In the shadow of the Cross

Been reflecting on the Cross. Some thoughts:

"His power is made perfect in weakness."

The cross is where God accomplished salvation for mankind. What looked like crushing, agonizing defeat was in fact victory over sin, death and the devil. Looking up at the cross from Calvary, it must have seemed like anything but victorious. There hung the supposed Messiah - abandoned by his followers, convicted as a criminal and sentenced to die in the most painful, humiliating fashion the Romans could devise, beaten, scourged, mocked and spat upon - and seemingly powerless to prevent any of it. The cross represents - no, IS - the worst of man's evil.

And yet this is precisely where God's power to overturn the evil forces in the world is made manifest. This so-called "defeat" is where our salvation was secured. The cross = power hidden in the form of weakness.

It is a paradox. Consider the words of this hymn:

How strange is this great paradox to ponder:
The Shepherd dies for sheep who love to wander;
The master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.

What kind of love does it take to die for those who will struggle to remain faithful to the one who paid their tremendous debt? Or for those who refuse to even acknowledge Him, let alone the debt that they have incurred? What kind of a God makes Himself vulnerable to man's continued rejection; paying all that is owed only to be rebuffed for his love?

We expect victory to look like victory, and power to look...well, powerful. And the Cross, when seen unfiltered through the eyes of faith, certainly does not resemble what we expect an all-powerful God to look like.

Yet it is the weakness that is the source of the power. Christ Himself said that no one takes his life from Him; He lays it down willingly.

So what does all this mean for me, living in the shadow of the Cross?

Well, first of all, if God demonstrates his power through the weakness of the Cross, then He does through my weakness too.

"All things work together for the good of those who love God..."

The Cross is proof of this. In the Cross, the devil was tricked and evil was subverted for good.

The Cross changes everything. It turns what we think we know about God on its ear.

The world sees suffering as a curse; through the lens of the Cross, we see it a blessing.

The world sees servanthood as lowly; the Cross exalts the servant-hearted.

The world views self-sacrifice as weak and submissive, but it is through self-sacrifice in service to others that I reign with Christ.

This is incredibly humbling.

Jesus promises to come again with glory and I can't help but wonder - in light of the Cross, what will that glory look like?

I think it might very well look a lot like suffering, and weakness and defeat.

Something to think about, isn't it?

The Lutheran Liturgy: The Service of Preparation

Pretend that you are coming to church with me...

If you've never been in a Lutheran Church before you may notice that it looks different from what you are used to. A brief explanation about the layout of the church can be found here.

As we enter the sanctuary, you will notice that the atmosphere is somewhat subdued. Some people may be talking quietly, but others will be listening to the prelude music or have their heads down in prayer, preparing for worship. As we take our seats, I will silently pray a brief prayer of thanks to the Holy Spirit for bringing me to church and asking the Spirit to give me ears to hear the Gospel. You can pray too, if you like. There is a prayer for coming to worship in the cover of the hymnal if you would like to use it, or you can pray an appropriate prayer of your own.

By now, the church should be filling up and there will be music playing. Most often it is our beautiful organ, but sometimes there are other instruments: we have a handbell choir and quite a few musicians who lend their talents (on the clarinet, trumpet, guitar for example) and recently we've had a beautiful flute accompany the grand piano. The music helps to set the atmosphere for the coming service - somber on a Good Friday service, for example, or triumphant for Easter.

We see two acolytes enter the sanctuary to light the candles at the altar. The pastor enters and we stand to sing the opening hymn.

We will remain standing after the hymn and the pastor will face the altar and say "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" and we will respond "Amen". This is called the Invocation. The invocation is based upon Matthew 28:19a

Following the Invocation, we will kneel and confess our sinfulness and hear the pastor pronounce God's forgiveness to us. This is called Confession and Absolution. The words we use for our confession are from 1 John 1:8 "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Following our confession, the pastor will pronounce absolution according to John 20:23, Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18.

With absolution pronounced, we have finished the Service of Preparation and are now ready for the actual Divine Service to begin.

Ok, I can hear you now. Huh??? So, what just happened here? Well, let me try to explain...

To understand what's going on in the liturgy in general, you need to remember that it is focussed entirely on Christ and the saving work that He did, and continues to do, for us. The liturgy is a beautiful reflection of the order between God and man: God acts, we respond.

Our sin separates us from God and prevents us from entering into his presence. On our own we can't approach him - He must come to us. The primary way that he comes to us is through his Word and Sacraments.

So when we gather to worship, the first thing we do is acknowledge that we are not here by our own strength or reason but have been brought by the Spirit. We acknowledge this in the liturgy through the Invocation. When the pastor speaks the invocation, he does so outside of the chancel area; he is still in the nave with the rest of the congregation. As he speaks the invocation, he makes the sign of the cross (we may do so also) by which we recall our baptism and the name of the Triune God into whose name we have been baptized. It is on this basis that we may now approach him. Maybe that sounds like a no-brainer, but notice how it points us firmly back to Christ? It keeps us from thinking that we're here because we have something to "offer" to God. We're not here on account of any merit or work (even the work of praise) of our own - we're "name-dropping" if you will, using God's own name to approach Him, because of what Christ did for us.

But emboldened though we are by God's promise to hear us for Christ's sake, we have some dirty business to attend to first. We are sinful and constantly in need of God's forgiveness. How can we even contemplate entering into His presence in such a state? Our sorrow for our sin causes us to go to our knees and cry out for mercy and forgiveness. God in his mercy hears our cries and assures us that we have been forgiven for Christ's sake. As the pastor pronounces God's forgiveness to us, he remains outside of the chancel, reminding us that he is just a servant and in need of forgiveness as well. What he pronounces to us, he receives himself.

The Service of Preparation establishes the rhythm of our worship: God Himself serves us with his gifts of pardon and forgiveness and we respond in joyful thanksgiving. Now we are ready to begin worship...

A reader asks...

In an email, Beth from Arizona asks,

“Is the Holy Spirit within all people including non believers? If not, then how does God communicate with or guide us before we are baptized? Isn’t something leading us to the desire to be baptized?"

Blessings, Beth

Thank you for your email and your questions, Beth. The answers, happily, can be clearly drawn from the Scriptures.

The Scriptures indicate in a number of places that there are those who are in the Spirit and those who are not.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:5-8

Forthe one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:8

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3

Just as a distinction was made between the Isrealites - God's chosen people - and the Gentiles, so too is there a distinction between those who have been regenerated by the Spirit and those who have not. All are God's creatures, but not all are His children.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1

Believers have been adopted into the family of God and are heirs to the Kingdom. Believers hear and understand the that which is of the Spirit, while unbelievers do not - indeed cannot.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

But God does not speak to us exclusively through his indwelt Spirit - he uses ordinary physical means to communicate with us as well. Scripture teaches that God's grace is conveyed to us through the Gospel (that is: God's saving word about His love for us in Jesus).

When we hear the Gospel preached - which comes to us by sound waves carried across space to our ears - we hear God's very own Word spoken. When we read the Scriptures - paper and ink bound in a book - we are seeing the the Word that God wanted to preserve for us so that we may know about the Saviour. God uses all these physical means to convey his Word to us.

Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

The Holy Spirit creates faith in us by the Gospel, and all who receive this Word in faith are saved. If we desire to be baptized, it is solely by the work of the Holy Spirit in us. (1 Cor. 12:3 again: "no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit".)

I hope this is helpful to you Beth. Anybody else care to chime in?

The Lutheran Liturgy: To be continued...

About a year ago, I posted an introductory explanation to the Lutheran Liturgy. I'm not an expert on the subject by any stretch of the imagination - but I love the liturgy and I love sharing the depth and the richness and the Biblical foundations of this historic form of worship. I had the best of intentions of posting on it on a regular basis...alas, you know what they say about good intentions and all that.

In any case, I've noticed that I get a dozen or so hits each day from folks who have googled on "Lutheran Liturgy". (Lately, I've been getting many hits on "Ash Wednesday Lutheran" as well.) Clearly, a lot of people have an interest in learning about the historic worship of the Church.

One of the hits I got recently originated from Willow Creek Community Church. Willow Creek, of course, is one of those seeker-sensitive mega-churches in Illinois - it is a decidedly non-liturgical church. As well, they recently revealed the results of a spiritual health survey they conducted among their members that revealed that their "programming" approach to discipleship is not working.

"…increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities [church programs] does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming more of a disciple of Christ."
~The REVEAL Conference, October 14-15, 2008

Now, I don't want to make too much of it, but I just found it interesting that somebody over at Willow Creek has been doing an online search of the Lutheran liturgy. It confirms for me something that I have suspected for a long while: that contemporary Christians are hungry for something more than what the typical Western church is delivering. They're longing for something more solid, with both relevance and roots. The historic Lutheran liturgy provides just that. And so much more.

So...given this interest, I'm going to make an effort to produce a series that will attempt explain the liturgy - in everyday language - to the non-liturgical Christian. I'm even thinking of inviting guest posters. (Anybody interested?)

Everything I really needed to know about Jesus I learned in Sunday School

Last week our Sunday School lesson was about Moses and the Bronze Serpent.

Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread." So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Numbers 21:4-9 (NKJV)

Now that I'm teaching the Grade 1 class, (I formerly taught Grade 5) I have to remember to keep the lesson objectives simple. For our craft, we cut and paste a serpent onto a wooden pole and Jesus onto a cross. Then as a quick game, I asked them to hold up the correct pole when ever I said "God saved the Isrealites from the snakes" or "God saved us from sin". That's basically what the lesson boils down to - just as God saved the Isrealites in the wilderness from dying from the serpent's bite, so He saves us from the death that we deserve as a consequence of our sin.

Call me a cynic, but I can't help wondering how many Isrealites died because they didn't look at the snake. I'm pretty sure I would have died. Because it doesn't really make sense. Think about it: I'm lying on the ground, feverish and convulsing from the snake venom that's coursing through my blood. A snakebite is the cause of my suffering and will soon be the cause of my death. And then along comes Moses who tells me to look at an effigy of the snake - the very cause of my suffering! - and I will be saved from death by snakebite. (Uh...yeah. Sure Moses, anything you say.) It just doesn't make sense, does it?

In fact it seems like the opposite should be true. The snake, apparently, was called "Nehushtan" (2 Kings 18:4). The word "Nehushtan" is not only a combination of the Hebrew words for "bronze" and "snake" but it also sounds much like the Hebrew word that means "unclean thing". And my intellect tells me that I have no good reason to believe the "unclean thing" will be of any help to me. In fact it tells me the opposite: the unclean thing can't be trusted.

Yet obviously some of the Isrealites believed and looked at the bronze serpent and were healed. Despite the fact that it made no human sense whatsoever, they trusted that God would be true to His word and looked up for their healing.

In the same sort of paradoxical way, Luther had this idea that the Cross turned everything that we think we know about God on its head. From a human perspective what kind of Messiah is a dead messiah? How are we supposed to trust a Messiah - killed in the most shameful way that the Romans could devise, whose followers appeared to have deserted Him and who seemed to lack the power to stop even his own unjust death sentence - to save us? Like the serpent on the pole, the Messiah on the Cross as a means of salvation makes no sense.

Yet Luther insisted that the shame and agony and senselessness of the Cross is precisely where God best reveals Himself to us. God hides himself (Isaiah 45:15) in what appears to be weak and foolish yet paradoxically this is where the very power and wisdom of God are found. God, who is all-powerful, hides Himself in weakness. God, who is all wise, hides Himself in foolishness. God, who is living, hides Himself in death. Luther called this the "Theology of the Cross".

To fully understand the implications of Theology of the Cross (if such a thing is even possible), one must first understand it's converse: what Luther called the Theology of Glory. Under such a theology, man seeks for himself the glory that belongs to God alone. Thus, theologians of glory see themselves as having the capacity to understand God - and even approach Him - apart from His final Revelation to man, which is Christ. The theologian of glory applies his human reason to understand what God is like.

This is why the Sunday School lesson is so powerful. Human reason tells us that a bronze snake on a pole is not going to save us from a poisonous bite. And human reason tells us that a dead man on a cross is no help to us either. Yet in both cases our human reason deceives us.

The children in Sunday School, whose faith God began in their baptisms, accept unquestioningly that God saves through a lifeless bronze serpent and they accept equally unquestioningly that Jesus dying on the cross saves them from death. They don't believe it because they have applied human reason, or reached an "age of understanding". They believe it because God, who revealed His greatest promise in the paradox of the Cross, gave them faith to trust that His promises are true.

Here endeth the Sunday School lesson.

A quote...

The Gospel doesn't say "Do", it says "Done".

Credit

Updated: To answer Sara's question of What Does This Mean?

I think it refers to our human tendency to try to make the Gospel into Law. We say and think things like, "If you want to be saved, all you have to do is..." and "If a person is truly saved then he will not do..." etc.

When Lutherans are concerned about the mixing of law and Gospel, they are concerned with the loss of the promise-nature of the Gospel - and it is the promise nature which is the Holy Spirit's way of calling forth faith *and of sustaining faith*. "For the Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who ARE BEING SAVED it is the power of God." [1 Cor. 1:18] And this mixing invariably means speaking "Gospel" (or what we think of as Gospel) in such a way that it is not experienced by the hearers as promise. The dread of uniting law and Gospel together for Lutherans is that if there is a pathway from the one to the other, then the Gospel has ceased to be pure promise and has become instead something due, owed to our fulfilment of some condition. It is immediately rendered doubtful and uncertain.

People ask: Well, isn't faith a condition? No, faith is what appropriates, takes the promise, holds it, the trusting of it, and rejoicing in it - but such faith is never a condition for a Gospel promise. Rather than say: If you believe, your sins are forgiven you. Better to say: Your sins are forgiven you, blotted out by the blood of the Son of God. Believe it, for it is true.

"If the word becomes an appeal, faith becomes its performance in action. If the word becomes a demonstration, faith becomes insight; if it becomes a statement, faith becomes knowledge. Finally, if the word becomes an expression, faith becomes a ground of experience given with human being as such. Only if the word is promise (promissio) is faith really faith." [Oswald Bayer, Theology the Lutheran Way, p. 139]

More credit

"Why We Fight"

Remember those old propaganda films that they made in the '40's, to demonstrate to the public why the the US military was involved in World War II? The premise of each of the seven films was that the preservation of democracy could only be possible by the utter destruction of the forces that threatened it. Would democracy have ceased to exist had Germany and Japan not been defeated? I don't know. Maybe not entirely. But maybe democracy would have ended up looking a lot different than what we know it to be today.

Lutherans** often are scolded by other Christians for our emphasis on preserving pure doctrine. We are told that we are being divisive, and that our rigid inflexibility is a barrier to reaching the lost. What others find most offensive (and this is simply my own observation, not an imperical study or anything) is not that Lutherans clearly state what they believe, but rather that they also state what they reject.

The Lutheran Confessions have always had a didactic character; stating that which we teach and confess as being in conformity with Holy Scripture, as well as what we reject and condemn as unbiblical. If you read through the Lutheran Confessions you will not only learn what we believe, but why we believe it.

To those who would say that doctrine doesn't matter, I would suggest that you watch this video. This is a frightening example of what happens when we fail to heed Pauls words to "hold fast to sound teaching". This is "why we fight" for doctrine.

**I imagine that Lutherans are not the only ones who have this complaint leveled against them. Any denomination that understands the importance of doctrine is going to be open to these types of complaints.

Will I ever blog again?

Sheesh. Been almost 2 weeks since I last posted.

I'm seeing these "Blogging without obligation" buttons around on some blogs. You know what? I feel absolutely NO obligation whatsoever about where/when/how I blog. Seriously. I don't even feel obligated to TELL people that I don't feel obligated. I guess I just did. Tell, I mean. But I didn't feel obligated to do so, *grin*.

Sara and Sue and I have been going back and forth about what people blog about and what motivates them to do so. I have come to the realization that I mentally make assumptions about what motivates people to blog about what they blog about. Sometimes the motivation is obvious - the blogger states up front what they blog about and why. Other times they don't say and I'm left to fill in the blanks. Probably shouldn't be doing that though.

I suppose people probably wonder why I call my blog "Ask a Lutheran" and then I blog about my husband going fishing, or me doing laundry at the laundromat or just about anything that is NOT specifically related to being Lutheran. I really couldn't tell you why either. I just blog what I feel like.

Some of the blogs I read are so well written I wonder why they aren't writing professionally. But to be honest with you, I much prefer the blogs that are written by the everday writers who write about their everyday lives. Sometimes what they blog about is mundane. Sometimes it is profound.

Posts about "Lutheran stuff" take me the longest. I want to be sure that I precisely relate the confessional Lutheran position. Often I have to stop and pull out the Bible, my catechism and the Book of Concord to make sure that what I'm writing is accurate. Sometimes I draft, and edit and agonize over the choice of a single word. I really do take it seriously - but it is a lot of work.

The fluffy stuff that I write is so much simpler. I sit down and type. It comes out. Does anybody care about this stuff? Is the blogosphere a better place because of it? I struggle with this. I feel like if I am not writing something deep and profound (or at least informative) then it's just so much wasted bandwidth.

Today I was listening to an episode of Issues, Etc. It was an older episode about "Vocation: God's Will For Your Life" and as I listened to them talk about vocation being that which God has given us to do, for the good of our Neighbour, in service to Him, I made a connection to blogging. They used the phrase "ordinary life, for ordinary saints". The premise is that we serve our Lord when we go about our daily lives; we don't have to be doing "super-holy" works to be serving Him. Ack. I'm not explaining this well at all. Listen to the episode here if you like. (In fact, listen to any of the episodes. Its realy good stuff.)

Anyways, I've concluded that this is can be an ordinary blog about ordinary things. And there's nothing wrong with that. If I happen to blog about something explicitly Lutheran, I'm doing it because I AM Lutheran. Not because I have a special call to write super-holy stuff about Lutheranism.

Huh. I guess maybe I do feel a little bit obligated after all.

Go CPH!

Finally got around to getting one of these and it is FAB-u-lous!

I have an older Tappert edition of the Book of Concord, but the language in it is much more difficult. The editors of this one have done a wonderful job making the language accessible. It's packed full of historical and background info that help the reader understand the context of the various documents. I can't say enough good about it. I you've ever wanted to learn more about what Lutherans believe and why they believe it, this is the book.

Bit of trivia: this edition was edited by Pastor Paul McCain of Concordia Publishing House, whose blog Cyberbrethren I frequently lurk at. You won't find me commenting there though...people who hang out there are waaay smarter than me. I'd be in over my head *grin*. However, I may just leave him a comment to express my appreciation for the tremendous job he and the other editors have done in putting this book together.

Shepherd

Therefore, and overseer (pastor) must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive. He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fal into the condemnation of the devil. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (1Timothy 3:2-4; Titus 1:9)
~ The Small Catechism, Table of Duties: For Bishops, Pastors and Preachers

On June 22 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Depew, NY, Galen Michael Purpura Jr. was ordained into the Holy Ministry. "Vicar Galen" is now Pastor Purpura.

Have you ever been to an ordination? It is a powerful, wonderful thing to witness: the Lord of the Church placing his called servant into the office of the ministry. Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on earth. It was by this authority that he called and ordained the first apostles, and it is by this authority that he continues, through the means of his church, to call and ordain pastors who are to preach the word and administer the sacraments. When Jesus ordained his apostles, he breathed on them and they received from him the Holy Spirit and the authority to act by his command and in his stead. Today Jesus confers his authority to his called servants through the church. The laying on of hands by ordained ministers during the ordination signifies this. Jesus' authority does not, as some suppose, pass on "from" or "through" one minister to another. The authority that Jesus confers comes from Jesus. It's his authority - only he can confer it. Therefore, Galen's call to St. John's Lutheran Church as Associate Pastor is no human thing; it is a divine call.

Galen didn't just wake up one morning and decide to become a pastor. In fact, he'll tell you that, like Jonah, he resisted God's call for a while *smile*. I don't even think it's accurate to say that he - or any called servant for that matter - "decides" to be a pastor. Pastors are called and a call to the holy ministry is from the Lord of the Church, Jesus himself. He extends that call to his chosen servant (who may recognize it as an "inner call") and then he confirms it through the Church.

I look at that table of duties and the obligations that are laid upon a pastor and I really can't blame him for wanting to resist. Being a pastor is serious business. Peoples souls are at stake. Gulp. Who wouldn't be intimidated by such a prospect?

But Galen doesn't go into this alone.

First and foremost, he is accompanied by the Holy Spirit:

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6

[You] through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation. 1Peter 1:5
...the word of God which is at work in you who believe. 1 Thess. 2:13

Second, he is being held up in prayer by his congregation (and by his friends and family):

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests .... Always keep on praying for all the saints Eph 6:18

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel Eph. 6:19

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 Thess 3:1

I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Romans 15:30

I pray that now at last by God's will, the way may be opened for me to come to you. Romans 1:10

Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. Hebrews 13:18

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ... Col 4:3

Third, God has given him a helpmeet:

And the LORD God said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Gen. 2:18

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22

When Galen was our vicar last year I witnessed first hand the qualities that God gifted him with that will serve him well as a pastor. He has an engaging, affable way about him - you can tell he genuinely LIKES working with God's people. He demonstrated real care and concern for our parish members, the youth and the elderly in particular. He's solidly confessional and he can preach. Boy can he preach!

Galen, if you’re reading this, I'm not trying to suck up. *grin* We love you and we're proud of you...and humbled too, to have been a part of the process that God used to confirm your call. Thank you Galen and Jenny for being obedient to the Lord and serving his church as his called servant.

Lutheran preaching at its finest

One of the real blessings of blogging is I've gotten to "meet" Lutherans from other parts of the world that I probably would not have met otherwise. If you read here, you have likely seen Beth and Sue around from time to time. The Lutheran Church Canada is a relatively small church body so you kind of get to "know" a lot of the pastors, or at least their names. So it was kind of neat to find blogs for Pastor Alex Klages and his wife Kelly. Pastor Klages is Canadian and his lovely wife is American; Pastor Klages shepherds two parishes in Manitoba. Two real treasures that I stumbled across are the blogs of Pastor William Weedon (Weedon's Blog) and Pastor William Cwirla (Rev. Cwirla's Blogosphere). These two guys are among the finest preachers I have ever heard.

This is probably bad blogging etiquette, but I've cut and paste a sermon that Pastor Weedon had posted on his blog. I think it is an outstanding sermon in and of itself, but I picked it because it is a good example of a typical Lutheran sermon. If you are not well acquainted with Lutheran preaching, it is probably different than what you are used to. Lutheran sermons are all about preaching the Gospel. They are all about what God has done, and continues to do, for us. They're not about "right living" or "Christian precepts" or what we "do" for God. You might hear about how we ought to live in light of the Gospel, but the focus is firmly on what God has done for us through Christ.

The Bible is all about Jesus, from beginning to end and the purpose of the Bible is to reveal Christ to us. It's not surprising then, that our servants of the Word, in accordance with Paul's instruction to Timothy, preach the Word; that is, Christ crucified.

Anyways, here's the sermon...enjoy!

Homily for Trinity 2 (2008)
[Proverbs 9:1-10 / 1 John 3:13-18 / Luke 14:15-24]

“Blessed is everyone who WILL EAT bread in the Kingdom of God!” That’s what the fellow cried out. The man who was reclining at Table with Jesus, hearing Him preach and teach and sharing the meal together with Him. He was so focused on the future, that He was in danger of missing the present. The fellow was thinking of how wonderful heaven must be. You can almost hear the wistfulness in his words.

Jesus’ reply is rather shocking. He basically says: “You think so? Most people don’t. And here’s the proof. Because what you’re thinking of in the sweet bye and bye is exactly what I am offering in the sweet here and now. Feasting with Me IS heaven. Communing with Me IS life. But would you look at what happens!”

And so the parable. A great banquet. A banquet first announced (that would be by the prophets – as we also heard in today’s first reading from Proverbs) and then prepared. A banquet to which people are invited without having to bring a single thing, not even a side-dish to share – ALL supplied in full, ALL gift. “Come, for everything is now ready.” Which is just the same as saying: You want heaven? What about I give you a bit of heaven right here and now?

And what response does this invitation receive? “I have bought a field and must go inspect it. I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to examine them. I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. Please have me excused.”

The gift of heaven itself offered to the citizens of the earth, and they are so preoccupied with the business and pleasures of this age that they simply have no time for the joys of the age to come; and even worse, by preferring the pleasures and occupations of this life, they show that they have no real desire for heaven after all. That is what actually stands behind the excuses: we’ve got more important things to do in our lives right now, God, than to eat bread with You in Your Kingdom. Farming, boating, golfing, sleeping in, reading the newspaper, picnicking, camping, partying with our friends. You name it. But it all comes down to this: Your offer isn’t as appetizing to us as the fun of this world. And so we give our hearts to the things temporal that we are bound to lose; and neglect to our unspeakable hurt the things eternal.

The banquet is a gift. First, foremost, always. Gifts are offered; not coerced. God offers them in freedom without compulsion and we can reject them in freedom without compulsion. Heaven is a gift. Even heaven on this earth. Our God will never force a person to receive it. But the invitation does not ring out over any one person’s life indefinitely. There comes a time when the invitation moves on to others. And so in the parable, it moved on to the poor, the crippled, blind and lame, the people of the highways and hedges. They filled the banquet hall that others had spurned. They gratefully attended to the heavenly feast that our Father prepares for His children on earth. And all who heed the invite find a welcome that astonishes and a feast more lavish than anything they could ever imagine, desire, or certainly deserve.

And so the story has gone on through these many centuries. Our God keeps setting up His banqueting table among us and He summons any who will to leave behind the preoccupations of this life, who will lay aside all earthly cares, to come and feast with Him. To listen to Him as He reveals in His Word the joys He has prepared for those who love Him, and then to receive the food that He has readied for them: the unimaginable feast of His Son’s body and blood. Yes, the very sacrifice by which atonement was won for all people on the Cross becomes the sacrament by which atonement is applied to all who come to receive. The body that was broken for the remission of sins upon Golgotha, is the body that He reaches you at this table. The blood that blotted out the sin of the world is the blood He wants to pour into you from His chalice.

And why? So that you may have communion with your Savior. So that you may live in Him and He may live in you. Your sins forgiven, your death destroyed. This is the meaning of life itself. This is the banquet which is wholly gift and which the Heavenly Father has set for you so that you may already here and now by faith partake of the life that He has prepared for you in eternity.

But what will you answer Him? Wisdom invites: “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and live, and walk in the way of insight.” There is no insight greater than that the Blessed Trinity has so created and so redeemed you that you might live in communion with Him. You are the objects of such great love! “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us.” And where else do you taste that love but at His banquet, His Divine Service where the table of the Word and the table of the Supper overflow with gifts of life for each of you, His beloved children?

Do you want to go to heaven? Do you want to eat bread in the Kingdom of God? Do you want to recline at table with saints and angels and feast forever in the joy of God’s presence? Do you want to hear the hymn of praise that never ceases? Do you want to be with your loved ones who have died in the faith and passed behind the veil? You don’t have to wait. He reaches you the gift here and now, and He reaches it to you every week. And the more you experience what He offers here, the more you will realize that there is nothing on earth that could ever satisfy you like this. For here is the love, the peace, the joy you ache for. Here is total acceptance, pardon and love. Here is the family of God gathered as one around the Savior, some few seen, and multitudes upon multitudes unseen. Not in the sweet bye and bye. But all here and all now. Waiting. For you. “Come, for everything is now ready.”

Amen.

Iglesia Luterana Synodo de Nicaragua

In the early 1990s, the vast majority of Nicaraguans were nominally Roman Catholic. Many had little contact with their church, however, and the country's Protestant minority was expanding rapidly, particularly Assemblies of God (Pentecostal) churches. Roman Catholicism came to Nicaragua in the sixteenth century with the Spanish conquest and remained, until 1939, the established faith. The Roman Catholic Church was accorded privileged legal status, and church authorities usually supported the political status quo. Not until the former President José Santos Zelaya came to power was the position of the church seriously challenged. Over time, syncretism with pre-Columbian pagan elements had crept into the Church, to the point where the Gospel had been seriously obscured. In the mid-1980s, there was approximately 1 priest for every 7,000 Roman Catholics, (a ratio lower than the Latin American average) making proper cathechisis an extremely difficult task. It was under this climate that the Lutheran Church Canada was invited to come to Nicaragua to preach the Gospel.

At the height of the Contra-Sandinista conflict in the 1980s, a man named Sandor Arguello - fearing for the safety of his family - fled Nicarauga and came to Montreal, Canada. It was in a Lutheran church in Montreal that Sandor says he first heard the Gospel - the free gift of salvation through Christ - preached. It was literally life-changing. He entered the seminary and became an ordained servant of the Word. At first he and his family remained in Canada, but in the 1990s the Lutheran Church Canada was invited by some Nicaraguans to come to Nicaragua to establish a mission and preach the Gospel. Rev. Sandor Arguello was called by the church to be the missionary to Nicaragua.

At first the work was disappointing and unfruitful. Rev. Arguello was viewed with suspicion by those he attempted to preach to. The people had all kinds of distorted impressions about Lutherans - that they weren't really Christians, that they worshipped Luther, etc. - that made the work difficult.

But then something totally unforeseen happened that changed the situation - Hurricane Mitch. The hurricane devastated the country. It triggered mudslides in the area of Chinandega that killed 3000 people in one night. Rev. Arguello reported the devastation and desperate needs of the Nicaraguan people and the Lutheran Church Canada mobilized into action, sending wave after wave of much needed relief supplies. The once suspicious Nicaraguan people now viewed the Lutheran church much differently. They now saw God's love in action and they began to respond to the Gospel call.

Since that time, the mission work in Nicaragua has flourished. I'm not sure exactly how many churches have been planted over the last 10 years - dozens though. Earlier this year, the Nicaraguan mission of the Lutheran Church Canada became it's own autonomous church body - Iglesia Luterano Synodo de Nicaragua (Lutheran Church Nicaragua Synod). The church continues to grow rapidly and has begun to expand missions into Honduras and Costa Rica. Missions to Latin America are desperately needed as syncretism in the established RC church is rampant. The LCC has helped ILSN to establish a seminary and a mission centre in Nicaragua and we continue to help the new church financially.

I know that some Catholics are offended when Protestants send missionaries to nominally Catholic countries. I think it's important to note a couple of things...

First and foremost, the LCC and now the ILSN have gone into these countries because they were invited. The church has responded to persistent calls from native Latin Americans to bring the Gospel to their countries.

Second, the rampant syncretism throughout the RC church in Latin America has seriously obscured the Gospel message. Understand - I'm not saying the church is teaching syncretist docrine, but the people, who have little regular connection with their church, have picked up many false teachings that have distorted their understanding of the Gospel. As a result of this, many (like Rev. Arguello before them) have never truly heard the Gospel in truth and purity until it was preached to them by a Lutheran missionary.

Third, clearly the RC church has not made sufficient resources available in these countries to reach their own people and correct the false doctrine that has corrupted them. (Note: I'm NOT judging this inaction - I have no idea what the particular circumstances are down there. I'm simply stating a fact.) In the absence of remedial action from the RC church, the Lutheran church has stepped in to fill a void. We're not "stealing" Catholics. We are preaching to the lost.

For more information about the mission work in Nicaragua and Latin America, see here.

Making it count

Today I read two posts - written by two of my dear friends - that pricked my conscience. The first was by Kari, here, and the second was by Beth, here.

Kari has written a number of times recently about the cyclone that has devastated Burma and taken so many lives. Today she wonders (and rightly so) why so many of her fellow bloggers (me included) have touched on the recent tragedy in the Chapman family, yet so few have found time to spare a few words for those whose lives have been devasted in Burma and China.

Ouch.

Kari's post convicted me: it matters what you write about.

For the most part, this blog is a "friendship vehicle". I've never really had a single purpose for blogging and my posts reflect that. I post pretty much whatever strikes my fancy. And I guess there's nothing wrong with that per se...except, the blog IS named Ask A Lutheran after all. Most people, when I tell them what my blog is called, assume that it is a Lutheran apologetics blog. And truthfully, I did have the intention, when I first started blogging here, to do more of it. Apologetics that is.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't regret a single moment that I have spent blogging about family matters and what's going on in our lives. That's the friendship part of the blog - it's how we got to know one another and became friends, and my friendships here are worth nurturing.

But there's been some fluff too, stuff that is neither apologetics or friendship related; stuff that I used as filler when I had nothing better to say. As if you come here to be entertained or something. Shame on me for thinking so. I ought to value your time more. Of all the millions of blogs there are out there to read, you choose to come here day after day. The least I can do is have something worthwhile for you to read when you get here. Something that nurtures our relationship. Or maybe something that makes you think.

Which brings me to the second post; Beth's. Ironically, Beth's post is also about the Chapman tragedy, but Beth's post convicted me in an entirely different way.

What I took away from her: it matters what you believe.

Now poor Beth. She's gonna think I'm picking on her. *smile* I recently posted a long apologetics piece in response to a question that she had for me about the role of man's will in salvation. I have known for a long time that I, as a confessional Lutheran, have a markedly different understanding of some key Christian doctrines than, well, most of my friends and readers. That post addressed to Beth, a true apologetics piece if ever I've written one, clearly defines one of those differences. And I have to tell you, it was hard for me to write so openly in seeming opposition to a friend. I worry, you see, that I may cause offense, or even confusion to others. And frankly, I just don't want to get into an argument with a friend!

What stuck a chord with me today in Beth's post was this line: "this man's music brought me back to Christ." When I read that I drew in my breath sharply. "No Beth," I thought to myself, "the Holy Spirit brought you back to Christ - if indeed you ever were truly away from Him."

Now, I know Beth well enough to know that what she probably meant was, "the Holy Spirit used this man's music to renew my joy in the Lord" or something similar. I KNOW she doesn't believe that mere music has the power to convert the unbeliever. That's not what she meant...it just came out that way. Christian shorthand, if you will. But it got me to thinking about how many Christians have no problem believing that the Spirit can work through means like music (or even the blog posts of others) to effect a response in us, but can't believe that the same Spirit can work through means like simple water and bread and wine to effect salvation in us. (And that folks, is another apologetics piece all its own...)

It matters what I write about, and it matters what I believe. What I write about is always going to be influenced by what I believe. And what I believe should be reflected in what I write. I am a Christian, yes, but I am a Lutheran Christian and I truly believe that Lutherans have unique perspective among Christians, one that is rich and profound, centred not on the works of man, but on the completed work of Christ.

I love sharing this perspective. I hope that it enriches you when I do.

I'm no theologian, but...

Beth has a question for Beth:

Anita - I didn't want to post to Beth because I don't know her well and don't want her to take offense but I have a Q about her post.


My understanding is that God is always present and always "there" and that He has given us freewill. He never "steps away" from us but unfortunately we can choose not to follow Him. Thus, while our Salvation has nothing to do with us and is entirely due to His grace, we still have to make the choice to come back into relationship with Him for it to occur.


I understand what she's saying about the gift of faith but my impression has been that the progression isn't gift-realization-relationship but realization-gift-relationship.


Does that make sense?

Beth - this is a really good question and I'm sure that Beth wouldn't be offended at all!

What you have described is a fairly common understanding of the "coming-to-faith" process. This understanding of the salvation process is known as "synergism" - that is, God's grace + man's choice = salvation. Both participate in the process; both "do" something.

To be fair, there is some language in Scripture that seems to imply that a choice is involved. Some of the ones that come to mind are:

"Choose this day whom you will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..." Rev. 3:20

"That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

While it's true that God gave us free will at Creation, our will has been in bondage to sin ever since the fall. What's more, Scripture clearly indicates that man can't choose to come to God:

"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you." John 15:16

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." John 1:12

In fact, the Scriptures describe our natural condition as being spiritually dead, an enemy of God.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins," Ephesians 2:1

Just as a corpse cannot restore itself to physical life, unregenerate man cannot restore himself to spiritual life. Rather, we must be regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. We contribute nothing; God does it all. This view is known as "mongergism" and Scripture describes this passive reception of faith and salvation in a number of places:

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." John 6:63

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4

"I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:5-8


So if the Scriptures teach that we don't - in fact can't - come to him by our own strength or will, how do we reconcile that with the Scriptures that seem to imply that a choice is involved? If you look at the verses that I used as examples, it sure sounds like there's a choice, doesn't it?

Steve Newell (a Christian apologist) says: "So if we cannot make a decision, then why do we see people "making a decision" for Christ in the Bible? What gives life in God’s word? In Romans 10:14-15, Paul writes that it is the hearing of Gospel that gives one the ability to call on the name of the Lord. Through the book of Acts, people’s ability to respond to the Gospel is always preceded by the proclamation of the Gospel. What they take for "making decision" is actually their responding to what God has already done. In Peter's proclamation of the Gospel to Cornelius' household, the Holy Spirit came down on those who heard the message (Acts 10:44)Later, the Apostles stated that it was God who gave the Gentiles that ability to repent (Acts 11:18). Even our ability to repent is a gift of God."

Look at those "Choice" verses again: If you look at them in context you'll notice that they aren't written to unbelievers, but to believers. The first two are exhortations to believers to choose to remain faithful/return to faithfulness; the last is not a "formula" for salvation, but a description of what (by the power of the Spirit) has already occurred.

Trust me Beth, I know this one is a toughie. My husband struggled with this for years. He told me how, when when he was younger, he "walked the aisle" dozens of times to "dedicate" and "rededicate" his life to Christ because he was never sure that he was really saved. I could never understand this. I asked him: Didn't he believe God's promise? His response: He trusted God's part, but he didn't trust his own part - he could never be sure about his decision, whether is was sincere enough.


I think that's just heartbreaking, but I get where he's coming from and I understand how he could be so terrified. Because the reality is, as sinful human beings, we never ARE sincere enough - and we never will be. Not on this side of heaven anyways.


Thankfully, God has not made our salvation provisional. It's not "grace + my works". It's not "grace + my choice". It's grace + nothing. That's the only equation that works, because the moment you introduce a human element, the equation becomes tainted. Only God has the power to save us and we must not usurp that power for ourselves. To do so is to reject the completed work of Christ on the Cross.


"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8


It may sound as if I am judging the faith of "decision makers" as false. I'm not. The understanding of how they came to faith may be imperfect, but the faith itself- given as a gift of God - is not.


"I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." Romans 12:3


I know that in my husband's case, the realization that his salvation was a 100% God-done thing was literally life-changing. I guess that's part of why I get so passionate about it. I hope that helps you understand where Beth and I are comig from when we say No Choice!

Certification and Call Service, 2008

Lutherans believe that God has established the office of the public ministry (ie. the pastoral office, referred to in Scripture as "shepherd", "overseer" or "elder") for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel and administering the sacraments in accordance with the Gospel. For Lutherans there is but ONE ministry and that is the public ministry - the ministry of Word and Sacrament, carried out through a called and ordained servant. There are other kinds of service to be sure, but the pastoral office is unique.

Lutherans refer to the entry into the public ministry as the Divine Call. Not just anyone can be called to the pastoral office. An individual may feel he has an "inner call" to ministry, but to be called to the public ministry, that "call" should be confirmed by the church (as in Acts). Lutherans adhere to the qualifications for pastors that are set forth in the letters to Timothy and Titus. As well, for the sake of order and the preservation of correct teaching, Lutherans require their pastors to be prepared for ministry with specialized knowledge of the Bible and theology. Specialized training most often occurs through a Lutheran seminary, although some provisions are made for alternate training and education in extraordinary circumstances.

When a candidate for ministry has completed his seminary education, he is eligible to be called by a congregation to serve as their pastor. Usually a congregation in need of a pastor will directly call a pastor from the list of rostered (ie. eligible) pastors, but in the case of first time candidates the Council of Presidents "call" on behalf of the congregations and work with the seminary to place a suitable candidate with a congregation. It is NOT a process of applying and interviewing for a "position", but neither is it a bureacratic assignment process either. The process of placing candidate in their first congregaton can take months, and is done with much prayer and reliance on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This Saturday at Grace Lutheran Church, St. Catharines, our dear friend (and former vicar) Galen Purpura will receive his first call. We will be travelling to St. Catherines to be there for the service. I am tremendously excited about it, but at the same time very humbled to be able to witness the Lord of the Church calling and placing His servant. It is a truly awesome thing.

We will also learn this weekend who our new vicar will be! We don't know if he is coming from the St. Catharines seminary or the Edmonton seminary. If he is coming from St. Catharines we will meet him on Saturday. We have plans to drive down and attend the service with our current vicar and his wife, Scott and Linnea Lyons. I think it would be so cool if we could meet our new vicar and have past, present and future vicars all together!

Coming to America

Well, yes, I AM actually coming to America this weekend, but I was referring to the Pope. Pope Benedict the 16th, as you may know, has come for a visit to the United States.

I gotta tell you, I like this Pope. The last Pope, John Paul II seemed like a loving man of faith and I liked him well enough, but he was a little too wishy-washy for my taste. This Pope though, he's a traditionalist and he doesn't seem inclined to compromise with secularism. You won't see any women priests or a lifting of the ban on artificial birth control while he's at the helm. I admire that.

You may be wondering why a dyed-in-wool Lutheran like me would be so interested in the Roman Catholic Pope. After all, didn't Luther kind of have a problem with the whole idea of the papacy? Well, regardless of my own personal convictions surrounding the papacy (which I may get into one day, but not now), I think that Christians of all stripes will ultimately benefit from the strength of this man's convictions. The Roman Catholic church has over a billion believers all over the world. Like it or not, the RC church is an enormous worldwide Christian presence with tremendous influence. And I happen to think that this Pope can have a positive influence on all of Christendom.

Pope Benedict has an agenda to bring the Catholic Church back in line with their traditional teachings. He acknowledges that the church may lose some adherents along the way - those who will not like the back to basics approach and want to have it their own way. (As in, "I'm a Catholic, but I don't agree with what the church teaches about...") But Benedict believes that the Catholic church will be the stronger for it even if they shrink in number a bit.

I think ALL denominations could take a page from his book. The Western church has become far too accommodating of secular influence - to the point where in some cases the Gospel message has become obscured. It's ironic that it was probably done with the best of intentions - a desire to attract the lost by making the church seem more "relevant" is often cited for softening the church's teachings on sin and eternal damnation. The problem is, we've ended up with a lot of "baby" Christians who don't really know what the Bible teaches about sin and damnation...or the Gospel and salvation.

Yes, I think this Pope has the right idea. Catechise and re-catechise the people until their understanding of what the church teaches is solid. And then keep on catechising. Stick to our guns and stay faithful to what the Bible teaches. Admonish and discipline those who cling to error. Forgive and absolve those who repent. Get rid of the stupid "marketing techniques" used to evangelize and return to preaching the Word and administering the Sacraments. That is how God draws the unbeliever to himself after all.

So yes, this is one Lutheran who admires Pope Benedict XVI. Hey, I'm a complex person, what can I say?

Thoughts on Confession and Absolution

The beginning of each Divine Service begins with Confession and Absolution.

Below, "P" is for Pastor and "C" is for Congregation. Note that the Pastor says both parts, as he also is in need of absolution. The Pastor stands in the transept for this part of the service. He does not enter the chancel area until after we have made confession of sins and received absolution. This is a symbolic reminder it is not the pastor who forgives sins - only God can forgive sins. The pastor, by the authority of Christ, speaks that forgiveness to us and since he also is in need of forgiveness, he remains outside of the chancel until absolution is pronounced. The Scriptures from which the words of corporate Confession and Absolution are drawn are in brackets below.

P - In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C - Amen. (Matt. 28:19b)

P - If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C - But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:8-9)

Here we kneel and take a few moments for reflection on God's Word and self-examination.

P - Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C - Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
P - Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C - Amen. (John 20:19-23)

Lutherans also practice individual Confession and Absolution, although it is not widely used. I have only ever made an individual confession (ie. just me and the pastor - and God, of course!) once in my life. It wasn't for any particularly spectacular sin - I was simply feeling overwhelmed with the awareness of my own sin and really needed to hear the words YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.

I know that for many of you, the concept of making a confession and hearing absolution pronounced by a pastor is foreign to your experience. You might even have been told that such a practice is improper. I can tell you that Lutheran churches teach and believe that confessing one's sins before God and hearing His pardon pronounced through a called and ordained Servant is proper and biblical. I can also tell you how I personally benefitted from making public confession. It's true, I can always privately (ie. just me and God, no pastor) make a confession and be forgiven. A pastor isn't needed for that and that kind of confession is no less valid than a public or individual confession made before a pastor. I make public confession because there I receive forgiveness AND I hear the words, just as if Christ was standing before me: Your sins are forgiven. That pronouncement is life-giving. It is balm for my tortured conscience. I want so badly to live up to God's high, holy standards, but I don't. I fall flat, over and over again. And believe me, the remedy for a burdened conscience is NOT "try harder". That only makes you feel worse when you inevitably fail again. The remedy for a conscience burdened by sin is: "Your sins are forgiven".

That is the whole point of public confession and absolution and it is why God gave the task of pronouncing absolution to the Church, through her pastors. We need to hear it, and we can never hear it enough.

Remember who's in charge here

Maybe I'm sheltered up here in Canada or maybe I'm just naive.

There are serious problems in the second largest Lutheran body in the United Stated, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). I don't want to go into details - quite frankly, I don't know enough about the problems to speak intelligently to them. At the risk of oversimplifying, it seems that there are two competing ideologies within the synod: one group appears to be embracing "church growth" methodology while the other group remains staunchly committed to the historic Lutheran Confessions.

As part of their outreach, the LCMS owns a radio station, KFUO-AM. Last week - during Holy Week no less - the popular "Issues, Etc." radio program was unceremoniously yanked from the airwaves and host and the producer of the show were terminated. Bang. Just like that, with no warning. There was no reason given for the abrupt cancellation.

I've been heartsick about the whole thing. I was a "sometimes" Issues listener, so I've been following the intense firestorm of criticism that has arisen over the events. It seems that Issues had an intensely loyal - and intensely vocal - following. People are shocked. And mad. And making their feelings known. I've been reluctant to post anything about it here - it doesn't seem right to air their dirty laundry. And the bottom line is, although there are quite a few folks who think that cancelling Issues was a part of the larger "war" that's going on in the synod, I have no first hand knowledge of that, and any speculation on my part would be just that - speculation. (Not that I'm given to any particular speculation - again, I don't know enough about it.)

I do know this:

I think firing those men during Holy Week was heartless and unChristian. It could have been handled better.

I think people may be so passionate about the events of last week that they are seeing deceit and dishonour where there may not necessarily be any.

I know that anger over these events is occupying the thoughts and the time of people who would ordinarily be more focussed on the events of this Easter season.

I know that Satan is having a good laugh over that. And he's laughing at how he's been able to use this to further foment strive among the Lord's people.

I know I will be praying over the whole situation and for God's people in the LCMS.

I know that ultimately, The Church will survive and overcome this.

And oh yeah, Satan? If you're reading this, I'd like to remind you: CHRIST HAS ALREADY DEFEATED YOU. So get a life, would ya?

The Word has power

It's pretty clear that Hope doesn't like coming to church with us.

She grew up in a family that, while not hostile to Christianity, did not wholly embrace it either. She has the barest knowledge of Christianity: Christmas is Jesus' birthday, Easter is when He died (but she doesn't know precisely why). She knows about Moses and the Ten Commandments, probably because she's seen the movie. She thinks those commandments are outmoded and that god (her version of god) probably allows for some flexibility in enforcing them.

I'm not slamming her lack of knowledge or lack of faith. She wasn't exposed to the Word growing up so how can I expect her to understand any more than she does? She doesn't complain about coming to church...she just tries to avoid it if at all possible. *Smile.* Lots of teenagers, even ones who grew up in the church do that.

There's a lot of "to do" lately about making church "Relevant". Frankly, I'm not sure what that even means. Yes, our church probably seems pretty old-fashioned to her. Redeemer Lutheran Church unapologetically follows the historic liturgical practices of the church. It is nothing like what she is accustomed to out in the world. The customs probably do seem somewhat outmoded to her.

But the reason that Hope doesn't like church is not because it's irrelevant. I watch her as the pastor preaches the Law and she practically squirms. It's obvious that hearing the Law makes her very uncomfortable. No, the reason that Hope doesn't like church is because it's TOO relevant.

She is hearing - maybe for the very first time - about God's uncompromising standards and that she (as we all do) fails miserably short of meeting those standards. Deep down, she's known it all along. She wants to measure up, but she can't. She despairs over this and so she does what many of us do when we don't want to face an unpleasant truth - she tries to hide from it.

The Law is doing it's job. It's like a mirror, reflecting back her inability to keep it perfectly as God demands. It's driving her to the place she needs to be in order for the Spirit to do its work. It's driving her to the cross.

Please pray for Hope. She has heard the first half of the message and she needs to hear - with ears opened by the Spirit - the second half: that her sins have been dealt with. That she need not despair anymore because Christ has taken care of it all.

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My comforter, my all in all

Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless Babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Til on the cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ in I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then, bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me

For I am His and He us mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

'Til He returns or calls me home

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand

Written by Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty.