Micah 6,1-8 5624
22. Trinitatis. Trinity XXII 69
Reformationsfest 78
Claudia Procula, wife of Pontius Pilate, 1st c.
Frumentius and Aedesius, Apostles of Ethiopia, 4th c.
ἐν τούτῳ νίκα. in hoc signo vinces. In this conquer. Constantine’s sign and dream of Christ. 312
27. Oktober 2024
1. ℣ If You observe iniquities, O Yahweh, who will endure:
℟ For with You there is propitiation (Psalm 129,3-4a vul lxx mas).
si iniquitates observabis Domine Doine quis sustinebit: quia apud te proptiiatio est propter legem tuam sustinui te Dominum lxx
si iniquitates observabis Domine Doine quis sustinebit: quia tecum est proptiiatio cum terrribilis sis sustinui Dominum mas
O God, we confess that we have provoked You to anger in many ways in the past. We have not always used our days for Your glory, for attending Divine services, for our growth in Christian faith and godliness. Forgive us that we have not loved You more fervently, and have not lived a more godly life. According to Your mercy, remember me for Your goodness’ sake. Amen. (Stark 348; English 252).
2. »With what shall I come before Yahweh, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?«
3. „Whatever we say about the catholic church must have Jesus Christ as its center. Apart from Jesus Christ there is no catholic church, and there is only one catholic church, for there is only one Jesus Christ. Although we may muddle and contradict this fact, Jesus has His one church. … All who were and are with Jesus Christ at any time or place are in His one catholic church“ (Nagel 303).
4. Like many Christians in his day, Luther saw Christ as the Judge of the the day of wrath (Dies irae), and it frightened him (Olivier 52). And like everyone in his day, Luther relied on the catholic Church to lead him to salvation (Olivier 53). Eventually, Luther joined the Augustinian Order, but becoming a monk did not relieve his fear of Christ or comfort his guilty conscience. The monastic life with its humbleness, the 8 Daily Offices of prayer and his constant confession (sometimes for 6 hours!) never delivered for Luther what he desperately sought: „the external purity of the monk was unable to suppress the sinful tendencies of the heart“ (Olivier 54).
5. The man who endured Luther’s hours-long, meticulous confession of his every sin, Johann von Staupitz, sent Luther to the fledgling Wittenberg University in 1511 to teach the Bible; he taught courses on the Psalms in 1513, Romans in 1515 and Galatians in 1516. Luther later wrote: If it had not been for Dr. Staupitz, I should have sunk into hell (Bainton 40).
6. But in Wittenberg, Luther became even more concerned with the Medieval Church’s remedy for sin. By Luther’s day, the gathering of holy relics had flourished. Frederick the Wise, the elector of Saxony, had financed the building of Wittenberg University; he had also obtained from the pope the privilege of having his Castle Church at Wittenberg of being a dispensary of indulgences. The average Christian in the Medieval Church could not do enough works to pay off his or her temporal debt of sin, so to reduce time in purgatory for that, one could obtain indulgences. In 1509, 2 years before Luther arrived at Wittenberg, Frederick had collected 5005 holy relics which could take 1443 years off time in purgatory; by 1520, his collection had amassed 19,013 relics! that could reduce 1,902,202 years and 270 days! from purgatory (Bainton 53). Luther realized this indulgence traffic was a scandal:
21. Errant itaque indulgentiarum predicatores ii, qui dicunt per pape indulgentias hominem ab omni pena solvi et salvari.
66. Thesauri indulgentiarum rhetia sunt, quibus nunc piscantur divitias virorum.
21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;
66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.
Luther preached 3 sermons about this in 1516 at the Castle Church, and then posted his 95 Theses in 1517 (Bainton 54).
7. You see, Luther’s view of Christ changed as he taught on the Psalms, Romans and Galatians from 1513-16. He was now seeing Christ as He truly is—the All Merciful Savior.
Donec miserente Deo meditabundus dies et noctes connexionem verborum atteuderem, nempe: Iustitita Dei revelatur in illo, sicut scriptum est: lustus ex fide vivit, ibi iustitiam Dei coepi intelligere eam, qua iustus dono Dei vivit, nempe ex fide, et esse hanc sententiam, revelari per euangelium iustitiam Dei, scilicet passivam, qua uos Deus misericors iustificat per fidem, sicut scriptum est: Iustus ex fide vivit. Hie ine prorsus renatum esse sensi, et apertis portis in ipsam paradisum intrasse. Ibi continuo alia mihi facies totius scripturae apparuit. Discurrebam deinde per scripturas, ut habebat memoria, et colligebam etiam in aliis vocabulis analogiam, ut opus Dei, id est, quod operatur in nobis Deus, virtus Dei, qua nos potentes facit, sapientia Dei, qua nos sapientes facit, fortitudo Dei, salus Dei, gloria Dei (WA 54,186.3-13).
„At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely: »In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written: He who through faith is righteous shall live.« There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: »He who through faith is righteous shall live.« Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me. Thereupon I ran through the Scripture from memory. I also found in other terms an analogy, as, the work of God, that is what God does in us, the power of God, with which he makes us wise, the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God“. When Luther recognized this, the Reformation was off and running!
8. I love Nagel’s definition of the Reformation from a 1963 sermon: „The Reformation may be described as cleaning out the human factors that had been intruded into the church and her message. On Reformation Sunday we most often consider what this meant in the basic relationship of God and us. This was expressed in the doctrine of justification by faith alone with its affirmation that we cannot stand before God on the basis of any human factors but only on the basis of Jesus Christ, His atoning death and His victorious resurrection“ (Nagel 305).
9. The Prophet Micah recorded Yahweh’s question to His people »With what shall I come before Yahweh, and bow myself before God on high?« Micah tells Israel that God is calling out their works of satisfaction. Israel was attempting to appease God through extravagant sacrifices and offerings. They believed that by giving more animals, more oil and even sacrificing their own children that they can appease their sin before God and earn His favor and forgiveness.
10. Luther saw the same spirit of self-appeasement in the Church: venerate these relics, pray 50 Lord’s Prayers, buy these indulgences—and you will pay down your debt of temporal punishment. Luther realized through his own personal Anfechtung (agonizing struggle) over his sins that this medicine offered by the Church was a snake oil or placebo; it did not, could not and would not deliver what it offered. Rather than give a Christian comfort, it left one uncertain: have I done enough? can I even do enough? That was Luther’s agonizing struggle, and also the agonizing struggle of many in his day.
11. When one starts thinking out the theological consequences, it becomes quite bleary. If someone in 1520 went to Wittenberg on All Saints Day and venerated the 19,000 relics Frederick had collected, one could erase almost 2,000,000 years from time spent in purgatory paying off the temporal punishments for a life of sin. Well, how many bloody years is one consigned to purgatory—60 million, 600 million, 6 billion? No one knew, and that was what afflicted people in Luther’s day: I’ll never work my way out of purgatory!
12. Luther realized the true medicine, the only medicine, the Church has for agonizing, struggling sinners is the gospel. Relics, indulgences and purgatory do not forgive the sinful debt; they just work it off. The gospel actually forgives and removes the debt, and the gospel is delivered by the Word and Sacraments. This is pure gift given to us by theHoly Spirit.
13. In April 1518 Luther preached a sermon on indulgences and grace; he said at one point: „It is a tremendous error when people imagine that they can make satisfaction for their sins, which God instead always forgives gratis (for free) out of immeasurable grace while desiring nothing for this grace except that one live well from then on. … My will, desire, plea and counsel are that no one buy an indulgence … but run from them“ (¶ 13. 16).
14. „The only ground for confidence, and this is then a joyful and unshakable confidence, is Jesus Christ, who is there for us and imparts Himself through Word and Sacraments“ (Nagel 306). Cling to Jesus; cling to His cross; cling to His promise; cling to His gifts; cling to His Word and Sacraments. What did Christ tell that wicked scoundrel and insurrection crucified next to Him? You will be with me in Paradise after you have spent 100 million years working off the temporal punishment of your wickedness in purgatory. No! That is not what Christ said, but rather: Today, you will be with me in Paradise. Christ made full and complete satisfaction for all of that criminal’s sins, and for all of our sins as well; He has paid for both the temporal and spiritual punishments of sin by His suffering and Passion on the cross. We need not appease supposed temporal punishment for a lifetime of sin, for all has been appeased by Christ Jesus; His precious blood has made us clean.
15. Hominem iustificari fide (man is justified by faith). You are justified by faith alone (sola fide), that is, by God alone (Bayer MLT 100), yes, by Christ alone. cf. Disputatio de homine (The Disputation concerning Man) of 1536; WA 39I,176.34f; AE 34,139 Th. 32. Therefore:
36. Quilibet christianus vere compunctus habet remissionem plenariam a pena et culpa etiam sine literis veniarum sibi debitam.
37. Quilibet versus christianus, sive vivus sive mortuus, habet participationem omnium bonorum Christi et Ecclesie etiam sine literis veniarum a deo sibi datam.
52. Vana est fiducia salutis per literas veniarum, etiam si Commissarius, immo Papa ipse suam animam pro illis impigneraret.
36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.
37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.
52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.
16. „The gospel is what Lutherans care about. … Because of Calvary, there is forgiveness and this is bestowed by the absolving “word of the cross.” Such words are linked with water in Baptism where the name of God is named upon us and we are born again, given life by the bestowal of what Christ lived, died and rose again to win for us. The receiving of the gifts, that is faith, is worked by the Spirit, whose bestowing, faith-creating and quickening work is done through the word and water of Baptism“ (Nagel, The Gospel Is What Lutherans Care About).
17. In the Lord, my heart’s delight,
I find joy day and night.
To honor God with cheer,
In every moment, I’m here.
With gladness, I will sing,
Praising His Name, my heart takes wing.
A sweet new song I’ll start,
To lift His Name, in my soul and heart.
(Ich freu mich in dem Herren elkg 566,1 2021 Bartolomäus Helder (vor 1635) 1646/48).
This is most certainly true.
18. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
19. Let us pray. O Almighty and merciful God, the Fountain of all goodness, who knowest the thoughts of our hearts, we confess unto Thee that we have sinned against Thee and done evil in Thy sight; wash us, we beseech Thee, from the stains of our past sins, and give us grace and power to put away all hurtful things, so that, being delivered from the bondage of sin, we may bring forth worthy fruits of repentance. Amen. (Trinity XXII, 2nd Vespers Collect. The Daily Office).
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Copyright © 1978 Roland H. Bainton.
Nagel, Norman. Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel: From Valparaiso to St. Louis. Frederick W. Baue, Ed. Copyright © 2004 Concordia Publishing House.
Nagel, Norman. The Gospel Is What Lutherans Care About. The Springfielder, Vol. 37, Num. 2 1973.
Olivier, Daniel. Luther’s Faith. Copyright © Beauchesne Editeur.
Starck, Johann. Tägliches Hand-Buch. Copyright © 1852 Enßlin & Laiblin.
Starck, Johann. Tägliches Handbuch. Franz Pieper, tr. Copyright © 19oo Concordia Publishing House.
Starck, Johann. Starck’s Prayer Book. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House.
The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.
