WSJ on Tithing

The Wall Street Journal has a recent piece on "The Backlash Against Tithing".

For a good Lutheran perspective on tithing, I would refer you to this Q & A from "Ask the Pastor" by Rev. Walter Snyder. I wholeheartedly agree with his entire answer!

Sermon (with video) - Last Sunday of Church Year - Luke 23:27-43

It's good to be back from my recent visit to Israel, and I thank you all for your kinds thoughts and prayers for the safe journey of our group from Grace that went along with me. We had a wonderful time, learned a lot, took many pictures, and have many stories to tell. Sometime in January, in fact, I plan to make a presentation of our trip for any who are interested.

Among the sites we saw was the “Via Dolorossa”, or the way of the cross. As Jesus carried his cross from his condemnation before Pilate to the hill where he would be crucified, Christians have marked out the supposed path and the various events along the way. Whether the Via Dolorossa is accurate or not, we will likely never know for sure. But scripture does tell us some of what happened along that road. We read some of it today from Luke's Gospel.... (text)

As you probably know, our church calendar begins in December, and closes this last Sunday in November. And as the calendar draws to a close, the readings highlight the theme of the end times. Judgment day. The final harvest, the resurrection of the dead and the fulfillment of all things.

But here in Luke's Gospel, we find ourselves not on the last day, but on the day of Christ's crucifixion. A dark day in which the forces of evil are seeming to triumph. A day in which a guilty man is freed and an innocent man is condemned. A day of much weeping and moaning and grieving and mourning. A bitter day for the man of sorrows, the suffering servant.
But on his way to the ultimate suffering for our sake, Jesus makes this strange comment about weeping not for him, but for Jerusalem. What?

You've probably all heard someone talk about their own funeral like this, “When I go, I don't want anybody crying. I want it to be a party! No funeral dirges. It should be a celebration!” Such sentiments are usually a statement of the person's faith and trust that their death will not be the end of them, and thus, with the Lord, a happy ending.

Don't cry for me... but how can we not? How can our love for Christ not make us weep at the sight of his execution. Who wants to see Jesus suffer? We certainly view the cross of Christ with a sober and solemn eye. But for Christians, it is also a cause for joy. We know the meaning of the cross, and that the blood shed there is for our life. The sorrow there sets us free from sorrow. His suffering brings us eternal comfort and rest with God. And this cross would not be the end of him, as his resurrection would bring the victory. So don't weep for Jesus. He doesn't want your tears of pity.

But he also isn't simply telling us to think happy thoughts and turn our frown upside down. There will be plenty of weeping to do.

Weep for Jerusalem. Jesus, Son of God but also the ultimate prophet, knew that Jerusalem would soon be destroyed. And history tells us that some 40 years after Good Friday, the Romans did just that. They laid siege to the city, slaughtered her inhabitants, and destroyed the Temple itself. Jesus knew it was coming. He told his disciples as much: “not one stone here will be left upon another”.

But more than that, it was the Jewish rejection of the Messiah that was true cause for weeping. For though some did receive Jesus as the Christ, many did not. And for them, physical destruction such as happened to Jerusalem is really a small concern. Jesus wept for a city and a people who should have welcomed him as the promised one, the long-awaited savior, but instead who rejected him, mocked him, and put him to death. The earthly destruction on their horizon was merely a taste of the eternal destruction faced by all who reject Christ.

Today the church weeps for all the lost. We call out with the Gospel to the nations Jew and Gentile, who do not know Christ and don't even want to. We cry out with words of law, calling for repentance. We are decried as legalists and hypocrites and worse for simply pointing to God's written words of law. No one likes to hear they are wrong, much less the unbeliever.
But we also cry out with the good news of Christ's forgiveness. Like the voice of John the Baptist, crying out in the wilderness, “repent, for the kingdom is near!” The church offers hope to the sinner, the same hope we have received in Christ. And when sinners repent and receive the kingdom, we cry tears of joy, along with the angels in heaven.

And if we weep, it should also be over our own sin, which sent Jesus to the cross. It should be over our continuing failure to do God's will and our ongoing love affair with evil. What wretched, miserable sinners we are. Tears of repentance and sorrow are appropriate. But they are followed by the joy of forgiveness, the blessed peace that passes understanding, the comfort of a holy and certain hope in Christ who takes our weeping and mourning away. And the promise that God will wipe every tear from our eyes.

Today, the New Jerusalem, that is, the Church, also undergoes suffering and trouble. Whether it is persecution for the sake of Christ, or simply the troubles and woes of a life lived in a sinful world, there is always some cause for weeping. We are living in the end times, after all, and creation's birth pangs come and go as the day of fulfillment draws near.

There are days, when we look around us and see the wretched state of the world, we may wish we never had children. Why bring them into a world like this? There are days, when things get bad, we may wish that we were never born, or that we could hide under a rock.

But as bad as things get, even in our text, with Christ there is always hope. Look at what happens here. How hopeless it seems. Jesus is condemned, he is hung on a cross. The final sentence is passed. And yet there is hope.

The crowds mock him. The Jewish leaders mock him. Pilate mocks him with the sign above him. He has no friends left. Just his mother and a few others who stand by helplessly watching him die. We know that even God the Father would soon forsake him. And yet there is hope.

The soldiers even divide his clothes – his only remaining earthly possessions. He truly has nothing, and it would seem, has nothing to look forward to but a shameful and despicable death. And yet there is hope.

As the thief on the next cross – himself in hopeless – turns to Christ, faith makes a request – remember me. Remember me when you come into your kingdom.

How could a man in the midst of dying for his crimes, a man who was just as bad off as Jesus, a man with no hope – turn to another man with no hope and speak of the future? A kingdom? Does he look like a king to this thief, or to anyone else? Does he look like he has a future?

But faith sees it. Faith believes and trusts in the King of the Jews who came to save Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the world. Faith looks to Christ on the cross, and amidst the blood and sweat and tears, sees life and forgiveness and hope. And faith is not disappointed.

There is hope. Jesus promises paradise to the thief, and to you and me. Not someday afar off. Not only at the last day, or even only at the day of our death. But today. We are in his kingdom. We are citizens of heaven. We enjoy the blessings of his grace, by the gift of faith. And we have paradise.

We have paradise when we hear his word of forgiveness, when we remember our baptism, and when we receive his body and blood. We are then with Jesus, today, even here and now. And with Jesus there is always hope, even amidst weeping. Even for Jerusalem.

Soundwitnes.org on Willow Creek

Friends of Preachrblog over at Soundwitness.org have some comments on the recent admission by Willow Creek that it is not producing "mature Christians".

Why My Trip to Israel Wasn't "Spiritually Uplifting"

Well, Scott, I guess I should expand on that comment...

I suppose anyone who goes to Israel and has some knowledge of it from their Christian faith would find it departs from expectations. I know mine did in many ways. But I don't think I was expecting to be "spiritually uplifted" in the first place.

Some take trips like this for religious purposes. I did not. I saw, of course, many who were on a spiritual pilgrimage, and found great meaning at these holy sites. Every rock or cave with a purported biblical event attached had a church (sometimes several) built on top of it. And a stream of the faithful would usually be right there to kiss the rock or toss in their dollars and notes of prayer. I found this, in a way, strangely sad.

I wasn't on a pilgrimage, or looking for renewal of my faith. This was no "haj" for me. I didn't kiss the stones, or even touch them. I didn't carry the cross down the Via Dolorssa. I didn't "feel the presence of God" any more or less than I would somewhere else.

I find everything I need for my faith in God's Word and Sacraments. In fact, looking elsewhere for spiritual blessing seems dangerous, to me. So many things, even the explicitly religious things, even Christian shrines and holy sites, can so easily take our focus off of Christ. So much of what I saw there smacked of Roman Catholic suprerstition "Kissing the Blarney Stone for Christians".

This is not to mention the tourist-ification of these sites. I recall several pictures I took which illustrate the crass juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane.

Who knows if these sites were legitimate? In many cases, I think they were not. But in some, they were likely the right spot. Even if they were, so what? God has made no promise of blessing from touching Christ's footprint on the site of the Ascension, or the table where he cooked the disciples breakfast on the beach. God is no more likely to hear your prayer stuffed in the crack of an ancient temple wall than the one uttered in your queit thoughts.

But God has promised that he can be found in his word. He has promised to forgive our sins in his Supper. He has promised to save us by baptism. These promises are not only all we need, but they are the only apporpriate places for Christians to seek his blessing.

Was the trip worthwile? Sure! I found it very educational, interesting, and even fun. But not "spiritually uplifting".

Back from Israel

Man, what a trip! You should go.

It was amazing and educational and fascinating and lots of fun. I don't know that I could say it was spiritually uplifting, but here are some of my general impressions:

Everything was so much SMALLER than I thought it would be. Even the Sea of Galillee... I never pictured that you could so easily see all the way across. The Old City of Jerusalem, likewise... not so big.

The culture(s) - very different from our own. I was also struck by the stark contrast between the Israeli/Jewish areas and the Palestinian/Arab areas. I do feel I have a better grasp of the complex nature of the dilemma over there now too.

Most of the "holy sites" were not very impressive. Kudos to the Garden Tomb people though for actually sharing the Gospel as part of their tour (talked about sin and the atonement and Christ's work on the cross for us, and everything!) Up until then we hadn't heard any such message from any of the sites we visited. But lots of icons and brass candlesticks and other stuff.

I will try to post some of my 1000 pictures here for you to see, but I won't bore you with them all of course. Sometime in January maybe I will do a powerpoint type presentation for the congregation about my trip - again, an abridged version.

Here's one of my favorite pics, from the window above the altar at the church of Dominus Flevit (the Lord's Weeping for Jerualem). This window looks out over the old city, to the west, from the Mt. of Olives. I just liked the ironwork and the depiction of the Sacrament there in particular.

Robot Writes Luther Bible

Check out this quirky story, just in time for Reformation Day:

Sermon - Reformation Day (Observed) - John 8:31-36

Sermon
John 8:31-36
“Free at Last”

“Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last” So ends the famous “I Have a Dream” speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the well-known civil rights activist. I don't know if you have ever listened to that speech, but it was part of my studies in a public speaking class long ago, and to this day, when I hear it, it gives me chills. What a powerful case King made for the freedom – the true freedom – of African Americans from discrimination and institutional racism.

Today, we celebrate Reformation Day. And we have on our minds another Martin Luther – the original one. He too was concerned with freedom, but of a different kind. He too had some powerful words to share. His famous speech, the “Here I Stand” speech, was uttered before the Roman Emperor who told him to recant or face the consequences. For Luther, a different kind of freedom was at stake.

And then there is Jesus Christ himself, whose words in John 8 tell us what true freedom is really about. Freedom from sin, which comes by knowing the truth. Freedom from slavery. Freedom as sons. This freedom in Christ, the freedom of the Gospel, is what the Reformation of the Church was all about, and what it's still all about today.

Someone recently pointed out to me that when we Americans think of freedom, we usually think of the freedom to work where we want, to practice what religion we want, to choose what to eat and how to dress. But liberty, freedom, is much more than just this kind of thing.

Throughout the ages, people have often been enslaved – or at least had their freedoms limited. The ugly history of African slavery in America is just one chapter in the long story of humans being cruel to one another. Despots and tyrants of all fashions have enslaved and taken captive various peoples for various reasons. I just heard this week on the radio, that some 25-40 million people around the world today are still effectively living in slavery.

Slaves are treated poorly, usually. They are considered to be worth less than the free man. Perhaps not even thought of as persons, but as property to be used and abused at the master's will. None of us would like to be a slave of any kind in any place or time of history.
But we're not here today for a history lesson or a lecture on contemporary social justice. We have bigger fish to fry.

Jesus gets to the heart of it. Slavery to sin is the real problem. Since everyone who sins is a slave to sin, then that must include all of us. This slavery cuts across ethnic and national lines. It is a slavery of the rich and poor alike. It affects all who have Adam's blood running through us. All who have inherited his nature and likeness. We are slaves from birth. Slaves to sin and under the shadow of the death sin brings.

But this slavery goes deeper. Every time we do wrong, every time we break the law, sin becomes our master all the more. Though we are born into the slavery of original sin, we have no hope of working or earning our way free. Sin rules our lives, our speech, even our thoughts. Everything we do is touched and tainted by sin. We are captives. We wouldn't even now how to get out of our predicament, much less where to run if we could.

And what a cruel master sin is. It causes us heartaches and pain while promising pleasures untold. How many times have you been tempted to sin, to do something you full well know is wrong, and you also know exactly what the consequences will be, and you go ahead and do it anyway. Sin becomes the master. We are enslaved.

Sin brings discord and dissension, war, suffering and death. Sin is worse, because it separates us from our true master and Lord, the one who created us in his own image – an image now smeared and unholy. We are slaves to the cruel master sin which would bring us to the worst of places – an eternity separated from our God, an everlasting punishment we so thoroughly deserve.

As slaves to sin, we are also prisoners. There is no escaping to an underground railroad of good works. There is no sneaking away from sin, or fighting it. We are not strong enough. We are helpless, and we are hopeless. Until Jesus comes.

Jesus tells us the truth that sets us free. What is this truth? We call it the Gospel. The Good News. The Good News that he, Jesus Christ, died on the cross to earn forgiveness for your sins. The Good News is not that you have the opportunity to pay for your own sins. The Good News is not that if you try hard enough, God will do the rest. The Good News is that Jesus has done it all – as a pure gift, free, without cost – by grace.

He is the truth that sets us free, he is the way to the Father, he is the life that never dies. The way, the truth, the life, Jesus Christ. His Gospel sets us free from sin, death and the devil, and even from hell and its fiery threats.

In our nation's history, one man in particular is credited with freeing the slaves. Abraham Lincoln, who delivered the Emancipation Proclamation and thus declared all slaves in the southern states to be free. For this, and for winning America's bloodiest war that finally did bring the institution of slavery to an end, Lincoln is known as “the Great Emancipator”.

We Christians have an even greater Emancipator, who frees us from an even worse slavery. Jesus Christ declares, proclaims, decrees: “The Truth will set you free”. Jesus Christ wins the freedom for you, for me, for all the world. He paid a bloody price, gave his own body into death, so that we are freed for eternal life. And he still gives his own body and blood to us, in his Supper, for the forgiveness of our sins, for our life and salvation.
Martin Luther was merely a man whom God used to bring the truth to light again. It was never fully lost, only obscured. The church was never really enslaved, but she was beset by false teaching. So in his great mercy, God brought reform and renewal. That's what the Reformation was about, and what we remember on this day. Many of those who taught and preached falsely repented, and learned about freedom anew. Today we too step back and appreciate the freedom of the Gospel – freedom from sin, freedom from death, and freedom to live as Christ's people, walking in his light. Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last! Amen.

My Trip to Israel... Upcoming

On November 4th I leave for a tour of Israel with a small group from our congregation. We will be sharing a bus and tour guide with a group of Roman Catholics from Hawaii and some Presbyterians from Pittsburgh. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, right?

"So a bunch of Catholics, Presbyterians and Lutherans get on a bus..."

Anyway, as I make preparations for the tour, I was wondering if any of my kind blog readers had ever been to the Holy Land and could offer some advice, like....

Any "must see" attractions? Anything to avoid?

Anything I should take that might not be obvious?

A food or beverage I should try while there? (I am looking forward to some good falafel and Israeli beer)

Or other advice for my trip?

Thanks....

Sermon - Pentecost 21 - Genesis 32:22-30

“Struggling With God”

Life is tough. Everybody's got their story. Some are better, or worse than others. But even people way better off than you have their problems, their struggles.

Jacob was just trying to do his thing, make a good life for himself. Maybe he thought it was easy street once he tricked his brother out of the blessing. But then he had to flee for fear of Esau's vengeance.

Maybe he thought he had it made when he met that beautiful woman at the well, but then he learned he would have to work 7 years for her hand in marriage. Of course, then he was the one that was tricked when he had to marry her sister Leah first, and then work another 7 years. More struggle.

Maybe he thought he had it made when his flocks and herds were so successful, but his Father-in-law couldn't take it anymore, and so Jacob had to pick up his life, his stuff, and his family, and flee again.

But as he came to the Jabbock River, Jacob would have the struggle of his life. He met a man, and there they wrestled. All night long, a stalemate, neither prevailing. Finally Jacob realized this was no mere man, but a manifestation of God himself, and Jacob asked for his blessing.

A cycle of struggle and success, such was Jacob's life. And such was the life of the children of Israel. Struggling to make ends meet in Canaan. Struggling under the rod of the Egyptian oppressor. Struggling against the Philistines and Canaanites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. Wrestling with God and faith in the midst of a pagan world, with temptations to be like the other nations, worship their idols, practice their immorality. It was a struggle in which they often failed. Yet it was also a struggle in which God blessed them.

He blessed them in so many ways. By rescuing them from slavery. By feeding them in the desert. By telling them his personal name, and by showing his identity through his actions. By bringing them to the promised land, and conquering it for them. He blessed them with his presence in Tabernacle and later Temple. He gave an entire system of sacrifice, by which their sins could be dealt with. And he would bless them powerfully in a little town called Bethlehem, and at a place called Golgotha.

In all their struggles with enemies and hardships, their greatest struggle was to remain faithful. Of all the blessings given, the one that meant the most was the coming Savior in whom that faith rested.

Then there are the modern day children of Israel, who follow in their father Jacob's footsteps. I'm not speaking of the Jewish people, but the children of Israel by faith. The church of Jesus Christ. We too struggle, wrestle, and contend with God.

We, like all people, have struggles in life. I don't have to tell you what your problems are – you know them. Whether it is people problems, family issues, conflicts at work, failing health, or some other heartache. These all spring from sin in its various forms.

Then there is the spiritual struggle. We strive to live as Christians, to do God's will, but we fail so easily. Sometimes it seems the more you try not to sin, the more you end up sinning. If we could just go one day, one hour, one minute without sin! But, no. Sin's gotten into our nature.

We mean to do well, but we end up doing wrong. Like St. Paul who struggled with the Old Adam, “the good that I want I do not do, but the evil that I do not want to do, this I do. Wretched man that I am!”

Maybe there's a particular sin on your mind, with which you are struggling. Maybe you've been hounded by it for years, and you cannot overcome it. Only Christ can.

Struggling with sin is also a struggle with God. Will we rely on ourselves and our own devices, or will we acknowledge God as the giver of gifts? Jacob came to the realization, after his long struggle, that he needed God's blessing. And so must we.

We cannot win the struggle against God. But he continues to engage us. Sometimes he shows us who's really in control, as he did by touching Jacob's hip and throwing it out of joint. A reminder of his helplessness before God that would be with him the rest of his life. But in helplessness there is blessing. The passive reception of God's gifts is way better than the false dream of earning it on our own.

For God ended the struggle at the cross, through his Son, Jesus. There the night of our rebellion becomes the dawn of a new life with God. There he gives us his blessing, and changes our name – giving us the name of Christ to bear. More than that, the Triune name of God which is placed on us at baptism.

As Christians, we carry the cross with us every day to remind us how the struggle ended there. His cross makes our little crosses bearable, and we struggle and suffer with his strength and by his power.

And just as God blessed his people Israel in ways too countless to mention, so does he bless us, the New Israel.

Like the wicked, he gives us the blessings of physical life. Home and family, food and shelter, land, animals and all we have.

But unlike the wicked, we who are in Christ receive every spiritual blessing through him. So now, forgiveness, life, salvation. A promised future of eternal joy in his presence. A resurrection and restoration of this failing flesh, and a joyful reunion with God and all the saints who have gone before us.

As Jacob, now Israel, crossed the river into the promised land, his struggles would continue. Famine would bring him at his life's sunset to a foreign land, where God would continue to provide for him and his family. But in spite of and in the midst of such struggles, God's plan of salvation moved forward. A mighty nation was born, forged in oppression, purified in desert wandering, and brought by God's mighty hand back to their homeland.

So does God's plan for the struggles of our life conclude with a happy ending, when we reach the shores of the promised land.

So wrestle. Struggle. But as you hang on to God, look also for his blessing, freely given in Christ. And you will find the struggle is worth it. Great things are in store for you, his people Israel.

Join the Movement

The movement has begun. No, not Ablaze! The Anti-Mauve Movement.

Shopping for Clergy Shirts

oh man.. this is wrong on so many levels.

New Resources on Church Site

I just finished posting some resources to our church website, including "Faith Facts" blurbs and a collection of FAQs. The Faith Facts are short blurbs, a sentence or two, with a "did you know?" flavor. The FAQs are longer, sized for bulletin inserts, and mostly adapted from the LCMS FAQ collection. Check it out, use it as you wish, and let us know what you think!

Sermon - Pentecost 19 - Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

Sermon
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
“How Long, O Lord?”

Every parent who's ever taken a car trip with a child has heard that infamous and nagging question, “Are we there yet?” Only slightly less annoying to the parent is the persistent question, “How much longer?”

Just as children have asked these questions of their parents since the dawn of time, so too have God's children asked their Heavenly Father the same. Go back to Habakkuk, and we hear the question. “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?”

In fact these two passages from Habakkuk chapters 1 and 2, are called “Habakkuk's first complaint” and “Habakkuk's second complaint” They represent the cry of a faithful man of God who is frustrated that God hasn't answered, hasn't answered him quickly enough, and hasn't answered the way he wanted him to answer.

Habakkuk lived in a time of increasing danger in the world. About 600 years before Christ, he and the Israelites watched the fall of the Assyrian empire, and the rise of the Babylonians. The Egyptians were on the march to help the Assyrians, and the Israelites tried to stop this powerful army at the battle of Meggido – which is where we get the term, “Armageddon”.

With all of this war and violence surrounding him, Habakkuk had plenty to complain about. Especially to a God who promises peace and an end to warfare. Who says that swords will be beaten into plowshares, and lions will lay down with lambs. Where is this promised peace? How much longer, oh Lord? Are we there yet? And why not?

Some Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door a while back, and showed me one of those passages, where God promises a future in which peace reigns on earth. They asked me if that sounded good. I said, “sure, if it were possible”. We then proceeded to have a small battle of our own for the next hour on my front porch.

But we do live in a world of war. Whether it is Taliban or Al-Qaeda or Iran or Iraq or the Nazis or the Communists, or the Babylonians or Assyrians. Violence surrounds us. Even in our own backyard. There was a shooting down on Byrd Avenue last week, and the Latin Kings gang was somehow involved. Milwaukee has become a war-zone in its own right with shootings almost daily. How long, O Lord, until you bring such violence to an end?

Our culture glorifies violence – from movies with unspeakable acts for which the commercials are even disturbing, to nightly news stories which sensationalize the latest shocking case. There is a part of us that is disgusted and repelled by the violence we see, but a part of us that doesn't mind so much.

What about the violence in my own life. Some of you suffer from physical abuse, even at the hands of a loved one. But even for the rest of us -What about when barbed tongues lash out from wife to husband and child to parent? What about when we use guilt as a club to get what we want, or when we employ the passive aggressive weapons at our disposal? For just as the Fifth Commandment prohibits murder, so too does it forbid us to hurt or harm our neighbor in any way. And Jesus even applies this to our sinful thoughts. How long, oh Lord, must I see such violence against me? And how long must I be captive to my own sinful, violent, deeds, words, and thoughts?

For when it comes down to it, I am violent. I do violence to my neighbor and even to myself. I hurt and harm, and my sinful nature gets a sick thrill from the violence.

Well God knows violence. And his Justice will prevail. From the flaming sword of the angel that barred the gate to paradise, to the sword of the evil empire that God uses for his own purposes. God's justice will be done.

Which should scare us. Since we deserve his wrath. That sword of judgment should be pointed at us! While we might wait impatiently for God's wrath to come on those who hurt us – we don't mind if God takes his sweet time in giving us what we deserve. In fact, the question, “how much longer?” takes on a new meaning when I am on the receiving end of such judgment.

But as Christians, we know we need not fear. We know that God's sword of judgment is not pointed at us, nor will it ever be. We know that all our violence has been forgiven. Christ has made that peace.

In fact God's wrath was poured, instead, on him. When Jesus went to the cross and his hands and feet and side were pierced for our transgressions. When violence was done to him who had no sin of his own. When the lamb of God was slain for the sins of the world. The cross is the ultimate violence of God's own wrath, and punishment, and judgment poured out on God's own Son. And not that the physical suffering and violence were anything to sneeze at, but I like how the hymn says it, “...but the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that justice gave.”

That is to say, that if the nail wounds and crown of thorns seem painful to you, think of the agony of enduring God's wrath for sin – and not just one sin, but all the sins of all the sinners that had ever sinned and ever would.
Just as we cry out to God in our distress, “How long, oh Lord?” Jesus called, “My God, why have your forsaken me” at the moment of his ultimate sorrow.

God heard Habakkuk's prayer. And God hears our prayers. When his people cry out, “how long, oh Lord?” We have only to look to the cross for our answer. For there in the blood and sweat and darkness and agony and hopelessness of the cross – do we find our peace. The cross is God's answer to all human violence and warring madness.

Habakkuk would see violence his whole life. And eventually the Babylonians would even destroy Jerusalem, and decimate the very Temple of God.

You will see violence your whole life, and one day the violence of death will take down the temple of your body into the grave.

But Jesus. Jesus gives us a hope beyond the violence. In him, the temple is rebuilt. For in him, there is life after death. In him, there is calm after storm, and peace after the battle. In his resurrection from the dead we find the guarantee of our own resurrection. We receive the peace with God that passes all understanding. We find a clear conscience, and strength for the ongoing battle against sin.

“How long, oh Lord?” is not a bad prayer. It is the prayer of God's people who wait patiently for his deliverance. But it is a prayer that has been answered in Jesus, at the cross. And yet there is another answer to come. When Jesus Christ returns in glory, and we see him face to face. Then the battle and the war are finally over. Satan will be cast away forever, and we will enter into eternal rest with all the saints and angels. What a day of victory that will be. Are we there yet? No. But that day is coming, for so he has promised.

Cool Website - New Cliche's

Check out this website recommended by Yahoo! Daily Picks:

Defective Yeti - The Cliche Rotation Project

They list new and improved versions of tired old cliche's. Lots of fun here, and you can also submit your own!

Old Media, New Media

Wikipedia says...

The old media or legacy media are traditional means of communication and expression that have existed since before the advent of the new medium of the Internet. Industries that are generally considered part of the old media are broadcast and cable television, movie and music studios, newspapers, books and most print publications. Many of those industries are now less profitable than they used to be and this is has been attributed to the growth of the new media.

This division between the new and old media is a hot topic on talk radio. Which seems ironic to me, as radio is an older form of media than TV, and yet they seem to fall in with the "new" media crowd.

I bring this up because of another blurb I read in Christian News (decidedly an OLD media publication). CN reprinted an article from a Roman Catholic publication under the title, "Internet and Blogsphere (sic) Threaten Publications". The RC publication comes to the obvious conclusion that the "print era is drawing to a close" and "magazines... are having a hard time surviving".

CN then adds an editorial comment:

Some spend so much time with their computers that they don not have time to read newspapers and magazines. They believe all they need to know about what is going on in the church and world can be found on the internet. Publications like Christian News, according to them, are no longer necessary. Readers will have to judge for themselves if they find all of the information CN publishes each week on the internet.

As you know, I brought up the topic of Christian News a little while ago here.

I suppose I just find it fascinating to watch the Old Media react to the New. There seems to be some antagonism.

Personally, I read less in print and more on the screen every day. I watch less TV and get more news and information from the net every day. I still pick up magazines and books, and I don't think they will ever completely go away. But I don't rely on them nearly as much as I used to.

And, quite frankly, most of what I find worth reading in CN, I already HAVE read on the internet. Most, but not all.

Issues Etc. Michigan Visit

I've been asked to help plug this weekend's live broadcast of "Issues, Etc." The live broadcast will be held in Dearborn, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit).

Check out more information at The Unknown Lutheran....

Reading the Bible Literally

"I don't agree with people who take the Bible literally" - a common objection of many Burger King type Christians ("have it your way!")

But let's examine this. What are they really saying?

To read something literally means to take it word for word at face value. Like, "I am going to the store today" means, literally, "I am going to the store today."

But, "Go fly a kite" does not mean to literally go fly a kite, but is a figure of speech which means for you to go away.

Sometimes the Bible uses figures of speech. Sometimes it speaks plainly, or literally. And it's important to know which is which! When Jesus says you should hate your father and mother, he's obviously not speaking literally. But when it says he rose from the dead, it is!

Many Christians and sects get into trouble when they interpret passages from the Bible using an incorrect grammatical approach. Literal speech should be taken literally. Figurative figuratively. Apocalyptic, Poetic, Epistlary... all these forms of literature have their own rules for interpretation. Break the rules and you will get the meaning wrong.

This is, unforunately what has happened with many who teach all sorts of wacky things about the end times. They take literally what they shouldn't.

Likewise, many protestants take the literal words of Christ in a figurative or symbolic way, while "This is my body" really means it is, literally, somehow, his body!

Back to the original question. What do people mean when they say "I don't take the Bible literally"? They don't likely mean that they clearly distinguish between Scripture which is and isn't a figure of speech. I don't think this sort of statement often comes from a well-reasoned and researched view of the Bible. In my experience it's a tactic of argumentation meant to eliminate an entire line of debate.

I think what they really mean is, "I don't take the Bible seriously."

Suing God

You've probably seen the offbeat story of the week...

Nebraska State Senator Sues God Over Natural Disasters

Check out the senator with an apparent halo in this photo. (He's the one on the right).

What a buffet of bloggable buffoonery this is. The humorous reactions are almost limitless. My former neighbor, a lawyer, wrote:

Hmmm.....I wonder if anyone will answer on God's behalf or put in a notice of appearance for God? Now that could be interesting.....Maybe the pope or a local priest, pastor or rabbi? Maybe someone will answer and the rest will intervene in the lawsuit.....Maybe an atheist will file a motion to dismiss saying that God can't be sued because he doesn't exist. I wonder who he has served with the lawsuit...or if there will be substitute service on a priest, pastor, or rabbi, etc. As God's registered agent. This could be a good virtual lawsuit. I copied my friend Tom, who is a pastor in case he wants to intervene inthe lawsuit or accept service on behalf of God.

To which I responded with some smart aleck comments about what God must think of lawyers.

Some liberal judge will probably convict the Almighty and order punitive damages.

Don't they also list a defendant's various aliases in a legal proceeding? That list could get long... "A one Yahweh, aka, Elohim, aka, Jehovah, aka, El Shaddai, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Wonderful Counselor, Holy One of Israel"

Then we could bring in the Trinity. Which person is being sued? If one is sued, are all three sued?

I thought a bit deeper on this, and realized this isn't the first time the Lord has been on trial. I expect him to say even less this time.

I wonder if this story doesn't catch so much attention because it is such a reversal of truth. For in the "cosmic courtroom", we are on trial, God is the Judge, and our advocate (yes, Lawyer) is Jesus Christ. We'd certainly be convicted had he not reversed the verdict at the cross.

Two New Sites

Two very interesting Lutheran sites have appeared.

Lutheran Lucciola
A Lutheran blogger who is a convert from paganism. A very interesting read!


Lutheranonline.org
A St. Louis student has set up this site with some really cool design. Not a blog, but more of a resource site for Lutherans. Discussion forums are just getting off the ground. Lots of potential here.

Colson on Christians and Demographics

"The Fertility Gap: More Christians on the Way" is a recent piece by conservative Christian pundit Chuck Colson.

Colson is mostly commenting on the effects such demographics will have on the future of politics. But what, also, of the future of the church itself?

Various church demographers have observed the decline of many major denominations - largely because rates of reproduction have declined. I believe this is true in our own LCMS.

If the LCMS, like most conservative Christian bodies, does see an increase in its birth rate (perhaps a big "if", but certainly possible), then we might see numerical growth on a scale that no marketing program had ever dreamed of. Call it "Church Growth - the Old Fashioned Way".

I would be interested to see LCMS demographic information, if anyone has a link....