January 2023 – What Does This Mean?

A Walk Through the Liturgy: What’s Not There

Encore Post: In my last post about the liturgy, we talked at length about the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer being fulfilled by the forthcoming events of the Service of the Sacrament. However, I failed to mention anything about the doxological (giving of praise) ending of the Prayer. With this post I am going to attempt to talk more about the conclusion of the prayer in the context of the service as well as discuss something that is no longer found in our Divine Services: The Eucharistic Prayer.

If you noticed at least when following the 3rd Setting of the Divine Service, in the Lutheran Service Book, the petitions are pointed for chanting by the Pastor and the ending is to be sung by the congregation. Some congregations forego the chanting altogether and speak the Prayer aloud. We ought to remember that Matthew and Luke do not record such a conclusion, “For thine is Kingdom and the Power…” That addition, while a good and right addition, came out of the wisdom of the Church. For with those words, the Church confesses of the Father that He is able to bring all these petitions to actualization. And perhaps, that is why the whole congregation is encouraged to joyfully sing the conclusion. They confess with own voices the whole Church’s belief in the Father to whom the Pastor just prayed on the congregation’s collected behalf.

Now to the prayer that no longer shows up in Lutheran Divine Services: The Eucharistic Prayer. In the Early Church (and still found in The Roman Catholic Church) the Eucharistic Prayer came right on the heels of the Lord’s Prayer. Eucharist means “Thanksgiving” so in a way this prayer was a prayer of thanksgiving recounting and rehearsing the deeds of salvation the Lord has done on behalf of His people. Many of the ancient Eucharist prayers rehearse the stories of the Old Testament stretching into the story of Jesus and also including the night of Christ’s betrayal (the Greek word, παραδίδωμι, means betrayal as well as handing down a tradition), which as Jesus says should be remembered.

However, these Eucharistic Prayers began to get quite long, and unfortunately, poor theology crept into the prayers. With that came poor and bad practice from the priests and the believers. In particular, the Eucharistic Prayers because to weave in the idea that the priest was actually “re-sacrificing” Christ on the Altar as an “un-bloody” sacrifice. And this sacrifice was not just a sacrifice of thanksgiving, but a sacrifice given to God that was considered to be propitiatory (See Council of Trent Sess. XXII, can. iii; also see The Apology of the Augsburg Confession about this HERE.) Let us remember there is only one sacrifice for the propitiation for sins: Jesus Christ. Also inside the Eucharistic Prayer was the oblation and intercession for all living as well as all those dead (see a contemporary document concerning oblation and intercession HERE.)

On top of all that, the Words of our Lord were prone to get lost in the middle of the Eucharistic Prayers because of all the extra stuff that came after the recounting of the deeds of the Lord (oblation, intercession, etc.). With that, you should begin to see why Lutherans have shied away from the use of the Eucharistic Prayer within the Divine Service. However, there are some pieces of the concept which still are found in our Liturgy of the Sacrament. For instance, it is good and right that we should recall the works of God, and we in the Proper Preface. The Words of our Lord from the night of his betrayal take center stage, and next time will pick the service with those precious words of our Lord.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

Saints’ Days and Commemorations

Encore Post: During Martin Luther’s lifetime, the Church Year was filled with Saints’ Days. Thousands of Saints were remembered — and venerated. Some of the pressure on time was controlled by celebrating All Saints’ Day, so the ones without a day could be remembered. The day after was remembered as All Souls’ Day, to pray for the rest of us!

The Lutheran Reformers solved the crowding of the calendar by removing almost all of the non-Biblical saints. A few like St. Valentine, St. Nicholas — and curiously St. Lawrence remain to this day. Local congregations are, of course, free to celebrate others.

Some church bodies, like the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod have recognized the desire to remember figures from church history. The provide a list of Commemorations for figures like Wilhelm Löhe, C. F. W. Walther, Martin Luther and so on. Commemorations, unlike saints’ days, do not have their own propers — special readings, a prayer of the day, psalms, etc.

The point of both kinds of days is to thank God for these faithful men and women. We remember their lives, the way they lived their lives in faith and to pray that we, too, may be faithful. After all, their suffering is over, their tears are gone and their sorrows turned to joy. And it will not be very long before our Lord comes to bring us home, too. With them numbered may we be here and in eternity.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Charity, Charitability, Government, and the Needy

There will always be beggars among us in the church and throughout the world. The charitable work of the church is not on the decline. It is as vibrant as ever and even better organized than it has even been. But, our common understanding of it on the decline.

There are a few factors contributing to our own weaker view of the mercy work of the church. In some cases, community or ecumenical efforts have eclipsed congregational or synodical activities. Mostly, the bottomless pockets of government benefit programs are steadily pushing out private charity in our minds.

Government is the enemy of charity and charitability. It anonymizes the recipient, stealing the blessing of shame. That shame is a twofold gift. It can serve to motivate our neighbor to better themselves, escaping their situation. That shame can also fuel Christian gratitude toward the benefactor.

Government further compels benefactors to participate by the irresistible force of violence or incarceration. Instead of choosing charitable vehicles, the tax-paying benefactor sees their money go where political winds blow it. This compulsion breeds resentment. The resentment is a result of the immoral or evil purposes, graft and waste overshadowing the good. Further, the irresistible force can create a mentality akin to, “I already gave at the door.”

As Christians, we have a duty to provide for the good of the needy, “the widow and the orphan.” The first Christians saw this and the fairness of it as a critical need in the work of the church. To free-up the disciples in their ministry, St. Stephen and the others were set-up in works of mercy, serving their neighbor (Acts 6:1-7).

Now, the widow and the orphan are not exclusive terms and ought to be understood well among us. In ancient near eastern culture, widows and orphans were the most helpless of society. Women could not own property. Without a husband, father, or grown son, a woman’s only option outside of starvation would be prostitution. This harsh reality is the genesis of the St. Nicholas legends, providing dowries for destitute girls to be married instead.

Orphans were similarly hopeless in their plight. Without an inheritance or ability to find work, shelter, or food, voluntary slavery was one of the few options outside of begging. And, beggars on the streets were easy prey for all sorts of brigands and ne’er-do-wells.

These examples are particularly useful for us in our society. Widows and orphans are in less dire circumstances among us. But, the helplessness of the 1^st century folks gives us good guidance nonetheless. Those most in need are always here. For us, the disabled, the injured, and those impoverished by inescapable circumstance are like the widow and the orphan.

It can be easy for us to slip into a lazy charitability in different directions. Vehicular charity, government as charity, and indiscriminate charity are paths that can lead to giving that doesn’t benefit our neighbor.

First, we might insulate ourselves with vehicular charity through organizations, concealing the face and plight of the beggar. A bigger organization is often better in this way. Of course, we love to hear personalized stories of recipients, without knowing or seeing them in the flesh. It’s tidy and sanitary. We get a tax benefit and an emotional boost.

This isn’t evil. Giving via large organizations that are faithful in their service brings economics of scale into play. Those organizations can provide benefits to the needy that individuals and small organizations couldn’t muster. We can make it evil by hiding all of our charity here, excusing ourselves from other needs around us.

In a similar vein with the vehicular, we may fall into a notion that government programs cover the needs. “I pay my taxes, providing for the needy. Ergo, I need not give more or differently. ” The giving patterns of politicians are a strong example of this mindset. Many even give far less than the limits of tax benefits available, demonstrating a great lack of charitability.

When this mindset is true, it is evil.

The last, indiscriminate charity can be directly harmful to the beggar. I once ran across a woman who reported an example as normative in her giving. “This man, an obvious alcoholic, had a really detailed story. His story was so good, that I gave him $20. I know he was gonna buy booze. But, it was a great story. I’ll always give to a good storyteller.”

That kind of giving is harmful charity. The beggar is absolutely causing themselves harm by the gift. Your gift in this case is no different than a bat across the face. When we give, knowing the gift is likely to cause, increase, or encourage self-harming behaviors, the gift is evil.

In the church, we have a particular responsibility towards each other. Our charity toward each other in the congregation is some of the most personal and faithful giving we do. Charity toward the lazy is more obvious in our midst. St. Paul warns us against this. “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us… For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6,10-12)

Here our neighbor is dwelling outside the 7^th commandment. They are compelling the congregation to give to them without genuine need. This is easy enough to discern. A person who can work, but won’t, deserves no charity. They are not just stealing from their benefactors. They are also stealing from those among us and outside our gathering in genuine need. We should not disregard the “widow and the orphan,” those without means or ability to provide for themselves in favor of the lazy.

Let our charity always help our neighbor, and never harm!

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
and
Mission planting pastoral team:
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Bastrop, TX

Eulogies Aren’t Just Bad

Many of us have been to that funeral. The one where the deceased is the center of the show. Maybe it was called a “celebration of life.” Or, the thing was intended to be the happy event because everybody’s always so sad at funerals. In the service, we heard a eulogizing message that made little or no mention of Jesus. It certainly didn’t speak of what wondrous things Jesus has done and is doing for Aunt Gertrude. There was no talk of Uncle Jurgen’s rest in Christ, or the promised resurrection on the last day.

To be clear, I’m not talking about reminiscing together. I’m not talking about a glowing obituary, or even a public reading of it. I’m talking about those quasi-hagiographies that elevate the deceased above the character of a sinner, saved for Jesus’s sake, by no merit of their own. These are on the doorstep of idolatry.

In talking about the funeral, you might hear something like, “The resurrection of all flesh?” What use is that to say? This is a celebration of life! We’re taking comfort in who Gertrude was.” Or, “How will people know who Jurgen was? Someone has to talk about him, so the people get to know him. They need to know what he was like.”

That is grief talking. In the resurrection, we will be with all the faithful, including Gertrude and Jurgen. They are at rest. They’re not gone forever. They are awaiting the resurrection, having been delivered from this tribulation. “I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:14)

Eulogies can be bad, when they’re false. It’s one thing to dwell on the highlights of a person’s life in their obituary. It’s entirely another to glorify their character beyond reality. “Gertrude was the kindest person anyone ever met.” “Jurgen was so selfless, no one ever had a cross word to say about him.” We’re talking about a sinner like us, with warts and weaknesses aplenty. Today, unlike us, they are free from sin today. Yesterday, they were not.

Eulogies can be worse, when they distract from the person and work of Jesus. The hagiographic problem rears its head in its dominance over our dead loved one’s savior, Jesus. The Gospel should always have predominance. This means that the kind words and remembrances of Gertrude or Jurgen ought not be greater in number, longer in presentation, or bolder in proclamation than the work of their Lord, Jesus Christ.

Eulogies can be wicked, when they deny the current state of blissful rest. This falls into the land of in-a-better-place-ism. “Jesus called her home, because He needed another angel.” “He has gone to a better place.” Neither of these are true, as we’ve discussed before. The dead in Christ are at rest in Him. “Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” (Revelation 6:11)

Eulogies are evil, when they deny the fleshly resurrection. We’ll hear about how Jurgen is freed from suffering. He’s done with his body now. The first statement is true and good. The latter is false and anti-Christian. The promise, given to us in baptism with the faith to trust in that promise, is salvation and resurrection. This isn’t an innovative teaching. Christianity has confessed the resurrection throughout the ages. Modern Christians are the ones returning to ancient heresies, like denying the resurrection. See also: Acts 6:6-8, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Job 19:23-27, and John 11:23-25.

Concerning the right use of Eulogies, “A eulogy is not the best Christian tradition. An obituary may be read that focuses on the gospel promise of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ our Lord and not on the good deeds of the deceased. It might be appropriate for family and friends to say a few words about the beloved in a more casual setting, such as a reception or family gathering after the service.” (Final Victory, p. 47, Bryan Wolfmueller, CPH, 2009).

Praise be to Jesus, the Firstborn of the Dead!

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
and
Mission planting pastoral team:
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Bastrop, TX

Jews and Gentiles

Encore Post: The Greeks saw the world as made up of two kinds of people — Greeks and Barbarians. For the Romans, it was Romans and Pagans. In the 1960s, we saw the world as Americans versus Communists. The Communists saw the world as Communists and Capitalists or Imperialists. For the Jews, it was Jews and Gentiles.

Of course, for them, God was the source of this separation. He called Abraham out from the Sumerian culture and the serving of multiple gods to the service of the one, true God. He set him aside from the rest of the world to be a blessing to it. He grew the nation from the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. He freed them from slavery in Egypt, gave them his law, formed them in the desert and gave them the land of promise.

But there the other nations — the gentiles — worshiped other gods and lived in great immorality.Not the least of that evil was that they would sacrifice their children for favors from their gods. So God commanded the people of Israel to kill them all and destroy all their possessions. The Israelites did not do this perfectly. Those people tempted God’s people to wander from him and sink into their immorality. God punished them with exile in Babylon. With the exception of 150 or so years, they lived as the subjects of pagan nations.

They learned the lesson. The Jews — at least the pious ones — tried to keep the law so perfectly they invented their own laws and traditions. Among those was strict separation from Gentiles, to the point of not even eating with them. In the temple, they would not allow gentiles to enter the temple proper and punished transgression with death.

The celebration of Epiphany marks how the coming of Christ changes this once and for all. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of both Jew and gentiles. The reason for the division is destroyed, demonstrated when the temple curtain tore in two from top to bottom. Now as Isaiah prophesied, the nations come to God through Christ and meet God’s people there. Together we praise him who called us both out of darkness into to his marvelous light.

God in Man made Manifest

Encore Post: Epiphany is a season of unwrapping God’s gifts. The word comes from Greek. It means reveal, make known, and, in old English, make manifest or clear. As creatures and sinners, we cannot fully understand God. Even if we could stand in God’s holy presence, we would die. (Exodus 33:20) Even as Christians, we often find ourselves say, “I don’t get you, God!”

God knows this well. It is why he reveals himself to us in Jesus. When we want to see God, we can look at Jesus. The Apostle John sums it up well, “No one has seen God. The only begotten God, he is from the Father and he has made him known.” (John 1:18) In the season of Epiphany, we get to know Jesus by what he said and did. We sit at his feet and see with our own eyes that he is the Messiah — and more than that — that he is God himself.

The season begin with a θεοφάνεια (Theophaneia) — God appearing or making himself known to people. At the Baptism of our Lord, we see the Son of God, hear the voice of the Father and the Holy Spirit settles on the Son in the form of a dove. The season ends with another θεοφάνεια. The Son glows with his full glory as God, the Father speaks and the presence of God settles on the mountain in the ancient Cloud of Glory.

In between, he calls disciples from their nets, turns water into wine, feeds whole crowds with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. He casts out demons, raises the dead, gives sight to the blind, not with shows of great ritual, but with a few words: “I will; be clean!” “Get out!” “be still!” He prays and teaches with authority — unlike the Pharisees and Bible experts. In the next season, Lent, we will see him be the Lamb of God, who takes our sins to the cross, pays the price of our salvation with his own blood and rises from the dead to break the seal of the grave forever.

So we get to know Jesus, and, through him, get to know God. One day, we will see him — and God face to face — in our own flesh we will see God

Before Childbirth—Preparing the Parents

Am I ready to be a father? How can I possibly be a mother? Shortly after a man and a woman find out that they are pregnant, it is quite natural to be shocked and surprised, to be afraid and to feel unprepared. Certainly there are many things to do to prepare for the birth of a child, to figure out a name, to tell the grandparents and family, to buy supplies, to schedule appointments, and the list goes on. But the first thing we should do is read God’s Word and pray together. We should prepare our homes as Christian homes and the husband should pray for the wife, and the wife pray for her husband, and together they should pray for their unborn child. In an effort to prepare the parents before childbirth, let us consider God’s Word found in Psalm 139.

Psalm 139:1-6

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
³You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
⁵You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139 reminds us first of who God is. God knows everything about us. He knows about our relationship with our spouse, and he knows about our unborn child. He knows the hairs on our head and He knows each of His sheep by name. If you are feeling uncertain or fearful about a child born into your family, the Lord knows this and He knows what you need before you ask Him. Ask Him, pray to the Lord! Prepare your home for this child and start the preparations with prayer.

Psalm 139:7-12

⁷Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
¹²even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

Perhaps one of the first reactions for the husband is the thought to run away. Responsibility is knocking at the door, to take care of wife and child, to make sacrifices for others. The first reaction for the wife? I can’t do this! I am not ready for this! This wasn’t part of my plan. But this child was part of God’s plan. And this child depends on you both, not just one of you, to take care of him and raise him.

We ought not to play hide-and-seek with our Savior. For wherever we go and whatever we do, He is there. He can find us. He has searched for us after all! But this is not to say that God is scary, but rather that God is merciful. Whatever your thoughts and whatever your worries, the Lord is with you. The Lord will be with you through it all. North and South and East and West, the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you.

Psalm 139:13-16

¹³For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

In this passage, we recognize that we were all born by God’s hand, both husband and wife, and the unborn child. God is our Creator, and when He brings life into the world through the union of a man and a woman, He will surely protect that life, He will surely strengthen you to care for this child, He will certainly provide for you now, like He did when you were being born. Parents, remember this, your child is fearfully and wonderfully made by God the Creator. And so are you!

As you prepare for this child, continue in the Word of God and prayer. Continue going to church. Continue making sacrifices of time, talents, and treasures for your spouse, and never forget that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. He will strengthen you and preserve you both, and the life of the unborn child in the womb.

Rev. James Peterson
St. John Lutheran Church
Curtis, Nebraska