The Lutheran Review

In Your Face

2010-02-08T09:39:21-06:00

If we read the psalm for the 5^th Sunday after Epiphany, we may have passed over verse one without much thought. “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise.”

Imagine yourself as a former exile in Babylon. You have returned to Jerusalem. The temple has been rebuilt. The opening hymn of worship is psalm 138. As you sing verse one, a scene from the streets of Babylon sharpens its meaning. The prophet Isaiah has recorded the scene in chapter 46.

Every year the Babylonians held a festival for their main gods, Bel (also known in the OT as Baal) and his son, Nebo (Nabo). King Nebuchadnezzar is named after that god. The gods would be “floats” in a parade, carried on a wagon or by priests. The Jewish exiles had the holiday off. Standing along the parade route they made derisive comments about these gods who had to be carried about. When Persia defeated Babylon, again the exiles stood along the parade route. However, this time the gods, tied to backs of donkeys or oxen, are carried out of the city into exile.

As the beasts of burden walked, the gods bobbed up and down, appearing to bow down and stoop before the onlookers. The gods provide no relief. Their weight wears out the animals carrying them. Indeed, Bel and Nebo cannot even save themselves from the dead weight of their own gilded bodies.

Back home again, the worshipper in the Jerusalem temple sings, “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise.” He sings his whole hearted thanksgiving to the living God, who has brought them home from exile. Yahweh’s name brings memories of His past and continuous love and faithfulness. We can count on Yahweh to act. Before the face of God he sings his hymn.

However, the worshiper’s attitude toward those other gods is derisive and dismissive. His song is more an “in your face” rejection of these ridiculous gods who are impotent to help anyone, even themselves. He will not bow down to any but Yahweh, for one day all the kings of the earth will give thanks for the greatness of His glory.

Paulo writes in Philippians 2:10-11, “A the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

A Valentine

2010-02-07T16:06:46-06:00

A valentine rested on two stuffed chairs in front of a recently closed Victoria Secret store. The hand holding couple had been walking stooped and slow, neither as tall as they once had been. Once, the mall stores sold jewelry, clothing, shoes, caps, food and trinkets. Now artists fill those locations with dancers, theaters, paint-your-own-pottery, photographers, paintings, homemade rugs, and doll houses. The valentine couple was oblivious to the hip hop studio, the children’s birthday party and the rest of us bustling by. They were intent on making it to their car. As I passed by, the husband said, “Let’s go over here,” motioning to the chairs. On my next round, the valentine was gone.

There had been a time, 60 – 65 years ago, when they also walked slowly holding hands, stooped in toward each other, oblivious to the world around them. Oh, they were in love. They had promised before a preacher, “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,” not giving that pledge much thought. Life changed. Love changed. They no longer stride confidently into the day with all of life before them. Now they hold hands to support one another. They are relieved to make it to the car and home again. Supper will be a bowl of Cheerios. It’s enough.

A valentine will go to bed early tonight.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

For the Aged and for the Ages

2010-02-06T11:21:27-06:00

Psalm 71

“Forsake me not when my strength is spent,” is the heading for Psalm 71 in my edition of the English Standard Version. The Psalm baffles commentators who strive to develop a neat outline. Psalm 71 is written like life is lived. It’s a Psalm for the aged; yet it’s a Psalm for the ages.

In verse 1 the author declares, “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge.” However, in the next phrase uneasiness creeps in. “Let me never be put to shame.” As the one who has made promises of salvation, the Lord needs lean His ear toward the psalmists cry for rescue. He has hidden himself in the Lord who is a rock of refuge, now it’s time to be that rock of salvation. The Lord was involved in his life since before he was born and served as a midwife to his mother. However, now enemies have grasped hold of him and he calls on God to not absent himself from his life now that he is aged and weak.

He has been an example of faithfulness his whole life and was bold to speak of the presence of the Lord in his whole life. But now that age has taken its toll on his strength and he can’t bound up stairs two steps at a time, but only sit, those who mock him say, “God has forsaken him.” He has begun if his faith in God throughout his whole life has done him any good.

So the Psalm, through its first 18 verses crosses back and forth between cries to God for help and assertions of God’s ever present salvation. I don’t know who came up the idea that old age is the Golden Age. I also don’t know how many older people have scoffed at the idea. For life is not a matter that God saves the best ‘til last. God saves the hardest ‘til last.

Once the Psalmist has taken us on an emotional roller coaster, he ends up with statements of faith and songs of praise. Indeed (v.20) “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. For us for whom Christ is our Rock of Refuge, ultimately we do have a Golden Age to which we might look forward. In the resurrection from death God really does save the best ‘til last.

Psalm 71 is worth reading slowly to let the words sink in and allow us time to meditate upon its wisdom.

A Red Breast in the Backyard

2010-02-04T10:16:08-06:00

February, the worst month.

Six more weeks of winter, Phil’s shadow or no.

Colder than normal January.

Little snow.

If it’s going to be cold, it might just as well snow.

Precipitation is on the way.

Rain, frozen rain, an inch or so of snow.

It’s what passes for winter at 38 degrees latitude north.

Yuck.

I saw a robin in the backyard this morning.

Hope.

Praise God from whom all Robins flow.

Now I Lay me down to Sleep

2010-02-03T09:54:04-06:00

Most of us likely taught our children to pray a bedtime prayer we learned when we were children.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

If I should die before I wake.

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

The other day when I wrote on “The Frailty of Life” I came across the familiar prayer Bartletts Familiar Quotations. The first record of the prayer dates back at least to 1160 in the Enchiridion Leonis. The more familiar version of the prayer poem was written by William Walsh (1663-1708) and printed in the second impression of the New England Primer of 1691. The prayer comes at the end of a longer poem which does deal with frailty of life and the reason why.

In Adam’s fall

We sinned all.

My book and heart

Must never part.

Young Obadias,

David, Josias-

All were pious.

Peter denied

His Lord and cried.

Young Timothy

Learnt sin to fly.

Xerxes did die,

And so must I.

Zaccheus he

Did climb the tree

Our Lord to see.

Our days begin with trouble here,

Our life is but a span,

And cruel death is always near,

So frail a thing is man.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

William Walsh lived in England his entire life. He was a poet and literary critic. He was also an MP.

Mary Purified and Jesus Presented

2010-02-02T09:52:26-06:00

All of the TV “newscasts” took us out to Pennsylvania to have a peak at Punxsutawney Phil’s prognostication regarding winter’s length. Thanks to Peta’s suggestion to substitute a mechanical groundhog, the whole thing seems to have had more coverage than usual. Personally, I’ve never been moved to hold a woodchuck in my hands.

On this day the church doesn’t go hunting for groundhog shadows. Instead, according to the Introit for the day, we give our attention to the temple in Jerusalem. “We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple (PS. 48:9).

Today is the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord. According Leviticus 12 a woman was unclean for seven days after giving birth to a male child. On the eighth day the boy was to be circumcised. Jesus had already been circumcised and at that time he was officially given the name Jesus (Luke 2:21). January 1^st is the day of Circumcision and Naming of Jesus. On the fortieth day, the mother returned to the temple to be declared ritually pure and to present the firstborn son to God.

Jesus, the first son, belonged to God in a special way. He was God’s Son, whom God had sent into the world as the light of salvation for both Gentile and Jew. Simeon sang that now he was ready to leave this earthly coil. Anna gave thanks to God and became an evangelist speaking of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Today is also known as Candlemas, after a line in an old reading from Zephaniah, “I will search Jerusalem with candles.” It became a day on which the candles used to light the house and the church was blessed. Of course Jesus is the Light that enlightens all nations, not from one year to the next, but for all the years of our life and beyond.

Collect of the Day

Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Frailty of Life

2010-02-01T15:18:24-06:00

I’ve been known to say that I don’t need any help from the Devil when it comes to taking missteps in my life in Christ. I’m fairly adept at losing my way all on my own.

Shakespeare would agree. In Troilus and Cressida he wrote, “Sometimes we are devils to ourselves when we will tempt the frailty of our powers, presuming on their changeful potency.”

Who needs the Devil when we are our own Tempters putting confidence in our own strength? Of course, we can’t always presume that our power has the potency to accomplish all that we will. In addition, we do well not to discount how the Devil uses our confidence in our own strength to weaken our confidence in Christ.

I wonder how many people recovering from a crisis in their lives have said in effect, when offered help and support, “I don’t need any help. I’ll do this on my own. After all I’m Lutheran.” Never mind that at the core of our Lutheran faith is the confession of helpless and our complete dependence on God’s grace and sustaining mercy shown us in Jesus Christ

It’s for that reason, we prayed in the Collect of the Day for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, “Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”

We have all seen someone who is so frail that they are unable to stand upright, but are always bent over. We have a spiritual frailty that leaves us bent out of shape in regard to the things of God. In the Collect we are telling God something He already knows. When we think we have sufficient power that our potency can carry us through all dangers and temptations, we’re only kidding ourselves. God knows better, and so does the Devil.

We pray for God’s strength and protection to support us in all dangers and temptations.

Notice to whom we are praying. “Almighty God,” who expressed His strength in Jesus death and resurrection. Therefore we pray through His Son who lives and reigns with the Triune God, today and every day after today and even beyond the times when we live with them in the eternal day.

Lutheran minister aiding Haiti

2010-01-30T13:22:32-06:00

An article in the January 30 St. Louis Post Dispatch reports on the work of the LCMS in Haiti. there are some insights into what goes into long aid in a disaster situation.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/keepthefaith/story/587440398401AD5C862576BA00822532?OpenDocument

Chrysostom on Preaching

2010-01-30T10:34:24-06:00

Since tomorrow, and in some cases tonight, we will hear a sermon I thought I would share a few words from Chrysostom on listening to the sermon. I above anyone else need help listening, since I’m not preaching anywhere right now while my heart has a chance to heal.

The praise that pleases

“Are you in praise of what I have said? For my part I care not for I need neither your applause nor your noisy praise. (It was common to applaud the preacher in the late 4^th century.) This only I ask of you that with quiet and wisdom you listen to me and do what I say. Such is the applause that I ask of you. This is the panegyric (elaborate praise) that pleases me. But if you praise simply what I say, but do not do what I say, great will be your punishment.”

The next quote shows that a summer drop off in church attendance is nothing new.

“I have no idea what I shall say to you today. I see that since the Feast of Pentecost the attendance at divine service has fallen off, the Prophets are neglected, the Apostles are little valued, the Fathers are set aside…There is divine service once a week, and even this day you cannot spend without the cares of business. Some say they are p.oor and must take care of making their living, while others have urgent business. As a matter of fact the whole city is at the circus…No poverty stands in the way there, no urgent work, no illness, no weakness of the feet, nothing of all these is able to hold back the unruly passion. The old men run with the youths to the betting in order to find a place, and expose their gray hairs to shame and ridicule. And if they occasionally come here to the Church, they experience seizures, and listening to the sermon gives them fainting spells.”

See you in church listening to the sermon.

Chrysostom on Baptism

2010-01-28T08:23:24-06:00

What Happens at Baptism

Over the next couple of days I’m going to share some excerpts from a little book I found at the Concordia Seminary library, “Daily readings from the writings of St. John Chrysostom,” Light and Life Publishing, Minneapolis.

When you come to the sacred initiation, the eyes of the flesh see water; the eyes of faith behold the Spirit. Those eyes see the body being baptized; these see the old man being buried. The eyes of the flesh see the flesh being washed; the eyes of the spirit see the soul being cleansed. The eyes of the body see the body emerging from the water; the eyes of faith see the new man come forth brightly shining from that sacred purification. Our bodily eyes see the priest as, from above, he lays his right hand on the head and touches [him who is baptized]; our spiritual eyes see the great High Priest as He stretches forth His invisible hand to touch his head. For, at that moment, the one who baptizes is not a man but the only-begotten Son of God…

For this reason, when the priest is baptizing he does not say, “I baptize so and so,” but, “so and so is baptized in the name of thee Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In this way he shows that it is not he who baptizes but those whose names have been invoked, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

LSB 593, 4

Here we bring a child of nature;

Home we take a newborn creature,

Now God’s precious son or daughter,

Born again by word and water.

Text: Jaroslav J. Vajda