You Lutheran Witness Subscribers...

...be sure to check out Pastor Chris Hall's fine article in this month's edition on the Holy Trinity!  You slackers who haven't subscribed (yet! - you should!) can read it right here.

Speaking of Creeds...

...it is very interesting that we pray in the Tuesday Daily Prayer from Treasury to be "ever watchful for the confession of Christ's name."  And I do not think it an accident that our daily prayers in the Catechism prescribe the recitation of the Apostles' Creed at least twice daily:  every morning and every evening.  Why is that?  Because the Creed teaches us precisely HOW to confess the name of Christ.  Hearkening back to my own youth, I shall never forget the day when sitting idly at a ball game (and so, bored out of my gourd), two young men asked me if I knew what I needed to be saved.

I didn't understand what they were asking.  They proceeded to recite what I came to find out was the Apostles' Creed to me - they were Roman Catholics.  So began my trek into the Lutheran Church - long story - but the point of it is that it began with two young people simply using the Creed to confess Christ to another person.

Luther seems very conscious of such a use when he introduces the question in the explanation of the first article of the Creed in the Large Catechism:  "It is as if someone were to ask a little child, 'My dear, what sort of a God do you have? What do you know about Him?'  The child could say, 'This is my God:  first, the Father, who created heaven and earth..."   I.e., the Creed as a primary tool for confessing!  If we are to be ready always to give an answer to anyone who asks us about the hope we have, what better summary of that hope IS there than the Apostles' Creed?  Simple, direct, filled with the language of Scripture itself - it summarizes in three short articles the whole of our faith.  Yes, I think it was a wise thing when our Catechism prescribed it daily - and twice daily - in our prayers.

As we approach

Trinity Sunday again, the Athanasian Creed will be taken out of the closet, dusted off for use, and recited by (sometimes groaning) congregations.  I think it's a pity we only use it liturgically once a year.  To me, the great value of this creed is beyond words.  Today I'd just point out one very helpful thing (and I'm sure I've mentioned it on the blog before):  this Creed defines for us what the Catholic faith is.

"And the catholic faith is this:  that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the Persons nor dividing the substance."

According to the CREED, the catholic faith isn't submission to the Roman pontiff (why, he's not even mentioned!), nor is it adherence to this or that human tradition - no matter how venerable, and it certainly is not to be identified with the cult of the saints and such.  Rather, the catholic faith is worshipping the Trinity!  Find the glorification of the Father, Son, and Spirit going on without confusing the Persons or dividing the substance, and you've found the catholic church.

So, if you're one of those sorts who are ALLERGIC to the word "catholic" because you can only hear it as "Roman," well, let the Creed teach you that that is NOT what catholic means!  To say salvation ONLY in the catholic church is to confess salvation only in the worship of the Blessed Trinity.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen.

+Ruth Kelley

Asleep in our Lord Jesus this morning.  Rest eternal grant her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her.  Pr. Gleason will have her funeral here at St. Paul's on Saturday at 10.  Ruth holds a special place in my heart - injured in a terrible car accident that took her husband's life, she has been home bound ever since I came to St. Paul's.  In the last year or so her cheerful, upbeat spirit has flagged under the weight of suffering - it's a comfort to believe her released from that:  "You have delivered my soul from death, my ears from tears, my feet from stumbling.  I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living."

Today...

...breakfast; matins; communion to Jo; visit with Ray (may the angels attend him!); ran 3 miles; weights; lunch; worked on deaconess presentations; vacuumed pool; worked on deaconess presentations some more; dinner; finished up deaconess presentations and Sandy ran off (THANK YOU, SISTER SANDY!); finished last Athanasian Creed study for Issues; Elders meeting - forgot all about it, thank you, Scott, for phone call!; waiting for Cindi to get back from Chorale.  On the docket for tomorrow:  recording session at Issues at 10:30; sermon for Trinity Sunday; checking in on Ray; prayers for Sunday and School Board.  Then off to Seward!

Pr. Johnson

linked to this on ALPB as we discussed Pentecost hymns.  That's a fine rendition of Luther's great hymn:

'Twas absolutely delightful

to have Lauren stop in for a few days (Dean was at a camp), even WITH the critters - Dudley the autistic coon hound and Bilbo the grouchy cat.  Having her around for a few days reminded me of how very much I miss the kids.  Bekah lives on her own; David ostensibly lives here - though we rarely see him for more than the time it takes to woof down an occasional meal; and obviously Lauren and Dean are on their own.  I miss the days of a full table EVERY day and lots of laughter, argument, and conversation, and it makes me treasure all the more the rare (and growing rarer) occasions when we can all be together.

Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord

Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord,
With all Your graces now outpoured
On each believer's mind and heart;
Your fervent love to them impart.
Lord, by the brightness of Your light
In holy faith Your Church unite
From every land and every tongue;
This to Your praise, O Lord our God, be sung:
Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Come, Holy Light, Guide divine,
Now cause the Word of truth to shine.
Teach us to know our God aright
And call Him Father with delight.
From every error keep us free,
Let none but Christ our Master be,
That we in living faith abide,
In Him our Lord with all our might confide:
Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Come, Holy Fire, Comfort true,
Grant us the will Your work to do
And in Your service to abide,
Let trials turn us not aside.
Lord, by Your power prepare each heart
And to our weakness strength impart
That bravely here we may contend,
Through life and death, to You, our Lord, ascend:
Alleluia!  Alleluia!
LSB 497

Thus the Hymn of the Day for Pentecost.  I am struck by its beauty and majesty in both text and tune.  And it occurred to me for the first time that the three Chief Feasts - Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost - each feature a hymn of the day written by Dr. Luther.  On Christmas, we sing at midnight:  "From Heaven above" and on the day "We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth."  Come Easter, of course, we sing:  "Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands."  And on Pentecost, the hymn above:  "Come, Holy Ghost."

We usually remember our dear Dr. Luther as an outstanding catechist and continue to use his Catechisms; we remember him as an insightful theologian, and study his theological treatises and commentaries; we remember him as a fine preacher, and turn to his Postils for inspiration and comfort; we remember his towering translation work on the Sacred Scriptures; but it is easy to forget his exceptional gifts as poet and composer.  Tomorrow we'll be singing together with Lutheran Christians (and I suspect other Christians too) across the ages and across the world, praying the same words and asking for the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith and empower our love, binding us in unity with the Lord Jesus.

From the Pentecost Liturgy...

O Holy Spirit, enter in and in our hearts Your work begin, Your dwelling place now make us... The Spirit of the Lord fills the world, alleluia!... O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of the faithful by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit.  Grant us in our day by the same Holy Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation... Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love... Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord, be all Your graces now outpoured on each believer's mind and heart; Your fervent love to them impart... and sitting at Your right hand, poured out on this day the promised Holy Spirit on His chosen disciples.  For all this the whole world rejoices with exceeding joy... Pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your gathered people that, faithfully eating and drinking the body and blood of Your Son, we may go forth to proclaim His salvation to the ends of the earth...

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

Thus right from the beginning of the Church, there was a strong tradition of daily prayer in Christian homes and communities.  Yet that tradition did not displace the Divine Service as the center of Christian spirituality.  Rather, it built upon it and extended it.  Daily prayer related the whole cycle of daily work within the weekly and annual round of the public worship of the Church.  The practice of daily prayer established the home as the place of prayer for each human family, just as the church was the place for the performance of the Divine Service by the whole family of God. -- Dr. John Kleinig, *Grace upon Grace* p. 77.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

Just as the Father sends and pours out the Holy Spirit, so also the Son sends and pours out the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, the fact that the Holy Spirit is sent and poured out by the Son is tantamount to the Father's doing it, except that while the Son receives everything from the Father, the Father does not from the Son.  For the Father is the source or fountain (as the fathers call it) of the Trinity.  Yet what the Son has from the Father, he has essentially and fully from eternity.  -- Blessed Martin Luther, Homily 2 for Pentecost (HP II:169)

Patristic Quote of the Day

Behold His rewards. What, save punishment, was due unto the sinner? What was due to the blasphemer, but the hell of burning fire? He gave not these rewards: that you may not shudder with dread: and without love fear Him....But you are a sinner. Turn again, and receive these His rewards: He forgives all your sin....Yet even after remission of sins the soul herself is shaken by certain passions; still is she amid the dangers of temptation, still is she pleased with certain suggestions; with some she is not pleased, and sometimes she consents unto some of those with which she is pleased: she is taken. This is infirmity: but He heals all your infirmities. All your infirmities shall be healed: fear not. They are great, you will say: but the Physician is greater. -- St. Augustine on Psalm 103

Setting up for dinner tonight...

...and a conversation online about what traditional families used to look like, called to mind again the joy of life at Aunt Emma's (Granddaddy Mastin's).  You never knew who would be there for breakfast or supper - Uncle Jimmy might be stopping by, or the neighbors Earl and Norma Allen with their miniature poodle Pierre, or even the minister!  Then there were the relatives who dropped in for weeks at a time - Sidney and Pete, Virginia (oh, how she kept us in stitches!), and us.  So many more.  After a breakfast table that groaned under the good things laden on it, the day might find some work in the garden (I even remember helping Aunt Emma weed once - not a successful venture.  Turned into rock collecting instead), snapping green beans on the back porch of an afternoon, all the family and whoever else showed up gathered around the huge dining room table, and Uncle Jim praying:  "Give us grateful hearts, our Father, for all Thy mercies and make us ever mindful of the needs of others, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen."  My family never felt constrained with "don't talk with food in your mouth."  Talking was just fine!  A habit that Cindi has mostly - almost - broken me of.  And the laughter around that table!  I can hear it still.  My grandfather had the odd habit of not asking for a dish, but wiggling his finger at it - that way, the conversation wasn't interrupted.  I do the same to this day.  I usually ate in the kitchen with my cousin George, because I was a bit shy of all those people!  After dinner and cleanup, then the folks would make their way to the screened porch and the conversation and laughter would continue.  My mom had her spot on the swing and we'd sit and listen and talk and laugh as the sun set and the song of the whippoorwill's began.  Sigh.  Summer in the country.  And now the house stands so silent and empty.  But I like to think we've carried a piece of that heritage onward with us here.  No whippoorwill, but we will certainly feast together and laugh and then play cards as the evening shadows fall.

17

Logged 17 miles of running in this week - the most in a long time.  And all outside.  Been a great week for it.  Did five miles Monday and then three miles each of the other days.  Three miles is perfect (with intervals).  It works up a total sweat and yet doesn't take too much time out of the day. Have taken to circling the church property.  It provides an easy 1/4 mile and best of all?  The restroom is always right at hand.  Nothing like nature deciding to call when you're three and half miles from home!!!  And naturally, since I've been running so close to home, nature hasn't bothered calling during a run at all.  I think it's that:  "Gotcha!" factor.

In Luther's Exhortation to All Clergy Assembled at Augsburg

he describes a bit of the topics that the true Christian Church ought be concerned and draws a contrast with the then-current practices in the Roman parishes (which he proceeds not to reject, but to reject the focus upon them in place of the focus upon the matters he listed).  It's fascinating to study both lists.  What I found most interesting in his list of things that the true Christian Church ought be concerned about was this section:

What the keys are.
What a bishop is.
What a deacon is.
What the preaching office is.

I've italicized the item that surprised me.  If Luther thought that the office of deacon was something that deserves the Church's attention, it has been sadly true that since the time of Luther, precious little attention has been given to the diaconal office among Lutherans.  This is truly odd given the way that the constant pairing of bishops and deacons run through the Pastoral epistles.  I believe that the time has come for Lutherans to seriously ponder this office of deacon, so rooted in the NT, and to seek the manner of its restoration among us.  We've done some decent work with deaconesses, but we've failed as a Synod (though there are Districts that do better on their own) to provide for the "male deaconess" as one wag put it.

And here deacon ought NOT be primarily a stepping stone to the pastoral office, but precisely seen primarily as its own office.  Imagine if we gave attention in each parish to the office of faith (the pastoral office with its preaching and teaching of the Word for the salvation of our bodies and souls) AND to the office of love (the diaconal office with its attention to the material needs of the community).  We might even become again such a Church that the heathen around would cry out:  "Behold, how they love one another!"

I don't think I'd ever really registered

that Acts 1:8 isn't a commandment; it's a promise.  Not:  "Go be my witnesses" but "you will be my witnesses."  Fits rather well with the insights from Pr. Curtis' paper, eh?

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

Through the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us, we become givers of thanks.  Then our deeds harmonize with the song in our hearts, which resonates with the song of the Church in the Divine Service.  That inner song of thanksgiving to God the Father, which is heard only by Him, colors everything we do and say. -- Dr. John Kleinig, *Grace upon Grace* p. 68.

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

We desperately need this Pentecost sermon of the Holy Spirit, so that he may give us a courageous heart, so that we, too, may persevere, regardless of who is offended, regardless of how much people may slander us. -- Blessed Martin Luther, House Postil II:163.

Patristic Quote of the Day

Be sure that the Lord He is God Psalm 100:3. Who knows not that the Lord, He is God? But He speaks of the Lord, whom men thought not God: Be sure that the Lord He is God. Let not that Lord become vile in your sight: you have crucified Him, scourged Him, spit upon Him, crowned Him with thorns, clothed Him in a dress of infamy, hung Him upon the Cross, pierced Him with nails, wounded Him with a spear, placed guards at His tomb; He is God. It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves. -- St. Augustine on Psalm 100

Since January, I've

been leading the Wednesday Catechism Service at the Chapel of the LCMS International Center.  It occurred to me that many folks have never been to the IC, and might like to see what the Chapel looks like.  I took a few pics this morning before anyone arrived: