very "up" on current culture. But I kept thinking about "Blind Side" and how the NCAA lady had planted those doubts in Michael about why the Tuohys had befriended him. That's EXACTLY how Satan works in planting doubts about God, His commandments and His promises. He suggests that He doesn't want us out of love, but to use us. He plant the seeds of doubt that blossom into our full-blown suspicions and fears about Him. But in our Blessed Trinity there IS no ulterior motive. His love is His love and it is uncaused in us. He can't benefit from us sharing His joy and peace and Kingdom. Only we can. And so it is such a LIE that Satan sells us. "God knows that in the day you eat it..." See what he implies: "God's holding out on you; God's cheating you; God's using you." Okay, that's as far as I'm willing to venture into modern culture. Back to my time machine... [Thanks to Jim for correcting me on the organization that was questioning him]
31 January 2010
You know that I'm not
very "up" on current culture. But I kept thinking about "Blind Side" and how the NCAA lady had planted those doubts in Michael about why the Tuohys had befriended him. That's EXACTLY how Satan works in planting doubts about God, His commandments and His promises. He suggests that He doesn't want us out of love, but to use us. He plant the seeds of doubt that blossom into our full-blown suspicions and fears about Him. But in our Blessed Trinity there IS no ulterior motive. His love is His love and it is uncaused in us. He can't benefit from us sharing His joy and peace and Kingdom. Only we can. And so it is such a LIE that Satan sells us. "God knows that in the day you eat it..." See what he implies: "God's holding out on you; God's cheating you; God's using you." Okay, that's as far as I'm willing to venture into modern culture. Back to my time machine... [Thanks to Jim for correcting me on the organization that was questioning him]
A Day of Blessings
First, Zach and his girlfriend and mom showed up at St. Paul's - sweet!
Then, Pastor Hal Senkbeil joined us for the late service - sweet!
Then, Pastor Senkbeil joined us for a post-service breakfast - sweet!
Then, I got to hear Pastor Senkbeil hold forth to the SID (and assorted St. Louis) pastors and elders - double sweet!
THEN, Pr. Fritz Baue joined us for our Catechism service, and he agreed to share some thoughts with us on Baptism - and that was triple sweet!
Now I'm enjoying a mug of beer and thinking what a blessed day it has been...
P.S. Aside from the "spiritual" blessings, I also got to hold my dear god-daughter Sophia for a few minutes...she and her sister were drinking beer over at the parsonage during Pastor Senkbeil's presentation... Ask her mommy!
Then, Pastor Hal Senkbeil joined us for the late service - sweet!
Then, Pastor Senkbeil joined us for a post-service breakfast - sweet!
Then, I got to hear Pastor Senkbeil hold forth to the SID (and assorted St. Louis) pastors and elders - double sweet!
THEN, Pr. Fritz Baue joined us for our Catechism service, and he agreed to share some thoughts with us on Baptism - and that was triple sweet!
Now I'm enjoying a mug of beer and thinking what a blessed day it has been...
P.S. Aside from the "spiritual" blessings, I also got to hold my dear god-daughter Sophia for a few minutes...she and her sister were drinking beer over at the parsonage during Pastor Senkbeil's presentation... Ask her mommy!
Homily upon Septuagesima (2010)
[Exodus 17:1-7 / 1 Cor. 9:24-10:5 / Matthew 20:1-16]
When we start to head for the Lenten fast, we must remember that a fast is of no good at all if we are intent only on fasting from food, missing some meals; rather, we must above all fast from sin. And here is one sin that needs turning from in our lives: the sin of grumbling. Grumbling which is but the putrid odor of our distrust in God.
So the Israelites in today’s first reading. The people whom God had taken for himself from Egypt by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm - they were not happy. They wanted water and there was no H2O in sight at the place where God had instructed them set up camp. And so the grumbling starts, the quarreling with Moses and the testing of the Lord. The sad thing? God had the situation covered, as He always does. He wasn’t leading His people into a trap. He had taken thought for provision - miraculous provision, water from the rock. Streams pouring out in the desert. Their grumbling ended up looking pretty silly when that water began bursting from the rock.
But, of course, it wasn’t an isolated instance. Over and over again, in their journey to the promised land the people of Israel blew it - fell into grumbling because they kept doubting the goodness of the Lord and His provision. And they’re not alone in that, are they? We join them in it. We fear that God won’t take care of us or those we love, we fear that He’s playing some sort of game with us. And so we gripe and moan, we fear and question. And still He provides again and again and again. The fast is coming. With denying yourself some food, why not deny your mouth the words of complaint and your heart the agony of distrust that Satan would plant there? Not just for a few days, but let’s seek to fast from these for the rest of our pilgrimage.
In the epistle Paul speaks of our pilgrimage as a race - and how we need to run that race in such a way as to win the prize, disciplining our bodies, keeping them under control. Fasting again? Yes, but your tongue is also a part of your body and it cries out for disciple and control. How did James put it? With it you bless the God and Father who made you and with it you curse man made in the image of God? How did he describe it? A little member causing great trouble, set on fire from hell!
And in the epistle Paul warns against a faithless use of the Sacraments. A use of them as a sort of “get out of hell free” card when there is no repentance, no change, no disciplining of the body and no keeping the tongue under control. He warns: Look, the Israelites tried that route and you saw where it landed them. They were baptized in a sort of way - passing through the sea. They were communed in a sort of way - manna and the water from the rock. But “with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
So don’t fool yourself and say: it doesn’t matter if I don’t control myself, I can grumble as much as I please, thank you very much, I’ve got the sacraments to guarantee me forgiveness! People loved by God, it doesn’t work that way. Never has. Your Lord loves you and He wants to both forgive you AND set you free from sin’s power. To try to have forgiveness with no repentance for sin, is to fool yourself. Or, rather, to be fooled by Satan.
As we prepare for Lent, think about these things. Let’s repent for the sins of not controlling the tongue, and above all for the sin of not trusting in God’s good intentions toward us - He may lead us through a dry and barren land, but He will provide all the way along for us to reach the end of our pilgrimage and enter into His promised land. We may falter and we may fail, but HIS promises never do. We can count on them to the end!
But we're not done with the grumbling yet. In today’s Gospel there's more! The workers think that the owner of the vineyard is totally unfair. Everyone ends up with the same pay, even though some worked only the smallest piece of the day. “Not fair!” they cry. “You have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” The owner is not impressed with the grumbling: “What just a second here. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? I didn’t cheat you. I gave you what I promised. And I gave them what I didn’t promise. Why is your nose getting bent out of joint over that? Can’t I do what I want with my own? Or do you begrudge my generosity.”
The goodness of the master didn’t compute for the grumbling workers with their focus on fairness. They looked at His kindness as being wretchedly unfair, which of course it gloriously is! You been there? You ever thought that the Lord owed you because of your hard labor for Him? And have you ever grumbled in your heart when His mercy and kindness reach out to give the same gift to a person who repents at the very last hour after living a completely wretched life?
God dishes His gifts out without measure. He doesn’t play the “keeping track” game. He has more forgiveness than you have sin; more life than you have death; more mercy than you have misery. And He dumps it out lavishly. And the cross is the measure of His generosity. Your Lord went to the cross to answer for all our grumblings, for all our lack of self-control, for all our refusal to discipline that body of yours including your tongue, for all your neglect of your own soul, for all your standing idle. He bore those sins in His body upon the tree to death. He poured out His blood to blot out those sins and to free you from their power forever. He calls all to the discipline of work in the vineyard - working for His kingdom and trusting in the goodness of the Master to take care of our every need as we go about the work He’s given us to do. We don’t need to worry about the accounting at the end of the day - it will not be fair. It will be generous, generous beyond our deserving or imagining. The God who sends His Son to win salvation for all upon the cross - even for those who despise Him and grumble against Him - the God who raised His Son in triumph to destroy death, how will He not with Him freely give us all things?
So Lent comes, people loved by God. Let’s decide right now to fast and not only with our stomachs. Let us resolve to fast from using our tongues to grumble against each other and against our God. Let us resolve not to allow Satan to plant doubts about God’s goodness within us. Tasting the love lavished on us by the Crucified and Risen Lord, let our lips instead be filled with the praises of Him who labored tirelessly in His Father’s vineyard to provide for us the water of everlasting life. Let our mouths, fellow baptized, receive in His body and blood pardon and the strength to forsake the old way of grumbling and griping. So we will find in communion with Christ a generous and loving Father whose unfairness, whose GRACE, is our joy and delight, and to whom be all glory, with His all holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen.
When we start to head for the Lenten fast, we must remember that a fast is of no good at all if we are intent only on fasting from food, missing some meals; rather, we must above all fast from sin. And here is one sin that needs turning from in our lives: the sin of grumbling. Grumbling which is but the putrid odor of our distrust in God.
So the Israelites in today’s first reading. The people whom God had taken for himself from Egypt by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm - they were not happy. They wanted water and there was no H2O in sight at the place where God had instructed them set up camp. And so the grumbling starts, the quarreling with Moses and the testing of the Lord. The sad thing? God had the situation covered, as He always does. He wasn’t leading His people into a trap. He had taken thought for provision - miraculous provision, water from the rock. Streams pouring out in the desert. Their grumbling ended up looking pretty silly when that water began bursting from the rock.
But, of course, it wasn’t an isolated instance. Over and over again, in their journey to the promised land the people of Israel blew it - fell into grumbling because they kept doubting the goodness of the Lord and His provision. And they’re not alone in that, are they? We join them in it. We fear that God won’t take care of us or those we love, we fear that He’s playing some sort of game with us. And so we gripe and moan, we fear and question. And still He provides again and again and again. The fast is coming. With denying yourself some food, why not deny your mouth the words of complaint and your heart the agony of distrust that Satan would plant there? Not just for a few days, but let’s seek to fast from these for the rest of our pilgrimage.
In the epistle Paul speaks of our pilgrimage as a race - and how we need to run that race in such a way as to win the prize, disciplining our bodies, keeping them under control. Fasting again? Yes, but your tongue is also a part of your body and it cries out for disciple and control. How did James put it? With it you bless the God and Father who made you and with it you curse man made in the image of God? How did he describe it? A little member causing great trouble, set on fire from hell!
And in the epistle Paul warns against a faithless use of the Sacraments. A use of them as a sort of “get out of hell free” card when there is no repentance, no change, no disciplining of the body and no keeping the tongue under control. He warns: Look, the Israelites tried that route and you saw where it landed them. They were baptized in a sort of way - passing through the sea. They were communed in a sort of way - manna and the water from the rock. But “with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
So don’t fool yourself and say: it doesn’t matter if I don’t control myself, I can grumble as much as I please, thank you very much, I’ve got the sacraments to guarantee me forgiveness! People loved by God, it doesn’t work that way. Never has. Your Lord loves you and He wants to both forgive you AND set you free from sin’s power. To try to have forgiveness with no repentance for sin, is to fool yourself. Or, rather, to be fooled by Satan.
As we prepare for Lent, think about these things. Let’s repent for the sins of not controlling the tongue, and above all for the sin of not trusting in God’s good intentions toward us - He may lead us through a dry and barren land, but He will provide all the way along for us to reach the end of our pilgrimage and enter into His promised land. We may falter and we may fail, but HIS promises never do. We can count on them to the end!
But we're not done with the grumbling yet. In today’s Gospel there's more! The workers think that the owner of the vineyard is totally unfair. Everyone ends up with the same pay, even though some worked only the smallest piece of the day. “Not fair!” they cry. “You have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” The owner is not impressed with the grumbling: “What just a second here. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? I didn’t cheat you. I gave you what I promised. And I gave them what I didn’t promise. Why is your nose getting bent out of joint over that? Can’t I do what I want with my own? Or do you begrudge my generosity.”
The goodness of the master didn’t compute for the grumbling workers with their focus on fairness. They looked at His kindness as being wretchedly unfair, which of course it gloriously is! You been there? You ever thought that the Lord owed you because of your hard labor for Him? And have you ever grumbled in your heart when His mercy and kindness reach out to give the same gift to a person who repents at the very last hour after living a completely wretched life?
God dishes His gifts out without measure. He doesn’t play the “keeping track” game. He has more forgiveness than you have sin; more life than you have death; more mercy than you have misery. And He dumps it out lavishly. And the cross is the measure of His generosity. Your Lord went to the cross to answer for all our grumblings, for all our lack of self-control, for all our refusal to discipline that body of yours including your tongue, for all your neglect of your own soul, for all your standing idle. He bore those sins in His body upon the tree to death. He poured out His blood to blot out those sins and to free you from their power forever. He calls all to the discipline of work in the vineyard - working for His kingdom and trusting in the goodness of the Master to take care of our every need as we go about the work He’s given us to do. We don’t need to worry about the accounting at the end of the day - it will not be fair. It will be generous, generous beyond our deserving or imagining. The God who sends His Son to win salvation for all upon the cross - even for those who despise Him and grumble against Him - the God who raised His Son in triumph to destroy death, how will He not with Him freely give us all things?
So Lent comes, people loved by God. Let’s decide right now to fast and not only with our stomachs. Let us resolve to fast from using our tongues to grumble against each other and against our God. Let us resolve not to allow Satan to plant doubts about God’s goodness within us. Tasting the love lavished on us by the Crucified and Risen Lord, let our lips instead be filled with the praises of Him who labored tirelessly in His Father’s vineyard to provide for us the water of everlasting life. Let our mouths, fellow baptized, receive in His body and blood pardon and the strength to forsake the old way of grumbling and griping. So we will find in communion with Christ a generous and loving Father whose unfairness, whose GRACE, is our joy and delight, and to whom be all glory, with His all holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen.
30 January 2010
Just to Say It Again...
...LSB is one very solid and good book. Tonight (and tomorrow) we use Divine Service 4 (5th Sundays; DS 3 for all the rest). No, it's not my own preference, but it is nevertheless a quite solid and fine liturgy. I think the congregation is also growing to appreciate it a great deal; at least, they belted it out (even with a relatively small attendance).
Reminder: The Feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord
This Tuesday at St. Paul's:
Vespers - 5:45
Divine Service - 6:15
The Presentation will also be the theme of Wednesday Matins with the school - 8:30
In peace and joy I now depart
Since God so wills it.
Serene and confident my heart,
Stillness fills it.
For God's promised death would be
No more than quiet slumber.
Vespers - 5:45
Divine Service - 6:15
The Presentation will also be the theme of Wednesday Matins with the school - 8:30
In peace and joy I now depart
Since God so wills it.
Serene and confident my heart,
Stillness fills it.
For God's promised death would be
No more than quiet slumber.
Surprise!
The Cases brought along Pr. Robert Baker tonight to Divine Service. Always a joy to see all three, but Kim and JW we do get to see rather often, Robert not so much. Glad to have them all there tonight for Septuagesima.
Jenny's Wonderful Tribute to Dorothy
She read this to us before we blessed the food at the wake:
On Wednesday I rode the train from Chicago to Alton and spent the trip remembering and celebrating Grandma. If you didn't know, Grandma was very fond of this trip. She'd come to Chicago several times a year and this was her way of getting there. A friend at work sent an email to let me know how sorry he was to hear about Grandma. He knew that she loved riding the train and said that I should ride the train down to honor her. I did just that.
When I think of Grandma so many special things come to mind. Here are a few:
Beauty Both Outside and In: Grandma not only looked like she could be my mom even at 80, people called her my mom. When we corrected them by saying she was my grandma their mouths hit the ground. So either I look older than I am or she looked extremely young - I think, and hope, it was the latter! Grandma always put everyone else first. She was selfless, thoughtful, caring, nurturing. The list goes on and on. If others were happy, she was happy.
Hair: Grandma was always fussing with her hair. Every time I saw her she asked me if I thought she should do something different with it. Truth be told, I never really thought it looked any different from the last time, but I played along. One of her favorite memories of me as a little girl was rolling my hair the night before church. Then she would take me and my curly locks to church and we would sit right in the front row. I guess she wanted to show of her good work.
Youth and Energy: Grandma always told me that she never wanted to slow down and if you ever saw her calendar you would know she didn't. I think she had more on her social calendar at 80 than I do now with two kids! Golf, Bowling, Choir, Ladies Aid, Bible Class, Going to see Adam and Jack's Games, Vacations, Shopping, Playing Upwords and Cards. You name it, she did it!
Love of Her Grandchilden: Grandma had such a special way with kids and babies. I recently called her the Baby Whisperer. She was the only one that could calm my screaming son, Trevor, which my husband and I were convinced had colic, and get him to fall asleep by holding him close and singing. She would have sat in the chair rocking him for hours had we let her.
My daughter, Abby, adored her. Despite having knee surgery, Grandma would get down on the floor and play with Abby for hours. She loved to read to her, often interjecting her own stories into the books that they were looking at. I'm not sure if her stories even matched the pictures but Abby didn't mind. And the goofy voices she used made Abby laugh and laugh.
Adam and Jack kept Grandma young. She always looked forward to and loved going to their activites and always told me how important it was for her to be close to them. Every time we were on the phone she talked about how big they were getting and the different things they were involved in. She had planned on bringing them up on the train to Chicago this summer so we could all be together.
And me, well I got to share 35 unforgettable years with her. She was always there to lend an ear and shoulder to lean on, to laugh with, to confide in, to share stories with and, most recently, help me out with my 2 small children. And, boy, a help she was! I knew I could always count on Grandma. We had a special bond and so many memories that will last a lifetime. She wasn't only my grandma but also my dear friend who filled my life with joy.
She was so proud of her family.
Love of the Church: As you know, Grandma was so involved with the church. She put God first in all that she did and lead by his example.
One of the last conversations I had with her was on Saturday after my son, Trevor, was baptized. She wasn't feeling up for making the trip and I know how important this day was to her. She told me she had been watching the clock for 11, which was the time of his baptism, and she cried when 11 came. I thought she was crying because she missed it, which I'm sure was part of it, but more importantly she was crying because she was so happy that Trevor had been reborn and saved.
My husband, Kevin, and I were talking after we found out and he said, "we can take peace in knowing that before Grandma went to bed on Monday night she said the Lord's Prayer and a special prayer for her family. And I'm positive she did just that.
The morning we heard about Grandma I walked into the kitchen where my daughter Abby was who's almost 2. She looked at me and said "Mommy's sad." I said yes, Mommy's sad because Great Grandma isn't here any more. She thought about that and said "Grandma's home." I said yes, Grandma's home now in heaven. She looked up, put her hand in the air and said "Hi Heaven."
Even though we weren't ready for Grandma to go, she was ready for Heaven just as soon as God wanted to call her home. Now she is at home with Grandpa.
On Wednesday I rode the train from Chicago to Alton and spent the trip remembering and celebrating Grandma. If you didn't know, Grandma was very fond of this trip. She'd come to Chicago several times a year and this was her way of getting there. A friend at work sent an email to let me know how sorry he was to hear about Grandma. He knew that she loved riding the train and said that I should ride the train down to honor her. I did just that.
When I think of Grandma so many special things come to mind. Here are a few:
Beauty Both Outside and In: Grandma not only looked like she could be my mom even at 80, people called her my mom. When we corrected them by saying she was my grandma their mouths hit the ground. So either I look older than I am or she looked extremely young - I think, and hope, it was the latter! Grandma always put everyone else first. She was selfless, thoughtful, caring, nurturing. The list goes on and on. If others were happy, she was happy.
Hair: Grandma was always fussing with her hair. Every time I saw her she asked me if I thought she should do something different with it. Truth be told, I never really thought it looked any different from the last time, but I played along. One of her favorite memories of me as a little girl was rolling my hair the night before church. Then she would take me and my curly locks to church and we would sit right in the front row. I guess she wanted to show of her good work.
Youth and Energy: Grandma always told me that she never wanted to slow down and if you ever saw her calendar you would know she didn't. I think she had more on her social calendar at 80 than I do now with two kids! Golf, Bowling, Choir, Ladies Aid, Bible Class, Going to see Adam and Jack's Games, Vacations, Shopping, Playing Upwords and Cards. You name it, she did it!
Love of Her Grandchilden: Grandma had such a special way with kids and babies. I recently called her the Baby Whisperer. She was the only one that could calm my screaming son, Trevor, which my husband and I were convinced had colic, and get him to fall asleep by holding him close and singing. She would have sat in the chair rocking him for hours had we let her.
My daughter, Abby, adored her. Despite having knee surgery, Grandma would get down on the floor and play with Abby for hours. She loved to read to her, often interjecting her own stories into the books that they were looking at. I'm not sure if her stories even matched the pictures but Abby didn't mind. And the goofy voices she used made Abby laugh and laugh.
Adam and Jack kept Grandma young. She always looked forward to and loved going to their activites and always told me how important it was for her to be close to them. Every time we were on the phone she talked about how big they were getting and the different things they were involved in. She had planned on bringing them up on the train to Chicago this summer so we could all be together.
And me, well I got to share 35 unforgettable years with her. She was always there to lend an ear and shoulder to lean on, to laugh with, to confide in, to share stories with and, most recently, help me out with my 2 small children. And, boy, a help she was! I knew I could always count on Grandma. We had a special bond and so many memories that will last a lifetime. She wasn't only my grandma but also my dear friend who filled my life with joy.
She was so proud of her family.
Love of the Church: As you know, Grandma was so involved with the church. She put God first in all that she did and lead by his example.
One of the last conversations I had with her was on Saturday after my son, Trevor, was baptized. She wasn't feeling up for making the trip and I know how important this day was to her. She told me she had been watching the clock for 11, which was the time of his baptism, and she cried when 11 came. I thought she was crying because she missed it, which I'm sure was part of it, but more importantly she was crying because she was so happy that Trevor had been reborn and saved.
My husband, Kevin, and I were talking after we found out and he said, "we can take peace in knowing that before Grandma went to bed on Monday night she said the Lord's Prayer and a special prayer for her family. And I'm positive she did just that.
The morning we heard about Grandma I walked into the kitchen where my daughter Abby was who's almost 2. She looked at me and said "Mommy's sad." I said yes, Mommy's sad because Great Grandma isn't here any more. She thought about that and said "Grandma's home." I said yes, Grandma's home now in heaven. She looked up, put her hand in the air and said "Hi Heaven."
Even though we weren't ready for Grandma to go, she was ready for Heaven just as soon as God wanted to call her home. Now she is at home with Grandpa.
New Lutheran Quote of the Day
It is the Holy Spirit who conforms us to Christ and shapes our will to harmonize with the will of God. -- Earnest Koenker, *Worship in Word and Sacrament* p. 52.
Old Lutheran Quote of the Day
As universal as is man's sin, just so universal are the provisions for man's redemption. -- H. E. Jacobs *Elements of Religion* p. 110
Patristic Quote of the Day
What does it mean to receive unworthily? To receive in mockery, to receive in contempt. Let the Sacrament not appear of trifling value to you because you look upon it. What you see passes; but the invisible, that which is not seen, does not pass; it remains. -- St. Augustine, Homily 227
So there we were
sitting at lunch - and a fine lunch it was too: leftover barbecued beef topped with coleslaw - and Cindi proceeds to tell David and me a story. She prefaces it with: "Oh, something funny from yesterday..." It was a rather long and involved story during which David looked increasingly perplexed and at the end of which David blurts out: "That wasn't funny. That wasn't funny at all. I demand my money back." I just wish he hadn't said it when I had a mouthful of food...
29 January 2010
Ah, Liverpool
is such a SPLENDID game. What did Cin say last week? "Knowledge and skill," I believe "is all it takes." What can I say? Both games tonight were mine. I had contemplated splitting the victory with Jo, but ended up greedily devouring the WHOLE DARNED THING. Ah, sweet. Randy, you need to come back for Pinochle - I think we played the wrong weekend...
Even though I try to keep US Politics
off of this blog, I must confess that this particular opinion piece nails a very embarrassing moment in our common life.
New Lutheran Quote of the Day
The life of the Christian is always directed, whether in intercession or praise, to the Father. So the individual life as well as the communal worship of the church is directed to the Father through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Ghost. -- Earnest Koenker, *Worship in Word and Sacrament* p. 52.
Old Lutheran Quote of the Day
The treasury of divine grace and blessing is always at hand, but oh, how languid and weak oftimes becomes the hand of faith to lay hold of its gifts! -- Blessed Johann Gerhard, *Sacred Meditations* XLII
Patristic Quote of the Day
At first, after the prayer, you are admonished to lift up your heart. This befits the members of Christ. For, if you have become members of Christ, where is your Head? Members have a head. If the Head had not preceded, the members would not follow. Where has your Head gone? What did you recite in the Creed? 'On the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; He sits at the right hand of the Father.' Therefore, our Head is in heaven. Hence, when the 'Lift up your heart' is said, you answer: 'We have [them lifted up] to the Lord.' Then, because this lifting up of your hearts to God is a gift of God and lest you should attribute to your own strength, your own merits, and your own labors the fact that you have your hearts thus lifted up to the Lord, after the answer, 'We have our hearts lifted up to the Lord,' the bishop or priest who is officiating also says: 'Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, because we have our hearts raised up to Him. Let us give thanks to Him, because if He did not give [the grace], we would have our hearts fixed on the earth.' And you bear witness to this, saying: 'It is right and just for us to give thanks to Him who caused us to raise our hearts up to our Head.' -- St. Augustine, Homily 227
Funeral Homily for Dorothy Behrhorst
[Isaiah 25:6-9 / Revelation 7:9-17 / John 11:17-27]
Ron and Lynn, Marc and Linda, Jenny, Adam and Jack, family and friends of Dorothy Behrhorst. It does not seem possible that we’re gathered in this room, doing what we’re doing, does it? As you said, Marc, it was so easy to forget that Dorothy was 80, after all. She never seemed to grow older - always effervescent, full of energy and enthusiasm, living life full steam ahead. And when was she ever NOT that way? When did the promises of God in Christ ever not seem to fill her with joy?
I’ve been with her as her husband was dying, as her mother and her mother-in-law passed, and as both her sisters died. One sorrow piled on top of another. But she never looked at them that way, did she? “Another one gathered home! I can’t wait!” To Dorothy the promises of God in Christ simply outweighed the sorrows and filled her life with that bubbly hope that she was so good at sharing.
She believed with all her heart in that promise Isaiah spoke. That on the Lord’s mountain, the Lord had a feast for His people - a feast to celebrate death’s destruction and overthrow. A feast of joy as the Lord wiped away tears and took away the reproach of His people. She knew all about that feast. She literally lived from it. Time and again, she presented herself before the Lord’s altar and opened her mouth to receive from the Savior’s hand the promise and guarantee that her sins were forgiven, covered in Jesus’ blood, and that she had in her Savior a life bigger than death - a life that death would never be able to take from her. And the Table, I believe, became more dear to her as the sweet trysting place with her beloved family that had gone on before. She knew that she gathered with them - a forgiven people sharing a life beyond the grave’s grip. Her face beamed as she received the promise of the Lord’s body and blood.
And how she delighted in being in the Lord’s house and worshipping with His people, singing in the choir, listening to His words and promises, knowing that she was part of that great gathering that St. John saw in Revelation 7 - her robes might white in the blood of the Lamb the day she was baptized - a mere 11 days after her birth. You know how this past week she was celebrating that her youngest great-grandson had received the washing of rebirth in the Lamb’s blood and been clothed with the same white robe of Jesus’ righteousness that was her joy and delight. You know how eager she was for EVERYONE to get in that water with Jesus and get those glory robes. She didn’t want a single soul to miss out on the joy of standing before the throne of God and serving Him day and night in His temple, living in the shelter of His presence. She couldn’t imagine what life would be like without that comfort and joy - and so she witnessed about it to everyone. Yes, even when the Baptists came by and invited her to come with them to church, SHE invited them to join HER!
Dorothy was able to say good-bye to her family and friends as they left this world with tears, but yet with that unquenchable bubbly joy, because she trusted above all the promise of Jesus in today’s Gospel: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Our Lord asked Martha whether she believed that. He asked Dorothy the same thing too. Before this altar in 1943 as she was being confirmed. And she gave her joyous “yes!” and gave it time and again ever since. “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world.”
So she lived her life free. Free from the corrosion of despair. Free from the anxiety of fear. Free from the dread of death. What was death to her? Her Lord had blasted a hole right through it and promised her the gift of eternal life with Him. She could speak of that promise with glowing confidence and joy - and so she strengthened all of us.
And because she was free in Christ, she could live her life here just loving others. What joy she had in the trips she got to take! What joy in that little puppy dog in these last years! What joy with friends at the card table! What joy in you, her beloved sons, and Linda, and you grandchildren, Jenny and Abigail and Trevor and Adam and Jack - you were what she was always bragging on. Cindi told me yesterday about how she always had a story or a picture of something you’d been up to share with her fellow choir members - and I’ll bet it was the same with the card club.
I hope I haven’t made her sound unreal - as though she weren’t a sinner. She knew she was. She knew that she needed and lived from her Savior’s pardon. But she really was a shining example to us of what joy in Christ looks like when the promises of Christ have taken hold of a heart and joined it eternally to the Blessed Trinity.
In the days to come I know you’ll miss her. Trust me when I say that a lot of people will be missing her. Will find it hard to comprehend a life without her. But she’d be correcting me right now and saying: “What do you MEAN a life without me? Don’t you believe His promises? I am not dead, but living in Him. And you will be too. Just wait. You’ll see!”
And she’d be so right. Dorothy, we love you and we’re very glad that we haven’t really lost you at all. And for that we give glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dorothy H. Behrhorst, age 80, of Hamel, died at 7:10 a.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, at her residence in Hamel.
She was born on June 5, 1929, in Hamel, the daughter of the late Arthur H. and Olga M. Brunnworth Uelsmann.
She married Wilbur E. Behrhorst on June 11, 1950, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel. He preceded her in death on July 31, 1994.
She is survived by two sons: Ronald L. Behrhorst of Hamel and Marc A. and wife Linda Behrhorst of Edwardsville; three grandchildren: Jennifer and husband Kevin McCarthy of Chicago, Adam Behrhorst of Edwardsville and Jack Behrhorst of Edwardsville; and two great-grandchildren: Abigail and Trevor McCarthy.
Along with her parents and her husband, she is preceded in death by two sisters: LaVerne Halbe and Eileen Schwalb.
Mrs. Behrhorst was born and raised in Hamel, on a farm north of Hamel. She worked for Famous Barr in customer services in Alton. She worked for Hamel Township doing clerical work.
She enjoyed cards, golf, bowling, traveling and church activities.
Her memberships included St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel, the Church Missionary League and the church choir.
Ron and Lynn, Marc and Linda, Jenny, Adam and Jack, family and friends of Dorothy Behrhorst. It does not seem possible that we’re gathered in this room, doing what we’re doing, does it? As you said, Marc, it was so easy to forget that Dorothy was 80, after all. She never seemed to grow older - always effervescent, full of energy and enthusiasm, living life full steam ahead. And when was she ever NOT that way? When did the promises of God in Christ ever not seem to fill her with joy?
I’ve been with her as her husband was dying, as her mother and her mother-in-law passed, and as both her sisters died. One sorrow piled on top of another. But she never looked at them that way, did she? “Another one gathered home! I can’t wait!” To Dorothy the promises of God in Christ simply outweighed the sorrows and filled her life with that bubbly hope that she was so good at sharing.
She believed with all her heart in that promise Isaiah spoke. That on the Lord’s mountain, the Lord had a feast for His people - a feast to celebrate death’s destruction and overthrow. A feast of joy as the Lord wiped away tears and took away the reproach of His people. She knew all about that feast. She literally lived from it. Time and again, she presented herself before the Lord’s altar and opened her mouth to receive from the Savior’s hand the promise and guarantee that her sins were forgiven, covered in Jesus’ blood, and that she had in her Savior a life bigger than death - a life that death would never be able to take from her. And the Table, I believe, became more dear to her as the sweet trysting place with her beloved family that had gone on before. She knew that she gathered with them - a forgiven people sharing a life beyond the grave’s grip. Her face beamed as she received the promise of the Lord’s body and blood.
And how she delighted in being in the Lord’s house and worshipping with His people, singing in the choir, listening to His words and promises, knowing that she was part of that great gathering that St. John saw in Revelation 7 - her robes might white in the blood of the Lamb the day she was baptized - a mere 11 days after her birth. You know how this past week she was celebrating that her youngest great-grandson had received the washing of rebirth in the Lamb’s blood and been clothed with the same white robe of Jesus’ righteousness that was her joy and delight. You know how eager she was for EVERYONE to get in that water with Jesus and get those glory robes. She didn’t want a single soul to miss out on the joy of standing before the throne of God and serving Him day and night in His temple, living in the shelter of His presence. She couldn’t imagine what life would be like without that comfort and joy - and so she witnessed about it to everyone. Yes, even when the Baptists came by and invited her to come with them to church, SHE invited them to join HER!
Dorothy was able to say good-bye to her family and friends as they left this world with tears, but yet with that unquenchable bubbly joy, because she trusted above all the promise of Jesus in today’s Gospel: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Our Lord asked Martha whether she believed that. He asked Dorothy the same thing too. Before this altar in 1943 as she was being confirmed. And she gave her joyous “yes!” and gave it time and again ever since. “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world.”
So she lived her life free. Free from the corrosion of despair. Free from the anxiety of fear. Free from the dread of death. What was death to her? Her Lord had blasted a hole right through it and promised her the gift of eternal life with Him. She could speak of that promise with glowing confidence and joy - and so she strengthened all of us.
And because she was free in Christ, she could live her life here just loving others. What joy she had in the trips she got to take! What joy in that little puppy dog in these last years! What joy with friends at the card table! What joy in you, her beloved sons, and Linda, and you grandchildren, Jenny and Abigail and Trevor and Adam and Jack - you were what she was always bragging on. Cindi told me yesterday about how she always had a story or a picture of something you’d been up to share with her fellow choir members - and I’ll bet it was the same with the card club.
I hope I haven’t made her sound unreal - as though she weren’t a sinner. She knew she was. She knew that she needed and lived from her Savior’s pardon. But she really was a shining example to us of what joy in Christ looks like when the promises of Christ have taken hold of a heart and joined it eternally to the Blessed Trinity.
In the days to come I know you’ll miss her. Trust me when I say that a lot of people will be missing her. Will find it hard to comprehend a life without her. But she’d be correcting me right now and saying: “What do you MEAN a life without me? Don’t you believe His promises? I am not dead, but living in Him. And you will be too. Just wait. You’ll see!”
And she’d be so right. Dorothy, we love you and we’re very glad that we haven’t really lost you at all. And for that we give glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dorothy H. Behrhorst, age 80, of Hamel, died at 7:10 a.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010, at her residence in Hamel.
She was born on June 5, 1929, in Hamel, the daughter of the late Arthur H. and Olga M. Brunnworth Uelsmann.
She married Wilbur E. Behrhorst on June 11, 1950, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel. He preceded her in death on July 31, 1994.
She is survived by two sons: Ronald L. Behrhorst of Hamel and Marc A. and wife Linda Behrhorst of Edwardsville; three grandchildren: Jennifer and husband Kevin McCarthy of Chicago, Adam Behrhorst of Edwardsville and Jack Behrhorst of Edwardsville; and two great-grandchildren: Abigail and Trevor McCarthy.
Along with her parents and her husband, she is preceded in death by two sisters: LaVerne Halbe and Eileen Schwalb.
Mrs. Behrhorst was born and raised in Hamel, on a farm north of Hamel. She worked for Famous Barr in customer services in Alton. She worked for Hamel Township doing clerical work.
She enjoyed cards, golf, bowling, traveling and church activities.
Her memberships included St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel, the Church Missionary League and the church choir.
28 January 2010
She IS David's Mommy...
...so I start to pull out for Cindi and I to head to town for a bite of lunch. She says: "Stop! I can't find my phone." She's looking here and there. She decides it must be inside. So I back up and she prepares to get out of the car, and puts down the things in her hand... including her phone. Right. And she always blames ME for being where David gets his dingy genes from. Uh, huh...
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