in truth it is nothing compared to this spiritual adornment, when a woman walks along in obedience to God, loves and values her husband, and brings up her children finely and well, and is tidy and diligent in housekeeping; compared to such adornment, pearls, velvet and golden pieces are like an old, torn, patched beggar's cloak. For it is an ornament that has God's word and command and walks in God's obedience.
19 This is the right crown and beautiful golden chain, as Solomon says in Prov. 1, v. 8, 9: "My son, obey your father's discipline, and do not forsake your mother's commandment; for this is a beautiful ornament for your head, and a chain for your neck."
20 Here on earth this obedience seems to be nothing special. But in that life, there it will seem, when God will say and praise: My child, come here, you are an obedient child, a faithful handmaiden, a
a pious servant. There you will see that obedience to God and His word, even in such lowly ranks, is more adorning than all the world's adornment.
(21) Let this be said of the first part, that you may learn what it means to serve God, and not let Mammon's service hinder you in this. Now let us look at the consolation, and learn how to resist avarice.
22.*) First, the Lord says, "No one can serve two masters." Name two lords; the one is called God, that is the right Lord, whom we owe to serve. The other lord is called Mammon, which is not the right lord; therefore Christ wills that we should not serve him. But how to serve God we have heard.
(23) But what it means to serve mammon, the Lord himself indicates here, namely, to provide for life what one will eat and drink, and to provide for the body how one will clothe himself. And the whole sermon is to the effect that we should not take such care at all; for it is not only a vain care, which we have no need of and can do nothing with, but such care also hinders the right service of God. Therefore, we should beware of it and become accustomed to serving God and to trusting Him that He knows what we need and will provide it for us and gladly give it to us if we only seek it from Him.
(24) To such trust we have a great advantage, that we see that God has already given us life and limb without our care. Now let all the world judge. Is it not true that if all food were in a heap, it would not be so dear to you as your life? So your body is dearer to you than all clothing. Are we not wretched, ungrateful people, since God should be justly angry with us? We must confess that He has already given us the most and the greatest of Himself and without being asked, and yet we do not want to trust Him that He will also give us the lesser. It would ever hurt a rich man if he had given you a thousand guilders, so that you would not be so
*) Held in the house in 1534.
much would you provide for him, that he would also give you an old pair of shoes. This is what we do in truth to our Lord God in heaven when we provide food and drink, since he has already given the greatest and most. But how such mistrust pleases him, we may consider.
(25) Just as we must learn and confess in ourselves, in our bodies and lives, in our eyes, ears, hands, feet, and all our limbs, that God is gracious to us, that He has given us much, and that He has done us good: so the Lord sets before us the examples of other creatures, that we may learn by them to trust in God and not to worry.
26 For the little birds fly over before our eyes, in small honor of us, so that we might take off our little hats against them, and say: My dear doctor, I must ever confess that I cannot do the art that you can. You sleep through the night in your little nest without a care in the world; in the morning you get up again, are cheerful and in good spirits, sit down on a little flower, and sing, praise and thank God; then you look for your food and find it. Fie, what have I learned as an old fool, that I do not do the same, when I have so much reason to do so! Can the little bird leave off its worrying, and in such a case keeps itself like a living saint, and yet has neither field nor barn, neither box nor cellar; it sings, praises God, is happy and in good spirits; for it knows that it has one who cares for it; he is called our Father in heaven: why then do we not also, who have the advantage that we can work, build the field, gather the fruits, pour them out and keep them for the need? Yet we cannot leave off this shameful worrying.
Therefore, we should not forget this example of the birds. They are without any worry, cheerful and in good spirits. And why would they care? They have a rich chef and waiter, called the Father in heaven, who has a kitchen as wide as the world. Therefore, they fly where they want, so they find the kitchen well ordered. The same heavenly Father, Christ says here, would have your kitchen master
and waiters would also like to be, if only you could believe it, or wanted to have.
28. But unfortunately we learn that the whole world is a bunch of desperate miserly people, who do not trust God, do not serve God, but mammon; and only deal with how they may collect a lot of money. If they manage to get it, they are in good spirits. If they do not, they are sad and sorrowful and worry day and night. But is it not true, if thou hadst a house full of florins, and the house were also golden, and the Elbe or the Rhine flowed with gold, and were thine own: what could such help thee, if there were nothing else, no corn, no beer, no wine, no water? You will never eat the gold.
29 This may be called a shameful mammon service, which the pagans also mocked, and a fable was made of a rich king in Phrygia, called Midas: he was so stingy that he wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. Such a wish came to him, as he had desired: if he touched his skirt, table, benches, bed, door, everything became gold as soon as, the knife over the table, the bread and drink also. But he had to die of hunger in the end, the miser, he had well wished. Therefore curse avarice and flee it, whoever can; for one will never eat either silver or gold. Nevertheless the world is so blind and mad, when it has food and drink, that it still wants gold and money. Just as if it did not need what God gives, and had to have what He does not give.
(30) Therefore, let him who is a Christian take better heed, and let not avarice pass him by; but learn to trust God, who has already proved Himself in us and in the whole creature, that He will provide for us and will not let us suffer any lack. As the Psalter also especially praises the young ravens, that God provides them with their food and nourishment, although the old ravens leave them in the nest and no longer come to them, nor do they corrode them. For this is God's order for and for, where He gives life, that He also creates that it may be preserved. And if he does this to the cattle, how much more does he want it for the people,
and especially to his Christians, to whom he has given not only life and limb, but also his only begotten Son, that they should live not only for time, but for ever. This is what the Lord wanted us to learn, and to drop the shameful unbelief that avarice arouses.
For what do we accomplish by worrying ourselves to death? It would be a very foolish thing for a little man to sit in a corner and spend his life worrying and thinking about how he might grow taller. Do you not think the whole world would mock him and think him a fool? The same thing, saith Christ, the world doeth, when it careth how it may make money and goods; no man careth richly. It is entirely up to him whether God gives his blessing, and not up to worry. If God's blessing is there, one has it; if it is not there, whether one has it or not, one will not be able to enjoy it or keep it, as the examples before us show.
This should also be a cause that should provoke and move us to faith: that worry not only hinders faith and is against God, but also hurts us and troubles us, and yet we do nothing with it. That is to say, miserliness, worry, and unbelief (for where one is, there is also the other) are honestly praised; that if we only wanted to use our reason, we should become hostile to such vices and guard against them.
But the Lord will not leave it at that, and tells us to open our eyes when we are in the field or in a garden, and look at the little flowers; there we will also find a good doctor, who would gladly teach us the highest art, so that we can trust God and provide ourselves with everything good for him. For there are flowers of all colors, adorned in the most beautiful way, so that no emperor nor king is equal to them in adornment. For all such adornment is a dead thing. But a flower has its color and beauty, that it is a natural, living thing. And it does not have the opinion that it grows like this. Here it is that Christ says, "God clothes the grass of the field in this way.
(34) Just as he says above, "The little birds do not find their food by chance, but God the Father in heaven provides it for them and arranges that each little bird has its place and is fed. It is the same with the little flowers, as you can see. For if it were not for God's special order and creation, it would never be possible for one to be the same as another, to have the same color, leaves, number of leaves, veins, seeds and other measurements. If God takes such care with the grass, which stands only to be seen and to be enjoyed by cattle, is it not a sin and a shame that we still doubt whether God will provide us with clothing?
35 For just as we have an advantage over the little birds; we build the field, we reap, we fill the barns and cellars, and can make a supply for ourselves, at least for one day; since the little birds have none, and yet are fed: so, saith the Lord, we also have an advantage for clothing. There is so much flax, flax and hemp being grown, so many sheep being raised, so much spinning and working going on in every house: how can a man be so devoid of faith that he does not hope to get something out of it, especially if he keeps on working?
For we must make a distinction here. Not only is work not forbidden, but it is also commanded to the highest degree, and so commanded that all diligence and care be put into it, and that it not be idle, lazy, or careless. But to care for food, drink, clothing, and other things, that is most forbidden. For such care is an indication that we do not trust in God to sustain us. Therefore, God is blasphemed most of all.
So that both must be and remain with each other. The first, that you wait with all diligence of your work. For this is what God commanded man in paradise: that he should eat, that he should also work. The other is that you also be a Christian and believe. But to believe means to trust God, that he is our Father, that he knows what we need, and that he will gladly and graciously give it to us.
let go. Worry cannot get along with such faith; but as soon as worry starts, faith falters, indeed, it is over.
038 Therefore the Lord forbideth, saying in short, Be not anxious: work ye shall, it is your command; and let me be anxious: for this is my office, that I am your father, and I can do something with my care; ye can do nothing with it. Therefore let it be done; or if you will not let it be done, know that you are no longer my servants; you are the servants of Mammon; whom you love, but me you hate; to him you cling, but me you despise. How one sees then publicly at the world examples. Yes, if someone knew how to win ten or twenty guilders this hour, that he would leave such profit behind, or delay a little, and go to the sermon first? Winning money is more important to him, and he thinks he can get the sermon at another time. But it is true that whatever you do to God's word, you have done to God. He who despises it and prefers money has despised God and hates God. Just do not make a gloss, the text is too loud that you can not pass.
039 Therefore this is the preaching of Christians, that they should not be anxious, nor say, What shall we eat? what shall we drink? wherewith shall we be clothed? The heathen, saith the Lord, seek such things, not knowing nor believing that they have a Father in heaven. But you have a Father in heaven, who has given you life and limb, even his Son, who knows what you need. But how can you think him so unmerciful and hard that he would not give you, and let you die of hunger and perish? Therefore do as you see your children do toward you: they lie down at night and sleep without any care; they care nothing where they will take a piece of bread or soup in the morning, for they know that their father and mother will provide for them. Do ye likewise, little children, saith Christ here, toward your Father which is in heaven, and there shall be no need. But do not be anxious, for that would be an indication that you have no need of your Father in heaven.
comforts; otherwise, you would drop all worry and hope for everything good.
40 Therefore the Lord concludes this sermon thus, saying, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the rest will be added to you. This is a necessary teaching and an excellent promise. The world asks and seeks for its kingdom, so one must have money and goods, which are all uncertain and unstable. On the other hand, God has another kingdom, an eternal kingdom, which we Christians should seek. This kingdom, says Christ, is within us. And it means nothing else than hearing the word and believing, that is, trusting God from the heart and considering Him as a Father. Where such faith is, God dwells, and righteousness, that is, forgiveness of sins, follows immediately. Let this, says Christ, be your first, hold to the word, hear it diligently, practice it and believe.
(41) Therefore, if you have sought God's kingdom and righteousness first, be content, and do every man in his place as he ought; for Christians are not to walk idly, but to work: then it shall all fall to you. For can God be so pious and gracious that He gives everything to the wicked, who not only do not serve Him, but also persecute and blaspheme His word, and bring upon Him all shame and dishonor: how could it be possible that He should leave you, who love Him, gladly hear and promote His word, and put all your trust in Him? So the Lord teaches that we should keep the word, believe and be godly, and let go of all worries; then God will give us everything we need.
But what happens? Most of them go away and do not heed God's word, preferring to go drinking and gambling and dancing rather than going to church to preach. Such naughtiness brings with it all kinds of sin. That there should be happiness, and that God should not be with
Sickness, poverty and all kinds of misfortune should punish such, that is not possible. Then there is another evil, that most of the people are careless, lazy and careless with their work; or even though they work and let it get sour, there is no measure of feasting, gambling and other things, that one lets pass on a holiday what one has worked for the whole week. Our Lord God has forbidden both, that one should not go idle and should not waste, but what one has worked for should be kept in good counsel.
43 Therefore saith the Lord, The birds neither reap, nor gather into their coops. As if to say: You do both, and you should do both, that you work, and afterward put the profit behind you and keep it for the need. But whoever will not do it, what can God do that there is neither happiness nor salvation? You may blame your nefarious, unchristian life, your idleness and your wastefulness, and not God, who would gladly give, if you would only be a Christian, hear the word, believe, drop your worries and work. As he says here, it should all fall to you. But you don't want it. When you should go to the sermon, you lie in bed and laze around, or go for a walk, or go drinking. When you should be working, you do the same. A little bird must work and fly out to its pasture. Our Lord God, who wants to feed it, does not want to throw food into its nest. So do the same to him, be godly and diligent in your work, and let God take care of the rest, as he will provide your food. But, as reported above, do not be stingy and be content, for God does not want to suffer the same.
44 This is the teaching of today's Gospel. May our dear Lord God give us His Holy Spirit through Christ, so that we may improve and become more devout, amen.