Collected Works of Martin Luther

by Martin Luther

  Without the theological acumen of Carlstadt, and with less restraint, the Augustinian monk Gabriel Zwilling labored in season and out of season for the new order of things. In December the Zwickau prophets, Niclas Storch, Thomas Drechsel, weavers by trade, and Marcus Stübner, a former university student, appeared in Wittenberg claiming direct divine inspiration, and preached the overturn of present conditions. Earlier in the month (December 3d) some students and citizens had caused a disturbance in the parish church and driven off the priests who were saying mass. Soon after a number of citizens crowded into the council chamber and demanded of the three councillors who presided over Wittenberg the abolition of the mass by law, the restitution of the cup, and the release of those in custody for causing the tumult of December 3d. On Christmas Eve both the parish and the castle churches witnessed scenes of wild disorder. On January 11th the monks, led by Zwilling, destroyed all the altars except one in the convent church, and cast out the images. The city council, in the endeavor to restore order, on January 24, 1522, in full accord with a commission of the university, adopted a “Worthy Ordinance for the princely City of Wittenberg,”10 in which the popular demands were met and a date was fixed on which the images should be removed from the parish church — the only one of the four churches of Wittenberg subject to the council’s control. But the excited populace did not await the day. Taking the matter into its own hands it invaded the church, tore images and pictures from the walls and burned them up.

  The council and the university turned to Luther. Immediately after his three-day secret visit to Wittenberg in December, on which he had sensed the unrest in Wittenberg and elsewhere, he issued his Faithful Exhortation for all Christians to shun Riot and Rebellion11, in which he emphasizes the principles reiterated in the Eight Sermons, the sufficiency of the Word and the duty of dealing gently with the weak. But the time for writing had passed. “Satan had broken into his sheepfold” and had caused such havoc that he could not meet it “by writing.”12 In spite of the elector’s instruction to remain — the same whose ineffectual measures had failed to avert the storm — Luther on March 1st bade farewell to the Wartburg. On his way to Wittenberg, in Borna on March 5th, he wrote the famous letter to the elector13 in which he declared that he desired no protection from the elector. “I come to Wittenberg under much higher protection.” He arrived in Wittenberg on Thursday, March 6th, and on the following Sunday, March 6th, the first Sunday in Lent, he again ascended the pulpit in the parish church. In an interesting report of an eye and ear witness — Johann Kessler — we are told that he first gave an explanation of the Gospel for the day on the temptation of Christ (Matt. 4:1 ff.), after which “he dropped the text and took up the present affair.”14 This earlier portion of the sermon has not come down to us. It may be that Luther likewise first preached on the Gospel for the day on the following Sunday, and for that reason it is called “a brief summary” (see Sermon No. 8) in the early printed editions, when, in reality, it is longer than that of Saturday (No. 7).

  The sermons, delivered in a vox suavis et sonora15, produced immediate results. In a letter by Schurf, dated March 15th, even before the last of the sermons had been delivered, it is stated that “Gabriel [Zwilling] has confessed that he was wrong.” Carlstadt was silenced, the city council made acknowledgment to Luther by substantial gifts and Wittenberg bowed to law and order.

  Luther did not publish these sermons himself. He elaborated the principles here uttered in the treatise, published a few weeks later, The Reception of both Kinds in the Sacrament16. A fragment, covering the thoughts of sermons 1 to 4, and formerly described as a pastoral letter to the Wittenberg congregation, is now held to be a piece of written preparation by Luther for these sermons17.

  The notes of a hearer of these sermons furnished the basis for the printed editions. The Wednesday sermon (No. 4 — On the Images) was published separately at Augsburg and other places; the eight sermons were published in Augsburg and Mainz. Seven editions of the former and six of the latter are known.

  Johann Aurifaber, the publisher of Luther’s Table-talk, also edited and published these sermons at Eisleben in 1564. His free amplification of the older text, in an attempt to modernize it, is not an improvement. His considerable additions to Luther’s Scripture citations are from Luther’s own translation of a later date. Yet for two centuries this edition remained the standard. The Walch Edition was the first again to pay attention to the original text, however placing the Aurifaber text first. (Walch Ed., XX.) The Erlangen Edition (XXYHI) observes the same order. O. von Gerlach, Luthers Werke, Auswahl seiner Hauptschriten (Berlin, 1841), gives only the older text (V); Buchwald, in the Berlin Edition (I), gives only the Aurifaber text. The Weimar Edition (Xc) places the old text on the upper half of the page, with the Aurifaber recension immediately below. The translation which follows is based on the older text as found in the Weimar Edition, with which the other editions have been compared.

  For further discussion, see, in addition to the literature mentioned, the biographies of Luther and the Church Histories. Also

  Barge’s articles in the Realencyklopädie, X, 73 ff. and XXIII, 738 ff.; also Kolde’s, IV, 639 ff. and XIII, 556 ff.

  Barge, Frühprotestantisches Gemeindechristentum in Wittenberg und

  Orlamiinde, Leipzig, 1909.

  Cristiani, Du Luthéranisme au Protestantisme, Paris, 1911.

  Boehmer, Luther im Lichte der neueren Forschung, third ed., Leipzig, 1914.

  Vedder, The Reformation in Germany. New York, 1914.

  A. STEIMLE.

  Allentown, Pa.

  ENDNOTES.

  1 The consequent closing of the churches except for preaching services leads Müller (Luther und Karlstadt, p. 52) to see in this the origin of the Protestant custom of closing churches on weekdays.

  2 August 1, 1521. Enders, Luthers Briewechsel, III, 208.

  3 December 20, 1521. Enders, III, 257.

  4 Date of both, November, 1521. Both in Weimar Ed., VIII, and in Erl. Ed., O; var. arg., VI. The latter also in German (Vom Misbrauch der Messe), Erl. Ed., XXVIII.

  5 24 Theses (July, 1521). Barge, Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, I, 291. Repeated in De celebratione missae (October), ibid., 487.

  6 De scandalo et missa (Oct. or Nov.), ibid., 491.

  7 De cantu gregoriano disputatio (1520), ibid., 492.

  8 Von Abthuung der Bilder (January, 1522), ibid., 367.

  9 See Köstlin-Kawesau, Martin Luther, I, 485.

  10 Published by H. Lietzmann in Kleine Texte, no. 21; also in Richter, Kirchenordnungen, II, 484.

  11 Weimar Ed., VIII, 670 ff. Erl. Ed., XXII, 43 ff.

  12 Luther’s letter to the elector on March 7th. De Wette, II, 138; Weimar Ed., Xc Introd., xlvii f.

  13 Enders, III, 484.

  14 Kessler, Sabbata, St. Gallen, 1902. Quoted at length in Weimar Ed., Xc, Introduction, lii.

  15 Letter of Albert Burer, Briewechsel des Beatus Rhenanus, 303. See also Introd., liii, in Weimar Ed., Xc.

  16 Weimar Ed., Xb; Erl. Ed., XXVIII.

  17 See Kawerau, Luthers Rückkehr von der Wartburg, 67. Fragment in full in Weimar Ed., Xc, Introduction, lv ff., where see also a recently discovered short Latin fragment, which served a similar purpose.

  EIGHT SERMONS BY DR. MARTIN LUTHER

  PREACHED AT WITTENBERG in Lent, 1522

  Treating Briefly of the Mass, Images, Both Kinds In The Sacrament,

  Eating of Meats, Private Confession, etc.

  THE FIRST SERMON

  INVOCAVIT SUNDAY

  THE CHIEF Things

  The challenge of death comes to us all, and no one can die for another. Every one must fight his own battle with death by himself, alone. We can shout into one another’s ears, but every one must be prepared finally to meet death alone. I will not be with you then, nor you with me. Therefore every one must know for himself the chief things in Christianity, and be armed therewith. They are the same which you, my beloved, have long ago heard from me.

&n
bsp; In the first place, We must know that we are the children of wrath, and all our works, intentions and thoughts are nothing at all. To prove this point we must have a clear, strong text, and although there are many such in the Bible I will not overwhelm you with them, but ask you to note just this one, “We are all the children of wrath.” [Eph. 2:3] And pray, do not boast in reply: I have builded an altar, given a foundation for masses, etc.

  Secondly, That God has sent us His only-begotten Son that we may believe in Him, and whosoever will put his trust in Him, should be free from sin and a child of God, as John declares in the first chapter, “He gave them power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name.” [John 1:12] Here we should all be thoroughly at home in the Bible and be ready with many passages to confront the devil. In respect to these two points nothing seems to be lacking or amiss, but they have been rightly preached to you; I should be very sorry if it were otherwise. Nay, I am well aware and I dare say, that you are more learned herein than I, and that there are not only one, two, three, or four, but perhaps ten or more, who have this wisdom and enlightenment.

  Love

  Thirdly, There must also be love, and through love we must do unto one another as God has done unto us through faith. For without love faith is nothing, as St. Paul says, I Cor. ii, “If I could speak with the tongues of angels, and of the highest things in faith, and have not love, I am nothing.” [1 Cor. 13:1] And here, dear friends, have you not grievously failed? I see no signs of love among you, and I observe that you have not been grateful to God for His rich gifts and treasures.

  Let us beware lest Wittenberg become Capernaum. I notice that you have a great deal to say of the doctrine which is preached to you, of faith and of love. This is not surprising; an ass can almost intone the lessons, and why should you not be able to repeat the doctrines and formulas? Dear friends, the kingdom of God, — and we are that kingdom, — consists not in speech or in words, but in deeds, in works and exercises. God does not want hearers and repeaters of words, but doers and followers who exercise themselves in the faith that worketh by love. For a faith without love is not enough — rather it is not faith at all [1 Cor. 13:12], but a counterfeit of faith, just as a face seen in a mirror is not a real face, but merely the reflection of a face.

  Patience

  Fourthly, We likewise need patience. For whoever has faith, trusts in God and shows love to his neighbor, practicing it day by day, must needs suffer persecution. For the devil never sleeps, and continually molests. But patience works and produces hope, which freely yields itself to God and finds solace in Him [Rom. 5:4]. Thus faith, by much affliction and persecution, ever increases, and is strengthened day by day. And the heart which by God’s grace has received such virtues must ever be active and freely expend itself for the benefit and service of the brethren, even as it has received from God.

  Forbearance

  And here, dear friends, one must not insist upon his rights, but must see what may be useful and helpful to his brother, as St. Paul says, Omnia mihi licent, sed non omnia expediunt, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient.” [1 Cor. 6:12] We are not all equally strong in faith; some of you have a stronger faith than I. Therefore we must not look upon ourselves, or our strength, or our rank, but upon our neighbor, for God has said through Moses, “I have borne and nourished thee, even as a mother her child.” [Deut. 1:31] How does a mother nourish her child? First, she feeds it with milk, then gruel, then eggs and soft food. If she weaned it and at once gave it the ordinary, coarse food, the child would never thrive. So we should also deal with our brother, have patience with him for a time, suffer his weakness and help him bear it; we should give him milk-food [1 Peter 2:2], too, as was done with us, until he likewise grows strong, and thus we do not travel heavenward alone, but bring the brethren, who are not now on our side, with us. If all mothers were to abandon their children, where would we have been? Dear brother, if you have suckled long enough, do not at once cut off the breast, but let thy brother be nourished also. I would not have gone so far as you have done, if I had been here. What you did was good, but you have gone too fast. For there are also brothers and sisters on the other side who belong to us, and must still be won.

  Let me illustrate. The sun has two properties, light and heat. No king has power enough to bend or guide the light of the sun; it remains straight in the place where it shines. But the heat may be turned and guided, and yet is ever about the sun. Thus the faith must always remain pure and immovable in the heart, never wavering; but love moves and is guided, according as our neighbors may grasp it or follow us. There are some who can run, others must walk, still others can hardly creep. Therefore we must not look upon our own, but upon our brother’s powers, so that he who is weak in faith, and attempts to follow the strong, may not be destroyed of the devil. Therefore, dear brethren, obey me. I have never been a destroyer, and I was also the very first whom God called to this work. Neither can I run away, but must remain as long as it pleases God. I was the first, too, to whom God revealed it, to preach His Word to you; moreover, I am sure that you have the pure Word of God.

  Abolishing the Mass

  Let us, therefore, take up this matter with fear and humility, cast ourselves at one another’s feet, join hands with each other, and help one another. I will do my part, which is no more than my duty, for I love you even as I love my own soul. For here we battle not against pope or bishop, but against the devil [Eph. 6:12], and do you imagine he is asleep? He sleeps not, but sees the true light rising, and to keep it from shining into his eyes he would make a flank attack — and he will succeed, if we are not on our guard. I know him well1, and I hope, too, that with the help of God I am his master. But if we yield him but an inch, we must soon look to it how we may be rid of him. Therefore all those have erred who have consented and helped to abolish the mass — in itself a good undertaking, but not accomplished in an orderly way. You say it was right according to the Scriptures. I agree, but what becomes of order? For it was done in wantonness, with no regard to proper order and with offence to your neighbor. If, beforehand, you had called upon God in earnest prayer, and had obtained the aid of the authorities, one could be certain that it had come from God. I, too, would have taken steps toward the same end if it had been a good thing to do; and if the mass were not so evil a thing, I would introduce it again. For I cannot defend your action, as I have just said. To the papists and the blockheads I could defend it, for I could say: How do you know whether it was done with good or bad intention, since the work in itself was really a good work? But I can find nothing to reply to the devil. For if on their deathbeds the devil reminds those who began this affair of texts like these, “Every plant, which My father hath not planted, shall be rooted up,” [Matt. 15:13] or “I have not sent them, yet they ran,” [Jer. 23:21] how will they be able to withstand?2 He will cast them into hell. But I have a weapon to brandish in the devil’s face, so that the wide world will become too small for him: I know that in spite of my reluctance I was regularly called by the Council to preach in this place. And I would that you should have the same assurance as I. You could so easily have consulted me about the matter.

  “Must” and “Free”

  I was not so far away that you could not reach me with a letter, especially since I did not interfere with you in any way. Did you want to begin something, and then leave me to shoulder the responsibility? That is more than I can undertake, and I will not do it. Here one can see that you have not the Spirit, in spite of your deep knowledge of the Scriptures. Take note of these two things, “must” and “free.” The “must” is that which necessity requires, and which must ever be unyielding; as, for instance, the faith, which I shall never permit any one to take away from me, but which I must always keep in my heart and freely confess before every one. But “free” is that in which I have choice, and may use or not, yet in such wise that it profit my brother and not me. Now do not make a “must” out of what is “free,” as you have
done, so that you may not be called to account for those who were led astray by your exercise of liberty without love. For if you entice any one to eat meat on Friday, and he is troubled about it on his deathbed, and thinks, Woe is me, for I have eaten meat and I am lost! God will call you to account for that soul. I would like to begin many things, in which but few would follow me; but what is the use? I know that those who have begun this thing, when it comes to the point, cannot maintain themselves, and will be the first to retreat. How would it be, if I brought the people to the point of attack, and though I had been the foremost to exhort others, I would then flee, and not face death with courage? How the poor people would be deceived!

  Let us, therefore, feed others also with the milk which we received, until they, too, become strong in the faith. For there are many who are otherwise in accord with us and who would also gladly accept this one thing, but they do not yet fully understand it — all such we drive away. Therefore, let us show love to our neighbors, or our work will not endure. We must have patience with them for a time, and not cast out him who is weak in the faith; much more should we regulate our doing and our not doing according to the demands of love, provided no injury is done to our faith. If we do not earnestly pray to God, and act circumspectly in this matter, the thing looks to me as if all the misery which we have begun to cause the papists will all upon us. Therefore I could no longer remain away, but was compelled to come and say these things to you.

  This is enough about the mass; tomorrow we shall treat of the images.

  THE SECOND SERMON

  MONDAY AFTER INVOCAVIT