# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 04 17_S131
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

131

Gospel, John 3, extols the gift which the Holy Ghost through the Word of the Gospel proclaims to men and bestows on believers, namely our LORD JESUS Christ. The third Gospel, John 10, gives instruction concerning the holy office of preaching, as the office of the Holy Ghost, and shows in particular the difference between true and false teachers. The Epistles of the second and third festival days (Acts 10, 42-48, and 2, 29-36, or 8, 14-25) bear witness to the preachings of the Apostles and their fruit.

The Feast of the Trinity requires, according to Dr. Luther's saying, that the people be instructed, reminded and strengthened in the faith of the article of the holy Trinity; for where this is not done, the other articles also could not be treated purely, nor to profit; concerning the difference between this and the other high feasts he adds the following: “The other feasts of the year wrap up our LORD God in His works and wonders which He has done; as, at the Nativity of Christ it is celebrated that God has become man; on Easter Day, that He is risen from the dead; on Whitsunday, how He has given the Holy Ghost and established the Christian Church, and so forth; so that all other feasts preach of our LORD God as He is clothed, so to speak, with a work; but this feast sets before us who He is in Himself, apart from all garments or works, simply in His divine essence. Here one must rise high above all reason, leave all creatures here below, and hear alone what God says of Himself and of His inward being, otherwise we shall not learn it.” (XII, 852 ff.)

In his opinion the usual Gospel, John 3, has therefore been appointed for this feast because in it the distinction of the three Persons in their highest work, namely our justification, is so clearly shown, how, to wit, the Father gives His Son to the world, the Son lets Himself be lifted up on the cross, and the Holy Ghost through the water of holy Baptism regenerates us unto the kingdom of God.

The pericopes of the 27 Sundays after Trinity were, with insignificant exceptions, the same as we still have them now.

The whole festival days which, according to the old Lutheran church orders, are celebrated during the Trinity season, with the exception of the Apostles' days, are the following:

The Day of John the Baptist (June 24) is to be observed, as Dr. Luther says, for the sake of spiritual joy, that John is the first preacher who with his finger is to point out the blessed Seed and show us salvation and forgiveness of sins; consequently this feast is celebrated not for John's sake, but for Christ's sake, and indeed the song of praise, or the Benedictus of Zacharias, is the true principal part of the whole text, because in it he paints “in the very finest words the Gospel and kingdom of Christ, with all its fruits, colors and properties, in the most masterly manner, that it is a word and kingdom of grace, forgiveness, peace, joys, security, blessedness and all good.” (XI, 3059.)

The Day of the Visitation of Mary (July 2) is likewise a feast of the LORD, for we celebrate it, “first, that we thank God for the glorious revelation which took place on this day, that the pious and aged matron, dear Elisabeth, who is full of the Holy Ghost, and who before knew nothing of Christ and His conception, now comes forth and confesses that the virgin Mary is the true mother of her Lord and God: she becomes therefore glad that she has received so great and glorious a guest, who is called the Son of God. And the little child in her womb, dear John, also announces such a guest, becomes joyful and leaps in the mother's womb. Thus both bear witness, the mother with her preaching, and the little child with his leaping, that Christ is at hand, through whom all the world, but first of all the Jewish people, shall be helped from death, sin and devil. This should at the same time move us to joy and earnest thanks toward God. For if God had wished to keep this treasure secret, and had not willed that we should know of it and enjoy it, such a wonderful revelation would surely have remained behind. Upon this revelation there follows thereafter also a special piece, namely the beautiful song of praise, the Magnificat: that also is worth our making a feast day in its honor, that it may be preached and well understood, for it is altogether a fine song.” (XIII, 2720 ff.)

“The Day of Michael the Archangel (the 29th of September) we keep, that we may thank God the LORD for this benefit, comfort and joy, that He has given us the protection and assistance of His dear angels, that we may not live on as the unthankful godless people, of whom there are, alas, far too many on earth, — but when one preaches of the dear angels, one cannot avoid it, one must also preach of devils; seeing that the devils also are angels, — but if one does not know this, that the devil is so near us, one loses the knowledge of the benefit which God does us through His angels, even as one who does not know death cannot know how precious life is; and he who has suffered no hunger does not know how dear and valuable the good bread is.” (X, 1234 ff.)

The Reformation Festival was celebrated, according to the Pomeranian church order, as a special feast on the baptismal day of Dr. Luther (November 11). This day then received as Gospel Luke 12, 35-48, and as Epistle Revelation of St. John 14, 6. 7. In Saxony from the year 1669 this feast was celebrated on the 31st of October, whereby as Gospel Revelation of St. John 14, 6-13, and as Epistle Psalm 46 were prescribed; moreover, the first who interpreted the angel with the everlasting Gospel as referring to Dr. Luther was not, as is commonly supposed, Dr. Bugenhagen in the funeral sermon of Luther, but Michael Stiefel, who had already published a special writing on it about the year 1520.

The Day of Dedication of the Church was celebrated, according to a Saxon ordinance, in the period from the 11th of November to the 6th of December, as was done already in Dr. Luther's time; he says of it: “I hold that it came to pass by a special providence of God that the dear fathers appointed this Gospel (Luke 19, 1 ff.) to be read and preached on this day, since they (the later teachers) had instituted the masks and pomp of the outward church-consecration; although with a thirsty presumption they notably hinder the human heart, which is entangled with outward things, so that it can meanwhile reflect on nothing deep. Yet the Gospel, which is spirit and life, testifies that the temple shall be hallowed to God: not the temple which is built of stone or wood and covered with slate, but it says that salvation has come to the house, which is a son of Abraham.” (XI, 3219.)

The Apostles' days were observed in many Lutheran territorial churches with a whole-day, in several, as in the Pomeranian, with a half-day celebration, but seldom transferred to the next following Sunday, and still much more seldom, after the example of the Reformed, to the weekday sermons. The legends of the Apostles, Paul excepted, are to be rejected, according to Dr. Luther's counsel, wherein he appeals to Eusebius' Church History, because they have been corrupted by the wickedness of heretics; but concerning what the Holy Scripture relates of them, Dr. Luther says: “It is very good that some histories of the saints have been retained in the Church, which are so diligently recorded in the Holy Scripture for this reason, that we should hold ourselves by such examples and amend our life. For on this account the Holy Ghost has so ordained that one has had to write not only of their holiness, faith and good works, but also of their weakness and sins, for our instruction and teaching, that, just as their faith and good works shine before us and we are to follow their example, so also their sin and weakness should warn us, that we be not secure, but keep ourselves in good watch. For if it failed with such great and excellent people, to whom we shall never in our lifetime be equal, so that they stumbled and sometimes even fell, how much more may it happen to us, though we now stand, that we fall and lie unawares. Therefore great diligence and constant prayer belong thereto, that God may keep us and not suffer us to sink into temptation.” (XIII, 2798 ff.) The series of the Apostles' days, whose pericopes with few exceptions are given at the end of our Bibles, is, according to the course of the Church year, as follows: Day of Andrew, November 30, of Thomas, December 21, of John the Evangelist, December 27 (for the most part through the thir-