Jason Kaspar – Page 7 – What Does This Mean?

Love Is Love, Right?

Encore Post: That talisman worn by the LGBTQ activist inside and outside the church would have us believe that romantic love is completely equal to Christian love. Further, they would have us believe that human love is not corrupted/corruptible by original sin.

In the Greek language there are four different words for love. These refer to familial love, brotherly love, perfect/Godly love, and romantic love. Rather than getting into the weeds of the Greek here, there’s one important point for us in this discussion. The word for romantic love doesn’t appear in the New Testament.

So, each discussion of Love in the bible is referring to love in completely different way from the talisman: “love is love.” That use only means romantic love and specifically the sexual component of the romantic love. Moreover, this sexual love must be pure and good in their minds because “love is love.” This is self-referential justification.

Jesus talks about love this way: “And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” [Matthew 22:35-40]

Jesus summarized the entire first table of the Law, commandments 1-3, in love of God. And, He summarized the entire second table of the law, commandments 4-10, in love of your neighbor. Love cannot lead our neighbor into sin. Love as God defines it is in perfect compliance with His law for us.

The discussion of “love is love” revolves around the sixth commandment. In Martin Luther’s small catechism we learn it this way.
You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

When Christians talk about romantic love, we may only speak about love between a husband and a wife, a man and a woman. Jesus says this in answer about marriage to the Pharisees. “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” [Mark 10:6-9]

Romantic love is only practiced in Christian love between a man and woman. A woman and a man, who are married to each other. The entirety of the acts condoned under the “love is love” talisman fall outside of Christian love. So too, divorce and extramarital sex of all sorts fall outside of Christian love. In that Mark chapter 10 passage, Jesus is specifically condemning divorce on grounds of personal preference.

Love is Love? No, human love is just as likely to be corrupted by our sinful nature as any other deed. It may even be more corruptible than other aspects of our modern life.

God loves you perfectly and intends better for you.

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

God’s Foreknowledge and Election – pt. 1

This can be a challenging topic for Christians to hear and understand. But, understood well, it is a tremendous comfort. The comfort is not just for the confidence of individual Christians in the faith. But, the confidence also is in Christian witness, that what we perceive as success and failure are not ours but the Lord’s.

First, it is good for us to understand that’s foreknowledge and election are different attributes of God. This distinction is not for God’s benefit or to contain His action or His will. This distinction serves us by preventing us from applying our own reason to fill in gaps what God has revealed to us of himself. The revealed aspects of God and those hidden things can deliver us truths which seem to be in paradox. Our duty as Christians is to embrace and hold fast to those seeming paradoxes in the confidence that we have received what we need to know.

God’s foreknowledge is his knowledge of all events of history, the current time, and the future prior to their occurrence. The prophets are all examples of this attribute of God. This is not to say that they possessed the attribute of God of which we speak. But rather, God revealed to them some of his foreknowledge, allowing them to prophecy correctly. And, that is the mark of a true prophet. What a prophet says, if they are from God, must come true.

“But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

God’s foreknowledge includes Christians and unbelievers alike. But it is not given to us to understand this as a causal relationship. That is to say that the foreknowledge of God does not cause sin or evil. The cause of evil and sin is the Devil himself, and mankind’s evil inclination to do sinful things. God’s awareness of all things does not cause bad things to happen.

There are two errors of human reason concerning predestination/election that arise from our discomfort with those things revealed to us that seem to be in paradox.

The first is that there is no predestination/election. This is the Arminian teaching commonly referred to as decision theology (teachings rising from: Jakobus Arminius 1560-1609). Decision theology lays hold of the truth that damnation is a result of mankind’s sin and hatred of God. Then, the Arminians make the intellectual extrapolation that salvation must also be a result of the will of man. The assumption that I can choose God simply does not stand in the face of the scriptures. St. Paul say we were dead in sin. Dead things don’t do things apart from the external, life-giving work of the Holy Spirit.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

The second error is that God chooses both the salvation of some and the damnation of others. This is a Calvinist error that rises from applying human reason to the hidden things of God and in mingling together foreknowledge and election (teachings rising from: John Calvin 1509-1564).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Reason says, “if God chooses some for salvation, then He must choose not to save others.” Reason is wrong. He is uncomfortable with incomplete understanding God reveals to us. The rest may be revealed to us at the eschaton, the resurrection of all flesh. But, for now, it is not give to us to know or understand.

There is a simple gap in our understanding between what is revealed and what is not. Those are not given to us to fill-in or to work-out in our own understanding. Rather, God has revealed what He wants us to know. It is sufficient for our salvation by faith in Christ Jesus.

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

Christianish – It Doesn’t Quite Sound Christian Because It Isn’t

I only entertain beggars on Thursday morning, first thing in the mornings. We have a preschool on our property and it’s imperative that the folks seeking handouts don’t get the impression that they are welcome to visit anytime and speak to anyone. I ask our staff and volunteers to firmly invite anyone seeking aid to come again on Thursday. I invite them to hang me out to dry by saying something like, “Pastor won’t let us speak to anyone or give anything out. You have to come talk to him first thing on Thursday morning,” implying that I’m a big meanie.

Another time, I may talk about tactics used by beggars. Today, I wanted to share a particular story for a different reason. I had a visitor in my office just before Christmas with a fantastic story. She came at around 11:15, just late enough to be inconvenient. That’s usually on purpose. I invited her into my office to sit and talk.

I make a habit of asking an open-ended question or two and letting folks talk themselves out. I make the time to sit and listen as long as necessary. Sometimes, I’m convinced that I can help in some way, and I do. Sometimes, I’m convinced my help will not be helpful, and I don’t. This often becomes clear quite soon. But, I like to give folks a chance to speak their mind.

This woman was one who didn’t like dead air in conversation. Silence is strong tool in listening to folks sharing their stories. True stories tend to become more consistent within themselves as they’re repeated to fill uncomfortable silence. Lies and distortions tend to get convoluted and details confused with repetition. Her story quickly fell into the later category.

The woman was a fairly well-spoken, clean, well-kempt lady in her late 40s – early 50s with clean clothes, a recently purchase vehicle with temporary tags, and newly done nails. She was dying for four forms of end-stage cancer, had recently move to La Grange from the coast, was homeschooling a special needs child, and unable to find work despite help wanted signs in most windows around town. When she seemed to understand I may not be buying her story, she started to speak a different language.

No she wasn’t exhibiting glossolalia (speaking in tongues). She started to incorporate Christian sounding phrases. I’m going to call this style of speaking Christianish. It doesn’t quite sound Christian, because it isn’t. Now, I’m sure Christians may speak this way from time to time. But, Christianish seeks to convince the hearer that I’m a Christian just like you think I ought to be.

Suddenly, She and her previously unmentioned husband left the coast because they prayed on it. And, having prayed, “God told me to leave, shake the dust off our sandals, because there was nothing for us there. His Spirit had provided all He could.”

She had noticed me noticing her vehicle and wove that artfully into skein of her yarn. “That truck is the perfect vehicle for us. We found it over a month ago. But, the owner wanted too much. So, we prayed on it and claimed it in prayer. God gave us peace over it. The owner called two days ago to accept our offer. It’s a God thing.”

Concerning her apparent good health, she said, “I don’t know how I’m still alive. It must be for my kid. God said He would put a hedge of protection around me. I have a special needs child. He’s slow and he’s got ADD, ADHD, and PTSD. I don’t trust those schools with him, so I keep him at home. He loves Jesus and reads his bible. When, I was pregnant with him, God told be he was going to be special gift. He said this boy was going to be a man after Gods own heart. And, He has a great plan for him.”

When she caught me taking in the quality of her nails, she offered, “Yeah, just had my nails done yesterday. I don’t spend this kind of money on myself. But, a friend gave me money as a birthday gift for me to get these nails. The gift covered most of it. And, I felt like I had to honor her. She’s blessed to be a blessing.”

For the sake of time and space, I’ve distilled this 45 minute conversation down to a few sound bites. Any of the phrases above might be used by Christians. They are not the kind of language we Lutherans would use. The collection represents influences of spiritual enthusiasm, name-it-and-claim-it, prophetic anointing, and others not cited here.

The enthusiasts expect direct revelation from the spirit by feelings, impressions, and actual words of God. These new revelations are treated as equal to or over the Word of God in the Bible. Moreover, the enthusiast sees them as a proof of true Christian faith.

The name-it-and-claim it crowd teaches that the wants of this physical world are just a prayer away. If you pray right, and with adequate faith, God must deliver what you ask. Your lack of faith is the only thing holding you back from forcing God’s hand.

The notion of prophetic anointing requires modern prophecy to be a thing. Then, it encourages mothers to believe themselves to be like Hannah, the mother of Samuel. But, more still, that they are to receive a direct divine promise of their kiddo’s assignment.

Combining these elements of very specific Christian groups together is an odd fit. Along with the unmentioned bits, I was left with a picture of a collector. This woman had gathered Christian expressions and compiled them into a language she could use to convince you that she’s a Christian just like you. Ultimately, it’s just another begging technique like pressing the time on your end to encourage you offer-up “go away” money.

The begging feature here is less important than the way the language works. In isolation, certain expression may sound Christian. But, when the bits don’t fit together and don’t flow from the scriptures, you’re hearing a false Christianity. Maybe it’s a suit for work, a cover for insecurity, or ploy to separate you from your money.

Be wary of the Christianish language.

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

What If They’re Not A Visitor?

The Lutheran church is often maligned for her lack of friendliness. We are well aware of the issue. We even assign greeters to welcome folks as they come into the building. Just like the back pew preference, I suppose we’re not alone in Christendom in this either. But, is there a possibility that there’s another underlying issue?

I’ve concluded over the years that some of our chilly interaction is caused by fear. Not some introverted fear of interaction itself, but a fear of being exposed or causing great pearl clutching offense. Both, I suspect, originate from the same source.

We’re afraid to greet a strange face, because they might be an infrequent, long-time member. We fear offending them and chasing them off. We also fear being exposed as a newbie, regardless of how many years are under our belts, in the face of a generational member, who deserves more credit than us.

To the second concern, impostor syndrome is a real thing. In most of the rest of our lives, it’s sort of an irrational fear. But in Christianity, it’s legitimate. We come to confess our sins, hear the absolution, hear the word of God, and receive his gifts of forgiveness of sins life and salvation. We do it often, constantly reminding ourselves that we don’t belong or deserve these gifts. Baptized into Christ, we are imposters no more. We are grafted into the body of Christ. We are members of the one body, the one family of faith.

The fear of offense is also legitimate. But, we should not be paralyzed by it. The misidentified delinquent member may get mad, but they lack standing in the case. They are the ones who’ve hidden their faces from the congregation. They are the ones who’ve absented themselves from the place where God promised to deliver his blessings to His people.

Think of it this way: Attendance is membership. Membership is not a listing on the membership roll caused by a protracted failure to clean-up the rolls, not a ancient familial connection, not a community presence, not a huge donation in the recent or distant past. “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian” you’ll often hear.

That’s true but consider this. “Just a like a fish doesn’t have to be in water to be a fish. What happens to that fish when you take it out of the water for too long?” (Tyler Edwards, “Do You Really Have To Go To Church Every Sunday,” Relevant Magazine, 2017). God gives us His church to keep us in the faith and guard us against the Devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.

Our fear can block us from serving those returning folks and, more importantly missing new visitors among us. By simply not engaging, we won’t be exposed or hurt somebody’s feelings. At what cost? How many folks have visited among us without a word from the person sharing their pew, seated behind, or seated in front of them? How many people did we miss getting to know and folding into this body of faith?

You Are the Church! A simple word of greeting from one individual to another can make all the difference in the world to that person you don’t know yet. “Hi, my name is Esmerelda, and you are?” “Can I show you how to use that bulletin?” “We’re on page 167.” Even the simplest things can make their scary visit more comfortable. It can’t be done by formatting of the bulletin, welcome banners, or uncomfortable announcements. It can be done by each of us offering a word greeting or assistance.

That’s also true of the long delinquent member too. They may have forgotten what comes next, or never learned in the first place. If you don’t know them, they prob’ly don’t know you either. We’re here for the same reason. We come to the house of the Lord to hear and receive that forgiveness bought for us by the death of Jesus.

Let us attend to the house of the Lord.

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

Does God Still Speak Directly To Us?

Yes, of course God still speaks to us. He speaks directly to us each week, when we hear His Word. When your pastor says, “in the stead and by the command of my Lord, Jesus Christ, I forgive you all of your sins.” We are to hear the words as if Jesus Himself spoke them to us just now. The Divine Service on Sunday morning is all about the Lord speaking to us.

But, that’s not really the question, is it?

Your Aunt Beatrice, who now calls herself, Sister Mooncloud, means something entirely different. She or Uncle Stinging-rain say that God speaks directly to them. They’ve told you that they are more in touch with the Spirit of the Almighty in some way.

The method doesn’t matter. What matters is content.

A prophet is simply one who hears and reports the Word of the Lord. A true prophet cannot speak falsely. Moses warned the people of Israel, and us, too, that false prophets are coming, and here’s how you will know. “And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Always, the prophet must speak truth. If Uncle Stinging-rain or Auntie Mooncloud say a thing purporting to be the voice of God, it must come true as they have said. If the Senate doesn’t overturn the election, the comet doesn’t strike the earth, Mom and Dad don’t die at the appointed time, or the market doesn’t have a cataclysmic reaction, then the prophesy and the prophet are false.

Even the remedy given by the Lord through Mosses reflects a curious disdain. “You need not be afraid of him.” The proscribed reaction here isn’t fisticuffs, scourging, or stoning. It’s indifference. Have no fear, de-escalate, disengage.

All prophesy must point to Jesus and Him crucified for our sins. You and I may not always readily see it. But, it is the case to be sure. On the road to Emmaus, two of the followers of Jesus received clear teaching on their seven mile walk from Jesus himself after the resurrection. “And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Acts 2:25-27)

“But, Pastor Kaspar, what about St. Peter’s Pentecost sermon concerning visions? Doesn’t that indicate a renewed prophesy?” That’s a fine question. When Peter and the disciples spoke in tongues, speaking all the languages of the people present, He did preach about prophecy. But, what does he actually say?

“But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; … before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:16-17, 20b-24)

Jesus taught on the Emmaus road: all prophecy is of Him. Peter also preached the same from the prophecy of St. Joel, chapter two. The prophet spoke of Jesus. The day of prophesy is the day of salvation. It’s the day of Jesus. For you, that day is today.

The writer of Hebrews puts a fine point on it too. “In many and various ways, God spoke to His people of old by the prophets. But now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2a) We have prophecy. But, the whole of it points to Jesus and his work saving us.

And St. Peter teaches us in His second epistle, chapter one, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty … And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:16, 18-20)

We have the interpretation: the saving work of Jesus for us. Now, also we have the lens through which prophecy is revealed to us. We have Jesus and the scripture attesting to Him. Anything else is false prophecy. Fear not, dear Christians, ignore those words.

Let us prophesy of Jesus alone, and the work He has done.

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

A Christian Logo Design

Photograpic basis for the design by Rev. Jason M. Kaspar

The new logo for Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool of La Grange, TX features two elements of our ecclesiastical architecture. Both our pulpit and lectern walls within the chancel feature the same brick form. These two features flank the large chancel cross.

In church architecture, we should always see the numbers before our eyes as deliberate and pedagogical. The repeated features in church sanctuaries are generally done on purpose. They also serve to teach about the Christian faith, reminding us about something significant.

These numbers include fours for the Gospel writers, sixes for creation and the fall into sin, sevens for holiness, tens for the completeness of all peoples, and twelves for holy completeness. Our sanctuary also makes use of numbers to teach us about the Christian faith.

The brickwork flanking the cross has a central column consisting of two independent bricks and a continuous column. In the church threes are a Trinitarian symbol. The Trinity is, then, core upon which eight horizontal bars hang. Eights in the church are symbols of resurrection, recreation, new life in Christ, and baptism.

In six days, The Lord created the Heavens and the Earth. On the Seventh day, He rested. After the fall, the eight day becomes a symbol of the promised redeemer. In Genesis 3:15 we hear, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

In the flood, eight souls are preserved in the ark. They are preserved by water, which also washes way the wickedness of the earth. St. Peter teaches us in 1 Peter 3 “20because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

All Jewish males are circumcised as a mark of God’s covenant with His people. This circumcision is proscribed for the eight day of life. That Genesis 3 promise is tied to the eight day.

Jesus’ resurrection is an eighth day event. He is crucified and dies on Friday. He is entombed in death from Friday through the entirety of the Sabbath (the seventh day), and is raised again from the dead on the eighth day.

In Colossians, chapter two, St. Paul teaches us to understand baptism from circumcision. “11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.”

These two Trinitarian Baptismal symbols on both sides of our altar point our eyes to the source of our salvation. In baptism, we receive the forgiveness of sins AND the faith, which clings to that promise. The forgiveness purchased and won by Jesus’ crucifixion and death on a cross. A symbol of death promising us eternal life.

Let us ever glory in that baptismal promise.

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

Be Still And Know … What?

There is a thin veil of spirituality cast over our land. We see it on bumper stickers, t-shirts, bible covers, and memes all over social media.

One such text is the passage, “Be still, and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10a.

When you see this passage, it’s usually covered with flowers and butterflies. It’s meant to instill peace and a sense of wellbeing. It’s used in inspirational calendars. Sometimes we’ll see this passage used for a month at a time, but pondering what?

Using the verse of Psalm 46 this way comes to us from the movement founded by Mary Baker Eddy. It’s one of a short list of passages cited as their central teaching. The teaching is an expression of peace, found in pursuing the father-mother god in the Christian Church, Scientist movement.

The Christian Church, Scientist is a non-trinitarian, christian-ish heretical sect founded in the 1870s in Boston, MA by Ms. Eddy. They are part of a group of metaphysical Christian offshoots centering on the “divine mind” and the unreality and/or escape-ability of the physical world.

There is nothing new under creation. These ideas have been with mankind since the beginning. One more notable case is that of the gnostic heresy of the earliest centuries of Christianity. The Gnostics also viewed the physical world as an evil to escape. They shared the same the notion of divinity as an essence we aspire to join.

Our creeds all speak of God in substance and personhood, in direct opposition to these ideas.

The metaphysics intend for us to hear those words, “be still, and know,” and find a new understanding and a new revelation within our own minds and the stillness thereof. This does not fit the context of Psalm 46 very well at all.

Psalm 46 is the scriptural basis of Martin Luther’s reformation battle hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Not surprisingly, the Psalm is rich with imagery relating to battle and warfare. There is a stillness, but not an internal one.

When Psalm 46 occurs in the lectionary, verse 7 is the suggested antiphon. An antiphon is a verse of the psalm, another psalm, or a passage of scripture used to focus our reading the central theme of the text. Psalm 46:7 reads, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” That verse is echoed within the psalm without our help. Verse 7 and the final verse, 11, are the same.

Look to God for peace and protection. In the midst of all we are about to hear, He is our Fortress.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

The presence of God here is immediate, not distant. He not a God who can, may, or will be our refuge. He is. That’s the same answer He gave to Moses from the burning bush, “I am has sent me to you.” And, Jesus says the same, “before Abraham was, I am.” (Gen 3:14; John 8:58)

The roaring of the seas and the destruction of the mountains are the image of uncreation. The disorder that rises out of the good order of creation after the fall into sin is that raging. All creation groans for redemption.

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:4-7)

The seas are an image of disorder and sin. The river is an image of new life, forgiveness, and new creation. In the prophets and in the Revelation of Saint John, the river flowing into, through, and from the city of God is the source of restoration. The peace and restoration isn’t cowardly though. She cannot be moved. She, the city, is resolute. The Lord is with her.

The Lord of Hosts, Lord God of Sabaoth, Lord of battle-tested armies, this is not a weak, peaceable image of our God. He, who commands the armies of victorious angels, that Lord of host is with us, our fortress.

“Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. ‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!’” (Psalm 46:8-10)

The enemies of the Lord: sin, death, and the Devil are defeated and bound for destruction. That battle is already won. But yet the complete destruction of our old evil foe awaits Him and his minions. Beyond victory, the Lord will break and destroy even the implements of that warfare. With your weapons broken, shattered, and burning before you, now be still before the Lord.

Primarily an accusation to the vanquished: be still. Those who would not cease in speaking against the Lord; be still. Those who accuse the children of God: be still. Those who serve the adversary: be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted in the earth! Let all mortal flesh keep silence.

Why?

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:11)

–

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

Advent Paraments

What’s with the four Lamps on our Advent paraments at Mt. Calvary Lutheran in LaGrange, Texas? And, what’s with the Jewish Star on Pastor’s Advent Stole?

First, let’s identify paraments. Paraments are the colored, fringed fabric hangings, which drape over the altar, pulpit, and lectern. These are different than the banners hanging on the walls. Banners beautify the sanctuary and often convey different messages about a particular day or subject matter.

Paraments beautify the sanctuary and serve to indicate liturgical seasons of the church year. The seasons all have colors assigned for use. Christmas, Easter, and festival days celebrating Jesus’s life on Earth are white. The Sundays after Epiphany and Trinity and green. Lent is purple or violet. The festivals of Maundy Thursday, Pentecost, Reformation, and Saints’ days are red or scarlet. Advent is blue or purple.

Our blue paraments symbolize the hopeful preparation of the Advent season. Advent is a church season that gets lost in our culture. The popular world has no sense of time, flow, or delayed gratification. In the church, we still hold back our exuberance for the 12 days within which they belong.

On our paraments we see four burning lamps during Advent also. Now fours in the ecclesiastical art (church art) usually mean the four evangelists, the Gospel writers. Sometimes, fours can be the four creatures bearing the throne of God’s glory in Ezekiel, or the four living creatures that testify around the throne of the Lamb in Revelation.

In Advent, we may be best served seeing those four lamps as the prophets of the Old Testament: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Those four major prophets are shorthand for us. The four witnesses of ancient times testify to the promise of the messiah to come. That promise is the same message of all of the prophecy of the Old Testament, the major prophets, and the minor prophets. The history and poetry also point the way to Jesus.

All of these speak to Jesus birth in Bethlehem (a little tidbit from Micah 5:2). The Messiah is coming to reverse the ancient curse of the Devil from Genesis 3. The whole of the Law and the Prophets point to that.

Like the four lamps, the Jewish star on pastor’s stole is the symbol of the Key of David, which might be G half-sharp major. Seriously though, the Key of David is the authority given to Jesus before heaven to loose and bind sins. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Isaiah 22:22). That same authority is given by Jesus to His church that all may receive forgiveness.

Prepare, dear baptized, in hopeful expectation. The king is coming!

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

What is this Soli Deo Gloria of the Reformation?

It’s one of the five solas of the Reformation. They are: sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria. The Latin means: scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. Last time, we talked about Solus Christus. To wrap this up, Soli Deo Gloria is the topic. Soli Deo Gloria puts a tidy bow on the five solas.

Rome was the opposition force for the reformers. But, Soli Deo Gloria teaches against my own understanding just as much as the Pope. We, modern Christians, tend to make popes of ourselves. We want to be the sole interpreter of the scriptures. Moreover, we want to exclude or ignore the parts we don’t like. We like to excuse our laziness toward or neighbors. Somehow, they don’t deserve our works to serve them, because Faith and Grace don’t drive us to love and serve our neighbor. We want to define Jesus by our own ideas apart from His word. We seek Him within ourselves, rather than in His house and through His Word.

All of this puts us afoul of the first commandment. “You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” [SC 1:1] God is glorified in His Word and His work for us. When, we stand in His way, or obfuscate His clear teachings, we make little popes of ourselves. Actually, we make gods of ourselves.

And, we don’t stop there. We will setup idols all around the house. We’ll place the church’s status within the community ahead of God’s Word and gifts to us. We’ll worship the activities outside of God’s house among ourselves as a greater good that the gifts He gives us on Sunday mornings. We’ll worship our openness rather than the foolishness of the Gospel that separates us from the world.

Johann Sebastian Bach, lived and work in the 18th century, 200 years after the reformation. But, his signature shows the lasting influence on Lutheran musicians like Bach. He signed ever work with “SDG” as well as his own name. The abbreviation stands for Soli Deo Gloria, redirecting the attention from himself to the Lord attested to in his sacred music.

Though he wrote massive works too, the bulk of his repertoire consists of smaller works for church musicians to use on Sunday mornings. These pieces added beauty and fulness to the worship life of the church. Bach’s intention was not his own fame or glory. In his own lifetime, his fame was limited. And, without a revival of his music in the 19th century, we may know far less of him. His work remains, teaching the Word of God and our Lutheran understanding of it. Bach’s focus on the worship life of the church serves as a guide to Christian musicians and all Christian servants to this very day.

+ SDG +

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

What is this Solus Christus of the Reformation?

It’s one of the five solas of the Reformation. They are: sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus, and soli Deo gloria. The Latin means: scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. Last time, we talked about Sola Gratia. This week Solus Christus is the topic. Solus Christus follows quickly on the heels of Sola Gratia. It’s also a corrective reaction to an error of Rome in teaching salvation by way of the church, but not only from Jesus.

Jesus was not absent in their teaching. But, He took a backseat to penance, prayer to the saints, councils, and popes.

The works of penance, those assigned duties were delivered as if forgiveness couldn’t be had without that exchange. The semi-ecumenical western councils determined that Rome had sway over the whole church. Conveniently, Rome was the only voice speaking at these councils following the Eastern and Western Christian schism of 1054 AD. The popes claimed authority as vicars of Christ that gave them a voice equal to the revealed Word of God. Christ alone was the reformation correction.

We still struggle with Solus Christus today too. But now, our idols live within us.

The Depeche Mode song “Personal Jesus” accidentally typifies the issue. We tend to fall into the other ditch. We look away from Christ crucified, who delivers Himself to us in the divine service, instead seeking a private, personal relationship and revelation.

We expect to find Jesus within us and in places of our own choosing. “I can be a Christian without going to church.” “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” “I’m going to heaven because I’m a good person.” These are all ways in which we dodge what we learned clearly from Luther’s Small Catechism in the 3rd commandment.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” [SC 1:4]

The actual personal Jesus we have is the one who promises to deliver Himself to us in the Word and Sacraments. When, we are gather in Him name, He promises to be there. When his Word is read, we hear His voice. When we receive His Body and His Blood, He delivers the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Let us seek Christ alone in His house.

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