Mysteries of God

First things first. A blessed and happy Memorial Day to you and yours. At the risk of offending my Confederate friends, let me share this quote from the Battle Hymn of the Republic: "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free." For over two-hundred years, Americans have died so that Americans can live free. Thanks be to God for the men and women who have been willing to pay that price for their fellow man both here and abroad. If you are currently serving or have served in the past, God bless you for your faithful service. In the midst of our picnics and parties, may we in the United States never forget that the cost of our freedom lies buried in the ground.


Now, on to my new charge. I'm settling in to life as a parish pastor again. Thought the waiting over the past four years and more has been a strain on me and on my family, I cannot deny that God did me no disservice by waiting to return me to parish ministry until this congregation was available. The people of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois, are a gift of God to me. Their love, their generosity, and their continual hunger for the Word remind me constantly of God's goodness. Keep your mega-churches, your congregations with $2 million in the bank, and every other temptation that claws at the souls of pastors. I am blessed to be where God has put me in this time and place. I have no desire to be or go anywhere else.

Sermon for 5/30/10--The Feast of the Holy Trinity (LSB 1-year)

Water and the Spirit
John 3:1-17

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


The pastors and teachers of the Church do not have an infallible and unlimited knowledge of God. It is true that pastors spend a great deal of their time in the study of Holy Scripture, both in formal educational settings and in prayerful reading and reflection throughout their time in the parish. Seminary professors earn additional post-graduate degrees to prepare themselves to be the teachers of teachers. Even so, what pastors know about God is limited by the bounds of human understanding and by divine revelation. In other words, pastors can only truly know what God has revealed to them in His holy Word.

With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that Nicodemus, a man Jesus calls “a teacher of Israel”, approaches the Lord with questions. After all, we have the whole of the written eye-witness testimony of the Apostles concerning Jesus and His teaching and work, and we do not truly understand Jesus—or the rest of the Holy Trinity, for that matter; how, then, can we expect Nicodemus, who approached Jesus before His work was complete, to understand Jesus and who He is and what He came to do? Jesus told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, being a good Lutheran boy, asked, in essence, “What does this mean?” Jesus answered him, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

Like all Pharisees, Nicodemus believed that, through obedience to the Law, he could make himself righteous. A Pharisee sees in himself no need for a Savior, for a man who is perfectly obedient to the Law of God has no one to testify against him. How ridiculous this statement of Jesus must have seemed to a man of reason, though Nicodemus apparently remained respectful in his discussion with Jesus. Despite his education in the spiritual matters of the people of God, despite his apparent lifelong devotion to obedience to God’s will, he could not understand that nothing he did could earn him favor in the eyes of God.

Though we know the truth, though we know that we are saved by grace through faith as a gift from God, we, too, seek to work ourselves into God’s good graces. We do seek to earn His favor. Though we may try to deny it, even in our own thoughts, we would probably make very good Pharisees. But everything we touch—every good work, every kind word, every gracious thought, every breath—is tainted with sin. Jesus told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Every work we do as sinners is marked with that sin. Our obedience is tainted with pride. Our charity is stained by our condescension. Our faith is tainted with doubt. Our sinful nature cannot possibly enter the Kingdom of God. Only that which is righteous and pure—in other words, only that which is born from the Holy Spirit—can see and enter into the Kingdom of God.

“How can these things be?” The despair of Nicodemus is ours, as well. We are born of the flesh. Left to our own devices, it would be easier for us to re-enter our mother’s womb and be reborn than it would be to for us to do anything to earn merit in the sight of God. Let me be entirely clear: there is nothing you can do to merit your own salvation.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, that is precisely the point. There is nothing we can do. When Jesus is talking about being born from above in water and the spirit, He is talking about Baptism. He is talking about water, combined with the Word through the work of the Holy Spirit, poured over you in the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This water marks you as a child of God, as one who has been redeemed by the Christ who has been lifted up on the tree of the cross. This water, combined with the Word, drowns the sinful Old Adam in each of us, and we are reborn from that water as new people, saints who have been washed clean from our sin. This is nothing we do ourselves; this rebirth is a gift from God.

And this gift of God is a powerful gift. Though you still remain a sinner, though you continue to sin, the Holy Spirit which you receive in Holy Baptism works in you to bring you to repentance. As Jesus told Nicodemus, He did not come into the world to condemn the world. Jesus did not come into the world to make sure you get what you deserve because of your sins. No; Jesus came into this world to be lifted up on the tree of the cross. So that you receive the fruit of this tree, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, the Holy Spirit leads you to feel sorrow for your sin; and then He leads you to faith. He brings you to faith so that you believe that Jesus died for you, for your forgiveness, for your life with the Triune God in heaven for all eternity.

If you truly want to know and understand God and what He has in mind for you, look to the cross, where the Father sent his Son to bear your sins on your behalf, dying the death our sins deserved. Then look to the Baptismal font, where you received the Holy Spirit, where the forgiveness Jesus won on the cross by the will of the Father becomes yours. The Latin word for “sacrament” is where we get our word “mystery”. We don’t understand how the Sacraments do what they’re supposed to do, except to say that what happens in Baptism and what happens in the Lord’s Supper, happens precisely the way God intends for it to work; for when God says for something to happen, it happens. It does not depend on our reason or strength; all depends on the power of the Word of God, which does not return to Him void, but does exactly what God intends for it to do. In this case, it means that we are washed clean in the water of Holy Baptism. It means we can return daily to our Baptism for the drowning of our sins and the cleansing of our souls.

This morning, in the Athanasian Creed, we said, “This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.” Remember that it uses the word “believe”, not the word “understand”. The difference is a gift from God; for while we do not understand the whole counsel of God, the Holy Spirit grants us faith to believe even what we don’t fully understand. Thanks be to God for all the gifts He bestows on us in and through our Baptism into His holy name: 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 5/23/10 – Whitsunday: The Feast of Pentecost (LSB 1-year)

Having been Installed as their pastor this past Sunday, this will be the first sermon I deliver to the saints at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois. As I say in the sermon, Pentecost is the perfect day to step into a new pulpit for the first time. May God bless us together as we share in the work of the Kingdom!

All Things that I Said to You
John 14:23-31

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


This morning we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, commemorating the day on which the promised Holy Spirit descended upon the Twelve, giving them the ability to speak in other languages, allowing them to declare the wonderful works of God to the world. Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church, for in the pouring out of the Spirit upon the Apostles, the confession of Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” was made before the people of the world, and three-thousand people on that day made that confession their own. What a wonderful day to step into this pulpit for the first time!


No matter what Jesus says or does, it seems as though the disciples miss the point of His lesson. For example, if Jesus is talking about His suffering, death and resurrection, all they can see is that Jesus is going to die. In our Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples that He is going to the Father and that He will send the Holy Spirit to them, but all they hear is that Jesus is leaving them. How on earth can they keep the Word which Jesus spoke to them when they have no idea what Jesus was saying?

Of course, the disciples weren’t stupid. In hindsight, we know that these men became brilliant preachers and teachers of the Church, suffering everything, even death, rather than betraying the Gospel of Christ. We also know from Scripture that some things were deliberately hidden from their understanding, like when Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus with two of the faithful and explained to them why He had to suffer and die; but until Jesus broke bread with them, they didn’t realize that Jesus was the one speaking to them. And we are told near the end of Luke’s Gospel that, when Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

But in our Gospel, Jesus had not yet been arrested or convicted or put to death. He had not yet opened their minds to understand His Word. Jesus told the disciples that the Father will send the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit will do two things. First, He will teach them all things; and second, He will remind them of all that Jesus said. This is important, because Jesus also told the disciples, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.”

This is an explicit message for you, too. Jesus says to you, even as He said to the disciples, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” This is a heavy burden to bear. How do we know the Word of God? And what’s more, how can we know the Word of God so that we may keep it—and keep it fully, since there is so much to it?

This is your daily struggle as a Christian on this side of heaven. The prince of this world, Satan, seeks to lead you astray; and sinner that you are, it’s all too easy for you to follow where he would lead you. The Word of God includes the admonition to be faithful in marriage; but how easy it is to let your eyes and mind wander to someone other than your spouse. The Word of God includes the directive to honor and obey your parents and others in authority; but it’s all too easy to seek your own way, to ignore the authority of parents so that you may do what you want to do. The Word speaks clearly about the need for Christians to gather to be given the Word; but it’s so tempting to sleep in on Sunday, or to plan an early departure for one more day of fishing or whatever fun activity tempts you away from the place where you hear the Word preached in its truth and purity. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus and His death and resurrection for you; The Spirit does not testify about Himself. But how easy it would be on the Feast of Pentecost to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit instead of the work of Jesus.

How easy it is to hear what you want to hear in the Word of God. It would be so simple to dismiss those things in Holy Scripture that do not please you, the things that make you uncomfortable. The Old Adam in each of you is prepared to seek any way he can to please himself, to despise God and His gifts, to ignore and reject the Word. And in rejecting the Word and seeking after the things of this world, we reject the Father and His love.

But to you, also, the Father has sent the Holy Spirit, in the waters of Holy Baptism—what Luther’s Small Catechism calls “a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit”. It is no coincidence in the Apostles Creed that the Holy Spirit and “the Holy Christian Church” are so closely linked; for it is in Baptism that we receive the Holy Spirit, and it is also in Baptism that we become part of the Church. And we know that we are part of the Church because the Church is where those who believe the truth of the Word of God are gathered to hear that Word preached in its truth and purity and to receive the gifts of God, the Holy Sacraments.

We live in this world. This world cannot give us true peace; and even if it could, it does not desire us to have peace. Satan is the prince of this world, and as you have already heard, he seeks to lead you astray. But in His Word, Jesus gives us true and lasting peace. He gives us the forgiveness of sins, which gives peace to calm us when we are troubled by our sins. For we do sin. Our eyes stray. We are willful and disobedient. We fail to hold sacred the Word of God; we fail to gladly hear and learn it. But that, too, is answered by Christ in His Church. As John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote in his first epistle, “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In cleansing us from all unrighteousness, Jesus gives us His own peace, spoken to us in the Word of Holy Absolution, spoken to us by the pastor as by Christ Himself.

On this Feast of Pentecost, you are invited to approach this altar boldly. You are a baptized child of God, baptized with water and the Spirit. You have heard the Word spoken to forgive your sins, drowning the Old Adam in the waters of Holy Baptism. You have heard the Word preached from the pulpit. Come now to receive the Word in the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the strengthening of your faith. “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it”. Come, you who love the Lord. Receive His body and blood; and then, go in the peace of the Lord. 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.

Prophet of the Most High

Last night I was Installed as Pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois. This event, over four years in the making for me (though not so long for St. Peter Lutheran Church), marked my return to full-time parish ministry. This was a joyful event, marked with fine hymnody and strong singing; the Vespers liturgy led by Pastor Will Weedon of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel, Illinois; an installation sermon par excellence from Pastor Mark Buetow of Bethel Lutheran Church in DuQuoin, Illinois--seriously, GO READ IT before you forget--[EDITED TO ADD] or better yet, read it below, as Pastor Buetow gave gracious permission for me to post it here; and promises made before God by myself and the St. Peter congregation. The Reverend Herbert Mueller, President of the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, administered those vows.

Though I will do so in person and frequently, I would like to thank here everyone who made the day so special: my wife and children; my parents and Faith's mother, all of whom traveled long distances to be here; President Mueller and Pastors Weedon and Buetow for officiating, as well as all the pastors who came to participate in the Rite of Installation; the people of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois, who extended to me the Divine Call to serve as their pastor and who began living up to the vows they made "to receive him, show him that love, honor and obedience in the Lord that you owe to the shepherd and teacher placed over you by your Lord Jesus Christ, and . . . support him with your gifts and fervent prayer . . ." long before they made those vows; and above all, the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, whose graciousness to this poor miserable sinner is abundant and whose timing is . . . well, divine.

Today begins my first full day back in the saddle, and I've given a lot of thought as to where I want to begin. All that thought has led me back to something I first encountered in college: Luther's Sacristy Prayer. So I will close with Luther's words:

Lord God, You have appointed me as a pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I would have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote my mouth and my heart to you; I shall teach the people. I myself will learn and ponder diligently upon You Word. Use me as Your instrument -- but do not forsake me, for if ever I should be on my own, I would easily wreck it all. Amen

To God alone be the glory!


__________________________

With Pastor Buetow's gracious permission, here is his sermon from last night.

The Installation of the Rev. Alan Kornacki, St. Peter, Campbell Hill
St. Mark 16:14-20; I Peter 4:7-14

Today is a day of celebration! It is a day of celebration because this is the day the Lord rose from the dead! He died on the cross and answered for our sins and rose from the dead and now He has ascended to the right hand of the Father, securing your place there! It is a day of celebration for this congregation because she is once again going to be served by her own full time pastor. Today, people of God at St. Peter, the Lord is giving you a man to call upon when your sins trouble you, when your are sick, when you need the comfort of Christ's Word. A man to teach you God's Word and to care for you in the faith of Christ. Today is a day of celebration for Pastor Kornacki who has longed to once again serve the Lord in the Office of the Holy Ministry, caring for the Lord's flock. It's even a day of celebration for the vacancy pastor who can now go back to working just one day a week instead of two! So today let us hear why it is the Lord is giving you a pastor once again and remind that pastor of what the Lord expects of Him. We'll also hear from God's Word how you are to treat your pastor and how he has been commanded to love you. It is a great blessing that the Lord has once again called a man to serve as the shepherd of His flock in Campbell Hill!

In the Gospel for our Lord's Ascension, which we just heard, Jesus commands His apostles to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned.” When our Lord had accomplished the salvation of the world, He sent His preachers to announce it to the ends of the earth. Jesus, the Son of God suffered and died for all of our sins upon the cross. He rose victorious and has thrown down the powers that were against us: sin, death, devil, hell, the curse of the Law—all of it. But how does that salvation come to us? It comes through a preacher. The Lord, in order that the whole world would know what He has done and so believe in Him, sends His preachers to preach and baptize. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is why you are being given a pastor. Because even here in Campbell Hill, Illinois, sinners need to hear that they have a Savior. And so the Lord is giving you a preacher to declare that to you. That's His job: to preach the Good News that for Jesus' sake your sins are forgiven. He is sent to baptize and to remind you of your baptism. He is sent to absolve you and declare that holy pardon that your sins no longer block you from God. He is sent here to feed you with the holy food of Jesus' body and blood so that you will be forgiven of your sins and strengthened in the faith. Pastor Kornacki is being given to you, brothers and sisters in Christ, so that you will always have this comfort and confidence, so that there will be a man here to deliver to you those gifts of Word and Sacrament by which the Holy Spirit keeps you in the faith. You NEED a pastor to give you exactly those things!

Now, Pastor Kornacki, pay attention! Christ has commanded you in this Call to preach the Gospel. That is your job. That is your calling. You are not to come here with your own notions about what this church needs or doesn't need. You are not put here to come up with clever ideas or things that will impress people. You are not put here to please the people and give them what they want. You are put here for this job: to preach Christ and Him crucified, the Savior of sinners. You are put here to splash the saving water and word of Baptism upon young and old and to teach these saints to live each day in the confidence of their baptism. You are put here to hear their confessions, bear their burdens and joyfully pronounce the absolution so that they may be comforted that their sins are no longer held against them. You are put here to faithfully administer Christ's body and blood and that means teaching people to treasure that gift but also withholding it from those who have not yet been taught what it is. Your job, Pastor Kornacki, your calling, is to call sinners to repentance, no matter how hard that might be to do, no matter how mad they might get at you! But most of all, your job is to comfort them with Christ's forgiveness so that they may live in the joyful confidence that they are set right with God for Jesus' sake. Everything you do: preaching, teaching, serving in worship, visiting the sick, the homebound, and loving these people is for this one purpose: that by the Gospel you preach, they will believe and be saved. NOT because you are doing it but because you are the Holy Spirit's instrument by which this gets done.

So we know, people of St. Peter, why you have a pastor. Now, how shall you receive him and treat him? This we hear in our Epistle from this last Sunday of the Easter Season. St. Peter, whose name this congregation bears, writes: “Above all have fervent love for one another, for 'love covers a multitude of sins.'” What does this mean? Our Lutheran Confessions interpret this passage by reminding people that they must overlook their pastor's faults and shortcomings. I won't sugar coat it. People will say, “Pastor Kornacki is human too.” Well, he is, but there's more to it that that. He's a sinner. A low-down, dirty, rotten sinner. (Trust me, I know the guy! And I hear he's a Yankees fan on top of that!) But a baptized sinner. When Pastor Kornacki preaches and teaches faithfully what God's Word teaches, you are to receive Him and hear Him as if Christ Himself spoke to you. But there will be times when his sinfulness will be evident. Perhaps in his temper. Perhaps in his frustration. Perhaps in forgetting to do something or neglecting to do what he should have done. It may be that he will sin against you by not being patient or attentive or aware of something. Whatever it is, hear God's Word from St. Peter: “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Love him. Forgive him. When some foolish thing he says or does is not a violation or contradiction of God's Word, then love him. Forgive him. Overlook it. Never despise him for the same sins which you do. Rather lift him up in prayer and support him by your gracious forgiveness and love. Do not hold against him what you would not want held against you and what Christ Himself has forgiven!

Your turn, Pastor Kornacki. These are the Lord's people, not yours. They are sinners. They don't know as much about the Bible as you do. They didn't go to seminary. They can't read Greek and Hebrew. They don't have Masters degrees in doctrine. They forget their Catechism. They forget the commands of our Lord to love their neighbor and to love the Lord above all things. When they blow it, when they sin, don't come raining down on them as the holy-terror Mr. Authority Figure that many think the pastoral office has made them. No, love them! Cover their sins. Call them to repentance gently. Deliver Jesus and His forgiveness to them gladly. Overlook their faults and shortcomings as you desire them to overlook yours and as Christ has forgiven yours. Brother Alan, teach them! Patiently! Teach them God's Word. Teach them the Catechism. Teach them how they should judge your doctrine according to the Word of God. And teach them how to love and forgive by showing them yourself how to do exactly that. Learn, brother, how to speak of your congregation. Always do so gently and respectfully. Do not complain about them to others. Speak of them as Christ sees them: holy and spotless and blameless for his sake. And if the temptation to grouse and complain becomes too much, then go and find your father confessor and unload your own sins upon the Lord. Never unload them on the people He has given you to serve. Love them, Pastor Kornacki, not in some feel-good way but in the true way which is the way of Christ's forgiveness and life!

Christ died and rose and sent His apostles to preach to all the world. Today He sends Pastor Kornacki into this congregation and community to be a preacher of His Word and a deliveryman of His gifts. Welcome him, people of God, with open arms and a rejoicing that Christ is promising you, by this man, that He Himself will never leave you or forsake you! Rejoice that the one who has died and risen does not leave you without His Word but graciously provides it to you through your pastor. And you rejoice, Alan, because the Lord has called you to serve these people with His Word and gifts. What joy that you are not put here to figure things out for yourself but rather have God's Word and Spirit to do the work for you! Today, brothers and sisters in Christ of St. Peter, all that Christ has is yours, to be given to you by the hand of this man that He has called to serve you. And today, Alan, all that Christ has for these people He puts you here to give them. This is a day of celebration indeed! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

This is where the pastor goes all geek on y'all.

I've been playing video games for a long time. It all started with Pong, of course, and my first love was the Commodore 64, which I still contend had the best, most entertaining collection of video games. (Anyone have one they're trying to get rid of?)

But I always thought that the Nintendo Entertainment System was where I grew up as a gamer. The first game I beat was Super Mario Bros. But my favorite to play was Metroid. Pictured above is Samus Aran, the heroine of Metroid. And wasn't that a surprise?! Who knew that a girl could be a video game action figure instead of the damsel in distress?

Anyway, someone finally decided to bring the best of the NES into one game. Click here to play Super Mario Bros. Crossover! It has to be the coolest thing ever happen to video games!

The Sweetest Sorrow

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. -- Philippians 1:3-8 (NKJV)


The Apostle Paul, by the grace of God and the eloquence of the Holy Spirit, has put into words the joy I experienced today. The saints of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, Louisiana, welcomed me into the pulpit one last time this morning. I'm not a big fan of gushy personal outbursts from the pulpit, as I'm sure you could guess by now, so the sermon wasn't a farewell speech, instead focusing on the Gospel appointed for the day. Yet the Lord's sense of timing is divine: the Gospel reminded us that the children of God are heirs of a joy that will never fade away.

Between the services, the congregation welcomed Faith and me to a cake reception. Yet sweeter than the cake and richer than the gifts we received was the love which they shared with Faith and me in their kind regards for the times we spent together and their fond wishes and prayers for my family's move and our service in Illinois. After the sorrow of my experience in Ohio--though I know many members of the congregation in Zanesville loved me and continue to love me today--the warm welcome and the continuing affection of the people of Mt. Olive has been a balm to my soul.

It may be some time before I return to Mt. Olive. My wife's family living in Louisiana, we will no doubt have the opportunity to return from time to time. It will not be the same; nor would I wish it to be. These people took me in during a time of sorrow. Through the love they have shown me and the gifts of God they partook with me, they are sending me forth in joy, and I hope that every return to them will reflect that joy. Though it is very likely that I will eventually forget the names of these saints, I will always remember the love they shared with me.

Pastor Drew, brothers and sisters in Christ at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. We will meet again: maybe here, certainly at the Lamb's High Feast, and unto eternity by the grace of God.

Sermon for 4/25/10--Jubilate: Fourth Sunday of Easter (LSB 1-year)

I will be preaching this Sunday at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, Louisiana. Barring some emergency or some crazy occurrence, this will be the last time I preach in Louisiana . . . for now, anyway. The people of Mt. Olive have been a wonderful blessing to me and to my family for the past three years and more. Thanks to Pastor Drew, I've had the opportunity to preach there more than any other congregation during my time between parish pastorates. Each time I have been welcomed with love. This is a congregation which hungers and thirsts for the Word of God, no matter how much of it they have already received. This will be a bittersweet experience for me, I'm sure.

Thanks to Faith's mother, my dear wife will be able to join me. If you're in the area, we'd love to have you join us. Worship is at 8 and 10:30 AM. Pastor Drew will be teaching Bible class at 9:15. Y'all come!

How Long, O Lord?
John 16:16-22

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


Historically, the Fourth Sunday of Easter has been known as Jubilate. This Latin word is the first word of our Introit, in which we sing, “Make a joyful shout to God!” It seems strange, then, that the Church should choose the verses of our Gospel reading—verses recording an event which takes place right before the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion—to be read and preached on one of the seven Sundays of Easter. There’s an awful lot of sorrow in this text, and it doesn’t seem quite right in what is supposed to be a season of great joy for the people of God.

In fact, it seemed as though the disciples were already in the midst of their sorrow. Jesus wasn’t even gone yet from them for that little while, and in their confusion regarding His words, it was as though Jesus had already left them. The thing is, Jesus wasn’t delivering the goods the way they expected. They expected an earthly King, an Anointed One who would restore the earthly Kingdom of Israel. This business of Jesus going away for a little while, of Jesus going to the Father—it made no sense in their vision of the Messiah.

Of course, it’s easy for us to look at this text through the lens of hindsight and know exactly what Jesus is saying. In fact, as we look at this text, it might be easy for us to suppose that the disciples are rather foolish and thick-headed. After all, Jesus had told them more than once that He would suffer and die and that He would rise from the grave. This would be the last time Jesus would share this message with them before His betrayal and arrest, trial, conviction and crucifixion. These words would begin to be fulfilled before that day had even ended. It’s obvious to us. But we have the luxury of hindsight and the understanding given to us through the Holy Spirit.

Then again, Jesus doesn’t always deliver the way we think He should, either. Jesus tells us, “You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” Sorrow, and anguish, and the cross will define your life; but your cross will yield to the resurrection!

These are wonderful words. But let us be honest: they are not really the words we want to hear. What we want to hear is that the life lived in Christ is a life of ease. We want to hear that being a Christian means that we will always be treated fairly in this life, that others will love us because of who we are. We want to hear that our blessed Lord has not only taken on our sin and died our death, but has also taken away everything that annoys and frustrates and bothers us, every bad thing that can happen to us, every evil word or deed that might be said or done against us. This is why men like Joel Osteen are so popular: they deliver the message we want to hear.

But instead of telling us what we want to hear, our Lord tells us what is true and real. He says: “A little while, and you will not see Me; and, again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” The message is plain for us who live under the burden of the Law and who daily earn the wages of sin. We need Jesus every moment. It is only the presence of Christ in us that allows us to do good works, that gives us true joy, that opens the gates of heaven to us. But we separate ourselves from Him in our sinfulness, and we become mired in sorrow because there is no hope or help or comfort for us apart from Him. Apart from Christ, the sorrow seems endless because the sorrow is endless apart from Christ.

But this is where we see the great blessing of holy absolution. When we find ourselves deep in sorrow over our sinfulness, when it seems as though the despair cannot be conquered, when the world is rejoicing because you have fallen, when it seems that sin and death will have their way, it is then that the Lord says to you, “You now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” When you are in sorrow over your sin and crying out, “How long, O Lord?” with King David, Jesus answers you by saying, “A little while.” ‘I will bring your anguish to an end. I forgive you your sin, removing it as far from you as east is from west. My righteousness covers your sinfulness. And I will give you great joy that will never end.’

Even though we may be unable to see the end of our sorrow, our Lord sees it. The suffering in sorrow will end; and until then, He gives us the strength to bear it, nourishing our souls with His body and blood. “A little while,” He says to you. That is all the longer your cross will last. That is only how long it will be until your heartache passes. That is the length of Christian sorrow and pain—only a little while. It may seem like an eternity, as those three days between cross and resurrection surely did to the disciples, and the devil will want to consume your whole life, but it is really only a little while. It will feel as if it is always raining, but after the rain comes the sunshine.

And what happens after that little while? Then comes the long while, the unending Day of the Lord. Sorrow and despair lasts but a moment. And then comes the joy which knows no end and the peace which surpasses understanding and the blessing that far outweighs any blessing in this life, the time when the sufferings of this present life can in no way measure up to the glory that our Lord has fully stored up for you.

But first, the little while. Though for now you have sorrow, the Lord even now comes to you when He gives you His life-renewing flesh and pours into you His life-saving blood. Even now the Lord sees you again as He smiles on you with His forgiving Word, even as the angel promised the shepherds when he said, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” Even now the Lord creates in you a clean heart, and renews His righteous Spirit within you, and restores to you the joy of His salvation.

As St. Peter wrote: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, if need be, you are grieved by various trials.” But even in this little while of grief, your heart rejoices, for you have been plunged into a joy that no one can take from you. You hear a Word of blessing that no devil nor any other enemy of God can undo. And you feed on Jesus, whose life no one now can take from you.

Let the world have its rejoicing while you weep and lament; for that joy will only last a little while. In His time, the Lord will grant you joy that will never fade 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.

An Exile No More?

Since I received the Call to serve as pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois, the one question that I have received most frequently is this: "Are you going to change the name of your blog?"

Louisiana is not Patmos--and I am certainly not St. John. It is neither Assyria nor Babylon--though I imagine Pat Robertson and the "God Hates Fags" people might be inclined to disagree regarding the latter. It is not even Elba--and I don't like pointy hats, anyway. Yet for the past four years and more, Louisiana has been the place of my exile from parish ministry.

What is exile? How does one become exiled? The Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the noun "exile" as "the state or a period of forced absence from one's country or home". In my case, rather selfishly, I gave the blog its name because of my departure from parish ministry. I've told the story before. I don't need to do so again.

Now my time outside of parish ministry is coming to an end. Do I change the name or not? Since I received the Call, that question has crossed my mind from time to time--usually when someone asks me, but sometimes on its own when I have a free moment in my head that isn't echoing the refrain, "I'm returning to parish ministry! I'm returning to parish ministry!" My first instinct is to keep it the way it is, and there's a number of reasons for it.

First, heaven is my home. I am in the world but not of it. Until the Lord calls me home, I am an alien and stranger, as Peter says in chapter 2 of his first epistle. Second, as a matter of practicality, this is how the blog started, and changing the name and how it appears in blogrolls is just a big pain in the behind. Besides, the subtitle of the blog reads, "A Confessional Lutheran blog begun from the place of my exile".

But third--and most important--in the Bible, usually God's children were sent into exile because of their sinfulness. Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden because of their disobedience to the Word. Cain was exiled for the murder of his brother, Abel. Judah and Israel were exiled to Babylon and Assyria because they had fallen away from the Word of God and into apostasy. In my case, no matter what the motives of others might have been, I sinned in writing negatively about certain aspects of my congregation in my original blog. Whether or not it was the reason I was asked to resign, it was the reason I was given. And whether or not it was the reason I was asked to resign, my sinfulness in posting what I did gave me enough reason to acquiesce to the demand. Keeping this name has served and will continue to serve as a reminder that I must continue to love, thank God for, and speak well of the flock entrusted to my care, no matter the circumstances. God help me to do so.

What do you think? Keep it? Change it? If so, to what?

Hymn: Alleluia! Christ Is Risen

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Last night, I was putting Michael to sleep, singing hymns like "At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing" and "Jesus Lives, The Victory's Won" and "Love Divine, All Love Excelling" as lullabies. As I was singing the last, a hymn idea popped into my head. It's not easy to put a child to bed when you keep repeating ideas under your breath so you don't forget them.

A blessed Easter to you and yours!

Alleluia! Christ Is Risen

1. Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Jesus, firstborn from the dead,
Burst the gates to hell’s dark prison.

Christ has triumphed as He said.
To the cross He bore sin's burden.
There He suffered grief and shame.
Rose again to earn our pardon--
Rose our freedom to proclaim.

2. Lo, His tomb now stands deserted.
Hark, the stone now rolled away.
Satan's power fails, diverted,
Hell's dark fury held at bay.
Now end's Satan's insurrection.
Hear the truth we claim by faith:
Through His mighty resurrection
Jesus bears the keys to death.

3. Sinful Adam, die with Jesus
In the great baptismal flood.
Washed of all sin's dread diseases,
Cleansed, we rise, in Jesus blood.
Where, O Hades, is your vict'ry?
Where, O Death, is now your sting?
Death, now toothless, falls before me.
Hell bows, mute, before my King.

4. Alleluia! Christ is risen,
And with Him the saints shall rise.
Death is nevermore our prison;
Now the gate to paradise.
Pow'r, dominion, glory, honor
To the Lamb who once was slain,
Who, with Spirit and the Father,
Now and evermore shall reign.


(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
87 87 D
Tune: HYFRYDOL (LSB 700)

Pastor-Elect

This past week, Faith and I drove up to Campbell Hill, Illinois. There is a healthy amount of discussion as to whether or not a pastor should visit a congregation which has extended a Call to him, but there isn't really a clear-cut answer. I never visited Zanesville before I accepted the Call to serve there, and though I do not blame that lack for the way things turned out there--after all, everyone puts their best foot forward with a planned visit--sometimes I wonder what might have happened if I had visited. (I sometimes allow myself the luxury to think about things I can't change.)

I had my response pretty much set by the time we decided to take our trip, and I didn't really expect anything we saw there to change my mind. The drive itself was lovely, though we were a little early to catch the fields in their vibrant greens. But even lovelier than the drive were the people we encountered. It started with the Buetow family. Pastor Mark Buetow, his wife Susan, their three daughters, and Aslan the cat warmly welcomed us into their home for the first two nights. Pastor Buetow and I have known each other for a long time. In fact, when Faith and I decided to move to Louisiana in 2005, I called Pastor Buetow, and he provided spiritual care for us. He's a good man, though Faith believes he consumes a little too much red food dye. He's also the vacancy pastor for St. Peter Lutheran Church, and he was able to give me extra information about the congregation. As for Faith, she and Susan are both homeschool mothers, and they had developed an online friendship that bloomed during our visit. Their daughters are lovely young ladies--taking after their mother, thankfully, in their temperament.

On Thursday we went to church at St. Peter. We started with the dinner beforehand, meeting and greeting those who had come to eat and to worship. We'd let them know we were coming, and we were greeted with love. The church itself is beautiful--I'll let the picture above speak louder than any words I could add. And the people? I've lived in rural Missouri and rural North Dakota, and there is a certain mentality to the rural being. There's a certain calmness, a generosity of spirit, that seems almost innate. That's not to say that city folk aren't generous, but it seems to be a way of life here. (I'm already speaking as if I'm there.)

On Friday, Faith and I had dinner with a group of leaders from the congregation. After the delicious meal, we did introductions, and then, after a brief discussion, I announced that I was officially accepting the Call to serve as Pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church. This was the first time I'd ever been able to witness the reaction when I announced a decision like this, and the relief and the applause were a welcome and soothing balm. They handled well the news of Michael's autism. They'd started renovations on the house, and they sought our input on what we'd like to see done. It was as if we were already there--and though we had to come back after worship on Sunday, in a way it feels like we're already part of the life of the congregation. And I suppose we are. Thanks be to God for such faithful and loving people to serve with and to serve!

For those who are interested, President Herb Mueller of the Southern Illinois District will be installing me as St. Peter's pastor on May 16 at 7 PM. Pastor Buetow will be preaching. Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod pastors who attend are invited to participate. May 16 is the Seventh Sunday of Easter, so be prepared with your white stoles.

Thank you for your support and prayers over the pastor four years, and thank you for your continued prayers for myself, my family, and the St. Peter congregation.

Hymn: As Strode the Christ to Cross and Grave

For a number of years now, I've had it in mind to do a sermon series based on the eyewitness testimony given by those who witnessed Jesus as He made His way to the Place of the Skull. I'd thought about calling it, "Sermons from Christ's Enemies"; but then it occurred to me that not all of those whose testimony was given were speaking or acting from enmity. The woman who anointed His feet with oil, for example, did not act out of anger or fear. The thief on the cross went so far as to defend Christ from a fellow criminal's words. Not being in the parish for the past four years, and not having much say in what was chosen as a sermon series the two years before that, I've never written the sermon series.

But then I started to look at the same theme with the thought of writing a hymn. After a few abortive attempts, this is what I've come up with, set to the tune of "From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee". And who knows? Maybe that will be my Lenten sermon theme next year.

To God alone be the glory.

As Strode the Christ to Cross and Grave

1. As strode the Christ to cross and grave,

The blind men stood before Him.

"Lord, Son of David," they did rave,

"Have mercy!" they implored Him.

Hail, Jesus, David's greater Son,

Who, in His love, heals everyone,

Delivering God's mercy.

2. "'Tis better that one man should die

Than die our holy nation."

When Caiaphas these words did cry,

He prophesied salvation.

Though speaking as Christ's enemy,

Unknowing, he spoke faithfully.

Christ died to save all people.

3. “Innocent blood have I betrayed,”

Said Judas to the plotters.

Our own destruction Jesus stayed

Through blood poured out with water.

That sinless blood makes our robes white

And saves us from death’s endless night.

That blood has bought our pardon.

4. Pilate before the priests proclaimed,

"I find no fault in Jesus."

All said, who should be greatly shamed,

"Naught but His death appease us."

Still, Pilate knew His innocense.

He gave up Christ at truth's expense.

Thus death became the judgment.

5. The crowd cried out, "Then be His blood

On us and on our children!"

God saw His Son's great crimson flood,

Heard those words, and fulfilled them.

That sacrifice atoned, and thus

The blood of Christ now cleanses us.

The stain of sin is ended.

6. The thief with Christ knew his own guilt,

And of it made confession.

Yet in the Lord his hope was built

Who would forgive transgression.

He prayed, "O Lord, remember me."

No matter how near death we be,

Christ shows His grace and mercy.

7. "Truly this man was God's own Son,"

The soldiers said in wonder,

As death's fierce power was undone,

The veil now torn asunder.

May we, with those who saw, believe

The saving work which Christ achieved

For us and our salvation.

(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
87 87 887
Tune: AUS TIEFER NOT (LSB 607)


And the sermon series layout:

Witnesses on the Road to Golgotha

Midweek Lenten Series

Midweek 1—John 11:45-53

Caiaphas: vv.1, 2, 7

Midweek 2—Matthew 27:1-10

            Judas: vv.1, 3, 7

Midweek 3—John 18:33-40

            Pilate: vv.1, 4, 7

Midweek 4—Matthew 27:15-26

            The Mob: vv. 1, 5, 7

Midweek 5—Luke 23: 33-43

            The Thief: vv. 1, 6, 7

Midweek 6/Good Friday—Matthew 27:46-54

            The Centurion: vv. 1, 7

 

CALLED and Ordained (and HYMN)

As I write this, it's been four years, five months and seven days since I've been a parish pastor. It's been an interesting period--as in the old Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." We moved to Louisiana from Ohio. We had the twins. We've lived in three different houses and two towns. I've weathered two hurricanes. I've been running a community center for the past three years. It's been a strange interlude.

Though I haven't been in the parish, the pastors and congregations down here in southern Louisiana (and parts beyond) have kept me fairly busy. I've preached for thirteen different congregations, averaging about one preaching opportunity every three weeks. I've been blessed to officiate at three baptisms (including those of the Wonder Twins). I've done three funerals. I've administered the rite of Confirmation at three congregations for seven young Christians.

I've also participated in the installation of three pastors. I've enjoyed doing so, but those events were especially trying for me, wondering if I'd ever again find myself being installed as a parish pastor. Those events led to long sessions of storming the gates of heaven, begging God to find a place for me.

After four years and five months, God has finally, resoundingly, in His own gracious timing, answered these prayers in the affirmative. The Holy Spirit has led the saints of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois, to extend to me the divine Call to serve as their next pastor!

I don't know a lot of details as I write this--the paperwork is en route--but Faith and I are very excited about this opportunity. I am ready and raring to serve. If everything works out the way I think it will, my last day at the community center will be April 30.

Please keep the Kornacki family and the saints of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois, in your prayers.

In honor of this occasion, I have paraphrased Psalm 43 and set it to a hymn tune. (By the way, yes, I do realize I tried rhyming "off" and "truth". *sigh*)

Vindicate Me, Lord My God

1. Vindicate me, Lord my God!
'Gainst the nations plead my cause.
Save me from the foul and flawed.
To my enemies give pause.
O my Lord, deliver me.
E'er my strong defender be.

2. Lord, why do You cast me off?
My oppressors cause me grief.
Lead me in Your light and truth.
In You let me find relief.
I will seek Your altar, Lord,
Always joyful in Your Word.

3. Why, my soul, are you cast down?
Why cannot my soul find peace?
Let my harp Your praises sound,
For in You I find release--
You, my hope, O God of grace;
You, my hope, I seek Your face.


(c) Alan Kornacki, Jr.
77 77 77
Tune: Gethsemane (LSB 436)

PARODY: Coffee Is My Friend

I don't know if you've ever seen the video for the song "Jesus Is My Friend" by Sonseed. It's a rather cheesy Christian ska song that has made the rounds on YouTube lately. If you want to understand the context of the parody (or if you just want to see a really cheesy praise song), click here. If you haven't seen it . . . well . . . just watch it. I'll leave it to you to form your own opinion.

Special thanks go to my friend Susan Buetow, whose Facebook status this morning inspired me. Even though I don't drink coffee myself, as a former Pepsi and Mountain Dew addict, I can certainly understand the need for that little extra something to get going.

And so, without any further ado, here is my tribute to "the other Lutheran sacrament".



Coffee Is My Friend

(Chorus) Coffee is a friend of mine
Coffee is my friend
Coffee is a friend of mine
I have a friend in coffee
Coffee is a friend of mine
Coffee is my friend
Coffee is a friend of mine

1. It helps me through my day when people get to me
I don't know how I'd live my life if I were caffeine-free
I've tried other drinks and nothing works as well
Starting days without it can be hell (Chorus)

2. It gives me extra pep for dealing with my kids
It helps me when I feel my life's about to hit the skids
The coffee may be bitter but with milk it's not so bad
And think of all the sugar you can add (Chorus)

3. Once I tried to quit--I tried to drop caffeine
But after just an hour I found myself becoming mean
Coffee is like garlic--it gives you nasty breath
Give me coffee, please, or give me death! (Chorus)

4. I drink it in the morning and just before I sleep
I drink both when it's fresh and when it's had some time to steep
I drink to calm my nerves--without I get the shakes
Just think: if not for coffee, there would be no coffee cake! *GASP* (Chorus)

The Great Deflate

This is a bit of a departure from my usual fare, but I hope you don't mind the presumption. Your prayers would be appreciated in this matter.

The danger in living in a house which you don't own is that sometimes you inherit things you'd rather not have. On the door of our bathroom we have a full-length mirror. In an of itself, this is not a bad thing. It's good to be able to tell when you're walking out of the bathroom if you have toilet paper on your shoe or a big piece of lint on your behind. But when you're overweight--or, to be more accurate, morbidly, disgustingly fat--it's not a nice thing to step out of the shower and see all 800 pounds of your body in all its morbid glory. It's like a train wreck: you want to look away, but you can't. I used to be overweight--somewhat pleasantly rounded with a beer belly--but still able to pull off surprising feats of speed and agility if the situation demanded it, usually with my youth group. These days I find myself breathing heavy when I pick up my son (who, admittedly, isn't tiny) and carry him twenty feet from the living room to the bedroom.

This is unacceptable. I look like a slug. I have little energy. I have been a lousy steward of this gift God has given me. If my body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, He may end up suing me as an absentee landlord. For the first time in my life I have a lot of self-confidence, but the condition of my body does not match the condition of my psyche. I don't care what other people think about my weight, but I do care what *I* think. It's time to do something about it.

An acquaintance of mine is losing a lot of weight following gastric bypass surgery. That's not the route for me. I want to earn my weight loss if at all possible. Another acquaintance has lost an incredible amount of weight by eating right and by exercising. That's the right way to do it when you're able, and that's how I want to do it.

I started doing the Power 90 workouts at the Rec a week ago. I had to stop about a third of the way through the workout to make space for taxpayers (the next day I moved the DVD player to the banquet room for some privacy), but I needed the break anyway for the sake of my belly, which felt like it was going to rip off the front of my body. I continued on when the taxpayers left. But I could feel the burn already after that first segment.

Here's the statistics.
My starting weight: 343 (How did I let this happen?!?)
My first weight goal: 290
My "final" weight goal: 250 (This number may drop lower if I can lose more weight safely, but this is a good number for now.)

Here's the ugly truth.












It's a week later. I still look like a slug. It's going to take a lot of work to change that. But the work has begun. Today I completed my sixth day of the 90-day routine. It's a two-day cycle that repeats: the first day is cardio and abs, and the second day is weights/resistance work. This was my third day of the resistance program, and it has started to get a little less difficult. I won't say that it's gotten easier, since it's not easy and probably won't ever be--the price of fitness is constant vigilance--but I'm growing accustomed to the hard work. Six workouts and a long walk on Saturday. Feel the burn? That's not someone shooting a blowtorch at me; it's my muscles doing work they haven't done since I graduated from college.

I've also been doing more sensible eating. Carrots and pretzels for snacks instead of half a bag of Cheetos. Very limited sweets. Low-fat yogurts. No fast food. No pop ("soda" for you weird people). Meals with low fat contents--though I don't count calories, I do check the fat content in what I eat. Today I made myself a low-fat crawfish chowder which got more delicious with every mouthful. (I hope my grandfather-in-law isn't spinning in his grave, God rest his soul, with his Yankee grandson-in-law making a seafood "soup".) I've been a lot better about portion size, too. I'm not letting myself be hungry, but I'm not eating until I feel like I'm going to explode. I'll probably struggle with that for a long time. (But NO MORE TURKEY BURGERS FOR ME. At least, not the brand they sell around here. Blech. No amount of seasoning, no condiments, no cheese could make that . . . that thing . . . taste good.)

A week ago I weighed in at 343 pounds. Today I weighed in at 337 pounds. Six pounds in one week! I can't tell you how excited that made me. I've got a long way to go, but the start is very encouraging. I'm not stupid enough to think that every week will be like this, and I know I'm not going to be perfect when it comes to keeping the diet. But I've committed myself to this, and I intend to see it through. I can't keep living the way I was--not for myself, not for my family.

God help me. And that's not just a figure of speech.

Hymn: Sustained By Faith Among the Rubble

I came to the greater New Orleans area a few months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area. The devastation was horrendous. Knowing how so many people in our church body stepped up to aid the people and communities of the gulf states in the aftermath of the storm, I've been very interested to see how the people of the LCMS would step up in the aftermath of the earthquake that annihilated Haiti. To say that I've been impressed would be an understatement. The blog posts from Pastor Matt Harrison and his staff from LCMS World Relief and Human Care have recorded their efforts and the efforts of others (like Pastor Ted Krey, my friend and a former classmate) in what continues to be a dangerous situation.

I'm not in a position to play a big role in Haiti's recovery. The people of Haiti and those who are working tirelessly on their behalf are in my prayers daily. That doesn't seem like much to me, but God gives us our vocations, and right now mine have me working where I am.

Like I said, I've been following the blog posts of Pastor Harrison and of Pastor Carlos Hernandez, Director, Districts and Congregations, LCMS World Relief and Human Care. One of the latter's recent posts caught my eye--specifically, the title. It was called Among the Rubble, Sustained by Faith. The fledgling hymn-writer in me saw that title and ran with it. This is the result.

(By the way, thank you, Pastors Harrison and Hernandez, Krey, and all those who are working in the heart of the devastation. May God sustain you as you bring both earthly blessings and the blessings of heaven to the people of Haiti.)

Sustained By Faith Among the Rubble

1. Sustained by faith among the rubble,
God's children face calamity.
Earthquake or storm—in any trouble,
Christ is our rock for ev’ry plea.
Even in times of great distress,
We know in all things God will bless.

2. God does not promise earthly pleasure.
Sin and its wages take their toll.
Yet He gives comfort rich in measure.
Baptismal waters soothe the soul.
Christ will forever faithful prove.
Trust in His grace, for God is love.

3. In His great mercy God has given;
In His great love He takes away.
When thunder rolls, when waves are driven,
When illness falls, when buildings sway,
Battered by Satan's demon band,
We rest in God's almighty hand.

4. God hears our every supplication.
Boldly approach the mercy seat.
In fear, in loss, in devastation,
His grace is sure, His love complete.
God answers prayers—so says His Word.
We pray, “Thy will be done, O Lord.”


© 2010, 2017 Alan Kornacki, Jr.
98 98 88
Tune: O DASS ICH TAUSEND ZUNGEN HATTE (DRETZEL) (LSB 590) or WER NUR DEN LIEBEN GOTT (LSB 719)
Occasion: Disasters (natural or man-made)/Job 1:13-21

Give me liturgy, or give me death!

My apologies to Patrick Henry for borrowing his thunder, but I couldn't resist. After doing a google.com search, I find that I'm not the first to make this statement (though in all fairness, I had never heard it before). But regardless of the originality of the statement, there is as much need for these words today as there was for Patrick Henry to speak the original words over two centuries ago.

Perhaps some might view this as hyperbole. Oh, that Kornacki character doesn't take things seriously. On the contrary, there are few things in this world that I consider with more gravity than the divine liturgy of the Mass. I have always loved the liturgy. Outside of baseball achievements, one of the things I remember most about my youth is the day I realized in the midst of the worship service that I knew by heart all the words of the liturgy, both for the congregation and the pastor. I was eight at the time, and the congregation had just made the move over to the "new" hymnal, Lutheran Worship. This was a major accomplishment for me. Instead of reading the words, I could recite them--pray them--and consider their meaning. Of course, at eight years of age, those considerations were hardly profound. Nevertheless, it was the start of a time of spiritual growth for me.

Having the liturgy in my spiritual toolbox was especially important a few years later, when I got into my car accident. I don't remember much about that evening. But in what to this point in my life was my darkest hour, when I was laying terrified on a gurney in an ambulance, on a day of which I remember precious little, I remember praying parts of the liturgy, including the Lord's Prayer. I remember singing "Abide With Me". These gifts, these treasures which so many in the Church disregard and dispose of with nary a thought, took me to the feet of my Savior in the midst of tribulation.

A year later, on vicarage, my supervisor took me to visit one of our shut-ins. This beautiful woman welcomed us with open arms, even though she didn't know who I was and couldn't remember who her pastor was. She remembered very little. But when Pastor began the liturgy in preparation for Communion, this child of God who remembered so little otherwise began to pray the liturgy with us, word-for-word.

It is in the liturgy in which we are given the Sacraments, where we receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. Some might complain that the liturgy is boring because of all the repetition. But it is that very repetition that makes the liturgy so important for the Christian in his daily walk with Christ. When we walk out of the sanctuary, we walk out into the world, where Satan, "this world's prince", is looking for someone he can lead away from the rest of Christ's flock, someone to devour. In returning to the liturgy, we return to the waters of Holy Baptism, where

I've experienced the generic Protestant service. I will say this: there's a lot of excitement. Some have the dancing, some the arm waving, others the exciting new music, still others the incomprehensible rambling from the people "speaking in tongues"--which, by the way, are never interpreted for the congregation--and these things are very emotional. But there's not much substance there, and I'm hard pressed to figure out how I could rely on any of these things to help me to pray while I was laying dazed in an ambulance. After all, so much of what happens without liturgy is that we tell God what we do for Him, how much we love Him, how we lift His name high, how holy our desires for him are. And those moralistic sermons are informative, but when your life is in shambles and you feel like you can't make it right, how can it help to hear that you have to do even more?

I find great joy in the words of Scripture upon which the liturgy is based. I become very emotional during a number of our "dull" hymns and at points of our "boring" liturgy. We sing about "Easter triumph" which destroys sin and brings us "Easter joy". We sing that Jesus ". . . lives and grants me daily breath. He lives and I shall conquer death." What comfort, what joy those words are! We sing about Christ who is "the life of all the living". We sing about vocation, which is lives as Christians which are lived in response to what Jesus has done for us. We hear sermons which tell us that we are forgiven children of God, relieved of the burden of "doing more" because Christ has done all things necessary for our salvation. These are beautiful things, and I literally weep tears of joy for the wonderful blessings God delivers to us in the Divine Service and the words we have been given to speak and sing in response to what we receive.

After all, the Divine Service is, first and foremost, about what God does for us. It's not meant to focus on us and how we feel or what we do. Instead, the Divine Service points us to Christ and what He gives to us there: forgiveness, life, and salvation. The gifts we receive in the Divine Service are vital to our lives as Christians, and we take those things with a deadly seriousness, even as we experience great joy in what we receive.