Title: Lutheran Piety
1Lutheran Piety
- Christian Mysticism
- School of Prayer
- Presented by David Schütz
2Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott
- Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott, Ein gute Wehr und
Waffen Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not, Die uns
jetzt hat betroffen. Der alt' böse Feind, Mit
Ernst er's jetzt meint, Groß' Macht und viel List
Sein' grausam' Rüstung ist, Auf Erd' ist nicht
seingleichen. - A mighty fortress is our God, A trusty shield and
weapon, Our faithful helper in all need, Our
stay, whateer may happen, The old evil foe Now
means deadly woe Deep guile and great might Are
his dread arms fight On earth is not his equal.
3Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott
- Mit unsrer Macht ist nichts getan, Wir sind gar
bald verloren Es steit't für uns der rechte
Mann, Den Gott hat selbst erkoren. Fragst du, wer
der ist? Er heißt Jesu Christ, Der Herr Zebaoth,
Und ist kein andrer Gott, Das Feld muß er
behalten. - With might of ours can naught be done, Soon were
our fall effected But for us fights the
righteous Man, Whom God himself elected. Ask ye
Who is this? Christ Jesus it is, Of Sabaoth Lord,
And theres none other God He holds the field
for ever.
4Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott
- Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär' Und wollt' uns
gar verschlingen, So fürchten wir uns nicht so
sehr, Es soll uns doch gelingen. Der Fürst dieser
Welt, Wie sau'r er sich stellt, Tut er uns doch
nicht, Das macht, er ist gericht't, Ein Wörtlein
kann ihn fällen. - Though devils all the world should fill, All
eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no
ill, They shall not overpower us. This worlds
prince may still Scowl fierce as he will, He can
harm us none Hes judged, for eer undone One
little word can fell him.
5Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott
- Das Wort sie sollen laßen stahn Und kein'n Dank
dazu haben Er ist bei uns wohl auf dem Plan Mit
seinem Geist und Gaben. Nehmen sie den Leib, Gut,
Ehr', Kind und Weib Laß fahren dahin, Sie
haben's kein'n Gewinn, Das Reich muß uns doch
bleiben. - The Word shall stand despite all foes-No thanks
they for it merit, For God is with us, and
bestows His gifts and Holy Spirit. And take they
our life, Goods, fame, child, and wife Though
these all be gone, Yet have our foes not won The
kingdom ours remaineth.
6Martin Luther
- Martin Luther was born in 1483, and died in 1546.
- An Augustinian Monk (1505), ordained priest
(1507) - Professor of Old Testament at the new Wittenberg
University (1508) - Doctor of Theology (1512)
- In 1517 he called for a debate on the practice of
the sale of indulgences (The 95 Theses), after
which his questioning of some of the practices
and teachings of the Church escalated
7Martin Luther
- Excommunicated by Pope Leo X in June 1520 in the
bull Exsurge Domine, Luther responded with The
Babylonian Captivity of the Church in October
1520. - Appeared before the Emperor Charles V at the Diet
of Worms in 1521 at which he was condemned. - 1525 On the Bondage of the Will in answer to
Erasmus 1524 On the Freedom of the Will
8Martin Luther
- After the 1525 Peasants War he parted company
with the more radical elements of the reformation
movement - Married in 1525 to ex-nun Katherine Von Bora and
living in the old monastery in Wittenberg, (now
vacant!) had six children - After 1525 Luther gave himself to the task of
overseeing the new evangelical churches (with
aid from his close friends Melanchthon and
Bugenhagen)
9Martin Luther
- 1522 German New Testament
- 1526 Deutsche Messe
- 1527 Marburg Colloquy with Zwingli
- 1528 Great Confession on the Lords Supper
- 1529 Small Large Catechisms
- 1530 Augsburg Confession
- 1534 Complete German Bible
- Many many hymns, books, commentaries, sermons,
tracts (Weimar edition 127 volumes) - Died while travelling in 1546
10Luthers Spiritual Heritage
- Luther was an Augustinian, never sympathetic to
Aristotelian scholasticism (eg. Thomas Aquinas) - Very positive reaction to St Bernard of Clairvaux
- In 1508 Luther bought an edition of the sermons
of the mystical Dominican theologian Johannes
Taulers (which he thoroughly annotated in the
margins) - Luthers first published book in 1516 was Eyn
geystlich edles Buchleynn
11Theologia Germanica
- Eyn geystlich edles Buchleynn (1516) is a German
edition and translation of a handwritten
manuscript that came into Luthers possession - An anonymous work, which Luther believed was
written by the illumined Doctor Tauler of the
Preaching Order. - 1518 (following 95 Theses) Luther discovered a
more complete manuscript of the same work in the
library of the Erfurt Carthusian monastery. - Published under the title Theologia Germanica
German Theology.
12From the Theologia Germanica
- Even if God would take to himself all humans in
the world and become humanised in them and they
would become divinised in him and this did not
happen in me, my fall and my apostasy would never
be amended. No, it must also occur in me. Ch. 3 - But if our inner being would make a leap into
the Perfect, one would find and taste that the
Perfect is limitlessly, endlessly, insuperably
nobler and better than all imperfect and
incomplete things. That inner being of ours would
also find the Eternal above the transitory and
the wellspring and origin underneath everything
that flows from it and ever will flow from it.
Ch. 6
13Luther the Mystic?
- Louis Bouyer (Spirit and Forms of Protestantism,
1956) - It is absolutely certain, as a matter of
history, that the intuition of Luthertakes us
back directly to the Rhenish school of mysticism
originated by Eckhart and Tauler. - If Luther had no hesitation in acknowledging his
debt to the Theologia Germanicaif he went so far
as to translate it into German to popularise it,
that shows that he recognised it as one of the
sources of his conception. The God whose very
light is a superessential darkness is the Deus
revelatus, but revelatus as absconditus.
14Luther the Mystic?
- Bengt R. Hoffman Theology of the Heart The Role
of Mysticism in the Theology of Martin Luther
(1986, 1998) regarded as a theologian of
personal mysticism - Infinity Mysticism (eg. Eckhardt) an
experience of the superhuman beyond the
vicissitudes of life an immersion in nature and
exercise according to technical patterns a
dissolution of the person into the impersonal
Beyond - Personality Mysticism (eg. Tauler) an
experience of God in the midst of lifes problems
an experience of the human I meeting the
divine Thou trust and forgiveness in this
life a relationship to a personal God - (Nb. The Finnish School Theosis in Luthers
theology)
15Key themes in Luthers Spirituality
- The Solas Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus
Christus, Sola Scriptura - Anthropology Simul justus et peccator
- Dialectic Law/Gospel, Deus Absconditus/Deus
Revelatus - Theologia Crucis
- The Incarnation focused on the crib and cross
finitum capax infinitum - Christocentricism (Was Christum treibet, ist
kein andrer Gott) - Word and Sacrament
- Sin, Death the Devil
16Vom Himmel hoch
- 1. Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her, Ich bring'
euch gute neue Mähr, Der guten Mähr bring ich so
viel, Davon ich sing'n und sagen will. - 1. "From heaven above to earth I come To bear
good news to every home Glad tidings of great
joy I bring, Whereof I now will say and sing
17Vom Himmel hoch
- 2. Euch ist ein Kindlein heut' gebor'n Von einer
Jungfrau auserkor'n, Ein Kindelein so zart und
fein, Das soll eu'r Freund und Wonne sein. - 3. Es ist der Herr Christ unser Gott, Der will
euch führ'n aus aller Noth, Er will eu'r Heiland
selber sein, Von allen Sünden machen rein. - 2. "To you this night is born a child Of Mary,
chosen virgin mild This little child, of lowly
birth, Shall be the joy of all the earth. - 3. "This is the Christ, our God and Lord, Who in
all need shall aid afford He will Himself your
Savior be From all your sins to set you free.
18Vom Himmel hoch
- 4. Er bringt euch alle Seligkeit, Die Gott der
Vater hat bereit't, Daß ihr mit uns im
Himmelreich Sollt leben nun und ewiglich. - 5. So merket nun das Zeichen recht, Die Krippen,
Windelein so schlecht Da findet ihr das Kind
gelegt, Das alle Welt erhält und trägt. - 4. "He will on you the gifts bestow Prepared by
God for all below, That in His kingdom, bright
and fair, You may with us His glory share. - 5. "These are the tokens ye shall mark The
swaddling-clothes and manger dark There ye shall
find the Infant laid By whom the heavens and
earth were made."
19Vom Himmel hoch
- 6. Deß laßt uns Alle fröhlich sein Und mit den
Hirten geh'n hinein, Zu seh'n was Gott uns hat
beschert, Mit seinem lieben Sohn verehrt. - 13. Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein, Mach dir ein
rein sanft Bettelein, Zu ruhen in mein's Herzens
Schrein, Daß ich nimmer vergesse dein. - 6. Now let us all with gladsome cheer Go with the
shepherds and draw near To see the precious gift
of God, Who hath His own dear Son bestowed. - 13. Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, Make Thee a
bed, soft, undefiled, Within my heart, that it
may beA quiet chamber kept for Thee.
20Vom Himmel hoch
- 14. Davon ich allzeit fröhlich sei, Zu springen,
singen immer frei Das rechte Susannine schon, Mit
Herzen Lust den süßen Ton. - 15. Lob, Ehr sei Gott im höchsten Thron, Der uns
schenkt seinen ein'gen Sohn, Des freuen sich der
Engel Schaar Und singen uns solch's neues Jahr. - 14. My heart for very joy doth leap, My lips no
more can silence keep I, too, must sing with
joyful tongue That sweetest ancient cradle-song - 15. Glory to God in highest heaven, Who unto us
His Son hath given! While angels sing with pious
mirth A glad new year to all the earth.
21Law and Gospel
- In the scriptures, two things are to be
distinguishedthe commands and the promises. - The righteousness of the Law is earthly, it is
concerned with earthly works The heavenly
passive righteousness does not spring from our
own efforts We do not produce it we receive it
by faith. - A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all,
subject to none a Christian is a perfectly
dutiful servant of all, subject to all.
22Grace and Faith
- If you believe, you already have God if you do
not believe, you do not have him. To have faith
is to have God. - If you desire to fulfil the law and overcome
concupiscence, believe in Jesus Christ, in whom
you are offered grace, justice, peace and
liberty. By faith, you possess all these without
it, you are a stranger to them all. - Grace gives, faith receives. Thus, since all
salvation is by grace, all salvation is by faith.
23Faith and Works
- In the Law many works are enjoined, and all
external, but in the gospel there is only one, an
internal work, and that is faith. - It will now be seen how it is impossible to
separate works from faith, as impossible as it is
to separate burning and shining from fire
24Christ
- Christ is the object of faith, nay rather, not
the object, but if it may be said, the subject,
the One present and active in faith itself. - The whole of Scripture deals with Christ, from
beginning to end - One should think of no other God than Christ. The
god who does not speak through Christ is no God
at all.
25Sinner and Saint
- The righteousness of God is not acquired by acts
frequently repeated, as Aristotle taught, but is
imparted by faith. - He is at one and the same time always in sin, in
justification, in righteousness. Always a sinner,
always penitent, always right with God.
26God hidden and revealed
- No faith in, no knowledge of, and no
understanding of God, in so far as he is not
revealed, are possiblethe unrevealed God defies
human investigation - Nevertheless the hidden God is none the less the
revealed God, so that we may know him and
apprehend him as our God. - Faith alone is able, under trial, to hear the
deep secret Yes of God beneath and above his
No.
27The Theology of the Cross
- A theologian of glory calls evil good and good
evil. A theologian of the cross calls the thing
what it actually is. - God wished to be recognized in suffering, it is
not sufficient for anyone, and it does him no
good, to recognize God in his glory majesty,
unless he recognizes him in the humility shame
of the cross. - He who does not know Christ does not know God
hidden in suffering God can be found only in
suffering and the cross.
28Gott sei gelobet
- Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet, Der uns selber
hat gespeiset. Mit seinem Fleische und mit seinem
Blute, Das gib uns, Herr Gott, zugute!
Kyrieleison! Herr, durch deinen heiligen
Leichnam, Der von deiner Mutter Maria kam, Und
das heilige Blut Hilf uns, Herr, aus aller Not!
Kyrieleison!
O Lord, we praise thee, bless thee and adore
thee, In thanksgiving bow before thee. Thou with
thy body and thy blood didst nourish our weak
souls that they may flourish. O Lord, have mercy.
By thy body, pure as none other, born of Mary,
thy virgin mother, by thy blood, for us shed,
help us in the hour of need. O Lord, have mercy.
29The Small Catechism
- The Ten Commandments
- The Apostles Creed
- The Lords Prayer
- The Sacrament of Baptism
- Confession and Absolution
- The Sacrament of the Altar
- The Table of Duties
30The Small Catechism
- I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth. - What does this mean?
- I believe that God has made me and all creatures
that He has given me my body and soul, eyes,
ears, and all my members, my reason and all my
senses, and still takes care of them. He also
gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink,
house and home, wife and children, land, animals,
and all I have. He richly and daily provides me
with all that I need to support this body and
life. He defends me against all danger and guards
and protects me from all evil. All this He does
only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy,
without any merit or worthiness in me. For all
this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and
obey Him. This is most certainly true.
31The Small Catechism
- And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, etc.
From thence He will come to judge the living and
the dead. - What does this mean?
- I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten
of the Father from eternity, and also true man,
born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has
redeemed me, a lost and condemned person,
purchased and won me from all sins, from death,
and from the power of the devil not with gold or
silver, but with His holy, precious blood and
with His innocent suffering and death, that I may
be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and
serve Him in everlasting righteousness,
innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen
from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
This is most certainly true.
32The Small Catechism
- I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian
church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the
life everlasting. Amen. - What does this mean?
- I believe that I cannot by my own reason or
strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or
come to Him but the Holy Spirit has called me by
the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts,
sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the
same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and
sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth,
and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true
faith. In this Christian church He daily and
richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all
believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and
all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all
believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
33A Simple Way to Pray
- The Catechism was the basis for one of Luthers
best known works on prayer A Simple Way to Pray
(1535) - Peter Beskendorf, a Wittenberg barber, though a
devout Christian, had killed his son-in-law in a
drunken rage. By Luthers intercession he was
exiled rather than executed. - Peter the Barber asked Luther for help in how to
pray. - Luther responded I will tell you as best I can
what I do personally when I pray. May our dear
Lord grant to you and to everybody to do it
better than I! Amen.
34A Simple Way to Pray
- Some significant and practical pastoral advice
- when I feel that I have become cool and joyless
in prayer - my roomor where a congregation is assembled
- word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed,
some words of Christ or of Paul. or some psalms - just as a child might do.
- the first business of the morning and the last
at night - Wait a little while. I will pray in an hour
first I must attend to this or that. nothing
comes of prayer for that day. - St. Jerome He who works faithfully prays
twice. Yet we must be careful not to break the
habit of true prayer and imagine other works to
be necessary which, after all, are nothing of the
kind.
35A Simple Way to Pray
- Luther then provides a series of model
meditations on the Our Father, the Ten
Commandments and the Creedliterally a prayed
catechism. - You should also know that I do not want you to
recite all these words in your prayer. Rather do
I want your heart to be stirred and guided
concerning the thoughts which ought to be
comprehended in the Lords Prayer. These thoughts
may be expressed, if your heart is rightly warmed
and inclined toward prayer, in many different
ways and with more words or fewer. If an
abundance of good thoughts comes to us we ought
to disregard the other petitions, make room for
such thoughts, listen in silence, and under no
circumstances obstruct them. The Holy Spirit
himself preaches here, and one word of his sermon
is far better than a thousand of our prayers.
36A Simple Way to Pray
- Priests Like the priest who prayed, Deus in
adjutorium meum intende. Farmhand, did you
unhitch the horses? Domine ad adjuvandum me
festina. Maid, go out and milk the cow. Gloria
patri et filio et spiritui sancto. Hurry up, boy,
I wish the ague would take you! - Barbers So, a good and attentive barber keeps
his thoughts. attention, and eyes on the razor
and hair and does not forget how far he has
gotten with his shaving or cutting. If he wants
to engage in too much conversation or let his
mind wander or look somewhere else he is likely
to cut his customers mouth, nose, or even his
throat. Thus if anything is to be done well, it
requires the full attention of all ones senses
and members.How much more does prayer call for
con-centration singleness of heart if it is to
be a good prayer!
37Oratio Meditatio Tentatio
- 1539 In the preface to the first edition of
Luthers works, Luther points out a correct way
of studying theology with three steps Oratio,
Meditatio, and Tentatio. - a form of Lectio Divina, familiar to Luther
from his monastic days, also fitted his sola
scriptura spirituality - Everything centres around the practice of
meditation, for prayer prepares for it and its
results are confirmed in the experience of
conflict. For Luther, meditation is the key to
the study of theology. No one can become a true
theologian unless he learns theology through it
ie. through meditation." (John Kleinig)
38Oratio Meditatio Tentatio
- Oratio
- Prayer, but prayer focused on the Scriptures,
a book which turns the wisdom of all other books
into foolishness - Prayer is the necessary preparation and method
for reading the scriptures Teach me, Lord,
instruct me, lead me, show me the prayer of
an open heart - Reason and understanding are useless and
presumptuous humility earnestness, with the
gift of the Holy Spirit, are necessary for
enlightenment
39Oratio Meditatio Tentatio
- Meditatio
- Note the emphasis on meditating not only in your
heart, but also externally, ie. reading the text
aloud (or soto voce) - Luther was a Hebrew scholar and knew that the
word used in Psalm 119 for meditate carried the
inherent notion of speaking or conversing aloud
with someone if that someone was oneself it
meant to ponder - Thus one can hear the spoken Word, even when
alone - For God will not give you his Spirit without the
external Word. This emphasis had grown in
reaction to the radical reformers who emphasised
interior revelation - The necessity of repeated reading, hearing and
speaking of the wordonce or twice is not
sufficient
40Oratio Meditatio Tentatio
- Tentatio
- The late-Luther had by no means abandoned the
emphasis of the early-Luther and the German
mystics on the sapientia experimentalis - For Luther the sapientia theologica could not be
attained through oratio and meditatio without
going on to the touchstone of tentatio
(Anfechtung/trial/suffering) - Only this experience was capable of teaching
how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how
mighty, how comforting Gods Word is, wisdom
beyond all wisdom. - Here too we can see the constant presence and
life-long emphasis in Luthers spirituality of
the Theology of the Cross and of the God who
reveals himself in Hiddenness