Four Years Later

For many in America, October 12 is a day to celebrate—or to rail against—Columbus Day. For my Canadian friends (and, I suppose, those people in Canada who I don't know or with whom I do not share friendship), today is Thanksgiving Day.

For me, October 12 marks the anniversary of what was probably the worst day in my life. Four years ago today, the leaders of the congregation I was serving in Ohio demanded my resignation as the Associate Pastor of their congregation. I've told the story here before, and I don't need to repeat the whole sordid tale here.

So . . . yeah. It's been four years now since I've been a parish pastor. It's not easy, knowing that you're Called to do something and to be unable to do it. Oh, I've preached and taught Bible study all over Louisiana and beyond. I've officiated at three funerals. I've even been blessed to baptize three beautiful children, two of whom are my own. Every chance I'm given to do these things is a blessing. But the difference being a parish pastor and being a pastor who only occasionally gets to be a pastor is extremely frustrating. I've been trained and Called to preach the Gospel, to administer the Sacraments, to serve God's people as an undershepherd. What God has given me to bring to His people is the greatest Good News, and not being able to do what I've been Called to do is a terrible burden to bear. It's been four years, and there's no way to say when—or even if—I'll be a parish pastor again. God willing, it will happen soon. God willing, it will happen. I have no ambition but to serve God by preaching the Word to His people and faithfully administering the Sacraments.

I always thought that guys who end up on CRM status—the abbreviation for "candidatus reverendi ministerii," or, "candidate for the holy ministry"—ended up there because they did something terrible. They cheated on their wives. They taught false doctrine. They stole money from the congregation. But that's not usually the case. Oh, those guys exist. But more often, someone in a position to "make things happen" in a congregation decides they don't like the way a pastor preaches or teaches or keeps his schedule or what he stands for, and they convince those around them that the pastor must go. I am not without guilt in my own situation, but the majority of the men I've met who have been forced to resign from their congregations, many of whom I've had contact with. have been forced to resign merely for doing what they do: preaching the Gospel in its purity, teaching the Word of God instead of popular ideas, and loving people with God's love. These men vow to do these things, and they are treated shamefully for doing what they have been Called to do by the very people for whom they have been Called to do it.

The world needs what these other men and I have been Called to bring. God grant that we all be given a place to being faithful servants of God and faithful undershepherds to His people.

HYMN: Saint Stephen Stood Boldly Before the Sanhedrin

My latest attempt at hymn writing is meant for the Feast of Saint Stephen the martyr, who was stoned for his testimony concerning Christ before the Sanhedrin. The Feast of Saint Stephen, Proto-Martyr, is celebrated on December 26. I've always been intrigued by the connection between the stoning of Stephen, the persecution which followed, and the spread of Christianity "to the ends of the earth". This hymn follows Stephen through his Acts 7 speech, though as other hymn writers have noted, it's not always easy to put the prose of Scripture into verses.

I took some liberties with the meter, since the hymn tune, Kremser (LSB 785: "We Praise You, O God") has some leeway in it. Anyway, here it is. Feel free to use it with proper attribution.

Saint Stephen Stood Boldly Before the Sanhedrin

1. Saint Stephen stood boldly before the Sanhedrin,
Charged falsely with blaspheming God and His Law.
His words caused dissension, his signs, apprehension,
Yet in the face of Stephen an angel they saw.

2. He answered their charges with covenant hist'ry—
How God unto Abraham showed forth His grace.
He gave circumcision and showed him a vision
Of homeland and of heirs—his children a race.

3. He spoke of how Joseph was sold by his brothers.
Yet God remained with him in Egypt the same,
And with Pharoah's favor he rose as a savior.
Thus to the land of Egypt the Patriarchs came.

4. He told them how Moses led God's chosen people
From bondage in Egypt to Sinai's broad plain.
God's people defected and Moses rejected.
They praised the golden calf, the cov'nant disdained.

5. The Lord is now dwelling among His own people—
No longer in temples by human hands made.
You stiff-necked, hard-hearted! God's Word you've departed.
You persecute the prophets; in their blood you wade.

6. The crowd was enraged; they no longer would listen.
Then from the great city they cast him away.
In anger they stoned him, but Christ did not disown him.
And having died in faith, in Christ's arms he lay.

7. The seed of the Church is the blood of the martyrs:
With Stephen’s death great persecution did spread.
Yet God brought conversion by means of dispersion.
The Gospel sowed abroad as each Christian fled.

8. All glory to God to whom Stephen was faithful:
For Stephen's confession and death taught the faith.
Lord, make our faith ample in Stephen's example
That we, like him, keep steadfast even in death.



(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
12 11 12 11
Tune: Kremser (LSB 785: "We Praise You, O God")

Take your medicine!

I'm in quite the unique position right now. As an Ordained layperson, I get to see things from both sides of the communion rail. I hope this post doesn't come off sounding like sour grapes. Since I'm not a parish pastor at the moment, I'm not speaking about any particular congregation.


For the most part, Americans trust the professionals with whom they interact. When we call the doctor, we trust the advice they give and usually take the medicine they prescribe. After medical school and residency, we trust that a doctor generally knows what he's talking about. When we want our will drawn up, we call a lawyer. After all, that's what she went to law school for, and we trust that someone who has passed the bar exam can help us with legal issues. The same is true for most professionals, whether it's plumbers or architects or stylists or home security installers.

Sadly, the same cannot be said about how we interact with pastors. Too often pastors are viewed with skepticism. Sure, we extend Calls to these men to care for our souls, but when the rubber meets the road, too often we are ready to ignore what they have to say. Why do we not accord our pastors the same trust?

Let me share with you one example that I've encountered all over the country. Historically the Church and its congregations have received the Lord's Supper every Sunday. This practice fell by the wayside in Lutheranism during the 1700s, when it became common to offer the Lord's Supper only once every three months. For the most part Lutheran congregations have at least gotten back to the point where they offer the Eucharist twice a month on alternating Sundays. The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod in convention has encouraged a return to offering and receiving the Sacrament of the Altar every Sunday, and our seminaries teach that this is a salutary practice. Nonetheless, many congregations resist this practice. One of the most common reasons given is, "If we have this too often, it will seem less special." I find it distressing that someone might think that the Lord's Supper could ever be less than special. After all, it is the body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins; what could be more special?

But that's beside the point. When our doctor informs us we have an infection and tells us to take the penicillin until we have finished the prescription, we follow her directions. When our lawyer tells us we're facing criminal charges and tells us not to answer any questions without her being present, we listen. When the exterminator comes and tells us that we have an infestation, by all means we tell him to eradicate it. Yet when our pastor tells us that we can have the potent and efficacious remedy to sin and death every week, we tell him we'd rather not have it, that we don't need it.


Ideally, your pastor went to seminary for four years of intensive theological training, just as doctors and lawyers receive intensive training in their fields. He has worked diligently in the original languages of Scripture. He has studied church history and systematic theology. He has been trained to care for your soul. Though he is a sinner just like you, he brings you forgiveness in the stead and by the command of Jesus. This has nothing to do with the personality of the man who is your pastor and everything to do with the powerful gifts God delivers to you through him.

You are suffering the disease of sin, and there is no disease that is more terminal. Yes, you can read your Bible at home. Yes, God made the world, and He is present everywhere, so you don't have to go to church to be in His presence. But when your soul is in distress, this is no time to self-medicate. You are suffering the disease of sin, and there is no disease that is more terminal. Trust the man to whom God has given the care of your soul. Take the medicine he brings you from God as often as prescribed, whether it's the Lord's Supper, the Word of holy absolution, or the preaching of Law and Gospel. You cannot overdose, and this medicine will never fail you . . . even if the sinner who is your pastor does.

What are your priorities?

I'll be going on vacation this week, meeting my wife and children in the town where I grew up. There is a concentration of Lutheran congregations in the greater North Tonawanda area, and we've been thinking for months now about where we'd be receiving the gifts of God in the divine service. The easy decision would be to worship at the church I grew up attending. The problem is, the congregation has changed so much just in the nine years since I moved away that I won't feel as though I belong there. (Yes, I know it's not about how I feel, but we'll deal with that another day.) I'd prefer not to worship where the traditional service is in the minority of divine services offered.

That leaves a bunch of other congregations in the area. I've spent a lot of time on the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod website searching the area churches for Communion services. One of the blessings of worshiping with the congregations of the greater New Orleans area is that almost all of the churches have the Eucharist every Sunday. In Western New York, this is not the case. For the most part, even the most "confessional" congregations don't offer the Eucharist every Sunday.

I've had a devil of a time finding that out, though. Most of the congregations have a website, but those websites don't say when the congregation celebrates the Lord's Supper. Are you looking for a blended or a contemporary or a "celebration" service? Check the website. Do you want to know when the congregation's softball team plays next? Check the website. Do you want to know when Gambler's Anonymous meets at the church? Check the website. Do you want to know everything about the grade school or preschool or daycare? By all means, check the website! But if you want to know when the Sacrament of the Altar will be offered . . . well, it may be in the fine print, but more often than not, it's not there at all.

What a congregation puts on its website obviously says a lot about the priorities of a congregation. The youth group is usually prominently placed, usually with a group picture in matching shirts. The ladies group also has a place of honor on the website. Don't get me wrong: these things are important in the life of the congregation. Never let yourself forget that these things are not nearly as important in the life of the Church as receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper, kneeling before Jesus to receive the gifts He has for you. While Martha worried about the fellowship hall, Mary was seated at the feet of her Lord where she belonged, receiving the one thing needful.

What is the priority of your congregation? How is that portrayed in promotional materials and especially on the website? Is the "one thing needful" your highest priority? If so, don't be afraid to say so--and not just to make it easier for me to find a church for vacation. Boldly confess your Lord and the gifts He freely and graciously gives you, and tell everyone else when they will be offered at your church. You don't have to hide your youth group or ladies group away. Just let them be where they belong: under the shadow of their Lord.

Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood moves uptown

I beg your indulgence as I post something that is not the usual fare for this blog.

I know I'm a little slow in posting this, since the Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony was on September 11 of this year. However, I would be remiss if I didn't post, even this late, on the induction of David Robinson to the Basketball Hall of Fame. I know Michael Jordan was the "big" name of this Hall of Fame class. That's typical, because even though David Robinson had a Hall of Fame career, won a league MVP award, was selected to ten all-star teams and was chosen as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, he was often overshadowed by players with more flash, more style, and certainly more ego.

Known as "The Admiral" in honor of his service in the United States Navy, Robinson had the God-given advantage of height. He took that advantage and ran with it. He was not flashy, but he was perhaps the most fundamentally sound basketball player ever. He played the game the right way--with talent, with passion, with humility. He was a stand-out on his own, but when the San Antonio Spurs drafted Tim Duncan with the first pick of the 1997 draft, David took under his wing the young man who everyone said would overshadow him. He invited Duncan into his home, helped to develop his skill, and showed him by shining example how to play the game the way it should be played--both in his respect for the game and in showing how mastering and returning to fundamentals could make Duncan an even greater player. Together these men won two NBA championships, with Robinson retiring as a champion in 2003.

But even greater than Robinson's basketball career are his contributions to his community. Robinson's Christian faith has led him and his wife, Valerie, to be charitable, saying in an interview with People magazine, "The Bible is very clear: Don't do your good works before men to be cheered by men. [Valerie] and I do the right things because that's what God told us to do." Robinson promised fifth graders from a San Antonio elementary school that he would given them each a $2,000 scholarship if they completed school and went to college, and those who accepted his challenge and went to college each received $8,000. The Robinsons also used $9 million of their own money to found the Carver Academy, an inner-city school whose purpose is to prepare mostly underprivileged children with a quality education to prepare them for even the most competitive high schools. He also participates in a program called "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood", which encourages kids to stay in school and away from drugs. The NBA named the trophy given to winners of their monthly Community Assist Award for outstanding charitable efforts the "David Robinson Plaque".

Congratulations, Mr. Robinson. You deserve the accolades you have received--both as an athlete and as a Christian gentleman.


Here is his Basketball Hall of Fame speech. I won't compare it with Michael Jordan's speech, but be sure to note Robinson's humility, graciousness and eloquence. It's a shame more professional athletes don't get the chance to sit at Robinson's feet and learn from him. I look forward to the day Tim Duncan gives his Hall of Fame speech, as I think it will be the same way.

Two Years Later

In honor of the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as well as the attack thwarted by the passengers of Flight 93, I post here something I wrote on the occasion of the second anniversary 9/11.

_______________________

September 11, 2003.

We're now two years removed from the most heinous attack ever to occur on American soil. In many ways it is hard to believe that two years have passed since we watched the repeated footage of the collapse of the two towers of the World Trade Center, since we witnessed with horror the crater in Pennsylvania and the hole in the Pentagon. The images of that day were burned into our minds and hearts, images which will likely remain fresh and raw in our memories.

However, two years have passed. In many ways we have moved on. Outside of New York City—for who even thinks of the Pentagon or of those who crashed in Pennsylvania anymore?—it's hard to see how the attacks have affected our lives. Oh, we expect the inevitable delays in the airport as we wait through more intensive inspections and searches, and we're more inclined to be respectful of emergency workers than we have been in times past. But the flags have come down. Our cynicism toward the government has returned. The party spirit once again runs rampant.

But while life moves on, people are still in pain. For the husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, family and friends of the victims of these attacks, the images are only the beginning. There are holes in their lives which will never quite be filled.

I am reminded of the speech which President Bush delivered shortly after the attacks, in which he tells of the badge a woman gave him. The badge had belonged to her son, and she gave it to the President in memory of her son. As he held it up during the speech the President said, "It is the reminder . . . of a task that does not end."

The task continues. There are still people who need our prayers and what comfort we can give them. There are still criminal terrorists who must be brought to justice. And we as citizens of this great nation must remember the cost of freedom—not only the lives of soldiers, but the lives of those who were murdered just for being citizens of this nation.

The party spirit will continue to grow. Our cynicism toward the government will resume. The flags may not come back out. But let us never forget the reason why, for one brief moment in time, we were not liberals or moderates of conservatives, nor pro-Life or pro-Choice, nor black or white. Let us not forget: for one dark and yet shining moment, we came together as Americans.

_______________________

I'm sad that I was correct in my predictions for how things would come to pass in the years that followed. What has come to pass is the responsibility of every American, and it is the responsibility of every American that we remember those who were murdered by extremists, that we remember and honor our police and fire departments, EMTs, armed forces, and all those who serve us in our darkest hours with their finest hours, and that we pray—pray for peace, pray for the healing of those who were left behind, and pray for the Lord to return in glory to bring us all home.

HYMN: Lord Jesus Christ, the Church's Head

Having recently begun my tenth year as a pastor, and having witnessed recently more and more pastors being forcibly removed from the parishes to which they have been Called to serve, I decided I wanted to try my hand at writing a hymn which gives glory to God, asking Him to keep pastors faithful to the their callings and asking Him to strengthen congregations to treat their pastors as precious gifts from God. (That's quite a sentence, if I do say so myself!) I have to school myself not to repeat words and themes from verse to verse, because, as you can see, I used the word "Word" a lot—not necessarily a bad thing, but that's a lot of repetition for a relatively short hymn. Anyway, here it is. Critiques are welcome and encouraged. Feel free to use, share, or rip apart . . . as long as you give proper attribution and glory to God.

Lord Jesus Christ, the Church's Head

1. Lord Jesus Christ, the Church's head,
Keep faithful those who, in Your stead,
Forgive the sins and preach the same
To all who call upon Your name.

(refrain) Lord Jesus Christ, build up Your sons
To preach Your Word to everyone.

2. As You rose up to God's right hand,
You gave th'apostles Your command
To make disciples by Your Word:
"Baptize and teach them all you've heard." (refrain)

3. Today into Your harvest field
You call men Your own Word to wield
As stewards of Your mysteries—
But not the ears of men to please. (refrain)

4. The world has no desire to hear
The message that Your Kingdom nears.
Help pastors to preach faithfully
So all the world Your grace shall see. (refrain)

5. Equip Your Church for righteousness.
Give pastors courage to address
The sins of those who won't repent,
Despising Word and Sacrament. (refrain)

6. Lead Christians all, dear Lord, to hear
And cherish pastors You bring near,
Who preach the Gospel, e'er the same,
And glorify Your holy name. (refrain)


(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
Long Meter and Refrain (88 88 refrain)
Suggested Tune: MAGDALEN
(My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less—LSB 575)

Hymn writing, take two

If I thought the second attempt would be easier than the first, I was wrong. I'm not exactly as comfortable with this one, but I'm going to post it in hopes that I can get some help with it.

This was going to be a pro-life hymn in response to the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, making the connection between John in the womb and the life of the pre-born. As sometimes happens when I intend to write something, the hymn went in another direction than what I'd planned. If any of you can help the hymn run more smoothly or help me bring it back in that pro-life direction, I'd appreciate it. Or if you feel you must tell me it's awful and to go back to my day job, don't be afraid to be blunt.

The Highly Favored Mary Went

1. The highly favored Mary went,
Her pregnant joy to share.
Elizabeth, herself with child,
Received her sister there.

2. Elizabeth heard Mary's word
Of greeting in her ear,
And in her womb her own babe leapt
To know his Lord was near.

3. Though not yet born, John still rejoiced,
For now his task began--
"Prepare His way," would be his work.
"He comes, redeeming man."

4. The Spirit filled Elizabeth
And loudly she exclaimed,
"Mother of God, how blest are you!
Your fruit by all acclaimed."

5. How blest are they who hear God's Word
Of promise and believe,
For all who hear that Word in faith
Its blessings shall receive.


(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
Common Meter (86 86)
Suggested Tune: St. Anne (LSB 733)

My First Effort at Hymn Writing

I've written a number of hymn and song parodies, most of which won't see the light of day on my public blog. This, however, is my first effort at writing original text for a hymn tune. I wrote new text for "When Peace Like a River (It Is Well With My soul)", but I don't count that, since I just reworked someone else's text. This effort seems a bit simplistic, maybe, but I hope that subsequent attempts will improve.

This was written in response to the recent Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It's true that homosexual marriages and clergy received approval from this assembly, as did fellowship with the United Methodist Church. Those are just symptoms, even as the ordination of women and the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification were earlier symptoms. The truly dangerous thing, the disease, is that the Word of God was twisted to justify teachings that have no biblical justification.

Conservative Lutherans in North America have been quick to back away from these decisions and to disavow fellowship with the ELCA. That's all very well and good, but we must also beware the log in our own eyes, lest we blindly follow the same path.

So here it is, for what it's worth. Feel free to share and use it with proper attribution.

Lord Jesus Christ, Preserve Your Church

1. Lord Jesus Christ, preserve Your Church
From Satan's evil ways.
Guide us in Your redeeming love
And truth throughout our days.

2. Defend us, Lord, from itching ears
Of those who seek to feed
Their own desires and thus ignore
The one thing they most need.

3. Protect your Church, dear Lord, this day
From traitors from within,
Who in the name of "love" bring death
To brothers lost in sin.

4. Turn us from our self-righteousness
And lead us to repent
So we may fully trust your Word
And crave your sacrament.

5. Lord Jesus Christ, preserve Your Church
Until that glorious day
When you return to bring us home
And death has died away. Amen


(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
Common Meter (86 86)
I suggest the tune St. Flavian (LSB 577).

Is this what you think you should hear on Sunday morning?

Apparently this decade sucked . . . at least, musically.

Pitchfork published its Top 500 Tracks of the 2000's. As I went through the list, I was struck by the Dionysian nature of the songs on the list: how the music lends itself to the instinctive, passionate, primal urges of the listener. The music is driven by the beat, rather than having the rhythm serve the music.

Sadly, this is the kind of pap that Contemporary Christian Music advocates would have us dancing to in our worship services. Don't get me wrong. I love music, and there's even a few songs on this list that I enjoy hearing--though the 90s were much better for popular music, and the 80s were better still. But this is not what belongs in the sanctuary of a church.

Unless, of course, the golden calf is being brought in, too.

An intereting (and very sad) week in Lutheranism

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest "Lutheran" church body in North America, this week voted in their body-wide convention to approve a document called a "Social Statement" in which they give approval to same-sex relationships. In a subsequent vote, they also approved the ordination of homosexual clergy who are in committed, monogamous, same-sex relationships.

This is only the latest step in a journey which has taken the ELCA further away from the Word of God. The ELCA in its colleges and seminaries teaches that Bible is a document which was written by men under the influence of God, and that the hand of man in the Bible means that certain things that the Bible contains are not actually God's Word, and so it is their responsibility to decide what God actually said and what was written because of the patriarchal, misogynistic bigotry of men. With this method, sometimes called "historical criticism", the first determination the ELCA made was that the Biblical prohibition against the ordination of women must be abolished. Then they determined that they should be in fellowship--meaning that they share pastors, altars and pulpits--with church bodies with which there are doctrinal disagreements, even when these disagreements concern matters of vital imporance and were matters over which Luther himself could not bring himself to declare fellowship with those who held these beliefs. (This includes but is not limited to the understanding of what the Lord's Supper is and what it means.)

And now they have further stepped away from God's Word by choosing to accept homosexual relationships and to ordain actively homosexual clergy. This is not a surprising step, but it is a disappointing one. When a church body allows itself to pick and choose what from the Bible to believe and what from the Bible to discard, it is usually the least popular teachings which fall by the wayside. Notice what they have already excluded:
1. Denying ordination to women means that the Bible discriminates against half of the world's population! Surely God wouldn't mean to do that, so that must be the influence of the patriarchal society in which the men who wrote the Bible lived.
2. Forming fellowship with church bodies based on an agreement in doctrine means that we are discriminating against everyone who doesn't believe exactly as we do. Surely God does not desire the Church to be divided, so for the sake of love we will declare fellowship with bodies with whom our historical statements of confession do not agree.
3. And what about homosexuals? Sure, God talks about homosexuality, but he does so in the same book in which he declares menstruating women to be unclean! Those laws aren't taken serisously today by anyone, so we can do away with the whole lot--including the outdated thought that homosexuality is sinful. It doesn't matter that this prohibition was repeated again in the New Testament through Paul. Paul was just a homophobe.
These Biblical doctrines were eliminated in the name of love. The problem is, by affirming people in these errors, they are literally loving people to eternal death.

I say none of this in a boastful manner. The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS), the church body to which I belong, has its own problems right now, and our problems are not small ones. Nonetheless, we are duty-bound to "test the spirits" (I John 4), to examine what is taught concerning God's Word. And when someone so obviously steps away from the Word of God, we are duty bound to say so.

Paul tells us in II Timothy 4, "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." The ELCA as a body has chosen to turn away from the truth. Instead of clinging to what is right, they have turned to what is popular. Kyrie, eleison!

Please keep these wayward brethren in your prayers. And keep in your prayers all who would hold to the truth of Scripture in spite of its unpopular teachings. This is a difficult time for all of us.

Calling Miss Manners

And now for something completely different . . .


I went into the bank today to drop off some paperwork for my day job. Like a boy whose parents and preschool teachers taught him manners (and whose children hear the message from Yo Gabba Gabba!), I stood in line while the two tellers were occupied. An older man came into the bank, walked up to a woman who was transacting her business with one of the tellers, and struck up a conversation. When the woman's business was done and she walked away, he set his paperwork on the counter and began his own transaction with the teller.

One of the first lessons we learn in school--if not the very first--is to stand in line and wait your turn. We used to call things like waiting your turn in line "common courtesy". The problem is, it's not all that common anymore. My parents didn't use physical punishment on me often, but my mother slapped me twice, and both times were for saying or doing something rude. I certainly don't live a life of perfect courtesy today, though I do try to be polite. I learned that lesson the hard way.

I hear a goodly number of senior citizens talking about how rude the younger generation is today. My word of advice to senior citizens: if you're going to complain about the rudeness of young people today, it might come over better if you didn't show a lack of common courtesy yourself. After all, we learned it from *somewhere*.

That doesn't excuse my generation or the generation younger than me. Whether we've learned the bad habits of discourtesy by example or just out of thin air, it's time to change. Whether or not the old man doesn't hold the post office door for you, it's time to hold the door for a lady or for an elderly person. Whether or not you receive thanks for doing something, it's time to thank the person who does something for you, even if they're only doing their job. And even if some old guy cuts in line ahead of you, don't be rude in return.

After all, maybe they don't have grandchildren in preschool to teach them common courtesy.

GUEST POST: Beer, Brats and Bride IX

From Barb Kavouras

The 9th Annual International Beer, Brats and Princess Bride Watch is quickly approaching and you should begin to make your plans now. I know several on these lists have moved (providing new opportunities to spread this joyous event) and several are new to these lists so a bit of explanation...

What: Princess Bride Watch (either by tape or DVD)

When: Saturday September 19th

Time: 4 p.m. (eastern time zone)

Where: At the neighborhood gathering place (gather some CATsters in your area and designate someone's home)

Accompanied by: Beer (Lutheran beverage and/or root beer for the kiddoes), Brats (bratwurst -- grilled, broiled, boiled with or without sauerkraut) and whatever else your locale decides!

If you haven't seen the movie, Princess Bride, now is the time to experience a movie which will provide you with all the dialogue you need in life : ) If you are not as enthusiastic as you should be, continue to attend the Beer, Brats and Bride and you soon *will* be enthusiastic : ) The rules for this event are fairly fluid -- if there are no other Loopers or TableTalkers in your area, you *may* watch this with just your family or with *gasp* outsiders. But, it is a *must* to watch the movie! *If* you have an aversion to bratwurst (something I can't even begin to imagine) you *may* have grilled hot dogs. *If* you have an aversion to beer (something this German girl surprisingly can imagine) you *may* substitute a different beverage of choice.

You may eat before or after the designated time of the movie but we should all be watching the movie at the same time across the world--Pastor Brockwell...I'm not sure what time this would make it in Finland...perhaps a late night? Marta in England - will this be an English event this year?

Have fun planning your get together. If you are attending in the Cleveland area, let me know by email. Oh yes, one more thing -- Have fun storming the castle!



I will be participating in this. Alas, my wife and children will not, as they will have already left for New York.

GUEST POST: "Unsung Hymns and Stanzas" by Robert E. Smith

While writing hymn essays for the upcoming Lutheran Service Book Companion, I discovered the following nifty hymns and stanzas:

John Newton, "What contradictions meet" Olney Hymns in Three Books, London: W. Oliver, 1779.

What contradictions meet
In minister's employ!
It is a bitter sweet,
A sorrow full of joy!
No other post affords a place
For equal honor, or disgrace!

Who can describe the pain
Which faithful preachers feel;
Constrain'd to speak, in vain,
To hearts as hard as steel?
Or who can tell the pleasures felt,
When stubborn hearts begin to melt!

The Savior's dying love,
The soul's amazing worth;
Their utmost efforts move,
And draw their bowls forth;
They pray and strive, their rest departs,
Till Christ be form'd in sinners hearts.

If some small hope appear,
They still are not content,
But with a jealous fear,
They watch for the event.
Too oft they find their hopes deciev'd
Then, how their inmost souls are grieved!

But when their pains succeed,
And from the tender blade,
The rip'ning ears proceed,
Their toils are overpaid.
No harvest-joy can equal theirs,
To find the fruit of all their cares.

And the sung stanza:

On what has now been sown
Thy blessing, Lord, bestow;
The pow'r is Thine alone
To make it spring and grow.
Do Thou the gracious harvest raise
And Thou, alone, shalt have the praise.


Samuel Stone, "The Church's One Foundation" (Written for the first Lambeth Conference)

So, Lord, she stands before Thee,
For evermore thine own;
No merit is her glory'
Her boasting this alone;
That she who did not choose Thee
Came.chosen, at Thy call
Never to leave or lose Thee
Or from Thy favour fall.



Isaac Watts, "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past"

IV. Thy Word commands our Flesh to Dust,
Return, ye Sons of Men:
All Nations rose from Earth at first,
And turn to Earth again.

VI. The busy Tribes of Flesh and Blood
With all their Lives and Cares
Are carried downwards by Thy Flood,
And lost in following Years.

VIII. Like flow’ry Fields the Nations stand
Pleas’d with the Morning-light;
The flowers beneath the Mower’s Hand
Ly withering e’er ‘tis Night





(Robert E. Smith is an ordained pastor of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and is currently the Electronic Resources Librarian at the Walther Library of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.)

Television isn't completely evil

I like watching television. I can't deny it. I like a good story, and when a TV show has a good plot and well-played characters, I can watch it for hours on end. (Just look at the TV shows I have in my DVD collection, and you'll see what I mean.) So finding a JAG marathon on the USA network and a Stargate SG-1 marathon on the (unfortunately-named) Syfy network, I was torn. Finally I settled on the Stargate SG-1 marathon to watch as I got ready for work, as I liked those specific episodes better than the JAG episodes they were showing this morning.

I know we often hear tales of the evils of television: how it shows too much violence, how it turns the minds of our children to pudding for the likes of Alec Baldwin to eat (and yes, I find it highly plausible that Alec Baldwin is an alien whose mission is to eat human brains), how it makes our children fat. But there's another side to the story. At its best, television powerfully portrays the human condition. Good writers recognize that the best stories are ones that have an authentic feel. In other words, they show us how we truly are. Yes, the Cosby Show was somewhat unrealistic in that every problem could be solved in thirty minutes, but the show portrayed real problems that real families face. Yes, M*A*S*H had some outrageous stories, but the patients did not all miraculously survive and the doctors weren't "saints in surgical garb", as one episode pointed out.

One double-episode during the seventh season of Stargate SG-1 in particular makes this abundantly clear. One of the characters--not a main character but a major character nonetheless--dies during a mission. Though the medium of science fiction sometimes allows characters to be resurrected, this character was not. And the characters respond according to their natures. The more emotional character--yes, she's a woman, but she can still outthink you and kick your ass at the same time--mourns. The intellectual character, though grieving, is forced to consider the personal, ethical and moral ramifications of sharing or not sharing the events around this person's death with a news crew on the base who are assembling a documentary about the Stargate program. My description of these things is cold, I know; the portrayal of these things is not. The characters are moved by the events. And the more the characters are moved, the more the audience is moved as well. And it is the very realism, even in the midst of a science fiction show, which makes that possible.

Not all television is edifying, but not everything that's worth learning is learned from books. Even television can be an asset in learning about our fellow man. While I don't suggest making all human observations based on watching television, not everything you see there will rot your brain. (Take that, Alec Baldwin!)

Let me find in You my pleasure . . .

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." -- Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

This will be the first week since the end of June where I won't be heading off on Sunday morning to step into the pulpit and preach the Word to God's people. Though it has been a pleasure to return to a weekly preaching schedule for most of the past four months--and I think I preached more in these past four months than I did in my whole last year in Ohio--I'll admit that I'm ready for this break. As a parish pastor it was a fairly simple three-step process to recover from the drain of preaching:
1. Go into the study on Monday (or Tuesday) morning, close the door, and meditate on the Word.
2. Get on my knees and pray.
3. Go to the hospital and visit the sick and suffering in the congregation.
Doing those things always helped me to be able to get past the crash of preaching the previous Sunday so I could begin to prepare for the next.

Preaching ten of the last twelve weekends has left me in need of some serious spiritual refreshment. Now that I work a full-time job outside of the pastoral ministry, that recovery process is not so easy. Although I am able to a certain extent to set my own work schedule, that doesn't include a whole lot of time for me to sit at my desk and meditate on the Word, much less pray. And I obviously don't have shut-in or hospitalized parishioners to visit. I can spare some time here and there, but I have to make do with the barest fraction of the time I used to take to refresh myself spiritually. I also don't receive the body and blood of Christ as often as I did as a parish pastor, as I would frequently commune with my shut-in members. My prayer life is better now than it was before I went to seminary, but it's not nearly as healthy as it was when I was a parish pastor. As a result, I find myself worn down, more susceptible to weaknesses and temptations, less patient.

I'm an orderly person in some respects, not the least of which is that I like to have a fairly good idea of what my schedule will be. I can alter that schedule as the need arises, but I work so much better when there I have structure. (You should have seen my bookshelves in my study in both North Dakota and Ohio. Faith thinks I'm OCD, and she may be right.) But right now, in order to garner for myself more time for spiritual refreshment, I must be more flexible than is my usual wont. I must utilize the flexibility I have when doing my recreational reading to fit in more theological reading and reflection. I must find more time in my life for prayer. I don't think it is necessarily salutary to abandon all my amusements, because those help refresh me physically and mentally. But I can have a better balance. I must have a better balance.

Wisdom's highest, noblest treasure,
Jesus, is revealed in you;
Let me find in You my pleasure,
And my wayward will subdue,
Humility there and simplicity reigning,
In paths of true wisdom my steps ever training.
If I learn of Jesus this knowledge divine,
The blessing of heavenly wisdom is mine.
-- LSB 536, though I like the TLH translation better

Sermon for 8/2/09 -- Eighth Sunday after Trinity (LSB-One Year)

“I Never Knew You”
Matthew 7:15-23

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


I have to admit that I can’t stand to watch Joel Osteen for very long. Whenever I’m flipping through the channels and come across one of his shows, I try to watch as he preaches. But it doesn’t take very long for me to get so angry that I have to change the channel—because if I don’t change the channel, it won’t be long before I want to throw the television through a window. His teaching that God gives wealth and power to Christians as rewards for greater faith is one of the great false teachings of this or any time, one that misleads many, even many Christians.

The Bible has plenty to say about false teachers. False teaching helped bring about the fall into sin, and false teachers have sought to do their work ever since. It began when the serpent said to Eve, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Adam and Eve did eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but the serpent had misled them. Though they did not immediately keel over, these people who were not supposed to be able to die were suddenly subject to illness and injury, suffering, and finally death. This problem has plagued the Church throughout its history. The Preface to The Book of Concord tells us, “Just as while the holy apostles were still alive, it happened that false teachers insinuated perverted teachings into the churches in which the apostles themselves had planted the pure, unadulterated Word of God, so such false teachers were also inflicted on our churches because of our own and the ungrateful world's impenitence and sin.”

False teaching is so dangerous because these false teachers tell us exactly what we want to hear. Paul diagnoses the problem for us in his second letter to Timothy: “They will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” We’re not content to hear the Word of God as Spirit breathed it; we want to pick and choose what suits us. “Oh, she’s so pretty. So what if we’re both married?” Whooop! So much for the Sixth Commandment. “I’m pregnant, but I don’t want to be.” Zap! There goes the Fifth Commandment. “The Bible calls homosexuality ‘shameless’ and ‘an abomination’; but that’s just the product of a repressive society. We know better today.” Yet another bit of Scripture done away with.

The Church Militant is especially guilty of ignoring the Word of God. In fact, it is in the Church where false preachers do the most damage, because these false teachers claim to be speaking with the authority of Christ. A church body accepts Muslims and homosexuals and women as pastors and choose them to be bishops; pastors deny that Jesus rose from the dead; denominations ignore the Word of God by saying that Jesus is only spiritually present in the Lord’s Supper rather than taking Jesus at His word and confessing his true, physical present. These are the ones who will say to the Lord on the Last Day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name?” These are the ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing, seeking to consume the faithful, to lead them away from the truth, down the broad path that leads to the wide gate of destruction. And why are these false preachers successful in the Church? It’s because they’re saying exactly what we want to hear. We want to believe in a god who will reward a strong faith by making us healthy, wealthy and wise. We want to believe that all people are basically good. We want to believe that we can earn our way to heaven.

We are in that dark time when men will not tolerate the truth of God’s Word. False teachers have been so pervasive that these false teachings are seen as near-universal truth. Believers are misled by these teachings, and the faithless are confirmed in their errors. For these false teachers the Lord has only one response. He says to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”

But the Lord doesn’t leave us in the midst of these false teachings without any recourse. He tells us, “You will know [false prophets] by their fruits.” These words of Jesus come near the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Up to this point He had taught His hearers about true righteousness, about faithfulness, prayer, and daily bread. After this he continued to teach the disciples about Scripture, and then He commanded them to baptize and to teach all nations “to observe everything I have commanded you”. He spent three years teaching the disciples how to recognize good fruit, and He commanded them to teach everyone else how to recognize it, too. False teachers are caught in their own web of lies. They have reason to doubt their eternal salvation. But you have been taught the truth. You have been taught by faithful pastors to recognize what is true, what is right, what is profitable for your salvation. You were given faith in your baptism, and that faith clings to the Word of God, allowing you to recognize and shun error and to confess the truth.

As you confess Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh, you do so as one in whom Christ dwells through your baptism, as one who belongs to Him. Because He has made you His own, these false teachers and their bad fruit have no power over you. The Holy Supper in which you will soon partake is good fruit, edifying for body and soul, and it feeds faithful sheep.

I’ve said this before from this pulpit, but it bears repeating. You know how to recognize the fruits of anyone who claims to be preaching of God. Does his teaching confess Christ as Savior? Does it confess Christ as both God and Man? Does it confess Christ as the One sent in the flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior? Does it confess that Christ died to bear our sins and rose again to bring us newness of life? If so, trust that teaching. Embrace it. Hold fast to it. And if not, then get rid of it. Flee from it. Run the false teacher out of your sanctuary and out of your life. The false teacher has no fruit that is edifying for you. He can only poison you.

Beware of false prophets. Test what they say, and flee from their teachings. Confess the truth as faithful parents, faithful teachers, and faithful pastors have taught it to you. What they have taught you is good fruit and is edifying for your soul. When you stand before Christ on the judgment day, He will recognize that good fruit in you as His own and will not send you away. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Another week in the life of a part-time steward of the mysteries

"Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." -- I Corinthians 4:1

A few weeks ago I posted about my adventures preaching for a "black congregation" and what some would call a "high church" congregation. That went so well that I thought I would do it again, only this time running from Sunday to Sunday.

On July 12, I was at St. John Lutheran Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the second consecutive week. I had helped serve the congregation during their vacancy, and they welcomed me back when their "new" pastor, Pastor Ken Babin, took some well-deserved vacation time. It was wonderful to see the people again, especially the young child I'd baptized two years ago now and his family. (And the mother is pregnant again!) The Bible study, which was supposed to be based on the readings for the day, ended up being an extended tangent about past, present and future persecutions of the Church. In relation to that we discussed the legal ramifications of the seal of the confessional in a state (like Minnesota) that requires doctors, counselors, and pastors to disclose cases of child abuse. When I said that I could not in good conscience divulge what was said to me in the process of confession and absolution, even under pain of prosecution, it seemed to raise a few eyebrows. Such a decision is not an easy thing to have to live with, especially when a child is in danger, but pastors make solemn vows at their ordination (and repeat those vows at their installations), and those vows are binding to the extent that the divulging the sins confessed to me would be grounds for me to be removed from the ministry altogether. Thanks be to God that I have never been put in that situation. By the same token, should I be there, God help me to remain faithful to vows I have made.

The most draining part about all the preaching I do down here is the driving it takes to get to these churches. On average I drive about an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the churches where I preach, and that's just the trip there. The trip back, after I'm drained from the preaching and the inevitable heat exhaustion, can be a miserable experience, one in which I often find myself stopping for a bottle of Mountain Dew so that I can stay awake for the the whole ride. (I make these trips enough where the minivan could probably find its way home on its own, but Faith doesn't like it when I try to find out.) It's one thing to get up at 5:15 AM when you've got a ten minute ride to the church and can then sit at your desk for an hour before worship and Bible study. It's another to get up at 5:15 and have three hours of driving packed around the divine service and Bible study. Don't get me wrong. I'm not about to start turning down preaching opportunities because the drive is too long. (Down here, that would mean I'd NEVER get a chance to preach!) But it would be nice to get back into a situation where I get to get up, take my time getting ready, and then head to the church where I could be still and climb into the Word before the festivities begin. I do miss that down time.

I struggled with my sermon for today for most of the week, juggling sermon work with the kids and the full-time job at the Rec. It's weeks like this where I wish I had pastoral visits to do, as it always seems like visiting with parishioners helps to sharpen my homiletical focus. Sometimes the discussion even leads to a sermon idea. But I also had the extra looming pressure of preaching at the church where I've preached most frequently since I moved here. The people of Mt. Olive in Metairie, Louisiana, don't put any pressure on me themselves other than their hunger to be fed with the Word. Nonetheless, Mt. Olive has been a second home to me during a time when I desperately needed somewhere to belong, and . . . well, I put a lot of pressure on myself on their behalf. Anyway, the sermon came out in the end, and, as always, the people fed voraciously on the Word as though they'd never heard it before, despite the fact that they're faithfully served by their own undershepherd, Pastor Brad Drew.

The one sad part of the day was that I found myself having to exercise my office as steward of the mysteries by enforcing the Scriptural practice of Closed Communion. I won't go into specific details about this person, except to say that this individual is a member of a Disciples of Christ congregation. The Mt. Olive congregation has a statement in their bulletin which states that the congregation as part of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and in faithfulness to Holy Scripture practices Closed Communion. When it was revealed to me that this individual was not a Lutheran and yet desired to receive Communion at this congregation, and me not their regular pastor, it was still up to me to execute the practice of the Church. I gave this person the same blessing I give to children who come to the altar. After the service I spoke with this individual, and they accused me of "shunning" them. (Yes, I know I'm using bad grammar, but to maintain the anonymity of this person I'll sacrifice my grammar snooties.) That was probably the high part of our conversation.

The exercise of Closed Communion, much like the exercise of excommunication, is not an occasion for joy. In the case of excommunication, it is meant to bring a sinner to repentance. In the case of Closed Communion, it is meant to keep an individual from receiving the body and blood of Christ to their judgment. This is not the first time I've had to execute my office of steward in this fashion, but being the "fill-in" pastor, it was certainly the most awkward. I pray that God brings true unity through the Word and the Spirit to the Church on earth. I look forward to the day when all the faithful, many of whom will not be members of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, will gather together as one at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. In the meantime, God grant me courage and love to exercise my office as steward faithfully, no matter how painful it may be.

Sermon for 7/12/09 -- Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (LSB-B)

Losing Your Head

Mark 6:14-29

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


In the Gospel appointed for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, we encounter three people who are losing their heads. One of them, John the Baptist, had spent his life preparing the way for Christ. He had preached the message of repentance, a message which is never popular. He was finally imprisoned for preaching that message to what the world would consider the wrong people.

Those wrong people were Herod and his mistress, Herodias. Herod had set aside his own wife and separated Herodias from her husband, his own half-brother, Philip. It was bad enough that Herodias had married her own uncle in Philip. But then Herodias and Herod both left their legal spouses to come together. There was no way John could overlook such sinfulness, not even for someone in a position of great authority—not even for the sake of his own freedom or even his very life.

Rather than heeding John’s message of repentance, Herod, at the request of Herodias, had John arrested. Herodias wanted even more than that. She wanted John dead for daring to speak against her. She had lost her head. But Herod, despite his sinfulness in this relationship, apparently had enough of a conscience to deter him. Besides, he liked listening to John, even if he didn’t always understand or approve of what John had to say. He also believed, and rightly so, that John was a man set apart by God, and that killing John would call down upon himself the wrath of God. So he was content to keep John imprisoned. He’d call John into his presence from time to time to hear him preach; and John did what he always did: he preached the message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Herodias had already lost her head regarding John and his message. But she needed Herod to lose his, as well. She needed him to let go of the scruples which kept him from killing John. And when her own asking would not do, she devised a plan. She sent her daughter out to dance for Herod and his company. Influenced by his libido and desiring to impress his guests, Herod offered to give the girl whatever she wanted. At the urging of Herodias, the daughter asked for John’s head on a platter.

What his wife’s pleading could not do, his step-daughter’s dancing finally achieved. Herod lost his head, too. Herod knew then that he’d made a promise he shouldn’t keep, but he didn’t want to back down in front of his powerful guests. He caved. He ordered that John should be beheaded. So finally John lost his head, too.

This is a sordid tale, so disgusting as to make it worthy of being a plotline on a soap opera. But no soap opera would take it. After all, the problem is so much more than just infidelity. One of my favorite “evangelists”, “Saint” Paul Simon, once wrote, “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” This is especially true regarding the Word of God. Herod refused to heed the Word of God which John preached to him, though he certainly liked to hear John preach; and Herodias refused to heed the Word of God, so much so that she wanted the messenger killed.

We can look with disdain at Herod and Herodias, but we’re just as guilty of the same sin. You see, it’s easy to heed the Word when it comes to matters of which we approve. “Thou shalt not kill.” Certainly, by all means. It’s wrong to murder a man. We all know that. But what about a fetus? What about embryonic stem cells? What about that guy who cuts you off in traffic when you’re already having a bad day? “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Fair enough, Lord. But what if she’s gorgeous? After all, Lord, you’re the one who gave me these hormones that affect me this way, so if you didn’t want me to be attracted to her, you shouldn’t have made her so attractive. And what if I’m not married; it wouldn’t apply to me, would it? “Remember the Sabbath day.” I guess I can come to church every Sunday. But do you really expect me to agree that closed Communion is a good idea when it means my druid cousin can’t receive the Lord’s Supper? And surely you didn’t mean us to believe everything you teach in the Bible; after all, a lot of that is so out of place with how things are in society today. And surely you don’t mean for us to hold to the Word if it means we’re going to face persecution or even death because of it, right?

The Word of God causes people to lose their heads. Some, like Herod, hear the Word of God and find it a mere amusement; others, like Herodias, hear the Word and seek to destroy those who bring that faithful Word to them because they don’t like the message it conveys.

And then there are people like John the Baptist. John faithfully preached the Word, regardless of the consequences. From the time of his birth, John prepared for that moment. His father had told him, “You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the most high, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” But preparing them for forgiveness meant they had to be made to see their sinfulness. No one likes to have their sins pointed out to them, and some even react with violence. But John lived up to the responsibility placed upon him. He preached the message of sin and repentance. Many repented and believed through the Word which John preached. Not everyone received it as willingly, though. John’s head on a plate shows us that. The Word caused John to lose his head, too.

And the Lord calls upon us to show the same faithfulness. During the rite of confirmation the confirmands make confession of baptismal faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed. Then the pastor asks, “Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?” Each of us has been or will be asked that question, and we respond, “I do so intend with the help of God.” Later the pastor asks, “Do you intend faithfully to conform all your life to the divine Word, to be faithful in the use of God's Word and Sacraments, which are His means of grace, and in faith, word, and action to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?” We respond, “I do so intend by the grace of God.” These are weighty questions, and your response is a solemn vow, a vow which may result in you losing your head, just as John did.

John preached the Word as God graciously gave it to him. Even in the midst of his imprisonment John didn’t step down, knowing that a whim could—and eventually did—send him to his death. God strengthened him for this service. He does the same for us. We live in a sinful world, and we are sinful people. It is never easy to live according to the Word of God. That’s what makes it so easy for non-believers to think of us as hypocrites—it’s easy not to be a hypocrite when you don’t believe in anything. He knows how hard it is to remain faithful, especially when we face trials and persecutions. Who could understand that better than Jesus? He was put to death for preaching that He was the promised Messiah and the Son of God. But He rose again as well, so that we would have forgiveness for our failure to live according to His Word. When we repent of our sins, God is faithful to forgive our sin.

Our Lord understands all too well. He knows that we may be called upon to suffer, and maybe even die, for our faith. After all, they treated Him that way. He prayed that the cup of suffering could be removed from Him, though He drank it to its bitter dregs on our behalf. And knowing that we may be asked to suffer for the sake of His holy name, Christ gives us a cup to drink as well, a cup filled with His precious blood which, along with His holy body, forgives us our sins and strengthens us for this life and even unto life everlasting.

John the Baptist lost his head. Some would think of this as a bad thing; and to be sure, none of us desires to be beheaded or to face any other kind of gruesome death or persecution for the sake of Christ. But we thank God for John the Baptist and for the death which he died; for John died in faith, living according to the Word and suffering all, even death, rather than turning away from the Lord and the message God gave him to preach. God grant that we, too, may be faithful, even to the point of death; for the crown of life awaits us. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 7/5/09 -- The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (LSB-B)

Familiarity Breeds Contempt
Mark 6:1-13

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


While I’m not a big fan of tabloids, I do like to read biographies and watch biographical documentaries about my favorite athletes and musicians. These accounts inevitably begin with the customary interviews with hometown family and friends concerning what this person was like when they were young, how they developed, what kinds of signs there were that this person had the talent and ambition that would make them a world-famous success story. “There was always something special about them,” the friend says. “We knew all along that they would go places.”

Jesus returned to Nazareth, and He brought His disciples with Him. He came back to where He had grown up in the house of Joseph, back to His home congregation on the Sabbath. And naturally, the rabbi son of the congregation would be invited to teach. That was the custom in the synagogue, much like when a seminarian or pastor comes back to his home church.

We don’t know what Jesus preached on that day. It was probably from the writings of Moses or the prophets. And if it was like His other preaching in the synagogue, it probably was about how Jesus was the fulfillment of Moses and the prophets, and how His appearing signaled the moment of the world’s salvation.

But the congregation didn’t like what Jesus said to them. Questions filled their minds and distracted their thoughts as they listened to Jesus. “From where did He get all this? This wisdom, these miracles: where did all this come from? Isn’t this Mary’s boy, the carpenter? Didn’t we watch Him in His workshop? He grew up here. He played with us.” The more questions they asked, the more offended they became. This was no triumphant homecoming.

It wasn’t so much the power or divinity of Jesus that caused the trouble in this case. What offended the people was Jesus’ very humanity—His ordinary, earthly flesh and blood humanity. Jesus was one of them—ordinary, plain people, not the sort that claimed to be God come to earth or the Messiah, come to save the world. After all, Jesus put His robe on one sleeve at a time, just like everyone else. Just who did He think He was? God? The hometown crowd stumbled. The synagogue was scandalized.

The synagogue still stumbles today. The Jewish people today still refuse to believe that this humble carpenter of Nazareth is the promised Messiah, God’s anointed. They stumble over Jesus’ humanity, His humility, His suffering and death, His failure to restore Israel, His failure to establish a kingdom of this world. Some say nice things about Him, that He is a great teacher and a prophet. But the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God? No way. Jesus was too human and weak to be called those things.

The world stumbles over the humanity of Jesus, as well. It’s celebrated openly during Christmas. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” We even sing about it: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’incarnate deity.” But if you were to push the average Christmas shopper about just who Jesus is, the answer could be anything: “myth” or “legend”, to “prophet” or “holy man”. But is He the God who came down in human flesh to take up our sin and give His life for the world?

We stumble too. Like the people of the Nazareth synagogue, we ought to know better. Yet still we trip over Jesus’ humanity and familiarity. We stumble when we see our Baptism as something from a long time ago. We stumble when we despise preaching and the Word of God by relying on our own opinions. We stumble when we reject individual confession and absolution as something too Roman or believe that Jesus has no desire to hear the sins that trouble us. We stumble when we see the Lord’s Supper as something that can become too familiar and so only offer it once or twice each month instead of every time we gather to hear the Word. Trying to be Christian without these means of grace is the same as trying to be a Christian without Christ. But to us, these things seem all too familiar; we don’t like it when God deals with us in ordinary ways.

“Familiarity breeds contempt,” we say. Jesus was so familiar to the people of Nazareth that they found it hard to believe what He had to say. Saint John tells us, “He came into His own, and His own received Him not.” Water and words, bread and wine—these things are familiar, ordinary, part of our daily lives. It’s so easy to miss what Jesus says and does through them. That is the scandal of familiarity. The things we are most familiar with are the things we value least. God reached down to touch us through the familiar and the ordinary in Jesus Christ. So familiar are these things that His work is despised and dishonored, so ordinary that we are prone to miss it.

Saving faith, a living trust in Jesus Christ to rescue us from sin and death, doesn’t come from miracles. It comes from hearing the Word of Christ. “Faith comes by hearing.” It isn’t a matter of believing more so that Jesus can do more. It’s trusting Jesus, even when there are no miracles, when He is despised and rejected, powerless, dead on the cross. Faith born of miracles needs signs and wonders to feed it. Faith born of gimmicks and programs needs gimmicks and programs to sustain it. Faith born of Christ needs nothing but Christ!

There were a few in Nazareth who believed in Jesus, a handful who clung to His words and were not scandalized by His familiarity. Jesus laid His hands on them and healed them. Jesus always has a few believers wherever He goes. Wherever His Gospel is preached, wherever His sacraments are being given out, there will always be believers. And He reaches out His hand and touches them, and He heals them.

Jesus hands are the good news, both for the few in Nazareth and for us here today. They are familiar hands, but they are precious in their power. They are hands that know the feel of grain and water. They are hands that know sweat and blood. They are God’s hands, reaching down to us. They are hands pierced for our healing by the nail to the wood of the cross. His hands are the hands of your Savior.

The hands of the crucified carpenter from Nazareth still reach down to us. They reached down to you and washed you clean and made you His own. They reach down to you in forgiveness and blessing. They reach down to feed you with His very own body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins. Trust these familiar hands, and flee from those who would have you trust anyone else. You don’t need novelty; all you need is the Savior who continually makes Himself familiar to you. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.