Encore Post: Israel had not learned his lesson. Like his grandfather and parents. He had favored one of his wives over another and he now doubled-down and favored Rachael’s children over the children of Leah, her female servant and Rachael’s female servants. When God revealed to Moses later with the Ten Commandments that sins travel to the third or fourth generation, he was not kidding!
Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was born in the patriarch’s old age — and was Rachael’s sons. It did not escape Joseph’s brothers that their father loved him more than any of them — especially when Israel made Joseph a fancy robe (the Hebrew for the phrase “coat of many colors” is uncertain in meaning. It is translated in the Septuagint as “robe with long sleeves”). It didn’t help when God revealed to Joseph in two dreams that he would rule over his family — and used it to torment them.
Eventually, his brothers had enough. They seized him, took his robe and threw him into a cistern. When a caravan came by, they sold Joseph into slavery. Then they tore Joseph’s robe, dipped it in goat’s blood and showed it to Israel. The deceit worked and Israel thought his favorite son was dead, killed by a wild beast. He mourned Joseph greatly.
Some people do share your opinion. I understand the motivation to a certain degree. There are many wonderful things about The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941 (TLH). Unlike the scriptures, the canon of the hymnody can never be closed. Like preaching, there is always something new and useful to say regarding God’s Word to His people. Like preaching, the older things should not be thrown away. And they’re not. 340 of TLH hymns are preserved in the Lutheran Service Book (LSB). That’s greater than 50% of its hymnody (h/t Rev. Dr. Paul Grime). TLH is still in print today. There are also congregations that retain the use of both TLH & LSB, and even TLH exclusively.
There are some historical failures of the church, leading to the notion that TLH is the only right hymnal. Emotions, which are a poor standard of decision making in most contexts, notwithstanding, poor timing is among the chief concerns.
There were theological errors in the Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978 (LBW), causing a stir at a time when a new hymnal was needed and desired. Our (LCMS) participation with the other Lutheran groups produced a hymnal, whose use we could not encourage. We had to back out of the project, but retained copyright usage authority over the materials produced.
This led to a hasty publication of the Lutheran Worship, 1982 (LW). That was a bad move. Simply stripping-out and correcting theological errors didn’t produce a good hymnal. In fact, it produced a fairly poor hymnal. It was not well received. At LW’s peak, it was in use in just over half of LCMS congregations. As evidence of that, the old LWs are even difficult to give away.
Among the complaints about LW are these: the defaced common service, organ arrangements, and altered text. By “Common Service,” I mean TLH p. 5/15, LW Divine Service I, and LSB Divine Service, Setting Three. The TLH and LSB settings are quite similar. The LW setting updated the Jacobean English and stripped the chorale harmonies from the pew edition. Further, LW has also removed and/or rewritten common chorale harmonies to several hymns. These were not well received.
All of this failure has encouraged the notion that TLH might be the only good hymnal. Even the great TLH contains some noticeable weaknesses. Some translations of the German hymns are theologically sketchy, leading to some of the revised wording more recently. A more subtle, but more significant, error comes from the sequencing of the services. The Order of Morning Service without communion on page 5 for use on Sunday is followed by The Order of the Holy Communion on page 15 are a two-fold failure. Prior to TLH there was no printed chief service for Sunday without the Lord’s Supper. TLH not only introduced an innovation but also gave it priority by placing it first in the book. This may have been an editorial oversight. However, it leaves the impression that not only is Sunday without communion normal, it may be preferable.
At a time when the frequency of the celebration of the Lord’s supper may have been at an historic low, TLH inadvertently or deliberately reinforced the same. For LCMS congregations that celebrated as infrequently as once a month, once a quarter, twice a year, or once a year, TLH gave at least a nod to encourage the practice. Ask some of your own elderly members. You’ll likely hear about how infrequent it was. You may even hear like I have, “Well, p. 5 comes first. That’s the one we used most.”
LSB is also not a perfect hymnal. It is a good hymnal. A harsh reality at its publication was division in hymnal usage throughout the LCMS. In 1999, 35% of LCMS congregations retained TLH only, 60% had adopted LW, and scant number had even adopted LBW (h/t Rev. Dr. Paul Grime). There was no hope of returning to TLH more broadly. LW had demonstrated the peak of its acceptance. LSB achieved its goal of unifying a greater number of LCMS congregations under a single, common service book. By returning to the TLH, page 15 liturgy (LSB DS 3), as well as the LW Divine Service II: settings one & two (LSB DS 1 & 2), LSB struck a balance. LSB also restored the original settings and text of many of the TLH hymns with a few translation corrections.
LSB enjoys greater than 70% adoption among LCMS congregations. It’s not perfect by any means. It does, however, improve the likelihood of lifelong Lutherans like us and new converts finding a familiar hymnal in use, when they travel or move their families.
That’s good for the synod as a whole.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Encore Post: God blessed Isaac and Rebekah a lot. He gave them a good land to live in, riches, servants, flocks and twin boys. God promised to make their family to grow to become a nation. The Messiah would come from their descendants.
Yet the family of Abraham was dysfunctional from the very start. Abraham loved Isaac more than Ishmael. Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, and Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah and Rachel’s children, especially Joseph, more than all his other children. That really did not work well for them.
God told Rebekah that Jacob would be the family’sleader when Isaac died. But normally, the older son had this blessing. So Isaac didn’t listen to God and intended to give that blessing to Esau. Rebekah was afraid that God would not keep His promise and helped Jacob to trick Isaac. Esau didn’t think his father’s blessing was very important, so he sold it to Jacob for a good meal. Jacob didn’t want to wait for God to give the blessing to him, so he tried to get it himself by tricking his brother and father out of it. The story did not end well. Esau was very angry and Jacob ran away to his uncle Laban with only the clothes on his back.
Still, God forgave them. He continued to bless Isaac, Rebekah and Esau. He gave Jacob two wives, Leah and Rachel, many flocks of sheep and riches. When he came back home, afraid that Esau would still be angry with him. To remind Jacob that he was still with him, God came to Jacob at night in the person of the Son of God and wrestled with him all night. When the night was over, God renamed Jacob (which means “heel”) Israel (“he struggles with God”)
Soon, Israel discovered his brother loved him still and forgave the mean things Israel did to him years before. So they lived together as a family from that time on. Yet it appears that Israel didn’t learn much through experience, as we will discover in later posts.
Encore Post: The story of Isaac and Rebekah sounds very strange to us in America of the Twenty-First century. In our culture, people search for their own spouses — if they get married at all. The thought that a parent would find a wife for their son, much less trust a servant to search for her, negotiate the marriage as a business deal seems all wrong. And yet, for most of human history and in many cultures today, arranged marriages were the way that marriages are done. Many of these marriages developed into very close, loving relationships.
Abraham knew that he was getting old. He had buried his wife three years earlier. He knew that a wife from the unbelieving world around him would not be God-pleasing or helpful in producing a family from which the messiah would be born two thousand years later. He also knew he couldn’t make the trip back to Haran to seek a wife for his son among those who believed in God. So, Abraham trusts his servant, who would inherit everything if Isaac didn’t have children. His servant makes the search his own, devoting himself to prayer and seeking a bride with a servant heart. While he was praying for wisdom at a well near his destination, Rebekah came up to offer him and his camels water, which she did not have to do. Recognizing a selfless, serving heart in her, the servant sought to arrange a marriage between her and Isaac.
Rebekah’s family shows faith in God and love of Abraham in sending Rebekah to Isaac. When the servant told his story, they also recognized God’s hand in the marriage. Yet they still asked Rebekah’s consent, who agreed. Isaac was praying when the servant and Rebekah arrived in Canaan. He receives her as his wife and loved her from the start. Because of these acts of love and trust, Jesus would one day be born, descended from Rebekah and Isaac.
Encore Post: The sacrifice of the Son of God and the sacrifice of Isaac are closely related. Isaac is Abraham‘s son, His only son, whom he loves. Jesus is God’s Son, His only Son, Whom He loves.
When God told Abraham to go to Mount Moriah, He picked the place that Solomon would choose to build the temple. On this spot, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son. God had promised that it would be through Isaac that Abraham’s descendants would become more numerous than the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky. Abraham did not know how God would keep His promise. He thought perhaps God would raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-18).
When Abraham was ready to perform the sacrifice, the Angel of the Lord appeared and stopped the sacrifice. Christian theologians believe this figure is the Son of God Himself, appearing before His birth. So, God spared Abraham’s son, but He did not spare His Son, His only Son, Whom He loved, but provided Him as the sacrifice that ends all sacrifice. Two thousand years after this event, Jesus would be condemned to death on the very same spot. God indeed provided the Lamb for the sacrifice for our sins.
Encore Post: In ancient times, names were very important. People thought names told you something about the person who had them. When something important happened in a person’s life, sometimes they changed their name as well.
In the Bible, a name is often given with its meaning. When Adam gave his wife the name Eve, because she would be the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20) — The word Eve sounds like the word for life giver in Hebrew. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham because “I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” (Genesis 17:5) Abraham means father of a multitude in Hebrew. God also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, which means “princess.” (Genesis 17:15) When both Abraham and Sarah laughed at God’s promise to give them a son, God told them to name that son, Isaac, which means “laughed.” (Genesis 17:19) Later, God would tell Mary and Joseph to name their son, Jesus, because he would save His people from their sins. In Hebrew, the name Jesus means God saves or God is salvation.
For nearly a lifetime, Abraham lived a life of faith. He trusted God to keep his promises. God told him to become a nomadic herdsman and take his family to the land of Canaan, which God promised to give to his descendants. He promised to give him and Sarah a son and through that son make him the ancestor of many nations. Yet, year after year, they did not have children. So, then, they decided maybe they were to have a child through a surrogate — Sarah’s slave Hagar. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, whom God revealed would not be Abraham’s heir. When Abraham and Sarah sent them away, God provided for them. Ishmael would be the ancestor of the Arab peoples.
So God came to visit Abraham to renew his promise. He came as three men, for whom Abraham threw a feast. They promised a son to Abraham and Sarah within a year. It was then that the couple laughed — since they were barren and long past the age to have children. When finally Isaac — Laughed — was born, Sarah laughed again. She said the laugh was at her, since she doubted to power of God to keep his word.
Encore Post: Most people think of October 31st, 1517 as the date of the Lutheran Church. However, Martin Luther and most Lutheran historians disagree. On the day that Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses, he was very much a Catholic. In fact, Luther on this day was upset that people did not have to suffer enough for their sins, and were being let off the hook way too easily. You could say he was more Catholic than the Pope. Considering the nature of Pope Leo X, he was.
On the first Reformation day, the Reformation was just beginning. We only first begin to recognize Luther’s complete theology in his writings in 1520. And it really wasn’t until 1529 that the reformers and their princes thought of the Lutheran tradition as a separate faith.
Emperor Charles V had many problems in 1529. The Turkish Empire of Suleiman the Great had invaded Austria and laid siege to Vienna. France and the Pope were constantly challenging his authority in southern Europe. He badly wanted to unify his German territories under Roman Catholic control. So he called all the territories together at Augsburg for a meeting of the Holy Roman Empire.
Elector John of Saxony, Luther’s Prince, commissioned Luther and his friends to create a unified statement of the disputes between the Pope and the Lutheran territories. The result was a document called the Augsburg confession. All the Lutheran princes who attended the diet of Augsburg sign the document as their own faith.
On June 25th 1530, the Augsburg confession was presented to Charles V by the Lutheran princes. To this day, June 25th is known as the birthday of the Lutheran Church.
As Time passed, the Augsburg Confession gained acceptance by Lutheran territories and theologians. It became the standard for what we believe and confess and remained so. Today, every Lutheran Pastor pledges to teach according to the Augsburg Confession and the other documents in the Book of Concord of 1580.
Six months is all that separates the Baptist and Jesus, at least by earthly age. And so typically on June 24th, the Church celebrates and remembers the birth of the Baptist. For with his coming into the world, the Sun of Righteousness also would follow soon after.
Zechariah, when he was confronted by Gabriel, was confused and unbelieving of the news that he and Elizabeth would have a son. As part of the sign that Elizabeth would have a son, Zechariah would be mute until the child was born. And when he named the child John, in accordance with what the Angel told him, Zechariah’s mouth was loosed. He could speak. And the people were filled with awe and asked: “What then will this child be?”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah prophesied the song that we commonly call the Benedictus, Latin for “Blessed.” Zechariah’s song does not answer the question of the people right away. He first prophesies of the One that his own son would point to as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
This song is not about John, but about Jesus. And He had actually been in Zechariah’s house for the past 3 months via the womb of Mary. And the redemption of God’s people was the plan from of old as far back as Adam’s fall. John still proclaims that message into your very ears every Advent season, preparing us for the coming of our Lord, the Sun of Righteousness.
Some think John’s preaching is fire and brimstone, and it might be on that side, but how else to rattle and crack the hearts of stone of a dead people? The preaching of repentance puts you to death, but not only that, it raises you to life. John’s preaching causes the Light of the Lord’s mercy to shine upon you. It gives you the new birth of the Holy Spirit, and gives to you the Name of God by his Grace, granting you peace that passes all human understanding. John preaches not his own word but the Word of the Lord, in order that they might be made alive by the Gospel and Comfort of the coming of the Lord Jesus who would die for the sin of the world and be raised from the dead on the 3rd day and would then lead the way unto everlasting life with the Father in Heaven.
John’ preaching of repentance is the preaching of the forgiveness of sins. But John’s preaching is really the preaching of Christ! And thus by John’s preaching, you are not just prepared for Jesus’ coming, but it is by this way and means that Christ comes to you in love and visits you with tender compassion.
Christ did not just visited Zechariah or the people of Judea and Galilee, but He has come and visits you with tender care and mercy this day. He has redeemed you just as we swore he would do, giving you the forgiveness of sins which He won for you by his cross, now by giving you His body and blood in the Sacrament, the Covenant/Testament of His body and blood. That you may be led in the way of peace forever.
John was the forerunner, the preparer, the preacher who pointed to Jesus without fail. May the preachers of this day follow on coattails of John and continue to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins, that ears and hearts be prepared to receive Christ now and always, for it is He who has released you from all sins, and has removed from us one and for all fear of death and hell and now guides our feet into the way of Peace.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp Christ Lutheran Church Noblesville, Indiana
Encore Post: Job was a good man. He loved God and served Him well. When Job lost everything he had, his friends thought he must have done something very evil. Yet Job insisted he did nothing wrong. He could not figure out why these things were happening to him. Job was right. God allowed Satan to attack Job to test his faith, not to punish him.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin, sickness, disaster and death entered the world. Most of the time, innocent people suffer from them. Because God loves us, He does not want people to suffer and to die from these things. He wants us to live the way He intended us to live when He made the world and called it “very good.” So He sent His Son to die in our place and pay for our sins. Now our sins are forgiven and we will live forever with Him. One day, Jesus will return to bring a final end to sin, suffering, grief and death. In life everlasting, He will dry every tear from our eyes.
Yet sin, suffering, grief and death continue in this world — even for us. When Job finally lost his health, he complained to God that it wasn’t fair. He was, after all, a good man. God pointed out that Job should trust Him, even though Job could not understand why he was suffering. God knows what’s best and sometimes He allows evil to happen because ending it is worse than allowing it to take its course. God can use the evil of the world to strengthen our faith — our trust — in him and his promises. Job repented of questioning God and placed his trust in God’s love. In the end, God restored Job’s prosperity.
Encore Post: The Egyptians were not the only people that built pyramids. The Mayans, the Aztecs, the Sumerians — and the Babylonians did as well. They all had the same purpose. They were man-made mountains that would be a ladder from Earth to Heaven, where they could visit the gods, sacrifice to them and get what they want from heaven. Most had temples at the very top, where sacrifices were made, some of them human sacrifices.
The people of Babel intended to settle down, build a city and one of these temples. This idea was sinful in two ways. God had commanded them to migrate over the whole earth and fill it with people. They saw good farmland and decided to stay. They decide to build a great temple to manipulate God so that they could get everything they wanted. In a sense, they worshipped themselves. But God confused their language and scattered them, anyway. Their sin resulted in people fearing each other and set one nation against another.
But Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice. His death did not attempt to manipulate God, but was God of His own free will, paying the price for their sins of rebellion. In Jesus, all divisions among people come to an end. The miracle of the Day of Pentecost showed God can make us one people again — not to serve ourselves, but to worship God together.
