One Generation...

...I was going to go through and clean up this paper, but I never can find the time. So I'm posting it, blemishes and all. It is what I delivered at the Making the Case Conference in Collinsville last month:

Making the Case for Classical Christian Hymnody

“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” Psalm 145:3.  On this I suspect Christians of every stripe could agree. The Lord is great and the Lord is greatly to be praised. But we might see the cleft that has developed in the Church if we venture to the next verses: “One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and sing aloud of your righteousness.”

What has happened in some sections of the Church is that THIS generation has told all the other generations to shut up and keep silent. Instead of listening to their proclamation of God’s majesty (who He is) and His wondrous works (what He’s done) and being inspired by their witness to join in their song with our own, some would silence their song and replace it entirely with the song of the present generation. Instead of the Church’s classical way of operating: supplementation, the rich treasury of hymns that goes back so far, growing and being added to by each generation, first listening to and learning to love the old praises of prior Christians as they tell us of God’s wondrous works; we have instead supplanting - replacing of this heritage of proclamation in song that reaches century upon century back through the ages with the songs of now.a

And we need to be honest about the nature of the songs of now. A friend of mine sought to use some of the modern sounds in his church one Sunday, but all the classic texts. It was very telling when a woman left that worship service in tears and she told the musicians on the way out: “You’ve taken away my music.” They were befuddled because they’d striven so hard to use the musical idiom that that congregation had come to expect. Why would it not be welcomed? She gave them the answer: “It’s not what I hear on Christian radio.” AH! The commercial interests driving so called Christian radio is to get folks to download and listen over and over again to the current song and then promptly to forget it when they need you to download the newest, latest, greatest hit. Do you see what has happened? The throw away generation, the disposable everything generation, has come to treasure disposable, throw away songs too.

The demand for the music of today exclusively to reign supreme in the Church, whatever else it does, simply cuts off the prior generations in a way that the Church has not known before. We become an orphan Church that way, a church without our spiritual fathers and mothers. Anyone who knows me know that I love reading the Church fathers. Great stuff. And yet THE way that the prior generations have always spoken in the Church to the current generation is not in the dusty study of Patristics but in the living voice of the congregation. We take up THEIR song and it becomes OUR song and so their theology, their witness to Christ, continues to shape and mold us.

But there’s more. Dr. John Kleinig helpfully wrote about the theology that runs with the praise music that came originally out of the Pentecostal Church. The idea of this music is move a person. To move them spiritually from entering into the courts of God with loud and joyous songs of thanksgiving, to move them into the more mellow music of the inner courts of the temple with lush and quiet songs of praise, and finally for the congregation to peak, dare I say it, to spiritually orgasm in the singing in the spirit, often done in tongues and musically sustained by held chords and arpeggios and shimmering on the cymbals. Music here at its base is employed to achieve the desired emotional outcome. To bring a person to a feeling of the presence and closeness of God.

This is in huge tension with the sturdy objectivity of the Church’s historical musical deposit. For the Church classically simply did not see music as first and foremost a vehicle to move emotions. She knew that it does this. Luther confessed as much in any number of places. And yet that was just an inevitable result of music, but not it’s task. It’s task was rather to give voice to God’s Word. To proclaim to one another the great things that God has done for us in Jesus Christ and to summon one another to taste and see the goodness of the Lord and to proclaim the person blessed who trusts in Him.

We might wonder how this shift toward exclusive use of compositions of the present generation could possibly make its way into a Church like ours which has traditionally been a bulwark of preserving the music of previous generations. The answer, I believe, is that those who studied Church Growth were trained to match in church the music liked and listened to by their community. So that when new folks came in through the narthex doors they immediately would feel at home with the same sounds that filled their lives outside the doors. More than one writer has pointed out the disingenuousness of this approach, for the Church does not invite the old Adam to settle down and feel at home, but to his own execution. Nor, even sociologically, has it proven to be the case that unchurched folks expect the music at church to mirror the music they listen to when washing their cars on Saturday. You can read more about this in Daniel Zager’s stupendous monograph “The Gospel Preached Through Music: The Purpose and Practice of Lutheran Church Music” (Good Shepherd Institute 2013).

So it was with the best of motivations that our churches began to dump the deposit of the church’s treasury of hymnody. But it wasn’t wise. And it hasn’t worked if the purpose was simply to bring in the folks from outside in droves. We’re a smaller Synod today than we were prior to the time when classic church music reigned.

But I must issue this caveat. Dr. Nagel was always fond of asking what’s the opposite of an error? Not the truth! Just the opposite error. So the error of thinking that the Church’s hymnody is fixed. You have the old songs and you should be content to sing them. Period. Full stop. Nonsense. With the Spirit extolling our Lord Jesus through the Word, the new song springs up in the Church continually. Not everything written in a generation will be found worthy of adding to the deposit, but the current generation tends not to be in the best position to evaluate the final worthiness of its own contributions. The generation to come will weigh and decide in which of our new songs they hear the words and promises of God most clearly issued for their consolation and upbuilding in the faith. But that the deposit grows with each generation is simply a given. The Church’s song is richer now by far than it was at the time of the early church or even the Reformation. It keeps being enriched and for that all glory to God!

So when we speak of making the case for classical Christian hymnody we mean defending the proposition that previous generations ought be given an ongoing voice in the church’s praise, and this praise consists of meditating upon God’s glorious majesty (that is, proclaiming WHO He is, and above all who He has revealed Himself to be in the Crucified and Risen One), and in meditating on His great works. We do both of these by proclaiming them together to each other in song in the presence of God.

How far back does the treasury reach? Well, certainly biblical scholars will tell you that it reaches right into the pages of the New Testament. Philippians 2; Colossians 1; numerous portions of Revelation; 1 Timothy 3. You can find tantalizing bits of the song that the Christians sang to each other there. Maybe it was something like Philippians 2 that St. Paul and St. Silas sang together at midnight in the jail of Philippi.

Outside of the New Testament, though, we have these ancient hymns that have come down to us and even made it into the liturgy. In the Divine Service, we sing the Gloria in Excelsis or Agnus Dei or Sanctus. In the Daily Prayer Services, we sing Te Deum Laudamus and Phos Hilaron. That last is particularly of interest to those who study the history of the hymns. You see, in literature, I think the first mention of Phos Hilaron (our “Joyous Light of Glory” from Evening Prayer, but also in the hymnal O Light Whose Splendor Thrills and Gladdens or O Gladsome Light of Grace), the first mention is in a little book by St. Basil the Great (and he died in 379). He writes: I will now adduce another piece of evidence which might perhaps seem insignificant, but because of its antiquity must in nowise be omitted by a defendant who is indicted on a charge of innovation. It seemed fitting to our fathers not to receive the gift of the light at eventide in silence, but, on its appearing, immediately to give thanks. Who was the author of these words of thanksgiving at the lighting of the lamps, we are not able to say. The people, however, utter the ancient form, and no one has ever reckoned guilty of impiety those who say “We praise Father, Son, and God's Holy Spirit.” (Par. 73 On the Holy Spirit)

Just like we have no idea who wrote the Gloria in Excelsis or the Te Deum (medieval legend notwithstanding), so with Phos Hilaron. It simply was a song Christians sang and have continued to sing throughout generations. Is it not amazing that we here in America today continue in our Evening Prayer to offer praises in a hymn that St. Basil the Great thought was positively antique back in the 370’s?

So the deposit goes very far back, especially if we think of those ancient hymns of the church that were not rimed or set in stanzas. But the riming and setting in stanzas goes back a long, long way also. The man traditionally regarded as the father of western Christian hymnody is St. Ambrose of Milan. Our LSB features three hymns attributed to this great father of the Church. We even get to know a little bit about how this form of hymnody took root and spread. Listen to St. Augustine in his Confessions, paragraph:

Not long had the Church of Milan begun to employ this kind of consolation and exhortation, the brethren singing together with great earnestness of voice and heart. For it was about a year, or not much more, since Justina, the mother of the boy-Emperor Valentinian, persecuted Thy servant Ambrose in the interest of her heresy, to which she had been seduced by the Arians. The pious people kept guard in the church, prepared to die with their bishop, Thy servant. There my mother, Thy handmaid, bearing a chief part of those cares and watchings, lived in prayer. We, still unmelted by the heat of Thy Spirit, were yet moved by the astonished and disturbed city. At this time it was instituted that, after the manner of the Eastern Church, hymns and psalms should be sung, lest the people should pine away in the tediousness of sorrow; which custom, retained from then till now, is imitated by many, yea, by almost all of Thy congregations throughout the rest of the world. [Confessions IX:7:15]

So Ambrose is popularly considered the father of hymnody as we’ve come to expect it: a poem consisting generally of  number of consistent stanzas that rime and often concluding with the doxology: an ascription of praise to the Blessed Trinity.

If we listen to THAT generation proclaim to us the great deeds of God and call us to meditate with them on who He is and what He has done, we get something like this:

Savior of the nations, come,
Virgin’s Son, make here Your home!
Marvel now, O heav’n and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood,
By the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh—
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.

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.

Then stepped forth the Lord of all
From His pure and kingly hall;
God of God, yet fully man,
His heroic course began.

God the Father was His source,
Back to God He ran His course.
Into hell His road went down,
Back then to His throne and crown.

For You are the Father’s Son
Who in flesh the vict’ry won.
By Your mighty pow’r make whole
All our ills of flesh and soul.

From the manger newborn light
Shines in glory through the night.
Darkness there no more resides;
In this light faith now abides.

Glory to the Father sing,
Glory to the Son, our king,
Glory to the Spirit be
Now and through eternity.

Let’s note a number of things about this. It clearly proclaims Christ. Proclaims Him as the Virgin’s Son, God of God, yet full man, whose source was God the Father. It proclaims His deeds: His conception by the Spirit, his birth of the Virgin, His coming from God and returning to God even His descent into hell. It proclaims what He has won: the victory and in our flesh to make whole all our ills of flesh and soul. And it summons us one and all to join in praising the Trinity in and through Him.

And consider that these words by Ambrose or from someone around that time, have continued to proclaim Christ in each generation. Year after year, when Advent arrives, this hymn is found on the lips of Christians to bring comfort to each other and to join their voices with that of all the previous generations, extolling the Lord’s incarnation for us. So much did Luther value this Latin hymn that it was the first he rendered into German. When we sing this hymn each Advent truly “one generation commends your works to another and shall declare your mighty deeds!”

Ambrose’s hymns primarily are set to sanctify time and to celebrate the events commemorated in the Church’s year: the great story of the life of Christ. They had their home first and foremost in the Daily Office, Matins and Vespers etc. But you couldn’t really keep the hymns away from the Lord’s Supper. They migrated. And did so even before the Reformation. Remember that “O Lord, We Praise Thee” was a folk hymn long before Luther took it hand. Or remember the hymn of Huss for the distribution.

With the Reformation, the ancient heritage was conserved, even in many cases in Latin, but much was also put into the vernacular and of course it was added to. New hymns couldn’t but continue to be birthed by the joy of the Gospel’s clarity that took hold agin in those days. Luther’s first great hymn was Nun Freut Euch. Listen: “Dear Christian, one and all rejoice, with exultation springing, and with united heart and voice and holy rapture singing: proclaim the wonders God has done, what His right hand the victory won; what price our ransom cost Him!” There’s the theology of praise right in a single hymn stanza. Luther never ceased to marvel at music: “After all, the gift of language combined with the gift of song was only given to man to let him know that he should praise God with both word and music, namely by proclaiming [God’s Word] through music and by providing sweet melodies with words.” (AE 53:323) Or as Luther said in the preface to the Bapst hymnal: “For God has cheered our hearts and minds through his dear Son, whom he gave for us to redeem us from sin, death, and the devil. He who believes this earnestly cannot be quiet about it. But he must gladly and willingly sing and speak about it so that others also may come and hear it.” (AE 53:333).

So with the Reformation comes this explosion of new music, filled with the joy of the Gospel, and aimed at the consolation of those terrified in conscience or broken in heart. All designed to lift you up through preaching the promises of God into your heart via putting them onto your lips.

Of the many great hymns that arose in that time, two deserve particular mention. They were by Philip Nicolai, Pastor in Unna, Westphalia. He saw his congregation decimated by plague. Between July of 1597 and January of 1598, Pr. Nicolai buried no less than 1,400 of his parishioners– 300 in the month of July alone. He could have fled the plague, but he didn’t. He stayed put. He preached. He celebrated the Sacrament. He prayed. He buried, and he prayed some more. And he did one more thing. He wrote a book. A book he called The Mirror of Joy. It was all about the joy that filled his heart as he thought of the heaven his Savior had won for all upon His cross and to which He would one day bring His people as they share His risen life in the New Heavens and the New Earth. In the words of Luther, he “gladly and willingly sing and speak about it.” At the tail end of his little book, he put three poems he wrote, two of which he also set to music. One is called: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright) and the other: Wachet Auf, Ruft uns die Stimme. Wake, Awake! For Night is flying.

In the face of unspeakable tragedy, to families where mothers had lost their sons, daughters their fathers, sisters their brothers, brothers their sisters, husbands their wives - with no family left untouched by the horror of death- faithful Pastor Nicolai sang the hope of heaven into his people as they waited for the day of the Savior’s return and learned to sing in hope along with him even with tears in their eyes. No wonder these two pieces became known as the Queen and the King of the Chorales. They are triumphant in the cross. Just listen in to sections from either hymn:

Almighty Father, in Your Son
You loved me when not yet begun
Was this old earth’s foundation!
Your Son has ransomed us in love
To live in Him here and above.
This is Your great salvation.
Alleluia! Christ the living
To us giving Life forever,
Keeps us Yours and fails us never.

O let the harps break forth in sound!
Our joy be all with music crowned,
Our voices, gladly blending!
For Christ goes with us all the way—
Today, tomorrow, every day,
His love is never ending!
Sing out! Ring out!
Jubilation, exultation!
Tell the story!
Great is He, the King of glory!

Or this:

Now let all the heaven’s adore Thee;
Let saints and angels sing before Thee
With harp and cymbal’s clearest tone.
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where dwelling with the choir immortal,
We gather round Thy radiant throne.
No eye has seen the light,
No ear has heard the might
Of Thy glory.
Therefore will we eternally,
sing hymns of praise and joy to thee.

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s nigh unto a high treason when a Lutheran (well, when any Christian) is deprived of the comfort and power of such great hymns! And they abound. Those are just two. Note that they sing of Christ. They fling the comfort of Christ against the darkness. They hold tight to the joy of what shall be when Christ renews all things. They proclaim: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again, and they add the promise: “for you!”

You might notice if you’ve been around our Church for any length of time, that SOME of our hymns are really, really long. Take Luther’s delightful Christmas hymn: “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” It’s got an eminently singable melody, but it goes on for 15 stanzas. Yikes! What gives with that?

That’s a hint that the singing of hymns in the Lutheran Church, it’s use of the classical Christian hymnody, from the start employed “wechselsingen” as Dr. Walther termed it: “back and forth singing” would be a good translation. So take “From Heaven Above…” and you might have the choir sing all together stanza one, then just the women of the choir on stanza two, then the men, stanza three, then all the choir on stanza four, maybe just four voices, one on each part for stanza five, then the whole congregation on stanzas six, seven and eight. Children’s voices along on stanza 9. Women on 10. Men on 11. All on 12 and 13. Choir on 14 and then all on 15. What does this back and forth singing do? It enables us to preach to each other in the song. We literally sing the comfort the Gospel into each other’s ears, hearing it and then in our turn sounding it forth.

By the way, this way of singing is also key to getting the best way to sing, say, “Isaiah, Mighty Seer.” Picture it like this:

Choir 1: Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old,
Choir 2: The Lord of all in spirit did behold,
etc.
with the whole congregation joining in on: Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth!

Luther’s Gloria hymn works the same way. This back and forth is the royal priesthood at its work: proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. It is the fulfillment of the Apostles’ exhortation: Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in PSALMS, and HYMNS, and SPIRITUAL SONGS, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And the centuries roll on and the witness keeps ringing out. The nineteenth century was a time of rich meditation on the Church herself. Everyone was thinking about it and singing about it. So we have “For All the Saints” and “Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones” and so many others. The focus wasn’t on Church for her own sake, but look at who the Spirit has called us to be in Christ! And through them all ring comfort: “And when the fight is fierce the battle long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again and arms are strong! Alleluia! Alleluia!”

In the 20th and 21st century a new flowering of hymnody took place and to the old songs were added numerous new proclamations of Christ. We don’t have time to even begin to delve into the richness, but we must note the hymns of Stephen Starke (“We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord, the Father everlasting by all the earth adored…” - great paraphrase of the Te Deum and set to the Jupiter tune, proclaiming who the true King of the universe is!); Martin Franzmann (O thou who when we loved thee not, didst love and save us all; thou great good shepherd of mankind, O hear us when we call! Send us thy Spirit! Teach us truth! Thou Son, O set us free, from fanciest wisdom, self-sought ways to make us one in thee. Then shall our song united rise to Thine eternal throne where with the Father evermore and Spirit thou art one); Vajda (How could I not have known Isaiah would be there, his prophesies fulfilled, with pounding heart I stare: A child, a king, the prince of peace for me, a child, a king the prince of peace for me); so very, very many others.

One last point I think needs to be made in favor of classical Christian hymnody. It has, somehow, survived the fragmentation of the Church. So a hymn written for a Roman Catholic eucharistic conference in 1976 ends up being sung in Lutheran parishes around the world: “You satisfy the hungry heart.” Or an EWTN broadcast of the Roman Mass for Ash Wednesday, opens with the solemn singing of Luther’s “From Depths of Woe.” The Baptists might have owned “Just as I am” at the start, but it is sung universally by Christians. This united song of the Church gives me great hope. And it witnesses a very Lutheran thing: if it sings truth, we say, it is ours! We joyfully can take it to heart and praise God with it. So our hymnal is not merely limited to the stream of music that flowed directly from the medieval church to the Churches of the Augsburg Confession. Rather, when Geneva sang truth, we sang it with them. When Rome sang truth, we sang it with them. Did you know that Beautiful Savior was originally composed to be a song of Eucharistic devotion? Tis true! And yet its words are simple truth and so we take them gladly on our lips.

Psalm 145 goes on to say: “All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power to make known to the children of men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom… The Lord is faithful in all his works and kind in all his deeds.” One generation declares His great works to another in the classic hymnody of the Christian Church. And our calling in this generation is to hear their song, to sing it with them in joy, and then to add to it as best we may in our own day and age.

When Isaiah pictured the Church, he described her in chapter 35 in these words: “And the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” The Church is one long procession of the people of Zion headed home, and the song we sing here at the tail end of the procession at the moment is one we learned from those who went before. Let us treasure the gift bequeathed to us and learn to love it and to pass on such a tremendous heritage to our children and children’s children until the glorious appearing of Lord Jesus when we join the saints and angels in the song of the Lamb!

Questions?

Someone likes to read...

...or at least to "inwardly digest" what she "reads, marks, and learns."

Independence Day Wrap

Coffee + Breakfast + Morning Prayers + Walk + Coffee again + Pool time + Celtic Harp Music on Pandora + Walk + David, Meaghan, Lydia, Dave and Karen over for dinner + Trip up to St. Paul's to check on rennovation + Quiet evening as the sun sets + a very relaxing and good day

Unbelievable for July 3

Weather was gorgeous all day. Cindi's been under weather a bit, but Lucy and I went for a walk this morning. Dave and I (with an assist from Karen) put up the lattice all around the deck. After supper, another stroll around the neighborhood, so a good hour's walk total today. Some wine on the deck listening to the joyful noise of neighborhood children enjoying the summer day. Now the sun is setting and still the children's squeals fill the house and compete with the lute music from Pandora. I really do love living back in a suburban neighborhood like the one I grew up in.

Twenty eight years

Twas twenty-eight years ago today that this poor miserable sinner was ordained into the office of the holy ministry at the Lutheran Church of St. Andrew in Silver Spring, Maryland. In those years, I've had but three calls: Redeemer in Burlington NC, St. Paul's in Hamel IL, and now to the IC as Chaplain and LCMS Director of Worship. It's been an unspeakable privilege to serve in the holy office. I ask God's merciful forgiveness for my countless failings in His service; and his blessings upon whatever good He was pleased to work through those years of ministry. Franzmann's hymn remains my prayer and the prayer of all who (used to) sing it every call day at Concordia Seminary:

Give us lips to sing Thy glory,

Tongues Thy mercy to proclaim,

Throats that shout the hope that fills us,

Mouths to speak Thy holy name.

Alleluia!  Alleluia! May the light

Which Thou dost send

Fill our songs with alleluias,

Alleluias without end.

Sigh...

...such a wonderful visit. I hate to see it draw to a close. We'd had Lauren, Sawyer and Annabelle here since Tuesday evening. Bek and Lauren and the little ones flying out to NC early in the morning. I think the quiet will be deafening. Well, for a couple hours. Lydia will be back tomorrow in the morning and she's learned to love the sound of her own voice - soooo cute. They're all changing so fast right now, that I hate to think of not seeing Sawyer and Annabelle till September, but that's the next time I'll see them. Cindi will be out to visit them in August for Lauren and Sawyer's birthdays.

The Christian's Time

A Christian lives his days with Christ and in comtemplation of Him.

His Days pass in remembering the sufferings of Jesus. When the clock strikes eleven, he knows that the bells are ringing in the noon hour of his Redeemer, when thick darkness overshadowed Him. In the afternoon at three o'clock, he breathes a greateful prayer of joy, for the Lord has finished. Every stroke of the clock calls upon him to consider what Christ did and suffered in that hour.

His Weeks are pictures of Christ's life. Sunday, at each return, is the brother of the Easter Day, the most joyful day of the week. It is preceded by days of repentance and suffering. Wednesday already brings the memory of the unholy bargaining of Judas with the high priests and murderers of Christ. Thursday divides his mind between the struggle in Gethsemane and the blessed institution of the Lord's Supper. Every Friday is a weekly "Good Friday." Every Saturday is a sabbath of the rest of Christ in the grave.

As in the week, so also the Year: it recalls the life, suffering and death of Christ, an ever new experience of what the Gospels narrate; itself a very Gospel of Christ our Lord.

--from Wilhelm Loehe's Seed Grains of Faith. p. 142, 143.

What exactly IS catholic?

For Lutheran Christians there should be no question at all. The catholic faith, as most of us confessed this morning, is that we worship the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity without either confusing the Persons or dividing the Substance; and to faithfully confess the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God of the substance of His Father before the ages and man of the substance of His mother, perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.

It is a good question, then, to ask of ourselves: is our worship explicitly Trinitarian and confessing the Incarnation? Is it catholic?

One is struck right away by the rich way in which the Lutheran liturgy confesses the Trinity! From the opening invocation, the conclusion of the absolution, the Gloria Patri in the Introit, the three-fold (or nine-fold) Kyrie, the Trinitarian shape of the Gloria in Excelsis, the triple Alleluia before the Gospel, the three articles of the Nicene Creed, on to the proper preface with its "one God, one Lord, and in the confession of the only true God we worship the Trinity in person and unity in substance of majesty coequal," then the triple Sanctus (and the tripling of "blessed is he" and "hosanna"), the Gloria Patri at the end of Nunc Dimittis and the Aaronic benediction. Not to mention the termination of the collects: "through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."

From start to finish, the Lutheran liturgy is profoundly Trinitarian, a worshipping of the Three Persons in Unity and the Unity in Three Persons. It's worthwhile to put that liturgy into the balance of the scales and weigh its proposed replacements for Trinitarian glorification. How well do they do? I think it would be most revealing.

For me, I'm delighted to be a catholic Christian who worships Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and who confesses the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Divine Service.

I just reflected on what the week brought...wow!

Pentecost: Two Divine Services

Whit Monday: Morning Prayer

Whit Tuesday: Responsive Prayer, Divine Service, Vespers, Compline

Wednesday: Matins, Divine Service, Vespers, Compline

Thursday: Responsive Prayer, Divine Service, Vespers, Compline

Friday: Matins, Divine Service, Compline

Saturday: Divine Service, Hymn sing

All celebrated in community (parish, IC, retreat, Issues "Making the Case" conference). I think I'm going to go through withdrawals this week. That was a bit of heaven on earth, truly. What a way to celebrate the full octave! And then today the great joys of Trinity Sunday (which already came to us at last night's Divine Service). It was a week of feasting royally on the Word, that's for sure!

Oh, and we ate

here last night. It was really tasty, right on Main Street in Columbia. Our New Orleans contingent gave it two thumbs up as genuinely Big Easy cuisine.

Retreat

Just got back today from a blessed time of retreat. We need these in our lives more than we dare to admit. Even our Lord spoke of this: "Come ye your selves apart into a desert place, and rest a while." The only business we attended it was the business of Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus to soak in His life-giving words and to enjoy His hospitality at the heavenly feast He spreads for His children here on earth.

Thank you, Lord, for times of refreshing, for the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren, for the privilege of prayer, for the honor of joining with the angels and archangels in song, for the companionship of Your saints, and most of all for the gift of forgiveness and eternal life which You delight to reach us in Your most holy body and blood, which we poor sinners receive with overflowing joy.

Today

was the first time in over a year and half that I have served at the altar to celebrate the Sacrament. It was such an honor and I thank Pr. Messer for the privilege.

David does it again...

...no, not a broken chair this time. This time another award. He helped design an app. Read about it here. (And yes, they put an extraneous "h" in our last name...).

I also think...

...the days of the post-Christmas let down will be over at St. Paul's. What I mean is—as folks who worship there regularly know well—there is always this feeling of let down when the Christmas deocrations come down and the room looks just so...well, plain. From the sneak peeks we've had of the beautiful work being done in sanctuary and nave, it will be Christmas year round! Everywhere you look there is a beautiful sight to see. The scroll work across the ceiling is particularly impressive, but the use of color throughout the room is simply remarkable. The committee and Autenrieb studios have done outstanding work. 

The Move Back

Well, at least, back into the basement. Will be wonderful to get back into the Church building, though the work on the sanctuary, nave, and narthex is still a work in progress.

Helpers of Joy

I think it was in Proper Distinction that Walther mentioned what a beautiful practice it would be for pastors to take as their initial sermon text 2 Corinthians 1:24: "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand."

The preaching office is not there for dominion, for lording it over (and nor is it there to BE lorded over as though the congregation or members in it were lords of the pastor!), but it there to be help to the people of God's joy. The great task before the men in the office of the ministry, then, is helping the people of God into an ever fuller appropriation of that joy that is theirs through Baptism into Christ. What a calling! What a life!

A friend and I were talking today, though, about a situation we hear more and more of: a lay person (maybe not the most faithful in church attendance) who came into grievous trial, hospitalized, and yet unvisited. No "helper of her joy" came to her side, to swaddle her in the promises of God's Word as she faced her end. Her husband chose to bury her from his church, rather than from her own Lutheran parish where she seemed to have not been deemed worth bothering about.

How can we be helpers to our peoples' joys if we do not enter into their sorrows with visits, conversations, prayers? What on earth can a pastor think is more important to do than to attend to the needs of the sick and dying and "help their joy" by the sweet promises of the Word and the gift of the Savior's body and blood to a blessed end?

What new vigor would come into our churches today if all we pastors remembered this high calling, saying to ourselves: I am sent here by Christ to be helpers of my people's joy, for they stand by faith.

Homily for Chapel today

Reading: John 17:1–11

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

Meditation

It might strike you as odd that the Three Year series assigns the prayer our Lord offered the night of His betrayal to be read in the churches on the “in-between” Sunday after Ascension and before Pentecost. But it actually makes a great deal of sense. What is our Lord doing at the right hand of the Father? What did He ascend to do? One of the important answers to that question that Scripture gives is: intercession. Romans 8:34: “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who IS at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us!” Or as the writer to the Hebrews put it: “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

James tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is mighty in its working – then you may be at great peace, for there is a righteous Man, the Lord Jesus, who does not cease to make intercession for you at the right hand of His Father.

But what is it to make intercession? Is it not to become one? Is it not to stand with another person and carry their sorrows as your own? Is it not to rejoice in their joys? Is it not as St. Paul once said: “to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep”?

Your Jesus, who is One eternally with His Father, became so One with you that He carried your sorrows as His own, your sin as His own. He stood with you before the Father and all that was yours, He made His so that all that was His He could make yours. And ascended to heaven, He is not far from you, but near.  And He still bears every burden of your heart and lifts it up in union with His perfect sacrifice, begging the Father’s mercy and love upon you constantly. Could you ever hope for a greater High Priest? One whose constant vigil over you leads to constant intercession for you. He is so one with you that no sorrow of your heart, no pain, is distant from Him even now. He cries to the Father for you.

And He invites you into this life of intercession with Him. He invites you to become one with your neighbor in your neighbor’s need. What is it to open your heart to your neighbor but to take their sorrows and sins upon yourself and to intercede on their behalf? Luther once used the expression “to become little Christs to one another.”

Is there any other path to oneness than this? In the early 20th century, when the ecumenical movement was firing up the thought was if you could just assemble all Christians into one massive world wide organization then the Lord’s prayer for unity would be answered: we would be one. Do you see how shallow that turns out to be? The unity that Jesus calls us to is far, far deeper than that.

It is the unity that the saints in heaven already have been perfected in. Luther was meditating upon this great reality when he wrote these words in his commentary on John 17 on today's text:  “For who can harm or injure a man who has this confidence, who knows that heaven and earth, and all the angels and the saints will cry to God when the smallest suffering befalls him?”

The medieval Church was big on asking the saints to pray for this or that thing. Luther, recall, cried to St. Anne for deliverance when caught in that horrible thunderstorm that ended up changing him and the world forever. But Luther's ah-ha in the John 17 commentary is that there is no more need of you asking the saints in heaven to pray for you any more than for you to beg the Lord Jesus to be praying for you: you know He does and that He will ever do so, and you may know that the saints whose rest is won and with whom you have "mystic sweet communion" also cry to God for you because they have been perfected in one. Love is complete in them, though it is only partial in us. And love stands as one with the neighbor in his need, takes it to heart, and bears it before the throne of God.

This is not all highfalutin mumbo-jumbo! Prayer is the path forward to oneness in the church. You take the person in your life with whom you have the greatest difficulty, the one you may even despise and hate in your heart. And you take that person into your heart and intercede for them, stand as one with them and ask God’s blessing upon them, you ask His mercy to shelter them, His love to provide for their every need, and you will see a miracle happen. You can’t hold onto bitterness or anger with those for whom you intercede. You can’t do it. Your love for them will startle you. But it shouldn’t. After all, by prayer you have been connected with them to Him who is Perfect Love; you’ve been joined to Him who prays for His enemies: “Father, forgive” and who never ceases to pray for you in every need.

Intercession, people loved by God, is the path to true oneness. And so the folks who chose the John 17 reading in these waiting days between Ascension and Pentecost, opened up to us a world of joy and hope. A path that we can follow with the Lord as we join Him in interceding and so become one. He in us. We in Him. We in each other. All of us one before the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation. Amen.

About that June 12...

...I repent me in dust and ashes. I have received contacts from too many of you to write back to all, asking me NOT to drop the blog. Have heard, will heed. I will try to keep it going. Thank you for the kind words and the encouragements. They took me by surprise.

The moment I met him

I knew I was in the presence of a gentleman. If that word is worn out and out of fashion, no one ever told him! His presence made me smile and his wit brought ready laughter. I only met him one time. But he's been kind enough to send me his sermons since, and blessed is that congregation (well, those congregations) that get to hear this gentleman proclaim the Gospel.

The usual packet arrived today and I opened it. There was a note with it. Unusual, that. Cancer and inoperable. No treatments. Just preparing to die and this: "I am at peace with this, since my salvation is secure because of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ which, by Holy Baptism, I was literally plugged into. Please know that I really am at peace."

Not a doubt in mind that he is.  He doesn't want publicity and so no names. No prayer lists or inclusion in bulletins. A man who has prayed his Nunc Dimittis and is content to slip quietly away. He now waits for the final breath to be drawn in this age, knowing that what awaits is the bracing air of Resurrection in the Age that is coming. 

God bless you, my friend. And into paradise may the angels lead you:

Lord, let at last thine angels come,

To Abram's bosom bear me home

That I may die unfearing.

And in its narrow chamber keep

My body safe in peaceful sleep

Until Thy reappearing.

And then from death awaken me

That these, mine eyes, with joy may see,

O Son of God, Thy glorious face,

My Savior and my fount of grace:

Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, 

My prayer attend,

And I will praise Thee without end!

Getting there...slowly but surely...

Moving the worship library into my office space at the IC. About half of it is now in place. Hopefully Wednesday the remaining bookshelves will be up and I can be done with this month long project!

Quick Reminder

Today, June 2, is the last day to register for the 2014 Worship Institute without having to pay the $50 late fee. You can register here:

Institute.

"Comfort, Comfort Ye My People" promises to be a joyous time in worship, learning, and Christian fellowship. If you haven't planned on joining us, you really should.

Harrison. Kleinig. Leaver. Soulek. Werner. Wolfmueller. 

And THOSE are just a handful of the reasons! Check it out!

Random Thoughts in Praying the Ten Commandments

I've written earlier how I like to spend part of my commute in meditating on the Catechism. Makes the miles fly and occupies my mind with things that are eternally worthwhile (as opposed to the news which is always much the same... money and war). This morning in praying the Ten Commandments a few thoughts came to mind that I'd not had before:

Honor your father and your mother.

To this the prayer: Lord God, heavenly Father, grant me the grace of Your Holy Spirit so to fear and love You that I may not despise my parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I only have one parent left here - Cindi's dad, Dave. And yet it occurred to me that this commandment doesn't expire with death. I still pray that I may honor my mother and father and mother-in-law by not despising the wisdom that they taught me through my early years. I still can obey them! And certainly we love and cherish our parents even long after they have ended their earthly pilgrimage. Death is no barrier to the God of the living or to the people who believe in resurrection.

You shall not commit adultery.

To this the prayer: Lord God, heavenly Father, grant me the grace of Your Holy Spirit so to fear and love You that I may lead a chaste and decent life in what I say and do and that Cindi and I may love and honor each other; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

But today an added prayer for the families of our nation and of our world, where marriage is so misunderstood, so undervalued, so NOT the blessing that God intended it to be for us. A prayer that husbands and wives throughout the land may reflect in all their dealings with each other the Heavenly Bridegroom and His Bride, so that young people will not despise this sacred institution, but come to honor it and long to enter it.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

To this the prayer: Lord God, heavenly Father, grant me the grace of Your Holy Spirit so to fear and love You that I may not scheme to get my neighbor's inheritance or house, or get it in a way that only seems right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And though I've prayed this prayer many times, it occurred to me that I wasn't at all sure how to help and be of service to my neighbor in keeping his inheritance and house. I think it means to stand up against injustice or greed (to do the opposite of the role of Naboth's accusers!), but how does one do that in our context? Still uncertain and pondering.

Enough for the day!

Exaudi Nos

and so the beautiful prayer that is attributed to the Venerable Bede that is our prayer in these in-between days of Ascension and Pentecost:

O King of glory,
Lord of hosts,
uplifted in triumph
far above all heavens,
leave us not without consolation
but send us the Spirit of truth
whom You promised from the Father;
for You live and reign
with Him and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

June 12

will be the last day for ye olde blog. It's served its purpose and the age of blogs has long since passed, but I've had a soft spot for it and wanted it to limp along until it reached the ripe old age of ten. So I'l update it maybe a few times between now and then, but on June 12 it will go permanently dormant. FB has triumphed.

A Rainy Vespers

Sat outside on the front stoop as the rain came down and prayed Vespers today with my 1611 KJV Bible with all the fun spellings. Psalms CXLVII-CL. Readings from Esther V and I Cor. XIV. Peaceful except when Kevin and Lisa pulled up and called me out into the rain just so they could get me wet. Actually, though, it felt wonderful, and Kevin was looking great after surgery.

The Perfect Prayer

Last night had couple things weighing on the mind. When I went to bed, continued to think about them and then I began praying the Lord's Prayer. Such joyous peace comes when we ask these perfectly pleasing peititons of our Heavenly Father! What a gift this prayer is to us poor sinners! And when I was finished praying through the petitions, I don't think there was a single thing left to ask. I said my firm mental amen (didn't want to wake up Cindi) and fell soundly asleep. Although "What a Friend" is NOT one of my favorite hymns by a long shot, it nailed this: "Oh what needless pain we bear all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." And what better way than enfolding them in the way our Lord taught us to pray? Thank you, kind Master, for such a wonderful gift. 

And a HUGE thank you to Pr. Spittel...

...for pointing me toward this text. I only started reading and was eager to discover the rest. Check it out:

Around the Year with the Trapp Family: Keeping the Feasts and Seasons of the Christian Year

Utterly charming book. Obviously from a Roman perspective, but so many great ideas in there that any Lutheran can use or adapt. Think family altar on steroids. Check it out, especially if you have younger children!

What a joy

to spend some time with the brothers (and sisters) up in Pittsburgh this week talking about the living liturgy. First Trinity is one amazing facility!

And Pastor Spittel and Leigh are some amazing hosts! It was also great chatting with Pr. Andrae and getting to meet his father. I always thought of the huge steel mills, grit and grime, as Pittsburgh. Needless to say, the beauty of the this place blew me away. It was clean. It was lively. It was filled with churches. I think I fell in love with a new city! And I definitely fell in love with Bella - great pooch!

NY Homilies

Monday evening:

1 Peter 5:1–4

Shepherd the Flock of God

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Because he is the Lord’s Apostle, he doesn’t start out by telling you he’s the prince of apostles by golly and you had better be doing what he commands because he speaks with the Lord’s authority. Instead, REALLY speaking with the Lord’s authority, he speaks in humility “as a fellow elder” fellow presbyter, a witness to the sufferings of Christ (and how could he forget the sufferings he inflicted by his denial and the look his Savior gave him) but also a partaker in the glory that will be revealed. Already he tastes it now in Word and sign, but hidden, awaiting disclosure, for here the life is lived under the shadow of the cross.

So not bossing you, but exhorting you, or as Justin Martyr would say a century or so later “inviting you into the pattern of these good things,” he urges you to shepherd the flock of God that is among you. First note, it is God’s flock not yours. So His way, not your ways. And note you plural. For the ministers never stand alone in the Scriptures. They stand together. A brotherhood. Shepherds of the flock. Ministerium. We know how in the early Church each congregation had more than one looking after them. You didn’t have to be a wealthy suburban parish because it wasn’t about a means of gain, but about the gift of eternal life.

But note the unity of office: he urges the presbyters to exercise episcope, that is, to be good bishops, and that doesn’t have anything to do with pointy hats, but rather with the other symbol, the better one, the crook. No, not that kind of a crook. The crossier. Here’s the symbol of YOUR office. Its on the front of your worship book. Oversight - watching when the sheep might stray and hooking them back into those spots where the means of grace overflow, where the life of the Kingdom that will be comes gushing out into this fallen age. Feeding them regularly in the good and and green pastures of the divine Word. Watching out for the wolves. Using the staff on their snout if you have to. And in the Church, wolves come in with words, lying words that inevitably would seduce the sheep away from the Shepherd. If the wolf can get them apart from Him they’re nothing but fresh meat. You too. It is by staying with and near the Shepherd that the wolf loses his power and slinks away. He can’t overpower forgiveness like that anymore than he could overpower that life. You too, as shepherds under the Chief Shepherd, need to live your lives by those springs of life where Your Shepherd tends you and your task is just to keep the flock there with you, where you hang out.

So back to you and your task - this episcope, this oversight which the Shepherd has given to you in tending the sheep, He wants to be your joy, not your job. Your passion not some onerous obligation. Willingly done. And not for gain, but eagerly. You see, if it’s for gain, then its all about protecting your income rather than protecting His sheep. I like my income, don’t get me wrong. But speaking truth to the flock is what we presbyters are called to and not to worry about the income, for the Lord takes thought for such matters. And if we dare to speak truth to power (including congregational power or Synodical power or political power), we will be walking the path with Christ. True, it landed Him on His cross. And it will land you in sufferBut what a joyful suffering He reaches us. Because no matter what we face here, we are promised “a crown of glory that does not fade” when our Chief Shepherd appears, as He will. How did Luther put it: When you know you’re part of an eternal kingdom, all is well and one can dance through life forevermore!

People loved by God, the office in which you serve is no man’s dreamed up thing, no opportunity for the exercise of power or coercion, no chance for that little prelate inside of you to run loose and free, rough-shod over the sheep. That’s Satan’s way, knuckling under to power in fear. Rather, it is an office in which you get to die to that sinful impulse every single day, as your Shepherd brings you back again and again to the waters of your baptism to refresh and restore you. Fear not, then, little flock of shepherds! He who on the Cross won forgiveness for all your sins never ceases to invite and summon you to His way of being Shepherd and of sharing in the glory to be revealed. And just as His prayer for Peter saved him; so He lives to intercede for you. Be of good cheer, then! Amen.

Lord, our Healer, remember in Your tender mercies all Your servants who undergo treatments, face surgery, struggle with chronic suffering, prepare for death or know the pain of bereavement. Be their Health in sickness, their Joy in sorrow, and their Life in death; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Tuesday evening:

Acts 2:42–47 / Psalm 23 / 1 Pet 2:19–25 / John 10:1-10


And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

When Jesus breaks out in Amen, Amen it usually looks backwards as well as forwards. Backwards is Lent 4, the man born blind, sent to the waters to wash, who came back seeing, the man whom the Pharisees dumped as duped by Jesus. The man whom Jesus found again and led to confession of the faithqq. Jesus the Good Shepherd going after one of His sheep as though that one were all important, because after all, to Him it is.

That sheds some light on “all those who came before me were thieves and robbers.” Our Lord is not trashing Moses or the Prophets; but precisely the Pharisees, the Priests, the Scribes. Those leaders who were supposed to be looking out for the flock! Those who while they might be living in Sheep Fold manifestly did not and would not hear the voice of the Shepherd when He came calling. Earlier he had told them: “You do not hear because you are not of God.” But the voice of Jesus is known by His sheep. “He calls them by name and leads them out.”

He called you by name at your pool of Siloam, your baptism. He joined the Triune name to yours and told you the first and fundamental fact of your life: You belong to Him. You are His. Blood bought. While you were undoubtedly born straying like a lost sheep, in that moment of baptism you were returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. “The Lord bless your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore” runs the baptismal liturgy as you approached the font. All your life from that moment forward becomes a constant return to Baptism, to which Jesus is the wide open gate. He who named you His in that moment named you His for the whole of your life. From that time on, His voice calls you to go in and out with Him, to the good pasture and living water that He provides, and always to return with Him to the waters of rebirth and forgiveness. You’ll need them every day of your pilgrimage.

So the crowd in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, who heard the voice of their shepherd calling them to life, took the plunge with Jesus into the baptismal flood - all three thousand of them - and then had a life devoted to the Apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, the breaking of bread, to the prayers. And that good pasture changed them forever - the Spirit filled them with a new life. No need to hold tight to what you “own” - your stuff, even your life - when you are owned by the Good Shepherd who has led you to pastures where more life is poured into you than you can use in an eternity and more forgiveness poured into you than the sin of the whole world. Devoted to, fanatical about, the green pastures of Word and Sacrament and prayer, the flock in Jerusalem opened up their hearts and lives in charity. And as they did, the Spirit bound them to each other in a life together. “All who believed were together.” They hung out with each other. A shared life of food and fellowship, centered on feasting royally and richly in the good pastures that no trial or tribulation could rob them of. They were one family now, brothers and sisters of the Lord.

In the second reading, Peter reminds the flock that suffering simply comes with feasting in this pasture, with being members of the Lord Jesus’ household. As fared the Shepherd so fare the sheep. But more than inevitable, it is by His design. This is why He left us an example, gave us a pattern, for us to follow right along in His footsteps. The pasturage He supplies enables us to meet the suffering of our life HIS way - that is, without reviling, threatening, anger. It’s easy to get very aggravated with the people who cause you grief and heart-ache. But that’s not the way Jesus walks. Father, forgive as the nails pound. His very blood cries pardon for a world. Rather, He walks the way of trust in His Father to sort things out in the end. And the end for Him was resurrection, vindication that the way of forgiveness and love conquers all; the end for you will be resurrection too. Peter reminds you then, He’s got you covered, you don’t need to be watching out for yourself, excusing yourself, defending yourself, preserving your little piece of turf. You’ve been returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. And the sheep who has such a shepherd on the watch needn’t fear a thing.

And all that happens even tonight as He comes to you at the Table prepared in the presence of your enemies - and your enemy is any and everything that would lead you away from hearing the voice of your Shepherd as He speaks forgiveness of sins into your heart and as He gathers you with His people into the rich pasture of His Word and Meal. He comes to you to protect you from the thief, the enemy, who comes only to steal and kill and destroy. He laid down life on Calvary’s tree to provide you the feast that gives you life. And not a little bit of life. But life overflowing, abundant. The life of the age to come. The life is His life. A life death couldn’t hold. A life that swallowed up all the sin of this world and still went on loving, still went on forgiving. Loving even you, the sheep that loves to wander. Me too. His voice rings out tonight: Come and I will give you rich pasture indeed, for Amen, Amen, I am the door of the Sheep and I know you by name. I have washed you. Opened your eyes. Led you to confess me. You are mine. Amen.


Wednesday morning:

Ezekiel 34:20–24
“Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

It was not a pleasant experience. Delmar had a bucket of feed and went into the lot where the sheep were. YIKES. He laughed as my picture of these sweet and wonderful creatures was transformed in an instant. They’re bigger than they look and they all wanted what was in that bucket. And it made them mean. They pushed. They shoved. And the bigger and stronger ones chowed down first and tried to gobble up all they could before the others could get to it. It was enough to traumatize a suburbanite for whom sheep had been safely ensconced on church walls in pictures!

So calling us sheep isn’t a compliment. They can be as ornery to each other as we ourselves can be! Looking out for old number one isn’t finally just a fallen human trait. It seems to characterize a fallen world way too often. Even sheep can disregard the weak, trampling on their needs.

Yet the Lord promises rescue to His flock. And the rescue comes in the form of a servant, of one Shepherd. David idealized, if you will. And this shepherd will feed them. With the result that Yahweh Himself will be their God and His servant David prince in their midst. And he seals the promise with His name: I am the Lord; I have spoken.

When the Lord Jesus reveals Himself as David’s Son and David’s Lord, as the Shepherd whom Yahweh sends among us, he experiences fully our trampling, shoving, knock ‘em down and grab what you can for yourself ways. Zecharaiah had seen it “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.”

But it is the striking of the Shepherd that actually provides the rescue the flock needs. He gives Himself as food to us. This is an amazing Shepherd. And so amazing food as we tasted last night. Luther says that every other food we eat, we transform into ourselves, but to eat of the Eucharist supplied by the Good Shepherd is to have us transformed into it, or rather, into Him. The rescue that the Lord provides His flock is Himself being knocked about and finally killed in order to supply us with that which truly changes us from the inside out. He gives us His flesh and blood as our sin’s poison pill. It will knock the pushy-self-me-mine-move-it right out of us. And instead of the scene I witnessed in Delmar’s sheep pen, the picture from the Church wall comes to life inside of you and me. A peace, a calm, a realization that we never need to shove and get our way, because we have a Shepherd who loves us so much as to die to give us the bread of immortality and He watches over us and we can be at peace and rest in such love, and even attend with joy to the needs of the weak, the scattered and the lost. After all, He is the Lord and He has spoken and He will do it. Amen.
Kind and loving Father, remember the congregations of all those gathered here. Transform each place by Your gifts and make each an outpost of the Age that is to come, bright with the light of the Savior's mercy pouring into the darkness of this sad and fallen world, beckoning all people into the embrace of the cross; through Jesus Ch n nrist, our Lord. Amen.
(Ezekiel 34:20-24 ESV)

Thursday morning:

John 21:15–19

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

When they had finished breakfast. You will recall that when Peter arrived on shore, he was confronted by a living Lord setting beside a charcoal fire. The charcoal fire might well have stirred an uneasiness in his mind, recalling yet another fire where he warmed himself and denied three times that he had known the Lord, even calling down a curse upon himself. And here is the One who had been denied, cooking him breakfast, and then initiating a little chat with Peter.

You all will no doubt remember the distinct interplay of Greek words for love. Simon Bar Jonah (Simon, not Peter?), do you love me more than these - that is, with a laying down your life kind of love? Agapao. Comes the tentative answer: Nai, Kyrie. Yes Lord, you know I love you…like a brother. Phileo. Comes the charge: Feed my lambs.

Again comes the question but without comparisons to others: Simon Bar Jonah, do you in fact love me, with a laying down your life kind of love? Agapao. Perhaps a tad more faint the answer: Nai, Kyrie. Yes, Lord. You know I love you…with a brotherly love. Phileo. A second charge: Tend my sheep.

Did he sense it coming? The third time? The hardest words? Simon Bar Jonah, do you in fact love me…like a brother? Phileo. Peter, grieved, broken hearted. “Kyrie, you know everything. You know I love you…like a brother.” A third charge: Feed my sheep.

Comforting, is it not, brethren, that Forgiveness risen from the grave meets and feeds us when our sin and denials and failures leave no room for proud boasts; when we are confronted with how frail we are in our hold on Him, He still sends us out to feed the lamb, tend the sheep, feed the flock. When we realize how slim and fragile is our love for Him, He manifests the fullness of His love for us as what keeps us His.

Peter gets a bonus gift. Jesus tells the man who won’t say anymore that if I have to die with you I will never deny you, who won’t confess to an agapo kind of love, you actually will. You will actually be given the grace to die for me as my martyr. Led where you don’t want to go and yet where in faith in me you will triumph. We know its fulfillment far from the peaceful shores of Galilee, outside the bustling city of Rome, hanging upside down, giving up his life for the One whose love never fails through many years of feeding the lambs, tending the flock.

Shepherds of the flock, He sends you forth in all your hesitations and hemming and hawing and weakness and failure and sin and denial. He sends you forth to tend his beloved Sheep and feed His Lambs. Was there ever such a Shepherd? Such a Lord, whose strength is made perfect in weakness? Fear not, then, for in the strength of forgiveness there is work to do, work for you. To you too rings out His invitation: “Follow me.” Amen.

Kind and loving Master, remember in mercy the ministerium of our Synod. Give us a zeal for faithfulness to Your Word and to our public confession; a burning love that intercedes for our brethren and the flocks You have entrusted to us; and a determination to hold each other in love; through Jesus Christ...

Some pics from NY trip...

A beautiful day...

...requires a nice long walk. I was thinking this was the kind of Saturday morning that you used to spend with the newspaper and the coffeepot. We spent ours with the Internet and the coffeepot. But the sun is beckoning and before the temps climb too high, time to go for a walk out into the country. 

In Anticipation of Mother's Day...

...what a beautiful bulletin announcement from my friend, Pr. Jeffrey Ries:

Mother's Day is this Sunday. The following is what my congregation (Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tacoma) places in our service bulletin for that day. I was asked about it and thought perhaps others might benefit or want to make use of it in their own church bulletins. I did not write this and cannot recall from where I got it except that it was found online somewhere a few years back:

On Mothers’ Day . . .
+To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
+To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you
+To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
+To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
+To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
+To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
+To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
+To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we both lament and hope with you
+To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
+To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we pray with you for healing
+To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
+To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
+And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with all of you. Together rejoicing in the joys of this life, sorrowing in the trials, trusting in the mercy of Christ, and hoping in the resurrection to come upon His return.

Calves under protest

after running for two days. A bit more than a half hour today. Those puppies are TIGHT and I'm hobbling around. Tempted to run again tomorrow just to force them to get with the program. Been way too long since I ran regularly and I am loving the feeling it gives, but not the tight muscles.

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

Here then is man's final dilemma... To hold in the same heart and mind the mysterious universe, the light years, the distant stars, the dark expanses of the worlds beyond worlds—and beyond them to see that the truth of starlit nights lies in "Silent Night, Holy Night"... To know both worlds and be at home in one is the secret of life... Then the stars can light fires in shadowed eyes which burn the brighter for the shadows... —O.P. Kretzmann, The Pilgrim, p. 33.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The Law is and remains—both to the penitent and impenitent, both to regenerate and unregenerate people—one and the same Law. It is God's unchangeable will.—Formula of Concord Ep VI:7

Patristic Quote of the Day

And thus, though Wisdom was Himself our home, He made Himself also the way by which we should reach our home.—St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Book I:11.

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

It is logically possible to think of the church as it in an infinitesimally small moment of time. Theologically and actually, it is not possible to do so. For in the church we live, we are part of a process, we are being justified before God by God; there is constant forgiveness of the sins that we—who are simultaneously sinners and holy people—are constantly committing, and we who are being constantly declared holy for Christ's sake through faith are constantly becoming holier by God's grace for Christ's sake through faith.—A.C. Piepkorn, The Church, p. 25.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

It is as though he were saying, You had Moses and the Prophets who preached and taught correctly what you were to do. But for the task of dying for the sheep and making the sheep his very own, they are like mere hirelings. They could not save the sheep from the wolf.—Martin Luther, House Postil II:79.

Patristic Quote of the Day

And we know that the eunuch who was reading Isaiah the prophet, and did not understand what he read, was not sent by the apostle to an angel, nor was it an angel who explained to him what he did not understand, nor was he inwardly illuminated by the grace of God without the interposition of man; on the contrary, at the suggestion of God, Philip, who did understand the prophet, came to him, and sat with him, and in human words, and with a human tongue, opened to him the Scriptures. Acts 8:26 —St. Augustine, Preface to On Christian Doctrine, Par. 7

She was definitely onto something...

...my mom, I mean. She used to sit in the dark. No lights on. If you asked her why, she'd always quote St. John: "Men love darkness more than light because their deeds are evil." But it was said with a certain twinkle in her eye. Truth is, I think she found the dark calm and peaceful. I do too. I'm sitting here in the living room tonight with no lights on (except what's shining on my face from this iPad), sipping a glass of cab, listening to the distant roar of the traffiic on I-55, the song of the frogs from the pond up the road, and the hum of the numerous machines we surround ourselves with. It's peaceful indeed.

Hymn Workshop

What a joy to be with the saints down in Mascoutah for an afternoon of rejoicing in the Church's rich treasury of hymnody. Nancy Peterson is one amazing organist! And the Trinklein family with their musical gifts! One joy on top of another. And to finish off the day with Evening Prayer and President Timothy Scharr giving us joy in the Good Shepherd. Well, it was a great way to spend a beautiful Spring afternoon. The day included:

Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor
My Song Is Love Unknown
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
From Depths of Woe (and Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata 3)
O Sons and Daughters (both tunes, artfully woven together)
Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia!
I Know that My Redeemer Lives
Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels (Henry Gerike commented and played!)
A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing
Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice
Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise
Crown Him With Many Crowns
At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing
The Day Thou Gavest
All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night

Brass, strings, bongo, piano, organ, voice—all united in praising together the Triune God and proclaiming together the great things He has done. Folks, this is what TIME is given to you for.

Getting very excited...

...to see the finished results in St. Paul's. Walked through after early Church today before heading over to Worden. Some of the ceiling work had been begun and the painting was really beautiful. The sanctuary is going to be so amazingly improved when this whole thing is done. 

Cindi's Garden

Well, it's a pretty beginning at any rate!

Contacts

I had about sworn off them, but thought I'd give the doctor one last try. I'm back in mono-vision, so one eye is for distance and one eye for up close. Unlike previous tries, this one gives the dominant eye to distance, since it was the fuzzy distance vision that was driving me batty. I thought as I drove over to the Crowne to lead devotions today: "Dang! Perfect!" Then I walked inside and tried to read the music on the piano. ACK!!!!!!! A thousand ACKS!!!!!!!! Dr. John did encourage me to give it a week. I was ready to call and tell them to order them. But I definitely need to see if I can resolve the "middle distance" problem. Up close is fine. Distance is fine. But middle distance is a mess!

And is there a better way...

...to wrap up the closing hours of Good Friday than listening to some of Bach's St. John's Passion. So beautiful. The tenderness at "Woman, behold..." The fervent joy at "It is finished." The closing chorale: "Lord, let at last..."

St. Romanos

Pilate fixed three crosses on Golgotha: two for the thieves, and one for the Giver of life. When Hell saw it, he said to those below, “My ministers and powers, who has fixed a nail in my heart? A wooden lance has suddenly pierced me and I am being torn apart! My insides are in pain, my belly in agony, my senses make my spirit tremble, and I am compelled to disgorge Adam and Adam’s race. All men were given to me by the Garden’s tree–but now a tree is bringing them back again to Paradise.”

When he heard this, Satan, the cunning serpent ran crawling and said, “What is it, hell? Why do you groan for no reason? Why produce these wailings? This Tree, at which you tremble, I carpentered up there for Mary’s Child. I suggested it to his enemies for our advantage, for it is a Cross, to which I have nailed Christ, wishing by a tree to do away with the second Adam, just as I did away with the first one. So do not be afraid. It is dry and barren. It will not harm you. Keep hold of those you have. Of those we rule, not one will escape again to Paradise.”

Hell replied to Satan, “You have lost your senses–you, the cunning snake of old! All your wisdom has been swallowed up by the cross, and you have been caught in your own snare. Lift up your eyes and see that you have fallen into the pit you dug! Behold that Tree, which you call dry and barren, bears fruit: a thief tasted it and has become heir to the good things of Eden. Moses’ rod led the people out of Egypt, but this tree brings mankind back again to Paradise.”

Satan answered, “Wretched hell–cease this cowardly talk! Your words reveal your thoughts. Are you afraid of a cross and of the Crucified? Not one of your words has shaken me, for these deeds are part of my plan. I will also open a grave and entomb Christ, so that you may enjoy your cowardice doubly–from his tomb as well as from his cross. When I see you, I will mock you. For when Christ is buried I will come to you and say, “Who now brings Adam back again to Paradise?”

Then hell spoke back, “Now is the moment for you to listen, Satan. Now you will see the power of the Cross and the great authority of the Crucified. For you, the cross is folly. But the world sees it as a throne, on which, as though seated, Jesus is nailed and hears the thief cry to him, ‘Lord, remember me in your kingdom.’  Listen now as he answers, kingly, ‘Today, poor beggar, you will reign with me. For with me, you will go in again to Paradise.”

 At these words, Satan began to wilt, and what he heard he saw: a thief witnessing to Christ crucified. And so, amazed, he struck his breast and said, “Christ did not answer his accusers, and yet he speaks to a thief? To Pilate he never spoke a word; but now he addresses a murderer, saying, “Come, live in pleasure”? What is this? Who has seen words or deeds done by this thief, by means of which he goes again to Paradise?

Again the devil called out, “Receive me, Hell. I turn to you; I submit to your views, I, who did not believe them. I saw the Tree at which you shuddered, made red with blood and water. And I shuddered, not, I tell you, at the blood, but at the water. For the blood shows Jesus’ slaughter, but the water shows his life, for life has gushed from his side. For it was not the first but the second Adam who carried Eve, the mother of all the living, again to Paradise.”

Now Hell and Satan cried out together, “Let us lament as we see the Tree which we planted transformed into a holy trunk, beneath which thieves, murderers, tax collectors and harlots will find shelter, and reap sweet fruit from what seemed barren. For they cling to the Cross as the Tree of Life. Pressed against it and swimming, through it they escape, and come again as to a harbor, again to Paradise.”

Hell said to Satan, “Swear, tyrant, finally to crucify no one.” And Satan replied, “You take an oath to kill no one. We have had our experience, let us draw back our hand. Let neither of us ever again tyrannize the race of Adam, for it has been sealed by the Cross, it has been given life, like a treasure of a precious pearl in a fragile pot; life, which a thief, well-suited to his trade, took on the Cross. For stealing he was nailed up to die ; and having thieved he was called again to Paradise.”

O most high and glorious, God of fathers and of youths, your willing outrage has become our honor. For in your Cross, we all may boast. To it we have nailed our hearts, that on it we may hang our instruments and sing to you, the Lord of all, from the songs of Zion. The ship from Tarshish once brought gold to Solomon; but to us your Tree gives back, every day and every moment, wealth beyond price. For it brings us all again to Paradise

Tenebrae

There is something that is so compelling beautiful about that simple Vespers. Four psalms. "Sacred Head." St. John's Passion. Responsory. "Jesus, I Will Ponder Now," Sermon (and such an amazingly comforting and powerful sermon from our dear Pr. Gleason), Kyrie, Our Father, Collects. Through it all, the candles extinguished. Then leaving in the darkness, and yet leaving with such a sense of peace and serene joy. It IS finished, after all, and we can walk into our own darkness then, unafraid. For we know Who walks with us and where He will finally lead us. "He was delivered up to death, He was delivered for the sins of the people!"

I think it's been a long time

since we had such a beautiful Good Friday. Nature celebrates Triduum with us this year here in southern Illinois.

All the fair beauty of earth
from the death of the winter arising.
Every good gift of the year
now with its Master returns.

O Sacred Head

Bekah and Cindi on soprano, Amilia on alto, David on tenor, me on bass. We practiced tonight for the liturgy tomorrow. Amilia mentioned tonight that she told her mom she's used to doing this with her family. I didn't even think of it, because Cindi and Amilia have sung together so often, but the alto part would be the usual spot for our Lauren to sing with us! Well, that's the way the Body of Christ is: we're family too each other wherever we are. What a gift from the Lord, the way life binds to life! I think we need to get an alto duet when Lauren is here so she and Amilia can sing together too.

And so Triduum begins...

..."When You Woke that Thursday Morning"...Corporate Confession and Absolution...St. Thomas Aquinas' Collect...The Passover...Gradual...First Corinthians 11...Tract...O Lord, We Praise Thee...Sermon...Prayer of the Church (DS V)...Offering...Preface (DS V)...Our Father...Verba..."Isaiah Mighty Seer"...Pax..."Lamb of God, Pure and Sinless"...Distribution...Collect...Psalm 22 and the Altar Stripped...

And so we enter into the holy three days. And this year an extra service: the funeral for Bud on Saturday morning.

The intertwining of the death of Christ and the death of His people. As Christ sanctified the tomb and then rose in triumph, so we can entrust our dead to the tomb and know that they shall yet live again on the joyous day of Resurrection.

Last year's Triduum, we were grieving for Jo. This year, we grieve with Judy and family for Bud. Yet the Triduum offers us such unspeakable consolation and hope.

"Because I live, you will live also."

So deep breath and onto the liturgies for Good Friday and entering into the darkness unafraid, for we enter it with Christ.

The Lent that Almost Wasn't

As a pastor in a parish I could never understand the slightly less than enthusiastic greeting that the extra Lenten services received from so many. Oh, folks would show up. But they never seemed as excited about Lent as I was. Now that I'm sitting on the other side of the nave (so to speak), I begin to understand.

This Lent I've had to miss any number of Lenten services with sickness or being out of town, but I find it very difficult to focus on the ones I've been able to attend. I'm usually headed to bed come 8:30 and so I'm just plain tired, out of focus, and struggling throughout the services. Granted, worshipping in the wretched gym doesn't help one bit. Still I get it now.

Yes, the services are worth it. Worth every bit of it. But the effort involved isn't little for those with early mornings. It's hard to stay up, to yawn your way through the beautiful service, and to try to focus. I feel badly for thinking folks were just lazy. Tired is not lazy. It's just, well, tired.

ACK! Those are DIFFICULT!

Well, yes they are: the chants for the Easter Vigil. But here comes Fr. Sean Daenzer to the rescue and you have a couple days worth of practice:  Chants for Vigil.

Locus Iste

from this morning's Divine Service. Click here.

P.S. Thanks, Millie, for recording it!

Happy birthday to my beautiful wife!

It seems like only yesterday... you and Debbie Scott grudgingly agreeing to share your very tasty hot cinnamon toothpicks at Belt... "Hand check" on trips to T.A.G.... fighting over my class ring and your mom refusing to get involved... singing and playing guitar in the open trunk of your car at Wheaton High School... double dating with Jon and Chris... the many summers at the Purple Pad and sleeping up on the roof hearing the fight between the traffic and the ocean waves... the beauty of St. Thomas on our honeymoon... moving to St. Louis with a couple hundred bucks in our pockets and not knowing for sure where we'd live or if we could find jobs... Michael moving in with us... the Garfield days... moving to North Carolina and that disastrous camping trip... Lauren and then BOOM David... Mebane and (as Lauren would say) "my blue house."... Mom with us and so sick... Countless visits with Jim and Amy... walking the streets of Mebane to help get Bekah Boo moving on out under the warm sun and the blooming dogwoods... that monstrous sized placenta!... Moving back to St. Louis and your mom and dad none too happy with the decision... TSP and days filled with field trips, track meets, ballet, Tae Kwon Do, basketball, softball, and volleyball... Metro Days and learning to get used to children turning into adults... Dave and Jo and Nana and Sandy visiting and always having such fun... Sandy's broken ankle and kittens and Jo misbehaving... Dave and Jo moving out here and our trip down to Cairo that beautiful day... The storm in the summer and no power... The storm in the winter and no power, but David's famous video... So many joyful St. Paul memories... Trips to Chicago and our friendship with AJ and Kim... Two years ago today moving into this house right next door to Dave and Jo... Grand babies! One and then suddenly two and three... Missing you so much when you were in NC... Our huge sorrow last year and yet so thankful for all the blessing Jo has been to us through so many years... Our trips to Mexico and most of all that crazy cruise with Klingers and Van Ulfts... Times in the new house with grandkids and our very grown up children... As someone you love to hear sing put it: "It's been a good life all in all."

Which is all to say: I love you very much and I thank God He gave you to me as a traveling companion on this crazy journey of life. And I wrote all of that without telling the world you were 54. Amazing! :)

Another Genealogy Post

Chancellor Weedon was my grandfather. He was born in 1879. HIS father, John Isaac Weedon, was born in 1828. So, well, yeah, my great grandfather was born in 1828, I knew my grandfather and he knew his father. How weird is that? My great grandfather was 51 when his youngest son, my grandfather, was born. My grandfather was 41 when his son, my father was born. My father was 40 when I, his youngest son, was born.

Nor is my great grandfather merely a name in a genealogy. You see, my great Uncle Isaac wrote a poem about his father that makes me love my great grandfather dearly:

MY FATHER

My Dad, how I have missed him
In all these sixty years,
His company and counsel
In all my hopes and fears.

I remember well one evening
When I was in distress
And thought my lost condition
I must to him confess,
Expecting when he heard me
He would give up as lost
And think I was another
Deceiver he had crossed.

But when I heard His answer
To my very great surprise
He seemed to think my troubles
Were linked with Christian ties.
Christ said he came to seek and
To save that which was lost,
To heal the broken-hearted,
The weak and tempest tossed.

Whene'er one's lost condition
Is openly confessed
It shows some revelation
Of God that is expressed.
To look alone to Christ is
To look away from self;
This is the Gospel lesson
My father used to tell.

Daddy, dear old daddy,
Affections, how they bind,
His sayings, how they linger
And dwell within my mind.
The hope that God has given
Most highly do I prize
That I may meet my father
Beyond the vaulted skies.

Now I ask you, could John Isaac have given his son Isaac better counsel?

Bekah is doing a

project on some family history for school. In looking through old papers I came across two items that I'd been looking for for a very long time. One I'll share today. A poem (loosely speaking) I wrote about my brother after his death 29 years ago:

In Memoriam J.F. W.

The long hours have fled us by—
you and I are sundered by the tideless sea.

And now, left behind, how can I express
the weight that presses hard upon me?
The weight wrought by your loss?

A beginning came on a day in March
as you and I walked the temples of the
Great City, the city immersed in cherry blossoms,
the city covered by a carven azure dome.

Yet for all the beauty of day and place,
the beauty that transfixed me was the
discovery of my brother.

The tenderness with which you touched
that day and gave it to me
belied all your gruff exterior.

You loved. You cared. And I, I had
been given a great gift:
A brother, a friend.

The years crept away and so did you.
Gently you fostered in me that which
taught me to hear you aright.
Gently, did I say? Through tear and
anger and argument momentous over matters
the most part trivial and less than noble,
You forged a person who could think.

And our years and days were parted again
until the death of one that we loved
beyond the telling of words.

Though the days were evil and fraught with sorrow,
yet we stayed together as a family. And you,
dear brother, were as a mighty
magnet to us all.

The warehouse days ensued.
Oh, what agony and sweat!
And how I thought you cruel again and
bitter hard. Yet for the joy of our conversation
one day I should endure it all again—all again.

It was but three when we began. We talked and
shared and risked the great risk.

We spoke of who we are and of what we feared.
We shared our dreams and heartaches and our tears.
We spoke of things that have been and things that yet may be.
We spoke as sunlight died and even grew. We spoke and spoke away.

Your face and voice tinged with laughter
and almost with tears,
remain indelibly etched upon my memory
down the corridor of the years.

And after that a change. For we had
probed our simultude and stood in curious awe
of the image mirrored each in each. So
different, so distant, yet so much the same.

We grew to an understanding, and almost I came
to worship you. You were to me an image
greater than life. So perhaps began
the downward trip to the tideless sea
that sunders even now
you and me.

To keep the image untarnished, immovable, strong,
you hid yourself from me

and for long I guessed, but did not know...

until you were not.

Alone now I stand upon the tideless shore and
in my mind and heart I probe,
trying to see through the thick sea mists,
but I am daunted.

O fallen idol! I loved you and I do and shall,
but for who you were, not for whom you dreampt of being.

William Weedon, May 1985

Homily from this Morning's Chapel on John 6:1–15

Jesus tosses Philip a hot potato, a problem that he cannot solve. “Where can get bread for these to eat?” Philip is one of you numbers people. He sizes up the crowd and figures out that having 200 days wages would not be enough for each one to get a bite. His attention is captivated by the huge size of the need. Andrew is a tad more practical, I suppose. He checks out the resources at hand: five loaves, two fish. He comes to Jesus shaking his head: “What are they among so many?”

Dismay and despair over the huge need and the meager resources and so the disciples fail the text. For they don’t look up from either to the face of Jesus. “Give them to me,” he says and then He offers His thanks and praise to the Father who loves His children and provides them with all they will ever need. Then Jesus takes those meagre resources and sends the disciples forth: “Go give it away.”

Can you see Peter… then the look of surprise… no matter how much he gave away, the chunk in his hand didn't diminish. From shock to the joy of giving it away to the hungry crowd!

Now ask yourself IF they had used their noggins and kept the food, how much would they have had at the end of the day? Their measly five loaves and two fish? Probably not even that, because they'd have eaten it! But because they did what Jesus told them to do: give it all away. What did they come away with at the end of the day? 12 baskets full of left overs.

No, makes no sense at all. But this is God’s arithmetic. And it is the arithmetic of Jesus’ own life. We fear if we give our lives away, we won’t have anything left for ourselves. But Jesus, who can take the bread and bless it and give it away and come up with more than you could ever dream, this is the Jesus who does the same with HIS LIFE. He spends His life in love for others, for you and for me. He pours Himself out till He’s all spent and theres nothing left but a corpse to put in a tomb. And yet raised from the dead on the third day, He shows how His Father vindicates such a life. Love is as strong as death, says Solomon in his Song. Jesus shows: No, love is stronger than death.

Don’t be afraid, people loved by God, to spend and be spent in loving service to others. You don’t come up the loser. You can’t. Jesus invites you to look away from the vast need, to look away from your meagre resources, to look to Him and to dare with Him to venture all on God’s amazing economy where love triumphs. Amen.

Prayers:

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs, saying: “Let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.”

For the grace of trusting in God to provide for every circumstance of our lives, let us pray to the Lord: Lord have mercy.

For deliverance from all fear that we might walk with Christ the path of loving service and mercy, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For those who cry out for Christ’s healing upon their lives, and especially for all we have been asked to remember: for Timothy and his family, for Maggie and her family, for Deborah, Felicia, Marcia, Baby Thomas, Cindy, Brian, Cindy, Mike, Charlotte, Karen and Ed, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the ministry and work of LCEF and for God’s richest blessing upon their service to His people, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For all the students of the Concordia University system and especially for those gathered here that they may be filled with the Spirit’s wisdom and serve His purposes in this generation, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

Finally for all our needs of body and soul, let us pray to the Lord in the words our Savior taught us: “Our Father…”