By sean.daenzer, on August 27th, 2008%
“Music is next to theology.” It is because of this that the Church has always had its own unique music, as it has its own language, art, and culture. Martin Luther especially understood the importance of music, and wrote this in his preface to a collection of funeral hymns and Latin Responsories:
“We have collected the fine music and songs which under the papacy were used [to carry false teaching]…. but we have adapted other texts to the music so that they may adorn [true doctrine instead]. The melodies and notes are precious. It would be a pity to let them perish…. We have put this music on the living and holy Word of God in order to sing, praise, and honor it… We are concerned with changing the text, not the music.”
There are certain opinions in Church music, which are even now gaining ground, that suggest notes and tunes may be changed, swapped, or discarded at will- so long as the texts remain. This is a vastly different view of Church music from that of the Fathers and our Lutheran heritage. Unlike the Reformed sects, the Lutherans retained the Church music that they had received, especially the body of music known as gregorian chant. Even many of the first Lutheran vernacular hymns were based upon these chant melodies. Great tomes of chant were compiled and edited by Lutheran theologians and musicians for use in our churches. To these treasures composers of every generation have continued to add choral motets, new hymns and chorales, cantatas and preludes, always looking back to the Church’s hymnody and chant for inspiration and adorning them with beautiful polyphony.
In recent times, certainly most of American Lutheran history, the precious melodies and notes of our heritage are no longer held in such high esteem. The gregorian melodies for the Church Year’s propers have been utterly lost. They do not appear in any form in our hymnals, service books and choir catalogs. They do not play in the ears of our laity, nor our pastors, nor even our most esteemed kantors. It may even be that our Lutheran chorales are on course to suffer a similar fate. This is nothing short of a tragedy, and one that has impact on much more than artistic nostalgia. It is hard to say which came first- the loss of the Church’s lectionary, or the loss of her propers; the sure thing is that these situations are connected.
The Church has a rich musical heritage. The uniquely Lutheran heritage is, in my opinion, far richer than any other. We affirm Luther’s holding of music and theology “most tightly connected”. Music is not only something we have promoted, but something we confess as essential to the work of the Church. It is the bearer of the Gospel, and “he who sings, prays twice.” It is the gift of God to men: the handmaid chosen to bear up His Holy and powerful Word. For this reason we cannot permit the treasures of the Church catholic to be discarded or fall into disuse; we cannot abide their loss.
To this end, I have begun the project of transcribing the gregorian propers for present-day use. The originals were in Latin and used various medieval notations. Those are still the best and most historic, especially because they affirm the Lutheran tradition of Latin chant. These transcriptions are different in a few ways:
- These use modern notation instead of square notation (neumes). This decision has been made to facilitate use in modern America. Modern 5-line staff notation is not well suited to chant, and is not a “good” substitute for square notation; yet, in the interest of restoring the tunes to use in the Church, modern notation seems to be necessary in making such chant accessible to American church choirs.
- The text is English. The translations come from the common service, which uses the Authorized (King James) Version translation. This choice is twofold. Firstly, the common service offers consistency. While it may not be in common use everywhere today, it still has been the most consistently used translation in American Lutheranism. Secondly, the KJV is in the public domain, allowing for ease of distribution. The continuing presence of both archaic and modern English in the contemporary Church cannot be avoided, and ought not be viewed as an obstacle.
- The notes for the introits are based upon those found in Lucas Lossius’ two-volume work “Psalmodia: hoc est cantica sacra”. Other Lutheran chant collections will serve as the model for graduals, alleluias and sequences in the future. Much care is being taken to use only authentically Lutheran sources and to avoid using modern Roman sources where possible. This decision is twofold. Firstly, to remain true to our authentic Lutheran heritage over and against that of both the Tridentine and Vatican II Roman church. Secondly, to preserve the chant dialect of the German region, which is contained in sources such as “Psalmodia”. Each region of the Church had its own musical idioms which come out in the melodies. Despite these small occasional differences, most chants are recognizably similar to those contained in modern Roman sources.
- The text is fit to the original notes as best as this transcriber can, an imperfect and difficult art. A number of principles are used in accomplishing this, principles which often conflict with one another. They include: matching words or phrases to the corresponding words or phrases in the original Latin, adding or subtracting notes to accommodate varied syllabic differences, adding notes where necessary, avoiding excessive repeated notes which are confusing to both modern musicologists and performers, matching accented syllables in the English to the corresponding syllables in the Latin, changing English word order to reflect the Latin word order (only when the result is a viable English sentence), and preserving the theological significance given to certain words by the notes that bear them. The goal is a chant that is singable, understandable, and comfortable while preserving the melody in a recognizable way.
Instruction and suggestions for the practice of singing these chants will be forthcoming. The chants themselves will be released here as they are ready and may be released elsewhere when the project is complete. ***Please note that these propers are copyright of the transcriber. Permission is granted for use within a church and school setting including printing, copying, performing and recording. No alterations or recording/compiling for commercial use or profit is permitted without prior consent of the transcriber.*** This project seems long overdue- something that should have been accomplished years ago by a much more accomplished and qualified kantor. It is dedicated to Johann Walther the first Lutheran kantor, whose comparable collection of chant is no longer extant. May his work yet be discovered; may the Church yet rediscover her forgotten treasures.
+Feast of St. Bartholomew+
Rev. Sem. Sean Daenzer
By ToddPeperkorn, on August 26th, 2008%
This fall I have been tapped as a presenter at the St. Michael’s Liturgical Conference, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is on St. Michael and All Angels (duh).
Anyway, my topic is the vague and ambiguous “Using the Historic Lectionary”. That can mean just about anything. So one of the things that I am hoping to develop is a pattern of resources to actually use on a weekly basis. I know there are bibliographies out there that go on forever. But I want to ask you: what do you actually use every week in preparation for the Divine Service?
By ToddPeperkorn, on August 25th, 2008%
True faith and confidence of the heart is directed toward the one true God and clings to Him alone. He says, “See to it that you let Me alone be your God, and never look about for another.” In other words, “Look to Me for any good thing that you lack. Come to Me for it. And whenever you suffer misfortune or distress, reach out to Me and hold on to Me. I, and I alone, will satisfy your need and help you in every trouble. Only do not ever let your heart cling to or depend on anything or anybody else. (Luther’s Large Catechism)
With all his effort and labor a person can have all that is good, joy in the heart and a good conscience, because he knows that his work and labor are a service pleasing to God. For there can be no greater joy than knowing that our life and deeds are a service to God, and that God says to us, “What you do for others, in accord with my command, you have done for me; for by my Word I have so ordained.” But at that point the devil resists with all his might so that we do not achieve this joy. For every person resists doing what he is commanded to do. And the result in no love being bestowed upon people and no service rendered to God. (Blessed Martin Luther)
Whoever believes he is ruled by the will of God, commits his food to the hand of God. Let him think on good and evil. For unless he considers these things, he will neither avoid evil nor do good. And to do good is to “seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” The Lord’s righteousness is the way He serves us, by which we attain His kingdom. If you think of the glory the saints have, then you will keep from evil (for fear of punishment) and do good (because of your desire for glory). And if you think about the righteousness of God—what He hates and loves—you will follow Him. (St John Chrysostom)
Whoever works ought to do so, not that he may serve his own needs but that he may be able to fulfill the command of the Lord. For He said, I was hungry, and you gave me to eat. For to be apprehensive about yourself was wholly forbidden by the Lord, when He said: Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Then He added: For after all these things do the heathens seek. Each one therefore, in undertaking any task, should have this purpose in mind: to serve the need of others, not his own ends. In this way he will escape the charge of self love, and will receive a blessing for his fraternal love from the Lord, who said: As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me. (St Basil the Great)
By Pastor Parent, on August 25th, 2008%
+ + + Jesu Juva + + +
The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Text: Matthew 6:24-34
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This morning our Lord Jesus poses a question to you. “What do you seek, the things of this life, or the Kingdom of God?” In other words, what is most important to you: this life, with all its selfishness and perversion, pain and suffering, tears and sorrow, sickness and death—this life which will one day surely end—or eternal life with our God in heaven, an eternal life of never-ending joy and peace? To whom or to what do you cling? Is it mammon, a god of false promises and false security? Do you cling this god who can never completely deliver on his assurances of comfort and well-being in this life? Or do you cling to the One True God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who has provided, and continues to provide to you, all good things needed for this body and life? These are important questions, for your answer is a good indication of where you will spend eternity. Your answer indicates to what your heart clings; and that to which your heart clings is your god.
Therefore, Jesus tells His Disciples, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
You cannot serve two masters. If you attempt to, you will be consumed by one and be unfaithful to the other. Both masters will demand your total devotion, and you will be painfully torn until you give up on one and give your total loyalty to the other.
So, which is it for you? To whom or what do you cling? Give it some serious thought. Do you desire mammon over the true God? Is your concern over your next paycheck or retirement check? Is your desire for God, more often than not, overcome by your desire to sleep, go to breakfast, or entertain visiting family and friends? Is your desire more for the things of this creation than for the creator Himself? If Jesus asked you to forsake all you have, to take up your cross, and follow Him, would you be willing to give up all the stuff of this temporal life? Could you give up that extra car, the two motorcycles, your boat, your house and property, your second home, your pets, your spouse, your children, your grandchildren?
He did, you know. Jesus did ask you to forsake all things. For is it not written, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me…For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?’” And did Jesus not also say, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”? Do you want to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect?
Now please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that you should sell all you own, get a divorce, shave your head, and join a monastery or convent; and neither is Jesus. But what Jesus is saying is that the perishable things of this life are not to be honored, desired, and coveted above God. You see, mammon, of itself, is not a bad thing. Mammon is nothing more than money or treasures, great or small, simple earthly goods and possessions with which we live out our lives as we go about our vocations in service to God and neighbor. But mammon is dangerous because our things so easily become the focus of our happiness to the point of destroying our relationship with God.
For a time, we may fool ourselves into believing that we can serve both God and mammon. We tell ourselves that once we get enough set aside to buy a home; then we can attend church on a regular basis. Or we tell ourselves summer is so short it is a shame not to enjoy it. Church can wait until summer is over, then we will spend time with God. Often, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are being good parents if we run our children all over creation so they can attend this sporting event or that school function etc., even if it means missing church because everyone is just too tired to attend worship. Besides, there is just too much to do nowadays and not enough time to do it. When the kids are grown up and gone, then we will attend church more regularly. But in most cases, it is my guess that, the day when there will be more time for God never will come. And just what do you think you have taught your children about the importance of God during all those years? But hey! God understands doesn’t He? After all, God knows you have a life. So let’s get God out of the way and start living. Right!?
The answer is no! Serving both God and mammon is impossible. You cannot love mammon—your possessions, your time, and money, your prestige and influence, in short, your life—and give God equal time. Either your devotion and love will be with your worldly commitments, with your money and pleasures, or your loyalty and love will be with God and His Word and His heavenly gifts. “No one can serve two masters.”
So, we are really left with just two options. There are only two masters, two gods. As I asked you before, to which do you cling? Dr. Martin Luther tells us, “If your faith and trust are right, then your God is the true God. On the other hand, if your faith and trust are wrong, then you have not the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God.”
Do you serve the false god, mammon, allowing him to order your day and cause you to worry over things you cannot control. Do you chase after the wind of his promises only to find that you never seem to have enough money, time, or possessions? Or do you serve the God who feeds the birds of the air, though they do not toil? This is the same God who brought Abraham’s children through the wilderness and the sea, rescuing them from the hand of Pharaoh. This is the God who fed those same people with the Bread of heaven without their toil or sweat. This is the God who fed the widow of Zarephath, her son, the Prophet Elijah, and her entire household from an inexhaustible bin of flour and jar of oil, all without toil.
Do you serve the God who clothes the lilies of the field in greater glory than Solomon, though they neither toil nor spin? This is the same God who was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and made man, that is, took on human flesh—for you. He is the same God who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried—for you. He is the same God who rose again on that first Easter Morning and then ascended to the Father; all this He did for you. This is the same God who promises to return for you and call you, body, and soul, to be with Him in His Kingdom, all without your toil. Do you seek His Kingdom and righteousness?
But where is the Kingdom of God to be found? Until the promised day of Jesus’ return, where can one find His righteousness? We find His Kingdom here, in this Holy House where Jesus is truly present among us. Where Jesus is present, there one finds the Kingdom of God. For He and the Father are one, and where you find Jesus and His heavenly Father, you find also the Holy Spirit, for the Godhead cannot be divided. And where you find the Holy Trinity, where you find the One True God, you find the Kingdom of God.
And is it not also here, in this place, where you will find God’s righteousness? Is Jesus not the Righteousness of God in the flesh, bodily present with us, giving us His gifts of Word and Sacrament which bring to us faith, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life? Is not that Righteousness poured over you in blessed Holy Baptism? Are you not cleansed from sin and your impure garments removed so that you are clothed in the garments of Christ’s righteousness? You see, in Baptism God adorns you in a garment far greater in beauty and glory than Solomon in all his royal array, greater even than the lilies of the field can boast; He robes you with His Righteousness.
That same Righteousness is placed upon your tongue and poured into your mouth in Jesus’ Holy Body and Blood. This is the same Body and Blood which pleads for us before the Mercy Seat of God. Therefore, with the Church we sing,
Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
Mid flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head. (LSB 563)
Thus, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
So it is that as God’s people, you do not have to worry about what you will eat or what you will drink, because Jesus has promised to feed you daily with the Living Bread which comes down from heaven, and to slake your thirst with His Blood poured out for the remission of your sins. Though bodily hunger indeed may come, even so you may rest on Jesus’ Words, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” These are the Words of eternal life. These are the things of Jesus. Therefore, seek the Kingdom of God by receiving the things of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the King of God’s Kingdom.
Be at peace dear ones. Even though “sufficient for the day is its own troubles,” still, you have no need to worry. The day is not far off when we will cast off our mortal coil—this perishable flesh and blood of our mortal bodies—and don new, everlasting clothing in the resurrection of our flesh on the Last Day, the Day of our Lord. Until that day, continue to give thanks to Jesus, for even now His message of salvation and His Kingdom have already come among us. How do you know? Because you have confessed your transgressions and heard Jesus say, “I forgive you all your sins.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +
Rev. Raymond Parent
Hope Lutheran Church, Bellaire, MI
09/23/07 A+D
By Fr. Anderson, on August 23rd, 2008%
The Rev. Dustin L. Anderson, Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Marseilles, IL
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
“Beaten with rods, flayed like a fish and then crucified upside down.” This was the fate of St. Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael. He is among the lesser-known disciples. In fact the story of his martyrdom is one of tradition. It is a tradition to which we subscribe, but know full well that it is not Scripture. But what is Scripture is the Gospel appointed for this day of St. Bartholomew. And one could ask the question, “So why is this Gospel lesson chosen for him. He’s not mentioned by name. None of the disciples are mentioned by name” The answer is found when you put the story of his martyrdom and this Gospel together.
“Who is the greatest of all the disciples?” Certainly it has to be St. Peter, the confessing rock of the Church, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” No, he is not him. Remember, Jesus calls him Satan in the same conversation in which Peter confesses the truth about Jesus. And three times Peter denied his Lord, the very same night of this debate between the disciples. Certainly he’s not the greatest. If it is not Peter, how about St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved? Now there’s a man of greatness. He lived a full life, wrote an account of the Gospel of Christ and a few letters and even the Revelation of Jesus Christ. But then he died in relative obscurity off on some island called: Patmos. He didn’t become a bishop in the Church, nor did He become Pope. He just wrote a few things and then died.
Measuring greatness, from our perspective, can only occur one way – by the law. When we measure the greatness of, say, an athlete we measure using an established scoring system or standard. Now regardless of how you feel about the standard or those enforcing the standard at the time of competition, the standard is the law. In a race the standard is time. In a game it’s the score. The one who fulfills the standard best wins, and therefore is the greatest until another challenges and conquers. Now, when measuring those who are greatest over time. We use other standards, such as championships, gold medals, and records broken and held. With this standard in mind we can ask, “who is better, the Vikings or the Bears?” And I will have to concede: the Bears. I cannot deny that the Vikings choked 4 times in the big bowl. Again we can ask, “who is better, the Cubs or the Sox?” Again, I will have to concede based on recent world championships, the Sox are greater, but the Twins are better than the Sox with the ’87 and ’91 series, and what looks like another division championship this year. But the standard, the law will let us know in the end.
In our own lives we measure our greatness in much the same way. We are greater or less than another based on what we’ve done or who we are. Mr. Jones is better than Mr. O’Brien because he makes more money, lives on the right side of the tracks, has a trophy wife who still lives with him and has been a member of his church his entire life. The list can and does go on. The list of measures can and is any number of things; things we inherit and things we work for, but in the end they are all to be considered works or merits. They are the things we turn to, to find our place at the table of life. This will not do. Repent.
The greatest among the disciples doesn’t participate in their foolish conversation. Jesus is infinitely greater than any of the disciples sitting at their table. In fact, Jesus is perfect in every way. No one can ever match Him in greatness. He keeps every jot and tittle of the Word of God, and always will. He is victorious and no one can defeat Him, not even death itself.
Immediately preceding this selfish conversation between the disciples, the greatness of God in the flesh is manifested to them, given to them. What had just happened to them appeared to have had no effect on them, but that would change. They had just received the Lord’s Supper, Christ’s body and blood. They had just received Jesus into their mouths. They had, placed on their tongues, the greatest of all – God Himself. The one thing that worth talking about among themselves, Jesus in them, was absent from the conversation. They cared only on themselves. We are no different in our conversations. Repent.
Your greatness is given to you. It is branded upon your forehead with water and Word. It is stuck in your ears through preaching. It is seared onto your tongues with Body and Blood in, with and under bread and wine. You are made to be great. You are given the gift of greatness by God through the simple means of His choosing. And they are given from the hand of sinful men. A man made great by the gift given.
St. Bartholomew was great among the disciples, but his greatness was not because of his horrific and senseless execution. His greatness was found not in what he did in his life or even how he died. Those are the things we would see and judge by. His greatness, however unseen it is, was found in what Jesus had given to him and all the disciples those three years as they sat at His feet. St. Bartholomew’s greatness was because on that night in which Jesus was betrayed He took bread and wine, and gave to them His body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins. His greatness was because of the Word in which he believed and preached. His greatness was because of Jesus, who in His greatness came down from heaven and walked, talked and died among us. Jesus was given to St. Bartholomew and with Jesus came the forgiveness of sins, which was purchase by His innocent suffering and death on the cross; that forgiveness forgave when St. Bartholomew and all the disciples thought of only themselves; When they thought about what they had done and who they were. Jesus forgave them. He does the same for you.
Jesus is your greatness. He is given to you, and carrying with Him He brings all His gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation. No matter how horrible your life may be, having been beaten by the assaults of the devil, stripped of your skin, your reputation, by this dark world and dying in this rotting flesh, He will never leave you or forsake you. He cannot and will not be taken from you. This confidence is the example of St. Bartholomew and all the martyrs. Their hope and peace, as well as yours, is not found in the disciples themselves and their perceived greatness, but rather outside them in Him who is great for them – Jesus. In Him you suffer loss and pain, but your loss and pain is not endured alone. Your great champion over death and the grave is with you. He is yours. Not even death will rend us from Him. He is our greatness. + In Jesus’ Name + Amen.
By Pastor Parent, on August 23rd, 2008%
+ + + Jesu Juva + + +
The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
Text: Luke 17:11-19
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Gospel of St. John the Holy Spirit tells us that our Lord Jesus, “came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” Jesus came first to the lost sheep of the house Israel, but they rejected Him, treated Him spitefully, and killed Him. Jesus came to His own, but as St. Luke relates to us this morning, it is a foreigner who falls down before Jesus, worshipping Him, and glorifying God.
Israel had longed for her Messiah. She had been given the prophets who foretold the coming of the Seed of Abraham and the Son of David. She had been told of the signs that would herald His arrival, she was even witness to His miracles, but it was a despised Samaritan that saw Jesus for who He is—the Christ, the Son of God. It is the despised, doubly rejected, leprous Samaritan who recognizes Jesus as God and receives, not just a bodily healing, but a double portion of God’s grace for body and soul.
As God’s Word demonstrates, the Jews were much too proud of being God’s chosen people. They were much too enthralled with themselves as God’s elect to recognize God when He stood among them, healing their diseases, making the blind to see and the lame to walk, making the deaf to hear, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, and preaching the Gospel to the poor. Israel believed in a god, just not the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yes, Israel believed in a god, but she failed to recognize the One True God, in the Person of Jesus Christ.
And so it often is for us. How often, because of our little faith, do we fail to see Jesus? How often do we miss the blessings of God in the simple, everyday things of life? For everything we receive to care for this body and life is from our good and gracious Father in heaven. Even the fact that you opened your eyes this morning is a blessing from our God. The fact that, even now, your chest rises and falls with your every breath is God’s gracious gift of life to you. Yes, all we are and all we have are blessings from the hand of God, and if God should ever remove His hand, we would surely perish; we would simply cease to exist. But more often than not we take these blessings for granted, or worse, credit ourselves for our own good fortune.
Thus, when things are going our way we, all puffed up with sinful pride and vanity, pound our chests and shout to the world our accomplishments, taking all the credit for ourselves, without ever giving one thought to God. But isn’t it odd how quick we are to blame God when things are going all wrong? And even if you are the quiet type, don’t you expect everyone to notice your accomplishments and don’t you act hurt or insulted until they do? Therefore, it is wholly appropriate that we, like the ten lepers, should stand, afar off this day and every day and cry, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
So it is that we are gathered here in this holy place by the Holy Spirit that we might not miss the presence of Jesus among us. For we are not all that different from the leprous Samaritan. We too, suffer from a deadly, unmerciful disease that eats away at us, rotting both body and soul. That disease is sin; a genetic birth defect passed from generation to generation by our fathers. The character of this disease is lust of the flesh and a perversion of desire. Its symptoms include, but are not limited to, a seeking after illicit bodily pleasures, a disdain for holy wisdom and righteousness, placing them beneath human wisdom and arrogance, ignorance of and contempt for God and His Word and His holy will, a lack of fear for God, a lack of confidence and trust in God and His promises, despair and worry for the grace of God, anger toward God, and a lack of love for anyone other than one’s self.
And still, it is more than that; it is the cause of death itself and no man or woman born of flesh can escape it. For you to escape this disease on your own, you would have to cut out your very heart, which is filled with it, and extinguish your very soul, which is saturated with it. In short, you would have to die eternally. You see, sin is an evil disease and the only prognosis is death.
And yet, you live. You live because the One to whom you cry for mercy has heard your pleas. Your cries of despair have not fallen on deaf ears, but on the ears of our loving and merciful God whose heart is full of love and compassion for you. You live because Jesus was made to be the leprosy of your sin for you, taking into Himself all the poison of your diseased flesh and carrying the death sentence of your sin to the Cross. You live because Jesus died in your place.
You live because Jesus has bathed you in the waters of Holy Baptism washing all your stinking, rotting, leprous, sinful flesh away and leaving in its place that which is holy, clean, and perfect in the eyes of God, our Father. In Baptism Jesus has crucified your flesh with its evil passions and its sinful desires. In Baptism He has put to death, in His death, the sinful leprous man that lived within you, and in His resurrection, He has brought forth a new creation, adorned with His righteousness and endowed with the gift of salvation and eternal life.
To nourish and strengthen this new creation Jesus has given to you His very Body and Blood as the medicine of immortality. For this is His flesh beaten, torn, pierced, and bloodied for you and this is His Blood poured out on Calvary’s holy mountain for you. Here, on this altar, are Jesus’ holy Flesh given in death for you and His holy Blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Eat this Flesh and you will live, for it is the Living Bread of Life which comes down from heaven and all who eat of it will not die, but shall live forever. Drink this Blood and you will have eternal life. For the life of Christ is in the Blood and it is given to you from the altar for the atonement of your souls.
For all this we rejoice. We rejoice because God has heard us and God has healed us. He sends us to the Temple that we might show ourselves to our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who has declared us clean according to God’s grace. For this we sing the Gloria in Excelsis, acknowledging and confessing what we believe; that the Lord has indeed heard our pleas for mercy and has graciously granted to us His forgiveness. He has removed the leprosy of our sin and has made us whole, and we, as His humble servants may now depart in peace according to His Word of salvation.
So come and fall on your knees before your Lord and Savior. Come and give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to His holy Name, for He has heard your cry, “Jesus, Master have mercy on [me].” Here, Jesus answers your cries with the fruit of His death and resurrection in His very Body and Blood. Here He stands not afar off, but so near that you can touch Him. Here He gives to you that peace which only He can give—a peace to calm your fears, heal your hurts, dry your tears, and restore your soul. Come pray and sing the Kyrie, “Lord have mercy.” For here, Jesus hears your cry for mercy and answers you with His Words of eternal life in His blessed absolution, “I forgive you all your sins.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +
Rev. Raymond Parent
Hope Lutheran Church, Bellaire, MI
08/24/08
By steeh, on August 23rd, 2008%
v 51 seems to bear a striking connection to Gen 28 – Jacob’s vision. RC scholar Raymond Brown indicates that “since the time of Augustine (but not before) exegets have seen a connection between vs. 51 and Gen 28:12, where in a dream Jacob sees a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, “…and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”
A couple of other aspects of Nathanael’s encounter with Jesus also suggest this possible connection.
1. Philip, in bringing Nathanael (widely, though not uniformly, identified with Bartholomew) to Jesus, identifies him as “Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote.” It is Moses who wrote of Jacob and the vision. Moreover: meeting Nathanael, Jesus says that He saw him when he was under the fig tree”. The fig tree was a traditional place of rabbinic study.
2. Nathanael is called “a true Israelite” by Jesus when he meets him. It was Jacob, of course, who first received that name.
By steeh, on August 23rd, 2008%
Here is an excerpt from a piece by ELCA theologian Paul Berge on Epiph Gospels that addresses the St. Bartholomew Gospel: John 1:43-51
Texts in Context
The Beginning of the
Good News:
The Epiphany Gospels in
Mark and John
PAUL S. BERGE
Luther Seminary
St. Paul, Minnesota
From “Word and World” Volume XVII, number 1 Winter, 1997
http://www.luthersem.edu/word&world/Archives/17-1_Communion/17-1_Berge.pdf
Second Sunday after the Epiphany: John 1:43-51
We leave the immediacy of the unfolding story in the Gospel of Mark and
turn to the unfolding epiphany drama in the Gospel of John. Following the magnificent
prologue to the gospel (John 1:1-18), a portion of which was the gospel text
for Christmas Day (John 1:1-14), we are drawn into the intertwining story of John
and Jesus (John 1:19-36). John’s witness to those who come from Jerusalem asking
about his identity also takes up the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am the voice of
one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet
Isaiah said” (John 1:23). In reference to his baptism, John says: “I baptize with water;
but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after
me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:26-27).
In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, there are three texts that begin with
the words, “the next day” (John 1:29, 36, 43). The text for our consideration is the
third in this series, and thus we need to look briefly at the events that unfold during
the first two days. The first “next day” text begins with John’s identification of
Jesus, which is unique in all the gospels: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John bears witness to what took place: “I saw the
Spirit descend as a dove from heaven and it remained on him” (John 1:32). John’s
vision is the fulfillment of God’s promise to him: “’He on whom you see the Spirit
descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit”’ (John 1:33). The
first day concludes with John’s epiphany confession: “I have seen and have borne
witness, ‘This is the Son of God’” (John 1:34). (We noted above that the opening
words of the Gospel of Mark identify Jesus as the Son of God [Mark 1:1], but it is
not until the words of the centurion, following the death of Jesus, that we hear this
confession of Jesus on the lips of a human witness [Mark 15:39]. Prior to this in the
Gospel of Mark it is the unclean spirits who voice this confession of Jesus: “And
whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out,
‘You are the Son of God”’ [Mark 3:11].)
The second “next day” text once again begins with John’s identification of Jesus,
“Look, the Lamb of God” (John 1:35-36), to which John’s disciples respond by
following Jesus. Jesus’ first words in the gospel are in the form of a question to
these first followers, “What are you looking for?” to which they respond, “Rabbi,
where are you staying?” (John 1:38). Jesus’ response is an invitation to them and to
us into the promise and epiphany of the gospel: “Come and you will see” (John
1:39). One of the two disciples, Andrew, invites his brother, Simon Peter, with the
epiphany confession: “We have found the Messiah (which means the anointed one
of God)” (John 1:40-41).
The third “next day” text is the assigned text and continues the unfolding
epiphany invitations and confessions. Jesus is the actor, inviting Philip with the
words: “Follow me” (John 1:43). Philip in turn finds Nathanael and confesses: “
We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). Philip bears witness to the coming of
an anointed one from God throughout the first two portions of Israel’s scriptures—
the writings of Moses and the prophets. Jesus comes as the fulfillment of
scripture. Secondly, Jesus is the one identified with a family from Nazareth, of
whom Joseph is father. Nathanael scoffs at how this Galilean hillside village could
produce anything significant: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip
is undaunted and invites him to “come and see” for himself (John 1:46).
As Nathanael approaches, Jesus portrays him as a true Israelite, one for
whom all the promises of God’s Messiah were intended. He is also one from
whose lips nothing deceitful is heard: “Look, a true Israelite, in whom there is no
deceit” (John 1:47). Nathanael’s perplexity at Jesus’ knowledge of him is understandable:
“How do you know me?” Jesus’ response continues: “Before Philip
called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:48). Jesus’ knowledge
of who and where Nathanael is reflects the identity of one who is indeed a
true Israelite, one who, in rabbinic thought and practice, studies the Torah under
the fig tree. Without any further details of their relationship, we are drawn to Nathanael’s
climactic confession: “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of
Israel!” (John 1:49).
Nathanael’s identification of Jesus as a rabbi (“teacher”) is significant. Nicodemus,
another rabbinic figure in the Gospel of John, will also place Jesus in this
role: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do
these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Jesus’ rabbinic identity
as a teacher from God draws us into the instructive ministry of Jesus that takes
place throughout the Gospel of John. As John identified Jesus through his baptismal
witness as “the Son of God” (John 1:34), so Nathanael continues this confessional
identity of Jesus, adding to it the title “King of Israel.” Only once again in
the Gospel of John will Jesus be so acclaimed, and that will be as he rides into Jerusalem
to his death: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13). Nathanael’s epiphany confession of Jesus is
indeed the confession of a true Israelite, one who confesses that God is present in
Jesus of Nazareth, the one who is the true king of God’s people.
Jesus responds to Nathanael with a further promise: “You shall see greater
things than these” (John 1:50). As Jesus’ words continue, not only is Nathanael included
in the promise, but all who hear the word of witness present in the Gospel
of John are included in the plural you: “Truly, truly, I say to you [plural]; you [plural]
will see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon the Son of Man” (John 1:51). In Jesus Christ, God has come among us as the
“Word became flesh” (John 1:14). In this one the heavens are open that greater
things may be seen. In the unfolding of the signs and words of Jesus in the Gospel
of John this promise is fulfilled in all who hear the gospel. God’s angels or messengers,
those who bear witness to the Word of God, make known the one in whom
God is present—the Son of Man. In this final identity of Jesus in our text, we will
see him in the gospel as the Son of Man who is lifted up (exalted) on the cross of
crucifixion (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32-34). The text also invites us into this epiphany.
By Pastor Beisel, on August 20th, 2008%
There are some interesting parallels between the story of the healing of the Ten Lepers and that of the healing of Naaman, the Syrian:
1. Both Naaman and the Samaritan are characterized as lepers and as foreigners
2. The Samaritan location
3. Communication from a distance
4. Delayed cleansing (after leaving the healer)
5. Return of the healed leper
6. Praise from the healed leper
7. Thanksgiving
These parallels underscore the connection between Jesus and the Prophets, and show that not only Israelites, but also foreigners receive the benefits of salvation.
Jesus’ command to the lepers to show themselves to the priests is an allusion to Leviticus 13:49, “If the disease shows greenish or reddish in the garment, whether in warp or woof or in skin or in anything made of skin, it is a leprous disease and shall be shown to the priest” (cf. Lev 14:2-4).
According to Levitical law, the priest assessed whether the skin disease had healed well enough before the leper could re-enter the community. The leper’s return to Jesus after realizing that he was healed acknowledges that the source of God’s healing power is in Jesus. By returning to Jesus, he is showing himself to the greater priest and Temple.
From a Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson.
By Pastor Parent, on August 20th, 2008%
+ + + Jesu Juva + + +
The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
You have set out on this journey we call life and even before the journey began you were set upon by sin—sin which has left you near death and laying face down upon the road. In this you would be lost if it were not for some sort of intervention. But look not to the Law for your salvation, for the Law cannot save you.
The Law is reflected in our Gospel text by the Priest and Levite, neither of whom can help you. They pass by on the other side of the road not because of indifference, but because of impotence. They cannot help you because the Law is powerless to save you. It can only accuse you. Thus, with the Law you will not inherit eternal life. For the Law declares “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27, NKJV) That is the requirement of the Law and that is precisely what you cannot do. Thus, the Law can only lead you to despair, for the Law can only strip away your false pretenses and your self-imagined righteousness; it cannot provide life. It cannot care for you. It cannot heal or bandage your wounds. It cannot pay your debt. It will not intercede for you. For that, you need a neighbor. For that you need Jesus Christ.
This does not mean that the Law is not good or that the Law should be ignored, for does our Lord not say “…do this and you will live,” (Luke 10:28, NKJV) and also, “…till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled,”? (Matthew 5:18, NKJV) No, the Law of God is good and for this reason God has written it upon your heart. We are obliged to fulfill it even down to the smallest detail and requirement. Faith in Jesus and love and care of our neighbor are commanded. To this we are to devote all we are and all we have. To do less carries a sentence of death. As I have already said, the Law of God is written upon your heart, thus there is no excuse; you cannot plead ignorance. Do this and you will live; reject this and you will die.
Therefore, mankind finds itself at an impasse concerning our salvation. We want from the law what it cannot give. We demand from the Law life in exchange for our own efforts and demand recognition for our own merits. Yet, before God all our works remain unclean and because of our sinful nature we have no merit before our Judge. We know this because the Law of God tells us so. We claim to have done the works of the Law, but when we look into the mirror of the Law, gazing upon our distorted reflections, we know better. We know that the Law demands more than doing, more than keeping, for doing and keeping of the Law are done against our will. The Law of God requires fulfilling, to do its works with delight and love—to live a godly life with joy, without the very constraints the Law, because of our rebelliousness, places upon us. So it is that we stand with the lawyer and ask of our Lord, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25, NKJV) Yet because we seek to enter heaven by the Law, all we will hear in reply is the echo our own voices from our graves.
Yet, while the Law leaves us for dead, we do have a Neighbor, a Savior, a Messiah, who is the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. Coming down from the heavenly Jerusalem, Jesus took on our flesh and deigned to follow us on the road from heaven to hell—a road we were on because we deserved it, and He, precisely because He did not.
You see, Jesus, alone being true God, left His homeland of heaven and traveled right to where you are by becoming a true man, but remaining true God, here on earth; here, in this foreign territory. He didn’t pass by on the other side of life; He didn’t ignore you. He came down and took into Himself our very flesh and blood, our very body and soul. He came, a stranger to a strange land, treated by those He was sent to save as if He were a Samaritan.
He willingly humbled Himself like this to give you aid. He put Himself in your shoes. He made your problems His own. When you were set upon by every manner of demon that beat you with sin and temptation and stripped you of your garments leaving you naked, bleeding, and half dead—that is, physically alive but spiritually dead—Jesus came to save you. Jesus came to save you, and this He would have done even if you were the only sinner that ever lived.
Jesus came to place you upon His own animal, for He came to bear your sin and your brokenness in His own Body as He hung on the Cross to save you. This animal reminds us of the donkey on which our Lord rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. Jesus put Himself into your position. He took your place on that lowly animal. He became as one weak and helpless. He willingly allowed Himself to fall into the hands of robbers; to be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, to suffer beatings at the hands of the powers of darkness, and to be crucified for you between two thieves. He was stripped of His clothes so that you would be robed in His righteousness. “He [was] despised and rejected by men…wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Through these humble sufferings of our Lord, you have been carried to the inn, that is, you have been brought within the Church—the only place where the injured and dying can find true healing in Christ.
In the Church, Jesus orders the innkeeper, who represents His called and ordained servants—Pastors and keepers of the Mysteries of Christ, like me—not to hold back in dispensing the oil and wine of the Sacraments to penitent believers. Jesus gives to the innkeeper two denarii as a sign of His double forgiveness until the Day of His return. In this, He promises to pay whatever it takes to see to it that the wounded are completely restored to newness of life. There is no end, no limit to His sacrificial mercy and love. He promises to pay the price for your healing in full.
Thus, there is nothing more for you to do. The Law is now fulfilled in Jesus who fulfilled it with joy, looking beyond the suffering of the Cross to the glory He would share with you in His resurrection. And so the price has been paid and one day soon, Christ will return to the Inn; He will come again on the Last Day to bring His people into the unending blessedness of the Resurrection in both body and soul. Until that Day He pours the Wine of His Blood into you to strengthen and preserve you.
So it is that you, like Jesus’ apostles are blessed. You are blessed because your eyes have seen and your ears have heard that which the Prophets and kings wished to see and hear, the Christ, who is the Word made Flesh. That is who you have heard this Lord’s Day and that is who you will see upon the altar. That is who you will see with your own eyes and look upon, and your hands will handle. This is the Word of Life manifested unto us that we may have eternal life with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3) Blessed are you, for you have heard that which the Prophets and kings longed to hear and the Good Samaritan, Jesus Christ, now declares to you, “I forgive you all your sins.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + + Soli Deo Gloria + + +
Rev. Raymond Parent
Hope Lutheran Church, Bellaire, MI
08/17/08 A+D
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