What Does This Mean?

Meet Phillip Melanchthon

In the last week of August 1518, a twenty-one year old humanist, Philipp Melanchthon settled into his quarters at the University of Wittenberg as a professor of Greek. He was the great-nephew of the dean of German Humanism, Johannes Reuchlin, who saw to it that the young scholar had the finest education available. A true renaissance man, he studied the classics widely, including philosophy, astronomy, pedagogy, theology and the Greek language. Before coming to Witteneberg, he accepted his great uncle’s advice and translated his German surname Schwarzerd (“black earth”) into Greek, Melanchthon. He soon published a grammar of Greek that drew praise from Erasmus.

When Martin Luther suggested to Elector Frederick the Wise that he reform the curriculum of the University, the Elector accepted the suggestion of Reuchlin to call the young Melanchthon to teach Greek there. In his first lecture, Philipp argued that, to really return to the sources of theology, scholars must learn Greek and Hebrew. Melanchthon and Luther very quickly became the closest of friends.

The two scholars shared a boundless energy, a commitment to the classics, especially language study, a devotion the Holy Scriptures and to teaching. There the resemblance ended. Melanchthon was calm, mild-mannered, systematic and a consensus builder. He was tactful and not given to hyperbole. Luther was exactly the opposite. They complemented each other and built on each other’s strengths.

Melanchthon went on to be the author of three of the Lutheran Confessions — the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and the Treatise on the Power and the Primacy of the Pope. His work on pedagogy ended up reforming the teaching of children throughout Germany and remained the standard for centuries. He became known as the “teacher of Germany.” His systematic theology Loci Communes became the foundation for all systematic theologies in Lutheran theology — in spite of a reputation for compromising with the Roman Catholics and Reformed traditions he earned after the death of Luther.

We will have much more to say about this remarkable man as time goes on. For now, we will be content to note that Martin Luther has now gained an important co-worker, sounding board and ally. He is going to need his “dear Philipp” soon enough.

Meet Thomas Cardinal Cajetan

In the weeks following Luther’s summons to Rome, Elector Frederick played his cards carefully — and well. The German princes and territories were highly irritated with the way Emperor Maximillian and Rome had handled funds sent to them to counter the Turks. Now Pope and Emperor were asking for more funds to raise troops, but the Germans suspected that their cash would not go to the intended purpose. They resonated with Luther’s call to end the abuse of indulgences and their Humanist education and sympathies liked his call to return to the Christian sources — to the Bible. They were in no mood to send a fellow German to Italy.

Pope Leo sent a legate — an ambassador — of the highest integrity, Thomas Cardinal de Vio Cajetan, Archbishop of Palermo. Cajetan was a humanist scholar of the highest caliber, to the imperial diet at Augsburg to calm their fears and assess the health of the emperor. He was a well-respected theologian, an expert on the work of Thomas Aquinas still cited today. He was Master of the Dominican order and thus superior to all of Luther’s early opponents. He was a steadfast guardian of the power of the papacy, yet known to be a very reasonable, even-handed man, and a trustworthy, skilled diplomat. He was initially sympathic to Luther’s concerns, but also determined to convince him to trust the papacy to correct abuses. The pope had chosen well.

Since it was widely suspected that Emperor Maximillian would soon die, Pope Leo wanted Elector Frederick to be on his side. Frederick was the Imperial Vicar and would be the Emperor Regent until a new Emperor was chosen. Maximillian’s grandson Charles was his crown prince, and would rule Netherlands, Spain, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, portions of Italy and Spain’s new world holdings. The pope’s anyone-but-Charles campaign favored convincing Elector Frederick to take the crown.

So it was Elector Frederick’s campaign to move the inquiry into Luther’s theology to German soil was successful. Five Hundred years ago this week, Cardinal Cajetan was commissioned to settle the matter at the Diet in the imperial city of Augsburg. The Elector and the Cardinal began negotiations for the interview, soon to be scheduled for early October 1519.

The House that Wisdom Built

The book of Proverbs has a unique role in the history of doctrine in the Church, especially the Greek word for Wisdom (σοφός). The Greek word is feminine in the rules of language, and so when Wisdom is personified throughout the book of Proverbs such as Proverbs 8 and 9, people are sometimes uneasy to ascribe this to Jesus. But Jesus is the Wisdom or Torah of God in the flesh, and He has built the house, and he is the one who calls out for all to come to his feast.

We have our reading from Proverbs matched up with our final reading from John 6, the great discourse where Jesus calls himself “the bread of life.” In our reading from John 6 we see Jesus tell all who would hear, “whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Wisdom in Proverbs 9, effectively says the same thing. “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Wisdom speaks like Jesus speaks. We are called to walk in His ways. Jesus Himself says He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. That is where true life is, and we get that life through the bread that Jesus/Wisdom feeds us.

Following His his call we go to His House, the Church, which he has built and onward to the table which He has prepared and eat of the bread he has made, and drink of the wine he has mixed in our presence that we might have life and walk in His way to the glory of the Lord’s name forevermore.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

Wyneken Wanders in the West

“After you had left me at the train station in Havre De Grace,” Wyneken wrote from Fort Wayne to his friend, Johannes Häsbärt, “I felt like a stranger in a strange land for the first time.” But Fritz was not a man to stay lonely for long. He continued:

This feeling lasted for a day, until I arrived at Zelienople, not far from Pittsburgh. I bought a horse there and trotted out through the forested land, cheerfully and joyfully. I felt much better then. Whether I was alone or traveling in the best of company, I could, any time I wanted to, merely pull out my beloved Paul Gerhardt book or New Testament and put them back in my pocket when I was done. Sometimes my heart was so full of the sweet, cheerful grace of my Savior, that I had to laugh, to sing loudly, to have a joyful heart and to praise my Lord.

The frontier forests of Ohio and Indiana moved many first time travelers to awe and wonder, even if few of them broke into song. Hugh McCulloch, a future United States Treasurer, a young lawyer in 1833, described the Michigan Road as follows:

It was perfectly straight, and the noble trees, nearly a hundred feet in height, stood on either side of it like a protecting wall. The birds were sighing blithely, and although my horse was my only companion, the wildness and novelty of the scene acted upon me like a tonic.

Wyneken set forth due west across Ohio, along the present route of U.S. Highway 30, towards Adams County, Indiana, and Jesse Hoover’s orphaned congregations. Along the way, Fritz first experienced legendary Western hospitality, often being given directions, company, refreshments and lodging.

The journey proved to be long and hard for the young pastor, who was not used to riding long distances in the wilderness. The roads of the frontier were not much better than trails, often still filled with tree stumps. The late summer temperatures weighed heavily on most Germans, unaccustomed to the heat. These conditions slowed Wyneken down, giving him much time to wonder if he was strong enough to meet the challenges ahead. He drew comfort that God was indeed strong enough to use him to seek the lost. Eager to bring the Gospel to scattered pioneers, he rode on.

Being Gathered Around the Bread of Heaven

Faith is not something that is our own initiative. Jesus tells us that much on a number of occasions but in John 6, Jesus is explicit about how the Father draws us. It is the Lord’s doing. And that is a message of wonderful comfort to us who can fall into despair.

Elijah was such a man who needed comfort. He was in despair so it appears even after that wonderful event at Mount Carmel. Jezebel wants him dead. Elijah flees and heads out to the wilderness. The wilderness is not a place to go alone. In the Old Testament, the wilderness is considered a place of testing, you might like to think of as spiritual testing. Elijah’s own feelings lead him to cry out to the Lord, effectively begging the Lord to take his life because he was no better than his fathers (other prophets). Elijah is not seeing the Word of the Lord converting the hearts of his hearers. So he is tired and worn out.

Elijah receives comfort from the very Angel of the LORD. I like to think this is the 2nd Person of the Trinity, in his Pre-Incarnate state. We also need to remember the blessing of this food. The cake (or bread) is not made by man. Man was supposed to eat bread by the sweat of his brow. This bread is made by the Son, for the strengthening of Elijah’s faith and also his body. For later at Horeb, the Lord is gracious to him telling him that Elijah’s preaching is not in vain. 7000 were kept safe from bowing down to Baal.

The Sacrament of the Altar is for the weak and despairing needing to be strengthened by the Words of Jesus, specifically “for you”. We are indeed weak, and the christian walk under the cross is too great for us to go it alone. Jesus tells us that much too in our reading from John 6. We don’t initiate or activate our faith. We don’t initiate our coming to Jesus. And we don’t initiate the strengthening of our faith either, rather we are drawn and gathered around the living bread of heaven which came down from heaven being sent by the Father. And who the Father gives to his Son the Son will never cast out. What peace and comfort we have in the coming of this Jesus, our bread of life.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

Luther Summoned to Rome

Five Hundred years ago today, Martin Luther received a summons to Rome to defend the Ninety-Five Theses. It had been a long time coming because their impact caught everyone by surprise — including Luther. The German monk had intended to begin a discussion among scholars. He couched it in the prevocative form all such discussions were framed, but he anticipated nothing more than rejection of the abuses of indulgences that everyone condemned and a clarification of the doctines involved. Instead, they were translated into Geerman and distributed throughout Europe. The conference was never held.

What did happen was a steep decline in the purchase of indulgence letters. John Tetzel, the Dominican monk that so annoyed Luther responded by attacking the theses as heretical. The Archbishop of Mainz forwarded them to Rome, recommending a repremand for the Wittenberg professor. John Eck of Ingolstadt, who was to become Luther’s chief academic opponent wrote and circulated an extended hand-written review of the 95 Theses. To Luther’s great surprise, they accused Luther of limiting the Pope’s power and did not focus on his challenge to indulgences at all. In doing so, they turned Luther’s attention to the claims of the pope. He poured over the scriptures on the subject. Luther composed an extended defense of his theses in February 1518. He sent his Explanation of the Ninety-Five Theses to the Bishop of Brandeburg, promising not to publish it until he was permitted to do so. He was given leave do so, but a disputation in Heidelberg delayed him until August 21st.

In Rome, Silvester Prierias wrote an expert opinion of the 95 Theses for the commission charged with investigating Luther. His Dialog on the Power of the Pope maintained that the Scripture got its power from the Church, that the Pope is infallible when exercising his office and speaks for the Church. So, whatever the Pope says about indulgences is true. Anyone who taught otherwise, he found, is a heretic. This document came with the summons to Rome. Luther printed the Dialogue and appealed on August 8 to his ruler, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, to arrange for his trial to take place in Germany.

Move to Indiana and Search for German Protestants

In August 1838, a letter from Johann Häsbärt arrived at the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Ministerium Mission Society, highly recommending Friedrich Wyneken to them. The Executive Committee invited Wyneken to visit Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to meet with them. In the company of Häsbärt, Friedrich met with the committee.

So convinced of his fitness for the task and likely moved by his zeal for the work, the Missionary Society set aside their usual practice of waiting until September to send out their workers. They commissioned him to “move to Indiana, to search for scattered German Protestants to preach to them, and, if possible, gather them into congregations.” While the Committee intended Wyneken to make Indiana his base of operations, they intended to have him range widely throughout the frontier, directing him to labor in Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Credentials in hand, Wyneken embarked upon his ministry as a Missionary, traveling in the company of Häsbärt as far as Havre de Grace, Maryland.

In Pittsburgh, Wyneken met for the first time C.F. Schmidt, the editor of Lutherische Kirchenzeitung, who would prove a close friend and the channel through which Wyneken’s first appeals would reach the world. From Pittsburgh, Wyneken traveled by train and canal boat to Zelienople, Pennsylvania where he purchased a horse and cheerfully rode off to be, as his friend C. F. W. Walther would later describe him, the Lutheran Apostle of the West.

A Shepherd for Christ’s Sheep

Sermon on Matthew 9:35-38
The Ordination of Michael Brent Keller
July 29, 2018
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, South Dakota

Introduction: Last fall you said goodbye to Pastor Pay. You began pray to the Lord that he send to you a faithful shepherd. Today he has answered your prayers. Pastor Keller begins his Ministry here today. Brent, you have been praying for a chance to help people—really help them. And God has given you that opportunity. Here is is the harvest, ready to be brought in. At your side are a wonderful gathering of God’s people. It would be good to see them as Jesus does… he has compassion for them because:

I. We are harassed and helpless

A. The world sends conflicting messages that lure us away from God.
B. Our sinful desires cause us to seek the things we think will please us.
C. The devil uses both to extinguish our trust in God.
D. Tragedies big and small wound us, crush us and wear us down.

II. He came to seek and to save.
A. Jesus became a man to seek and save the lost
B. As the Good Shepherd, he laid down his life for his sheep.
C. Through his word and the Sacraments, he still gathers his sheep, binds up the wounds and leads them home.

III. He sends pastors – and you
A. He does this by sending you pastor Keller to lead you, feed you and make you clean.
B. He sends you, Brent, to tend this flock.
C. Together he sends you all to gather the souls now ready to harvest.

The Rainbow and God’s Promise

The story of Noah, is one that most people know, even those who do not believe in the One True God. One only needs to look at a recent movie to see that the story of Noah is one people have etched in their minds. Yes, we remember the rainbow but we don’t teach our children what it means. The world has commandeered it for their own sinful purposes.

The rainbow is a sign with a word of promise attached. This is not the first time that the Lord worked like this. We have a particular word to describe these things. We have narrowed the definition a bit, but the idea remains the same. We call these things sacraments. A sacrament is a rite commanded by God, which the promise of grace (forgiveness of sins) is attached. The rainbow is one such instance in the Old Testament that the Lord shows us how He deals graciously with his people. God’s grace is attached to the sign of the rainbow. Today with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, He is working the same way as He worked back in the days of Noah and even earlier in the days of Adam and Eve.

The rainbow teaches us the first commandment and its meaning well. You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, trust, and love God above all things. We fear the Lord because of what He can do, we trust the Lord because of the promise He has given, and we love the Lord because he has had compassion on us poor miserable sinners, whose hearts are still inclined to evil rather than good. His “bow” of wrath against humanity has been “retired” and hung in the clouds.

The rainbow points to Jesus and His cross. The greatest act of wrath and judgment against sin took place at the cross. Jesus took on the full righteous judgment and wrath of His Father for us. Jesus suffered and died on account of on our sins. But in Christ’s atoning death we have the promise of everlasting life with God in His Kingdom. And God deals graciously with us establishing with us an even greater eternal covenant in the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

Preaching to the Sheep

The last few Old Testament readings, if you have been keeping score at home, have been telling us a bit about the preachers that the Lord called to serve his people, proclaiming repentance to them. If you remember from Ezekiel, he was called to preach to the rebellious house of Israel. Amos was called from his work as a herdsman and fig keeper. Both were told to preach the word that the Lord gave them to preach. This was their job, and they feared the Lord and did what He tasked them to do.

However, there can be those men who would rather speak their own mind. And that can be a major problem. It can be deadly for the flock, especially if the preacher does not preach Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world. These are the men that Jeremiah confronts in the Old Testament lesson today. These are the shepherds who are really no shepherd at all, for they do not care for the sheep entrusted into their care. The Lord through Jeremiah says, “WOE! WOE to you, those shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep!” Rather than gathering them around their Lord, they have scattered them and driven them further away from Him.

This is a warning to those men who have been placed into this office. It is a warning to me, but it is also a warning to the flock to listen to the preaching with a discerning ear. It is a call to the flock as much as the shepherds to open up your bibles and dig into what is said there and compare what is being said by me in this pulpit. Your preacher must be preaching the Word of the Lord, and the Word of the Lord is at your fingertips to do just that checking.

The Lord has given His preachers His Son Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, to preach and proclaim. Jesus makes this obvious and plain. We are to preach Christ and Him Crucified for the sins of the world, and that he rose from the dead for our justification. That binds up the brokenhearted. That Word seeks out the sheep without a shepherd, and brings them back to their loving Father.
Don’t be surprised to see more on Ezekiel soon.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO