Encore Post: The word “martyr” is a Greek word that means “witness” — a person who reports what he or she sees. Just before returning to Heaven, Jesus predicted His disciples would be witnesses of His death and resurrection.
The Apostles appointed Stephen a deacon. It was his task to feed the widows and the poor, using the funds collected for that purpose. God blessed his work by performing miracles as well. When men from the local synagogue asked what he believed, God blessed Stephen’s word, so that his opponents could not find a reply to answer his arguments. They finally silenced him by charging him with blasphemy — speaking lies about God.
The same Sanhedrin which condemned Jesus not more than a few weeks earlier now met to hear Stephen’s case. Stephen told the truth — that the Sanhedrin had handed over Jesus to death falsely. This infuriated them. The last straw came when Stephen related a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God in Heaven. For the Jewish people of the time, this was another way of saying that Jesus Himself is God. Jesus said the same thing in that very spot in the early hours of Good Friday. They condemned Stephen to death, too. This time, Pontius Pilate was not in Jerusalem. So they felt safe in defying Roman law and executing Stephen by the method ordered by the Jewish Law. They took Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death. The man who would one day be the Apostle Paul held the coats of those killing Stephen.
With the death of Stephen and others that followed, the word “martyr” took on new meaning. Now it meant to die for witnessing to the truth about Jesus and for preaching the good news. The martyrs’ deaths impressed Romans. If you believe in something strongly enough to risk death by torture, they thought, then perhaps the martyrs might be right. Many were baptized because of such witnesses. That is why the church likes to say: “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Enore Post: On Maundy Thursday, Jesus told His disciples that they would abandon Him and that St. Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter swore he would rather die than betray his Lord. Later, Peter denied he knew Jesus — three times.
When Jesus rose from the dead, Peter began to change. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. Three times Peter said he did. Jesus showed He forgave Peter when He commanded Peter three times to feed God’s sheep. From then on, Peter was no longer a fisherman. He was now a pastor — a shepherd — to care for God’s people with God’s word and His sacraments.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowd. Three thousand people were brought to faith and baptized that day. Peter went everywhere preaching, teaching, healing the sick and suffering for His Lord. Later, Peter would write two letters that comfort God’s people to this day.
According to tradition, Peter would tell the story of Jesus to a younger companion, John Mark, who would write it down. He would die by the order of Nero Caesar, crucified upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to die the way his Lord did. In his confession of faith, Jesus would build his church.
Encore Post: The Ascension is an important event in the life of Jesus and the Church. It is the final part of the work which redeemed us: the cross, where our sins were paid for, the resurrection where the power of the grave was broken and the ascension, which restored all His honor, glory, authority and power. From the days of the early church, over 1500 years ago, until recent years, the church celebrated the Ascension on the fortieth day after Easter, or the Thursday ten days before Pentecost. In the 21st century, many churches celebrate Ascension on the Sunday before Pentecost.
When He ascended, Jesus left His Church with a promise, a mission, and a blessing. He promised to be with us always until the end of time. He gave us our mission. We would join His mission to seek and to save the lost by going to the whole world, being witnesses to His life, death and resurrection, to proclaim the good news of salvation, baptizing and teaching all He commanded us. As He ascended, He blessed them as Aaron and the High Priest did and as pastors do to this day, giving us His peace. He promised to be with us always until the end of time itself.
Now the church waits patiently for him to return. On a day that no one knows, Jesus will return. On that day, he will raise our bodies from the grave, judge all the living and the dead, bring an end to sin, death and the power of the devil. God will live among us again, throw the greatest marriage feast of all time. He will dry every tear from our eyes.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples several times over forty days. Like the forty days and forty nights of the flood, the forty years of wandering of Israel in the wilderness and the forty days of testing prior to his ministry, these forty days were for preparation. Jesus was preparing them to live without his physical presence.
At first, they would not recognize him. But one thing or another — his greeting of peace, his calling of their name, the miracle of a great catch of fish and the breaking of bread — revealed him immediately to them. Jesus, at first, reassured them it was really him. He had really risen from the dead, not only in spirit, but in his body as well. He ate with them bread and fish. He still had the wounds of the crucifixion — the holes in his hands and the place where the spear was thrust into his side. The very same Jesus stood before him in his flesh — only now transformed into a body that would never again die.
He also took the time to teach them more. Most of what he did was conduct a Bible study, showing them every place in the Old Testament that predicted his life, suffering, death and resurrection. He also showed them how the whole Bible speaks about him.
He also gave them a mission — to baptize, to teach and to forgive sins. They would do this everywhere in the world. All the while, Jesus promised to be with them until the end of time itself.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: In New Testament times, rabbis were not full-time teachers or ministers. Because God is a God Who works, rabbis worked at a profession one third of the time and studied and taught two thirds of the time. The difference between these teachers and everyday people is work was just a means to buy food and clothing. Jesus likely worked at His trade as a carpenter (more of a contractor than simply a worker of wood) some of the time. St. Paul continued his trade as a tentmaker.
After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter, James, John, and others moved back to Galilee. They picked up their nets again to earn a living. They caught nothing all night. Jesus called to them from the shore and told them to cast their nets over the right side of the boat. They caught a net full of fish. Jesus did this once before for them — at the beginning of his ministry. John instantly recognized it was Jesus. When they got to shore, the disciples saw Jesus had made a breakfast of fish and bread — just like he had fed 5000 people not long before. By preparing breakfast for his disciples, Jesus shows He blesses the everyday work God has given us. He helps His disciples do their work and gives them a hot meal to go with their catch.
But he had one more job for them to do. And He also gives them another job to do. He asked Peter three times if the disciple loved him. Peter, quite upset by the question, said he loved Jesus three times. Each time Jesus told him to care for God’s people — His lambs and His sheep. That is what Peter and the other apostles did.
Today, Jesus calls on pastors, teachers, deaconesses, and others to do the same. Pastors teach his Word, proclaim the gospel of the forgiveness of sins in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. They forgive sins in his name, baptize and feed his sheep with Christ’s own body and blood, together with bread and wine. They follow in the footsteps of Jesus, his apostles and the pastors that went to every corner of the world, making disciples from every nation, language, tribe and race.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: St. Thomas was a practical, down to earth man. Called “the Twin,” the few words we have from him were very direct. When Jesus was determined to go to Lazarus‘ Tomb, not five miles from Jerusalem, Thomas said, “Let us also go and die with Him.” When Jesus told the disciples at the Lord’s Supper that He was going to prepare a place for them, he asked, “Lord, we don’t know where You are going, how can we know the way?”
Subtle Thomas was not. Loyal, strong and down to earth, he was. When Jesus was crucified, Thomas had no doubt the Lord was dead. He knew every detail. He did not want it to be that way, but he was a realist. Jesus was gone, end of story. So when the other disciples told Thomas with joy, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas would have nothing of it. He had to see the wounds that marked Jesus in a live man to believe. Even seeing would not be enough. He had to touch the wounds. On something as important as the life of the Lord, Thomas would not be fooled.
All of this changed when Jesus appeared to him and the rest of the disciples the Sunday after Easter. The doors were locked and suddenly Jesus was with them. Jesus said, “Shalom,” or “Peace, be with you all.” This greeting, even though it is the Hebrew version of “Hello,” had special meaning for the disciples. Jesus was telling them everything was all right. Turning to Thomas, He invited His hard-headed disciple to see for himself. “Stop doubting,” Jesus said, “and believe.”
This was all Thomas needed. He dropped to his knees to worship Jesus. All he could say was, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus mildly rebukes him and then blesses us. “You have seen and believed,” Jesus said. “blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” And so it is. Later, St. Peter introduces his first letter, praising God for all He has done for us. “Though you have not seen Him,” Peter says to his readers, “you love Him and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” Why? Because we know we are receiving what our faith really wants, the salvation of our souls.
In the end, this faith, which Jesus gave to Thomas — a faith that would send the Apostle to India to establish the church there — is itself a gift from God. It comes through His Word and Sacraments. “These are written,” St. John tells us, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing, you may have life in His name.” Blessed we are indeed to hear and say, “He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear saints: things were starting to look up. The situation had been dire, to say the least. It had not rained for a long time. Drought was upon the land. Crops would have failed. Water was drying up. Your rain god was not answering your or your priest’s prayers and sacrifices. You are all but out of food and have resigned yourself to your fate: you will make a final cake for you and your son. Then, you will wait for death from starvation.
You go to collect the sticks for your fire, but you are interrupted. A man you recognize as an Israelite calls out to you asking for a drink. You can handle that and turn to get it. But then he goes further. He asks for some bread to eat. That you feel you cannot do. You suppress whatever feelings you have for this man because his God has told you to feed him. Nonetheless, you still complain of your plight.
But this man of God is undeterred and makes an audacious promise: “thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth’” So, taking the command you received and the request of this man, you do as he says. You make him his bread. And according to the word of this man and his God, your flower and oil do not run out.
You take this man in. You house him and listen to what he says. Perhaps you begin to think that this man’s God is greater than your gods. You recognize that his words have power and authority behind them. What he says resonates, and his talk of sin makes your conscience uncomfortable. You know and hear of the evil that His people have done and the consequences they are suffering. And, with this drought, you are as well. After all, you and your people serve the same god that this prophet is denouncing.
You hear of the mercy that this God has for His people. That He continually calls them to turn from their evil and return to Him. That He has good things for them. That He wants to forgive them and have them live in their Promised Land forever. And perhaps you start to wonder if this God would or could do the same for you.
And then, your son gets sick. No matter what you try, he gets worse and worse. Finally, your worst fear is realized: he dies. You are alone. Your husband and your son are dead. You only have this prophet in your upper room.
That prophet that has been talking about sin. Your sin. And now your son is dead. Is this why he came? To condemn what you have done and then kill your son in retribution? Is it not bad enough that you feel bad for what you have done? For the things that you have guided your son into? Now you must compound the guilt by taking him? By making you all alone? Is this the work of a merciful God? It sounds like the fickle gods of the people. The gods that you were beginning to doubt.
The prophet hears your cry of complaint and despair. And he says to you, “Give me your son.” and goes to the room you have given him to stay in. You do not know what he is going to do, but perhaps you feel a glimmer of hope. Maybe this God who commanded you to feed His prophet and the prophet whose word you have listened to, whose promise has sustained your family with flour and oil will do some work to fix this mess. To deliver your son from death and you from agony.
While you sit and wait for who knows what, the prophet lays your son on his own bed. And the prophet, who has received words and messages from God time and again, has no message for this boy. There is no command to declare to the skies to withhold rain. No promise that a widow has been commanded to feed him. He only feels your hurt. The pain of a woman mourning for her son. A son whom she believed to be delivered from the famine thanks to a prophet and his God.
Elijah cries out, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Not even God’s prophet understands why the child’s life was taken. But he diligently prays on the widow’s behalf. Three times he stretches himself out and three times Elijah cries out to the Lord. And God listens. He hears the plea and responds. He grants the child his life back.
But you do not know this. Perhaps you hear the prophet cry out. But unless your boy made noise as his life returned, you do not know if the cries were successful. But you do hear the prophet start down the stairs. You tense up and look to where he will emerge.
To your joy and relief, your boy is with the prophet. And he is alive. The words you doubted were possible are uttered: “See, your son lives.” And a rollercoaster of emotions flood your body. Relief. Joy. Love. Thanksgiving.
But there is also something else. And that is faith. It is a faith that the Lord Himself began cultivating when he first commanded you to feed His prophet. A faith that, even in its infancy, acted in giving that prophet bread before you and your son. And faith that was nurtured as you heard the teachings of the prophet. When you were afflicted on account of your sins and when you wondered if His forgiveness could be applied to you. A faith that was tested when your son died. And now a strong faith in the God who can restore life to the dead. And in faith you reply to the prophet, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
Elijah stayed with the woman and her son until he was called back to Israel and King Ahab. But I am sure that he continued to preach and teach God’s Word among those around him. Sure that the faith of the woman and her son was continued to be strengthened and that they remained certain of God’s mercy and trusting in His promise of a coming Messiah.
A Messiah that we encounter today at Nain. Where He encounters another widow who is bringing her only son out of the city to bury him. And having compassion on the woman, Jesus raises the boy from the dead. He speaks to the dead man and the dead man sits up and begins to speak.
St. Paul teaches us that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The woman, hearing the teaching of the prophet, knows her sin and the sin of her son. When the boy dies, she rightly understands that his death is the result of sin. But she is not right that it is the prophet causing the boy to die because of her sin.
But there is One who dies on account of your sin. The same Jesus who approaches a dead man at Nain. Who knows that He will one day hang on a tree in place of Elijah, both widows, both boys, and you. He knows that He will suffer and die, subjecting Himself to the condemnation that you and all humanity deserve.
But He also knows that He will rise. And then upon His resurrection, He will have defeated sin, death, and the devil once and for all. That His blood cleanses all who trust in Him for life and salvation. And that, though each of you have a day where you will fall asleep, He will not abandon you. He will return. And when He does, He will raise you and all the dead. And you, along with all the dead in Christ, will be given an immortal and resurrected body where you will dwell with Him eternally. Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Trinity Lutheran Church Guttenberg, Iowa and St. Paul Lutheran Church McGregor, Iowa
A friend recently shared a TikTok-style vertical video of some guy giving an “entirely informal” talk, leaning on the back of a gator, or some such vehicle, with excellent wardrobe and professional lighting. The guy is presenting a concept that folded hands, bowed heads, and closed eyes for prayer are not Christian. His video claims a Buddhist root to the common American prayer practice.
He’s partly right. Folded hands, bowed heads, and closed eyes are very recent Christian traditions. First, let’s consider the ancient traditions concerning prayer.
The head up, hands upturned, and eyes open posture. This position in ancient Christian art usually corresponds to one of two things. One, the presiding minister, leading prayer, has this posture, while others take a different one. Two, the resurrected Christ or the Lord in His triumphant return is right before those praying. This isn’t the common everybody-praying-together posture.
The most common posture for hands together prayer is flat hands with palms together. It’s most famously recreated by Albrecht Dürer’s 1508 “Praying Hands.” Herr Dürer didn’t invent the posture. It was commonly used and heavily represented in Christian art.
It is right and proper to bow our heads and/or our bodies at the name of Jesus. “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-10) Not just in recognition of the Glory of God, but we ought to recognize how greatly Jesus humbled Himself for us. A little head nod is probably the least we could do in response.
You’ll sometimes see pious folks dipping their heads throughout the divine service. Usually, they are nodding their heads at every mention of Jesus’ name in the service, readings, and prayers. This is a good and laudable practice for Christians. The head nod requires more attention and focus than you might think.
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (Psalm 95:6-7) Kneeling is also a good posture to assume. We even used to have kneelers in all of our pews for the Divine Service. It’s a posture at which 20th Century Christians may recoil with, “that’s too Catholic!” Here’s a shorthand question about those things considered Romanist (Catholic): Is this thing commended or encouraged by the scriptures? Yes? Then this thing might more likely be a catholic (Christian) thing than a Catholic (Romanist) thing.
Don’t stop there. prostration (lying face-down flat on the floor) is also an option. “Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: ‘Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’” (Isaiah 49:7)
This one you’re most likely to see at an ordination. The rubrics indicate the candidate may lie prostrate on the floor before the altar. Yes, for quite a while. All of these revolve around us, the faithful, lowering our posture beneath the Lord, or indicating Him above us.
So, what about the “entirely informal” vertical video? The Buddhist source is highly unlikely given that the modern posture appears in the early 17th century, gathering steam, East to West across the U.S. into the 20th century.
Charles Grandison Finney, Upstate NY, 1830s
Too often things fall back to Finney’s tent revivalist new measures. During the altar call, the preacher would encourage everyone to pray silently for the Spirit to work among us, “…with every head bowed, every eye closed, and every hand folded.” He would speak while the band played quietly, manipulating emotions. “I’m looking for a sign, just a hand in the air, just a finger, indicating a desire to dedicate yourself to Jesus. Sir! You there on the right!” Whether the pressure of the crowd, a push from a crowd worker, or even just a plant, someone would begin.
Eric Enstrom’s famous photo “Grace” succinctly demonstrates the 90-year shift to a hands folded, head bowed, eyes closed prayer posture. The picture of Charles Wilden, a peddler and vagabond, was taken between 1918-20. Over the years, various tales have developed about its origin. A second official version of the photo added an ethereal light source from a non-existent window opposite Wilden. Countless color paintings and lithographs have been made and sold. In most cases these illustrations sharpen the details, the lighting contrast, and … oh, yes turn the dictionary on the table into a Bible.
The new revivalist prayer posture changed our perception of the room. “The Spirit’s at work!” Probably not. It’s more likely a manufactured situation or entire event to cause us to feel a thing. There’s no particular harm in praying that way. But, it’s not good to ignore the other postures in favor of Finney’s favorite either.
Come, let us fix our eyes upon Jesus,
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Encore Post: At the time of Jesus, bathing was an important part of being cultured. The Romans especially prized their public baths, that was as much a part of daily life as going to the gym to work out is today. Especially when you were going to a banquet, you would visit the baths before you went. Besides this, in the tradition of the Pharisees, Jewish people would ritually wash themselves and everything they would use to serve food. Especially for the Passover, when no leaven was allowed to be eaten, these rituals would be strictly followed.
The problem was you couldn’t avoid getting your feet dirty in an age when you wore sandals and walked on dirt roads. In well-to-do homes, a gentile slave would be provided to the guests to wash their feet. A disciple would do many things for his master, but foot-washing was unworthy of them. When there was no slave, you would wash your own feet.
That is why Jesus’ action was so shocking. The last one who should wash feet is the Lord. Yet, he is the one who serves us all. Because he would wash feet, so also we are called to meet every need of everyone.
Encore Post: In Jesus’ day, the High Priestly family allowed businessmen to sell sacrificial animals in the Court of the Gentiles, just outside the temple proper. They would, of course, do this for very high prices and pay the family for the privilege. Another business, money changing, also went on in this area. Roman money bore images of the Emperor and pagan gods. These could not be carried into the temple proper, the High Priests ruled, since they broke the first commandment. Naturally, these moneychangers would charge a fee to change money into temple money.
When Jesus visited the temple and saw this going on. He saw it for what it was —stealing from God’s people as they came to worship. He knocked over the tables and threw these merchants out of the temple, chasing them with a whip made of cords.
Jesus’ disciples remembered two passages of Scripture that the Lord fulfilled when he did this. The Prophet Malachi predicted that the Messiah — “the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” (3:1-4) He would “purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.” John the Baptist, the Messenger to come before the Messiah had come and identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Soon the animals would no longer be needed. The Lamb whom God provides would soon be the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin. They also remembered Psalm 69:9, “zeal for your house has consumed me.” The Lord, whose house the temple was, was engaging in spring cleaning.
There is some question as to when Jesus did this. The Gospel of John tells the story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, but the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell the story at the end of his ministry. Since none of the gospels are strictly chronological (they sometimes tell stories out of date), it is possible Jesus did this once at either time or that he did it twice.
Either way, it has the same meaning: Jesus was cleansing the temple. Soon the leaders of the people were to destroy the true temple — his body — and in three days, God would raise him up again. Then there would no longer be a need for the earthly temple. God’s son, his only son, whom he loves, would be the sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. With payment in full, there is no need for the blood of earthly lambs anymore.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
