Thoughts on Mystery

Last night I led our mid-week Evening Prayer service, filling in for my pastor who was proctoring a final at USD. This is my favorite service in the Lutheran Service Book, musically speaking. The music is joyful and the words, which are largely taken from the Psalms, are pregnant with meaning as the sun is setting. Typically, the service ends with Communion when the pastor is there, but when I lead it is only a prayer service.

There is, however, a section in the litugy that allows for a homily or catechetical reflection, so I took opportunity to ad-lib a devotional on the nature of mystery. We are about to celelbrate/remember Christ's ascension this Sunday. We follow the church calendar and so these key events in the life of Christ and the church are brought to our attention year after year. For some, these events become boring and routine. But for me personally, the significant events of Scripture never seem to lose their luster.

Here's the deal. In any other story, knowing the end before you start a book, movie, or program would ruin it. The mystery would be lost. The tension would give way because you know how it's all going to end. My mother and oldest daughter watch all the reality shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. These shows are not my thing, but I will often fast-forward the recordings on the DVR to the end just to see who won or was kicked off. I realize this takes all the supposed fun out of the show, but I don't really care about these shows so it does't matter much. But heilgeschichte (salvation history) is never boring nor less mysterious despite knowing how it all is going to pan out. We know as the creed states that Jesus is coming back to "judge the living and the dead." So where's the mystery, you ask?

On the cross, Jesus took upon himself our judgment. We gave him what is ours - sin and death - and he gave us what is rightfully his - righteousness and life. I know this. I trust my very soul in faith to this "marvelous exchange," as Luther called it. But it is nonetheless an incredible mystery. Why would God do such a thing? This peace passes my understanding and keeps me continually refreshed, renewed, and interested in this on-going story. I guess we could simply call this hope.

But think about the ascension and the kind of emotional roller coaster it must have been for the disciples. He's dead! He's alive! He's giving some incredible Bible studies, come listen! What? You're going away? Already? Imagine the admixture of loss, sadness, joy, confusion, and...hope.

What benefit do we recieve from Christ's ascension? The expanded edition of Luther's small catechism speaks of the benefits as it relates to Christ's Triplex Mundi (three-fold office):

1. As a Prophet, Christ sends the Holy Spirit and empowers/equips pastors and teachers to bring His life giving Word.

2. As our High Priest, Christ intercedes at the right hand of the Father for us (1 John 2:1)

3. As our Heavenly King, he sits enthroned on high making his enemies his footstool. In other words, we share in his victory over the powers of sin, the devil, and death. O death, where is thy sting?

May the richness and flavor of this beatiful story never lose its savor. Amen

Beginning of the Lenten Season

Today marks the beginning of Lent - the season of penitence leading to Holy Week, which culminates in the majectic victory of Easter. And so begins another year celebrating the liturgical rhythm of the church, keeping the focus on Christ and him crucified.

The liturgical colors have changed to a royal purple in my parish and a black cloth will hang over our crucifix for the season . I took down the palm to burn last night so my pastor could mix the ashes with a bit of oil for today's Ash Wednesday service. Tonight I will help lead the service administering the ashes with the sober words, "Remember that you are from dust, and to dust you shall return."

One of the blessings of following the church calendar is that you get a full spectrum of emotions by following the life and ministry of Jesus that you do not normally find in broad evangelical circles which are just... tepid. Like life itself, there are ups and downs, laughter and tears, joy and suffering. This kind of worship just seems...well...real, earthy, and more importantly, true.

PERICOPE HELPS

In the Lutheran Church we follow (at least my church) the Revised Common Lectionary 3 year cycle of readings on Sunday. This includes an OT, Psalm (in the gradual spot), NT Epistle, and Gospel reading. There is usually a point of contact between the readings that help define the theme or motif. I appreciate the thought that went into setting up this lectionary and it benefits both the preacher and the congregation in multiple ways. Here are a couple of advantages I see by utilizing the lectionary:

• It forces the preacher to deal with "the whole counsel of God's Word" rather than just preaching from "hobby horse" texts. Some preachers are great w/ the epistles and hate narrative passages and vice versa.


• When preached well it helps both preacher and parishioner see the entire drama of Scripture. If exegeted in a canonical/Biblical Theological way the preacher can connect the OT and NT together using parrallelism, promise/fullfillment, type/shadow, Messianic motifs, etc. I see this aspect as an advantage over the normal expositional preaching through an entire book verse by verse.


• The readings/sermon when coupled with complimentary hymns and prayers can bolster the Church calendar so that the Trinitarian life with emphasis on the Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ taking center stage is re-enacted year in and year out. Even if a church doesn't have the greatest preacher the lectionary and liturgy get the Gospel clearly out.

To this end, I recommend a very helpful site called Pericope.org which features notes on the seaons, the readings, and offers a ton of recommendations on hymn selection to compliment it all. Additionally, there are helpful expository notes on the lectionary from Pastor Buls.

Learning the Liturgy - Confession & Absolution

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

In a culture drowning under the deluge of self-empowerment techniques, true Christianity stands in direct opposition declaring: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). At its most basic level Luther said the Christian faith can be summarized with the phrase: The forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Certainly it is bigger in scope than this, but without this vital truth, it is mere religion and worthless. As one pastor put it, “Christianity is not a self-improvement plan. It is about God doing for us what we could not do ourselves.”

This is why following the invocation on Sunday morning, we Lutherans fall at the feet of our gracious God and confess our sins and receive absolution. It is the recognition that we stand before our holy God by the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ and not through our own inherent goodness or works. I’ve always appreciated that this takes place at the beginning of the service as it becomes a preparatory element and releases in me a true sense of thanksgiving and joy, freeing me to worship wholeheartedly, because I am reminded that I have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, my sins are nailed to his cross. Most Sunday mornings I must admit that I enter the sanctuary as a man weighed down by sin and repeated failures. I trust that I am not alone on this one. Thus, I feel the immeasurable weight of stating aloud with my fellow sinners:

Most Merciful God, We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment.

These may sound like harsh words to the uninitiated, but they are true nonetheless. Therefore, when our pastor declares that my sins forgiven I do not just wish the slate was wiped clean. I know it actually is! And this provides great impetus for me to sing robustly to the praise of my great Redeemer.

Absolution may seem odd to those coming to Grace Lutheran from a broad evangelical background. “I thought just Catholics practiced that,” is a frequently heard sentence. In point of fact, Martin Luther saw no biblical reason to get rid of this long held practice, both in the public liturgy and in private with the pastor since it follows our Lord’s words to his apostles, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:23). The Augsburg confession sums it up this way: “We also teach that God requires us to believe this absolution as much as if we heard God's voice from heaven, that we should joyfully comfort ourselves with absolution, and that we should know that through such faith we obtain forgiveness of sins” (Article XXV). Having confessed to God and received His forgiveness, we are truly ready to receive His Word and sing His praises. Amen!