A Dream... a Prayer to the Almighty Trinity

From the good Rev. William Weedon, whose dreams for the future of our beloved Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod echo my own. He writes: "here are some of my dreams ... for my beloved Synod:

A more merciful Church - greater involvement in alleviating human suffering and bringing the love of Christ to bear in tangible ways in our local communities and throughout the world.

A more evangelical Church - no, not in THAT sense; in the true sense.  A Church where the Gospel rings out with its unquenchable joy and shapes all we say and do, and where the Gospel (not the Law!) moves our mission work.

A more liturgical Church - learning to live responsibly within our liturgical heritage in the way Krauth:  "possessing liturgical life without liturgical bondage."  A Church where the full and rich heritage of Lutheran hymnody rings out full-throated from our congregations.

A more prayerful Church - where the Daily Office, the Litany and such come into their own and shape our parishes as places of prayer.  If "my Father's house shall be called a house of prayer for all people" let us return our parishes from being fund-raising organizations to being prayer-raising communities.

A more giving Church - where we recover a lively sense of sacrifice, of sharing earthly goods from the charity that the Gospel has planted in our hearts.

A more gentle Church - where the 8th commandment is truly honored in our practice, above all in learning to explain our neighbor's actions in the kindest way and where we remember the wise words of the Apology that harmony in the Church cannot last unless pastors and churches mutually overlook many things.

A more peaceful Church - where the hope of the future that will surely be ours at our Lord's Appearing removes all hastiness and fear and gives us a calm and measured ability to evaluate the challenges before us.

A more educated Church - where a deep and abiding love for the Word of God leads to full Bible classes and devout reading of the Word in our homes.

"Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is..."

Quoting from God's word in Jeremiah, Pastor Peters of Pastoral Meanderings writes:

"Thus says the Lord: 'Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it and find rest for your souls..." (Jeremiah 6:16a)  Wow! If that is not a word for today -- especially for Lutherans -- I do not know what is...  Amid the doom and gloom of impending judgment and just in the face of the destruction to come, God speaks this simple sentence which offers direction, hope, forgiveness, and redemption all in one...

Lutherans are at the crossroads.  The ELCA dissidents against the actions of the CWA are meeting now in Columbus to chart the course for the remnant there.  Missouri has elected a President more grounded in our Lutheran identity and with a more catholic vision of Lutheran faith and practice than ever before -- perhaps one of our last opportunities to bring this denomination together before the fragmentation leaves us hopelessly divided.  And all across America Lutheran congregations struggle with the great temptation to become something other than Lutheran in order to survive (whether that be like a mainline but dying Protestant denomination, a church body without a doctrinal foundation like the UCC, a generic evangelical Christianity that does what works, or a fundamentalist faith with a liturgy). 

And there it is... the direction back from the abyss of sectarianism and from a cultural infatuation that renders us strangers to God...  Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is...  This does not mean attempting to return to a golden age in Christian or Lutheran or Missourian history.  This does not mean complete disdain for the opportunity and possibility rendered us by technology and an awareness of what is going on in the world around us.  This does not mean becoming like Missouri of 1847 or 1947 or trying to reinvent the ancient Church or recreating what we read about in the infant Church of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.  This means following the ancient paths and building them as a highway through the present age and toward the future.  It means keeping faith with the faithful along the way and not beginning with a blank page for structure, doctrine, faith, mission, or worship.  It means keeping and adding what does not conflict with the past but extends its truth and is recognizable as the offspring of those who have gone before.

Read the whole thing here.

God's Word is a Lamp to my Feet

Since my last post concerned that treasure which is the Book of Concord, I thought it most highly appropriate that this post be focused on the Word of God (the Bible) which is handed down to us children to lead us to and deliver us to Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and ascended for our salvation.


The concern of some, always, whenever I discuss studying the Book of Concord is "doesn't that mean you're resting your faith 'in the wisdom of men' and not 'in the power of God'?" (see 1 Cor. 2:1-5). But take note! The  Book of Concord faithfully confesses not its own words, but that Word of God which we call the Holy Scriptures. Much like the creeds (Apostles', Nicene, Athanasian), the Lutheran Confessions are a faithful summary of Scripture, not a replacement.


And the Word of God, as it is delivered to us in the Holy Scriptures, is just that— GOD'S own words. Since it is entirely inspired by the Holy Spirit, that means that God Himself is the author of every Word of Scripture— a Scripture which is given to us in order to bear witness to Jesus Christ the Son of God and make us wise unto salvation (see 2 Timothy 3:14-17).


In other words, it's God's Word and nothing but God's Word (so help me God!) The Confessions themselves freely and openly acknowledge this when they state  that we also believe, teach, and confess that "the true rule is this: God's Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so (Galatians 1:8)" (SA,II,ii,15). The prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testament alone," in fact, are "the only rule and norm according to which all doctrines, together with all teachers, should be evaluated and judged" (FC, Ep, Rule and Norm, 1).

The Word of God, in other words, that inexhaustible treasure, that living spring, can never be replaced, added to, minimized, or modified. Our translations of God's Word may change (hopefully always for the better), but God's Word itself is constant. We can write confessions that state what we believe the Bible teachers, but we can never replace Scripture— only struggle daily to take it in, to understand it (i.e. read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it), and so come to know the Christ to which Scripture witnesses. By faith, we affirm that Scripture is powerful and efficacious, and that it alone is the source of all we believe and confess.


Take a moment, if you will, to read this excerpt from the writings of Ephraim the Syrian, a fourth-century deacon (A+D ca. 306-373) who wrote an extensive body of poetry and hymns. It is a paean of praise to God's Word:

Lord, who can comprehend even one of your words? We lose more of it than we grasp, like those who drink from a living spring. For God’s word offers different facets according to the capacity of the listener, and the Lord has portrayed His message in many colors, so that whoever gazes upon it can see in it what suits Him. Within it He has buried manifold treasures, so that each of us might grow rich in seeking them out.

The word of God is a tree of life that offers us blessed fruit from each of its branches. It is like that rock which was struck open in the wilderness, from which all were offered spiritual drink. As the Apostle says: They ate spiritual food and they drank spiritual drink.

And so whenever anyone discovers some part of the treasure, he should not think that he has exhausted God’s word. Instead he should feel that this is all that he was able to find of the wealth contained in it. Nor should he say that the word is weak and sterile or look down on it simply because this portion was all that he happened to find. But precisely because he could not capture it all he should give thanks for its riches.

Be glad then that you are overwhelmed, and do not be saddened because he has overcome you. A thirsty man is happy when he is drinking, and he is not depressed because he cannot exhaust the spring. So let this spring quench your thirst, and not your thirst the spring. For if you can satisfy your thirst without exhausting the spring, then when you thirst again you can drink from it once more; but if when your thirst is sated the spring is also dried up, then your victory would turn to harm.

Be thankful then for what you have received, and do not be saddened at all that such an abundance still remains. What you have received and attained is your present share, while what is left will be your heritage. For what you could not take at one time because of your weakness, you will be able to grasp at another if you only persevere. So do not foolishly try to drain in one draught what cannot be consumed all at once, and do not cease out of faintheartedness from what you will be able to absorb as time goes on.

Indented quotation excerpted from Ephraim's commentary on Tatian's Diatessaron (a harmonization of the four Gospel accounts according to Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Book of Concord quotations from Concordia: the Lutheran Confessions, a Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

Life-long Lutheran Discovers Really Big Book (and loves it!)

I was raised Lutheran. Baptized into the faith through water and the Word when I was 20 days old. Brought to Sunday School as a youth and after attending Confirmation class, I was confirmed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church when I was 4,866 days old.

During High School, I decided that I didn't believe in Jesus or God His Father. I left the faith for a while, but by the grace of God, I was called back to saving faith by the Word in college. After again attending an LC–MS church for several years, I decided that I would attend seminary with the intention of serving God's church as an under-shepherd (pastor).

Imagine my surprise when I discovered the Really Big Book (otherwise known as the Book of Concord of 1580). My surprise, by the way, was not that there was a really big book published 400+ years ago; no, my surprise was that there was a book which contains the official confession of the Lutheran Church. My surprise was that, in order to become a pastor in the Missouri Synod, I would have to read and agree with (subscribe unconditionally to ) everything in that book "because" it faithfully teaches what the Bible reveals.

Hmmm... interesting. How come I've never even heard of this? 

And, wait a minute.

Everything? I have to agree with everything in that Really Big Book? You're going to ask me at my ordination if I believe that the entirety of the Book of Concord of 1580 (that self-same Really Big Book) is a "true exposition of Holy Scripture and a correct exhibition of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church?" (LC-MS Agenda). Not only that, but the answer I will be required to give is: "Yes, I make these Confessions my own because they are in accord with the Word of God"?

Wow. Here I don't even know this book exists and now unconditional subscription to the content of that book is going to be a prerequisite to ordination? Not only that, but I need to be able to say openly, freely, and without reservation that what that book says is in fact my own confession— not the confession of those long-dead reforming saints, but MY OWN!

Truth be known, once I started to get over my shock, then I started to get angry. I was mad. "Don't we just need the bible?!?"

Thanks be to God that I didn't despair. I figured "it couldn't hurt to read the stupid thing" and see what it says. After all, if this Book of Concord is the official confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church... if it is norm by which the Lutheran Church believes, teaches, and confesses what we believe the Bible says... I might as well give it a shot. Right?

So I started to read. And boy was I shocked! This Really Big Book was a treasure trove! It wasn't a bunch of debatable opinions by a bunch of really dead guys... it was a faithful teaching of what God reveals in Scripture. I began to realize just how silly my question of "Don't we just need the Bible?" was. The Book of Concord wasn't a replacement for the Bible. By no means! Rather, it was a faithful speaking of God's Word back again. And it was awesome! With the Book of Concord by my side, my Bible reading became the exciting adventure I never knew it could be. Before the Book of Concord, I was an intermittent Bible reader, after... I was a voracious reader, for the Bible had become for me that most delightful of feasts.

I still had some hard work to overcome a few things —like understanding the Bible's teaching on the doctrine of Election (which is HUGE!) and learning to value Baptism (which is also HUGE!)— but it's no exaggeration to say that my study of the Book of Concord transformed me. It opened my eyes to so much of what the Bible teaches. I went from being a life-long Lutheran who would have been comfortable joining your friendly Community Church down the street... to being a convicted Christian who would give his right hand before he'd let go of the theology confessed in the Lutheran confessions.

In the end, it's not about "being Lutheran." It's about "Christ and Him crucified" for you (1 Cor. 2:2). It's about God working through real Words and tangible Sacraments FOR YOU! It's about a radical grace that flies in the face of everything that world teaches. And I learned it all through the Book of Concord.

The Lord Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41–42). God bless you as you continue to sit at Jesus' feet!

SDG.

n.b. this post was partly inspired by a blog comment of Rev. Jonathan Fisk, whose journey in part mirrors my own. I even shamelessly stole some of his phrases! :) Thanks, Jonathan!

It is better to be tried than to be puffed up.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther (A+D 1483-1546):

What can be set forth to us that is more useful and more suitable for consolation than the example of Peter [walking on the water in Matthew 14:22-36]. He advances on the water to meet Christ. And when he stepped out of the boat, he first walked on the water to come to Jesus. As the evangelist says, he ran with great impetuosity, with heroic and special spirit, because he knew that Christ was there; and he had the Word and the promise of the Word for his petition: If it be Thou, bid me come to Thee on the water" (Matt. 14:28). But soon, when a little wind blows, he wavers and sinks. What now? Where is that great spirit? Why did you doubt?

But it pleased Christ that he should be tried in this way. For if he had not been tried, he would have been puffed up. But it is better to be tried than to be puffed up.  For in this way the promises are retained, and in this way we learn to understand those sobs of the saints, as in Ps. 6:1: "O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy anger." For David, too, was such a great man that God gave him the testimony: "I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will" (Acts 14:22; cf. 1 Sam. 13:14). Yet he prays in this way and struggles with the trials of unbelief and despair.

In this way we, too, have been called, and we have promises that are much clearer and more glorious than those the fathers had. Thus Peter praises this good fortune of ours when he says (2 Peter 1:19): "And we have the prophetic Word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place." Grace and eternal life have been promised and offered to us in a much more glorious way than to them. For the Son has come, and all the promises have been fulfilled. We hear the Son Himself; we have the sacraments and absolution; and day and night the Gospel proclaims to us: "You are holy. You are holy. Your sins have been forgiven you. You are blessed, etc." But what do we do? We still tremble, and we cling to our weakness throughout our life. But why are we not aroused by the example of the [patriarchs, who believed to complete perfgection? I reply that they, too, wer weak, just as we are, although we have richer promises than they had. But it comes to pass as God's voice says to Paul: "My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). for 

God could not retain and fulfill His promises in us if He did not kill that stupid, proud, and smug flesh in us.

Source: Martin Luther's commentary on Genesis 28, pp. 255-56 in vol. 5 of Luther's Works, American Edition, edited by Jaroslav Pelikan, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968.

Interview with LC-MS President-Elect Matthew Harrison

So by now most of you have probably heard that our beloved Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has elected a new Synodical President.

He was elected at the national convention last month and will be installed as the 13th president of the LC-MS in early September.

Rev. Matthew Harrison, however, who has been serving as the Executive Director of LC-MS World Relief and Human Care, is not necessarily a household name to the laypeople of our Synod. He recently gave an interview to the Reporter which, I believe, goes a long way toward revealing what kind of man, he is, what kind of a Christian and pastor he is, and what kind of a president he is going to be. I personally am very excited about the election of Rev. Harrison as our synodical president. I think he is a very learned man, very humble, extraordinarily confessional and grounded in the faith, and exactly the kind of president that Missouri needs in this tumultuous time.

The interview starts out this way:

Interviewer (James H. Heine): "What is your reaction to your election? You will now serve as the 13th president of the Synod."

Rev. Harrison: "It was a profound combination of joy and sorrow, of hope and also a great sense of my own unworthiness and sinfulness. To stand in front of that great body, a body that directs the future of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, which is, humanly speaking, the most significant force on the globe for confessional Lutheranism and for the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments, was very, very humbling."

Read the whole thing here.