Advent – Our Lord Comes!

The most ancient liturgical prayer “Come Lord Jesus” (maranatha) has a double meaning. It is a prayer for the coming of the Risen Christ into His gathered congregation and a prayer for His coming at the end of time. As the Church year begins this Advent season we prepare to celebrate Christ’s coming in the flesh and we rejoice in His present coming in Word and Sacrament to forgive us. He knows the condition of our hearts. He knows the mess of our sin. He knows the tears we shed in secret, the enemies that oppress us, the dark thoughts that depress us. That is why He comes! He comes with light and life and love from our Father in heaven. He comes not to punish our sins but to wipe them away. He comes to give us Himself, and thereby to prepare us for His Second Coming. As we gather for worship this Advent season, our hearts and voices rightly pray, “Come Lord Jesus”.

Luther on Preaching in the Old Testament

Great words on preaching from the good Doctor:


“They delivered the very same sermons we set before the church today, except that they taught about the Christ who was to come and be revealed. But we speak in the past tense, we say, “Christ has come.”…

“Accordingly then, when Moses says: ‘He offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac,” this must be taken to mean that he preached the Gospel about the Son of God and exhorted the hearers to fear God, to believe and hope in Him.” -LW vol. 8

Luther on Private Confession

"Yet I will let no man take private confession away from me, and I would not give it up for all the treasures in the world; for I know what comfort and strength it has given me. No man knows so well what it can do for him as he who must struggle and fight much with the devil. The devil would have slain me long ago if confession had not sustained me. For there are many doubts and false matters which a man cannot settle by himself...So he takes a brother aside and tells him his trouble. What harm does it do him to humble himself a little before his neighbor and put himself to shame? When you recieve a word of comfort from him, accept and believe that word as if you hear it from God himself."

(Dr. Martin Luther)

Sometimes it is thought that individual confession and absolution is "too Roman Catholic" or that it is to be reserved only for some "big sins" from the past that haunt a Christian and give him or her no peace. This treasure is certainly to be used to help calm a conscience that is troubled by particular misdeeds. But this treasure is equally valuable for battling "sin" itself, that is, the sin-sickness that infects us, the mess that clings to us and the daily sins that flow from our sinful hearts. As Luther taught, our greatest sin is unbelief and wanting to be God ourselves. From that root sin flows all manner of selfishness and anger and greed and worry and lack of love and trust in God and...well, the list goes on and on and on... Thank God that His forgiving love for us goes on and on and on as well and that He has given precious means to bestow His healing release upon us!

Why Remove The Lord's Supper?

For the last couple weeks I have been attending a church in town that had everything my family looks for in a congregation:

*Weekly Communion

*Confessional Law/Gospel preaching

*Liturgy from the hymnal (in this case LSB)

To make things even better, the congregation members were very friendly, quickly learned and remembered who we were, and the organ is a great instrument.

Well, it seemed to good to last, and apparently it was. We were out of town last week and came back this weekend, Labor Day weekend.

The first thing I noticed as we walked in this morning, the elements are not out for the Lord's Supper. Then as I looked in the bulletin I see that the order of service is Matins. Now, I enjoy Matins as much as anyone, it is rich in Law/Gospel, and has wonderful hymns. As far as a morning prayer service goes, it is top notch litugically. But Matins is just that, a morning prayer office. Matins is not the Divine Service. The Divine Service is where Christ's Word is preached and His gifts are distributed in the Sacraments, meaning Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Then as I continued reading the bulletin, in the back I see this all important announcement:

"The Elders voted this past week to change the order of our worship services. Communion will be served the 2nd and 4th Sunday's of the month."

"The Elders voted?" Can Elders vote to remove Christ's gifts from the people? Sure they can, if the congregation allows them to. But why would any pastor, shepherding Christ's flock, who is placed to preach and administer Christ's gifts, remove the Body and the Blood of Christ from the people? Why would any Elder, who in most LCMS congregations are elected or appointed to serve the congregation and assist in its care, vote to remove that gift which gives forgiveness, life, and salvation?

I certainly understand that over the past century or two has led to many congregations being accustomed to less frequent reception of the Lord's Supper. But thanks to many faithful people, the frequency has generally been increasing to where the "typical" LCMS congregation does probably receive Christ's gifts 2-3 times a month. And that lots of teaching is required in recovering this gift within the congregation. But why, when the congregation has recovered the loving and historic practice of receiving Christ's gifts every week would you remove this gift from the people?

It would be different if, like many Protestants, we confess the Lord's Supper merely as a memorial, something we do to remember the Lord's Supper account in Scripture. But we confess that the bread and wine served are more than just a memorial, and certainly not anything that we do.

The bread and wine serve as elements, as hosts, to that which Christ says that it is:

"This IS my body, which is given for you... this IS my blood of the convenant for the forgiveness of sins."

These are Christ's gifts, His shed body and His shed blood is given for the forgiveness of sins. The Lord's Supper is where the congregation proclaims Christ. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." (1 Corinthians 11:26) Removing the Lord's Supper removes Christ's gifts of forgiveness and removes the congregation's proclamation.

I served my vicarage under Rev. Dr. Kenneth Wieting at Luther Memorial Chapel. In his book, "The Blessings of Weekly Communion," Pastor Wieting shares an insight of a young man who first made him look at the issue of weekly Communion, "Pastor, if the Lord's Supper is everything that Scripture and the catechism say it is, why don't we have the opportunity to receive it when we come for worship each week?"

Pastor's please do not remove from your people Christ's gifts. Elders, please do not tempt your pastor with such thoughts. Other members of the faithful, rejoice in the opportunity to receive Christ's gifts, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins and if you do not have the opportunity to receive them weekly, rejoice when you do receive them. If the opportunity arises, discuss it with your pastors and elders, and maybe you may be able to receive them weekly at some point. Pastor's rejoice the service to serve God's people His gifts and please do not take them away.

On Private Masses

Recently, a friend of mine (who is Anglo-Catholic), brought up this book in an attempt to understand why some church bodies would require the priests to say Mass everyday. Mascall correctly states the wrong Eucharistic theology exists if it is believed that each priest is sacrificing Christ in the Mass. What I think intrigued this individual is that Mascall makes an arguement that:

"What makes the mass one and corporate is not the fact that a lot of people are together at the same service, but the fact that it is the act of the one Christ in his Body (corpus) the Church. And I can think of no better way of making anyone understand wherein the unity and the coporateness of the mass really consists than to take him into a church in which a number of priests are simultaneously celebrating private masses... doing the same thing."

This individual understands about "any Lutheran who's worth his mettle and knows why he belongs to his tradition should have an allergic reaction to such a thing." Yep! Allergic reaction is entirely right!

The Sacrament of the Altar is not an act we do in any way. The communion, the fellowship is not about the same number of priests simultaneously celebrating private masses. The fellowship is about our public confession of faith - that we proclaim the Lord's death as we receive the body and blood of Christ and His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Mascall is correct that, "What makes the mass one and corporate is not the fact that a lot of people are together at the same service, but the fact that it is the act of the one Christ in his Body (corpus) the Church." But to state that this is illustrated best by many private masses at once is a little off. This is illustrated best that all the saints, throughout the world, throughout history receive the one Christ in His body and blood.

Feast of the Ascension

Text: Luke 24:44-53, Acts 1:1-11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Ascension of Jesus is a big deal. A very big deal. If Christ be not ascended, then we’ve got a big problem. Where in the world is He? On this Thursday evening, forty days after Easter, many people question, “Ascension Day, so what?”

Good Friday is clear enough: Jesus’ sacrificial, atoning death on the cross for the life of the world. Though some mistake it for defeat, we still proclaim the victory. Easter Sunday is clearer still: Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the open, empty tomb. He is risen, Alleluia.

But Ascension Day? That’s the odd one. So odd, it isn’t even remotely on the culture’s radar screen. No Ascension Day parades, no Ascension Day sales at the mall. (I haven’t heard a word this past week about four more shopping days left until Ascension Day); no Ascension Day family parties. Thursday just isn’t conducive. Let’s face it - in comparison to Christmas and Easter, Ascension seems not to be much of a big deal.

First, Christ’s ascension is the culmination of His work, the big tickertape parade down the streets of the city in which the conquering Christ strides across the crystalline glassy sea in the heavenly throne room and takes His rightful seat at the right hand of the Father.

Moses never made it into the promised land. He was buried in the land of Moab. But the One greater than Moses, Jesus having gone through the parted Sea of Death in His exodus from death to life, now enters the promised land as the conquering King. Now you see why it has to be a Thursday. Forty days after His resurrection, in parallel to Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness after the Red Sea, forty days after His exodus from the Egypt of death, the Promised One greater than Moses leads the charge to heavenly Caanan in a bright cloud.

The forty days are brought to a conclusion. Now Jesus leads His disciples out to Bethany. Remember, it was by way of Bethany that Jesus had entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. It was Bethany where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. It was at Bethany where Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave. Ascension Day reverses the route of Palm Sunday. Jesus leads His disciples out of Jerusalem to Bethany. The stage is set for His Ascension, His return to the Father who had sent Him.
Jesus' ascension is not about His absence but His presence with us. The ascension proclaims the reign of Jesus Christ over all things. We forget the reign of Christ or we willfully disregard it. Our old Adam will not abide it - to be subject to such a King who dies to save His subjects by sheer grace. We recognize only the reign of power and the sword. Even Jesus’ handpicked disciples didn’t get it. As He was about to extend His hands in a final blessing, they asked Him, “Are you now going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Does the revolution start now? Can we break out the swords and summon the troops? They still didn’t recognize that the fight was over, the battle won. Christ had triumphed; the King was returning to His city, to His throne, to sit and reign.

Here was Jesus as they known Him for three years. They saw Him, they touched Him, He ate with them. Even risen from the dead, it’s so terribly easy to forget that this man from Nazareth is the Son of the Most High God. He is God in the Flesh. The throne He ascends to occupy is the very same throne He has had for all eternity as the only-begotten Son of God, the throne He vacated, emptying Himself of His divine honor and glory to become Man; humbling Himself in obedience to His own Law to save a world of lawbreakers.

The present reign of Jesus Christ is often neglected or even denied within the gates of Christendom, by those who seek some future reign and some future kingdom as though Christ were not seated at the right hand of Majesty.

We need to put to rest the notion that Jesus somehow shed His humanity in His ascension, that He is once again free of the confines of the body. That may sit well with the new-agers and all the so-called “spiritualities” of our day, but there is no comfort in a Christ without a body enthroned in heaven.

Jesus is our High Priest, like us in every way yet without sin, sympathetic to our humanity, bone of our bones and flesh of our flesh, showing the wounds of His once for all atoning sacrifice in the heavenly temple, pleading our forgiveness and pardon.

There’s no comfort in a disembodied God, just as there is no comfort in an absent Jesus. And while we’re at it, let’s shoot down a second misunderstanding of the ascension, namely that Jesus “went” to another place, the way we say when Grandma dies, “She went to a better place.” Jesus disappeared into the cloud of God’s presence; He didn’t shoot off into space like a missle. He’s withdrawn His visible presence, not His actual presence. He departs in one way so that He can be with us in a yet greater way.

He’s not gone to another place, but He has embraced this place - this mixed up world of war and terror and corrupt business practices and adulterous bedrooms. He “fills all in all.” Had Jesus not ascended, we would be stuck in those forty days before Thursday, with Jesus popping in here and there. If He’s here and He can’t be there, and if He’s there He can’t be here. And how is He then going to “be with us always,” as He promised?

In His ascension the crucified and risen Lord pours out on us the blessing that He won for us on the cross. He is not taking the blessings which He obtained on the cross into heaven with Him as bounty which He hordes for Himself. No, the ascending Lord bestows that blessing on us as He says to His disciples "that repentance and the remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem."

The ascended Lord, true God and true man, is with us. He pledges us His presence as He writes His name on us with the water of Holy Baptism. He comes to us in the words of His Gospel, His Words which are the vehicles of His grace and peace. His body and His blood which ascended far above all the heavens are given us to eat and drink in the Lord's Supper. He has ascended, but He is not absent. The blessing - the giving out of the forgiveness of sins - goes on.

The culmination of Jesus’ work, His present reign, the glorification of our humanity, His greater and nearer presence - these are the “so what” of the Ascension.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Highlights from Pr. Matt Harrison at SWD Convention

Pastor Matthew Harrison, LCMS World Relief and Human Care, was the main presenter at a recent SWD Pastor's Conference. Here is the sermon from the conference - "You Are Accounted."






Below are some highlights from his presentations at the conference, his topic was:

"Christ Have Mercy: How to Put Your Faith Into Action." (Book available from CPH)

“We complain a lot about a lack of love. We need a revolution in preaching. Preach the Gospel. Are we preaching the law in a wimpy way, way out there, complaining, or are we getting in people’s faces applying the condemning law…. And then preaching the Gospel in it’s fullness and its essence. This is what we need, a revolution in preaching the Gospel.”

"Human Care is not done to grow the church, but proclamation of the Word and acts of mercy are done together by the church."

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Luther’s Treatise on the Sacrament:
- lay your burdens on Christ and pick up those in the community
Mercy and fellowship are together in the Sacrament

"Many people view things individually but fellowship (koinania) and even language of our being baptized into Christ have a corporate reality, plural."

Acts 6: "Serving is very much apart of the Apostolic service."

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Pr. Harrison also gave a word of encouragement not to go out and "do your own thing" but the work together in unity, as a Synod!

"If we are so torn from the brotherhood, if we become so isolated, then it is best to hear Christ’s Words from another. Bonhoeffer said, 'If our ears are closed to our brothers, then our ears are closed to Christ.'"