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6. Whether We Have the Right to Break Sabbath Observance
The external Sabbath has been instituted for the benefit of those who work,
that they might renew or restore their strength and that people and
livestock—and not only they but the housefather—might be refreshed, as we
said earlier. However, God does not care much for external behavior and
customs, but merely that no one disadvantage or harm another. Therefore, the
external celebration has not been commanded so rashly and seriously that
work which might benefit another could not be done on the Sabbath, or that
we should suffer loss or disaster rather than do an external work and so
forfeit celebration. For God does not look to external things and
sacrifices, but to the internal ones. When these are upright, what follows
externally is right, too, and everything a person does or leaves undone is
right as well. Similarly, God prefers a broken heart—where that is found it
matters little whether we fast or eat, drink or suffer thirst, sacrifice or
not, celebrate or work, as long as we do not come to God while we are empty
within [Ps 51:17]. Although we might come empty-handed externally, it does
not endanger us before God.
Thus, I may kindle a fire, cook, and eat in God's name, as long as I am in
God's rest uprightly. For God has no need of my external leisure which does
not add to, or take anything away from God. But my internal leisure God can
praise or scold, despise or magnify. He can consider me merciful or cruel
and call me truthful or deceitful. Therefore, God gives attention to the
inner rest and leisure…Thus Christ defended his disciples for gathering and
eating grain on the Sabbath [Mt 12:3ff.] when the Pharisees complained about
it.
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7. The Son of Man Is Lord of the Sabbath
In response to this Christ said, "The Son of man is lord of the Sabbath and
the Sabbath has been commanded on account of people," [Mt 12:8] i.e., we
have the freedom to [34] work on the Sabbath …[when] …welfare calls for it.
This the disciples did when on the Sabbath they plucked and ate the grain
because they were hungry…
Moses and Christ concur. Moses says, "You shall not do any external works
so that your servants and maid servants, your children and you might rest
and restore your strength." And Christ says, "The Sabbath was instituted for
humankind" [Deut 14; Ex 20; Mt 12].
For your need or benefit, you may work on the Sabbath and do a good deed
for yourself as much as you might do one for someone else—kindle a fire,
cook, eat, drink. But see to it that you do not forget God in all of that.
Know that God loves mercy more than a burnt offering [Hos 6:6]. Celebrate
and enjoy your leisure, but in such a way that you do not neglect a better
or greater thing.
If hunger prevents you from experiencing God's grace, then pluck ears of
corn on the Sabbath and eat them in God's name [Lk 6:1-5]. The Sabbath has
been instituted for your benefit and betterment. …[Christ is Lord]... of the
Sabbath, and the Sabbath exists for you and not you for the Sabbath [Mk
2:23-28]. Hence, you may give herbs to another and prepare them for medicine
on the Sabbath, and you must help the neighbor and show mercy, which is more
and better than to sabbatize and celebrate externally. In this way servants
should help meet the immediate need of their master and prevent future
damage by foregoing their freedom and ignoring the Sabbath. One owes it to
another out of Christian brotherly love to help up livestock that has fallen
down [Ex 23:5].
When I said that one may do on the Sabbath on account of need what apart
from need ought not to be done—in other words, that in an emergency we may
ignore and break the Sabbath—I did not endorse the breaking of the Sabbath
with works of mercy and brotherly love which I call works of necessity. For
I spoke of breaking the Sabbath in the sense which Christ used against the
Pharisees who [35] thought it unseemly and detrimental to the Sabbath to
have a sick person made well on the Sabbath. Christ countered them, saying,
"Look, if it is not fitting for me to do good, why then do your priests kill
the sacrificial [animals] on the Sabbath and break the Sabbath with their
killing and butchering?" Likewise I respond to those who think that a person
might defile Sunday through a work of brotherly love: It is right to break
the Sabbath to help another person in his need, even though such works of
mercy might break the Sabbath. However, it is impossible for a work of love
to break the Sabbath, for God has put an order in his commandments. Some
command great and highly valued things; some command lesser things. Those
that command works of love, faith, mercy, and the like enjoin the very best
and highest works. Those that speak of sacrifices and Sabbaths and similar
ceremonies, enjoin what is of lesser value.
…Thus we know that servants must not allow their landlord's hay to spoil
because of the Sabbath, for the donkey and other animals would perish
without hay, and human beings—who are more important than animals—would die
without grain; and God's commandment would be for nought.
You masters of the house owe more to your servants, and you menservants and
maidservants owe more service [1 Pet 2:13-18; Eph 5:21] to the masters of
the house [37] than to anyone else. Therefore, you must protect their cattle
and goods ahead of anything else.
…I had to make this known to the dishonest servants and maids lest this
booklet cause them to yield to the freedom of the flesh or to be ensnared by
the devil by being disobedient and by breaking off their covenanted duties.
For the master has the power to force his servants to work on the Sabbath
(if necessity demands)…
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8. One Sabbath Is Another's Slave or Servant
Truth says that the Sabbath is the rest of the Lord. It follows from this
that one Sabbath has been instituted on account of another and that human
beings are both slave and lord of the Sabbath [Gen 1]. If a person is to
rest in God and is to ask of and expect holiness from God, then the Son of
Man is a servant of the Sabbath, just as he is a servant of God. And just as
God is lord of humankind and not we lords over God, so the Sabbath is lord
over humankind and not vice versa. These words refer to the inner and
spiritual Sabbath which is celebrated to the honor, glory, and praise of
God.
As the soul is greater and better than the body, so God is immeasurably
greater than the soul. Similarly, God's honor and glory are greater than the
soul and the Sabbath greater than the created spirits. As the one who
sanctifies is greater than the one who is being blessed, so also is the
sanctified Sabbath greater than the sanctified soul. Therefore, the Sabbath
is lord over us and we are servants of the Sabbath—this is true only of the
Sabbath which includes God, i.e., which contains the spirit of rest.
The external Sabbath, however, on which human beings rest from their work
and refrain from physical labor, has according to God been commanded because
of humankind. Hence, the external Sabbath is lower than the inner and serves
the inner when needed. It is merely a sign of inner leisure and is there
because of humankind. We stand between both Sabbaths under the spiritual
[39] and invisible and above the physical and perceptible—servant of the
higher and lord of the lower.
The external Sabbath (which the Pharisees imposed on Christ and his
disciples), exists on account of humankind and the spiritual Sabbath. Thus
one Sabbath is higher than and lord of the other, while the other is a
servant. Just as the inner being is master of the external, and the spirit
[master] over the flesh, so also the soul or spirit is above all lower
creatures. The external human being is perishable, relates to perishable
things only, and will pass away with them [1 Cor 3]. But the inner person
can deal with and handle eternal things, and is above all things temporal
and perishable…
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9. What We Must Do on the Sabbath or Holy Day
Someone might now ask what a person is to do on the Sabbath to pass the
long time or [overcome] boredom. Answer: We ought to be idle, do nothing,
and endure the long time. The Sabbath has been instituted for the spirit to
reach a point of boredom and learn something during the idle time.
For idleness and getting bored is a spiritual circumcision and preparation
to receive God's work, since boredom and ennui drive out human desires.
It would be good if on a Sabbath we were to put our head in our hands, bow
down, and acknowledge our misfortune and weakness with great sorrow; thus we
should rush more quickly to the One (who alone cleanses and sanctifies).
God forbade human beings to work on the Sabbath [Ex 20:10]. And everything
we, our children, and our cattle might do, God has canceled; everything is
to be at rest on the day on which we pray God for holiness. This undoubtedly
indicates that we must remain surrendered [in der Gelassenheyt bleyben]
and that we must add nothing of our own to God's works, [40] lest we defile
God's work through our own works. God's prohibition moreover indicates that
our works impede God's work. Therefore, God demands that we cast off all our
works whenever we desire his work; the visible ennui serves that purpose, as
is said, "You shall chastise yourselves, keep yourselves down, and humble
yourselves on the Sabbath day, if you desire to be cleansed and sanctified
by God or to receive the gifts of God" [Lev 16:30f.]. The burdens that are
in our house we must bear [Jer 17:21ff], but other burdens we must not pick
up or load upon ourselves. As Christ says, "Take up your cross and follow
me" [Mt 10:39]…
…To speak generally, all evil works are prohibited, for anyone who does an
evil deed defiles the Sabbath of God and does not celebrate.
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10. Which Day of the Week Must Be Celebrated
If servants have worked for six days, they are to have the seventh day off.
God says without distinction, "Remember to celebrate the seventh day."…But
this is clear that you must celebrate on the seventh day and allow your
servants to celebrate whenever they have worked for six days…
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11.
On the Diversity of the Sabbath
The Sabbath means nothing other than a time of rest, and the Sabbath of God
is to rest in God. Although in our mortal body we do not rest in God with
all our strength—nor are we able to—yet we ought to rest in God with all our
heart and might. Then perfection is bound to follow on imperfection and the
whole to come after the parts and that which impedes the whole will perish.
The soul will be emptied and the vine, provided it has been well tended,
will bring forth a perfect work. The spirit of fear will be replaced by the
spirit of rest [Jn 15]. The small and low spirit will become so big as to be
able to enter the kingdom of God in order to experience a perfect Sabbath
[Heb 8:11; 9:11-14] with all the angels. Everything we do on the tabernacle
of God, we must gauge and do by the highest [42] model and example.
Therefore, there must be a variety of Sabbaths, as God's mouth indicates
when he calls the Sabbath under heaven a day of reconciliation and
purification, tribulation and discipline [Lev 16; 23]. The spirit of fear
works all this and this is signified by the external appearance of the
Sabbath. Our Sabbath contains fear and work. Since we must be careful and
guard against clinging to or becoming attached to anything which may hinder
our readiness for salvation, but instead flee all that could work against
holiness—but fleeing evil involves its own work—therefore, we must know fear
and bitter resignation [Gelassenheyt] of all that clings to us temporally.
We then do not mistake creatures for God, by seeking comfort, joy, help, or
counsel in creatures and so rob God of his honor [Jn 12]…
Now this temporal work must pass away, and anguish and fear must cease;
resignation [Gelassenheyt] must enter our unresigned state and we must
become unconcerned about anything that might prevent us from receiving
sanctification from God. Future rest, therefore, will be a bright and
meaningful day of rest without work—like light without darkness. For the
higher Sabbath has its roots in the period of greatest rejoicing when there
will be total love, complete rest, and nothing but inexpressible, heavenly,
eternal joy and freedom. Then we shall forever recall all the pain and evil
we suffered (in this life), namely, all that prevented us from experiencing
God's grace; and we will be assured, henceforth, that during the highest
Sabbath no obstacle shall hinder or bother us. We know this through the
spirit which fills us with peace; for the spirit of fear which taxed and
stretched the created spirit to the limit has been brought to an end [Isa
11].
Here we experience the first interval and beginning of the Sabbath and we
are servants. There we experience—everyone according to his measure—a
wholly joyous perfection of the Sabbath [Ex 35]. [43]
Not in vain does God say that the seventh day is the Sabbath of Sabbaths,
according to the tenor of the Hebrew language. If ever there should be a
Sabbath of Sabbaths, it is one which is higher, more noble, purer, holier,
and better than all other Sabbaths. By it we are cleansed and sanctified so
that we can no longer approve of and persist in what is unholy, for we have
been placed beyond occasional temptations. For that reason I suppose that
God used two different words when he commanded the Sabbath [Deut 5]. For he
says, "You shall keep the Sabbath," or "preserve" and "take heed to keep
it." This is indicated by the word schama which includes notions of
worry, anxiety, and labor. This indicates that our Sabbath here is kept and
celebrated with labor and anxiety.
[mar: Labor and anxiety on the Sabbath] The other word is "Remember and be
mindful of the Sabbath to keep it." In Hebrew this is
zachar, which does not imply pain and labor to the same degree as the
previous word. It is merely the remembrance of former troubles, but not that
which can actually happen. At that point we experience eternal rest, and we
labor no longer as we did earlier. We merely recall our labors and the
struggle between spirit and flesh and all carnal experiences [Jer 23]. We
have entered God's high Sabbath and enjoy the inheritance of Jacob which is
secure. In our Sabbath [here below] this was merely promised and indicated
from a distance. [Above] the small spark of the Sabbath has become a major
fire. There is then only one bright shining day and an eternal Sabbath. May
God help us to attain it. Amen.
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12. On Designated Feast Days for Saints and Angels
[mar: The pope is the devil's first begotten son] The reasons and names for
the Sabbath which I narrated above make it more than obvious how the devil
or the son of the devil invented feast days, contrary to the honor, will,
and commandments of God, and how they thoroughly deceived us to establish
sabbaths for saints and angels. Sabbaths are to serve to the honor and
praise of God alone and the external Sabbath is a simple figure to indicate
that God sanctifies and that by celebrating the feast day aright, we shall
[44] be sanctified by God. Now a figure that points to holiness when the
will to become holy is not found there must be a lie and deception. Just as
the sign pointing to wine being sold is a lie and deception when the inn
keeper has no wine or cannot serve any, so also the Sabbath is false,
deceptive, and a lie whenever it is celebrated or attributed to one who
cannot sanctify us, which happens every time we celebrate the saints.
On judgment day the saints will sit on the twelve chairs of judgment and
render the verdict of unbelief and condemnation against those who help
create celebrations for the saints. They will rightly charge them for having
slandered their God when they courted him with their customs and solemn
observances which they themselves fled and detested.
…Those who celebrate saints interfere in God's creation and pervert the
works of creation, since no saint is capable of creating a single hour.
Those who attribute a single day to a creature rob the Lord of his created
work and place it with one who did not and could not create it. This then is
a sin against God's power and works directly against God's omnipotence.
I shall not even mention the damage suffered by householders who, because
of priestly abuses [pfeffische tyranney] are robbed of their
authority and of the services which their servants are obligated to render
their masters for six days. These duties and obligations are broken by the
feast days of the priests who give masterful reasons in place of obedience
for such diverse vices as slander, drunkenness, swearing, theft, murder, and
every sort of evil, all of which could be detailed in many more words. [45]
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13. How the Commandment of the Sabbath Leads to the Recognition of God's
Mercy, Drawing and Bringing Us to Christ
We ought to note especially that God has shown us great mercy in relieving
us from the serious and strict command to work daily. For God ordered Adam
and through him all of mankind to earn their livelihood and the bread they
eat from the earth, as punishment and atonement for disobedience [Gen
3:14-19]. This commandment also means that we must earn our daily bread by
daily work and that we must not eat our bread on any given day unless on
that day we obtained it through new work. For it is said there, "In the
sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread."
Now if we are to eat our bread in the sweat of our brow, we have to work
every day and make up for Adam's desire by our disinclination and labor
which would be rather too hard and unbearable. For not only is Adam's
disobedience atoned by us, but the constant labor also means that in the
long run we must die, for Scripture says that unbearable work ages us and
leads to our death. It would not be unreasonable for God to do away with us
and kill us through work. God is fully in the right to strangle us with work
and reduce us to ashes. But God our Lord has shown paternal love and
unmerited mercy toward us. He does not remain angry forever nor does he want
to exterminate us. Therefore, God issued the commandment of the Sabbath by
which we are to work for six days only. The seventh day he set aside for a
Sabbath and a day of leisure for our benefit, so that we might revive and
strengthen ourselves and restore our exhausted strength [Deut 26:11]. For
this we cannot sufficiently thank the merciful God. Blessed are they who
experience the spirit of mercy and rejoice in God's praise, name, and glory.
Again we must consider diligently that leisure brings forth boredom and was
commanded that we experience tedium and ennui when we rest in God and
experience leisure like God. Through leisure, among other things, God
commanded those who are tougher and stronger and well able to work (and who
greatly delight [46] in their work), to break their delight and fall into
listlessness and dread of life and on a feast day think on how evil,
fragile, foolish, weak, loveless, and without faith in God they are; how
they pursue greed and are full of anxiety and do not seek God's honor
uprightly nor take God's commandments to heart or do them when they work.
Such reflection of their evil will is caused by idle ennui or boring
idleness.
Therefore, we must observe the Sabbath diligently and learn how ennui or
listlessness is useful and why God urges us to be idle. But we must be
careful not to turn leisure into pleasure for the simple reason that it is
better to enter a house of mourning than to enter a house of pleasure [Sir
7:2], for God has imposed idleness on us to make the Sabbath also a day of
renunciation, sadness, and tribulation.
Never forget that the Sabbath includes forgiveness of sins, for we cannot
be sanctified and enter into God's forgiveness before we obtain forgiveness
of sins…
May God enlighten all pastors of his poor little sheep and with them lead
all of us graciously to a true knowledge of his divine holiness, which we so
greatly need, and may he enlighten us eternally. Amen. 1524
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