The Gottesdienst Crowd

[Gottesblog] From Ashes to Ashes in Christ Jesus, by Rick Stuckwisch

From Ashes to Ashes in Christ Jesus

By Rick Stuckwish

The ashes for which this holy day is named, with which your forehead may be marked, are a sign of repentance because they signify and point to your death. There is nothing heroic in making this confession; it is simply the truth. You are mortal. You are dying, as you must, because you are a sinner. So much for your ambitions, your accomplishments, and your accumulated wealth.

Your mortality and death are the necessary consequence and punishment of your sin, which goes far deeper than your behavior to the very heart and soul of you. Conceived and born in sin, you are unholy and unclean, not only at odds with God but unable and unwilling to seek Him out or draw near to Him. And yet, because you cannot escape His presence, His holiness consumes you.

And yet, above all, the holiness of God the Lord is mercy. So He does not allow death to be or to have the last word, but He takes death itself into His hands to become the remedy and solution to your sin. For one thing, your dying brings an end to your sinfulness and sinning. As St. Paul says, the one who has died is freed from sin. But that would hardly be a happy ending, if that were it. Your death would not make things right, put things back together, or bring you to God in peace. However, what your death could not achieve, the death of Jesus Christ has done for you and all.

The Lord your God does not desire your death, nor the death of any sinner, but that you would be set free from sin and death, and that you would live without sin, holy and righteous before Him. Therefore, God the Father has given His own dear Son, and the beloved Son has given Himself, even into death, in order to atone for your sin by His Sacrifice upon the Cross, by the shedding of His sacred Blood on your behalf. And having done so in holy faith and holy love, His Resurrection from the dead is now your Righteousness, in which you are raised up to newness of life in Him.

As you have been taught by the Word and Spirit of God, you share in the death and resurrection of Christ by your Holy Baptism. That is why the ashes are signed upon your forehead in the shape of His Cross, recalling both His Sacrifice for you and your Baptism into Him, that you have died with Him, and that your life is hidden with Christ in God. Although you are still sinful, and your mortal body is still dying, returning to the dust whence you are taken, yet you are set free from the power of sin and death. You are alive, and you are righteous in Christ Jesus, by faith in Him.

When you know that your righteousness is by this faith in Christ, and not by your own works or efforts, then you also know how to practice your righteousness rightly. It is to live by faith under the Cross of Christ in the hope of His Resurrection from the dead. It is a righteousness that cannot be seen by men; neither can you see it in yourself. But it is exercised in faith as you bear the Cross of repentance for your sin, and as you bear the Cross in love for your neighbor. Dying to yourself, you live unto God, and you live for those around you, not to impress them, but to care for them.

This baptismal life is your whole burnt offering, the sacrifice of your whole body and life, which you render upon the atoning Sacrifice of Christ Jesus. By repentance and faith in His Cross and Resurrection, you are offered up, given up, and given over entirely to God. You are consumed by the fire of His Spirit, but so also purged of your idolatries and purified by the holiness of Christ. And the smoke that rises from this sacrifice is pleasing and acceptable to the Lord your God, as surely as the Father has received His Son back from the dead and seated Him at His right hand.

Of particular interest on this day are the ashes of the whole burnt offering, which were removed by the priest from the Lord’s Altar to a clean place outside the camp of Israel. For so do your body and life remain in this world, but no longer of it; no longer unclean because of your sins, which are removed, but cleansed and forgiven by the Blood of Christ Jesus and His acceptable Sacrifice. Even now in your still mortal flesh, you live and abide outside the camp with the Crucified One.

And this burnt offering of your body and life as a Christian, this living sacrifice of repentance, faith, and love, is characterized and exercised by those three basic practices to which Christ Jesus refers in the Holy Gospel for this day: fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Indeed, He does not teach you to avoid this fundamental piety of the Christian life, but to avoid all pretense and presumption, and to undertake these basic activities of discipleship in the fear and faith of the one true God.

To fast, to give alms, and to pray are not to be practiced as a means of gaining righteousness before God or man. There is to be no bargaining with God, nor any boasting in His presence. But you are to fast, to give alms, and to pray by the righteousness of faith in Christ Jesus, because you are reconciled to God in Him. You are justified by His grace; you are cleansed and sanctified by His forgiveness; and, by your Baptism into Him, you are dead to sin and alive to God forevermore.

To fast is to reduce your consumption, to give up for awhile what you otherwise rely upon, and to deny yourself the very things you crave the most. Whatever form it takes in your life, such fasting belongs to the daily dying of repentance. To curb your appetites in this way is to curb and put to death your flesh with all its covetous idolatry, to take up the Cross, and to follow Christ by faith.

Almsgiving goes hand in hand with fasting, as you deny yourself and give what you have to others. It is, indeed, the sacrifice of yourself and the gift of yourself to your neighbor in his or her need. Not for praise and recognition, but for the sake of love, in thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has given Himself entirely for you. In quiet humility, then, exercise mercy, and be generous in charity as you have opportunity. So, too, forgive and do good to those who sin against you.

But neither fast nor give alms without also calling on the Name of the Lord in prayer, which is the very voice of faith. By it you lay hold of Christ in the promise of His Gospel, and you store up treasures for yourself in heaven; not by scaling the heights, but by confessing the Word He has placed upon your lips, by receiving the gifts He gives into your hands, and by relying on His grace. In praying to the Father in His Name, you rise and ascend with Him who has come down from heaven to you, who has given Himself into death, who has risen and returned to the Father in glory.

Everything begins with and continues to depend upon the Sacrifice of Christ. He is the One who knew no sin, who yet became the Sin Offering for you and for the world. In flesh and blood like yours, He has offered Himself entirely to His God and Father on your behalf, in order to atone for your sins, to reconcile you to God in perfect peace, and to bring you into fellowship with Him.

Sin has been put to death once-and-for-all in His crucified Body. All its impurity, perversion, and stains have been removed by His Blood. And in His Resurrection and Ascension, He has entered into the presence of God as your merciful and great High Priest. Thus do you have access in Him to God the Father in heaven. Indeed, you enter the inner room of the Lord’s own House and Home, into the Holy of Holies, not made with hands but eternal in the heavens. And, like Christ Himself — for you are in Him and He in you by the Gospel — your sacrifice of repentance is a pleasing aroma and your prayer of faith is a sweet-smelling incense in the nostrils of the Lord your God.

He hears and answers your prayers in mercy, with compassion and generous charity. His gives you His alms in abundance for both your body and your soul, for this life and for the life everlasting.

He restores you day by day, throughout Lent and every day, to all the blessings and benefits of your Holy Baptism, which are the fruits and benefits of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus. He pours out the Holy Spirit upon you, anointing you with the true Oil of gladness. He washes you, cleanses you, and sanctifies you through the forgiveness of all your sins. He clothes you with the priestly garments of Christ, that is, with His own righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

And He feeds you at His Table with the priestly Food and Drink of Christ, which are His Body and His Blood. These Gifts are hidden from your sight, and from the sight of every man, being given as they are in the grain offering and drink offering of bread and wine. But the Body and Blood of the Lamb are truly present, given and poured out for you here at His Altar on earth, while never ceasing to appear and avail for you before your God and Father in the Most Holy Place in heaven.

Thus do we have fellowship with God in Christ, and with each other in His one Body. And thus do we give thanks to God and bless His Holy Name as we feast upon His Son in this sacrificial Meal. And our thanksgiving, too, is sanctified, acceptable, and pleasing to Him in Christ Jesus.

You are able to approach the Lord’s Altar with such confidence and joy, because you are clothed in Christ and covered by His righteousness. And by the same mercies of God in Christ, you are able to live in the world in love for your neighbor, purified within and without by the Holy Spirit. For the ashes of your perishing mortal flesh reside, even now, in a clean place with Christ Jesus; while yet, in Him, your body, soul, and spirit always live and abide in the presence of the Father.

Therefore, even now, on this day of grace, in this time of salvation, return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. And here in His Holy Communion is the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, which are for you and for the many. Here is your Meat and Drink indeed. Here is not death, but your life and salvation in Christ Jesus.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

TGC 101 - On Resisting the Government, Part 2

In the last episode, we discussed the Wittenberg theologians' (mainly Luther and Melanchthon) gradual shift on their theological stance regarding offering not just disobedience to the governing authorities, but also resistance, and if necessary, armed resistance. In this episode of The Gottesdienst Crowd, we take up part two of what is now a three-part series. Here we dive into the events that happen after Luther's death, focusing on the events surrounding the city of Magdeburg and The Magdeburg Confession. 

The Magdeburg Confession is translated and can be found for purchase HERE. It contains a full confession of their faith. In the appendix, the Amsdorf (the primary author of the document) includes a section Concerning Resistance. There he offers three reasons why resistance to the governing authorities is not only a right, but also a duty granted by God in His holy Word. 

David Ramirez (pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Union Grove, WI, and co-founder of the annual Bugenhagen Conference in Racine, WI) joins us again for part 2 of On Resisting the Government. 

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[Gottesblog] "When necessary, use words" by Larry Beane

"When necessary, use words"

By Larry Beane

 

Few things send Lutherans into apoplexy more than the quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words.” Of course, the quote is apocryphal, and probably spurious. But it is still fun to watch Lutherans lose their you-know-what whenever this old canard is trotted out.

Obviously, the reaction is grounded in a good impulse: the idea that it is always necessary to preach the Gospel using words, Romans 10 and all that. For the Word - especially the preached Word - is efficacious unto forgiveness, life, and salvation. And so the casual dismissal of “words” as is suggested by this trite quote is to miss the point about preaching.

That said, there yet remains not only some truth to the bromide, but there is an aspect of it that is quite Lutheran.

Experts in human communication and project management tell us that 60% of human communication is nonverbal: based on facial expressions, gestures, and body language.

We advocates of liturgy understand this instinctively. Yes, it matters how you hold your hands while presiding. We “say the black and do the red,” understanding that the unspoken “red” is also important in conveying the Gospel. We insist on not only using the right words, but accompanying those words with reverence - lest we communicate one thing with our words and something else with our bodies. Ceremony is important. Ecclesiastical art is important. Church architecture is important. All of these unspoken things are important because they do convey a message - one that can either bolster or gainsay what we say, one that can either affirm or mock that which comes out of our mouths.

We believe in “taking pains” with not only what we say when we preach, but how we say it when we preach and when we preside at worship. We have all seen examples of pastors whose slovenliness or casualness in their celebration of the Mass belie the sublime Words of Institution and the confession that Jesus is present by virtue of His miraculous Word.

I remember many years ago when a high school senior - one of the very top students in the Lutheran high school in which I formerly taught - was shocked to learn that Lutherans believe in the Real Presence. She was under the impression that this was a Roman Catholic belief, and that Lutherans believe the elements are symbolic. This was a girl who otherwise knew her theology well, and was a lifelong Lutheran. Interestingly, her congregation met in a gymnasium and the altar was on wheels. The Divine Service was surrounded by volley balls, a large scoreboard, and bleachers. This was the imagery surrounding the liturgy. At that time, the pastor was not known for his emphasis on ceremony. No doubt he was teaching correctly in Confirmation class, Bible class, Sunday School, and Adult Instruction. I’m sure he said all the right words. But clearly something gave this bright student reason to hear and to believe something entirely contradictory.

How we say something - including our nonverbal cues - are important.

There is an element of pedagogy in the ceremonies of worship, as we confess in the Augsburg Confession:

“For ceremonies are needed to this end alone that the unlearned be taught [what they need to know of Christ].”

— AC 24:3-4

And this communication that is done by means of ceremonies is also carried out by a lack of ceremony. For just as the act of deliberately and reverently genuflecting and elevating during the consecration nonverbally communicates and confesses what is happening at the altar, a rapid and casual approach, devoid of ceremony, also teaches something.

Of course, while other reforming groups were iconoclastically tearing down statues and covering up murals, our Evangelical tradition (advocates of Pietism being the exception) has always appreciated the power of art to convey the truths of Scripture - even without words. Altar pieces depicting Jesus as the Lamb, as well as blood pouring from the side of the crucified Christ into a chalice convey the Gospel without words. The image of the corpus on the crucifix proclaims both Law and Gospel. Stained glass windows explicitly convey truths of Scripture. Baptismal fonts are often adorned with crosses, doves, or some variation of the octagon - confessing a sacramental and salvific view of Holy Baptism. Ceremonies like the sign of the cross, ashes on Ash Wednesday, and rising for the Gospel and for doxological stanzas of hymns all teach by virtue of their action.

And especially if one has been properly catechized, and if the preaching in one’s congregation is solid, the art and architecture and the ceremonies used in the Divine Service will, like the gestures and body language of the pastor, proclaim the Good News of Jesus.

So indeed, it is necessary to use words to preach the Gospel. But let us not neglect those times when we really do preach the Gospel nonverbally. Let us never allow a separation or a contradiction between what we say and what we do, between our preaching and celebrating, between our doctrine and ceremonies, between what we teach with our mouths and what we convey with our body language.

Let us proclaim the Gospel in word and deed. So yes, “preach the Gospel at all times,” and yes, “when necessary, use words.”

[Gottesblog] Antiseptic Ash Wednesday? by Burnell Eckardt

Antiseptic Ash Wednesday?

By Burnell Eckardt

 

Now we come to the day when Lent begins, and a special emphasis is put on our unworthiness, our deep singular need for Christ, and even the practices we undertake for the purposes of helping us focus. We fast from certain foods, not as a dietary function, but to be bodily reminded that we do not deserve them, and we need Christ. We fast from certain sights, not because we can save a little money on flowers during Lent, but to remember that even the beauties of the earth are undeserved, and given for our eyes to see without any merit or worthiness in us. We fast from singing alleluias, not because we want to do something different in the liturgy, but to remember that even our lips to sing praises are unmerited gifts.

And we employ the marking of the forehead with ashes on the first day of Lent not as an outward show in order to be seen by men, but rather to remember, O man, that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. This is no idle exercise. We really are dust, we were created out of the ground, and would surely return to dust the moment God withdrew his sustaining hand that preserves us moment by moment. And we really shall return to dust, as everyone knows. We really die, we are really buried, we really disintegrate. We really cannot live, and will really die, and that eternally, without Christ, and without his holy incarnation and the sanctification and renewal of our flesh by his holy sacrifice and resurrection. I believe in the resurrection of the body. And this body is in dire need of being renewed and raised from the dead. And the imposition of ashes is a poignant and personal reminder of that.

So what, then, can we say of the antiseptic practices some have chosen to undergo in order to impose ashes on foreheads on Ash Wednesday because of the fear of spreading germs? What can we say of the practice of reminding people to wash their foreheads first, and of using disposable gloves and disposable swabs? What can we say of the sprinkling of ashes instead of the imposition of them? Does this not all run directly contrary to what the imposition of ashes means? Does this not say, rather, something like this? “Let’s do the ash thing, but let’s first take care that we do not really get sick and die! Let’s engage in this ritual because it’s important somehow, but we wouldn’t want to pass any germs around!” Must we now say, “Remember, O man, that you are dust, but that’s nothing! You might get covid!”

Ash Wednesday is not the time, O man, to be carefully remembering first of all to take whatever measures you must take to stay safe! For you, O man, are not safe! You are dust, and to dust shall you return. Of all times, Ash Wednesday calls us away from all earthly enterprises, to believe this, and to call upon the Incarnate God who alone can rescue us.

TGC 100 - Sola Scriptura is not Fundamentalist Biblicism

As Lutherans who hold to Sola Scritpura, we have all heard the charges of fundamentalism and biblicism as we ask where that particular teaching can be found in the Bible. But adhering to Sola Scriptura is neither fundamentalist nor biblicism. In this episode, Fritz Eckardt (pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kewanee, IL, and Editor-in-Chief of Gottesdienst: The Journal of Lutheran Liturgy) talks about what makes him most cranky: reductionistic and poorly-informed interpretation of the Scriptures. 

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[Gottesblog] There's Never Jocularity in Prayer, by Burnell Eckardt

There’s Never Jocularity in Prayer

by Burnell Eckardt

 

This thought occurred to me: Never, when we are at prayer, is there ever the remotest thought of praying with levity or jocularity. Never is humor added as if to maintain the attention of people who might be silently praying along. Never in the prayers of the church, or for that matter, in personal prayers, is humor thought to be a helpful ingredient. Not even during personal prayers when they are said aloud, say, in a family setting. Of course this would not be the case in church when saying printed prayers and collects in a liturgical setting, but never even when ex corde prayers are uttered by the pastor (if that is his inclination during the prayer of the church). Never.

And so I thought, How odd. How odd, that is, that whenever we speak to God we are dead serious. We are not trying in the slightest way to be funny, or evoke laughter. We would never.

So why, then, is there so often such a strong push to employ levity or evoke laughter when it is time for us to hear God? When there is preaching? For not only is reading Scripture aloud the hearing of God’s word. Preaching is too, as the catechism says: “We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.”

The sermon is the integration of God’s word with the words of the pastor, but even the words of the pastor are the application of God’s word, by God’s own direction. The Gospel is to be preached, not simply read aloud. And for that matter, even prayers themselves are best said when they integrate God’s promises with one’s own supplications, as also the Psalms routinely do. They confess the faith and they implore God, and in their case all the words are His, in a primary sense. In a derived sort of sense, the same ought to be true of the sermon. It, too, is all God’s word, although when the pastor preaches he is employing his own words. Still, he is doing a holy thing, though of course in a much lesser sense than in the case of the Psalter. The whole sermon is still called God’s word. The sermon must be norma normata, that is, “normed” by the Scriptures. The Scriptures must be its guide and compass. It must be derived, governed by the Scriptures. That is required of preachers, though of course they have great latitude in how they preach and apply God’s word.

Still, the sermon is not stand up comedy. It is not a time to connect with the hearers in the way that motivational speakers might do. It’s different. It’s norma normata. Certainly the pastor is using the sermon to connect with the hearers, but why must he feel constrained to so so with levity? Why with jokes?

You don’t joke around when speaking to God, so why, then, should you joke around when you, O pastor, are the vehicle through which God is speaking? We are, as the catechism says, to hold preaching sacred. Certainly this applies to the preacher as well as to the hearers.

[Gottesblog] Requiescat in Potentia? by Larry Beane

Requiescat in Potentia?

by Larry Beane

“Peace be with you.”

— JESUS (JOHN 20:19)

“Perhaps they think that they will exercise power for the general good, but that is what all those with power have believed.  Power is evil in itself, regardless of who exercises it.”

— LUDWIG VON MISES, *NATION, STATE, AND ECONOMY*

"Rest in Power" has become a trendy slogan for Leftists in response to when someone, usually a celebrity, politician, or someone politically useful, dies.  This is, of course, a parody of the ancient Christian prayer and confession "May (he or she) rest in peace" (requiescat in pace) that is said when a believer dies.

The Latin grammar of the expression "in pace" (ablative singular) expresses the idea that the believer is not merely headed towards the destination of peace (which would be the accusative case), but that the person is now at rest, already reaching the destination of "peace."  This is because when a believer dies, he or she is with Christ.  Thus “Rest in peace” is an explicitly Christian confession.  For in Christian theology, Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" (Isa 9:6) whose first word to the mourning disciples after His resurrection was "Peace be with you" (John 20:19).  Christians often speak of the Church on earth as the "Church militant" and the Church in heaven as the "Church triumphant."  A popular Christian hymn ("For All the Saints") speaks of the departed Christians as those who "from their labor rest."  

To those who serve the religion of "social justice," a person's work is not ended at death.  He or she is not at rest.  For instead of heaven being found in eternity, it is sought in an unattainable Utopia here on earth: Karl Marx's communistic egalitarian paradise in which there is no scarcity, and thus no need for private property and trade, as articulated by John Lennon: "No need for greed and hunger, a brotherhood of man."  Of course, Mr. Lennon might today have his statues toppled and his photographs altered for microaggressive sexism and an unforgiveable failure to acknowledge the gender non-corforming community.

And of course, this Marxist Utopia includes the dictum "and no religion too," for there is "no hell below us, above us only sky."  In the millenarian faith of "social justice," there is no afterlife, only the struggle to achieve heaven on earth.  And since there is no God, ultimately, there are no human beings created in the image of God.  There is rather a stark division between "good people" (who think like John Lennon and Karl Marx) and "bad people" - capitalists, conservatives, Christians, etc.  And in the worldview of the "good people," the "bad people" must either change, or be liquidated.  

They may be changed by "education" - schools, government posters, movies, books, etc. designed specifically to push such a worldview.  For the dissident, there are consequences.  For the stubborn, there will be camps and prisons.  For the recalcitrant, there will be bullets.  And as technocracy enables, we can reward "good people" with liberty to work, travel, and own a few personal items (as Socialists make a distinction between "personal" property, which is allowed, and "private" property, which is not).  We can also, using a "social credit" system, exert power over people in which the iron fist is covered by a velvet app on the phone, one that constantly rates and scores people based on desired thoughts, words, and deeds - in order to make use of the power to control people to the desired end.

In the fallen world, power is the manifestation of the internal wicked desire that St. Augustine called "libido dominandi" - the "lust for domination."  And every nightmarish dystopian civilization that ended up bringing "bad people" on boxcars to camps and stacking tens of millions of corpses into shallow graves has begun as a dreamy utopian vision in which "good people" would use power "for good."

Hence "Rest in power."

Wikipedia has an entry explaining that the expression "Rest in power" began in the early 21st century, and is mainly used by racialist and non-traditional sexual groups who hold a worldview that pits "the oppressors" against "the oppressed."  This is known as "critical theory" as espoused by the Frankfurt School - which is itself a modification of Marxism that replaces the clash between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie with a struggle between culturally dominant groups and the marginalized.  This is where the Orwellian ideas of "microaggressions" and "systemic" oppression come from, in which "privilege" is so prevalent, that the oppression seems non-existent - which is evidence for its existence.  To deny its existence is to affirm it.  

Wikipedia also has an entry for "Rest in peace," which locates its origins with Christian tombs in catacombs during times of actual bloody persecution, in which Christians were physically tortured and killed by their Roman oppressors.  These were historically-verifiable genocidal mega-aggressions committed by those in power.  The actual systemic oppression of Christianity is manifest by the still extant bloodstains on the floor of the Coliseum and the stacks of bones in Christian tombs of the martyrs. 

And so we see the contrast between "Rest in peace" and "Rest in power."  The two expressions are not compatible with each other.

That said, Christians sometimes get caught up in the trendiness of the world, identifying more with their power-seeking friends on social media than their departed brothers and sisters of the faith who lived centuries ago, but who now are at rest in Christ.

It speaks volumes that “Rest in power” is commonly used to mourn the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wielded considerable worldly power to empower the ongoing holocaust of infanticide in the United States. There is no clearer expression of power in the hands of fallen men than murdering tens of millions of those who are powerless.

“Rest in power,” indeed.

A review of the use of the word "power" in the New Testament is revealing.  It is always used in the context of the power of God.  Jesus says, "Peace be with you," never "power be with you."  By contrast, Jesus delegates His own "authority" to the newly ordained apostles, as He commissions them to "make disciples" by baptism and teaching (Matt 28:18-20).  God's power is paradoxically manifested in human weakness, as God revealed to St. Paul (1 Cor 12:9-10).  The only grant of power from God to individual human beings is in the context of the gift of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus said shortly before His ascension, speaking once again to the apostles: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."  But notice what this power is used for: "...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  The grant of power from the Holy Spirit is intended for the purpose of converting the world to faith in Christ, through the ministry of Word and Sacrament.  There is no mention of political goals or the pursuit of a worldly Utopia.

The risen body of Christ - given to us miraculously in the Eucharist, stands in stark contrast to the still-dead corpse of Lenin, which tourists gawk at, ghoulishly mummified in a shrine to Marxism in the capital of a Union that no longer exists.  Only one will return in glory.  Only one gives us the peace which the world cannot give (John 14:27).

We see this contrast played out in the early church in Acts 4, when Peter and John were interrogated by the worldly powers about what power lies behind the apostles' miracles.  St. Peter was "filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 8) and responded that the source of this power was the "name of Jesus Christ” (v. 10).  In the same chapter, we read that "with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all" (v. 33) thus fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus that by the power of the Holy Spirit, they would be His witnesses.

By contrast, Romans 13 speaks of political and social order being kept by means of "authority" as opposed to "power."  Authority is delegated to those bearing an office through which God works.  Authority is not power.  

Outside of the divine power given to the Church to preach the Gospel, human nature seeks power, and fallen men use power to bend the will of others to their own.  And while they couch this in pious-sounding terms, power appeals to the base nature of the Old Adam.  The most crass example in Scripture involves Simon Magus, who wanted to buy this power: "Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit'" (Acts 8:18-19).  Even when claiming to do good, wicked men use power to dominate others, as Ludwig von Mises put it succinctly, "Perhaps they think that they will exercise power for the general good, but that is what all those with power have believed.  Power is evil in itself, regardless of who exercises it."  

"Rest in power" is not just a parody of the pious and ancient Christian prayer and confession linked to Jesus and the resurrection, it is a perversion of it.  It is used in conjunction with the deaths of people who had nothing to do with proclaiming the Gospel.  It is an attempt to use a person's memory to achieve a political goal instead of pondering the mystery of faith that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again, comforting the mourning with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, instead reducing the person to a mere cog in the wheel of a political agenda - and one that seeks to minimize or deny the role of creation and the Creator, one that seeks Utopia through domination, one that dehumanizes the person into an abstraction.

For the unbeliever, such an expression is understandable, as what else does he have but a moldering body and a memory?  But to the Christian, this expression is an inexcusable blasphemy that mocks our Lord's benediction and promise: "Peace be with you."  

The oppressed and marginalized early Christians understood this.  And though they preached the Word of God with power - divine power not of their own, sufficient to overthrow even Caesar himself within three centuries - they did not say anything as trite or silly or short-sighted as "Rest in power."  They understood that our victory is in Christ, that our paradise is in the heaven and earth to come, that the only power that is truly benevolent is the power of God, and that Jesus has restored peace to those who die in Him.

May all of our departed brethren rest in peace.  Amen.

TGC 099 - On Resisting the Government, Part 1

The times we are living in and through have raised a number of questions about the obedience we owe the government. We have begun again to wrestle with similar questions as the magisterial reformers, especially our Lutheran fathers in the faith: Luther, Melanchthon, Amsdorf, etc. To what extent should the governing authorities be obeyed? How are we to make those judgments? Is there a biblical and confessional framework for deciding these things? David Ramirez (pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Union Grove, WI) will walk us through the history. 

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[Gottesblog] The Confidence and Courage of Faith in the Life and Labors of Love, by Rick Stuckwisch

The Confidence and Courage of Faith in the Life and Labors of Love

by Rick Stuckwisch

 

“At this time, in the present danger of the plague, we are in a state of trepidation. It is as though we did not have the command to live and to call upon God. We have a most dependable Word uttered by the mouth of the Son of God (John 11:25-26): ‘I Am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.’ But who is interested in this Word or pays any attention to it? Similarly, anyone can be certain about his calling from the Word of God, whether it is a calling in civil life or in the church. But there is nothing we neglect more than our duty. The negligence and idleness of the government is familiar to all. The bishops and the pastors remain silent like dumb dogs (cf. Is. 56:10) and do not believe that they are what they are; they strive for riches and honors, but they do not perform their tasks. Meanwhile we complain that we lack the opportunity to do good works.

“We have the command that applies to us all, namely, that we should love God and fear no one — not the devil, not the Turk, not the plague — when we walk in our ways, even if our life is in danger, in accordance with the passage (Ps. 27:14): ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage.’ But who heeds this? Nobody. For nobody believes that God has commanded confidence and has condemned despair. Therefore this passage [Genesis 22:1-14] deserves careful consideration, in order that we may learn true obedience toward God and how important it is to have the assurance of a command from God and with what great confidence this fills the hearts of the godly. We assuredly should have sought for this in the remotest limits of the world, but there is no need of a long journey or of a painstaking search. Our home, body, and heart are full of commands of God; yet we do not believe. Therefore we feel no joy; nor do we have any light or understanding with regard to that spiritual pride and confidence that is based on the Word of God and His commands.

“It is for this reason that the examples of the fathers, in which the efficacy and power of the Word of God and of faith are prominent, should be exalted and carefully emphasized, as David boasts (Ps. 119:50): ‘These are my comfort, namely, Thy utterances.’ Relying on these utterances, he killed a bear, a lion, and the Philistine Goliath, and performed other difficult and remarkable feats. . . .

“Thus in this unbelievable trial [in which the Lord commanded him to sacrifice his son, Isaac,] it was Abraham’s sole consolation that he knew he had a command from God. He surely would not have fled from the plague or from many thousands of Turks, because his heart held fast to this confidence: ‘I believe in God Almighty.’ But what are 10,000 Turks in comparison with Almighty God? Therefore he does not delay at this point, but he immediately takes hold of the command and is ready to carry out the sacrifice.

“We should learn to understand this power of the Word of God — this power which the Holy Spirit is wont to exalt so much that He makes it greater than every creature, hell, death, and the good and bad angels. Yes, He even makes it equal to God, as it actually is, inasmuch as in Rom. 1:16 Paul calls it ‘the might and power of God’; and indeed one should feel the same way about the spoken Word. Abraham understood this very clearly; therefore he had no doubt that Isaac, even if he were to die, nevertheless would be revived and that his progeny would live on, because God does not permit His command and promise to be of no effect.

“In Ps. 91;7, 11 it is stated: ‘A thousand will fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. For He will give His angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.’ He who holds firmly to this promise and meanwhile diligently does his duty in his place, which he knows has been assigned to him by God, even if some dangers or obstacles are put in his way, nevertheless has no doubt about a happy issue and favorable outcome but is convinced in his heart that all the angels will come flying from heaven to help and defend him rather than that any godly undertaking in accord with the Word of God should be in vain and useless. What you undertake on the strength of His Word must succeed, even though there were to be no angel remaining in heaven” (From Dr. Luther’s Lectures on Genesis 22:3, Luther’s Works AE 4, 105-107).

TGC 098 - Septuagesima

What is the history surrounding Septuagesima? What are the ceremonies associated with it? What are the biblical themes for Septuagesima and what is its connection to Lent? These questions among others are answered by Stefan Gramenz (pastor of The Lutheran Church of Christ the King, Pawling, NY, and an Editor of The Lutheran Missal Project). He recently published an article on The Lutheran Missal Project's blog entitled Septuagesimal Strife, which serves as the basis for our conversation.

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