Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/73

 ger of death, but was delivered by God's grace. But am I not robbing you again of your right and authority? Nay, for your authority over me still remains, so far as monkery is concerned, but monkery is nothing to me, as I have said. Nevertheless He who has taken me out of the cloister has an authority over me that is greater than yours, and you see that He has placed me not in the pretended service of the monasteries, but in the true service of God; for who can doubt that I am in the ministry of the Word? It is plain that the authority of parents must yield to this service, for Christ says,* "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." This saying does not destroy the authority of parents, for the apostle often insists that chil- dren obey their parents, but if the authority of parents con- flicts with the authority and calling of Christ, then Christ's authority must reign alone.

Therefore — so I am now persuaded — I could not refuse to obey you without peril to my conscience unless the ministry of the Word had been joined to my monastic profession. That is what I meant when I said that neither you nor I realized that the commands of God must be put before everything else. But very nearly the whole world is now laboring in this same ignorance, for under the papal abomination error rules, as Paul also predicted when he said* that men would be diso- bedient to parents. This exactly fits the monks and priests, especially those who under the appearance of piety and the guise of serving God withdraw themselves from the authority of their parents, as though there were any other service of God except the keeping of His commandments, which include obedience to parents.

I send you this book, then, that you may see by what signs and wonders Christ has absolved me from the monastic vow and granted me such liberty that although He has made me the servant of all men, I am, nevertheless, subject to no one save to Him alone. He is Himself my immediate bishop, abbot, prior, lord, father and master; I know no other. Thus I hope that He has taken from you" one son in order

> II Timothy m, 2.
 * Matthew x, 37.

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