Sermon for 10/26/09 -- Twentieth Sunday After Trinity (1-year LSB)

I will be preaching this sermon on Sunday at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Brandon, Mississippi. This is the congregation that produces the high quality Vox Visuals DVDs. It's been my privilege and pleasure to fill in for Pastor Sawyer in the past, and I'm looking forward to my time there this weekend. A wonderful couple from the congregation has put me up every time I've visited Good Shepherd, and the congregation has always welcomed me warmly. I pray the congregation at Good Shepherd will be as blessed this weekend as I will be through them.

The Wedding Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14

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


The parable we heard this morning is the last one Jesus told, and appropriately so. It is about the consummation of the kingdom, when the King of kings and Lord of lords will set before His people a feast of His love and joy, a feast which will be theirs eternally.

How do we respond when we have been invited to participate in some grand event, with all of the festivities, all of the wonderful food, and everything that is a part of some great occasion? At least, how should we respond? If we are not invited, we can become pretty despondent. It is hard to stand aside and watch others having all of the fun. If we are invited, of course we will accept the invitation, with gratitude and excitement and anticipation! And yet, that was just how God’s people had not responded.

Keep in mind that this feast was not just any feast. It was a marriage feast, and a royal one, at that. It was a feast given by the king for his son, the prince. It was a feast to end all feasts. To be invited to it was a mark of profound privilege; to reject such an invitation was an offense like no other.

The marriage imagery is one of Scripture’s richest and most beautiful pictures of the relationship between God and His people. It is expressed frequently in the New Testament as an image of the “marriage”, if you will, between Christ and His Church. We see this as early as Jesus’ miracle at the Wedding at Cana. But, this was also a picture not unknown to the Old Testament. Now and again, the prophets would speak of God as the “husband” of His people, which meant, of course, that they were like a “bride” to Him. He would love them and care for them and provide for them, and they were to honor and love Him in return. And when they would not, it was as if they were committing adultery; evil, treacherous, destructive, and even self-destructive. And that is how this text finds Israel. She has had the invitation for years, but has made one excuse after the other to justify her spiritual adultery. The succession of servants sent by the king with his invitation have been met with anger and spite; they were treated shamefully, and some were even killed. Finally, the patience of the king ran its course. Angrily, he sent his troops to kill those who had murdered his servants, and then burned their cities to the ground.

The meaning was plain for those who would see it. Jesus, Himself, was their last invitation. If they rejected Him, they would suffer the consequences of that rejection. To spurn the personal invitation of the king, delivered by his son, would be the height of arrogance. There would be no more invitations.

It’s easy for us to look at this parable in a detached sort of way. After all, we are those who were out on the thoroughfares, as the parable describes it, those in the streets to whom the king sent his servants with the invitation. The feast was all prepared, but there was no one to enjoy it; no one to share the king’s joy in the marriage of his son. That is where we come in. The invitation has gone out to others. They are called the Church, literally, the “called-out ones,” those whom the king has called to fill up His banquet hall. But, are we not faced with the same danger that overcame those who were first given the invitation? Don’t we find excuses to turn a deaf ear to the king when he calls out to us? Don’t we find it too easy to neglect that invitation that is always new and always fresh with its promise of the king’s blessing?

Neglect is the key thought here. Now, consider the man who tried to “crash the party” without the appropriate wedding garment. Today, entrance to a great feast would be gained by means of an engraved invitation, most likely. Perhaps it might be that you would need to purchase a ticket, like for Michael Jackson’s funeral. In this instance, the king gave to each one invited a garment that would be instantly identifiable as his; there would be found his name or his mark, something which would set his garments off from all others.

And that is just what we have been given. We have been “clothed with Christ”, St. Paul said. His reference was to Holy Baptism. In Holy Baptism we have been named with His name. We are unmistakably identified with our Lord Jesus Christ, set apart by Him for a life that is eternal. But, what happens all too often is that Baptismal faith is not fed and nourished. It is not sustained with the Word of God and prayer, and thus withers up and dies like a branch that is severed from the vine. And only because of neglect, only from taking for granted the king’s invitation, not taking seriously his wish to bring us and to keep us at his eternal feast.

Does this, in any way, describe where you are at this moment? Is it possible that, though you may be here frequently, still you have, in truth, neglected the invitation of the Lord to enjoy His eternal feast? There is one above all, and that is the feast our Lord spreads at His table for us, the blessed meal of His holy body and blood, a “foretaste of the feast divine,” as it sometimes called. And that it surely is! As we will confess in the liturgy a bit later, it is that point at which we join with angels and arch-angels and the whole company of heaven. It is a preview of the marriage feast of the Lamb, as the Book of Revelation tells us: “‘Let us rejoice and exult and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure…’ And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’”

If you have neglected this invitation, here is where to make amends. The wedding garment you were given in Holy Baptism still bears His name. It is still the guarantee of your entrance to the eternal feast. As you have confessed your sins this day and have received the Lord’s word of absolution, come and partake of the very body and blood of the Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the world. Even now He prepares that eternal feast of His love and joy for you, and you are an invited and welcome guest at His table. 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.

Ten Commandments for Mid-level Management

1. Thou shalt always cover thy posterior, that it may be well with thee and thou mayest have continual employment.
2. Remember thou the Golden Rule: He who directeth the gold, maketh the rules.
3. Remember: Thou shalt never have the gold.
4. Remember: He who hesitateth is lost.
5. Thou shalt treat thine employees fairly and with compassion, remembering that thou, also, art an employee.
6. Thou shalt treat the public courteously and circumspectly, remembering that thou representest them.
7. Thou shalt maintain thy nose with neither spot nor blemish.
8. Thou shalt accomplish thy tasks in a timely manner.
9. Thou shalt consider thy words carefully.
10. Thou shalt always, always, cover thy posterior.

Four Years Later: Redux

Last week I posted about the fourth anniversary of my forced resignation. I've been a pastor for over nine years, but the last four years have been spent in what is known as "Candidate Status". Candidate Status means, in short, that a pastor is not serving in a parish, but he is able to receive and consider Calls and can serve as pulpit supply for congregations needing a fill-in pastor. According to the by-laws of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, a pastor can stay on Candidate Status for four years. My four years are up. Nonetheless, I still greatly desire to return to parish ministry.

I received the following message from the Southern District secretary on Friday:

Your status as Candidate ends this month as it marks your fourth year on this status. Our office will be changing your status to Non-Candidate. This will not impede your availability for a call. You can stay on Non-Candidate status for eight years.

This verifies an earlier message I received from President Schultz of the Southern District:

When your status expires you will move automatically to Inactive Candidate Status unless you indicate otherwise. You can remain on this for another 8 years. I will continue to circulate your information for call.

These messages are somewhat comforting. I'd been told by then-President Bergen that I could remain on Candidate Status for four years, but if I went to non-Candidate status, I would be unable to receive a Call. I've worried about that.

I may have good reason to be worried about that. Looking at a Q&A on the LCMS website (see point 5) I read the following:

Non-candidate CRM pastors, who only wish to remain on the roster of the Synod but are not interested in a call at the present time, may remain on the roster as non-candidate CRM for eight years, renewable once.

I believe my district president when he tells me that I am still eligible to receive Calls on non-Candidate status. The Handbook is not really all that clear about the Call eligibility of non-Candidate pastors (look on page 57 of your copy of the 2007 Handbook and see for yourself), so I can only trust the interpretation of my ecclesiastical supervisor.

Nonetheless, if I seem confused about where I stand, it's because I am.



Incidentally, this is post 100 on this blog. I would like to thank all of you who read this blog. Whether you post comments or not, the fact that people find this blog to be of interest is a source of constant amazement to me. Of course, if you're here because it resembles a train wreck and you can't help but look, I can understand that, too.

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.