Jason Kaspar – Page 9 – What Does This Mean?

Formula of Concord #1: A Look at the Epitome

Who are Norma Normans and Norma Normata?

Norma Normans, Norma Normata. These two Latin phrases describe our understanding of the Word of God. They also tell us how the Lutheran Confessions fit into our understanding of the Christian faith.

Norma Normans, the norming norm, that’s a peculiar way of saying that the Word of God, the Bible, is chief over all Christians and Christianity. We read, mark, and inwardly digest the scriptures.

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. [Collect for the Word, LSB 265]

Our hermeneutic (principle of interpretation) is that scripture interprets scripture. The clearer passages help to understand the less clear. And all of it is given to us for our good, to instruct the Christian life. And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:15-17]

It is through this very Word that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, guides us in all truth. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. [Psalm 119:105]

Norma Normata, the norm which is normed, is the theology we draw from the scriptures. It must never conflict with the Word of God. The norm, the scriptures, stands above our doctrine and always stands to correct it. Similarly, we should not tolerate preaching or teaching that deviates from the Word of God, not even from an apparent vision from heaven. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. [Galatians 1:8]

Every teacher is subject to the plain teaching of scripture. There were false teachers at the time of the apostles too. They didn’t stand for false teaching within the Body of Christ. And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. [1 Corinthians 14:32-33]

Those doctrines which stand the test ought to be upheld. False teaching is to be rejected. But, right teaching edifies the church and protects us from sin and great harm. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. [1 Thessalonians 5:19-22]

It’s our duty to preserve and uphold right teaching, not just among us. But it is also our responsibility to retain the right teaching we have received, to discern the former errors and stand watch against them too.

Lord, preserve us by Your Word.

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

The Sign of the Cross?

You may have noticed throughout your own life, your travels, and even here at Mt. Calvary, La Grange, Texas, that some people make the sign of the cross on themselves at various points in the divine service.

Now, that crotchety old German uncle who resides in back of every American Lutheran’s head may currently be screaming, “daß ist Katholisch!” (That’s Catholic). And, he was likely even more incensed last Sunday as we confessed the Athanasian Creed. That’s the one that identifies us and the Christian faith as “catholic” several times.

We do differ with the church of Rome on several key points of Christian doctrine. But, the use of words like mass or catholic are not among our differences. Those terms are not dirty words. We should not recoil from them like a vampire from sunlight.

Ignoring Uncle Helmut for a moment, let’s first talk about when we do the things we do. Making the sign of the cross has a broad range of occurrences in the divine service. If you have one handy, open your Lutheran Service Book to page 184, and follow along.

The service opens with the invocation. You’ll notice a rubric cross in the middle of “the Son.” The pastor makes to sign of the cross there. Some pastors will do it towards the congregation. More frequently, you’ll see him cross himself, facing the altar.

The next cross rubric is in the Absolution. The pastor will face the congregation to deliver the goods. He is doing the deed of forgiving sins as he is commanded to do. Again, the rubric cross stands right in the middle of “the Son.”

Even disquieted Uncle Albrecht may have noticed by now that this crossing is somehow Trinitarian. Every time the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are uttered, someone is prob’ly making the sign. But why in the world would they do that?

Baptism, it’s all about baptism. When God marked you as His own in Holy Baptism, you received the sign of the cross upon your forehead and upon your heart. He delivered the forgiveness of sins and faith to trust in His promise to you by His name, in that water, by His word, and through the Hand of the Christian who baptized you.

We will also see folks crossing at spots like: “the life of the world to come/everlasting” in the Creeds, “but deliver us from evil” in the Lord’s Prayer, “this is My Body, this is My Blood” at the consecration, and at the pax domini. These too are part of that same promise of our baptism. The promise of life everlasting and deliverance from evil are brought in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through those means of grace we receive the forgiveness of sins by Jesus’ death on the cross.

Uncle Rudolph may not be keen on the idea, but it changes nothing. The sign of the cross marks our understanding and teaches us to be attentive to Jesus’ work and His gifts to us. So, please grant your Christian friends a kind opinion of their baptismal remembrances. Perhaps even consider it as part of your own piety.

Remember your baptism with the sign of Jesus’ cross.

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

Does Revelation 6:2 predict the coronavirus and masks?

I have to admit that this modern prophetic interpretation caught me by surprise. I quickly found several online discussion threads, which said exactly what I was asked in the same manner.

“Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.” [Revelation 6:1-2 ESV]

Generally, these are the claims.

1 – Corona is Latin for “crown,” therefore, coronavirus = “crown” virus.

2 – A bow, toxon in Greek (τόξον), is the root of toxic in English = a toxic “fake” virus.

3 – The base of bow from tikto (τίκτω) indicates fabric, like a mask. If you want to bypass the linguistic nerd stuff, skip ahead to the *.

First, corona is Latin for “crown.” The interpretation here requires the Greek, stephanos (στέφανος), to be translated in Latin, but only Latin, and only that word. Our understanding of corona as a Latin root term is broad in application. Coronas can be the outer atmosphere of a star, a radiating architectural feature, or even just a Mexican beer. Corona is also the name of the circle of clergy singing in the ancient mass around the altar, which is the root of choir. It is also the name of a class of viruses with radiating external structures. None of those uses predict or exclude another.

Second, toxon (τόξον) is Greek for “bow.” It is not the origin of toxic. Toxicon (τοξικόν) is the poison for an arrow, bellos (βέλος), to poison a target. Toxicon passes into Latin as toxicum (poison), which gives us toxic in English. Toxon is a New Testament hapax, a word used only once. But, we find the same word used throughout the Septuagint, the 3rd century BC Old Testament Greek translation. Rarely are toxon and bellos used together. One seems to be understood by way of the other.

Third, the base of bow from tikto (τίκτω) indicates fabric like a mask. Tikto (τίκτω) is a verb meaning: to beget, give birth to, bear, produce, or generate. The root, tik (τίκ-), seems to indicate production or fabrication leading to nouns like: builder, craft, or bow. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance was the only reference source I could find using the phrase, “’From the base of tikto; a bow (apparently as the simplest fabric) — bow.” This is mostly likely a typo or intended to be understood as formation, production, or fabrication.

This boils down to the way we look at the scriptures. In the Lutheran church, we look at the scriptures through exegesis (ex-e-JE-sus). We examine the text itself, its context in chapter, book, and the whole bible. We may also look at the historical context, if it’s useful. Most importantly, we let scripture interpret scripture.

This coronavirus application of Revelation 6:2 is process called eisegesis (ice-e-JE-sus). The method brings an idea into the scriptures, looking for a proof of it. It examines the text in isolation. And, it tends to make interpretive leaps from limited or incomplete information.

The four riders in Revelation are the first of the sets of seven expressions of tribulation indicating the triumphant return of the Lamb. It may help to think of the description in the apocalyptic literature of the Revelation of St. John like a four year-old trying to explain a trip to Disney World. With great speed, an ever-increasing intensity, the description circles back upon itself. Each telling adds to the detail of what’s already been explained. And, we get ever more confused about where we started and where we’re ending.

John starts in the divine service on Sunday morning. He tells us a fantastic description of the day to come. And he closes us out in the resurrection itself with the lamb in his Kingdom.

We gain context from the whole of what St. John is relating to us. “Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’” [Revelation 7:13-14 ESV] This is happening right now! All who have died in the faith for the 2000 years since Jesus’ ascension are coming out of the great tribulation. Today is no different. Tomorrow will likely be the same.

Today is the day of salvation, and the resurrection is soon!

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

What are the red words in the hymnal doing there?

The things we noticed after a prolonged absence are interesting. Now that we are using our hymnals again after the recent unpleasantness of the plague, we will no doubt see elements within them that we didn’t notice before. The red words in the hymnal are one of those items.

These are not to be confused with the red letters that appear in some of our bibles. In the latter part of the 20th century, it became popular to make the words of Jesus appear red in the printing of some bibles. This probably rose out of the historical-critical method of viewing the scriptures. This view held that some words of the scriptures are more important than others. But that’s a discussion for another time.

The red text in your hymnal are instructions for us in conducting worship. These red texts are called rubrics. In academics a rubric is an explanatory note or a listing of expectations in completion of an assignment or project. The academic usage comes out of for the liturgical usage.

The copyists of liturgical texts would use a method of underlining or writing in and contrasting color like red to set off instructions or notations within a text. This practice was used in various ways. The days assigned to observe the various feasts and festivals and saints’ days were often indicated with red in the calendars or listing of readings. This gave rise to the expression “red-letter day.”

Within the worship service, and in our hymnal, we find instructions for conduct in red text which is often also italicized. Even the bulletins we generate out of the online format of Lutheran Service Builder produces rubrics. Since the font rendering is monochromatic, we don’t get the red but the italics remain.

Rubrics come in two forms. Some rubrics are spoken in an optional style. “A hymn of invocation may be sung.” It may surprise us to learn that the opening and closing hymns are both optional practices. Not every congregation, in every place observes these optional rubrics.

Other rubrics are stated in the absolute. “During Advent and Lent, the hymn of praise is omitted.” These absolute rubrics are given so we will understand those elements of the service that should always be done in a particular way.

In addition to those forms, some rubrics function to provide options. “The Creed may be confessed here or after the sermon.” The Creed, hymn of the day, sermon, offertory, offering, and prayers can follow the exact order above. Or, they may observe an order that is less familiar to us like we may find in Divine Service, setting one or two. The may function of this rubric doesn’t leave an option to omit. But, it does allow for variations in sequence.

Rubrics can also serve to redirect the flow of the service. Prior to the Service of the Sacrament we find a rubric indicating a variation in the conclusion of the service. “If there is no Communion, the service concludes with the Lord’s prayer, a concluding collect, and the benediction.” The service as written allows for the diminishing practice of alternating Sunday communion. That rubric gives us direction for how to proceed.

Probably the most important function for rubrics removes the necessity for verbal instruction or metadiscourse within the Divine Service. I’ll leave you with the wise advice of a former pastor of mine, which he heard from another, which he heard from another, which he heard from another, ad infinitum.

Do the red. Say the black.

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

What is the meaning of IXOYE?

IXOYE is a misspelled attempt replicate the Greek word, ichthus. IXOYE and ichthus are effectively the same thing. Ichthus simply means fish. The significance of the fish in Christian iconographic vocabulary of the fish is both biblically sensible imagery and traditional storytelling.

We’ll often see it on the back of a car: the chrome two lined fish icon, a fish and a cross, or a fish with letters shoved inside. Here are a few examples. These have also been used for jewelry themes, key chains, Bible covers, in the like. These gained popularity in American Christianity beginning in the 1970s as part of a broader attempt to reach back to ancient Christianity.

Christian tradition holds that the simple two line ichthus was used by ancient Christians during persecution. And there are even Children’s Games based upon that. But, that line of traditional storytelling has very little basis in history.

Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) said specifically that Christians should engrave their seals with a fish. Glyphs in Christian sites throughout the ancient Roman world seemed to indicate that Christians were aware of the fish and it’s use as a Christian symbol long before that.

All of that is well and good, but the question remains: what does it mean anyway? For the most part the use of the fish and the letters of ichthus as we understand them come to us in the form of an ancient acronym. The phrase “Jesus Christ God’s Son, savior” (Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ) spells out fish in Greek (ΙΧΘΥΣ). The capital letter forms of the letters in the word fish, iota, chi, theta, upsilon, and sigma, look a little bit like the English letters: IXOYE.

That was a very long way to get to the simple answer. It means Jesus. And as Christians we put the name of Jesus on us and our children at his command in our baptism, which washes away sin gives faith. We also put the name of Jesus our clothing, on the walls of our homes, on the walls of our sanctuaries, and before our eyes throughout life. From the forms of art we use lambs come across is, fish, and a host of other symbols to accomplish this effect in our lives.

Blessèd be the Son of God, Jesus, our savior.

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

Why is the Orthodox Study Bible your second English bible for the Old Testament?

In an earlier post, I suggested the top three bibles in my mind: English Standard Version (ESV), New King James Version (NKJV), and Orthodox Study Bible (OSB). As promised, here’s more discussion of the OSB.

I keep the OSB handy for its Old Testament (OT) translation. I do love to struggle with the Greek, but a solid English translation is invaluable. The OSB provides me a solid English translation of the Greek OT.

Now, you’ll be asking, isn’t the OT written in Hebrew and Aramaic? Yes, it is. But, the Old Testament is also available to us in an ancient translation into Greek, which predates the time of Christ by a few hundred years. The Septuagint (LXX) is that Greek translation. The LXX is useful for us in understanding the use of language between Hebrew/Aramaic and a non-native tongue to clearly communicate the word of God.

Our ESV is exclusively translated from the Hebrew/Aramaic OT and the Greek New Testament. The OSB provides us a single volume translated from the Greek OT and the Greek NT. In fact, the NT translation is the NKJV without alteration. The OT translation is a fresh translation of the LXX into English from 2008. The Orthodox churches in the US instead about accomplishing this task because the LXX is the version of the OT used in the Orthodox Church.

It seems as though St. Paul, the Apostles, the Evangelists, and Jesus quote from the LXX into the NT. So, it stands to reason that it is worthwhile for us to familiarize ourselves with some of that text also. Here are a few examples.

“‘Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means God with us).” Matthew 1:23 (ESV) Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14, which reads: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 (ESV). Or, from the LXX: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 (OSB)

These are quite similar in English. This is a key point for our confidence in our English translations. The Hebrew is not 100% clear in the Hebrew that a “virgin shall conceive.” But, the Hebrews who translated Isaiah into Greek used a Greek word , which makes it much more certain that “virgin” is the correct translation.

In another case, we find Matthew quoting Isaiah again. “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord; Make his paths straight.’” Matthew 3:3 (ESV) Isaiah reads: “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 5:3 (ESV) But, in the LXX, we find: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight the paths of our God.” Isaiah 5:3 (OSB)

The LXX in this case more closely resembles what we find in the New Testament. That should not make us question the Hebrew by any means. But rather, it should give us greater confidence that the ideas being communicated in translation are accurate.

The study notes in the OSB are a mixed bag. We differ theologically from our brothers and sisters in the Orthodox Church on a few significant points like chrismation and prayer to the saints. But, the translation is excellent.

The introduction to this version does a reasonable job of explaining some variations in chapter and verse numbers you’ll encounter. The OSB also contains the apocrypha as it is translated from the LXX, which does too. There are quite a few useful study options opened up by our possession of an OSB. Also, the collection of Christian art (icons) in the OSB is beautiful.

Here are sources for the top three translations in my opinion.
The Lutheran Study Bible (ESV)
The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB)
The New King James Version (NKJV)

“So shall my word be, whatever proceeds from my mouth. It shall not return until it accomplishes whatever I will do, and I shall prosper your ways and my commandments. – Isaiah 55:11 (OSB)

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

Do Lutherans practice private confession?

Yes. OK, we’re done here, right?

In all seriousness, the answer is simple. But, the rationale is more complex. At the time of the Reformation, the practice concerning confession (penance) had become onerous upon the people. The problem was that the Papists demanded every sin be recalled accurately and confessed in order to be forgiven. Furthermore, penance needed also to be rightly performed in order for absolution to stick. This is impossible for human beings and makes forgiveness dependent on our work instead of the work of Jesus.

In the Augsburg Confession (1530 AD), Lutherans say: “Our churches teach that private Absolution should be retained in the churches, although listing all sins is not necessary for confession. For according to the Psalm, it is impossible. ‘Who can discern his errors?’ (Psalm 19:12)” [Augsburg Confession 11]

There’s a curious shift in language here. The author, Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther’s close friend and fellow reformation teacher, speaks here of the practice as “Absolution.” the shift in language in this discussion identifies our unique Lutheran perspective. For us the point is hearing Jesus words of forgiveness to us from our pastor. This is very different than the Romanist practice of enumerating sins, hearing conditional forgiveness, and performing penance in the hopes of receiving what has been promised.

The papists continued to push back against the Lutheran reformers in many of the articles of the Augsburg Confession. This sparked a response from Melanchthon in the form of the Apology to the Augsburg Confession.

Concerning confession, the Apology to the Augsburg Confession (1531 AD) says, “It is well known that we have made clear and praised the benefit of Absolution and the Power of the Keys. Many troubled consciences have derived comfort from our teaching. They have been comforted after they have heard that it is God’s command, no, rather the very voice of the Gospel, that we should believe the Absolution and regarded as certain that the forgiveness of sins is freely granted to us for Christ’s sake. … Previously, the entire power of absolution had been kept under wraps by teaching about works. For the learned persons and monks taught nothing about faith and free forgiveness.” [Apology 11]

There are two important notes for us to observe here. The first is that our understanding is that Absolution is to serve in calming and comforting the troubled consciences of sinners who confess. As we say in the Small Catechism, “…but before the pastor we should confess only those sins which we know and feel in our hearts.” Private Confession and the Absolution delivered therein is for Christians to have confidence that the forgiveness of sins promised to us in the Gospel is indeed delivered directly to us. We all struggle in understanding and believing that even our sin can be forgiven. That’s exactly why we Lutherans retain and uphold the practice of private absolution.

The second point Melanchthon makes cuts back again to the practice of penance as the central part of confession in the Romanist understanding. The learned persons and monks continued in teaching directly and indirectly that our work of confession was somehow involved in receiving the forgiveness. Moreover, that our work of penance played a part in earning this same forgiveness. That’s wrong. We have rejected that teaching for 500 years and continue to do so today. Forgiveness from God is free.

The confidence we receive from hearing that forgiveness privately from our pastor for those specific grievous sins that trouble our hearts most is the very Word of the Gospel in our ears. God does not expect us to find confidence within ourselves in our struggle and tribulation. He gives us the very words of his forgiveness in which we may hear and trust as often as we have need.

Dear Christians, Let us live joyfully from the words of forgiveness!

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

Which Bible Translation Is Best?

That’s kind of a tough question. Different translations have different attributes, which make them good. The one thing leading to different translations is the simple fact that translation is absolutely necessary.

The Bible comes to us in a few languages. The Old Testament is primarily written in Hebrew with some Aramaic near the end. The New Testament is written in Greek. There are also two ancient translations that can help us understand God’s Word in its time frame. The Septuagint (LXX) is an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament from around 325 BC. And the Vulgate is a Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments from 405 AD.

The LXX can help us by way of its translation methodology. The pre-Christian Jewish scribes who translated the LXX made conceptual decisions from their understanding of their native tongue into the Greek. That reveals understandings that may have otherwise been lost through the loss of a Hebrew culture. It’s also worth noting that all of the Old Testament quotations by Jesus, the Apostles, including St. Paul, and the Evangelists appear to come from LXX.

The Vulgate was written very close to the close of the canon. The Bible as we received it is called the canon of scripture. At the council of Nicaea in 325 AD, we determined which books were to be included and excluded from the Bible.

The Vulgate gives us a view of translation from a native Greek speaker. St. Jerome finished translating within 80 years of the first time many Christians had seen all of the books of the New Testament together. In a 2000 year old church, that’s a significantly narrow window for understanding. That’s akin to hearing firsthand about the struggles of the great depression from one of those surviving folks, who were alive to see it.

In the LCMS, we are currently using the English Standard Bible (ESV) as our altar Bible. We have used other translations including: the New International Version (NIV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), and King James Version (KJV). These are all good translations in their own way.

I will frequently use those and other translations in my studies and preaching. I will also stumble through some of my own translation. The process of struggling with the source languages helps us to understand conceptually rather than only in a word-by-word sense.

Sometimes you will hear Christians say things like, “our Bible is a translation of a translation of a translation of a translation going back for centuries.” And then, there will be some claim place upon that statement. None of the claims are valid, because the basis is untrue. We have the Bible in its original languages. Our English translations come from the original source, Our English Bibles have only been translated once.

That’s true of most Bibles available throughout the world. Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) and other organizations have spent over a century translating the same Bible from its Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek sources into the languages with which they’ve come in contact.

So, let’s compare a few translations concerning just one passage of the Bible. Ephesians 2:8-10 in our altar bible (ESV) reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

This passage is central to our Lutheran understanding of how grace and faith work. In the life of a Christian, grace and faith are given to us by God. They are not works we do. Nor can they be earned in any way.

Now, how else have we heard this text? The older English of the King James Version (KJV) reads, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

In the KJV, the works we do sound as if they are ordered by God in our modern ears. In the ESV, the works are prepared for us by God. The ESV is more faithful to the Greek in this case. It gets at the sense of who’s doing the doing here. And, it’s not us.

Compare those with the RSV, NIV, and New King James Version (NKJV)

RSV: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

NIV: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

NKJV: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

You’ll notice they are all very similar. In particular, the NKJV has moved in the same direction as the ESV regarding that verb concerning our works. They are “prepared” rather than “ordained.”

Now there are some Bibles called translations that are not. The New Living Translation (NLT), The Message and The Voice are not translations. They are paraphrases — a restatement of the Bible from English into English is a paraphrase. Calling those a translation implies that we can translate from English into English. Since, there is no consultation with the source text. These Bibles are nothing more than a what-this-says-to-me scribbling by the authors.

You’ll notice The Message sounds very little like those texts above: “Ephesians 2 7-10 “Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”

These paraphrases aren’t useless for Christians. But, they also aren’t the Bible in any sense. A best, they are like a study guide. The study guides are written by non-Lutherans and will contain different interpretations than we might use.

I would suggest the following translations on your shelf at home. If you can only get one, start with the first. Then add them in sequence from there. In your studies, start from the top and work through the others. These are they: ESV, NKJV, OSB (Orthodox Study Bible – we’ll discuss the attributes of that one another time), KJV, RSV, NIV, and then others. Please avoid paraphrases in general. Most of us spend so little time in God’s Word. An interpretive reading isn’t as good as a plain, clear translation.

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

Why are some Christians disquieted by a crucifix?

This question is similar to the one of iconoclasm. Iconoclasts reject any images of the Lord or His saints. But, folks who find the crucifix repellent tend to like other images of Jesus. At Christmas there’s little or resistance to baby Jesus in His manger. We’ll find paintings like the blonde haired, blue eyed Jesus peacefully praying in the garden. We see images of Jesus healing the blind. And, Jesus after the resurrection is featured, but usually without His wounds.

What we don’t see is significant. Him at His at crucifixion. For Jesus, for the evangelists, for Paul, and for the saints in heaven, His crucifixion is the center of his work. Here are a few of the places where we find discussions of Jesus’ work centering upon His death on the cross. These are taken from outside the passion narrative, both before and after.

“Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [Matthew 20:28 ESV] The giving up of His life on the cross buys you forgiveness.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” [John 3:14 ESV]. The lifting up is directly connected to the serpent on a pole. Jesus will also be lifted up in that same inglorious way. Yet, for us, it is Jesus’ glory.

“So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” [John 8:28–29 ESV] It’s also the Father’s desire that Jesus should die for us. Sin can only be atoned for by a perfect sacrifice, paying for the sin. It’s not a debt anything in creation can pay. But, Jesus did it on the cross for you.

“But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” [1 Corinthians 1:23 ESV] “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus’ Christ and him crucified.” [1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV] For St. Paul, everything we preach and everything we know revolves around Jesus’ crucifixion. It’s a stumbling block to the unbelief we constantly battle in our own hearts. The crucifix stands firm against our unbelief.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” [Galatians 2:20 ESV] Paul also indicates our living as gift from Christ’s death.

“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” [John 20:27–28 ESV] Even in the resurrection, the glorified body of Jesus’ bears the marks of our salvation.

“And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” [Luke 9:30-31 ESV] The saints in heaven are steadily concerned with Jesus’ death on the cross.

“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” [Revelation 5:11–12 ESV] This Lamb of God who was slain for our salvation is known to us only from His death.

We will sometimes hear folks say “we worship a risen savior.” This isn’t untrue. But, it conceals a weakness in our Christian armor. We don’t like to see the very act that saved us. That was Jesus’ focus. The Evangelists, St. Paul, the saints in heaven, all look to the crucifixion as the very glory of Jesus.

Make sure you have a crucifix among the crosses in your home. Without Jesus, it’s just an image of a method of death, like noose or an electric chair. But, with Jesus on it, the cross is an image of our salvation by Jesus’ death.

Blessèd be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

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

What’s the deal with the new, multicolored banners lining the sanctuary of Mt. Calvary, LaGrange, Texas?

You may have also noticed our new banners from our friends at Ad Crucem. They are green, white, scarlet, violet, rose, blue, and black. Each banner features and orphrey braid design in a cross shape. The center of each cruciform has a quatrefoil with and image of a lamb in it. But, the lambs are not entirely alike.

An orphrey braid originated as a device for concealing seems. When cloth bolts weren’t big enough to make a garment or an altar parament, the braids were used to cover the joint between two pieces. These braids became so common and expected in paraments, that they remained as design feature long after the fabrics were available in adequate sizing.

A quatrefoil is four-sided figure with semicircular sides. The semicircular sides are of the same diameter and they bow outward. Quatrefoils will sometimes also be barbed. A barbed quatrefoil has externally protruding points at the intersections of the semicircular sides. Our funeral pall features a barbed quatrefoil.

The lambs in each quatrefoil are just as you might expect, symbols of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He bears a cross in His hoof and has the Christological aureole (halo) around His head. On both sides, the lamb is facing you in the congregation. The work of Jesus forgiving sin is properly directed towards you.

On the lectern side, we find the sacrificial Lamb of God. The blood flowing from His pierced side into a chalice. This is a depiction of the Son of God working out salvation for us; forgiving sins in the very way He said He would.

“Drink of it all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.” (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25)

On the pulpit side, we see the Triumphant Lamb of God in His kingdom. This lamb clutches a victorious banner standard. The war banner shows both the price paid for us to defeat sin, death, and the Devil, and the complete victory over them. Jesus won this victory for us. It’s ours through the faith given to us in baptism. That same faith which clings to the promised forgiveness in Jesus’ body and blood. The faith which hopes for the promised resurrection of all flesh.

Now, the colors of our banners are blue, white, green, scarlet, violet, black, and rose. The colors are assigned to help us identify the seasons and festivals of the church year. As we take our annual walk through the life of Christ on earth and the work of the Holy Spirit through the church, the colors serve as signposts along the way.

Blue symbolizes preparation, penitence, and hope. It is used for the season of Advent. The use of blue highlights the different character of Advent as opposed to Lent. While both are penitential seasons, Advent carries a strong current of hope in the salvation being born. The blue is also a royal color prefiguring the kingship of Jesus.

White symbolizes purity, glory, and joy. White is sometimes mingled with gold, symbolizing triumph and our precious gift of salvation. White is used for the festival seasons Christmas, Easter, and Feasts concerning events in the Life of Christ like the circumcision, epiphany, and baptism of our Lord.

Green symbolizes life and growth. It is used for the Sundays following Epiphany and Trinity/Pentecost. These non-festival times of the church year are also called “ordinary time.” They serve as celebrations of the life of the church within herself and within the world. Sundays following Pentecost/Trinity are particularly focused on the growth and expansion of the church through the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Scarlet symbolizes God’s love for us by the blood of Jesus. We use scarlet on the celebrations of Maundy Thursday, Reformation, and the celebration days of saints and martyrs of the church. These celebrations serve to point our understanding toward the once and prefect sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation from sin. Scarlet is also used for celebrating saints’ days. The scarlet there shows the dual purpose of the blood of the martyrs, which accomplishes nothing, pointing to the saving blood of Jesus.

Violet symbolizes preparation, penitence, and contrition. Violet is used for Lent and some churches use violet instead of blue for Advent. In the penitential season(s), we prepare our hearts for the coming sacrifice for our sin. The somber tone of these Sundays is also reflected in an austerity of liturgy. The gloria, the hymn of praise, and the alleluias are packed away for a time. Violet is also a royal color.

Black symbolizes our sin, which is laid upon Jesus. The use of black bookends the season of lent. It is only used for Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. On Ash Wednesday we ponder our sin as we begin the Lenten journey of contrition. On Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the black reminds us of the sin taken on by the spotless lamb of God. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Rose is not always used these days. It serves as an oasis in the deserts of the penitential seasons of Advent and Lent. Gaudete, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, and Laetare, the 4th Sunday of Lent, were sometimes dressed in rose or pink. The Rose is thought of as violet with the black removed. That’s not necessarily true in a sense of pigmentation. But, it serves as a fine mental image. Gaudete and Laetare are both Latin verbs respectively meaning rejoice and gladden.

On Sundays, we will now see a constant reminder of the whole of the church year. Each Sunday, the day’s color will be in the front most position.

Blessèd be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

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