New Lutheran Quote of the Day

There is in fact no better way to publicize His hidden riches and glory than by whole-hearted, full-bodied communal praise. -- Dr. John Kleinig, *Grace upon Grace* p. 67.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

We must talk about this joy-filled sermon because, by the grace of God, it has been handed down to us, so that we might preserve the distinction between the Law and the message of grace, which is the Lord Christ's' proper message.  -- Blessed Martin Luther, HP II:159.

Patristic Quote of the Day

For this shall every one that is holy pray unto You in an acceptable time: for this wickedness of heart shall every one that is righteous pray unto You. For not by their own merits will they be holy, but by that acceptable time, that is, at His coming, who redeemed us from sin. -- St. Augustine on Psalm 32

Nicest Feature of New Pool?

Intex finally figured out the "vacuum."  All the pools we owned before this made the vacuuming a nightmare.  You had to take out the skimmer basket, soak the vacuum and the tube in the water, and then quickly flip it over and insert it in the skimmer basket holder, hoping that you didn't let enough air in the system to stall the filter pump (and it often did!).  And then it only did a so-so job of sucking stuff off the bottom of the pool.  The new "vacuum" doesn't vacuum at all.  It's a hose attachment, shooting a targeted stream of water into a simple little gauze bag you tie onto the contraption.  So you get the power of the hose and the bag catches everything that the stream shoots into it.  Very slick, very easy, very non-stressful.  Kudos, Intex.  That puppy works!

It Just Occurred to Me

that we are almost five years into the "new" hymnal, Lutheran Service Book.  Wow!  They have flown by.  I think it was in early August of 2006 that the hymnals appeared in St. Paul's pews - we got to be the first congregation of Synod to have them.  We also were the first to notice the misprinting in some of the volumes!  Pr. Gleason's wife found yet another misprinted hymnal just the other day.  We've mostly got them all replaced gratis - thank you, CPH!

There were disappointments, of course, but over all LSB has been enormously well received here as in the Synod as a whole.  You can pretty much walk into any LCMS congregation (except the far out contemporary worship ones) and find it in the pews - though it is used to varying degrees in various places.  Still, it's a comfort to find a familiar hymnal ready and waiting.  It truly is the next "TLH" - the hymnal set to last for a generation and more - built to last.

In our parish, we've mastered Divine Service 3, 4, and 5.  We also know Matins and Evening Prayer, and some of our members have learned Compline and Service of Prayer and Preaching (Catechism Service).  We've learned a number of new hymns that have quickly become "old favorites" and we still have others we're working on mastering (like last Sunday's "Christ is the World's Redeemer").  Occasionally, we switch back to an old TLH tune (our folk absolutely love Spanish Chant for "Savior, When in Dust" - so we sing that though the new tune is a better fit to the text, in my opinion).  Private Confessions, Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, and Funerals are all "right out of the book."  We've learned most of the Psalm tones and are comfortable chanting Psalms, Introits, etc.

Behind the scenes, the Hymn Selection Guide (also built into Builder) is an absolute God-send.  We rarely depart from its suggestions.  Builder is not Mac native, but since we use the One Year Series, I only needed to create the bulletins in Builder once - after that, I tweak them yearly in Word and rarely need to access Builder itself anymore.  The Altar Book is remarkably complete and very easy to use.  I set the ribbons before each liturgy (one at the Kyrie, Gloria / one at the Preface for the day / one at the Prayer of the Church / one for the Propers of the Day; and I keep a permanent tab at the Sanctus and following) - a little practice and the ribbon turning becomes second nature.

As far as I can see, the biggest mistake was NOT including the Passion Readings in the Lectionary and instead placing them in the Altar Book - that means that each Lent I have to bring my personal Altar Book from home and put it on the Lectern for midweek Lenten Vespers. And that's my biggest complaint!  Honest injun!  It's just an exceedingly well thought out and put together set of books.  When I remember what it was like when I started, well, I'm just very thankful to the Synod and Commission on Worship for providing such an outstanding and unified resource. It makes being a pastor wonderfully simple - at least as far as liturgy is concerned.

Pr. Gernander just wished me...

...an early Pentecost greeting, and it struck me that pastors tend to live a week ahead of their parishioners.  I just walked over to see if the paraments had been changed (they had - thank you, dear ladies!) and I put up the Pentecost banner and got the hymn board ready for the weekend.  And yes, the Pentecost readings have been much in my mind since yesterday.  Language - how little reflection we give to it, and yet how huge it is in the Pentecost readings.  Not only Babel and Babel reversed in Acts 2, but also Jesus promising the Holy Spirit's intimate connection with language:  the Spirit will bring to the Apostles' remembrance "all I said."  Language again.  And of course, we have a collection of writings that are the fulfillment of that promise - the New Testament! - a speaking Spirit, like a speaking Son (the Word) of a speaking Father.  The Reformation in many ways was about language and taking it seriously.  It is not an accident that Luther's great theological "aha" came via a linguistic discovery, and that Lutherans have seriously pursued the study of language as a key to the Church's preserving her theological heritage.  "Love the languages as you love the Gospel" Dr. Luther once urged.  And is it not utterly of a piece with the incarnation that we have the Gospels not only as story, but as written accounts?  Writing is our protest against the ravages of death and the fading memories along time's everflowing stream.  Make the words into something written and it can float down the stream and reach people who live far removed from the original events.  But when the writing is about THAT event - our Lord's life, death, resurrection, ascension, and pouring out of the Spirit - then it is more than a protest against the ravages of death and fading memory.  It is a living gift of the Spirit that brings to us today as our own those once for all time events.  Hence the great "Hodie" of the Church's song.  Well, enough rambling.  But it's all Jerry's fault... He started the mind wandering.

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

A secret remains a secret only as long as you don't know it.  Once it is revealed, it ceases to be a secret.  But a mystery remains a mystery even when it is revealed.  In fact, the more you know about it, the more mysterious it becomes. -- Dr. John Kleinig, *Grace upon Grace* p. 57.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

At this new Pentecost, we see how the Holy Spirit transformed the fainthearted, despairing, and cowardly hearts of the apostles and disciples into courageous heroes, awe-inspiring giants and invincible men, who boldly defy the whole world and the devil himself. -- Blessed Martin Luther, HP II:160.

Patristic Quote of the Day

For, behold, in iniquities I was conceived. Was David born of adultery; being born of Jesse, 1 Samuel 16:18 a righteous man, and his own wife? What is it that he says himself to have been in iniquity conceived, except that iniquity is drawn from Adam? Even the very bond of death, with iniquity itself is engrained? No man is born without bringing punishment, bringing desert of punishment. A Prophet says also in another place, No one is clean in Your sight, not even an infant, whose life is of one day upon earth. For we know both by the Baptism of Christ that sins are loosed, and that the Baptism of Christ avails the remission of sins. If infants are every way innocent, why do mothers run with them when sick to the Church? What by that Baptism, what by that remission is put away? An innocent one I see that rather weeps than is angry. What does Baptism wash off? What does that Grace loose? There is loosed the offspring of sin. For if that infant could speak to you, it would say, and if it had the understanding which David had, it would answer you, Why do you heed me, an infant? Thou dost not indeed see my actions: but I in iniquity have been conceived, And in sins has my mother nourished me in the womb. - St. Augustine on Psalm 51

Whirlwind Trip to Chicago and Back

for Board of Regents.  Thursday night, didn't sleep well anyway, and then up at 5:00.  We hit the road by six and were in Oak Park by around 10:30.  Quickly changed and then we walked up to the University.  Luncheon began at noon, and then meetings started at 1 p.m.  We went to the Johnson's for some wine and appetizers afterwards, and then off to dinner.  Cindi had selected an Indian restaurant and I made an utter pig of myself - was definitely waddling when we left.  It was quite tasty, needless to say.  Visited the hotel bar for an after dinner drink, caught a wee bit of the Cards vs. Cubs - and joined a few others in cheering on the Cards - strangers in an alien land...  After not sleeping well for the second night, up early this morning and enjoyed a brief breakfast at local bagelry.  Meetings wrapped up before noon, and we drove back to Oak Park for lunch at the Jerusalem Grill and then hit the road.  It was difficult staying awake for the drive home - blazing hot and just wanted to nod off.  Had to stop again and again for coffee and to wake up.  Finally called Pr. Gleason to ask him to take the service by himself tonight.  Pulled in, unloaded, and took a nap!  Now up and groggy; it will be an early evening.

ASCENSION DAY

seems to be dying a slow death here in the USA.  So few Churches celebrate the feast on the 40th day after Easter anymore.  In Roman Churches here, it is mostly moved to the Sunday following.  Some Lutheran parishes join together for service on its own day, but the congregation still diminishes yearly.  Is it really unthinkable that Christ's people gather on a Thursday once a year?  I often think, though, what a blessing that the first Ascension was attended only by 11 men on the earthly side of the service, but it was overflowing joy as the countless hosts of Angels and Archangels trumpeted the enthronement of Mary's Son as their King and welcomed home the human flesh to the throne it was first created for.  Maybe it has ever been so - heaven realizing the greatness of the day and earthlings mostly oblivious.  People loved by God, do not deprive yourselves if the unique joy of this splendid feast!  I don't know how many showed up at St. Paul's tonight, but my sense is that each year it is less than the year before.

Time Out: with St. Bede the Venerable!

Ascension Day Joys!

From Starck's...for Ascension

O my Jesus, let me be where You are.  Draw me to Yourself, to the place where You are exalted at the right hand of God.  Bring me to the company of the holy angels and all the saints.  Let me behold Your glory, the glory You have prepared for Your believers.   (p. 96)

ASCENSION DAY

Divine Service at 7:15 p.m.  "Up through endless ranks of angels..."

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

We quite readily imagine that we are actors performing before God to gain His applause rather than beggars receiving His gifts. -- Dr. John Kleinig, *Grace upon Grace* p. 38.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

We held Christ to be our angry judge and Mary to be our throne of grace, where all our comfort and refuge lay, if we did not wish to despair.  Was that not that a horrible innovation?  Where were the bishops who rebuked such blasphemers and betrayers of Christ who took away Christ's office and gave it to Mary, who taught us to flee from Christ and to fear him as a whipmaster, and directed elsewhere our confidence which we owed to him as the true divine service? -- Blessed Martin Luther, Exhortation to the Clergy Assembled at Augsburg, 1530 [This is actually a fascinating read - I've never had the joy of it before.  Luther is massively on target in it]

Patristic Quote of the Day

God has gone up with jubilation. What is jubilation, but admiration of joy which cannot be expressed in words? As the disciples in joy admired, seeing Him go into Heaven, whom they had mourned dead; truly for the joy, words sufficed not: remained to jubilate what none could express. There was also the voice of the trumpet, the voice of Angels. For it is said, Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Angels preached the ascension of the Lord: they saw the Disciples, their Lord ascending, tarrying, admiring, confounded, nothing speaking, but in heart jubilant: and now was the sound of the trumpet in the clear voice of the Angels, You men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This is Jesus. --St. Augustine on Psalm 47

This-n-That

Off to pray with Michael before surgery today down at SLU - sounds like it turned out well, thanks be to God!  Then chapel at IC on Confession and Absolution.  Back to Illinois for lunch with pastors (and deaconess!).  Home to catch up on work, and out for a run in the sun to Hamel and back followed by a quick cool off in the pool.  Then dinner (Bekah and David joined us - yeah!) and off to Bible Class - the joys of Colossians 3.  Day ended where it began:  trip to hospital for Cindi to get an MRI done (yes, scheduled at 9 p.m. - unbelievable).  Now home and ready for bed.  Looking forward to the Feast tomorrow:  the Ascension of our Lord!

Commemoration of St. Justin Martyr

Today we commemorate St. Justin, Martyr.  From the Treasury and our Synod's website:


June 1 
Justin, Martyr  Born at the beginning of the second century, Justin was raised in a pagan family. He was student of philosophy who converted to the Christian faith and became a teacher in Ephesus and Rome. After refusing to make pagan sacrifices, he was arrested, tried and executed, along with six other believers. The official Roman court proceedings of his trial before Rusticius, a Roman prelate, document his confession of faith. The account of his martyrdom became a source of great encouragement to the early Christian community. Much of what we know of early liturgical practice comes from Justin.


My favorite quote from Justin is this:


For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but just as our Savior Jesus Christ, being incarnate through the work of God, took flesh and blood for our salvation, so too we have been taught that the food over which thanks have been given by a prayer of the Word that is from Him, from which our flesh and blood are fed by transformation, is both the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.  (First Apology 66:2)


Almighty and everlasting God, You found Your martyr Justin wandering from teacher to teacher, searching for the true God.  Grant that all who seek for a deeper knowledge of the sublime wisdom of Your eternal Word may be found by You, who, sent Your Son to seek and to save the lost; through Jesus Christ, our Lord...

What is so rare as a day in June?