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the shepherds represent the lowly

“‘You cannot serve God and mammon at the same time.’ The shepherds indicate this in that they are found in the field under the sky, and not in houses; thus they do not cling or cleave to temporal goods. In addition, they are in the field at night, despised and not recognized by the world which sleeps during the might and likes to strut and be seen during the day. But the poor shepherds are up and working during the night. They represent all the lowly ones who lead a poor, despised, unostentatious life on earth and live under the open sky, subject to God. They are ready to receive the gospel.”

Martin Luther. “Sermon on the Gospel for Christmas Eve.” Luther’s Works. Volume 52. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974, page 25.

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who preaches properly

“Listen again: ‘For to you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord, at Bethlehem in the town of David.’ See there what the gospel is: a joyous sermon concerning Christ, our Savior. He who preaches him properly, preaches the gospel and nothing but joy. What greater joy may a heart know than that Christ is given him as his very own? He does not just say: ‘Christ is born,’ but he appropriates Christ’s birth for us and says: ‘Your Savior.’ Thus the gospel does not merely teach the story and accounts of Christ, but personalizes them and gives them to all who believe in it, which is also (as mentioned above) the right and real nature of the gospel. … If there were something else to preach, then the evangelical angel and angelic evangelist would have touched on it.”

Martin Luther. “Sermon on the Gospel for Christmas Eve.” Luther’s Works. Volume 52. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974, page 21.

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came and saw and said

speaking of the shepherds at Bethlehem, “Luke reports that they not only came and saw, but that they also proclaimed–not only to Mary and Joseph but also to everyone–the news concerning the child and the message they had heard in the field. Do you not think that there were many people who considered them fools and bereft of their senses because they dared, as uncouth and unschooled lay people to speak of the angels’ song and message? How would they be received today…? But the shepherds, filled with faith and joy, were happy for the sake of God to be considered foolish in the sight of man. A Christian does the same; for God’s word must be considered foolishness and error in the world.”

Martin Luther. “Sermon on the Gospel for the Early Christmas Service.” Luther’s Works. Volume 52. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974, page 37.

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Gloria in excelsis Deo!

“Ah, we poor people, to be so cold and sluggish in the face of the great joy that has clearly been prepared for us! This great benefaction exceeds by far all the other works o creation; and yet our faith in it is found to be so weak, although it is preached and sung to us by angels, who are heavenly theologians and who were so glad for our sake! their song is very, very beautiful and describes the entire Christian religion. For giving glory to God in the highest heaven is the supreme worship. This they wish and bring us in Christ.”

Martin Luther. from his “Table Talk,” Weimar edition 4, No. 4201; What Luther Says compiled by Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia, 1986, #459.

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God’s wrath

“Praise God we do not have hearts of stone or spirits of iron either. I do not wish evil on anyone, and no Christian, especially, is supposed to desire the wrath of God for anyone, not even for the Turks or the Jews or his enemy, indeed, not even for the cardinals and the pope.”

Luther, Martin. “To the Saxon Princes” (1545) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), page 262.

“Not even”! Late in his life Martin Luther made this declaration that all of us should be able to sign on with: don’t wish evil, don’t wish God’s wrath, on anyone. He had in mind at that particular moment Muslims, Jews, and Catholics – all of whom were his opponents in one way or another. (And why didn’t the Anabaptists or the Reformed make his list?)

Whom would he list today? More importantly, who would make your list of opponents? And most importantly, would you also not wish them evil? Can you love your enemies instead?

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God, writing, and publishing

“It really should not be necessary for my sermons and words to be circulated widely throughout the country. Certainly there are other books that might properly or profitably serve as sermons for the people. I do not know why God destines me to be involved in this game in which people pick up and spread my words, some as my friends, others as enemies. This has induced me to publish this Lord’s Prayer, previously published by my friends, and to exposit it further in the hope that I may also do my adversaries a favor. It is always my intention to be helpful to all and harmful to none.”

Luther, Martin. “An Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer for Simple Laymen” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), page 19.

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Luther’s 95 Theses (3 of them, anyway)

If you really, really want to read all 95 Theses from 31 October 1517 to see what all the fuss was about, you can find them easily enough. Today – which some in the Church mark as Reformation Day – I’m just going to post the first 3; plus a few lines from Martin Luther’s later commentary on number 3. Here goes:

"Out of love and zeal for truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following theses will be publicly discussed at Wittenberg under the chairmanship of the reverend father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology and regularly appointed Lecturer on these subjects at that place. He requests that those who cannot be present to debate orally with us will do so by letter. [There actually was no formal debate following.] In the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

"1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

"2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

“3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortifications of the flesh.”

Then from Luther’s August 1518 explanation of the Theses, some of his comments on the 3rd Thesis:

“It follows that the three parts of satisfaction (fasting, prayer, and alms) do not pertain to sacramental penance… But since these satisfactions are related to evangelical penance, fasting consists of all chastenings of the flesh apart from the choice of food or difference in clothes. Prayer includes every pursuit of the soul, in meditation, reading, listening, praying. The giving of alms includes every service toward one’s neighbor. Thus by fasting a Christian may serve himself, by prayer he may serve God, and by the giving of alms he may serve his neighbor… Therefore all mortifications which the conscience-stricken man brings upon himself are the fruit of inner penance, whether they be vigils, work, privation, study, prayers, abstinence from sex and pleasures, insofar as they minister to the spirit. The Lord himself showed forth these fruits of the spirit as did all his saints.”

[I especially like that in his next to last sentence he includes “study” as a “mortification.” Something to think about there!]

Luther, Martin. “Ninety-Five Theses, or Disputation in the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” (1517) Luther’s Works Vol. 31. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1957, page 25;

Luther, Martin. “Explanations of the Ninety-Five Theses, or Explanations of the Disputation Concerning the Value of Indulgences” (1518) Luther’s Works Vol. 31. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1957, pages 86-87.

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can unbelievers commune?

“If someone cannot talk or indicate by a sign that he believes, understands, and desires the sacrament–particularly if he has wilfully [sic] neglected it–we will not give it to him just anytime he asks for it. We have been commanded not to offer the holy sacrament to unbelievers but rather to believers who can state and confess their faith. Let the others alone in their unbelief; we are guiltless because we have not been slothful in preaching, teaching, exhortation, consolation, visitation, or anything else that pertains to our ministry and office.”

Luther, Martin. “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague” (1527) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, page 135.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion both expresses and creates community. Practice today varies. Some err on the side of inclusion (that it creates community), some at the other end of the spectrum (that it expresses an already existing community).

Note that Luther doesn’t refer to church membership but to faith as the thing that admits one to the table of the Lord. I think that he would have to exercise godly pastoral judgement in doubtful cases. While being faithful in carrying out the many duties of his pastoral office.

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stillness and silence in prayer

“I repeat what I said in reference to the Lord’s Prayer: if in the midst of such thoughts the Holy Spirit begins to preach in your heart with rich, enlightening thoughts, honor him by letting go of this written scheme [that Luther had just outlined for praying the 10 Commandments]; be still and listen to him who can do better than you can. Remember what he says and note it well and you will behold wondrous things in the law of God, as David says [in Psalm 119:18].”  (pages 201-202)

Luther, Martin. “A Simple Way to Pray” (1535) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.

This is something I should have known years ago, but here is evidence that Martin Luther advocates stillness and silence in prayer. And, maybe more significantly, of him saying that the Holy Spirit can and does preach directly to us in our hearts. When I went to seminary there were other things in the air, so this never made it to the surface. And note that it isn’t “early Luther” but the fully mature Luther of 1535 saying this!

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

Holy Spirit the best teacher

“I want your heart to be stirred and guided concerning the thoughts which ought to be comprehended in the Lord’s Prayer. These thoughts may be expressed, if your heart is rightly warmed and inclined toward prayer, in many different ways and with more words of fewer. I do not bind myself to such words or syllables, but say my prayers in one fashion today, in another tomorrow, depending upon my mood and feeling. I stay, however, as nearly as I can, with the same general thoughts and ideas.

“It may happen occasionally that I may get lost among so many ideas in one petition that I forego the other six. If such an abundance of good thoughts comes to us we ought to disregard the other petitions, make room for such thoughts, listen in silence, and under no circumstances obstruct them. The Holy Spirit himself preaches here, and one word of his sermon is better than a thousand of our prayers. Many times I have learned more from one prayer than I might have learned from much reading and speculation.”  (page 198)

Luther, Martin. “A Simple Way to Pray” (1535) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.

Luther was a strong advocate of praying the Lord’s Prayer. He would have people say it several times a day. But here’s the thing: he never wanted people to spill out the words of the prayer by rote, just to count it as having been said. And we can easily fall into that when we speed through that or any other prayer.

I was surprised to read this passage a couple years ago and see where he says he might happily skip most of the Lord’s Prayer when he gets caught up in thoughts that arise out of just one of its petitions. This casts a whole different light on his directions to say the Lord’s Prayer upon rising, before meals, and at bedtime. It is really more of a comprehensive framework for prayer. Isn’t that a freeing thought?