Sermon: Good Friday

21 March 2008 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: John 18:1-19:42 (Isa 52:13-53:12, 2 Cor 5:14-21)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

When God created the universe, He gave us everything. And when our first parents sinned, we lost everything. We lost our perfect existence, our eternal health, our unchallenged position of dominion over the world. Worst of all, we lost the communion we had with our Creator.

And when we lose something, often the way to find it again is to retrace our steps. Sometimes we must run through everything we have done, every place we have been, back through time, until we recover that which we lost.

The problem for us poor, miserable sinners is that we are so lost, no matter how often we revisit our history, we can’t go back to Eden. No matter how much we may regret our sins, we cannot undo them. No matter how much we resist and fight against death, even the most heroic medical care and technology are but delaying actions against the inevitable.

We not only need to retrace our steps, we need someone to retrace those steps for us. Like a father fixing his child’s broken toy, we need our Father to fix our broken creation.

It was through an act of rebellion of the few involving the eating of a fruit of creation that the many became lost. And on Maundy Thursday, that step was retraced, as eating and drinking the fruits of creation through an act of obedience by one that the many became rescued. The forbidden fruit became the forgiving fruit. The grain produced with labor as a result of our sin becomes a bread of grace that takes away our sin. Maundy Thursday, the first of these three holy days, begins the great unraveling of the mess we have made of creation.

On this, the second of the three holy days, a sad Friday we are so audacious as to call “Good,” our Lord once more retraces our steps of rebellion and punishment for sin in order to obediently redeem us from sin.

Our original sin involved a tree and a serpent, and led to death. However, on this day, the tree is not an enticement to sin, but rather the holy altar upon which sin is atoned for. On this day, the serpent isn’t the victor, but rather he is the unholy victim, conquered by the Holy Victim. The tree the serpent had used to wound man, in fact, a tree upon which the Son of Man was wounded, has become the cudgel with which the dragon has been pounded, his bloody head crushed by the One who promised to smash it with His bloody foot. And though the first time, the tree, the serpent, and the man conspired to bring death in the world, on this day, this Good Friday, the Man dies on the tree to conquer and overcome death by the tree, mortally wounding the serpent, and bringing life to mortal men who had been led to death by the serpent in the first place.

The steps have been retraced. The lost have been found. The loving Father has repaired the damage of His children.

This is what Good Friday is all about. This is why the Christian faith makes no sense to the world. For in order to retrace one’s steps, one must go backwards, swim against the stream, do things in a less than logical order. God doesn’t do what we expect. He doesn’t behave the way our sinful nature would predict. Instead, He acts out of divine, selfless, unpredictable love. This is the Christian life! Good Friday reveals the supreme act of love, the act of One who would die for His “friends.” And what’s more, He would die for us “while we were yet sinners!” And having received this re-creation, this redemption, having watched our doting Father repair the creation we had wrecked by our rebellion, disobedience, and folly – we can say with St. Paul “the love of Christ compels us.”

We are under compulsion, dear brothers and sisters. We are, as St. Paul calls himself, “slaves of Christ.” We formerly lost and condemned people have been redeemed, repaired, restored, and reborn. We have been found!

“Now, all things are of God,” as the apostle proclaims, “who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself… For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This is the very story and the very meaning of Good Friday. The steps have been retraced. And God is the one retracing those steps on our behalf. As a result, there is the “happy exchange” in which the sinner becomes the saint, the victim becomes the victor, the lost becomes found, the dead become alive, and the condemned become the redeemed.

This is what the holy prophet Isaiah proclaims as well, using the word “Servant” that is, a lowly slave, in the same sentence as words like “exalted” and “extolled.” This is how it is that the Man of Sorrows brings about the happiness of the universe, and the One who is “despised and rejected by men” becomes the One who reconciles men to the God they “despised and rejected.” This is how it is that the violence done to Him, the “stricken, smitten, and afflicted,” the one wounded and bruised and chastised, the One led to the slaughter – becomes the bearer of “our peace.” It is He who will “justify many.” In the aftermath of this prophesied Friday, the Lord Himself uses words like “prosper,” “satisfied,” and “pleasure.” For listen to the words of the prophet in light of this Good Friday: “Because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

The Lord has retraced our painful steps as He trod the via dolorosa to the cross. The Lord has retraced our painful steps as he suffered the results of our iniquity in His passion, bearing the stripes that were given for our healing. The Lord has retraced our painful steps as he “poured out His soul unto death” on the Place of a Skull, bearing our sins, in fact, being sin for us, “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

The steps were also retraced as blood and water issued from his riven side. For blood and water issues when sinful men are born, as our mothers suffer Eden’s curse of pain in childbearing. Instead of a birth, this blood and water from the side of our Blessed Lord is at His death. Blood is what came out of righteous Abel as he lay dying at the hand of His angry brother. Water became the instrument of death of everyone in the world, except for eight righteous people, at the hands of a righteously angry God. But on this Good Friday, this blood and water from the body of Christ are physical manifestations of death. And by this death, we have life. For in baptismal water, we partake our Lord’s death so that we might have life. In the blood of the New Testament, we proclaim the Lord’s death for our redemption as we drink this blood and eat the Body of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The water and the blood have become manifestations of life.

Again, the steps have been retraced. Death has been undone and converted to life. The lost have been found. The broken have been restored.

Finally, our Blessed Lord is laid in a tomb, the most unnatural place in all of creation. The tomb is a location of death, of decay, of sadness. But we can see where this great divine retracing of steps is headed.

For just as the cross, a symbol of pain and death, is today a symbol of renewal and life, the tomb will likewise be transformed after our Lord spends His Sabbath rest in victory over the serpent, having not only retraced our steps, but having stepped upon the head of the devil, finding the lost, and drawing life out of death.

In our sinfulness, we lost everything. We lost our perfect existence, our eternal health, our unchallenged position of dominion over the world. Worst of all, we lost the communion we had with our Creator. And yet, Good Friday saw all of that undone. In Jesus Christ, creation once more has a perfect Man, an eternal Man, One with an unchallenged position of dominion over all things. And through that one Man, we again have communion with our Creator.

The steps have been retraced. The lost have been found. The loving Father has repaired the damage of His children. And as good as this day is, the best is yet to come. Amen.

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

Sermon: Maundy Thursday

20 March 2008 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: John 13:1-15, 34-35 (Ex 24:3-11, 1 Cor 11:23-32)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when His body was handed over to sinful men in order to shed His blood, our Lord Himself handed over His own body and blood to us sinful men in order to be saved by His blood.

On this night when He was betrayed, the night before His crucifixion, our Lord re-establishes the Lord’s Supper for several reasons: for remembrance, for proclamation, for self-examination, and most of all, for the forgiveness of sins.

He re-establishes the old Passover meal, not for the sake of a nice ritual, but as the living fulfillment of the old Holy Supper. For look at this Holy Communion in the Old Testament: the Word of God is read, and the people respond with their “Amen.” They gather around an altar. Moses officiates at the distribution of the Lord’s gift of the lamb’s blood, saying: “This is the blood of the covenant.” It is distributed to the people. The priests and the elders (which is the word used in the New Testament for “pastors”) stand in God’s presence. “So they saw God, and they ate and drank.”

This New and Greater Passover, this fulfillment of the old covenant into the New Testament, this meal in which our Lord is not only the Master of Ceremonies but also the food and drink itself, is a miracle. For we too see God as we eat and drink. This Holy Supper gives us not only a special fellowship with God (who shares the table and a meal with us), but also the forgiveness of sins, the holy presence of Him who has died and risen for us, placed directly into our mouths to become part of our very fiber of being.

In eating and drinking this miraculous meal, we indeed proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes, a proclamation that goes beyond talking about it, but right to our very being. In Holy Communion, we have “communion,” as the very incarnate body and blood of God creates a holy union with us poor miserable sinners.

We, who deserve to starve, are given a feast. We, who deserve to die, are given life.

And just as the blood of the old covenant cleansed the people of their sins, so too, the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, the New Testament, cleanses us. Before He miraculously fed His disciples with His body and blood, our Lord first cleansed them with water. He prepared the disciples to be fit for the Lord’s table by physically washing them with water to make them clean – an act very different than the hollow ritual pre-meal washing of the Pharisees. For this baptismal washing actually makes one clean, even on the hidden soles of the feet, even of our shameful, hidden sins. And our Lord administers this cleansing water not as a mighty Lord but as a lowly servant, a minister.

He then bids His disciples, the men He would ordain for preaching, to likewise minister to others, even as Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu ministered as priests of the old covenant along with Moses.

Not only are these New Testament preacher-priests to wash us with water, not only are they to read the Word of God to us, not only are they to preach and proclaim that Word, they are also to administer the Holy Supper as a proclamation of the Lord’s death, which like the sacramental blood of the old covenant sprinkled on the people, is given to the people for the forgiveness of sins.

And like the people of the Old Testament, this meal is a Passover, a passing over from death to life, a marker for God’s remembrance of His promise, a marker of separation between the passing world that is secure in its sins vs. the Lord’s own redeemed and priestly people who are repentant of their sins, whose sins are covered by the blood, those who have been given life without end.

Just as the angel of death was powerless to cross the thresholds marked by the blood, the devil is not permitted to seize those who have passed through the threshold of the cross by being washed in the ministerial water of Jesus, and through being transformationed by the Holy Supper of the Lord’s body and blood.

And while we must die in this flesh – for we still live in the flesh – we are given a New and Greater Flesh, a flesh untainted by sin, a flesh that is immortal, that is the very flesh of God, “the body of Christ, given for you.” This is the same flesh born of Mary, nailed to a cross, risen from the grave, and given for you to eat in the miraculous meal we call the Lord’s Supper, the Mass, the Holy Communion, the Mystical Meal.

And as sinners, we are accountable in blood – for we still sin daily and much – and yet we are given a New and Greater Blood, a blood that has power over sin, a blood that contains life, the very same blood that flowed from His five holy wounds, the same blood poured into a chalice and given to you as wine to drink, “the blood of Christ, shed for you.” This is indeed the same blood that flowed in the veins of God, the same blood that atoned for the children of Israel, now given to us to drink in the miraculous meal we call the Lord’s Supper, the Mass, the Holy Communion, the Mystical Meal.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are “poor, miserable sinners” whose blood deserves to be shed, whose lives deserve to be ended. We have no claim to worthiness to see God, let alone eat and drink with Him.

But thanks be to our Triune God that God has taken on human flesh, sheds His blood, gives up His body, shares Himself with us in a Holy Meal, and gives us His worthiness to stand before the sapphire throne. Thanks be to God that He does indeed use priestly ministers to wash us with water, to proclaim the good news of the Word of God, to preach the forgiveness of sins in a New Testament, and distribute the body and blood of Christ to us as this holy meal established on the night when He was handed over to sinful men.

Let us see God. Let us eat and drink. Let us proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Let us examine ourselves, let us repent, and let us be forgiven – even as we have been given a bread-and-wine feast and a body-and-blood life that will have no end. Amen.

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

Sign the +Issues, Etc.+ Petition!

There is an online petition that is catching on like wildfire. It only takes a few seconds.

Now is the time to make a good confession before God and men, before kings and princes, before popes and presidents.

Unholy Events on Holy Tuesday

Pr. William Weedon broke the news that the very popular Lutheran radio program Issues, Etc. was suddenly canceled yesterday. The irony is that it was canceled at the behest of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - who owns the radio station (KFUO) on which the program aired (it also went around the world through podcasts over the world wide web).

The host (Pr. Todd Wilken) and producer (Mr. Jeff Schwarz) were summarily fired with no warning. It is perhaps only a coincidence that the Issues, Etc. program was less than supportive of some of the pet projects of our church body, and instead chose to focus on deeper theological issues. Surely, that must be merely coincidental. It must be.

The bottom line is that Pr. Wilken has suddenly been fired from his Gospel-spreading work during holy week. He also has a family to support. I wonder if the LCMS will be sending this faithful pastor a card wishing him a Happy Easter? Mr. Schwarz's position is also dire. His wife is suffering from a neurological condition. She is scheduled to go to Mayo Clinic at the end of the month. What is the status of the family's health insurance?

Ironically, the Gospel reading for Holy Tuesday included the following:

Mark 14:18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me." 19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?" 20 He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. 21 "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."

The cancellation and firings have been met with outrage. Both the Synod and KFUO offices are being swamped with calls and e-mails, but are being very tight-lipped about the matter. Synodical officials seem to have hunkered down and are saying nothing.

The program was not merely a local St. Louis radio show, as it was syndicated on radio stations all over the U.S., as well as being made available around the world via the web and in podcast form.

Here is a reaction from a Lutheran in the African nation of Zimbabwe:

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Garikai Deredza <gariedee@yahoo.com>
To: pericope@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 3:02:54 PM
Subject: Re: [pericope] Issues etc -- no more!

I am very much disappointed by the decision to end issues etc. It has been a source of knowledge, comfort, encouragement and truely an effective and comprehensible tool for reaching out to the world that did not realise the works of the slanderer against the church.

I leave in Zimbabwe, Africa, where there are no Christian (Lutheran) literature and Issues etc was my fountain from which I tapped and drank.

Peace be with you servants of Christ who are troubled on everyside by the slanderer. Don't despair. Yes it's painfull. Imagine how it feels for a new born baby to find their mother dad the next morning. With Jesus in the vessel we shall indeed smile in the storm as we are sailing home.

why was such a powerful Lutheran voice taken off air. I shall fast and pray to the Lord to help me understand, and if not his will that the program was terminated, that the programme be returned to the air.

I can't find the right diction to express my pain and loss emanating from such a decision. My heart really bleeds and I am only holding my tears from flowing but I am weeping like canned 5 year old.

Thy will be done.

In christ,

Garikai Deredza
Martin Luther Deanery
Youth Representaive
Harare North Luther League Fellowship
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe.

gariedee@yahoo. com
+263 91 2 290 886 / +263 4 2 926 223
Garie Dee

Before I became he Has ever been. Let Him who is always there take charge and failure will never be known.


If you'd like to join the effort to make the officials of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod explain their actions, please consider contacting some or all of the following:

Rev. David L. Strand Executive
Director Board for Communication
(314) 996-1200
(314) 822-0000
david.strand@lcms.org

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
1333 S. Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, MO 63122-7295
(888) 843-5267
(314) 965-9000
FAX: (314) 996-1016
infocenter@lcms.org

KFUO Radio Station
(314) 725-0099
(314) 725-3030‎
(314) 721-2969
Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick
Synod President
(314) 996-1402
(314) 842-7110
president@lcms.org

LC-MS Board of Directors
(314) 996-1350


Finally, if you would like to provide financial assistance to the Wilken and Swartz families, send checks to:

St. Paul Lutheran Church
Box 247
Hamel, IL 62046

and mark it Wilken/Schwarz Fund.

For further information, contact the pastor of St. Paul's, Rev. William Weedon at weedon@mac.com.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

It is Holy Week, and perhaps it's not entirely appropriate to insert humor on the church sign. However, I had to post the schedule for Holy Week, and decided to put the last line on our church sign just long enough to snap a picture (above). Note that this one is real, not one of those made up by the "church sign generator."

However, the really-real church sign for Holy Week is shown below. It looks sharp, thanks to our trustee Ralph, who took it upon himself to re-paint the background of the sign that had faded and chipped and looked terrible. Though hardly anyone knows it, Ralph is here every Saturday, working very hard in the heat of the day to make the Lord's House look beautiful. I'm sure every church has its own Ralph. We're blessed to have ours.

I don't really know why my name is on the church sign. But it was on there before, and I just kept it. Maybe after Holy Week I'll just take it off. I don't know why, but it just seems like the name of the pastor isn't relevant. Then again, if visitors see the sign, they will know what to call me. Of course, I could put "Father Hollywood" on the sign and see how many visitors think it's my real name, or at very least, see who's reading my blog. I could also try to find a way to put "Ablaze!(tm)" on the sign and work it in with a quote from the church fathers. Now there's a challenge - though we don't seem to have a "registered trademark" character, or italics, though we do have an exclamation point in the box.

But enough of that. Let us ponder our Lord's Passion and His Atonement for our sins. A Blessed Holy Week to all.

Money Cometh and Self Esteem Ruleth

Wow. Hi-Def is a real eye-opener.

TBN is a real window into "America's Religion": the worship of entertainment, money, and self-esteem.

Now, being a loyal son of the Pelican State, let me share with y'all a Louisiana preacher named Dr. Leroy Thompson. Here are his various books you can buy. Every single one deals with money. This one's title could come right off of a Saturday Night Live skit.

You know, there was a Reformation set off by shysters far less offensive than these guys. At least Johann Tetzel promised absolution of sins. At least he was talking about something theological. These modern-day TV jokers aren't even talking about the removal of sin, but rather openly promising riches based on superstition and New Age positive thinking - cloaked blasphemously in the name of our Blessed Lord.

Thompson's TV show is an infomercial about how God wants you to get rich (and, of course, buy Dr. Thompson's book). There was footage from his "church" in which the huge audience was standing on its feet twitching, jerking, and jumping up and down chanting "Money cometh to me!" while the Reverend Doctor Thompson ran back and forth like Richard Simmons on espresso. It is pure unadulterated evil. There is nothing resembling Christianity in this nonsense. But a lot of people think this is what Christianity is. One of my relatives once asked me if I holler and yell and run around when I'm preaching. She thinks that's what Christianity is because that's what the crooks on TV portray it as.

Next on TBN: Joel Osteen. I had never actually seen the man "preach." I've seen his books while standing in line at Wally World - in English and in Spanish. I've seen stacks and stacks of them at Barnes & Noble with his grinning mug and shallow titles. I know the guy's "church" in Houston is massive. I know that his wife is also a "pastor." I also know that he thinks Mormonism is a denomination within Christianity (and thus considers the doctrine of the Trinity a minor detail that he "hasn't studied" and "doesn't get hung up on").

Anyway, there was the well-known preacher right there in front of us in Hi-Def, so Mrs. Hollywood and I decided to give him a whirl.

Wow! This guy is as full of it as a Christmas goose! It's no wonder the building is crammed to the rafters like a Super Bowl. Unlike the yelling and and strutting preachers, Osteen is soft spoken and takes a different tack than the emotional screamers.

He cited short, touchy-feely bromides like: "No-one can take your self-esteem without your permission" which he essentially lifted (without attribution) from Eleanor Roosevelt.

He went on and on telling mindless apocryphal stories like: "I once read about a guy who was missing a leg..." or "I remember this lady who was having a big problem with..." followed by anecdotes that had nothing to do with Christianity. It was all nothing more than psychobabble and feel-good pap. Over and over, Osteen claims that our problem, our biggest problem, the theological problem that plagues mankind is... sin? Oh, heck no. The biggest problem is our lack of self esteem.

Lack of self-esteem. We're not selfish enough. We don't think highly enough of ourselves.

Yeah, that's definitely it. Osteen's cram-packed facility worth millions in Houston, packed to the rafters is filled with people who aren't full of themselves enough. In Houston. Okay. Got it.

The show went on and on as the man smiled, told stories, and said not a word about Jesus until the last ten seconds of the program with a hasty "altar call" of a sort.

Of course, people are free to believe anything they want. People are free to put their faith in flimflam men and hucksters - for those who fall for that kind of thing typically have some stake in believing in them. If people want to make self-esteem and Mammon their faith, that is their business. But what annoys me is that they falsely wrap it in the label of "Christianity" and christen it with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is no wonder preachers are today seen as hucksters. A whole lot of them are.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Sermon: Palmarum

16 March 2008 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: Matt 27:11-54 (John 12:12-19, Zech 9:9-12, Phil 2:5-11)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

We began holy week the way those first witnesses did – carrying palms and standing outside of the portal of a place called: Jerusalem, also known as “Salem.”

We sang “All glory, laud, and honor” to our Redeemer-King. We sang “hosannas” and acknowledged the holy presence of “David’s royal Son.” We praised Him on high – with “the company of angels” and the “multitude of pilgrims.”

And to Him, before His passion, we sang our “hymns of praise.”

But unlike those first followers of Jesus into that original Salem carrying those prototypical palm branches, we know exactly what comes next. In fact, as we processed into this holy place, this place where our Lord Jesus Christ reigns supreme as King, we followed behind a cross, held high on a pole, lifted up between heaven and earth, bearing the image of Him in whose image we were created.

The joyful crowds who carried the palms and “made sweet hosannas ring” followed Him through the gate into David’s Royal City. They had come for a coronation, and they bloody well got one.

The governor of the Jews interrogated our Lord Jesus: “Are You the king of the Jews?” For this is what the crowds had been saying as they sang His praises, followed His royal donkey, and threw branches before Him. This was the charge the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, and the elders would bring before the Roman authorities. For in the kingdoms of this world, Caesar is the king maker. And as our Lord had previously instructed, we are indeed to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s but unto God that which is God’s. Unlike Caesar, Jesus is the King in a Kingdom not of this world.

Pilate himself understood this – at least to some extent – for he sought to release Jesus. He called Him a “just Man.” He understood that Jesus was no threat to the empire, and that small men sought His life “only out of envy.” Pilate’s wife suffered in her dreams for the sake of this different kind of King.

Ultimately, Pilate would give in to the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, and the elders. Pilate would release a terrorist and allow the execution of the Prince of Peace. And yet, when it came to the crucified King’s throne, a cross, Pilate was to make a confession: “This is the King of the Jews” – just as we, in our creeds make the confession that our Lord was crucified by Pilate.

This King was crowned – not with gold and ermine but with thorns and blood. Soldiers of the Praetorian Guard would mock this King with a purple robe, with genuflection and bows, and with the greeting: “Ave Rex Iudaeorum!” This is the same Praetorian Guard to which Paul would preach Christ crucified – some of whom would become soldiers in the army of this different kind of kingdom.

This King was finally enthroned on the cross, held high above His realm, hands spread wide pointing to the vastness of His domain. The crown jewels of His authority were His garnet wounds which dripped upon the ground of His redeemed creation.

This creation had rejected Him, the shouts of “Hosanna!” being replaced by “Crucify Him!” and the acclamations of adulation giving way to exclamations of blasphemy. Waving palm branches ceased, while wagging heads and tongues abounded.

Even in the mockery, our Blessed Lord’s Kingship was acknowledged even as he was called “Savior.” The chief priests, scribes, and elders jeered: “He saved others, Himself He cannot save.” Indeed, He did save “others,” for they, out of the hardness of their hearts, refused to be saved.

And even as our Lord recited Psalm 22, those who should have recognized the Word of God were clueless – thinking He was invoking St. Elijah for salvation. They were so ignorant of the Word of God, they could not discern that they were hearing the very Word of God with their own ears – the Word of God through whom all things were made, the Word that was with God in the beginning, the Word that was God.

Ironically, the people of God who knew the written Word, could not recognize the living Word. Rather it was a Gentile, a centurion along with his fellow Roman soldiers, who made the good confession on that day: “Truly, this was the Son of God!”

The soldiers in the Praetorian Guard were disciplined men, disciples, if you will. They knew about authority and how authority is passed down from on high. They understood loyalty and devotion to duty. And these men, unlike the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, and the elders knew who their true King was.

The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of misfits. The religious, the priests, the elders, the scribes, the lawyers, the rabbis, the wealthy, the scholars of Holy Scripture, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, and the vast majority of those who sought the Messiah for the most part did not recognize Him – neither on a cross, nor on a road strewn with palm branches, nor in His preaching, nor even in the Scriptures.

For while the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, and the elders scoffed at the King “coming to [them] lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey,” the King was greeted and hailed by a motley kingdom of children; of the poor; of healed lepers; of reformed tax collectors, prostitutes, and thieves; by a veritable army of forgiven sinners, singing Hosanna to their Redeemer-King.

And we continue to follow this different kind of King, even today, dear brothers and sisters. We still wave palms and sing Hosanna, we still follow the cross, and we still acknowledge Him not only as the King of the Jews, but as the King of the Universe.

For consider the proclamation of St. Paul, who would later preach to the Praetorian Guard, through whom God promises: “at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow” – every knee, those who genuflect in worship as well as those who knelt in mockery. And “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” – whether in confession of faith or in profession of hatred. For whether or not one worships this King, He is still King. Whether or not one resists the gift of salvation, this King is also the Savior. Whether or not one accepts the blood of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus as payment of the debt we could never pay, those debts have indeed been paid by our Redeemer-King, robed in purple, crowned, enthroned, and covered in ruby red – even as his outstretched arms survey His realm and His royal fiat goes forth: “Father, forgive them.”

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey…. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea.”

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Amen.

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

The Preaching (sic) of a Bishop (sic)

I caught a sermon by Bishop T.D. Jakes on the tellie. I've heard raging reviews about Jakes as a pastor and as a preacher. He is supposedly the next Billy Graham - whatever that means. People seem to hold him in very high esteem, and treat him as a leading contemporary authority on the Bible and the Christian life. I have seen him on book and magazine covers, but never actually heard the man deliver a sermon - until yesterday.

I only watched for a few minutes, but I have to say, I was far from impressed.

He was strutting about, gesticulating, and making faces to the delight of the audience. He was preaching about St. Peter after the resurrection. He claimed that it was Peter who took the body of Jesus off the cross, wrapped him in the shroud and napkin, and laid him in the tomb.

All I could think was: "Bishop Jakes, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are on line one. They would like a word with you." (see Matt 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19). Sunday school children should know better.

Jakes also spoke of our Blessed Lord as being in a state of rigor mortis as his body was being removed from the cross. First of all, there wasn't time from a biological perspective. But even more important, this borders on heresy. Our Lord's body was immune from corruption (Psalm 16:10). One would think a "bishop" would know better.

Finally, he misrepresented John 21:3 in which Peter goes fishing as somehow symbolic of Peter backsliding into sinfulness. He further misrepresents John 21:7 that Peter had removed his outer garments as a crazy act of a deranged rebel from God's will, who reacted to not catching any fish by getting "butt nekkid" (yes, that is an exact quote) in desperation. In reality, Peter had stripped off his outer garments for work. He wasn't crazy, he was simply fishing. And there is nothing sinful in his fishing. The disciples still had to eat. Besides, "butt nekkid" is not a very good translation of "gumnos."

The Bishop has entirely missed the point.

Finally, Jakes made reference to Peter leaving his boat as being symbolic of getting out of one's "comfort zone." Jakes exhorted his listeners to likewise "get out of the boat." Of course, Peter also sank when he tried to walk on water out of his "comfort zone." Scripture doesn't use the imagery of boats as things to get out of. Noah and his family were kept in safety in the ark (which itself is a prototype of the safety of Holy Baptism (see 1 Pet 3:20-21) . Moses was preserved in a similar little ark floated on the Nile. Church sanctuaries traditionally include a part called the "nave" - from the Latin "navus" or "ship." The Church is a ship, an ark, that we Christians are to remain in. Of course, being bold and brash and trying to get attention for ourselves with "miracles" and flashy shows of spiritual prowess (like walking on water) make for better TV and spiritual entertainment, but we Christians do well to stay in the boat, stay in Holy Baptism, stay nestled in the bosom of Mother Church.

"Get out of the boat" is a terrible lesson! I would go so far as to say it is demonic.

Before I was called to serve as campus pastor of a certain Lutheran High School, I was told about a DCE (Director of Christian Education, which is a layman who is charged with oversight of education in some Lutheran congregations that choose not to let the pastor have such oversight) who had preached in the school's chapel this exact same faulty metaphor about Peter leaving the boat and thus leaving his "comfort zone" and encouraging his listeners to do the same.

These people are reading the same books and magazines, watching the same videos and TV preachers, and going to the same seminars. They are bringing this kind of faulty doctrine and misappropriation of Scripture directly into our churches and schools. Pastors are likewise doing this, as many of my brothers in the holy ministry serving in LCMS churches preach this same kind of nonsense. "As seen on TV" is not the same thing as "thus says the Lord."

Bishop Jakes is very good as a motivational speaker. He packs people into his megachurch. He even gave a "stewardship" pitch on his TV show to get money flowing into the coffers. And while such things (motivational talks, megachurches, and money) are the "butt nekkid" goals of many district and synodical officials in our church body (not to mention fame and denominational visibility), such feel-good psychological cheerleading is not preaching.

This is how it is that "Dr. Phil" can give Jakes a big thumbs-up without mentioning anything about our Lord Jesus Christ: "Is everything in your life feeling predictable and humdrum? Are you lacking excitement in your job or in your marriage? Dr. Phil wants you to meet Bishop T.D. Jakes, who says you have the power to create the life you want." (emphasis added).

He continues:

“He’s entertaining. He’s powerful. I never thought I would use the words 'preacher' and 'rock star' in the same sentence, but this guy is unbelievable,” Dr. Phil says of Bishop T.D. Jakes. “I’m talking about a guy here who is the only individual to ever sell out the Georgia Dome, with 90,000 people coming to hear him speak. If you’re one of the few people left on this planet who doesn’t know who Bishop T.D. Jakes is, you are in for a huge treat.”

“I love people, and I think that people can feel it when you love them,” Bishop Jakes says. “My first church was about 10 members. The church started to grow and to thrive, and I felt it was time to broaden my horizons, and I relocated to Dallas, Texas. People came from everywhere. The next thing we knew, we had a thriving, hand-clapping, foot-stopping, exciting, pep rally-type church. I’m about empowerment. I’m about encouragement. I’m about helping people to reach their dreams and accomplish their goals, and using their faith as a catalyst to get up on their feet.”

“The bishop meets real people with real problems,” Dr. Phil says. “He deals with marriage. He deals with parenting. He deals with relationships, and he deals with finance, and he doesn’t leave you guessing about what he thinks you need to change when he gets through talking. People always ask me what do I read, where do I seek counsel, whom do I look to as somebody I respect and gain information from? Bishop T.D. Jakes is on that short list. My mission to get everybody in America to meet Bishop Jakes really jumped up in priority when I read Reposition Yourself.”

“I wrote Reposition Yourself because I think so many times we make decisions at 20 that we feel obligated to live with at 60,” Bishop Jakes explains. “I turned 50, and I’m repositioning myself also. People are often saying, ‘T.D. Jakes is a preacher.’ They put a period there, but I believe that God put a comma.”

Not one mention of Jesus or the Gospel.

As we have all supposedly sworn to do according to Augsburg Confession Articles V and XIV, LCMS laymen ought to leave the preaching (predigen, publice docere) to those who hold the office of preaching (Predigamt, ministerium docendi) - that is to say, ordained (ordentlichen Beruf, rite vocatus) pastors and genuine bishops. Furthermore, LCMS pastors would do well to read, study, and preach like men such as Bishop J. Chrysostom instead of Bishop T.D. Jakes.

The bottom line: I heard not one iota of the Gospel from Mr. Jakes. Indeed, he truly is "America's preacher."

Late-Breaking News from the Vatican!

Vatican City - As part of the Vatican's ongoing ecumenical efforts, Pope Benedict XVI has adopted the Ablaze!(tm) program from the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, a small American Protestant sect. LCMS archbishop, Gerard Kieschnicht, president of the movement, created the Ablaze!(tm) concept as a strategy for the struggling conservative American church body.

Vatican insiders report that talks have been engaged for several months between the Holy See and the Palace of Purple, culminating in His Holiness' encyclical entitled: Inflammatus Non Programma, which opens with the words: Inflammatus!(tm) non programma, sed motus est ("Ablaze!(tm) is not a program, but a movement").

According to a highly placed LCMS Ablaze!(tm) expert, Father Paul Byzell, Ablaze!(tm) is an LCMS marketing tool.

In the Vatican's version of the program, Inflammatus!(tm), the goal is to reach "another billion souls" with "critical events" and post them to the papal website before the five hundredth anniversary of the Council of Trent in the year 2045.

Unlike its Protestant counterpart, the Roman Catholic "critical events" will include baptisms and other sacramental acts.

Security Overkill

I guess it was inevitable. Gretna, Louisiana has gone post-9/11.

A few months ago, I gave the prayer before the City Council meeting. Currently, the ACLU is challenging such prayers in Louisiana, so these might become a quaint reminder of a past, less enlightened era (like school bands playing Dixie and mothers staying home with their children).

Anyway, at that time, I walked the four blocks to City Hall from my home, strode up the steps, and, was in the council chambers in a matter of minutes. No metal detectors and guards at the door (as is the case with the more high-tech steel-and-glass and more wealthy Jefferson Parish Courthouse a couple blocks away). It was really nice and refreshing to walk up the creaky wooden steps of the old Greek revival courthouse with the old building smell and not have to be concerned about being subjected to radiation or a cavity search. Gretna, Louisiana (population: 17,500) is, after all, not Manhattan or Tel Aviv.

But that has apparently changed.

I was invited to give the invocation again, this time for yesterday's council meeting. Only now upon my arrival, there was a bottleneck at the door of the 19th century building, as the narrow portal was this time dominated by a beeping metal detector and two armed police officers running security detail.

Good Lord!

The man in front of me was a photographer, and so one officer had to carefully inspect each pole of his tripod, while another examined his camera like an anthropologist studying a bronze-age femur. Indeed, you can't be too careful these days about tripod-warfare and the ever-lurking menace of the camera bomb. We've all seen Get Smart reruns. Confusion reigned as another guy was immodestly removing his jacket and stripping off his belt, trying to go through again. A lady failed the metal detector test, and had to remove her bracelet and re-enter. Another fellow was awkwardly taking off his cowboy boots as the cop explained about all the nails in the soles. And, of course, I thought to myself, boot nails can be used by Al Qaida operatives to overthrow the government. Vigilance is the price of liberty...

Meanwhile, it was already time for the meeting to begin, and I was still stuck at the door like a helpless human airline-chattel having his toothpaste tube inspected while waiting to be crammed into the hold with the other irate passengers. On this day, I had no time to dilly-dally, as I needed to be back at my church in less than half an hour.

When it was my turn for inspection, I had to clean out my pockets (not an easy task when one is wearing a cassock over top of cargo pants). Into the plastic tray with my wallet, cell phone, Palm device, two sets of keys, and a pocket watch (which I had to un-attach from my belt loop through the pocket hole of my cassock). All of this was being done as other folks were trying to squeeze through for the meeting. Finally, off with my crucifix and ring, and I successfully made it through.

Miraculously, my belt did not set off the alarm. But then again, that could indicate a gaping hole in The Security System of the City of Gretna (everybody panic!).

As I went to collect my things, one of the cops opened my wallet and was carefully examining the inside. His eyes darted back and forth warily between the two sides of the crease in the fake leather. I feel safer knowing that nobody is going to smuggle the monopoly-token pistol secreted next to his Visa card into Council Chambers and thereby initiating a potential hostage situation.

Next, the guard felt compelled to inspect my Palm device, only he didn't know how to open it. The metal case is held shut with the latest in "rubber band technology," so I was able to assist the officer with the complex opening procedure. After peering at the screen of my Palm (including the small PalmPak Dictionary Thesaurus Card in plain sight), looking here and there, he was satisfied that it wasn't a top secret death-ray device from the Planet Neptune, closed it up, and courteously placed it back in the basket. It amazed me how nobody seemed in the least bit annoyed or puzzled by this Lewis Carrollish tableau. They could have asked us all to get completely naked, flap our arms, and cluck like chickens, and I suspect nearly every person would have done so gladly.

While others were still stripping off and re-dressing themselves in the broom-closet sized Base of Security Operations at the door, I managed to get all my stuff gathered up and ascended the creaky stairs for the meeting. Of course, it started late - but amazingly, not too late. I was able to invoke the Almighty, pray for God's servants in the government, and scoot out in time for Bible class back at Salem. On my way out the door, the metal detector beeped at me. Yeah, same to you, buddy!

I do want to make it clear that I support Gretna's City government - especially the police. In spite of being attacked by politically-correct outsiders, the Gretna Police (under the able leadership of Chief Lawson) took charge of the chaotic post-Katrina situation and protected the city from looters. They took a lot of heat for doing so, but aside from the Oakwood Mall being looted and burned (it was vandalized so badly that it just reopened a few weeks ago, more than two years after the storm), the armed bands of thugs that terrorized other areas were largely kept out of Gretna. Coming up on three years after Katrina, our city still has signs that say "Thank you Chief Lawson and Gretna Police" on display around town. My hat is off to these guys.

Gretna is well-run, and its elected officials are certainly accessible. My complaints about the overbearing security are not a slight against them, but rather a commentary on our larger paranoid (and opportunistic) culture of overblown "security."

I believe this is how things went down: After 9/11, someone saw an opportunity. Every courthouse and town hall in America would need increased security - or at least the appearance of it. The Ubiquitous Enemy could strike at any moment anywhere. No American burg or village was safe (what a market opportunity!). The metal detector manufacturers lobbied Congress, and Federal grant moneys for smaller cities like Gretna were approved. Over the next few months and years, small-town city halls around America became "secure" - while the legislators congratulated themselves for "doing something" and the metal detector companies hit the big time. It also makes Gretna look like Someplace Important, being that the mayor and city council need metal detectors, just like the President of the United States and the Sultan of Brunei. Now, the above scenario is pure speculation, but I don't exactly think I'm going out on a limb here.

Of course, it's all very silly. No terrorist is going to attack Gretna's City Hall.

And yes, there is always the odd chance of an odd gunman committing an odd act of violence (as recently in Kirkwood, Missouri). That's the case anywhere - parks, schools, private homes, gas stations, stadiums, ferry stations, day care centers, public libraries, churches, WalMarts, etc. A miscreant could inflict a heckuva lot more terror in someplace other than the place where the dates for Mardi Gras parades are decided on, and where dog licenses are recorded - especially given that there are armed police officers at City Council meetings.

I think we've become hysterical about "security" to the point of irrationality, and some business owners have leveraged the current anti-free-market system of taxes, grants, and top-down regulation to take advantage - as opposed to relying on genuine supply and demand in a real free market. But then again, artificially creating demand is the art of marketing, and American affluence and desire to "keep up with the Joneses" has become a way of life - even if it means cashing in on 9/11 and capitalizing on the rare incidents in which gunmen run amok.

All things considered, maybe I'll just pass next time I'm invited to give the prayer at City Hall. I know this much: if I get there next time and see a uniformed guy at the door wearing a rubber glove, I'll be doing a quick one-eighty and City Council can just say its own prayers!

Wednesday of Judica (Lent 5)

2 March 2008 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA Text: John 11:1-45 (Ezek 37:1-14, Rom 8:1-11)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are in the fifth week of Lent. Five weeks of fasting, of self-denial, of readings that pound us with the law. Five weeks of somber hymns and small changes to our liturgy to make it more serious and less joyful.

Our friends and family members up north have a similar experience with winter. This time of year is dreary. People are tired of cold and snow. They are weary of heavy coats and walking in slush. They eagerly await a glimpse of spring. And then, in His mercy, the Lord provides green shoots from bulbs, a warm day here and there, and the occasional sight of a robin to remind everyone that the dark days of winter are coming to an end. Those little previews of spring lift spirits and restore a sense of joyfulness as creation prepares to come back to life again.

Our readings for this fifth Wednesday in Lent are a similar peek into future, more joyful times that are both just around the corner and in eternity. Even as we still must endure Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, we are given a little glimpse into the resurrection that is to come – both our Lord’s Easter revivification, as well as our own restorations to a life that will have no end.

Lazarus was sick. Sickness can come and go, but at some point, sickness always leads to death. Even this friend of Jesus was not exempt from Eden’s curse, that he, as all men, would die. When our Lord proclaims: “This sickness is not unto death,” people assume that he would simply get better. Instead, Lazarus dies.

And when our Lord describes Lazarus as asleep, His disciples misunderstand Him, thinking Lazarus was simply enjoying a good forty winks to help make him better.

When Mary and Martha greet our Lord, they grant that Jesus is the Lord of life and death, but seemingly only when He is physically present, both of them confessing that their brother would not have died had Jesus been there.

And when our Lord proclaims: “Your brother will rise again,” Martha misunderstands Him as referring to a long-distant day of resurrection, instead of that very day.

In the midst of death, there is misunderstanding all around. And in the words of the ancient hymn: “Media vita in morte sumus” – “In the very midst of life/ Snares of death surround us.”

Death is so repugnant and repulsive, it drives our Lord Himself to tears. Death brings about mourning, feelings of loss and helplessness, and even a stench. Death is so vile that we segregate dead bodies in tombs, sealed up by stones or covered in dirt. But death was not to have the final word with Lazarus. “Lazarus, come forth!” was the simple command from the lips of God. Lazarus’s dead flesh had no choice but to obey this divine call. He was in a very real sense, born again. Even in his helpless state of death, Lazarus rises, still in His graveclothes. In this case, “In the very midst of death, the hope of life surrounds us.” Mary and Martha are given a glimpse into a future day at a future grave, when they would, for the second time in their lives, witness a revivified corpse that has left the tomb.

Even in the midst of Lent, the joy of Easter surrounds us. Like Mary and Martha, we too enjoy a glimpse into Easter, our own glimpse into future joy and eternal life. Like the green blade of the Easter lily emerging from a dead, snow-covered ground, today’s Gospel account of the resurrection of Lazarus is just a taste of the eternal Easter joy of life to come.

In the Nicene Creed, week in and week out, whether in the season of Lent or Easter, we confess “I look for [in the Latin: “I expect”] the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” In the Apostles Creed, we make a similar confession: “I believe in the… resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”

We cling to the vision of Ezekiel, in which the prophet watches with utter amazement as a valley full of dry, rotting bones clink and clatter together before his eyes, grow flesh and skin, walk upright, and take a breath of air. The Spirit of God revivifies them, these “slain” whose “hope is lost.” For thus says the Lord: “Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves…. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live.”

From the very midst of death, the dry bones are summoned to life – again from the Word of God as spoken by a prophet. It is the Word of God, the command of the Creator, that beckons the dead remains to come back to life again.

“I am the resurrection and the life,” says the Lord. “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”

This is the Christian life St. Paul refers to: “If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

“Son of man, can these bones live?” “O Lord God, you know.”

And so here we find ourselves, in the very midst of life, of mortal life, of life that is surrounded by sin, death and decay. Here we find ourselves in the dead winter of Lent awaiting a glimpse of eternity. And in His mercy, the Lord Himself gives us this peek into Easter and our own resurrections.

Jesus lives! The vict’ry’s won!
Death no longer can appall me.
Jesus lives! Death’s reign is done!
From the grave will Christ recall me.
Brighter scenes will then commence.
This shall be my confidence. Amen.

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

Sing the Lord's Prayer in Latin

This is a familiar tune for men who attended Concordia Theological Seminary while I was there (2000-2003) - as we chanted the Lord's Prayer in English to this haunting ancient melody (Gregorian plainsong, mode VII) in our chapel Matins services. I don't know if the practice continues or not (I hope so!), as some students complained about it. But you can still find the sung Lord's Prayer in LSB on page 957. Here is how it has been prayed for centuries...

A historical and political speculation

With all the geopolitical changes in the world over the past twenty years, I'm wondering what will eventually happen to the United States. The possibilities are actually quite finite:

1) A state or group of states will leave the union by secession, and the United States flag will start removing stars and paring back the Federal government.

2) The Federal government will dissolve itself, leaving states independent and free to form smaller unions and commonwealths if they wish (such as happened when the USSR devolved), dividing up resources and debt.

3) The Federal government will dissolve itself, and reconstitute itself through a constitutional convention of some sort.

4) Violent overthrow by an outside force (invasion).

5) Internal revolution.

Interestingly, the only scenario that leaves the Federal government intact with its current constitution is the first. Of course, historical precedent in American history is for the Federal government to resist peaceful secession by force (and ironically denying itself the ability to be pruned of being too large and unwieldy) - leaving only "downsizing" options that involve the termination of the United States as an entity. There is further irony in that the United States supports the concept of secession, as in the recent recognition of the secession of Kosovo from Serbia - and this support of secession is longstanding, so long as the mother country is not the United States (e.g Texas from Mexico, Panama from Columbia, the Baltics from the USSR, Eritrea from Ethiopia, etc.).

Will the U.S. devolve peacefully or violently? Will our ideals of liberty and republican government survive?

Personally, I don't see number 4 happening any time soon, considering the military hardware the U.S. has. Ditto for 5 - as there is no way any kind of internal revolutionary movement could stand up to the might of the Federal government. I think the negotiations necessary for number 3 to work would inevitably break down in the current paradigm of partisanship as opposed to statesmanship - which has largely become a model of the past.

This leaves us with numbers 1 and 2 - and I don't see 1 happening under the current precedents set in the 19th century.

I think the U.S. will eventually be forced (probably by bankruptcy under pressure of foreign holders of American debt) to dissolve - similar to what happened to the USSR. It will simply collapse under its own weight, bureaucracy, taxation, military commitments, and entitlements. My guess is that it will happen some time before the end of this century - though when it happens, things will move very quickly - especially given today's rapid movement of data.

Meanwhile, I believe our states would be wise to become as self-sufficient as possible between now and then.

I believe the aftermath of dissolution will see both some independent states and some small confederations. Some border states may join Canada and/or Mexico - likely based on ethnic sensibilities. In the independent states, there will be various forms of government, from centralized and authoritarian to decentralized and libertarian - though I suspect most would remain very similar to the current bicameral-republican model. For the most part, individual liberties would be protected, though some governments would inevitably be full-blown welfare states with centralized economies. I also foresee some sort of free-trade zone that would encompass most (if not all) of the former United States, as well as some kind of trans-national treaty organization (like NATO) that would encompass the entire continent.

I am uncharacteristically optimistic that the dissolution would be peaceful - just as it was for the most part when the USSR dissolved. I also believe competing forms of government will push all governments toward more individual liberty - both personal and economic. I also believe there will be a lingering sense of Americanism, just as the Roman Empire continues to influence us today centuries after its political demise.

Stay classy, Living Lord Lutheran Church!

Note: this is a largely chaotic (and frankly, boring) video of teenagers trying to look cool, cursing, groping each other, demonstrating their ability to identify the proper biological names for genitalia and generally acting like idiots in front of what appears to be a Christian altar at a congregation that bears the name "Lutheran" (that spinning sound seems to be coming from a certain castle church in Wittenberg, Germany). It goes without saying that some of the language and topics for discussion by these "youth" are on the raw side.



Of course, it should be no surprise that this ELCA "church" has a "pastor" of each major sex (assuming that number would be two...), and offers cafeteria-style worship, because (according to their website): "Musical variety is as important as the music itself. People have different tastes, so we provide a variety of types and styles of music to enrich worship at Living Lord."

Obviously.

They also have a "Youth Worship Service" (isn't that special?) where: "Several times per year, Living Lord’s teens plan and lead weekend worship services for the whole congregation. The faith and creativity demonstrated by these youth inspire the congregation and show parents the wonderful results of encouraging their children to explore and act on their faith."

Swell.

This is why Christianity needs a sobering dose of traditionalism as well as all-out war on the (Lord of the Flies) "youth culture" that we seem to have surrendered to.

Educational video on Lutheranism...

...from a visitor's point of view.

Sermon: Judica (Lent 5)

9 March 2008 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA Text: John 8:42-59 (Gen 22:1-14, Heb 9:11-15)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

When people act under the influence of Satan, they do strange things. They act in a way that is irrational – even contrary to the natural instinct God has given every living being for self-preservation. A person who is under delusions from the devil will cut his own lifeline out of pride rather than humbly submit to being rescued. For the devil is the father of death. And sons of the devil will not even allow the Son of God to offer them a way out of the death that Satan has saddled them with.

This kind of pride, this rejection of salvation is sometimes called “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.” It is twisted and diabolical. The devil so deludes people that they would rather die on their own terms than live under God’s terms. They would rather repent from life and accept damnation than repent of their sins and receive salvation.

People who are under the devil’s influence have surrendered their will to their Satanic father, and they even refuse to see what is clearly in front of them, opting for death and decay, instead of praying “Thy will be done” to their heavenly Father to sanctify them, that they may see with eyes of faith and uplifted hope borne of the cross and the resurrection.

This is the essence of our Blessed Lord’s preaching to the “sons of the devil” who, though their eyes, their ears, and the Scriptures themselves declare to them – even shout out to them – that the Son of God is standing before them, offering them the kingdom of God. Though He is right there, handing out eternal life as a free gift, their corrupted senses are deluded into seeing what they believe to be a manifestation of evil, of demons.

They have become like people strung out on psychedelic drugs, whose eyes and ears can no longer be trusted, since their brains are filled with hallucinations. They see the Christ, but call him a demon. They see miracles of mercy, but call them manifestations of evil. They hear the very words of God, but describe them as oracles of the devil. And when they, just like Moses, hear the voice of God Himself proclaiming, “I AM,” instead of falling on their knees in worship, they rise up in indignation. Instead of submitting to Him who, out of mercy, permits them to live, they gather stones to try to bring the Author of life Himself into submission to death.

For unlike their father Abraham who “rejoiced to see [His] day,” these adopted sons of Satan writhe and spit like serpents at the very mention of the name of God spoken in their midst. And so great is their delusion that they seek to strike the heel of the Him who has taken on flesh to save them.

These descendants of Abraham have no faith. They are so laden with pride that they refuse to “let God be God.” Instead, they seek religion on their own terms rather than submitting in faith to Him.

Abraham could easily have “cut off his nose to spite his face.” For the Lord was asking him not only to believe in the impossible, but to do something that seems to contradict every law of decency and love. Abraham was ordered to sacrifice his own son, his beloved son, his only son. He was commanded to place wood on his back, bring him to the top of a hill, and there slay him. This was a test of Abraham’s faith. Would Abraham call God “evil”? Would Abraham choose his own sense of justice and pride above the righteous demands of God? Abraham was indeed prepared to sacrifice His son, clinging above all hope to the promise that “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

Abraham had no idea how God would raise his son to life again to keep his promise that through this son, Abraham would have many descendants. Abraham submitted to this somber duty, and raised the knife over his boy’s head – only to be intercepted by the Angel of the Lord.

For Abraham was no “son of the devil.” Abraham was an obedient child of God, who would not even withhold his obedient child from God. And on this day, there was to be no son sacrificed on the altar – save the ram that appeared miraculously, his head entangled in thorns. Indeed, the Lord Himself provided the sacrifice.

How easy it would have been for Abraham to dismiss the Word of God as “evil”? Who among us would have faulted Abraham for a moment had he said “no” to God, decried this command as the word of a demon, and simply refused to carry out the Lord’s will?

Abraham was a great man, but One even greater than Abraham is here. He is the One who was truly the Lamb provided by God, the one who would take Isaac’s place on the altar as the only begotten and beloved Son, the Ram whose head was to be entangled in thorns, whose body would be consumed as a sacrifice to God to atone for the sin of the world.

This sacrificial Victim is no son of the devil, dear Christians, but rather the “only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds.” He is the “Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world.” He is the One who crushes the serpent’s head and casts out demons by the authority He receives from His Father, God the Father Almighty. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the one with the birthright to utter “I AM” – the One who was, is, and is to come – whose “kingdom will have no end.”

He is our “High Priest of the good things to come.” For even as he slipped away from sinful men by dissipating into the crowd, departing the temple, it is He who has come to us sinful men “with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.”

For we “who are called,” who “receive the promise of the eternal inheritance” know the truth: “Not with all the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Unlike the unbelievers of the old covenant who decried Jesus as a demoniac, we baptized children of God know who He is: “the Mediator of the new covenant.”

And far be it for us to “cut off our noses to spite our faces”! Pride will not save us from our transgressions. Neither will an appeal to the Law of Moses, nor descent from Abraham, nor the sacrifices of our own works and claims of righteousness. We have been rescued, and we must never be so proud as to deny it. We have been saved by a sacrificial act of mercy. We must never be so haughty as to refuse to submit to Him who has promised: “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

“For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord will provide! He invites you to partake in the one all-availing sacrifice. He offers Himself for you to eat and to drink. Let Satan be the one to cut off his nose to spite his face, even as our Lord crushes his serpentine head. It is our prayer that all of Satan’s followers repent. And may all of us, like Abraham and with Abraham, rejoice in this His day, the Lord’s day, a day of salvation and victory – now and unto eternity. Amen.

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

Real Preachers of Genius

These have been on blogs all over the place, but I can't help but include them here as well. Brilliant!

Seeker-Sensitive Mega Church Guy...


Mr. Really Bad Preacher...

Pope to Declare Luther "Not a Heretic"?

Here's the article from the (London) Times Online.

It wouldn't surprise me, given Pope Benedict's past statements about his fellow German churchman Luther and his praise for the 16th century Augsburg Confession - the central confessional document of the Catholic movement that came to be known as Lutheranism.

If this does happen, there will be a lot to talk about.