Author: Jason Kaspar

I’ve been reading articles and watching spots most of my life lamenting the earliness of Christmas-ish stuff every year.  It doesn’t just seem as if the pre-Christmas shopping season has gobbled-up all dates and times preceding it.  The shopping season has done exactly that.

In the foggy early reaches of my growing memory, I recall days before there was a Black Friday shopping spree.  The phenomenon appeared in the 1980s.  I’m quite certain there was consternation in the decades before 1980 over the encroaching commercialization of Christmas.  Those earlier and earlier mercantile sales dates scheduled on their way toward Black Friday weren’t welcome then either.

We, Christians, habitually grouse about symptoms.  It’s as if symptomatic abatement cures the underlying illness.  See my articles about fathers and the children’s future attendance here, here, here, and here.  Christmas cheer getting sucked up before “the holidays” is a symptom, not the illness.

The illness is this: we are seeing civic festivals and pagan consumerism crossing the boundaries into the life of the church.  Instead, let’s reset those boundaries, and get our minds around the days of the church.  Dear Christians, we are to be in the world, but not of it.

Halloween and Thanksgiving are not church festivals.

Halloween falls on the official church day of All Hallows Eve, October thirty-first.  Lutherans more commonly celebrate Reformation Day on the same day, commemorating Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg castle church, sparking the reformation.

All Saints’ Day is November First.  Christians will often observe All Hallows Eve/Reformation and All Saints’ Day by shifting the former back and/or the latter forward to the nearest Sunday.  Both days fall within the season of Trinity (Pentecost in the three year lectionary) just ahead of the end of the church year.

Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November and can fall between November twenty-second and twenty-eighth.  That makes for seven variable relationships between Thanksgiving and Christmas, between twenty-seven and thirty-three days apart.  2023 was an infrequent occasion with Thanksgiving falling before the last Sunday of the church year.  Thanksgiving is still always before the beginning of the new church year.

The pagan world would have us believe all of those holidays are part of the Christmas season.  They are not.  Those days and commemorations are not even in the same church year as the seasons of Advent or Christmas.

The church year ends with the last Sunday of the church year and the week following it.  The day can also be called Ultima Sunday, after the last syllable of a Koine Greek word, or Christ the King Sunday, commemorating Jesus’s second Advent at the end of days.  The last Sunday of the church year is always the fifth Sunday before Christmas Day.

After the first two civic holidays, the church year begins on the first Sunday of Advent, always the fourth Sunday before Christmas.  Advent can consist of between twenty-two and twenty-eight days.  It begins between November twenty-seventh and December third, always containing four Sundays.  Advent contains three or four Wednesdays.  The three Wednesdays are slightly more common, occurring in four of the seven variations, excluding Christmas Eve.  Christmas Eve is a day of Advent.  It is not typically celebrated as a Wednesday of Advent, when falling on Wednesday.  When the fourth Sunday of Advent is December 24^th, like this year (2023), we observe Rorate Coeli (Advent 4) in the morning and Christmas Eve in the evening.

This means that those cute, premade, every-year advent calendars are seldom actually right.  It’s a lot of fun to open the doors for the little prizes.  But, Advent rarely has exactly 24 days.  So, a better Advent calendar would have 28 days, with six indicated as days that may not be in Advent (2023 & 2028), or may be in Advent (2022 & 2033).  The same calendar could include the twelve days of Christmas, making an even 40 days, encouraging us to celebrate Christmas in its time.  Perhaps something like this:

Like the Advent Calendars, Christians used to decorate progressively.  By adding a bit each week heading into Christmas, it adds to the excitement of preparation.  This is opposite of the Christmas fatigue caused by all decorations going up the day after Halloween or Thanksgiving, before Advent even started.

The twelve days of the Christmas feast begin on December 25.  They can contain two Sundays, but more commonly just one.  The days of Christmas are December 25th through January 5th.  On December 26th, we also celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr.  We celebrate the feast of St. John, the only apostle to die a natural death, on December 27th.  December 28th marks the feast of the Holy Innocents, killed by Herod upon the magi’s visit to Bethlehem.  The celebration of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus on January first is also a named feast within the twelve days.  Christmas ends on Twelfth Night, preceding the Epiphany of Our Lord, which is celebrated on January 6th.

It is suitable for Christians to decorate and sing seasonal hymns beginning on Christmas Eve.  In decades past, we would have it no other way.  Now, it may be impossible to forego all of the civic festivities around us.  We should at least save the bulk of our revelry for the actual celebration of the incarnation of our Lord.  We should not allow the pagan world to suck all of our Christmas cheer before we’ve even begun the Christmas feast.

The exceptionally short Advent of 2023 gives us a great example of our modern distortion of the Christmas season. In trying to cram all of the programs, “family Christmases,” professional parties, and church social activities into the Advent weeks preceding Christmas, how many of us have considered for even a moment displacing the festivities into the eleven days of Christmas following Christmas day? Prob’ly very few have. I’m also guilty of missing this consideration.

This year and in years to come, spend some time in thought and prayer concerning the harrowing of the End of Days, the preparation of our hearts in Advent, and the joyous gift of Christmas (the whole season of Christmas).  There’s more to it than the Christmas shopping season.  Beyond just thought and prayer, avail yourself of the Lord’s house, receiving His gifts for you.

Blessèd Advent preparation!

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
And
Mission Planting Pastoral team
Epiphany Lutheran Church, Bastrop, TX

©2023 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Encore Post: For those outside the church and those in our midst, the answer to our complaints and questions can often be so easy that it escapes our notice. Plain as the nose on our face, we still miss it.

“I don’t feel like people at my church know me/want to talk to me.”

Have you tried going to church more often? We tend to engage with folks we see on a regular basis. The folks there are more likely to notice you, when they see you more. The folks there are going to feel like you’re interested in them, when they see you more often. Give them a chance. You may be surprised. Some of us are shy too.

“I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.” (Psalm 35:18)

“The hymns/songs are unfamiliar/hard to sing.”

Have you tried struggling through singing them? Have you tried being in the house of God more often to hear and learn the hymns you know less well? There are around 635 hymns in our hymnal. Some share tunes, but let’s assume there are 450 unique tunes. When you find one you don’t know, try this. Search for the hymn on your favorite video streaming service. In particular, checkout the short videos on the Rumble channel: Learn Every Hymn with Rev Kaspar. The channel is an ongoing project quickly introducing the melody of every LSB hymn and coaching us through rhythmic challenges. The project will be finished in early 2024.

In the long-long ago, we had to take our hymnals to a piano. I did this for most of my youth and young adult life. Plunking out a melody the old-fashioned way still works too. These hymns are our heritage, and are worth your time in learning.

The hymns in our hymnal are carefully selected to contain only true Christian doctrine using the words and concepts of the scriptures themselves. They are suggested for use and chosen to reinforce the lessons of each Sunday’s scriptural themes. Each one may not be your favorite. But, each one is good and useful in teaching us the faith.

“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! … For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” (Psalm 84:4, 10)

“The liturgy is confusing. I don’t know what page to turn to or when.”

Have you tried attending church more frequently? At Mt. Calvary, we use two settings of the Divine Service, and switch between them 4 times each year. Divine Service, setting Three (LSB 184) is used for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and the 1st half of Trinity each year. Divine Service, setting 2 (LSB 167) is used for the seasons of Lent, Easter, and the 2nd half of Trinity each year.

Many other churches observe similarly long use of the settings of the Divine Service throughout the year. The service is quite literally the same each Sunday. The more we attend, the more familiar we will become. Also, when you know what is going on and see someone else struggling, help them to find their way.

“O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.” (Psalm 26:8)

“I don’t know how to contact the office/my elder/pastor.”

Have you tried coming to church? The office number and email are on the front of every bulletin, every Sunday. They are also on the website. The church can be contacted by phone, text, through social media, via the website, email, snail mail, and in person during office hours. We don’t make a habit of concealing the methods of communication.

“In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.” (Psalm 18:6)

“I don’t feel like Pastor knows who I am.”

Have you tried coming to church more often? Every pastor’s life actually revolves around preaching, teaching, and serving the people of God, in the Lord’s house on Sunday mornings (or it should). Putting your face in front of his more often will increase the likelihood that he’ll be able to get to know you. He’s also accessible via the contact methods listed above throughout the week. But, his primary day will always be Sunday. Those people will always be his people.

“Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” (Psalm 111:1)

Here is an incomplete list of additional psalm references encouraging frequent church attendance.

“But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.” (Psalm 5:7)

“The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.” (Psalm 11:4)

“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you… From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.” (Psalm 22:22,25)

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

“The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’” (Psalm 29:9)

“They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” (Psalm 36:8)

“I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.” (Psalm 40:9-10)

“These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.” (Psalm 42:4)

“We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.” (Psalm 48:9)

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” (Psalm 52:8)

“We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.” (Psalm 55:14)

“Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! … Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” (Psalm 65:4, 29)

“I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you.” (Psalm 66:13)

“Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!” (Psalm 68:26)

“Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.” (Psalm 74:2)

“They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.” (Psalm 92:13)

“Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.” (Psalm 93:5)

“Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” (Psalm 107:32)

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

©2021 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

Encore Post: Every year we Christians are inundated with claims that December 25th isn’t the right day for Christmas, that Christianity co-opted pagan festival dates as their own, that all of the church calendar was a marketing scheme to pull pagans into different celebrations and convert them. These claims are not true. They are manufactured to sow doubt.

December 25th is a very accurate date for celebrating Christ’s birth. Christians initially celebrated the birth of Jesus on the same day as the Easter Triduum. (Triduum means three days, namely Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter). This stemmed from an early church practice of recognizing a saint’s death date as the same date of their birth. The ancients seemed to like the symmetry of it.

When Christianity began to recognize Christ’s birth as a different day, the dates in December popped up quite quickly. Hippolytus of Rome argued for December 25th, in the early 200s AD. St. John Chrysostom seems to have closed additional discussion, declaring December 25th the right date in the 300s AD. There is a reasonable amount of data that supports the claim.

Zechariah served in the temple with his kinsmen, the sons of Abijah. They served in the 8th month of the Jewish year. Nissan, the 1st month, falls between early March and early April, and identifies the moveable feast of Easter. The 8th month falls between mid-October and mid-November.

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense… And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” (Luke 1:8-9, 23-25)

After these days, Elizabeth conceived. We’ll assume an earlier date within the window, as the church fathers likely did. So, Elizabeth conceives around October 25th. Now, we leap forward to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and find this in the text.

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. (Luke 1:35-40)

Mary conceives around March 25th. Then she visits Elizabeth, who is in the sixth month. John the Baptizer will be born around June 25th. Six months more will bring us to the next event.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Luke 2:6-8)

Jesus’s birth on December 25th is a thoroughly reasonable estimate. Early Christians’ selection of the date of Jesus’s birth seems to have been primarily influenced by the scriptures and some simple mathematics. Now, the date may not be entirely accurate. There are around 30 days of wiggle room in the start of the calculation. But, December 25th is the right time of year. It’s at least very close to the right day, if not exactly correct, which is also possible.

Dear Christians, let us prepare our hearts and rejoice at our Savior’s birth.

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

©2020 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

It begins and ends with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The funeral service starts with a baptismal remembrance. At the graveside, we pray and rejoice in the resurrection promised to our deceased loved ones in their baptism. The obituary should be no different.

“Jason Matthew Kaspar, a baptized child of God, died (situation may be included) on Blurnsday, Septober 32, 20xx, (location), having lived [x] years upon the earth (sometimes years, months, days, and hours are calculated).”

Use Baptismal names up front. Short forms and nicknames are suitable in the body that follows. We ought to use baptismal names at the start and in the funeral, as a reflection of the name used in God’s claiming of us. He knows the day He called you by name, forgave your sins, and placed faith in your heart. He knows the name by which you were called.

“Jason was born on [date, location], baptized in the Name of the Triune God on [date, congregation], confirmed in the Christian faith on [date, congregation], graduated from [name of high school, college, technical school, or such institution] on [date], was married to Mandy on [date, congregation] enjoying and toiling [x] years as husband and wife together. [They were blessed in their union by the birth(s) of [x] child(ren)]. He was ordained into the office of Holy Ministry on [date], serving the people of God [x] years in full-time ministry and [x] years of pulpit supply in retirement.”

A listing of significant dates shall include the most important ones: those involving the Christian life in faith. This is also a good spot for a military service record and/or other public service like law enforcement, elected office, service organizations, term as king or queen, and the like. It makes for better reading to list activities dryly here and expound on them in the following section.

“‘Pacco Kappa’ as he was called by little ones struggling to learn their intervocalic ‘s’es and terminal ‘r’s…” [Fluffy details and glowing remembrances go here. Please avoid making the deceased sound like a flawlessly angelic figure in need of no savior. Definitely avoid saying they deserve admission into the heavens by dint of their deeds or character.]

In my case, this will be a short section. The life and times bit is very important to the surviving family. It will likely be the hardest part to write. No one is likely to get all the things they want into the obituary. Space limitations and memory-blurring power of immediate grief are certain to truncate that data contained herein. Survivors, don’t beat yourselves up about a perfect remembrance. The years to come and your memories will serve far better than these paragraphs.

“He was preceded in death by [expand or abridge this section as desired], and all the host of those have died in the faith.

He is survived by [living relative and descendants are listed here, close/beloved acquaintances are also appropriate].

We, the surviving family, with certain confidence, entrust our son, brother, grandson, friend, pastor, (list exhaustively), into the arms of Jesus Christ, who called him by name on [baptismal date], and who is the Resurrection and the Life.”

The conclusion should absolutely recapitulate our only true hope and promise. There is no comfort outside of Jesus and his work for our loved ones, which has now been delivered! Double down on the thing that gives a lasting comfort: the deceased was promised salvation in their baptism. And, they have it today!

Details for visitation, funeral service, interment, and memorials may follow. These announcements aren’t exactly “part” of the obituary. They’re more like obituary-istic adjacent material. Do your survivors a solid. Start working on your own obituary today. Even just a collection of dates and basic details will help them immensely.

Let us confess Jesus Christ, certain of the resurrection.

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

©2022 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

The death announcement is as much a part of an obituary as it can be without being in it. The announcement quickly indicates who the deceased is and where they currently reside. The hopelessness and unmitigated grief in death for unbelievers is the opposite of what we get to confess as Christians. Here is a great standardized format of how we ought to speak of our loved ones in death commonly used by many pastors in the LCMS. I learned it from my vicarage supervisor, Rev. Robert Smith of the CTSFW Library.

“It has pleased Almighty God on September 8th, 2022 to call into His presence Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, who, baptized in the name of the Triune God, trusted in Christ, whose tears are gone and whose sorrows have been turned into joy. We pray that God will comfort those who mourn her death with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!”

“It Has Pleased Almighty God to call into His presence…” Our temporal death is a release from our bondage to the sin that remains in this flesh before the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. Our Lord loves us and is pleased to see us delivered from this veil of tears. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to die for your sins. It shouldn’t surprise us to hear that our death and deliverance into His presence is His will and our blessing.

“…Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor …who, baptized in the name of the Triune God…” The pagan world has convinced us that we can only find comfort in memory. In Christ, that’s not so. In the announcement, we say why we should take comfort. Memory can help us. But, the only certain comfort, the only true comfort comes from the knowledge that God has kept His word. He has saved the Queen, Aunt Hildegard, and Uncle Fritz. He saved them through their Baptism, preserved them in the Christian faith, and delivered them to Himself.

In the case of the death announcement and the obituary, it is good to use their full, baptismal name. Nicknames and/or titles may follow. Your Baptismal name is the name God used, when He called you His own and put faith into your heart. This is also true of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor.

“Who… trusted in Christ, whose tears are gone and whose sorrows have been turned into joy.” Everyone who lives a Christian life, has lived from their Baptism in faith. They are forgiven and renewed in that same faith by the continued blessings of the Lord in His absolution and His Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins. In that promise, Jesus has brought her from this veil of tears into heavenly joy.

“We pray that God will comfort those who mourn her death with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead.” We’ve developed a lazy habit through social media of saying, “prayers.” It’s hollow, keeping up an appearance of faith. Christians and non-Christians alike share the sentiment, revealing the emptiness in it. Dear Christians, we pray in specificity. In death, we pray for comfort to the survivors. Their comfort comes from the Lord. It flows from the knowledge of God’s faithfulness to us.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!” He has delivered Elizabeth from death into eternal life. He will do it for you too. That’s the comfort of the resurrection. This separation through death is temporary. We will see it brought to resolution in Christ with our own eyes on the last day.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.” (Psalm 116:15-16)

Let us confess Jesus Christ, especially in death.

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

©2022 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

The expression “pass away” is a ubiquitous term among English speakers. It’s a euphemism intended, in kindness, to soften the blow of death. I’m certain. No one uses “pass away” to mislead anyone. But, the term conceals reality. And, it fails to confess the great news for Christians in the bitterness of death.

A euphemism is simply a good sounding word to use in place of a term that may be profane, uncomfortable, hurtful, or off-putting. The Greek rooting of “euphemism” means nearly the same: good speaking. The good speaking serves to conceal or soften uncomfortable things.

I can’t speak to the origin of “pass away” in common parlance for death. The funeral industry has certainly embraced the use of it. Again, this isn’t a malicious use of the euphemism. They are likely trying to protect people’s feelings. But, there may have been a theological driver here too.

For some folks, we may not be able to confidently speak well of their state after death. With no evidence of Christianity, there’s no hope of salvation or resurrection to eternal life. We should and do hope that something is hidden from us. But, some dwell in sin and separation from God by their own doing.

Other Christian traditions place great importance on our actions regarding God. A Baptist may be disinclined to trust in infant baptism. They believe that, contrary to the scriptures, a person must make a public confession as an adult and be baptized for the first time, or again, as an outward sign of the internal decision to accept Jesus. When a Romanist or a Lutheran dies, the Baptist may not have a full-throated confidence in their rest in Christ. This finds confidence in the works and words of man, not God.

We begin the funeral service with a remembrance of Baptism. That’s the key for Christianity. Pastor starts, “In Holy Baptism [the deceased] was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all his or her sin. St. Paul says: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3) The congregation speaks along, “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” (Roman 6:4)

But I digress. Let’s get back to the euphemistic “passing away” as a term for death. Do the scriptures speak about passing away? Yup, they sure do.

“Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.” (Job 30:15) This is negative. For Job, all the good things of his life, before his affliction, have passed away.

“I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.” (Psalm 37:35-36) This is negative. In the Psalms, wicked things, wicked people, and the brokenness of a fallen creation pass away.

“'[The Assyrian’s] rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic,’ declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 31:9) This is negative. The power of Israel’s oppressor is the thing passing away.

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches… Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” (Amos 6:4a, 7) This is negative. In the minor prophets, things that pass away are wicked or sinful.

(See also – Job 6:14-16; Job 11:16; Job 34:18-20; Psalm 90:7-9; Psalm 102:3-5; Psalm 148:5-6; Isaiah 2:17-18; Jeremiah 8:14; Daniel 7:13-14; Nahum 1:12-13; Zephaniah 2:1-2)

Speaking the way the scriptures speak, we are saying that those things which pass away are wicked, evil, sinful, oppressive, or in need of destruction. We ought to speak well of those who have died, even in our simple expressions.

They who rest in Christ have not passed away.

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

©2022 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

and

Mission planting pastoral team:
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Bastrop, TX

In speaking of a song or a book, we might say, “well, it’s Christian.”  Or, we might say of a potential spouse for our child, “at least they are a Christian.”  Perhaps we might glorify a church down the road, in a neighboring town, or a neighboring county, “it’s a Christian church.”  We speak as if there’s a thing, visibly, tangibly Christian without more specificity.

Dear Christians, there is no generic “Christian” church, teaching, or publishing source for books or songs.  Every church, teaching, or published work produced by Christendom flows from a sectarian root.  [Sectarian – member or adherent of a sect or division within a larger, generic whole].  Since no later than 1054 A.D., there is no unified, generic Christian whole.  In that year, the six patriarchs of the Eastern Christian church and the Patriarch (Pope) of Rome parted ways.

There were certainly schisms before that too.  Since that day though, the history of Christianity is schism.  Even within the Eastern Orthodox church, Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Christians and their governments will have nothing to do with each other.  We would be hard pressed to discern a difference from outside.  Even in the Roman tradition we see divisions between Eastern rite and Western rite Catholics; between pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II parishioners and priests.

Still, American non-Catholic Christians have grown nose-blind to the reality that we “protestants” are not the same either.  Even within Martin Luther’s lifetime the radical reformers rejected images, vestments, hymnody, and the sacraments.  Both Luther and the Lutheran reformers who followed him charted an initially narrow path between Rome and the Reformed Christians.

Cue the Jeff Foxworthy meme commonly shared in October and November: “If your Roman Catholic friends think you’re a Baptist, and your Baptist friends think you’re Catholic, you might be a Lutheran.”  Comedically, that meme draws attention to a glaring sectarianism within Christianity.  This may or may not be a good thing.  But, it is unavoidable.  On this side of the eschaton, we will not see a unified Christianity.  [Eschaton – end of the world, last things, end of days]

Flashing forward into the current age, all “Christian” churches come from a sectarian root.  The root does indeed matter.  A Pentecostal rooted church will look for divine revelation apart from the Scriptures and a concurrent experience of the divine to back it up.  A Calvinist Reformed rooted church will reject Jesus’ atoning death for the sins of all.  A Baptist rooted church will reject Baptismal regeneration, infant faith, the verbal absolution, and the bodily presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

Each of those groups may produce a church calling itself “Christian.”  We should always ask, “what kind of Christian do you mean?”  Their position on the sacraments, speaking in tongues, the atonement, and the like will identify their sectarian root.

It’s good to be honest.  We are better neighbors to each other when our churches say what they are and from whence they come.  “Who are you and who’s your daddy?”  We all have God as our Father.  Still, our Earthly Fathers color our beliefs and teachings as grown folks.

Each town, city, and county in this nation is littered with confusingly named churches.  Whether it’s a Christian Fellowship, Cross Community Center, just Christian Church, Point of Grace Church, or any place claiming nondenominationality, know that’s just not so.  The church has a root from which they spring.  Their intent maybe to be welcoming or inclusive.  The result is a sheep-stealing mess that doesn’t say what it is.

When you see books, bible studies, and songs published by Zondervan, Eerdmans, Moody, IVP, Vladimir Press, CPH, Tyndale, Lifeway, or Ave Maria, know that they have a firmly held theological position.  The books, studies, and music they publish must fit that theological ethos.

When you engage with Christians of other sorts, know that they fervently hold beliefs contrary to your own.  In Christian love, you ought to be trying to convince them of their error.  They will certainly be doing the same with you, if they have love for you.  The scriptures are clear in their teachings.  We have the pure doctrine from the Word of God right here in the Lutheran Church.

Until the day when the Lord returns, hold fast to what you have learned.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
And
Mission Planting Pastoral team
Epiphany Lutheran Church, Bastrop, TX

©2023 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

In Hispanic culture, there is sometimes a familial practice of setting up an ofrenda (offering altar) for the home visitation upon a loved one’s death. The individual ofrenda may remain up for as long as grieving persists. For example, an elderly person might leave the ofrenda of their child, preceding them in death, up for the remainder of the years of their natural life.

In more traditional homes, you might see a family ofrenda, which bears the photos of generations of deceased family members. This type of ofrenda typically doesn’t come down.

In other cases, the individual ofrenda or family ofrenda may only be set up for the celebration of Día de los Muertos (day of the dead), November first and second. The day of the dead festivities come from extant pagan ancestor worship practices of the Aztecs and other central American tribes. Upon their conversion to Christianity, the ancestor worship remained to varying degrees.

Make no mistake, the ofrenda is an altar of worship to the deceased. Placing a crucifix nearby, doesn’t make it anything else. The offerings in particular reveal this. There are various food and drink offerings set on the ofrenda for the dead. But, the “required” items are: water, bread, and coins. These confess a specific, non-Christian eschatology (understanding of things pertaining to the end times).

In the Aztec religious confession of the afterlife, the dead must undergo a journey to the land of the dead. The journey is long, through a barren land. So, the offerings are for the journey. Many pagan cultures throughout the world share similar views.

Christianity teaches differently. For us, upon our death our souls are immediately delivered to heaven to rest awaiting the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. On that day, the souls all believers will be reunited with their glorified bodies to dwell forever in the new Jerusalem with Jesus.

About now, you might say, “But, Pastor Kaspar, I’m an Anglo. We don’t do these things. What does this mater to us?”

Many of us have an Uncle Fritz with one of these. Uncle Fritz lost his wife 15 years ago. He put her ashes on the mantle at home, or on a sofa table in the hallway. Her picture is there too. He and the kids place little mementoes on the table or mantle periodically. This is basically also an ofrenda.

The only real difference is the occasional attempt by ofrenda users to sanctify the paganism with a crucifix or statuette of St. Mary’s sacred heart. The non-remembrance altar doesn’t even get religious recognition.

These altars to our deceased loved ones are a bad idea. They teach us to think about their death differently than the scriptures teach. It’s best to place our dead to rest, among their brothers and sisters in the faith, in a permanent spot. Let their bodies rest undisturbed until the day of resurrection.

Remember that though death separates us in this life, we are still joined together in the faith. Specifically, when we celebrate the foretaste of the feast to come in the Lord’s Supper, a spectacular reality descends to us. It that moment, singing “Holy, Holy, Holy,” with all the host of heaven, we commune with all the saints in heaven.

It’s not a little pagan altar to my mom that gets me close to her. It’s the Lord’s gathering the faithful around His altar, which brings us back together for a moment, a foretaste of the eternal feast awaiting us in His kingdom for the sake of Jesus’s death for us. That’s what brings us closer to our dearly departed loved ones.

Let us confess Jesus Christ, even in death.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX

and

Mission planting pastoral team:
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Bastrop, TX

©2022 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.

Encore Post: “Pennies from heaven,” “a cardinal on my fence line,” and “someone looking down on me” are a few examples of seemingly innocuous things even faithful Christians will say regarding the dead. We’ll hear folks speak of the dead as if they are still interacting with us here on earth. I don’t believe for a second that most folks realize what they’re saying or intend to promote heresy in any way. But, it’s wrong and needs addressing.

The first concern here is that our loved ones at rest in Christ are sending love notes to us from their rest in Christ in heaven. As I’ve discussed before, our deceased loved ones are finally free from the taint of sin. Dwelling only in blessèdness and righteousness, they have a dim view of the world still corrupted by sin and our part in it.

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 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 6:9-11)

I thank the Lord that their awareness of us prob’ly hidden.

In Luke 16, we have the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. In torment in Hell, the nameless Rich Man is allowed to see Abraham and Lazarus. He speaks with Abraham. There is no interaction between he and Lazarus. The Rich Man sees nothing else of Heaven or Earth. And Abraham defines their positions thusly, “…between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26)

Now, the second concern here is an attribution of godlike powers to those who have been taken on to Glory in the heavens. In this case, Aunt Hildegard is “smiling down on me.” We’ll hear of her sending a rainbow, of cool breeze in the summer heat, a rain storm in a drought, sunshine to break up a monsoon, a pristine snow fall on a winter’s night, or some other weather anomaly.

We’ve made blessèd Aunt Hildegard into nothing more than a pagan weather goddess. By applying god-like power to her, we diminish the Lord of the heavens and the earth. And, we seek to pull her out of salvation in heaven with Jesus. Instead, we’d see her moved into a pagan pantheon and a lesser god status there too.

The real error: finding peace and comfort in this life not the promise of the resurrection. There’s no promise our loved ones will hear us now. But, we WILL see them again at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. That’s a little sad, and a whole lot OK.

Real Christian comfort comes in knowing that our loved ones have received salvation bought for them by the death of Jesus. That’s the same salvation promised to us in our own baptism. It will be delivered in full on the day of our death. The day when we too inherit the crown of salvation bought by Jesus’s blood and righteousness.

In our grief, Let the Lord be the King of Salvation.

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

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