Held on the 2nd Sunday after Trinity, June 15, 1589.
(Continuation of previous sermon.)
We heard next Sunday about love, that we should not be surprised, and about Abel and Cain. So also is the world, as it is painted here, that it should hate, envy the little heap of Abel, and that we should not marvel at it.
Now follows [v. 14]: "He who does not love his brother remains in death", and these will lack the kingdom of heaven and eternal life. For they are slayers of death. We also see how it works that those who accept the word of God and use all the good deeds of Christ, and yet are false Christians, not only remain in death, but also become death-throwers. As all the false spirits from the time of the apostles have proven, they taught so wrongly and unjustly and led the people into murder and hatred that one killed the other. But it is frightening that among Christians there are not only those who boast of the Christian faith and yet remain in death, but are also death-slayers. But St. John says: "Do not be surprised!" It is to be wondered at that under the teaching of the Gospel Christians not only remain dead, but are also death-throwers.
And it is their much now such clever ones who pretend: I see nothing good that comes from this teaching. People are now evil, stingy, lewd. We want to start another one, which is better! So you could say to St. John and St. Paul, why the teaching is so ineffective and has little effect, if it is so holy and good, that such evil people find and Cain still stirs; should the teaching make people devout: what good comes from the teaching? What did you hear in the Gospel today? 2) Lazarus died, the
1) Buchwald: "before".
2) According to these words one would like to assume that this sermon was preached on the first Sunday after Trinity, because the Pericope Luc. 16, 19. sf. is prescribed for this Tcrg.
rich man has Moses and the prophets and yet he goes to the devil [Luc. 16, 19-31]. So they also say here: People are spiteful, envious. But is this the fault of the gospel? If you hear such people, tell them: What good shall come of it? You shall have harm from it. Just as nothing good comes out of Moses and the prophets to the rich man and his five brothers, but hellish fire: so shall it come out of you.
So John also preached faith in Christ and love for one's neighbor; yet the world hates and Cain hates the brothers. If I want to conclude that people are evil, therefore the teaching is false, I must also conclude: Where then do harlots come from? God has blessed the bride and the bridegroom. What good comes from the marriage state? Harlots and knaves. Egg, therefore the marriage state is evil. Where did the devils come from? Is it not true, from the highest choir of angels? Where do tyrants come from? Isn't it true, from the princely state? So often from the best comes the worst. So, from angels come devils, from virgins come whores, from wives and widows come adulteresses. Therefore tell such blind men not to see. It is also forbidden them, as it is written [Isa. 26:10], "They see not the glory of the Lord," and in Psalm [115:5], "They have eyes, and see not; they have ears, and hear not." They shall become like them who do such things. Such drops, which have painted eyes, golden, silver eyes, they shall also see nothing. Aristotle says: "If a man gets a picture in one eye while the picture lasts, he sees no other; so it is also when you look straight at a letter. So it is also with such people, who have silver eyes and hearts. The heart is money. Therefore the eyes are also unclean, like those: "They have eyes, and do not see" what God wants.
He works and does good by his word and order. And yet they have a whore in their eyes. For this reason they all judge the others in the same way. Then they hear that Christ shed his blood. But it is nothing to them. They see nothing else but gold and silver. As their heart is, so is their eye. Now that they are blind, it is no wonder; and say to them: I am not surprised that thou sayest, There is nothing good in the doctrine. By this I perceive that thou art blind. An image also has eyes, but it does not see. I prophesy to you here that you do not see here either. 1) I prophesy to you here.
So Nothing Good Comes From Doctrine] 2) speak the rude dolts. But say thou unto them: It is thus written [Ps. 115, 5, ff.], "They have eyes, and see not; they have ears, and hear not; they have noses, and smell not; they have hands, and grasp not." And therefore also here St. John says: "Do not be astonished." For these are the ones in whom the word of God produces no fruit. I also see that people become evil, and it hurts me. But in the meantime I see the fruit of the good gospel. The fault is not of the divine word or its works, but yours. See how the chair of preaching, baptism, the altar, the council house and the marriage bed remain in honor, the authorities in their rule, the citizen and the peasant, and the veil and the little hat remain pure: truly, I want to show you the fruit and benefit of the divine word. Truly, in the word of God, praise is given, honor is given to God, as otherwise one worshipped the Virgin Mary, St. Christopher, George, and the devil himself before. Let this be to thee a glorious fruit, greater than heaven and earth, that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be one God, that Christ be crucified and die, and that God's works not be condemned, that God be praised in His mercy, and that He cast the rich man into hell with his brothers, and make Lazarum blessed by grace, item, that we may follow the right custom
1) Buchwald: that.
2) Inserted by us.
3) "Honor" put by us instead: Teaching.
of baptism, the Lord's Supper and absolution, item, that each one may know in his order and standing that his profession is pleasing to God. Now if the great multitude and Cain are wicked, shall this be the fault of the doctrine? St. John says it is the fault of the world. Should it also be said that the married state and virginity are not good, for there are many harlots among the virgins? What thief wants to be a thief, if he was a pious child in the cradle? What is the guilt there? They have eyes, that is, they are blind, they have eyes of gold and silver, like an idol. Therefore it is not necessary for you to boast. You see, if we could separate the world from the Christians, the matter would be settled soon. If the whores were driven out of the city, we would have pious women and virgins. How shall we do it? It is mixed. The Lord Christ himself says: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea to catch all kinds of fish. But when it is full, they draw it out to the shore, and sit and gather the good ones into a vessel; but the rotten ones they cast away." Item [Matth. 13, 24. ff.], there are tares growing among thy corn. - But there come the foolish, saying, Yea, I see no good thing coming out of the doctrine, therefore there is no church. You say, "You are a shabby devil!
But I have said, An idol that is golden, even as they are, shall see nothing; and so they judge and judge themselves. Thus it is, that thou shalt see no good thing. Thou sayest thou seest not, and in this thou hast a sure sign that thou art blind. But that there is no fruit of the divine word, thou liest in thy throat. For God has said [Isa. 55:10 ff]: "As the rain and the snow fall from heaven, and return not thither; but wet the earth, and make it fruitful and increase, that it may give seed to sow, and bread to eat: so shall the word be that proceedeth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but shall do that which I please, and shall prosper when I send it." For God did not give His word to the world to be unfruitful, but to be used as a
Rain makes the land wet. Therefore, judge not by the outward appearance, but by the Word of God, so that the chair, the sermon and the altar may remain pure. See if there are not pious Christians, pious spouses, authorities, citizens and peasants. Do you then say: O, they are few! Yet they are. Is everything under the pope a holy thing? Do they not have many whores there? Item, the priests slept with the citizens' wives, daughters and maids, cheated the people with indulgences. The evil under the papacy is not seen now. Therefore, they are vain idols who do not see the abominable blasphemy and shame under the papacy. So blind and ungrateful are we that men speak such words, when we are much given to another. Truly, we do not worship idols now, do not respect indulgences and purgatory, nor do we go on pilgrimage. The dirt is gone. But we honor the Father in the Son. Let them not see the good that is here, and the evil that is with the pope. For "they have eyes, and see not". They shall not see how gracious is the word of God, and how abominable are the doctrines of men. Shall you then then speak: I see no good thing? And see all evil there, and yet not condemn it, but defend it? For they are idols that cannot use any of their members. Augustine often uses the saying: The wicked shall be rejected, because he does not behold the glory of God. What God ordains, that is, they shall not see, nor be able to speak of it, that one preaches and the people listen gladly, that one baptizes children and absolves, and comforts afflicted sinners, and that man and woman live chastely with one another. They should not see this, but only look at the secret chamber. Again, where the devil is black, and the pope is ugly in front and behind, they shall not see.
You Christians may well give thanks for the unspeakable grace, which no reason can grasp, that the light has dawned and we recognize Christ. It was a great shame in the papacy that one should mention the name of God or of the Lord Christ JEsu in the pulpit in sermons. For it was considered
for a vetzagte, feminine speech, but you had to name the Aristotle, the Fathers, Concilia. But now you have the divine word in the church. This preaches Christ with great fruit. Now let the theologians be equally wicked, pay no attention, even if a prince were a tyrant or a whore were found among the Christians. They are ten times worse among that crowd, and still today.
The fathers, the apostles wanted to improve it, made decrees, canons, seven years of penance 1) and that the priests do not take wives. How it was done, read the church histories. First, they forbade women; then they commanded that they take their mothers and bases to themselves. But this was also forbidden to them afterwards. Again they were allowed to take the bases, mother, father sister, 2) to themselves. But they did it in such a way that they also had to forbid their own sister. How does that sound to your ears? It was truly a sign that they slept with them. Then they also forbade them their mother and allowed them to keep boys alone. How well did they do? They fell so low that a priest was not allowed to have his own sister and mother with him. But if he had his own wife, his mother and sister could remain free. They would have left the canons outside in the name of all devils and said: Take a wife and be "a wife's husband", as the holy scripture says [1 Tim. 3, 2].
Now they say, "Well, it would be fine for someone to be without a wife. Who would not wish that every man should remain a virgin; but before he should keep a whore, it is better to be legitimate. The word of God has always been preached among the good and the evil. Behold, how good it was when the pope with his own had to forbid the priests wives and mothers, and then one might keep more than two, three or four whores and have another every week!
Where God's word does not help, you will not achieve much with your shabby canons.
1) Cf. Walch, old edition, Bb. XVI, 2645, ü 37;
2) Buchwald: "Mother, Father, Sister".
ten. But those who wrote the canons were not concerned about that. Moses, the prophets and the apostles were also people. Only always say: You are one of the small pieces of wood, since one makes sauté troughs. Say: [Do not be surprised that the world hates you." Whether false teachers and wicked men are found in the word, see only what fruits the word produces, and not how the people become angry. It is not the fault of the Word, or of the Lord's Supper, or of baptism, that there are harlots and knaves, tyrannical nobles and princes. Marvel not: Cain and the world remain what they are. 1) They become vain ruffians, who would amend and make it worse; as, the Anabaptists became rioters and murderers. That was the reform! Muenzer did not want to be with us, because there were many evil people mixed among us, and he wanted to make it better. So did Zwingli. Item, the pope and the canonists with the doctrine of celibacy. It is finely improved that the priests have become the most shameful people and have done such disgraceful things that one cannot call it that. They have filled the world with idolatry and false worship.
In Augustine's time the Donatists stood up; they saw that the people were stingy and envious. Therefore they separated themselves and wanted to be a select, holy people: and they became such murderers that they beat and strangled themselves to death among themselves. When one said to another, "Dear one, strike me dead so that I may become a martyr," he pushed him off a rock so that his neck fell in two. Such blind men become blocks; they want to look for another place where it will be pure: and then it becomes what happened to the Mint, the Anabaptists and the Anabaptists. Nothing will come of it in this world, that the evil and the good should be separated from each other. God has given princes, authorities, schoolmasters, parents, who should ward off evil. Nevertheless, wickedness is not left. The world is evil. Item, Adam's child, Cain, is not pious.
Nevertheless, this is the fruit of knowing God from His Word, and, like the
1) "Remain who they are" put by us instead of "who she is".
111. Psalm [v. 2. f.] says: "Great are the works of the Lord; he who respects them delights in them. What he ordains is praiseworthy and glorious; and his righteousness endures forever." God is praised by his true knowledge. Item, he blesses the marriage state, the grain in the field, gives pious citizens, farmers. These things are seen by those who are enlightened by God's word. But that others see much evil and wickedness, that was also the case before. Cain wants to be greater than Abel. You also have such eyes as Cain. But if thou love the brethren, we shall not abide in death, neither kill any man; and must "love not in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth" [1 John 3:18].
But Cain does the opposite. If we were all pious, there would be no need for this perception. But if we love, we are alive, we will not kill anyone, and we do not love with our tongues. The wicked do the opposite. Therefore we should not be surprised that the saints who dwell in the house are condemned, and the sojourner who stands at the door is saved. Well, you cry out: I see nothing good in Moses and the prophets. Right! What should you see? You are a silver, gold or wooden image or block. You confess that yourself. But a Christian sings thus [Ps. 111, 3-9]: "What God ordains is praiseworthy and glorious; and his righteousness endures forever. He has established a memorial of his wonders, the gracious and merciful Lord. He giveth food to them that fear him: he remembereth his covenant for ever. He proclaimeth his mighty works unto his people, that he may give them the inheritance of the nations. The works of his hands are truth and judgment; all his commandments are righteous. They are kept for ever and ever, and are done faithfully and honestly. He sends a salvation to his people; he promises that his covenant shall endure forever. Holy and holy is his name." For we have the word of God, baptism, the Lord's Supper, absolution, know what the married state is, how virgins live, and how all other states please God. But they are not all pious! Nevertheless, he is there, and Christians are there and his estates. They also do not use
all of the Gospel and the Lord's Supper! Nevertheless it is there!
In Turkey, there is none of these, not even the marriage state. For the Turk takes a wife today, tomorrow he sells her again, does not see the divine order. But we preach that man and woman are given to each other by God. Item, we have master and servant status. In Turkey there is no manservant and maidservant, but vain cows and swine that they sell. They are not masters, but devils. But we may well thank God that we live among the multitude, where the Gospel is preached purely, where God's Word, the Sacraments, God's order, and God's ranks are. Even if not all of them are pious, God's order is still here, which is beautiful and glorious. And His commandment and order are kept, not only in preaching, but also in His ordinances and estates. Therefore say to them: We see well that thou seest no good thing.
For you confess that you are a silver and gold man, and have painted eyes, and the devil has possessed your heart. If you were not blind, you should say, "Thank God and praise be to God! It is true that there are many wicked ones; nevertheless, the sermon is holy, baptism and matrimony. Where God's word and work is, there it does not go unpunished. So every godly person sees that God is not idle. For where his word is, there is also his work. But because you do not hear his word, you do not see his works. It seems to you that in the papacy the Virgin Mary was worshipped and mass was celebrated. It was of the devil, vain idolatry. Yet here they say that God's works are filth, brought forth by the devil. They betray themselves by losing their hearts and ears. But we want to preach and practice the word and thank God for this unspeakable treasure and ask Him not to take it from us.