Author: Higher Things

Philippe deBlois

When I first joined the Lutheran Church, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Church calendar and all of its holy days and seasons. As with most evangelicals, I was accustomed to an abridged calendar where Christmas and Easter were celebrated and that’s about it. What was particularly perplexing to me was the season we now enter: Lent, a period of penitential reflection. Those words would bring me back to my evangelical days where the entire focus of the Christian life was on reflection and doing. Church teaching was geared towards making me read more of God’s Word, meditate more, pray more, be more mission minded, join the worship band, get involved in small groups, serve more, fast more…

Don’t get me wrong. Some of those activities can be good things. The problem is there is no Jesus there. And if He is there at all it’s only as a distant helper who helps me do more and somehow grow closer to Him. What I need is a Savior. What I need is the life, death and resurrection of Christ that happened 2000 years ago FOR ME and my sins of today.

I can fast or meditate on Scripture for hours, days, years, and still not find the forgiveness of sins FOR ME. Is my repentance genuine? Am I really truly sorry for those sins I committed? Am I acting Christian enough? Am I growing closer to God? Penitential reflection left to itself leads to despair. No matter how much I look into myself and repent of my sins, no matter how much I reflect on the sufferings of Christ, there is still no Jesus FOR ME. Remembrance doesn’t give me Jesus. Repentance doesn’t give me Jesus. And the more I look into myself, the worse it gets. I remember this as a very sad reality for many people I knew growing up. Older people who had been in church for years would not take the Lord’s Supper because they felt unworthy. They knew all the theology, read their Bibles and prayed daily, knew all the works of Christ, His dying and rising, but they could not be certain they were part of the elect. They felt too sinful, hadn’t repented genuinely enough or seen enough fruits in their lives. They abstained from the Lord’s Supper so as to not eat and drink in an unworthy way. How sad! They had misunderstood the Lord’s Supper and turned it into yet another act of devotion rather than the pure gift of the true body and blood of Jesus given to sinful beggars.

What brought me to Lutheranism was it’s Biblical understanding of the means of grace. As Martin Luther said:

“If I now seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it given there. Nor must I hold to the suffering of Christ as Dr. Karlstadt trifles, in knowledge or remembrance, for I will not find it there either. But I will find in the sacrament of the gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the cross” (AE 40:214).

There I found true comfort and certainty! The Lord’s Supper is not some mental act of remembrance of Jesus and how He once lived, died and rose again. The Lord’s Supper is where I come as a beggar and am nourished with the gift of His true Body and Blood, shed for the forgiveness of sins FOR ME. In this Sacrament, Luther affirms, “Christ takes me and devours me and gobbles me up together with my sins. I partake of his righteousness such that His godliness swallows up my sin and misery so that I have nothing but righteousness” (All become One Cake: A Sermon on the Lord’s Supper, 1523¹).

Lent is a time of penitential reflection indeed but no amount of reflection, no amount of reading and meditating on Scripture, no amount of fasting brings me Jesus and His forgiveness. I get all of Him in the means of grace. So what better way to do Lent than to, as Dr. Norman Nagel once said, “Best way to celebrate Lent is close to the means of grace, rejoicing in our Baptism, rejoicing in the body and blood of Christ given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins.”

Philippe deBlois is a member of Glory of Christ Lutheran Church, in Plymouth, Minnesota.

¹ http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=718.

Rev. Brady Finnern

“Ughhhhh…more church?” I recall the exact moment those whining words left my mouth one Ash Wednesday afternoon in high school. My parents had just told me that we were going to worship that night. I was a bit selfish in those days (now, I just hide it better) and in my mind I lamented over a list of things that, to me, were more important. “I’m so busy with basketball, I have to get ready for track season, homework is piling up, and I just want to get outside and hang out with friends! Now you want me to take an hour of my precious time and go to church?”

These conversations are happening in many households between young people and their parents this Lent. Each year it begs the question, why go to worship in the middle of the week during Lent? What is the purpose when I am already so busy? Why should I gather with old people who sing old songs and rarely use any kind of modern technology? Sure, most of us understand that Lent is about repentance, focusing on the cross, preparing for Easter, and meditation on God’s Word, but why take another night to do it? The answer is simple: to be filled with the gifts of Jesus.

Each day we are filled with different things: some good things and some not so good things. When I head to my local gas station for my daily soda, I am filled with the joy of different friendships, but I am also filled with sugar, carbonation, and empty calories. When I arrive at school I’m filled with knowledge and wisdom, but also the feelings of insecurity and pain from other people’s words and reactions. When I sit at my computer, I’m filled with the news of the world in an instant, but also with unhealthy webpages and meaningless relationships. When I attend college, I’m filled with a top notch education, but also the fear of future jobs and the instability of life after college.

This is why we need to be filled with the gifts of Christ. Scripture is very clear that when we gather around Christ’s gifts–Word and Sacrament–we are filled with His benefits. When Christ is present in the preached Word (Romans 10:17, 2 Timothy 3:16), our Baptism (Romans 6:4-5), Absolution (John 20:22), and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:28), we are filled with the Holy Spirit, forgiveness, life, and salvation (Small Catechism)–not partly filled like we are after an appetizer at a restaurant, but completely filled with His holiness that gives us a taste of heaven here today.

We are filled all the day long, and since nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8), His gifts are always there for us and they are free to us sinners. While you are busy this Lent, the gifts of Christ are there for you. When you have every excuse to not to go worship, Christ’s gifts are there for you. When you skip a week here or there, the gifts of Christ are there for you. This Lent the gifts are offered to you more than once a week, thanks be to God. Go and receive.

Rev. Brady Finnern is the pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota. He is also a shotput and discus coach.

Molly Buffington

The church year has cycled through once more, and the season of Lent–a season of repentance–is here again. But what does that even mean? Well, it can mean that we say to ourselves, “I need to give something up–something BIG. I’ll remind people of what I’m giving up, because it’s a big deal and I’m doing such a good job. I’m being so faithful and strong! I’ll compare myself to people who don’t make as big of a sacrifice as I do, or to those who don’t even make a sacrifice at all. They’re so sinful! But I’m not. I’m doing it right; they’re doing it wrong. They sure aren’t as good at Lent as I am.”

Or, Lent can mean we roll our eyes and say, “I can’t believe them! I can’t stand those people bragging about their sacrifices. I don’t give anything up for Lent. That’ll show them. I make sure to tell people, because they ought to know that I’m not like those other people. I’m the one who’s really faithful. I’ll compare myself to people who are making sacrifices. They’re so self-righteous! But I’m not. I’m doing it right; they’re doing it wrong. They sure aren’t as good at Lent as I am.”

Repent! Repent of making Lent all about us: our works, our decision, our actions. Lent is a time of seeing our sin and our need for a Savior. And we can’t even do that right! We want to make everything about us. We say, “It’s all about me, even Lent.” We live like there is no God and we hate our neighbor. But it doesn’t end with that. What does Lent mean? Lent means Easter is coming and that Jesus, the very Son of God and yet a man, died and was raised from the dead, taking our sin and giving us His righteousness. He comes to forgive us of all of our sin, including our sin-ridden repentance, and even our sin-ridden Lent.

This Lent, we are free to give something up, and we are free not to. Neither choice makes us righteous; neither choice will make us better in the eyes of God. We all stand as helpless sinners, but sinners covered by the holy blood of Christ, washed in baptism, clean in God’s eyes. During Lent, we see our sin, we repent, and try not to fall into it again. There’s no “I’m righteous,” “I’m good,” “I’m pleasing God.” Instead, just like the rest of the church year, there’s “I’m a sinner. Christ died for me and redeems me.”

Molly Buffington is a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, Alabama, and studies history at the University of Alabama.

Rev. Michael Keith

I love food. A lot. I love trying different kinds of food. I like trying foods that I have never had before. I love going back and eating the old tried and true favorites. Food is a big part of my life. In fact, the grade eight kids that I teach a class in Christian Studies to each morning at our school have said that I talk about food a lot in class. Apparently many of my illustrations end up talking about food. I wasn’t aware that I do that, but they have noticed a pattern. I guess it is subconscious! I like food.

There are traditionally three customs that are associated with Christians observing the penitential season of Lent:

1. Increased time for God’s Word and prayer
2. Almsgiving
3. Fasting

It is quite common for Lutheran congregations to have mid-week Lenten Services to provide the opportunity to God’s people for increased time in God’s Word and prayer. It is also common for the offerings at those Services to be directed outside of the parish’s needs to support some charity, mission, or other cause. But what about the third? What about fasting? Did I mention I like food? I don’t know if I like the sound of that one!

Why would a Christian “fast” during the Season of Lent? Well, let’s clear away some of the junk before we go there. No, it’s not to punish yourself for your sins. No, it’s not some way to show God how sorry you are. No, it’s not some way to show God (or any other people who happen to notice) how sincere you are. No, it’s not a way to impress God or earn anything from Him. And no, it’s not to lose weight!

Why then? We Christians might fast during Lent to learn to discipline the desires that so often rule over us. It is not unlike going to the gym and lifting weights–the more you exercise the muscle the stronger it gets. The flip side of this is when you go and do something that you don’t normally do and use muscles that you don’t normally use you often find it very difficult and that the next day you are really sore! When you exercise your will over your desires you learn to exercise self-discipline. So, fasting during Lent is one way to exercise the “discipline muscle” over your desires.

What does fasting look like? How do you fast? There are different ways this is done among Christians and there is no “right” way. Some people will talk about “giving something up for Lent.” This is one form of fasting. You are “fasting” from that “thing you gave up.” It takes willpower to deny yourself whatever you have “given up for Lent.” Some common examples of this is a certain food or drink that you like or watching TV. Recently it has become common for people to fast from social media during Lent.

Another form of fasting is the reduction of food at meals. Fasting is not starving, nor should it be as that is unhealthy! However, one form of fasting is to consciously eat less. One tradition is to eat only one full meal a day with two considerably smaller meals. The idea behind this is that not only is it an exercise in self-discipline but it is also an opportunity to turn our hunger and desire from the physical to the spiritual. We fast to turn away from self and toward God. As the hunger created by the fast is directed towards God in prayer, we grow in understanding what Jesus said: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

So, does it matter if you fast? Nope. Not at all. You are free in Christ to eat all you want during Lent. Your relationship to God does not depend upon your fasting. Your salvation has nothing to do with fasting. Your salvation was secured for you by Jesus and His perfect life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. It was given to you as the waters of Holy Baptism were poured over you. Your sins are forgiven as the words of the Holy Absolution are spoken into your ears. Forgiveness, life, and salvation are yours in Christ as it is placed in your mouth in the Holy Supper. Fasting has nothing to do with your salvation. Period. However, some Christians through the centuries have found it helpful in their life of faith. It has been a common practice among Christians since the earliest times. It sets apart the Season of Lent from the rest of the seasons. It also has the effect of connecting our spiritual life to our everyday physical life. It is a practice that has largely been lost among us North American Lutherans. Perhaps this Lenten Season would be a good time to rediscover this practice?

One last piece of trivia for you concerning the Season of Lent: The Sundays are not a part of Lent. All the Sundays are Sundays “in Lent” but not of Lent. Why? Because Sundays are always a feast day! Sundays are always a day when Christians gather around our resurrected and ascended Lord. Sundays are always days when we gather to rejoice and receive the gifts Christ comes to give. It is true that the Sundays in Lent will often reflect the penitential themes of the Season, but make no mistake about it: Sundays are always Feast days! So this means that during the Season of Lent–if you choose–Sundays are days during which your fast does not apply!

A blessed Lenten Season to you–however you choose to observe it–as we contemplate the wondrous love shown to us by our Savior, Jesus.

Rev. Michael Keith serves as pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church and SML Christian Academy in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada. He can be reached at keith@st-matthew.com