Reminder: Annunciation

Tomorrow is St. Joseph's, and that means that next Wednesday (March 25) we will have joy of celebrating the Annunciation of Our Lord. Divine Service will be at 7 a.m. at St. Paul's. Please join us, if you can! "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your salvation comes'" (Introit).

What Is It

about the Passion Vespers that is so peaceful, so joyous, and yet so full of contrition? We gather, we sing, we listen, we pray. But it's different.

Homily from Yesteryear in Honor of St. Joseph

Tomorrow is the Day of St. Joseph, Guardian of our Lord. Here's a homily to provide some meditation upon this beloved Saint:

He sort of lurks in the background, Joseph does. We know that he’s there, but we tend to forget him. It’s a role fathers are accustomed to at the time of child-birth, and one – truth to tell – that we’re rather comfortable with. After all, the star of the show is the little baby, and if there’s a first-runner-up, it’s the mama. The papa’s joy comes from just standing there in awe and staring at the miracle in front of him.

Of course, for Joseph, it was different. The child wasn’t his. He’d been hurt, of course, dreadfully hurt when he found out that Mary was pregnant. You see, they were betrothed, not married. But in Jewish society of that day, betrothal was so serious that it could be broken only by divorce. And it sure seemed to Joseph that Mary had broken faith with him.

Joseph was a good man. He was torn, as all good men are, over the horrible conflict between justice and pity. His sense of justice wouldn’t let him even consider marrying her. She was just not the sort of person he had been led to believe her to be. She evidently didn’t hold God’s commands in the same high regard that he did, and what kind of a life could be built out of two people who lived by such different values. And yet, in pity, he didn’t want to make a public spectacle out of her. He wasn’t the least bit vindictive; he wouldn’t enjoy abandoning her to public shame. He was just very sad.

And no doubt people were already talking, and given the normal behavior of human beings the obvious answer to Mary’s condition leapt to the mind. Probably there was a good deal of speculation as to who the papa was. Some held out for Joseph. Others said: “That old priss! He wouldn’t touch her until after the ceremony. Trust me, my friend, Mary just couldn’t wait.”

Many were the nights that Joseph lay awake and stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do. Wondering what God’s will was for him in this situation. Asking: “Why me, God? Why have you let this happen to me?” And then it happened. One night after he had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, God answered. You see, there was someone who saw Joseph’s pain and hurt and knew his struggle. There was someone who saw the hurt and fear in Mary’s eyes as well. And that someone in his own time and in his own way did something about it.

It was a dream Joseph had, but as real as could be. The Angel of the Lord stood there, shining and glittering and somehow terrifying in his holiness, and spoke gentle, unbelievable words of comfort. “Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son and you are to give him the name JESUS because he will save his people from their sins.”
And suddenly as the dream had started, it was over. Joseph was wide awake again. But now his eyes were filled with tears and his heart with peace. “Why did I ever doubt her, God? And why did I ever doubt you?” Bet he got out of bed and made himself a pot of coffee or some such and waited impatiently for the light of dawn.

As soon as it was light, he ran out of the house and over to Mary’s parent’s home. When she saw him, saw the look in his eyes, saw the smile on his face, she knew that he knew the truth. At last. Old Elizabeth had shared her secret joy, but no one else up to that point. Now Joseph did. Joseph understood – and that meant the world to Mary. No doubt there were awkward attempts at an apology from Joseph, but Mary just brushed them all away. None of that mattered anymore – now that Joseph knew the secret of what and who was growing in her womb.
“I see his plan now, Mary. I am not to be this baby’s father, but his protector and provider. The protector and provider of the Messiah, Mary! The Promised One, the One whose name is JESUS – who saves his people from their sins. The One promised by Isaiah as God with Us – the Virgin-Born. Oh, Mary! God is so good! How could I have doubted?”

Now please note: the sneers and the knowing looks in Nazareth did not cease. If anything they increased when the people saw that Joseph was determined to stand by Mary. And no doubt, half of the people said: “See, I was right. He is the father.” And the other half said: “See, I was right. He doesn’t have the guts to throw her over even after what she did to him.” But Joseph and Mary were beyond being bothered by such comments and looks. They just looked at each other and smiled. A marvelous secret!

Jesus was the name the angel gave. “Because he will save his people from their sins.” As Mary came nearer to term and the child bulged in her womb, Joseph would place his hand on her tummy and feel the baby kick, and say to himself: “This is my Savior. This is the one we have prayed for and hoped for all our lives. He comes to set us free!”

Old Joseph didn’t live to see how that redemption would take place. He’s last mentioned in the temple with Mary and Jesus when the lad was 12. Sometime between then and Jesus’ baptism at the age of 30, he died. He didn’t live to see the shame of the cross, when only Mary and her friends had the courage to stand by him. He didn’t live to see the joy of the empty tomb when Jesus would begin spreading the joy of death’s defeat into all the world. He probably never saw Jesus work a miracle, but that didn’t matter.

He still died full of faith and hope because he knew that in that child, learning to walk, learning to talk, in that child who hugged him and liked to rub his face in Joseph’s rough beard, in that child who ate at his table and looked so peaceful sleeping under his roof, in that child who played with abandon and prayed with glee, in that child God had come to be with us, to save us. And so Joseph closed his eyes in peace and opened them in heaven’s light only to be embraced by his child, his Jesus. While on earth, Joseph had cared and provided for the Child and now in heaven the Child of Mary would forever care and provide for him.

Joseph lurks in the background, true. But how our Lord loved his earthly protector and provider! You and I often know what Joseph felt like. We’re background people, too, for the most part. Maybe often overlooked and forgotten, just doing the tasks the Lord has given us to do. That’s okay. There’s one who doesn’t overlook or forget. One who loves us. One who is waiting to welcome us home. The Child who was born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph; the Child who by his cross and resurrection has opened for all who trust Him – great and small alike – an eternal home. Amen.

A Bit of Donne

This always grips my heart:

A HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER.
by John Donne


I.
WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
For I have more.

II.
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallowed in a score?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
For I have more.

III.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore ;
But swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore ;
And having done that, Thou hast done ;
I fear no more.

Wish I Had Been There

Fr. Hollywood's Parish gets a visit from Fr. Andrae and a discussion of Lutherans worldwide!

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The children of God here below have still not been perfectly delivered out of the bonds of their natural corruption. The old, loveless heart often continues to stir in them bad thoughts, to cling to its love of the creature, and even to break out in loveless words and deeds. But all of this cannot rule the one who is a true child of God. When he succumbs to it, he at once falls on his face in the dust, sighing and crying, for grace and forgiveness. God has no stillborn children. If someone is a true child of God, he is not only obligated to walk in holy love, he also has the desire and power and grace to do it. -- C. F. W. Walther, *God Grant It!*

Patristic Quote of the Day

And so the human race was lying under a just condemnation, and all men were the children of wrath. Of which wrath it is written: "All our days are passed away in Your wrath; we spend our years as a tale that is told." Of which wrath also Job says: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble." Of which wrath also the Lord Jesus says: "He that believes in the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him." He does not say it will come, but it "abides on him." For every man is born with it; wherefore the apostle says: "We were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Now, as men were lying under this wrath by reason of their original sin, and as this original sin was the more heavy and deadly in proportion to the number and magnitude of the actual sins which were added to it, there was need for a Mediator, that is, for a reconciler, who, by the offering of one sacrifice, of which all the sacrifices of the law and the prophets were types, should take away this wrath. -- St. Augustine, Enchiridion 33

What to Make of This?

"My daughter just had a child. Holding him, I thought, "It is so difficult to believe that an infant's heart is sinful." Many teach this, but not Orthodoxy. We do not believe that we are totally depraved, as many Protestants do. Nor do we believe we are born with the guilt of sin, as the Romans teach. Instead, we are born in innocence and our heart is pure. To be sure, we all sin. Yet some, as did our Lady the Birthgiver-of-God, continue in purity of heart the rest of their lives, as blameless. Mary was as human as we are, yet morally pure throughout her life. We are all born in the same condition and we have the choice to keep our hearts pure and directed towards God, or to sin and rebel against the purity of a loving heart. Our lives become a continual struggle to conform our hearts to purity and holiness. Recognize this, and we are on our way to becoming Orthodox."

A friend recently pointed out these shocking words. They come from here:

Ukrainian Orthodox

And are on page 16. Yes, the Ukrainian Orthodox are canonical. And they tolerate, if not actually teach, that "we are born in innocence and our heart is pure." One of my parishioners attended a Baptism in an Orthodox Church (OCA) where the priest hammered home the same point: we are not baptizing this baby because it is a sinner!

Striking the difference between this blatant Pelagianism and the piece I've been working through by St. Augustine called *On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins.* Striking too how anyone who was once Lutheran can embrace this, let alone pray Psalm 51 anymore.

Restructuring

Seems everyone's doing it. Even the Orthodox. Word is that folks are not happy with the Patriarch's latest move.

I suppose

it would be rude for the men to boast about winning both games of pinochle tonight - played once without passing, and once with - so if you hear ANY rumors about Dean and I beating the daylights out of Cindi and Lauren, just know that we're too genteel to confirm the truth of such an embarrassing outcome for our dear ladies... yuk, yuk yuk!

The Way to a Man's Heart...

...Irish Soda Bread (low-carb even!), Corned Beef (so tender, it's falling apart), Cabbage and Turnips, Green Beans, and Strawberries and Grapes for dessert - a wee break from the Lenten fast in honor of St. Patrick and all things Irish. Oh, and for the kids mashed taters and gravy. The Soda Bread was really outstanding - and I ate too much of it. LOADED with butter! What a cook my dear wife is, what a cook!

Patristic Quote of the Day

Now, undoubtedly, he who is still renewed day by day is not as yet wholly renewed; and in so far as he is not yet wholly renewed, he is still in his old state. Since, then, men, even after they are baptized, are still in some degree in their old condition, they are on that account also still children of the world; but inasmuch as they are also admitted into a new state, that is to say, by the full and perfect remission of their sins, and in so far as they are spiritually-minded, and behave correspondingly, they are the children of God. -- St. Augustine *On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins* Book II, Chapter 9

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Everywhere we see the traces of an unseen Hand; everywhere we hear the voice of an unseen Speaker. Wherever we go, we are limited by His power and controlled by His wisdom. He breathes in every breath that we draw, acts in every act we put forth, and lives in all our lives. We know His existence and presence just as certainly as we do that of our very nearest friend. - H. E. Jacobs *Elements* p. 32

Glory to You, O Lord, for Your Servant Patrick!

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The Word of God to give me speech
His heavenly host to be my guard.

...

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

--from St. Patrick's Breastplate (Treasury, p. 1284,1285 - the whole is worth reading and rereading - a powerful and joyous prayer)

Here's an interview yesterday from Issues:

St. Patrick

The Opening Line

of the Treasury is pure gold:

"The life of the Church is centered around the Church's worship." p. 7

Like a helix it lifts us ever upward and onward into the life of Christ; it swirls around that life and from it draws all its force and vigor.

OH YEAH!!!!

Growing right outside the door to the Church basement.




















Which doth call forth:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

Patristic Quote of the Day

As, therefore, it then came to pass that whoever looked at the raised serpent was both healed of the poison and freed from death, so also now, whosoever is conformed to the likeness of the death of Christ by faith in Him and His baptism, is freed both from sin by justification, and from death by resurrection. For this is what He says: That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:15 -- St. Augustine, *On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins* Book I:61

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The Holy Scriptures are the infallible and inerrant record of God's revelation of His saving grace to men. Since the revelation was made long before it was committed to writing, the record is not the sole source of the truths which it contains. -- H. E. Jacobs, *Elements* p. 23

Pathways of Growth

My friend Doug and I were talking today about pathways of growth in the faith. Does the Church have a way to help folks mature in the faith? We acknowledge that the Sunday Divine Service is vital - the Table of the Lord's Word and His Supper are at the very heart - but they cannot do the whole job, nor were they ever intended to.

Yet they are a good beginning. I remember reading in Neuhaus once that he insisted on this as the starting point: No Sunday without the Divine Service. You may not feel like going. It may be too rainy, too sunny, too cold, too hot. Doesn't matter: let this be the start of discipleship, a habit of weekly hearing of the Word and receiving the Holy Eucharist with no excuses for not being there save for serious illness or death.

Another place where I believe our people need to grow is in giving. First, the tithe (the 10%) which is not ours to manage, but which is the Lord's (given over to the Church and to charity). But beyond that, the grace of giving. We need to learn such a loose hold on money that we constantly give it over to bless others. It returns to us a hundredfold and in countless ways. But it's not enough to know about it: our lives need to become lives of giving. And not just giving the money - though that is always a part - but giving of ourselves to others, especially in serving them in need.

Yet another place that needs attention is our growth in prayer. Here I think our Catechism helps us. To begin with, make yourself say the Morning and Evening Prayers in the Catechism. Never open or close a day without them. Once they are habit, we turn for more help to a wonderful resource like the Treasury to grow in daily prayer - its introduction provides so much help on this that I need only refer to it. It's a blessing indeed.

Control of our body is yet another place for growth. I think of fasting (in whatever capacity you are able), bodily exercise that helps you to rule the body by the mind, and reserving sexual activity solely to the marriage bed.

Learning to seize the opportunities God presents us to "give an account of the hope that is in us" is certainly an area where we can daily grow. God brings us people every day. Can we love them in Him? Serve them in Him? Witness to them of the hope and life that is ours in Christ? Invite them to join us in the Divine Service and let God richly serve up to us His gifts?

Can a Christian grow in such areas? Unquestionably we can. Our growth does not mean that God loves us more or is somehow more pleased with us than before - His love is whole and entire and cannot grow since it is full always. But we can grow in the apprehension of His love, we can grow in allowing His life to be evermore ours. For is not this the life of Christ Himself? To devote ourselves to hearing God's Word, to giving to others, to praying more and more, to controlling our flesh and constantly seeking ways to draw others into God's Family? What is this but growing in Christ Himself?

Homily upon Oculi

[Exodus 8:16-24 / Eph 5:1-9 / Luke 11:14-28]

Last week we observed that Lent is a training period for those new to Christ - and so a great refresher for those who are not so new. The first week prepared the catechumens for the fact that they have an enemy to guard against, who likes to parade around like a friend – the devil. The second week prepared them for those moments of trial when it seems God Himself is against them and sought to strengthen the catechumens to persevere in prayer. This third week continues the pattern. For you see, another obstacle you will face if you are at all serious in following Christ is this: people will bad mouth you. They will speak against you, attribute false motives to you, and suggest that far from following the true God, you’re actually doing the work of the devil. Our Lord made it clear that we should expect nothing less: “Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.”

Our Lord performs a great miracle. Frees a man from a demon that had tied his tongue and locked him away from others, shackled in silence. The people marvel at this wonder, but soon enough, some start attacking Jesus’ works. They say that the awesome power undeniably at work in Him comes from Satan, not God. They bad-mouth Him in the worst way. Here His heart was filled only with love and compassion for lost humanity and yet those He came for, viewed His intentions with suspicion and fear. So they talked trash about Him. How could He get through to them?

Jesus describes the battle in which He is engaged for human souls. He’s perfectly clear that human beings, good creations of God in themselves, since the Fall are in big trouble. They’ve got a parasite living inside. And that parasite is no weakling. Rather, a strong spirit, who has taken up residence and plans to stay put inside of us, until, like all parasites, it finally destroys its host and move on to another victim. Jesus says: “That parasite is strong, but I am stronger. And I have come to attack him, overcome him, and throw him out.”

That of course is what His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead was all about! Overcoming the enemy in seeming weakness and then breaking his stranglehold on human lives with the splash of baptismal water and the power of the Word of God.

But Jesus warns: tossed out, that parasite, that demon, is in agony, searching restlessly for another host, and he keeps searching, and finally goes back to check out the one he’d been driven from. Should he find that host open and empty, the creature moves back in along with seven other spirits worse than himself and the host, the human person, ends up more wretched than he was at the get go.

So just because he’s been sent packing once doesn’t mean that the demon loses interest in you. If anything, you become even more desirable to him, tastier than ever. The message of the holy Church this Sunday then is clear: To cave to the pressure of getting along with others just so they won’t bad mouth you and your faith is to turn away from the Stronger Man, Jesus Christ, leaving your body and soul with a “for rent” sign that the demons soon notice, and then move back in with a vengeance, and the misery really begins. Real misery that St. Paul described in detail in today’s Epistle: “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolator), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Do not tell yourself: “My sins are forgiven!” if you are living in such; the Scriptures tell you they are not. For your sins are forgiven only IN CHRIST and no such things rule where He lives. As the Apostle said: let no one deceive you in this. Such things take you from the Kingdom; and bring misery upon misery.

If today’s Gospel started with bad-mouthing, it ends with blessing. A woman from the crowd cries out: “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” Jesus responds: “More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” Now, He was not putting down His mother. He was pointing out the truly amazing thing about the holy Virgin. St. Luke underscores it time and again.

She not only listened to God’s Word, but she kept it, hid it deep in her heart. She held fast to what the Angel Gabriel told her and the report of the shepherds and the mysterious words Simeon spoke to her in the temple, and the hard words her Son said as a twelve year old lad in the temple. No one and nothing could take that Word from her; she built upon it her faith, her hope, her life. And even when she didn’t understand what she heard, and her brow puckered, she still took those words and hid them deep in her heart and kept them there, and so she was able to open her heart and give those words to St. Luke when he came asking. Do you see then how that way there was no room in her for Satan and his parasites? Because she held to that Word people said some horrible things about her. They still do. But she held to it, nonetheless. She would not let go.

What about you? Have you caved to the pressure of people’s words? Has fear paralyzed you and kept you from doing and speaking what you know is right and God-pleasing? Have you embraced the sin which the Savior died to free you from? Repent! Repent and turn from it!

Today, your Lord stands ready to forgive and renew you by the Spirit of God, the Spirit who drives out the demons as the finger of God (OT lesson) and strengthens people for bold, uncompromising witness to Jesus Christ. He Himself wishes to take up residence within you through His Holy Body and Blood, once offered for you as that "fragrant and sweet-smelling sacrifice to God." (Epistle) Yes, Christian, people will talk trash about you; expect it. They will say: “you think you’re such a do-gooder and that you always think you’re right and everyone else is wrong.” Yes, Satan will tempt you to believe that sexual sin is no big deal - and that life really is about the accumulation of possessions. Don't believe him. He's a liar! Instead, you hold tightly to the Word of God, hear it, keep it, confess it! Satan will then find no more of a hold on your life than he found on the life of the blessed Mother of God. And on the Last Day, the Son of Man will delight to confess you together with His Mother and all who have held to His Word regardless of the cost. He will confess with joy that you are His before the Father and all the Holy Angels; and to the same Lord Jesus with His holy Father and the life-giving Spirit be all the glory now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.