Luther’s Works, vol. 76; Church Postil II ed. by Benjamin T.G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and: Luther’s Works, vol. 77; Church Postil III ed. by Benjamin T.G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels, and: Luther’s Works, vol. 78; Church Postil IV ed. by Benjamin T.G. Mayes, James L. Langebartels (review)

These volumes continue and complete the translation of Luther’s Church Postil begun in Luther’s Works, volume 75, and reviewed by this reviewer in Lutheran Quarterly 28.3 (Autumn 2014), 365. Volume 76 completes the winter portion (Advent through Lent) of the postil based on Luther’s own 1540 edition, while volumes 77 and 78 contain the Summer Postil (Easter through the end of the church year), based on the 1544 edition edited by Caspar Cruciger Sr. with Luther’s approval. (Readers will want to refer back to the introduction of volume 75, which provides a helpful survey of the history of the preaching, writing, editing, and publishing of this postil.)

Luther and the Lutheran reformers continued to use the lectionary from the late medieval Roman Catholic Church. It provided a one-year cycle of gospel and epistle texts. Accordingly, Luther’s postil provided a sermon for each gospel and each epistle text for every Sunday and major feast of the church year. Postils were some of the most important literature in the Reformation. [See John Frymire, The Primacy of the Postils: Catholics, Protestants, and the Dissemination of Ideas in Early Modern Germany. Leiden: Brill, 2010.] Designed to help pastors preach by offering model sermons on each lectionary text, it was common for a pastoral library to have several. In many respects, Luther’s postils set the tone for subsequent Lutheran postils.

Both Lutherans and Roman Catholics published numerous postils in the sixteenth century; studying them can tell us much about how theologians of each group thought Reformation insights should be understood and transmitted to the laity. Commenting on his own approach to each text and implicitly contrasting it to that of his opponents, Luther stated in his dedication to Frederick the Wise, “Beyond the purity and sincerity of the gospel adapted for the comprehension of ordinary people, I promise nothing. Whether I have fulfilled that, others must judge. Surely no one will learn anything from me about conjectures and questions having nothing to do with the matter at hand” (76, 452).

Subject and scripture indices are provided in each volume. Volume 76 also provides three appendices: Luther’s dedication to the Latin Advent Postil (1521), his Preface to the Lent Postil (1525), and his Preface to Roth’s Edition of the Winter Postil (1528). Volume 77 provides a helpful introduction detailing the history of the Summer Postil and a translation of Caspar Cruciger’s 1544 dedication.

Many may find these volumes of interest. They offer insights into how Luther used a biblical text for preaching purposes, how Luther helped others to preach the gospel, and how Reformation insights were transmitted to laypeople. They can also offer preaching help for today.