Yesterday we heard of the use of the holy and blessed sacrament and
saw who are worthy to receive it, even those in whom is the fear of
death, who have timid and despairing consciences and who live in fear
of hell. All such come prepared to partake of this food for the
strengthening of their weak faith and the comforting of their
conscience. This is the true and right use of this sacrament, and
whoever does not find himself in this state, let him refrain from
coming until God also takes hold of him and draws him through His
Word.
[Sidenote: Fruit of the Sacrament: Love]
We shall now speak of the fruit of this sacrament, which is love; that
is, that we should treat our neighbor even as God has treated us. Now
we have received from God naught but love and favor, for Christ has
pledged and given us His righteousness and everything that He has, has
poured out upon us all His treasures, which no man can measure and no
angel can understand or fathom, for God is a glowing furnace of love,
reaching even from the earth to the heavens.
[Sidenote: The Lack of Love]
Love, I say, is a fruit of this sacrament. But I do not yet perceive
it among you here in Wittenberg, although there is much preaching of
love and you ought to practice it above all other things. This is the
principal thing, and alone is seemly in a Christian. But no one shows
eagerness for this, and you want to do all sorts of unnecessary
things, which are of no account. If you do not want to show yourselves
Christians by your love, then leave the other things undone, too, for
St. Paul says in I Corinthians, "If I speak with the tongues of men
and of angels, and have not love, I am as sounding brass or a tinkling
cymbal." [1 Cor. 13:1] This is a terrible saying of Paul. And further:
"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries
of God, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I
could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And if I
bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be
burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing." [1 Cor. 13:2, 3]
You have not got so far as that, although you have received great and
rich gifts from God, especially a knowledge of the Scriptures. It is
true, you have the pure Gospel and the true Word of God, but no one as
yet has given his goods to the poor, no one has yet been burned, and
even these things would profit nothing without love. You would take
all of God's goods in the sacrament, and yet not pour them forth again
in love. One will not lend the other a helping hand, no one thinks
first of another, but every one looks out or himself and his own gain,
seeks but his own and lets everything else go as it will,--if anybody
is helped, well and good. No one looks after the poor or seeks how to
help them. It is pitiful. You have heard many sermons about it and all
my books are full of it and have the one purpose, to urge you to faith
and love.
And if you will not love one another, God will send a great plague
upon you; let this be a warning to you, for God will not reveal His
Word and have it preached in vain. You are tempting God too far, my
friends. If some one in times past had preached the Word to our
forefathers, they would perchance have acted differently. Or if the
Word were preached to-day to many poor children in the cloisters, they
would receive it with much greater joy than you. You do not heed it at
all, and give yourselves to other things, which are unnecessary and
foolish.