The Staff of Aaron

Dr. Jastram's Dead Sea Scrolls Presentation

2010-02-26T19:38:00.003-06:00

For those of you who weren't able to get to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Milwaukee Public Museum with the rest of the group from our congregation, or for those who you who will yet be going, here's a video of Dr. Jastram's presentation which we saw beforehand on site. This particular presentation was given on the campus of Concordia University for students and other interested parties. His presentation is helpful in putting the significance of the display into some context for us as Christians, particularly how these scrolls support the reliability of the Scriptural text. It's about one hour long.

CCA Matins Homily 2

2009-06-20T16:06:00.003-05:00

And here's the Matins meditation for Friday, June 19, based on John 18:1-14 (from the LSB Daily Lectionary).

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✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

The devil had come to Adam in the garden full of deceit to bring upon him the curse of death. Now Judas, into whom the devil had entered, comes full of deceit to Jesus in the garden, betraying Him to death. But Jesus is not like the old Adam, who hid among the trees in fear. He is the new Adam who has come to undo the curse by His cross. Jesus goes forth boldly to meet His captors, fully prepared to drink the cup of judgment given Him by His Father.

Jesus is the great I AM, the eternal Son of God revealed in the burning bush to Moses. His name causes His enemies to draw back and fall to the ground. For all who do not call on His name in faith will fall to their own destruction. Yet He submits to their capture, saying “Let these go their way,” so that none of the disciples given to Him would be lost. Jesus came that they and all of us who bear His saving name would be released from the powers of darkness. This victory is won not by the sword but by sacrifice.

Simon Peter, however, doesn’t understand this. He acts as if he were Jesus’ personal bodyguard, flailing around with His weapon and cutting off a man’s ear. We also act like Peter when we don’t trust that Jesus has the situation in hand, when we think we need to take over with our powers and personality and maneuvering and manipulating to advance the church’s agenda. Our flailing can also cut off the ear that would hear the plain Word of Christ. For it is rather precisely in the midst of weakness and the cross that the victory is won. Jesus is dragged off in chains to Annas and Caiaphas. The unblemished Lamb is in the hands of the high priest. One man dies for the people, and the world is redeemed.

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

CCA Matins Homily 1

2009-06-20T15:59:00.005-05:00

It's been far too long since I've posted here. If anyone's still looking in, here's the first of the two Matins meditations I preached at the Concordia Catechetical Academy Symposium this past Thursday and Friday. The theme of the symposium had to do with the challenge of contemporary worship. This homily is based on John 17:1-26, which is the reading from the LSB daily lectionary for June 18th.

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✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

Jesus prays for His Church. He prays for those whom He has given to preach the Father’s Word of truth. He prays for those who will believe in Him through that Word. He prays for you. It is only because of this that there is still faith on the earth. It is only because of Jesus’ ongoing prayer that the Church has survived persecution and false teaching, tyranny and tribulation, incompetence and apathy, and the likes of us who fall all too quickly into worldliness and unbelief.

Jesus prays for us–not only above, but also on earth. As He was with His disciples here on the night when He was betrayed, so the right hand of the Father is extended concretely to wherever two or three are gathered in His name. Jesus is always the Chief liturgist and presiding minister. He is the Great High Priest who leads our prayer before the heavenly throne, and who bestows blessing and forgiveness from the Father. It is His service, for He yet remains the One Mediator between God and men. Christian worship, then, is never best described as being with the times (con-temporary) but with the Eternal One, with Christ, whose Word and prayer and finished work are everything for us.

Jesus prays, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.” Jesus is glorified when He is lifted up on the cross, for there the glory of God’s love toward sinners is made known. And now Jesus’ prayer finds its fulfillment among us in the preaching of the cross. This is how the Father is glorified and worshiped rightly, that we believe in His Son whom He sent. This is eternal life, that we know the true God of mercy manifested in Jesus, the crucified One, and cling to Him.

The true and highest worship of God is faith, to receive the gifts of Christ with thanksgiving. The disciples had just received the gifts of Christ’s body and blood, the holy Eucharist. When we receive this blessed Sacrament, Jesus’ words are fulfilled for us when He said, “(Father), the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me.” Christ gives Himself into you most literally under the bread and wine for your forgiveness and life. And the Father is in Christ. And so you are drawn into the perfect unity of divine love. The Father loves and accepts you as He loves and accepts His own Son.

Jesus has not prayed that we yet be taken out of this world with its sorrows and troubles–the glory hidden under the cross must come before the revealed glory of the resurrection. But Jesus does pray for your deliverance from the evil one, whom He fought and conquered in Your flesh. You do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with your weaknesses, but One who was tempted and tested in every way just as you are, yet without sin. Therefore you are without sin. For you are in Christ and He is in you. You have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for your sins, and not for yours only but also for the whole world.

✠ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ✠

The Difference Between Abstinence and Chastity

2009-05-08T13:58:00.008-05:00

Father Hollywood has a good post here. It gets to the heart of the matter concerning the topic above and how this all relates to Mother's Day.

A Little While

2009-05-03T22:05:00.002-05:00

Today's sermon on John 16:16-22 is here, with audio. (Btw, thanks to Pastor Weedon for getting the ball rolling for me this week.)

The Good Pastor

2009-04-26T11:49:00.002-05:00

My homily for this week on John 10:11-16 (and Ezekiel 34:10-16; 1 Peter 2:21-25) is here.

A Sacrament of Love

2009-04-25T14:46:00.003-05:00

One aspect of the Lord's Supper that I sometimes fail to emphasize in my preaching and teaching is that even as our sins are taken away by the body and blood of the Lamb of God, we are also taking up and bearing the burdens and the needs of those flesh and blood people with whom we share the Supper. Luther refers to this in the catechism and in his hymnody, but he does so very explicitly in his treatise entitled, "The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods" (1519). Here are a couple of snippets to whet your appetite to read the whole thing, which appears in Luther's Works, Vol. 35, pp. 49-68. A majority of this will be reprinted in the upcoming issue of Gottesdienst. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can take care of that here.

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14. To signify this fellowship, God has appointed such signs of this sacrament as in every way serve this purpose and by their very form stimulate and motivate us to this fellowship. For just as the bread is made out of many grains ground and mixed together, and out of the bodies of many grains there comes the body of one bread, in which each grain loses its form and body and takes upon itself the common body of the bread; and just as the drops of wine, in losing their own form, become the body of one common wine and drink—so it is and should be with us, if we use this sacrament properly. Christ with all saints, by his love, takes upon himself our form [Phil. 2:7], fights with us against sin, death, and all evil. This enkindles in us such love that we take on his form, rely upon his righteousness, life, and blessedness. And through the interchange of his blessings and our misfortunes, we become one loaf, one bread, one body, one drink, and have all things in common. O this is a great sacrament, says St. Paul, that Christ and the church are one flesh and bone. Again through this same love, we are to be changed and to make the infirmities of all other Christians our own; we are to take upon ourselves their form and their necessity, and all the good that is within our power we are to make theirs, that they may profit from it. That is real fellowship, and that is the true significance of this sacrament. In this way we are changed into one another and are made into a community by love. Without love there can be no such change.

15. Christ appointed these two forms of bread and wine, rather than any other, as a further indication of the very union and fellowship which is in this sacrament. For there is no more intimate, deep, and indivisible union than the union of the food with him who is fed. For the food enters into and is assimilated by his very nature, and becomes one substance with the person who is fed. Other unions, achieved by such things as nails, glue, cords, and the like, do not make one indivisible substance of the objects joined together. Thus in the sacrament we too become united with Christ, and are made one body with all the saints, so that Christ cares for us and acts in our behalf. As if he were what we are, he makes whatever concerns us to concern him as well, and even more than it does us. In turn we so care for Christ, as if we were what he is, which indeed we shall finally be—we shall be conformed to his likeness. As St. John says, “We know that when he shall be revealed we shall be like him” [I John 3:2]. So deep and complete is the fellowship of Christ and all the saints with us. Thus our sins assail him, while his righteousness protects us. For the union makes all things common, until at last Christ completely destroys sin in us and makes us like himself, at the Last Day. Likewise by the same love we are to be united with our neighbors, we in them and they in us.

(and this preceding paragraph)

13. There are those, indeed, who would gladly share in the profits but not in the costs. That is, they like to hear that in this sacrament the help, fellowship, and support of all the saints are promised and given to them. But they are unwilling in their turn to belong also to this fellowship. They will not help the poor, put up with sinners, care for the sorrowing, suffer with the suffering, intercede for others, defend the truth, and at the risk of [their own] life, property, and honor seek the betterment of the church and of all Christians. They are unwilling because they fear the world. They do not want to have to suffer disfavor, harm, shame, or death, although it is God’s will that they be thus driven—for the sake of the truth and of their neighbors—to desire the great grace and strength of this sacrament. They are self-seeking persons, whom this sacrament does not benefit. Just as we could not put up with a citizen who wanted to be helped, protected, and made free by the community, and yet in his turn would do nothing for it nor serve it. No, we on our part must make the evil of others our own, if we desire Christ and his saints to make our evil their own. Then will the fellowship be complete, and justice be done to the sacrament. For the sacrament has no blessing and significance unless love grows daily and so changes a person that he is made one with all others.

Luther, M. (1999, c1960). Vol. 35: Luther's works, vol. 35 : Word and Sacrament I (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (Vol. 35, Page 49-68). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Genesis 1:28

2009-04-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

A good picture for earth day from Sacred Sandwich.

Top Ten Reasons to Use the Liturgy

2009-04-21T20:57:00.002-05:00

From Pastor Cwirla's Blog:

1. It shows our historic roots. Some parts of the liturgy go back to the apostolic period. Even the apostolic church did not start with a blank liturgical slate but adapted and reformed the liturgies of the synagogue and the Sabbath. The western mass shows our western catholic roots, of which we as Lutherans are not ashamed. (I’d rather be confused with a Roman Catholic than anything else.) We’re not the first Christians to walk the face of the planet, nor, should Jesus tarry, will we be the last. The race of faith is a relay race, one generation handing on (“traditioning”) to the next the faith once delivered to the saints. The historic liturgy underscores and highlights this fact. It is also “traditionable,” that is, it can be handed on.

2. It serves as a distinguishing mark. The liturgy distinguishes us from those who do not believe, teach, and confess the same as we do. What we believe determines how we worship, and how we worship confesses what we believe.

3. It is both Theocentric and Christocentric. From the invocation of the Triune Name in remembrance of Baptism to the three-fold benediction at the end, the liturgy is focused on the activity of the Triune God centered in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Worship is not primarily about “me” or “we” but about God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself and my baptismal inclusion in His saving work.

4. It teaches. The liturgy teaches the whole counsel of God - creation, redemption, sanctification, Christ’s incarnation, passion, resurrection, and reign, the Spirit’s outpouring and the new life of faith. Every liturgical year cycles through these themes so that the hearer receives the “whole counsel of God” on a regular basis.

5. It is transcultural. One of the greatest experiences of my worship life was to be in the Divine Service in Siberia with the Siberian Lutheran Church. Though I spoke only a smattering of Russian, I knew enough to recognize the liturgy, know what was being said (except for the sermon, which was translated for us), and be able to participate knowledgeably across language and cultural barriers. I have the same experience with our Chinese mission congregation.

6. It is repetitive in a good way. Repetition is, after all, the mother of learning. Fixed texts and annual cycles of readings lend to deep learning. Obviously, mindless repetition does not accomplish anything; nor does endless variety.

7. It is corporate. Worship is a corporate activity. “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” The liturgy draws us out of ourselves into Christ by faith and the neighbor by love. We are all in this together. Worship is not simply about what “I get out of it,” but I am there also for my fellow worshipers to receive the gifts of Christ that bind us together and to encourage each other to love and good works (Heb 10:25). We are drawn into the dialogue of confession and absolution, hearing and confessing, corporate song and prayer. To borrow a phrase from a favored teacher of mine, in church we are “worded, bodied, and bloodied” all together as one.

8. It rescues us from the tyranny of the “here and now.” When the Roman world was going to hell in a hand basket, the church was debating the two natures of Christ. In the liturgy, the Word sets the agenda, defining our needs and shaping our questions. The temptation is for us to turn stones into bread to satisfy an immediate hunger and scratch a nagging spiritual itch, but the liturgy teaches us to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

9. It is external and objective. The liturgical goal is not that everyone feel as certain way or have an identical “spiritual” experience. Feelings vary even as they come and go. The liturgy supplies a concrete, external, objective anchor in the death and resurrection of Jesus through Word, bread, and wine. Faith comes by hearing the objective, external Word of Christ.

10. It is the Word of God. This is often overlooked by critics of liturgical worship. Most of the sentences and songs of the liturgy are direct quotations or allusions from Scripture or summaries, such as the Creed. In other words, the liturgy is itself the Word of God, not simply a packaging for the Word. Many times the liturgy will rescue a bad sermon and deliver what the preacher has failed to deliver. I know; I’ve been there.

Ten is one of those good numbers in the Bible signifying completeness, so I'll stop at ten. I'm sure there are more.

The Speaker at This Year's Pastors Conference

2009-04-21T13:41:00.003-05:00

The Rev. Matthew Harrison, Executive Director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, was the main speaker at the recent South Wisconsin District Pastors Conference in Lake Geneva. He had some fine things to say about the church's mission of mercy. What a refreshing thing to hear some good, in-depth theology from one of our synodical bureaucrats--someone who was comfortable handling the Scriptures in their original language. A good executive and a decent Lutheran theologian at the same time. What a novel concept! His blog is in the sidebar and is entitled "Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison."

Pastor Harrison is also known as a fine banjo player. You can watch him play "A Mighty Fortress" here. Be sure to listen at least 50 seconds in. Also, a more popular tune can be accessed here. I'd embed the video, but can't figure out how to do it at the moment. Enjoy!

Wounds and Peace

2009-04-19T12:15:00.002-05:00

This morning's homily on John 20:19-31:

Full sermon text can be accessed here.

The Law and the Gospel

2009-04-17T15:20:00.005-05:00

Today at the graduation of my son-in-law, Gabriel Frusti, from the Police Academy. Gabe is an officer for the Franklin, Wisconsin Police Department. Congratulations, Gabe!

I Did It My Way

2009-04-16T12:24:00.005-05:00

An interesting article here about music chosen by people for their funerals in Britain. I realize that Britain is basically post-Christian/secular/new age/neo-pagan/whatever. But still, to have a virtual definition of sin as the #1 chosen pop song (Frank Sinatra's "My Way") and to make that one of your final statements to the world is just amazing and saddening.

Easter, the Victory of the Cross

2009-04-12T10:52:00.002-05:00

This morning's homily on John 20:1-18.

Full text of this sermon can be accessed here.

Seven Words From the Cross

2009-04-10T20:34:00.004-05:00

1) "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

2) "Today, you will be with Me in paradise."

3) "Behold your son; behold your mother."

4) "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

5) "I thirst."

6) "It is finished."

7) "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit."

Full text of these homilies can be accessed here.

4 Meditations on the St. John Passion

2009-04-10T07:52:00.003-05:00

John 18:1-27

John 18:28-40

John 19:1-22

John 19:23-42

The full text of these homilies can be be found here.

The King of the Jews

2009-04-08T12:43:00.003-05:00

In the April, 2009 edition of Touchstone Magazine, there is an insightful article written by Patrick Henry Reardon. In this article Reardon makes the connection between the dream of the Gentile Pilate's wife in Matthew 27:19 and the visit of the Gentile Magi, who were divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod (Matthew 2:12). I had not fully considered the literary and exegetical parallels between these two passages before. I wish I could link to the whole article, but since it's not up at the Touchstone site, here's at least of a taste of it for your Holy Week meditation:

(After pointing out that the phrase "King of the Jews" doesn't appear again after the visit of the Magi until the Passion narrative, Reardon comments:)

Matthew tells us that Pilate "knew that they had handed him over because of envy." Indeed, he mentions this in the verse immediately preceding the message from his wife (27:18-19). This envy of Jesus' enemies readily puts the reader in mind of the earlier envy of Herod, when he, too, was confronted with the real King of the Jews.

There is a special irony, then, to the title by which Pilate's soldiers address Jesus in their mockery: "Hail, King of the Jews" (27:29). Pilate, moreover, apparently with a view to mocking the Jews themselves, attaches to the cross the official accusation against Jesus: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews" (27:37). At last is answered that question first put by the Magi, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?" (2:2) He is on the cross, the just Man dying for the sins of the world.

Thus, the dream of Pilate's wife, which had revealed Jesus to be a just Man, completes the earlier dream of the Magi. The testimony from the East is matched by the testimony from the West, both cases representing those regarding whom Jesus commanded his Church, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (28:19).

A Good Memory of Wiest and Palm Sunday

2009-04-04T15:03:00.004-05:00

As I was driving to Walmart today to pick up a few things, I drove past the location of the local palm reader and spiritualist, Ann Taylor. Her place happens to be right next door to Our Father's Lutheran Church, where Pastor Stephen Wiest of blessed memory served for a few years before his death. I was reminded of how Pastor Wiest once went over to visit her in the week leading up to Palm Sunday. Of course, the timing of the visit was meant to be a little bit of a joke, as if Palm Sunday had anything to do with her line of work. But he used the occasion as a serious opportunity to invite her to come to church and hear the Word of Christ. I don't think she took him up on the offer, but it brought to mind again what a special character Father Wiest was and how his doctorate and learning never kept him from being able to talk to anyone. He especially seemed to revel in speaking to those on the fringes who wouldn't normally be targeted by missions experts as those who were open to hearing the Gospel. Looking back, I still can't believe that he was removed from the campus ministry at UW-Milwaukee. That was just the sort of place he belonged, though he was well-received in the more "normal" congregational settings like Our Father's, too. I imagine the only palm reading Pastor Wiest would've encouraged was the kind done by Thomas the week after Easter, seeing the scarred hands and side of the risen Jesus in the body and blood of the Sacrament, "reading" and hearing the Word of peace and forgiveness that comes from the Savior in the Supper to poor sinners like us.

Blessed be the memory of Stephen Wiest. And have a blessed Palm Sunday!

P.S.--Ann Taylor, the palm reader, had a "For Sale" sign out in front of her place for quite a while. But the place never sold. Shouldn't she have foreseen that?

Hell

2009-04-01T20:54:00.001-05:00

Here's this week's homily on Matthew 27:32-66:

Abortion is a Blessing?

2009-04-01T13:02:00.003-05:00

This has to be a really, really bad April fools joke, right? I mean, seriously, the Episcopalians couldn't go this far, could they!? Here's a portion of a sermon from the new dean of the Episcopal Divinity School, the "Rev." Katherine Hancock Ragsdale. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

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- Finally, the last sign I want to identify relates to my fellow clergy. Too often even those who support us can be heard talking about abortion as a tragedy. Let’s be very clear about this:

When a woman finds herself pregnant due to violence and chooses an abortion, it is the violence that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.

When a woman finds that the fetus she is carrying has anomalies incompatible with life, that it will not live and that she requires an abortion – often a late-term abortion – to protect her life, her health, or her fertility, it is the shattering of her hopes and dreams for that pregnancy that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.

When a woman wants a child but can’t afford one because she hasn’t the education necessary for a sustainable job, or access to health care, or day care, or adequate food, it is the abysmal priorities of our nation, the lack of social supports, the absence of justice that are the tragedies; the abortion is a blessing.

And when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in sight -- only blessing. The ability to enjoy God’s good gift of sexuality without compromising one’s education, life’s work, or ability to put to use God’s gifts and call is simply blessing.

These are the two things I want you, please, to remember – abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Let me hear you say it: abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.

And here's a bit on doctors and their consciences:

But let’s be clear, there’s a world of difference between those who engage in such civil disobedience, and pay the price, and doctors and pharmacists who insist that the rest of the world reorder itself to protect their consciences – that others pay the price for their principles.

This isn’t particularly complicated. If your conscience forbids you to carry arms, don’t join the military or become a police officer. If you have qualms about animal experimentation, think hard before choosing to go into medical research. And, if you’re not prepared to provide the full range of reproductive health care (or prescriptions) to any woman who needs it then don’t go into obstetrics and gynecology, or internal or emergency medicine, or pharmacology. Choose another field! We’ll respect your consciences when you begin to take responsibility for them.

Happy April 1st!

2009-04-01T11:39:00.002-05:00

Britons Seek 'de-baptism'

2009-03-30T16:56:00.004-05:00

In a sign of how upside down the thinking of the unbelieving world can be, this article reports that baptism is now considered by some to be a form of child abuse! I can't help but think that these "certificates of de-baptism" are just another way for someone to make a few bucks. It's certainly sad to see the sincerity and passion with which these people cling to their foolishness (Psalm 14:1). Unfortunately, the United States seems to be following the same trend lines as western Europe. The response of the Church in this article isn't all that encouraging, either.

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More than 100,000 Britons have recently downloaded "certificates of de-baptism" from the Internet to renounce their Christian faith.

The initiative launched by a group called the National Secular Society (NSS) follows atheist campaigns here and elsewhere, including a London bus poster which triggered protests by proclaiming "There's probably no God."

"We now produce a certificate on parchment and we have sold 1,500 units at three pounds (4.35 dollars, 3.20 euros) a pop," said NSS president Terry Sanderson, 58.

John Hunt, a 58-year-old from London and one of the first to try to be "de-baptised," held that he was too young to make any decision when he was christened at five months old.

The male nurse said he approached the Church of England to ask it to remove his name. "They said they had sought legal advice and that I should place an announcement in the London Gazette," said Hunt, referring to one of the official journals of record of the British government.

So that's what he did -- his notice of renouncement was published in the Gazette in May 2008 and other Britons have followed suit.

Michael Evans, 66, branded baptising children as "a form of child abuse" -- and said that when he complained to the church where he was christened he was told to contact the European Court of Human Rights.

The Church of England said its official position was not to amend its records. "Renouncing baptism is a matter between the individual and God," a Church spokesman told AFP.

"We are not a 'membership' church, and do not keep a running total of the number of baptised people in the Church of England, and such totals do not feature in the statistics that we regularly publish," he added.

. . .

LCMS Seeking to Sell KFUO

2009-03-30T16:34:00.002-05:00

Here's a St. Louis today article on the prospective sale of the LCMS-owned station KFUO. And here's a helpful clarification of some important matters by Todd Wilken.

Thoughts and Prayers

2009-03-30T15:53:00.002-05:00

There was a tragic event in the area yesterday in which three people were killed in an accident on the way to their church. The company whose truck caused the accident put out a statement which included the phrase, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.” That phrase seems to have become the common cliche whenever some tragedy occurs. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the grieving.”

I don’t know if I’m just being nitpicky, but that phrase bugs me. First of all, I’m not sure what it even means that our thoughts go out to someone–just that we’re thinking of them? And much more importantly, our prayers go out to God, not to any person. Are we too uncomfortable to actually speak God’s name? Is prayer mentioned just as a way of sounding generically spiritual or religious?

Putting the best construction on this, what people probably mean to say, of course, is that those who lost loved ones are in their thoughts and in their prayers. How that got contorted into such bad English and bad theology, I don’t know. Why can’t we just say what we mean? “Our hearts ache for the family in their loss. We are thinking of them in this difficult time and are praying to God for them.” May the peace of Christ the crucified be granted to all the grieving.

Rescinding the Conscience Clause

2009-03-27T13:49:00.002-05:00

From Lutherans for Life:

Many people are aware that President Obama is in the process of rescinding a regulation from late in the Bush administration allowing health-care workers to refuse to provide services based on moral objections.

What many do not realize is that the required public comment phase began March 10 and ends April 9.

It is also very difficult to find the link to provide such comment. Click here for the link―and please pass along.

Jim Lamb

Lutherans For Life

And Now for Something Completely Different

2009-03-27T10:47:00.003-05:00

A little comic relief for the weekend--here's an oldie but a goody from Tim Hawkins. No offense intended to Carrie Underwood fans.

And if you enjoy this, here's some more on parenting and marriage.

Tragic Coincidence

2009-03-27T10:22:00.005-05:00

This is certainly strange if it is true:

"Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults.

"But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion.

". . . The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation."

I don't necessarily like the tone of the rest of the linked article--it seems to verge on gloating just a bit. Luke 13:1-5 needs to be kept clearly in mind. But still, what a strange and tragic coincidence.

"Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:4-5). God have mercy on us all for the sake of Christ.

Mocked

2009-03-25T21:01:00.002-05:00

Here's this evening's sermon on the Passion reading, Matthew 27:1-31, especially the concluding verses.

The Greater Moses, the Greater Manna

2009-03-22T12:11:00.001-05:00

Today's sermon with audio is here. And yes, I do believe that John 6 is sacramental.

Special Olympics

2009-03-20T10:10:00.003-05:00

After our President's recent gaffe comparing his bowling to being "like Special Olympics," here's a nice reminder of someone actually speaking in a classy way on the subject.

Youth Ministry

2009-03-18T12:19:00.002-05:00

I hate to post a link to a link, but the video here is very entertaining if you've got an offbeat sense of humor and have had any exposure at all to fundy/evangelical style youth ministry. Pastor Cwirla's comments about all this are good, too.

Funniest Fake Political Headline of the Day

2009-03-12T23:16:00.001-05:00

From Fark: "Newest Obama appointee's office raided by FBI. Left finally comes to terms that Obama is not Jesus. Jesus could actually build a cabinet."

Forsaken

2009-03-11T20:21:00.003-05:00

Tonight's homily on Matthew 26:31-56.

A Couple of Good Articles

2009-03-10T09:24:00.002-05:00

From Pastor Greg Alms, on rituals, darkness, death, sleep, resurrection. . . : Bedtime Prayers

And from Mollie Ziegler Hemingway on the Gay Rights movement and Proposition 8: California's Temper Tantrum

Wrestling with God

2009-03-08T11:40:00.003-05:00

Today's sermon, with text and audio, is here.

Justification

2009-03-07T12:34:00.002-06:00

I don't know much about Hans Joachim Iwand, but I do like this quote of his (passed along from the Rev. John Frahm):

"An evangelical church which looks upon the doctrine of justification by faith as a self-evident banality one no longer needs to dwell upon because other problems are more pressing has robbed itself of the possibility of arriving at solutions to such problems. It will only tear itself further apart. If the article of justification is removed from the center we will very soon no longer know why we are and must remain evangelical Christians. Then we will strive for the unity of the church and sacrifice the purity of the gospel; we will expect more from church order and government, from the reform of ecclesiastical office and church discipline, than these can deliver. One will flatter piety and despise doctrine; one will run the risk of becoming tolerant where one should be radical and radical where one should be tolerant - in short, the standards will be skewed and therewith also what is necessary and right in all reforms for which we struggle today will no longer be comprehensible."

Betrayal

2009-03-05T10:28:00.002-06:00

A homily on last night's Gospel, Matthew 26:1-30.

What makes the pastor happy

2009-03-04T11:06:00.003-06:00

Amen to this. All it really takes to make a pastor happy is for his people faithfully to receive his preaching and his ministry, that is, to receive the preaching of Christ and the giving out of His gifts.

Trying Out Audio Player

2009-03-03T17:07:00.007-06:00

I've been wanting to post audio here from time to time, especially sermons. And so I'm testing out an audio player for that purpose. (Thanks to Jon Kohlmeier for getting the player and html code!) Since I don't have a sermon I want to put up at the moment, I offer the following pieces of music performed by my daughter Hannah at Lutheran Summer Music camp back in the summer of '07. (Hopefully my pride in her doesn't conflict too much with an appropriate sense of Lenten humility.) She's been on my mind today, anyway, since she's on a trip out of state this week with the high school choir. The first and last recordings are trio/concerto pieces by Dvorak; the second one is a solo piano piece by Debussy. All of them really come into their own around the 1:00 minute mark. Hopefully this will work. Enjoy!

Update: I see that LSM is being spotlighted in Lutheran Witness this month--for whatever that's worth.

Recessional

2009-03-01T17:20:00.003-06:00

(Leaving the realm of theology for a moment and delving into a bit of politics:)
Victor Davis Hanson is an excellent thinker and writer, and this article is a good example of that. It's worth reading all the way through. (Of course, the above comes with the disclaimer that this is purely my own view and not necessarily that of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church.)

Resistance is Futile

2009-03-01T13:35:00.003-06:00

After many months of resisting getting a Facebook account, I've finally relented. Several old friends at my gradeschool, Trinity Lutheran School in Delray Beach, Florida, got in touch over the weekend and are trying to get a reunion scheduled, and Facebook is a good way for us to reaquaint ourselves in the process. How strange to see the old pictures of us on a class trip or at the 6th grade dance! Lots of memories come flooding back. Most of my classmates have aged better than me, but I can live with that.

The Second Adam

2009-02-28T08:39:00.002-06:00

In the Garden of Eden man exalts himself to be a god in place of God. He succumbs to the temptation of the devil, and eating of the forbidden fruit he receives death. But in the sin-cursed wilderness God humbles Himself to become man in place of man. Jesus does not eat but fasts and bears the onslaughts of the devil for us that we may be restored to life. In the Garden man tries to win independence from God, to be his own master, to be in charge of his own life, and in the end man cuts himself off from all that is good. But in the wilderness, Jesus depends and relies on His heavenly Father, submitting to His will and looking to Him for all that He needs, in order that He might restore us to faith and to a right relationship with God. In the Garden, the tame and gentle animals that God had created fell under the curse of man's rebellion, turning against one another and against man himself. But in the wilderness, Jesus lived among the wild beasts (Mark 1:13), that He might experience the full effects of the fall and restore His creatures and renew all of creation.

It is for this reason that the Scriptures refer to Jesus as the second Adam. He came to undo and overcome the work of the first Adam. You and I are one with the first Adam. His blood flows through each of us. His rebellion dwells within us. We have participated in his sin. We are of the same nature. In Adam, we die. However, in Christ, we live. For we have also been made one with Christ through our baptism into His body. Jesus bore the sin of our old Adam and put it to death that we might be raised to a new life with Him. Now Christ's blood flows through each of us who have been made to be His members, particularly as we receive His blood and body in the Sacrament. God's love and faithfulness dwell within us by His Word and Spirit. St. Peter says that we have actually been made to be partakers of the divine nature through the flesh of Christ (2 Peter 1:4).

(The rest of this 2007 sermon is here.)

Update on Issues, Etc.

2009-02-27T11:05:00.002-06:00

Here are a couple of links on the legal matters regarding Issues, Etc., the Synod's Board of Directors, and President Kieschnick.

Timeline of trademark and other issues

About President Kieschnick's memo

The Crucifix is in Place

2009-02-25T10:03:00.006-06:00

Before:

After:

The icon of Jesus that was on the altar is now over the doorway entering the church from the narthex. In its place is the tabernacle with an icon of the Last Supper.

And one more:

We had to add the white edging so that the beams of the cross didn't get lost in the dark background. That's why the installation of the crucifix was delayed until today--just in time for Ash Wednesday services!

O-Bingo

2009-02-24T20:49:00.004-06:00

This certainly makes listening to the President's speeches more fun. From Americans for tax reform.

The Body of Christ

2009-02-23T18:20:00.001-06:00

A nice post from Mt. Zion member and seminarian Nathan Fischer.

No Actors

2009-02-23T07:49:00.004-06:00

I saw portions of the Academy Awards last evening. I enjoyed the opening number by Hugh Jackman and a couple other bits along the way. But the overall self-importance of the evening brought to mind some things I preached in an Ash Wednesday sermon a couple of years ago. Here's a portion of that sermon (which is hopefully better than what Sean Penn preached last night).

-------------------------

This coming weekend is the Academy Awards. With much fanfare and media attention, the movie industry will congratulate itself and hand out Oscars to those they believe have excelled in the craft of acting. Now I enjoy movies and watch them fairly regularly, but I do think it is a sign of the decline of our culture that actors are considered to be among the most important people in society. We pay all sorts of attention to people who are really good at faking like they're somebody they're not. Our most popular form of entertainment is to watch accomplished pretenders, those who can give the illusion of reality, which then evaporates and is gone when the cameras are turned off.

I bring this up not to bash Hollywood–-that's like shooting fish in barrel. Rather, I mention this because in today's Gospel Jesus warns us not to be like the hypocrites. And the word for "hypocrite" literally means "actor" or "someone who impersonates another." What Jesus is saying is, "Don't be an actor or an impersonator when it comes to the faith. You may be able to fool others with a show of piety, but God sees the way things truly are. And He's the One you should be paying attention to."

In ancient theater, actors would wear masks over their faces. These masks would hide the actor's true identity from the audience, and the attention would then be drawn to the character he was playing. To this day many theaters will display two masks, one smiling, the other frowning as emblems of this past practice. In our day to day life, we also often put on a mask, a pretend face that conceals the truth of who we are or what we're thinking and feeling. Some are covering the pain of a failing relationship. Others are masking some self-destructive addiction. Still others hide the scars left by loved ones or by complete strangers. All of us try to camouflage our sins and failings and imperfections.

Jesus reminds us that in His church, there are to be no masks. There is to be no faking like everything's going just perfectly, no pretending like you have no struggles with sin in your life. Here, especially as Lent begins, the disguise comes off. We can be honest in the presence of a merciful God, and before one another as His children. Somehow people get the impression that going to church is about showing that you've got it all together spiritually. The last thing you'd want to do is reveal your sins to your pastor. Why, he might actually think you're a sinner who needs forgiveness (as if that would be shocking news). Martin Luther once commented, "May God in His mercy save me from a Christian Church where there are only saints. I want to be with that little company and in that Church where there are faint-hearted and weak people, the sick, and those who are aware of their sin, misery, and wretchedness and who feel it, who cry to God without ceasing and sigh unto Him for comfort and help." (Day by Day We Magnify Thee, p. 226)

(The whole sermon is here.)

Since the Ad Mentions Jesus . . .

2009-02-20T08:03:00.001-06:00

Why is it Good for the Body of Christ to be Portrayed on the Cross?

2009-02-19T20:59:00.003-06:00

(The following appeared in the Mt. Zion newsletter and formed the basis of some of our discussion leading up to the decision to purchase a crucifix to go over our altar. The crucifix is a memorial gift given in honor of Lorraine Hintze.)

The cross has been a symbol of the Christian faith ever since the days of the apostles. Sometimes, the cross is portrayed by itself; other times it is portrayed with the body of Christ on it. Of course, both of these types of crosses–the plain cross and the crucifix–are good and perfectly acceptable ways of symbolizing the Christian faith.

However, there are several reasons why Lutherans might prefer the crucifix, the cross with the body of Christ on it. First of all, the Scriptures clearly state, “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23). “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). While Jesus, of course, is now risen from the dead, the fact remains that the center and focus of our preaching is the sacrifice that Christ made for our sins on the cross. And what better portrays for our eyes the Gospel we hear with our ears but the crucifix? There we see visibly a representation of what our Lord did to redeem us from the burden of our sin. There we see Him on His throne, with His crown of thorns, exercising His royal self-giving love for us. The crucifix portrays very clearly the Scriptural Gospel of Christ the crucified.

Some prefer the empty cross because, they say, it portrays the resurrection. However, that is not really true. The fact of the matter is that all the crosses of all the thousands of criminals who were crucified by the Romans were eventually empty. The bodies were taken down and buried or left for dogs and ravens to eat. All an empty cross means is that the dead body was removed from it. Again, there is certainly nothing wrong with using a plain cross–I have several myself. But we shouldn’t think that it proclaims the resurrection any more than an empty electric chair or hangman’s noose proclaims the resurrection.

Some prefer the plain cross because they think of it as Lutheran and the crucifix as Roman Catholic. But that is simply not the case. Many if not most of the crosses in the churches of the Reformation in the days of Martin Luther would have been crucifixes. Luther never spoke against having the body of Christ portrayed on a cross. It was only things that obscured the Gospel that Luther sought to reform. It is true that many of the non-Lutheran Protestant churches had only plain crosses, since their misguided theology caused them to forbid the use of any statues or sculptures in connection with their worship. But that has never been the theology of Lutheran Churches.

Our theology has always been to emphasize the physical, concrete realities of our salvation in Christ–that He took on our flesh and blood in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, that He died in the flesh for our sins, and that He now gives us His true body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar for our forgiveness. Portraying the body of Christ on the cross fits perfectly with our Scriptural belief that we now receive that same body in Holy Communion. And in fact St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”

Using a crucifix can sometimes seem offensive to our sensibilities; we prefer something more pleasant to look at. But the truth is that the Gospel itself is offensive. St. Paul writes that it is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to us who are being saved, the message of the cross is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18,23). Though Christ the crucified was despised and rejected by men and “we hid our faces from Him” (Isaiah 53:3), we now look to the cross in faith and find our life there. In a very real sense it is beautiful for us to behold. We are not ashamed of the Gospel of the crucified One, for it is the power of God to save us (Romans 1:16).

-Pastor Koch-

Sneak Peak

2009-02-18T16:23:00.006-06:00

I went down to Stempers today to see the crucifix that we had ordered to replace our current plain cross. I was very pleased. It is pictured above in the store. It was made by the Demetz art studio in Italy. Right now the plan is to have it installed on Monday so that our first service with it in place is Ash Wednesday. Dedication of the cross will take place on the First Sunday in Lent.

Nothing New Under the Sun

2009-02-18T10:27:00.008-06:00

In case you didn't think Roman Catholics still did indulgences, here's an article which demonstrates that they're alive and well. You can't buy indulgences outright any more, as in Luther's day. But the underlying problem of human merit contributing toward one's ultimate salvation, taking time off of purgatory, etc. hasn't changed or diminished one bit.

I especially like this quote: "(This year's offer of indulgences) appeared prominently on the Web site of the Diocese of Brooklyn, which announced that any Catholic could receive an indulgence at any of six churches on any day, or at dozens more on specific days, by fulfilling the basic requirements: going to confession, receiving holy communion, saying a prayer for the pope and achieving 'complete detachment from any inclination to sin.'”

Hmm. I think I could handle the first three requirements. But achieving complete detachment from any inclination to sin? That sort of makes the indulgence impossible, doesn't it? The only way to achieve complete detachment from any inclination to sin is to die. But then again, that's Jesus prescription for us in baptism isn't it?

Romans 6:3-5--"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection."
Colossians 3:3--"For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (See the full context of Colossians 3)

Living the baptismal life most certainly means putting down the sinful flesh and engaging in deeds of love. But that is our life precisely because we are in Christ the crucified, already fully redeemed by Him and accepted by the Father. It's all done and delivered by Jesus in His death and resurrection. No indulgences necessary.

First Communion/Confirmation

2009-02-17T09:29:00.003-06:00

(Here's the lead item in the March Mt. Zion newsletter:)

Dear members of Mt. Zion,

Throughout my years of instructing the young people of this congregation in the Christian faith, I have been pulled by two important desires. The first is that our children should not be made to wait an unnecessarily long time to receive the Sacrament of the Altar. God’s Word gives us no age requirements regarding when someone may receive Holy Communion, only that a person recognize and receive the body and blood of Christ with penitent faith in Him. It is for that reason that we have started Confirmation instruction at a younger age, so that children don’t have to wait until they’re graduating from 8th grade to receive this precious gift of Christ.

On the other hand, we want the children to be thoroughly instructed in the Scriptural faith as it is rightly confessed in the Small Catechism. We want them to be well grounded in the truths of God’s Word and have a deep understanding of the Bible that will stick with them the rest of their lives. That would seem to argue for having Confirmation take place when the children are a little bit older and can grasp things intellectually at a little deeper level. (Of course, our growth in the knowledge of Christ and His Word never ends but is to continue throughout our lives.)

While our current practice of having Confirmation instruction take place during the middle grade levels has worked well, with first communion following Confirmation, I think we would do even better by separating First Communion from the completion of Confirmation instruction. Here are my reasons:

Young children most certainly can receive Holy Communion properly and to their benefit. Martin Luther once said against the followers of the Pope who claimed that they alone were the true church, "God be praised, a seven-year-old child knows what the church is: holy believers and ‘the little sheep who hear the voice of their shepherd.’" (Smalcald Articles, Kolb/Wengert, p. 324) Luther knew that even a seven year old could grasp the things of the church. His practice demonstrated this. The Lutheran churches in Reformation times received to the Lord’s table children as young as around seven years old. These children were brought by their parents and examined by the pastor as to their faith. Acknowledging their sin, confessing faith in Jesus as their Savior who died for their sin, believing that the body and blood of Christ are truly present under the bread and wine for their forgiveness, they were given the Sacrament.

Some may question whether young children can understand such things as the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in Holy Communion. But then which of us adults can understand this great mystery? It is something only faith can grasp.

In the materials that accompany our hymnal Lutheran Service Book, there is an order called "First Communion prior to Confirmation," which acknowledges the importance of this as an option for congregations to practice. These materials from our Synod state,

"This rite is intended to be used to admit to the Lord’s Supper baptized children who have not yet been confirmed. Candidates for admission to the Lord’s Supper have learned the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. They have received careful instruction in the Gospel and the Sacraments. Confessing their sin and trusting in their Savior, they desire to receive the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of their faith in Christ and their love toward others.

"Concerning the worthy reception of the Lord’s Supper, the Small Catechism teaches: ‘That person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words "for you" require all hearts to believe.’" (Lutheran Service Book Agenda, p. 25)

A period of instruction for several weeks would take place prior to these children being received to the Lord’s table (in addition to the months and years of Sunday School these children have already attended). Parents would be a part of the teaching process. In this way the children will be properly prepared to reverently receive the gifts Christ has for them in the Sacrament.

Allowing First Communion before Confirmation would have two additional benefits. It would do away with any notion that we are accepted to the Lord’s table because we’ve earned the right by "passing" Confirmation. Holy Communion is not a reward for something we do, but a free gift of God’s grace. Also, allowing an earlier First Communion would enable the in-depth Confirmation instruction to start at a little bit later stage where a deeper look at the Christian faith and life would be more of a possibility.

Parents who bring their children for First Communion would be required to commit themselves to bringing their children to Confirmation instruction later on. We don’t want to diminish the importance of that ongoing catechesis that takes place in Confirmation class. While Confirmation itself is nowhere commanded in the Bible, our ongoing growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ is of the utmost importance, and this change has the goal of enhancing and improving that in our congregation.

Doing this would definitely be a change from what most of us are familiar with. It’s certainly different from my own experience growing up. But if we truly believe that the Holy Sacrament is the true body and blood of Christ given for us to eat and drink for our forgiveness, then our practice should reflect that belief and not withhold the benefits of this eating and drinking from our younger members who are properly prepared to receive it.

This topic will be brought up for discussion at our next Voters Meeting on March 15th. I encourage you prayerfully to think this through so that we can have a healthy discussion about this matter and hopefully come to a consensus about how to handle the practice of First Communion and Confirmation in our congregation.

-Pastor Koch-

Still More on Issues, Etc.

2009-02-12T16:38:00.001-06:00

Again from Pastor Asburry's blog: Just Let It Go!

What I Love About You . . .

2009-02-12T14:33:00.002-06:00

Flipping through the radio stations recently in the car, I heard the words of the 70's song, “Loving you is easy ‘cause you’re beautiful . . .” Which got me to thinking again how we really don’t use the word “love” in its truest sense very often. I might say, “I love my wife’s beautiful hands, or her silly sense of humor.” But love, in the sense of self-giving and self-sacrifice, really isn’t involved in that statement. It’s easy for me to like those characteristics because they’re attractive to me. There’s nothing really self-giving about it, other than perhaps building her up by telling her so.

The truth is that what we really have to love most about our spouses or other family members or friends is their worst characteristics. To truly love them is to give yourself to them in spite of their flaws. That’s where the real self-sacrifice takes place. “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). In that sense, what a wife has to love most about her husband is his laziness and impatience, and a husband his wife’s coldness or crankiness, and a friend the other’s disorganization or tendency to gossip, and so on. What parents really have to love most about their children is not their good study habits and their athletic ability, but their disobedience and disrespect. That’s where the patience is tried and the struggle and the real self-giving love of parenting enters in.

Now I’m not suggesting that wives give their husbands a Valentine’s card reading, “What I love about you is how opinionated you are and that you’ve put on a little extra weight.” But it’s worth remembering that to say “I love you” (in any context) is to say “I’m willing to give myself to you and for you no matter what. I am yours, and my highest desire is for your good and your happiness.”

And there is only one who loves like that perfectly and completely. Only our Lord loved us even when we were sinners and His enemies (Romans 5:8-10). What our Lord most had to love about us was our sin. That is what He sacrificed and gave Himself for on the cross. His love covers the multitude of our sins. There was nothing in us that attracted Him to come to our aid. His own love is what made us lovable and lovely in His eyes. Jesus is the literal embodiment of the love passage in 1 Corinthians 13. Our Lord is patient and kind. He keeps no record of wrongs, for His mercy has covered them and taken them away. We are without flaw and without blemish. His love has made it so.

Petersen Brief Review of Book on Marital Infidelity

2009-02-12T13:29:00.003-06:00

I hate to promote a post that promotes a link to Oprah's web site (Lord, have mercy!). But Pastor Petersen has a review of a book focusing particularly on why husbands cheat on their wives. I think most married couples will find both the review and the book itself interesting and helpful.

Issues, Etc. stuff

2009-02-09T18:44:00.003-06:00

From Pastor Asburry, here's some new stuff you might want to know about what's going on with Issues, Etc.

Update: Here's the open mic segment about the above.

Mary, the Mother of God

2009-02-09T18:32:00.005-06:00

Pastor Alms just posted a link regarding a new movie about Mary, the mother of our Lord. Looks interesting, though I never get my hopes up too much about secularly produced movies dealing with Scriptural content.

Pastor Alms is right in noting that the movie's title is Nestorian: Mary, the Mother of Christ. The phrase ascribed to Mary by the church is theotokos, "the bearer of God," or "the mother of God." For she didn't only carry the human nature of Jesus in her womb; she carried and gave birth to the very Son of God, whose natures as God and man are inseparably joined in one person.

The Generosity of the Landowner

2009-02-08T16:18:00.010-06:00

(Here's what I preached yesterday, though not today since I developed a little fever later last evening and through the morning. I'm feeling mostly better now. Thankfully Pastor Gehlbach was available to fill in for me on short notice. I'm sure his sermon was better than what follows, but here's how I attempted to back into the Septuagesima Gospel reading this year. Audio is available here.)

Matthew 20:1-16
Lutherans are sometimes accused of being against good works, or at least not promoting them very well. After all, we're constantly harping on the fact that we're saved by God's grace alone and that good works do not make us right with God. To some that sounds like saying we can live however we please. But, of course, we're not saying that good works aren't necessary; they are. It's not the Ten Suggestions, it's the Ten Commandments we're talking about. They're not optional. God has told us to do them, and so we should. We must.

But let me ask you this: If you do good things in order to gain some earthly or eternal reward out of it, is that truly a good work? Or if you do something good out of fear that if you don't you'll be punished, is that truly a good work? In both cases the good deed is tainted, isn't it? It may be good humanly speaking, but it's not in God's sight. For with Him it's not just the outward act but what's going on in the heart that counts. Love and trust in Him is what He seeks. If heaven is the reward we get for living a good life, we're hopelessly lost; because then living a good life would end up being (at least in part) a self-serving thing, which in fact is the opposite of doing good before God.

Think of it this way: If you work at a job just in order to get a paycheck out of it, chances are your heart's not going to be in it. You'll do what's necessary, but you won't care about it like you should. On the other hand, if you'd work at a particular job regardless of the pay, then chances are you'll do much better work; your heart will be in it simply for the love of doing that job. It's true, we can do good work when a self-serving reward is the motivation. But we do our best work when what we're going to get out of it is not part of the equation.

So in truth, God has enabled you to do truly good works by taking the reward out of the mix. The reward is already yours before you even start working, no catch, no fine print. It's been purchased by Christ for you; it's a done deal, whether you entered the vineyard at dawn or at the 11th hour. Your reward, your eternal life in Christ is not in doubt. The denarius is yours through faith, simply by trusting Him. So now what? Now you are truly free to do the work God has given you to do from the heart, out of love for Him and love for your neighbor, without any thought of what's in it for you. All the tainted motives you might have are taken away in Christ. Fear of what might happen to you, self-serving ends no longer have a role to play since Jesus has already given Himself to you with every blessing. You are set at liberty to do good, not because you have to in order to win God's favor, but precisely because you already have God's favor in Christ, and because your neighbor needs you. In a sense you are free to do as you please. For what pleases the heart of faith is not to go back to living in the same old shallow, empty, self-serving ways, but to live in Christ, loving and trusting in God and serving others. That's why it is written that without faith in Christ, it is impossible to please God. Only in Jesus are you truly free to do good.

When we forget that, that's when we'll start to grumble and complain, like the children of Israel in the wilderness, like the laborers in the vineyard who worked all day. You only grumble and complain like that when you think God owes you, that you deserve better based on what you've done. "I've worked harder than that other guy; I've done more for the church. So I deserve better than him." "I've lived a good life and been a good person. It's not fair that God is letting me go through this hardship." You can only talk and think that way when you believe it's your works that run the show with God. And when your works run the show, then it's all about you, not Jesus or your neighbor in need.

The laborers in the vineyard wanted the landowner to be fair. But in fact He was more than fair. A denarius is a good and proper wage for a full day's work. That's exactly what they received. The landowner wasn't miserly; he didn't stiff them. It's just that the landowner was extremely generous to the others. He treated even the ones hired at the 11th hour as if they had worked all day. You might say that it was by grace that they received their denarius. The landowner wasn't unfair but good and gracious. Besides, he had the right to do whatever he wished with His own things.

Beware of applying standards of fairness to God, as if the clay can tell the potter how to do his job. Beware, because generally the fairness argument is just a mask for promoting our own interests. That's why we love to grouse about overpaid athletes or Wall Street CEO bonuses. "They don't deserve it and we deserve more for all our hard work; it's not fair." But God doesn't want to deal with us that way, on the basis of what's fair or deserved, as if we had a contractual arrangement with Him, a business deal. Rather, He wants our relationship to be one of love, freely given, no strings attached. As soon as it's about what we think God owes us, then we're not seeking to love Him but to use Him.

We should beware of wanting God to be fair with us, anyway, because if He were to do that, we'd be in grave danger. Those who think God should work on the merit system with them are spiritually ignorant. If you want fair wages, then here's what the Scriptures say, "The wages of sin is death." Those who go to hell are really only getting what they asked for, namely, the just and fair payment for their faithless works. "Go your way," the landowner said. Hell is filled with grumbling and complaining against God. I think that's part of their torment. Like someone who can't stop arguing red-faced that they're right and the other guy is wrong, the damned bitterly disagree with God's judgment and spend all of eternity suffering the anguish of growing more and more angry with such an "unfair" God.

Repent, then, of your bargaining and negotiating with God as if He were against you, as if He needed to be badgered into loving you. Turn away from your anger with Him. Trust that He is good, that He is merciful and abounding in steadfast love. He is blessedly unfair with you, pouring out on you the fullness of His grace and generosity in Christ. He does love you. He will provide you with all that you need. After all, if the Father has given us His own Son, will He not also graciously give us all that is good and necessary and right for us? Remember that the laborers who were hired later in the day went to work without being told what they would be paid, just trusting in the goodness of the landowner. So you also, even though you can't see what the future holds, even if life doesn't seem to be fair, trust in the goodness of your heavenly Father; stake your life on His grace in Jesus. Know that He will give far more than you could ever dream of.

Just like the landowner dealt with those hired at the 11th hour, so the Lord treats you as if you did all the required work, from the beginning to the ending of the day. He does that for the sake of Christ, who did all the labor for you in His perfect life and death and resurrection. What you failed to do, the Lord Jesus has accomplished perfectly on your behalf. He Himself is the true Laborer in the vineyard who brings you the generous reward at the end of the day. All the times in the parable are fulfilled in Jesus on Good Friday. Christ was handed over to Pontius Pilate at dawn. He was crucified at the third hour of the day. Darkness covered the land at the sixth hour, noon. Our Lord died at the ninth hour as the perfect and complete sacrifice for your sin; He who is the Rock was struck, and water and blood flowed forth from His side for your cleansing and your forgiveness. Finally, He was buried at the eleventh hour of the day just before sundown to sanctify your grave and make it a place of rest from which you will awaken and rise in glory on the Last Day.

It is as we prayed in the Introit, "The Lord will save the humble people, but will bring down proud and haughty looks." Or as Jesus said, "The last will be first, and the first last." It's not first come first served; it's first come last served and last come first served. The repentant new believer is at the front of the line while the self-righteous lifetime member is at the end.

Unbelievers seek a God who is fair. Believers seek a God who is merciful and gracious. Believers know that it is only by grace that they are even in the vineyard, no matter how long they've been there. They consider it a privilege and an honor to be able to contribute to the health and the growth of the vineyard. They are not jealous of the newcomer or of the one converted in his dying days, but they rejoice that the same mercy that saved themselves has also saved another. Even a faithful lifelong Christian recognizes that of himself he deserves nothing and that it is only because of Jesus that he has forgiveness and life. As it is written, "The free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)." And again, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10)."

Let us then be truly full of good works by trusting in the grace of Christ alone to save us. Or as St. Paul puts it, let us run in such a way as to obtain the prize of life with Christ, which He Himself has won for us. Let us run with the certainty of faith, setting our hearts on Him, disciplining our bodies and minds, filling them with His words and His life-giving body and blood. Come and lay hold of the denarius Christ earned for you–not because it's owed; but simply because it is His good pleasure to be generous and loving toward you.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Botched

2009-02-05T16:22:00.002-06:00

Would this story really be any better or different if the abortion hadn't been "botched?" Why is this horrific only when it's in plain view?

Abortion Better than Giving Birth?

2009-02-04T21:53:00.007-06:00

On the way to a shut-in visit this morning, I heard Charlie Sykes talking about some alarming comments by Barack Obama's choice for Deputy Attorney General, David Ogden. Here's what the Family Research Council found about Ogden:

In a brief for the American Psychological Association in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, he wrote: "Abortion rarely causes or exacerbates psychological or emotional problems. When women do experience regret, depression, or guilt, such feelings are mild and diminish rapidly without adversely affecting general functioning. The few women who do experience negative psychological responses after abortion appear to be those with preexisting emotional problems ...."

Ogden also wrote: "In sum, it is grossly misleading to tell a woman that abortion imposes possible detrimental psychological effects when the risks are negligible in most cases, when the evidence shows that she is more likely to experience feelings of relief and happiness, and when child-birth and child-rearing or adoption may pose concomitant (if not greater) risks or adverse psychological effects ...."

So many lies are necessary to support the ongoing practice of killing the unborn. Here's a site that gives details about the facts of Post-Abortion Syndrome and it's rather significant impact on women. That abortion is given a more favorable assessment than child-birth borders on obscene.

And here's the portion of the show that I was listening to. What especially struck me was the women who called obviously still in emotional pain over their abortions (the part I heard was about 3/4 of the way in, though there's good discussion starting about 1/4 of the way in). The reality of hearing this just shatters the deception that surrounds this issue. And it's a stark reminder of the need to apply the shed blood of Christ, the only thing which heals and cleanses us of all sin (1 John 1:7).

Witness

2009-02-03T19:14:00.003-06:00

I went with my daughter today to see a play called Witness put on by First Stage Children's Theater of Milwaukee. It was a fairly standard politically correct production about the Ku Klux clan's effect on a Vermont town in 1924. It's message against hatred was good; it rightly identified prejudice as often being a mask for fear. But I just didn't enjoy the show. Perhaps it was because it wasn't particularly well written, or that the preacher and his congregation were stereotyped (ironically enough) as being hateful and/or ignorant. I guess I'm just tired of being beaten over the head with the constant, wearisome preaching of tolerance as if it were the highest virtue. The winning student essays in the lobby promoting the acceptance of homosexuality were proof that isn't true.

What really got me, though, was when they invited the playwright himself up on stage for the talkback afterwards. One of the adults asked him if he thought America was the same today as it was back then. Amazingly, the guy stated without hesitation or qualification that our country is still exactly the same. Good grief. While there's obviously still pockets of racism around, it's so thoroughly repudiated and looked down upon and our sensitivity to it is so high that even things that aren't racist are condemned for just appearing to be so. (Remember the story about the guy who felt compelled to resign for using the word "niggardly?")

The playwright also stated that he believed such things as those portrayed in the play could happen again. With that I agree. I just wonder if the playwright has stopped to consider that the roots of such intolerance and prejudice thrive in the liberal and artistic institutions he would extol, which mock and impugn the church and those who hold to traditional standards of morality. If tyrannical intolerance reasserts itself to a Klan-like extent again in this country, I believe it's going to be people of his worldview who will come to be the perpetrators, enforcing penalties on those who don't conform to their liberal orthodoxy.

Good Movie Quote

2009-01-31T08:35:00.001-06:00

From last night's DVD Bella: "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."

The End of the Story in the Middle

2009-01-30T16:33:00.002-06:00

There are some scholars and textual critics of the Bible who suggest that the account of the Transfiguration is, in fact, a misplaced resurrection narrative, an Easter story. For whatever reason, the end of the story, Jesus in His glory, got placed in the middle. I don’t agree with this, of course. But there is a sense in which it is helpful for us to think of the Transfiguration in this way. Before we get to the end of the story, Jesus gives us a glimpse of how it all culminates.

We often need this in our own lives. We need to know how the story ends for us, especially in the middle of suffering or difficulty. Jesus shows us this on the mountain. After speaking of the necessity of His suffering and death, after saying that whoever wants to be a disciple of His must take up the cross and follow Him, He then reveals the glory that belongs to all those who are baptized into His body, shining brighter than the sun. The fact that Jesus is speaking of His death with Moses and Elijah on the mountain (Luke 9:31) shows that the only true way to glory is through the cross. “Whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:24).

In the middle of your story Jesus comes to you and shows the glorious climax of it all. He speaks to you the words of eternal life; He gives His own risen body and blood into your frail flesh and blood. He gives away the end of story; but that doesn’t spoil it but gives meaning to it and strengthens you to bear the cross and endure to the end. He says to you, “It’s only a little while longer; keep on going, trusting in Me and loving your neighbor. For the sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in you” (Romans 8:18). The Apostle John encourages us, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). (See also Hebrews 12:2)

Incarnation

2009-01-29T09:51:00.003-06:00

This morning I was reading a little bit of church history with 8th grade Mary, our youngest and last being home-schooled. We were covering a section on Irenaeus and were reminded of an important (and I think correct) point he made: Even if the fall into sin had not occurred, the Son of God still would have become man. The incarnation was the intended goal all along. It wasn’t something God was somehow forced to do in order to save us. Rather this intimate union and communion of God and man in Christ was the plan from the beginning. Clearly the incarnation is a key aspect of our redemption; the Son of God took on our flesh and blood in order to die in the flesh and shed his blood as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. But it’s not as if, had the fall never occurred, God would have remained separate from us and not joined our nature to His own. After all, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, and the image of the invisible God is Christ (Colossians 1:15). The God who is love created us that He might give Himself to us completely. Sharing fully in our human life, His desire is that we share ever more and more fully in His divine life. That will continue to be the case in the new creation, too, long after we leave this old sin-cursed world behind.

Petersen on John 4

2009-01-28T14:50:00.003-06:00

An insightful post on John 4 from Pastor David Petersen: Desperate Wives No More. Be sure and read to the end.

Stimulus

2009-01-28T14:40:00.002-06:00

Here's a unique and interesting take on the stimulus subject from fellow Lutheran pastor, Larry Beane, better known as Father Hollywood: "O Death, Where is Your Stimulus?"

If Global Warming Gets Any Worse, We're All Going to Freeze to Death

2009-01-27T11:57:00.006-06:00

Perhaps it's because I'm currently reading Michael Crichton's book State of Fear (or rather, listening to it on audiobook). Perhaps it's because yesterday's utility bill came stating that last month was 10 degrees colder on average than the same period the year before. Or maybe it's the way goddess Earth ignores her worshipful adherents. But I find headlines like this one on Drudge strangely satisfying: "Gore hearing on warming may be put on ice." It's not just a liberal vs. conservative thing. It's more a truth vs. propaganda thing for me. And it seems to be more and more the case that the actual scientific data is less and less certain about man-made global warming, all the while the environmentalistic/socialistic propaganda gets ratcheted up in the political sphere and indoctrinated into our elementary school children. Graphs like the following just don't fit the paradigm, or are manipulated (click on this link to get more detail and links on the science), and so they are ignored.

Anyway, here's the text of the Drudge story:

---------------------
Al Gore is scheduled before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning to once again testify on the 'urgent need' to combat global warming.

But Mother Nature seems ready to freeze the proceedings.

A 'Winter Storm Watch' has been posted for the nation's capitol and there is a potential for significant snow... sleet... or ice accumulations.

"I can't imagine the Democrats would want to showcase Mr. Gore and his new findings on global warming as a winter storm rages outside," a Republican lawmaker emailed the DRUDGE REPORT. "And if the ice really piles up, it will not be safe to travel."

A spokesman for Sen. John Kerry, who chairs the committee, was not immediately available to comment on contingency plans.

Global warming advocates have suggested this year's wild winter spells are proof of climate change.
----------------------

I especially like that last line. If it's warmer than usual, it's because of global warming. If it's colder than usual (like this year), it's because global warming is affecting global weather patterns. If it's just average weather, it's because global warming occurs slowly and sometimes imperceptibly. But the overall effects will soon be catastrophic; so we must take action! How do you use logic against airtight arguments like those?

In the end, while everyone wants to work for cleaner air and water and the like, the problem with environmentalism/global warming orthodoxy is its worldview which places creation over the Creator, Mother Nature over Father God. In the end it rejects the One "through whom all things were made and in whom all things hold together," Christ Himself. (See Colossians 1:16-17)

And here's a sermon related to the subject.

Scapegoat?

2009-01-24T08:37:00.004-06:00

I think this may be carrying the scapegoat thing a bit too far:

"One of Nigeria's biggest daily newspapers reported that police implicated a goat in an attempted automobile theft. In a front-page article on Friday, the Vanguard newspaper said that two men tried to steal a Mazda car two days earlier in Kwara State, with one suspect transforming himself into a goat as vigilantes cornered him.

"The paper quoted police spokesman Tunde Mohammed as saying that while one suspect escaped, the other transformed into a goat as he was about to be apprehended.

"The newspaper reported that police paraded the goat before journalists, and published a picture of the animal.

"Police in the state couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

"Belief in black magic is widespread in Nigeria, particularly in far-flung rural areas."

A Political Quote Worth Remembering

2009-01-23T15:57:00.001-06:00

"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." Margaret Thatcher

Slight Chuckle

2009-01-21T10:07:00.003-06:00

During chapel today at the Fort Wayne Seminary Symposia, we sang the hymn, "We Are Called to Stand Together" (not one of my favorite hymns, but that's another post). And how did we sing this hymn "We Are Called to Stand Together"? Seated, of course! Isn't it great to be Lutheran?

The Third Day

2009-01-18T15:23:00.007-06:00

One more thing about today’s Gospel reading from John 2, the wedding at Cana: The fact that Jesus performs the miracle of turning water to wine “on the third day” not only points forward to the resurrection, but also points back to the beginning, the third day of creation, when God brought forth the fruit-bearing plants from the earth. That this miracle brings forth 3rd-day fruit of the vine certainly adds to the new creation theme of Jesus' first sign.

If John’s Gospel starts with Day 1, (“In the beginning was the Word . . . The light shines in the darkness”), and today’s Gospel reading is akin to Day 3 of creation, would it be wrong to see Day 2 in Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, (the waters below and the waters above), when John the Baptist sees the Spirit descending from heaven and remaining upon Jesus (John 1:32)? I’m sure other theologians and commentators have pursued the parallels John the Evangelist makes to the days of creation and fleshed this out better. If anyone is aware of where such writings can be found, please feel free to comment below or email me.

Don't They See the Irony?

2009-01-16T09:09:00.006-06:00

I don't think life will ever be created in a laboratory. Transforming dead elements into a living organism is far too complex a thing. But even if scientists were able to do that at some point in the future, that wouldn't strike a blow for evolutionists against those who believe in the Biblical creation account. After all, life would have had to have been created by an intelligence guiding and directing the process. A "higher power" (in this case, the scientist) is necessary to cause these things to happen, even if it's in the laboratory.

In this article, "Life as We Know It Nearly Created in the Lab," the argument is clearly being made for evolution, that we're supposedly closer to understanding how some of the early processes might have worked. Isn't it ironic, though, that they have to use words like "created" to describe their work? And the self-replicating enzymes that are being spoken of in the article were synthesized by the researchers, programmed and oriented by them to behave a certain way--all of which, to me at least, seems to support a creationist point of view more than an evolutionary one. How these incredibly complex self-replicating enzymes could ever come into existence on their own by chance random processes is never even addressed. And even if you take everything the scientists are saying at face value, you're still light-years away from anything approaching "life as we know it." For those who only want to deal with objective fact, they sure exhibit a lot of faith in their theories!

In the end these scientists are taking stuff God already made and tinkering with it to try to show God's non-existence, or at least his irrelevance. A little reminiscent of Psalm 14:1 it seems to me.

(Thanks to Nathan Fischer for forwarding this article to me.)

Give Geese a Chance

2009-01-16T09:03:00.003-06:00

For those with an offbeat sense of humor who don't mind making a little fun of the liberal mindset, here's an article that takes a unique look at the amazing story of the US Airways water landing in the Hudson River, trying to understand the geese and why they would have attempted this suicide attack.

No Christian Prayer from Bishop

2009-01-15T11:07:00.003-06:00

Here's a post from Gene Veith about gay "bishop" Eugene Robinson's promise not to give a specifically Christian prayer at an event for the inauguration of Barack Obama.

And here's a post from Mollie Ziegler with further commentary on this subject as it relates to being Lutheran in the civil realm. A couple quotes: "Patriotism may be a virtue but it shouldn’t trump a clear confession of Christ and him crucified." "The deities of civil religion force away distinctives and turn all belief into cliches and platitudes."

You know things are really messed up when Rick Warren is the guy you can most identify with in the story.

Coming Up Short

2009-01-14T12:00:00.009-06:00

This Sunday’s Gospel is John 2:1-11, the wedding feast miracle at Cana. It has always seemed a little strange to me that, when Jesus is told by His mother that the wine has run out, He replies by saying “My hour has not yet come.” Jesus’ "hour" in John is a reference to His impending crucifixion. Why does Jesus make that connection? What would running out of wine have to do with the cross?

Part of the connection, I believe, is revealed in the word used to describe the problem in John 2:3, husterasantos, meaning “lacking”: “When wine was lacking,” or “when they ran out of wine.” It’s the same word used in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short (husterountai) of the glory of God.” The reason that the things of this creation fail us and run short is because we ourselves have failed and come up short. This has not only brought the judgment of death on us; it has brought a curse on all creation. The blessings of God's good creation are passing and temporary. The Scriptures say that the world in its present form is in bondage to decay and is passing away (Cf. Romans 8:21).

So, when the wine ran out, that drew attention to the hour of Christ’s suffering and dying in order to redeem His sapped and fallen creation. Jesus reminds His mother that if she is going to appeal to him for a miracle, she must also deal with the cross, where He will break the curse of decay and death forever. Already here, then, Jesus was beginning to bring about the redemption of creation, which would come to fulfillment on Good Friday and Easter. For He was reversing the draining force of sin so that there was bounty and joy once again.

This miracle, like the greater miracle of Jesus' resurrection, occurs “on the third day” (John 2:1). In Him and through Him creation is renewed and revitalized. The prophet Amos (9:13) said of the Messiah’s kingdom, “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when . . . sweet wine will drip from the mountains and flow from the hills.” No lack here! And Isaiah (25:6) foretold a day when the Lord would swallow up death forever. Of that day he said this, “The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine–the best of meats and the finest of wines.” In this miracle, then, we begin to see the very kingdom of God and the new creation breaking in, which will be revealed in all its glory on the Last Day.

The Gospel concludes by saying that through this miracle Jesus “manifested His glory.” We have fallen short of the glory of God, but Christ is the glory of God revealed and freely given to us in the cleansing water of baptism and the rich wine of His precious blood.

Womanhood and Bearing Children

2009-01-13T13:28:00.004-06:00

I ran across a couple of posts yesterday that offer an interesting and telling contrast of worldviews regarding what it means to be a woman and have children. Notice the difference in the "iconography," not to mention the comments sections. Notice also that the first author is male. Here are the articles for your consideration. Any conclusions I might draw I think are self-evident.

Say No To . . .

and

The Soft Sexism of Low Expectations

God's Own Child

2009-01-12T12:49:00.003-06:00

At lunch today, our youngest and last still being home-schooled, 14-year old Mary says out of the blue to my wife and me, "For my funeral--you're probably not going to be there--but I'd like to have that hymn that we sang yesterday at church, 'God's Own Child, I Gladly Say it.'" I certainly hope she's right about my not being there for her funeral. And I'm so thankful that the grace of God covers all the ways I screw up as a parent and still produces such beautiful-to-hear statements of faith. Here are the words of the hymn (LSB, 594):

God's own child, I gladly say it:
I am baptized into Christ!
He, because I could not pay it,
Gave my full redemption price.
Do I need earth's treasures many?
I have one worth more than any
That brought me salvation free
Lasting to eternity!

Sin, disturb my soul no longer:
I am baptized into Christ!
I have comfort even stronger:
Jesus' cleansing sacrifice.
Should a guilty conscience seize me
Since my Baptism did release me
In a dear forgiving flood,
Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood?

Satan, hear this proclamation:
I am baptized into Christ!
Drop your ugly accusation,
I am not so soon enticed.
Now that to the font I've traveled,
All your might has come unraveled,
And, against your tyranny,
God, my Lord, unites with me!

Death, you cannot end my gladness:
I am baptized into Christ!
When I die, I leave all sadness
To inherit paradise!
Though I lie in dust and ashes
Faith's assurance brightly flashes:
Baptism has the strength divine
To make life immortal mine.

There is nothing worth comparing
To this lifelong comfort sure!
Open-eyed my grave is staring:
Even there I'll sleep secure.
Though my flesh awaits its raising,
Still my soul continues praising:
I am baptized into Christ;
I'm a child of paradise!

The Word is in the Water

2009-01-11T14:14:00.008-06:00

We confess that, in Baptism, the key thing is not simply the water, but what has been added to it. Even with ordinary uses of water, it is common for us to think this way. For instance, it's not the water but the flavoring and fizz added to it that make soda what it is, or the barley, hops, and fermenting yeast that make beer what it is. In a much greater way, it is the Name and Word of God connected to the water that make baptism what it is. In fact in the baptism of our Lord, we see that the Word made flesh is in the water Himself. Thus, baptism is the Gospel. It is Jesus. It delivers Him and all His gifts to us in and with the water poured over us. To reject baptism or its saving power is to reject the Word contained in it. Luther comments this way in the Large Catechism:

"From this now learn a proper understanding of the subject, and how to answer the question what Baptism is, namely thus, that it is not mere ordinary water, but water comprehended in God's Word and command, and sanctified thereby, so that it is nothing else than a divine water; not that the water in itself is nobler than other water, but that God's Word and command are added.

"Therefore it is pure wickedness and blasphemy of the devil that now our new spirits, to mock at Baptism, omit from it God's Word and institution, and look upon it in no other way than as water which is taken from the well, and then blather and say: How is a handful of water to help the soul? Aye, my friend, who does not know that water is water if tearing things asunder is what we are after? But how dare you thus interfere with God's order, and tear away the most precious treasure with which God has connected and enclosed it, and which He will not have separated? For the kernel in the water is God's Word or command and the name of God, which is a treasure greater and nobler than heaven and earth.

"Comprehend the difference, then, that Baptism is quite another thing than all other water; not on account of the natural quality but because something more noble is here added; for God Himself stakes His honor, His power and might on it. Therefore it is not only natural water, but a divine, heavenly, holy, and blessed water, and in whatever other terms we can praise it, all on account of the Word, which is a heavenly, holy Word, that no one can sufficiently extol, for it has, and is able to do, all that God is and can do [since it has all the virtue and power of God comprised in it]. Hence also it derives its essence as a Sacrament, as St. Augustine also taught: Accedat verbum ad elementum et fit sacramentum. That is, when the Word is joined to the element or natural substance, it becomes a Sacrament, that is, a holy and divine matter and sign.

"Therefore we always teach that the Sacraments and all external things which God ordains and institutes should not be regarded according to the coarse, external mask, as we regard the shell of a nut, but as the Word of God is included therein. . .

"Thus, and much more even, you must honor Baptism and esteem it glorious on account of the Word, since He Himself has honored it both by words and deeds; moreover, confirmed it with miracles from heaven. For do you think it was a jest that, when Christ was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Ghost descended visibly, and everything was divine glory and majesty?

"Therefore I exhort again that these two, the water and the Word, by no means be separated from one another and parted. For if the Word is separated from it, the water is the same as that with which the servant cooks' and may indeed be called a bath-keeper's baptism. But when it is added, as God has ordained, it is a Sacrament, and is called Christ-baptism."

(Large Catechism, Holy Baptism, 14-19,21-22)

You Can't Take It With You

2009-01-10T09:14:00.002-06:00

The wicked may prosper, but never for long. (See Psalm 73)

And here's another take on the whole event.

Gran Torino

2009-01-10T08:58:00.004-06:00

(Cautiously taking off my pastor hat for something a little less theological:)

Last evening, all the ladies of the house were gathered in the living room having a Jane Austen fest, watching the long version of Pride and Prejudice (as in 5 hours long). Thus, the self-respecting males in the house had to go out and watch the new Clint Eastwood movie, Gran Torino. We were not disappointed.

While I hesitate to recommend an R-rated movie–and this movie is rather raw at some points and filled with bad language throughout–I found it to be an entertaining and compelling story. The Clint Eastwood character, despite his gruff, seemingly racist exterior, is a very likable character–a "real man" in the old school sense. And his relationship with his family, as contrasted with his neighbors in a changing neighborhood, is developed fairly well. If I was hearing correctly, Clint Eastwood himself even does a little singing during the closing credits.

In terms of the religious aspects of the movie, there is a shaman who is very briefly portrayed in a positive light, and there are a few not unexpected problems in the way the Catholic priest is portrayed (though he, too, is developed as a positive character). But in a deeper way, the climax of the movie in particular is quite Christological–a slightly surprising and satisfying resolution of the story (though the imagery perhaps gets carried a little too far). Lutherans even get a brief reference in connection with Hmong refugees coming to America.

Some of the actors portraying the Hmong characters in this movie were a little stiff and clearly newer to the acting craft. And again, there is a heavy dose of foul language (thought it mostly comes off as realistic rather than gratuitous). But if that coarseness doesn't put you off, I believe you'll thoroughly enjoy this movie.

Here's a review of the movie from the local Milwaukee paper.

Milwaukee, the new San Francisco

2009-01-09T11:22:00.004-06:00

I didn't realize we were on the liberal (or libertine) cutting edge here in the Milwaukee area, but evidently we are. Here is the web site of our gay-friendly Milwaukee Public School, which reportedly is going to be the first of its kind in the country to extend the grade levels it serves from high school down to middle school. Yes, middle school. The slogan for this school is "Where you can be who you are." But seriously, how many middle schoolers have a firm grip on who they are? They also say in their vision statement that they want to create "a safe environment where students will be treated fairly regardless of sexuality, ability, appearance, or beliefs." I wonder how fairly someone would be treated who expressed their Scriptural belief that homosexuality is sinful? (See Romans 1:24-28 or 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

This, of course, is just another sign of how far our schools have fallen, from promoting academic knowledge and learning to promoting a social agenda. But even more so, it's a sign of how the church needs to clearly proclaim both repentance and the forgiveness of sins, not only the sinful corruption of our humanity that homosexuality is, but also how Christ is the Lamb of God who bears and carries away the sin of the world. As we observe the Baptism of our Lord in the coming days, we are reminded of how the sinless Jesus became the homosexual and the adulterer Himself in the water of the Jordan, how He absorbed all of our sin into Himself and became Sin for us, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Only as those baptized into Christ do we really find who we are, holy and beloved and forgiven children of God.

The funny thing is, this hasn't really been a news item here in the local Milwaukee media that I've noticed. I don't think anyone wants to be labeled as hateful or bigoted by questioning the motives or the wisdom of this move. However, U.S. News and World Report picked up on the story. Here's a snippet of the article:

The Milwaukee Public School System will expand the services provided by its gay-friendly high school and apparently become the nation's first school system to create a gay-friendly middle school.

At a meeting two weeks ago, a subcommittee of Milwaukee's Board of Education unanimously approved the Alliance School's proposal to serve sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The proposal gained unanimous approval from the full board by default when the item was not pulled for further discussion or a vote at last night's meeting. Alliance School lead teacher Tina Owen said the public charter school will begin accepting new applicants eligible for middle school in the 2009-2010 school year immediately.

Milwaukee's response to gay-friendly schools has been much different from other cities'. In Chicago, community leaders' concerns about creating a gay-friendly high school stalled plans to bring such a proposal before the city's school board. In New York City, protesters greeted students of the gay-friendly Harvey Milk High School in Manhattan's East Village on its first day of classes five years ago. But in Milwaukee, the Alliance School's birth as a high school and expansion to serve middle school students passed with no real opposition. Calls from social service organizations and parents urging Owen to create the middle school more quickly are the only responses she has received from the community, Owen said.

(Hat tip to Charlie Sykes for this story)

LCMS Clergy Numbers

2009-01-09T10:27:00.003-06:00

I don't follow LCMS statistics too closely. Perhaps that's why the numbers on p. 8 of the January 2009 Lutheran Witness were just a little bit surprising to me regarding clergy. According to the LCMS Church Information Center, there are 6,167 congregations in the synod with 9,164 clergy, or 1.49 clergymen per congregation. But then comes the next line: Of the 9,164 clergy in the synod, only 5,356 are serving a parish! Adding in chaplains (which I'm assuming are all ordained men) the number still only adds up to 5,837. That means more than 35% of our clergy, 3,327 men, are not serving in a parish or full-time work as a pastor! Now, of course, I recognize that a good chunk of that 35% includes retired pastors who often serve part-time, or ordained ministers teaching at our synodical schools, and the like. But 35%? Do we have that many bureaucrats in our synodical and district offices? What's up with these numbers? The number of missionaries is listed at 811. But in LCMS-speak, the vast majority of those are laity, right? Whatever the case, I don't want to hear any more about our need for "lay ministers." It seems we need more of our ordained men doing the first thing they were given to do in their ordination: serving in a pulpit and at an altar, preaching and teaching the Word of God and administering the sacraments.

A few more pictures

2009-01-07T21:59:00.010-06:00

Here are a few of the professional pictures taken at Bekah and Gabe's wedding back on December 27th. (And yes, the photographer did graciously give us the digital rights to these.)

All my children (including Gabe):

The whole crew with Mom and Dad:

View from the balcony during the marriage rite:

The Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann preaching during Vespers:

The Rev. Dr. Karl Fabrizius playing a mean air guitar at the reception:

You can view many more pictures at my wife's blog.

How should I dress for church?

2009-01-05T08:15:00.008-06:00

Here's one from the archives. I wrote it for the church newsletter the year the Packers last won the Super Bowl. (What a distant memory that seems compared to this year!) On the day of the NFC championship, everyone kneeling for communion at one point was wearing Packers garb of some sort, be it a jacket or sweatshirt or T-shirt. Now I was as rabid a fan as any of them, but that picture just didn't look quite right to me. Here's what I came up with to address the larger issue, which I think is still relevant:

I have noticed lately that more and more people are coming to church wearing clothing which has on it the names of sports teams or names of companies or slogans or various pictures and symbols from the secular or entertainment world. Is it appropriate for Christians to dress this way in the Lord's house? And if not, why not?

To begin with, we don't want to make up some sort of arbitrary and legalistic code about what a person can and cannot wear that goes beyond what the Scriptures teach. We do not wish to encourage our sinful human pride by setting up a system whereby people are judged by their clothing or are shown partiality by how they dress. The Scriptures speak of this in James 2: "If there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good place,' and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,' or, ‘Sit here at my feet,' have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?"

But this does not mean that we can simply dress however we please, either. For the Scriptures make it abundantly clear that when we gather for the divine service of the Word and the Sacraments, we are coming into the very presence of Christ. "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). The way we dress should reflect this reality that our Lord Jesus is truly present among us in worship. Just as we wear our best when we go out to a fine restaurant, so we are to wear clothing that is fit for feasting at the banquet table of the Lamb of God, partaking of His Holy Word and His precious body and blood. To do otherwise is to act as if Christ is not really present or that His presence isn't all that important or worth honoring. It would be like wearing sweats and an old T-shirt to your wedding.

This is not to say that we should be showy in our clothing, dressing in such a way as to draw attention to ourselves. Rather, modesty should be the rule. St. Paul speaks this way when he tells women how to dress in I Timothy 2: "I desire that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works."

Our real clothing as Christians is the righteousness and holiness of Christ which He has freely given to us. "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:27). It is this spiritual clothing that should be reflected in our earthly clothing.

Especially when we gather for the divine service, our dress should exhibit the fact that we are people who have been called out of the world in Christ; we are certainly in the world, but we are not of the world. Worldly clothing with worldly philosophies and agendas, then, should not find its way into the holy house of God. "Come out from among them (the people of the world) and be separate, says the Lord" (II Corinthians 6:17).

Here, then, are some simple guidelines for how to dress for Church:

+ Avoid wearing clothing with any words displayed on it, especially if it's promoting some person or team or company. This isn't the business of the church, and it can be distracting to others.

+ Avoid wearing clothing with any sort of pictures or symbols that represent the things of the secular or entertainment world. Again, the divine service is not the place for these to be featured.

+ Dress in such as way as is fitting in the presence of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

+ Dress in such a way that you don't draw improper attention to yourself. Modesty is the key word.

+ "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering. . . But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection" (Colossians 3:12-14).

No Goods or Services Provided

2009-01-01T09:50:00.004-06:00

"No good or services were provided to you by the church in connection with any contribution"

Those are the words stamped on our congregation's financial forms which indicate how much was given in offerings over the past year. Evidently federal or state law requires that we include such a statement because of our non-profit status as a church.

That statement got me to thinking, though. Is it true? Don't you receive goods and services in connection with your offerings? What greater service could you be receiving than divine service? What greater goods are there than the saving Word of God and the body and blood of Christ given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins? Does that statement on your financial form lie?

The answer is, "no." For your offering is not given to pay for such heavenly goods and services. Your offerings are not "dues" that you pay so that you can stay in the church "club" and receive its benefits. For the divine service and the holy goods that God gives to you are entirely free and without any strings attached.

It is written in Romans 6, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." What you receive in church is a free gift! The forgiveness, life, and salvation bestowed upon you come with no strings attached. There is nothing for you to do but to receive what God gives you entirely by grace. No requirements are laid upon you.

So what are the offerings for then? Why do we give them? There are at least three answers. First of all, the giving of an offering shows forth your thanks to God for all that He has done for you in Christ and all that He has given you in both body and soul. It is a concrete expression of gratitude for His goodness toward you.

Secondly, an offering is an expression of faith. It shows that you believe that the Lord is indeed the Creator and Owner of all things and He alone is to be praised for the good things that you have. Returning back to Him a portion of what He has first given you honors Him as your Maker and Redeemer and shows a trust that He will continue to care for you in the future.

Thirdly, we give offerings because we desire to support the ministry of the Gospel of Christ. We want to be sure that the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments will continue to go on in our midst, both for our salvation and for the salvation of others. This Gospel is our very life and our greatest treasure, and we want the good news of Jesus to be proclaimed here and in all the world.

Just One Picture

2008-12-29T11:18:00.005-06:00

Here's one shot from Grandma Novak's camera of the bride and groom. Laura and I are next to Rebekah, and Gabriel's parents, Philip and Cassandra, are next to him. The last time I wore a tux was on my own wedding day! (Of course, I wore my pastoral robes for the ceremony itself.)

Father of the Bride

2008-12-28T12:26:00.006-06:00

Yesterday my daughter Rebekah was married to Gabriel Frusti. It was foggy and rainy outside, but it was beautiful indoors. I had the privilege of both walking my daughter down the aisle and then performing the marriage rite. What a challenging and emotional thing it was! I had tears in my eyes during the procession and a lump in my throat throughout the ceremony, but my voice only broke when pronouncing them to be husband and wife. Thankfully I had the assistance of Gabe's two uncles, the Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann and the Rev. Matthew Richardt, both of whom did a good job in preaching and assisting in Vespers. That certainly helped take a load off of my shoulders so that I could more fully enjoy the occasion of God joining my firstborn to her new husband. It was a great experience to have the congregation singing the hymns and liturgy in strong voice as we prayed for the bride and groom and rejoiced in God's gift of marriage and the forgiveness of Christ.

There's one thing that struck me at the end of the ceremony. It's nothing profound. In fact, it's sort of obvious, but it left me feeling just a little bit like Steve Martin at the end of the movie Father of the Bride. Of all the people in the procession, I was the only one who didn't get to walk out with the one I walked in with. All of the groomsmen were arm in arm with the same bridesmaids they entered with, but after processing in with my daughter I had to walk out with the other pastors. I was surprised at how lonely that felt. You go through all these preparations for weeks and months in advance to make sure everything goes properly, and then it's all over and your daughter is a wife and she's on her way to the beginning of a new life. And you don't quite know what to do next once that's all happened. It was a strange feeling--not really sad, just unexpected.

Of course, the next thing to do yesterday was simply to enjoy the reception and celebrate with friends and family and toast the occasion and slow dance with my wife and be humbled by the fact that God allows us sinners still to enjoy so much good in this fallen world. There were plenty of friends, and pastors in particular, who were more than happy to stick around and help drink all the unfinished bottles of wine! From beginning to end, it was a good day.

Rebekah, I'm so glad you found a good man, and a Lutheran one, in Gabriel. God richly bless your marriage and your household!

Holy Thief

2008-12-24T21:19:00.002-06:00

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

In the Garden where Adam and Eve lived, there came a thief. He was a swindler, flattering with his tongue, smooth with his words, like a con man who bilks the unsuspecting out of thousands of dollars. He told Adam and Eve that they were missing out on a great deal that God was keeping to Himself. If they would just eat of the forbidden fruit, then they would be divine themselves. Turning them from God's words to his own deceitful words, this thief, the devil, robbed them blind. Enticing them to try to be like God, he stole away their humanity. He pilfered their very lives.

You sons of Adam and daughters of Eve are in the very same shape. Despite all of our knowledge and achievements and abilities, the fact is that we are now less than human, a disfigured shadow of what we were created to be. We can sometimes feel that in our very souls, that things just aren't right. This inhumanity manifests itself in anger and impatience and disrespect, in lusts, in greed and grudges and gossip. Even more subtly, it shows itself when we come to church more out of love of family and tradition than out of love for God. To be human is to live as God's creation, to receive everything from Him according to His will, to love and trust in Him as One who is good and gracious, and to be dependent on Him for all that you need. But by nature we would rather be independent. We don't want to be human, creatures who are under a Creator. We want to be like God, in charge, calling our own shots, doing our own thing. The truth is that all of us fell with Adam. We've been robbed; we've been mugged and left to die.

But in the Garden God promised to send One who would silence the lying tongue of this thief and crush his head and rescue us from his power. God would do this by turning the tables on the devil, using Satan's own tactics against him. This would be a sting operation. It was through a virgin, Eve, that the tempter worked his thievery, and so it is also through a virgin, Mary, that Christ enters into the world to undo and destroy the devil's work. It was in a quiet and subtle and shrewd manner that the serpent attained his plunder. And so it is in a quiet and subtle and shrewd manner that the Son of God comes to restore what was taken from you, masking Himself within weak flesh and blood, becoming a real baby boy, being laid in a feeding trough.

The Scriptures say that our Lord comes as a thief in the night (I Thess. 5:2; Rev. 16:15). That is a reference to Jesus' return on the Last Day. Like a robber in the darkness, He will come suddenly and unexpectedly to judge the living and the dead. But that phrase can also be applied to Jesus' first coming at Christmas. He comes like a thief in the night, that is, quietly, hidden in the shadows, with almost no one noticing His arrival. The Son of God, who upholds all creation, enters into His creation in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary. Traveling curled up in her belly to the holy city of David, He is given birth in a barn, because there is no room for them in the inn. He arrives on the scene under cover, secretly–like a holy burglar–to win back for you what the devil stole away.

The Son of God begins to do that in the very act of His becoming man. By taking on your body and soul, Jesus has redeemed and cleansed your humanity with His divine holiness. His incarnation permeates and hallows mankind. In the stable with the animals, we see Jesus as the new Adam. He has come to lift you out of your beastly inhumanity and recreate you by His coming in the flesh. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." God the Son took your humanity into Himself so that your humanity might be restored and made new. God has greatly exalted you by becoming not an angel or any other creature but a true man, your blood brother. He partakes fully of your humanity so that in Him you might become truly human again.

That's why already here the heavenly host breaks forth in rejoicing. For the beginning of your salvation has been accomplished. Already now God has begun to break the devil's hold on you. The baby Jesus is delivered from the blessed Virgin, and in this way you are being delivered from the shadow of death. In Christ your humanity is recaptured from the tempter and given back to you. You who fell from God into the hands of darkness have been brought back to your Maker. That is the peace on earth that the angels sing of. God and man come together in Jesus who is Himself both God and man. Those who believe and are baptized into the body of Christ are thereby reunited with God. And so the angels sing, "Glory to God in the highest." For it is God's glory to come to your aid, to descend from heaven to help you and rescue you.

Think of it this way: By uniting your humanity with His divinity, God has made your cause His own. He is your powerful ally who alone has the power to defeat the enemy. Whatever the devil did to us, He has now done it to God, too; and that simply won't stand. But again, our Lord engages the battle under cover. Just as the Son of God was born in lowly state, so also His divine power to save us will be hidden beneath meekness and humility and suffering. The tender brow of this little one is being prepared to be pierced with thorns. His fragile hands and feet will feel the hammer's blow as spikes are driven through them attaching Him to the cross. The tiny beating heart of this baby will grow to be pierced with a spear, and from it will flow the blood that cleanses us of all sin.

Jesus was crucified between two robbers (Matthew 27:28), as if He were a thief Himself. And in fact He was. Not only did He come to rob the devil of His victory over you, He accomplished that by robbing you of your sin. He stole away from you every uncleanness, every failure to love, along with every hurtful and evil thing that has been said or done to you. He robbed you of it all, took it as His own, and demolished it in His death. It was through the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that Satan conquered man, and so it was also by a tree, the holy cross, that Christ conquered Satan and reconciled man to God again. It was by death that Satan sought to steal away man's glory; and so it is by the death of Christ and His resurrection that the glory of man is restored.

Listen carefully, then, and hear clearly what the angels declare and believe it: "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." He comes as a thief in the night to take away your sins and heal your injured flesh and spirit with His own pure flesh and Holy Spirit. He is born to give you second birth to a new and everlasting life with God.

"And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." Still today you will find the Christ, wrapped in bread and wine, lying on the altar. Bethlehem is here. Let us, then, with Mary treasure and ponder these holy mysteries in our hearts. And let us with the shepherds glorify and praise God for all of the things that we have heard and seen, just as it has been told to us.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Living Nativity

2008-12-23T15:11:00.007-06:00

At this time of year some Christian churches will have "living nativities" with live animals and actors portraying the setting of Christ's birth; or they will have big musical stage productions telling the Christmas story. And of course, there's nothing necessarily wrong with those things.

But there's one thing I've noticed. The churches that tend to really go all out on such things also tend to de-emphasize or not to believe at all in the literal presence of Christ's body and blood in the Sacrament of the Altar. The pretend portrayal is preferred over the real thing. The vacuum that is created in pushing aside the Scriptural teaching of the Lord's Supper is inevitably filled with our own creations. The works of man always appear to be more impressive than the works of God. I recall even one Lutheran pastor who would kneel before a plastic Jesus as part of a school Christmas program, but who thought it wrong to genuflect at the altar during the consecration!

Let us never forget, then, where the real living nativity is: It's on the altar and in the pastor's hand and in your mouth, the living body and blood of Christ wrapped in the swaddling cloths of bread and wine. To go to Bethlehem is to go to the Sacrament; for Bethlehem means "house of bread." And the Bread of Life, the Word made flesh, is here in God's house for you, as Jesus said, "I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." Let us not only keep Christ in Christmas, let us also keep the mass, Holy Communion, in Christmass.

I'm Sure This Will Help Study Habits

2008-12-22T08:00:00.006-06:00

I wasn't aware that not just college dorms but even dormrooms were going co-ed; guess I haven't been paying close enough attention. One has to wonder at the wisdom of those who think that putting college age males and females in the same sleeping quarters "isn't aimed at romantic couples" or doesn't have the effect of promoting sexual immorality. Even if there are many examples of "platonic" male/female dormrooms, is that really something we want to encourage? Whatever happened to even the most basic standards of decency and ethics in the way men and women relate to one another? Not a good trend, but I guess it's hard to stop now that living together before marriage has become the accepted norm in our culture. Here's the article:

The University of Chicago is joining a nationwide trend of allowing male and female students to live not just on the same dorm floor, but in the same dorm room.

The school sent a letter out to parents last week informing them of the decision. The school says it was a student-led initiative that isn't aimed at romantic couples. However, the school says couples won't be banned from asking to be roommates when the program begins next month.

Nationally more than 30 campuses allow co-ed dorm rooms.

The University of Chicago program is called open housing and it won't include freshmen. Students do not need parental permission to participate. The school says students will not be assigned mixed-gender housing. Instead it's on a request basis.

Why Do We Practice Closed Communion?

2008-12-20T13:50:00.004-06:00

(With the Christmas holy-day approaching and with the greater number of visitors we'll be having for divine service, I thought it might be good to post this recent newsletter article:)

The above question is one of the toughest for the average Lutheran to answer. At first glance it seems so contrary to our basic Christian instincts. Doesn’t Jesus welcome all people? Didn’t He die for everyone? Isn’t forgiveness and salvation something that is not dependent on anything in us? Isn’t it all God’s grace, anyway? Why shouldn’t we let people come to the Lord’s Supper who want to do so?

The answer to the above question comes from God’s own Word. First of all, not everyone who receives the Lord’s Supper receives it to their benefit. Some are actually harmed by it because they do not have the right faith. 1 Corinthians 11:29 states, “He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” Those who do not believe that the true, literal body and blood of Christ are being distributed, who believe that Communion is a just a remembrance ceremony using mere bread and wine, would eat and drink to their own condemnation according to this verse. To eat and drink in an unworthy manner is to eat and drink without penitent faith in the Lord’s real presence or in the promise of forgiveness attached to His real body and blood.

So then, first of all, out of love for our neighbor, we cannot simply let anyone come to the Lord’s table without first being sure they hold to this belief for their own good. Unfortunately, many Christian bodies–such as Methodists, Baptists, and non-denominational groups (to name just a few)–reject Christ’s true body and blood in His Supper. To admit them to the Lord’s table would be to dishonor Christ and fail to love our neighbor.

Second of all, God’s Word clearly teaches that we are not to have fellowship (communion) with false teaching. The Lord’s Supper is the highest and most intimate union that we have with one another as Christians on this earth. To permit a rejection of Christ’s Word into that intimate fellowship would be to love something or someone more than Christ. No one is saying that people from other church bodies aren’t Christian; we are not judging their heart or whether or not they will go to heaven. However, in these other church bodies there is false teaching that threatens saving faith, like a little bit of arsenic mixed in with otherwise good food. To overlook that false belief and say, “You can commune with us anyway,” would be to say that part of Christ’s Word doesn’t matter or that we can do without it. But what part of the Gospel can we safely sacrifice? Should we accept to communion those who reject infant baptism? those who say that good works contribute to our salvation? those who pray to and put their faith in the saints? those who ordain women as pastors? those who say that some parts of the Bible aren’t true and are not God’s Word? those who say that homosexuality is OK? those who water down the faith to be relevant to pop culture? It’s not just some esoteric ivory tower theological point that’s at stake but the very Gospel of Jesus Himself.

Once again, on the surface having open communion seems like the tolerant, inclusive, loving thing to do. But in reality it is the opposite of love for God or our neighbor. If we truly love our neighbor, we will want them to be freed from all false teaching. The temptation for us to compromise is high when it involves a relative or a guest whom we don’t want to offend. But God’s Word must be our highest love; for it brings Christ to us and gives His gifts. Since the Lord’s Supper is the Gospel, we want to administer it in the most faithful and loving way possible.

The practice of the early church backs up this practice. There was false teaching and heresy also in the days of the apostles and their successors, as well. And so when someone wanted to commune at a place other than their home church, they would actually get a letter from their pastor to give to the pastor in the city where they were going, certifying that the bearer of the letter held to the true faith. Apart from that, someone would not be allowed to Communion. (See Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries by Werner Elert.) No one had the prideful notion that they had the “right” to commune wherever they wanted. This was a privilege given by Christ and administered by pastors who were given to be “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1).

And of course the practice of the early church reflected Scriptural admonitions: “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Jesus said, “. . . teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house” [“House” in this context might refer to a house church.] (2 John 10). The last two verses apply especially to not welcoming preachers and others who teach falsely. But the principle remains the same. No false teaching is to be accepted alongside Christ’s truth, for Jesus said, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6; see also Galatians 5:9). Like yeast, once a little false teaching takes hold, it can spread throughout everything else the church teaches and practices. One only needs to look at the compromise that has occurred in many church bodies (including some areas of our own Missouri Synod) to see evidence of that.

Finally, we shouldn’t forget that closed communion is also practiced within the membership of a congregation, too. Our Lord says in Matthew 5 that we should seek to be reconciled with those who may have something against us, whom we need to confess wrongdoing toward, before we go to the altar. We should not go to Communion if there are grudges that we’re holding on to or vengeance that we’re seeking toward our neighbor. Being reconciled with God in Christ at His table also involves seeking peace with our neighbor, especially if that neighbor will be kneeling with us at the communion rail.

Pastors must sometimes refrain from communing their own members who are behaving impenitently, openly holding on to their sins, refusing to humbly turn to Christ and seek His mercy. Jesus said in John 20, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Sometimes a person needs to be barred from the Lord’s table to show the severity of their sin, that they might be brought to true repentance and seek the forgiveness the Lord gives with His body and blood.

So to sum up, the practice of closed communion is based on love for God and His Word and love for our neighbor, that they may receive and abide in the truth of Christ and His testament. It’s not a “we’re better than you” sort of thing. Rather, it is a practice which seeks to treat the body and blood of Christ as the holy, divine gifts that they are.

Mt. Zion Web Site Updated

2008-12-19T08:30:00.004-06:00

Thanks to the hard work of our web master, Jon Kohlmeier, the web site of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Greenfield, Wisconsin has been updated and made to look much better. You can access the new web site here. There are still a few more things we will be adding and adjusting, but I'm glad we were able to get this live before Christmas. Good work, Jon!

Ethnic Jesus

2008-12-19T08:24:00.003-06:00

It used to be bother me a little bit when I would see Nativity scenes from other countries that depicted Jesus as being of the same race as that country–in a Chinese painting Jesus looked oriental, in an African portrayal Jesus was black, or for that matter, in a German or Scandinavian portrait Jesus looked like a blue-eyed European. It bothered me because the Christmas narrative is a true story, real history, and Jesus is a middle-eastern Jew. To depict the Nativity in some other way seemed to me to be making it into a bit of a fairy tale that we can mold and shape and change to fit our desires and needs. But the account of Jesus’ birth is no myth. It doesn’t belong in the same category as flying reindeer and all the fantasy that has become so much a part of our culture’s Christmas holiday. The Christmas narrative is for real. Luke emphasizes that point by even giving you some of the historical details about who the Caesar was and the census and the tax and who the governor of that region was at that time. The Christmas story is an actual, literal account about the real Jesus and His birth.

And yet the more I think about it, the more I believe that those paintings may have it right, at least in this sense: The angel came with the message of good news for all people, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The Savior Jesus is born to you, for you; He is yours. He’s your kind, humankind. When the Son of God took on our human nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, He did not just became a man. He became man. He took all of humanity into Himself in His incarnation. For He came to bear the sins of all humanity in His body. That includes every nation and race and people and language. Though Jesus was indeed a Jew, His birth reveals the truth that there is in fact only one human race, the fallen children of Adam. And in this newborn baby in the manger, every sinner is redeemed and restored to God. Jesus is the embodiment of all people from every corner of the globe, and in His body all people are put right with God again.

And so when Jesus is portrayed as African or Oriental or European, theologically speaking that’s true. By becoming man, Christ becomes one with all people to deliver all people. The Savior is born to you, for you. He’s one of you, your very flesh and blood, your true human brother. There’s no one that’s left out of the new life that comes from His holy birth. He’s like you in every way, except without sin, that you might become like Him in every way and share in His divine glory.

(The rest of this 2007 Christmas sermon can be accessed here.)

The Two Shall Become . . .?

2008-12-18T07:42:00.012-06:00

One of the last things to do for the wedding of my daughter on the 27th is to prepare the bulletin. It looks like we're going to produce our own "in house," though we did look at several of the full color ones offered by various publishing houses.

There's one thing that has always struck me as a little strange. All of the full color professional bulletins that I saw cut short a particular marriage verse by rendering it, "The two shall become one." But that's not how the Bible has it. It's not "The two shall become one," but "The two shall become one flesh." Why do they always cut off that last word, flesh, on their bulletin covers?

Perhaps it doesn't seem very spiritual to be talking about flesh in church, but the marital union is not just a generic spiritual union but, as the wedding liturgy points out, a union of "heart, body, and mind." It could be that the bulletin designers are not particularly Lutheran in their theology and so didn't want to emphasize this more, shall we say, "sacramental" aspect of marriage. But the sexual union is part of the gift that God created and that He gives to a husband and wife when He marries them. "The two shall become one flesh" is also fulfilled, quite literally, in the procreation of children, when God grants it, from this union of husband and wife.

And let us not forget that marriage portrays our one-fleshness with Christ. Our union with Him, too, is a concrete, tangible reality. For ultimately, Jesus is the one who (in the language of Genesis 2) left His Father and was joined to His wife by means of His incarnation and the cross. He was put into the deep sleep of death, and out of His side the Church was created to be His Eve by the sacramental blood and water that flowed. Baptized into the risen Jesus, "we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones" (Ephesians 5:30 NKJV).

Alien Creation

2008-12-17T08:00:00.005-06:00

This headline caught my eye this morning: 5 Projects Ask if Life on Earth Began as Alien Life in Space. Now I'm all for scientific inquiry and the pursuit of truly scientific knowledge, and this isn't the first time I've heard this theory proposed. But consider the lead paragraph from the article:

"For years, scientists have considered the possibility of exogenesis, the idea that life arrived on Earth from another planet, and not just the building blocks of life, but organisms that were ready to rock and roll when they arrived. It’s a Rube Goldberg scenario, however, dependent on several successful steps. First, life has to evolve on an alien planet. Then it must be blasted into space on a rock, probably from a large impact. Assuming it survives a long journey through harsh conditions—and makes its way into our neighborhood—life then has to resist fiery atmospheric entry and a brutal landing before trying to make a new home for itself. Here are several research projects looking at the feasibility of such a fantastic voyage."

Yet they think it's foolish and irrational to believe in Creation! And of course they never explain how the alien life came into being or how dead elements anywhere in the universe can become living organisms on their own. Maybe if we start referring to God as the ultimate Alien and His creating as Massive Exogenesis, then they'd give consideration to the Biblical account. Sheesh.

Issues, Etc.

2008-12-15T15:01:00.002-06:00

Here's a nice little video/commercial promoting the Issues, Etc. radio program. If you haven't already checked in to what's going on there, be sure to give it a listen!

Luke 2 and Luke 15

2008-12-15T09:15:00.010-06:00

As I was listening to a Christmas Concert at Martin Luther High School this past weekend, it struck me that there is an interesting similarity between Luke 2 and Luke 15 that I had never considered before. In Luke 2 the shepherds leave their flocks in the open field to go and find the Christ child, for they leave "with haste." In the parable in Luke 15, Jesus says, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?"

Of course, at first glance these passages are the reverse of each other, since in Luke 15 Jesus is the One doing the seeking, whereas in Luke 2 Jesus is the One being sought out. However, in both instances, it is shepherds doing the seeking--something which I think has clear implications for the pastoral office. Also, in both cases the importance of the situation requires a certain "recklessness" in leaving the flock.

And then there's this: In both cases it is a sheep, a lamb, that is being sought out. The Lamb of God, Jesus, was even lost in a certain sense, that is, away from home, without a place to stay or to lay his head other than a cattle trough. And did He not come to take the place of us lost sinners? This is precisely how He seeks us out and saves us, by taking up our flesh and bearing in His body our lostness, our guilt, our death. There He is, wrapped like a mummy in the manger, a sign of how He would be lost to death that we might be found and raised up with Him in His resurrection. (Dare we go even further into Luke 15 and see Christ with the lost? "Your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.")

It is this Gospel of Jesus that shepherds "make widely known" still today, so that lost and straying sinners might be restored to the flock. No wonder that in both accounts the angels rejoice and men glorify and praise God for all the things that they have heard and seen.

You Proclaim What You Eat

2008-12-12T06:32:00.003-06:00

In the Old Testament Ezekiel prophesied the words that the Lord caused him to eat. "'Son of man, eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.' So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll" (Ezekiel 3:1-2).

Therefore, I don't take it to be mere factual reporting when the Scriptures speak of John the Baptist's diet. "His food was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4). John preached what he ate. Locusts portray condemnation and the judgment of God, as in the book of Joel. John preached this Law sternly. "Repent! Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance." But then He also preached the Gospel in all its sweetness, like honey in His mouth. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" This Law and Gospel is still the content of all true Christian preaching. "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth" (Psalm 119:103).

You proclaim what you eat. Is this not what is meant when the Scriptures speak of Christians prophesying? We proclaim the praises of Him whom we eat in the Sacrament, that is, we confess the Christ whose body was sacrificed on our behalf and whose blood was shed to cleanse us of our sins. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Real Christmas Trees Best for the Environment

2008-12-10T22:24:00.003-06:00

Now for something a little less serious (since you all know how much I just love environmentalism).

I've always believed that in the debate between real and artificial Christmas trees, real ones are the way to go. This seems only logical to me as a Lutheran. The holy day of Christmas is about the Word becoming flesh, truly human, which we celebrate by receiving the real body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion. How could I then have a fake tree in my house for the festival? Lutherans always prefer the real thing, even if it's a little bit earthier, messier, and less convenient. That's the nature of a theology that's grounded in the creation, the incarnation, the cross, and the sacraments.

OK, so perhaps I'm overdoing it a bit trying to apply this to Christmas trees. I know it doesn't really matter one way or the other what kind of tree one has. But after hearing the news on the radio this morning, somehow I now feel even better in my preference for real trees. They're environmentally correct! According to this article, the debate is settled. And here are more arguments for the real thing.

So if the theological argument doesn't persuade you, maybe the environmental one will. Get a real Christmas tree!

George Bush: Bible probably not literally true

2008-12-10T10:22:00.008-06:00

For all those who liked to portray President Bush as a right-wing Bible thumper--not really so. Of course, that was obvious after 9-11 when he continuously referred to Islam as a religion of peace. But recently he was quoted as saying that the bible is probably not literally true. He was referring to his belief in the "scientific fact" of evolution and how he didn't find it incompatible with belief in a Creator.

Evidently, what he's not taking literally is Genesis 1-3. For there is no compatibility at all between believing that death only came into the world as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve (full-fledged homo sapiens) and the belief that death after death and mutation after mutation is what actually caused human beings to come into existence as a species.

Then there's this little problem: If death isn't the wages of sin, then why did Jesus need to come and die to break the curse of sin and redeem us? For that matter, why did Jesus Himself refer to the Creation account literally (as in Matthew 19)? Or why did Paul (as in 1 Corinthians 15:22)? The fact that the President refers to God sending "a" son rather than "His Son" or even better "His only Son" is telling. (Come to think of it, that language sounds a lot like a certain Synodical District President a few years back at Yankee stadium.)

Once you start discounting or rejecting some parts of the Scriptures, the Gospel itself is threatened. Creation and Salvation belong together. If you attack one, you attack the other. Salvation is our re-creation in Christ. For "all things were made through Him (Jesus), and without Him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:3; see also Colossians 1:16-17). "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Anyway, here's the article.