2012-10-31 - Lawrence Rast Reformation Sermon

Ecclesia Semper Reformanda est – Reformation Sermon 2012

{The Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast, president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., preached the following sermon at this morning’s Matins service, held at the opening of the International Conference on Confessional Leadership taking place in Peachtree City, Ga.}

Dr. Lawrence Rast, president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., shakes hands with the Rev. President Jon Ehlers, Evangelical Lutheran Church of England.

As we gather together in Christ’s name to celebrate the 495th anniversary of Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses, it is good, first of all, to hear the Word of God and reflect on the Lord’s mercy in giving His gifts of life and salvation to us.

For that purpose, I can think of no better texts than Acts 10, which is a Reformational text if there ever was one! In it, Peter personally experiences two reformations. The first is, of course, the vision of all things being clean, where a hungry Peter keeps the law and resists unclean food. His first reformation is to learn that “What God has made clean do not call common.” The result, Peter witnesses to his colleagues, “Truly I understand”—a reformational phrase—“truly I understand that God shows no partiality.”

But does he understand? Reformation 2.0 comes quickly upon him. The balance of our text proper shows that Peter actually does not yet understand that God really shows no partiality. Yes, he realizes that Christ has made all things clean; what he is now learning is that in making all things clean Christ has made all people clean through the very things that Peter is preaching—the life, suffering, death, and, especially in this text, resurrection of Jesus Christ, the One who has conquered death.

Dr. Lawrence Rast preaches at the opening service of the International Conference on Confessional Lutheranism.

Peter’s witness is a powerful testimony to the power of the Gospel, for through it, as verse 44 immediately following our text tells us, “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:44-45 ESV).

Not one, but two reformations! In the space of a short chapter, we see the church reformed. And that reformation is always shaped by the Gospel; where man would legalize, God comes in with His Gospel, the powerful Word of Christ that always re-establishes the promise of life and salvation. Ecclesia Semper Reformanda est—the church is always being reformed—is the old and familiar saying. It is a good saying, for it captures the passivity of Christ’s bride as God continually works to form and reform His church through the faithful witness of the Gospel.

LWML President Kay Kreklau speaks with Dr. Cyndy Lumley of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.

Luther’s Witness

The application of this is clear as we both celebrate today, the 495th anniversary of the Reformation and as we gather together as witnesses who are being reformed for this international conference on confessional leadership. We are here to remind one another of our shared commitment to the Gospel and to strengthen one another for the reforming task ahead.

In that effort, it is good to hear from the mature Luther as he preaches on Acts 10. In a sermon published in 1540, he speaks to the heart and soul of this text when he writes:

This power and work in us is called by Peter “remission of sins.” This is the blessing, the possession, conferred through the preaching of the doctrine of Christ, or the articles of faith, particularly the articles of the resurrection. The meaning of the new message of comfort, the new declaration of peace, is that Christ, through his resurrection, has in himself conquered our sin and death, has turned away the wrath of God and procured grace and salvation; that he has commanded forgiveness to be preached unto us, desiring us to believe he gives it and confidently to receive it through faith.

For Luther, his witness is not an innovation, not something new that he has dreamed up, but something the church has always confessed. As he says it:

He who inquires, who would know exactly, what the Christian Church ever holds and teaches, especially concerning the all-important article of justification before God, or the forgiveness of sins, over which there has always been contention, has it here plainly and exactly in this text. Here is the unwavering testimony of the entire Church from the beginning. It is not necessary, then, to dispute about the doctrine any more.

In this text we see that the reliability of the article of faith has long ago been proven, even in ancient time, by the Church of the primitive fathers, of the prophets and the apostles. A solid foundation is established, one all men are bound to believe and maintain at the risk of their eternal salvation, whatever councils may establish, or the world advance and determine, to the contrary.

This is Luther’s firm witness to the centrality of the Gospel, the faith once delivered to the saints. And in, with, and under such faithful witness the Lord worked to reform his church.

(L-R) Dr. Lawrence Rast, preident of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne; the Rev. William Weedon, LCMS director of Worship; and Bishop Wilhelm Weber, Lutheran Church South Africa, prepare for Matins.

The 19th-Century Witness

The church is always being reformed—but not all reforms are from the Lord. In the 19th century, some American Lutherans argued that the essence of Luther’s reform was radicalism, or reformation as rejection of past doctrines and practices. In this way of thinking, one might be most Lutheran by rejecting Luther and the Lutheran Confessions! One of the most outspoken advocates of this new Lutheranism was Benjamin Kurtz (1795-1865). Writing on the fathers of the church, he said:

The Fathers—who are the ‘Fathers’? They are the children; they lived in the infancy of the Church, in the early dawn of the Gospel day . . . Even the apostle Peter, after all the personal instructions of Christ, could not expand his views sufficiently to learn that the Gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles, and that the Church of Christ was to compass the whole world. A special miracle was wrought to remove his prejudices and convince him of his folly. Every well-instructed Sunday-school child understands this thing without a miracle, better than Peter did.

Such arrogance can only result in the following conclusion.

Who, then, are the “Fathers”? They have become the Children; they were the Fathers, but, compared with the present and advanced age, they are the Children, and the learned and pious of the nineteenth century are the Fathers. We are three hundred years older than Luther and his noble coadjutors, and eighteen hundred years older than the primitives; theirs was the age of infancy and adolescence, and ours that of full-grown manhood. They were the children; we are the fathers; the tables are turned.

In fact, Kurtz’s church can no longer be reformed. It can only progress into new and radical expressions that may have no organic connection to the source of life—the branch cuts itself off from the vine and briefly carries on a life of its own—briefly before it dies. Such a perspective is fundamentally destructive, for it encourages us to orphan ourselves from those who have given to us what was first given to them, namely, the faith once delivered to the saints.

In contrast to Kurtz, other American Lutherans strove to uphold the faithful witness of their fathers. Charles Porterfield Krauth (1823-1883) articulated the principle of the conservative reformation, instructing a confused Lutheranism that the overthrow of error does not in itself establish truth. Because of this it is more important to know what the Lutheran Reformation retained than what it overthrew. Knowing personally how easily the church can fall into faith-threatening error, C. F. W. Walther (1811-1887), simply urged that “heterodox companies are not to be dissolved, but reformed” (and please note that is reformed with a small “r”).

The Witness God Calls Us to Today

Peter’s conclusion is clear: “And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.”

That call to faithful witness remains before us today. The next several days will help us better understand our confession and our context so that we may, with all possible vigor and haste, witness to the mercy of God in Christ to a world in need. In closing, perhaps it is appropriate on this day to give Luther the last word. Writing in his typically blunt and pointed way, Luther challenges you and me to a life of witness.

If I earnestly believe that Christ is true God and that He became our Savior, I will never deny this but will proclaim it publicly against the Turks, the world, the pope, the Jews, and all the sects. I will confess that it is true. I would rather forfeit my life or jeopardize my property and honor than disavow this. Wherever faith is genuine, it cannot hold its tongue. (AE 22:392-93)

May our tongues be loosed in confession and praise of the Christ who has died and risen again that we might have eternal life.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

(reposted from http://wmltblog.org/2012/10/ecclesia-semper-reformanda-est-reformation-sermon-2012/)

Time Lapse of the NS Heritage Event

Last week Norfolk Southern held its 30th anniversary celebration featuring its heritage locomotives.  Here's a time lapse of the event.

A Unique Event

Where America Worships

Fascinating map on rates of religious participation in the United States.  From the Chicago Tribune:

For the Love of Storms 1

Amy says I was crazy for standing outside in this storm. But but this time the worst was past.

What a Difference a Day Makes

This Says It All

Midwestern Muslims

I grew up in the cornfields of Northern Illinois.  During my youth ethnic diversity still tended to be defined in terms of different Western European language groups (we had lots of Scandinavians and Germans in our area) and religious diversity was largely limited to varieties of Christianity.  

Lots of folks seem to think that's still the case.  Things are so different here in __________ (fill in with West Coast, East Coast, South, etc.), you Midwesterners wouldn't understand.  

That's why the following from ENI caught my eye. 

Chicago (ENInews)--Mohammed Labadi had a lot at stake when the DeKalb City Council voted 29 May on a request from the Islamic Society of Northern Illinois University to build a two-story mosque. Labadi, a businessman and Islamic Society board member, said a bigger mosque was needed to replace the small house where local Muslims now worship. He also was hoping for affirmation that his neighbors and city officials have no fear of the Muslim community, Religion News Service reports via USA Today. "Don't look at me just as a Muslim, look at me as an American," Labadi said. The City Council unanimously approved the plan. However, in the decade since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, animosity toward Muslims sometimes has taken the form of opposition to construction of mosques and other Islamic facilities. National debate erupted over plans for an Islamic community center that became known as the "Ground Zero mosque" in Lower Manhattan. [766 words, ENI-12-0315]

Searching for the Ultimate Sermon

Good preaching was certainly central to the Reformation and has remained so in Protestantism.  However, one hears increasing complaints about contemporary sermonizing, leading some to claim that there is a crisis in preaching.  Here is a take on that particular issue, from the Wall Street Journal.  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303674004577434773260323812.html?fbresult=add#&mg=id-wsj

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The Hunt for the Good Sermon

Are American churches really suffering a crisis of bad preaching?

By John Wilson

Is preaching in America in a particularly bad state?

Several commentators have recently raised the question, yet it has a long history. “It has become an impertinent Vein among People of all Sorts,” wrote Jonathan Swift in the 1720s, “to hunt after what they call a good Sermon, as if it were a Matter of Pastime or Diversion.”

And often those on the hunt declare their disappointment, as when Britain’s Lord Hugh Cecil said in the mid-20th century that “the two dangers which beset the Church of England are good music and bad preaching.”

Today’s complainers include Ross Douthat, whose recently published “Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics” describes churches whose preachers promise prosperity to the faithful or dispense the gospel of narcissism. Others wonder about a pulpit presence so charismatic that it draws more attention to the preacher than to his message.

And yet, on the basis of a lifetime of churchgoing, I have to report that week after week, year after year, I have heard the Word of God faithfully preached. And I am particularly skeptical of sweeping claims, as by the Barna Group’s David Kinnaman, that the upcoming generation of churchgoers has tastes and needs radically different from those of any previous generation in human history.

So what explains the recently announced million-dollar grant from the Lilly Foundation “to cultivate excellence in preaching” at Calvin College’s Institute of Christian Worship? Does this eye-catching grant suggest that worship is on perilous ground?

It doesn’t. Preaching—and worship—is in need of renewal because it is always in need of renewal. No pastor, congregation or denomination will ever get it right once and for all.

At the Lilly-funded program, pastors—men and women from various denominational backgrounds—will study together in “Micah Groups,” named for the biblical passage that has become a touchstone for many Christians of this generation: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). The goal of the program, says director Mark Labberton, is “the convergence of worship, preaching, and justice.”

“Justice” (a notoriously elusive concept) wouldn’t have defined a comparable program in the 1950s, especially not in evangelical circles, where the accent would have been on saving souls. To put “preaching” and “justice” together doesn’t imply indifference to the eternal fate of our souls, but it does propose a corrective—a stress on realizing the Kingdom of God here and now. The history of the church is made up of moves like this.

Consider the alleged exodus of young people from the church. “We won’t lose students because we didn’t entertain them,” said the dreadlocked Philadelphia activist and preacher Shane Claiborne on Twitter. “We will lose them because we haven’t given the FULL gospel.” Mr. Claiborne’s comment made me think of another gifted preacher, Jesus, who also met with a mixed reception. “From that moment,” we read in the sixth chapter of John’s gospel—after Jesus said that “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you”—”many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.”

Why did some disciples draw back while others continued to follow Jesus? Why does the church surge to life here or there, while at the same moment, across the street or across the ocean, it seems to be increasingly moribund? Can’t we find a method—underwritten by neuroscience and evolutionary psychology—to guarantee successful preaching? To ask the question is to answer it.

In his memoir “The Pastor” (2011), Eugene Peterson identifies one of the most serious threats to biblical preaching—a “pragmatic vocational embrace of American technology and consumerism that promised to rescue congregations from ineffective obscurity” but that “violated everything—scriptural, theological, experiential—that had formed my identity as a follower of Jesus and a pastor.”

The obsession with measurable “results,” the rebranded promise of some technique or strategy: Preachers are bombarded with this stuff every day (four keys to success, six marks of a healthy church, seven principles of growth). Many ignore it and get on with their work in “scripture, sermon, and sacrament.” Praise God for that.

Mr. Wilson is the editor of Books & Culture, a bimonthly review.

A version of this article appeared June 1, 2012, on page A11 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: The Hunt for the Good Sermon.

• HOUSES OF WORSHIP
• May 31, 2012, 7:06 p.m. ET

 

Soccer Evangelism

Things are goofy all over.  From ENI.

Polish churches seek to win fans at June soccer tournament

Warsaw, Poland (ENInews)--Poland's churches are hoping to win fans for God as they launched a welcoming program for June's Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) championship. "Let's show nobility of heart, a Polish hospitality shaped by the Gospel and an example of Christian openness to visitors," the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference said on 28 May. Poland's predominant church has unveiled a series of pastoral initiatives for the championship, which is being co-hosted with neighboring Ukraine. The 8 June-1 July tournament is the first major international football event to be hosted by post-Communist countries. [418 words, ENI-12-0311]

AMPS!

I've played electric guitar for many, many years.  I chased particular guitars for many years in search of a particular tone.  I only found it when I finally realized that whatever amplifier I was using was as important as the guitar.  

So, axes aside, here's what my son, Karl, and I were working with today. My AB 763 Showman will rejoin the rest of the crew very soon.  Karl's Blackstar is AWESOME--beautiful tone shaping character.  But nothing--NOTHING--beats the cathode-biased sound of my little blackface Princeton Reverb.

n.b. the red "Divine Noise" cable.  It is very nice.  Thanks to Grant Knepper for putting me on to Pro Guitar in Portland for it.  http://proguitarshop.com/about-pro-guitar-shop

Amtrak at Steamer's Cafe in Tacoma Narrows, Washington

A quick little video I shot today on the way out of Steamer's Cafe in Tacoma Narrows, Washington. 

Ελληνική Ευαγγελική Εκκλησία

From Ecumenical News International:

"Greek churches 'face disaster' as crisis deepens"

(ENInews)--A senior Greek Protestant has warned that minority denominations "face disaster" due to the country's worsening economic crisis. "Heavy taxation, high unemployment and all our other difficulties are fast-forwarding us to collapse," said Dimitrios Boukis, general secretary of the Greek Evangelical church, which has 29 congregations in two regional synods in Greece and other communities abroad. "We receive no state support and are fully dependent on our members, and we're already short of pastors because we can't afford them. The pastors we have are having to handle everything because we can't employ staff, so some congregations will end up without any spiritual care," he said. [463 words, ENI-12-0275]

Here is a link to the church's website (all in Greek): http://www.gec.gr/index.php/en

Concordia Saint Paul Commencement

This evening I had the distinct honor of addressing the undergraduate class of 2012 at Concordia University, Saint Paul, Minnesota.  President Thomas Ries, the Regents, the faculty and the staff were wonderfully welcoming. Click here for a link to the CSP website.

Here's a portion of the program.



Here's the commencement address itself.

The 2010 U.S. Religion Census

Just this week I was showing students here at the seminary the maps of the 2000 census.  I was hoping to have updated materials.  Now they're out. 

The 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study (RCMS) is a county-by-county examination of the various religious traditions and confessions of the United States. It is utterly fascinating stuff.  WARNING: If you're a map nerd like I am, this may gobble up a good portion of your day. 

More Pennsy Pictures

Evening in Altoona...

Norfolk Southern 8102 in Pennsy Paint

Norfolk Southern has a whole series of locomotives that it is painting in "heritage" schemes.  The above is the scheme for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  You can be sure to find me along the tracks here in Fort Wayne (and maybe Altoona!) in the hopes of seeing this one--and any of the others--soon!

Here are a couple of links to more information:

http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Media/News%20Releases/2012/ns_heritage.html

 http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Media/News%20Releases/2012/ns_heritage_roll_out.html

CTS Faculty Response to Healthcare Mandate

FORT WAYNE, IN (CTS)—On Thursday, February 16, 2012, several clergy members were invited to respond to the Health and Human Services (HHS) recent mandate requiring employers to provide access to health insurance that covers most forms of birth control, as well as drugs that induce abortion. Click here to read a response to the mandate from the faculty of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne.

The Rev. John T. Pless, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, accompanied Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, President, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, to Washington D.C. as he testified in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concerning the mandate.

“The HHS health care plan over reaches the divide of separation of church and state and President Harrison did a wonderful job of articulating our Synod's opposition to the HHS policy on the basis of the Lutheran understanding of the Two Kingdoms,” commented Prof. Pless. “Lutherans have no choice but to resist this intrusion of the government into the internal life of religious communities. Rehearsing LCMS contributions to the welfare of our nation, Harrison noted that the HHS would impair this involvement to the detriment of our nation's citizens.”

In a previous statement President Harrison said, “This action by HHS will have the effect of forcing many religious organizations to choose between following the letter of the law and operating within the framework of their religious tenets. We add our voice to the long list of those championing for the continued ability to act according to the dictates of their faith, and provide compassionate care and clear Christian witness to society's most vulnerable, without being discriminated against by government."

CTS President, Dr. Lawrence R. Rast Jr., acknowledges this issue will certainly affect the seminary’s students as they prepare to minister to those in need across the world. Further, he stated, “We Americans have been blessed from our beginnings with freedom from government intrusion into our religious expression. We deeply appreciate the firm stand and bold witness of President Harrison and look forward to a continuing partnership with the President’s Office as we address matters crucial to the church and its mission.”

High-Speed Rail a Reality in the Midwest

Does this suggest a possible future?  Kazoo to Porter is a great little run.  I'd love to see them work the old Pere Marquette (the line that runs up to Grand Rapids in the map above) into a high-speed line--something like the old days when the PM streamliners were the running this route.

Here's the full story from the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-amtrak-high-speed-0208-20120208,0,3868789.story):

Amtrak at 110 mph in western Mich., northern Ind.

But rail crossings lack safety mechanisms planned for Illinois route

By Jon Hilkevitch, TRIBUNE REPORTER

February 8, 2012

Amtrak passenger trains sped up to 110 mph for the first time Tuesday in western Michigan and northern Indiana on two routes serving Chicago, officials announced.
But the railroad crossings lack safety mechanisms that will be installed on Illinois' high-speed corridor to prevent vehicle-train collisions.

The faster service, which is the first expansion of regional high-speed trains outside the northeastern U.S., is occurring on about 80 miles of a 97-mile stretch of Amtrak-owned track between Kalamazoo, Mich., and Porter, Ind.

Trains operating on the corridor are the Amtrak Wolverine Service between Pontiac, Mich., and Chicago via Detroit and Ann Arbor, and the Amtrak Blue Water between Port Huron, Mich., and Chicago via East Lansing.

The increase in speed from 95 mph to 110 mph followed the Federal Railroad Administration's approval of a positive train control system. The technology provides safeguards to override human error and prevent train-to-train collisions, speed-related derailments and accidents caused by track-switching errors or malfunctions, according to the agency.

But the positive train control system installed by the Michigan Department of Transportation does not include vehicle-detection technology to alert train crews about a vehicle stopped on the tracks at a crossing or additional protections, including four-quadrant gates, to prevent vehicles from snaking around lowered crossing gates. It does, however, monitor whether the crossing gates, flashing lights and bells are working, officials said.

Crossings on the system being installed in Illinois on the Chicago-to-St. Louis 110 mph corridor will be outfitted with full four-quadrant gates and an obstacle-intrusion detection system to tell locomotive engineers about vehicles on the tracks with enough advance warning so that the train can stop before the crossing, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Amtrak service at up to 110 mph is scheduled to begin in 2014 on part of the route, IDOT said. The current top speed is 79 mph.
Using a less-robust crossing system not only increases the risk to vehicle drivers and their passengers, but also to the riders aboard high-speed trains involved in a collision at a crossing, experts said.
On Feb. 1 at a crossing near Jackson, Mich., on the eastern end of Michigan's 110 mph rail corridor, an Amtrak train derailed when it struck a semitrailer truck that was stuck on the tracks. More than 10 people on board the Chicago-bound train were injured.

Federal railroad officials said the Michigan plan meets all regulations and that it is up to each state to decide on "an acceptable level of grade crossing risk.''

The Federal Railroad Administration "has every confidence in the Michigan Department of Transportation's and Amtrak's ability to determine the appropriate safety mechanisms at their grade crossings,'' said Mike England, a spokesman for the agency.

Michigan rail officials said the safety system they selected on the 110 mph corridor is the most cost-effective while also being safe.

"This was not a decision we made lightly,'' said Tim Hoeffner, director of the Office of Rail at the Michigan Department of Transportation. "What you put at the crossing is only one component of grade-crossing safety. You also must have police enforcement and the education piece to go along with the engineering.

"One of the most important factors is that we are dealing with the railroad in a part of the state where people understand the issues better and have a better grasp that when the flashing lights, bells and gates go on, the train is going to be there quickly and leave quickly,'' said Hoeffner, who rode aboard the 110 mph service on Tuesday.

Sustained operations at 110 mph on the 80-mile section in Michigan and Indiana will cut 10 minutes off the 95 mph schedules and about 20 minutes off the 79 mph speed that Amtrak trains operated at as recently as 2001, officials said.

Future steps include expanding 110 mph service from Kalamazoo to central and eastern Michigan, officials said.

jhilkevitch@tribune.com

Twitter @jhilkevitch

"Take On Me" Accordion Style

Hopefully there's not a banjo version out there...

A Sermon in the Midst of Tragedy

Paul McCain posted this sermon on his blog.  However, since Edward is my brother-in-law, and since this is such a wonderful sermon, I thought I would repost it (without Ed's permission) here.  From it you'll see why Rev. Engelbrecht is truly a gift to our Synod.


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From Salina Journal, Monday, January 30th: “ ‘I saw a red car coming at us, and it was over,’ [a witness] said. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Steven Moore, 62, was driving a Dodge Challenger east on I-70, just west of Topeka, when he crossed the median into oncoming traffic [perhaps because of a medical condition], striking the Geske’s Ford Windstar van head-on.”

“The Rev. Jeffrey Geske and his 3-year-old son Jacob [were] hospitalized, and killed [were] Geske’s wife Laura, their daughter Joy, 3, and son Joshua, 8.”

This news story came to me with special prayer requests for our chapel service. I had planned to preach on the Gospel reading from Sunday but thought it would be better to talk a bit about this tragedy. This is the sort of story that shakes us hard, causes us to question the ways of God. We naturally wonder why these things happen and find ourselves picking through the wreckage looking for an answer. [Read Job 1:13–21; emphasis on v. 21.]

How often we hear miracle stories when there is an accident, where death is averted at the last moment. We hear these stories and say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21). But in this case, there is less for us to celebrate and we find ourselves wondering why God allowed this to happen.

Poets say that we were born to die; philosophers agree that death is a natural part of life. But the Bible fights against these thoughts. It tells us that God created us for life, that death is unnatural, an intruder, the enemy of the children of God. When an older person dies, we don’t think too hard about it. It seems normal to us. The tragic events, like this one, cause us to question when death takes the young and the good, even those blessed and hallowed for God’s service. God calls us to grow less comfortable with death. If we mourn less when grandma dies than when a child dies, we should check our thoughts and consider whether we have grown too comfortable with death.

Our reason does a poor job at grasping tragedy. It is too heavy for our weak minds to hold. In such events, faith teaches us to expect a miracle; we naturally look for the miraculous in tragic events and hope to make sense of them. As I looked through the news reports about this accident, I did not find a miracle story. This is one of those times when the miracle comes after the event, perhaps long after. The miracle comes in seeing that God works in, with, and under tragedy, that He somehow accomplishes His good and gracious will not by averting tragedy but by working through it. Job responded in faith when everything was taken away from him, beginning with mourning and ending with praise for the One whose ways are beyond us. [Read 1:20–21.]

Today, we are like Mary and John at the foot of the cross, looking up with tear filled eyes and wondering, “Why?” And to us the Lord says as He did on the day of His crucifixion, “Behold, your son. . . . Behold, your mother” (John 19:26–27). In other words, “I am not coming down from this cross. It makes no sense and only causes you grief now. Take care of one another. Love one another until I turn this cross and this suffering into resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost for you.” Sisters, behold this morning your brothers in Christ. Brothers, this morning behold your sisters in Christ and care for them. This, too, is the way and the work of God who took away our sins by His Son’s cross and sustains us week by week in the Sacrament of His cross where in, with, and under the tragedy of death He brings to us the miracle of life and hope and peace. And so we say in faith, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” our only Savior. Amen.

We pray today for the Geske family as they mourn the loss of Laura, Joy, and Joshua. We ask that you would grant healing to Pastor Geske and to his son, Jacob. May they behold one another with your love and care as Christ taught us from the cross. We pray likewise for Pastor Geske that you would strengthen and sustain him as he cares for his Salina congregation, to which You recently called him. Help pastor and congregation to support one another through this tragedy. Look with mercy also upon Steven Moore, whose health condition led to this accident. Comfort him, O Lord, under the burden of this event and grant him your peace, which only Christ can give. O Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayers. Amen.

Supreme Court Rules on Religious Freedom

This was just sent my way moments ago.  It is from a blog that may be found here (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2012/01/11/scotus-unanimous-for-religious-freedom/).  I offer it to you in full.  The first sentence has a link to the entire opinion.

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SCOTUS Unanimous For Religious Freedom – UPDATED

Jan 11th, 2012 by Elizabeth Scalia

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled unanimously in favor of a church’s right to be itself, and its freedom to assign its ministries:

This is an enormous and timely victory for religious freedom:

In a groundbreaking case, the Supreme Court on Wednesday held for the first time that religious employees of a church cannot sue for employment discrimination.

But the court’s unanimous decision in a case from Michigan did not specify the distinction between a secular employee, who can take advantage of the government’s protection from discrimination and retaliation, and a religious employee, who can’t.

It was, nevertheless, the first time the high court has acknowledged the existence of a “ministerial exception” to anti-discrimination laws — a doctrine developed in lower court rulings. This doctrine says the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion shields churches and their operations from the reach of such protective laws when the issue involves employees of these institutions.

At the time the SCOTUS heard the case, it was noted that both Justices Scalia and Kagan had reacted with something like shock at the government’s constitution-shredding argument:

President Obama’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claimed during oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court last week that it can order a church to restore a fired minister to a teaching position.

But that was a claim not even the president’s handpicked appointee, the very liberal Justice Elena Kagan, could accept as she and her colleagues considered Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC. [...] The justices then rejected the argument of Leondra Kruger, Obama’s lawyer for the EEOC, who argued that there’s no ministerial exception in the Constitution, only the same rights that secular organizations possess to choose their own affiliations.

At this, Scalia exploded. “That’s extraordinary! There, black on white in the text of the Constitution, are special protections for religion. And you say it makes no difference?”

Kagan agreed with Scalia’s rejection of the argument that the First Amendment doesn’t protect churches from government ordering who they should hire as pastor or priest.

Given reports following the hearing, it’s not really shocking that the SCOTUS came down unanimously against the government’s case. But it’s reassuring, all the same.

Writing the court’s opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said, “Allowing anti-discrimination lawsuits against religious organizations could end up forcing churches to take religious leaders they no longer want.”

“Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs,” Roberts said. “By imposing an unwanted minister, the state infringes the Free Exercise Clause, which protects a religious group’s right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointments.”

But, Roberts said, since this was the first time the high court has ever considered the “ministerial exception,” it would not set hard and fast rules on who can be considered a religious employee of a religious organization.

“We are reluctant … to adopt a rigid formula for deciding when an employee qualifies as a minister,” he said. “It is enough for us to conclude, in this, our first case involving the ministerial exception, that the exception covers (Cheryl) Perich, given all the circumstances of her employment.”

The Obama administration tested the waters with an extreme gambit. They’ve now established that this court, in its current make-up, will rule in favor of the churches against overt threats to the most fundamental of our religious freedoms. I expect that if Obama is re-elected, we’ll see continued–but measured–attempts to weaken religious freedoms, as it attempts to discern precisely where the lines are, and how they may be crossed. Chief Justice Roberts appears to acknowledge as much, in writing the opinion.

Meanwhile, this is very good–yes, reassuring–news.