Sexagesima 2010

With just a little more effort, Jesus could have been more popular during His ministry. Perhaps He should have employed a public relations firm or a marketing expert. Or maybe Jesus should have considered some classes on leadership or sought the help of a growth consultant. Perhaps if some of today’s famous ministers were there to give advice, then Jesus might have had a huge congregation. Although in today’s Gospel lesson, it appears that Jesus was well on His way to success, fame, and popularity.

A huge crowd is following Jesus, which should not be a surprise. He has been casting out demons; healing the sick; cleansing lepers; making cripples walk; raising the dead; and teaching about the Kingdom of God as one who has true authority. Jesus, this man from Nazareth, is doing things that only God has the power to accomplish. So the word about Jesus is spreading. He is peaking interest. St. Luke tells us, “A great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him.”

This appears to be a perfect opportunity for Jesus to secure a large following. A crowd of people has gathered, eagerly waiting to hear what He has to say. If Jesus had had a public relations or marketing expert with Him, then He likely would have given the people something easy to remember, a trite, catchy jingle about the Kingdom of God and their place in it. Maybe they would have come up with something like, “Discover the champion in you.” The people would have enjoyed hearing such a positive, affirming message. It would have made the people feel good about themselves. Or if Jesus had taken a lesson from today’s popular preachers, then He would have given the people three easy steps to an abundant life, or some biblical principles for achieving health and happiness. Then Jesus could have published these steps or principles in an accessible book, complete with His smiling picture on the front. Surely it would have been a best seller. But Jesus does not do any such thing. He fails to seize the opportunity for popularity. Instead, Jesus tells the huge crowd a parable, an obscure, enigmatic, difficult, confusing, hard to interpret story.

Creed Chaos

Dorothy Sayers wrote a wonderful book, “Creed or Chaos: Why Christians Must Choose Either Dogma or Disaster (Or, Why It Really Does Matter What You Believe).” This is one of my favorite quotes:

“It is not true at all that dogma is hopelessly irrelevant to the life and thought of the average man. What is true is that ministers of the Christian religion often assert that it is, present it for consideration as though it were, and, in fact, by the faulty exposition of it make it so. The central dogma of the Incarnation is that by which relevance stands or falls. If Christ were only man, then he is entirely irrelevant to any thought about God; if he is only God, then he is entirely irrelevant to any experience of human life. It is, in the strictest sense, necessary to the salvation of relevance that a man should believe rightly the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Unless he believes rightly, there is not the faintest reason why he should believe at all. And in that case, it is wholly irrelevant to chatter about Christian principles.”

In the Book of Concord (1580), the authoritative, theological confessions of Lutherans who are Lutheran, three ecumenical creeds (Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian) were the first doctrinal statements included. This was to clearly show that Lutherans were Christians of the councils. They were not innovators. They were not heretics. They were not creating a new church. The first article of the Augsburg Confession succinctly confessed that Lutherans were people of the ecumenical creeds. We confess what these creeds confess and we reject what they reject. We confess faith in the Most Holy Trinity as explicated in the creeds and we reject Arianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, Eutychianism, Monophytism, Monotheletism, and Iconoclasm, just to name a few of the more popular heresies. To paraphrase a favorite professor, those heretical “-icks, -asms, and spasms” are soundly condemned by Lutherans as well as all other catholic and orthodox Christians. The ecumenical or catholic creeds, formed by Christ’s Church in the midst of difficult controversies, give us the appropriate theological language and scriptural categories by which we join St. Peter and the apostles in confessing Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God. These creeds have stood the test of time and we continue to confess them. They are living, just as Christ is risen from the dead. And they are the framework for understanding the true and living God, our redemption, our worship, and the Holy Scripture.

Only a Christian minister who considers such statements to be “irrelevant,” and “presents” them as so, would have the hubris to change or alter them. Yet this is exactly what happens. It happens all the time. It happens in the LCMS. I have recently heard of two instances. In the first, the pastor proudly announced he had written his own creed and then had everyone confess it. Unfortunately, he confused the persons of the Most Holy Trinity in his version, thus betraying himself as a closet modalist. The other example was a pastor who used a special “Christmas Creed” in which he inserted a number of phrases into the traditional creed to help people feel the importance of the incarnation, as if the ecumenical creeds fail to adequately address this central claim of Christianity. The predictable result, of course, is not a sturdy, time-tested statement of Christian orthodoxy, but some maudlin sentiments that only revealed the personal concerns of that particular pastor.

What would prompt a Lutheran pastor to think he should change an ecumenical creed, or, God forbid, make up his own? Obviously, some would do it out of the desire to be relevant. This assumes the creeds are somehow irrelevant, which only demonstrates that the pastor in question has no theological clue about the redemptive relevancy of the creeds. Others take this approach out of a delusional arrogance. They probably suppose they are the theological equals of St. Athanasius. They may even go to bed dreaming, “Anything he can do I can do better.” They think their four years of modern theological education has more than prepared them to rework the creeds, not to mention the church, its liturgy, and sacramental theology. Really? It is almost comical. Almost.

Such egotism is not fitting in the Body of Christ. Pastors are called to be stewards of the mysteries. Pastors are called to be servants of Christ. Pastors are called to be obedient, submitting to the faith delivered once for all to the saints. Pastors are called to preach Christ and Him crucified and to administer Christ’s most holy gifts. We are not called to be leaders or change agents. We are not called to be creative and innovative. After all, novelty is the stuff of heretics. Pastors of Christ’s Church do not make such choices (heresies). At the end of the day, pastors are called to be faithful with what Christ has given to us. The problem is not with the creeds, the scriptures, or the liturgy. We are the problem. Our sinful, disordered selves are the problem. Such creed chaos in the LCMS, not to mention some of our other chaotic elements, threaten to divorce us from the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church that our fathers confessed as their own. May Christ grant us repentance by His Holy Spirit and renewal by His Word and Holy Body and Blood.

Septuagesima 2010

Our parable this morning challenges our sensibilities about right and wrong, the very nature of justice. It used to be that the most skilled athlete, the hardest worker, the best employee, or the smartest student received the highest accolades. Well, it used to be this way. Now every athlete gets a ribbon or trophy, even if it is only for participation. Employees and workers expect, even demand, pay raises and rewards, regardless of their performance. And grade inflation in our schools and universities has made an “A” almost meaningless. Grade point averages balloon even as the air of scholarship and knowledge deflates. Participation ribbons, unearned raises, entitlements, and grade inflation rub against the ethos of the Protestant American work ethic. Hard work, dedication, superior skill, intelligence, and ingenuity should be prized. It only seems fair, doesn’t it? Rewards should be based on performance. The hardest working, most productive employee should get the raise and promotion. The students who master the subjects and score highest should get the best grades. The highly skilled, devoted athlete who wins the race should get the prize. It only seems right for people to be rewarded based on their work. Justice almost demands that people are measured based on their performance.

The disciples certainly thought this was the case. Just before this morning’s Gospel lesson, the disciples had been thinking about their rewards, their gold stars, what they would get for all of their labors on behalf of the Kingdom of God. They had worked hard for Jesus, and so they expected to be appropriately compensated. They go into the bosses office. “Jesus, behold, we have left everything and followed you; what then will there be for us?” They wanted to know the size of their bonus. They wanted a raise. After all, if Jesus has promised the kingdom to those other losers, then He must have something really great waiting for them! Jesus says they will indeed inherit the Kingdom.  But Jesus continues, “many who are first will be last; and the last, first.” There is a catch. He then illustrates with the scandalous parable of our Gospel.

Jesus tells them that God’s Kingdom is like a man who needs to harvest the grapes of his vineyard. The grapes are ripe, and if the wine is going to be worthy of a glass bottle rather than a cardboard box, then they need to be picked. So he goes out in the morning to the corner where the workers gather, and he hires them for a denarius: a day’s wage for a day’s labor. They go to work. It is now mid-morning and the owner looks over his vineyards. He knows the job is not going to get done without hiring more workers. So he hires more workers, promising them a fair wage for a day’s labor. They go to work. Well, it is getting toward the afternoon and the owner sees some kids hanging out on the corner, up to no good. And he invites them to labor in his vineyard and he will pay them what is right. After hiring them, he sees some more people standing idly around and he employs them for a fair wage. It comes to the end of the day and a there are still a few guys leaning against the wall of the unemployment office. Even though there is only an hour’s worth of work left in the day, the owner hires them as well.

Pre-Lent

In early Christian calendars, and the one-year lectionary still followed by some Lutheran congregations, there were preparation Sundays for Lent that followed the end of the Epiphany season. These were known as the “-gesima” Sundays because of the Greek endings to their titles–Septuagesima (70th), Sexagesima (60th) and Quinquagesima (50th). These Sundays marked an abrupt break with Epiphany and introduced a period of penitence to make ready for the observance of Lent and the celebration of Easter. This time is meant to prepare Christians to keep the fast of Lent so they may fully enjoy the feast of Easter. It is also a time to invite others to Christian instruction, that they may be prepared to enter the saving waters of Holy Baptism at the Easter Vigil and to feed on the Holy Body and Blood of Christ with all the faithful.

These Pre-Lent Sundays are similar to the training required to run a long race to its completion. If there is no training, then the long race will not be run and reaching the finish line will not even be a consideration. For those interested in running the race to the finish, however, they will train and prepare, run the race with courage, and then celebrate the finish with joy. Modern Christianity, unfortunately, assumes it needs no training or running, just the celebrating. The demands of self-discipline, self-control, and self-sacrifice for the Christian life are ignored or forgotten. Thus, we do not prepare ourselves for the fast because we are not going to fast in Lent.  We do not practice the Lenten disciplines of prayer, study and works of mercy because we have concerns other than repentance, faith, and charity. Yet when Easter arrives in all of its splendor, we will all feast with joy as if we ourselves really trained and ran the race. Now the gifts of Christ give what they promise, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, regardless of our merit or worthiness. I don’t want to suggest the joyous celebration of Easter is contingent upon our faithfulness. Still, we are always called to greater fidelity to Christ and His Kingdom. This is why the Church prepares with the season of Pre-Lent.

The Pre-Lenten Sundays call people from within and without the Church to labor in the Kingdom of Christ. On Septuagesima Sunday the Holy Gospel is the parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). In this teaching of our Lord, all are invited to participate in the work of the Kingdom and the reward to all the laborers is identical, the full salvation of Christ, regardless of the duration of their service. On Sexagesima Sunday, the Holy Gospel is the parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4-15). The labor in the vineyard of our Lord is the sowing of the seed of His Gospel. We are to examine the soil of our own hearts to see where we need repentance, the tilling of the soil, that we might hold fast to the Word of Christ in faith and trust. We are also called to be sowers of the seed of the Gospel, preaching Christ and calling people to Holy Baptism. Finally, Quinquagesima Sunday brings us to the healing of the blind man (Luke 18:31-43). As Jesus prepares to head toward His Holy Passion in Jerusalem, He stops near Jericho and heals the blind beggar who cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” As we move toward the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, we confess that we are the blind beggar in matters of faith and need of the mercy of Jesus Christ. With eyes enlightened by Christ, we are able to see ourselves in a true light and live in repentance. We are also allowed to see the depths of God’s love for us and all people made known in Jesus Christ.  As our Lord moves toward the Cross we are called to follow after Him during Lent, more fully aware of who we are and what is our calling in Christ.

We enter into the Lenten season with confidence, knowing that Jesus Christ is the victor on Easter. Our faith is firm that Jesus’ death and resurrection has defeated our enemies of sin, death, and hell. There will be no let down for the faithful on the last day. And no amount of silly cultural hype around eggs and bunnies can alter the reality of Christ’s reign over this life and the next. As such, we are called to participate in the life of Christ through Pre-Lent and Lent so that our eyes may be opened to His mercy and our faith may be strengthened for service in His Kingdom. May our Lord Jesus Christ grant us His Spirit so that we may keep the Feast of Easter with sincerity, truth, and joy.

Homily for St. Titus 2010

“He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”

St. Paul’s exhortation to Titus is clear: a pastor must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. The pastor is tasked to instruct the people in the solid teachings of the apostolic Christian faith and to rebuke those who teach contrary to the faith, or reject it. Paul had offered a similar exhortation to the pastors in Ephesus, charging them to pay careful attention to themselves and Christ’s flock and to care for God’s Church, which had been purchased by the precious blood of Christ. This was important because there would be those who would speak twisted, deranged things and draw disciples after them and away from Christ. This is no insignificant matter. In Christ, there is life and salvation. Departure from Christ leads to death. Heresy is a choice to reject the teaching of Christ and leads to destruction.

As such, the central responsibility of the Church and its pastors is to remain steadfast and faithful to the truth of Christ as revealed by the Word of God. The pastor is to hold firm the trustworthy word as taught by Christ. The pastor is to hand over, proclaim, teach, deliver, guard, and keep the faith that has been “delivered once for all to the saints.” This faith, of course, is all about Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, incarnate, crucified, resurrected, and ascended into heaven for the salvation of sinners. The Word of God directs us always and everywhere to Christ. The Creeds teach us how to rightly read this Word of God. This trustworthy word has been revealed, handed over to us, taught to us by Christ, and preserved in the Word of God through the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Christ has given to us the very Word by which we give Him to the world for life and salvation. The pastor is to hold firm this trustworthy word. Christ opened up the Scriptures to the apostles and told them to “preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name.” So the faithful pastor gives only what Christ has given Him to give: the preaching of Law and Gospel. Christ commanded the apostles to baptize because “whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.” So the faithful pastor baptizes in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Christ breathed His Holy Spirit on the apostles and gave them the keys of heaven, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.” The faithful pastor then uses these keys. He opens up heaven itself to the repentant sinner, proclaiming forgiveness in Christ. Likewise, He locks up heaven itself to the self-righteous person who rejects Christ, and calls them to repent. He does this not on his own authority, but the authority of Christ. Christ commanded His apostles to “Do this in remembrance of me.” Christ gives His very body and blood in the Holy Communion. The faithful pastor gives Christ’s body and blood to Christ’s people, to nourish them with Christ Himself. The pastor only gives what he has received from Christ.

Pro-Life Interview

Here is a link to my interview with Pat Campbell regarding the first annual Tulsa March for Life  (You will need to go to approximately the half-way point of the recording to find where my interview begins). Anyway, the March was a resounding success, with an estimated 3,000 people in attendance. We pray that the number will double next year, and that we might even get some news coverage. A gay couple shows up to the courthouse to apply for a marriage license and the media is all over it. Three-thousand people march in opposition to our culture of death and we get 15 seconds on one news channel. Such ideology will destroy not only the human person, but our entire culture. Pictures of the march will follow…

Homily for Transfiguration 2010

When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified

It was the summer of 1984 and our family was traveling through Italy in our pop-top Volkswagen Vanagon. We stopped at a military base in central Italy to stock up on food from the Commissary. We also needed to do laundry. So my parents dropped my brother and me at the movie theater to watch a matinee showing of DC Cab, that timeless movie classic starring Mr. T. My parents and sister then made their way over to the base laundromat. About thirty minutes into the movie, the entire theater began to shake. We had no idea what was taking place, but people started to get up and run for the exits. Everyone was suddenly filled with fear. I stood up and started to run. I’d like to say I waited for my brother, but I think I elbowed him at one point to get ahead of him. The theater emptied in a matter of seconds. As the people gathered outside, they began to talk about the earthquake. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was a significant one. When we looked at the theater, and there was a large crack right down the center of it. The terror of the moment remains fresh in my memory twenty-six years later.

Can you imagine the terror that filled the people in Haiti when the earthquake struck just over a week ago? Two minutes of a rolling, massive earthquake that laid a country to rubble, crushing and killing some two hundred thousand people. The catastrophic destruction is beyond comprehension. The people would have been gripped with fear, uncertainty, anxiety and terror as the earth opened up. Now please do not make the mistake of Pat Robertson, the fool who rushed in and said it was God’s judgment on the people of Haiti, as if he possesses the mind of God. Such tragedies are sadly the result of the broken, fallen nature of the creation. We live in a world haunted by sin, death, and the demonic. So there are tragedies that raise unanswerable questions.  We do not know why. Such horrific disasters like this are simply grim, fearful reminders of the frailty of human life in this vast universe.

Over the past week, we have witnessed on our televisions the destructive power of a large earthquake. We have all seen the pictures and heard the stories of this and other disasters. Now pause for a moment to consider the power of the living God. As Christians, we confess that God has created all that exists, both visible and invisible. He sustains everything now and forever. This is simply beyond our finite, mortal grasp. The vastness of the universe cannot contain Him. He is God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth. The power of the massive earthquake in Haiti is nothing before the Lord. Nothing compares to His presence. And here we are today, in this place at this time, where we confess God Himself is present. The power and might of God is in this place. Yet His glory is veiled from sinners so that we are not consumed. He fills all the earth and is also here where His people are gathered, and still no building can contain Him. The true God is not distant and aloof, a benevolent grandfather with a white beard, sitting far off in some Protestant heaven on a throne. God is here. The Almighty is with us now. Isn’t it strange how it is so easy to cower before an earthquake, a storm, an illness, a hard decision, an ordinary day, a tragedy, the loss of a job, a broken relationship, or death itself, but then approach the impenetrable mystery of the presence of the Triune God with indifference, boredom, pride or arrogance?

First Annual Tulsa March for Life

If you are in the Tulsa area, then please join us for the first annual Tulsa March for Life. It begins at 6:00 pm on Friday, January 22 at 8th and Boulder. The march itself is fairly brief, ending at 6th and Boston. The program is at Centennial Green and will run from 7:30 to 8:00 pm. It is open to all people who desire to defend the human person from conception to natural death. Here is a link to the website.

“So who decides?”

This question was pervasive at the LCMS Model Theological Conference, “Toward a Theology of Worship…,” which was held this past week in St. Louis. As the discussion turned toward issues of style, rite, ceremony, form and liturgy appropriate to our sacramental confession, this typical response came often, “So who decides what is appropriate? Or reverent? Or sacramental?”  The underlying assumption, of course, is that it is all, or largely, in the eye of the beholder. What is appropriate, reverent, and sacramental for one person, may not be appropriate, reverent, and sacramental for another. Thus, the predominant factor for making such determinations is cultural context. The most important consideration is how to communicate the idea of the Gospel to modern (post-modern) people.

I would contend this approach merely reflects the confusion of our mismanaged modern (post-modern) minds. Jonathan Robinson, author of “The Mass and Modernity,” comments that our cultural climate “may be summed up in the attitude that one set of opinions is as good as any other set, and this is so because there is no objectivity to be found in human experience. The very possibility of looking for a description of ‘the way things really are’ is looked on as foolish. ‘That’s your choice, and so long as you don’t try to impose it on anyone else, you are entitled to it’ sums up this attitude. There are no grands-discours, or general descriptions of reality, because, to put it bluntly, there is no reality to be described” (23). As such, there is no objective form, rite, or ceremony to be imposed on Christians (or Lutherans?) because who is to decide what is really best or appropriate? It is really up to each person, pastor, or congregation to decide what is best for their own particular needs.

I firmly believe that such rampant individualistic subjectivism works against our objective, sacramental confession of faith. The Book of Concord, the theological confession of Lutherans, clearly states that we “do not abolish the Mass.” Rather, we retain the Mass and observe it with greater piety and devotion than our opponents. Now our modern (post-modern) Lutherans will say that such language is historically and contextually bound, only descriptive of their particular time and not to be imposed on modern, enlightened Lutherans. Little surprise, I disagree.  The historic liturgies (masses or divine services) of Christendom embody the sacramental confession of our Lutheran faith, proclaiming our belief in the presence of the living, risen and ascended Christ through the words of the proclaimed Gospel and the in the bread and wine of Holy Communion, His very Body and Blood. The Great Tradition of sacramental Christianity (Lutheran, RC, Orthodox, Anglican[?]) has reflected these truths in varying degrees by their deep ritual, ceremonial, liturgical conduct. If people believe God Himself is present, then worship is marked by reverence, mystery, formality, repetition, obedience, and humility. Only a confused, disordered modern (post-modern) person will not be able to recognize the great transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness in sacramental Christian worship, and they will fail to conduct themselves appropriately in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity. They will not act like Moses, Isaiah, or St. John, choosing instead the irreverent path of the American religious consumer who locates God in a distant, far off Protestant heaven.

So who decides? The question itself reflects an unholy amnesia, a loss of identity. Certainly each pastor and each congregation should not be making those decisions. The liturgy is too important to be left in the hands of a pastor whose seminary training in liturgical and sacramental theology is shamefully lacking. It is too important to be decided upon by our congregations in some democratic form, especially when so few of them have been formed or catechized by the historic liturgies of the church. Certainly, the needs of the American consumer should not decide what is appropriate. Robinson states, “The result of trying to adapt the liturgy to meet the perceived needs of the world from the perspective of modernity weakens, not strengthens, the Church.” Amen.

So who decides? Well, perhaps the decision has already been made. Maybe, just maybe, we have had the answer to the question of our theology of worship all along. Remember, we have received the Mass. We have retained the Mass. We do not abolish the Mass. Our fathers in the faith have decided for us. It is a good thing. It is meet, right and salutary. So we worship with the angels. Christ speaks. We listen. Christ feeds us His body and blood. We eat and drink. We kneel. We make the sign of the cross. We sing. We confess sins. We confess faith. God puts His name on us and we go into the world, bearing witness to His love made known in Christ. We gather in the Liturgy of the Mass where Christ forgives, redeems, and saves us, sending us out to the liturgy after the liturgy, our lives and vocations.

The immediate objection by those who remain confused is, “Well, which form of the Mass?” They point to historical diversity as a red herring, pretending that it allows all sorts of creativity, novelty, and diversity in our own day. My response is the form found in the Lutheran Service Book. There is our form of the Mass. It is not perfect, but it is faithful. It could use more direction in terms of ceremony, but if all of our congregations submitted themselves in humility and obedience to the heritage we have received, then we would not be in our current state of evangelical confusion and widespread disunity.

May the living, risen, and ascended Christ grant us repentance by His Holy Spirit and so draw us in faith to His precious gifts of the Mass for the renewal of the life of His Holy Church.

Baptism of Our Lord 2010



Then it happened. It was only some thirty years later. The Holy Gospels move rather quickly from the visit of the Magi, when Jesus was still an infant, to His Holy Baptism. Luke briefly records the incident at the temple when Jesus was twelve and separated from His parents. Otherwise there is silence. One incident in thirty years. In these years of silence, Jesus is flying under the radar. He has gone stealth. Remember, the forces of evil are aligned against Him. They are massing for an offensive. They are looking to destroy Him. Satan is prowling like a lion, seeking to devour. So Jesus-the boy who is God, the teen who is God, the man who is God-keeps a low profile. He bides His time. He patiently waits. He waits in Nazareth, a small, no account place. It wasn’t even big enough to call it a town. It would not have made the map. The lady in the GPS would have been lost. Yet there God grew up. There Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. There He waited for the right time to begin His public ministry, a ministry that would end up in a public death by crucifixion and then be redeemed by a public resurrection from the dead.

So then it happened. Jesus, God the sleeper agent, came out of hiding. He came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John the Baptist knows Jesus, and he knows he is in no position to be doing anything to or for Him. Jesus is the Greater One. Jesus is the promised Messiah.  So, John, a poor, ordinary sinner, would prefer to be baptized by Jesus. Yet this is not the plan. John’s job was to prepare the way for Jesus, even by baptizing Him. Jesus tells John that it was necessary for Him to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. So John relents and baptizes Jesus. Jesus, God in the flesh, is born like any other baby. He grows up much like any other Jewish boy. He even enters the waters of Holy Baptism. This is how His public ministry begins. This is how it happened.