Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Evil comes from the devil; good from Jesus Christ. -- Valerius Herberger, The Great Works of God, p. 185.

Patristic Quote of the Day

Let no man therefore beat himself any more, nor wail, neither disparage Christ's achievement. For indeed He overcame death. Why then do you wail for nought? The thing has become a sleep. Why lament and weep?  -- St. John Chrysostom, Homily 31 on Matthew

For the Joy of It

listen!

Monday's Summary

after Matins and pot of coffee, the joys of leading opening devotions in the school, teaching Luke 1:1-25 to 7-8 and then 5-6 grade, chapel at the daycare/preschool on the Annunciation with some special work on the Christmas program, workout at Y (lots of work on the stepper today - I HATE that machine!), ran off materials for pre-school Christmas program (Joanie kindly volunteered to put them together for me), grabbed a bite of leftovers (Chicken a la Shannon) for lunch and started second pot of coffee, prepared bulletin for Epiphany, touched up and resent bulletin for Christmas Day, finished off January calendar (thank you, Google Calendars!) and shipped to Joanie, worked a little on hymn-study for "Creator of the Stars of Night," and did an impromptu interview on St. Nicholas for Issues, Etc., a tad of blogging, and some work on homilies for Advent III and IV.  Will feel much better when those sermons are all finished...Luther is so unbeatable on them, though.  He just nails them both.  I didn't get a single one written today.  Grr.  Also wondering if Gary and Marilyn made it home safely, and how Clara is doing.  Need to check up on them tomorrow.

Working on a Hymn Study

for Issues, Etc. on "Creator of the Stars of Night."  This hymn was HUGE in the Advent hymnody of the Lutheran Church in the 16th century.  They didn't translate it into German, just kept singing it in Latin (the original, mind you, not the way it was almost unrecognizably altered in the breviary revision under Urban VIII in 1632).  Lossius' Psalmodia surrounds the piece with copious notes, and I found his comments on the second stanza interesting.  Here's the original:

Qui condolens interitu
Mortis perire seculum,
Salvare mundum natus es,
Ferens reis solatium.

LSB, largely following Neale, renders this as:


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

More literally, though (remembering the Latin is a challenge for me - if I get it wrong, please correct!):

Who suffering greatly with the destruction

death wasted upon the universe,

was born to save the world,

bringing solace to the guilty.

Regarding this stanza, Lossius notes:  

Here this verse teaches concerning the causes of the mission of the Son of God.  And these are of three sorts.  First, the magnitude of the divine wrath against sin, which is not possible for any creature to placate.  Therefore the decree of redemption for the Son of God is made.  Second is the immense mercy of the Eternal Father in permitting His Son to become man, not wishing all to perish.  Third is that the same Son of God works for love of us, intercedes against the great and horrific wrath of God, and afterwards submits to punishment for us and is perpetually the propitiator. 

It strikes me how he holds together a very lively sense of divine wrath and yet can speak precisely "of the immense mercy of the Father" in allowing the Son to become man so that all do not perish.  Lots more work to do on it, and tomorrow Pr. Curtis has promised to help me with some of the trickier Latin notes.  What an absolutely lovely hymn, though.  Pr. Roemke just posted this link to it up on his Facebook page:

And here Pr. Mayes sings the English for you.  

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

Luther said that if he had to choose between Rome and the Enthusiasts, as he called them, he would choose Rome, for there there was certainty of the body and blood of Christ, while with the Enthusiasts there was certainty only of bread and wine, with the body and blood spiritualized away from the bread and wine.  Luther's teaching on the Lord's Supper, however, is not a choice between alternatives but an insistence upon the whole.  Body and blood may not be separated from bread and wine to fit the demands of reason.  Christ simply does and gives what He ays and in Him and His Supper there is no gap between earthly and heavenly. -- Dr. Norman Nagel, The Springfielder, Fall 1963, p. 48.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The Lord Jesus, the Second Adam, also fell into a deep sleep of death on the cross.  His side, too, was opened; and from it flowed blood and water, which, it is preached in the Church, are distributed in the Sacraments.  Christian hearts receive this treasure by faith.  Thus the Christian Church is built.  Thus our hearts are brought to Christ.  Thus we are washed of our sins by the Lord's Jesus true holy water, and hallowed by His blood.  And just as Adam's heart poured itself out in beautiful love for Eve, so the love of Jesus Christ also burns for our heart.  -- Valerius Herberger, The Great Works of God, p. 175.

Patristic Quote of the Day

For that no man on earth was righteous, Paul declared, saying, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 And by this too the others were comforted, I mean, the guests. Why, I am so far, says He, from loathing sinners, that even for their sakes only am I come. Then, lest He should make them more careless, He staid not at the word sinners, but added, unto repentance. For I am not come that they should continue sinners, but that they should alter, and amend. -- St. John Chrysostom, Homily 30 on Matthew

Commemoration of St. Nicholas of Myra

Today our Synod (together with the Church both East and West) celebrates the day of St. Nicholas.  From the Treasury and our Synod's website:

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

We pray:

Almighty God, You bestowed upon Your servant Nicholas of Myra the perpetual gift of charity.  Grant Your Church the grace to deal in generosity and love with children and with all who are poor and distressed and to plead the cause of those who have no helper, especially those tossed by tempests of doubt and grief.  We ask this for the sake of Him who gave His life for us, Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ... (Treasury, p. 989)

You can listen to Issues, Etc. interview on the topic of St. Nicholas here.

Wolcum Yole!

The Holy Days at St. Paul's this Advent-Epiphany Seasons:

St. Thomas, Tuesday, Dec. 21st - Divine Service:  6 p.m.
Children's Christmas Service, Dec. 24th - 7 p.m.
First Divine Service for the Nativity, Dec. 24th - 11 p.m.
Second Divine Service for the Nativity (the Christmas Dawn Service), Dec. 25 - 9 a.m.
First Sunday after Christmas, Dec. 26 - 9 a.m.
St. John's Day, Monday, Dec. 27 - Divine Service: 6 p.m.
Holy Innocents Day, Tuesday, Dec. 28 - Divine Service: 6 p.m.
New Year's Eve, Friday, Dec. 31st - Divine Service: 7:15 p.m.
Circumcision of Our Lord, Saturday, Jan. 1st - Matins: 9 a.m.
Epiphany (observed), Sunday, Jan. 2nd (with Installation of Officers) - Divine Service: 9 a.m.

Thereafter, we resume our normal schedule.

Bulletins

New Year's Day
New Year's Eve
Christmas Day
Christmas Midnight
Children's Christmas Program
Advent IV
Advent III
Advent Midweek II
Catechism Service 13
Catechism Service 14

Still to go:

Epiphany (observed)
Christmas I

Then the sermons... The goal is to have everything done by Advent IV so that there will be some time to enjoy the holidays with the family.

Sabotaged!

Cindi made pancakes for dinner tonight, along with some sausages.  She told me which pancakes where which when she set them on the table - lo-carb for her and me; regular for the kids.  So I took my pancakes and prepared them.  David started squawking:  "Mom, these don't look right.  What did you do to them?  Are you sure that THOSE aren't ours?"  "No," she said, "I kept them separate.  Those are ours, these are yours."  So we all got our pancakes buttered and put on syrup (lo-carb for us; regular for the kids).  David takes a bite and says:  "Mom, these are not right.  What did you do to them?"  "I made them out of the mix just like I always do.  Maybe I got a little too much water.  They're flat and I'm not sure why."  I made fun of David for putting up such a silly fuss.  Then Cindi takes her first bite of her pancake and she looks confused.  She was SURE which were lo-carb and which were not.  NOT SO MUCH.  And this after I had eaten all my pancakes (I woof food down so fast that Lucy can't even keep up - so yes, Cindi's first bite was after mine were all gone), I find out that I ate the WHITE FLUFF pancakes!!!  Sabotaged!!!  By my own wife!!!  ACK!  Major Atkins Sin!  I said with great chagrin:  "I'm gonna wake up fat!"  Cindi asked:  "How could you not taste the difference?"  Bekah said:  "He doesn't have the food in his mouth long enough to taste anything."  We all apologized to David, whose belly-aching was actually right on target.

P.S.  AND THEN she had the nerve to serve me lo-carb pumpkin pie.  Was it really???

Happy Birthday, Sis!

She was born in 1946 on December 5.  So many of my childhood memories are associated with her.  I remember her running to the springhouse to fetch some peanutbutter for a sandwich for me at Grandma Bess's.  The springhouse was not her favorite place. Snakes.  So she made me go right along with her.  When I was not quite, but almost, five she married Jimmy Cooke, who was our mailman and also our neighbor - he lived across the street and up one house with his widowed mom.  That was in 1965.  I remember the wedding well and visits over to the Cookes before Sis and Jimmy moved to a new subdivision in Aspen Hill. Sis and Jimmy took me with them quite often on vacations (mom and daddy really didn't "do" beach trips and such).  Even after their own children came along, they always made me totally welcome and a part of the family - I still think of her children almost more as my brothers and sister than my niece and nephews.  Our lives were very intertwined for many years.  One of the really wretched things about living so far away from Virginia is how little time we get to spend together anymore, but whenever we do, I always absolutely enjoy it.  She worked in Robert Kennedy's office before the assassination.  She ended her working career as a secretary for the Director of the FBI. She's my one and only sister - well, except for all my sisters in laws, each of whom I dearly love, but the relationship with Sis is definitely different.  Sis, I thank the good Lord for you every day and ask His blessing on you and yours!  Thanks for all you've given to me and to all our family across the years.  God grant you many more!

Remember the blue long dress with cape you wore for prom, with the necklace of pearls?
Remember the red car and trips to the Bay or Ocean City?
Remember the days you and mom went grocery shopping and came home to make big fat tuna sandwiches with juicy tomatoes on them?
Remember the swimming lessons at the pool near your house?
Remember a tableful of little Cookes in the basement kitchen, munching on breakfast at night?
Remember the horrible day when you and I had to take care of Daddy and neither of us knew what to do?
Remember the trip to Rachel's daughter's house?
Remember picking out what mom would wear in her coffin, knowing that she couldn't argue with us about it this time?
Remember the various meals together at Cracker Barrel?
Remember?

That's Sis in the red skirt at a family reunion at Granddaddy's in the mid 1960's

That's most, but not all, of Jimmy and Sis's family at a family reunion at their home in June of 2005

Sis, Maupin and I

Reminder on December Ember Days

This year they will fall December 15, 17, and 18.  These are marvelous opportunities to observe fasting, prayer, and almsgiving during the season of Advent.  The use of the Litany commends itself for these observances.

From An Advent Prayer from Starck's Prayer Book

Through sin we had become aliens, yes,
prisoners of Satan and enemies of God.
But by Your most holy Advent
all our losses are made good.
O grace abounding!
Love unspeakable!
For Your sake, O Jesus,
the strangers are made friends,
the prisoners are set free,
the enemies of God are made His beloved,
sinners become God's children,
the fallen are raised.
O holy Advent,
by which we who were condemned to death obtain life,
by which we who were fallen from grace
are clothed with glory and honor on Your account.
For this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance:
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. (p. 50)

Commemoration of St. John of Damascus, Theologian and Hymn-writer

Today our Synod rejoices to commemorate St. John of Damascus.  From the Treasury and our Synod's website:

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

My all time favorite hymn by St. John with an absolutely haunting melody is this one:



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

Today we pray:

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

A Little Luther for Populus Zion

So also, when the sky grows dark, you should say, the trees are budding, and when the sea and waves roar, the trees are blooming beautifully.  Why?  Because we are to be set free forever.  The signs which will occur in sun, moon, sea, and earth, the world will regard as threatening pikes and halberds.  But you, my disciples and Christians, are to think of them as beautiful blossoms.  You ought to rejoice, for the kingdom of God is coming to you because you believe and are baptized, because you suffer and because you petition and pray. -- House Postil I:43 (Homily from 1532)

How could I forget...

...to mention this vital fact about yesterday?  I won at Liverpool, that splendid game.  Now, if I were the boastful sort, I'd point out that I not only won the game, but actually was ahead in every hand.  But I won't do that.  I would be unseemly to mention it.  Salt in the wound and all that. ;)

Intercessions for Populus Zion

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.  

For the Church of Christ, that amid the tumult and trouble of these days, we be a people with uplifted heads and hearts, looking for the day of our redemption.  Lord, in your mercy, R.

For our nation and armed forces, and for all the nations of the world, that those entrusted with positions of public service might serve honorably and well for the benefit of others.  Lord in your mercy, R.

For our parish, that in the Word of Christ that does not pass away we find the strength to endure whatever trials our Lord sees fit to send us.  Lord, in your mercy, R.

For our daycare, school, high school, and all the schools of the Church, for all our baptized children, that our young people may constantly be nurtured in the hope of our redemption at Christ’s appearing.  Lord, in your mercy, R.

For all who are ill or in need, the sick, the imprisoned, the lonely and the grieving, especially ...that they be given patience to endure and hope for the future, looking always for healing in the hands of Christ.  Lord, in your mercy, R.

For a worthy reception of Christ’s body and blood, that all who come to the altar today may greet the Lord in repentance and faith. Lord, in Your mercy, R.

Let us commemorate the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph her husband, St. John the Baptist, Sts. Peter and Paul and all the faithful gone before us, asking God to give us grace that we may join them in the feast that never ends.  Lord, in your mercy, R.

Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

Homily for Populus Zion (2010)

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


I don’t know about you, but I love to read a good novel. I especially love mysteries and thrillers. But there are times in the middle of a book when things are looking so bad for the hero, that I just need a sneak peak at the back pages to assure myself that they make it through. Then I can happily go back to reading the scary stuff.

Today’s readings, people loved by God, are a divine peek at the end of the story of this world, and our lives in it. And when what God is teaching in them sinks into our souls and hearts, it fills us with hope. Not the wishy-washy kind of hope that says: “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” Rather, the rock solid kind of hope that simply knows how it all ends, and thus gives us the strength to weather whatever may come our way before that ending arrives.

In the first reading from Malachi, the prophet speaks of the coming of the Day of the Lord. Is it bad news or good news? Depends on whether you are arrogant and an evildoer, or whether you are among those who fear the Lord’s name – that is who worship Him in humility. For, make no mistake about it, the End of this earth’s story is some kind of bad news to those who, filled with pride, embrace evil and hold onto it. Because that Day, when it comes, will wipe out everything that is not love – wipe it out forever: leaving neither root nor branch. But that same fire that is death to all that is not love, arises as the Sun of righteousness with healing for those who fear God’s name. For them, when that glorious light breaks upon this earth it will be joy like the Springtime when the calves kick up their heels and play in the newly green fields of Spring. They know that all the evil that they still struggle with and long to be freed from will be destroyed in them, and only that which is good and holy and pleasing to God will remain. When they think of that Day, when they pray: “Come, Lord Jesus!” they know they are asking for their own full and final healing from the wounds of sin and death.

Our Epistle simply brims with this hope. We are told that the Scriptures were written down precisely for this purpose: that we might have hope! And here is the hope they give: the gift of living in harmony with one another, and raising together a united voice of praise to the Father of our Lord Jesus, welcoming each other with the same joy that each of us has been welcomed by the Lord, abounding together in the praise of the Lord who has made us all one in Jesus Christ. Do you see, then, that this is what the Church is called to be? A little foretaste here on earth of our blessed hope? The Father’s one family gathered through His Son, filled with the joy and peace that come from the Holy Spirit, and abounding in hope. Living already the joy of the Age that is to come. The Church is the people who live in this world already the life that is on the other side of the Last Day. Oh, we live it poorly, that is true. We continually forget our hope, forget that we are one family, forget that we are created to sing the praises of the Blessed Trinity. But the ongoing existence of the Church as a people reminds us forever of the life God really and truly is reaching each of us in His Son. Jew, Gentile, all of us called to glorify God for His great mercy: the hope that is ours in Jesus, who has forgiven our sins upon His Cross and defeated our death by His resurrection and who ascended to rule over all things until the glorious moment of His appearing. God gave us the Scriptures to fill us with that hope that we might live in this world as colonists of that age that is to come.

And in today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about how this age comes apart and how frightening it will be. “People fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.” Yet His people don’t see the events in the same way. When everything seems to be coming apart, and it looks like there is no future, that’s the moment when Jesus says for His people to “straighten up and raise you heads” – to look to the skies – “for your redemption is drawing near.”

And so He uses that lovely parable of the fig tree and all trees. When we see them bud, we know it’s not long before the warm days of spring and summer will embrace us. So too, when we see these things taking place – and terror is on every side – our hope sees us through. We know it’s not the END. It’s the beginning. Holding tight to His words that cannot and do not fail, we await their final fulfillment when He will make all things new.

And do I need to tell you that before the big universe falls apart, many times our private universes fall apart. Sickness, suffering, depression, death. They come. Oh, but people loved by God, hold tight to your HOPE. They cannot destroy you. They cannot rob you of peace. You know the end of the story. You know that what you have tasted here in this world in His Church is only the appetizers of the feast. Baptized into your Jesus, you have been given forgiveness more than the sin of the world, let alone your own. Fed by His body and blood, into you has gone the Life that defeated death. He holds you in His hand and when events turn more terrible than you can imagine, when your universe is shaken to its core, He is still there, and His promises to you will hold and will see you through the darkness into the Light of that Sun that never sets.

And so our Lord warns us one and all to watch ourselves, and not get weighed down with the partying, the drunkenness, the cares and worries of life. As Pastor Gleason said last week: living as though that final Day were never going to come. But come it will. And so we pray for the strength not to be overwhelmed by what precedes it, that we may have strength to escape and to stand before our Jesus, the Son of Man.

When that is the joy of your heart, the desire of your life, to stand before Him, to sing His praise with the holy angels, to gaze in wonder and awe upon the scars He bears that testify forever to His love for you, and so for you to love Him forever with a love that is pure, undefiled, and ever growing – well then what do you really have to fear from that Day’s arrival? Nothing at all. The cry and prayer of your heart can be the unalloyed joy of: Come, Lord Jesus! Come, Forgiveness of my sin! Come, Defeater of death! Come, Resurrection of my body! Come, Giver of the Feast! Come, dearest Brother who has made us your sisters and brother and coheirs with You of Your Father’s kingdom! Come, and set us free!

You see, when you've had a peek at the end of the book, when you  know the end of the story, it gives you a hope that sees you through whatever you have to go through; a hope that sees you home. Amen.