Johann Spangenberg

Johann Spangenberg (1484-1550) German Lutheran Reformer and Theologian who produced works on liturgy

23/10/2014

On the Feast of St. James, Apostle.
Epistle: Rom. 8:28-39. . .
11. What is the essence of this Gospel?
The essence and content of this Gospel is this:
if we would be fellow heirs of Christ, we must
also help to preserve the inheritance. If we would
reign together, we must also suffer together. If we
would have the reward, we must also not omit
the labor. We are baptized for cross and suffer-
ing. Cross and suffering are the court colors of
Christ’s kingdom. Whoever is ashamed of these
court colors must also steer clear of the Lord
Christ, the heavenly King. Just as these disciples
had to drink the cup of the Lord, we also must
drink our cup—each as God pours it. For the
psalm says, “The Lord has in His hand a cup
(or vessel), and it is filled with strong wine, and
He pours from the same (and gives to all). And
all the ungodly must drink, and drain it to the
dregs” (Ps. 75 [:8]).

12. What are the dregs?
The dregs are the abominable and terrible
plagues and punishments of the ungodly and
the damned which begin here in time and last
eternally hereafter. As the psalm says, “He will
rain down upon the ungodly lightning, fire, and
brimstone, and will give them a tempest as re-
ward” (Ps. 11 [:6]).

13. What is the wine?
The wine is the cross and suffering of the God-
fearing and elect, which is a temporal and transi-
tory suffering, and has an end, and is followed
by eternal joy, salvation, and blessedness. And in
short, if we would be Christians, we must also
live in a Christlike way with one another, show
each other love, and not despise each other. But
whoever is greatest, let him be the servant of
others, whoever is in power, let him be submis-
sive, for the sake of Christ, who gave His life for
us and shed His precious blood for us, that He
might deliver us from the power of the devil,
hell, and eternal death, and reconcile us again to
the Father, open heaven, and share eternal life
with us. Amen.

07/06/2014

We must not be deluded by the fact that false preachers and fantasizers have not preached about any saint except such as was dead and in heaven, whereas throughout Scripture, whenever it speaks of saints, it speaks only of living saints. This is because it is in no way concerned with the dead, but calls holy only those who hear God’s Word and keep it, even though they are still flesh and blood, feeble and imperfect. God’s saints must be good, strong sinners, and must remain the kind of sinners who do not blush to pray the Our Father and say, “Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Forgive us our debts,” etc. And they are called holy not because they are without sin or are sanctified through works, but on the contrary, because in and of themselves, with all their works, they are nothing but sinners and condemned, and yet are sanctified through the holiness of Another, namely, of the Lord Christ, which is imputed to them and made their own by faith. Christ’s holiness is so powerful and mighty that it covers and washes away all the sins that dwell in flesh and blood. For Christ’s kingdom is nothing but pure forgiveness that is only concerned with sins, and is continually extinguishing, covering, purging, and cleansing as long as we live here. The holiness and purity of this blessed Word I wish to you all in Christ Jesus . . .

25/05/2014

Excerpt from the Gospel on Rogation Days
Luke 11 [:5–13] . . .

Q. What does Christ do in this Gospel?
A. Having taught His disciples the form and manner for praying, He now gives them an exhortation to persist and persevere in prayer. We are so disposed by nature either to doubt God’s goodness or to regard ourselves as far too unworthy of being heard by God. The result of this is that we seldom or never pray, or else, if we pray once or twice and are not immediately heard, we finally give up praying and begin to curse God. This is why it is necessary for there to be an exhortation to keep us in prayer.
. .

Q. Who are those who ask for bread and get a stone?
A. Those in chapter houses and cloisters, churches and cells, who cry without ceasing for God to help them, assist them, lead and direct them with His Word, and yet are not in earnest, and their prayer is not from their heart. This is evident from the fact that when God through Christ and His minister puts bread on the table, has the Word of God preached from the pulpit, they have no desire to see or hear it. Therefore they receive bread instead of a stone, that is, they become stiff-necked, and acquire heads of iron, hearts of stone, and a stinging spirit, and become hateful, envious, and at last hardened in sin like Pharaoh.

Q. Who are those who ask for a fish and get a serpent?
A. Those who delight in and adore criticizing, judging, and condemning others, slandering them, talking behind their back, cursing them, and wishing evil upon them. These do not receive a fish but a serpent, a poisonous heart that spews its poison out into all their limbs, so that a man can no longer say or think any good about others, but must explain everything that he sees and hears in the worst way, put everyone on the chopping block, and withhold criticism from nothing.

Q. Who are those who ask for an egg and get a scorpion?
A. Those who ask for a stout, sturdy, steadfast, living, and active faith, and yet pollute it with various superstitions, mistaken beliefs, sorcery, witchcraft, and other demonic things, have no heartfelt confidence in God, no steadfast heart, and no upright life, and are not a good example and model of Christianity. These do not get the egg of divine comfort but a scorpion, a false, faithless heart toward God and all men. They praise God with their lips but their heart is far from it [Is. 29:13; Matt. 15:8]. They bid their neighbor good day and good evening, but in their heart they think, “If only he were lost at sea.” The world is practically full of these people.

21/04/2014

EASTER MONDAY Gospel Luke 24:13-35.

Q. What happened in the village of Emmaus?

A. When Christ sat with the disciples at table, He took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished from before them. — From this passage here the pope’s unlearned asses conclude that Christ gave to these disciples, as laymen, the Sacrament in one form, and thus make Christ a fickle God who ordains something today and changes it tomorrow. But Christ rewards them masterfully. For behold, the eyes of the dear disciples were opened, and they recognized Christ in the breaking of the bread—whereas those masks of the pope are only rendered blind and hardened. So will it be for all the enemies of the truth: though having seeing eyes, they will be blinded; having open ears, they will be deafened; though having understanding hearts, they will understand nothing.

24/02/2014

"David had faith and trust in God and good conduct, Saul had neither faith nor good works. Therefore the kingdom of Israel was given to David and taken from Saul [1 Chron. 10:13–14]. The same thing happened with Mordecai and Haman [Esther 7:10–8:2]; likewise, with Matthias and Judas the traitor [Acts 1:15–26], etc. The same thing will happen on the Last Day also to the hypocrites and works-righteous. They will think that they have a great supply of good works with which they would help themselves and all the world. But because they have no faith or trust in God in their heart, and no Christian conduct, their works will rub off like fur on a sleeve and be of no service to them or to others. And they will end up like the five foolish virgins when they were supposed to go to the wedding and their lamps went out, and as a result the doors shut them out (Matt. 25)." –– J. Spangenberg, Postilla: Gospel: Luke 19 [:12–26] (Common of Confessors).

10/02/2014

Gospel: Matthew 20 [:1–16]

What then should we learn from this Gospel?
Two things. First, no one should exalt himself above others because of his piety, even if he is as holy as St. Peter, for a man can fall again and become the most evil of all. Therefore we should walk in the fear of God, knowing that if there is any good in us, it is the gift and work of God. For St. Paul says, “Whoever stands, let him take heed lest he fall.” And Christ: “Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24). Second, no one should despair in God’s grace and mercy, even if he is as wicked as the thief on the cross, for if he takes refuge in Christ with all his heart, he will obtain grace and comfort; for as long as he has his hope in God, he must be saved. Let no one use the example of the thief on the cross in order to sin. It is an example for comfort and edification, not for imitation. We are to bear the Lord’s yoke from our youth up, and in keeping with Paul’s teaching (Gal. 6), do good to everyone while we have time. Then in due time we will also reap eternal life. God grant it us! Amen." (Postilla: Septuagesima).

10/02/2014

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9 [:24–27]; 10 [:1–5]

"What then should we learn in this Epistle?
Three things: first, that the fathers’ faith is the same as ours, although the words and signs were not alike; second, that God regularly ties His promise to a sign by which faith is confirmed and strengthened; third, that although faith in Christ is a spiritual drink and food, nevertheless this in no way diminishes the outward eating and drinking of Christ’s body and blood in the Supper. For these words, the institution and Verba of the Supper, make no rupture, and both spiritual and physical eating and drinking belong together, so that a man is fed both in body and soul to life everlasting. Amen." (Postilla: Septuagesima).

11/09/2013

Gospel for Church Dedication.

Q.How did Zaccheus react to Christ’s call?
A. He climbed down quickly and received Jesus with joy. Here behold, while Zaccheus was on earth among the people, he could not see Christ. He climbed up into a tree, wishing to see Him. Then Christ came to him, looked at him, and would not leave him up in the tree, but he had to come down and receive Christ into his house.

Q. What does this teach us?
A. As long as we are in the multitude of the wicked company and evil thoughts, words, and works, we cannot see Christ. Christ says, “Blessed are those who are of pure heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5). We must climb up into the tree, lift up our heart to God, look at Christ on the cross, remember His bitter sufferings and death, and bear with patience and thanksgiving the cross that God sends us. Then He will not be absent long, but will look at us graciously, and visit us, and, with the Father, make His dwelling among us, and save us in body and soul.

10/09/2013

On the Annunciation of Mary (March 25).

Q. What did the angel Gabriel do on this errand?
A. He came in to her. He did not find her on a public street walking around, but at home, certainly in some good occupation, greeted her very kindly, and said, “Greetings, O favored one, dear Mary! The Lord is with you, O blessed one, O most praised among women!”

Q. May we use this greeting, too?
A. This is the greeting by which the Holy Trinity caused the Virgin Mary to be greeted. Therefore we should not refuse to greet her the same way. She herself sings in the Magnificat, “He has regarded the lowlilness of His maidservant. Behold, from now on all generations will praise me as blessed.” In order that these words may be fulfilled, there must indeed be those who laud and praise her. Elizabeth began by saying, “Blessed are you who have believed” (Luke 1). Likewise, the woman in Luke 11: “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed.” Who will praise her as blessed in our own day? Jews, Turks, pagans, hypocrites, and false Christians certainly do not do so, but rather slander her, so it behooves us Christians to do so. Therefore people act unjustly when, for their great wisdom and glory, they cannot stand the Hail Mary even to be spoken softly.

27/08/2013

How did Christ respond to the lepers’ cry?
When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Here Christ displayed His divine love to three parties: the priests, the nine Jews, and the one Samaritan.

What love did He show the priests?
He sent them the lepers with the offering that was commanded in the Law (Lev. 14). He had no desire to deprive them of anything respecting their justification, and was not concerned that they were ungrateful to Him and turned the nine Jews against Him. He also wished to use this miracle as a reminder on the Last Day that they had no excuse, as if they did not know Christ.

What love did He show the nine Jews?
He cleansed them from their leprosy and did not repay them for their ingratitude whereby they so shamefully fell away from the faith.

What love did He show the Samaritan?
He had mercy on him, healed him along with the others, and did not repay him for being a Samaritan, a foreigner, a Gentile, but let him join in with the others and partake of His grace also.

24/08/2013

(From Easter I, sermon 2 on John 20)

Q. What did Christ do in this fear and anguish of the disciples?

A. He came to them behind closed doors. Just as He was born of Mary into the world without compromising her virginity, and rose from the tomb without damaging the seal, He also came in to the disciples behind closed doors. So, too, He desires by His Word and Spirit to enter the hearts of believers without hurting their conscience. For it is certain that when Christ comes with His Word, He does not hurt the conscience, disrupt the understanding, confuse the mind, or destroy the senses, as do the false teachers and the preachers of lies, who break, disrupt, and destroy, and leave nothing intact. Christ does not do so.

20/08/2013

On the Gospel for the Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle.

Q. What does Christ mean by these words [about eating and drinking]?
A. With these words He means to illustrate the great joy and blessedness of the elect children of God in eternal life. In this world, this is how things work: Whatever we need, we look for it from individual created things. When we are hungry, we look for bread; when we are thirsty, we look for water, beer, or wine; when we are freezing, we look for clothes, shoes, shelter, fire; when we are weak and sick, we look for a pharmacy, herbs, medicine. Indeed, there is no one creature on earth that satisfies all our needs. Each of us must ask and beg for his own necessities from every individual thing in creation. In the kingdom of heaven, however, we will always have all that we need in God alone.

Q. Did Christ say this only for the apostles?
A. Christ promised this eternal joy not only to the apostles but also to all who believe the apostles in the preaching of the Gospel, and hold Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. For as Christ says, “I do not ask only for the apostles, but also for those who will believe in Me by their word, that they may all be one, just as You, O Father, are in Me, and I in You, and they also are one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17). Therefore, since we also are found in that number, let us in true faith and Christian love fulfill our calling, be diligent in hearing the Gospel of Christ, conform our lives to it earnestly, bear patiently with tribulation, cross, and suffering as appointed by God, and at God’s Word depart from hence. Then with the holy apostle Bartholomew and all the elect, we, too, will be taken up into the heavenly fatherland of eternal life! Amen.

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