Category: Articles

Andrew R. Jones

One tradition of many Christian congregations is for the congregation to shake hands with the minister(s) after a worship service. For many, this two to ten-second interaction is about the only one-on-one time they have with their minister during the week. Some take advantage of it by starting a conversation. Others say “Good morning” and move the line along.

One member at my vicarage church has uttered the same line to me for the past 48 weeks: “Thanks for bringing God’s Word to us.” I respond politely with something like, “Thanks for being here to receive it.”

Over the past two weeks, this same church member taken more time to explain his reason for thanking me. You see, he can’t see. Macular degeneration has taken away his ability to read. The written word of God is no longer available to him on his own terms. He needs an intermediary.

Thanks be to God that God’s Word comes in various forms. God’s Word is read and shared orally. In our congregation we have three (sometimes four) readings from the Bible. There is a sermon preached by the pastor (or myself) which proclaims God’s Word to the hearers in the congregation. There is also absolution, the pronouncement of God’s Word of forgiveness to those same hearers in the congregation. And there is the sacramental Word, the Body and Blood of Christ given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.

God Word, in its various forms, is delivered to this man in worship. And despite his inability to see, God’s Word endures. God’s Word does not pass away.

So remember, as you grow in years and eventually your senses begin to fade, that God’s Word is living and active and it can be delivered to you—to your eyes, to your ears, and even to your tongue.

Andrew R. Jones served in ministry for seven years on three continents before attending Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He is a member of Concordia Lutheran Church in South Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Rev. Michael Keith

I was recently asked why I have a crucifix in my office at the church. I told them that we also have a crucifix hanging on the wall near the entrance to our home. They looked at me dumbfounded. “Isn’t that catholic?” they asked.

Nope.

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding that has arisen around the crucifix—that somehow the displaying of a crucifix is reserved for the Roman Catholic Church. This is simply not true. You would have been hard-pressed to have found a Lutheran church before the 20th century that didn’t have a crucifix predominantly displayed in the sanctuary. The crucifix is not Roman Catholic, it is not Lutheran, it is not any particular denomination. It has been, and is, used by Christians of all places and all times. However, the main concern and objection that I have heard expressed about the crucifix is that it is better to display the cross without the body of Jesus because of the resurrection. Sounds reasonable, right?

Nope.

Jesus wasn’t on the cross the first Easter morning. That is certain. But that has nothing to do with His resurrection. Our Lord was taken from the cross and laid in the tomb on Good Friday. The cross was empty on Sunday whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. An empty cross is not a symbol of the resurrection—an empty tomb is!

A cross, whether it be empty or whether it has the body of Jesus on it, always represents our Lord’s suffering and death for the sins and life of the world. Some would argue that a crucifix does a better job of representing that than an empty cross. Some prefer an empty cross. In Christian freedom we need not judge one another on this. But let’s be clear about this: The cross does not represent the resurrection.

To answer the question: “Why do you have a crucifix in your office?” I would say something like this: It is because it reminds me of my Lord’s great love and sacrifice for me, a poor sinner. The crucifix preaches to me the damning Law of God as my sin and judgement and damnation was taken up and suffered by Christ on the cross, for me and in my place. He received what I deserve. The crucifix preaches to me the life-giving Gospel as I see the extent of my Lord’s love for me. If you want to see and know how God is disposed to you, then look to Jesus. He shows you the heart of God—that He is kindly disposed to you, that He is filled with love for you, that He has mercy on you, and that He will go to any and all lengths to rescue you from sin, death, and the devil. Look to the crucifix and you see the heart of God, for you!

Rev. Michael Keith serves as pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church and SML Christian Academy in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.

Rev. Bror Erickson

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:3-8 (ESV)

Paul uses several metaphors to describe the reality and mystery of the church. And yet, there is so much reality to these metaphors that is borders on blasphemous to call them that. He calls the church the Bride of Christ, he likens us to a temple built with living stones, and then he calls us the body of Christ as he does here in Romans 12. It is a recurring theme in Paul’s letters. We are the bride of Christ that has been sanctified and made beautiful in the washing of the water with the word. We are also the body of Christ, all members serving different functions the same way toenails function different than the toe itself, and the toe differently than that of a finger or an arm differently than that of a liver or a kidney. This mirrors the one flesh union a man has with his wife that is so intimate that to hate one’s spouse is to hate one’s own flesh.

This is the reality behind the analogy that Paul provides of us all being members of one body; we all make up different organs and function together for the good of the body. Therefore, we should not look down upon others or become haughty—thinking that we are better than or more necessary to the life of the church than others. We all have our place; we all have our functions. And perhaps it is in the body of Christ they are not quite as fixed as the parts of an actual body. They can change and grow as we change and grow alongside the church. At different times in our lives we all receive different gifts that are needed at different times in the life of the church, and perhaps a toenail becomes a hand or lips, eyes or a nose. And yes, we can live without toenails and even toes, but God created us with both for a reason and we function and live better with both.

It’s easy to do that in the church: to become haughty and look with exasperation upon others who don’t seem to be doing their share. Young pastors become familiar with the 80/20 rule rather quickly in the church. This rule states that 20 percent of the congregation does 80 percent of the work and 80 percent of the congregation does 20 percent. There is debate about actual percentages in the scenario and how true it is, but every pastor soon learns who it is he can ask to do what with the confidence that it will get done. Yet, with over time in the ministry a pastor also sees changeover. A pastor will see families and individuals with sporadic church attendance become the backbone of the congregation as older members hand over cherished responsibilities they can no longer maintain. That is, we see toenails become hands, and hands become toenails. And sometimes the hands become exasperated with the toenails they are constantly serving and wondering what good they are, but the toenails are part of the body of Christ so it is Christ who is served when the toenails of His Bride are painted by His hands.

Yes, a person can live without toenails. Yet, on the day of her wedding a bride is up early for her pedicure. She is concerned to make herself as beautiful as possible for her groom. She bathes herself in scented soaps, and has her friends do her hair just perfectly as others tend to her makeup. And then she pays attention to her feet. Somehow, in some way, her beauty is just not complete until her toenails are painted. She would look weird without them. So, wanting to please her husband, she paints them red to match her fingernails, and there they serve purpose for the body. They make her beautiful.

There is nothing vain about that: a woman wanting to look beautiful. In this world, beauty is a gift from God who created man to enjoy the beauty of His creation. And of course man and woman share the crown of creation in all its beauty. Christ died to restore this beauty—the beauty in the world as well as in man and woman. What we see now is a mere shadow of the beauty that was lost, and but a foreshadow of the beauty to come Jesus comes again and our bodies are transformed in the twinkling of an eye to enjoy the new heavens and the new earth forever. The beauty that remains is foretaste of the feast to come with consummation of the wedding feast in heaven.

So yes, the toenails don’t look like much. For the most part they just sit there. At times they can look as ugly as the calloused and blistered hands that serve them. Still, they are the body of Christ, members of His church who need to hear the Gospel. It doesn’t do to look down upon them or be haughty with them. These toenails belong to the Bride of Christ, and when they are painted red with His blood they make her sanctified body shine with beauty. He would have her no other way.

Rev. Bror Erickson is pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Farmington, New Mexico.

Lucas Miller

“Oh this house is too dark,” says the old woman. “How will I find anything in this mess? she says. “I can’t believe it’s gone. It was just here yesterday. Surely it’s here somewhere, I just need some light!” She exclaims. You see, this old woman has lost a very large chunk of money. Some would say a significant portion of her livelihood has suddenly gone missing. If she doesn’t find it, things could go very wrong for her very quickly. Jesus says this, “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?” Again this old woman has lost something very near and dear to her, in fact her whole life rests upon finding this single coin. So what does she do?

She lights a lamp and starts cleaning her house from top to bottom. The woman sweeps every nook and cranny she has in her home. She gets down on her hands and knees and searches through the dust, dirt, and crumbs on the floor. And then, out of the corner of her eye, she sees something twinkle on the floor across the room. She’s fearful. After all, she doesn’t want to get too excited, in the event it might be something else. So she reluctantly stands, walks dreadfully slowly across the room, she stoops down, scoops up handful of dirt, sifts through it, and much to her pleasant surprise, it is her coin!

Granted this coin is covered in dirt—the coin has lost its luster and shine but it’s still her treasure. Here we get to see her experience great joy! When she finds the coin, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost!” The old woman rejoices; the old woman celebrates. The old woman has found her coin.

What’s the big deal? It’s only a coin. Can’t she just get a job or borrow another from someone? Perhaps, but that’s not the point. Jesus explains, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” This parable is about a coin, but you see but you are the coin!

You believe that you have been freshly minted. You believe you have been crafted from the finest silver and nickel. You believe that you have been shined to a luminous bright silver finish, but your sin has quickly taken away your luster you have begun to tarnish. Dirt, dust, and grime begin to fill in the lines that once defined your worth. Soon your color fades and you become black and green from the filth that now covers you. To make matters worse, you have fallen off the table onto the dirt floor where dust and food crumbs cover you. Truthfully this is where you deserve to stay. You deserve to remain buried under layers of dirt because of your sins. Yet once again you have a faithful caretaker. You have a faithful old woman who searches high and low. You have a Savior who gladly shines forth His great light of truth and gets down on His hands and knees to search over the floor to find you. You have a Savior who rejoices when He finds you. You have a Savior who washes you clean. You have a Savior who picks away all the dirt and polishes you to His glory.

Remember that this parable was never about a coin. It was all about you and the Savior who sought you. Christ searches for you when you are lost in sin. Jesus searches for you when you covered in despair. Jesus frees you and washes you clean. He is your good caretaker. You are His treasure that He desperately seeks. And when He finds you through repentance and faith the whole company of heaven rejoices because what was lost has been found. The lost have rejoined the treasure chest.

But you ask, “How does He find me?” He, comes to you through the Word of God—both the Law and Gospel which lead you to faith. In faith you’re able to repent and receive the Holy Spirit and absolution from the Father who frees you. The Father washes you in Baptism, where you are baptized into Christ and the Holy Spirit, who cleans you from all the dirt of sin you inherited and collected along the way. And finally you are found, forgiven, and refreshed by the Body and Blood of Christ who is your lamb who takes away the sins of the world and greatest treasure that blood could buy. Here you are able to rejoice. Here you are able to experience unceasing joy. Here you receive life. Here you receive freedom. Here you receive Christ. Amen.

Lucas Miller is soon to be ordained and installed as pastor at St John’s Lutheran Church in Pierce, NE.

Rev. Brady Finnern

I’m scared. I go to bed each night worried about my children’s faith in Christ and their future involvement in His church. My prayer is that my children will confirm their faith in Christ, continue to attend worship throughout their young adult years, find a Christian spouse, find a Christ-centered church at which to worship, and raise their family in a Christian home. Yet statistics proclaim to me that most, if not all, of my children will probably be apathetic and/or deny the church and His gifts.

I cannot control my children or any young person, but it does not mean I cannot proclaim the truth. In much the same way parents leave a last will and testament, I leave these things to my children so that they know the truth of the church we leave to them:

1. The church is about Christ and His gifts. The Church is there to give you Christ through the Word, forgiveness, and His Sacraments. These things take a sinner like yourself (I Timothy 1:15) and He saves You (I Peter 3:21), He renews you (Titus 3:5), and He gives full forgiveness (John 20:23). Many people will describe their churches by their potlucks, friendliness, youth programs, and service projects. Although all of these things happen in the life of the church, we must never lose sight of the gifts that Jesus freely gives.
2. The church is full of hypocrites and that includes you. Often people will make it sound like the church is a place where “good” people go. However, the reality is completely the opposite. The church is there for sinners and a place where “bad” people go. Every day I say one thing and do another, my thoughts are soiled with impurity, and I fail as a pastor, husband, father, son, and neighbor. I am a hypocrite, the people next to you in the pews are hypocrites, and you are included in that exclusive group. Let’s seek the grace of Christ together as we need it.
3. The church will disappoint you. We lie to ourselves when we think that when a bunch of sinners will get together and there won’t be sin and disappointment. There will be times where things happen that aren’t good. People will not act “Christianly,” There will be lying, gossip, infidelity, backstabbing, selfishness, and plain old mean behavior in the church. I wish I could say that you won’t be disappointed, but that points us once again to our need for the unending grace and pure Gospel of Christ.
4. The church’s pastors are sinners, too. Be patient and encouraging with yours (as our church is patient and encouraging with me). Each week our congregation is incredibly patient with my flaws and issues as I preach the Word and serve them. They not only put up with me, but they also encourage me. In the same way, I ask for you to do the same with your future pastor. Pray for him, encourage him with your words, maybe write an encouraging letter, or perhaps even buy him lunch. He has been called to serve you and needs encouragement.
5. Christ has died for you and His gifts are ready for you, even if you don’t want them. When Jesus says He died for the world (John 3:16) and forgives the sins of the world (John 1:29), He means it. The church is the place where the gifts are given. All of this is free and for you. Thanks be to God for His grace.

I’m scared for the future, but the future is not in my hands, but the hands of our Savior. Lord have mercy.

Rev. Brady Finnern is the pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota. He is married, father of four, and is a high school shotput and discus coach.

Rev. Michael Keith

I recently had the opportunity to hang out with a blues musician the day before he performed a concert. The blues artist I was able to spend some time with is a master of words and is very poetic in his speech. During our conversation he said something that really resonated with me. He talked about “this beautiful, heartbreaking world.”

There are so many wonderful things that we receive as gifts from God: our very life itself, our family, and friends; food and drink and the enjoyment it brings; the beauty of Creation; the amazing technological gadgets and gizmos around us. This world is full of beauty and wonder and at times can be awe-inspiring.

Yet, there is the other side of things: the pain and suffering we see in this world; the harsh words and mean spirited actions we often experience and perpetrate; broken relationships, broken bodies and broken lives; even death. The world is full of sorrow and sadness and at times lead us to despair.

There are those who only want to focus on the positive. They shut their eyes to anything that might be ugly or sad or broken. They will encourage you to only focus on the good things of life, to make sure all your thoughts are positive thoughts, or to hide yourself away from the darker realities. But that’s not real. You know it and I know it.

As Christians we can fully embrace both the beautiful and the heartbreaking. As Christians we can be real. We can give thanks and praise to God for the beautiful and receive it as gift. We can turn to God in our heartbreak and seek His love and forgiveness. We understand that God is not only with us in the beautiful, He is also with us in the brokenness. And that changes everything. No, it doesn’t answer all the questions we may have, but it assures us even in the midst of them.

As we live our lives in this beautiful, heartbreaking world it has been revealed to us the beautiful heart of God the Father as He sent His Son to be broken for us on the cross. As Jesus took upon Himself all the brokenness of this world He made you beautiful before the Father. He sent the Holy Spirit so that you would be called and gathered into the Church and receive this all as gift. At the font, in the Word, at the Altar, the gifts are given to you so that you might journey through this beautiful, heartbreaking world in faith and trust—knowing of God’s love and mercy for you in Jesus.

Yes, we do live in a beautiful, heartbreaking world. It’s great. It’s also really hard. It’s up and it’s down. Sometimes we’re not sure what it is or which way we are going. However, we know through it all our Lord is with us. He will strengthen us and guide us through His Word and Sacraments in the church so that we can recognize Him as the true source of all beauty and be assured that we are not alone in the heartbreak. We can be real and face life as it is because we know that He is Emmanuel—God with us—in this beautiful, heartbreaking world.

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.