A Little O.P. for New Year's Eve

Sanctuary at Midnight

The last candle burned gently on the altar... Beyond the dark windows the midnight was already alive with bells and whistles, but here they seemed now like sounds from a lost world... In a sudden wind from the sacristy door the candle flickered forward and threw into bold relief the face on the crucifix... Shadows played over the red wounds, and in the eyes in which pain had been a prisoner these nineteen hundred years there was darkness... At the foot of the sanctuary steps stood the tree and the manger... The place of His birth was in the gloom, the place of His death was in the light... All the years of His way from the Manger to the Cross were in the brief steps up the sanctuary, up to the Everlasting Altar... Here were beginning and end... Not by the years could His Life and Power be measured, nor by the dust of centuries, but only by the wounds still red against the white dominion of His throne...

Was it the darkness or the hour which seemed to move His patient face in pity?... Surely no sculptor had caught the moment of "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"... That was so very long ago... The bells and whistles beyond me in the dark were marking the end of another year between His heaven and my world... There had been many of them now - almost twice as many as the number of His days before the eyes of men... Strange that all our years should be measured by His days and all the time of man by one day when, in darkness and pain, God was making eternity ready and history was preparing for B.C. and A.D.... Strange, too, with the wonder of heaven and hope, that I can repeat His prayer tonight... "Father, forgive."... Forgive me - for the lost but unforgotten hours of the dying year, for the erring way and barren heart... The pivot of the year is too brief to say more than the one word which makes the years an altar stair and the time of life the lifting of the angelic trumpets... Midnight is lonely now with lonely bells, and my candle of prayer burns low... There is only one cross on the altar tonight... On the hill there were three, but the children of the man on the cross to the left are blowing whistles tonight, and the children of the man on the right are in sanctuaries the world over... His time was short, perhaps shorter than mine, but his prayer was good, much better than mine... Remember me... Make my failures Thy victories and the years of my sins the eternity of Thy grace... Remember me... Thy footsteps grow brighter as the years grow dim, and no calendar can limit Thy power... Remember me... This moment, not of yesterday nor of tomorrow, is Thine just as the years are Thine...

There are other voices in the sanctuary now, the waiting saints made perfect at last and the great multitude past human numbering who have been remembered at altars in heaven and on earth... In a little while we shall be wise as they whose wisdom is a song: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."...

The Pilgrim, pp. 23, 24

+ Bishop Andrew Elisa

Bishop Andrew Elisa has fallen asleep in Jesus. The story of this remarkable servant of Christ can be found here:

click here

My dear friend, Pastor Randy Asburry, spent some time with this fledgling Church in Sudan a couple years back and spoke of Bishop Elisa in glowing terms.

Rest eternal, grant him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him!

The Greatest New Year's Eve Hymn of All

Across the sky the shades of night
This New Year's Eve are fleeting;
We deck Your altar, Lord, with light
In solemn worship meeting;
And as the year's last hours go by,
We raise to You our earnest cry,
Once more Your love entreating.

Before the cross subdued we bow,
To You our prayer addressing;
Recounting all Your mercies now,
And all our sins confessing;
Beseeching You this coming year
To keep us in Your faith and fear
And crown us with Your blessing.

We gather up in this brief hour
The memory of Your mercies;
Your wondrous goodness, love, and pow'r,
Our grateful song rehearses;
For You have been our strength and stay
In many a dark and dreary day
Of sorrow and reverses.

We now remember, as we pray,
Our dear ones in Your caring
Who brightly shine in endless day,
Past death and all despairing.
At our life's end, Lord, as Your own,
Bring us with them around Your throne,
The joys of heaven sharing.

Then, gracious God, in years to come,
We pray Your hand may guide us
And, onward through our journey home,
Your mercy walk beside us
Until at last our ransomed life
Is safe from peril, toil, and strife
When heaven itself shall hide us.

LSB 899 - Hymn of the Day appointed for New Year's Eve

Homily for New Year's Eve

[Isaiah 30:15-17 / Romans 8:31b-39 / Luke 12:35-40]

As another civil year draws to its close, the Word of God speaks to us tonight about the way we pass the time of this failing age until we reach the Age that never ends. The first reading pointed the way: “In quietness and trust shall be your strength.” The Israelites, however, were panicking and thought that if they were to get out of the pickle they were in at the moment (war was impending with some pretty nasty neighbors to the north), they’d have to use their own smarts. What pickles are you in or are you anticipating this year? Whatever they are, God’s message remains the same. Your strength does not come from your fretting and fuming, your anxiety and fears. Strength comes to you as the gift of quietness and trust.

But quietness and trust in what? For that we turn to tonight’s Epistle. What can give you the gift of quietness and trust? This: that your God is for you, not against you. That He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for every last one of us, He can be trusted to give us with that most precious Gift of all every other gift besides. Trust that God is the one who justifies you – He’s declared you not guilty in His Son and so who is there to level an accusation against you, to condemn you? No one. For Christ Jesus is the One who died for you, who is raised for you, and who right now and throughout this coming year does not cease to intercede for you at the right hand of God His Father. You are ever on His mind and heart. And that is why we know that nothing can separate us from His love.

What will the year hold? Who knows! Paul gives what sounds to be a rather frightful list: trouble, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword. Let it come on, he seems to exult. Whatever it is, it has no power to destroy us. How can such meager things triumph over a people who have been given an unending life in Christ? They can’t! As Martin Luther once preached so beautifully: “All that is ours passes away and lasts but a short while. For what are forty years or fifty, or even a hundred? But with a man who belongs to an everlasting kingdom all is well, and it is fitting that he should dance through life forevermore.”

Dance through life forevermore. This we can do when quietness and trust are our strength because we know that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. How can we not be dancing indeed?

And today’s Gospel reminds us that living in that secure loving embrace of our God through Christ, we are also a people who wait. Time is for waiting. And what we’re waiting for is the return of our Master. We can’t wait to throw open the door and welcome Him back. For this Master is unlike any other. When He comes and knocks, He isn’t asking for us to wait upon Him. Rather, He begs entrance that He might wait upon us, dressed for service, seating us at His table and coming and serving us. Already we have such a rich foretaste of this in the Holy Supper. The Eucharist accompanies us all the days of our journey, and each Lord’s Day our Savior is there, knocking at the door, and asking us to let Him come in that He might be our servant – giving us ever and anew the promise of His unshakeable love for us in the body and blood that He once offered upon Golgotha for the blotting out of all sin and the bringing in of all righteousness. He would serve us such rich gifts – pouring into us forgiveness and His own undying life.

But that’s only the foretaste. For the Feast itself will arrive at the moment when time is through and the Son returns in glory, and we are welcomed visibly into His home and made to sit at His Father’s table and the Blessed Trinity will delight to serve us the gift that He has always wanted to give us – the blessedness that never ends.

And so Jesus also warns us to beware of the thief. The thief who would come to rob us of this inheritance, to snatch it from us and deprive us of it eternally. If we need have no anxiety about our earthly life – trusting as we do that the Father who gave us His Son will not fail to provide for our every need, and the Son who never ceases to pray for us and to present our needs before His Father, and the Holy Spirit who never ceases to pray within us at times with groans too deep for words – if we need have no anxiety about this life, yet Jesus bids us to watch and be wary of the thief who would take all this from us if he could.

There’s only way the theif can do that. And that is if he can destroy the quietness and trust that are our strength. He has but one goal: “How can I cut them off from the source of their faith – from the Words and promises and Sacraments of God?” That is where the enemy concentrates all his effort, and just as he worked on you that way in the year past, so he will seek to work on you that way in the year to come. It’s his only chance. He knows that if you abide in the Word, there is no way he will ever be able to destroy your trust, your quietness, your peace. For that Word will keep you in repentance and in faith. It will keep you dissatisfied with yourself and seeking your life only in communion with the Blessed Trinity. So the thief seeks ever to separate you from the Word that your trust in God’s unshakeable love in Christ might grow dim and die.

But we are not ignorant of his devises. We know what he’s up to. And so we’re on guard against the thief, even as we enter the New Year. Our prayer is that God would help us stay vigilant and eagerly waiting to welcome our Lord into our hearts as often as He comes knocking in Word and Meal. “Come Lord Jesus” is not just for table prayer – may it be the prayer of our whole lives. “Come, Lord Jesus, into this home.” “Come, Lord Jesus, into this broken relationship.” “Come, Lord Jesus, into this trying situation.” “Come, Lord Jesus, into this damaged heart.” And His delight is always to answer that prayer – for that is why He stands at the door and knocks.

In quietness and trust shall be your strength. More than conquerors through Him who loved us. He will dress Himself for service and have them recline at table. If the master had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready.

Grant us such readiness, O most Blessed Trinity, for to You alone we give all glory on this New Year’s Eve– to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages, to which may we all attain by your great mercy and love! Amen.

Reminder

I've been asked about what happens if you fall behind in reading your Treasury of Daily Prayer. I want to stress this: DON'T SWEAT IT. Don't try to make it up. Simply pick up on TODAY and go forward. The gift of Daily Prayer is not meant to be a burden, but a joy. If you missed a reading this year, next year you can have new joy in it. It took me years to learn this simple lesson, but I was happy to see that Pr. Kinnaman simply spelled it out on page 20. The joy of the Office is that if you miss a prayer time, the CHURCH hasn't, and you can rejoice that the chanting of psalms and reading and prayers went on - for you! Simply step back into the Office and don't allow Satan to heap up guilt upon you. Our pilgrimage is too short to waste on such!

Commemoration of David

From our Synod's Website and Treasury of Daily Prayer:

David, the greatest of Israel's kings, ruled from about 1010 to 970 B.C. The events of his life are found in 1 Samuel 16 through 1 Kings 2 and in 1 Chronicles 10—29. David was also gifted musically. He was skilled in playing the lyre and the author of no less than 73 psalms, including the beloved Psalm 23. His public and private character displayed a mixture of good (for example, his defeat of the giant Goliath, 1 Samuel 17) and evil (as in his adultery with Uriah's wife, followed by his murder of Uriah, 2 Samuel 11). David's greatness lay in his fierce loyalty to God as Israel's military and political leader, coupled with his willingness to acknowledge his sins and ask for God's forgiveness (2 Samuel 12; see also Psalm 51). It was under David's leadership that the people of Israel were united into a single nation with Jerusalem as its capital city.

The collect for this day begins: "God of majesty, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven, we give thanks for David who, through the Psalter, gave Your people hymns to sing with joy in our worship on earth so that we may glimpse Your beauty..."

Epiphany House Blessings

The Lutheran Service Book Agenda reminds us "Homes may be blessed annually. Usually this is done during the season of Epiphany due to the connection of the visitation of the Magi to the home of the infant Christ." (p. 313)

If any member of St. Paul's would like for me to bless their home during January or February, please let me know as soon as possible, and we'll schedule the blessing.

"Drive from here the snares of the evil one and send Your holy angel to guard, protect, visit and defend all who dwell in this home. Mercifully hear their prayers and, when their last hour comes, grant them safe haven in Your heavenly mansions; through Jesus Christ our Lord!" -- Lutheran Service Book Agenda, page 319.

New Year's Resolutions

* I will make at least one delinquent call per month (and have a list for each elder to make one each month as well)
* I will read one work by Luther that I haven't yet read each month
* I will reread the Loci Theologici of Chemnitz from start to finish
* I will say "no" to any invitations to do further conferences
* I will make it to confession at minimum with each change in the Church's seasons

And I think if all that gets done, I'll be shocked yet very happy!

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Now all who believe in Him share in His divine nature. They are renewed in His image and they receive the Holy Spirit. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 81

Patristic Quote of the Day

Of His own will He was born for us in time that He might lead us to His Father's eternity. -- St. Augustine, Sermon (Christian Prayer, p. 1964)

Busy yet Good

Coffee maker going off (grinder) woke me at 6:15; coffee with Matins (hey, it's the holidays); off to Y for a GREAT workout (burned 600+ calories on cardio alone, and did weights); back home, changed, communed Carl; checked in with Joanie about bulletin; wrote Bible Study for Sunday and shipped it to Joanie; quick lunch (yummy leftovers); hospital call in Greenville, shutins in Alhambra, Wood River, Maryville, Glen Carbon and Edwardsville (being relatively warm - in the 50's - had roof open on car for much of the journey and boy did that sun feel GREAT); home for half an hour and so Vespers; off to dinner with Cindi (wanted to eat at 54th Street Grill, but not willing to wait for 35 minutes; ended up at Red Robin and had their 5 alarm burger on salad while Cin feasted on the Royal Red Robin); quick trip to Dierberg's for some otherwise hard to find goodies; home for the night. Whew!

Tomorrow I hope to see Julian, meet for a while with Pastor Gleason, and write a homily for Wednesday evening. Three such choice texts is making the decision about what to preach rather difficult!

Open House Pics 3

Open House Pics 2

Open House Pics 1

Patristic Quote of the Day

The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn the death of martyrs. The child makes of those unable yet to speak fit witnesses to himself. See the kind of kingdom that is his, coming as he did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the savior already working salvation. -- Quodvultdeus, Sermon (Christian Prayer, p. 1961)

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

It is well known what is meant by giving birth. Mary’s experience was not different from that of other women, so that of the birth of Christ was a real natural birth, Mary being his natural mother and he being her natural son. Therefore her body performed its functions of giving birth, which naturally belonged to it, except that she brought forth without sin, without shame, without pain, and without injury, just as she had conceived without sin. The curse of Eve did not come on her, where God said, “In pain thou shalt bring forth children;” otherwise it was with her in every particular as with every woman who gives birth to a child. Grace does not interfere with nature and her work, but rather improves and promotes it. -- Blessed Martin Luther, Church Postil, Homily for Christmas Day (Lenker I:140) [HT: Brother Latif Gaba on SSP's Blog]

What's up for the Open House

Let's see. Cindi's prepared: ham and various crackers... sugar cookies... molasses cookies... peanut butter cookies... cheeses of various sorts (Havarti, pepper jack, colby-jack, muenster)... spiced nuts (thanks to Darlene - again!)... "Marianne Roarick's Candy"... salted and buttered baked pecans (another Marianne Roarick recipe!)... almonds... peanut butter/almond bark candy... chips and french onion dip... cheese ball... iced tea... wassail... rye bread and dill dip... peanuts and candies... veggie platter and ranch dip... garlic summer sausage... oh, I don't know what else. But you KNOW you want to eat some, so come on by!

Homily from Yesteryear

In honor of the Holy Innocents:

When we hear that Gospel, I suppose there’s not a one of us who doesn’t ask in his heart: “Why, God? How could you let such an awful thing happen? We’re so thankful that Jesus wasn’t killed, but what about those others, those little boys? Didn’t You care about them? What about their poor mothers and fathers, refusing to be comforted because their children were dead – butchered before their eyes – and without a clue as to why? O God, did it have to be that way?”

Such thoughts show that our faith has trouble coming to terms with some very important truths that God teaches us in His Word. From start to finish the Bible reminds us that this life is not permanent, that this world is not our home, that we are a people on pilgrimage.

Further, the Bible bears abundant testimony – and we experience it in our own lives too – that God does not guarantee anyone a certain length of time for that pilgrimage. Some have a very short journey through this world – their breath snuffed out like that of the Holy Innocents. Others live to gray hair and see great-grandchildren. Many end their pilgrimage somewhere in between. But this much is true: the pilgrimage comes to an end for all, and that end can come at any time and in any way.

Neither to you, nor to your parents, nor to your children, nor to your grandchildren, nor to any relative or friend, has God promised anything about the length of pilgrimage or the manner of death.

“You’re being rather morbid today, pastor” I hear you say. No. Just being realistic. I think it was the same realism that inspired the Church to set the feast of the Holy Innocents just three days after the Nativity of our Lord – a poignant reminder of why our Lord took on flesh and blood.

You see, if life in this world is a pilgrimage and it has an end, it does not at all follow that that is the end of us. Rather, the Bible reveals the startling truth that like it or not, every last one of us is going to live forever. And the Bible reveals that we will live forever either in eternal joy and bliss, or in never-ending regret, sorrow and pain. That is, we’ll all end up in either heaven or in hell. What makes the difference?

Not how you live during your pilgrimage. Those who spend their pilgrimage trying to be good people, thinking that by keeping God’s laws they will curry his favor so that he will have to let them into his heaven – they haven’t got the first clue.

The Law of God, when we really hear it, demands of us a perfection we simply cannot come up with – no matter how hard we try. The Law doesn’t tell us that if we give it our best shot, God will pat us on the head and say: “Good try. Come on in!” The Law cuts no deals; compromise is foreign to it. The Law demands that we love the Lord our God with every ounce of our being and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. That we do so from the heart – that means, wanting always what brings glory to God and blessing to our neighbor. That we do so without fail. “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” James 2:10 And “All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” Gal. 3:10

The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus Christ! Jesus took our flesh and blood, was born of Mary for us. Because every last one of us was by nature headed toward never-ending sorrow and pain, eternal separation from God, the endless regrets of hell. Because God never wanted a single soul to know the agony of an eternity without Him.

He came among us as the true Holy Innocent. His conception was holy. His birth was innocent. His life was without sin. HIS heart never deviated once from all His Father’s law demanded. He kept it whole and He kept it for you and me. And then on His cross He suffered the punishment that was our due. Thus He secured a perfect redemption. When His Father raised Him from the dead, He declared that His Son’s sacrifice offered only once, availed now for all time and for all people. Jesus rendered hell needless; no one ever need suffer it. The only way to get into hell is by stepping over the dead body of God’s Son – by telling Him: “No thanks, I don’t need your blood or your forgiveness. I can handle my sins on my own.”

That is unbelief – the refusal of the gifts of God. It’s opposite is faith, being given to, receiving from Christ what He would give (as Brody Wayne does this morning). And it is precisely such faith that makes the difference between landing in heaven and hell.

The Holy Innocents were called that not because they didn’t have sin. No, they would have confessed had they but a little older, exactly what the Scripture says: “Behold, I was conceived in iniquity and in sin my mother bore me.” They were holy innocents, not by nature, but by grace. Enfolded into the covenant God made with Abraham when they were circumcised on the 8th day of their lives, wrapped in the promises of God, they were put into a life of faith, waiting for the redemption of the coming Savior. Thus, when their pilgrimage ended, they left as “sweet flowrets of the martyr band.”

And you too get to be holy innocents in much the same way. They had the Old Testament sacrament of circumcision and looked in faith to coming Redeemer. You have the New Testament sacrament of Baptism, and you look in faith to the Redeemer who has come, who has kept the Law for you, who has thereby secured for you and all people an eternal redemption. As you simply believe it, it’s all yours. Thus, you are holy and innocent with the holiness and innocence of Another.

Such holy innocence He reaches to you at the altar in the gift of His body and blood – the very same body and blood that fully kept the law on your behalf and that answered for all your sins upon the tree. He reaches to you what He offered on your behalf as His pledge and guarantee, as you trust it, that when your pilgrimage is ended, He will bring you to the place of overflowing joy and blessedness, the home He has prepared for you. He reaches it to you that even now it might begin to work in you obedience and love toward God. Thus God quiets our unrest and fears.

This life is after all, only a pilgrimage; death ends it for each of us at a time we can’t guess and sometimes in ways that are ghastly. But our Jesus has opened a Kingdom beyond death; He has prepared for us an everlasting home – and for that to Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.

I wavered quite a bit

on what to do this Sunday. I finally went with the Lutheran Church Orders, which seem invariably to observe the Sunday after Christmas and take scant recognition of Holy Innocents. But I forgot to inform the ladies who do the altar, or the organist who prepares the music for the cantors. The cantors' music is easily fixed by just doing what's in the bulletin, but our paraments tonight were red. Fitting, I supposed. We do use the collect for Holy Innocents after the Collect for Christmas I, and they figure largely in the Prayer of the Church as well. The best of both, I suppose. Simeon, Anna, the Holy Innocents, and THE Holy Innocent (who alone truly is) who escaped to be the Life for all His people - His appointment with death would come later, though Simeon foresaw that too.

Homily for Sunday in the Octave of Christmas

Did Simeon’s aged feet dance a little as he held the child? While he looked into those sleepy eyes and let the tiny hand wrap itself around one of his gnarled fingers? Did he lift his eyes to heaven when he prayed, or did he just look into the eyes of heaven’s Lord as he held him? Did he bend down his gray beard and let his rough lips kiss the soft hair? Did he drink in the smell of the newborn? Did he fall to his knees as he held Him? Did he hug him close?

And what was in the Blessed Mother’s mind and heart when she noticed the old man making his way toward her with his arms outstretched? Arms that would not be denied? Did she recognize in his eyes the same wonder that had filled the eyes of the Shepherds forty days before? Did she realize that here was another of God’s saints who had been let in on the secret? One who knew who and what she was carrying?

And Joseph, faithful Joseph, standing by and watching. What went on in his mind as he watched first Simeon and then Anna start spreading the word about the Child? So close to Herod, jealous Herod. How terrifying to be protector for the Lord of the universe when he couldn’t even lift his head on his own! And how Joseph loved him – even though not his own. And yet, truly born for him as much as for anyone.

This meeting in the temple had long been foretold by the Prophet. “The Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to His temple.” And while many watched for that day, their own ideas about God’s glory and splendor blinded them to it when it actually took place. They expected something grander than this! But not Simeon or Anna. They knew who had come to the temple that day and they worshipped in awe and reverence. They were not put off by the lowliness of His appearing.

And Simeon – what was that look in his eye when the old seer handed the child, ever so reluctantly, back to his holy mother? He looked at her and his eyes filled with tears as he saw what this Child, this most holy Child, had come to do. He looked down the long corridor of the years and saw the tree, heard the cries of pain, saw the grief written on Mary’s face: “A sword will pierce your own soul also,” he whispers to her.

For it would be by suffering and dying that He would indeed become the “salvation” which God prepares before the face of all people. He is the light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Israel precisely when the fire of love consumes Him as He sacrifices Himself on the altar of the Cross – carrying in his body the weight of the sin of mankind and offering Himself in perfect obedience to the heavenly Father “on behalf of all and for all.”

The Light that burns and shines in Him is the light of the Father’s love for a lost race . Simeon and Anna stare at him and are now ready to die, for they know now that the Lord has truly kept all of His promises, for He has given His most precious gift of all. His Son. “What more could God have given, tell me, what more did He have to give?”

We sing the song of Simeon after the celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday. We say with Simeon and with Anna: “It’s okay, Lord. We could die now and it would all be okay. We’re ready to go home. We’ve seen our Savior. We have touched, handled the flesh of Your Son, we’ve touched and seen the face of Love Incarnate. We can go home now. Glory to God in the highest!”

And like Simeon and Anna of old, we will not be put off by the meanness of His appearing, by the lowliness of His coming. Bread and wine, so ordinary, so plain and simple. And yet hidden in them the flesh and blood of God incarnate, of Emmanuel, the God who is with us, who is for us.

And like Simeon and Anna of old, we who have seen and known Him here cannot keep silence. Our words cannot but burst forth in two directions. First and foremost, thanks to the Father for such a gift, and how could we ever be worthy of such a gift, of such love Praise to heaven’s Lord for wrapping His love up for us in so tiny a package and delivering to us with a great big: “I Love you!” on the tag. And after the praise and glory and thanks to God, then too the telling to others, the speaking to those who do not yet know, who could not in their wildest imaginations even dream that God has so loved and favored them. We cannot not be telling them of the greatest gift ever given? We cannot not be calling them to come and share with us the feast of love, for there is a place at the Lord’s table for everyone for whom He gave the sacrifice and the sacrifice was given for all!

And as the Child grew and became strong in spirit and filled with wisdom and the grace of God resting on Him, so He would go on growing in us. Becoming strong in us and filling us with His wisdom and showering on us the grace of God.

And when the time comes for us to depart, we who have held him in our hands and in our hearts will go to His arms in peace and He will hold us and welcome us to the home He has prepared for Simeon, Anna, the Holy Innocents and us; to the Feast that never ends. Amen

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

"The grace of God...bringing salvation" did not appear to all pious men or to all penitent men or even to all believing men. It appeared "to all men," without exception. There is no one in the whole world - from Adam, the first created, to the last person born - who is shut out from God's grace. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 77

Patristic Quote of the Day

And so Christ is born that by His birth He might restore our nature. He became a child, was fed, and grew that he might inaugurate the one perfect age to remain forever as he had created it. He supports man that man might no longer fall. And the creature He had formed of earth He now makes heavenly; and what He had endowed with a human soul He now vivifies to become a heavenly spirit. In this way He fully raised man to God, and left nothing in him, neither sin, nor death, nor travail, nor pain, nor anything earthly, with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever, for all the ages of eternity. -- St. Peter Chrysologus, Homily upon the Incarnation (Christian Prayer, p. 1957)

Reprieve

It's not to last long, but you know it felt absolutely wonderful to be running around outside with shorts and t-shirt today. 64 right now. Remember how COLD that feels when fall begins? Right now it feels like "take off your shirt" weather!!! Well, not quite. No sun. Gray, overcast, rainy, but warm. I'll take warm.

The Divine Service for The Nativity of Our Lord - Christmas Day

Here is our Christmas Day liturgy replete with bloopers and such (including, at the beginning, the one for which I am responsible and wrote about below...). The Service, though, is not a performance. It is a humble offering of prayer and praise by poor sinners in response to the Most Blessed Trinity's gracious giving of Himself. Pastor Gleason's fine homily [printed below] is here preached; you can discover how blessed we are to have him with us at St. Paul's!

Patristic Quote of the Day

For the Father and the Son together with the Holy Spirit are one nature, one force, one essence, and one kingdom. -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #15

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Reverent hearts, it is an old, laudable custom to commemorate St. Stephen on the second day of Christmas. For just as the innocent children were the first martyrs after Christ's birth, so also St. Stephen was the first after Christ's ascension to praise our glorious King Jesus with his blood. Our predecessors used to say, Heri natus est Christus in munda ut hodie Stephanus nasceretur in coelo. "Yesterday Christ was born in the world, so that today Stephen could be born in heaven." This is speaking rightly and truly of the fruit of Jesus Christ's birth. -- Valerius Herberger, *Treasury of Daily Prayer* p. 1057

Reminder: Christmas Open House

at the St. Paul parsonage this Sunday from 1 to 4. Hope to see many of you!

Christmas Midnight at St. Paul's

So....

David and I decided to practice his song last night at home. He was singing "The Promise" as part of the pre-service music to the Midnight Divine Service. David is a mega-bass, so I had to transpose the Clavinova down three steps. We finish up and I walk away from the Clavinova, leaving it on.

In a bit, I hear Cindi fussing that her guitar has gotten so out of tune. She just can't understand it. She's playing her guitar for some preservice music with the Diane, our organist, on her flute. The obvious doesn't occur to either of us...

Then as Cindi is practicing with the Bekah and Robyn before the service, David and I look up at the balcony puzzled. The guitar is just wrong. The girls can't sing that low. We don't know what's the matter, but it sounds like the guitar. THAT'S when Cindi realized what happened! She had retuned to the transposed Clavinova!!!

Time it ticking away now. She desperately attempts to retune, and of course! Breaks a string. She sends David to the house for the classical guitar just in case the 12 string can't be used. She does manage to get it back into tune right before time for the preservice music to start. So she's a bit rattled as the music starts.

And she's not the only one. I'm oblivious. I'm sitting at the Clavinova, ready to begin David's piece, and I *thought* he gave me the signal: "start." But it was instead the signal: "don't go." Red light, green light? Whatever! I plow into it. David's music is all out of order, and he loses his place, and well, an interesting bit of scat before he finally comes in with the words, and finishes the piece flawlessly. WHEW. He was embarrassed, but so I was. I had totally thrown the lad off. Sigh. End of story? Of course not.

I left the Clavinova on last night. Never thought about it. So....when Pat sat down at the Clavinova this morning to do the preservice music with the BELLS, she's three steps lower than they are for "Joy to the World." YOUCH! Cindi suddenly realized what was wrong; Millie holds up the bells; David rushes to Clavinova and transposes up again; and then with a second try, the bells and Pat do an absolutely bang up job on the pre-service piece (and their piece in the liturgy too).

The long and short of it is: don't let Pastor touch the Clavinova at Christmas; or at least, be sure and turn it off after each time he plays. Okay?

Christmas 2008

Break Forth

Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
And usher in the morning.
Ye shepherds, shrink not with affright,
The day of grace is dawning.
This Child, though weak in infancy,
Our confidence and joy shall be,
The pow'r of Satan breaking,
Our peace with God now making.

O dearest Child, whom I adore,
Whose grace surpasses measure,
My Brother, whom I cherish more
Than earth with all its treasure:
Haste from Thy manger to depart,
O come and dwell within my heart;
With joy will I receive Thee,
A cradle there will give Thee.

All blessing, thanks, and praise to Thee,
Lord Jesus Christ, be given:
Thou hast my Brother deigned to be,
Thou Lord of earth and heaven.
Help me throughout this day of grace
To praise Thy love and seek Thy face;
And when I stand before Thee
Forever to adore Thee.
LSB 378

From the Roman Martyrology

In the year 2015 from the birth of Abraham, in the year 1510 from the exodus of the people of Israel out of Egypt, in the year 1032 from the enthronement of David the Prophet and King, in the sixtieth "week" of the prophecy of Daniel, in the forty-second year of the reign of Caesar Augustus, in the thirty-third year of the reign of Herod, when the staff had gone from Judah has had been prophesied by Jacob the Patriarch, at a time when the whole world was at peace, it pleased God to send His only-begotten Son and Eternal Word to the world to become Man and to teach us God's love, to suffer, die, and rise from the dead for our salvation.

At that time, the Lord Jesus was born in a humble cave in Bethlehem of Judah, and no one knew of it but the immaculate Virgin Mary his Mother and Joseph her spouse. No one heard of this miracle surpassing all miracles but a few humble shepherds who had been told by angels in the sky that sang this hymn: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." Then the Magi came from the East, led by a star in the heaven: they found their way to where the Divine Infant rested, and they adored Him, and opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.

To God Incarnate, to the suckling Infant who humbled Himself and took our form, becoming one of us to make us divine; to the One who later walked among us to teach us the way of salvation and who loved us so much as to give His life for it: to Him be glory, honor, and adoration forever and ever. Oh, come, let us adore Him! [At St. Paul's, we read this prior to the Processional Hymn on Christmas Day: "O Come, All Ye Faithful."]

Pastor Gleason's Homily upon the Christ-Mass

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

It seems that every year we spend so much time and energy celebrating a day before it comes.

Right after Thanksgiving we start. We get out the Christmas lights and ornaments. We decorate our lawns, our houses, our living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms. We put up a Christmas tree about the same time.
Then we party. We have office parties, family parties, caroling parties, and whatever kind of Christmas party we can think of.

We also shop. We shop for our loved ones and friends. We wrap their gifts and place them under the tree. And while we eagerly wait for that hour when we open them, we eat, drink, and generally make merry.

Then comes Christmas eve—a day and night that ought to be a vigil of prayer—and we round up the children and corral them into Christmas plays and cantatas, after which we all go home to party again around the Christmas tree. We open our gifts, we drink our wine, and we eat our Christmas treats.

So it is that when December 25th comes around, Christmas day, the beginning of the Christmas season, the celebration of Christ's birth seems so very anti-climactic. The high point of our hopes and dreams, the so-called “reason for the season,” Christ's nativity, has been pushed to the back of the Christmas tree, obscured by the wrapping paper, and ribbon, and all the other seasonal trappings in which we are immersed.

I think that this anti-climactic attitude is best illustrated in the erroneous idea that the twelve days of Christmas begin on December 13th! I've heard it many times. Stores and malls push last minute shopping, the Red Cross has blood drives, radio stations play Christmas songs each labeling it under the title “The Twelve Days of Christmas;” and it's all carried on the week and a half before the holiday!

Of course, we know today is the first day of Christmas. Today we begin the twelve day period that ends on January 6th, Epiphany Day. In fact, the Church may celebrate Christmas through February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, which was 40 days after His birth. However long we celebrate, though, today is the day that we begin our Christmas season. Yesterday the Advent season ended, and today the Christmas season begins.

And the real joy of Christmas should be our focus today. All that happened when Christ was born should be the light that enlightens our minds until the “morning star rises in our hearts” and Christmas hope lights our souls.
Ask yourself this Christmas morning, just what is your real treasure? In other words, what is the high point and true focus of your heart today?

This Holy Day, God would have us focus on the light that shines in the darkness, the true light that enlightens everyone. Today we look to “the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is and always shall be the highlight for you this day and at any time of the year; for in Him Christmas is anything but anti-climactic.

There certainly was nothing anti-climactic about Christ's birth for Mary and Joseph. It was a day they long waited for. The promise of the angel had been born. Now they had many years before them to cherish and care for the very Son of God.

There was nothing anti-climactic about Christ's birth for the shepherds. This was a day they also looked for. The promise of the Father spoken through the prophets had been born. Now they had the age of the Christ to live in, to find new hope in their Redeemer.

There was nothing anti-climactic about Christ's birth for the angels. The promise of the Creator had been born. Now the mystery into which they longed to peer is come into the world for heaven and earth to rejoice over.

And we may say that there was nothing anti-climactic about Christ's birth to the Savior Himself. He had come to take on the flesh of man so that He could redeem all flesh. He came to take away the sin that killed man, and to restore man's holiness through His Incarnation. He came as the fulfillment of all the promises. And He looked longingly for that climactic event when He would suffer and die on the cross for all the world’s sin. Then to be raised again that all who believe in Him may never again die.

Finally, it must be said, that there need be nothing anti-climactic about Christ's birth for you and me. For whether you begin celebrating today, or began December first, or began last January, this is the day we long for. The promise of the Christ Child, with all of His grace and truth, is given to you this day. The promise is for you—“the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The real high point of Christmas is the birth of Christ, and the star of hope that now glimmers in the dark night of our souls. Such a gift we may treasure! Such an event we may ponder anew in our hearts! Amen.

Words from Christmas Midnight

All my heart again rejoices... Sweetest angel voices... Come, then, banish all your sadness! One and all, great and small, Come with songs of gladness. We shall live with Him forever There on high In that joy Which will vanish never... When all was still and it was midnight, your almighty Word, O Lord, descended from the royal throne... Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy... Glory be to God on high! (welcome back, old friend!)... O God, You make this most holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light... we may also come to the fullness of His joys in heaven... The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light... The Lord has made known His salvation... For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people... Let us worship and bow down! Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!... In those days a decree... And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn... Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people... And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying... (kneeling) and was made man... And while the angels in the sky sang praise above the silent field, To shepherds poor the Lord Most High, the one great Shepherd is revealed... Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation... We come to You, holy Father, with praise and thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ, Your Son... In the mystery of the Word made flesh You have given us a new revelation of Your glory, that seeing You in the person of Your Son, we may know and love those things which are not seen... Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth... Our Father... Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed... The peace of the Lord... O Christ, Thou Lamb of God... O holy night... Nails, spear shall pierce Him through... How silently, how silently... The body of Christ, given for you... (in the candlelight) Lord, now let Thy servant depart in peace... A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost... the mysteries of that light on earth... The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace... Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

A Most Joyous Feast of the Nativity!

To all visitors to this blog, let me wish you one and all a joyous celebration of our Lord's nativity in the flesh! The celebration begins at twilight this evening and the joy runs for all the 12 days of the Christmas Feast and then we step forward into the bright light of Epiphany. None captured better the spirit of the Church's celebration during these days than Pope St. Leo the Great:

Dear beloved brethren: Unto us is born this day a Savior. Let us rejoice. It would be unlawful to be sad today, for today is Life's birthday; the birthday of that Life which, for us mortal creatures, takes away the sting of death and brings the bright promise of an eternal hereafter. It would be unlawful for any man to refuse sharing in our rejoicing. All men have an equal part in the great reason why we are joyful for our Lord, who is the destroyer of sin and death, finding that all are bound under condemnation, is come to make all free. Rejoice, if you are a saint, for you are drawing nearer your crown! Rejoice, if you are sinner, for your Savior offers you pardon! And if you are a pagan, rejoice, for God calls you to life! For when the fulness of time was come the Son of God took upon Himself the nature of man so that He might reconcile that nature to Him who made it; hence the devil, the inventor of death, is met and conquered in that very flesh which had been the field of his victory. Let us give thanks to God the Father through His Son in the Holy Spirit, who for His great love wherewith He loves us has had mercy on us and has quickened us together with Christ even when we were dead in sins, that in Him we might be a new creature and a new handiwork. Let us then put off the old man with his deeds, and having obtained a share in the sonship of Christ, let us renounce the deeds of the flesh. Be conscious, O Christian, of your dignity! You have been made a partaker of the divine nature; do not fall again by a corrupt manner of life into the beggarly elements above which you have been lifted. Remember whose body it is of which you are a member, and who is its Head. Remember that it is He who has delivered you from the power of darkness and has transferred you into God's light and God's kingdom.

You have been loved with an eternal love, and that love has shown forth from the pure Virgin - so rejoice one and all! A merry Christmas to you!

Kitchen Smells

Cindi's been working in the kitchen all day. Yummy smells. Almond cookies and almond thins and a bread-less pudding, and peanut butter pie (for us low-carbers); peanut butter cookies, spritzer sugar cookies, a chocolate pie, and Christmas Kringler for everyone else. And for everyone, some spiced nuts (we're addicted, Darlene) and some roasted pecans.

Planning for Lent and Easter?

You might find Lenten and Easter homilies by moi that CPH has offered as part of a packet with numerous other Lenten/Easter helps to be of use. Unless I miss my guess, Asburry did the Bible Studies and Stuckwisch the worship helps. Cwirla wrote companion volume for daily devotions.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

What can compare with this supreme miracle: the Word of God became flesh? -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 75

Patristic Quote of the Day

[Sent to me by Paul McCain moments ago - a MUST for the PQOTD]

“We know that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Father has sent him to be the Savior of the world. And we believe in the love which God has for us, the same love which he has for his only-begotten Son, because God did not want His son to be an only child. He wanted Him to have brothers and sisters, and so he adopted us in order that we might share His eternal life.” (St. Bede, the Venerable. PL 93:110).

Well, it's been almost

four months. So far, I've not missed a day of the three days a week routine at the gym. As Cindi said, I just had to schedule it in and work other things around it. It's also been three months of eating solely at meal times (low-carbing, of course) except for an apple in the afternoons, and then on Sundays allowing myself to eat snacks as well. Alcohol intake has been a single glass of wine a day, again with Sundays as an exception. I've lost weight which I didn't really think I needed to lose, but now I'm wondering if perhaps I did. Started at 159 or so, I believe, and this a.m. was down to 146. According to BMI, I could go down to 140 and still be solidly in healthy range. I'm not trying to go further down, but I'm sticking to the workout routine and eating regime and we'll see what happens. Meanwhile, feeling great, good deal of energy. What's utterly weird, though, is being in clothes sizes I've not seen since high school. I am yearning, though, for a nice relatively warm day so I can go for a walk outside. The exercise is great, but it doesn't satisfy that itch to be out in the sun. Anywho, fabulously fit by 50 is still on track.

P.S. Cindi's also been doing fantastic. She's exercises most days (rather than the 3 day a week thingy) and she's seen some solid weight loss too.

It was a joy

last night to have dinner with Meaghan's family. Meaghan and David prepared the food, and the Weedons sat down to feast with the Barringers on pot roast, green beans, salad, bread, and some fruit. Tasty indeed! David and Meaghan did a fine job with the cooking. Meaghan's father, Larry, is due to be a delegate to our upcoming District Convention, so I suspect we'll get in more visiting at that event. As is the way of the Synod, we ended up knowing many of the same folks and finding connections all over the place. A most enjoyable way to wrap up a Sunday evening.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

It was as if heaven had descended to earth and taken up and enclosed the earth within itself. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 72 (in reference to the angels appearing to the Shepherds)

Patristic Quote of the Day

Thy blows are filled with love. Thy punishments burn with compassion. In accordance with Thy love, even when Thou punishest Thou strivest only for good. -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #124

Welcome, Yule!

1. Welcome be thou, heaven-king,
Welcome born in one morning,
Welcome for whom we shall sing,
Welcome for whom we shall sing,
Welcome Yule.

2. Welcome be ye, Stephan and John,
Welcome Innocents every one
Welcome Thomas Martyr one,
Welcome Thomas Marty one,
Welcome Yule.

3. Welcome be ye, good New Year,
Welcome Twelfth Day, both in fere,
Welcome saints lef and dear,
Welcome saints lef and dear,
Welcome Yule.

4. Welcome be ye Candlemas,
Welcome be ye, Queen of Bliss,
Welcome both to more and less,
Welcome both to more and less,
Welcome Yule.

5. Welcome be ye that are here,
Welcome all and make good cheer;
Welcome all, another year,
Welcome all, another year,
Welcome Yule.

Couple More

For years I've been frustrated with trying to capture the inside of St. Paul's during the Christmas holy days. My camera just couldn't do it. Bryan brought along a special camera designed for dealing with such darkness and the picture in this post and the one prior are the result. Still not exactly the same as being here, but it gives a feel for the room.

Some More St. Paul Pics

- these courtesy of Bryan! Enjoy.

Wow! It's 59 Degrees...

...IN OUR KITCHEN!!! We were telling Cindi she needs to be baking something to warm the place up. :)

Creche

Picture courtesy of Philip and Darlene:

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

This is God's comfort and His surpassing goodness, that man (if he believes) may glory in such a treasure that Mary be his very Mother, Christ his Brother, and God his Father. For all these things have happened that we might believe in them. See, then, that you make this birth your own and change with Him, so that you may be rid of your birth, and may take over His, which comes to pass as you believe it. Thus you surely sit in the Virgin Mary's lap and are her darling child. -- Blessed Martin Luther, Sermon for Christmas Day, 1522

Patristic Quote of the Day

And Mary was called the Mother of God by His Son in the flesh, Who was undivided from the glory of His Divinity. For one is God, Who has appeared to the world in the flesh. -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #15

Festival of St. Thomas, Apostle

On this day, in addition to the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Church commemorates St. Thomas. The Treasury of Daily Prayer notes:

All four Gospels mention St. Thomas as one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. John's Gospel, which names him "the Twin," uses Thomas' questions to reveal truths about Jesus. It is Thomas who says, "Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" To this question Jesus replies, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:5-6). John's Gospel also tells how Thomas, on the evening of the day of Jesus' resurrection, doubts the report of the disciples that they had seen Jesus. Later, "doubting Thomas" becomes "believing Thomas" when he confesses Jesus as "my Lord and my God" (John 20:24-29). According to tradition, Thomas travelled eastward after Pentecost, eventually reaching India, where still today a group of people call themselves "Christians of St. Thomas." Thomas was martyred for the faith by being speared to death.

Prayer: Almighty and ever-living God, You strengthened Your apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in the resurrection of Your Son. Grant us such faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that we may never be found wanting in Your sight; through the same Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

In today's Prayer of the Church, our Synod prayed: "O Lord God, through the life, death, and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the revelation of Your salvation mystery is now revealed and made known to all the nations. Grant that this mystery of salvation, as confessed by St. Thomas and all those who now rest from their labors, may continue to guide Your Church on earth as we wait for the day when You come from heaven one last time and usher in the new creation."

The Quiet Before

From now until Wednesday night, things are fairly quiet in the Church. After the late service today, we put the Advent wreath away. The Church will soon be made ready for the Christ-Mass. We have no regularly scheduled services until that day, though the Church's daily Matins and Vespers still go on. The children practiced on Saturday for the Children's Service (Wednesday at 7) - a service featuring Luther's classic hymn "From Heaven Above." School is out of session until January 5th. It is the quiet hush of the Church before the joy of that mysterious night when we celebrate the Word Made Flesh first showing His sacred face.

Pastor Gleason's Homily for Advent 4

Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 1:39-56

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

We heard in the Gospel lesson that Mary, the Mother of God, was and shall be from generation to generation called “blessed.” She is hailed as “blessed” because she believed in the Word of God. The Word, which had been proclaimed throughout the ages, now was spoken to her directly by the angel Gabriel. He announced to her the fulfillment of the age old promise: that the Son of God would be born from her womb. Mary believed that word, and now all generations call her “blessed.”

Today, however, I want you to reflect upon the joy that filled Mary’s soul and caused her to sing, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” This joy is what every Christian possesses and to which Saint Paul referred when he said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Every Christian possesses this joy because, like faith, Christian joy is a gift of God.

When Elizabeth declared, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” she pointed us to the source of Mary’s blessedness: her faith. Mary voiced her faith when she responded to Gabriel’s Good News, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” The content of that Good News is found in her majestic song, “He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.” And, “He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His offspring forever.”

Faith in God’s mercy moved Mary to exult and sing, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Her joy was a fruit of the Holy Spirit who fills with joy everyone who trusts in the mercy of God. Elizabeth experienced the same joy when God took away her reproach by giving her a son named John. St. Paul wrote about the same joy in Romans 15 when he said, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Indeed, it was Abraham’s joy, too, as Jesus said of the Patriarch, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Our faith is full of joy because God remembered His mercy that He spoke to the fathers and to Abraham and his offspring.

What was the mercy spoken to Abraham and his offspring? It is the promise of the Messiah who would redeem the world from sin and death. From the first Gospel promise made in Eden, and proclaimed through the prophets thereafter, God swore to send the Seed of the Woman who would crush Satan and destroy his evil power. John the Baptist was the final prophet to proclaim this promise. But now that promise is fulfilled as that holy Seed became incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. Jesus, the Word made flesh, came down from heaven in deepest humility to take the sins of the world to the cross. This was St. Paul’s message to the Philippian Christians when he wrote, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

St. Paul had promise of mercy in mind that when he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” He wrote that joyful admonition to help the Philippians hold fast to the faith in the midst of the suffering and sorrow of this world. His word is for us, too: “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

Yet, if we are to rejoice always, we must repent always. This is essentially what Martin Luther wrote in the first of his 95 Theses, “When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent’, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of penitence.” The penitent sinner confesses that, far from being overjoyed in the Lord, he is overly annoyed with the Lord. The sinner’s hostile annoyance with God stems from our lack of true fear, love, and trust in Him. The penitent sinner recognizes his miserable condition that hungers for the mercy and righteousness of God. To such hungry souls God gives good things. The Scriptures declare, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” God forgives all who come to Him confessing their sins and seeking His mercy in Christ. God covers the unrighteous with the righteousness of Jesus. So St. Paul professed to the Philippians that he wanted to be found in Christ, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

For the sake of Christ, God forgives the humble and contrite sinner and raises him up to the heights of joy in His love. Therefore, says St. Paul to his beloved brethren, “stand firm in the Lord” and “Rejoice in the Lord.” Now joy is a fruit of faith; it is like blessedness because they both have at their root gladness in the Lord who delights in His people. But Paul says that a gentle, forbearing spirit is also the fruit of faith. This Christian “reasonableness” is that which he wrote about in chapter 2 when he said to have the attitude of Christ, and “Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast to the word of life...” The Word of Life, which first took hold of us in our baptisms, is our salvation and our strength.

Now we can let our “gentleness be known to all men” because “the Lord is at hand.” Our life of penitence, faith, joy, and gentleness comes from knowing that the Lord is near. Not only near in the sense that He will come again soon at a time when we might not expect Him, but also in the sense that He is near to us in His Word and Sacraments. One of the ways to let our gentleness be known is by drawing near to God in worship where we confess our sins, receive His forgiveness, and profess His Holy Name. This gentleness of faith is especially found at the Lord’s Table where God’s nearness comes right into our mouths in the Body and Blood of Christ. Here at the Altar of God our fears are dispelled in the forgiveness of Christ and we depart in His peace.

It is in this context that Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The word that is translated “thanksgiving” is eucharist, which is another name for the Lord’s Supper. The connection to the Sacrament, if not direct, surely is implied. At the Lord’s Table, God draws near to us and we draw near to God. In His forgiveness, we may truly be anxious in nothing, as we give thanks to Him for His mercy, and depart in His peace. And clearly, by means of His Word and Sacraments, God would guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For in these holy Gifts we find the source of our hope and joy in Christ, who is our Peace. In Him we say with Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”Amen.

O Rejoice!

O rejoice, ye Christians, loudly,
For our joy hath now begun:
Wondrous things our God hath done.
Tell abroad His goodness proudly,
Who our race to honor thus,
That He deigns to dwell with us.

Refrain:
Joy, O joy, beyond all gladness,
Christ has done away with sadness!
Hence, all sorrow and repining,
For the Sun of Grace is shining!

See, my soul, thy Savior chooses,
Weakness here and poverty,
In such love He comes to thee.
Neither crib nor cross refuses;
All He suffers for thy good,
To redeem thee by His blood. Refrain.

Lord, how shall I thank Thee rightly?
I acknowledge that by Thee
I am saved eternally.
Let me not forget it lightly,
But to Thee at all times cleave
And my heart true peace receive. Refrain.

Jesus, guard and guide Thy members,
Fill them with Thy boundless grace,
Hear our prayers in ev'ry place.
Fan to flame faith's glowing embers;
Grant all Christians far and near
Holy peace, a glad new year. Refrain.
LSB 897

Creche

Tonight we blessed St. Paul's new creche. It is absolutely beautiful - given in memory of Paul Steinmann by his family. Kenny labored long and hard to make a stunning setting for it. It is so truly Palestinian that I was amazed. The stable is a cave. Karen added her own artistic hand to Kenny's setup and the result is arresting. No picture yet, but I'm hoping to have one to post soon. Bryan got some pictures tonight, I believe.

Still to Do

Pastor Gleason and I split up the shutins. I hope to finish up the ones I will visit this Monday. A homily for next Sunday still to get done and the homily for New Year's Eve. Also a Bible Class for the Sunday in the Octave in Christmas. Then I *hope* to take some time off to enjoy the Holy Days with family and to relax a bit. Joanie (Wonder Secretary!) already has the bulletins well in hand (Christmas Eve Children's, Midnight, Day, and New Year's Eve and Day already run off, folded and ready to go). Cindi has the menu for the Christmas feast in hand too. Remember our open house on Holy Innocents (Sunday in the Octave) from 1 to 4 - all blog readers are more than welcome to stop by the parsonage and enjoy some holiday cheer.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Woe to the congregation whose preacher wants to be faithful in administering to the church the discipline that Christ prescribed, but wants to know only about the releasing key and not about the binding key. Woe to the congregation whose preacher wants to remain faithful by making no distinctions among his parishioners, but which demands that he have regard for them. Finally, woe to the congregation whose preacher wants to remain faithful in a Christian, God-pleasing life, but which seeks from him perfect angelic holiness, having no forgiveness for any weakness in him, or merely wants him to be good company and to serve the world and the flesh. -- C .F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 54

Patristic Quote of the Day

Luke traces his parentage backward step by step to the actual father of mankind, to show that both the first and the last Adam share the same nature. -- St. Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome (Letter, cited in *Christian Prayer* p. 1950)

I told McCain

and I meant it, that I've been enjoying a taste of heaven with the wonderful music on CPH's "Heirs of the Reformation: Treasures of the Singing Church." I have it playing these days a lot. What a fine collection this puppy is! I'm eager to encourage the congregation to pick it up: I'm sure that our people will be truly blessed by the faith sung in this lovely manner.

A Homily for the Midnight Christ-Mass

[Isaiah 9:2-7 / Titus 2:11-14 / Luke 2:1-14]

Running through all three readings on this holy night is the same theme: a Light shines in the darkness. And in each case, it is ultimately the same Light that shines: the Light that was with the Father before time began, the Light that is the everlasting joy of the holy angels, the Light that in the fullness of time became incarnate in the womb of the pure Virgin, the Light she gave birth to on this holy night. With St. John we confess that this is a Light that no darkness can overcome or ever snuff out. Behold, the Light that God shines upon us this holy night!

For darkness there is aplenty - outside and in. Isaiah spoke of the darkness as being deep and he indicated that the darkness was oppressive, burdening, and enslaving. What is this darkness the prophet speaks of except the darkness of sin, evil, death? All that weighs down the human family and causes us to weep. But look: into the darkness where we sat, chained in shackles of sin, shackles that we ourselves forged and willingly put on and now sit betrayed as slaves to our appetites and wayward desires, waiting helplessly for death to come devour us, into that darkness Light dawns.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given!” A human child and a divine Son and one and the same! This is shown by His name: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Father of the Age to Come, Prince of Peace. And the promise that goes with this Child is that His kingdom will have no end, but grow and grow until time in endless time be lost.

But you might wonder: how can a child set me free from my darkness? How can a child break the chains forged by my long habits of sin? How can a child drive the pain of grief and sorrow from my heart? Is it possible?

Yes, people loved by God, it is possible. This Child can do it! For in Him the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people! He comes to train us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions – to see them for the cheats they are and to turn our backs on them – so that by His Spirit’s power we come to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age that is coming to an end, all the while waiting for the blessed hope, the appearing of that Child, grown to manhood, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave Himself into our flesh to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His very own, His people, then, who are zealous for good works.

If you have tried to walk this way before and failed miserably, know that the Child comes to you anew this night, to give you the gift of a new beginning. A new start. He didn’t come so that you could stay stuck in the old life, the old way; what good would that be? He came to give you salvation – deliverance from that old bondage and to bring you into His new life. For the mess that your life has been, He comes to give you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faith, and chastity.

And that is why the angels are so excited tonight. That is why their song rings out over the hills and startles the Shepherds. They can scarcely contain their joy at what this Child has come to do. He has come to bring this fallen race of man back to the home they share with the Blessed Trinity forever. He has come to be the Savior.

Savior, for what we need isn’t help. What we need is salvation. We don’t need someone to help us cope with the darkness, to learn how to manage it. God forbid! We need someone to shatter the darkness with the light of His own presence and love. And that is what the Child has come to do. This is the good news of great joy! God didn’t drop down to us a self-help kit from heaven. He sent His Son into our flesh, to assume that flesh into the unity of the Godhead. He sent His Son into our flesh that that flesh might be cleansed, healed, restored, and raised up. He sent His Son into our flesh that in that flesh He might bear all sin to death and leave it behind in the grave. He sent His Son into our own flesh that He might raise that flesh from death in total incorruption and bring it glorified to the Father’s right hand, ruling triumphantly over all. In the flesh that the Child appears in tonight, a whole new race has begun! There is a world in the Child bigger than all the universe outside Him!

This is why the Angels sing on this holy night: the lost race of man that had wandered in the darkness NOW has a way back home. The Light in which the angels ever rejoice shines in the darkness of a world gone wrong so that being joined to Him, to His light, the children of men might become the very children of God in Him. Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among those with whom He is pleased! The Child opens the way back to paradise and raises us higher than ever we fell!

As you come and kneel before Him, the Child of Bethelehem, the Man of the Cross, your Risen and reigning Lord, comes to you as silently and wondrously as He came to our race that first Christmas night. Under the mystery of bread and wine, He reaches to you the very flesh and blood that He assumed from His holy mother and in which He wrought salvation. He says to you: “I am YOUR light. I will drive away the darkness! I will break the chains of sin! I will make you a people prepared for the joyous Age that already is full in me and will be full in you. Learn to live in Me, child, and let Me live in you! And then in you will be the light that no darkness can overcome. Not the darkness of sin – for I am sin’s Forgiveness; Not the darkness of death – for I am death’s Defeat. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!“

To such an invitation we can but join with the Shepherds and Angels, as we fall down before the Holy Child and worship Him and permit Him to pour into us Himself as living Light, the Light that was before time began and the Light that will be when time is no more – our Jesus, our Emmanuel, our Lord, our God, and our Savior – to whom be glory with His unoriginate Father and all-holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The Light Eternal, breaking through,
Made the world to gleam anew;
His beams have pierced the core of night,
He makes us children of the light.
Alleluia! [LSB 382:4]

Children from Unity Lutheran School

in East St. Louis visit Trinity-St. Paul for the day:

I think my favorite

Christmas piece on CPH's new *Heirs of the Reformation: Treasures of the Singing Church* is the Praetorius "Born is a Child". They have it in English (as below), but here it is from the Mass for Christmas Day, serving as the Introit (save it uses the Puer Natus instead of We praise You Jesus as the hymn:



Born is a Child in Bethlehem
Therefore rejoice, Jerusalem.
Alleluia!

Singing and rejoicing let us praise our heavenly Father:
Glory in the highest!

Three kings from Sheba saw the star;
Frankincense, gold, and myrrh brought from far.
Alleluia!

Singing...

My dearest Christ Child, my heart's desire,
My dearest Christ Child, O Jesu.

Praise Him with singing, O all ye Christians,
Praise Him with singing.

We praise You, Jesus, at Your birth
Clothed in flesh You came to earth;
The Virgin bears a sinless boy
And all the angels sing for joy. Alleluia!

The Light eternal, breaking through,
Made the world to gleam anew;
His beams have pierced the core of night,
He makes us children of the light. Alleluia!

Praise God the Father for His love;
He sent the Savior from above.
Alleluia!

Singing...

Praise to the Holy Trinity,
Now and forevermore shall be.
Alleluia!

Singing...

My dearest Christ Child, my heart's desire,
My dearest Christ Child, O Jesu.
Praise Him with singing, O all ye Christians,
Praise Him with singing.

All this for us our God has done,
Granting love through His own Son.
Therefore, all Christendom, rejoice
And sing His praise with endless voice.
Alleluia!

The Problem of Day 19 at Matins

If one is using the monthly Psalm chart for praying Matins, a problem arises on this day each month. What to do about Psalm 95? One has already chanted most of it for the Venite at Matins. My suggestion? Pick up after the repeated invitatory with the remainder of verse 7 to the end and treat it as a Psalm by itself. That way nothing is lost, but nothing is repeated.

A Matter of the Heart

I've written about this before, but Philip's query below about favorite Christmas carols brings it to the fore for me again. It is amazing how the favorite hymns (and not just at Christmastide) of our people have culturally shifted. Not always a bad thing, I'm not saying that. But it seems that by and large the English carols have all but driven out the German carols from our people's hearts and minds. Yet I'd pit the theological richness of: "All my Heart," "O Rejoice Ye Christians Loudly," "From East to West," "We Praise Thee, Jesus," and "From Heaven Above" against ANY of the English carols. Musically too, these tend to have greater interest. But you can't dictate to the heart. I just hope that as time moves on, these hymns of Christmas, so beloved to our Lutheran forebears, are not relegated to the dustpan of history. And I say that as a fellow who delights in the English carols too - don't get me wrong - but hates to see the entire Lutheran corpus of hymns replaced with an English/American one. Thoughts?

Great Litany

from our own Concordia Mequon:

Ratrow...

Ice just cancelled our choir's last [scheduled] practice before Christmas...YOUCH!

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

God's Advent call, "Prepare the way of the Lord," admonishes us poor sinners and makes us desire to celebrate the joyful season of Christmas. Not the one who is full, but only the one who is tormented by hunger and thirst can rejoice from his heart when food and drink are offered to him. Not the one who is well, but only the one who painfully feels his sickness can rejoice from the heart when he is assured that he will soon be well. Not the one who is free, but only the one who knows he is a prisoner can rejoice from the heart when his freedom is announced. Not the one who is rich, but only the one who is oppressed and frightened by his debts can rejoice from his heart when he hears that those debts have been paid. In the same way, only the one who vividly recognized that he is a poor, lost sinner can rejoice from his heart when he hears that the Savior of sinners is here. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* pp. 48, 49

Patristic Quote of the Day

Blot out our sins with Thy forgiveness, that we might praise Thy name because of Thine acts of kindness. Vouchsafe all of us, O Lord, according to Thy grace to glorify and worship Thy divinity! - St. Ephraim, the Syrian *A Spiritual Psalter* #106

Yesterday's O Antiphon

O Sapientia!

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The old sinful nature strives daily to live anew in thee; and daily must thou destroy it that Christ may daily begin to live in thee. -- Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Sacred Meditations* LI

Patristic Quote of the Day

Vouchsafe that we may stand before Thee with one soul, a clean heart, and in harmony may we offer praise to Thee, O Lord, and to Thy Father and Thy Holy Spirit. -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #97

Peaceful Way

to end a hectic day: Lessons and Carols. Pure Anglican schlock, I know, but it is peaceful to hear the Words of God and sing the music of the season and listen to the choirs and school children. Lessons and Carols is a joint-service between St. Paul's and Trinity. Pastor Curtis mentioned to me how fine the children are singing since we began assigning a "hymn of the month" and they truly are. And you should hear them sing Matins!

For Philip

Philip suggested an excellent blog post query: What's your favorite Christmas carol? Have at it, folks.

I'll go first: Of the Father's Love Begotten!

December Ember Days

- traditional days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving for Western Christians - fall tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday.

Bayberry

Cindi gave me a bayberry candle - a bit of an early Christmas gift. I have it burning on the family altar. The other day it was lit and David asked: "Have you been burning incense?" I told him he smelled that candle. He said: "Well, it smells wonderful." It truly does. It reminds me of my childhood home, for we always had bayberry candles come Christmas - was one of my mother's favorites. It's been increasingly hard to find, though. Funny how smell is such a strong evoker of memory, isn't it?

Still Need a Christmas Gift for Someone?

Somehow or other this was published and totally escaped my attention: Heirs of the Reformation: Treasures of the Singing Church. This is a four-CD set of some of the great hymns of the early Lutheran Church, all beautifully sung and with many period instruments. You can check it out here:

Singing Church

I've been enjoying listening to it this afternoon. You can hear samples of the music at the above site.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

O Kindest Lord, with great love for humanity, You invite us to repent and with long-suffering patience You await our conversion. Give me the riches of long-suffering patience and goodness. -- Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Meditations on Divine Mercy* p. 110

Patristic Quote of the Day

What sacrifice could we bring to reconcile ourselves with Thee? We have nothing to give Thee. Thus we ask Thee to reconcile us by Thy blood, O All-merciful One! -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #13

Oh, speaking of Issues, Etc.

You can begin to listen to meditations on the great O Antiphons beginning tomorrow. These powerful prayers to Christ - each featuring an Old Testament title for the Savior - are traditionally sung at Vespers from December 17th to 23rd. The shows from Issues will feature chorale renditions of each of them, many times using the Healy Willan/Carl Schalk settings published by Concordia Publishing House. Also note that the Antiphons are listed each day in the Treasury of Daily Prayer.

Sunday's Homily

was reviewed by Pr. Wilken on Issues, Etc. If you'd like to hear it live, and his helpful comments, you can check it out by clicking below:

Gaudete Homily

Dinner Surprise

Bekah has been working a local restaurant for quite some time. It's rather upscale and she's been after us to come out one night when she's working. We decided to surprise her tonight. It was very nice - service was outstanding (go Bekah!). We had some filet mignon with a shrimp and some salad and veggies. I was late for one of my meetings, but I think it was worth it to make Bekah's day (and enjoy some fine eats!).

Ah, my David...

...so he went out about 20 minutes ago to warm up the car (he still has to go out today to the University - finals and they didn't call off). He's ready to walk out the door and his mother asks: "Do you have your phone?" Quick check, then: "No!" he says and heads back inside. He's a little befuddled and looking around. "Well, I've got everything but my car keys," he says. Cindi, with a sigh, "They're in your car. Remember?" "Oh, yeah!" and off he goes...

Yesterday another

"last" occurred. This is the last Metro Christmas concert we have to go to. We've spent the afternoon on the 2nd Sunday in December at Metro for the past 8 years (which means that for the past 8 years Cindi has had to miss the Ladies Aid/LWML Christmas party). Bekah was singing with the choir, and they had some great music. A little weak on the boys, but the girls are strong and confident. Their "Advent Alleluia" was my favorite piece of the whole concert. Mostly, though, this program features the band and such. Not my favorite stuff (I love vocal, not instrumental, music mostly). There was, however, a stunning violin duet with keyboard. What does it all mean? It means my baby is grown up. Sniffle, sniffle.

Sweet!

We were so cut off when we lost power a couple years ago - no way to check things as we normally do. Last night we lost power about 11 and by 5:30 or so this morning it had still not returned. And then I remembered the iPhone. We STILL had access to the internet - even without power (and with a car charger, no need to fear running out of power for it)! Fortunately, as I was checking the school closings on the iPhone, the power came back on. House is almost back up to a decent temperature.

Patristic Quote of the Day

O Son of God Who hast promised us new life and the heavenly kingdom: remove from us all harm, that Thy grace might dwell in us, so that in the day of Thy coming we might come out to meet Thee in accordance with Thy good will, that we might behold Thee and stand before Thee with joy. -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, A Spiritual Psalter, #106

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Wherefore, although this saintly Virgin is alone the mother of the child, we too belong under His rule and kingdom. Otherwise we should fare ill. All that is ours passes away and lasts but a short while. For what are forty years or fifty, or even a hundred? But with a man who belongs to an everlasting kingdom all is well, and it is fitting that he should dance through life forevermore. -- Blessed Martin Luther, Sermon 1544 (Day by Day, p. 16)

Stuart Maupin Weedon

Today is my daddy's birthday. He was born in 1920, so he would have been 88 this year. That doesn't seem SO terribly old - I've got a slew of parishioners up there and very lively still. Yet as of this January he will have been dead for the past 29 years. It doesn't seem possible. Like so many of his generation he was a quiet man (provided his temper wasn't riled - I inherited it, I'm afraid), a man who worked very hard and provided for his wife and family. He was at peace with himself and had no need for incessant chatter. I remember the long car rides where nary a word would be spoken. He was a Veteran of WWII and clearly was marked by the time he spent in the army. Rarely did he drink (my mother didn't approve of alcohol in any form) and rarely gamble (though he loved poker). I think of him mostly as a man who learned that denying himself what he wanted for the sake of his family was what manhood was all about. He had but an 8th grade education and reading never came easily to him, but he kept working away at it.

Most incredible to me (I'm sure I've blogged on it before) is the day I asked for the piano and out we went to get it. Money didn't grow on trees. He was a refrigeration engineer for Marriott. So this was a significant expense, but he plunked down the money for the piano and the lessons without complaint. It was the most wonderful gift I think I've ever been given. When I sit down to play, I like to remember what a gift - and part of a pattern of sacrifice - from my father.

Happy birthday, daddy! I miss you much, and I think more so with every passing year.

What blessing!

To have Pastor Gleason assisting with the Divine Services today. After all the years with vicars and fieldworkers and associate pastors, it felt downright STRANGE to be up in the chancel alone. Good to have a fellow pastor to serve the liturgy with again. Next week, he'll be presiding and I'll be serving as assisting minister.

Homily for Gaudete - 2008

[Isaiah 40:1-8 / 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 / Matthew 11:2-11]

He’s been lurking in the Preface since Advent began, but today St. John the Baptist stops lurking and steps on center stage, only to do what he always does: to send us to Jesus. “He must increase, while I must decrease,” John had said to his disciples once when they complained that Jesus was getting the bigger crowd for his Baptism. John told them: “I am the friend of the Bridegroom, but it is the Bridegroom who has the Bride.” It wasn’t about John. Never was, and John knew it. But his disciples were having trouble wrapping their minds around it. Now in prison, when John gets word of what Jesus is up to, of the works He is doing, he gets an idea.

He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask: “Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?” Brilliant idea. That way the disciples of John are made witnesses to what Jesus is doing. His works testify that He is the One Isaiah foretold. Unmistakably so. So Jesus answers John’s question to the disciples of John with His deeds: “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Isaiah was unfolding before their eyes. And they witnessed it; they saw the impossible coming to pass. A man of true flesh and blood, like unto their own, doing things in that flesh and blood that could only be done by the Creator Himself. And the last two pieces were the greatest: the dead are raised up and the poor have good news preached to them. In the flesh and blood of the Man Jesus, they had encountered a human being (the ONLY human being) stronger than death and full of good news to give to poor sinners – the remission of all their sins. Jesus – as He always does – commissions them to be His witnesses, to bring back to John what John already knew. John didn’t need the words of comfort, but I’m sure he fed on them gladly nonetheless, but they sure did.

Jesus knew what was coming. The flash of steal, the grizzly sight of the head on the platter handed over to the wanton dancing girl and her conniving mother, the cowardly king looking on with regret, and these men before Him, brokenhearted as they carry the headless corpse of St. John out of the prison and give it a burial. Before they dealt with the death of their beloved John, he had made sure that they would be alright. They after all had seen with their eyes Him who is the Defeat of death and the Forgiver of all sins. They would know where to go when John decreased so much that he was no longer there for them. They would turn and go to Jesus.

So for us too. As the darkness presses, the Church teaches us to cry out to Jesus: “Lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation.” And John sends us to Jesus. Darkness. Holidays come and invariably the thought of those we have known and loved, with whom we sat at table and laughed and celebrated the day – and who are gone. Whose voices we hear no more. Whose smiling visage has vanished from the earth. And it weighs us down. Darkens our heart. The darkness of death. And the realization that what has happened to them, will happen to us, and to all that we love. We will all go into that darkness unless the Lord comes first. Just like St. John went into it. Just like his disciples would.

But what a difference it makes to go into that darkness with the light of Christ shining in the heart. To know as we face it that there is One who proved stronger than death and mightier than the sin of all the world. In the introit today we heard St. Paul’s exhortation: “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I will say rejoice.” The world can only think we’re crazy when they hear such a thing. But it’s not crazy at all when John has sent you to Jesus and you have found Him to be the fulfillment of all that Isaiah foretold, all that God promised. Those people we know and love who have died in faith in Him – they are not just grass that withers and fades and then is gone. Jesus has given them – as He has given us – the promise of a life that will not come to an end. We don’t go through the holidays as people who have no hope, but as people who have the greatest hope in the world! The fact that death dogs our steps cannot deprive us of that joy. Our own grief cannot deprive us of that joy. We may celebrate the joy with tears in our eyes, but we will celebrate indeed.

Jesus praises John to the crowds after the disciples of John have left. He tells them John was no reed shaken by the wind, no fancy, frilly dresser like you find in Herod’s palace. He was instead a prophet and more than a prophet. He was the one appointed by God: “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.” I suspect when our Lord uttered those words, He had a most peculiar look on his face. For He was seeing John preparing the way before Him, going even to the dead and announcing there that the Defeat of Death, the Resurrection and the Life in human flesh, would soon follow him into death and come to free them. For if John is fore-runner, he must go the way His King would go – and that was the way that lead down to death itself, that it might be emptied and destroyed from within.

But then the Lord throws a real zinger. If John is the greatest of those born of women (understand in the natural way), yet the least in the Kingdom is greater than he. Not greater in their person, mind you, but greater in the gifts given. John dies before the cross, before the resurrection, ascension and Pentecost. John never knows the joy of Baptism into the Triune name, the priceless gift of the Savior’s body and blood giving into you the life that never ends. John never knows the word of absolution anchored in the blood of the cross. John was the last of those of whom the writer to the Hebrews said: “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated – of whom the world was not worthy – wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in the dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” (Heb. 12:37-40)

Do you see, then, that John sends YOU to Jesus to receive gifts greater than he himself received in his life-time? Gifts of the Bridegroom, for His Bride. Gifts that will lighten your darkness and give you a joy that cannot be taken from you. Gifts that will raise you from this age to the undying age to come, making you co-heirs with the Lord Jesus of all that is His. Gifts that will enable you to face your darkness with the light of divine love. Gifts that celebrate the glory of the unfathomable mercy of the most Blessed Trinity – to whom be honor and dominion, now and ever and to the ages of ages! Amen.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Without the Old Testament, the New Testament would be a building without a foundation, a tree without roots, a doctrine without evidence. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 34

Patristic Quote of the Day

And thus also it was that the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith. -- St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies III:22:4 (cited in Treasury for this day)

Commemoration of St. Lucia

From our Synod's website and the Treasury of Daily Prayer:

One of the victims of the great persecution under the Roman emperor Diocletian, Lucia met her death at Syracuse on the island of Sicily in the year A.D. 304, because of her Christian faith. Known for her charity, “Santa Lucia” (as she is called in Italy) gave away her dowry and remained a virgin until her execution by the sword. The name Lucia means “light,” and, because of that, festivals of light commemorating her became popular throughout Europe, especially in the Scandinavian countries. There her feast day corresponds with the time of year when there is the least amount of daylight. In artistic expression she is often portrayed in a white baptismal gown, wearing a wreath of candles on her head.

The Treasury offers a wonderful prayer for this day, alluding to the tradition that her eyes were put out:

O Almighty God, by whose grace and power Your holy martyr Lucia triumphed over suffering and remained ever faithful unto death, grant us, who now remember her with thanksgiving, to be so true in our witness to You in this world that we may receive with her new eyes without tears and the crown of light and life; through Jesus Christ... (p. 1012)

Also note that St. Lucia day determines when the winter ember days fall: they are always the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after her day. You can read more about them on p. 21 of the Treasury, which gives some good suggestions to help with their observance.

Patristic Quote of the Day

Daily do I cry: I have sinned, yet I cease not to engage in vile acts. And now I stand before Thee as one condemned. Grant me, O Good One, forgiveness of my wicked deeds, for Thou art a kind-hearted and man-befriending God! -- St. Ephraim the Syrian *A Spiritual Psalter* #73

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

A Christian should live as he would wish to be known by all men and at the Last Day: Walk as children of light. -- Blessed Martin Luther, Homily for Advent I, 1522

Yeah! Concert Over!

Our Collinsville Chorale Christmas Concert is over. I don't think until it was all done I realized how much tension it had added to my life. Don't get me wrong - the music was a joy and a half! But singing is work and Andy is an exacting (if jovial) conductor. It was fun to sing with Dave and David and Cindi and Robert. I've not made up my mind if I'll do it again - the voice definitely is taxed this time of year without the extra practices and singing. Still, as Andy said when I first auditioned - you need to sing; it's good for the soul. Indeed it is.

HOWEVER, my eldest daughter was entirely rude. She said that I was a true petite man up there, and then my son-in-law chimed in that the white shirt and bow tie didn't help. Now isn't that JUST want you want to hear after a concert??? Okay, okay. So my weight IS down - I'm at 148 - and I don't have a big frame, but PETITE???

Litany again

During Advent (and Lent) I sub out the prayers at Vespers on Wednesday and Fridays for the Litany. In a discussion on another board a person was lamenting how "feminine" the language of the church can be - and what a turn off to the men. I almost started laughing as I was praying the Litany and thinking about the comment. Um, which gender leaps to YOUR mind?

crafts and assaults of the devil, sudden and evil death, pestilence and famine, war and bloodshed, sedition and rebellion, lightning and tempest, calamity by fire and water, everlasting death, fasting and temptation, agony and bloody sweat, cross and passion, death and burial, time of our tribulation, time of our prosperity, hour of death, day of judgment, rule and govern, true knowledge and understanding, holy living, schisms and causes of offense, the way of truth, beat down Satan under our feet, faithful laborers, those who fall, those who stand, the weakhearted and distressed, discord and strife, protection in every need, direct and defend, bless and protect, watch over and help all in danger, necessity, tribulation, protect and guide all who travel, grant all women with child, all mothers with infant children, to defend orphans and widows and provide for them; stregthen and keep all sick persons and young children, free those in bondage, forgive our enemies, slanderers persecutors, Our Father, Do not deal with us according to our sins, Almighty God, heavenly Father, You desire not the death of a sinner, graciously spare us those punishments, grant us to serve You in holiness and pureness of living.

It never struck before what a man's prayer it truly is. Not surprising, of course. Maybe when we teach our men to pray, the Litany is a great place to begin. Ask them to pray this for their family, their neighbors, their church, their country, their world.

During Advent Grace

We normally sing a stanza of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" as we light the candles, adding a new stanza each week, only we sing them from TLH because that's the way we memorized them. So just four verses instead of seven. The first candle and week are "O come, O come, Emmanuel." The second candle and week is this verse:

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny.
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice....

It occurred to me that this is actually a reference to the harrowing of hell, and a prayer that Christ would rescue all those who had been held in death's prison. After all, He is the light sent to lighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death! Neat, eh? The sad thing is that LSB totally botched it:

O come, O Branch of Jesse's tree,
Free them from Satan's tyranny
That trust Thy mighty power to save
And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.

The original Latin of the hymn verse was:

Veni, O Iesse Virgula;
Ex hostis tuos ungula,
De specu tuos tartari
Educ, et antro barathri.

I think it's a case of the older translation being superior. Wondrous to think of Advent/Incarnation so intimately tied to the emptying of the grave and Easter. [P.S. - Thanks to Jen B for the great pic!]

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

For grace is not grace at all, unless it is altogether gratuitous. And so I look not upon my works for any ground of salvation; what is wrong in them God will correct; what is lacking He will graciously supply; what is sinful He will mercifully blot out. -- Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Sacred Meditations* XLII

Patristic Quote of the Day

Thy grace has made it possible for me to call upon Thy name, O Lord. -- St. Ephraim, the Syrian *A Spiritual Psalter* #131

What Stinks

is STILL not being able to sing well. My voice has been on the fritz for the last five weeks and the concert is tomorrow. I couldn't even chant the Thanksgiving for Light correctly last night. I'm still going to sing the concert, but very quietly. I am so ready for the voice to be back to normal - I hope in time to sing the Christmas liturgy and hymns! Grr. It gives new meaning to "O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare Your praise."

An Australian Pastor

on the Treasury of Daily Prayer. The book has reached the big Down Under - and Fraser has me wondering HOW the music to their Te Deum goes!

click here

Evening Prayer

There is something so right about gathering in the darkness and singing to the Light that never fades, lifting our voices in psalms and hymns, hearing the Word and its preaching and joining in Mary's song and the litany. Peace enters the heart. The silences. The joy. The intercessions. I am so thankful for a parish that loves Evening Prayer.

Today's Hymn Stanza from TDP

O time of God appointed!
O bright and holy morn!
He comes the King anointed,
The Christ, the Virgin-born,
Grim death to vanquish for us,
To open heav'n before us
And bring us life again.

--The Only Son from Heaven LSB 402:2

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The faults and failures that weigh on me are as many as the days of my life; in fact, they are many more because even a righteous person falls seven times in a day (Proverbs 24:16). If a righteous person falls seven times in a day, I believe that I, hopeless and unrighteous, have fallen seventy times seven times in a day. --Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Meditations on Divine Mercy* p. 34

Patristic Quote of the Day

To Thee, O Victor pierced by nails on the cross Who calleth out to sinners, saying: Come, receive forgiveness freely - to Thee I unrelentingly pray, O my Savior: turn Thine eyes away from my lawlessness, and by Thy sufferings heal my sores that I may glorify Thy kindness. -- St. Ephraim, the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #8

Wisdom!

From Fr. Alexander Schmemann (I know, I know - what did he write that ISN'T wise?):

We speak of feasts, and the feast is the expression of Christianity as joy. When you teach children, you convey to them not only certain knowledge but also the spirit which is behind this knowledge. You know that the one thing a child accepts easily is precisely joy. But we have made our Christianity so adult, so serious, so sad, so solemn, that we have virtually emptied it of that joy. Yet Christ said, 'Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' This does not mean that we should forget mathematics, geography, etc. To become like a child, in Christ's words, means to become capable of that joy of which an adult is no longer capable, to enter into communion with things, with nature, with other people, without suspicion or fear or frustration. We often use the term 'grace.' But what is grace? Charis in Greek means not only grace but also joy. If I stress this point so much, it is because of my certainty that our first message must be the message of Paschal joy. When we stand at the door of the church and the priest says, 'Christ is risen,' the night, in the words of St. Gregory of Nyssa, becomes 'lighter than the day.' Here is the strength, the real root of Christian experience. And only within the framework of this joy can we understand everything else. [Liturgy and Life: Christian Development through Liturgical Experience, p. 78]

I've often pondered this very thing: how DOES one describe the joy of the Midnight Divine Service on the Feast of our Lord's Nativity? The peace, the joy, the blessedness that pulses through this liturgy and sweeps away all care. Similarly with the Divine Service on Easter. You can't just write about it. You can't convey it with mere words. It's an experience that you must live through to understand what it means for the Christian to celebrate that God became Man and that God in the flesh has destroyed death, covered sin, and broken the shackles with which Satan has bound our race. Similarly with the Good Friday liturgy. And the Ascension Day liturgy. And, well, you get the idea. Each celebration comes as gift from the Giver of Life, the Lover of the human race. Each has a joy that you DO have to become a child to truly love. Blessed and holy Trinity, give us the heart of children that we may enter into the joy of our Lord. Amen!

You know, I'm all for tradition...

...but the arresting of Illinois Governors is a bit of an embarrassing tradition, don't you think? Good grief!!!

My Dingy David

Me: "Did you remember your music?"
David: "I'm not stupid, Dad."
Me: "No, but you are forgetful."

Half an hour later, having walking into the church where we practice...

David: "Ack! I left my music in the van. Is it locked?"
Me: "No."

As he runs back outside I say to Robert with a sigh (who witnessed the first conversation): "And he wonders why I asked him if he had his music in the first place!"

Robert: [Laughs]

Summary: We love our David, though he is dingy as the day is long and even more absent-minded than his father, which is saying a lot! Somehow his sisters, Lauren and Bekah, came out with Cindi's better memory for undertaking the tasks at hand... Which is all to say: Good luck, Meaghan!

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Acknowledge, O faithful soul, these many marvelous instances of Christ's love to thee; cherish thou the love of Him, who for love of thee entered the Virgin's womb.--Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Sacred Meditations* XIII

Patristic Quote of the Day

I have partaken of death in order to prepare thee as My bride. I have prepared the eternal kingdom for thee as an inheritance. All My good things have I, as the King, bestowed upon thee. For thy sake I even became a man, for I desired to redeem thy life from corruption. For thee have I prepared a bridal chamber in the heavens and arranged for the angels to lead thee into that bridal chamber, that thou mightest enter therein with joy.-- St. Ephraim, the Syrian *A Spiritual Psalter* #58

St. John the Baptist

has been lurking in the Preface since Advent first began [...whose way John the Baptist proclaimed...]. But this coming Sunday he steps out on center stage in the readings and hymnody - only to point his disciples (and us) away from himself to the One who "is to come" - our Lord Jesus. The whole of John's ministry is beautifully captured in the ancient Latin office hymn, which also serves as our Hymn of the Day for Gaudete: "Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding" [Note: LSB supplies the sturdy tune Merton to this hymn]

Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding!
"Christ is near" we hear it say.
"Cast away the works of darkness
All you children of the day."

Startled at the solemn warning
See the earthbound soul arise;
Christ, its sun, all sloth dispelling
Breaks upon the morning skies.

See, the Lamb so long expected
Comes with pardon down from heaven.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiven.

So, when next He comes in glory
And the world is wrapped in fear,
He will shield us with His presence
And with words of love draw near.

Honor, glory, might, dominion
To the Father and the Son
With the ever-living Spirit
While eternal ages run.
LSB 345

Today's Discovery

I CAN work out while listening to Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth. I thought I needed my more pop music to get me going, but I had a delightful time that was spiritually refreshing as well as physically strenuous. Excellent!

Homily for Vespers of Advent II

[Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-45]

Funny how modern-day Lutherans start to squirm a bit with too much Mary going on. St. Elizabeth must not have been a modern day Lutheran, for she is overjoyed when the Mother of God enters her house. At the very sound of the Blessed Virgin’s voice, the child in old Elizabeth’s womb, St. John the Baptist, does a somersault of joy. Thus, even before he is born, he is announcing the arrival of the King and testifying to the little heart that was already beating beneath Mary’s own. The heart of a Child who is truly God.

Elizabeth teaches us to understand the blessedness of Mary. St. Luke is clear that St. Elizabeth spoke by the Holy Spirit. So these are not just words of some long ago saint, but they are words prompted by the Holy Spirit himself and so words given us to treasure, to which we do well to give great heed.

First, she announces: “Blessed are you among women.” Blessed indeed, for never again and never before would there be a woman who became a mother and remained a virgin. The type that Isaiah had foretold had a bigger fulfillment than anyone could ever imagine. A virgin conceives and bears a Son. The hymns of Advent and of Christmas never cease to invite us to marvel over God’s chosen way of coming to rescue us. “Here a maid was found with child, Yet remained a virgin mild. In her womb this truth was shown: God was there upon His throne.” (LSB 332:3) “Thou cam’st the Bridegroom of the bride, As drew the world to eventide, The spotless Victim all divine, Proceeding from a virgin shrine. “ (LSB 351:3) “Of her Emmanuel the Christ was born, in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn. And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say: Most highly favored lady, Gloria!” (LSB 356) Only in Mary do virgin and mother unite. Blessed among women.

But there’s more, and so St. Elizabeth cries out: “Blessed is the fruit of Your womb.” Do you get that one? The One promised so long ago to Abraham to bring blessing to all the peoples of the earth. The Blessed One is in Mary’s womb. The One who comes in the name of the Lord. The Blessed One is in Mary’s womb. She is the living Ark of God! For it is the Eternal Word of the Father who is growing day by day in her swelling womb. The heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain Him, and yet in love for us, He deigns to take up residence in Mary’s body so that she could give Him the flesh and blood by which He would bring blessing to all – by suffering and dying in that flesh to destroy death, to wipe out sin, to raise it from death incorruptible and to seat that flesh and blood that came from Mary at the right hand of the throne of God as the firstfruits - for we shall surely follow. This is the blessing – to raise humanity to what God intended for us from the beginning – that we might be His children, His heirs, sharing a life that never ends. Blessed indeed is the fruit of Mary’s womb, our Lord Jesus.

But St. Elizabeth is not done. There’s more. John the Baptist in her womb confessing the advent of his Lord no doubt put her in mind of it. I always picture St. Elizabeth cutting her eyes at old Zechariah sitting silent in the corner, but with eyes sparkling, as she pronounces the last blessing upon Mary: “Blessed is she who believed.” Unspoken, then, the words: “Unlike you, you old goat! See how silly you were? This maiden’s faith has shamed you.” And I don’t doubt for a second that old Zechariah was laughing silently right along with the two ladies. When Dr. Luther reflected on St. Elizabeth’s words, he opined that perhaps it was the last blessing that is the most amazing. That Mary should believe it. That she should receive such a shocking and incredible promise from God and say to it her great fiat: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to Your Word.” A miracle that a virgin should conceive. A miracle that the Child she bears is the Eternal Son destined for an Eternal Kingdom. But Luther thought perhaps the greatest miracle of the incarnation is that Mary believed it, said yes to it, gave space and time in her life to the God who begged entrance so that He might bring blessing to a world gone wrong.

People loved by God, do you see? The Holy Spirit doesn’t set Mary before you tonight for you to worship, for you to pray to and seek favor from. That would horrify her in the extreme. She is set before you for you to love. For as you love her Son, her flesh and blood, you cannot but help joining with St. Elizabeth in calling Mary blessed. Indeed, inspired by the same Spirit, the Mother of God would cry out: “From now on all generations will call me blessed.” Don’t worship her or pray to her, but do learn to love her. There is no need to fear her. She’s not in competition with her Son. But she is His mother.

Look at all the artwork of the Church from early years and you’ll see that they got it right. Invariably she holds forth her hand to her Son and directs all your attention from her to Him who made her blessed. Of all the gifts our Jesus gives us, we must not forget to bless and thank Him for His mother, and to ask that our faith might come to be like hers – a blessed faith that says “Yes, enter in” when God knocks.

Let us stand now and join the Mother of God in her hymn of praise, the Magnificat – for surely as He has done great things for her, so He has also done great things for us. And holy is His name. Amen.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

God became man, that man might become a partaker of grace and of the divine nature. -- Johann Gerhard, *Sacred Meditations* XIV

Patristic Quote of the Day

He who denies that Mary gave birth to God will not see the glory of His Divinity, and he who denies that He was clothed in sinless flesh will receive salvation nor the life which was granted through His body. -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #115

Welcome, Gleasons!

Today we welcomed Pr. William Gleason, his wife Cindy, his son Seth, and daughter Elizabeth to the teacherage at St. Paul's. Thanks to ALL the folks who showed up to help move them in on this rather chilly December day - very much appreciated! Pastor Gleason is currently without call, but will be helping out a bit at St. Paul's. We're happy to have a church worker in the teacherage; it's been rather lonely up here since the GeRue's moved up to Girard.

Tonight: Boar's Head Festival

at Peace Lutheran in south county. And my favorite lines from the Boar's Head Carol:

The mightiest hunter of them all
We honor in this festal hall
Born of a humble Virgin mild,
Heaven's King became a little child:
Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino

He hunted down through earth and hell
That swart boar Death until it fell.
This mighty deed for us was done,
Therefore sing we in unison:
Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino

Let not this boar's head cause alarm,
The huntsman drew his power to harm.
So death, which still appears so grim,
Has yielded all its power to Him!
Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino

The Pirate Finds a Treasure...

...and writes about it.

From Sunday's Prayer

in the Treasury:

Bring about true repentance in all who are Yours, and fill them with the holy faith, which is the salvation of their souls. p. 1306

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

In his [Ambrose's] Pauline commentaries he speaks most accurately about justification. -- Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, p. 32

Patristic Quote of the Day

Wherefore let no man glory in works, for by his works no man shall be justified, for he that is just hath a free gift, for he is justified by the Bath. It is faith then which delivers by the blood of Christ, for Blessed is the man to whom sin is remitted, and, pardon granted. -- St. Ambrose, Letter 76

Commemoration of St. Ambrose of Milan, Pastor and Hymnwriter

From our Synod's website and the Treasury of Daily Prayer:

Born in Trier in A.D. 340, Ambrose was one of the four great Latin Doctors of the Church (with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great). He was a prolific author of hymns, the most common of which is Veni, Redemptor gentium (“Savior of the Nations, Come”). His name is also associated with Ambrosian Chant, the style of chanting the ancient liturgy that took hold in the province of Milan. While serving as a civil governor, Ambrose sought to bring peace among Christians in Milan who were divided into quarreling factions. When a new bishop was to be elected in 374, Ambrose addressed the crowd, and someone cried out, “Ambrose, bishop!” The entire gathering gave their support. This acclaim of Ambrose, a 34-year-old catechumen, led to his baptism on December 7, after which he was consecrated bishop of Milan. A strong defender of the faith, Ambrose convinced the Roman emperor Gratian in 379 to forbid the Arian heresy in the West. At Ambrose's urging, Gratian's successor, Theodosius, also publicly opposed Arianism. Ambrose died on Good Friday, April 4, 397. As a courageous doctor and musician he upheld the truth of God's Word.

Scott and others have given grief that LSB seems to be allergic to the term "bishop" so you should be delighted with the Treasury's prayer in commemoration of this day:

O God, You gave Your servant Ambrose grace to proclaim the Gospel with eloquence and power. As bishop of the great congregation at Milan, he fearlessly bore reproach for the honor of Your name. Mercifully grant to all bishops and pastors such excellence in preaching and fidelity in ministering Your Word that Your people shall be partakers of the divine nature; through Jesus Christ...

Of the hymns attributed to St. Ambrose surely the greatest is "Savior of the Nations." St. Augustine's Confessions provides some wonderful and candid insight into this great Father of the Church. You can read some collections of his saying at Pastor Webber's site. He has made learning from this Doctor of the Church one of his hobbies.

More on Ad Orientem

Several have asked for the rationale about why facing the altar for the Holy Verba is preferable to facing the people across the altar (or, as some noted, oddly turning one's back on the elements - or at least part of them - to face the people). The consecration bursts the bonds of the strictly sacramental/sacrificial distinction. It is a third thing; and as such it has both sacramental and sacrificial overtones. That is, it is both a Word from God in which He promises us His body and blood and for the forgiveness of our sins, and it is our prayer that this may be so (for prayer at its heart is speaking God's Word back to Him). The genius of the Lutheran rite was to figure out a way that combined both and lost neither. The sacramental aspect was addressed MUSICALLY. The Words were to be chanted and chanted in the Gospel tone. Luther made this shift in 1526 (originally he had assigned the Words to be chanted in the Lord's Prayer tone). The result in the ears of a people used to hearing the Gospel chanted was as clear as could be: "HERE'S the Gospel!" But by retaining the ad orientem position, the pastor made it plain that this was also our prayer to God that this would be so - that His Word would grant us exactly what He here promises, and that we are thus asking Him to do so (note that Martin Chemnitz referring to the consecration in our churches spoke of the "prayer formulas" we use - Examen II:514). Thus, physical posture confessed the one and musical posture confessed the other, and both together bring a distinct reverence that is very difficult to describe - so I'll punt to this: experience both and ponder what either says. Nothing of the Gospel is lost by the ad orientem position for the music carries it; but the reverent sense of prayer is lost if the pastor faces toward the people and not with them toward the Coming One to whom we pray. At least, that has been my experience of either position. I find the traditional posture with the Gospel tone ringing out to be the clearest confession of what's happening.

Post-script: If I may put it so, we are not simply giving the people information; we are at Christ's command joining His Words to the elements so that they become for us what He declares them to be. Gerhard's description then is quite apt:

"When the preacher who is administering this holy Sacrament repeats, along with the Lord's Prayer, the Words of Institution, he first of all is testifying that he does not desire to perform, from his own opinion, a human action and institution; rather, as a householder (steward) of the divine mysteries, he is, in accordance with Christ's command, desiring to administer a holy Sacrament. Accordingly, he sets aside visible bread and wine so that it can be the means and instrument for the distribution and fellowship of the body and blood of Christ. *Further, he prays that, in accordance with His institution and promise, Christ would be present in this action, and that by means of the consecrated bread and wine he might distribute Christ's body and blood.*" *A Comprehensive Explanation*, p. 301,302

Tagged...

by Fr. Richard Heinz, with a sevens meme. Here goes:

Seven things I did before (a) child(ren):
1. I didn't lock the door.

2. Read more.

3. Ate LOTS of potato chips.

4. Worried that I'd never be able to have children (mumps...nuff' said).

5. Played piano more.

6. Sang more with my wife.

7. Watched too much T.V.

Seven Things I Do Now
1. Lock my door.

2. Make molasses cookies for my kids when they decorate the tree.

3. Pray for my kids each day.

4. Sing with the family around the piano, especially during the holy days.

5. Look forward to those times when we can all be together.

6. Wonder where the time has fled.

7. Marvel at the different people my children have grown up to be.

Seven Things I Would Like to Do
1. Go to Cancun again.

2. Spend more time with my brothers and sister.

3. Master Gregorian chant.

4. Retire so that I could just preach, teach, administer the Sacraments, catechize and visit (i.e., lose the stupid meetings!)

5. Make up to my wife for lost time.

6. Make up to my kids for lost time.

7. Sing more.

Seven Things That Attract Me to My Wife:
1. Her smile.

2. Her forgiveness.

3. Her beauty.

4. Her sense of humor.

5. Her inexplicable love for me.

6. Her devotion to her children.

7. Her love for her Lord.

Seven Favorite Foods
1. Cindi's low-carb pizza (we had it tonight!)

2. Shrimp scampi

3. A Porter's tenderloin medallion in mustard sauce

4. Sausage, bacon and ham for breakfast - all three at once!

5. Cindi's fried chicken (coated in ground pork rinds - so tastes like chicken in bacon!)

6. Cindi's low-carb cinnamon bread

7. Cindi's low-carb chicken a la shannon

Seven Things I Say Most Often

1. People loved by God

2. I think I need a haircut.

3. Oh, he's a real gentleman. I'll bet he takes the dishes out of the sink afore he pees in it.

4. Our Father...

5. Who's gonna ratcha my skatches?

6. What are we having for dinner?

7. Is dinner ready yet?

Who to tag? What about Christopher Orr, Michael Keith, Paul McCain, Samwise Powell, Jim Roemke, Larry Beane, and Fraser Pearce. BUT only play along if you really want to.

Advent II Homily

[Malachi 4:1-6; Romans 15:4-13; Luke 21:25-36]

Here at the failing of the year, we cannot help but think of the failing of time, of the closeness of death and the end of all things. As the trees stand bare and empty, lifting their naked arms to the sky, we recall the end. As the grass is brown and yellow, a dead and lifeless thing, we recall the end. As the fields are empty and the sky is leaden and the wind blows, we recall the end. Striking, then, is the contrast in today’s Gospel. When Jesus speaks of the end, He does not look at the Fall of the year or the winter, but at its springtime.

“Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.” Spring and buds and blooms mean that summer is near. And so these cataclysmic signs foretold by Jesus mean that God’s forever summer is ready to break upon the world. Thus the Advent posture of the people of God is not the dismal dread of doomsday, but the sharp-eyed and head-raising expectation of the Kingdom of eternal joy.

Who can describe what goes on in the heart of man when the first smells and hints of spring arrive? We laugh for the sheer joy of it. We are like the calves let out from the stall, kicking up our heels in delight, when the Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in His wings. (OT Lesson) Just so does the Christian welcome the End. The End does not mean that the show is over, it means that the waiting for the show to begin is now behind us. End means completion, fullness, joy.

Yet we may not ignore the warning of the text. End means completion, fullness, and joy to those who are watching and waiting, praying and longing for the Advent of the Eternal Spring. “Watch therefore and pray always” says the Lord of the Church. This is the posture of the Advent Church: “Come, Lord Jesus! Quickly come!” The heart that can pray that has nothing to fear on the Last Day. For on that day, we will be delivered from the power of sin forever. Says Dr. Luther: “If you long to be freed from sin, then you have nothing to fear about that Day.” But if you love your sin, and coddle it, and treasure it in your heart and don’t want to be separated from it - beware of that Day like the plague! For it will wed you to your sin and its punishment for all eternity.

Yet we Christians are weak as we wait for that day. Our hearts are halved. With part of us we ache for its joys. With part of us we fear them. We have always to balance our praying “Thy kingdom come” with “forgive us our trespasses.” What on earth shall keep us and get us through? What can help these wretchedly divided hearts - so longing for the Kingdom to come and so fearful of having to say good bye to this world?

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” The words of Jesus are our only hope. They are rock solid. Stronger than this earth. Stronger even than heaven. His Words do not cease forever. A life that is built upon them is a life that is built secure. A heart that hopes upon them is a heart that hopes secure. His Words tell of the coming Kingdom. His Words bring the coming Kingdom to reality here and now. Already and not yet. His Words gain the victory in our sinful, divided hearts.

Taking his Words seriously, we do not wait for His Day without being fore-warned. The Scriptures are there so that we might have hope. (Epistle) The universe will fall to pieces (and before it does, our own universes may fall to bits as well), but when that happens, His people have hope. In the falling apart of everything, they smell the green sap of an eternal spring about to break upon this creation. Already in the Resurrection they smell it.

For before Easter morn, were there not already signs in the moon and sun and stars? Did they not hide their faces from the dread Sacrifice that writhed in hell on a cross? Lift up your heads and see your redemption. The Man on the Tree. Dying with your sin and your shame and your death and your hell. On Ascension, lift up your heads and see your redemption. The Crucified One, now Risen and Reigning in endless glory. At the Table, lift up your eyes and see. Your redemption draws nigh. “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.” At His Table the Age to come is already there.

At His Table, says St. Isaac the Syrian, you can already breathe the air which the righteous will breath at the Resurrection. The air with the scent of eternal spring upon it. Lift up your heads! Lift up your hearts! He comes. In His Body and Blood, yes. Though what now is hidden, will then be revealed. His Body and Blood in visible glory for all to see. For those who love His appearing: unending joy and the beginning of eternal spring. For those who hate His appearing: unending sorrow and the beginning of eternal winter, of endless death.

His Words reveal all of that. His Words are what endure. His Words are true though everything else is false. His Words give what they say: My body and my blood for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Nothing more sure than that. A life built on those rock solid words is a life ready for the End, which is the Beginning. Forever. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” Amen!

What an Inspiring Video!

Check this one out - it's worth watching all the way through.

click here

From Pr. Harrison's blog.

Ad Orientem

Here's an interesting article on the move in Rome to recapture the "ad Orientem" position of the priest in celebrating the Eucharist. There's also a great section by Pr. Mason Beecroft on the the revival and spread of the practice among Lutherans. It was nearly universal in Lutheranism prior to the 1960's when Rome caught the disease and passed it along to us. Lutheran liturgy has almost always been rather slim on rubrical directions, which gives the rubrics that are included a greater force. And this was a nearly universal rubric in Lutheran liturgy: "The celebrant turns to the altar and chants the Our Father and the Words of our Lord." It's wonderful to see more pastors and parishes rethinking this, and joining together to all pray in the same direction again. Here's the link:

click here

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Every bodily sickness in a man reminds him of his mortality and exhorts him to set his house in order. In the same way, the signs in the heavens and on earth that mankind has witnessed through the centuries have been a repeated warning that the last hour is soon to strike. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 24

Patristic Quote of the Day

Shower me with Thy compassion like the prodigal son, for I have made a shame of my life and squandered the wealth of Thy grace. Have mercy on me and scorn me not, due to the depravity of my life. Have mercy on me, as Thou hadst mercy on the harlot and the publican; have compassion for me as Thou hadst compassion for the thief; on earth he was rejected by everyone, but Thou didst accept him and make him an inhabitant of the sweet paradise. -- St. Ephraim the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #119

Commemoration of St. Nicholas of Myra, Pastor

From our Synod's website and Treasury of Daily Prayer: Of the many saints commemorated by the Christian Church, Nicholas (d. A.D. 342) is one of the best known. Very little is known historically of him, although there was a church of Saint Nicholas in Constantinople as early as the sixth century. Research has affirmed that there was a bishop by the name of Nicholas in the city of Myra in Lycia (part of Turkey today) in the fourth century. From that coastal location, legends about Nicholas have traveled throughout time and space. He is associated with charitable giving in many countries around the world and is portrayed as the rescuer of sailors, the protector of children, and the friend of people in distress or need. In commemoration of “Sinte Klaas” (Dutch for Saint Nicholas, in English “Santa Claus”), December 6 is a day for giving and receiving gifts in many parts of Europe.

The Treasury of Daily Prayer commemorates this day with this prayer that includes the following: Almighty God, You bestowed upon Your servant Nicholas of Myra the perpetual gift of charity. Grant Your Church the grace to deal in generosity and love with children and all who are poor and distressed and to plead the cause of those who have no helper, especially those tossed by tempests of doubt and grief...

To help us keep the day, my dear friend, Pr. Jim Krauser even sent us some of those famous Lebküchen from Nürnberg.

A Christmas Eve/Dawn Compromise

Christmas is the only day in our liturgical calendar where three Masses are assigned to a single day. At St. Paul's, we don't celebrate the Dawn Divine Service, but we do celebrate the Midnight and the Christmas Day service. As a bit of a compromise, we'll do the following. The collect from the Dawn service (Most merciful God, You gave Your eternal Word to become incarnate of the pure Virgin...) will replace the collect for the Midnight so that the Midnight collect can be used as a post-communion collect. We light candles after the distribution and then follows Nunc Dimittis (a light to lighten the Gentiles), the collect "You made this most holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that as we have known the mysteries of that Light on earth we may also come to the fullness of His joys in heaven," then the salutation, benedicamus and benediction with "Silent Night" to close the Divine Service.

It's no secret

to anyone who frequents this blog that I dearly love our Synod's new hymnal: Lutheran Service Book and all its accompanying volumes. But if there is one thing that IRKS me about the new book it is the phrase "Liturgical Text." Almost invariably this is gobbledygook code language for a passage from the Apocrypha. So, for example, in the Introit for the Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Midnight: "When all was still and it was midnight Your almighty Word, O Lord, descended from the royal throne." This is listed as "Liturgical text." Why not come clean and simply give the reference as Wisdom 18:15? It's almost as though we are ashamed that some of our texts for worship come from the Apocrypha! And we surely should not be. Though we may not regard these books as on the level of the canonical Scriptures, we still regard them as Luther described them: "useful and good to read."

Boring Health Stuff and Low Carb Commercial

So, I got the blood test stats from an insurance exam. And they show:

HDL 87
LDL 72
LDL/HDL ratio .83
Triglycerides 95

Why do I share? Because they are quite good. This is after SEVEN YEARS of low-carb eating. As in bacon and sausage and eggs and ham and BUTTER and cheese and, well, you get the idea. Don't buy into the current notion about what works to lower cholesterol without giving Atkins a whirl and testing out the results for yourself.

Friday's Fun

Finishing up some coffee, and then we're off to the gym. Then some Christmas shopping in Edwardsville (and some clothes shopping for me - some black pants that actually FIT). We plan on lunching at Olympia and then to CPH to pick up some more Christmas gifts. When I return, I have to bury that calico. She died last night, poor thing. Not sure what was the cause. Maybe the ground will be a bit more "digable" with a day's worth of sun? In the evening, hopefully, cards with Dave and Jo to wrap up the day.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Just as the visible sun rises every morning in splendor over the whole world, upon which it has already shone for millennia, so does the invisible sun of God's mercy rise every day with the same brightness so it shines upon us continually. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant it!* p. 16

How to Make This Pastor's Heart Happy

So in the hymn-sing before Advent service, I chose as our last piece "All My Heart Again Rejoices." I told the congregation I didn't know if they knew it or not, but I would like to use it as our first piece for the Midnight Divine Service on Christmas Eve. We sang through it and they sang it relatively well, I thought. So during our refreshments after Vespers, up comes Carl to tell me: "Pastor, when we were children we sang that every year. We know it well." SMILE. And here I'd withheld doing it for a number of years because I thought I had to TEACH it - and usually chickened out for years. Greater fool me! The old folks at any rate already know and love it. I'm trusting we can raise up a new generation to expect it as their first hymn on Christmas Eve too.

All my heart again rejoices,
As I hear
Far and near
Sweetest angel voices.
"Christ is born!"
Their choirs are singing
And the air
Everywhere
Now with joy is ringing.

Hear! The Conqueror has spoken:
"Now the foe,
Sin and woe,
Death and hell are broken!"
God is man, man to deliver,
And the Son,
Now is one,
With our blood forever.

Should we fear our God's displeasure,
Who, to save,
Freely gave
His most precious Treasure?
To redeem us
He has given
His own Son
From the throne
Of His might in heaven.
LSB 360:1-3

The Litany

Surely the Litany is one of the greatest treasures of our Lutheran Church. I find its depth inexhaustible. Best is to sing it - it has a lovely and easy chant tone. But the prayers at the end are what I have found so comforting to pray in these Advent days, especially these two:

O Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Do not reward us according to our iniquities.

Almighty God, heavenly Father, You desire not the death of a sinner, but rather that we turn from our evil ways and live. Graciously spare us those punishments which we by our sins have deserved and grant us always to serve You in holiness and pureness of living; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Call on Me in the day of trouble
I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.

Spare us, O Lord, and mercifully forgive us our sins. Though by our continual transgressions we have merited Your chastisement, be gracious to us. Grant that all these punishments which we have deserved may not come upon us, but that all things may work to our everlasting good; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Treasury of Daily Prayer, pp. O-59,60.)

Commemoration of John of Damascus, Theologian and Hymnwriter

From our Synod's website and the Treasury of Daily Prayer:

John (ca. 675–749) is known as the great compiler and summarizer of the orthodox faith and the last great Greek theologian. Born in Damascus, John gave up an influential position in the Islamic court to devote himself to the Christian faith. Around 716 he entered a monastery outside of Jerusalem and was ordained a priest. When the Byzantine emperor Leo the Isaurian in 726 issued a decree forbidding images (icons), John forcefully resisted. In his Apostolic Discourses he argued for the legitimacy of the veneration of images, which earned him the condemnation of the Iconoclast Council in 754. John also wrote defenses of the orthodox faith against contemporary heresies. In addition, he was a gifted hymnwriter (“Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain”) and contributed to the liturgy of the Byzantine churches. His greatest work was the Fount of Wisdom which was a massive compendium of truth from previous Christian theologians, covering practically every conceivable doctrinal topic. John's summary of the orthodox faith left a lasting stamp on both the Eastern and Western churches.

Two of St. John's hymns occur in LSB, both celebrating the Resurrection: "Come Ye Faithful" 487 and "The Day of Resurrection" 478.

The Treasury offers a beautiful prayer in honor of his commemoration:

O Lord, through Your servant John of Damascus, You proclaimed with power the mysteries of the true faith. Confirm our faith so that we may confess Jesus to be true God and true man, singing the praises of the risen Lord, and so that by the power of the resurrection we may also attain the joys of eternal life... (p. 981)

I have several saying of St. John that I truly treasure:

"It is impossible either to say or fully to understand anything about God beyond what has been divinely proclaimed to us, whether told or revealed, by the sacred declarations of the Old and New Testaments." St. John of Damascus, On the Orthodox Faith, Book I, Chapter 2

And from Book 4 of *The Orthodox Faith* by St. John of Damascus:

"Yes, and most wonderful of all is that all these things were successfully brought about through a cross and suffering and death. The Gospel of the knowledge of God has been preached to the whole world and has put the adversaries to flight not by war and arms and camps. Rather, it was a few unarmed, poor, unlettered, persecuted, tormented, done-to-death men, who, by preaching the One who had died crucified in the flesh, prevailed over the wise and powerful, because the almighty power of the Crucified was with them....

Well done, O Christ, O Wisdom and Power and Word of God, and God almighty! What should we resourceless people give Thee in return for all things? For all things are Thine and Thou askest nothing of us but that we be saved. Even this Thou hast given us, and by Thy ineffable goodness Thou art grateful to those who accept it. Thanks be to Thee who hast given being and grace of well-being and who by Thy ineffable condescension hast brought back to this state those who fell from it!"

And yet again:

"And so for our sake He submits to death and dies and offers Himself to the Father as a sacrifice for us. For we had offended Him and it was necessary for Him to take upon Himself our redemption that we might thus be loosed from the condemnation - for God forbid that the Lord's blood should have been offered to the tyrant!" (Book 3, Chapter 27)

My all time favorite hymn by St. John is "What Earthy Joy":

What earthly joy remains untouched by grief?
What glory stands forever on the earth?
Frail shadows - all, delusive dreams;
Which death will one day sweep away.
But in the light of Your countenance, O Christ,
And in the enjoyment of Your beauty,
Give rest to those whom You have chosen and taken
For You are the Lover of mankind.

AND

God gave us snow this evening - perfect for the first Advent Vespers!!! Not much. Just a light dusting. But it was beautiful to watch it come down. Sadly, I think it kept some of our older folk away.

Advent Vespers Hymn

Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people's everlasting Light:
O Christ, Redeemer, save us all
And hear Thy servants when they call.

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

Thou cam'st the Bridegroom of the Bride,
As drew the world to eventide,
The spotless Victim all divine
Proceeding from a Virgin shrine.

At whose dread name, majestic now,
All knees must bend, all hearts must bow,
All things celestial Thee shall own
And things terrestial, Lord, alone.

O Thou, whose coming is with dread
To judge the living and the dead,
Preserve us from the ancient foe
While still we dwell on earth below.

To God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
Praise, honor, might, and glory be
From age to age eternally. Amen.
LSB 351

Christmas Open House

You read it here first. For the first time in many years (we used to do it all the time), the Weedons are hosting a Christmas open house. It will be the Sunday following Christmas in the afternoon. Feel free to drop in for some goodies to eat, some goodies to drink, and some visiting (and perhaps some singing around the piano). If you're in the area, come and join us. It will be from noon to four on December 28th.

Nicknames

So when I was first at seminary and had put on, well, a bit of weight, my good buddy Greg Walton, decided to nickname me: "Fat Chance." Chancellor is the middle name, understand. Everyone called my grandfather, Grandaddy Chance. Well, "Fat Chance" obviously doesn't work anymore. So Darlene threw one at me as she was leaving church Sunday (literally over her shoulder!): "Slim Chance." I've been laughing about it all week. Now Philip comes up with yet another: "Second Chance." Do you SEE what I have to put up with here??? :)

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The fountains of divine mercy, however, flow continually and even the basest ingratitude and the most wanton misuse cannot stop them. This is a bottomless sea of love and it can never be exhausted. When Scripture says, "His mercies...are new every morning" it indicates that these mercies not only continue without ceasing, but that they also do not diminish. They are always the same, always as great and fervent as they were in the beginning. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!* p. 15

Patristic Quote of the Day

Like the publican I sigh, like the harlot I shed tears, like the thief I call out, like the prodigal son I entreat Thee. O Christ, my Savior and Lover of mankind, strengthen my soul which has grown faint, which has been paralyzed with the intoxication of delights; heal its scabs and wash it, blackened with sin, with Thine honorable blood! -- St. Ephraim, the Syrian *A Spiritual Psalter* #9

As I Work On Bulletins

for Advent/Christmas, I am struck by the improvements in Builder over last year. It's really an amazing tool in the whole LSB constellation. I confess that I went back to the first edition (the second still has a few too many quirks, but looks really promising in time). Putting together the services has never been easier. I'm thinking about working on our Christmas program with Builder too - it will take a bit of doing, but I think it would work!

First Petition Discussion

Click here for a pastors' round table between Pr. Wilken, Pr. Asburry and me on the topic of the first petition of the Our Father. We'll be covering a bit of the same territory again in Bible Class on Sunday!

Behold,

the Lord shall come
and all His saints
with Him;
and in that day
the Light shall be great.
Alleluia!
(Antiphon 4 for Advent - Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 0-62)

The O Antiphons

I believe that the good folks at Issues, Etc. are planning another series on the O Antiphons this year. If you want to hear these lovely antiphons to their original chant tones, you can go to iTunes and search for O Antiphons and the name Kimberly Braun. Absolutely stunning.

A Hymn of Comfort and Challenge

I walk in danger all the way.
The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey,
Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If I should fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.

I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God's own sending.
When in adversity
I know not where to flee,
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.

And death pursues me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely;
He comes by night, he comes by day,
He takes his prey most surely.
A failing breath, and I
In death's strong grasp may lie
To face eternity today
As death pursues me all the way.

I walk with angels all the way,
They shield me and befriend me;
All Satan's pow'r is held at bay
When heavenly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense,
All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may,
I walk with angels all the way.

I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay
When Satan's pow'r assails me;
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
No evil leads my soul astray;
I walk with Jesus all the way.

My walk is heavenward all the way;
Await, my soul, the morrow,
When God's good healing shall allay
All suff'ring, sin, and sorrow.
Then, worldly pomp, be gone!
To heav'n I now press on.
For all the world I would not stay;
My walk is heavenward all the way.
LSB 716

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Because You were given to me, so also shall all things be given to me. My nature is glorified more in You than it was disgraced in Adam through sin. Because You assumed into the unity of Your person that which was only tarnished by Satan, You truly are flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone. You are my brother. -- Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Meditations on Divine Mercy* p. 65,66

Patristic Quote of the Day

Enter not into judgment with me, O our Lord, for no living creature can be justified before Thee. Thou alone, O Lord, art pure. Spare me and cleanse me of my sins by Thy grace. Vouchsafe me, O kind-hearted One, Thy great compassions, that they might make me rich and I might receive forgiveness, and Thine angels might rejoice according to Thy word, O Thou who art kindhearted toward sinners. -- St. Ephraim, the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #66

Homily for Advent Midweek I

[Isaiah 40:1-5 / Luke 1:5-25]
God commands a word of comfort to His people: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” A word of comfort, pardon, grace, and huge gift. And yet this word from God is often met with skepticism. Can He mean me? Surely not. Not after all I’ve done. Such a word of comfort and grace cannot be meant for the likes of one whose sin is like mine.

And there are none who so feel their sin as those who live closest to His holiness – those whom He regards as righteous by their faith and trust in Him. They see their sin and feel its weight in a way that the world never can understand. It takes the nearness of God to bring the weight of sin to bear on the conscience and the heart.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were such. The evangelist tells us that they were “both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statues of the Lord.” If you asked them, they’d have told you a different description. They’d have said: No, we are poor sinners, who plead the mercy of God and wait for His redemption. But such people who live by faith and who are righteous because they see their own sin and utterly despair of themselves and put all their hope on the mercy of God – they are the ones who above all struggle to believe that God could be gracious and kind to the likes of them.

And so the old man stood there attending to his duty, offering the sacred incense and as the smoke began to swirl toward the heavens and the sweet smell filled the darkened room, he became aware of a presence. There at the right side of that altar where he had so lately thrown on the coals the offering of incense, the sign of prayer, stood an angel.

What is the response of a man who knows his sin when he sees such a thing? Does he rejoice and thank God that he is counted worthy of such a vision? No. Zechariah shows his righteousness by his humility. He is troubled and fear falls on him. But the angel was not sent to scare him, but to comfort him. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” Gabriel was sent to announce the dawn of the redemption for which Zechariah had longed, and in which he would play a key role.

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah. Your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.”

“My prayer?” thought Zechariah. “But that was years ago. I’ve long since stopped hoping or even dreaming of such a thing. Why, it’s just not possible.” So his thoughts must have run as the angel went on, heedless of the perplexity on Zechariah’s face. “You shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn the hearts of the children of Israel to the Lord and will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Zechariah is blown away that God could be so good, so gracious, so kind to Him. He can’t get his mind around it. And his unbelief and fear conquer him. “How shall I know this?” he asks. “I am old; my wife beyond the years of bearing a child. How can this be?”

If it is terror to see an angel to those who know their sin, even more terrifying is seeing an angel riled. Gabriel speaks a word of judgment that turns out also to be a word of promise. Not a word can pass from Zechariah’s lips until they open in praise of what God has done, for the words He gave to the angel will come to pass, fulfilled in their time. God’s words cannot and do not fail.

And then the angel was gone. And Zechariah was struck dumb before the goodness and the mercy of the Lord – goodness and mercy unlooked for. That he and his wife would have a child. That that child would be the long awaited prophet to go before the Lord Himself, preparing his way. That their child would be the appointed ambassador of the King of kings to announce the ultimate comfort. That God has come into the flesh to triumph over the enemies of the human race – to make common cause with the flesh He now shares and to raise the fallen sons of Adam to their high destiny as children of God.

And like Zechariah, we stagger at the promise. Me? Can He possibly mean this comfort for me? That I who fail Him so often every day will be forgiven, made welcome in the home of the Eternal Son, made to sit with Him at His table and to reign with Him over all things? Me? How can it be?

Advent invites us to enter the silence of Zechariah and to wait and see the Words of God come to their fulfillment at the proper time. As he left the temple and couldn’t even given the final blessing because of his sealed lips, his heart was burning with the hope that words of God had given him. And he began to see their fruition not many days later. Elizabeth laughed and thought “Why, it’s Abraham and Sarah all over again.” The prayers that they long since had given up on were answered by God in His goodness in a way beyond their imagining.

People loved by God, your God commands comfort to be spoken to you too. His love for you will indeed astound and silence you, as you behold Him taking flesh from the pure Virgin and coming among you as your own brother to lift you to His glory. The comfort of this message is for you – you who think yourself hopelessly sinful and a failure. He says to you: For you I have come. For you I have sent my messenger to prepare my way. Do not fear. I am your Emmanuel. Watch in silence and see my salvation unfold! Amen.

Treasury ALERT

CPH received massive orders for the TDP today; there is a distinct possibility that folks who are holding off for nearer to Christmas may be out of luck. If your church has a list still waiting to get in, do so a.s.a.p., and likewise for any individual orders. What a blessed problem to be running into so soon after the first printing!

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

These are the three kinds of coming of Christ: the first is past, the second still occurs daily, the third is to be awaited. The first points to the second, for that is why Christ became a man and in His assumed humanity accomplished the work of redemption, so that He might distribute such benefits and gather a Church through the Word. The second points to the third, for that is why we believe in Christ and serve Him in His kingdom of grace, so that we may someday stand in the final coming of Christ to Judgement before Him and be taken up into His kingdom of glory. To that end, God help us through Christ, Amen. -- Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Homily for Advent I*

Patristic Quote of the Day

I hope on Thy mercies, O Lord; I fall at Thy feet and beseech Thee: Grant me the spirit of repentance and lead my soul out of the dungeon of iniquity! -- St. Ephraim, the Syrian, *A Spiritual Psalter* #10

Advent08

If you have an iPhone, you want to go download THIS MINUTE Advent08. Just search for it in the apps. Pr. Vieker recommended this puppy to me and I was blown away today when I opened the first day's devotions. Beautiful!!!

Enjoy!