Uncategorized – Page 35 – What Does This Mean?

No place is the Good Place

Our world is an evil place. Full of selfishness, violence, envy and hatred, people kill and torture each other, steal from each other destroy neighborhoods and businesses and ruin the lives of their neighbors. Christians are attacked for their faith and for trying to live life according to God’s word. Don’t you wish that all good, Lutheran Christians could move to a new place, live according to the will of God and love for each other?

We’re not the first Christians to think this way. Some Christians moved to desert areas where they lived more or less by themselves or in communities dedicated to live a pure Christian life. Called Monks (from the latin word for being alone) and Nuns, it worked to a certain degree. But as a project to live sinless lives, it failed every time. It turns out that even the most pious Christian has a sinful nature living in them. No place and be the good place, because there is no one in this world who lives a sinless life.

American history is filled with communities which thought the could achieve an ideal society by inviting only Christians committed to the vision of its founder to settle in it. Sir Thomas More wrote a satire in 1516 he called Utopia (a pun on two Greek words that mean good place and no place) making fun of life in his time. He set it on an imaginary island in America. The Puritans tried such a community in Massachusetts, followed by the Quakers, the Moravians, the Amana Colonies, non-Christian movements such as the Shakers, the Mormons, the Harmonists and others — and even Lutherans in Perry County, Missouri and the Saginaw Valley in Michigan.

The problem was that no place in this life is the good place. The Old Adam and Old Eve live in the hearts of every Christian. Sin will emerge sooner or later. We can’t expect perfection here. Such communities often produce much good but when people put their trust in them and not God, they are bound to be disappointed.

The solution to the evil world is in Christ. He took the sins of the world on himself, bore them to the cross where he died to pay the price for the damage they caused, breaking the power of sin and death forever. On the last day, he will bring an end to evil once and for all, raise us all from the dead, transform our bodies for everlasting life. We will live together with him without sin, death, disease and evil. That is the good place.

So, if pulling out of the world is not a good solution for Christians, how do we cope? As most Christians have done for two thousand years, we continue to live in the world, but live according to the Word of God. We gather with other Christians, receive the gifts God desires to give us: the forgiveness of our sins, the hearing of his word of life, which has the power to change our hearts and the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus, which is food for the journey. We live for the next life, to witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus and to strengthen each other for the journey. Then, before we know it, we will be in that Good Place which lasts not for a lifetime, but forever.

Sunday School: Tower of Babel

Encore Posts: The Egyptians were not the only people that built pyramids. The Mayans, the Aztecs, the Sumerians — and the Babylonians did also. The all had the same purpose. They were meant to be man-made mountains that would be a ladder from Earth to Heaven, where they could visit the gods, sacrifice to them and get what they want from heaven. Most had temples at the very top, where sacrifices were made, some of them human sacrifices.

The people of Babel intended to settle down, build a city and one of these temples. This idea was sinful in two ways. God had commanded them to migrate over the whole Earth and fill it with people. They saw good farmland and decided to stay. They decide to build a great temple to manipulate God so that they could get everything they wanted. In a sense, they worshipped themselves. But God confused their language and scattered them anyway. Their sin resulted in people fearing each other and set one nation against another.

God gave Abraham a glimpse of this on Mount Moriah. Every indication God gave to him was that sacrifice would be just like the way his pagan neighbors practiced it. He demanded what was most precious to him in sacrifice — his own son whom he loved. But God had something else in mind on that mountain. God’s own son — his only son — whom he loved — stopped the sacrifice of Isaac. Later it would be God who would provide himself as the sacrifice for sin.

So Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice. His death was not an attempt to manipulate God, but was God of His own free will paying the price for their sins of rebellion. In Jesus, all divisions among people come to an end. The miracle of the Day of Pentecost showed that God can make us one people again — not to serve ourselves, but worship God together. The speaking of tongues on that day showed that God would bring together his people from all times, places, races, peoples, nations and languages.

What’s Wrong With The “Sinner’s Prayer?”

Here are three common versions of the Sinner’s Prayer.

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.” (Billy Graham Ministries)

“Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.” (Campus Crusade for Christ)

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me.” (Greg Laurie)

Unlike so much of modern Christianity, these prayers do acknowledge sin in some way. They also acknowledge Jesus as our forgiveness. But, we’re missing what confession does. That’s why the church pulls confession and absolution into their own area.

In the confessional prayer at the beginning of the divine service we say, “most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of your holy name. Amen.”

The Greg Laurie version is particularly problematic. It flips the confession after the acknowledgement of forgiveness.

All three of these have a very high anthropology. That is to say, they put me into a high position relative to God. “I turn… I open… I invite…” This language is the opposite of what scripture teaches us concerning forgiveness. We were dead in our trespasses and sin. Lost, and hopelessly trapped, Jesus sought and found us.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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.” [Ephesians 2:4-9]

The inviting, opening, and turning puts all the work of Jesus back onto to me. We rarely see it this way, but the Sinner’s Prayer is a works righteousness view of Christianity. It requires Jesus to wait on me to invite Him. The Bible calls us dead. Dead things don’t make decisions or open doors.

On the contrary, our Sunday morning prayers use a form that consists of address, rationale, petition, benefit, and conclusion. We do this, because it teaches us to pray from the word of God about the blessings God has already promised to us.

Address: Heavenly Father, O God, O Lord, etc.
We pray to the Father directly because Jesus taught us to pray this way. He is our advocate with the Father, who hears us when we pray.

Rationale: You give us all worldly leaders and authorities for our benefit.
We should always remember and acknowledge that every good gift comes from our Father in heaven.

Petition: Grant us relief from tyrants and wicked men.
This is the ask. What is it that we beg of God today? The rationale and the petition go together. The Father has blessed us and we want Him to keep lovingly giving us His blessings.

Benefit: That through this temporal relief we may be free to love and serve You and to better serve our neighbor.
Why? There are things that God’s blessings grant to us. His blessings are not just for us, but also that we may be a blessing to others.

Conclusion: In Jesus name. Amen
We should always pray in Jesus’s name. He is our advocate with the Father.

There’s probably more to be said. The whole thing also centers around the idea that Jesus doesn’t enter my heart without my invitation. This is entirely oppositional to the witness of the Scriptures. We are dead in our trespasses and sin. There is nothing we can do or ask apart from the gift of the Holy Spirit to trust in Jesus Christ.

Pray to the Lord, the God of our salvation!

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

How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows,
Heals our wounds,
And drives away our fear.

This first verse speaks so beautifully of faith, that we hear the name of Jesus when we are baptized and when we hear the Word and when we pray and when we receive the Supper. Faith is not about what we see with our eyes, but what we hear with our ears. What is it that we hear? We hear comfort during our grief, and restoration after sickness, and peace in the midst of fearful times. What power the name of Jesus has!

It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the heart’s unrest;
‘Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary, rest.

This verse refers to the manna that fell from heaven in the wilderness for the people of Israel. It connects us also to the story of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 by the Sea of Galilee. It certainly reminds us also of the Lord’s Supper that we eat in Jesus’ name and by His command and institution. This is the manna for our hungry soul, even the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear name! The rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding place;
My never-failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace.

In this world there is shaky ground and wavering wind. But on Christ the solid Rock we stand. This name above all names is our firm foundation. In this world there are many attacks waged on souls from all corners. But Jesus is our shield and our hiding place. Here we have a Defender; we do not need to defend ourselves. Here we know we are safe; the enemy cannot find us!

O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my life, my way, my end,
Accept the praise I bring.

This verse sings so many names of Jesus. These titles are found throughout the Bible to comfort those in need. Jesus is the Shepherd, guardian, and friend. What more could we need? He is the Prophet, Priest, and King. We know what He has done for us, and that He is the greatest prophet, the greatest priest, and the greatest king that ever was and ever will be. Jesus is the Lord who offers life eternal and is the way to heaven forever and ever.

How weak the effort of my heart,
How cold my warmest thought!
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

The hymnwriter understands his own weakness and so do we. We are sinners, unable to believe in God on our own. We cannot save ourselves or forgive ourselves. We certainly cannot pay the wages of sin, death. But when we see the Lord Jesus on the cross, suffering and dying for us, we see how the Lord is, who the Lord is, and what the Lord is doing for us.

Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With ev’ry fleeting breath;
And may the music of Thy name
Refresh my soul in death!

This final verse is placed in the present time, as we sing it with him and all the church on earth. While we live we proclaim the name of Jesus. While we sing we know He soothes our soul. While we worship, we pray, praise, and give thanks for the name of Jesus who accomplished our own salvation. When our last hour comes, we have every confidence in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, that even the name of Jesus that saves us will deliver us from this vale of tears to Himself forever. How refreshing is that thought!

Rev. James Peterson
First Lutheran Church
Phillipsburg, Kansas

O Word of God Incarnate

O Word of God incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky:
We praise You for the radiance
That from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps,
Shines on from age to age.

“The book becomes a boy” is the opening thought for this hymn today. We know that the Old Testament sought the Messiah in earnest for many centuries. But now, as Jesus is born, the Word of God becomes a person born into the world. What a blessing this is!

Proverbs especially speaks of the Messiah as Wisdom. Wisdom of the world offers no grace or mercy. But the Wisdom from on high is first and foremost the Lord Himself, who knows all things because He created all things. Wisdom for Christians is what we often call faith. This is wise, that we follow the Lord.

What is Truth? Pilate says to Jesus on the steps before His trial. And yet, the Truth was standing right in front of him. We live in a world full of lies and liars. But our Lord entered this world to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This way is through His death on the cross. There is but one Truth, that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ, and that He died for the sins of all the world.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. We consider light these days to be an every day all day sort of thing. We do not understand the blessing of light. But in the time of Jesus, when there was no light at night, no electricity at all, there was only darkness and fear. Night was the time for sinfulness. But Jesus casts His Light over the world, exposing sin and bringing us to see Him clearly as the Savior for sin.

The Church from You, dear Master,
Received the gift divine;
And still that light is lifted
O’er all the earth to shine.
It is the chart and compass
That, all life’s voyage through,
Mid mists and rocks and quicksands
Still guides, O Christ, to You.

What is it that the Church believes and receives? We received the forgiveness of our sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. These are gifts, and we do not deserve them. But our Lord and Master gave them, gave them freely and completely. These we do not receive in merely some spiritual sense that plays with our emotions. These gifts divine we receive in certain ways, namely through the Word and Sacraments.

O make Your Church, dear Savior,
A lamp of burnished gold
To bear before the nations
Your true light as of old!
O teach Your wand’ring pilgrims
By this their path to trace
Till, clouds and darkness ended,
They see You face to face!

This final verse points us to the ongoing work in our congregation and to the future of the Church in this world. Like the book of Revelation says, the Church is a lamp in its various places to shine forth the love of Christ for the world. We bear before the nations the marks of the Lord upon us, both on our forehead and upon our heart, that we would shine the true light of the Gospel of Jesus into the darkest places on the earth.

The hymn ends with us considered as pilgrims, not living in the world as the final destination, but living for the sake of the Gospel in this world anticipating the world to come, where we shall see the Lord face to face forever and ever.

Rev. James Peterson
First Lutheran Church
Phillipsburg, Kansas

Formula of Concord #2: A Look at the Epitome

Article 1 – Original Sin

Original Sin? It’s just human nature, isn’t it?

That question was heavy on the minds of the reformation Lutherans preceding adoption the Formula of Concord in 1580 AD too.

For our time, their diligence still gives wisdom to us. Our society also misunderstands what it is and how it works. There are no societal “original sins,” not racism, classism, nor colonialism. Original Sin only comes into us by the fall in the garden. It is forgiven only in Jesus Christ. And, it is only fully relieved from us in the resurrection. We cannot atone for it ourselves. There is no sin for which Jesus didn’t die. Here are some of points from The Formula of Concord, the Epitome.

Original sin comes to us from the fall. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. [Romans 5:12]”

Original Sin is inherited by natural conception and birth. (In vitro fertilization and c-section birth are still natural. The virgin conception and birth of Jesus are divinely supernatural and outside of Original Sin). “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.“[Psalm 51:4-5]

Concupiscence, which is real sin, is broken by Baptism and the Holy Spirit. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit“. [John 3:5-6]

Human nature is created perfect. “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” [Genesis 1:31]

It is still God who creates and preserves life. “You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you ,and you forgot the God who gave you birth.” [Deuteronomy 32:18]

The only human born in a supernatural way without Original Sin is Jesus. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14]

Jesus suffered all that human nature and life are including temptation by the Devil. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” [Hebrews 4:15]

Original Sin is an inward corruption of our Human Nature, that remains with us until the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”” [Romans 3:10-12 (citing: Ps. 14:1-3; 53:1-3)]

We are not able to fully describe or number our sins. “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” [Psalm 19:12] In the resurrection, we will finally be from the corruption of Original Sin. “After my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart yearns within me!” [Job 19:26-27]

Jesus died to forgive your Original Sin and to free you from it on the last day.

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

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 Real Presence of the Church

Why are we the loneliest generation? With ever-present devices designed for communication, we can be instantly in contact with every friend we ever had. Social media allows us to do this easily and effortlessly not only by phone, but by computer or by simply speaking to devices we’ve installed throughout our homes. These were lifelines for us during the pandemic of 2020-21, allowing us even to watch worship services and sermons while barred from gathering in person. These blessings tempt us to think we do not need to get together with others or even go to church in person.

Yet study after study tells us what we know deep down. Disembodied communications will do in a pinch, but we really do need each other and not a ghost of each other on a computer screen. The shut down of society resulted in record numbers of suicides, drug overdose deaths and domestic violence. The heart-breaking images on TV news of spouses and children, separated from loved ones as they died haunt us.

None of this should surprise us. God made human beings to be with him and with each other. In the Garden of Eden, God observed “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18) So he made a woman to be with him. He then commanded our first parents to have children and fill the world with their descendents. Because God made humanity in his image, we are made to live with each other, much like the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not alone, but live together eternally.

When sin separated God from people and people from each other, God did not leave it that way. God’s Son was sent by the Father to become a flesh-and-blood man, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Through his sufferings and death, he paid the price for our salvation and destroyed the separation between God and his people and the wall of hostility between us all. He calls us together to live with him and each other. When we gather together, he is with us all. When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus himself is with us literally to give us his body to eat and his blood to drink. When we do this, he is really present with us and we are really present with each other.

Since God made us to be with each other, we need to gather together. Each of us brings a different set of gifts and talents to the mix. The truth is that we need each other, no matter how unimportant we might think of ourselves. (1 Corinthian 12:12-30) When we get together, God is present to give us his gifts of the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We rejoice together in these gifts, share each other’s sufferings and each other’s blessings. We encourage each other to love God and our neighbors. We support each other in doing the good works God calls us to do.(Hebrews 10:19-25)

This is why we gather together, being really present with each other, really present as Christ’s Church and really present with our Lord with whom we will live forever.

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

Change in What Does this Mean? Blog Links

It is Spring cleaning time at our blog and so, like a good librarian, I’ve moved things around a bit. We used to use URLs (link addresses) that contained the date a post was last made public. We have removed the date from the URL. So, if you have a link to one of our posts and want to re-read it, just delete the date from it and you are good to go.

If you can’t find a post in the near future, this is likely the problem. To find one if you don’t have the link for some reason or another, you can search for it from our home page (whatdoesthismean.blog to from google or another search engine. Just search for this address in th search engine alone with a few of the words from the post title.

Thanks for understanding.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Electronic Resources Librarian
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana
and
Editor
What Does This Mean? Blog