Invocavit Sunday
March 9, 1522
Dr. Martin Luther
Preacher at Wittenberg
The challenge of death comes to us all, and no one can die for another. Everyone must fight his own battle with death by himself, alone. We can shout into one another’s ears, but everyone must be prepared finally to meet death alone. I will not be with you then, nor you with me. Therefore everyone must know for himself the chief things in Christianity, and be armed with them. These are the same things which you, my beloved, have long ago heard from me.
In the first place, we must know that we are the children of wrath, and all our works, intentions and thoughts are worth nothing at all. To prove this point we must have a clear, strong text, and although there are many such passages 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.” (Ephesians 2:3) And pray, do not boast in reply: “I built an altar, I gave a foundation for masses,” etc.
Secondly, That God has sent us His only-begotten Son that we may believe in Him, (John 3:16) 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 would be very sorry if it were otherwise. No, I am well aware and I dare say, that you are more learned in this matter than I, and that there are not only one, two, three, or four, but perhaps ten or more, who have this wisdom and enlightenment.
Thirdly, There must also be love, and through love we must do to one another as God has done to us through faith. For without love faith is nothing, as St. Paul says, 1 Corinthians 13:1, “If I could speak with the tongues of angels, and of the highest things in faith, and have not love, I am nothing.” And haven’t you failed here badly, dear friends? 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. (Matthew 11:23) 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. A donkey can almost chant the lessons, and why shouldn’t you 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, (1 Corinthians 4:20) but in deeds — in works and exercises. God does not want hearers and repeaters of words, (James 1:22) but doers and followers who exercise the faith that works by love. For a faith without love is not enough — rather it is not faith at all, 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. (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Fourthly, We need patience, too. For whoever has faith, trusts in God and shows love to his neighbor, practicing it day by day, has to suffer persecution. For the devil never sleeps, and continually molests. But patience works and produces hope, (Romans 5:4) which freely yields itself to God and finds comfort in Him. 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.
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 useful.” (1 Corinthians 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.” (Compare with Deuteronomy 1:31) How does a mother nourish her child? First, she feeds it with milk, then oatmeal, 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 for food, too, (1 Peter 2:2) as was done with us, until he grows strong, too, and thus we do not travel to heaven 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 your 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, so that our neighbors may grasp it or follow us. There are some who can run, others must walk, still others can hardly crawl. (1 Corinthians 8:7-13) Therefore we must not look upon our own, but upon our brother’s powers, so that if he is weak in faith, and attempts to follow the strong, he 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.
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. (Ephesians 6:12) For here we battle not against pope or bishop, but against the devil, and do you imagine he is asleep? He doesn’t sleep, 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 well, 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 recklessly, with no regard to proper order and with offense 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,” (Matthew 15:13) or “I have not sent them, yet they ran,” (Jeremiah 23:21) how will they be able to withstand it? 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.
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 do not have 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, is 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 a way 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, and when push comes to shove, 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 aware. 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 the weak in the faith. Much more should we regulate what we do and do not do according to the demands of love, provided no injury is done to our faith. If we do not earnestly pray to God, and act cautiously in this matter, it seems to me that all the misery which we have begun to cause the papists will fall 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 speak about images.
Copyright: Public Domain
Translated by A. Steimle. Edited and Language Modernized by Robert E. Smith
From: The Works of Martin Luther. Philadelphia: A. J. Holman, 1915, 2:387-425.
