PATTERN OF SOUND WORDS

Tag: Aegidius Hunnius

  • Aegidius Hunnius’s Sermon Outline for the Epistle of Quinquagesima

    The following is my translation of Aegidius Hunnius’s introduction and sermon outline for the Epistle of Quinquagesima (1 Corinthians 13:1–13) from his Postilla (Vol. I, pg. 276–77). Square brackets and footnotes are my own notes and additions.

    Explanation of This Text

    In [St. Paul’s] epistle to the Galatians we read, “Beloved in Christ the Lord, in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but rather faith which is active through love” [Galatians 5:6].1 With this short quote, the Holy Spirit teaches that Christians in the New Testament under Christ’s kingdom are such a free people, who are weighed down neither with circumcision nor other Mosaic laws and ordinances which belonged to the Levitical Divine Service (Gottesdienst), but rather are relieved and freed from all this through Christ; and that nothing further or more is laid upon them other than true faith and unfeigned brotherly love. These two parts hang upon one another in such a way that although faith alone in Jesus Christ justifies and saves, nevertheless, the same [faith], when it is upright is soon busy, effective and active through true love (on the other side, where it does not have to deal with God in man’s justification, but rather with the neighbor). Thus, after the abolition of the Mosaic ordinances, all of Christianity rests upon faith and love as the two chief pillars. It rests upon faith indeed as that which brings the sinner to righteousness before God’s judgment and grasps salvation in Christ Jesus; but it rests upon love as that which heartily loves God the Lord for the received grace of salvation and in common life does good to the neighbor through its praiseworthy works and beautiful fruits.

    Since at other times faith is much and often dealt with, we will this time hear from St. Paul’s words concerning love.

    1. First, how [love] is necessary, and how a Christian indeed may not go without it in his walk, life, and being.2 [v. 1–3]
    2. Second, how the Holy Spirit through St. Paul pen depicts love in its nature and characteristics. [v. 4–7]
    3. Third, how the same [love], above many other gifts and virtues remains and endures into eternity. [v. 8–10]
    1. Hunnius’s entire introduction seems to be a reflection of what is said in the Epitome of the Formula of Concord: “We believe, teach, and confess that the contrition that comes before justification, and the good works that follow it, do not belong to the article of justification before God. Yet one is not to imagine a kind of faith that can exist and abide with, and alongside of, a wicked intention to sin and to act against the conscience. But after man has been justified through faith, then a true living faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). Good works always follow justifying faith and are surely found with it—if it is true and living faith [James 2:26]. Faith is never alone, but always has love and hope with it [1 Corinthians 13:13].” (FC Ep III.11) ↩︎
    2. Concerning the necessity of good works (or love), see FC SD IV.7–12. ↩︎

  • Aegidius Hunnius’s Sermon Outline for the Holy Gospel for Quinquagesima

    The following is my translation of Aegidius Hunnius’s introduction and sermon outline for the Holy Gospel of Quinquagesima (Luke 18:31–43) from his Postilla (Vol. I, pg. 288). Square brackets and footnotes are my own notes and additions.

    Explanation of the Gospel

    In today’s Gospel, a journey of the Lord Christ is described to us, when he undertook to go up from Galilee to Jerusalem shortly before the last Passover, in order to present Himself obediently to the heavenly Father as a pure sacrifice. And the Evangelists have written down with diligence what Christ spoke and did on this journey. For besides Luke, Matthew and Mark have also recorded this history in its parts and circumstances, who recall with diligence both the conversation the Lord Jesus had on the way with the disciples and what kind of divine miracle He worked on a poor blind man near Jericho, whom He made seeing at his humble and pleading prayer [see Matthew 20:17–19, 29–34; Mark 10:32–34, 46–52].

    1. First, we will hear the Lord Christ’s prophecy concerning His impeding suffering and death. [v. 31–33]
    2. Second, how the disciples received such preaching. [v. 34]
    3. Third, concerning the sign He did on the blind man at Jericho. [v. 35–43]

  • Aegidius Hunnius’s Sermon Outline for the Gospel of Sexagesima

    The following is my translation of Aegidius Hunnius’s introduction and sermon outline for the Holy Gospel of Sexagesima (Luke 8:4–15) from his Postilla (Vol. I, pg. 266). Square brackets and footnotes are my own notes and additions.

    Explanation of the Gospel

    This sermon, as it is presented to us in the parable just read, the Son of God has spoken not only for Himself, but rather has also commanded it to His hearers with special diligence, when He cried out and said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!” [Luke 8:8] With this saying, as with the sound of a mighty trumpet, He awakens sleeping hearts to diligent attentiveness, seriousness and devotion for the hearing of His sermon, because there such matters are handled upon which the well-being and salvation of all the world depends, since once again, He describes the occasion of the high works of God and His Kingdom upon earth in parabolic way and opens the mystery of how it happens that not all hearers of the Word are converted and improved unto eternal life.

    So then, let us present out hearts and ears, and indeed examine with a wakeful mind what God’s Son, our Lord and Teacher Jesus Christ has taught and preached to us concerning these important points. Let us not listen superficially, as the people did, who after hearing the parable, withdrew again without any investigation after spiritual understanding.1 Rather, let us persevere in the sermon of Christ with His disciples until we have heard the explanation from His mouth and have made use of it.2

    1. First, we will hear the parable recounted in itself [v. 4–8].

    2. Second, we will hear how the disciples desire that the parable might be explained to them and that Christ offers Himself to this end [v. 9–10].

    3. Third and last, we will consider and contemplate the explanation of Christ [v. 11–15].

    1. “Every poor sinner should therefore attend to the Word, hear it attentively, and not doubt the Father’s drawing. For the Holy Spirit will be with His Word in His power, and will work by it. That is the Father’s drawing. The reason why not all who hear the Word believe, and some are therefore deeply condemned, is not because God had begrudged them their salvation. It is their own fault. They have heard the Word in such a way as not to learn, but only to despise, blaspheme, and disgrace it. They have resisted the Holy Spirit, who through the Word wanted to work in them, as was the case at the time of Christ with the Pharisees and their followers.” (FC SD XI.77–78) ↩︎
    2. Note the italicized portion: “The preacher’s planting and watering and the hearer’s running and hearing would both be in vain and no conversion would follow it if the power and effectiveness of the Holy Spirit were not added [1 Corinthians 3:6–7]. The Spirit enlightens and converts hearts through the Word preached and heard. So people believe this Word and agree with it. Neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and effectiveness of the Holy Spirit. They should be certain that when God’s Word is preached purely and truly, according to God’s command and will, and people listen attentively and seriously and meditate on it, God is certainly present with His grace.” (FC SD II.55) ↩︎

  • Aegidius Hunnius’s Sermon Outline for the Epistle of Sexagesima

    The following is my translation of Aegidius Hunnius’s introduction and sermon outline for the Epistle Reading of Sexagesima (2 Corinthians 11:19–12:9) from his Postilla (Vol. I, pgs. 255–256). Square brackets and footnotes are my own notes and additions.

    Explanation of the Epistle

    Beloved in the Lord, all ambition and fame-seeking was foreign and far from St. Paul; he sought his honor not in himself, but rather in God and in His Lord Christ. As he writes to the Galatians in the sixth chapter: “Far be it from me to boast, except concerning the cross of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).

    But the false teachers who had snuck into the Christian congregations undertook to diminish this precious worthy apostle and make him despised among the Corinthians, which Paul would have suffered and gotten over silently if the contempt were about His person alone. However, the deceitful evil enemy most of all desired to bring the Gospel into contempt and to make wide room and opportunity for the false apostles with their unsound doctrine, so that they could come forward with it into the marketplace and sell their unfit evil truth as good, their false doctrine as pure evangelical truth, thereby falsifying the pure doctrine, leading astray the simple, and murdering souls, indeed, even wrecking the Gospel with eternal harm to many people.

    Thus, the holy teacher and apostle Paul was urged by necessity to recount in an extensive record what good he did in regard to the Gospel, how much he suffered and endured over it, also that he had studied and learned his doctrine through a heavenly revelation in the paradise of God. He did all of this not for himself for his own boast, but rather for the praise, honor, and glory of God, for the advancement of the Gospel which he preached, for the edification of the Christian congregation in Corinth as well as in other places, and, on the other hand, for the annoyance the devil together with his scales, and for the detriment, destruction, and demise of his damned kingdom.

    We will listen to the beloved apostle and summarize this text into two chief points:

    1. First, how he does not make himself equal to the false apostles from Judaism only on account of his origin and blood [v. 11:22], but rather also far surpasses them in his labor and tribulation he suffered for the Gospel [v. 11:23–29], and thus boasts of his own weakness [v. 11:30, 12:5, 9].1
    2. Second, how he also boasts of the power of God, namely, the glorious revelation that happened to him in the third heaven [v. 12:1–5], and boasts of the doctrine which he learned there to properly save its reputation against the diminishment of his enviers.
    1. “Troubles are not always punishments or signs of wrath. Indeed, terrified consciences should be taught that there are more important purpose for afflictions, so that they do not think God is rejecting them when they see nothing but God’s punishment and anger in troubles. The other more important purposes are to be considered, that is, that God is doing His strange work so that He may be able to do His own work… Therefore, troubles are not always punishments for certain past deeds, but they are God’s works, intended for our benefit, and that God’s power might be made more apparent in our weakness. So Paul says God’s strength “is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).” (Ap XIIb.61, 63) ↩︎