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
Political discourse usually only makes it into our discussion circles when politicians ham-fistedly offer a theological soliloquy. This is one of those times. The politician is James Talarico, a Texas State House Representative of District 52: the Round Rock, Taylor, Hutto. And Georgetown areas of Williamson County.
James is a sitting representative since 2018 and an aspiring pastor, attending Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He expects to graduate with a MDiv in 2025. He’s active and preaches at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Austin (Politico). Considering that, his theological claims, which come from a mingled existence in the left and righthand kingdoms, are fair game for us to address.
Rep. Talarico recently gave a sermon at his home church, including this clip. (You can also listen here).
“Look around us. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would forgive student debt. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would guarantee health care to every single person. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would love all of our LGBTQ neighbors. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would make sure every child in the state and in this country was housed, fed, clothed, educated, and insured. If this was truly a Christian nation, we would never make it a Christian nation because we know the table of fellowship is open to everybody including our Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and atheist neighbors. Jesus could have started a Christian theocracy. But, love would never do that. The closest thing we have to the Kingdom of heaven is a multiracial, multicultural democracy; where power is truly shared among all people; something that’s yet to exist in human history.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. Much of it is delivered in a shorthand of sorts. So, let’s examine the bits individually. These are predominantly strawman arguments. In the strawman logical fallacy, the arguer creates a position you do not hold and assigns the position to you. Then they proceed to attack you for a position you don’t hold. It’s an error. But, it’s best done and can be effective when the false position is near to or can easily be confused with your own actual position.
“If this was truly a Christian nation…”
It is well established that the Christianness of the US is diminishing rapidly. Have a look at the Pew Research article “Nones on the Rise” here. Both the percentage of self-described regular churchgoers and the number of attendances currently considered regular are falling. Most recently, self-described “regularly attending” church goers consider once a month or more regular attendance. Thirty years ago, people would not identify themselves as “regularly attending” at fewer than three times a month.
The Christian nature of the founding of the US is debatable. We are certainly the product of a Christian moral and ethical culture, as well as a Christian influenced legal system. While morality and legal fairness are fruits of Christianity, they are not the Christianity which produces them.
Look at Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Christian Scientists, and a host of other Christian adjacent heresies. These folks often make excellent neighbors. They are predominantly law-abiding patriots. But, their proximity to Christianity and the values thereby influenced don’t make them Christian. Only faith given by the Holy Spirit causes Christianity.
“We would forgive student debt.”
First, all debts are paid; either by the borrower or the lender. (James Grant) The concept of “debt forgiveness” is a misappropriation of the Christian doctrine of forgiveness. The forgiveness of sins is a free gift for us, received by grace through faith. Our debt was paid by Jesus’s suffering and death. Without His taking on the punishment, there is no forgiveness.
Forgiving a financial debt simply and only transfers the debt to the other party. Consider the commandments. “The Seventh Commandment—You shall not steal. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income” (Small Catechism 1.7).
Externally removing a debt from the borrower, without a court’s adjudication, is theft. The money borrowed has been spent; the school received and spent it. The lender here pays the debt. In the case of federally secured student debt, you are paying the debt. There is no such thing as government money. There are only taxes, collected and spent.
“We would guarantee health care to every single person.”
The discussion of debt forgiveness above applies here too. But, there is another issue at play. There are only three things that can affect the distribution of a limited supply, outstripped by demand. Price control, supply & demand valuation, or rationing. The claim about guaranteed health care also ignores the undeniable access everyone has to emergency medicine.
In the case of price controls, we run afoul of the commandments again. “The Fifth Commandment—You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need” (SC 1.5). This is where we understand the evil of slavery. We may not take the life of our neighbor expended in labor without just compensation. The justness of pay is determined by negotiation of the laborer and employer. When that fails, the laborer is free to leave, seeking better opportunities.
When price restrictions are placed universally on medicine, our government seeks to compel labor from medical professionals without just compensation. Without lateral options outside of the employer/laborer dynamic, this takes a form of slavery.
Rationing creates a need for an executioner. Someone has to decide who does or doesn’t receive the limited supply of care. Or, someone has to schedule the limited supply of care so far in the future as to be useless. This is a fifth commandment problem again.
“We would love all of our LGBTQ neighbors.”
Rep. Talarico speaks from a true antinomian* viewpoint. He is speaking in the shorthand of his tradition to demand acceptance and glorification of the LGBTQ lifestyle. Antinomianism isn’t actually against the Law in function. It rejects God’s law and replaces it with a new law. The law of acceptance takes the place of the ten commandments. This new law doesn’t have an atoning savior. You must atone for your sins against “acceptance” for yourself.
(*Antinomianism–a teaching that rejects the Law of God entirely from the lives of Christians. Antinomian, the term is derived from the Latin prefix: “anti-” meaning against and the Greek word: “nomos” meaning the Law. The error pops-up often in Christianity. Antinomians must also reject the concepts of sin and guilt. “What shall we say, then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2). St. Paul was speaking against this sort of thing.)
As we’ve heard many other times, that isn’t love. In love, we can never encourage our neighbor in sin. True godly love seeks to warn our neighbor of the danger of their sin. Love is kind, but love doesn’t leave our neighbor to perish in transgression.
“We would make sure every child in the state and in this country was housed, fed, clothed, educated, and insured.”
James Talarico is covering over the state’s wicked role in harming children by ignoring the decalogue. “The Sixth Commandment—You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.
Our rulers have and continue to build a society that encourages divorce and single parenthood. This causes great harm. Children in fatherless homes are four times more likely to end up in poverty (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Children’s Living Arrangements and Characteristics: March 2011, Table C8. Washington D.C.: 2011). The situation of poverty among children would be mitigated best by encouraging and rewarding marriage and child rearing within that estate. Discouraging divorce would follow behind as a close second.
“We would never make it a Christian nation because we know the table of fellowship is open to everybody, including our Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and atheist neighbors. Jesus could have started a Christian theocracy. But love would never do that.”
James is erroneously attributing Christian Nationalism to a non-specified group, intended to include all Christians. There simply aren’t these people in the US, or at least not in sufficient number to change anything. A Christian morality isn’t the same as Christianity. But, we spook at the accusation of Christian Nationalism. This isn’t an accident.
He is also speaking theologically from his Presbyterian position on fellowship in the Lord’s Supper. On the contrary, the table of fellowship is closed in the growing orthodox Christian traditions. We want folks to join fellowship and be catechized. But, the Lord tells us of the harm to unbelievers and those not instructed.
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:21-22). “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:27).
“The closest thing we have to the Kingdom of heaven is a multiracial, multicultural democracy; where power is truly shared among all people; something that’s yet to exist in human history.”
This side of the resurrection, we will never see that perfection. That perfection can only be perfect and perfected in Christ Jesus. Humorously, Ronald Reagan said, “Communism [Socialism/Marxism/Progressivism] only works in two places: Heaven where they don’t need it and hell where they already have it.” The Lord promised us a share in this salvation. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:27-29).
In the resurrection, we have a promise so much greater than the false flag of divisive multiculturalism. We have a promise of no nation, race, language, or culture. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10). In the resurrection, all the divisions caused by sin’s corruption will be wiped away. We will be one again, praising with one voice, tireless and free from the corruption of sin.
All are one in Christ,
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar – Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Today, the church remembers and celebrates St. Mary Magdalene. Before the new hymnal came out, the appointed Gospel lesson was Luke 7:36-50. There, we hear about an unnamed prostitute anointing the head and feet of Jesus while He ate with a pharisee. We learn more about Mary from the next chapter of Luke’s gospel: she had seven, yes, seven demons cast from her. Put that all together and you a picture of a woman who knew God’s grace and knew it came from Jesus, God’s own Son in the flesh. It makes complete sense that she stuck so close to Jesus, following him and providing for him and the disciples out of their means.
You might say Mary is an unlikely saint, but becoming a saint is not something that we do for ourselves. No, God must do the work of making saints. Just as He did for Mary, He has done for you.
Just think about who God chooses to be his own. Abraham, he was the son of an idolater and a liar, as the story in Egypt shows. Jacob was a deceiver. Judah took a prostitute, who happened to be the wife of his dead son. David, the best of the Old Testament Kings, had a man killed because he would not lay with his wife to cover up the fact that David had taken her for himself and that a child was on the way. The ones chosen by God are not saintly by the world’s standards at all. And that’s just in the Old Testament! The new testament is just as littered with unlikely saints, Paul being the most profound.
But that is what our Lord does. He does not find saints, instead he makes them. He makes saints out of sinners. He takes hold of them, gives them his love, through his Son Jesus, and says, “Forgiven, free, mine!” He makes them clean; He cleanses them just as He cleansed you by water and the word to be his holy bride. And that’s no matter who you are. Jesus wants you for Himself. He came that you might be His and His alone.
You may have heard of the book The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, maybe not. It’s a riveting tale of fiction that depicts that Mary Madgalene was the wife of Jesus in an earthly sense. And that Jesus was a mere human. Scripture and the Church Fathers never say such a thing.
The Bride of Christ is His Church—the whole Church. Mary, like you and I, are members of this body. You and I, along with Mary, are the bride of Christ by faith. Christ has made Himself one flesh with us. Christ has given us all that He is and all that He has. Christ went so far as to die for us, that having cleansed by his own blood, He might present to himself a clean and perfect bride. This bride did nothing to deserve Christ’s love and devotion. This bride did not take hold of Christ, but Christ sought her out and made her His bride. He clung to her even through death, and He still clings to her now that she might be with Him always.
Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb that first Easter all upset, empty, and drained from the previous day’s events. Before Jesus, she was the prostitute and woman with seven demons. Her life was a living hell. Then Jesus took hold of her. She was granted new life in Him, but as she walked to the tomb had hell really won? Had death and hell taken Jesus away from her? The images of the cross and the sound of the stone being rolled in front of the tomb screamed, “Yes!”
But the tomb is empty when she walks up. However, her thoughts only make her feel worse. Had someone stolen the body? Where did they take him?
“Why are you weeping?” The angels know the truth of the resurrection, but Mary is unable to consider the resurrection. “Why are you weeping?” asked the man, whom she assumed to be the gardener. She is standing outside of a tomb. Why do you think she would be crying? Dead men don’t rise.! She still is looking for the dead body and asks for the location.
Then the most perfect word comes from the mouth of this man: “Mary.” The Shepherd calls His sheep by name. Mary knows. She goes to Him and does not plan to ever let Him go again. However, Jesus has one more thing to teach Mary. “I am giving you my body and blood to cling to in a better and even fuller way, a way for all people to cling to me. You shall cling to me by Word and Sacrament. And most importantly, I will cling to you, that you have life everlasting.”
That is what we have. We have a Lord and Savior who clings on to us. It is He who makes us His saints. Unlikely and full of sin as we are, yet He loves us just as He loved Mary. That same mercy and grace that was shown to her is shown to you day in and day out. Recall how Christ called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light via the waters of holy baptism. Look to the altar and recall the sacrifice Christ made, giving up his body and shedding his blood for you and your forgiveness. All works done by Christ for you to make you his own.
So let us take our place at the table of unlikely saints with St. Mary and receive again that grace and mercy of Bridegroom Jesus Christ and rejoice in the love shown to us all. Christ has made his Bride forever.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp Christ Lutheran Church Noblesville, Indiana
Ezekiel was a prophet during the age of exile. His name can be translated as “Strength of God; whom God will strengthen; God is strong; the man of God strengthens.” And really, his name plays a role in the man’s nature. He needed the strength of God, like his contemporaries, to grasp and trust in the work that God was accomplishing before the eyes of all the nations.
We see Ezekiel mentioned by name twice in the Bible (Ezekiel 1:3; 24:24). The same name also appears in 1 Chronicles 24:16, but there the man is a priest during the days of David and translated as Jehezkel. All we know of the exilic prophet comes from the book attributed to him.
Ezekiel and his life are inseparable from the political upheaval of the seventh and sixth centuries BC. It is likely that Ezekiel was a young contemporary of Jeremiah. If Ezekiel was in his “thirtieth year” when he experienced his inaugural vision and received his call to be a mouthpiece of the Lord, he would have been a boy when Hilkiah the priest discovered the Book of the Law in the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 22). It is conceivable since Ezekiel was of a priestly family (Son of Buzi, of the line of Aaron), he may have witnessed his own family members carrying out the idols at Josiah’s command, only to return a generation or two later.
In 605 BC, Ezekiel’s world shifted as Nebuchadnezzar II came to the throne of Neo-Babylonian Empire. Nebuchadnezzar was able to drive Egypt out of region of Israel, and the Babylonian forces carried off the first wave of Judaeans. This likely was the group that included Daniel and his three friends. Ezekiel was carried to Babylon around 597, when Jehoiachin surrendered to Babylon, but remained in place as king. But that was not the end of things for Jerusalem. Ezekiel prophesied in Exile, warning what was to come upon Jerusalem. Jerusalem was sacked in 587 BC. Ezekiel never left Babylon. Early Jewish tradition (The Lives of the Prophets) recounts that Ezekiel died in Chaldea for having rebuked a leader of the Judaean exiles for worshipping idols.
As God’s mouthpiece to those in exile, Ezekiel frequently performed sign-acts to get the message across. Ezekiel carried in his body the oracles he proclaimed. During his ministry as the mouthpiece of God, Ezekiel is rendered unable to speak (Ezek 3:22–27; 33:22), move (Ezek 4:4–8), and mourn his wife’s death (Ezek 24:15–27). He also was made to cook food over human and cow dung (Ezek 4:9-17).
Ezekiel’s message is not simply doom and despair over the coming judgment against Jerusalem that came to fruition in 586 BC. Ezekiel, while bearing witness to YHWH’s leaving the Temple in Jerusalem, shows that YHWH did not leave His people while in exile. Instead, He went to His people, foreshadowing how the true temple of God, the Word made Flesh, would come to seek His people like a shepherd seeking lost sheep and make it known to all that He is God. Ezekiel proclaims both God’s Law and His beautiful Gospel for all believers. In the final chapters of his book, Ezekiel writes about the end, prophesying of the glorious temple to come and the water that flows out of it to water trees that bear fruit in all seasons. Ezekiel seems to be picking up Psalm 1 and looking forward to Jesus’ proclamation that He is the water of life (John 4:13-14 and John 7:37-38).
Rev. Jacob Hercamp Christ Lutheran Church Noblesville, Indiana
In a recent edition of my local paper, a letter to the editor bemoaned the current state of affairs. Many mainline Christian church bodies are embracing CRT, DEI, and LGBTQAI+ ideologies. She rightly observes, in part:
“Through a recent church letter, I have learned that plans have been in the making for a while now … to restructure some of the oldest, most established religions slash churches as diverse, equitable, and inclusive, plans are to allow homosexual marriages, officiated by their clergy, and to also now accept these beliefs into their religions. The clergy themselves may even be LGBQTIA+. In other words, making homosexuality compatible with Christian teachings.”
“[T]he UMC … with the backing of the ELCA, has decided to ratify the plan … to basically align with DEI … I would wager my last dollar that Martin Luther would “not” have been behind this blasphemy.”
“I was instructed as a young child to believe the words of the Bible. … Countless Christians will not support the very churches who chose to go this route of DEI, when previously, these very churches taught them to live by the words in the Bible.”
“When will people start standing up? When will people have had enough? When will God have had enough?” Glynis Tietjen — La Grange
(“Church and Pride,” The Fayette County Record, La Grange, TX, June 14, 2024, Volume 102, Number 64, page D2)
(In response to “Church and Pride,” June 14, 2024) Miss Glynis, I can understand your frustration and disappointment. Christianity used to be more serious about those things forbidden and commanded. You’re right to suggest that DEI and LGBTQAI+ ideologies are opposed to Christianity. The accepted culture of the first quarter of the 21st century doesn’t just encourage DEI and LGBTQAI+, it demands submission. Acceptance, the terminology of my youth, isn’t enough. The new order requires us to glorify sinfulness as a morally superior lifestyle. Movies, gaming, comics, books, music, and other products of the current mainstream culture attest to this.
I pray you’re right that a minority of folks in national church organizations, including the UMC, the UCC, The PCUSA, the Episcopal Church, and ELCA are behind the shift in official positions and activities. Regardless of who it is, the people of whom we speak are in power. They are driving the bus away from the Bible. Without the only certain witness of God’s Word, the Christian faith has no mooring. We’re certain to be lost apart from the Word of God, which entirely testifies to Jesus’s death and resurrection for sinners like us.
There’s been a bit of linguistic trickery for many years. It is as if Jesus’s love undoes the condemnation of the Law of God. It does not. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18) That’s the last day, the judgement, and the resurrection of all flesh.
Jesus forgave and forgives sin even today. The message remains the same. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10)
We are constantly being saved, reconciled by Jesus’s forgiveness. This is where the accepted culture falls down. “Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’” (John 8:10-11) The Gospel of forgiveness doesn’t grant permission to continue in sin. It also doesn’t bless those things that the Law of God condemns: adultery, homosexuality, idolatry, theft, covetousness, and the like.
The battle for the Bible started over 60 years ago. In those early days, the lines were fairly simple: is the Bible the inerrant Word of God or does it only contain the inerrant Word of God? The error we’re seeing on full display is this: if some of the bible isn’t true or isn’t normative to me, who decides that, and where does it end? Each one of us becomes the arbiter of God’s Word for ourselves. It ends when my pet sin becomes permissible. The temptation has never changed from the serpent in the garden. “… Did God actually say … you will be like God.” (Genesis 3)
All of God’s Word actually matters and He did actually say it. He has preserved His Word for us since ancient times in the original languages and in far better density and reliability than any other ancient texts. “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 complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Even those bits I don’t like, those are still God’s Word. Especially the bits that accuse me in my sin, those are still God’s Word.
In the LCMS and other orthodox Christian traditions, we have held to the Bible as the rule and norm of the Christian faith. “We believe, teach, and confess that the only rule and norm according to which all teachings, together with all teachers, should be evaluated and judged (2 Timothy 3:15-17) are the prophetic and Apostolic scriptures of the Old and New Testament alone.” (Formula of Concord, Epitome, 1576) It’s been a long and lonely road, cleaving to the Word of God. But, it’s worth it.
You’re always welcome back over on the other side of the fence, where we hold fast to the Word of God. We’d love to have you and your friends among us.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Some people do share your opinion. I understand the motivation to a certain degree. There are many wonderful things about The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941 (TLH). Unlike the scriptures, the canon of the hymnody can never be closed. Like preaching, there is always something new and useful to say regarding God’s Word to His people. Like preaching, the older things should not be thrown away. And they’re not. 340 of TLH hymns are preserved in the Lutheran Service Book (LSB). That’s greater than 50% of its hymnody (h/t Rev. Dr. Paul Grime). TLH is still in print today. There are also congregations that retain the use of both TLH & LSB, and even TLH exclusively.
There are some historical failures of the church, leading to the notion that TLH is the only right hymnal. Emotions, which are a poor standard of decision making in most contexts, notwithstanding, poor timing is among the chief concerns.
There were theological errors in the Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978 (LBW), causing a stir at a time when a new hymnal was needed and desired. Our (LCMS) participation with the other Lutheran groups produced a hymnal, whose use we could not encourage. We had to back out of the project, but retained copyright usage authority over the materials produced.
This led to a hasty publication of the Lutheran Worship, 1982 (LW). That was a bad move. Simply stripping-out and correcting theological errors didn’t produce a good hymnal. In fact, it produced a fairly poor hymnal. It was not well received. At LW’s peak, it was in use in just over half of LCMS congregations. As evidence of that, the old LWs are even difficult to give away.
Among the complaints about LW are these: the defaced common service, organ arrangements, and altered text. By “Common Service,” I mean TLH p. 5/15, LW Divine Service I, and LSB Divine Service, Setting Three. The TLH and LSB settings are quite similar. The LW setting updated the Jacobean English and stripped the chorale harmonies from the pew edition. Further, LW has also removed and/or rewritten common chorale harmonies to several hymns. These were not well received.
All of this failure has encouraged the notion that TLH might be the only good hymnal. Even the great TLH contains some noticeable weaknesses. Some translations of the German hymns are theologically sketchy, leading to some of the revised wording more recently. A more subtle, but more significant, error comes from the sequencing of the services. The Order of Morning Service without communion on page 5 for use on Sunday is followed by The Order of the Holy Communion on page 15 are a two-fold failure. Prior to TLH there was no printed chief service for Sunday without the Lord’s Supper. TLH not only introduced an innovation but also gave it priority by placing it first in the book. This may have been an editorial oversight. However, it leaves the impression that not only is Sunday without communion normal, it may be preferable.
At a time when the frequency of the celebration of the Lord’s supper may have been at an historic low, TLH inadvertently or deliberately reinforced the same. For LCMS congregations that celebrated as infrequently as once a month, once a quarter, twice a year, or once a year, TLH gave at least a nod to encourage the practice. Ask some of your own elderly members. You’ll likely hear about how infrequent it was. You may even hear like I have, “Well, p. 5 comes first. That’s the one we used most.”
LSB is also not a perfect hymnal. It is a good hymnal. A harsh reality at its publication was division in hymnal usage throughout the LCMS. In 1999, 35% of LCMS congregations retained TLH only, 60% had adopted LW, and scant number had even adopted LBW (h/t Rev. Dr. Paul Grime). There was no hope of returning to TLH more broadly. LW had demonstrated the peak of its acceptance. LSB achieved its goal of unifying a greater number of LCMS congregations under a single, common service book. By returning to the TLH, page 15 liturgy (LSB DS 3), as well as the LW Divine Service II: settings one & two (LSB DS 1 & 2), LSB struck a balance. LSB also restored the original settings and text of many of the TLH hymns with a few translation corrections.
LSB enjoys greater than 70% adoption among LCMS congregations. It’s not perfect by any means. It does, however, improve the likelihood of lifelong Lutherans like us and new converts finding a familiar hymnal in use, when they travel or move their families.
That’s good for the synod as a whole.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Six months is all that separates the Baptist and Jesus, at least by earthly age. And so typically on June 24th, the Church celebrates and remembers the birth of the Baptist. For with his coming into the world, the Sun of Righteousness also would follow soon after.
Zechariah, when he was confronted by Gabriel, was confused and unbelieving of the news that he and Elizabeth would have a son. As part of the sign that Elizabeth would have a son, Zechariah would be mute until the child was born. And when he named the child John, in accordance with what the Angel told him, Zechariah’s mouth was loosed. He could speak. And the people were filled with awe and asked: “What then will this child be?”
Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah prophesied the song that we commonly call the Benedictus, Latin for “Blessed.” Zechariah’s song does not answer the question of the people right away. He first prophesies of the One that his own son would point to as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
This song is not about John, but about Jesus. And He had actually been in Zechariah’s house for the past 3 months via the womb of Mary. And the redemption of God’s people was the plan from of old as far back as Adam’s fall. John still proclaims that message into your very ears every Advent season, preparing us for the coming of our Lord, the Sun of Righteousness.
Some think John’s preaching is fire and brimstone, and it might be on that side, but how else to rattle and crack the hearts of stone of a dead people? The preaching of repentance puts you to death, but not only that, it raises you to life. John’s preaching causes the Light of the Lord’s mercy to shine upon you. It gives you the new birth of the Holy Spirit, and gives to you the Name of God by his Grace, granting you peace that passes all human understanding. John preaches not his own word but the Word of the Lord, in order that they might be made alive by the Gospel and Comfort of the coming of the Lord Jesus who would die for the sin of the world and be raised from the dead on the 3rd day and would then lead the way unto everlasting life with the Father in Heaven.
John’ preaching of repentance is the preaching of the forgiveness of sins. But John’s preaching is really the preaching of Christ! And thus by John’s preaching, you are not just prepared for Jesus’ coming, but it is by this way and means that Christ comes to you in love and visits you with tender compassion.
Christ did not just visited Zechariah or the people of Judea and Galilee, but He has come and visits you with tender care and mercy this day. He has redeemed you just as we swore he would do, giving you the forgiveness of sins which He won for you by his cross, now by giving you His body and blood in the Sacrament, the Covenant/Testament of His body and blood. That you may be led in the way of peace forever.
John was the forerunner, the preparer, the preacher who pointed to Jesus without fail. May the preachers of this day follow on coattails of John and continue to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins, that ears and hearts be prepared to receive Christ now and always, for it is He who has released you from all sins, and has removed from us one and for all fear of death and hell and now guides our feet into the way of Peace.
Rev. Jacob Hercamp Christ Lutheran Church Noblesville, Indiana
Christianity is often a system of maintaining polar opposites without compromise. The law accuses us of sin (even in its instructive sense), and the Gospel forgives sin with no merit or worthiness in us. We receive salvation through God’s gifts of repentance and faith by Sacrament and Word. Damnation comes to unbelievers solely because of their stubborn unbelief and hatred of God.
These aren’t systems we built for ourselves. They are truths taught by God’s Word that leave us with concepts that defy our human logic. The tension makes us uncomfortable, leading us into accidental error. Arminian decision theology and Calvinist double predestination are two notable examples.
Jacob Arminius harmonized the clear teaching that damnation is our own doing and our own choosing in unbelief, by teaching that we choose salvation as well. “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:18-19 ESV) He was and is half right. Damnation is entirely on us and because of our sinful unbelief.
John Calvin harmonized the clear teaching that God chooses some for salvation, by teaching that salvation and damnation were solely by God’s choosing. “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:4b-6 ESV) In Calvin’s desire to uphold God’s sovereignty, Calvin made God a capricious ruler, separating without discernible reason.
The biblical position, which we Lutherans hold, is that damnation is our doing and salvation is God’s doing. We sometimes call this single predestination.
The same sort of harmony confusion is at play here. We should much more correctly say that God loves us despite the way we are. Poorly hidden behind the God-loves-me-just-the-way-I-am view of myself is a desire to overwrite God’s Law. I don’t want to leave my former sins behind. I want God to bless my sin and call it good. I want Jesus to Jesus me in the way that I would have Him Jesus me, rather than the way that he does.
Jesus doesn’t bless our sin. He forgives it AND sends us off without sin. To the adulteress spared from stoning, He says, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11b ESV) The forgiveness we receive delivers a clear conscience, which will flee from sin.
St. Paul describes our sinful situation as a state of death. Only God can bring life into dead things. “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.” (Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV)
God loved us despite our deadness in sin. His love revives us and sets us free from that sin. He has delivered us out from the “way we are” into the way He would have us be.
Go forth and sin no more,
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
In the enlightened prose of a certain modern public figure, “seriously, not a joke, that’s no lie.” Call your pastor. “Call” doesn’t even have to be literal; call (and leave a message), send a letter, email, Facebook messenger, any sort of direct contact is good. Your pastor doesn’t know about the joys and sorrows in your life outside of the things you share with him.
But for goodness’ sake, don’t spread a rumor, expecting it to make it to your pastor’s ears. There are countless things he’s heard through the rumor mill. Your pastor is bound by the eighth commandment in the same way you are. He does hear about someone drinking too much, stepping out on their spouse, building their fence on the wrong side of the property line, being sad, being angry, or being ill. When he hears these things, he is also bound by God’s Law to put out of his mind the thing that he shouldn’t have heard about someone from someone else.
Please, call your pastor.
“Pastor’s are too busy to be bothered with [this event or thing].” Yes, pastors are frequently busy. But, pastors also constantly make adjustments to meet, talk to, and visit folks on a regular basis. We do this, I do this, because your concerns concern us.
Do you desire the prayers of the congregation? Call your pastor.
“Why wasn’t I included in the prayers?” Prayer requests are one link where the gossip chain breaks. Prayer requests from immediate family go right onto the list; requests from someone who heard from someone else that a third someone may have a need, do not so readily make the list. Since the Lord knows our needs, we also do not include details with requests. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, the Lord doesn’t require your knowledge to hear and answer the prayer.
AND, He does promise to hear and answer our prayers. (1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 18; 1 Thessalonians 5; Romans 5:26-27) The scriptures in no place require a detailed analysis of the situations of our prayers. Prayer is what the Lord requires.
Do you want a visit? Call your pastor.
He doesn’t know if you don’t contact him. He will spare no effort to meet your request. While we’re talking about it, contact him before it’s an emergency. I make visits most every week. The shut-in list gets the initial scheduling spots. Nota bene: the shut-in list includes folks who aren’t listed in the prayers by their own request. Additional notes: a visit from your pastor does not mean you are, or require you to be, near death. A visit is just a visit.
Seriously, call your pastor. – Pastor
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Sole Pastor Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Encore Post: The word ministry is used very often in church circles and in the world of politics. In European countries, the word Minister means just about the same thing as we mean when we say the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, etc. A ministry, or portfolio, is the government department they supervise. In church, we talk about children’s ministry, music ministry, various programs for the poor — any work of a Christian to serve God and others in the name of God. Until the last few centuries, however, the word was used to mean pastor — a man called to the Office of the Public Ministry — and the work he does.
Ministry is all about service. In fact, the word for ministry is a Latin translation of the Greek word διακονία (diakonia), which means personal service. Ancient Greeks use several words for service: δουλεύω (douleuo), to serve because you are a slave, λατρεύω (latreuo), to work for a wage, λειτουργία (leitourgia), public service and θεραπεύω (therapeuo), to serve willingly, to care for, especially the sick.
For the Greeks, almost all service was viewed as demeaning. Jesus turned that around. Jesus said that he came to serve, not to be served, so Christians must serve each other. (Matthew 20:26-28) The church took this charge to heart. They called themselves servants and slaves of Jesus. (Acts 4:29, Romans 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Revelation 1:1) They came to reason that if Jesus loved us, we should love each other.
The New Testament came to use the Greek words for service in two ways. In general, it came to stand for the preaching of the word and the sharing of the sacraments by Christians in every way. In its narrow use, it refers to the work of pastors. To carry out ministry, Jesus created the office of the Pastoral Ministry and the Apostles created the deaconate to support them. Today, pastors, professional church workers and laypeople serve together in ministry — to live and work dedicated to God and to others. It this way, we proclaim together the gospel and show the love of God to the world.
