Along the same lines as the last post, here’s a Luther gem from Treasury of Daily Prayer(January 25) that’s sure to give you confidence in these dark and latter days…
Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. We belong to none other than the Lord. This is our greatest comfort and joy: that we have as our Lord He to whom the Father has given all power in heaven and on earth and has placed all things in His hands. Who, then, could possibly do us harm? The devil may very well attack us with his murderous rage, but he will never snatch us from the Lord’s hand. For we who believe in Jesus Christ and live under His guardianship have also become lords ourselves over the devil, sin, death, etc.
In order that such lordship might be ours, He was made man for our sake. He appealed to the Father on our behalf and so loves us in this way: He was condemned, offering Himself up for our sakes. With His precious blood He purchased us and washed us clean from sin. Still more He has placed in our hearts the Holy Spirit, the pledge of our inheritance and blessedness, making us kings and priests for God and joint heirs with Himself. This is most certainly true.
O Lord, strengthen our faith that we would always remember these things and never doubt these promises.
“Should a Christian be an optimist or a pessimist? More specifically, under today’s economic, moral, and spiritual circumstances, should a Christian pastor be an optimist or a pessimist?”
In these difficult and uncertain times, that’s a question that every one of us has to ask ourselves. That question is the subject of Dr. John Brug’s foreword to the newest issue and volume of Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly. In the article, Dr. Brug confronts the reader with that question and the follow-up question, “What am I expecting for myself and from my ministry?”
From a long-term spiritual point-of-view, that’s an easy question to answer. I can have “unbridled optimism”, because of Christ’s eternal victory for me, but in the short-term, that’s not such an easy question to answer. Holy Scripture describes the times in which we live as we near the end, and it is not a pretty picture. There is no guarantee that the traveling rainstorm of the Gospel will not move on from this land or our church body. Life will only get more difficult for those who remain faithful to the truth as members of the Holy Christian Church. Brug writes,
Is the time when speaking against abortion and gay rights will earn more than verbal scorn and hatred coming closer for us too? Just as ancient Israel found itself in the crossroads of the battleground between the great powers of the world, God’s Israel of today, his little flock, finds itself in the crossfire between a savage, militant Islam on one side and hateful rampant secularism on the other. These bitter opposites cannot agree on anything except one thing, their hatred of Christ and of those who are his.
The Bible paints a dark picture of the last phases of church history.
But in the midst of all the darkness, there is one ray of light: till the very end the gospel will be preached. Man’s time of grace will finally come to an end, but it will not be cut short prematurely. God gives the world abundant opportunity for repentance. The door remains open until at last God closes it. (6-7)
This faithful proclamation of the Gospel will produce two results — it will either create faith or harden hearts. On the one hand, the Christian does not have great expectations, especially when he realizes how naïve it is to think that somehow with the right program or the right method or the right form we can transform this dying world into the holy kingdom of God. On the other hand, the Christian has great hope, because the decline of the church is not inevitable. God still works through his blessed means of grace, through Word and Sacraments he can still “raise up a vibrant church even in the midst of a dying world.” (Check out Defeatism in the Church, also republished in this WLQ issue, to get a more in-depth look at this particular subject.)
So what is a faithful Christian shepherd to do? We take the narrow Lutheran middle road. He is pessimist, optimist, and realist. Brug writes,
A biblically literate Christian is both a pessimist and an optimist. He is a biblical realist who understand the truths of hardening and judgment and who knows what this means for his ministry. He does not imagine he can straighten out everything that is crooked in the world. But he also understands that Christ will build his church and the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. He understands that God’s Word will not return to him empty.
He is not discouraged by the opposition or the disappointments. Success does not delude him into thinking that he can control the course of history. He remembers that the ups and downs of history and the final striking of the clock are determined by God’s timetable, not his. The sands of time may run out today. The clock may run for 1,000 years. In God’s schedule, regardless of whether we are heralds who will usher in a new revival or who herald the final plunge, the role we have in God’s plan is the same — preach the whole law, preach the whole gospel. The pastor who knows how to read the signs of the times won’t congratulate himself too much when the momentum of the church is upward. He won’t blame himself too much when it is down. He is content with the tools God has given him–the law and the gospel.
Though he is both a pessimist and an optimist, for the Christian optimism predominates because he is focusing on the small picture–the little flock in a little corner of the world, which has been entrusted to him, the flock which is little now but which will flow into a great multitude in heaven. He is not distracted by the big picture–the stormy sea of unbelief that fills the screen around him. He can’t be distracted from focusing on his task–gathering the little flock one by one. The biblical realist says, “I am only one man. I can’t do everything. I am one man and I can do something. And what I can do I should do. And I should do, by the grace of God I will do.” (10)
I’ve been studying John 21:15-17, the Gospel lesson appointed by Christian Worship: Manualfor the minor festival of St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor (a Sunday on which we give thanks for God’s gift of the pastoral ministry and pray for those who serve in that God-given vocation). It’s the familiar account of Jesus absolving Simon Peter on the shores of Galilee some time after Easter. For such a short text, there is so much richness, so much depth, and so much need to understand the subtlety of this discourse in the Greek language. Most importantly, though, this account makes me marvel that the Lord of the Church would entrust his gifts, his tools of grace to sinful men like me to convey his blessings of grace to God’s people.
It’s simply marvelous how Christ, with a heart filled with love, leads his guilty apostle to see his sin. Jesus, then, forgives Simon Peter with the love that led the Savior to the cross in the first place, absolving Peter. Then with amazing grace, he calls Peter to serve as a humble, faithful shepherd of God’s flock. What a gift! What grace! Yet in that reinstatement, I find it very interesting that the Lord of the Church first calls his forgiven apostle to “Feed my lambs.”
One of the most important tasks of a faithful shepherd of God’s flock is to feed the beloved lambs of the Good Shepherd. Now that could be feeding the “lambs”, who are young in faith, no matter their age, or it could be feeding the “lambs”, who are young in age. Far too often we shepherds might not pay as much attention to those precious lambs as we should or perhaps we fail to see our task of feeding them with the Gospel as important as serving the older, more mature sheep. Nevertheless, the Good Shepherd still calls his faithful shepherds to “Feed my lambs!”
R.C.H. Lenski had an interesting comment on those words of verse 15:
Jesus here places his most loved possessions in Peter’s care. The spiritual feeding and nourishment of children is here made the first part of the great apostolic office. Too often the called shepherds of the flock have forgotten what Jesus here does with Peter. They have counted the little ones as of little value, often neglecting them altogether, devoting themselves to shining in the world. Yet ‘feed my lambs’ stands in the sacred record as their first essential work. Nor may pastors ever transfer this work to others as though it constituted only a minor appendix to their office. The love of true understanding will follow the example of Paul in Eph 5:1, etc., of Luther who wrote the two precious catechisms, and of all genuine pastors, who knowing the mind of Christ and making his purpose their own, have made the spiritual care of the lambs their most delightful work. This work is never featured on the front pages of the world’s dailies, but the Lord features it on the front page of Peter’s commission.
I pray the Lord enables me to be as faithful a shepherd to the lambs as to the other sheep of his flock, ever mindful of their need for the rich food of the Gospel. May I never forget the lambs and may our Lord provide such care and concern in every shepherd of his flock!
This particularly Pauline way of thinking and speaking is very pleasing and comforting… in Romans (7:23) he opposes the Law of the Spirit to the law in his members. Because this way of speaking is so new and strange, it enters more easily into the heart and remains more firmly in the memory. Besides, it sounds sweeter when he says: “I through the Law died to the Law” than if he were to say: “I through liberty died to the Law.” For he is drawing a picture, as though Law were battling against Law. It is as though he were saying: “Law, if you are able to bite me, bind me, and plague me, I will put another Law above you, that is, another tyrant and tormentor, who will accuse you, bind you, and oppress you in turn. You are indeed my tormentor. But I have another tormentor, namely, Christ. He will torment you all the way. When you have been tormented all the way by Him, then I am free.” Likewise, if the devil whips me, I have a stronger devil, who will whip him in turn. And when the more powerful devil battles and conquers the powerful one, I am set free. Thus grace is a Law – not me, because it does not bind me, but to my Law; this it binds in such a way that it cannot bind me any longer.
Therefore Paul would like to draw us away completely from looking at the Law, sin, death, and other evil things, and to transfer us to Christ, in order that there we might see this very joyous duel: the Law battling against the Law, in order to become liberty to me; sin battling against sin, in order to become righteousness to me; death battling against death, in order that I might have life. For Christ is my devil against the devil, that I might be a son of God; He destroys hell, that I might have the kingdom of heaven.
Update – 02/03/10 – Thanks to Issues, Etc. host Pastor Todd Wilken for picking this post as his “Blog of the Week” on Friday, 29 January 2010. You can click on the Issues, Etc. logo below for an audio link.
When I feel that I have become cool and joyless in prayer because of other tasks or thoughts (for the flesh and the devil always impede and obstruct prayer), I take my little psalter, hurry to my room, or if it be the day and hour for it, to the church where a congregation is assembled and, as time permits, I say quietly to myself and word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, just as a child might do.
It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night. Guard yourself carefully against those false, deluding ideas which tell you, “Wait a little while. I will pray in an hour; first I must attend to this or that.” Such thoughts get you away from prayer into other affairs which so hold your attention and involve you that nothing comes of prayer for that day…
I pray the Lord grants you a blessed 2010! May our Savior fill the year with grace and blessing, even during those times when it doesn’t seem that way.
The next two weeks I will be going back to school at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for their Winterim session. I will be taking classes on The Swiss Reformation and Romans 9-16, as I slowly make my way towards the goal of earning a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) degree in Historical Theology some time in the future. I will also be spending time with my family and our extended family in the Midwest.
For those reasons, things are going to be pretty quiet here at The Shepherd’s Study for the next couple weeks. I may get a post or two out from up on the hill in Mequon, WI, but for the most part, I’ll be taking a break from blogging until school is over in mid-January. Thank you for following The Shepherd’s Study in 2009 and God-willing, there will be plenty more good reading for you here in the New Year! Have a blessed 2010!
The hours are flying by. Soon 2009 and the 2000s will be history. With little time left in this year and decade, I have to ask, are you ready for a new year? If you read some of the end-of-the-year articles, you definitely get the impression that people are ready to say goodbye to 2009 and leave it behind forever. Much the same can be said about the end of the decade as well. Time magazine even described the 2000s as “the decade from hell”. It started out with Y2K and 9/11 and ends with financially tough times, 10% unemployment, terror threats, and war in old and possibly new fields. It’s been a rough time for our country, for individuals, and even for the Christian church, which continues to undergo the growing attacks of Satan, while the love of many grow cold. Many would answer that question, “Are you ready for a new year?” with a resounding, “Yes!” in the hope that 2010 and the decade that follows will somehow be better…but will it?
Not everything in the past year or the past decade was sorrow and tribulation however. In many ways and in many places, things may not look so good, but the Lord has still blessed the past year and past decade with his grace. He has still blessed our nation with relative peace at home and riches beyond counting. He has still blessed us individually by continuing or even starting our time of grace here in this life. For many of us, our marital or family situation is very different than it was one or ten years ago. There have been sorrows and troubles and difficulties, but also plenty of grace as families started or grew or changed with God’s hand of blessing, even if we didn’t see it at the time. Whether the Lord was taking a loved one home or providing a new gift of grace into our lives, in every way he blessed us.
In the past decade, here in our congregation, the Lord saw fit to open his hand of blessing taking us from the smallest size to the largest in our congregation’s history, not necessarily impressive by the world’s standards, but God’s grace nonetheless. He has given us more opportunities as individuals, as a congregation and as a church body to share his Good News than we ever imagined before. We, as individuals, as couples, as families, as a congregation have changed through times of sorrow and times of joy in the past year and decade, yet through it all our Lord and Savior never changed, nor did he ever change the ways he comes to us through his Word and his Holy Sacraments. As we look ahead to a new year and decade, none of us knows what’s coming, how our lives and world will change or stay the same or even if the Lord will give us the year and decade before us. So ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW YEAR?
When you take a look at Jesus’ words in Luke 12, you might wonder if we’re back in Advent or the season of End Time. Oh, these verses are loaded with encouragement to “be ready”, but for what does Jesus want us to “be ready”? The Lord tells us, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet… You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” At first, you might wonder, “Pastor, haven’t we spent weeks talking about this already? What does this have to do with being ready for a new year?”
The truth is, the end of another calendar year, the end of a decade is a time when people are most often thinking about the end of time. When the clock strikes midnight tonight, a certain period of time will end and a new period of time will begin. Perhaps you’re old enough to recall all the hubbub and excitement and concern and hoopla that went along with the end of the year 1999 and the beginning of the year 2000. It not only was a new year and a new decade, but a new century and new millennium. Many were quite fearful of what was going to happen at the stroke of twelve as the year 2000 began. No one knew what would happen. Thankfully, nothing did.
The end of a year is a good time for you and me to see how really ready we are for THE end of time. Jesus uses a picture that would’ve been familiar to his disciples. The kind of readiness he wants in his followers is like that of faithful servants watching for a master away at a wedding banquet. They’re ready to serve with their lamps still burning even at the latest hours of the night. They wouldn’t know when he would return since wedding banquets back then could last for days, so they had to be ready and there would be blessing for those who remained ready. “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night (basically the middle of the night).”
As we get ready for a new year and a new decade, are we that ready? Are we faithfully watching and waiting for what the Lord has in store for us, preparing ourselves for each new day of grace with repentance and longing for the Master’s return? Or have you and I grown faithfully complacent and lazy and unprepared, spiritually sleeping on the job and longing for what we plan to do tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year? I’m sure if you and I were to look back on the past year or past ten years, we would see how unprepared we were when life didn’t go the way we expected or the Lord allowed the heavy burden of a cross or trouble or grief or sorrow to come into our lives. We would see how spiritually complacent we were when the Lord required active readiness. We would see how we have so often taken on a here-and-now what-I-want-when-I-want-it view of each day and month and year, as opposed to a view of each year, each day, each breath as a gift of God’s grace and an opportunity to get ready to see him. How often haven’t you and I been caught unprepared when tragedy strikes, bad news comes into our homes, or change comes in a way we don’t anticipate? How often haven’t you and I been like the owner of a home who was unprepared when a thief broke into it? So are you really ready for a new year with nothing, but the unknown before you? If we are to be honest with ourselves, you and I need to confess, “No, Lord, I’m not ready.”
Thankfully, the sermon doesn’t end there. Our time of grace has not yet ended. We are still breathing. The old year has not yet passed away. Christ is still on the way. Jesus spoke these words when he was getting ready to give his life for the sins of all. His disciples, though often warned, proved to be woefully unprepared, but still Jesus urged and encouraged his disciples to “be ready” even though he knew they would fail him. Why would he do that? The Master loves his servants. The Lord cares for his people and wants them to be ready for when he comes back. Jesus explained, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Jesus wanted his disciples and he wants us to be ready because he loves us and wants us to be with him in heaven forever. In fact, that love was so great that it brought him from heaven to earth as an infant lowly to put himself in your place. It brought him to suffering and the cross to pay with his own life for those times when you been woefully unprepared for what the Lord allows into your life. It brought him to the grave you deserve for your sins and it brought him out of the grave to guarantee your forgiveness, life, and salvation. That love took that good news and spread it to every land and every tongue and every generation down to our own, year after year, decade after decade, century after century until it reached you. That love spoke to you through the very words of God and brought you from death to life through the waters of Holy Baptism. That love still comes to you through the Word and as Christ gives himself to you with bread and wine in his Holy Supper. That love has kept the Savior by your side through the good times and the bad, the sad times and the times of unbridled joy, the times of guilt and grief and times of forgiveness and blessedness. That love of Christ through his Word and through his Sacraments prepares you for a new year, a new decade, a new life with him forever. That love of Christ readies you for the unknown, for the time he has given you whether much or little, for the crosses and the victories, for the ups and down of life that lay before you.
So are you ready? The old year is passing away. By God’s grace, a new year and a new decade will dawn in just a few hours. More grace. Through it all, your unchanging Savior and his unchanging love will be there with you and for you every step of the way, even to the Last Day when he will come to bring you home. By God’s grace and with his help, you’re ready. Amen.
As another year of God’s grace comes to a close, it’s time for me as a blogger to take part in that time-honored exercise of end-of-the-year activity – list-making. Since this blog wasn’t even a glimmer in my imagination ten years ago, there won’t be any top posts of the decade or my favorite pastoral activities of the past decade (haven’t been a pastor that long yet either – plus I don’t know if I could limit it to 10!).
In spite of that, I can come up with one top 5 list that looks back on 2009 with thanks to you, dear Reader, who made it possible, and another top 5 list that looks ahead to some good reading in 2010. Then, dear Reader, could you provide in the comment section up to 5 books you’re looking forward to reading this coming year?
Both top five lists make for a top ten of sorts, I guess…. Anyway, here are the lists! Enjoy!
The Five Most Active Posts of 2009 – These are fives posts written in 2009 that received the most visits from readers like you. One thing you’ll notice about these posts is the number of posts with hymn names in the title – 3 of the top 5! I still marvel that readers like you take time out of your busy day to actually read what’s written here at The Shepherd’s Study. Thank you so much!
5. Truth and Treasures in Stained Glass(18 May 2009) – This post was about the marvelous ways God’s people over the centuries have used stained class to teach the truths of God’s Word – an art that is much rarer these days than in generations past, but seems to be making something of a comeback with newer church architecture. Pr. Robert Koester’s WELS Stained Glass site was also introduced.
4. Awake, My Heart, with Gladness (12 April 2009) – This was simply the hymn text and information for this beautiful Easter hymn by Paul Gerhardt in celebration of the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord. Truly a treasure of Lutheran hymnody!
3. “God Hates the Sin, Not the Sinner” …Really? (28 October 2009) – This post took a look at the common phrase, “God hates the sin, not the sinner”, and showed that without explanation it can be easily misunderstood and even considered unscriptural. I proposed a new statement that’s just a little longer, but I thought explained it better. You’ll have to read the post to find out the phrase. This post received quite a few comments and was even featured as Issues, Etc. Blog of the Week that week.
2. E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come (29 October 2009) – This post shared the announcement of the bittersweet news that Lutheran composer, organist, and musician, Dr. Paul Manz had entered eternal glory at the age of 90. His motet entitled “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” is world-renowned and one of the most beloved pieces in modern Lutheran choral music.
1. Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle (10 April 2009) – This is a devotional post for Good Friday with the verses of the ancient hymn, “Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle”, weaved among devotional thoughts from St. Athanasius of Alexandria’s On the Incarnation, Johann Gerhard’s Meditations on Divine Mercy, and Daniel Deutschlander’s The Theology of the Cross, as well artistic depictions of Christ’s suffering and death from various eras.
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Five Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading in 2010 – As you can tell from this blog, I love to read and I read a lot. I could certainly come up with many more than five books, but for your sake, I’ll limit my zeal to five. Of the five, one is devotional, one is apologetic, one is historical theological, one is historical, and one is fiction. Trust me, I could come up with many more (though I don’t know if I’d be able to read them all!)…
In my devotional reading, I plan to continue reading Holy Scripture through the use of Treasury of Daily Prayer, as well as working through the core teachings of God’s Word through the use of God So Loved the World: A Study of Christian Doctrine by Prof. Lyle Lange. When I finish the latter book, I plan to go back and work through Concordia: Reader’s Edition again. With the New Year, I will also be starting with a brand new book from Northwestern Publishing House featured below. It’s quite an exciting devotional resource to supplement the above resources.
For my non-devotional reading, I am currently preparing for a course on The Swiss Reformation that I will be taking at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary during the next two weeks. So that’s occupying my current reading, but there are four others I look forward to reading. So in no particular order, here’s the list…
Treasures Old and New by Prof. Em. John Jeske (Northwestern Publishing House) – This is the devotional resource I mentioned above. It is a collection of daily readings from the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures, as well as a daily reading from the Lutheran Confessions in Concordia: Reader’s Edition. This is a resource that I had heard no rumors about, but it’s definitely a resource every Lutheran shepherd or shepherd-in-training should have from what I understand. (I was so excited about it that I actually had family back in WI personally pick it up for me so I can start using it there on Monday!) What makes this such a valuable resource is that it helps the busy shepherd keep his skills in the biblical languages sharp without a great deal of time spent each day, while also grounding him in Holy Scripture and the Confessions. I am very glad to see that NPH was able to work out a deal with Concordia Publishing House to make use of the Reader’s Edition, which in my opinion is the most readable English translation available. I can’t wait to start digging into this treasure trove of biblical and confessional goodness!
[Update 1/4/2010 - I've started using this book as part of my daily personal devotions and it is EVERYTHING that it's cracked up to be. A little Hebrew (only a verse) and a little Greek (only a verse) and a little Confessions with an emphasis on the Gospel and ever mindful of the timing of the church year and you truly have a treasure!]
Luther’s Works: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters 17-20 – ed. by Christopher Boyd Brown (Concordia Publishing House) – This past year Concordia Publishing House announced that they will be publishing twenty new volumes of Martin Luther’s works over the course of the next twenty years. Check out this page for more information about the new volumes, as well as subscription information. The first volume – Volume 69 – came out this past fall. I jumped on the subscription bandwagon to get a discount (and perhaps a Libronix version discount down the road!). I suppose this particular volume could also be considered devotional, since it is a collection of sermons, but either way, I’m looking forward to reading some new Luther!
Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrigby Jonathan Eig (Simon & Schuster) – I’m a big baseball fan and have always enjoyed biographies especially of the great baseball heroes of the past. I received this as a Christmas present and can’t wait to read about the “Iron Horse”.
The Power of One: A Novelby Bryce Courtenay (Ballantine Books) – From little on, I’ve been fascinated with Africa – its wonders, its history, its people. I recently re-read Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, which I had once read for a college literature course – an excellent book not only on its portrayal of post-WWII South Africa, but the story of Stephen Kumalo, a pastor seeking to find his son in crime-ridden Johannesburg. (There’s much, much more to it, but no time for a review today!) The Power of One is set in nearly the same time period – Second World War era South Africa, when apartheid was really being put into place. A dear friend and classmate directed me to this book years ago, so I can’t wait to finally read it.
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Now it’s your turn. In the comments section, list up to five books you’re looking forward to reading (bound or digital) in 2010! Thanks for reading and have a blessed 2010!
O Jesus Christ, Your manger is my paradise
where my soul is reclining.
For there, O Lord, we find the Word made flesh for us–
Your grace is brightly shining.
O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is - Verse 1
Christian Worship 40/Lutheran Service Book 372 The Lutheran Hymnal 81/Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary 161
Today our celebrations begin. After weeks of Advent watchfulness and waiting, repentant preparation, and growing joy, the time has come to celebrate the Word made flesh, the Word incarnate, man divine – the Nativity of our Lord. As this holy season begins and we gather around the manger of our Savior-King, let that miracle in the manger take your breath away at how ordinary and extraordinary it all is. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” Marvel at the love that moved God himself to take on our human flesh, and not just as an adult, but as a helpless infant who grew to be a child, an adolescent, and then an adult, who came to be your Substitute.
As you peer into that manger and marvel at the miracle, lift your gaze to see the shadow of the cross stretching out behind that lowly manger-bed. This child, this Savior comes for one and only one purpose – to make his way to that cross to suffer and die for you and for the sins of the whole world. Let that miracle in the manger take your breath away and see the grace of God in the flesh there in the manger, on the dusty roads of Palestine, on the cross of Calvary, and finally in the empty tomb of Easter – all for you. “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” Wondrous. Amazing. Breathtaking.
As I have done in the past, below you will find several thoughts on the incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the history of the Christian church interspersed with the verses of Paul Gerhardt’s masterful Christmas hymn, “O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is” (O Jesus Christ, Dein Kripplein ist).
As you hear again the old familiar story of a Savior born amidst the praise of shepherds and angels, may that gracious Savior, who took on human flesh to live and die and rise again for you, bless your celebrations in this holy season and may we see each other around the Savior’s manger-bed!
He whom the sea and wind obey
Comes down to serve the sinner in great meekness.
Now God’s own Son with us is one
And joins us and our children in our weakness.
O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is - Verse 2
Thoughts on reasons why the Word had to become flesh :
The Word perceived that corruption could not be got rid of otherwise than through death; yet He Himself, as the Word, being immortal and the Father’s Son, was such as could not die. For this reason, therefore, He assumed a body capable of death, in order that it, through belonging to the Word Who is above all, might become in dying a sufficient exchange for all, and, itself remaining incorruptible through His indwelling, might thereafter put an end to corruption for all others as well, by the grace of the resurrection. It was by surrendering to death the body which He had taken, as an offering and sacrifice free from every stain, that He forthwith abolished death for His human brethren by the offering of the equivalent. For naturally, since the Word of God was above all, when He offered His own temple and bodily instrument as a substitute for the life of all, He fulfilled in death all that was required… You know how it is when some great king enters a large city and dwells in one of its houses; because of his dwelling in that single house, the whole city is honoured, and enemies and robbers cease to molest it. Even so is it with the King of all; He has come into our country and dwelt in one body amidst the many, and in consequence the designs of the enemy against mankind have been foiled, and the corruption of death, which formerly held them in its power, has simply ceased to be. For the human race would have perished utterly had not the Lord and Saviour of all, the Son of God, come among us to put an end to death…
Some may then ask, why did He not manifest Himself by means of other and nobler parts of creation, and use some nobler instrument, such as sun or moon or stars or fire or air, instead of mere man? The answer is this. The Lord did not come to make a display. He came to heal and to teach suffering men. For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been just to appear and dazzle the beholders. But for Him Who came to heal and to teach the way was not merely to dwell here, but to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him, and to be manifested according as they could bear it, not vitiating (i.e. impairing or making ineffective) the value of the Divine appearing by exceeding their capacity to receive it.
From On the Incarnation by Athanasius of Alexandria (ca. 293-373) (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press: 1977), Pages 35 and 78.
Your light and grace our guilt efface,
Your heavenly riches all our loss retrieving.
Immanuel, your birth does quell the power of hell
and Satan’s bold deceiving.
O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is - Verse 3 (alt. TLH/LSB/ELH)
Dear Christian friend, on him depend;
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move you.
For God’s own child in mercy mild joins you to him -
How greatly God must love you.
O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is – Verse 3
A devotional prayer of thanksgiving for Christ’s incarnation:
Jesus Christ, only mediator and redeemer of the human race, I give thanks to you that in the fullness of time You united Yourself personally to a true human nature and deigned to be born of a virgin (Galatians 4:4). How great is Your love for Your human creatures that you laid hold not of angels, but of the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2:16). How great is the mystery of godliness that You, being true God, desired to become manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). How great is Your mercy that, descending from heaven for my sake, You endured being born of a virgin (Isaiah 9:6). For me, a most worthless creature, You, the all-powerful Creator, became man. For my sake, an abject slave, You, the glorious Lord, clothed Yourself in servile fashion with a body so with flesh You might free flesh (Philippians 2:7). For me, You were born. Therefore, whatever heavenly goods You bring with You in Your birth will be mine.
Because You were given to me, so also shall all things be given to me. My nature is glorified more in You than it was disgraced in Adam through sin. Because You assumed into the unity of Your person that which was only tarnished by Satan, You truly are flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone (Ephesians 5:30). You are my brother. What can you deny to me, the person to whom You are most intimately joined by the same essence of flesh and by the feeling of fraternal love? You are the bridegroom (Matthew 22:2) who, according to the good pleasure of the heavenly Father, bound the human nature to Yourself as a bride by means of a personal covenant. With a thankful soul, I proclaim and acknowledge that I, too, am invited to the celebration of this marriage.
I am no longer amazed that heaven, earth, sea, and all that is in them were made by God for us because God Himself ordained to become a man for the sake of His human creatures. Truly, You cannot reject me and turn me away because you cannot deny that You Yourself are a man and therefore my brother (2 Timothy 2:13). You can never forget me because you have engraved me on the palms of Your hands (Isaiah 49:16). Christ’s communion with humanity daily and continually makes You mindful of me. You cannot forsake me because You, by the closest bond of the personal union, ordained to join the human nature to Yourself. Therefore, no matter how much my sins hinder me from coming to You for mercy, the communion of the two natures in Christ will not allow me to be driven away. I will depend totally on You, the one who totally assumed my humanity. Amen.
Ponder again what glory then
the Lord will give you for your earthly sadness.
The angel host can never boast of greater glory,
greater bliss or gladness.
The world may hold her wealth and gold;
But you, my heart, keep Christ as your true treasure.
To him hold fast until at last a crown is yours and honor in full measure.
O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is – Verses 4-5.
A meditation on what the incarnation means for you and me:
An unspeakably great, unexplorable divine mystery is at the bottom of all this. God’s holiness and righteousness must shut the doors of heaven to us sinners, and He knows that neither we ourselves nor any creature in heaven or on earth can open them for us. He had therefore determined from eternity that what we could not do, He would do Himself, and He would do it in such a way that His divine, wonderful, incomprehensible, and infinite love would be made known to all creatures, to His eternal praise and glory. God had decreed that His dear, only-begotten Son Himself would be sent into the world, that He would become man, that all of our sins would be laid on Him, and that those sins would be completely and eternally blotted out by His deep humiliation and death on a cross.
What happened in Bethlehem was the fulfillment of that eternal decree of the heavenly Father. As soon as His Son became man, the unbearable burden of all humanity’s sin was laid upon Him. And so, as Christ, God’s sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the whole world, lay in a hard crib in the dark stable, the eyes of God looked into the future to see His Son already dying on the cross. Therefore, this atonement for sins, by which God’s offended holiness and righteousness were satisfied and men were reconciled to Him, was already as good as accomplished. For this reason, God immediately opened the gates of heaven as a sign of this glorious event. The heavenly host announced the wonder of His eternal love (which He wants each person to receive) to the humblest of people, the poor shepherds, and when the heavenly choir had concluded its festival hymn of reconciliation with the world, He filled them with joy.
Let us, then, rejoice and be happy today. Let our mouths be full of laughter and our tongues full of praise. For the holy message of Christmas is that heaven’s gates stand open for us.
This Advent season I have been reading through a devotional resource by retired WELS Pastor Richard Lauersdorf entitled Be Near Me, Lord Jesus: Devotions for the Advent and Christmas Seasons. As anyone who has read Lauersdorf’s devotionals can attest, it’s great reading. He uses a down-to-earth, yet Scripturally deep writing style that gets to the heart and core of the text quickly and clearly, but this isn’t another book review like some of my recent posts. I would like to share his devotion on Philippians 4:4 from today. As you make your final Advent preparations, I pray the Lord bless you with a Merry “Big” Christmas!
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Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas,” the song goes. And so often that’s the problem, isn’t it? Our Christmas is too little. It’s far too small, too narrow, too confined. It doesn’t last as long as it ought or do what it should. On this last Advent day before Christmas Eve, Paul urges us to have ourselves a merry big Christmas – one that lasts all year.
“Rejoice!” he commands. Why, we might ask. Don’t we know how? Isn’t that what our whole Christmas season is all about? There are the gifts and the gatherings. The fun that comes with watching children and grandchildren tear open presents that they hadn’t even dreamed about getting. The feeling that warms the heart at having the family circle all gathered together. What joy to get together, share lives, catch up on news. What a shame that it so often waits until this time of the year to happen. So what do you mean by “Rejoice,” Paul? We do, don’t we?
Besides this, there are other things, you know. There’s the job that, though I grumble about it at times, I’d be lost without. The spouse at my side, who, though I don’t always appreciate enough, I surely wouldn’t want to lose. The savings and investments – at least enough for a proverbial rainy day and a reasonable retirement. The vehicle or vehicles in the garage, the gadgets in the kitchen, the electronic gear in the family room, the extras I’ve become so accustomed to that I think I have to have them. So what do you mean, Paul, “Rejoice”? We do, don’t we?
Be careful. These are only things and situations and circumstances. To center our joy on such items sets us up for a fall. For what happens to our joy when things are taken from us and circumstances change? How do I rejoice, then, when my bank account is heading for empty or a part of my body misbehaves? How do I rejoice, then, when a spouse deserts or a child disappoints? What’s going to happen to such shallow joy when life no longer goes my way and circumstances no longer are colored rosy bright?
Paul was thinking of a much bigger Christmas when he wrote to the Christians at Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Remember where Paul was at the time – in a prison cell in Rome, locked up for the crime of talking about his Savior. Remember too what the usual mode of exit from a Roman prison cell was, even for a Roman citizen like Paul – as a corpse. If anything, we would have expected the apostle to be down and out, not speaking about rejoicing in the Lord always. What was his secret?
We don’t have to guess. He tells us, “Rejoice in the Lord.” Paul’s joy rose far above things and circumstances. It rested in the Lord. Paul’s joy was great and unending, because he had a God who was great and unending. No prison door could shut his Savior out. No sorrow could steal away his joy, because his Savior could transform even such things into good. Even death could not sever him from his joy – it was the doorway to fuller joy at his Savior’s side.
Do we want to have ourselves a merry big Christmas, one that outlasts the trees and the tinsel? Then, in the days ahead, let’s go to Bethlehem and take our loved ones with us. Let’s enter the stable where the Savior lies bedded on the hay and unwrap and wonder at the wondrous gift we have in him. Let’s pick that baby up, cradle him in our hearts, and never put him down. And let’s share the joy. There are so many who have only a five-cent joy when the five-million one is waiting for them in that baby in the manger. If we don’t tell them, how will they ever join us in singing, “Joy, oh, joy beyond all gladness, Christ has done away with sadness”?
So how big is our merry Christmas going to be this year?
Lord, thank you for wrapping your Son in our flesh and sending him into our world of sin to be our Savior. Help us rejoice in his birth not just this season but all year through. Bring and keep us kneeling before the Savior’s manger bed, that we may have ourselves a merry big Christmas. Amen.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I’ve been teaching a Sunday Bible study on the Sacrament of Holy Baptism as part of a 6-year cycle of thoroughly covering one part of the Small Catechism a year. It’s been a great experience for myself and the members, as I get an opportunity to have a clearer understanding of Holy Baptism and they get to dig deeper into something often taken for granted.
First of all, thank you to all of you who have sent me pictures of baptismal fonts. My last class when I plan to have the “Show and Tell” will be Sunday, January 3, so I still welcome any more digital pictures of fonts you might have.
Secondly, I wanted to share with you a couple great resources that should be accessible on your shelf when it comes to Baptism itself and the doctrine and practice of infant baptism. While researching for this Bible Study, these two resources were the first ones I took off my shelf. Both are easy to read. Both are quite thorough on their subjects. Both do an excellent job of not only teaching the basics from Holy Scripture, but also deftly addressing the issues today.
Baptism: My Adoption into God’s Familyby Gaylin R. Schmeling -This book is part of the People’s Bible Teaching series from Northwestern Publishing House (NPH), a series intended to make the main teachings of the Bible accessible and understandable for lay people. This particular book came out ten years ago in 1999, but hasn’t lost any of its timeliness. Author Gaylin Schmeling, president of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary and author of several other books and writings on the Sacraments, deftly expands and explains the Sacrament of Holy Baptism: the Scriptural basis for the Sacrament (including the command, institution, nature, rite, and mode of Baptism), the blessings of the Sacrament (including a lengthy section on infant and adult baptism and the issue of “spirit baptism”), and the meaning of the Sacrament for daily life (including a lengthy section on “absolution as a continuation of Baptism”). Finally Schmeling covers the Sacrament in church history, in which he goes back to the picture and types of Baptism in the Old Testament and then traces the teaching and practice of Holy Baptism from the early church to the modern era, including a closer look at modern Reformed and Roman Catholic views of Baptism. For the busy shepherd or the inquiring layperson, such a resource is a welcome and handy addition to any bookshelf. The book is available through NPH for $13.99 ($11.19 with the NPH Called Worker discount), and is money well-spent.
Baptized Into God’s Family: The Doctrine of Infant Baptism for Today (Second Edition)by A. Andrew Das – This book is part of the Impact Series from Northwestern Publishing House, a series intended to provide in-depth discussion on a variety of issues facing the church today from a confessional Lutheran perspective. Readers of this blog would be familiar with another book from this series – The Theology of the Cross: Reflections on His Cross and Ours by Prof. Em. Daniel Deutschlander. This rather brief book (only 167 pages!) maintains that high standard of the Impact Series. Author Andrew Das originally came up with the concept for this book when looking for answers to questions about infant baptism that a college sweetheart was asking. What followed is one of the most complete and clear defenses of the teaching of infant baptism found in confessional Lutheranism. Das takes the reader again and again to the fount of Scripture and the witness of the history of the Christian church, both Old and New, to defend this oft-denied , yet vitally important teaching and practice in the Christian church. This book is not new, but the defense is as contemporary as when it was first written. Baptized Into God’s Family was originally published in 1991, but seventeen years later NPH asked Das to update the book with a chapter on “Lingering Questions”, generally questions people have asked about the original book for further clarification or explanation. In this chapter, Das addresses current issues in the Christian church like the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, “Once saved, always saved”, and immersion. With the prevailing view in much of American Christianity that infant baptism is not necessary, this is a book that should be on the shelf of every busy shepherd and inquiring layperson. The book is available through NPH for $15.99 ($12.79 with the NPH Called Worker discount), and is money well-spent.
It’s been pretty busy outside of The Shepherd’s Study, so my apologies that there hasn’t been more activity, but I do have a request that I hope you, dear Reader, can help…
On Sunday mornings here at Cross of Christ we’re doing a Bible study on the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. It’s a refresher of what was learned in youth confirmation class, while digging deeper into what Scripture has to say about it and addressing common issues, questions, and misunderstandings of Baptism. As part of our final class on Sunday, January 3, I would like to do a brief “Show and Tell” of different baptismal fonts via PowerPoint. After photographing quite a few different churches over the years, I’ve found the design of their fonts is often as unique as their architecture.
So could you share a picture of the baptismal font at your church or pictures you might have of other baptismal fonts? You can send them to lutheranshepherd @ gmail . com, share it on my Facebook wall (if you’re connected with me there), or if you have one, provide a link in the comments section. Thanks for your help!
We’re doing a Bible study on Holy Baptism here and as part of our last lesson, I want to do a “Show and Tell” of different baptismal fonts via PowerPoint. Could you share a picture of the baptismal font at your church or pictures of fonts you might have? You can send them to lutheranshepherd@gmail.com o…r write on my wall and share the picture. Thanks for all your help!We’re doing a Bible study on Holy Baptism here and as part of our last lesson, I want to do a “Show and Tell” of different baptismal fonts via PowerPoint. Could you share a picture of the baptismal font at your church or pictures of fonts you might have? You can send them to lutheranshepherd@gmail.com o…r write on my wall and share the picture. Thanks for all your help!
I intended this review to go out shortly after Easter, but the Lord dismissed my intentions with the gift of a son and a busier ministry. So now it’s Advent, but a time just as appropriate. During this season we are made all the more aware of the theology of the cross as we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, and so the review…
“Read it every year for the first ten years of your ministry…”
Going through college and seminary, it was not unusual for professors to step away from their lectures for a moment to offer some practical advice from their own experience in the pastoral ministry. Quite often those discussions were some of the most valuable lessons we learned from those professors. I recall one Seminary professor in one of those moments give the advice above regarding Dr. C.F.W. Walther’s The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel.
Great advice for young men entering the pastoral ministry. In that collection of Walther’s lectures, one not only finds lesson after lesson about distinguishing between Law and Gospel, but one also finds there a treasury of practical pastoral advice that applies as much in the 21st Century as it did in the 19th. It’s a classic of Lutheran theology that should be on the shelf and on the annual reading list of every Lutheran shepherd.
Rarely does one find such a treasure like Law and Gospel that deserves as much of the shepherd’s time and attention year in and year out (besides Scripture and the Confessions, of course!). Yes, there are plenty of classics out there worth your reading, but few that a shepherd and his flock should be reading over and over again. The time has come, however, to make that recommendation about another book that came out about a year ago, a book that I am convinced deserves to be regarded as a treasure of Lutheran theology for many years to come — The Theology of the Cross: Reflections on His Cross and Ours by Prof. Em. Daniel M. Deutschlander (Northwestern Publishing House, 2008).
I had the privilege of sitting at the feet of Prof. Deutschlander for German and history courses throughout my college years. Like many others in the pastor track there, I also spent plenty of time talking with him in his office. I would have to say he had one of the greatest impacts on me being the pastor that I am today. Theology of the Cross is not unlike sitting in his classroom or in his office, and it comes as a fruit of the labors of a faithful shepherd who served in the ministry for 40 years.
Theology of the Cross is a book that is an in-depth study of a vitally important, though oft-ignored, teaching of Holy Scripture – the cross of the Christian in his life of faith and the centrality of Christ’s cross in the life of the Christian and the church. In this day and age, that’s not a popular teaching in Christianity. “Who wants to hear about suffering and struggle and loss and cross anyway?” With that attitude, many Christians, congregations, and church bodies go the way of the theology of glory. There the prophets of glory promise success and ease and outward results if you only follow their forty easy steps, seven simple rules, or at least set aside all that negative talk of self denial. Such a theology of glory plays right into the hands of our sinful selves that want nothing more than to gratify themselves in any way they can, but in reality such a theology not only rejects the cross, but also Christ.
In his rich devotional and teaching style, Prof. Deutschlander takes the reader back to Holy Scripture, where one finds not the theology of glory, but the theology of the cross as displayed in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why this book is so appropriate to be read in church seasons like Advent and Lent. While the rest of the world focuses on the tinsel and twinkling lights of Christmas, the Church ponders the reason why a Savior had to come in the first place, not to take his place on a throne of glory, but to become the sinless Substitute for damned, undeserving, ungrateful sinners ultimately taking up the cross to save them from their sins. The chapter on “The Theology of the Cross and the Hidden God” emphasizes this reality: “God remains hidden in and under the cross, in weakness and in struggle, and he chooses to be found nowhere else.” (pgs. 113-114)
Unlike most books that take up such a dogmatic or doctrinal subject, this book is not simply geared for the trained professional shepherd. It is just as edifying for the layperson. Now don’t get me wrong. As one would expect from Prof. Deutschlander, Theology of the Cross is not light, fluffy writing that will make you feel good about yourself. In fact, the chapters on “Slivers on the Cross” and “Slivers Under the Cross” leave the reader feeling positively wretched for all those times when he or she has allowed the sinful self to gladly consider dumping the cross for an easier journey through this life. Yes, this book has some heavy theological lifting and is not to be read quickly, but it’s worth every minute, because the theology of the cross is so vitally important for the present day.
Prof. Deutschlander provides an in-depth, practical discussion of the paradox of the cross (including how it plays into the doctrines of the means of grace and justification), a look at the “slivers” on and under the cross (including self denial in the life of a Christian, and a theology-of-the-cross look at 1 Corinthians 13 and Luther’s Table of Duties from the Small Catechism), and an insightful look at the hiddenness of God in the life of Christ and the Christian. Arguably the most valuable sections of the entire book are found in the last three chapters, where Prof. Deutschlander examines “particular and changing aspects of the cross in the life of the Christian and in the life of the church.” (pg. 2) In particular, he devotes one whole chapter to the special crosses of pastor and the visible church. That chapter alone makes this book a must-read for every Lutheran pastor or called worker, as well as every Lutheran leader. Prof. Deutschlander also provides a summary of Hermann Sasse’s “Luther’s Theology of the Cross” and a Lenten sermon series that Prof. Deutschlander wrote for Lent 2007.
There are applications in this book that can be used for every setting of ministry, for every generation, and every Christian who wants to grow in his faith and understanding of Holy Scripture. I have personally found that to be the case. Prof. Deutschlander writes with a devotional style that is both refreshing and edifying. I read the book for the first time during the forty days of Lent, simply reading about 5 pages a day between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Every time I re-read this book, the Lord has provided better focus in my preaching, teaching, and counseling of God’s people, not to mention the spiritual growth I personally enjoyed along the way. Below are a few quotations that I’ve shared on this blog as I read the book during Lent. Take time to check them out…
This book is truly a classic of Lutheran theology. It should be in the library of every Lutheran shepherd and in every Lutheran home. A Lutheran shepherd should read it every year for the first ten years of his ministry and then at least every couple years after that as life and ministry constantly change. This is a book that should never gather dust and is worthy of study among pastors, church staff, church councils, and Bible study groups. Need I say more? Others have. Here are some reviews from other Lutheran pastors and professors on the web:
Here’s a link to an interview Prof. Deutschlander did on the theology of the cross on Issues, Etc. Finally and most importantly, here is a link to the book on the Northwestern Publishing House website. (NPH also offers a 20% discount for pastors, teachers, staff ministers, and seminary students!) Good reading!
This year for our Thanksgiving Eve worship at Cross of Christ, we focused our giving thanks on the blessings the Lord provides through God’s gift of vocation in the areas of the home, the community, and the church. So for your Thanksgiving blog reading enjoyment, here is the third and final commentary of the three-part series. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Giving Thanks for Our Callings in the Church – 1 Peter 2:4-10
Did you hear it in there? “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” The Greek word used there – ekklesia – was a word used when citizens of a town “called out” of their homes for a town assembly. It was a word the early Christian church used to describe the church, because everyone there had been “called…out of darkness into [Christ’s] wonderful light”.
When it comes to our callings in the church, it’s important that we keep that in mind. Christ has called us out of darkness through the wonderful light of his Gospel. His Holy Spirit worked through that good news of sins forgiven, death destroyed, and salvation won to create faith in our hearts, to bring sight to our sin-blinded eyes, and to free us from the captivity of sin—to call us out of darkness into the light of life through Christ. Through the waters of Holy Baptism, Christ called us out of slavery as he welcomed us into his holy family. Through the Holy Supper, Christ calls us back from the sins that plague us with the forgiveness found in his body and blood with bread and wine. When we get careless with our vocations or take them for granted or see them as drudgery, we need to hear God’s Law condemn us for our carelessness with his gifts, but then we also need to hear the good news of Christ’s forgiveness to cleanse our hearts and motivate us to faithfully serve. But where does God provide those blessings of grace?
He pours out those blessings in the church through pastors called to proclaim the Word of God in its truth and purity and to administer the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion as God intended. They are called into public service to shepherd God’s flock and equip us to see our vocations as opportunities to serve the Lord by serving our neighbor. The Lord also pours out those blessings of grace through faithful teachers of Lutheran schools and Sunday Schools, so the Shepherd’s little lambs are taught to follow him to eternal life.
The Lord also pours out those blessings through faithful, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who provide models of service or encouragement, support, wisdom, and admonition from the Word of God when we need to hear it. It could be a preschooler reveling in the knowledge that Jesus loves me, a sister in Christ providing a loving shoulder for those who weep, or an elder providing admonition when we stray from Christ and his church.
The Lord pours out his blessings through our callings, not because we have earned or deserved them, but because he purchased us with his holy, precious blood and his innocent sufferings and death. It is that good news that called us out of darkness and it is that good news that we are called to share. What greater way could the Lord bless your neighbor—whether at home or in the community—than to use you to share the good news of Christ Jesus with them so they enjoy eternity in heaven with him and you forever! May our gracious Lord continue to bless you through the callings he has given you, and for those blessings we give grateful thanks!
This year for our Thanksgiving Eve worship at Cross of Christ, we focused our giving thanks on the blessings the Lord provides through God’s gift of vocation in the areas of the home, the community, and the church. So for your Thanksgiving blog reading enjoyment, here is the second commentary of the three-part series…
Giving Thanks for Our Callings in the Community – Jeremiah 29:4-7
Why in the world would the Lord give such a command to his exiled people? They were strangers living in a strange land where they spoke a strange language. How could God command them to settle down there?
Yes, they were exiles. They were in the world, but not of it, but God was not calling them to be hermits out in the desert or to hide away behind locked doors. No, the Lord was calling them to put his love into action—a tall order considering their “neighbors” in the community had been their enemies.
You and I are “strangers in a strange land” on a pilgrimage to our heavenly home. Like those Jews, we’re not home yet either, but also like them, God does not call us to lock ourselves away in a monastery, live alone out in the wilderness, or simply avoid the community around us by holing ourselves up in the church like some fortress of solitude.
No, the Lord calls each of us to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city…”, to “pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” So how does that play out in our daily lives? How does the Lord use us to bless the community around us? There are two basic areas where most, if not all, of us are called to serve—as workers and as citizens.
Work has been a gift from the Lord from the beginning. Adam was called to tend the Garden of Eden until he and his wife, Eve, fell into sin. Then work became a struggle, toil, labor, but since that time, the Lord has used vocations of work to benefit every one of us, whether it’s using our own work to provide products or services to customers who need them or using our employment to provide income for us and our families or other ways.
When we faithfully carry out our calling as employee or employer, the Lord provides countless blessings, which we often don’t think about—like how the bread on our table got there. At the same time, God’s hand of blessing is often most evident when work is faithfully carried out. The Lord commends faithful work, even taking on the vocation of carpenter before his ministry began. No legal, God-pleasing job is excluded from his use to bless us and others. Whether it’s the dairy farmer or the tech guru, God uses them all.
Every one of us is also a citizen. God commands us to show honor and respect for the governing authorities, submitting to their will unless commanded to sin against him. We do this by obeying the laws, paying taxes, and even praying for those in positions of government whether on the town board or in the White House. Jesus himself taught, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:21). Through his apostles Paul (Romans 13:1-7) and Peter (1 Peter 2:13-17), he commands us to faithfully serve those in authority.
God blesses us through the local, state, and federal government as he provides blessings like paved roads, military protection, and various freedoms. At the same time, in our governmental system, the Lord also provides us with the blessing and responsibility of being active citizens in our nation. The Lord blesses a nation when its Christian citizens take an active role, not to legislate morality, but to stand up for what is God-pleasing. As worker or student, soldier or citizen, may our gracious Lord continue to bless you, and for those blessings we give grateful thanks!
