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Life Issues

Your Daily Plan for the New Year

Rev. Mark Buetow

Sure, we’re a week into 2013. By now, most people are probably already failing at keeping their New Year’s resolutions. The problem with such resolutions, is that they try to accomplish something with the Law. Sure, it may not be in the Ten Commandments that you should exercise more or give up sugary drinks, but the same idea applies. If you try to change your life by telling yourself you have to change your life, chances are you won’t last long on the improvement circuit. This is because the Old Adam, our sinful flesh, loves to ignore what it’s told to do. He loves to be contrary and do the opposite of what he is told to do. The same thing is even more true when it comes to God’s law. The Old Adam doesn’t deal well with that. Love God? Love neighbor? No way!

So for this new year, I’m going to give you a different plan. One that doesn’t involve you doing anything but does involve putting that Old Adam to death. That plan is your baptism. Remember what the Catechism says about it. “What does such baptizing with water indicate? it indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”

But watch out! You’ll be tempted to think that this is some kind of instruction for you. You know, figure out a way to overcome your sin and live for Jesus or something like that. But that’s not it at all! These words are not a description of you doing something but of what Christ does for you in and through your baptism into Him. This is Jesus’ work in you!

How does it happen? Repentance is only something that the Holy Spirit can work in you. He does this by the Word. So, where the Word is, there the Holy Spirit is working repentance in you. From the absolution you are given every Divine Service, from the preaching of Christ crucified and risen for you, from the very body and blood of Jesus by which He forgives you and lives in you, the Spirit is at work putting that nasty Old Adam to death and raising up that New Man in you.

Try this. When you get up in the morning, make the sign of the holy cross and say, “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” With those words of Jesus, the Old Adam gets his morning dunking, drowning him so that he will leave you alone. Of course he will come dragging himself back like the zombie he is to try to grab your throat and lead you into all kinds of mischief and sin. He might even get you to fall into sin. So, when you go to bed every night, make the sign of the holy cross and say, “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That dunks that Old Adam once again. And, since you’ve got Jesus living in you through His Word and body and blood, whatever wrong you do each day is wiped out and forgiven. Whatever else you do is holy and precious in the Father’s sight since it is His Son Jesus living in you and doing it through you.

So, no worries this new year. The Old Adam will indeed be up to his same old tricks as always. And the answer to him is the same: Jesus crucified and risen for you, drowning the Old Adam and giving you new life, forgiving your sins every day and filling you with joy at the hope of the life to come. All that He does shall rescue you from the slavery of being bound by the Law, rescue you from trying to change or improve yourself or fix your own sin. No, Jesus has done that. His Spirit is working in you so that you will be free of that burden and live trusting only in Jesus to accomplish and do all these things. So there’s your plan for 2013: same as 2012. No longer you living but Christ living in you. And that means even when the new year is just the same old year again, you’re still new every day in Jesus.

Categories
Higher Homilies

“Depart in Peace:” Simeon and the Days after Christmas

Rev. Mark Buetow

Luke 2:22-40

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

You should know that when your pastor tells you to “Depart in peace” at the communion rail, he’s not telling you that you can get up and go back to your pew. He’s telling you that it’s OK to die. Depart in peace. That’s what the Lord promised Simeon and once he had seen and held baby Jesus, he could die in peace. Simeon looked forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises and he saw those promises fulfilled when the Christ child was in his arms. After that, Simeon could die in peace. The Old Adam doesn’t want to die. The world goes kicking and screaming into death. Admit it, you hate the thought of death, of another person, of your own. Our ears are flooded by ridiculous sayings that try to explain death away: “God wanted another angel.” “It was her time.” “Death is just a part of life.” That’s all baloney. Death is the sting of sin and the Law, plain and simple. But Simeon teaches us that once you have Christ, death is nothing. In fact, having received Christ, death is something we go to in peace, in Christ.

Simeon tells Mary that a sword will pierce her own soul. This little baby is going to die. Horribly. Painfully. Suffering. Hated. Mocked. Bloody. Nailed to a cross. What mother would want to see that happen to her son? No mother should have to bury her own son but this is a death that is no accident or disease. This is the hatred of sinners putting her son to death. It is her own sins and the sin of the whole world. Your sins. But what Simeon knows, what Simeon confesses and sings, is that this is salvation. “My eyes have seen your salvation.” This baby in Simeon’s arms is not just some tragedy going to happen years later. He is the One whose death saves sinners. His is the death and resurrection by which our death is transformed. His is the death and resurrection from the dead which take the sting out of death. It is the victory over sin and death that enables Simeon to sing, “Lord, let your servant depart in peace.”

Now you haven’t held baby Jesus in your arms like Simeon but you have Christ come to you in these ways: in the water and Word of the holy font; in the absolution and preaching of your pastor; in the Word given in the Scriptures; in His own body and blood given in His Supper. Here in these gifts, Christ saves you. Forgives you. Prepares you for death and gives you the gift of everlasting life. I don’t know what is going to happen to you when you walk out that door. I hope and pray that each of you live a long and happy life and fall asleep peacefully in Jesus at a good old age. But we all know that anything can happen. And whether it’s an accident or disease, or something else, death is there. So before you get up and walk out that door, I shall tell you these words after the Sacrament: “Depart in peace.” And we shall sing them with Simeon, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.” And when I say those words and when we sing them together, we are confessing, in the face of death, that death has no power over us. It is merely a passing to the everlasting life Christ has in store for us and the resurrection of our bodies He has promised us on the Last Day. This Child was born so that sin and death would be thrown down. Now that He has come and done His work of dying and rising, and now that He has come to you and done His work of washing and feeding and forgiving, death has no power over you. Ever. Therefore, like Simeon, and all of Christ’s lambs before you, you can depart in peace. And I don’t mean get up and go. I mean you can die. In peace. In Christ. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Categories
Catechesis

Merry after Christmas?

Jonathan Kohlmeier

The music stops. The lights fade. The trees come down. Unwanted gifts get returned.

That’s what happens now that Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning have passed. That’s what happens everywhere but the church. The church continues on in its lonely celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord.

While the Christmas themed candy and decorations go on sale in stores, the church is just beginning its twelve day feast in celebration of the Nativity! Not with pear tree dwelling partridges, golden rings, leaping lords, or piping pipers but with the Word made Flesh, the body and blood of Christ given for the forgiveness of sins. The church joins with the angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven in celebrating the coming of Emmanuel in the flesh.

The world looks on and laughs, “Don’t they know Christmas is over?” “How can they celebrate Christmas without gifts?” “Feast of the Nativity? Doesn’t look like much of a feast to me.”

The world gets it wrong. It fails to see that Christmas is the celebration of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. That Word made Flesh still dwells among us in His gifts! No, the gifts don’t sit nicely waiting under a tree to be opened. The gifts that were won on the Good Friday Tree are delivered directly to you, freely! The old Adam is daily drowned in your baptism. The words of absolution are delivered directly into your ear. The Christmas feast of the body and blood of Christ are placed into your mouth.

But the church’s Christmas celebration doesn’t stop after this twelve day feast either! In the Nicene Creed, we continue confessing that Jesus Christ “for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” At the beginning of the Divine Service, we join in the Christmas song of the angels, “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” The Word is delivered into our ears in absolution and in the lectionary readings. Your mouth becomes a manger, the place where Christ is, as His body and blood under the bread and wine are placed into your mouth.

That’s the church year! All the seasons run together. We continue praying the Advent prayer of “Come, Lord Jesus.” Those prayers are answered when He comes and is revealed in His gifts. He has mercy upon His people, in the forgiveness of sins won for us on the cross. His gifts enliven us to serve our neighbor.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas throughout this twelve day feast! Merry Christmas whenever you sing the Gloria in Excelsis and say the Creed! Merry Christmas as the Word made Flesh is placed into your mouth at the communion rail! Merry Christmas as you receive the Lord’s Gifts, all year round!

Jonathan Kohlmeier is a member of Mount Zion Lutheran Church in Greenfield, WI and the IT Assistant for Higher Things. His favorite Christmas hymn is the From Above conference hymn, Of the Father’s Love Begotten.

Categories
Current Events

The Slaughter of the Holy Innocents

“Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” (St. Matthew 2:16-18)

“Why? Why children?” “Why did God let this happen?” “What is wrong with people?” Those are the questions that the mothers in Bethlehem might have asked when the soldiers of King Herod killed their children. Those are questions we’ll hear in Connecticut now after the death of 27 people, including 18 children at a shooting that took place at an elementary school. An elementary school! Little kids! Children! How? Why? What do you even say?

The crazy thing about the death of the children of Bethlehem is that Jesus got away. He got away so that He could grow up and be the Savior of those children, the Savior of the children in Connecticut that just died and the Savior of everyone. Even the Savior of the man who did this. Because, after all, it’s a person who did this. Evil. Sin. These are the things that cause people to do horrible things. Let’s remember that. God didn’t do this. Sin did this. We’ll weep for the children and their families. We should weep for the shooter and whatever it was that led him to do it: anger, rage, maybe mental illness. It doesn’t really matter. We weep because we see what the fallen world is really like.

What matters is, what could God possibly have to say to parents who are cradling their dead children in their arms and the first responders who have to clean up the mess, and the parents and children who will never be the same for having been through this? What could God possibly have to say to the mothers of Bethlehem who were weeping in fulfillment of a prophecy? Here we are with nothing to say. A loss for words. Shaking our heads. What does God have to say to us?

These words of Jesus come to mind “In this world you will have tribulation. Take heart. I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). Jesus doesn’t save us by fixing this world. He saves us out of it for eternal life. We stare stunned at the story that children have died and right before we celebrate the birth of the Son of God, as a child! And then we begin to see what God has done. God came as a child. To be born. To grow up. To suffer and die. Forsaken by the Father. Nailed to the cross. Hanging there bleeding and dying because of what we’ve done. What sin has done. What it has made us. And by the blood and water that flows from His side, into the font, He makes us His children. To die with Him. To rise with Him. To have such a promise that there is nothing in this world that can happen to us that can take that away. Jesus has overcome school shootings and the horrors inflicted upon children and others. He has overcome such things not in the way we would like, by simply punishing them and keeping us safe. He has overcome the world by actually taking on sin and destroying its power forever. And there’s more. He rose. His resurrection is the promise and guarantee that death never, ever gets the last word.

When some terrible disasters happened in His day, Jesus said, “do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:4-5). These words remind us that when we see tragedies like this, there is no blaming and finger-pointing and name-calling and wondering. There is only repentance. Repentance is recognizing that it can only be Christ who delivers us from such evil because left to ourselves, this is all we’ve got. But in Him, we are saved from all these things.

Things have changed forever for the people who have been a part of this horror today. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is that promise which will be the truest comfort for those who suffer such things. The Lord grant them His mercy and the healing that Christ alone can bring to them through their bitter tears.

“They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:16-17).

Categories
Catechesis

Christmas Light in the Darkness

Rev. Mark Buetow

One of my favorite things this time of year is the lights. Christmas lights. Maybe it’s because it gets dark so early now here in the Northern Hemisphere. Maybe it’s because I don’t generally like things dark. But I do enjoy sitting with no lights on in the house but the Christmas tree and trim lights. I like driving down Main Street in our little town, seeing the light poles adorned with twinkling lights. I eagerly anticipate the candlelight singing of “Silent Night” in the church lit only by candles and Christmas tree lights. Perhaps I like the lights so much because they are a reminder of Jesus, the Light of the world.

The prophet Isaiah says that “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” (Is. 9:2). When the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, St. John writes that He is the “True Light coming into the world. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.” (John 1:5). Later, Jesus says of Himself, “I AM the Light of the World.” (John 8:12). Jesus. Light. Dispelling darkness. Making things bright. Brighter than Christmas tree lights. Brighter than Rudolph’s nose. A Light so bright it destroys the shadows and darkness even of sin, of despair and of death.

We live in a dark world. It’s dark with sin. People do whatever they want. The selfishness of sinners knows no upper limit. The cruelty and hatred we exhibit can always sink lower. We live in a world dark with sadness. Suffering. Sickness. The inevitable rush toward death. We live in a world dark with despair. Some people are so hurting that they see nothing but darkness all around them. A darkness they so much want to fall into and maybe, seeing no hope, will try to plunge themselves into. We live in a world glaring with the harsh lights of a holiday that few understand. Outwardly, the world cranks up the wattage until it can match the Griswold’s house from “Christmas Vacation” while inwardly it is dying of sadness and gloom with bah-humbuggery and disgust at the whole thing.

Into that darkness, angels appear over Bethlehem. Into that darkness, the Word-made-flesh shows His face from a manger. Into that darkness, the Father places a star to guide magi. Into that darkness Jesus walks, head on. To the darkness of Good Friday. To the darkness of a newly cut tomb. Into darkness. To light it up like Christmas lights and candles. To shine the light of Himself to send death and sin scurrying, retreating, fading, wiping out shadows, darkness gone.

Into your darkness too. Whatever that darkness may be. Despair. Doubts. Unbelief. Sins inside yourself. Sin around you. Families falling apart. Death stealing your friends. Hurt and sorrow around you. The great emptiness of the world’s Christmas. Into all of it, the Light of Christ shines for you. It’s light in your Baptism, brightening by the absolution and shining forth in the Supper where the flesh and blood of the Light of the World almost glow and radiate forgiveness. Peace. Light. No shadows there. No darkness. Can’t be. Those are the gifts of the Light of the World. Jesus is the Light of the World. His gifts bring Light to rescue you from every darkness there is.

That’s why I like Christmas lights. They remind me of Jesus. And whether they give you a sense of wonder and peace or not, whether the whole Christmas extravaganza is something you relish or could do without, know this: Wherever there is darkness, the Light of Christ shines. Nothing can put it out. For He shines to bring His Light to you that you may be forever comforted and never afraid of the dark.

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, IL. He is also the Media Executive for Higher Things. Which means he writes a lot, edits a lot, tells Stan and Jon what to do a lot, and puts out a video short each week.

Categories
Life Issues

Dare to Be Lutheran: Challenge Accepted

Registration is open for the 2013 FROM ABOVE Conferences. In this week’s spotlight article Caitlyn Baker tells us about her first conference this past summer at TWELVE, in Irvine, CA.

by Caitlyn Baker

The day my mother told me she wanted to take my brother and me to Irvine for the Higher Things Twelve conference, my heart began its journey from my ribcage to my throat. Conference? That meant people—lots of them! Group work? Ugh, don’t even bring it up! And my worst fear was that I would be bored out of my mind! Placing a socially intimidated girl like me in the midst of a gathering like that spelled trouble. Gently, my mother reassured me that I would be on a college campus and that it would give me a taste of what my upcoming freshman year would be like. Plus, this was our last family vacation before I started college. How could I refuse?

Finally, the day came when we started our voyage from the valley of the sun and I braced myself for my challenge that was to come.

We checked in smoothly. Mom introduced us to her co-workers and friends, and we began to get settled into our dorm rooms. I had a day to relax before the mass of teenagers arrived to check in. Cleaning up my space, I prepared a homey environment for whatever roommate I would have, for I wanted her to be extremely comfortable. Sadly, I found out that no roommate was assigned to me. However, my silence was interrupted by a buzz at my door, and that was when I welcomed in my suite mates—more like sweet mates—who went out of their way to introduce themselves to me.

And with that, we all headed to the first item on the schedule: Divine Service. One of the best elements of Higher Things Twelve was definitely the worship. For the first time, I experienced pure enthusiasm without the aid of a rock band, which is what many of my non-Lutheran peers experience. Because we sang so loudly at each worship time, it was quite the adjustment returning to our more reserved group at my home church. Singing my favorite hymns beside fellow Lutherans was rather powerful, often bringing tears to my eyes.

Okay, so at this point, I had to admit that my time at Twelve was going well. I relished the freedom of attending the breakaway sessions. After services and lessons on theology, my nights were filled with mini-adventures, consisting of a trip to a beach beneath the moonless sky, running for my life amidst a water-balloon battle, giggling over chalk-drawn troll faces, creating memes in class with Matt, and even winning second place in a karaoke contest.

My best memory was made the day before the conference ended. When the light rain stopped, I decided to take a walk through the campus. In my hand was a snail (yes, the snail is important) and he kept me company in the dark. Suddenly, my foot slipped on a puddle and I flew forward, losing my grip on the snail, and launched it into the air. A group of three behind me quickly expressed their concern for me, yet I was more worried about my snail (he was okay). Christina, the youngest of the group, remarked about Jacob’s “wishful abomination” of snails. Liz, the leader, laughed with her, and Jacob, the middle, was quite indignant. This group of three had no planned destination, and since I did not either, they let me join them. As we passed the Dippin’ Dots machine, I remarked I had yet to try them, which elicited a response from my newfound friends, “YOU’VE NEVER HAD DIPPIN’ DOTS?!” Thus, my new friends bought me ice cream. The night concluded with a game of Taboo hours past curfew (my apologies, Higher Things staff). During breakfast and lunch the next day, I felt included as if I had been part of their group for ages. Honestly, I have never felt so welcomed by just a few people in such a short period of time.

So the reality is my first Higher Things conference was not the culture shock I expected. Never ever was I awkwardly standing in a corner with nothing to do, I wasn’t bored, and I felt comfortable interacting with kids my age. In fact, I was constantly on my toes, I discovered more about my Lord and Savior, delved deep within the community of Christ, and burrowed myself within a niche of fellow Lutherans. “Twelve” was a very preferable way to get a taste of college life. As I start my college career, I am seriously considering the temporary vocation of CCV (College Conference Volunteer) for a conference next summer. Higher Things has given 
me the opportunity to 
“Dare To Be Lutheran.”

Caitlyn Baker is embarking on her freshman year at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. She is a member of Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Chandler. Feel free to drop her a line at halfbloodwalrus@yahoo.com.

Categories
Current Events

Turkey, Stuffing and a Great Big “Amen, Gift Received!”

Rev. Mark Buetow

What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. (Psalms 116:12, 13 NKJV)

What do you get for the guy who has everything? How do you thank the God who made everything that exists? The God who made you? How do thank the Lord who can call all things into existence out of nothing with just a Word? How do you show gratitude to the God who becomes man to be nailed to a cross and died and then rise again so that you will rise from the dead and live forever? No matter how good your manners are, tossing out a “Thank you very much, Lord!” doesn’t really seem to cover all that Jesus has done for us. Besides, is the Lord really so vain that He needs to be told how awesome He is? How grateful we are? There are people like that — people who think that if you don’t fawn over them for what they’ve done then you aren’t grateful. We do that ourselves. “I don’t do it to be recognized but a little thanks would be nice.” You’ve just proven the point!

So what is true thankfulness to God? How do we express our gratitude? How do you say “Thank You” to Jesus? Psalm 116 helps us out here. We sing it in the first and second settings of the Divine Service: “What shall I render to The Lord?” How can we thank Him? How do we repay Him? We don’t. Rather, we receive more from Him! When Jesus gives you the forgiveness of sins, the only way to truly thank Him for such a gift is to receive more forgiveness! Live more in your Baptism! Receive again and again His body and blood, the cup of salvation. Hear again that He was crucified for you, died for you, rose for you and forgives you. To put it another way: We don’t thank Jesus by returning something to Him, be it our “thankful hearts” or something else, but rather by receiving more of what Jesus has to give. To live in and enjoy the gifts of Jesus is the only way to thank Him. To live as a sinner who can’t get too much forgiveness but knows He has always more, is to render true thankfulness to God.

Now we certainly do say “Thank you, Lord,” in our hymns and prayers. Such words are a confession that everything we have is a gift from our Heavenly Father given to us through His Son. It is because of Jesus that the Father lovingly bestows on us “food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rules, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.” We ought not forget that even what we earn in this life or receive as a gift is ultimately from the gracious hand of our heavenly Father.

Some people will try to guilt you into being thankful. Prepare for the barrage of Facebook photos of people waiting in line for iPhones while folks in Africa wear soda bottles as shoes; or reminders that on Thanksgiving we are thankful for all we have and then spend the next day waiting in line to get more; or reminders that if you’re enjoying yourself, there’s always someone who is miserable during the holidays. Or maybe we’re the miserable ones who so easily forget all of God’s gifts to us in Christ. It’s the sort of thing that drops a guilt-bomb that makes us feel bad for enjoying what we have. Then we feel bad we feel guilty when we know we should know better. How’s THAT for thankfulness? The world goes crazy trying to manipulate our emotions from happiness to sadness to guilt to excitement to apathy.

Away with all that! Christ has died for you! Washed you. Feeds you. The Father cares for you. No matter what things you have received, good or bad, nothing can take away your being a child of God. And that means Jesus has died to take away even our sins of gluttony, greed and false guilt. Therefore there’s just no sense in getting worked up over how much gratitude you should have or how you should show your gratitude to God. Instead, live by receiving more Jesus. More forgiveness. More life in the freedom to enjoy all that God has given to you, sharing with your neighbor as you are able, and above all, taking that cup of salvation, the cup of Christ, and calling upon the Name of the Lord, the Name into which you’re baptized. It’s nice to say “Thank you” to Jesus but an even better word that confesses His goodness is the “Amen!” The “gift received, for me, yes, yes, it is so” word that receives what the Lord has for you.

On Thanksgiving Day, enjoy your turkey and dressing or whatever food you celebrate with, watch some football if that’s your thing, go get some bargains for your Christmas shopping, help serve dinner to the poor, invite someone over who has nowhere else to go. Do any of those things but do them all in the glad confidence that what most puts a smile on your Lord’s face is that He can give to you unending blessings of forgiveness, life and salvation. Happy Thanksgiving!

Categories
Catechesis

Baseball and Prayer

By Rev. Michael J. Schmidt

It was July 1994, the Major League Baseball All Star game had ended, and I was getting ready to go to bed. I put on my PJ’s, brushed my teeth, and then I prayed. Now I had prayed before, during church and before meals, but this was serious: A player’s strike was imminent, and the baseball season was in danger. After years of watching the Yankees lose, they were finally having a playoff season (the first in my lifetime), and now a strike was threatening everything.

From June through August 1994, I was on my knees every single night, praying like crazy, offering God anything and everything if He would just do the seemingly impossible and bring the players and the owners together and save the baseball season. But it was not meant to be. On August 12th, the players went on strike. Then in mid-September the commissioner announced that there would be no World Series that year. I was crushed. Football meant nothing to me, and I had not really gotten into basketball. Baseball was everything and now it was gone. And if you think that maybe that’s a bit too idolatrous, well, read on and see how the Lord works even our selfish prayers for good!

As I think back, I can grin about it and realize how, amidst all the other problems of the world, I was praying for baseball. However, it did teach me some things.

First, it taught me that whenever we pray, we are placing all of our trust and hope in God—that He can bring about a desired outcome. In 1994, President Clinton invited the players and owners to the White House to try to find a resolution, only to find that there was nothing he could do to bring the sides to a compromise. There was literally no human way to find a resolution. This, of course, led me to place all of my hope in God, that He might solve the problem.

Second, it taught me how to pray. At first my prayers were basically, “Dear God, please help the players and owners so they do not go on strike. Amen.” As the summer wore on the prayers grew, not only in length and detail, but also in structure and form. Believe it or not, the prayers began to follow the five parts of the traditional collect form: address; thanksgiving, request, desired result, and closing.

Third, it got me in the habit of praying. During those months of praying for baseball, I also began to pray for other things: weather, safe travels, the sick and world events. It eventually got to the point where I did not really stop praying before bed even after the strike and canceling of the World Series; how could I when all these other things needed to be prayed for?

Fourth, and probably most importantly, praying also led me to accept God’s answers. There was a strike in 1994 and it did cancel the rest of the season and the World Series; not to mention the beginning of the 1995 season. But that is how God works when answering prayer: Sometimes God answers, “Yes” and sometimes, “No” and then there are those times when He just says, “Wait.” I was crushed when the players went on strike, but by then I knew that it must have been what God wanted.

God seemed to have had something bigger in mind through all of this. He used a baseball strike to get me into the habit of praying. I pray daily to this very day: in the morning, at meals, in church, and before bed, or simply whenever the opportunity arises. It’s a great reminder that the same Lord who has commanded us to pray and promised to hear us didn’t hold my selfish desire against me, but in His mercy and grace taught me to trust in Him even more for ALL things.

Rev. Michael Schmidt serves at Peace Lutheran Church in Natoma, Kansas and blogs at http://revschmidt.wordpress.com and can be emailed at revschmidt@yahoo.com

Categories
Catechesis

Feasting with the Saints

Jonathan Kohlmeier

The Feast of All Saints is celebrated on November 1st. Many churches celebrate it on the following Sunday.

*TOLL*

…

*TOLL*

…

*TOLL*

…

…goes the bell. In between each, a name. A name of one who has fallen asleep. A name of one who has died. A name of a saint.

Names of grandparents, parents, family, friends. Names of congregation members, those murdered, and those never born. Even if the name isn’t audibly heard, we hear it in our hearts and minds. We hear the name of a loved one lost.

This Sunday we celebrated All Saints’ Day. Part of that service was the reading of the faithful who had fallen asleep this past year with ties to our congregation. Among those names read was the name of my grandfather, Rev. William Kohlmeier. Other names were not heard audibly, but were in my thoughts. A former classmate, parents and grandparents of friends, my third grade teacher, and friend’s children who died in the womb. As we go further back the list grows and grows.

Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, the conference hymn for TWELVE, was the first hymn sung at the All Saints’ Divine Service. It immediately reminded me of when I received news that my grandfather had died. At the time I was in St. Catherines at the final conference of the season. That night, I helped Pr. Buetow lead a group in Compline. The reading was this from 1 Corinthians 15:

“51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Death is swallowed up in victory! Where is your sting, death? Where is your victory? My grandfather died on the anniversary of his Holy Baptism, in which he received the sign of the Holy Cross marking him as one redeemed by Christ the Crucified. He received the victory won by Him.

Yet, we weep when faced with the death of those around us or our own death. And rightly so, I think. Death isn’t natural. We weren’t created to die. That’s probably why I hate death so much. It gives the impression that God isn’t on the scene and the enemy is winning. It’s extremely difficult to receive as gift. But as Christians we have this comfort: Christ too was faced with death – the death of loved ones, death on a cross, and the enemy Death itself. He struggled with it, endured it, and beat it. The victory remains with life, the reign of death was ended. In Christ, we don’t fear death. Death is defeated.

Above the handle where I lifted my grandfather’s casket was an engraving of the Last Supper. It was a great reminder that here on earth we stand with the church militant. In the Lord’s Supper, we are joined with the saints who have gone before us. We share in that feast of victory over death. With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we are joined into the song and feast of heaven. We are joined with those loved ones who have fallen asleep in a far greater way than we were in most of our memories of them.

Thanks be to God that He can take the ugly abomination of death and turn it into a thing of beauty and a feast of victory.

Jon Kohlmeier is a member of Mount Zion Lutheran Church in Greenfield, WI. He is also IT Assistant for Higher Things and co-host of HT-Radio.

Categories
Life Issues

The Gospel of Halloween

This week we are highlighting an article from October 2011 to supplement Pr. Borghardt’s video short from yesterday,
Can Lutherans Celebrate Halloween? In this article Pr. Buetow encourages us to live on October 31st
the same way we live every other day – as baptized children of God.

Rev. Mark Buetow

Witches, wizards, skeletons, devils, and superheroes? Never mind that. Let’s get to the candy! As Halloween approaches, many calling themselves Christians will get all worked up about this supposedly satanic holiday. With emphases on witches and devils and violent horror, these folks get upset and say that Christians have no business observing this holiday and ought to do something better, something more godly and pious. Thus all over “Halloween” celebrations are replaced with “Fall Festivals.” There’s even a group who invented a new holiday on October 31 called “Jesus Ween.” (Does anyone else think that just sounds odd and creepy all at once?) So can you be a Christian and celebrate Halloween? Can you dress up and go to a party? Go trick-or-treating? Have fun? The fact is, a Christian CAN celebrate and enjoy Halloween. Read on to find out why.

First, a little bit of history. Halloween is taken from the old English “All Hallows Eve.” “All Hallows” refers to “All Saints” which is the festival on November 1 on which the church remembers all her baptized saints and especially those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. Since Christian festivals begin at sundown on the day before, October 31 is the Eve of All Saints (just like December 24 is Christmas Eve) or All Hallows Eve, shortened and smushed together over time to “Halloween.” So, at its root, Halloween was just the Eve of the day when all Christian saints were remembered. And when we’re talking about saints, we’re talking baptism! And how can a day which reminds us of our baptism be bad?

On Good Friday, Jesus destroyed the power of the devil. He died for the sins of the world. He died for your sins. St. Paul writes that on the cross, Jesus disarmed the powers of hell (Colossians 2:15). That means when Halloween rolls around and little ghosts and goblins are running around they’re nothing more than jokes and mockeries of the devil. He has no power. He can’t harm you. The devil has no claim on those who have been buried and raised with Jesus and clothed with Christ in their baptism. Those upon whom the blood of the Lamb of God has been sprinkled cannot be snatched out of their Father’s hand! That means when we go out on Halloween, costume or not, we look like Jesus. That’s what your heavenly Father sees when He looks at you. You may be a ghoul or a superhero for trick-or-treating or a party but to your Father in heaven you’ll always look like His Son, dearly beloved and precious.

But isn’t October 31st also a traditional time for pagans to do their thing? Sure. That’s because whenever the church has a holy day, the devil tries to copy it and mock it and lead others astray. So the end of October has long been a time when pagan religions carried on rituals and other weird practices. But let’s face it. Halloween in America has become nothing more than a day to have some fun. Go and get loads of candy. Go to a party and bob for apples. Dress up and act a bit silly. As Christians, we’re so free, having been rescued by Christ from sin and death, that we can laugh at inflatable tombstones and dress like zombies. Perhaps, in some small way, Halloween is the world’s way of trying to pretend death is something to laugh at. But for those who are in Christ, we know that’s all death is. Something to be laughed at. Mocked. Because death has been defeated by Jesus. Your death has been overcome. We know we don’t come back as vampires or zombies. Rather on the Last Day, Jesus will come again and raise us up and there will be no more death.

So live on Halloween the way you live every other day. Make the sign of the cross in the morning to remember that you are a child of God, marked by the Lord has His own child. Go and enjoy your day and eat your candy with a clean conscience, knowing that your robe of righteousness is no dress-up but true clothing whereby you have been covered in Jesus. Serve your neighbor and avoid anything that will harm or be a bother to them. (Not EVERY Halloween activity is a good idea!) And at the end of the day, make the sign of the cross again and know that you are still the Lord’s because of Jesus. And dare to be Lutheran too, remembering that October 31 is also the day that the Reformation began, the time when Martin Luther reminded the church that Christ was the big deal and that superstitions, even if they’re in the church, are still silly and useless. And who needs to be afraid of such things when we have such a Savior who has redeemed us, purchased and won us from all sin, death and the power of the devil? So Happy Halloween! Happy because you are a baptized saint in Jesus.

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, IL. He is also the Media Services Executive for Higher Things and creator of the Bible 101 video series.