Ninth, nobody can deny that we experience the same suffering (as St. Peter says [I Pet. 5:9]) as our brethren in the world. We are persecuted in every place, strangled, drowned, hanged, and tormented in every way for the sake of the word. Our lot is like that of the ancient church, and in this we are beyond measure like it, so that we may well say we are the true ancient church, or at least its companions and copartners in suffering; for this is not something we have newly invented, but something we really experience. Indeed, we (like this same ancient church) are like the Lord Christ himself on the cross: there are Annas and Caiaphas, together with the priests, standing in front of the cross, vilifying the Lord after crucifying him. The pope, the cardinals, and the monks have likewise condemned, damned, and murdered us, shedding our blood and reviling us as well. The soldiers, that is, some of the temporal powers, stand there and also revile us. In addition, there is that criminal on the left, Harry of Wolfenbüttel, with his crew, whom God has already judged and hanged in chains in hell. He must add his vilification, so that this mark of the ancient church may also be fully seen in us. (Luther’s Works, v.41, p.197-198)
Picture: The choir loft at History Trinity Lutheran Church, Souland Market, St. Louis MO
