Although adiaphora are free before God because He has neither commanded nor forbidden them, it is sometimes necessary to argue about adiaphora among men; else there would be no Article X of the Formula of Concord. St. Paul does the same thing when he contends against those who were insisting upon circumcision.
It is a shame, though, when such arguments about adiaphora become necessary, because the necessity of the argument robs the adiaphora of their freedom.
To be sure, the freedom of faith never is the freedom of wild anarchy. The Christian does not use his freedom in the Gospel to live selfishly, but unto righteousness in Christ. True freedom therefore orders itself in love, and love is always freely given and freely received. This freedom of faith and love is a freedom for what is good and right and true; it is never a freedom for wickedness. Above all, love will freely contend for the truth of the Gospel, because all true freedom stands or falls with the Gospel. Call it tough love, maybe, but that it why it is sometimes necessary to argue about adiaphora; and that is why adiaphora are not always free.
That is the point to Article X of the Formula of Concord. When adiaphora are pressed upon the church or demanded, as though comprising the worship of God, or as though righteousness were obtained by such works of man, then faith confesses, "Not so!" "I shall not be bound by this law, nor by any other righteousness than Christ." Indeed, faith is bound in such a case to resist and refuse the pressure and demand, precisely because faith clings to Christ and the freedom of His Gospel. So, too, for the same reason, faith resists and refuses to be robbed of adiaphora under any pretense of necessity. What God has neither commanded nor forbidden is free — except where man commands or forbids it in the name of God, on the pretense of divine righeousness; then faith clings alone to God's "Yes" in Christ, and speaks a resounding "no" to man.
Regrettably, we are too eagerly drawn with our sinful egos into such heroics. We itch for the confrontation, when we can rebuke Peter to his face or stand with Luther at the Diet of Worms. We are more prone to seek the glory of martyrdom than the quiet sacrifice of love for the neighbor. It is easier and more fun to fight than to concede the point before it becomes an argument of necessity. That is the error of those who push too hard and too fast with something that is otherwise free and good, and it is no less the error of those who react too quickly and too harshly against that which really is free. It does not matter, to this extent, whether one's hobby-horse is "traditional" or "contemporary." There are villains and victims on both sides.
In fact, when arguments over adiaphora are engaged unnecessarily, then everyone loses. Then freedom is forfeited and the Gospel is obfuscated. Then both faith and love are victimized. That is not free but sinful, and these are the greatest tragedies of all. But there is also the collateral damage of God's good gifts, which are freely given to be freely received with thanksgiving, and to be sanctified by the Word of God and prayer, but which are trodden under foot in the midst of combat. Such losses ought to sadden Christians on all sides. Such losses delight the demons.
Arguments about adiaphora are necessitated by attacks on the Gospel, and they ought not to be agitated by anything less or anything else.
Nevertheless, it should be understood that arguments are sometimes necessary. Some battles have already begun before we have arrived. Some things are not truly free to our use, even if they may be called "adiaphora," because they undermine or contradict the Word of God. Even though all things are free before God in faith, because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, not all things are meet, right and salutary. Not all things serve faith and love by serving and supporting the clear and consistent catechesis and confession of the Word of God. Faith will recognize when it is the Gospel that is at stake, and it will stand accordingly; and love will know when it must be tough and when it must sacrifice self for the sake of the neighbor.
It is neither safe nor right to act against one's conscience. Let us understand, however, that where it is a matter of conscience, then faith and love are more ready and willing to die than to kill. But faith and love will also contend, even argue and fight, for the sake of the neighbor. It is not so hard to know what is necessary when faith is fixed on Christ and love is focused on the neighbor.
30 May 2009
29 May 2009
Heaven or Hell
Whether your life is a heavenly one, or hellish, depends not upon your location or circumstances, but upon the faith in your heart and the god to which or whom you cling. If your heart clings to Christ and abides in Him, then your life is heavenly, already even now in your body on earth. But if your heart fears, loves and trusts in other gods than Christ, then your life is hellish, a damnable living death, which goes from bad to worse.
It is not your body of flesh and blood that is problematic or a prison; nor is it the material world of God's good creation that imprisons you, but sin and death, your false belief, idolatry, fear and dread and sheer despair. These make even your God-given vocations and your holy stations in life seem burdensome and tedious and irksome, painful and unfair. So, then, it seems that God is not the Sun that warms and lights you, but a cruel and demanding taskmaster, your judge, jury and executioner. So, too, you do not love and serve your neighbor, but hate him, despise and resent him, hurt and take advantage of him.
How then are you able to escape from such a hellish prison? How shall you worship God in heaven, in reverent fear, love and trust, instead of fleeing from Him in dreadful terror? How shall you not be always on the run, but never able to evade the threat of death and the fear of punishment?
How shall you cling to Christ in peace and hope, and rest in Him? How shall you rise with Him, and live in Him, and abide with Him in the bosom of His God and Father?
Rejoice, give thanks and sing! For all of this has been accomplished for you, and is freely given to you, here and now, by Christ your Savior.
He is not far away or far above you, but He has drawn near to God with you, even as He draws near to you with God. By His Incarnation (paralleled in the Apostolic Church and Ministry), by His Cross and Passion, by His Resurrection, by His Ascension, and by His Gospel.
He has entered into the Holy of Holies made without hands, eternal in the heavens, as your great High Priest: your Anchor behind the veil. There He lives in the presence of God in your flesh, even while He feeds your flesh with His Body and Blood; so that where and what and who He is, you are also (by grace through faith in Him). God and man, heaven and earth, are no longer far apart and separated from one another, but are perfectly reconciled and united in the Body of Christ Jesus. Find your heavenly life in Him, therefore.
True, there is a right and wrong way to lay hold of Him on earth, demonstrated in the contrast between Mary Magdalene and Thomas. Ironically, it is faithful Mary Magdalene who attempts to lay hold of Him in an earthly way at first, from which she is dissuaded, whereas the doubting Thomas is given to lay hold of Christ Jesus in His means of grace.
Here, first of all, even in the midst of your doubts, Jesus lays hold of you in mercy, with the grace and peace of His forgiveness: by the preaching of His Gospel, and by the fruits of His Cross and Passion.
So that, already here and now, in your body of flesh and blood, you live a heavenly life in the presence of God. In and through Christ Jesus, your High Priest, you worship God in His Temple, in the midst of His Jerusalem, His Church, on earth as it is in heaven.
Christ Himself is the Incense and the Prayer of His Body, the Church. He is your Incense, Prayer and Worship, so that you, your body and soul, are received by God the Father in heaven in perfect peace and love and joy.
Receive the same Lord Jesus Christ into your body of flesh and blood, and live in Him, even now, on earth.
He is not far from you. Be not far from Him.
Do not attempt to live your life on earth apart from the gifts He freely gives you here in the midst of His Jerusalem: the gift of the Spirit, whom He promised from His Father, which He has received for you in His own crucified and risen body: in your stead and on your behalf.
As He does, indeed, pour out His Spirit upon you here, know that He Himself abides with you, and in you, so that you live and abide with Him, now and forever, in the presence of your God and Father in heaven. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
It is not your body of flesh and blood that is problematic or a prison; nor is it the material world of God's good creation that imprisons you, but sin and death, your false belief, idolatry, fear and dread and sheer despair. These make even your God-given vocations and your holy stations in life seem burdensome and tedious and irksome, painful and unfair. So, then, it seems that God is not the Sun that warms and lights you, but a cruel and demanding taskmaster, your judge, jury and executioner. So, too, you do not love and serve your neighbor, but hate him, despise and resent him, hurt and take advantage of him.
How then are you able to escape from such a hellish prison? How shall you worship God in heaven, in reverent fear, love and trust, instead of fleeing from Him in dreadful terror? How shall you not be always on the run, but never able to evade the threat of death and the fear of punishment?
How shall you cling to Christ in peace and hope, and rest in Him? How shall you rise with Him, and live in Him, and abide with Him in the bosom of His God and Father?
Rejoice, give thanks and sing! For all of this has been accomplished for you, and is freely given to you, here and now, by Christ your Savior.
He is not far away or far above you, but He has drawn near to God with you, even as He draws near to you with God. By His Incarnation (paralleled in the Apostolic Church and Ministry), by His Cross and Passion, by His Resurrection, by His Ascension, and by His Gospel.
He has entered into the Holy of Holies made without hands, eternal in the heavens, as your great High Priest: your Anchor behind the veil. There He lives in the presence of God in your flesh, even while He feeds your flesh with His Body and Blood; so that where and what and who He is, you are also (by grace through faith in Him). God and man, heaven and earth, are no longer far apart and separated from one another, but are perfectly reconciled and united in the Body of Christ Jesus. Find your heavenly life in Him, therefore.
True, there is a right and wrong way to lay hold of Him on earth, demonstrated in the contrast between Mary Magdalene and Thomas. Ironically, it is faithful Mary Magdalene who attempts to lay hold of Him in an earthly way at first, from which she is dissuaded, whereas the doubting Thomas is given to lay hold of Christ Jesus in His means of grace.
Here, first of all, even in the midst of your doubts, Jesus lays hold of you in mercy, with the grace and peace of His forgiveness: by the preaching of His Gospel, and by the fruits of His Cross and Passion.
So that, already here and now, in your body of flesh and blood, you live a heavenly life in the presence of God. In and through Christ Jesus, your High Priest, you worship God in His Temple, in the midst of His Jerusalem, His Church, on earth as it is in heaven.
Christ Himself is the Incense and the Prayer of His Body, the Church. He is your Incense, Prayer and Worship, so that you, your body and soul, are received by God the Father in heaven in perfect peace and love and joy.
Receive the same Lord Jesus Christ into your body of flesh and blood, and live in Him, even now, on earth.
He is not far from you. Be not far from Him.
Do not attempt to live your life on earth apart from the gifts He freely gives you here in the midst of His Jerusalem: the gift of the Spirit, whom He promised from His Father, which He has received for you in His own crucified and risen body: in your stead and on your behalf.
As He does, indeed, pour out His Spirit upon you here, know that He Himself abides with you, and in you, so that you live and abide with Him, now and forever, in the presence of your God and Father in heaven. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
19 May 2009
Hymns for Proper 3-7 Series B
First Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 3 (Sunday on May 24–28)
Hosea 2:14–20
Acts 2:14a, 36–47
Mark 2:(13–17) 18–22
Hymn of Invocation
Chief of sinners though I be (LSB 611)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Come, you faithful, raise the strain (LSB 487)
The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Hymn of Departure
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Alternative Hymns
All Christians who have been baptized (LSB 596)
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
Alleluia! Let praises ring (LSB 822)
Baptismal waters cover me (LSB 616)
Church of God, elect and glorious (LSB 646)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
God’s own child, I gladly say it (LSB 594)
How can I thank You, Lord (LSB 703)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
O God of God, O Light of Light (LSB 810)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LSB 793)
The Bridegroom soon will call us (LSB 514)
The gifts Christ freely gives (LSB 602)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Today Your mercy calls us (LSB 915)
Water, blood, and Spirit crying (LSB 597)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Second [1-2] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 4 (Sunday on May 29—June 4)
Deuteronomy 5:12–15
2 Corinthians 4:5–12
Mark 2:23–28 (3:1–6)
Hymn of Invocation / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
These are the holy Ten Commands (LSB 581)
Hymn of the Day
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
In the very midst of life (LSB 755)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
Lord of all hopefulness (LSB 738)
Hymn of Departure
Oh, what their joy and their glory must be (LSB 675)
Alternative Hymns
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side (LSB 752)
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word (LSB 904)
By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless (LSB 566)
Christ sits at God’s right hand (LSB 564)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
How clear is our vocation, Lord (LSB 853)
If thou but trust in God to guide thee (LSB 750)
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten (LSB 914)
Lord, help us ever to retain (LSB 865)
Lord Jesus Christ, You have prepared (LSB 622)
O blessed Light, O Trinity (LSB 890)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O light whose splendor thrills and gladdens (LSB 891)
Oh, how blest are they whose toils are ended (LSB 679)
Praise the One who breaks the darkness (LSB 849)
The gifts Christ freely gives (LSB 602)
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (LSB 578)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
Third [1-3] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 5 (Sunday on June 5–11)
Genesis 3:8–15
2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1
Mark 3:20–35
Hymn of Invocation
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (LSB 578)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
In the shattered bliss of Eden (LSB 572)
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands (LSB 458)
Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you (LSB 668)
All the earth with joy is sounding (LSB 462)
Hymn of Departure
A mighty fortress is our God (LSB 656)
Alternative Hymns
All mankind fell in Adam’s fall (LSB 562)
At the Lamb’s high feast we sing (LSB 633)
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Have no fear, little flock (LSB 735)
I know that my Redeemer lives (LSB 461)
If God Himself be for me (LSB 724)
Jerusalem, O city fair and high (LSB 674)
Jerusalem the golden (LSB 672)
Jesus Christ, my sure defense (LSB 741)
Oh, how blest are they whose toils are ended (LSB 679)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)
The tree of life with ev’ry good (LSB 561)
We know that Christ is raised (LSB 603)
When in the hour of deepest need (LSB 615)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
You are the way; through You alone (LSB 526)
Fourth [1-4] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 6 (Sunday on June 12–18)
Ezekiel 17:22–24
2 Corinthians 5:1–10 (11–17)
Mark 4:26–34
Hymn of Invocation
Open now thy gates of beauty (LSB 901)
Hymn of the Day
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
Offertory Hymn
Take my life and let it be (LSB 783)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954) (Catechetical)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
I lie, O Lord, within Your care (LSB 885)
Hymn of Departure
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
Alternative Hymns
Almighty God, Your Word is cast (LSB 577)
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word (LSB 904)
Children of the heav’nly Father (LSB 725)
Come, ye thankful people, come (LSB 892)
Consider how the birds above (LSB 736)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
Father, we thank Thee who hast planted (LSB 652)
For the fruits of His creation (LSB 894)
New songs of celebration render (LSB 792)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
O Holy Spirit, grant us grace (LSB 693)
O Word of God incarnate (LSB 523)
Oh, how great is Your compassion (LSB 559)
On what has now been sown (LSB 921)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Preach you the Word, and plant it home (LSB 586)
Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens (LSB 589)
This body in the grave we lay (LSB 759)
We know that Christ is raised (LSB 603)
Fifth [1-5] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 7 (Sunday on June 19–25)
Job 38:1–11
2 Corinthians 6:1–13
Mark 4:35–41
Hymn of Invocation
Once in the blest baptismal waters (LSB 598)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Evening and morning (LSB 726)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side (LSB 752)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Eternal Father, strong to save (LSB 717)
Hymn of Departure
Lord of our life and God of our salvation (LSB 659)
Alternative Hymns
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
For all the saints who from their labors rest (LSB 677)
How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord (LSB 728)
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
In Thee is gladness (LSB 818)
Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal (LSB 533)
Jesus, lead Thou on (LSB 718)
Jesus, priceless treasure (LSB 743)
Jesus, Savior, pilot me (LSB 715)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
O God, our help in ages past (LSB 733)
O Morning Star, how fair and bright (LSB 395)
Seek where you may to find a way (LSB 557)
The gifts Christ freely gives (LSB 602)
The Son of God goes forth to war (LSB 661)
What is the world to me (LSB 730)
When in the hour of deepest need (LSB 615)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Proper 3 (Sunday on May 24–28)
Hosea 2:14–20
Acts 2:14a, 36–47
Mark 2:(13–17) 18–22
Hymn of Invocation
Chief of sinners though I be (LSB 611)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Come, you faithful, raise the strain (LSB 487)
The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Hymn of Departure
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Alternative Hymns
All Christians who have been baptized (LSB 596)
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
Alleluia! Let praises ring (LSB 822)
Baptismal waters cover me (LSB 616)
Church of God, elect and glorious (LSB 646)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
God’s own child, I gladly say it (LSB 594)
How can I thank You, Lord (LSB 703)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
O God of God, O Light of Light (LSB 810)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LSB 793)
The Bridegroom soon will call us (LSB 514)
The gifts Christ freely gives (LSB 602)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Today Your mercy calls us (LSB 915)
Water, blood, and Spirit crying (LSB 597)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Second [1-2] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 4 (Sunday on May 29—June 4)
Deuteronomy 5:12–15
2 Corinthians 4:5–12
Mark 2:23–28 (3:1–6)
Hymn of Invocation / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
These are the holy Ten Commands (LSB 581)
Hymn of the Day
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
In the very midst of life (LSB 755)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
Lord of all hopefulness (LSB 738)
Hymn of Departure
Oh, what their joy and their glory must be (LSB 675)
Alternative Hymns
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side (LSB 752)
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word (LSB 904)
By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless (LSB 566)
Christ sits at God’s right hand (LSB 564)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
How clear is our vocation, Lord (LSB 853)
If thou but trust in God to guide thee (LSB 750)
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten (LSB 914)
Lord, help us ever to retain (LSB 865)
Lord Jesus Christ, You have prepared (LSB 622)
O blessed Light, O Trinity (LSB 890)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O light whose splendor thrills and gladdens (LSB 891)
Oh, how blest are they whose toils are ended (LSB 679)
Praise the One who breaks the darkness (LSB 849)
The gifts Christ freely gives (LSB 602)
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (LSB 578)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
Third [1-3] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 5 (Sunday on June 5–11)
Genesis 3:8–15
2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1
Mark 3:20–35
Hymn of Invocation
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (LSB 578)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
In the shattered bliss of Eden (LSB 572)
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands (LSB 458)
Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you (LSB 668)
All the earth with joy is sounding (LSB 462)
Hymn of Departure
A mighty fortress is our God (LSB 656)
Alternative Hymns
All mankind fell in Adam’s fall (LSB 562)
At the Lamb’s high feast we sing (LSB 633)
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Have no fear, little flock (LSB 735)
I know that my Redeemer lives (LSB 461)
If God Himself be for me (LSB 724)
Jerusalem, O city fair and high (LSB 674)
Jerusalem the golden (LSB 672)
Jesus Christ, my sure defense (LSB 741)
Oh, how blest are they whose toils are ended (LSB 679)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)
The tree of life with ev’ry good (LSB 561)
We know that Christ is raised (LSB 603)
When in the hour of deepest need (LSB 615)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
You are the way; through You alone (LSB 526)
Fourth [1-4] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 6 (Sunday on June 12–18)
Ezekiel 17:22–24
2 Corinthians 5:1–10 (11–17)
Mark 4:26–34
Hymn of Invocation
Open now thy gates of beauty (LSB 901)
Hymn of the Day
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
Offertory Hymn
Take my life and let it be (LSB 783)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954) (Catechetical)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
I lie, O Lord, within Your care (LSB 885)
Hymn of Departure
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
Alternative Hymns
Almighty God, Your Word is cast (LSB 577)
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word (LSB 904)
Children of the heav’nly Father (LSB 725)
Come, ye thankful people, come (LSB 892)
Consider how the birds above (LSB 736)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
Father, we thank Thee who hast planted (LSB 652)
For the fruits of His creation (LSB 894)
New songs of celebration render (LSB 792)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
O Holy Spirit, grant us grace (LSB 693)
O Word of God incarnate (LSB 523)
Oh, how great is Your compassion (LSB 559)
On what has now been sown (LSB 921)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Preach you the Word, and plant it home (LSB 586)
Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens (LSB 589)
This body in the grave we lay (LSB 759)
We know that Christ is raised (LSB 603)
Fifth [1-5] Sunday after Holy Trinity
Proper 7 (Sunday on June 19–25)
Job 38:1–11
2 Corinthians 6:1–13
Mark 4:35–41
Hymn of Invocation
Once in the blest baptismal waters (LSB 598)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Evening and morning (LSB 726)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side (LSB 752)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Eternal Father, strong to save (LSB 717)
Hymn of Departure
Lord of our life and God of our salvation (LSB 659)
Alternative Hymns
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
For all the saints who from their labors rest (LSB 677)
How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord (LSB 728)
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
In Thee is gladness (LSB 818)
Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal (LSB 533)
Jesus, lead Thou on (LSB 718)
Jesus, priceless treasure (LSB 743)
Jesus, Savior, pilot me (LSB 715)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
O God, our help in ages past (LSB 733)
O Morning Star, how fair and bright (LSB 395)
Seek where you may to find a way (LSB 557)
The gifts Christ freely gives (LSB 602)
The Son of God goes forth to war (LSB 661)
What is the world to me (LSB 730)
When in the hour of deepest need (LSB 615)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Hymns for Historic Trinity 1-5
First Sunday after Trinity
Genesis 15:1–6
1 John 4:16–21
Luke 16:19–31
Hymn of Invocation
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Oh, what their joy and their glory must be (LSB 675)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Hymn of Departure
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Alternative Hymns
Abide, O dearest Jesus (LSB 919)
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
I trust, O Lord, Your holy name (LSB 734)
Let us ever walk with Jesus (LSB 685)
Lord of glory, You have bought us (LSB 851)
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
O God of mercy, God of might (LSB 852)
O love, how deep, how broad, how high (LSB 544)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Sing with all the saints in glory (LSB 671)
Son of God, eternal Savior (LSB 842)
The God of Abraham praise (LSB 798)
The King of love my shepherd is (LSB 709)
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
What is the world to me (LSB 730)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Second Sunday after Trinity
Proverbs 9:1–10
Ephesians 2:13–22 (or 1 John 3:13–18)
Luke 14:15–24
Hymn of Invocation
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Hymn of the Day
A multitude comes from the east and the west (LSB 510)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
In the shattered bliss of Eden (LSB 572)
Lord Jesus Christ, You have prepared (LSB 622)
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands (LSB 458)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Hymn of Departure / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
O Lord, we praise Thee (LSB 617)
Alternative Hymns
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word (LSB 904)
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Christ is made the sure foundation (LSB 909)
Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing (LSB 686)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Hope of the world, Thou Christ of great compassion (LSB 690)
Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior (LSB 627)
Jesus, grant that balm and healing (LSB 421)
Jesus, priceless treasure (LSB 743)
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness (LSB 563)
Lord Jesus Christ, the Church’s head (LSB 647)
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
No temple now, no gift of price (LSB 530)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
One thing’s needful; Lord, this treasure (LSB 536)
Only-begotten, Word of God eternal (LSB 916)
Soul, adorn yourself with gladness (LSB 636)
The Bridegroom soon will call us (LSB 514)
The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Third Sunday after Trinity
Micah 7:18–20
1 Timothy 1:12–17 (or 1 Peter 5:6–11)
Luke 15:1–10 (or Luke 15:11–32)
Hymn of Invocation
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Lord, to You I make confession (LSB 608)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)
Why should cross and trial grieve me (LSB 756)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken (LSB 439)
Hymn of Departure
God’s own child, I gladly say it (LSB 594)
Alternative Hymns
All mankind fell in Adam’s fall (LSB 562)
As rebels, Lord, who foolishly have wandered (LSB 612)
"As surely as I live," God said (LSB 614)
Chief of sinners though I be (LSB 611)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
In Thee is gladness (LSB 818)
Jesus, priceless treasure (LSB 743)
Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Just as I am, without one plea (LSB 570)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
O Christ, our true and only light (LSB 839)
Oh, how great is Your compassion (LSB 559)
Open now thy gates of beauty (LSB 901)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LSB 793)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)
The King of love my shepherd is (LSB 709)
Today Your mercy calls us (LSB 915)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Genesis 50:15–21
Romans 12:14–21 (or Romans 8:18–23)
Luke 6:36–42
Hymn of Invocation
Evening and morning (LSB 726)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Our Father, who from heav’n above (LSB 766)
The will of God is always best (LSB 758)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
"Forgive our sins as we forgive" (LSB 843)
Hymn of Departure
A mighty fortress is our God (LSB 656)
Alternative Hymns
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide (LSB 878)
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
All praise to Thee, for Thou, O King divine (LSB 815)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
How can I thank You, Lord (LSB 703)
I leave all things to God’s direction (LSB 719)
If Your beloved Son, O God (LSB 568)
Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Lord of glory, You have bought us (LSB 851)
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
O love, how deep, how broad, how high (LSB 544)
Oh, what their joy and their glory must be (LSB 675)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
Fifth Sunday after Trinity
1 Kings 19:11–21
1 Corinthians 1:18–25 (or 1 Peter 3:8–15)
Luke 5:1–11
Hymn of Invocation
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (LSB 578)
Hymn of the Day
"Come, follow Me," the Savior spake (LSB 688)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)
How clear is our vocation, Lord (LSB 853)
Hymn of Departure / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
I lie, O Lord, within Your care (LSB 885)
Alternative Hymns
Abide, O dearest Jesus (LSB 919)
Baptismal waters cover me (LSB 616)
Blest be the tie that binds (LSB 649)
God of the prophets, bless the prophets’ sons (LSB 682)
God’s own child, I gladly say it (LSB 594)
If thou but trust in God to guide thee (LSB 750)
In the cross of Christ I glory (LSB 427)
Jesus, grant that balm and healing (LSB 421)
Lord, dismiss us with Your blessing (LSB 924)
My faith looks up to Thee (LSB 702)
My song is love unknown (LSB 430)
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle (LSB 454)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens (LSB 589)
We are called to stand together (LSB 828)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
What is the world to me (LSB 730)
When I survey the wondrous cross (LSB 425)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
Genesis 15:1–6
1 John 4:16–21
Luke 16:19–31
Hymn of Invocation
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Oh, what their joy and their glory must be (LSB 675)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Hymn of Departure
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Alternative Hymns
Abide, O dearest Jesus (LSB 919)
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
I trust, O Lord, Your holy name (LSB 734)
Let us ever walk with Jesus (LSB 685)
Lord of glory, You have bought us (LSB 851)
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
O God of mercy, God of might (LSB 852)
O love, how deep, how broad, how high (LSB 544)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Sing with all the saints in glory (LSB 671)
Son of God, eternal Savior (LSB 842)
The God of Abraham praise (LSB 798)
The King of love my shepherd is (LSB 709)
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
What is the world to me (LSB 730)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Second Sunday after Trinity
Proverbs 9:1–10
Ephesians 2:13–22 (or 1 John 3:13–18)
Luke 14:15–24
Hymn of Invocation
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Hymn of the Day
A multitude comes from the east and the west (LSB 510)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
In the shattered bliss of Eden (LSB 572)
Lord Jesus Christ, You have prepared (LSB 622)
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands (LSB 458)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Hymn of Departure / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
O Lord, we praise Thee (LSB 617)
Alternative Hymns
Blessed Jesus, at Your Word (LSB 904)
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Christ is made the sure foundation (LSB 909)
Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing (LSB 686)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Hope of the world, Thou Christ of great compassion (LSB 690)
Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior (LSB 627)
Jesus, grant that balm and healing (LSB 421)
Jesus, priceless treasure (LSB 743)
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness (LSB 563)
Lord Jesus Christ, the Church’s head (LSB 647)
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
No temple now, no gift of price (LSB 530)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
One thing’s needful; Lord, this treasure (LSB 536)
Only-begotten, Word of God eternal (LSB 916)
Soul, adorn yourself with gladness (LSB 636)
The Bridegroom soon will call us (LSB 514)
The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Third Sunday after Trinity
Micah 7:18–20
1 Timothy 1:12–17 (or 1 Peter 5:6–11)
Luke 15:1–10 (or Luke 15:11–32)
Hymn of Invocation
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Lord, to You I make confession (LSB 608)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)
Why should cross and trial grieve me (LSB 756)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken (LSB 439)
Hymn of Departure
God’s own child, I gladly say it (LSB 594)
Alternative Hymns
All mankind fell in Adam’s fall (LSB 562)
As rebels, Lord, who foolishly have wandered (LSB 612)
"As surely as I live," God said (LSB 614)
Chief of sinners though I be (LSB 611)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
In Thee is gladness (LSB 818)
Jesus, priceless treasure (LSB 743)
Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Just as I am, without one plea (LSB 570)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
O Christ, our true and only light (LSB 839)
Oh, how great is Your compassion (LSB 559)
Open now thy gates of beauty (LSB 901)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LSB 793)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)
The King of love my shepherd is (LSB 709)
Today Your mercy calls us (LSB 915)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Genesis 50:15–21
Romans 12:14–21 (or Romans 8:18–23)
Luke 6:36–42
Hymn of Invocation
Evening and morning (LSB 726)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Our Father, who from heav’n above (LSB 766)
The will of God is always best (LSB 758)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
"Forgive our sins as we forgive" (LSB 843)
Hymn of Departure
A mighty fortress is our God (LSB 656)
Alternative Hymns
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide (LSB 878)
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
All praise to Thee, for Thou, O King divine (LSB 815)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
How can I thank You, Lord (LSB 703)
I leave all things to God’s direction (LSB 719)
If Your beloved Son, O God (LSB 568)
Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Lord of glory, You have bought us (LSB 851)
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
O love, how deep, how broad, how high (LSB 544)
Oh, what their joy and their glory must be (LSB 675)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
Fifth Sunday after Trinity
1 Kings 19:11–21
1 Corinthians 1:18–25 (or 1 Peter 3:8–15)
Luke 5:1–11
Hymn of Invocation
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (LSB 578)
Hymn of the Day
"Come, follow Me," the Savior spake (LSB 688)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)
How clear is our vocation, Lord (LSB 853)
Hymn of Departure / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
I lie, O Lord, within Your care (LSB 885)
Alternative Hymns
Abide, O dearest Jesus (LSB 919)
Baptismal waters cover me (LSB 616)
Blest be the tie that binds (LSB 649)
God of the prophets, bless the prophets’ sons (LSB 682)
God’s own child, I gladly say it (LSB 594)
If thou but trust in God to guide thee (LSB 750)
In the cross of Christ I glory (LSB 427)
Jesus, grant that balm and healing (LSB 421)
Lord, dismiss us with Your blessing (LSB 924)
My faith looks up to Thee (LSB 702)
My song is love unknown (LSB 430)
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle (LSB 454)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens (LSB 589)
We are called to stand together (LSB 828)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
What is the world to me (LSB 730)
When I survey the wondrous cross (LSB 425)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
16 May 2009
Hymns for the Historic Octave of Pentecost
Pentecost Eve
Joel 3:1–5
Romans 8:12–17
John 14:15–21
Hymn of Invocation
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Hymn of the Day
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Hear us, Father, when we pray (LSB 773)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Hymn of Departure
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
Alternative Hymns
A multitude comes from the east and the west (LSB 510)
Children of the heav’nly Father (LSB 725)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord, support us all day long (LSB 884)
O blessed Light, O Trinity (LSB 890)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
O light whose splendor thrills and gladdens (LSB 891)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Our Father, by whose name (LSB 863)
The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended (LSB 886)
The Lord, my God, be praised (LSB 794)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
The Day of Pentecost
Genesis 11:1–9
Acts 2:1–21
John 14:23–31
Divine Service, Setting Five (LSB 213–218)
Entrance Hymn
Hail thee, festival day (LSB 489)
Kyrie Hymn
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Gloria Hymn
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
Gradual Hymn
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creedal Hymn
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
Offertory Hymn
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Sanctus Hymn
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Agnus Dei
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God (LSB 198)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Post-Communion Hymn
O Lord, we praise Thee (LSB 617)
Processional Out
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
Alternative Hymns
As rebels, Lord, who foolishly have wandered (LSB 612)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498/499)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
In Adam we have all been one (LSB 569)
Lord of our life and God of our salvation (LSB 659)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
Now that the daylight fills the sky (LSB 870)
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
Oh, that I had a thousand voices (LSB 811)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise (LSB 917)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Up through endless ranks of angels (LSB 491)
Water, blood, and Spirit crying (LSB 597)
Your heart, O God, is grieved, we know (LSB 945)
Pentecost Monday
Isaiah 57:15–21
Acts 10:34a, 42–48
John 3:16–21
Processional Hymn
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace (LSB 580)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Baptized into Your name most holy (LSB 590)
Processional Out
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
Alternative Hymns
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Christ the eternal Lord (LSB 829)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loves me dearly (LSB 392)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord (LSB 935)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
We are called to stand together (LSB 828)
Pentecost Tuesday
Isaiah 32:14–20
Acts 8:14–17
John 10:1–10
Processional Hymn
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Processional Out
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
Alternative Hymns
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord (LSB 777)
Have no fear, little flock (LSB 735)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I am Jesus’ little lamb (LSB 740)
I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus (LSB 729)
I trust, O Lord, Your holy name (LSB 734)
In Adam we have all been one (LSB 569)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O God, forsake me not (LSB 731)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O little flock, fear not the foe (LSB 666)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Savior, like a shepherd lead us (LSB 711)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Voices raised to You we offer (LSB 795)
The Holy Trinity
Isaiah 6:1–7
Romans 11:33–36
John 3:1–15 (16–17)
Processional Hymn
To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord (LSB 406)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Offertory Hymn
O blessed, holy Trinity (LSB 876)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I bind unto myself today (LSB 604)
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty (LSB 507)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Processional Out
All Christians who have been baptized (LSB 596)
Alternative Hymns
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
All glory be to God on high (LSB 947)
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
Alleluia! Let praises ring (LSB 822)
At the name of Jesus (LSB 512)
Christ sits at God’s right hand (LSB 564)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Come, Thou almighty King (LSB 905)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
In God, my faithful God (LSB 745)
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Lift high the cross (LSB 837)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow (LSB 805)
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace (LSB 580)
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
Why should cross and trial grieve me (LSB 756)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
With high delight let us unite (LSB 483)
Joel 3:1–5
Romans 8:12–17
John 14:15–21
Hymn of Invocation
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Hymn of the Day
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Hear us, Father, when we pray (LSB 773)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Hymn of Departure
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
Alternative Hymns
A multitude comes from the east and the west (LSB 510)
Children of the heav’nly Father (LSB 725)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord, support us all day long (LSB 884)
O blessed Light, O Trinity (LSB 890)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
O light whose splendor thrills and gladdens (LSB 891)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Our Father, by whose name (LSB 863)
The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended (LSB 886)
The Lord, my God, be praised (LSB 794)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
The Day of Pentecost
Genesis 11:1–9
Acts 2:1–21
John 14:23–31
Divine Service, Setting Five (LSB 213–218)
Entrance Hymn
Hail thee, festival day (LSB 489)
Kyrie Hymn
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Gloria Hymn
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
Gradual Hymn
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creedal Hymn
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
Offertory Hymn
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Sanctus Hymn
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Agnus Dei
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God (LSB 198)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Post-Communion Hymn
O Lord, we praise Thee (LSB 617)
Processional Out
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
Alternative Hymns
As rebels, Lord, who foolishly have wandered (LSB 612)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498/499)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
In Adam we have all been one (LSB 569)
Lord of our life and God of our salvation (LSB 659)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
Now that the daylight fills the sky (LSB 870)
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
Oh, that I had a thousand voices (LSB 811)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise (LSB 917)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
Up through endless ranks of angels (LSB 491)
Water, blood, and Spirit crying (LSB 597)
Your heart, O God, is grieved, we know (LSB 945)
Pentecost Monday
Isaiah 57:15–21
Acts 10:34a, 42–48
John 3:16–21
Processional Hymn
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace (LSB 580)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Baptized into Your name most holy (LSB 590)
Processional Out
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
Alternative Hymns
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Christ the eternal Lord (LSB 829)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loves me dearly (LSB 392)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord (LSB 935)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
We are called to stand together (LSB 828)
Pentecost Tuesday
Isaiah 32:14–20
Acts 8:14–17
John 10:1–10
Processional Hymn
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Processional Out
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
Alternative Hymns
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord (LSB 777)
Have no fear, little flock (LSB 735)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I am Jesus’ little lamb (LSB 740)
I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus (LSB 729)
I trust, O Lord, Your holy name (LSB 734)
In Adam we have all been one (LSB 569)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O God, forsake me not (LSB 731)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O little flock, fear not the foe (LSB 666)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Savior, like a shepherd lead us (LSB 711)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Voices raised to You we offer (LSB 795)
The Holy Trinity
Isaiah 6:1–7
Romans 11:33–36
John 3:1–15 (16–17)
Processional Hymn
To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord (LSB 406)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Offertory Hymn
O blessed, holy Trinity (LSB 876)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I bind unto myself today (LSB 604)
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty (LSB 507)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Processional Out
All Christians who have been baptized (LSB 596)
Alternative Hymns
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
All glory be to God on high (LSB 947)
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
Alleluia! Let praises ring (LSB 822)
At the name of Jesus (LSB 512)
Christ sits at God’s right hand (LSB 564)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Come, Thou almighty King (LSB 905)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
In God, my faithful God (LSB 745)
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Lift high the cross (LSB 837)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow (LSB 805)
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace (LSB 580)
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
Why should cross and trial grieve me (LSB 756)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
With high delight let us unite (LSB 483)
14 May 2009
Preaching and the Sacrament
To say that the Holy Communion is the heart and center of the Holy Scriptures and of the Christian faith and life, is not to say that the Holy Communion is the only thing proclaimed in the Scriptures or the only thing pertinent to faith and life. It is rather to say, precisely, that the Holy Communion is the beating heart that gives life to the whole body (both the body of the Church and the body of the Christian), and the center of that life which is lived in faith and love toward God and in fervent love toward the neighbor.
To confess the Sacrament of the Altar as the culmination of God's Word to us in Christ Jesus, is not to denigrate the preaching of the Word; nor does it devalue the foundational importance of Holy Baptism. It is through and from Holy Baptism that one comes to the Table of the Lord in the righteousness and holiness of Christ Jesus. The one belongs to the other, and each derives its authority and power from the same Cross and Resurrection of the same Lord Jesus Christ. So, too, it is the preaching of the Word that brings the baptized faithful to the eating and drinking of the Word-made-Flesh in the worthiness of Christ Jesus, which is to say, in repentant faith. The Body and Blood of Christ ought not be given or received apart from the faithful preaching and ongoing catechesis of His Word. It is to His disciples that He gives His Body and pours out His Blood; and disciples of this Lord are made and preserved through one Holy Baptism in His Name and by ongoing catechesis in His Word. Therefore, the centrality of the Holy Communion makes all the more important the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in the Name of Jesus.
By the same token, preaching is best undertaken with a view toward the Holy Communion. In the same way that the Holy Scriptures are rightly understood as centered and culminating in the giving and receiving, the eating and drinking of the Word-made-Flesh, so is the right preaching of the Word of Christ evangelically ordered to and from Holy Baptism, and thence to and from His Sacrament of the Altar. Again, not as though the Holy Communion were the only thing, but because it is the heart and center of everything that matters, of life with God in Christ Jesus.
The preaching of the Gospel, therefore, brings those who have not been baptized to be baptized; it returns those who have been baptized to their Baptism through contrition and repentance and faith in the forgiveness of sins; and it brings the baptized faithful to receive the Body and Blood of Christ their Savior in the Holy Communion. That is what every evangelical sermon and every preaching of Christ is doing, even if it occurs outside of the Divine Service. The Church, and each Christian, proceeds in faith from the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, and is always living toward the receiving of His Body and Blood in that same neverending Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Faith looks forward to that Meal, longs for that Meal, and lifts up the heart toward that Meal, whether it shall again be received from the Lord's Altar on earth or in the Resurrection, in the closer proximity of the Lamb in His Kingdom. Thus, faith listens for that Voice of the Shepherd which calls the baptized faithful to the Wedding Hall, to the Supper of the Bridegroom.
At the northern Indiana spring pastors' conference earlier this week, Pastor Fabrizius pointed to the way the early fathers of the Church understood the Feast of Wisdom in Proverbs 9 to be the Lord's Supper. Why? Better to ask, How could they understand it otherwise? And how or why should they have preached it otherwise? The whole point is that Wisdom has built His House and prepared His Feast, and He calls the nations to come and receive it, to eat and to drink it. So that is what the preachers of Wisdom do. The fathers understood that, because such preaching of the Word was handed down as a heritage of the Church along with the administration of the Supper itself. That very traditio, that handing over of both preaching and the Sacrament together, is exactly St. Paul's point in 1 Corinthians 11. Preaching and the Supper are given and received together: from the Father to the world, from the Christ to His disciples and Apostles, from the Apostles to the bishops and pastors who follow them, and to the whole Church on earth, and from the pastors to the people of their congregations, from one generation to the next.
So it goes, and it is easy to perceive that point when the Lord's Supper is celebrated every Lord's Day. Then even the daily prayer offices are understood to flow forth in the rhythm of the week from the First Day to the Eighth Day, from one Divine Service to the next. Certainly the preaching at the Divine Service is shaped by the fact that, liturgically and ritually, it is leading from the font and the lectern to the Altar and the Meal.
Where the Sacrament has been dethroned from its central height at each Divine Service, and where it has not been allowed to function as the beating heart of the Church's life, there preaching has also suffered accordingly. That is so, even where preaching has been treated as the main thing and given an overabundance of attention; even where it has gone on and on. Preaching, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, is rightly regarded and received when it is understood to be the means by which the Word-made-Flesh is given to the world in the grace and mercy of God the Lord. Where it is approached apart from that gracious self-giving of the incarnate Word, then preaching itself can or does become idolatrous.
Preaching that has been disconnected from the Holy Communion, both in proximity and in its purpose, becomes didactic at the expense of the kerygma; or, what is worse, it becomes legalistic and moralistic, instead of evangelical; or, what is even worse, it becomes comedic entertainment, a proclamation of the preacher's personality, rather than the proclamation of Christ and the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in His Name.
Preaching that calls the baptized faithful to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ, the Feast of Wisdom, given and poured out for the forgiveness of sins, can hardly help but focus upon the Gospel and emphasize the Gospel. If the preacher understands that his whole purpose and the point of his preaching is that sinners, in repentant faith, should be fed and forgiven at the Table with Jesus, then all of his preaching, of both the Law and the Gospel, shall always be returning to that gracious gift and blessing, and always culminating there in that blessed Meal of Salvation. Such preaching is the Voice of Christ, which calls lost and wandering sheep from all the nations, and gathers them into one flock under that one Good Shepherd who has set His Table for them and pours out His Chalice, which is the New Testament in His Blood, for the free and full forgiveness of all their sins forever.
To confess the Sacrament of the Altar as the culmination of God's Word to us in Christ Jesus, is not to denigrate the preaching of the Word; nor does it devalue the foundational importance of Holy Baptism. It is through and from Holy Baptism that one comes to the Table of the Lord in the righteousness and holiness of Christ Jesus. The one belongs to the other, and each derives its authority and power from the same Cross and Resurrection of the same Lord Jesus Christ. So, too, it is the preaching of the Word that brings the baptized faithful to the eating and drinking of the Word-made-Flesh in the worthiness of Christ Jesus, which is to say, in repentant faith. The Body and Blood of Christ ought not be given or received apart from the faithful preaching and ongoing catechesis of His Word. It is to His disciples that He gives His Body and pours out His Blood; and disciples of this Lord are made and preserved through one Holy Baptism in His Name and by ongoing catechesis in His Word. Therefore, the centrality of the Holy Communion makes all the more important the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in the Name of Jesus.
By the same token, preaching is best undertaken with a view toward the Holy Communion. In the same way that the Holy Scriptures are rightly understood as centered and culminating in the giving and receiving, the eating and drinking of the Word-made-Flesh, so is the right preaching of the Word of Christ evangelically ordered to and from Holy Baptism, and thence to and from His Sacrament of the Altar. Again, not as though the Holy Communion were the only thing, but because it is the heart and center of everything that matters, of life with God in Christ Jesus.
The preaching of the Gospel, therefore, brings those who have not been baptized to be baptized; it returns those who have been baptized to their Baptism through contrition and repentance and faith in the forgiveness of sins; and it brings the baptized faithful to receive the Body and Blood of Christ their Savior in the Holy Communion. That is what every evangelical sermon and every preaching of Christ is doing, even if it occurs outside of the Divine Service. The Church, and each Christian, proceeds in faith from the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, and is always living toward the receiving of His Body and Blood in that same neverending Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Faith looks forward to that Meal, longs for that Meal, and lifts up the heart toward that Meal, whether it shall again be received from the Lord's Altar on earth or in the Resurrection, in the closer proximity of the Lamb in His Kingdom. Thus, faith listens for that Voice of the Shepherd which calls the baptized faithful to the Wedding Hall, to the Supper of the Bridegroom.
At the northern Indiana spring pastors' conference earlier this week, Pastor Fabrizius pointed to the way the early fathers of the Church understood the Feast of Wisdom in Proverbs 9 to be the Lord's Supper. Why? Better to ask, How could they understand it otherwise? And how or why should they have preached it otherwise? The whole point is that Wisdom has built His House and prepared His Feast, and He calls the nations to come and receive it, to eat and to drink it. So that is what the preachers of Wisdom do. The fathers understood that, because such preaching of the Word was handed down as a heritage of the Church along with the administration of the Supper itself. That very traditio, that handing over of both preaching and the Sacrament together, is exactly St. Paul's point in 1 Corinthians 11. Preaching and the Supper are given and received together: from the Father to the world, from the Christ to His disciples and Apostles, from the Apostles to the bishops and pastors who follow them, and to the whole Church on earth, and from the pastors to the people of their congregations, from one generation to the next.
So it goes, and it is easy to perceive that point when the Lord's Supper is celebrated every Lord's Day. Then even the daily prayer offices are understood to flow forth in the rhythm of the week from the First Day to the Eighth Day, from one Divine Service to the next. Certainly the preaching at the Divine Service is shaped by the fact that, liturgically and ritually, it is leading from the font and the lectern to the Altar and the Meal.
Where the Sacrament has been dethroned from its central height at each Divine Service, and where it has not been allowed to function as the beating heart of the Church's life, there preaching has also suffered accordingly. That is so, even where preaching has been treated as the main thing and given an overabundance of attention; even where it has gone on and on. Preaching, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, is rightly regarded and received when it is understood to be the means by which the Word-made-Flesh is given to the world in the grace and mercy of God the Lord. Where it is approached apart from that gracious self-giving of the incarnate Word, then preaching itself can or does become idolatrous.
Preaching that has been disconnected from the Holy Communion, both in proximity and in its purpose, becomes didactic at the expense of the kerygma; or, what is worse, it becomes legalistic and moralistic, instead of evangelical; or, what is even worse, it becomes comedic entertainment, a proclamation of the preacher's personality, rather than the proclamation of Christ and the preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in His Name.
Preaching that calls the baptized faithful to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ, the Feast of Wisdom, given and poured out for the forgiveness of sins, can hardly help but focus upon the Gospel and emphasize the Gospel. If the preacher understands that his whole purpose and the point of his preaching is that sinners, in repentant faith, should be fed and forgiven at the Table with Jesus, then all of his preaching, of both the Law and the Gospel, shall always be returning to that gracious gift and blessing, and always culminating there in that blessed Meal of Salvation. Such preaching is the Voice of Christ, which calls lost and wandering sheep from all the nations, and gathers them into one flock under that one Good Shepherd who has set His Table for them and pours out His Chalice, which is the New Testament in His Blood, for the free and full forgiveness of all their sins forever.
The Heart of the Holy Scriptures
If it is true that the Son of God gives His own holy Body and pours out His own precious Blood for us Christians to eat and to drink, then everything about the Christian faith and life is effected by that fact. Or, better to say, everything is governed by that fact, and everything moves to and from that constituting heart and center of real human life with God. How could we possibly think otherwise, unless we do not believe what we confess about the Sacrament?
Here there is the Incarnate God, His Atonement, the fruits of His Cross and Passion, and His Gospel of forgiveness unto life and salvation. Not that the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the sacrifice of the Cross happen in the Sacrament of the Altar, but the content and consequences of those sacred Mysteries are bestowed in this Sacrament; their holy purpose is achieved, their divine goal is accomplished, and their saving benefit is fulfilled in us. This is the very thing that God has desired for us in love, that we should receive Him and His Life into ourselves, into our human flesh and blood, and so abide in Him bodily forever.
When the Lord our God created man in His own Image and Likeness, it was in view of the incarnate Son, Christ Jesus. When He formed man out of the dust of the ground, it was in view of the bodily Resurrection of Christ Jesus from death and the grave. When He fed man in Paradise, and in particular when He planted the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, it was in view of the Cross and its life-giving fruits.
God feeds man from the beginning, and that is how He shares Himself, His Life and His Love with man. So too, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom comprises the consummation of all things, the fulfillment of creation and the realization of God's great salvation. The Lord brings us into His house, bids us to recline at His Table, and there He serves us from His own hand with His own Body and Blood.
Everywhere in the Holy Scriptures, God is feeding His people, and in this He is always moving them toward that Meal which is the gift of Himself in the flesh. The fruit of the trees in the garden. The meat of the animals following the Flood. The Passover Lamb. The manna and the quail. The flesh and the fruits of sacrifices, provided as food for the priests and for the people. The milk and honey of the Promised Land. It is all leading to the Body and Blood of the Christ. For Wisdom has built His house and prepared His Feast. The Good Shepherd has spread His Table with the choicest of meats and the finest of wines from an overflowing Chalice of salvation. The loaves and fishes are multiplied to feed the nations, and the Son of Man eats and drinks with sinners.
So, too, the Lord opens the Scriptures to us. He opens our ears, our hearts and minds to comprehend them as all concerning Himself, His Cross and Resurrection. And He catechizes us in this way to bring us to the Breaking of the Bread, wherein He reveals and gives Himself to us. Then our eyes are also opened to recognize Him there, by faith, that we might receive Him with thanksgiving in body and soul. It is to the Holy Communion that the Holy Scriptures lead us. There they culminate and find their fulfillment in the Body and Blood of Christ, the Lord.
If the Holy Scriptures are all about Christ Jesus, as He Himself testifies in St. Luke 24, then they are all about the Supper in which this Crucified and Risen One feeds us with His Body and gives us to drink of His Blood. For He is the Word of God, of whom the Holy Scriptures are but the written testimony. The Sacrament of the Altar is the same Word of God, who has become Flesh, who is given and poured out for us. This is not a tangent but the realized very-goodness of God's Creation, the working out of His Redemption, the gift and bestowal of His Sanctification upon us. Here is the heart of the matter and the center of everything. It is to this flesh and blood of Christ that His Word brings us in love, that we might be forgiven, reconciled to God, redeemed in body and soul, and sanctified in our own flesh and blood unto the life everlasting. Not as a means to some other end, but a bodily participation in that divine life which has no end; a bodily participation, by grace, in that divine nature which Christ, the incarnate Son, eternally shares with His Father and the Holy Spirit.
The proper distinction between the Law and the Gospel is the particularly bright light by which all of Holy Scripture is understood. The path enlighted by that distinction leads us to the Altar, where we are fed with the fruits of our redemption, the Body and Blood of the Lamb who is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. It is upon that Lamb, given and poured out for us Christians to eat and to drink, that the Lamp of the Scriptures shines brightest and best. For His flesh and blood are the beating heart of the Word, by which our flesh and blood are enlivened.
Here there is the Incarnate God, His Atonement, the fruits of His Cross and Passion, and His Gospel of forgiveness unto life and salvation. Not that the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the sacrifice of the Cross happen in the Sacrament of the Altar, but the content and consequences of those sacred Mysteries are bestowed in this Sacrament; their holy purpose is achieved, their divine goal is accomplished, and their saving benefit is fulfilled in us. This is the very thing that God has desired for us in love, that we should receive Him and His Life into ourselves, into our human flesh and blood, and so abide in Him bodily forever.
When the Lord our God created man in His own Image and Likeness, it was in view of the incarnate Son, Christ Jesus. When He formed man out of the dust of the ground, it was in view of the bodily Resurrection of Christ Jesus from death and the grave. When He fed man in Paradise, and in particular when He planted the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, it was in view of the Cross and its life-giving fruits.
God feeds man from the beginning, and that is how He shares Himself, His Life and His Love with man. So too, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom comprises the consummation of all things, the fulfillment of creation and the realization of God's great salvation. The Lord brings us into His house, bids us to recline at His Table, and there He serves us from His own hand with His own Body and Blood.
Everywhere in the Holy Scriptures, God is feeding His people, and in this He is always moving them toward that Meal which is the gift of Himself in the flesh. The fruit of the trees in the garden. The meat of the animals following the Flood. The Passover Lamb. The manna and the quail. The flesh and the fruits of sacrifices, provided as food for the priests and for the people. The milk and honey of the Promised Land. It is all leading to the Body and Blood of the Christ. For Wisdom has built His house and prepared His Feast. The Good Shepherd has spread His Table with the choicest of meats and the finest of wines from an overflowing Chalice of salvation. The loaves and fishes are multiplied to feed the nations, and the Son of Man eats and drinks with sinners.
So, too, the Lord opens the Scriptures to us. He opens our ears, our hearts and minds to comprehend them as all concerning Himself, His Cross and Resurrection. And He catechizes us in this way to bring us to the Breaking of the Bread, wherein He reveals and gives Himself to us. Then our eyes are also opened to recognize Him there, by faith, that we might receive Him with thanksgiving in body and soul. It is to the Holy Communion that the Holy Scriptures lead us. There they culminate and find their fulfillment in the Body and Blood of Christ, the Lord.
If the Holy Scriptures are all about Christ Jesus, as He Himself testifies in St. Luke 24, then they are all about the Supper in which this Crucified and Risen One feeds us with His Body and gives us to drink of His Blood. For He is the Word of God, of whom the Holy Scriptures are but the written testimony. The Sacrament of the Altar is the same Word of God, who has become Flesh, who is given and poured out for us. This is not a tangent but the realized very-goodness of God's Creation, the working out of His Redemption, the gift and bestowal of His Sanctification upon us. Here is the heart of the matter and the center of everything. It is to this flesh and blood of Christ that His Word brings us in love, that we might be forgiven, reconciled to God, redeemed in body and soul, and sanctified in our own flesh and blood unto the life everlasting. Not as a means to some other end, but a bodily participation in that divine life which has no end; a bodily participation, by grace, in that divine nature which Christ, the incarnate Son, eternally shares with His Father and the Holy Spirit.
The proper distinction between the Law and the Gospel is the particularly bright light by which all of Holy Scripture is understood. The path enlighted by that distinction leads us to the Altar, where we are fed with the fruits of our redemption, the Body and Blood of the Lamb who is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. It is upon that Lamb, given and poured out for us Christians to eat and to drink, that the Lamp of the Scriptures shines brightest and best. For His flesh and blood are the beating heart of the Word, by which our flesh and blood are enlivened.
09 May 2009
Branches of the True Vine
The Lord has planted His people as a choice Vine, that they might share in His Life, and live in Him, bearing good fruits. So do you live by faith in Him, receiving His Life in yourself; and you bear fruits in love, sharing His Life with others.
But the soil has been cursed, because of man's sin. The ground from which you are taken is stained with blood. Plants do not grow easily or well. The grass withers and fades, and all flesh dies. Thorns and thistles choke the Vine. The earth is polluted, the sun beclouded, and the rain insufficient. The vineyard produces more foliage than fruit, and the fruit that it does produce is wild and sour (idolatrous and selfish).
The Father therefore cares for the Vine and cultivates the vineyard by pruning the branches and removing those that bear no fruit, casting them into the fire. This He does, in order that the Vine itself may live in faith and love.
But who, or what, or where is the Vine itself, which is able to live and survive the curse of sin and death? Who, or what, or where is the Vine that is able to thrive and give life to the vineyard?
Christ is the true Vine, the planting of His Father, who dies the death of sin and is buried like a seed into the dust of the ground, in order to redeem and sanctify the soil, the earth, the whole creation. He is the One who rises from death to life, a vital and productive Vine. He abides in faith and love, and He it is who bears much fruit: to the glory of the Father, and to your benefit.
The Cross He has suffered, upon which He died, has become the Tree of Life for all the nations. Because His death has atoned for the sins of the world; His blood has not stained but cleansed the ground; and His Resurrection is the firstfruits of the New Creation.
Now, then, you are grafted into Him, into His Body, and you live in Him as a branch of the true Vine. Abide in Him, therefore, as He abides in you, and so bear good fruit; for apart from Him, you are dead. The good fruit that you bear — the fruit of faith and love — is the produce of that life which you receive and have and live in Him, as He Himself is your Life.
It is by His Word, by the hearing of His Word, that you abide in Him and live; as by and with His Word, by the preaching of His Word, He abides in and with you.
It is by the washing of the water with His Word that you are grafted into Him in Holy Baptism. And by His Word, by His preaching of repentance and forgiveness, you are daily returned to the significance of your Baptism, and "watered" with the life-giving rain of God the Holy Spirit.
You are already clean by the Word that He has spoken, but so does He daily "wash your feet" and "water your soil" with His Word.
He prunes you with His Law, not to hut or destroy you, but in order to open you up to His gifts of Life; that you might be nurtured and sustained by His grace. For His Word of the Gospel, which is the forgiveness of your sins, fills you with the vitality, the life and health and strength, of His own Resurrection from the dead.
With that same Word of the Gospel, He feeds you with the fruits of His Cross: His Body, crucified and risen; and with the fruits of this true Vine: His holy, precious Blood, poured out for you.
By this Word, and by these fruits of Christ, the true Vine, you are enlivened in both soul and body. And as He thus gives you life with God in Himself, so do His fruits produce fruits in you after their own kind. Not only in your heart and mind, but in your flesh and blood, your hands and feet and lips and tongue. So does He bring forth in you the fruits of faith and love toward God, with which you worship Him in Spirit and Truth. And fruits of love toward one another, and toward all your neighbors in the world, within your own vocations and stations in life.
His Word produces these fruits in you, by granting you His Life and love and faithfulness; by forgiving you all of your sins; and by lighting your path in the way you should go.
That pathway is one of faith and love, one of grace and mercy, compassion and kindness. Above all, it is the path of forgiveness, even as God in Christ forgives you. Thus, you proceed along that pathway, bearing the Cross to the glory of God, in the confidence of Christ and His Resurrection from the dead. Abiding in Him, you live.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
But the soil has been cursed, because of man's sin. The ground from which you are taken is stained with blood. Plants do not grow easily or well. The grass withers and fades, and all flesh dies. Thorns and thistles choke the Vine. The earth is polluted, the sun beclouded, and the rain insufficient. The vineyard produces more foliage than fruit, and the fruit that it does produce is wild and sour (idolatrous and selfish).
The Father therefore cares for the Vine and cultivates the vineyard by pruning the branches and removing those that bear no fruit, casting them into the fire. This He does, in order that the Vine itself may live in faith and love.
But who, or what, or where is the Vine itself, which is able to live and survive the curse of sin and death? Who, or what, or where is the Vine that is able to thrive and give life to the vineyard?
Christ is the true Vine, the planting of His Father, who dies the death of sin and is buried like a seed into the dust of the ground, in order to redeem and sanctify the soil, the earth, the whole creation. He is the One who rises from death to life, a vital and productive Vine. He abides in faith and love, and He it is who bears much fruit: to the glory of the Father, and to your benefit.
The Cross He has suffered, upon which He died, has become the Tree of Life for all the nations. Because His death has atoned for the sins of the world; His blood has not stained but cleansed the ground; and His Resurrection is the firstfruits of the New Creation.
Now, then, you are grafted into Him, into His Body, and you live in Him as a branch of the true Vine. Abide in Him, therefore, as He abides in you, and so bear good fruit; for apart from Him, you are dead. The good fruit that you bear — the fruit of faith and love — is the produce of that life which you receive and have and live in Him, as He Himself is your Life.
It is by His Word, by the hearing of His Word, that you abide in Him and live; as by and with His Word, by the preaching of His Word, He abides in and with you.
It is by the washing of the water with His Word that you are grafted into Him in Holy Baptism. And by His Word, by His preaching of repentance and forgiveness, you are daily returned to the significance of your Baptism, and "watered" with the life-giving rain of God the Holy Spirit.
You are already clean by the Word that He has spoken, but so does He daily "wash your feet" and "water your soil" with His Word.
He prunes you with His Law, not to hut or destroy you, but in order to open you up to His gifts of Life; that you might be nurtured and sustained by His grace. For His Word of the Gospel, which is the forgiveness of your sins, fills you with the vitality, the life and health and strength, of His own Resurrection from the dead.
With that same Word of the Gospel, He feeds you with the fruits of His Cross: His Body, crucified and risen; and with the fruits of this true Vine: His holy, precious Blood, poured out for you.
By this Word, and by these fruits of Christ, the true Vine, you are enlivened in both soul and body. And as He thus gives you life with God in Himself, so do His fruits produce fruits in you after their own kind. Not only in your heart and mind, but in your flesh and blood, your hands and feet and lips and tongue. So does He bring forth in you the fruits of faith and love toward God, with which you worship Him in Spirit and Truth. And fruits of love toward one another, and toward all your neighbors in the world, within your own vocations and stations in life.
His Word produces these fruits in you, by granting you His Life and love and faithfulness; by forgiving you all of your sins; and by lighting your path in the way you should go.
That pathway is one of faith and love, one of grace and mercy, compassion and kindness. Above all, it is the path of forgiveness, even as God in Christ forgives you. Thus, you proceed along that pathway, bearing the Cross to the glory of God, in the confidence of Christ and His Resurrection from the dead. Abiding in Him, you live.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
06 May 2009
Hymns for the Octave of Pentecost Series B
Pentecost Eve
Exodus 19:1–9
Romans 8:12–17 (22–27)
John 14:8–21
Hymn of Invocation
Hear us, Father, when we pray (LSB 773)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Hymn of Departure
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
Alternative Hymns
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (LSB 821)
Children of the heav’nly Father (LSB 725)
Church of God, elect and glorious (LSB 646)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Lord, support us all day long (LSB 884)
O blessed Light, O Trinity (LSB 890)
O Christ, who art the Light and Day (LSB 882)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O light whose splendor thrills and gladdens (LSB 891)
The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended (LSB 886)
The Lord, my God, be praised (LSB 794)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
The Day of Pentecost
Ezekiel 37:1–14
Acts 2:1–21
John 15:26–27; 16:4b–15
Divine Service, Setting Five (LSB 213–218)
Entrance Hymn
Hail thee, festival day (LSB 489)
Kyrie Hymn
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Gloria Hymn
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
Gradual Hymn
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
Hymn of the Day
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creedal Hymn
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
Offertory Hymn
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Sanctus Hymn
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Agnus Dei
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God (LSB 198)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503) (Catechetical)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Post-Communion Hymn
O Lord, we praise Thee (LSB 617)
Processional Out
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
Alternative Hymns
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498/499)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
In Adam we have all been one (LSB 569)
Lord of our life and God of our salvation (LSB 659)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
Oh, that I had a thousand voices (LSB 811)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise (LSB 917)
Up through endless ranks of angels (LSB 491)
Water, blood, and Spirit crying (LSB 597)
Pentecost Monday
Isaiah 57:15–21
Acts 10:34a, 42–48
John 3:16–21
Processional Hymn
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace (LSB 580)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Baptized into Your name most holy (LSB 590)
Processional Out
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
Alternative Hymns
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loves me dearly (LSB 392)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
We are called to stand together (LSB 828)
Pentecost Tuesday
Isaiah 32:14–20
Acts 8:14–17
John 10:1–10
Processional Hymn
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
I am Jesus’ little lamb (LSB 740)
Processional Out
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Alternative Hymns
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord (LSB 777)
Have no fear, little flock (LSB 735)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus (LSB 729)
I trust, O Lord, Your holy name (LSB 734)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O God, forsake me not (LSB 731)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O little flock, fear not the foe (LSB 666)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Savior, like a shepherd lead us (LSB 711)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Voices raised to You we offer (LSB 795)
The Holy Trinity
Isaiah 6:1–8
Acts 2:14a, 22–36
John 3:1–17
Processional Hymn
To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord (LSB 406)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Offertory Hymn
O blessed, holy Trinity (LSB 876)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I bind unto myself today (LSB 604)
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty (LSB 507)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Processional Out
All Christians who have been baptized (LSB 596)
Alternative Hymns
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
All glory be to God on high (LSB 947)
All praise to Thee, for Thou, O King divine (LSB 815)
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
Alleluia! Let praises ring (LSB 822)
At the name of Jesus (LSB 512)
Christ sits at God’s right hand (LSB 564)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Come, Thou almighty King (LSB 905)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Crown Him with many crowns (LSB 525)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Hail, Thou once despised Jesus (LSB 531)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Lift high the cross (LSB 837)
The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
We know that Christ is raised (LSB 603)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
With high delight let us unite (LSB 483)
Exodus 19:1–9
Romans 8:12–17 (22–27)
John 14:8–21
Hymn of Invocation
Hear us, Father, when we pray (LSB 773)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Hymn of Departure
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
Alternative Hymns
Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (LSB 821)
Children of the heav’nly Father (LSB 725)
Church of God, elect and glorious (LSB 646)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Lord, support us all day long (LSB 884)
O blessed Light, O Trinity (LSB 890)
O Christ, who art the Light and Day (LSB 882)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O light whose splendor thrills and gladdens (LSB 891)
The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended (LSB 886)
The Lord, my God, be praised (LSB 794)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
The Day of Pentecost
Ezekiel 37:1–14
Acts 2:1–21
John 15:26–27; 16:4b–15
Divine Service, Setting Five (LSB 213–218)
Entrance Hymn
Hail thee, festival day (LSB 489)
Kyrie Hymn
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Gloria Hymn
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
Gradual Hymn
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
Hymn of the Day
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creedal Hymn
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
Offertory Hymn
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Sanctus Hymn
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Agnus Dei
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God (LSB 198)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503) (Catechetical)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Post-Communion Hymn
O Lord, we praise Thee (LSB 617)
Processional Out
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)
Alternative Hymns
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498/499)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
In Adam we have all been one (LSB 569)
Lord of our life and God of our salvation (LSB 659)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
O day of rest and gladness (LSB 906)
Oh, that I had a thousand voices (LSB 811)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise (LSB 917)
Up through endless ranks of angels (LSB 491)
Water, blood, and Spirit crying (LSB 597)
Pentecost Monday
Isaiah 57:15–21
Acts 10:34a, 42–48
John 3:16–21
Processional Hymn
Holy Spirit, ever dwelling (LSB 650)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
The Gospel shows the Father’s grace (LSB 580)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Baptized into Your name most holy (LSB 590)
Processional Out
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)
Alternative Hymns
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loves me dearly (LSB 392)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
We are called to stand together (LSB 828)
Pentecost Tuesday
Isaiah 32:14–20
Acts 8:14–17
John 10:1–10
Processional Hymn
O day full of grace that now we see (LSB 503)
Sequence
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Hymn of the Day
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Come down, O Love divine (LSB 501)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
I am Jesus’ little lamb (LSB 740)
Processional Out
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
Alternative Hymns
Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord (LSB 497)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord (LSB 777)
Have no fear, little flock (LSB 735)
Holy Spirit, light divine (LSB 496)
I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus (LSB 729)
I trust, O Lord, Your holy name (LSB 734)
I will sing my Maker’s praises (LSB 977e; TLH 25; LW 439)
Now rest beneath night’s shadow (LSB 880)
O God, forsake me not (LSB 731)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O little flock, fear not the foe (LSB 666)
O splendor of God’s glory bright (LSB 874)
Savior, like a shepherd lead us (LSB 711)
Thine the amen, Thine the praise (LSB 680)
Voices raised to You we offer (LSB 795)
The Holy Trinity
Isaiah 6:1–8
Acts 2:14a, 22–36
John 3:1–17
Processional Hymn
To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord (LSB 406)
Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 498)
Offertory Hymn
O blessed, holy Trinity (LSB 876)
Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
I bind unto myself today (LSB 604)
Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old (LSB 960)
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty (LSB 507)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
Processional Out
All Christians who have been baptized (LSB 596)
Alternative Hymns
All glory be to God alone (LSB 948)
All glory be to God on high (LSB 947)
All praise to Thee, for Thou, O King divine (LSB 815)
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)
Alleluia! Let praises ring (LSB 822)
At the name of Jesus (LSB 512)
Christ sits at God’s right hand (LSB 564)
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest (LSB 499)
Come, Thou almighty King (LSB 905)
Creator Spirit, by whose aid (LSB 500)
Crown Him with many crowns (LSB 525)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
God loved the world so that He gave (LSB 571)
Hail, Thou once despised Jesus (LSB 531)
Holy God, we praise Thy name (LSB 940)
Kyrie! God, Father in heav’n above (LSB 942)
Let all mortal flesh keep silence (LSB 621)
Lift high the cross (LSB 837)
The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
We know that Christ is raised (LSB 603)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
With high delight let us unite (LSB 483)
05 May 2009
Liturgical Nazis Online
Since I haven't put in a plug for it yet, I should call attention to a new blog that I'm privileged to share with a handful of my favorite friends and colleagues. If you haven't already, you should check it out, if for no other reason than the beautiful chalice depicted at the head of the page.
We're not really "Nazis," by the way, but if I you can't poke a little fun at yourself, someone else will beat you to it.
We're not really "Nazis," by the way, but if I you can't poke a little fun at yourself, someone else will beat you to it.
04 May 2009
Legalism, Licentiousness, and Love
Legalism destroys the freedom of faith, by denying the Gospel of Christ.
Licentiousness abuses freedom at the expense of the Gospel and faith, by denying the righteousness of Christ.
Love tempers freedom and uses it well, by faith in Christ and His Gospel.
Licentiousness abuses freedom at the expense of the Gospel and faith, by denying the righteousness of Christ.
Love tempers freedom and uses it well, by faith in Christ and His Gospel.
Here Then Is the Contrast
There are those who sacrifice their own freedom,
their own health and safety, and even their own lives,
for the sake of others.
And then there are those who sacrifice others
for the sake of their own freedom.
But the Lord God shows His love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, the Righteous One for the ungodly; that by His sacrifice we should be set free from sin and death. That by His death, we might live. He did not count His equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself and made Himself nothing. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross, so that we who were subject to death might be raised up in His Resurrection.
As He has so loved us, let us also lay down our lives for one another.
their own health and safety, and even their own lives,
for the sake of others.
And then there are those who sacrifice others
for the sake of their own freedom.
But the Lord God shows His love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, the Righteous One for the ungodly; that by His sacrifice we should be set free from sin and death. That by His death, we might live. He did not count His equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself and made Himself nothing. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross, so that we who were subject to death might be raised up in His Resurrection.
As He has so loved us, let us also lay down our lives for one another.
03 May 2009
Restructuring Stimulus Plan?
I finished reading Framed to the children last week or so. Good book; great fun; highly recommended. Now I'm reading something of a silly romp, The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy: The Hero Revealed, by William Boniface (2006). It's not a literary prizewinner, but it is pretty humorous, and my children are enjoying it (along with me), from the seven-year-old on up to the almost-fifteen-year-old. The four-year-old is in and out, depending on his mood.
Anyway, in the spirit of such good humor (an extraordinary gift of God), I wonder if the following excerpt from Ordinary Boy might offer any helpful insights into the LCMS restructuring effort.
"It didn't surprise us that Indestructo Industries was one of Superopolis's most successful companies. We certainly bought enough of their products! But when we reached the address listed in the handbook, we couldn't believe the sleek, shiny office tower that awaited us. As we walked up the main sidewalk leading to the building, we passed under the legs of the enormous statue of the Amazing Indestructo. On its shoulders was balanced a huge globe bearing the name of the company. It was impressive, but not more than I would expect for the greatest hero in Superopolis.
"In the lobby we saw a directory, and we quickly found what we were looking for: Office of the President, twentieth floor. It made sense that the president would be at the top.
"'I'm not so sure we should be doing this.' Plasma Girl stopped suddenly. 'We could get into a lot of trouble and maybe even get yelled at.'
"As usual, Plasma Girl was thinking sensibly — the last thing a superhero on a mission wants to do. After all, if heroes thought sensibly, they'd stay home where it's safe" (Ordinary Boy, 82-85).
Anyway, in the spirit of such good humor (an extraordinary gift of God), I wonder if the following excerpt from Ordinary Boy might offer any helpful insights into the LCMS restructuring effort.
"It didn't surprise us that Indestructo Industries was one of Superopolis's most successful companies. We certainly bought enough of their products! But when we reached the address listed in the handbook, we couldn't believe the sleek, shiny office tower that awaited us. As we walked up the main sidewalk leading to the building, we passed under the legs of the enormous statue of the Amazing Indestructo. On its shoulders was balanced a huge globe bearing the name of the company. It was impressive, but not more than I would expect for the greatest hero in Superopolis.
"In the lobby we saw a directory, and we quickly found what we were looking for: Office of the President, twentieth floor. It made sense that the president would be at the top.
INDESTRUCTO INDUSTRIES
20th floor • Office of the President
19th floor • The Sentinels of Trademark Infringement
18th floor • The Defenders of Lawsuits
17th floor • The Federation of Fine Print
16th floor • The Syndicate of Shell Corporations
15th floor • The Human Resources Self-Preservation Squad
14th floor • The Enforcers of Corporate Euphemisms
13th floor • The League of Licensing, Royalties, & Copyrights
12th floor • The Proprietary Protectors of Patents
11th floor • The Association for the Exploitation of Adjectives
10th floor • The Union for Foodlike Substances
9th floor • Cafeteria / The League of Ulimate Goodness World Headquarters
8th floor • The Product Development Force
7th floor • The Secret Society of Safety Testers
6th floor • The Toxic Substance Recategorization Team
5th floor • The Choking Hazard Clearance Guild
4th floor • The Guardians of Profit
3rd floor • The Legion of Pencil Pushers
2nd floor • The Minions of the Mailroom
1st floor • Aren't You Here Already?
"'I'm not so sure we should be doing this.' Plasma Girl stopped suddenly. 'We could get into a lot of trouble and maybe even get yelled at.'
"As usual, Plasma Girl was thinking sensibly — the last thing a superhero on a mission wants to do. After all, if heroes thought sensibly, they'd stay home where it's safe" (Ordinary Boy, 82-85).
A Crockpot full of Hypocrisy
What passes for front page "news" in South Bend these days is a three-course meal of hypocrisy. So, we must be told in the top headline story, there's actually "No law against abortion photos." Perhaps that has to be clarified, pending any attacks on the freedom of speech by the current presidential administration. Ironically, it is self-styled champions of "freedom" who have been complaining.
It seems that some of the poor souls and sensitive spirits of South Bend have been "upset by graphic images on trucks, banners," depicting "aborted fetuses" (the politically correct way to describe infants murdered in the womb, violently extracted and thrown away like garbage). I'm not always thrilled by the tactics of some pro-life advocates, though they generally have my full sympathy (save for those rare instances when, in the name of life, they engage in violence). I'm not sure how I feel about larger-than-life pictures on public display of that vile wickedness which is abortion. There may well be better ways to love and serve our neighbors, both within and out of the womb. This much I do know, however: Pictures of the murdered unborn do not cause the violence, harm and death that abortion actually does.
It is a shame that some South Bend residents are more offended and upset by "abortion pictures" than they are by abortion itself. For some of them, apparently, the only thing tasteless about abortion is talking about it. Liberals normally love picket lines and protests, except when they are the ones being picketed and protested. "Freedom of choice" is the rhetoric, but those people hollering for the freedom to kill babies, holler all the louder when others exercise their freedom to cry "foul!" The same people who whine that others should keep their "beliefs" to themselves (the great shell-game by which both revealed and natural law are swept aside as personal opinions) are adament in expressing their own beliefs and attempting to legislate others accordingly. Thus the need to clarify that displaying pictures is not against the law; yet.
One woman quoted in this headline "news" article was indignant that little children, including her own three-year-old granddaughter, were being exposed to such graphic displays. Again, I'm not excited about exposing children to this wretched violence, either. But what hypocrisy to fret more about the images that some children live to see, than over the little children who are wrenched out of the safety of the womb in brutal hostility. If it is disturbing that young children might be confronted with this perversity, it is far more disturbing that it happens at all. What if that woman's granddaughter had been among the bloody bodies depicted on the side of the truck that pulled up beside her car? They are somebody's grandchildren. The woman protests that abortion is "an adult issue." Indeed. Such atrocity has not originated with the little ones. Nor are the little ones so easily buffaloed and dissuaded by the damnable political rhetoric, which does nothing but skirt the real issue in the interest of "freedom." Yes, the freedom of adults to murder infants, but let's not let the little children see what the grown-ups are doing to them; they might be frightened.
The protests are happening in South Bend right now because the University of Notre Dame has invited President Obama to speak at commencement this year. As a Notre Dame alumnus, I'm disappointed in and ashamed of my alma mater. I wish I could say that I were surprised. It is a classic case of human tradition trumping the Holy Scriptures; only in this case, the University is acting against the authority of both the Scriptures and the Church. I'm not a Roman Catholic, but, as a Christian, I applaud and deeply appreciate the clarity with which the Roman Church has consistently taught and advocated the sanctity of human life. Notre Dame is apparently not interested in such things, at least not in this case. Our Lady, though, for whom the school is named, testifies to the sanctity of human life, as she herself bore the Lord our God in her womb, conceiving Him in the substance of our human flesh and blood by the Word and Spirit of God.
The University has a tradition of inviting the President of the United States to speak at the commencement. Nice tradition, but there has never been such a pro-abortion president in the history of this country. "Pro-abortion" is the right way to describe President Obama. In his first few months in office, he has been precisely that, and aggressively so. His administration has adopted an agenda that not only protects the legal "right" of women to murder their unborn children, but is hell-bent on promoting and facilitating abortion both here and abroad. Thus, in the name of "freedom," legislation has already been enacted against the freedom of conscience of doctors and medical providers, which has heretofore protected them from being forced to abort the unborn. Other executive actions by this president have opened up the coffers of the United States to fund abortions overseas.
It doesn't matter how photogenic this president is, or how well he reads from a teleprompter. It doesn't matter how pretty his wife and daughters are, or how picturesque his family may be. It doesn't matter how he does with the economy or foreign affairs. His aggressive actions and attacks against the sanctity of human life paint a far uglier picture than anything depicted on the sides of trucks or banners in South Bend. The chief purpose and duty of human government is to protect and defend human life. A man who does the very opposite is unfit for office. I have no sympathy for the University in asking such a man to address its students.
I do not relish the pictures of murdered children on display in South Bend. I do suspect that other, better means of communication could be undertaken in the interest of protecting and defending human life. But surely something ought to be done on behalf of those who are given no freedom or choice to protect and defend themselves. We heard it this morning from the beloved disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ:
"Whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth" (1 John 3:17-18).
It seems that some of the poor souls and sensitive spirits of South Bend have been "upset by graphic images on trucks, banners," depicting "aborted fetuses" (the politically correct way to describe infants murdered in the womb, violently extracted and thrown away like garbage). I'm not always thrilled by the tactics of some pro-life advocates, though they generally have my full sympathy (save for those rare instances when, in the name of life, they engage in violence). I'm not sure how I feel about larger-than-life pictures on public display of that vile wickedness which is abortion. There may well be better ways to love and serve our neighbors, both within and out of the womb. This much I do know, however: Pictures of the murdered unborn do not cause the violence, harm and death that abortion actually does.
It is a shame that some South Bend residents are more offended and upset by "abortion pictures" than they are by abortion itself. For some of them, apparently, the only thing tasteless about abortion is talking about it. Liberals normally love picket lines and protests, except when they are the ones being picketed and protested. "Freedom of choice" is the rhetoric, but those people hollering for the freedom to kill babies, holler all the louder when others exercise their freedom to cry "foul!" The same people who whine that others should keep their "beliefs" to themselves (the great shell-game by which both revealed and natural law are swept aside as personal opinions) are adament in expressing their own beliefs and attempting to legislate others accordingly. Thus the need to clarify that displaying pictures is not against the law; yet.
One woman quoted in this headline "news" article was indignant that little children, including her own three-year-old granddaughter, were being exposed to such graphic displays. Again, I'm not excited about exposing children to this wretched violence, either. But what hypocrisy to fret more about the images that some children live to see, than over the little children who are wrenched out of the safety of the womb in brutal hostility. If it is disturbing that young children might be confronted with this perversity, it is far more disturbing that it happens at all. What if that woman's granddaughter had been among the bloody bodies depicted on the side of the truck that pulled up beside her car? They are somebody's grandchildren. The woman protests that abortion is "an adult issue." Indeed. Such atrocity has not originated with the little ones. Nor are the little ones so easily buffaloed and dissuaded by the damnable political rhetoric, which does nothing but skirt the real issue in the interest of "freedom." Yes, the freedom of adults to murder infants, but let's not let the little children see what the grown-ups are doing to them; they might be frightened.
The protests are happening in South Bend right now because the University of Notre Dame has invited President Obama to speak at commencement this year. As a Notre Dame alumnus, I'm disappointed in and ashamed of my alma mater. I wish I could say that I were surprised. It is a classic case of human tradition trumping the Holy Scriptures; only in this case, the University is acting against the authority of both the Scriptures and the Church. I'm not a Roman Catholic, but, as a Christian, I applaud and deeply appreciate the clarity with which the Roman Church has consistently taught and advocated the sanctity of human life. Notre Dame is apparently not interested in such things, at least not in this case. Our Lady, though, for whom the school is named, testifies to the sanctity of human life, as she herself bore the Lord our God in her womb, conceiving Him in the substance of our human flesh and blood by the Word and Spirit of God.
The University has a tradition of inviting the President of the United States to speak at the commencement. Nice tradition, but there has never been such a pro-abortion president in the history of this country. "Pro-abortion" is the right way to describe President Obama. In his first few months in office, he has been precisely that, and aggressively so. His administration has adopted an agenda that not only protects the legal "right" of women to murder their unborn children, but is hell-bent on promoting and facilitating abortion both here and abroad. Thus, in the name of "freedom," legislation has already been enacted against the freedom of conscience of doctors and medical providers, which has heretofore protected them from being forced to abort the unborn. Other executive actions by this president have opened up the coffers of the United States to fund abortions overseas.
It doesn't matter how photogenic this president is, or how well he reads from a teleprompter. It doesn't matter how pretty his wife and daughters are, or how picturesque his family may be. It doesn't matter how he does with the economy or foreign affairs. His aggressive actions and attacks against the sanctity of human life paint a far uglier picture than anything depicted on the sides of trucks or banners in South Bend. The chief purpose and duty of human government is to protect and defend human life. A man who does the very opposite is unfit for office. I have no sympathy for the University in asking such a man to address its students.
I do not relish the pictures of murdered children on display in South Bend. I do suspect that other, better means of communication could be undertaken in the interest of protecting and defending human life. But surely something ought to be done on behalf of those who are given no freedom or choice to protect and defend themselves. We heard it this morning from the beloved disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ:
"Whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth" (1 John 3:17-18).
Good Shepherds and Hirelings
From a couple of the church fathers on the difference between a true shepherd of the sheep and a hireling; a sobering reminder for those who are called to be pastors of Christ's flock:
"There are some who love earthly possessions more than the sheep and do not deserve the name of a shepherd. He is called a hireling and not a shepherd because he does not pasture the Lord's sheep out of his deep love for them but for a temporal reward. That person is a hireling who holds the place of shepherd but does not seek to profit souls. He is eager for earthly advantages, rejoices in the honor of preferment, feeds on temporal gain and enjoys the deference offered him by other people" (Gregory the Great).
"But we cannot truly know whether anyone is a shepherd or a hireling if there is no occasion to test him. During times of peace even a hireling frequently stands for the protection of the flock like a true shepherd. When the wolf comes, each one shows what his intention was as he stood as protector of the flock" (Gregory the Great).
"The evil spirit goes about attacking the sheepfolds of believers, seeking the death of souls; ceaselessly, every day, he tears apart minds more than bodies. Of this wolf it is said, 'And the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep.' The wolf comes, and the hireling flees. The evil spirit tears apart the minds of believers in temptation, and the one holding the place of shepherd does not take responsiblity. Souls are perishing, and he enjoys earthly advantages. The wolf snatches and scatters the sheep when he entices one to drunkenness, inflames another with greed, exalts another by pride, destroys another by anger, stirs one up by envy, trips up another by deceit. When the devil slays believers through temptations, he is like a wolf dispersing the flock. No zeal rouses the hireling against these temptations, no love excites him. He seeks only the outward advantage and carelessly allows the inward injury to his flock" (Gregory the Great).
"Suppose someone has sinned — grievously sinned. He ought to be rebuked, excommunicated. However, if he is excommunicated, he will become an enemy and will plot and do as much harm as he can. And so, for the time being, the pastor who seeks his own and not what is Christ's keeps quiet and does not reprove the person so that he will not have to put up with the annoyances of their attacks or lose what he truly follows after — the advantage of human friendship. But look! The wolf has caught a sheep by the throat; the devil has enticed a believer into adultery. And yet, you are silent — you do not censure. As a hireling, you have seen the wolf coming, and you fled. Perhaps you answer and say, 'See, I am here; I have not fled.' You have fled because you have been silent; you have been silent because you are afraid" (Augustine of Hippo).
"The wolf too comes upon the sheep whenever any unrighteous person oppresses the humble believers. The one who only appears to be a shepherd leaves the sheep and flees because he is too afraid to resist the wolf's violence from fear of danger to himself. He flees not by moving to another place but by withholding consolation from his flock. The one who conceals himself beneath his silence is the one who flees. The hireling is inflamed with no enthusiasm to fight against this injustice. A person who is in charge of the sheep, not because he loves them but because he is seeking earthly gain, cannot make a stand when the sheep are in danger. Because he esteems honor, because he enjoys his temporal advantages, he is afraid to oppose the danger for fear he should lose what he loves so much" (Gregory the Great).
(Excerpts from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVa, John 1-10, edited by Joel C. Elowsky; InterVarsity, 2006)
"There are some who love earthly possessions more than the sheep and do not deserve the name of a shepherd. He is called a hireling and not a shepherd because he does not pasture the Lord's sheep out of his deep love for them but for a temporal reward. That person is a hireling who holds the place of shepherd but does not seek to profit souls. He is eager for earthly advantages, rejoices in the honor of preferment, feeds on temporal gain and enjoys the deference offered him by other people" (Gregory the Great).
"But we cannot truly know whether anyone is a shepherd or a hireling if there is no occasion to test him. During times of peace even a hireling frequently stands for the protection of the flock like a true shepherd. When the wolf comes, each one shows what his intention was as he stood as protector of the flock" (Gregory the Great).
"The evil spirit goes about attacking the sheepfolds of believers, seeking the death of souls; ceaselessly, every day, he tears apart minds more than bodies. Of this wolf it is said, 'And the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep.' The wolf comes, and the hireling flees. The evil spirit tears apart the minds of believers in temptation, and the one holding the place of shepherd does not take responsiblity. Souls are perishing, and he enjoys earthly advantages. The wolf snatches and scatters the sheep when he entices one to drunkenness, inflames another with greed, exalts another by pride, destroys another by anger, stirs one up by envy, trips up another by deceit. When the devil slays believers through temptations, he is like a wolf dispersing the flock. No zeal rouses the hireling against these temptations, no love excites him. He seeks only the outward advantage and carelessly allows the inward injury to his flock" (Gregory the Great).
"Suppose someone has sinned — grievously sinned. He ought to be rebuked, excommunicated. However, if he is excommunicated, he will become an enemy and will plot and do as much harm as he can. And so, for the time being, the pastor who seeks his own and not what is Christ's keeps quiet and does not reprove the person so that he will not have to put up with the annoyances of their attacks or lose what he truly follows after — the advantage of human friendship. But look! The wolf has caught a sheep by the throat; the devil has enticed a believer into adultery. And yet, you are silent — you do not censure. As a hireling, you have seen the wolf coming, and you fled. Perhaps you answer and say, 'See, I am here; I have not fled.' You have fled because you have been silent; you have been silent because you are afraid" (Augustine of Hippo).
"The wolf too comes upon the sheep whenever any unrighteous person oppresses the humble believers. The one who only appears to be a shepherd leaves the sheep and flees because he is too afraid to resist the wolf's violence from fear of danger to himself. He flees not by moving to another place but by withholding consolation from his flock. The one who conceals himself beneath his silence is the one who flees. The hireling is inflamed with no enthusiasm to fight against this injustice. A person who is in charge of the sheep, not because he loves them but because he is seeking earthly gain, cannot make a stand when the sheep are in danger. Because he esteems honor, because he enjoys his temporal advantages, he is afraid to oppose the danger for fear he should lose what he loves so much" (Gregory the Great).
(Excerpts from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IVa, John 1-10, edited by Joel C. Elowsky; InterVarsity, 2006)
02 May 2009
The Good Shepherd Loves His Sheep
In His great love for you, the Lord Jesus, God's own Son, your Good Shepherd has laid down His life for you. He has given Himself and spent Himself entirely for you. And He has taken His life up again; even as the Father has raised Him from death (for He and His Father are one), in order to raise you up from death to the life everlasting in Him.
By His Name — by the preaching of His Gospel in His Name; by the ministry of your Good Shepherd, who cares for you — you, who were sick, are made well. You are raised up to stand before God in good health. You are made strong and whole, and you shall live with Him forever.
Live, therefore, the life that He has obtained for you and given to you.
Keep His commandments, and do them. Follow Him, as He leads and guides you with His Word, and walk with Him in the right pathways of faith and love, for His Name's sake.
Believe in Him, the Son of God, your Savior and Good Shepherd. Believe that He was crucified for you, and that He has risen from the dead; that death no longer has any mastery over Him, and shall no longer master you. Listen to the voice of your Good Shepherd, and trust His good Word. Receive His good gifts. And live. Do not fear death, but live in Christ.
And love your neighbor, especially your brothers and sisters in Christ. You cannot love the Shepherd without loving His sheep: those of His flock, and those yet to be gathered to Him.
Do you want to know what love is?
You do know love, by this, that Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has laid down His life for you, and for all His sheep.
You, therefore, lay down your life for the brethren. That is what you are to do. Give yourself and spend yourself entirely for your neighbor. Do not be afraid that you will overdo it or love too much. Do not flinch at the prospect of giving yourself away. If you die by loving, what have you lost? If you lay down your life in love, the Lord shall raise you up again.
If you see your brother or sister in need, then use whatever means and abilities you have to help. To love. But if you do not see or know your neighbor's needs, then open your eyes, and pay attention, and find out.
Do not speak of the Resurrection and the Life without living. Do not speak of God's love and Christian love without loving. And do not speak of the Gospel and forgiveness without forgiving.
This is the love of God; by which you know love, because He loves you.
The Father has given His Son for you, and the Son has laid down His life for you. In this way has He known you and loved you with the divine intimacy of the Father and the Son (in the Holy Spirit).
He has not held your sins and failures against you, but has given Himself to deal with them and to heal you at the cost of His own life.
He has not allowed your enmity and lack of love to dissuade Him, but He has befriended you in His grace, mercy and peace.
He has sought you out, His lost and wandering sheep, and He has become your Shepherd.
Such a Good Shepherd He is!
All His goods are yours, in heaven and on earth. He has even poured out His Holy Spirit into your heart through the forgiveness of all your sins by His Gospel, that you may have peace and hope and confidence in Him. That neither His own Law, nor your own heart, nor anyone else may condemn you.
That you may live, as He lives, in both body and soul, and dwell in His House with Him forever.
That you may love, as He loves, both God and man.
Such a Good Shepherd He is, little children, and you are His lamb, His dear sheep.
Here is the green pasture of His Word, with which He feeds you; by which He leads and guides you in righteousness and truth.
Here is the water of His Baptism, the anointing of His Holy Spirit, by which He has made you His own; to which He daily returns you in love; from which He leads you in quietness and peace.
Here is the Holy Cross, which is the Rod and Staff of His Gospel, by which He has atoned for your sins and redeemed you, and by which He has defeated death and the devil for you. So that you shall not die forever, but live in Him; and so that even death holds no power of fear over you. For by this Word of the Cross He absolves you, and where there is forgiveness, there is life.
Here is the Table, which He has spread before you, and the Chalice that overflows for you with His life-giving Blood; that by His Body you may belong to Him and abide in His Body forever, in His goodness and mercy all the days of your life, even the life everlasting.
For His Name's sake. Amen.
By His Name — by the preaching of His Gospel in His Name; by the ministry of your Good Shepherd, who cares for you — you, who were sick, are made well. You are raised up to stand before God in good health. You are made strong and whole, and you shall live with Him forever.
Live, therefore, the life that He has obtained for you and given to you.
Keep His commandments, and do them. Follow Him, as He leads and guides you with His Word, and walk with Him in the right pathways of faith and love, for His Name's sake.
Believe in Him, the Son of God, your Savior and Good Shepherd. Believe that He was crucified for you, and that He has risen from the dead; that death no longer has any mastery over Him, and shall no longer master you. Listen to the voice of your Good Shepherd, and trust His good Word. Receive His good gifts. And live. Do not fear death, but live in Christ.
And love your neighbor, especially your brothers and sisters in Christ. You cannot love the Shepherd without loving His sheep: those of His flock, and those yet to be gathered to Him.
Do you want to know what love is?
You do know love, by this, that Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has laid down His life for you, and for all His sheep.
You, therefore, lay down your life for the brethren. That is what you are to do. Give yourself and spend yourself entirely for your neighbor. Do not be afraid that you will overdo it or love too much. Do not flinch at the prospect of giving yourself away. If you die by loving, what have you lost? If you lay down your life in love, the Lord shall raise you up again.
If you see your brother or sister in need, then use whatever means and abilities you have to help. To love. But if you do not see or know your neighbor's needs, then open your eyes, and pay attention, and find out.
Do not speak of the Resurrection and the Life without living. Do not speak of God's love and Christian love without loving. And do not speak of the Gospel and forgiveness without forgiving.
This is the love of God; by which you know love, because He loves you.
The Father has given His Son for you, and the Son has laid down His life for you. In this way has He known you and loved you with the divine intimacy of the Father and the Son (in the Holy Spirit).
He has not held your sins and failures against you, but has given Himself to deal with them and to heal you at the cost of His own life.
He has not allowed your enmity and lack of love to dissuade Him, but He has befriended you in His grace, mercy and peace.
He has sought you out, His lost and wandering sheep, and He has become your Shepherd.
Such a Good Shepherd He is!
All His goods are yours, in heaven and on earth. He has even poured out His Holy Spirit into your heart through the forgiveness of all your sins by His Gospel, that you may have peace and hope and confidence in Him. That neither His own Law, nor your own heart, nor anyone else may condemn you.
That you may live, as He lives, in both body and soul, and dwell in His House with Him forever.
That you may love, as He loves, both God and man.
Such a Good Shepherd He is, little children, and you are His lamb, His dear sheep.
Here is the green pasture of His Word, with which He feeds you; by which He leads and guides you in righteousness and truth.
Here is the water of His Baptism, the anointing of His Holy Spirit, by which He has made you His own; to which He daily returns you in love; from which He leads you in quietness and peace.
Here is the Holy Cross, which is the Rod and Staff of His Gospel, by which He has atoned for your sins and redeemed you, and by which He has defeated death and the devil for you. So that you shall not die forever, but live in Him; and so that even death holds no power of fear over you. For by this Word of the Cross He absolves you, and where there is forgiveness, there is life.
Here is the Table, which He has spread before you, and the Chalice that overflows for you with His life-giving Blood; that by His Body you may belong to Him and abide in His Body forever, in His goodness and mercy all the days of your life, even the life everlasting.
For His Name's sake. Amen.
01 May 2009
Bemusing Myself
In the way that we exercise our Christian freedom, I have observed that cultural events, activities and phenomena often wield a more compelling interest and occupy a higher priority than the life of the Church in the means of grace. That seems strange to me, when I think about it objectively; still, I perceive the same reactions and attitudes in my own heart and life. Of course, reactions and attitudes are not yet actions, which we can discipline objectively. So why don't we more often? All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable to faith and life.
I'm exceedingly grateful that our Lord's priorities are for our salvation, even when ours are not.
I'm also bemusing myself at how quickly and easily I become self-righteously indignant with the self-righteous indignation of others.
I'm exceedingly grateful that our Lord's priorities are for our salvation, even when ours are not.
I'm also bemusing myself at how quickly and easily I become self-righteously indignant with the self-righteous indignation of others.
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