Primal Update - Update

Left: May 17, 2012 - Right: July 5, 2012

Here is an update to my earlier update on my primal experiment.

Same pants, less fat.  I still have been very lazy about starting to exercise.  I am beginning (beginning!) to do some push-ups and I have been trying to do more walking.  Mrs. H. and I went on vacation for two weeks, and we both lost weight!  I'm down to about 145 - which is in the neighborhood of 30 pounds lost since I got rid of the starchy carbs about three months ago.  I just bought some 28-inch shorts (I believe this is the size of pants I wore in high school).  The 32-inch pants shown above were (not that long ago) pretty tight.  In fact, I actually had my gut hanging over - known as "Dunlop's Disease" - where one's gut "done lops" over one's trousers.

One thing that I am very glad that I did (actually Grace and I did this together and I recommend it to anyone wanting to "go primal") was to read Mark Sisson's book The Primal Blueprint.  The book is a kind-of owner's manual for the body - not for the whole body, but rather for the metabolism system.  He explains concisely the way insulin works and why the SAD (Standard American Diet) leads directly to what we are seeing these days: obesity, diabetes, increased allergies, and a frustrated backlash that goes too far the other way: people burning out due to "extreme cardio" regimens.  And, he points out a better way by means of his "blueprint."

Sisson's argument - though based on a mythological view of the origins of man - is that the SAD is a train-wreck right down to the cellular level, that our modern western diet - based heavily on grains and starchy carbs - runs contrary to our genetic programming.  He argues (correctly, I believe) that federal dietary guidelines are based more on the exigencies of lobbyists and corporate interests than sound science and principles of good health.

His "Primal Blueprint" is a way of once more aligning our lifestyle (diet, exercise, sleep patterns, etc.) with the way we were designed instead of the demands we put on ourselves in our frenetic modern life heavily influenced by Big Pharma and Big Media.  He compares two fictional families: one ancient and one modern, and shows why the current paradigm of eating a high-carb, low-fat diet, and being concerned with things like cholesterol, leads us to the lifestyle of being unhealthy and overweight and trying to recover our health with over-exercise and prescription drugs - which actually make the problem worse.

I have found his maxim that 80% of the key to health involves food rather than exercise, to be born out by experience.  And this is not a "diet."  If I really want a hot fudge sundae or a piece of pizza, I will have one.  But what I have found is, knowing the "cost" in terms of insulin production and fat storage (as opposed to metabolism), and knowing how good it feels to be in better shape - I simply find myself wanting such things less and less.  There are so many healthy and tasty alternatives (meat, oils and fats, nuts, fruits, seeds, and vegetables), why should anyone eat "junk"?  Living primally is not a list of rules and regulations, but rather a way of getting to know how your body metabolizes foods and how eating and exercise affect you - and making decisions based on this realistic paradigm.

Personally, I really love having more energy, carrying about 30 pounds less of strain on my joints, and knowing that I am rebuilding healthier tissue from the cell level up.  I get a lot more excited about that than eating a piece of cake or having a bowl of pasta or a plate of fries - though if I want to, I have the liberty to do so.  It is not the job of government to tell me how to eat, nor can government be trusted to protect my interests.  I think this is partially why the primal lifestyle is popular among more libertarian-minded people: it is taking personal responsibility for our health by making better choices and relying on ourselves instead of Big Government and Big Business.  Ultimately, what you eat and how you move your body is up to you.

When you "go primal" you see results fast, and you don't have to count calories.  The Primal Blueprint does provide links to a couple of websites that help calculate grams of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins based on what you are eating, and this can really help to identify areas that need to change in one's food intake on an average day.  But once the overall diet has been analyzed, there is really no reason to keep journals and look things up online.

Also, the book is practical and is a quick (and entertaining yet informative) read.  As for me, I can't argue with the results!  If you are thinking of trying this, there is a 21-day experiment that you can take for a spin, and then decide how to live the rest of your life based on your how body reacts - not on what laws and rules and guidelines lobbyists have convinced Wa$hington to pass, telling us what we should and should not be doing.

The choice is yours!

Update - Update (update):  I'm back in 28-inch pants!

A million new pictures added...

...well, that is an exaggeration - but it seems like a small one.

Anyway, for friends and family of Fr. H., here are a few albums recently added:

• Beane family fun, Feb & Mar 2012
• Salem fish fry, Mar 2012
• Firefighter Ceremony, Mar 10, 2012
• Bayou Segnette, Mar 24, 2012
• Easter at Salem, 2012
• Easter at Aline's, 2012
• Beane family, April 2012
• Chicago trip, Apr - May 2012
• Kansas trip, May 2012
• Beane family, May 2012
• Ice cream trireme!  May 8, 2012
• Trip to Pensacola, May 11-12, 2012
• John Ryan funeral, May 13, 2012
• Gone primal!
• Salem Church Picnic, May 19, 2012
• Blueberry picking, May 25, 2012
• NOLA Greek fest, 2012
• Beane family, May - June 2012
• SCA demonstration, June 2, 2012
• Westbank Homeschool Organization promotion ceremony, 2012
• Beane family vacation, June 2012
• Mel Ott statue, July 2012

And, as a special bonus, some classic pictures from circa 1990, scanned in:

• U.S. Metal

Whew!  I'm now caught up for the time being.

Independence Day...

... or at least as it used to be understood as a celebration of the right to secede from a tyrannous central government.  A look at the American understanding of Independence Day in times past by Dr. Thomas DiLorenzo.

Can anyone explain this?

I had not seen this until a recent trip to Kansas.  This is on display at Christ Lutheran Church in Hutchinson.

Why are unborn eagles protected, but not unborn humans?  I realize that abortion is a touchy subject and a there are sharp disagreements about when life begins and at what point a person is a person.  But the protection of an unborn bird (written in the criminal code) over and against the unprotected status of an unborn human are completely incongruous for any civilized society.

Once again, can anyone make sense of this?

Sermon: Trinity 4 – 2012

1 July 2012 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Luke 6:36-42

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us this day just how edgy and controversial the Christian faith really is. 

Christianity is no religion for wallflowers who simply want to sing pretty songs in a cozy church building.  Rather, the Christian life is a paradox, a demand for the impossible made by Him who did the impossible and continues to do the impossible, even for us poor miserable sinners who are impossible.  For with God, all things are possible.

“Be merciful,” He exhorts us, “even as your Father is merciful.”  Jesus tells us to be like God.  After all, like Father, like son; like Father, like daughter.  Do we not pray to “Our Father who art in heaven”?

This is one of those paradoxes about God.  Our Father is merciful, even as He is just.  And yet in His perfect justice, one finds perfect mercy – even as His perfect Son died the death of perfect justice in the payment of sins in perfect mercy for us who deserved the punishment.  And then, the Lord tells us to be merciful in the same way.

“Judge not,” He says, “and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.”

So how does the Christian lead a life without judging and yet pursue righteousness?  How can the Church call sinners to repentance without being “judgmental” in the eyes of the world?  This is indeed a profound paradox.  The great doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, put it this way: “Hate the fault, but love the man.”  Just as a physician hates and kills cancer in order to serve and preserve the life of a man, so too should we Christians judge sin (according to God’s Word) and yet show mercy to the sinner (according to Christ’s cross).  For this is precisely how our good and merciful Lord treats us.

He judges our sins, He condemns our transgressions, and yet in love, He forgives our sins and pardons our transgressions.  He loves us poor miserable sinners while hating our poor miserable sins.  And this, dear friends, is why He calls us to repent: because He is merciful, because He loves us.

A controversial pastor likes to proclaim that “God hates homosexuals.”  He uses a more crude way of saying this.  But God does not hate homosexuals.  Jesus came into our world to save sinners.  God hates the sin of homosexuality – which His Word describes as a form of idolatry, a rebellion against the created order.  But Jesus died to forgive every transgressor of the sixth commandment – not to mention all of us who constantly and consistently break all the commandments in thought, word, and deed; intentionally and unintentionally; knowingly and unknowingly.

So when the Lord says: “Judge not,” is this license for people to live any way they want without the Church saying anything about it?  Is this a free pass to sin without comment from those who proclaim the Word of God?  Certainly not!  We are not to judge or condemn others.  We are to discern right from wrong.  We judge doctrine, we judge deeds, but it is not our vocation to judge people, to condemn people, to decide which people are saved and which are damned.  “Judge not,” warns our Lord, “and you will not be judged.”  God is the judge.  And thanks be to our Judge that He is merciful, that He sent His Son to die for us, and that He warns us and calls us to repent when we stray, when we begin to take sin lightly, when we play the hypocrite by judging others more harshly than ourselves.

Thanks be to God that in Christ, He loves the sinner enough to die for him as a Savior, and He hates the sin enough to die for it as a substitute. 

And when we point out the faults of others, we are like the blind leading the blind.  For we know our own faults better than anyone else.  We may think we know the faults of others, but this is only because we have a log in our own eye!  “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

The Church must call the world to repent before she can proclaim forgiveness.  And yet, too often, she seems to enjoy the former more than the latter.  We Christians are often unfairly accused of being “judgmental” because we cite Scripture to judge that which is evil and condemn that which is sinful.  But, dear brothers and sisters, we Christians are often rightly accused of being “judgmental” because we cite Scripture to judge our brothers and condemn that which we are guilty of.

We must be on guard against this hypocrisy which is not only a poor witness but is also sinful and spiritually poisonous to our souls – especially in an election year when politics often drives our faith.  We Christians are ever eager to condemn homosexuals, but become eerily tolerant of divorce, of disrespect to the husband as the head of the household, of lording over and even abuse of wives, of disrespectful behavior in the home and in public, of dirty jokes and pornography, of the badmouthing of spouses, of a cavalier attitude toward television programs and movies that belittle the very notion of marital fidelity and authority in the home.

“For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

We are also very good at spotlighting abortion: those who secure them and those who provide them.  Indeed, the Church must always have the courage and the integrity to defend life – all life – especially life that cannot speak for itself.  It is her prophetic voice which condemns the murder of children.  But it is not her mandate to condemn the abortionist or the people who make use of their services.

For as good as we are at marching, voting, putting bumper stickers on our cars, and protesting against abortion, we Christians are too tolerant of allowing our own children to be harmed by every manner of evil: highly sexualized and violent TV shows and video games, being lured into worldly ways at increasingly younger ages, not praying with them and for them, not teaching them the catechism and the Bible, not making sure that hearing the Word of God and taking part in the Divine Service is of the utmost importance in their lives.  And Christians are not exempt from being abusive to their children in thought, word, and deed.

“For with the measure you use…”

Dear friends, St. Augustine’s teaching is sometimes paraphrased as “hate the sin and love the sinner.”  And that is exactly what our Heavenly Father does with us poor, miserable sinners.  He hates our sins even as we brush them off.  He loves us sinners even as we brush Him off. 

But there is a warning to all of us poor, miserable hypocrites: “Take out the log!”  In our zeal for calling people to repentance, charity begins at home.  God loves sinners.  God dies to forgive sinners.  God rises again to justify sinners.  And God is transforming sinners into saints, judgmental scolds into loving examples of righteousness, hypocrites who emphasize the sins of others in order to ignore their own sins into humble men and women who confess their own sins and live out their lives in service to others – in mercy and in love.

Loving the sinner and hating the sin is a great paradox indeed – only resolvable at the cross – where our blessed Lord, motivated by hatred of evil, loves not His own life, and where motivated by love of His creation hates not His own death.  He embraces His cross for the sake of us poor miserable sinners, promising us forgiveness (not judgment) and transformation (not condemnation). 

And this peace, mercy, and love of God has been “given to you,” dear Christians, even as you give, forgive, and show mercy, “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.”  For our Lord is no hypocrite.  He is merciful.  He has not come to condemn, but to save.  He is merciful, “even as [His] Father is merciful.”  Amen.

on the sickness of sinto the next - and d w liars and sons of the devil, tament, a bloodye people on

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

Sermon: Presentation of the Augsburg Confession - 2012

25 June 2012 at Hope Lutheran Church, Bellaire, MI

Text: Matt 10:26-33 (Neh 8:1-2, 5-6, 9-12; 1 Tim 6:11-16)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Believing is easy.  Believing is just being convinced that something is true.  And you can do that without anyone knowing about it.  It’s the confessing that can be hard. 

Because Satan and his allies in positions of authority do not want to hear what we have to say, what the Church has to say, what Christ has to say.  Confession of Christ has resulted in the shedding of blood of every martyr of every age.  Confession has placed men, women, and children into shackles and cells and torture chambers right down to this very moment.  Confession is what it means to “fight the good fight of faith” as St. Paul exhorts us.  For once one has engaged the enemy, once one has “confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses,” one is taking up the cross and truly following our Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself “witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate.”

Christians of every time and place are called upon to confess Christ and to openly and lovingly proclaim to the world the reason for the hope that is in them, to confess before kings and before paupers the good news of Jesus Christ, of His atoning death on the cross, His freely offered sacrifice of His own body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, and our own unworthy reception of this redemptive grace through faith, by hearing the Word and partaking of the sacraments.

Sometimes this confession can be made freely.  Sometimes there is a cost.  While salvation is free, sometimes the confession of the free grace costs confessors their very lives.

Our forbears in the age of reformation knew this cost.  They had seen those who dared ask questions being tortured and burned at the stake.  They followed the sad saga of the excommunication of Doctor Luther, one of the Church’s greatest theologians, and stubborn refusal of the Church’s pompous bureaucracy to submit to Holy Scripture.  Some of these confessors would be burned at the stake or have their lands seized.  At very least, their reputations would be savaged, and they would be accused of being heretics.

But these brave men and women, pastors and laypeople, redeemed sinners of many lands, Christians who hungered for righteousness and thirsted for truth, took comfort in our Lord’s encouragement, “Therefore do not fear them.  For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.  ‘Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops….  Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.’”

The evangelical movement that began in Germany – the churches, the pastors, the lay people, the university professors, all Christians who looked to the Bible instead of bureaucracy, who sought the Gospel and not superstitious trinkets – they were to have their opportunity at Augsburg to “fight the good fight” and “confess the good confession” before church and state, before nobles and peasants, before angels and demons – on this very date 482 years ago.

In the very teeth of the Roman Church and the Imperial State, these confessors, just as their Lord did before Pilate, “witnessed the good confession.”

And like the Old Testament exiles who returned home after decades in captivity, these confessors of Augsburg once more “opened the book” of the Word of God, and “the people stood up.”  They heard about the good news of our Lord’s death on the cross and rejected the theory of Purgatory.  They heard the proclamation of grace and rejected the mercenary trade in Masses and in relics.  They heard the Word in its glory and they rejected the self-proclaimed infallibility of church bureaucrats.

And the people were called to “rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.”

The people heard the presentation of this good confession with clarity, that these reformers indeed worshiped the Trinity and confessed original sin, the Son of God, justification, the ministry, the new obedience, the Church (and what it is), baptism, the Lord’s Supper, confession, repentance, the use of sacraments, order in the Church, the observance of ceremonies, civil government, Christ’s return, the proper understanding of free will, the cause of sin, good works, and the proper way to honor the saints.

They heard these 21 articles of faith confessed with charity, in firmness and yet in love, with courage and with faith.  And they indeed confessed, “Our churches do not dissent from any article of the faith held by the Church catholic.” 

And the people heard explanations of certain practices of the ancient church that were restored: both kinds in the sacrament, the marriage of priests, the proper understanding of the Mass and its ceremonies, confession and absolution, the right way to fast, a biblical view of monastic vows, and the proper exercise of authority in the Church. 

And this confession was offered at this time and in this place for the sake of the Gospel, “so that it would be understood that in doctrine and ceremonies, we have received nothing contrary to Scripture or to the Church universal.”

Dear friends, this confession is needed now more than ever.  We live in a postmodern age where those who are afraid to commit and afraid to offend allow truth to be twisted and turned and led around like a pig with a ring in its snout.  But truth is objective, dear brothers and sisters, and though we can (and do) have honest disagreements with other Christians and even within our on communion, there is a basic confession that we Lutherans have bound ourselves, our pastors, and our churches to. 

Not only is there an objective truth, but it is knowable as revealed in Scripture and confessed by the Church Catholic.  We confess the faith of our fathers, of the apostles, of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  The Bible always trumps the bureaucrat, the Gospel always outshines trinkets, and we are bidden always to confess Him “who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power.  Amen.”

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

Sermon: Nativity of St. John the Baptist - 2012

24 June 2012 at Hope Lutheran Church, Bellaire, MI

Text: Luke 1:57-80

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Just as every Lord’s Day is a mini-Easter, every Lord’s day is also a mini-Christmas.  Indeed, as we Lutherans confess in the Apology of our Augsburg Confession:

“We do not abolish the Mass, but religiously keep and defend it.  Masses are celebrated among us every Lord’s Day and on the other festivals.  The Sacrament is offered to those who wish to use it, after they have been examined and absolved.”

And so even in the middle of summer we are not out of line to wish one another a Merry Christ’s Mass.  For this holy day and holy sacrament that we celebrate today is the celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ, born of Mary, true God and true Man, come to us in Word and Sacrament, in body and blood, in bread and wine.

Dear friends, what a treasure we have!  What a privilege to be here!  What a glorious thing we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and take into our bodies: the Word of the Lord, the body and blood of Christ – for us men and for our salvation!

Indeed, today is yet another celebration of Christmas, of the incarnation of our Lord, of the fulfillment of the hope and yearning of the elderly Zacharias and his formerly barren wife Elizabeth, of the answer to prayers, of the peace and mercy and redemption and love of God for His people, of the fulfillment of the passing millennia as generations awaited the fulfillment of the promise, the victory over the devil, the restoration of life to a people dead in their trespasses, and the vindication of all creation from the devastation of sin.

With the coming of the Lord’s holy cousin John, the man who is the greatest of those born of woman and yet the least in the kingdom, the voice crying in the wilderness prophesied by Isaiah seven centuries before, he who would close out the Old Testament by announcing the coming of Him whose blood is the New Testament – we see everything changing.

The grip of Satan is loosed as the devil is being mortally wounded by our Lord – who was Himself mortally wounded for us and in our place.  The consequences of sin, the debt we can never pay, the damage we can never undo – is paid in full and creation is repaired to its former glory by Him who died and rose again.  The finality of death – the most cruel and final of all enemies of man and beast alike – has been rendered temporary, as the Lord Jesus Christ becomes the first-fruits of the resurrection promised and given to us as a free gift of God’s gracious mercy.

For the Lord laid a burden upon St. John: the vocation of being the forerunner, the herald, the preacher of repentance, and the baptizer of our blessed Lord.  It is a burden that St. John the Baptist would carry faithfully unto death – in spite of his doubts, in spite of his perceived failure, in spite of his shameful execution.  John surrendered his head as a martyr’s testimony to the Head of the Church, the Sacred Head now Wounded, the one who has come to crush the vile serpent’s head, so that we might be members of His body, the Church, the redeemed bride, sinners converted into saints – by the power of the same Word preached by John, his very cousin in the flesh, the Word Made Flesh, the one who comes to us today, dear brothers and sisters.

We sing with Zecharias and with Christians of every age, filled with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.”

He has visited us, dear friends.  He does not leave us to fend for ourselves.  But He visits us in our sinful world in His sinless flesh.  He visits, literally “oversees” or “bishops” us as the Good Shepherd of our souls, leading us safely away from predators and joyfully to the still baptismal waters and green pastures of eternal life.  He redeems us, dying for us that we might live.  Purchasing us from the bondage of sin – “not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.”

“And (He) has raised up for us,” continues St. Zacharias, “a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.  As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.”

Dear friends, we have all this – right here and right now!  We have heard the Lord speak to us through His appointed minister!  Our sins have been forgiven!  We have heard the good news placed into our ears through the reading of the Lord’s most precious and most holy Word!  And, dear brothers and sisters, we are about to partake of the very body and blood of our dear Lord, the true fountain of youth, the antidote to death, the medicine of immortality, the physical communion between us poor miserable, but forgiven sinners, and our almighty and infinite, but merciful and present, God.

“How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

For John the Baptist came in his own flesh to proclaim the coming of the Son of God in the flesh.  He has come into time and space, to a specific place, and He continues to seek us out where we may be found, dear friends.  He meets us here, in the house of God and at the gate of heaven.  He comes here and now to be with us, to save us, to redeem us, to forgive us, and to give us everlasting life.  This is what John proclaimed, this is what we proclaim, and this is what the Church will proclaim until the Lord’s return.

For the Lord came into time and space “to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham.”

What a glorious thing, dear friends, that we are privileged to hear this anew, to yet again commune with our Lord, the same Lord born of Mary and baptized by John, the same Lord who died in His body and blood on the cross and who rose in His body and blood from the empty tomb.  This is what we receive in this Word and Sacrament: “To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.”

Dear friends, we have been delivered from our enemies: those in this world who seek our pain and destruction, as well as those in realms unseen that wage relentless war to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  We shall serve the Lord without fear, without the fear of our sins, without fear of rejection, without fear that we must rely on our own goodness to save us.  For we have been granted “holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life” – for we too have heard St. John’s sermon: “repent!” and we have been given the gift of the baptizer, being baptized into Christ’s death, even as we have been given this gift for “all the days of our life.”

And, dear brothers and sisters, with our enemies defeated, our sins atoned for, our death undone, and our sinful and broken world renewed and restored, the promise that this is for “all the days of our life” takes on new meaning.  It means without sin, without sorrow, without regret, without pain, and without death – and without end!

This, dear friends, is why John was born: “to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” 

We praise You for the Baptist,

Forerunner of the Word,

Our true Elijah making

A highway for the Lord.

The last and greatest prophet,

He saw the dawning ray

Of light that grows in splendor

Until the perfect day.

Amen.

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

The Modern Generation Gap (funny but true!)

Sermon: Trinity 2 – 2012

17 June 2012 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA

Text: Luke 14:15-24 (Prov 9:1-10, 1 John 3:13-18)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Our spiritual father St. John the Apostle says to us: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 

For he knows how we are.

We are talkers, not doers.  We are like the man who says: “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”  Rather than being rewarded by Jesus for saying something profound and pious, our Lord Jesus tells a parable to convict him of his sins and call him to repentance.  For in this story, everyone has an excuse.

This is because we are talkers and not doers. 

We are like St. Peter who swears that even if everyone else falls away, he won’t.  Instead, he denied the Lord three times.  It’s easier to make promises than to keep them.  It’s easier to talk about Christianity than to be a Christian.  It’s easier to pay lip service to “spirituality” than to abide by the teachings of Christ’s holy religion.

In other words, we talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. 

But, dear friends, the Lord is calling on us to be honest with ourselves.  He invites us: “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”  For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” 

The first thing every Lutheran child memorizes from the catechism is the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods.  What does this mean?  We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”  But who wants a God that is feared? 

And yet, the Word of the Lord is clear: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

But do we really fear the Lord?  Are we any different than the characters of our Lord’s parable?  “Come, for everything is now ready,” He invites us.  The bread and wine are on the altar.  Everything is now ready.  “The feast is ready, come to the feast.”  Sins are forgiven in this place.  The Word of God is proclaimed in this place.  The Lord is miraculously present in the Holy Sacrament in this place.  “Come, for everything is now ready,” He says to us with great joy and excitement.

But where is everyone?

Jesus is here.  What could be more important than that?

“The first says to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it.”  Someone else says: “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I must go to examine them.”  Still another says: “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”

There is always an excuse.  There is always something more important.  There is always a good reason to do something else, go somewhere else, pay attention to someone else.  There is TV to be watched, parties to attend, chores to be done, places to go, things to do, people to see.  There are shows and sports and things to do at work.  And even when there isn’t, there is the morning paper and the chance to sleep in.

“So the servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house became angry.”  He uninvited those with excuses, he sought others who would recognize and appreciate the invitation.  “Bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame,” he orders.  And he adds: “None of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.”

This is a hard word the Lord gives us today, dear friends.  But thanks be to God our Father that He loves us enough to warn us, to call us to repent, to draw us into Himself, to His Son who did walk the walk of the road to Calvary, who made no excuses, but who loves us in deed and in truth.  Thanks be to God that He sends us His Spirit, to convict us, call us, and draw us to Himself.

The Lord calls us to put away our excuses!  The Lord calls us to fear, love, and trust in Him above all things!  The Lord calls us to “eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.”  The Lord calls us to walk the walk and to truly know love.  For “by this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

He issues the invitation anew: “Come, for everything is now ready!”  He has gone out into the “highways and hedges” and He compels us – not with force, but with love.  He draws us in by grace!  He beckons us with His Word: the Word of forgiveness, life, and salvation.  He desires that His house should be filled, filled with the “poor and crippled and blind and lame.”  Filled with “poor miserable sinners.”  Filled with people who stop making excuses because there is no excuse for our sinfulness.  Filled with forgiven sinners who accept reproof in love and who respond to the call to repent with thanksgiving and not with scoffing.

Let us turn aside from our excuses and let us confess our lukewarm hearts and repent of our fair-weather faith.  Let us joyfully partake of the feast.  Let us hear the Word of the Lord and not allow it to become just one more text or e-mail in the clutter.  Let us pray to the Lord and not just go through the motions.  Let us partake of the Most Holy Sacrament, knowing and confessing that the Lord is physically and miraculously present with us, for us, even as He has died in our place and leads us into perfect love.  Let us receive the free and full gift of forgiveness, offered in love, and received in love – the pure love of God that abides in us though we most certainly do not deserve it.

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”  Amen!

on the sickness of sinto the next - and d w liars and sons of the devil, tament, a bloodye people on

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

Speaking of the sale of ULC...

Nuff said!

Back in the Saddle

Our family's days as a uni-vehicular family (which has been the case since shortly after Hurricane Katrina) are now over!

I located a nice 2001 Honda Rebel (appropriately purchased from Mississippi) with low miles and in almost new condition for a nice price.  It is a small (and I mean small) motorcycle - 234 cc with the seat 26 inches off the ground.  It's quite a different ride than my old Honda 900 or my Suzuki 850 that I was riding 20 years ago.  But it gets about 70 miles per gallon in a two and a half gallon tank.

The bike runs very well, can get up over 70 mph - though that is about the extent of it.  This is fine for the commuting that I need to do.  We have a longer riding season in New Orleans than when I was riding in Ohio (having to wear a snow-suit part of the year).

No more daily one-person minivan commute - at least when the weather cooperates.

Every family should have a little Rebel.

My interview today on Issues, Etc.

Thank you to Jeff Schwarz and Rev. Todd Wilkin for having me on today on the world's greatest Lutheran radio program - Issues, Etc.  You can listen here for today's half hour interview about my article in the latest Gottesdienst called "The Problem with Protestantism."

I've been on Issues, Etc. three times.  You can search the archives of all of the shows since it went online here.  There is a little something for everyone here - for Lutherans and non-Lutherans alike!

And if you can't get the Issues, Etc. theme song out of your head, here is the video!

Iron Man vs. Idiocracy?

The above video of Peter Schiff's recent testimony before congress reminds me a bit of this:   The reaction of congress to Schiff reminds me more of this... : not to mention this...   Observing congress is like seeing a video of a toddler who has grabbed the car keys, started the engine, and is driving an automobile to a certain wreck.  America's Funniest Videos it isn't. I especially find the one congressman's intended condescending remark about "an Ayn Rand novel" to be especially illustrative - as he doesn't even know how to pronounce "Ayn Rand."  If they don't even read their own bills, maybe it's unreasonable to expect anything more than The Cat And The Hat out of these guys.  One of the valid criticisms of Ayn Rand is her one-dimensional characters that are just too cut-and-dried.  The problem is, when I watch this video, I see members of congress just as economically clueless and full of themselves as any bloodless villain in an Ayn Rand story. Anyway, below is Peter Schiff's announcement of this video including a few key points marked and linked.  It is worth clicking on his excerpts. Dear Friends, On Friday, I sent you a link to  the video of my June 7th Congressional testimony regarding the Federal Housing Authority loan policy. Given that the exchanges I had with the Congressmen so clearly illuminate the flawed legislative process and the ignorance that many have about the workings of the free market, I wanted to take this opportunity to resend this important video. If you share my opinion on economic issues, please help me make this video go viral. For those of you who haven't had the chance to watch the full 33 minutes, I have compiled a guide to the juiciest highlights below.    6:06  - My Opening Statement 11:16 - "I don't know whether to go to Mr. Schiff or not, but I guess I will" - Judy Biggert (R) I explain to Chairwoman Judy Biggert why federal involvement in home lending has created more problems than it has solved.   16:22 - "Despite all the sound and fury, there's not a lot of details..." - Robert Hurt (R) My proposals that old regulations be repealed, rather than new ones proposed, in order for the free market to come up with solutions are repeatedly lost on Congressman Robert Hurt. 25:16 - "Mr. Schiff, I just have one question..." - Emanuel Cleaver II (D) Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II unsuccessfully tries to 'nail' me. Instead, a spirited discussion ensues in which I remind the congressman of the moral hazard and economic costs of government subsidies. 30:38 - "Maybe that happens in an Ayn Rand novel..." - Brad Sherman (D)   Congressman Brad Sherman asserts that as a practical matter the federal government, in one way or another, insures all homes, and that only characters in an Ayn Rand novel would believe otherwise.

Cordially, Peter Schiff CEO and Chief Global Strategist Euro Pacific Capital

Living the Estonian Dream: Can America Learn from a Former Soviet Republic?

Here is an interesting article from CNBC (June 5) that demonstrates the power of austerity, savings, and investment instead of stimulus, debt, and consumerism.  Could we swallow such a bitter pill here in America?  Can we afford not to?  It will be interesting to see what becomes of Estonia - especially being part of the Eurozone.

Primal Cure for Anorexia

Check out Melissa's primal success story from Mark's Daily Apple.

Before primal...

and after!

It's not just about losing weight.  It's just plain more healthy and contributes to a better life.

The Unconquerable Dave

From about 300 pounds of fat, size 44 pants...

Read this and be inspired: The Unconquerable Dave from Mark's Daily Apple.

The "before" and "after" pictures tell a lot - but the story behind the pictures is really the good stuff.

And here is a later update on Unconquerable Dave's success even in very trying circumstances.

...to 200 pounds of muscle and size 34 pants - at age 53 in less than a year and no gym membership!

Here is an intriguing and provocative presentation ("Resistance is Futile: You Will Be Assimilated Into the Community") by Chris Rosebrough the CEO of Pirate Christian Radio in his blog Fighting For the Faith.

The audio is found here and you can follow along with his slides here.

Mr. Rosebrough demonstrates the link between the church methodology being pushed by a segment of leadership within the Missouri Synod and other American church bodies, back to its explicit philosophical origins within Fascism.

It is a sobering presentation, and is something that takes time to listen to and to digest.  I think it is an important analysis that needs to receive a broad hearing!  

New Newsletter Hot Off the Press!

Here is the latest (May 2012) newsletter from the Rev. Professor Alan Ludwig, the American professor serving Lutheran Theological Seminary, Novosobirsk, Siberia!  In fact, here is a link to the archives of all the newsletters!

In this installment, he writes about his recent visit to St. James Lutheran Church - Novokuznetsk.  The pastor of St. James made a visit to the U.S. a few months ago - including a visit to us in Gretna, Louisiana.  My own experience with the pastor and people of St. James (here, here, and here) is very similar.  They really are a socially gregarious and theologically serious congregation (and they serve a lot of tea)!

Please keep Professor Ludwig in your prayers, and if you would like to financially help his ongoing work and ministry in Siberia, please visit his website and his blog.

"No, no, no, I don't eat it no more..."

I can't help but think about this song when consider the stuff I don't eat any more, even foods I considered my favorites.  It was a lot easier than I thought to go "cold turkey" (Turkey?, Yum!).  Going primal is so worth it!  I just broke the 150 barrier this morning (weighed in at 149).  I may be going back to 29 inch trousers in the near future.

And here is a great article that is a sort-of small catechism or FAQ about what it means to go primal: Top 8 Most Common Reactions to Your Grain-Free Diet by Mark Sisson.  HT: Lew Rockwell.

Brainteasers!

Here is a fun article courtesy of Lew Rockwell.

A Heroic Lutheran Confessor from Kenya

The following address was given by Archbishop Walter Obare Omwanza of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya in Gothenburg, Sweden on February 5, 2005 on the occasion of his consecration of Bishop Arne Olsson to the episcopal office in the Mission Province of the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden.  


It is one of those historic speeches that one can read again and again and never grow tired of hearing, for it is not just a historic speech, but a proclamation of Christ in the midst of a troubled world.  Archbishop Obare paid a steep price for his courage and fidelity to the scriptures, and he has also won the affection and respect of Lutherans the world over.


Archbishop Obare also penned a defense of his action, and it is equally eloquent and cruciform.


Thanks be to God for this heroic churchman, confessor, and defender of human freedom and dignity!

WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY? 

The date of February 5th, 2005, will have its permanent place in the future history of Lutheranism. On this very day, the Mission Province within the Lutheran Church of Sweden received three bishops. On the same day, Lutheran Christians in the Lutheran churches in Sweden and Finland received new ordained pastors who are to serve them with the Word of God and the Holy Sacraments. In all this that we have accomplished here in Gothenburg, the passage of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians has, once again, been realised, “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men” (Eph. 4:8). 

This date of February 5th, 2005, naturally raises the question, why are we here having arrived from various parts of the wide world? Why us, from Africa, Eastern Europe, Germany, Scandinavia and North America? This question can be addressed to us even with a certain degree of indignation. The same question can also be asked out of perplexity and embarrassment. But we should not forget either, that there are Lutheran Christians in Sweden and Finland who can answer this question with the deepest thankfulness. Their prayers have been heard as was heard the request from Macedonia to St. Paul: “Come over and help us!” (Acts 16:9). We have not come to Gothenburg out of frivolous love of adventure. I want to make the reasons of our coming very clear to all who, for one reason or another, raise this question. 

1. We are here demanded by the Christian love and solidarity. Time and time again, the motivation for my resolution to come over and help Lutheran Christians in Sweden and Finland has been expressed in the words of St. Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, concerning the well-being of the mystical body of Christ, the church, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). This was also my Biblical reply to the letter of the Primate of the Lutheran Church of Sweden a full year ago, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” My decision to take this step has not been an easy one. I have struggled with this call. But a call it is, a call from God. I did not make my decision lightly. How many times I have been tempted to listen to well-meaning advice not to come here! I have received an abundance of such advice. Yet, my conscience is in bondage to the truth. I have received my Episcopal office in a Lutheran church to serve the divine truth and Christian love. Christian Biblical truth and love cannot be insensitive in the presence of suffering. This suffering has been felt even on other continents and this is the reason why we are here. The state of emergency among our Lutheran brothers and sisters in Europe, especially in Scandinavia, has been heard and felt. This state of emergency is not an issue of yesterday. Indeed, it has been an open wound in the Lutheran body for decades, at least since 1983 when the 1958 clause of conscience was abrogated in Sweden after an intense and politically well-orchestrated media campaign. What is worse, such a clause was never adopted in Finland. What this meant in practice was that Lutheran Christians have been denied their fundamental Christian freedom to attend apostolic services in their churches. Instead, various attempts have been made to force them to church services that are not conducted according to the Bible and according to the order handed down to us by the Apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I speak out openly. In Africa and in other parts of the world, we completely fail to comprehend this kind of rigid ecclesiastical tyranny in the age global human rights, including the freedom of religion and worship. Civil and church regimes that resort to coercion and even tyranny are never promoting a good cause, on the contrary. As long ago as the 17th century, England left the tyranny of the kind Archbishop William Laud pursued, seeking watertight ecclesiastical uniformity by unscrupulous, merciless, worldly means. Germany has left behind the years when the Prussian king even used troops to crush the peaceful resistance of his Lutheran subjects who could not accept church union with Protestants whose teachings ruined the Lutheran doctrine. Scandinavia should have left this kind of tyranny against Christian consciences far behind in the 19th century when governments, laws, state-church bishops and diocesan chapters persecuted in many and various ways popular Lutheran revivals in the Nordic countries. Lutheran worship and the office of the ministry go together. Strangely, it is Lutheran churches in Scandinavia, which has been in many respects a model of common welfare for the whole world, that have chosen to part ways with Christian love in favour of oppressing consciences. Whether it is the hard-dying legacy of the state church past that is still hounding Lutheran Christians, I do not know. In doing this the churches are reflecting the societies that surround them, which are becoming more and more intolerant towards the Christian faith. One of us, Bishop Borre Knudsen, has been jailed in Norway because he has vocally defended the lives of unborn children by opposing abortion. Recently, a Pentecostal preacher in Sweden was sentenced to jail, simply because he has taught his flock the truth, which we all can read in the opening chapter of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans. We must not accept any attempts to intimidate and muzzle the Biblical voice of the true Christian faith. Indeed, it is wrong that ordination is denied to men who have been called by God and the Christian congregation and whose only defect is their true strength and the strength of the true church, namely faithfulness towards the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions. Those who are genuinely being called to the office of the ministry and who meet the genuine requirements of this office must be ordained to the same office. This is not the first time Lutherans are facing this kind of dilemma. We need only to bear in mind the life and example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who could not serve under a church regime that had compromised itself, who as lecturer at Zingst and Finkenwalde piloted the same course we have set today. Where the royal highway of God’s call is being blocked by political and cultural prejudice, by human authorities and human traditions, against the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, those of us who are free must come to the aid of our oppressed fellow Christians. The love of Christ demands this. This is why we are here today. 

2. We are here because of the Word of God. I have said a few words about Christian love. In order to keep us all on the right track when using the word ‘love’ I quote what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ says in the Gospel of St. John, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him” (John 14:15, 21). There is no genuine Christian love apart from the truth of the Word of God. Anything in this world claiming the noble name of love and yet parting ways with the truth of the Word of God is only human pretension or sheep’s clothing covering packs of wolves. It is not by chance that ecclesiastical oppression of Christian consciences goes hand in hand with various kinds of denials of the truth of the Word of God. What begins as diluting the Bible in the name of Liberalism will soon end as unyielding intolerance towards Christian faith. This is the development we have witnessed in the West. In the past, Nordic countries have given many excellent Biblical scholars to the entire Christendom. Today the sad fact is that most traditional majority churches in the West have completely lost the light of the Word of God. The sceptre of Christ who, according to his firm promise (Matt. 28:20), is present in his church has been pushed aside by human intellectual hubris. The crisis concerning the Word of God in churches is not an issue of yesterday. This crisis has brewed in various traditional churches for decades. In the Anglican Communion, issues of Biblical truths concerning Christian morals, which has recently come to a head over the question of homosexuality in the church, have worn out the patience of African and Asian churches. Their strong protest against the corrupting apostasy from the Word of God compelled Western church leaders to reconsider seriously their stance. This same issue nearly split the General Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation. The majority of Christendom lives outside the West. The time has already come that Christians in Africa and Asia have learned to say clearly ‘yes’ and ‘no’ when the truth of the Word of God so demands. In the famous words of the 1960s British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, “The wind of change is blowing through the continent [Africa]. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact.” We are no longer nice child-like creatures from exotic mission fields. We are in fact Christians come of age. When I speak out these critical words, I am not forgetting all the spiritual and material good we have received from the West. The Apostle says, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Hebr. 6:10). Our Lutheran Church in Kenya is particularly indebted to Swedish Lutheran missionaries who in the past came over and helped us. We want to follow their Biblical Lutheran teachings, not selling our faith in the vanity fair of the changing fashions of this age. The teachings, which we received from Sweden a long time ago, have now come back from Africa. We received this teaching from you and today we give it back to you with grateful and bold hearts. When we bear in mind what those people are teaching who have attempted to prevent Apostolic worship and ordinations, and what those who have been subjected to their oppression teach, the choice is crystal clear. The only true church is the church in which the Word of God is the unquestioned supreme authority in all and everything just as Dr. Martin Luther writes in the Smalcald Articles: “We do not want to hear what they command or forbid in the name of the church, because, God be praised, a seven-year-old child knows what the church is: holy believers and “the little sheep who hear the voice of their shepherd. Its holiness exists in the Word of God and true faith” (Smalcald Articles 12). Where the Word of God is being oppressed in the life of Christians who adhere to this word, it is our Christian duty to come over and help them in any way we can. Indeed, we are here today because of the Word of God. 

3. We are here because of the Lutheran Confessions. We believe, teach and confess that the Word of God is clear, unambiguous, because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is this word, as St. John wonderfully teaches us in the opening of his Gospel (John 1:1). Further, there is no change, no diminishing of the Word of God, since “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebr. 13:8). The Lutheran Confessions are a right summary of the teachings of this word. It was Dr. Martin Luther’s work as Reformer to re-establish the sole legitimate authority of the church, namely, the authority of the Word of God. All disputes in the church must be solved by the Word of God and in accordance to the Word of God. The Lutheran Confessions are crystal clear on the questions of authority in the church, worship, the office of the ministry and ordination. When I received the call to come over and help, my question was whether the disputes in the Nordic Lutheran churches were being solved under the legitimate authority of the church, namely the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, or whether other authorities were being followed and obeyed? We all know the answer. Those who are oppressed in the church suffer because of the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. Those who oppress follow other authorities. Thus, the choice is very clear. I only remind us of the prophetic words spoken the renowned Swedish theologian, Bishop Anders Nygren, in 1958: by changing the office of the ministry, which had prevailed from the very beginning of the Christian Church, by rebelling against the Command of the Lord (1 Cor. 14:37), the church had nothing ahead of it but the path of Gnostic heresies. Today, everyone with spiritual understanding must concede that the late Anders Nygren was a true prophet. But, thanks be to God, there are faithful Biblical Lutherans who do all that lies in their power to tend the lamp of God in his house (1 Sam. 3:3). They are true heirs of the Lutheran Reformation. This is why we are here today. We are here because of the Lutheran Confessions. 

4. We are here because of church polity and judicature. One might think that this is our weakest point to justify why we are here today. Christian love, the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions, these might be on our side, but what about legal ecclesiastical polity and judicature? Parliaments and ecclesiastical synods in the Nordic countries have made their majority decisions and passed laws. Legal ecclesiastical organs have applied these laws to the daily life of the church. For these reasons, our case might look weak, our prospects pale indeed. However, this kind of reasoning, which separates church polity and ecclesiastical judicature from the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions, is not Lutheran at all. It is not Biblical at all. The separation of the Bible and Lutheran doctrine onto one side, with ecclesiastical polity and judicature on the other side, is an illegitimate impostor in Lutheranism. It is a child of the Enlightenment, an heir of the German philosophical idealism of the 18th and 19th century cross-bred with the age-old state church mindset. It comes from Friedrich Schleiermacher rather than from the Reformer of the church, Dr. Martin Luther. The idealistic legacy in the fashion of Schleiermacher and his successors made a sharp distinction between religion and justice. According to this conception, justice was understood purely as a worldly business, distinct from religion. New, secular ideas have further stirred this judicial muddle. The idea that the sovereign will of the people, ‘the will of the public’, is the supreme authority even in the church comes from the writings of the Swiss philosopher J.J. Rousseau, not from the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. Against any kind of ‘will of the public’ we have learned to pray: “Our Father who art in heaven … thy will be done.” This divine, fatherly will is not a kind of evolving, positivistic awareness or self-processing ‘Zeitgeist’, but it is laid down in the Word of God. The sole supreme authority in the church is the Word of God. This eternal word is not only some thing within the category of religion. It is ecclesiastical justice as well, since there can be absolutely nothing legally binding in the church that contradicts this word. All and everything in the church must be prosecuted in conformity with the Word of God. This is the teaching of the Lutheran Confessions. This judicial principle has also been clearly written in the constitutions of the Lutheran Churches in Sweden and Finland. It is unfortunate that this judicature is not being practiced in church polity. We have witnessed how the un-Lutheran separation of faith and justice continues amongst those who have parted ways with Christian love, the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. Therefore, we should, again, bear in mind the example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his activities, which were officially declared ‘illegal’ by his church body executives on December 2nd, 1935. Only three months later, in March 1936, the second ‘illegal’ course from the ‘illegal’ Finkenwalde seminary was warmly welcomed in Sweden. Even the renowned Archbishop of Upsala, Dr. Erling Eidem officially received Bonhoeffer with his seminarians on March 4th, 1936. By doing so, Archbishop Eidem acknowledged the truth, which we must remember and respect today, namely, that emergency justice, too, is justice. At home in Germany, Bonhoeffer was declared to an enemy of the state and demands were voiced that he should not be permitted to educate German theologians. Thus, our presence and our actions in Gothenburg are legitimate in terms of church polity and ecclesiastical judicature since they are authorised by the Word of God. Therefore, I conclude by quoting the Lutheran Confessions, summing up in words from the Smalcald Articles concerning ordination and vocation. This quotation is not only a theological opinion but it is church polity and judicature according to divine right because it is Biblical: “If the bishops wanted to be true bishops and to attend to the church and the Gospel, then a person might – for the sake of love and unity but not out of necessity – give them leave to ordain and confirm us and our preachers, provided all the pretense and fraud of unchristian ceremony and pomp were set aside. However, they are not now and do not want to be true bishops. … In addition, they persecute and condemn those who do take up a call to such an office. Despite this, the church must not remain without servants on their account. Therefore, as the ancient examples of the church and the Fathers teach us, we should and will ordain suitable persons to this office ourselves” (Smalcald Articles 10). 

Finally: We thank God for his faithfulness. He has made us, his servants in this present state of our infirmity, competent to heed his divine call and to accomplish our task he has given to us. “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men” (Eph. 4:8). We humbly thank him for this. It is also our innermost wish that the Nordic Lutheran churches would be helped by what we have done today in Gothenburg. Since the royal highway of worship and ordination cannot be blocked infinitely against all human odds and political calculations, is this not the time to sit down, to put aside all arrogance and bitterness and talk as Christians brothers and sisters should do, in one faith, in one Lord, as partakers in one baptism and under one sole authority to be obeyed, namely the Word of God, who is one “God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:5)?