Church History – Page 2 – What Does This Mean?

Meet John, Apostle and Evangelist

Encore Post: John, son of Zebedee was many things. He was the youngest of the disciples of Jesus. With Peter and his brother James, he was the inner circle of the apostles. The beloved disciple, he was likely the closest Jesus had to a best friend. With his father, his brother, Peter and Andrew, they operated a successful fishing business on the Sea of Galilee. They headquartered in Capernaum, operated several boats and employed a number of assistants. An early follower of John the Baptist, John heard the last of the prophets point to Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

John had a ringside seat for the ministry of Jesus. He was present from the wedding at Cana through the ascension of Jesus into heaven. He saw all the miracles, the healings and heard all that Jesus taught. During the last supper, he leaned at the side of the Lord. Unlike most of the disciples, he remained with the Lord throughout his trial and his crucifixion. To him Jesus entrusted the care of his mother Mary. When the women who first heard the news of the Resurrection came to announce it to the disciples, he went with Peter to the empty tomb.

In the beginning, John and Peter led the church from Jerusalem. Eventually he moved to Ephesus with Mary. There he would live longer than all of the apostles. He was never martyred, but was exiled for awhile on the island of Patmos. Next to St. Paul, he wrote more of the New Testament books than anyone else. His gospel was the last of the four, written, taking into account the other three. He wrote three letters and probably the book of Revelation.

The church gives thanks to God for St. John on December 27th. Among the passages of Scripture most loved by Christians are words given through him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) All that he wrote was so that we might believe and believing might have life in his name. (John 20:31)

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

Stephen, the First Martyr

Encore Post: “You will be my martyrs (μάρτυρες),” Jesus said to his disciples just before he ascended into heaven. (Acts 1:8) A martyr is the New Testament is a witness to the good news about Jesus. All Christians are martyrs, then. The only question is how good a witness we will be.

The apostles and early disciples were very good martyrs. In fact, all of the apostles except John the Evangelist (tune in tomorrow) validated their testimony with their lives, most of them through torturous, painful deaths. That is why we associate the term martyr with giving up one’s life for a cause. For awhile, though, harassment was the push back of the leaders who had seen to the crucifixion of Jesus.

All this changed with a confrontation with Stephen the Deacon. He was a Jew whose native language was Greek. The apostles had appointed him and six others to take care of the poor among them. He was very good at evangelism, so Jews that rejected Jesus as the Messiah lied about him to get him arrested. Brought before the Sanhedrin, he argued from the Scripture that Jesus was the Messiah and that they had killed him. He called on them to repent and believe the good news.

In great anger, they seized Stephen and took him outside the city and began to stone him to death. Following the example of Jesus, he forgave them and gave up his spirit. Among those who witnessed the stoning and approved it was Saul of Tarsus, the man who would soon become the Apostle Paul. The church remember him as the protomartyr — the first martyr. It gives thanks to God for his life and witness on the second day of Christmas — December 26.

In today’s world, Christians are still called to witness to Jesus with their lives. Even in our own country, opposition to faith is growing and Christians are called upon to testify to the gospel at a cost to reputation, property and perhaps some day freedom and lives. We have the example of our Lord, Stephen and countless martyrs to give us courage. With them numbered may we be, here and in eternity.

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

Silent Night, Holy Night

Encore Post: On Christmas Eve of 1818, two hundred and Five years ago today, Joseph Mohr, the catholic priest of a small parish in Oberndorf, Austria, learned that the organ was out of order and not available for mass that evening. A few years earlier, he had composed a poem meditating on the birth of Jesus. The times were very hard for his parishioners. Austria and all of Europe was still recovering from the wars of Napoleon, which was followed by a famine caused by a very cold year and the crop failures that followed. He did not want to disappoint them. He asked his organist and friend, Franz Gruber, to set it to music for the guitar.

The quiet tune and simple words struck a chord in the hearts of people. Traveling choir troupes soon picked up the song and spread it. The beloved carol has found a place now in Christmas worldwide. During the dark days of World War I, during a spontaneous Christmas truce, both sides joined in singing the carol together.

Like most poetry, the song takes some poetic liberties. Jesus probably did not have golden hair, as the German original sings. A stable is not likely to have been very quiet and Scripture does not tell us what time of day Mary gave birth. Yet it does capture, as most carols do, the simple truths. In a rural, working town, in the far corner of a client kingdom of the Roman Empire, is where God Himself became a man, born of simple, young woman.

Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of God, and by the greatest mystery of them all, true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is our Lord. He redeemed us, not with silver or gold, but with his holy and precious blood and innocent suffering and death. We now are his own and live in his kingdom. When God sees us, he sees Jesus. When we see Jesus, we see God.

So we sing this Christmas lullaby and go to sleep in peace, even in the midst of our turbulent world, filled as it is with sorrow, trouble, grief and death. Sleep in peace, children of God. Rest merry. Christ was born to save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray. He has destroyed death and crushed the serpent’s head. You will live with him forever.

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

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O Wisdom

Encore Post: O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things, Come and teach us the way of prudence.

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia, veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

In the formal language of the church, important days are celebrated for eight days. The eighth day is called the Octave (Latin for eight) of the festival. It is a symbol of eternal life. Since there are only seven days of the week, the eighth day is thought of being beyond time in the presence of God himself, where angels, archangels and all the company of Heaven worship the Lamb-Who-Was-Slain. In a sense, all worship services are conducted on the eighth day. The Octave of Christmas is New Year’s Day, when the church remembers the Circumcision of Jesus and begins the new year in the Name of Jesus. December 17th in kind of an octave in reverse. On this day, the O Antiphons begin.

The first prayer meditates on the title “Wisdom.” In the popular philosophy of Greece and Rome, Wisdom is taught by the Word (the Logos — λόγος) which is a part of God Himself that comes to the world to instruct the worthy in Wisdom. (σοφία — Sophia) Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit of Wisdom would be in the Messiah. (Isaiah 11:1-9) In the Scriptures, knowledge is about knowing facts and the way things work. Wisdom is about knowing the best way to apply knowledge. Wisdom is not about what you know, but who you know. It begins with the fear of God and is built upon trusting God to keep his promises. (faith) Wisdom hears the Word of God, judges possible actions by it and acts deliberately according to it. In this prayer, we ask the Lord to teach us to live in this way.

The highest form of wisdom is the cross. Here God himself is sacrificed to pay the price of our evil. It seems foolish to the world — the good dying for the sake of the evil and conquering it once and for all. Yet for us it is the most profound Wisdom of all. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) The way of prudence, then, teaches us to confess our sins, receive pardon for them and lay down our lives for others.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who ord’rest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Lutheran Service Book, 357, Stanza Two

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

Preparation for the Gospel: The Great Library of Alexandria

Encore Post: Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s generals, claimed the throne of Egypt and painted a layer of Greek culture over the top of Pharaonic Egypt. He claimed that he was a true pharaoh, which also his heirs did. He assumed the gods, trappings and some of the customs of ancient Egypt. His dynasty lasted until the death of his descendant, Cleopatra and the accession of Rome to the throne of Upper Egypt.

His son, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, enriched the capital of Alexandria, building the two great wonders of the world — the lighthouse of Pharos, that guided navigation on the Mediterranean Sea for nearly 100 miles until its destruction into the 14th Century and the Ancient Library of Alexandria. He became an aggressive collector of books, including the searching of incoming ships. Copies of these books were made and the copy given to the owner. The originals ended up in the Library of Alexandria. According to tradition, Ptolemy II commissioned the translation of the Old Testament into Greek. Known as the Septuagint and abbreviated LXX, this translation was quoted by the writers of the New Testament when they quoted the Old.

The Ptolemies were defenders of the Jewish people. Because of this, the largest population of Jews outside of Israel settled in Alexandria. One of these Jews, Philo of Alexandria, became the most important of the philosophers of Judaism in ancient times.

God prepared the way for his son when he installed the Ptolemies. They provided a home for his people where they could be safe, learn Greek culture and introduce the Scriptures to them. With the translation of the Septuagint, he provided the Apostles with a tool accessible to the pagan world around them, where the church grew and thrived.

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Preparation for the Gospel: Alexander the Great

Encore Post: Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, one of the greatest generals in history, reigned in Macedonia and Greece beginning in 336 B.C. and reigned until 323 B.C. He conquered Greece, Persia, Egypt and Palestine. As a student of Aristotle, he had a vision of extending Greek language and culture throughout his lands and merge the peoples of his empire into a unified nation.

At his death, the vision of a single empire died, but three large kingdoms, ruled by his generals and their heirs, emerged and established Greek culture throughout the Western world.

In 277 B.C., after years of civil war, the empire settled into three hereditary kingdoms: one under Ptolemy in Egypt, Macedonia and Greece under Antigonus II and the Seleucid empire of Syria, Palestine and Asia. These kingdoms shared the same language, Koine (Common) Greek, the same culture, philosophy, love of learning, sports, etc. Even the up-and-coming Roman Republic, which came early to absorb Greek colonies in southern Italy came to appreciate much of Greek culture and to use common Greek to communicate with other nations.

God used Alexander and the Greeks, then, to prepare the way for the birth of his Son. Jesus may have taught in Greek and communicate in Greek. The New Testament was written in that language, used the Greek translation of the Old Testament when it quoted Scripture and Paul used that language and its common culture to share the Good News of salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Because of this common culture, the disciples of Jesus would establish the church in the whole Roman World inside of one generation.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Preparation for the Gospel: Judaism

Encore Post: When the Babylonians conquered Judah, destroyed the temple and the walls of Jerusalem and carried off most of her people into exile, the people had a crisis of faith. How could they worship God without a temple where they could sacrifice? How could they relate to him at all? God sent prophets to help them work all this out. The result was the birth of a brand new religion — Judaism. A religion is a series of customs, duties, practices and rites that people do to serve their god or gods. It is a culture, really. God used Judaism as a place where true faith in him could be planted, nurtured and grow, even when there was no temple, sacrificial system and functioning priesthood to support it.

Judaism — especially the party of the Pharisees — was built on a devotion to the Torah. They read it, taught it and even vowed to practice traditions that kept them from ever violating the commandments it teaches. To prevent accidental violation of a particular commandment, the Rabbis taught that you should follow a tradition stricter than the Law requires. So, for example, to avoid taking the name of the Lord in vain, they did not pronounce the name of God at all, but said Adonai — my Lord — instead. This practice is called “building a hedge around the Torah.”

During the exile, wherever ten men were available to worship (called a minyan), Jews would gather together to pray on the Sabbath. These congregations became known by the Greek word “Synagogue” (“coming together”). When they began to build houses of prayer, these buildings became known as Synagogues. By New Testament times, the worship service settled into a pattern of saying the Shema (“Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one”), prayer, readings from the Torah and the prophets, a sermon and a benediction.

When Cyrus the Great ended the exile, not all Jews returned home. Some stayed in Babylon and Persia, others moved to Greece, Rome and other parts of the world. The Synagogue went with them, along with other aspects of Judaism. In these events, God prepared the world for the ministry of Jesus, the apostles and especially the Apostle Paul.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Where did Christmas come from?

Encore Post: People are planning parties, shopping for gifts, decking their homes in greenery, cooking for feasts. Soon they will make merry, drink plenty of wine, stuff themselves, play silly — and suggestive games. Rich and poor, everyone will go to orgies — and may even disappear with someone of the opposite sex. Everywhere revelers shout Io, Saturnalia! (Yo! Saturnalia!) No, it is not 21st Century America, it’s ancient Rome!

Beginning with December 17th and eventually lasting seven days, Ancient Rome would celebrate the harvest and the planting of the winter crops. The patron god of the celebration was Saturn, said to have been the pre-Roman Italian king who invented agriculture. The celebration had the same feel and atmosphere as does Marti Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Buenos Aires. It got so wild that even Roman Emperors — not exactly prudes — tried to reign it all in — unsuccessfully.

There has been a myth going around that the Emperor Constantine or the Bishops invented Christmas and placed it on December 25th to rescue Christians from the party. These days it is mostly pagans, atheists, secular liberals — and interestingly enough — very conservative Christians who promote the theory. The problem is that no Christian writing from ancient times make that argument. So, how did the rumor get started?

To begin with, there is no mention of formal celebration of Christmas before 340 AD. The main focus of the early church was the celebration of Easter, which got quite a bit of discussion from the very start. Then again, there is no detailed description of Saturnalia before 400 AD, so it is hard to tell which came first. If we give ancient Christian and pagan sources the benefit of a doubt, both celebrations are very old. The date of Christmas has some variety to it until late in the 300s. Many Christians observed January 6th as the day to thank God for the many ways that the Son of God revealed himself — focusing on the incarnation and the baptism of Jesus.

Yet traditions die hard. The church never successfully brought an end to December parties, gift-giving and other customs. Rarely did it really try all that hard — beyond preaching against immorality and complaining that people do not focus on God’s gift of his Son. Instead, Christians baptized many of these customs, infusing them with Christian meaning. It is how we have a different reason for the season. “God rest ye merry, Gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ, our Savior, was born on Christmas Day, to save us all from Satan’s pow’r when we had gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy! O tidings of comfort and joy! “

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

The Real Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra

Encore Post: Christmas in America doesn’t seem possible without Santa Claus. In an image first drawn by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly in 1863 and shaped to his current form by Haddon Sundblum for a Coca-Cola advertising campaign, the jolly Saint Nick is said to live at the North Pole, making toys for children to give on Christmas Eve. Our Santa’s legend has grown from the Dutch form of the Father Christmas story, where candies were distributed on December 6. Through poems, songs, and TV specials, the story continues to change each year. Many Americans tell their children that Christmas gifts come from him.

Yet the image did begin with the story of a real St. Nicholas, a Greek Bishop who cared for God’s people during the most intense persecution of the Church prior to the 20th Century. Nicholas was born to wealthy Christian parents, who died during his early manhood. Nicholas followed his uncle into the priesthood and was chosen Bishop of Myra, a town in what is now Turkey. His legend says he gave away his parents’ wealth to the poor, but since he was a humble man, did so secretly. One story tells of a father who lost his wealth during a tragedy. Unable to afford a dowry for his three daughters, he feared he would have to sell them as slaves or hire them as prostitutes. Upon hearing the story, Bishop Nicholas resolved to help. At night for two successive nights, he slipped a bag of gold through their girl’s window. In the morning, the father was greatly thankful to his mystery patron. So he watched on the third night for the donor to appear. Unmasking Nicholas, he was begged by the saint, apparently unsuccessfully, to keep his generosity a secret. The girls, now with generous dowries each, were married successfully and saved a depressing fate. From this story developed the Dutch legend of Sinterklaas, who is said to give children gifts on December 6. This story came across the Atlantic during the colonization of New Amsterdam (New York).

During the Great Persecution of Emperor Diocletian of Rome, Nicholas was thrown into prison and tortured in an attempt to get him to renounce his faith. Remaining faithful to Christ, he was released by Emperor Constantine the Great. One legend places Bishop Nicholas at the Council of Nicea, where he is said to have slapped Arius the heretic and to have temporarily lost his office for the incident. Restored to office, he stood up for his people, battled idolatry and heresy and intervened with authorities from time to time to protect his flock and the poor in general.

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stir up Your Power, O Lord, and Come!

Encore Post: Great forest fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods are all over our news. Acts of unspeakable evil and cruelty occur on almost a weekly basis. A nation routinely kills babies in the womb, celebrates immorality and lectures the church when it doesn’t join them. All the signs of the end of days fill our T.V.s, cell phones and computer screens. It makes you just want to scream, “Tear open the heavens and get down here, Lord, and do something about it! What are you waiting for? (See Isaiah 64)

To most of the world’s religions, the high god who made the world is a distant god, who made the world and tired of it, going away to leave it to lesser gods and our own devices. We are left alone to deal with the mess that is our world and our part in making it worse. Even more modern thinkers, like the Deists, thought of God as a great watchmaker, who made the world capable of running itself, wound it up and walked away. Pop songs muse: “God is watching us… from a distance” and “The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, they caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died.” We just have to cope, they advise.

Advent breaks into that mood and reminds us that is not true at all. The God who made the world and called it “very good” intends to do something about it. He promised to come himself, in the person of his Son, born of a woman, to become one of us. It reminds us that he kept that promise and to prepare to celebrate that coming, receive him as he comes to us each day and how he will finally come to set things right.

The season of Advent developed over the centuries to do just that. Like Lent prepared the church to celebrate Easter, Advent would come to celebrate Christmas. For some, it was also a season of repentance, as a deliberate counter to the wild and immoral way pagans celebrate their December holidays. So in many places, Advent’s color is purple or black, the Gloria is not sung and people fast. For others, it is a season of hope, with the color being blue and carols sung to anticipate Christmas.

Either way, the church cries out: “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come!” Come as you did, born to die that we might live. Come with your grace and live among us. Come and bring us all home to be with you. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Concordia Theological Seminary

Fort Wayne, Indiana