Monday, May 18, 1528 (Part 3)

Martin Luther preaches a sermon on the First Commandment. In 1528, Luther will preach three series of sermons on the Catechism: the first series, comprising eleven sermons, from May 18 to May 30, the second series of ten sermons from September 14 to September 25, and a third (ten sermons) from November 30 to December 18. It is apparent that Luther is here forming the vocabulary into which he cast both his Large and Small Catechisms (published in 1529) and that the Large Catechism particularly is a reworking of this catechetical preaching. As I have not found an English translation of the first series of catechism sermons, in lieu of an excerpt from the sermon preached on May 18, we have an except from the Large Catechism‘s treatment of the First Commandment.

Quotation:

[The First Commandment] “You are to have no other gods.“

That is: You shall regard me alone as your God. What is the force of this, and how is it to be understood? What does it mean to have a god? or, what is God?

Answer: A “god” is the term for that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in him with the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust are right, then your god also is true; and, on the other hand, if your trust is false and wrong, then you do not have the true God; for these two belong together, faith and God. Anything upon which you set your heart and in which you put your trust is, I say, properly your god.

Therefore, it is the intent of this commandment to require true faith and trust of the heart which settles upon the only true God and clings to him alone. That is as much as to say: “See to it that you let me alone be your God, and never seek another,” i.e.: “Whatever you lack of good things, expect it of me, and look to me for it, and whenever you suffer misfortune and distress, crawl to me and cling to me. I, yes, I, will give you enough and help you out of every danger; only let not your heart cling to or rest in anyone else.”

I must explain this a little more plainly, so that it may be understood and perceived by ordinary examples of the contrary. There are many who think that they have God and everything in abundance when they have money and possessions; they trust in them and boast of them with such firmness and assurance as to care for no one. Such people also have a god, Mammon [1] by name, i.e., money and possessions, on which they set all their heart, and which is also the most common idol on earth. He who has money and possessions feels secure, and is joyful and undismayed as though he were sitting in the midst of Paradise. On the other hand, he who has none doubts and is despondent, as though he knew of no God. For very few are to be found who are of good cheer, and who neither mourn nor complain if they have not Mammon. This [care and desire for money] sticks and clings to our nature, even to the grave.

So, too, whoever trusts and boasts that he possesses great skill, prudence, power, favor, friendship, and honor has also a god, but not this true and only God. This appears again when you notice how presumptuous, secure, and proud people are because of such possessions, and how despondent when they no longer exist or are withdrawn. Therefore, I repeat that the chief explanation of this point is that to have a god is to have something in which the heart entirely trusts.

Besides, consider what in our blindness, we have hitherto been practicing and doing under the papacy. If any one had toothache, he fasted and honored St. Apollonia; [2] if he was afraid of fire, he chose St. Laurence [3] as his helper in need; if he dreaded pestilence, he made a vow to St. Sebastian [4] or Roch, [5] and a countless number of such abominations, where everyone selected his own saint, worshiped him, and called for help to him in distress. Here belong those also, as, for example, sorcerers and magicians, whose idolatry is most gross, and who make a covenant with the devil, in order that he may give them plenty of money or help them in love affairs, preserve their cattle, restore to them lost possessions, etc. For all these place their heart and trust elsewhere than in the true God, from whom they neither expect nor seek anything good. [to be continued in a future post]

Notes

[1] See Matt. 6:24.

[2] Apollonia of Alexandria was martyred on Feb. 8, 249. Because her executioners were reported to have broken (or pulled) all her teeth, she was regarded as the patron saint of dentists and able to help against toothache.

[3] Laurence (or Lawrence), a deacon of Rome (Dec. 31, 225 – Aug. 10, 258) was martyred during the persecution under Emperor Valerian. According to tradition (beginning with Ambrose of Milan), Laurence was executed by being roasted on a large gridiron. Hence, he was regarded as the patron saint of people who work with open fires and those to whom fire means harm.

[4] Sebastian of Rome (c. 255 – c. 288) was, according to tradition, martyred during the persecution under Emperor Diocletian by being shot with arrows while tied to a tree or post and, when this was not successful, by being beaten to death. He was regarded as the patron of the plague-stricken.

[5] Roch (c. 1348 – c. 1377; traditionally, c. 1295 – Aug. 16, 1327), reportedly a Franciscan monk from Montpellier in the Kingdom of Majorca (now in France), devoted himself to caring for plague victims in Italy. He is the patron saint of dogs, invalids, falsely accused persons, and several other things.