Israel and Romans 11

An interesting discussion in Bible class yesterday (Sunday) - we're in Romans 11. This concerns St. Paul's use of the name "Israel," which can be used in Scripture in several ways, among which are:

1) The new name of the man Jacob
2) The nation of people descended from Jacob (the nation of Israel, the Jews, the OT people of God)
3) The Church (the New Testament people of God)

There is divided opinion in our class regarding how we should interpret "Israel" in Romans 11. Obviously, this is not about the man Jacob, so that leaves us either options 2 or 3. When Paul speaks of "Israel" in the context of Romans 11, does he mean the Jews or does he mean the Church (comprised of, of course, both Jews and Gentiles)?

There was a lively discussion as opinions run both ways.

Any thoughts from Cyberspace? I'm including the ESV text below from Bible Gateway.

Romans 11

The Remnant of Israel

¹I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^a]">[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³ "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." ⁴But what is God’s reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." ⁵So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, ⁸as it is written,

"God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day."

⁹And David says,

"Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
¹⁰let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever."

Gentiles Grafted In

¹¹So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. ¹²Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion^b]">[b] mean!

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶ If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root^c]">[c] of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." ²⁰That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. ²¹For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²²Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. ²³And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation

²⁵ Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers:^d]">[d] a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

"The Deliverer will come from Zion,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";
²⁷"and this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins."

²⁸As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now^e]">[e] receive mercy. ³²For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
³⁴"For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?"
³⁵"Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?"

³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Footnotes:

1. Romans 11:1 Or one of the offspring of Abraham
2. Romans 11:12 Greek their fullness
3. Romans 11:17 Greek root of richness; some manuscripts richness
4. Romans 11:25 Or brothers and sisters
5. Romans 11:31 Some manuscripts omit now

Tiger Woods: Enemy of Diversity

If you've received an e-mail announcing that the "Rev." Al Sharpton is scolding Tiger Woods for the lack of racial diversity in his selection of mistresses - you should be able to tell by the satirical tone of the article and its level of ridiculousness that it is a spoof.

But, as all good satire does, it makes a point. It is a humorous critique of how our culture elevates racial quotas as a social good even over and against marital fidelity and personal honor and integrity - as well as how some people make a killing at being perpetually and professionally "offended." There is just enough of a grain of truth in the attitude attributed to Mr. Sharpton to make the reader pause just for a second and say, "Hey, did he really say that?"

You can continue reading here.

Your Complimentary 80s Flashback

During an expedition to Walgreen's today, I heard the above 80s anthem by the Canadian band "Glass Tiger" (with fellow Canuck Bryan Adams singing background vocals).

And before Brother Latif gets all excited that this is going to be about the decade of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople III), this video is actually the 1980s, not the 680s. The music of the 7th century was indeed fantastic, but unfortunately there was no G-TV for Gregorian chant. Sorry, Bro!

You gotta hand it to Walgreen's - they do play quite a wide swath of music. But then again, it also means that my generation is now starting to make its way to the pharmacy more often. Uh-oh...

Back in the day, my metal-head friends and I used to make fun of this song. And now, more than 20 years in retrospect, it is delightfully dated. So, get out your 80s Bingo cards (is there such a thing?), and watch this video.

Of course, the "free space" in the middle is for "big hair."

Bingo!

Sermon: Gaudete (Advent 3) and St. Lucy

13 December 2009 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Matt 11:2-11 (Isa 40:1-11, 1 Cor 4:1-5)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

After thousands of years of waiting for the Anointed One to come, after millennia of prophets preparing the way, the time had arrived. There was only one more prophet, and his name was John. His testimony was much the same of every prophet: “Repent, for God’s kingdom is near.”

John was not just a prophet and a witness, but the last prophet to point forward to the Christ and the first to witness His public ministry.

John was flesh of Jesus’s flesh, a cousin through our Lord’s Blessed Mother. John was the son of St. Zechariah the priest and of St. Elizabeth the holy woman of God whose Spirit-inspired praise of her cousin Mary would be written in Scripture. John leapt in his mother’s womb in proximity to the fetal Lord Jesus. And John was called to preach, and that he did. And John would finally be called to surrender his disciples, to yield up his freedom, and deliver his head to his enemies for the sake of the Gospel.

Our Lord said of his cousin, the Lord’s messenger: “Among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”

The greatness of John was not in himself. For John himself announced that Jesus must increase while John must decrease. John understood that he was not the Messiah, but had the honor and the duty to preach the Messiah. And like the moon in the heavens, John’s task was to reflect a greater light, a light not his own. And in this process of handing all the attention over to Jesus, John found himself in darkness, locked in a dungeon, the words of his testimony seemingly silenced. John sent his Lord and cousin some disciples with a question: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another.”

Instead of giving John a straight answer, Jesus pointed John to the evidence. For this is what either validates or disproves testimony. It is evidence that sheds light on the veracity of a witness. “The blind receive their sight,” notes our Lord, “and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up.” Our Lord saves the greatest miracle for the last: “The poor have good news preached to them.”

Having heard this assurance, this testimony from the Greater Light himself, John’s lesser light would be extinguished by wicked King Herod’s sword.

And though the enemies of the cross can snuff out the life of the witnesses, they cannot rid the world of their testimony, nor extinguish the Greater Light about which they testify. And this, dear friends, is why this Sunday is called “Gaudete” – meaning “Rejoice!” Even in death, we yet live. Even though the evil one uses violence to attack the kingdom, he is powerless to stifle the Word, to extinguish the Light, to take away our place in the kingdom.

The Church continues to celebrate the witness of lesser lights who reflected the Greater Light of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today is such a feast day in the Church, a day particularly beloved to Lutherans. On this evening, our brothers and sisters in Scandinavia will honor St. Lucy, otherwise known by her Italian name, Santa Lucia. Young women will wear white gowns symbolic of baptism and purity, as well as crowns adorned with lights – which call to mind St. Lucy’s name (which is based on the Latin word for “light”).

Lucy was a 21-year old Christian young lady living in Sicily. And though she was a consecrated virgin, she was being forced to marry a pagan. She refused, and insisted that her dowry instead be given to the poor. The Christians were already being persecuted under the wicked emperor Diocletian. It was a time of open season on our dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Lucy was arrested and tortured. Her eyes were gouged out before she was killed with the sword.

In testifying to the Light of Christ, she accepted the darkness of blindness. In bearing witness to eternal life, she accepted death. And though she was neither a prophet nor preacher, Santa Lucia is a witness to the Greater Light. She gave testimony even as did St. John the Baptist. And though to the Romans, the testimony of a woman was worthless, to us Christians, the life and witness of every martyr and saint is precious, a testimony of Him who died so that we might live; of Him who died bearing our sins so that we might live as saints.

When St. Lucy was brought before the Roman prefect, he told her: “Your words will be silenced when the storm of blows falls upon you!” Lucy replied: “To God’s servants the right words will not be wanting, for the Holy Spirit speaks in us.” That is what makes St. Lucy’s testimony so powerful.

And this is why we continue to honor St. Lucy and St. John the Baptist, witnesses of the kingdom who continue to give testimony of the kingdom and of the King through the Holy Spirit by the example of their lives and in their witness of Jesus Christ, saints who continue to pray around the throne of the Lamb in eternity.

For in spite of the severance of John’s head by the sword of a Herodian guard, St. John gave his life for the sake of Him who is the head of our holy body, Christ the head of the Church. And though her eyes were darkened by the sword of a Roman soldier, St. Lucy gave her life for the sake of Him who is the Light of the World, Christ the Light of light, very God of very God.

For John, Lucy, and “for all the saints who from their labors rest” heard the Word of the Lord: “The blind receive their sight.” The old paradigm of disease, decay, and death has made way for the new age of love, light, and life! “And the poor have good news preached to them.”

This, dear friends, is why we rejoice! We rejoice in the face of another troubled year in the world. We rejoice continuing to wait for our Lord to return. We rejoice in the midst of the aches and pains of aging. We rejoice even surrounded by heartache and betrayal. We rejoice as those around us become ill and die. We rejoice with our brethren around the world, who, treading the path of Sts. John and Lucia, continue to live as witnesses of the Light of Christ – even in persecution, as their own lives are threatened or even taken.

We rejoice even as we pray with our brothers and sisters around the world:

Lord, give us courage as You gave to St. Lucy. As we celebrate her entrance into eternal glory, we ask to share her happiness in the life to come. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Gaude! Gaude!

Veni, Emmanuel!

The choir is called the Schola Cantorum Riga and they often sing in the Riga Cathedral in Latvia, a 13th century Lutheran Cathedral that is currently served by Bishop Janis Vanags.

And if you like this kind of masculine ecclesiastical vocal music and you live in the deep South, you might consider making a pilgrimage to hear the CTS Fort Wayne Kantorei on their Epiphany tour which is in Florida this year.

HT: Pr. Weedon (whose hat in turn tips to Pr. McCain)

Vsevolad. Yeah. Whaaat's happening? Yeah. I'm gonna have to ask you...

... to use the new cover sheet on your TPS reports. Did you get that memo? Yeaaaah.

This is no joke. This is what goes on in the bureaucracy of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, otherwise known as Initech. I mean, really. "Partner churches" vs. "sister churches"? Is it really too much to ask churchmen to use churchly vocabulary? And are the suits really that eager to use the word "partner" in the current ecclesiastical climate? Before they know it, they'll have Gene "The Bish Is Back" Robinson sashaying into the Lavendar Palace looking for one of those big-buck office jobs.

Do you guys even hear yourselves? Maybe it's time to get back to the parish. Then again, maybe that's not such a hot idea.

And here is a little detail that may have gotten lost in the shuffle: we are already in fellowship with Lutheran churches that are themselves in fellowship with the SELC. Did anyone get that memo?

Of course, nobody will be able to give one single theological or doctrinal reason why we are not in official altar and pulpit fellowship right now with this faithful Lutheran church body that is contending for the Gospel and has had close ties to the LCMS for many years. And if you can, fellas, feel free to weigh in. Instead we are getting a bunch of doublespeak. Actually, there is a theological term for it. It's German and rhymes with "edelweiss" - but only has one syllable and starts with the letter "s."

The good news is that the Russians are used to all the foibles of bureaucracy and politics. Hopefully, they won't have to wait 70 years for this "iron curtain" to fall. But can you just imagine the jokes they tell in Novosibirsk about the Purple Palace? It's almost enough to make one want to learn Russian.

Altar and Pulpit fellowship for Siberia now, Lumbergh! And give me my red Swingline stapler back!

Don't Mess With the Lucky Dog Man!

Not to be confused with this man.

Here is a heart-warming local interest story about a former-Marine Lucky Dog vendor who foiled a robbery of his hot dog cart in the French Quarter using his bare hands.

Lucky Dog vendors are an iconic part of the New Orleans scene, and they were immortalized by the posthumous Pulitzer-winning John Kennedy Toole in his comedic magnum opus, A Confederacy of Dunces.

Way to go, Roy! And kudos to the New Orleans Times Picayune for putting this on the front page. Thugs beware! Don't mess with the Lucky Dog man!

Free Course on Practical Theology

I cannot recommend this blog enough - for both Lutheran pastors and laypeople.

Pastor Cota, who serves St. John Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Suring, Wisconsin, has been laying out some wonderful practical theology lately - especially in matters of worship and what it means to be a contemporary American Lutheran - all in a concise and well-written format. These articles are almost like tracts in a weblog format.

For example, you can find:

• Do Lutherans Worship Saints?
• Using Incense in Worship Comes From the Bible
• Bonus: Here is an excellent post on this topic from Pr. Weedon
• 7 Reasons Why Lutherans Should Not Jump on the Contemporary Worship Bandwagon
• What Makes a Genuine Church Member?
• Christians Go to Worship
• Lutherans Being Accused of Being "Too Roman Catholic" is Nothing New
• What Does it Mean for a Pastor to be "Pastoral"? - link to Pr. Peters' outstanding blog
• Maintaining Peace in the Congregation
• Thinking Theologically

Outstanding stuff!

I'm humbled to serve alongside such men in the ministerium of the LCMS who have the gift of teaching with such clarity and succinctness.

Siberian Lutheran Mission Society newsletter

As promised, you can click here for the latest (Dec 2009) issue of the SLMS newsletter.

This issue includes Part Two of Albina Decker's extraordinary life story as a Russian Lutheran growing up during the dark days of Communism, the story of Olga Suhinina, the brilliant and devoted classroom translator for the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Novosibirsk, and an unlikely history of the Pihtinsk Lutherans who live in Siberia but worship in the Polish language.

And check out these magnificent pictures on the SELC's website (Note: if the pictures don't come up, try again, and click the little Russian flag in the left-hand column).

Wear the Pants!

Wow.

This Man-ifesto has to be the most politically-incorrect advertising campaign to come from a major corporation in a long time - maybe since Santa was pitching Lucky Strike.

Be sure to check it out now before it is quashed by the gals who don't shave their legs and by the guys who do (no offense to competitive bicyclists and swimmers - you fellas get a pass).

Is this just a shallow curmudgeonly shock-ad looking for some cheap media attention, or is it a barometric indication of a sea-change toward a reclaiming of the masculine and its place in society that even Levi's cannot ignore?

Thanks to Stacy McDonald for passing this along with her fine commentary.

An Exhortation to Christians

We Lutherans (Evangelical Catholics) emphasize God's grace to us, the Good News that salvation is not by our works, but purely a work of God. The technical term for this is "monergism," and though it was revived and emphasized by the Lutheran reformers in the 16th century and beyond, and remains (or certainly should) front and center in our theology and preaching in the current age - it is certainly not the sole property of Lutherans. The Gospel is the jewel of the Church from every time and place, in whose shining facets we see the very face of God.

In the beauty of this treasure, we Lutherans must always be careful not to take its beauty for granted and become lax because of the lavishness of God's free grace. St. Paul warns us of this again and again in his epistles. The Gospel and exhortation to repentence and good works go hand in hand in the baptized life of the Christian.

Yesterday's Treasury of Daily Prayer reading includes a meditation from an early pope of Rome and father of the Church who not only preaches salvation by grace alone, but also balances this grace by pastorally exhorting us to good works flowing from this Gospel.

Here is an excerpt:

"Thus we also, called through His will in Christ Jesus, are justified not through ourselves nor through our own wisdom or understanding or godliness or works that we have brought to completion in piety of heart, but through faith, through which almighty God has justified all men from eternity; to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. What then shall we do, brothers? Shall we lie about and quit doing good and forsake love? May the Master never allow this to be so - at any rate not among us! Rather, let us hasten with eagerness and strong desire to bring every good work to perfection. We have seen that the righteous were adorned with good works; and the Lord Himself, having adorned Himself with good works, rejoiced. Therefore, since we have this pattern, let us go forward in His will without stint; let us work the work of righteousness with all our strength."

--- Pope St. Clement,

from his First Epistle to the Corinthians XXXII-XXXIII, circa 96 AD, translated by my friend and brother in the office of the holy ministry, the Rev. Heath R. Curtis, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Worden, Illinois, and Zion Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Sermon: Wednesday of Populus Zion (Advent 2)

9 December 2009 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Luke 3:1-20 (Mal 3:1-7, Phil 1:2-11)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

To the unbelieving world, history is only the stuff of the past. We might be able to learn from it, to be sure, but to those who do not believe in God, history is a bunch of things that just so happen to happen. There really is no beginning – at least no beginning by design – and while there may be an end in the sense that there will be a finish, it will not be an end in the sense of a conclusion or completion or fulfillment.

St. Luke is a thorough and gifted historian. He is careful to explain to us in crisp and precise Greek that the transition from John the Baptist to Jesus, that is the shift from the Old Testament to the New Testament, is no sloppy fairy tale. It is not the stuff of “once upon a time,” but rather Luke’s account reads like any well-versed historian and reporter: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.” St. Luke further identifies Herod and his brother Philip as the tetrarchs of Galilee and of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and informs us of another tetrarch named Lysanias of Abilene – not to mention the priestly reigns of Annas and Caiphas.

St. Luke is not just being careful for the sake of accuracy. For he has a different and deeper understanding of history than do today’s skeptics. The Christian Church understands that history is no series of random events, but is rather being directed by God and is moving inexorably toward a conclusion. There are prophecies and fulfillments. There is a beginning and an end. There are warnings and there are consequences. And the Lord provides prophetic voices – like that of Malachi and St. John the Baptist – to not only give us a roadmap of history but to call us to repent, to warn us of what is to come, and to give us hope in the coming of the good news of the kingdom of God in our midst.

Jesus is not only the reason for the season, but history itself is “His story,” the continued revelation of the narrative of the victory of our Triune God over evil, and our redemption in the process.

The last great prophetic voice to herald the ministry of our incarnate God was the Lord’s own flesh-and-blood cousin, St. John the Baptist. Four centuries prior to his birth, the prophet Malachi spoke the Word of the Lord: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” And blessed Malachi even prefigures the preaching of John: “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.”

As the crowds came to be baptized by John, they heard him preach. For even before our Lord’s public ministry, the Father had revealed the pattern of worship and of the forgiveness of sins through Word and Sacrament. The people heard this consistent sermon from St. John: “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” John warns the people not to take false comfort in their ancestry, but rather to fear, love, and trust in God above all things, exhorting them to confess their sins and to turn away from them.

“And the crowds asked him, ‘What then shall we do?’”

St. John called them to repent. And he did so specifically and practically. Those who have been blessed with abundance are to repent of their selfishness and bear the fruit of repentance of sharing. Tax collectors are bidden to repent of their thievery and bear the fruit of repentance of leading an honest life. Soldiers are exhorted to repent of abusing their power and bear the fruit of repentance of using that power for the public good and to be content with their wages.

Repentance is not some theoretical theological abstraction. Repentance is real and personal. Your repentance will be different than your neighbor’s. To repent means to have a change in attitude. It means to fight back against our fallen impulse to sin. It does not mean we will be perfect, but repentance signals a shift in priority, a change of heart. And this change will bear the fruits of sanctified behavior.

But St. John does not leave this monumental task to us based on our own willpower. For we would surely be lost if left with no Savior. Rather John points us to the One greater than he. John tells us that this coming One will “baptize [us] with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” This spiritual rebirth, this mystical bond with the very Holy Spirit of God Himself not only calls us to repent, but empowers us to do so. The Holy Spirit, given to us by virtue of the Word of the Lord and His work on the cross gives us the new nature, the New Adam, that drives us to repent of our sins, seek forgiveness, live in baptism and daily repentance, and impels us, like the crowds that came to John, to yearn for the prophetic Word and the mystical Sacraments, forsaking our sinful nature, renouncing Satan, and pushing back against our enemies of the world, of sin, and of death itself.

John is truly pointing out the way that leads to life, and he does so by pointing to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And “so with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.” For exhortation goes hand in hand with the Gospel. Part of the good news is the call to repent. The very fact that we are deemed worthy to be called to repentance, the reality that our Lord loves us enough to send His prophetic Word to us to bring us into His Kingdom through turning away from sin and being born again by water and the Word is part and parcel of the good news and the cause of rejoicing.

And we are still proclaiming this Word and this Gospel today, dear friends. We still exhort one another to bear the fruits of repentance. We still baptize with water as did John. We still preach the good news of the coming of the Lord’s Kingdom. And best of all, we still proclaim Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the one who saves us by His grace and mercy, He whose sandals we are unworthy to untie, and yet the one who washes our feet as a humble servant.

And like the prophets before him, John’s preaching was not received well by all. For some will heed the call to repentance. Most will ignore such preaching. And some will actively oppose it. John was arrested and put to death – which prefigured the arrest and execution of the Lord Jesus Christ – in whose footsteps we, His disciples, follow. The path of John the Baptist and of our Lord Jesus is a narrow way. It is the way of the cross, and yet it is the way that leads to life. And like all of human history, it is leading somewhere, dear friends. We march with the prophets and apostles, we walk with the saints and tread the path of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that road leads to life.

Along with St. Paul:

“It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My current theme song...

The late Warren Zevon, not a man of the cloth, but a heckuva musical wit

Here is my theme song this time of year - and I am hardly the only one! Whew! I will have a span of a week (December 23 to 30) in which I will sing six Masses with a different sermon in each. It is exhausting and exhilarating, and also greatly humbling to labor in the fields of the Lord as we await His coming. As Bishop Bo Giertz asks through one of his characters in Hammer of God: "Is there anything greater than being a priest?"

To any guy who is considering becoming a pastor, do not do so if you are lazy. There will be blood (of Christ), as well as your own sweat and your family's tears. And there will be coffee. Lots of coffee. This is most certainly true.

Winter Redux

I know it won't last. But this is much better than before.

Our Extraordinary Brethren in Russia

I've added a new link to the right: the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society. They are a dedicated group of American pastors and lay people who are supporting the extraordinary work of the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELC).

The story of contemporary Lutheran Christianity in Russia is nothing short of miraculous. It is truly a story of resurrection and redemption, of perseverance, and of the triumph of the Gospel over the forces of darkness, evil, despair, and unbelief.

There were Lutheran congregations in Russia dating back to not long after the Reformation. For a variety of reasons, German immigrants lived in Russia, and they brought their faith with them. They were tolerated and co-existed with the dominant Russian Orthodox Church.

In the 20th century under Communism, however, all of the church buildings were seized by the state, the priests were executed or sent to gulag camps, and lay people were severely persecuted, many being deported to Siberia. Even without clergy and churches, lacking Bibles and services of worship, they clung to their faith. After Communism fell, the Christians in Russia were able to rise from the ashes. A short history can be read here.

In the 1990s, Russian Lutherans made contact with their American brethren, and Russians began to study at our Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Russian Project was in full swing while I was a student at CTS. Many of our professors made great sacrifices to travel to Siberia to teach men studying for the holy ministry. In time, a seminary was established in Novosibirsk, Siberia. LCMS professor Dr. Alan Ludwig has been more or less permanently deployed to Novosibirsk, and many of our seminary professors and pastors with advanced degrees make trips to our sister seminary to teach classes under extraordinary conditions.

I recently showed my Bible classes a DVD from the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society about the struggling faithful Lutheran congregations in Russia. Though few and far between, sprawled across thousands of miles and strewn over many time zones, these local parishes where the Word is proclaimed and where the sacraments are administered are being serviced by a fairly small band of mostly worker-priests, most of whom are themselves converts to the Christian faith, being raised under Atheistic Communist indoctrination. Many of these Christians, lay and clergy alike, suffer the consequences of being different from their families and friends. They also must navigate the legal paperwork to remain a legitimate religion in Russia. And on top of all of this, there is a great deal of poverty as well as the economic difficulties that linger following the collapse of Communism.

The Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church is under the episcopal oversight of Bishop Vsevolod Lytkin, a churchman who is respected not only for his pastoral wisdom but for his tenacity for the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

All who watched the video were greatly moved. We resolved to support the work of the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society with whatever we could afford.

I began to get the Society's newsletters - which are nothing short of incredible, filled with personal accounts of survival, of sacrifice, and of devotion to the faith. These newsletters are excellent reading. It is important that we understand the catholicity of our faith, the fact that we Lutherans are not a small sect of German-Americans, but are a tradition within the larger Catholic Faith, that we have brothers and sisters in Christ all across the globe, faithful brethren who have much to teach us about contending for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). As the letter I received with the DVD points out, our Siberian brethren are challenged by their poverty, while we are challenged by our plenty.

After Hurricane Katrina, everyone here had a story. No two were alike. Some were extraordinary. Many were tragic. It seems that every Christian in Russia similarly has a story, borne of struggle and determination, of faith and the ubiquitous grace of God. The SLMS newsletters contain articles about real people and their real stories. They are a reminder that we are not merely dealing with academic theory and dry chronologies of political and church history, but with real flesh-and-blood people transformed by the ministry of our Lord and His Church, members of our Christian family.

Anyway, the newsletters are online and you can read them here! The September 2009 issue contains a stirring autobiographical account of Vladimir Gordeev, a guy who writes poetry in French, who was raised as an Atheist, who converted to the holy faith and was baptized as an adult, who struggles with health issues, and who is now remarkably a seminarian studying for the ministry.

The current issue includes an article about Olga Suhinina, who serves as the English-Russian interpreter at the Novosibirsk seminary. Olga was working on a master's degree at CTS while I was a student, and she has a sterling reputation for her intellect and linguistic gifts, as well as her devotion to serving Christ at the seminary, helping to bring men into the pastoral office.

Meanwhile, I commend the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society to any individual or congregation looking for ways to help the cause of the proclamation of the Gospel worldwide. The SLMS does not use any donations for fund-raising or overhead. Every penny they collect goes directly to Russia.

The Rev. Robert Wurst, who sometimes reads FH and posts comments, is the fund developer for the SLMS. I invite him to comment. He had previously posted an e-mail link and offered to send the DVD out. I urge you to take him up on this. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the video footage is worth a thousand pictures.

And, of course, please keep our faithful and struggling brothers and sisters in your prayers.

Honest Injun?

This post at Gaba's Notebook and the interview mentioned therein (with its banter about the term "Indian" in the current political climate) reminded me about a personal incident highlighting the utter ridiculousness of political correctness.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I worked with an Indian - not what the British would call a "Red Indian" (American Indian) but rather a guy from the Indian Subcontinent. Prayag, a Hindu, was born in the black-tea-producing State of Assam and grew up in the exotic mountainous and Christian State of Meghalaya, where Khasi women practice archery and work while the men take their wives' names, stay home, drink beer, and raise the children. Prayag and I shared an office in Rye, New York, and became very close friends.

He shared a small apartment on the Upper East side of Manhattan with another non-Red Indian, a hilarious and sharp-as-a-tack Bengali Muslim guy named Bhaya. These two guys spoke more languages fluently than most people have fingers on one hand. Prayag's sister also lived in New York, after working in Belgium for a few years having learned French from tape recordings. My Indian friends loved everything from Pink Floyd to the the Jerky Boys from Japanese food to Times Square. A bunch of us from work (which included a Dane and a Finn for good measure) took ballroom dancing classes and used to try our hand Salsa dancing in Manhattan's Latin night clubs. That is another thing I learned that I am miserable at. But we all had a great time.

My Indian friends in particular were a lot of fun, and were quite remarkable. In hanging out with them, I learned to appreciate such things as Assam tea, fine sandalwood incense, and tandoori chicken - and I was imbibing and making chai long before you could buy it at the local Starbucks. Prayag and I once took a road trip together from New York to Jacksonville, Florida. On the way back, his car broke down in Lumberton, North Carolina. The tow truck operator was a Lumby Indian. I remarked at the irony that I was sitting in the middle between two guys who were both called "Indians," offering that I was a Cleveland Indian, and my maternal grandmother was part Cherokee. God has a sense of humor - especially when Prayag had to learn the hard way that there are places in America (such as Lumberton, North Carolina) that are "dry" - upon checking into a local motel while the car was being repaired and trying to order a beer at the restaurant.

Thanks to my friendship with my Indian friends, I also once got a free taxi ride in New York because I was able to chat a little with our driver in Hindi. Even knowing just a few conversational words was enough of a novelty to tickle the driver's funnybone. Then there was the road trip from Manhattan to West Virginia with five of us in my little Ford Escort after being rear-ended by a cab at 5:00 in the morning.

Good times...

Anyway, after a few years, Grace and I were living in Philadelphia, and Prayag was still in Manhattan. We both landed a consulting job halfway between the two of us near Princeton, New Jersey. We were having a blast working together yet again as subcontractors for EDS - which, if I remember correctly, was Ross Perot's old company.

We were programming on the IBM AS/400, and this was before anyone worked with the Internet and e-mail on their computers. But the AS/400 had a way to send messages (sort of like IM) to other people on the system. Prayag and I had a running joke about Indians. It involved General Custer's alleged last words: "Where did all those #$%^& Indians come from?" Needless to say, Indians dominated the IT scene at that time, and our project was no exception. Prayag, ever the card, sent me a private message of the punchline of the Custer joke. A couple hours later, we were both summoned into the boss's office. Our project manager was a rather dour and humorless blond-haired-blue-eyed young EDS exec. Not that he was in the Hitlerjugend or anything, but he could have posed for a period painting. He informed my dark-skinned colleague that he was fired, effective immediately. I don't know why I was in the office, maybe to send me a warning about being involved in such high-jinks in the future.

Prayag was stunned, and asked "Why?" Our Germanic-looking manager triumphantly produced a printout of the illicit communication. Now, he wasn't miffed that Prayag used the computer to send a private message, nor even about the profanity. The reason was that he used an "ethnic slur."

"You're firing me because I used the word Indian?" Prayag inquired wide-eyed. "Yes" the boss said authoritatively. "But, I'm an Indian." "It doesn't matter." And this exchange took place many years before Mike Judge's Office Space. But then again, Office Space worked so well because it was so true to life. Well, this was a pre-incarnate Office Space moment.

Prayag was immediately escorted from the building and state troopers even followed him out of the parking deck and for several miles along the highway.

That was a Friday, and so Mrs. H. and I took a trip to New York that evening to commiserate with our friend. We walked around Manhattan and visited several establishments with a group of Prayag's buddies and my former co-workers. Prayag continued to be baffled, but we all found a way to laugh at the preposterous situation. He would tell complete strangers: "I just got fired for asking where all the #$%^& Indians came from." "But you are a #$%^& Indian," was the inevitable New York reply.

I continued to work for the blond-haired-blue-eyed humorless Aryan for a few more weeks until the job ended. It just wasn't the same without my friend, the #$%^& Indian.

Ironically, the real Aryans were actually Indians. I wonder what ever happened to the Humor Nazi from New Jersey. EDS was eventually bought out by HP. I suspect his job was, at some point, outsourced to Mumbai.

That would have served him right.

Capt. Larry Beane?

Not Father Hollywood...

I know there aren't too many of us out there with the name "Larry Beane."

My dad is one of them. There is a park ranger named Larry Beane. And there seems to be a photographer called Larry Beane (and this one is neither my dad, who is a real photographer, nor me, a hack with a camera). But this "Captain Larry Beane" is a new one, offering a "Sailboat Charter Service" in which you can "charter a sailboat for harbor tours, day sailing, sunset dinner cruises, moonlight sailing, whale watching, fishing and diving trips, and Catalina adventures."

Wow!

I got an accidental e-mail from a guy looking for this Capt. Larry Beane, who sails a yacht and is a gourmet cook. Boy, is that ever not me! Sadly, I had to reply that I can barely swim, and don't even know how to make toast without a lot of help from the Mrs.

I'm really hacked off at this Captain Larry Beane.

Look at him! The guy is the very epitome of cool. It's bad enough that I have to compete with my motorcycling, former-Marine, fifties-rockstar, Trans-Am-driving father who can build a radio out of a paper clip and a gum-wrapper, thinks nothing of single-handedly building an extension to his house or transforming a conversion van into an RV after sketching out plans on a napkin, and who has the know-how to re-engineer any internal combustion engine from scratch employing my choice of three random tools from the garage. I mean, come on! I look inept enough as it is. It takes me twenty minutes to reload my Swingline stapler.

And now this Captain Larry Beane is setting further unrealistic expectations concerning my moniker, and I'm not happy about this at all.

But then again, maybe I can contact Captain Larry Beane and get a same-name discount on a Marina del Rey cruise, although a similar attempt to exploit my appellation failed miserably at the L.L. Bean store.

Sigh.

Missouri $ynod?

Check out Scott Diekmann's post regarding Synod's stewardship.

I know nothing is cheap, but this just seems over the top - especially when our seminaries are in the red and missionaries are raising all their own funds (particularly vexing as the synod was initially founded with these two main purposes: to provide seminary training and mission work).

It seems like the purpose of Synod is increasingly shifting to merely support of its own bureaucracy. And they seem to be supporting it in style.

Scott often reports on the goings-on in Synod, Inc. on his fine blog, Stand Firm.

The Rev. Dr. Bill Lumbergh?

HT: The Rev. Jeff Hemmer in his Hemmersphere blog.

Is This Good For The Company?

Sermon: Populus Zion (Advent 2)

6 December 2009 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Luke 21:25-36 (Mal 4:1-6, Rom 15:4-13)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

There is an ancient Chinese military stratagem that reads: “Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west.” In other words, the element of surprise confuses the enemy and weakens his defenses.

God and Satan have been at war since the original rebellion of the angels, and this war escalated when the vile devil struck a blow against the pinnacle of the Lord’s creation, deceiving Adam and Eve and introducing chaos into the Lord’s universal order, injecting hatred into what was a perfect environment of love.

Of course, the enemy was not to have the final say. And the Creator Himself told the serpent that the Seed of the woman was to avenge the fall by crushing the serpent’s head. The Lord did not set a time or a place for this encounter, but He did send His Word through prophets, not only to prepare the people, but also as propaganda against the enemy.

The Lord indeed made a sound in the east and struck in the west. Through His holy prophets, He proclaimed that the Seed of the woman would come with mighty power, with signs in the heavens, with great wrath and fury, and He would show no mercy in destroying His foes. And while all the world was looking out for such a militant savior, a different kind of Messiah slipped into our world almost unnoticed. He came as an infant born of a poor woman, who was socially outcast by her pregnancy and whose husband would whisk her away for her Son to be born in unbelievably humble circumstances.

And yet, the prophet Malachi, four centuries before, had thundered: “Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze… so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”

And on the day that the Savior came, there were no burning ovens and evildoers being burned like stubble. On that day, the world continued as before, with very few people even noticing the miraculous birth of God in the flesh, of the Root of Jesse, of the one destined to slay the dragon with a single and yet eternal mortal blow.

The world was taken by surprise when God became a human baby. And the Lord would again make a sound in the east and strike in the west three decades later as the Root of Jesse, the Seed of the woman, the Lord of might, seemed to have been utterly defeated in humiliation and abandonment, dying as a condemned criminal on the cross. But the element of surprise came as the Lord Jesus Christ proclaiming victory, breathed His last, redeemed all of creation, defeated death by death, defeated the grave by entering the grave like a Trojan horse of life, by conquering hell itself by descending to hell, and rising again to eternal life as He “who arises to rule the Gentiles.”

And yet, the prophecy of Malachi and of the other preachers of the prophetic Word were not incorrect. For the day is indeed coming when He “shall set them ablaze.” There will indeed be “signs in sun and moon and stars and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity,” fear and foreboding will surely grip the earth and the “powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Our Lord, who outmaneuvered the devil, defeating him at the manger and again at the cross, is coming once again to fulfill these remaining prophecies, to carry out the final campaign to cleanse the universe of all remnants of sin and death. And this next time, He will not come as the “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.” He will not be nailed to a cross and ridiculed. For lo, He is indeed coming “with clouds descending.”

Instead of a suffering servant, the entire world will see her King coming not in humility on a donkey, but rather commanding the very elements in almighty power and might:

Ev’ry eye shall now behold Him
Robed in glorious majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing,
Shall their true Messiah see.

And so here we are at the end of yet another year of expectant waiting, beginning anew another annual cycle in anticipation of His coming. Our Lord promises that this sin-sickened world will continue to get worse. Depravity will deepen. Nature will degrade and decay. Entropy will escalate. Humanity will descend further into the spiral of godlessness and evil. Believers and unbelievers will become increasingly anxious as these signs increase. And even as we know summer is near because of the foliage of the trees, even as we watch the prophecies continue to unfold as time marches toward its inevitable and immutable conclusion, we “know that the kingdom of God is near.” And it can be a great source of worry, for our Lord Himself promises: “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

But dear Christians, dearly beloved and redeemed of the Lord, our Blessed Redeemer Himself encourages us to “straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

We should see the coming of these increasingly perplexing signs as joyful landmarks on the way to our final destination of eternal and perfect joy! For listen to these words of comfort the prophet has in store for those who have been redeemed: “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet.”

And it is our Lord Jesus Himself who concludes His own prophecies about His future coming by encouraging us to pray for strength, for ultimately, the courage and mettle that we will need to stand fast “before the Son of man” will come from above. For He is coming not only to judge those who hate Him, but also to save those whom He has claimed as His own in love, by water, by the Spirit, and by His Word. For “Heaven and earth will pass away,” but His promise-bearing, universe-creating, and sin forgiving “words will not pass away.”

And at the Lord’s next and final advent, there will be no element of surprise, no “sound in the east” to create a diversion, no military strategy save the universal display of overwhelming force: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Thus we are strengthened, even in times of persecution and horror, bidden to “straighten up and raise [our] heads, because [our] redemption is drawing near.”

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Differences on Winter

My dear esteemed northern colleagues, churchmen Father William and Brother Latif, are both singing the praises of winter as most of the country is in a cold snap. Their enthusiasm reminds me of my time at Fort Wayne attending seminary. My brethren from Minnesota made a point to wear shorts year-round - even during blizzards. I would be bundled in a parka, fur hat, boots, and elbow-length mittens while they strolled around campus looking like half-naked savages. All that was missing was for them to be slurping on ice cream cones or orange push-ups. I like my brothers from Minnesota, but I could not help but view them as specimens from another species.

I grew up in Northern Ohio, not far from the swirling hiemal blasts off Lake Erie, and Mrs. H. grew up in the second coldest national capital on the planet (Ottawa, the capital of Canada). However, both of us have reached the same conclusion: we don't care if we ever see ice and snow again. By far, we prefer palm trees, lush tropical foliage, citrus fruits, banana trees, and bulbs popping up in mid-February over the necessity of scraping ice off of windshields and getting slush inside the boots (though Mrs. H. still retains a perverse pleasure in shoveling snow, though this is almost certainly the result of a childhood trauma or some such...).

Of course, chacun à son goût (to each his own) and all that. But as for me, today was more than enough winter than any warm blooded mammal should ever have to endure. I mean, I had to wear a leather coat, a scarf (originally purchased in Cleveland), and a fur police hat made in a country that no longer exists, as the mercury dipped scandalously below 40 degrees F (a meteorological phenomenon which my in-laws in the Great White North would consider "balmy").

There are a couple saving graces to this inhuman level of frigidity: the temperatures will be back in the 70s in a few days (God be praised!), and the oranges and lemons are pretty much ripe, serving to remind us that even though global warming is a hoax, the sun still has the ability to bring glorious fruits to maturity unimpeded by the kind of weather that folks in Illinois and Wisconsin find attractive.

But as for the cold, I've had enough. I'm ready to go back to shorts, sandals, and tee shirts any day now...



Postscript: Add Father Christopher to the list of "snow people." Brrr!

All Creatures of our God and King

I just discovered that LSB got rid of the only hymn written by St. Francis of Assisi (a saint recognized as a "holy father" in the Book of Concord) that was included our last hymnal (LW 436: All Creatures of our God and King).

Goodness.

The LCMS doesn't even join the rest of Western Christendom in honoring the October 4 feast day of this pious deacon and evangelical voice for reform and integrity in the Church. I guess that's the price dear Brother Francis pays for not being German, and the price we pay for having room in the hymnal for the kind of hymn that mentions test-tubes and the dreadful Maranatha songs that made the cut instead.

Here is a link to the original hymn, Canticle of the Sun, known in Latin as Laudes Creaturarum, which is actually one of the oldest works of literature to be written in the Italian language.

Oh well, it's nothing that the HP printer and a little Elmer's glue can't fix. In fact, here are the propers for the Feast of St. Francis for observant Lutherans when the Feast of St. Francis comes around next year.

Now I'm going to go off and preach a sermon to my cats...

A Case Study in Stupid

We all know that homeowners' associations are not known for their high IQs. But sometimes, the word "stupid" isn't enough. "Stupider" doesn't even cut it. This is a case for the superlative, since this may be the stupidest thing one of these petty little tyrannical enemies of freedom has ever done. That sound you are hearing is a local colony of bacteria laughing at how mind-numbingly dopey this bevvy of bureaucrats is.

So, let's tally up the stupid in this report. Let's see, we have a:

• 90 year old man, who is a
  
• Military man, a
  
• Colonel, a
  
• World War II and Vietnam vet, a
  
• Recipient of the Medal of Honor, and is
  
• Perhaps the most decorated combat veteran alive,

and the Heroes of the Homeowners' Association are going after him to:

• Ban his flagpole from which he occasionally flies a U.S. flag.

Are these people serious?

And yes, I know there are rules, blah blah, property value, blah blah, respect for "the authorities," blah blah. But this is the stupidest hill ever for them to die on. This is the thing they want to be inflexible about - under these circumstances? Can you just smell the stupid? They are going to try to enforce this utterly idiotic rule in this, the age of talk radio and the internet. Clueless doesn't even scratch the surface.

Bureaucrats are as bureaucrats do.

This is what a plummeting property value looks like. Thank God for the HOA lest this blight spread!

Communists expel Lutherans and Catholics... in 1534!

An except from Messianic Communism in the Protestant Reformation by Murray N. Rothbard:

The first mighty program of this rigid theocracy was, of course, to purge the New Jerusalem of the unclean and the ungodly, as a prelude to their ultimate extermination throughout the world. Matthys called therefore for the execution of all remaining Catholics and Lutherans, but Knipperdollinck's cooler head prevailed, since he warned Matthys that slaughtering all other Christians than themselves might cause the rest of the world to become edgy, and they might all come and crush the New Jerusalem in its cradle. It was therefore decided to do the next best thing, and on February 27 the Catholic and Lutherans were driven out of the city, in the midst of a horrendous snowstorm. In a deed prefiguring communist Cambodia, all non-Anabaptists, including old people, invalids, babies and pregnant women were driven into the snowstorm, and all were forced to leave behind all their money, property, food and clothing. The remaining Lutherans and Catholics were compulsorily rebaptized, and all refusing this ministration were put to death.

The expulsion of all Lutherans and Catholics was enough for the bishop, who began a long military siege of the town the next day, on February 28. With every person drafted for siege work, Jan Matthys launched his totalitarian communist social revolution.

You can read the whole essay here.

A little encouragement for my brothers in arms...

...especially the men who fight under difficult and trying circumstances. Have courage and stand firm in battle! For we know how the war ends and who is victorious.

Sermon: Wednesday of Ad Te Levavi (Advent 1)

2 December 2009 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Luke 19:28-40 (Jer 33:14-16, 1 Thess 3:9-13)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

To the world’s way of thinking, being out of control is a scary and terrible place to be. And even for us Christians, we are sorely tempted to strive to be in command of everything. We lay plans, we take charge, we are proactive, and we demand results.

And it is not a bad thing to be prepared, to use the minds and reason that our Lord God gave to us to do our best to meet potential trouble down the road through wisdom and prudence.

But sometimes the desire to control goes beyond prudence. It can often be a mask that conceals a lack of faith in the Lord’s mercy and goodness. We see some of this faithless mindset in the Pharisees’ desire to gag the followers of Jesus as they welcome their King to Jerusalem. Some of them, thanks to a weak faith, were almost certainly honestly frightened of stirring up the Roman government. But we know from our Lord’s numerous encounters with them that many of them were venal and jealous of our Blessed Lord’s ability to not only control His conversations with them, but to control wind and waves, matter and the elements, and even life and death.

They just wanted everyone to shut up.

But our Lord rebukes the rebukers with the stunning reply: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem and the outbreak of joyful worship by His creatures cannot be legislated or muffled with threats and mockery. Indeed, even if the people could have been cowed into silence, the very molecules and atoms of the expectant universe itself would resonate with excitement and radiate energy.

What an utterly remarkable thing our Lord says!

The entry into Jerusalem is bigger than this small crowd of palm-wavers. Indeed, this holy procession involves all of us Christians of every time and place. Including us, we who add our liturgical “Hosanna” here in this gate of heaven as our Blessed Lord makes His triumphant entrance among us: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And the Lord’s royal entry involves the saints who were long departed, saints covered by the blood of the Lamb about to be shed a week after this royal parade. And, this universal Hosanna also includes the angels, who serve in the presence of the Holy Trinity, singing their praises of the Word made flesh. It also involves the demons who cry out in anguish as the Lord expels them and removes their parasitic spirits from His beloved people. And yes, even the stones would cry out if no other voices of praise would have been raised on the day of this holy advent of our King.

And all of this demonstrates that as much as we like to think we are in control, we aren’t. And far from being distressing, this is a source of comfort to us. For our Bridegroom loves us and lays down His life for us. This is how it is that we sing: “O Bride of Christ, Rejoice!” For our Bridegroom is fashioning us into living stones, a holy house built on the Cornerstone and founded upon the apostles. And these stones do cry out our Hosannas and grateful praises of our King.

We are not in control, and what comfort that is, dear brothers and sisters! For with Blessed Martin Luther, we can pray: “If I had lacked your help, I would have ruined everything long ago.” The stones left to themselves in our fallen universe only grind away into dust. And we, apart from the Lord’s merciful providence, only make things worse by our sinful meddling and rebellion against the Lord’s good and perfect will.

But thanks be to God that our King comes into our midst, in the flesh of a helpless baby, on the back of a little colt, hanging from a shameful cross, and attached through His mighty Word to simple bread and wine. He comes to us, and He is in control. He commands the demons to flee from us. He compels the angels to watch over us. He declares our sins forgiven. He imparts His holiness into us. He stays with us, for it is evening, and the day is almost over.

God our Father is the one who fulfills His promise “to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” He is the one who causes “a righteous Branch to spring up.” He executes “justice and righteousness in the land.” For “the Lord is our righteousness.”

And it is our Triune God Himself that “supplies what is lacking in our faith.”

No indeed, we are not in control, and thanks be to God that we aren’t!

“For what thanksgiving can we return to God… for all the joy that we feel?” We pray that the Lord “make [us] increase and abound in love for one another and for all,” so that He Himself may “establish [our] hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.” And these prayers rise before our Lord as incense, “the lifting up of [our] hands as the evening sacrifice.”

This sacrifice is one of thanksgiving, in response to the sacrifice of the Atonement that was made by our God and Priest Himself five days after the creation rang out her praises and Hosannas to her King.

For this sacrifice was also beyond our control. It was the Lord Himself who willingly drank the cup, shouldered the cross, absorbed the blows, and breathed out His holy absolution and cry of victory over Satan. And it is our lowly King who presents this sacrifice to the Father on our behalf, a happy exchange, His righteousness for our wretchedness. And this is why the crowd refused to be silenced and the stones resonated with the “peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”

For while our best-laid plans will ultimately crumble and turn to dust, the Creator is in command of every molecule of our universe, and it is He who has forgiven all our sins, recreated us anew through water and the Spirit, and who leads the way into the Holy City as all creation responds with eternal joy. And in joyful response, our prayer rises as incense:

Thou, grieving that the ancient curse
Should doom to death a universe,
Hast found the healing, full of grace,
To cure and save our ruined race.

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thank you, Omaha!

I got a nice surprise in the mail today from Kent in Omaha, an FH reader who sent me a really nice note and a beautiful Union Pacific calendar! I showed it to Leo, who gasped and said "Oh my!" There is a yellow UP train on the cover. He loves trains, and yellow is his favorite color.

The calendar will go up in Lionboy's room.

Thanks again, Kent!