This little book of newly-translated sermons is much more than simply another addition to the already monumental volumes of Luther's works translated into English. Here we see Luther the preacher at the height of his abilities and dealing with the heart of the Gospel: the Passion, death and resurrection of our Lord during Holy Week; and the gifts of Confession and Absolution, and Holy Communion which bring the effects of Christ's death and resurrection to us now in our own time.

Preached at the time Luther was writing the Large Catechism, these sermons have a deep catechetical flavor. They are sermons that teach. And they have much to teach our church today. In them, Luther addresses the momentous upheaval that the Reformation was causing in the life of the Church. Two problems in particular plagued the German churches. First, many, having been freed by the Reformation from medieval laws requiring attendance and participation in church, were neglecting confession and absenting themselves from Holy Communion. Second, as he states in the preface to the Small Catechism published the same year, Luther found that the congregations of Germany were profoundly ignorant concerning the basic teachings of the faith. In the first six sermons, Luther preaches the centrality of Holy Communion in the life of the Church. In the remaining he deals straightforwardly with the events of Holy Week and their meaning for the Christian.

As our church struggles today over the issue of catechesis and over the place of the Lord's Supper in the life of the congregation, we need to listen again to this preacher who led the church long ago into God's truth. Powerfully preached and well translated, this book should be required reading for all Lutheran pastors and students of theology. The 1529 Holy Week and Easter Sermons of Dr. Martin Luther is available from Concordia Academic Press and retails for around $20.

The Rev. David Kind,
Admission Counselor

From Volume 4, Issue 2, April 2000