Author: Higher Things

Daniel Fickenscher

Consider these two scenarios. First, a pastor walking down the street comes across a five-year-old homeless boy who looks hungry and threadbare. The pastor tells him, “You’re a sinner, but your sins are forgiven! You have been given the gift of eternal life through Christ’s death on the cross.” The pastor then goes on his way.

Second, a 4’11”, redheaded girl from a small town Michigan is trekking through a wave of dark Peruvians in a dusty slum of Lima. It’s the sort of neighborhood where locals warn passersby like her, in a language that she is just barely grasping, to be careful.

Does one of these seem more familiar or recognizable to Lutherans?

While the first scenario sounds pretty “Lutheran” is there anything missing? When there’s a clear proclamation of Law and Gospel, what more could you ask for?

Well, Caitlin Worden, the 4’11” Michigander, could tell you what would make it better. Worden is serving The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in an internship in Lima as part of her deaconess studies at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. Her role is to provide exactly what is missing from the first scenario: mercy. She servers as the director of Castillo Fuerte, the mission’s mercy house.

Castillo Fuerte serves at risk youth in the La Victoria district of Lima. Several of the community’s children return home from school to an empty house as their parents work long hours in a nearby market. With no supervision, they’re left to wander the crime-ridden streets.

Before Worden’s arrival, the mission team recognized La Victoria’s apparent need, so they went to the government to inquire about using a park to host activities. It turned out that the government had paid so little attention to the neighborhood that it didn’t even know the park existed. Since then, a building just a block from the park has been acquired where Worden and the Peruvian staff look after and tutor the kids on weekdays. On Saturdays they host escuelita, a Sunday-School-like program.

While this sounds like a great idea for serving these youth in need, why aren’t the resources that are being used for Castillo Fuerte being put towards a new congregation, a new Word-and-Sacrament ministry, in Peru? Why mess around with an after-school program?

As it turns out, Worden and the staff often have the opportunity to teach Christ to the children through the inclusion of prayers and Bible stories in the program even as they care for the earthly needs of the children and their families. Their mercy work is a reflection of Christans who have been “loved much” loving much.” (Luke 7:40ff).

Rev. Matthew Harrison writes in Theology for Mercy, “Lives that have received mercy (grace!) cannot but be merciful toward the neighbor (love!). Thus the merciful washing of baptism (Rom. 6:1ff) produces merciful living (Rom. 7:4-6). In absolution, the merciful word of the gospel begets merciful speaking and living (Matt. 18:21ff).”

As wonderful as it is that Worden and the staff are serving their neighbors’ earthly needs, she is careful to point out, “If you only are doing mercy work, and you’re not sharing with them the hope that salvation brings, and the hope, the light of the Gospel, then all you’re giving them is a social ministry. It’s only for the here and now, for this life.”

Thanks be to God, the mission team is doing much more than just a social ministry. Rev. Mark Eisold is currently preaching and administering the Sacraments in two congregations, and the upcoming arrival of two new pastors will allow for the start of a Word-and-Sacrament ministry one floor below Castillo Fuerte! Join the team in giving thanks for the soon pairing of works of mercy with Christ’s Word and Sacraments in La Victoria.

While we are grateful for their willingness to serve the Lord far from home, it certainly doesn’t take a passport to act with mercy. Ask your pastor how you can help meet the heavenly and earthly needs of those around you. The same death and resurrection that gives us eternal life also gives us new hearts that desire to serve those in need and to show mercy, whether to those in need on the other side of the world or to the kid across the street.

Daniel Fickenscher is enjoying serving as a Globally Engaged in Outreach missionary with The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. He resides in the Dominican Republic and serves as the communication specialist for the Latin America and Caribbean regions. He keeps Lutherans in the US up to date with what LCMS mission and sister churches are doing throughout Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Spain.

You can learn more about the work being done in the Dominican Republic by watching this video on Castillo Fuerte or checking our their Facebook page.

Rev. Ryan J. Ogrodowicz

The internet has flooded us with easy access to pornography. Just a few clicks of a button lead to innumerable free and legal sites of sexual graphics in which the heart and mind can indulge. And it’s easy to hide. Outward signs marking the alcoholic or drug abuser are absent in the porn addict, making the sin harder to detect. Pornography, then, is an addictive sin met with little resistance.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking pornography isn’t an addiction, or that it doesn’t cause physical damage. Studies show that extensive exposure to pornography arouses the brain in ways resembling an addict’s response to cocaine and heroin combined. This, in turn, creates a greater tolerance that drives the user to look for more graphic images to produce the same sensation. There is a difference, however, between drug and porn addiction in that drug users increase quantity to get the desired effect. Porn addicts, however, need novelty, something new and different that can lead to looking at unspeakable and even illegal images.1

Needless to say, all of this does great damage to singles and married people alike. For spouses, no one wants to be married to someone who constantly lusts after another person. They feel betrayed and violated. Single people fare no better. All the mental changes to neurological pathways result in stimulation over images instead of flesh and blood people. This means addicts have a harder time relating to real people and building meaningful relationships. After all, the brain has been trained to become aroused at pictures, not people.

Still think pornography is harmless?
Christ addresses this when He says “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Highlighting the danger, He adds “if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away… it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5: 27-30). Sexual temptation is so powerful that God says it can drag someone right out of the kingdom and into hell—an outcome worse than self-mutilation.

So what’s the solution?
Blocking software, accountability partners, a computer in a public space—these things can provide some assistance, but apart from Christ such efforts are futile. We must know our enemy. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Note how close the words “temptation” and “evil” are to one another. With every temptation there is real evil at work and we are powerless to stop it. No amount of human will-power and strength can defend against the onslaught of the devil, world and our own sinful nature. Temptation must be met with a power outside of us, the gospel that is the “power of God for salvation” (Romans 1: 16). The power of God’s forgiveness is the remedy for every sick sinner caught up in a transgression. Therefore, if confessing sin and receiving forgiveness is the answer, then hiding sin is a surefire way to exacerbate the problem. The devil loves darkness, but hates the light. The sinful flesh hates the light and flees to the cover of darkness where sin can fester and rot. Keeping sins private may seem like a way of avoiding shame and embarrassment, but it’s just what the devil wants—for you to keep yours sins hidden from yourself, even from God.

The Psalmist speaks about containing sin. “When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long…I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity; I said ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin’” (Psalm 32 4-5). From decaying and groaning to receiving God’s mercy and healing, the Psalmist confesses and receives the grace and absolution God promises.

But the news gets better. Not only does God promise you absolution in Christ, He tells you where you can hear it, and this is vital. Your pastor, a called minister of Christ, is charged to forgive you, the repentant sinner. Your pastor is God’s man working under His authority and divine command to absolve those crushed, burdened, and looking for grace. This means you know exactly where to go when temptation hits. No guesswork and confusion; just go to the pastor and hear what Christ charges him to say: that you are forgiven for the sake of Jesus and that you can depart in peace. There is tremendous comfort in hearing your sins cannot kill you because you are justified and cleansed in Christ, and we mustn’t tire of hearing this message. Take advantage of confession and absolution, in which we are free to bring our sins into His light and receive His peace. Hear the gospel that is the true balm for the wounded conscience—the consolation of knowing the very sins we struggle with have been taken care of by Jesus.

Temptations are sure to come; evil never takes a break. Sexual addiction is powerful, but during the strife you know where you can go and what you will receive. Come into the light. Confess boldly again and again. Receive the gospel of Jesus, who has overcome your sin, temptation and even death. Pornography is easy access to sin. Absolution is easy and free access to forgiveness and everlasting life!

1 See “The New Narcotic” at http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/10/10846/, accessed 2/13/14.

Rev. Ryan J. Ogrodowicz is the pastor of Victory in Christ Lutheran Church located in Newark, Texas. He can be reached at pastor@viccla.org

Rev. George F. Borghardt

When Adam saw Eve, it was on like Donkey Kong! She was the cream in his jelly donut, the icing on his cake, the Yin to his…well, you get the point. She was made from his side. He was “not good” without her.

They were the happy ending to Romeo and Juliet. They were Edward and Bella without the fangs and blood. They were more royal than William and Kate and more perfect than Westley and Buttercup.

And, like any good love story, when Adam saw Eve, the world froze for him. What else was he to do other than to break into song? “Finally! This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh! She shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken from a man.” A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:23-24) Did she giggle like a school girl? How could she not? She completed him. She wouldn’t “be” without him.

She loved him. He loved her. They were holy. They were pure. They were chaste. They were decent. It was friendship and like and love all in that one instant. They happily-ever-after-ed and were married. Then, came the honeymoon and all the “two-becoming-one-flesh-ness.”

Then, there was the Fall. Adam tried to possess Eve. They used one another. They turned their God-given desire for each other into something that would become its own god. They ate what was not given to them to eat. They disobeyed the God who created them and brought them together. Sin came into the world, and with sin came death. They fell and we all fell with them.

Lust is one of the fruits of their fall. It is the twisted, fallen desire to do something with someone who isn’t your Adam or your Eve. It is the thought behind the action, the urge before the doing. It starts innocently enough, with just a second look—an itch that quietly asks to be scratched. What if? Wouldn’t that be nice? A kiss…maybe more. Just a little thing. What’s the harm in letting your mind wander a bit? And before you know it, the daydream goes from PG, to R, to NC-17.

Hearts race, minds contemplate how to make the dreams come true, we get excited, maybe even communicate what we want to the other person. There are no accidents here as we run, scheme, and plan to make what we want a reality. Lust always ends in full blown sin. Always. You can’t have hot coals in your lap, says Solomon, and not get burned (Proverbs 6:27).

That’s lust, not love. Love comes from the God who created Adam and Eve. It is patient and doesn’t go too far. It doesn’t treat others as if they are possessions or just things to be wanted, owned, or consumed. Love is seen in the suffering and death of Jesus.

That’s how Christ loves His bride. She is born out of the water and blood flowing from His pierced side. She’s doesn’t exist to scratch His itches or just to give Him pleasure. No, He serves her. He cares for her. He loves her! He really does. He loves her not only with words but also by giving up His life for her.

She receives from Him, lives from Him, breathes from Him. He gives to her, who she is. His Words wash her. His Words feed her.  His Words change her world. She is who she is because He speaks her, creates her into being.

He is chaste. He refrains from immorality. He is decent. He makes His Bride chaste. He makes her decent. He is holy. She is holy in Him.

For you were bought with the price of the holy life and bitter sufferings of Christ. He has redeemed you, bought you back, from all your sins, from all your lusts, from all your itches, to be his own. You are His. He is yours.

You are chaste in Him. You are decent. You are pure. You are not lust-filled. You wait until marriage to do all the things that aren’t given you until marriage in Christ. You are holy in Him.

One day, He may give you your Adam or Eve. It could be Katniss or Peeta or Gale. He will give you the particular gift that is just right, very good, and just for you. You can wait to do what isn’t given to you to do until then. And if you have failed already, He has given you forgiveness and a new start. You are right now, for Christ’s Cross has made you chaste and decent already in Him.

Rev. George F. Borghardt is the president of Higher Things and serves as the senior pastor at Zion Ev. Lutheran Church in McHenry, Illinois.

Rev. Mark Buetow

“Pastor, I’m gay.” “No, you’re baptized.” “What do you mean? I know I’m baptized but I’m telling you I’m attracted to the same sex.” “Yes, and you’re baptized.” “What does that have to do with being gay?” “Because what defines you is not your sexual orientation or your addictions or anything else like that. What defines you is not your sins. What defines you is what Christ has done for you and given to you. So, you are baptized.”

The trouble with talking about “homosexuality” or any other sexual “orientation” is that when we define people by whom they are attracted to, we’ve already given into the world’s lie that you can be and do whatever you want. The world’s underlying assumption that “anything is okay, provided it doesn’t hurt someone else” is a powerful and compelling argument that is tough to refute. Maybe you’re defined by whom you sleep with. Same sex? That makes you gay. Maybe it’s by what you’re addicted to or recovering from, such as alcohol—so then you’re an alcoholic or recovering alcoholic. We love our labels and it is precisely those labels that allow us to excuse our sins and at the same time demand that people recognize us and give us consideration based on our sins!

St. Paul pulls no punches with the Corinthian Christians. He declares: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The simple fact is, sin harms our neighbor and separates us from God. It draws His wrath and judgment. And it isn’t just this sin or that sin, it’s all of them. No one is excluded from that list. If you lust after the same sex, then this judgment falls upon you. If you lust after the opposite sex, well, same judgment. If you steal, drink too much or are straight but sleep around, you’re under this judgment as well.

But St. Paul is not done there. We completely miss the point if we ignore the next verse: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Here St. Paul takes all those sins and drowns them in the waters of holy baptism. Just as your Old Adam was drowned in holy baptism, a new man came forth in Christ, to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. And there it is: the answer to all of our lusts and others’ sin. It is the truth that our Old Adam pursues his selfish pleasures while the new man is free in Christ from the chains of sin. You are baptized. Therefore what does it all have to do with “homosexuality”?

For those who are gay or struggle with some gender issue. You are baptized! God has not abandoned you. You are not less in His sight because of your struggles against sin. He has beaten sin for you. All of the guilt, doubt and despair you may feel has been answered for on Calvary. The struggle you face to live a “sexually pure and decent life” is the Spirit’s work in you. Your failings to do so are covered by Jesus’ blood and left buried in His tomb. Your victory over these very real and very bitter struggles is the baptism which the sign of the cross remembers, the absolution your pastor speaks, and the Body and Blood of Jesus He gives you.

For parents or friends or family of someone who is gay. You are baptized! Every struggle you have, every tear, every harsh word, every uncertain reaction, every bit of mockery or derision from others—all of that, too, has been nailed to Jesus and His cross. The very real conflict between shame and support, between loathing and love, is bound up with the God who became flesh for you and washed you to make you His child. And that water and Word have washed away every sin you’ve done dealing with all of this, too.

The simple fact is that the Christ loves His Church and gave Himself for her. He has washed her and made her His spotless bride. She was born from His side in water and blood and she is washed and nurtured by that same water and blood. The church is the Bride of Christ, bought with His suffering and death, purified by His Word, and prepared for her Lord for an eternal wedding celebration.

Homosexuality, promiscuity, divorce, adultery, fornication—anything that is against marriage or denies marriage—denies the truth of Jesus and His church. But it is precisely in the truth of what Christ has done for His church that all sins are forgiven. 
All of them. Without exception. None greater or less than another. All of them are covered by Christ’s blood. And every struggle, and every failing, and every transgression, is covered by the promise of your baptism. This is why the whole Christian life, whatever you struggle with, is nothing other than a life in the Divine Service, hearing over and over the promise that Christ does not abandon us in our sins but forgives and gives us life.

The church does not accept the world’s view that “anything goes.” But neither does it seek to judge certain sins more than others. Rather, the church lives by Christ’s gifts. By His forgiveness. By His Word, water, body and blood. There is nothing else by which the Spirit works in us to rescue us from the world’s way of thinking and the darkness of sin. And that is why, when it comes down to it, the question isn’t “Are you gay or straight?” It’s “Are you baptized?” And if you are baptized, you are the Lord’s. Your Old Adam is a dead man and in Christ, you are righteous, innocent, and pure, now and forever.

Author’s note: The reality of genders struggles, often driven by the influence of the permissive world around us, means that much confusion can arise. Readers facing these sorts of issues and struggles are encouraged to speak with their pastor, whom the Lord has given to bring forgiveness and the comfort of Christ to them.

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in DuQuoin, Illinois and serves as the deputy and media services executive for Higher Things. He can be reached at buetowmt@gmail.com.