And...

...for a YouTube version of the Issues, Etc. travesty and the information for contacting the LCMS and/or KFUO radio, check this out.

Day of Infamy - Call for Prayer

March 18, 2008, will go down in infamy for many in Lutheran circles, and, I imagine, in some other Christian circles as well. Today is the day when bureaucrats of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod exercised infamous wisdom and spurious judgment by canceling the popular and well-respected radio program Issues, Etc. The show's host, Pr. Todd Wilken, and producer, Mr. Jeff Schwarz, were summarily fired (no, that's not too strong a word!) with absolutely no reason given - even when they asked for one.

(As a matter of full disclosure, I must say that Pr. Wilken and I have been friends for over 20 years, first, as seminary classmates and buddies, then as brother pastors, including a brief stint of 3-4 years as co-editors of a little journal for pastors called Doctrine & Practice. I have also come to respect Mr. Jeff Schwarz as a faithful comrade in arms in the Church's task of proclaiming the Truth of God's mercy and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.)

Very little is known at this point about the whys and wherefores of this incredulous cancellation and callous firing. When others have called the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, they have received a nice little bureaucratic two-step that gave the most minimal information and no rationale for such a jolting development. So, we must wait and see what the story (spin?) turns out to be.

At the outset, let me suggest that all who are concerned should contact the LCMS and/or KFUO radio - by phone calls, letters, and emails - to express their great sadness and concern that Issues, Etc. has been canceled and that faithful servants of the church have been so shamefully treated. Rev. David Strand is the head of the communications office, and you can contact the LCMS Information Center. Here are the details:

LCMS: 888-843-5267
KFUO: 314-725-0099

David Strand's email: David.Strand@lcms.org

Street address of the LCMS (for snail mail):
1333 S. Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

LCMS Information Center: infocenter@lcms.org

On the one hand, I am not that surprised at this infamy. I strongly suspect there is an agenda at work in the executive halls of the Missouri-Synod, namely, to steer the church body's course away from its roots, its theology, and its practice, as taught in the Scriptures and confessed in the Lutheran Confessions, and into the murky waters of American Protestantism/Pentecostalism. Issues, Etc. has long been a voice trying to stem that tide.

Then, on the other hand, I cannot help but be shocked and saddened. Supposed church-men hanging fellow church-men out to dry? Apparently little thought given to the needs of the families of each of these men? (And, yes, there are some great needs! If you would like to contribute to help Pr. Wilken and Mr. Schwarz, see these details on Pr. Weedon's blog.) And here, in my mind, is what clinches the appropriateness of the label "infamy" for this tragic event: the host and producer of Issues, Etc. were not even given the courtesy to say "Good-bye" to their loyal listeners. Not only are Pr. Wilken and Mr. Schwarz directly affected by this bureaucratic infamy, but so are their dear families, as well as their listeners who gained greater appreciation for the Christ-centered Gospel so faithfully proclaimed over the airwaves.

How shall friends and faithful listeners of Issues, Etc. respond? Allow me to suggest some thoughts based upon God's commandments and teaching in Scripture. First, let's fear, love and trust in our gracious, forgiving God and His Son Jesus Christ, who Himself was treated with bureaucratic infamy and betrayal and rewarded with the death sentence upon a cross. (Yes, today's infamous deed came on the heels of this morning's reading from Mark 14 in our Morning Prayer for Tuesday of Holy Week!)

Second, let's properly use God's holy name by calling upon it in this time of trouble for Todd, Jeff, their families and their listeners. Let's also thank Him for the good that Issues, Etc. has certainly done over the years. Our God is faithful, and He will answer prayers to provide for and strengthen His redeemed children, especially now in the Wilken and Schwarz households. But also, let's pray for the "powers-that-be" (I didn't know if I should toss out the oh, so "flattering" term of "bureaucrat" again ;-). Let's pray that our Lord will lead them to repentance for their infamy and callousness. Let's pray that our Lord will have His proper justice rather than the perverted justice we see unveiled before our eyes (and in the now silent airwaves). Let's pray that those who are trying to silence the voice of Issues, Etc., for whatever the real reason might be, may be brought back to God's mercy in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Third, let's drive ourselves more and more into God's words of promise, mercy, hope, and forgiveness, especially as we continue to wend our way through Holy Week. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who endured the cross, scorning its shame, and thus shows us the way of perfect love. We all have our gut reactions and our desire to see justice done. We all have our inclination to get all guns blazing to set right this infamous wrong. But let's not draw our strength or comfort from such things. Let's, instead, confess our sinful passions. Let's draw our strength from our Lord's Passion, Crucifixion, and Resurrection, for He alone brings blessing out of tragedy, life out of death, and joy out of sorrow. Whatever machinations may happen, whatever proper ways of righting this wrong may occur, whatever future a once good radio show may or may not have now, the Lord of life will sustain us and comfort us in these dark days. He will certainly sustain and comfort Todd and Jeff and their families.

Fourth, let's remember God's command to love our neighbors and our enemies, just as our Lord did on the cross. Our first reaction to such infamy will be to get even, or unseat whatever bureaucrat(s) made this utterly misguided decision, or.... Let's seize this opportunity to follow St. Peter's words of wisdom: "have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing" (1 Peter 3:8-9). Let's also remember the words of St. James: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:4-2). And let's keep St. Paul's words in the forefront of our minds and hearts: "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Colossians 3:12-14).

So, Todd and Jeff, my prayers are with you and your dear families. May our gracious God supply your every need, and may He give you the joy and comfort of sins forgiven and new life in Christ Jesus our Lord. I consider it no accident or mere happenstance that we at Hope got to pray the words of Psalm 91 this evening. I will continue to pray these words for you and with you: "Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place--the Most High, who is my refuge--no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways" (Ps. 91:9-11).

Bearing the Cross of Christ

A brief devotional reading from Martin Luther on this Tuesday of Holy Week:

The cross teaches us to believe in hope even when there is not hope. The wisdom of the cross is deeply hidden in a profound mystery. In fact, there is no other way to heaven than taking up the cross of Christ. On account of this we must beware that the active life with its good works, and the contemplative life with its speculations, do not lead us astray. Both are most attractive and yield peace of mind, but for that very reason they hide real dangers, unless they are tempered by the cross and disturbed by adversaries. The cross is the surest path of all. Blessed is the man who understands this truth.

It is a matter of necessity that we be destroyed and rendered formless, so that Christ may be formed within us, and Christ alone be in us.... Real mortifications do not happen in lonely places away from the society of other human beings. No! They happen in the home, the market place, in secular life.... "Being conformed to Christ" is not within our powers to achieve. It is God's gift, not our own work.

He who is not crucianus, if I may coin a word, is not Christianus: in other words, he who does not bear his cross is no Christian, for he is not like his Master, Jesus Christ. (A reflection on the cross; cited in For All the Saints: A Prayer Book For and By the Church, vol. III, p. 1011.)

St. Patrick, Missionary to Ireland

In honor of St. Patrick on this March 17, 2008, here's a little something I wrote for my congregation's newsletter:

Who was St. Patrick?

When I say, “March 17,” chances are good that you think, “St. Patrick’s Day.” And once you think of St. Patrick’s Day, you probably think of all the green clothes and hats you can wear, the green food you will eat, and the green decorations that go up just about everywhere. You might even think of delicious corned beef and cabbage (Yum!), and perhaps even green beer. (Although that still doesn’t seem right. I mean why taint perfectly good beer by turning it green? ☺)

However, St. Patrick’s Day is about much more than that. March 17 is the Church’s day to commemorate the great bishop of Ireland and his tireless work to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ among people who were quite hostile to Christianity. Through the faithful and even life-threatening work of preaching the Gospel of Christ and founding many churches, God used St. Patrick to convert Ireland from pagan religions such as Druidism to Christianity. March 17, then, commemorates the death of St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century.

The LCMS website gives this summary of St. Patrick’s life:

Patrick is one of the best-known of the missionary saints. Born to a Christian family in Britain around the year 389, he was captured as a teenager by raiders, taken to Ireland, and forced to serve as a herdsman. After six years he escaped and found his way to a monastery community in France. Ordained a bishop in 432, he made his way back to Ireland, where he spent the rest of his long life spreading the Gospel and organizing Christian communities. He strongly defended the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in a time when it was not popular to do so. His literary legacy includes his autobiography, Confessio, and several prayers and hymns still used in the church today. Patrick died around the year 466.

On one occasion, in A.D. 433, Patrick defied the orders of King Loegaire and refused to honor a pagan festival. The king, then, tried to assassinate Patrick, but Patrick and his coworkers were able to escape unharmed. Tradition says that God’s deliverance from this peril prompted Patrick to write his best-known hymn, known today as “I Bind Unto Myself Today.” This hymn is an excellent confession of the Holy Trinity and of God’s deliverance from sin and evil through Jesus Christ. Here’s the text from our hymnal, Lutheran Service Book, 604:

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever,
By pow’r of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
His Baptism in the Jordan River,
His cross of death for my salvation,
His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heav’nly way,
His coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The pow’r of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech,
His heav’nly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile foes that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In ev’ry place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me those holy pow’rs.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three,
Of whom all nature has creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation;
Salvation is of Christ the Lord!

So, this March 17, instead of merely donning the green and enjoying corned-beef for St. Patrick’s Day, we also thank God for the Bishop of Ireland and his faithful preaching of the Gospel and his confession of the Holy Trinity. No matter what opposition we face, we can also proclaim the goodness and mercy of our holy, Triune God, just as St. Patrick did.

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

Holy Week draws our attention to our Savior's extreme Passion and excruciating Crucifixion. What a marvelous love our Lord Jesus has shown us as He laid down His life for sinners such as us! The hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" (LSB 449) leads us to ponder just these things, namely, our Savior's Passion to save and redeem us as it begets true adoration from us back to Him.

O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, Thine only crown.
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, has suffered
Was all for sinners' gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor,
And grant to me Thy grace.

What language can I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever!
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never,
Out live my love for Thee.

Be Thou my consolation,
My shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion
When my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee,
Upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfold Thee.
Who dieth thus dies well. (LSB 449)

Homily - Palm Sunday

Look, the Humble King
John 12:12-36 (Procession Gospel & Alternate Holy Gospel)

It was a ticker-tape parade for a battle that would come several days later. The King was entering His domain. So the color purple on the altar reminds us of our King’s true royalty. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” But our King had no special attraction about Him. “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him” (Is. 53:2). On this Palm Sunday we behold an unattractive King, a King without worldly pomp, a humble King. And while this King may be humble on earth, both then and now, He brings us into His eternal majesty. Look, the humble King!

Look at Him humble on a lowly donkey. St. John’s version of the procession into Jerusalem is quite simple: “And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it.” But this was no mere happenstance. The other Gospels tell the story of Jesus making preparations to ride on this donkey. He sent two of His disciples to find a young donkey, untie it, and bring it to Him. Jesus knew what He was up to. Earthly kings and rulers ride on whites stallions or in Lincoln Continentals or bulletproof limousines. But Jesus? He’s a different kind of King, a humble King. He rides on a donkey not even full-grown. He rides in His ticker-tape parade on a borrowed little Chevy pick-up truck. Look, the humble King!

The prophet Zechariah had foretold this lowly procession. He prepared the Jews then and us now for our humble Messiah. “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus never intended to come into the world in majestic, splendid, awe-inspiring pomp and circumstance. He never intended to come in the ways of the world. So, we dare not expect Him to come in majestic, splendid, awe-inspiring ways in our day, either. He did not come to teach businessmen the successful methods of business. He did not even come to cleanse society of the riff-raff of drunks, thieves, gamblers, or perverts. No, He came to bring salvation, not a social agenda. Leave the social agendas to earthly rulers and workers. Jesus brings the Gospel of salvation—the Gospel of forgiveness and life in Jesus, the Gospel meant for everyone from earthly rulers to businessmen to society’s riff-raff, including politicians who get exposed as perverts. The Gospel of salvation in Jesus may and does indeed bear fruits that benefit society; and that’s very good. But Jesus’ mission was to bring heaven to you, not turn this present earth into heaven. Look, the humble King on His lowly donkey!

Look at the humble King with His bewildered disciples. His disciples did not understand these things at first. Even Jesus’ inner circle, His trusted cabinet, did not grasp what He was doing and saying by riding on a donkey. Sure, they knew He was the Savior. Peter had confessed Him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:16). They had heard Him teach the people and tweak the super-religious Pharisees. They had seen Him perform His miraculous signs. What on earth was He doing riding a donkey? That they just could not—or maybe would not—understand.

And we are just like them. King Jesus comes in lowly, humble fashion, and even today His followers do a doubtful double take. Jesus comes in the lowly, humble waters of Baptism. What do His followers do? Seek some other, man-made, more spectacular source of strength and life with God. Jesus comes the lowly, humble words of Absolution spoken by the mouth of a pastor. What do His followers do? Rely on themselves to create their own clean hearts and forgive themselves apart from the spoken words of Jesus’ forgiveness. Jesus comes in the lowly, humble meal of Communion. What do His followers do? Treat the meal as if nothing of consequence were happening in the eating and drinking or forget that eternal life comes through this very Meal. We disciples do not understand all these things.

What saved the disciples then? What saves us now? “When Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him.” Only after Jesus suffers the betrayal, the denial, the mock trial … only after He suffers the sentencing, the flogging, the cross-carrying … only after He is spiked to the rough wood and hangs there for six hours, suffocating, burning with agony … only after He dies a wretched criminal’s death … only after He lies lifeless in the tomb … only after He rises from the dead—only then do we understand these things. The King came to suffer, die, and rise again. The King came not to bring earthly health or wealth, power or prosperity. No, the King came to bring treasures far more valuable, much longer lasting: life and peace with God. You can’t put a price on that! But you may receive it—simply receive it; receive it in faith—just as you do with any free gift. Look, the humble King with believing disciples!

Look, the humble King despised by proud Pharisees. The Pharisees put Jesus’ name on the “Jerusalem’s Most Wanted” list. He committed no crime, no treason, and no terrorism. He didn’t even hurt anyone. But the Pharisees plotted and schemed how they might rub Him out and kill Him. You see, Jesus had stolen something from them. He took away their religion. They spoke good things of God, but then they despised God’s works and God’s people. They looked down on other people for not being, well, as important or religious as they. Of course, they could not judge people’s hearts. But that did not stop them from seeing the outward differences or problems and then judging in their own hearts. Their own hearts did not fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Their own hearts trusted in themselves and their own efforts to please God. That’s what Jesus took from them. And He did it by raising the dead, by loving and forgiving sinners.

Our lowly, humble King takes away our self-centered religion too. He tears down everything in us that makes us think we belong to ourselves. He tears down everything in us that makes us think we are better than others, by what family we come from, by what church we attend, by what standing we have at work or in the community. He takes it all away and nails it to the cross in His own body. And in return He gives us His life—a humble life, a servant life, a life that receives eternal gifts from God, a life that seeks to serve God by serving whatever humble person crosses our path.

Look, our humble King revealed in His dying and rising. The Greeks came to Philip and said, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Perhaps they only saw Jesus from a distance as He entered Jerusalem. No doubt, they wanted a face-to-face meeting with the Lord of Life, a personal encounter with the humble King. Philip told Andrew; Andrew took Philip, and they both told Jesus. King Jesus responded with a mini-parable: “I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” How would the Greeks see Jesus? In His dying and rising. How do we see humble King Jesus? In His dying and rising. “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” That’s where He paid the price to bring you into life eternal and the never-ending kingdom of God. He died, went into the ground, but then came out alive. And now humble King Jesus bears much fruit in you by delivering the fruit of His dying and rising to you.

Dr. Luther put it this way: “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 … in knowledge or remembrance, for I will not find it there either. But I will find in the sacrament or gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the cross” (AE, 40:214). No, we cannot go back to the cross to find forgiveness—no, we weren’t there when they crucified our Lord, and we can’t go there in time or space. But King Jesus can and does bring the fruits and benefits of His cross to us. Look, humble King Jesus enters His new Jerusalem, His Church, riding humble and mounted under bread and wine. Here He enlivens and strengthens us. Here He resuscitates and sustains us. Here He reigns for us.

As an excellent new hymn says: “Now He who bore for mortals’ sake / The cross and all its pains / And chose a servant’s form to take, / The King of glory reigns. / Hosanna to the Savior’s name / Till heaven’s rafters ring, / And all the ransomed host proclaim / “Behold, behold your King!” (LSB 444:4) Amen.

A bit more on fasting

With Holy Week beginning this Sunday, Palm Sunday (Palmarum), it is good, right, and salutary to continue the Lenten fast. Here's a nice little explanation on fasting from my good friend, Pastor Weedon. May God bless us all with a prayerful, solemn Holy Week as we prepare for the true feast of the Resurrection of our Lord!

Is there a LUTHERAN way to fast?

Yes! The Augsburg Confession disdains the distinction of meats, and does so solidly based on Colossians But that doesn't mean that Lutherans didn't and don't fast. If we remember that fast mean "to go hungry" the solution is apparent: skip meals! It's not a matter of what FOOD you give up for Lent, but a matter of what MEALS and feeding (as in snacking!) you set aside. If one follows the typical Western fast, one eats but 1 and 1/4 to 1/2 meals per day. This is not done to impress God, but to train our bodies (that our belly is not our boss) and to free up time for prayer and money for charity. I bring this up again because we are preparing to enter Holy Week. During this week as we give time to specially contemplate the Passion of our Lord, the discipline of fasting is highly appropriate for all who can safely do it. A complete fast on Good Friday suggests itself to allow for total concentration upon our Lord's self-immolation for our salvation. Fasting is such a blessed discipline and is a bodily form of prayer - as we are reminded that no earthly food can satisfy the hunger of the human being, which is ultimately a hunger for the Blessed Trinity - to whom be glory forever!

And the Lion shall lie down...

Thanks to Anastasia for sharing this truly heartwarming news video of a lion showing its affection for a person who helped him and bonded with him. Evidently, this took place in Colombia, and it appears to be a bit of a real life version of the story of a man who removes a thorn from the lion's paw.

I'd even push the envelope. This story is more than heartwarming; it's a little glimpse of God's new creation as restored in His Incarnate Son. It sure adds new meaning and appreciation for the verses we hear from Isaiah 11:6-7 every year when we celebrate our Lord's Incarnation and Nativity:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Great Holy Week Hymn

I had never sung this hymn before this week. But now that my Kantor has been introducing it to us, I can't imagine preparing for Holy Week or going through Holy Week without it. The hymn is "No Tramp of Soldiers' Marching Feet" - #444 in Lutheran Service Book.

The tune, "Kingsfold," has taken just a bit of effort to nail down for singing, especially because, as my Kantor says, my ear wanted to sing something else at a couple of points. :-) But I have come to realize that with sturdy, durable hymns, good things come, not for those who put little effort into learning their hymns, but for those who do have to put some effort into learning and singing their hymns. Quite often the best and sturdiest hymns and hymn tunes - the ones that stay with you and put spiritual meat on your bones, so to speak - are the ones that take some time and effort to learn!

But back to the hymn itself. Once learned, this tune seems to have both a regal and a marching quality to it. Perfect for Holy Week as we ponder our Lord's kingly procession into Jerusalem without customary regal fanfare, and then as we can almost hear the tramping feet of soldiers marching to arrest Jesus and deliver Him to Pontius Pilate, and then as we raise the rafters of heaven in singing of our Lord's Easter victory.

The truly glorious thing about this hymn is how it immerses us in the humility of Palm Sunday, then takes us through our Lord's Passion, and, in the final verse, elevates us to the genuine victory procession of our Lord's Resurrection. By the way, a humble suggestion to any organist, pianist, or keyboardist who plays this hymn: Verse 4 should be played as regally and triumphantly as possible! ;-) And throughout the hymn, we keep singing of our King of glory and, in each verse, repeating the words: "Behold, behold your King!"

I find it quite fascinating that each verse places those words on quite different lips. In verse 1, the Palm Sunday crowd joyously cries out. It's the only thing that heralds the King's coming. As the rest of the verse says: "No tramp of soldiers' marching feet" and "No sound of music's martial beat" and "No bells in triumph ring, No city gates swing open wide." Our Lord's Palm Sunday entry is oh so humble.

In verse 2, it's the very stones that cry out, "Behold, behold your King," reminding us of Jesus' words that if we humans keep quiet, His creation will certainly sing His praises. The children cheer, the palms are strewn along the way, and, most powerful of all, "With every step the cross draws near." Even if we were to keep silent, or be forced into quietude, the King still receives His due praised for what He has done for our life and salvation.

Then, in verse 3, the statement "Behold, behold your King!" takes on the ironic note of Pontius Pilate's utterance as he hands Jesus over to crucifixion. The joys of Palm Sunday have faded. The thorn replaces the bloom and leaf. "The soldiers mock, the rabble cries, The streets with tumult ring." The cheery joys of Palm Sunday quickly transform into the jeering, chaotic din of Good Friday. What beautiful poetry!

But the genuine climax and meaning of the line comes out fully in verse 4, as "heaven's rafters ring" and as "all the ransomed host proclaim 'Behold, behold your King!" The verse resumes the cry of "Hosanna to the Savior's name," but on the other side of the Resurrection. After all, once our Lord rose again, He revealed what it all means. He bore the cross for us mortals, and He took on the servant's form in order that we may raise the rafters of heaven for all eternity in singing, "Behold, behold your King!"

It's a great holy week hymn, and I highly recommend learning it, if you haven't already. It will be well worthy the time and effort it takes. The pictures and poetry of the text gives much to ponder, and you will likely find yourself humming the tune to yourself long after you've sung the hymn in church or in your prayers.

"The A-B-Cs of Lent - Communion II"

Here's the final installment from our Lent Evening Prayer sermon series, "The A-B-Cs of Lent."

“The A-B-Cs of Lent” – Communion II
Acts 2:42-47
John 6:47-57
Small Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar, 3-4

Eating and drinking with God is the highest form of fellowship we can have. We come into His presence with thanksgiving. As guests in His house, we are welcomed to His table to eat His food and drink His wine. People pay hundreds or thousands of dollars just to have a Danish and a cup of coffee with the President or a round of golf with a high-ranking congressman. But table fellowship with God is free, a gift of His grace, purchased with the blood of God’s Lamb, His Son Jesus, poured out on the cross.

The Lord’s Supper is the Lamb’s High Feast. In this meal our Lord Jesus is cook, servant, and meal all in one. Roasted on the cross in the fire of God’s wrath against our sin and His burning love for us sinners, this Lamb of God is our very food and drink. With His very words, spoken through His minister, He gives us His very Body and Blood: “given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins.” Jesus is speaking to you. Jesus is feeding you. Jesus is your food. This is table fellowship with God in the most complete way.

The Lord’s Supper completes and fulfills the great feasts of the Old Testament. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 elders went up on Mt. Sinai, and “they beheld God, and ate and drank” (Ex. 24:11). The Israelites ate the annual Passover meal of roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread. They also ate the heavenly gifts of manna and quail in the wilderness.

The Lord’s Supper also completes and fulfills the great New Testament feasts. One time Jesus fed 4000 people, and another time He fed over 5000. Our Lord loved to eat and drink with tax collectors and Pharisees, prostitutes and religious. It seems He never turned down a dinner invitation. (Must be why some called Him “a glutton and a drunkard”! ☺ [Mt. 11:19]). And the day when He rose from the dead, Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus with two disciples, preached a sermon from the Scriptures, and then revealed Himself in the breaking of the bread.

So, from the beginning the Church has devoted herself “to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Word and Meal, Sermon and Sacrament—they’re the ongoing rhythm of the Church’s life. For over 1500 years it was unheard of to have the Lord’s Day without the Lord’s Supper. Sermon and Supper, Word and Meal, were one whole thing, not to be divided. It was not the Lutheran Reformation, but the Radical Reformation that broke table fellowship with the Lord. Radical Reformers made the ongoing feast with God an occasional extra, three or four times a year, instead of the weekly, even daily, gift that it had been since Pentecost.

The ongoing feast of Christ’s Body and Blood, given with His words, continues through the centuries, and it remains one unchanging meal—one loaf, one cup. Oh, outward forms may change now and then. They had a cup; we’ve added little glasses. They had a single flat loaf; we have little stamped wafers. Some kneel at a rail; others walk through a line. But for all the outward differences, we still eat the same Lamb as the Twelve did on that night when He was betrayed. We drink the same Blood as they did—one Christ, one Sacrifice, one Supper. So, when we kneel at the altar, we eat and drink the very same Meal as did St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, Ignatius, Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Luther, Chemnitz, and Gerhard, just to name a few. A countless crowd has dined at the Lord’s Table and still dines with the whole company of heaven.

We receive two great comforts from this. The first comfort is that so many have preceded us at this Supper of the Lord. They were sinners just as we are. They felt the grief and shame of what they had done and not done, just as we do. They felt the sting of death, just as we do. They wanted relief from sin and death. They relied on the Lord of life to raise them and give them eternal life. That comfort came in the Supper, and they direct us there as well. We’re in great company at this table.

The second comfort is this. Even though many things change—and changes come at warp speed in our computer-driven world—two things never change: our sin and our Savior’s meal. Our Lord continues to give His Body and Blood that forgives our sins and gives us life with Him. “We daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.” Every day, even every hour, we do all sorts of things against God and against our neighbor. We might think of it as “just another day at the office,” but words are said that should never be said. Deeds are done that should never be done. Thoughts and desires well up within us that only prove we love to dethrone God and put ourselves in His seat. We are the same kinds of sinners as those in the first, fourth, or fifteenth centuries.

And the solution to our sin is the same as it’s always been, even from the Garden of Eden. What’s that solution? The Word made flesh and nailed to the tree; Jesus Christ crucified and risen. He’s the only solution to our sin. His Body broken for us is real Food, filled with life. His Blood shed for us is real Drink, filled with forgiveness. His words deliver these things and their saving benefits to faith, “for the words ‘for you’ require all hearts to believe.”

Last week I mentioned our need to revive our hunger and thirst for our Lord’s Holy Communion. This is really God’s answer to our “lukewarmness” in the Church these days. Perhaps you remember the church of the Laodiceans in the book of Revelation. They had grown complacent and lukewarm. They were neither refreshingly cold nor energetically hot. Sounds a lot like us in our personal faith or like many churches these days. And how did our Lord propose to wake up this sleeping giant of the Laodicean church? No, not by putting it on ice or setting it ablaze! Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). Jesus reenergizes us and re-enlivens us by eating and drinking with us sinners.

The Lutheran historian and theologian Herman Sasse said that whenever the Church takes seriously the Lord’s Supper, the Church is renewed and grows. Sermon, Supper, and prayer—they’re the three pillars on which the Church was built from Pentecost onward. Apostolic teaching, table fellowship in the Breaking of the Bread, and corporate prayers—where these things are practiced, where they are our very heart and soul, there we can be sure we have the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” There we can be sure Christ is present with us and that His gifts of salvation are being given out. Numbers large or small are irrelevant; Christ’s presence is everything.

Before we wrap up our sermon series on “The A-B-Cs of Lent”, let’s consider personal preparation for Jesus’ ongoing feast. In Luther’s day, people tended to stay away from the Sacrament out of fear, even though they came to church to hear the Gospel. Today, though, people tend to “belly up to the bar” with hardly a thought about their need for the Lord’s gifts or what those gifts truly are. The Small Catechism reminds us that “fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training.” Luther spoke to people who were overly concerned with the outward things of fasting and bodily discipline. We have quite the opposite problem. We think we dare not fast and we frown on disciplining our bodies as a way to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

We live in a culture that trumpets feasting without fasting. Many see Holy Communion as an individual right rather than a corporate privilege. We think everything should be “my way” or no way, or even “majority rules” in matters of faith and life with God. We tend to treat the Church catholic as a religious McDonald’s franchise, and the local congregation as the place where we can rush through the drive-thru to get a little snack on the way to our other, more pressing commitments. We have lost the days when pastor and communicants would sit down and talk about their souls, their sins, and Jesus’ forgiveness. Today, if a pastor suggests that an unrepentant member refrain from the Lord’s Supper, that person simply runs off to another congregation nearby and is received no questions asked. This, dear friends, is far from healthy! Actually, it’s quite shameful.

Yes, the Catechism says that “that person is truly worthy and well-prepared who has faith in these words, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’” However, casual communion undermines the words of our Lord. So, let me propose three ways to improve our preparations and our communing in faith. And with these three ways, we can set a most excellent example for our sister saints and brother believers around us.

First, commune prayerfully and preparedly. Take some time on Saturday night or Sunday morning before church to meditate on the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Supper section of the Catechism, and even Luther’s “Christian Questions and Answers” in the Catechism. If your health permits, try fasting—that is, not eating anything for 3-4 hours before coming to church. Remind your belly that you do not live by bread alone, but by the true and living Bread, our Lord Jesus Christ. I offer this as a suggestion, not a rule. And if you do it, don’t judge others who may not do it.

Second, commune at the congregation where you are committed, where your membership is, where your pastor is. When you travel and visit other congregations, remember that you are an ambassador of Hope. You represent the teaching and practice of this congregation. If that congregation is not in full fellowship with us in teaching and practice, do not commune there. That would imply a unity that does not truthfully exist. We are called to bear witness publicly to what we believe, not to blend into the background like Christian chameleons.

If the congregation you visit is in full fellowship with us in both teaching and practice, then please have the courtesy of introducing yourself to the pastor. Tell him that you are a member of Hope Lutheran Church in St. Louis, and request his permission to commune. If he says, “No, not today,” don’t be offended, but thank God that he is a responsible, faithful shepherd of souls. If he says, “Yes, by all means,” then thank him and ask him to communicate that with your pastor. If you don’t have a chance to talk with the pastor ahead of time, then simply don’t commune that day, even if the usher wants to take you by the arm and shove you down the aisle. ☺ After all, we’d never just barge into a stranger’s house at supper time, sit down at the table, and proudly say, “Please pass the potatoes” without at least mentioning our name.

Third, commune confessing your sins. Spend quality time with the Ten Commandments and their Catechism meanings. Examine your place in life—who you are and what you’ve done. Make use of your pastor’s offer of Private Absolution, either on Wednesday evenings before the service or by appointment. Come to the Lord’s Supper with broken hearts and bent knees. Don’t come proud and arrogant—It’s not a right—but come humble and hungry—After all, it’s a divine privilege. Come with empty hearts and hands, ready to receive our Lord’s blood-bought forgiveness, life, and salvation.

We at Hope certainly are not big, and we are far from flashy, but we do have the Lord’s gifts in His Sacraments. They are the best medicine against the godless church growth-ism and reinventing of the Church in our day. The Sacraments keep us from turning the Church into a business and the Gospel into cheap entertainment. And we can be an example to the whole church. We can show other people that we are saved by God’s grace in Christ crucified and risen. We can show that we live only by His mercy given in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion. These Sacraments are our best medicine against the cancer we inherit from Adam. They are the best weapons we have against the forces of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. Our Lord has washed us and given us new birth in Baptism. He authorizes us to speak His forgiveness in the Absolution. And He gives us His ongoing feast of forgiveness, life, and salvation in His Supper.

If someone were to hand out free $100 bills each and every Sunday, I doubt many people would stay away, especially once word got out that they’re free. Dear friends, we have something much more precious than $100 bills. We have the Lord of Life who comes among us and gives us His gifts—His “A-B-Cs of Lent.” The gifts are here. You can receive them, believe in them, and live. “In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.” Amen.

Persevering in the Fast

The Western Churches began the Lenten fast back on February 6, Eastern Churches began their Lenten fast this past Monday, March 10, and I notice that Western Rite Orthodox Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday today. I wish a most blessed Lententide to all of our brothers and sisters now embarking on their time of fasting and preparing to celebrate our Lord's victory over death.

At the same time, the beginning of Lent for our Orthodox friends is a good reminder to me, at least, to keep persevering in the Lenten fast. The 40 days of Lent are a long time! Yes, as we heard the first three Sundays in Lent, it's all about the battle - against temptations, against God when He seems silent, and against the devil himself. Then Laetare (Fourth Sunday in Lent) comes as a bit of a respite, a lightening of the load, so to speak, before we press on toward the goal of Holy Week and Easter. As of this last Sunday, Judica (Fifth Sunday in Lent), we have entered the two-week Passiontide in which we focus more intently on our Lord's Passion. And the fast continues - always in Christian freedom, of course, and always with the purpose of focusing our complete and undivided attention on our Lord's great sacrifice to forgive our sins and restore us to communion with the blessed and holy Trinity.

With all this in mind, it's great to reread and ponder again these words from Urbanus Rhegius:

A special kind of fasting takes place, however, when in the face of great calamity or for the sake of prayer people undertake for themselves a day or more of fasting, or when a bishop or civil ruler proclaims a period of fasting, as did Jehoshaphat, King of Judah [2 Chr 20:3]. And the Apostle prescribes such fasting for spouses: "Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to devote yourselves to fasting and prayer" [1 Cor 7:5]. For this reason I approve of the Lenten fast, although in the early church it was observed in Christian freedom, so that by fasting people might prepare themselves for more ardent and attentive prayer and for giving thanks in the Supper of the Lord, both for the most precious death of Christ by which we are redeemed from all evils in eternity, and for his most victorious resurrection that is the source of our justification and resurrection (Preaching the Reformation: The Homiletical Handbook of Urbanus Rhegius, p. 83).

May God bless all who in Christian freedom persevere in the Lenten fast with the express purpose of preparing for an ardent and prayerful - and fruitful - celebration of our Lord's Passion, Death, and Resurrection!

Burning Advent Calendars and Reclaiming Confession

Here's an interesting story on the so-called "ancient-future church" phenomenon at "Get Religion." While we can certainly applaud the desire of many in American Evangelical circles to seek the ancient practices of the Christian Church, one must ask, "Whence comes the urge to put a modern twist to such things?" Is not the purpose of learning and reclaiming the ancient practices to regain something that our modern (and especially "post-modern") era has lost? Sounds like a most intriguing case of wanting to eat one's ecclesial/liturgical cake and have it too.

Oh, and by the way, notice how the article highlights and clarifies the quote about last summer's LCMS convention promoting the rejuvenation of Private Confession and Absolution.

Martin Luther no longer a heretic?

Could it be that Martin Luther will no longer be considered a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church? This London Times Online article suggests that just such a conclusion may come from Pope Benedict XVI later this year in September. As the article states: "...the Pope will argue that Luther, who was excommunicated and condemned for heresy, was not a heretic." The article also cites Cardinal Walter Kasper, the head of the pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: "We have much to learn from Luther, beginning with the importance he attached to the word of God."

Hmm. Quite interesting! My curiosity will be piqued from now until September to see just what Pope Benedict will say. What I wonder now is this: How should Lutherans respond? Notice, I did not say, "How do/will Lutherans respond?" Rather, how *should* Lutherans respond?

Over the years, I've heard stalwart Lutheran pastors and theologians say that Rome would make their efforts at church unity seem more sincere by first removing the label of 'heretic' from Martin Luther. Could this be the gesture of good faith that some have been looking for? What are those voices prepared to say and do, should that olive branch, albeit small, be extended? Only time will tell, of course.

On the other hand, we can anticipate, and even already read, the suspicion from fellow Lutherans. Check out Rev. McCain's blog and some rather fiery comments by at least one reader. Rev. McCain rightly prays for the Church's unity - that's always good, right, and salutary - but the bit about Luther being reluctant to have the label "heretic" lifted? Well, I suppose your guess is as good as mine, or Rev. McCain's. It's always speculation, at best, to say what someone who has been buried for many centuries would say in our current ecclesial climate and circumstances. I'd like to think that Luther might have considered it, well, at least a bit of a good sign and a positive development that the pope just might want to lift that ignominious label.

As for Luther giving his list of "non-negotiables" in the Smalcald Articles, sure, he gave a list of doctrinal articles to which he said, "Nothing of this article can by yielded or surrendered" (SA II, I, 5), and so on. However, let's also consider the other side of this coin. Luther did draft this document for the purpose of "dialoging" (our modern term, to be sure) with the Roman party at a Christian council. He explains this in the opening paragraphs of his Preface. Luther even says, "I really would like to see a truly Christian council, so that many people and issues might be helped" (SA Preface, 10). To be sure, by the time Luther published these articles, the plans for a council and the hope of a congenial discussion had evaporated, but that does not negate Luther's good faith effort of outlining his position and being willing to discuss it with the papal party of his day. Luther even introduces Part III of the Smalcald Articles by saying, "We may be able to discuss the following articles with learned and reasonable people, or among ourselves." While Luther certainly had his doctrinal "non-negotiables," he was clearly not afraid to engage the "other party" in discussion for the good of Christendom.

So, how *should* Lutherans respond to Pope Benedict giving a message that Luther was not a heretic? I would think that we Lutherans should at least be interested to hear more. Perhaps we can say that it's at least a promising sign, a step, however incipient and minuscule it might be, in the right direction. Perhaps we can admit that a fractured Christendom is a pretty poor witness to the rest of the darkened, sin-sick world, which really needs the message of healing and light in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ - forgiveness that can actually be lived and practiced among Christian groups and denominations. Perhaps we can also come to the realization that the Roman Catholic Church of the 21st century is not the same one with which Martin Luther dealt, just as the Lutheran Church of our day is not the same as it was in the 16th century. How many of the issues and abuses that Luther faced still remain? To be sure, some do. But let's also honestly admit that others have been addressed by Rome itself through the past centuries and even decades.

Perhaps this pope's intention and willingness to say that Martin Luther was not, after all, a heretic will be an opportunity to engage in some fruitful discussion on precisely what still separates us as well as what we might be able to call common ground. Instead of kicking into "automatic suspicion" mode, we can take a cue from a former U.S. President who dealt with the truly evil empire of the Soviet Union and say, "Trust, but verify." Let's see what exactly Pope Benedict will say come September. Who knows? Just as God used Martin Luther as a staunch defender and restorer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, He might just use us in our day as menders of the broken bridges within Christendom.

After all, even Luther himself could see what was "holy" in the Roman Church of his day, and in 1535, about the same time as the Smalcald Articles:

Although the city of Rome is worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, nevertheless there remain in it Baptism, the Sacrament, the voice and text of the Gospel, the Sacred Scriptures, the ministries, the name of Christ, and the name of God. Whoever has these, has them; whoever does not have them, has no excuse, for the treasure is still there. Therefore the Church of Rome is holy, because it has the holy name of God, the Gospel, Baptism, etc. If these are present among a people, that people is called holy. Thus this Wittenberg of ours is a holy village, and we are truly holy, because we have been baptized, communed, taught, and called by God; we have the works of God among us, that is, the Word and the sacraments, and these make us holy (Luther, M. 1999, c1963. Luther's works, vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Vol. 26 (Ga 1:3). Concordia Publishing House: Saint Louis).

Real Preachers of Genius?

They say that the best humor is rooted in truth. This bit of humor just might hit too close to home and have too much truth in it! Check out this video on "Real Preachers of Genius."

"The A-B-Cs of Lent - Communion I"

“The A-B-Cs of Lent” – Communion I
1 Corinthians 10:14-17; Matthew 26:26-28; Small Catechism, Sacrament of the Altar, 1-2

In our “A-B-Cs of Lent” we’ve covered the “B” – Baptism, and last week we looked at the “A” – Absolution. Tonight we move on to the “C” – Communion.

We’ve heard how Holy Baptism is our daily garment. It clothes us on our journey from the Red Sea of our Baptism to the promised land of Resurrection. Holy Communion, then, is our daily food, our daily manna, along the journey. Baptism gives us new life in the Word-Made-Flesh. Absolution is our constant return to our Baptismal life. And Communion is our daily bread that sustains our life in the Lord of Life. We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from our Lord’s mouth. Jesus is our daily food. He’s our bread of life. Eat of this bread, and you’ll never go hungry. Trust Him and His goodness, and you’ll never go thirsty. As manna came down from heaven for the Israelites, Jesus comes down from heaven to be our Living Bread. Eat of this living, heavenly Manna, believing His words, and you have what those words promise: eternal life, even now.

Jesus said: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (Jn. 6:54-55). He said these words after feeding over 5000 people and after walking on the water. But people wondered what sort of nonsense it was! Eating flesh and drinking blood? Yuck! The Jews were offended. People left Him and would not follow Him anymore. He must be crazy … or a blasphemer. Even His closest disciples were deeply disturbed by such words. What on earth could He possibly mean?

Then came that fateful night, the night of Passover, the night Jesus would be betrayed into death. An upper room had been prepared, the unleavened bread baked, the Passover Lamb sacrificed and roasted. Jesus sat at the head of the table, together with His Twelve, His family. He took the first unleavened flat bread and signaled the opening of the Passover meal. He gave thanks to His Father. He broke the bread and handed small pieces to His disciples. So far, it was just like any other Passover, recalling God’s grace to Israel when He brought them out of slavery, when He freed them through the doorposts covered with lambs’ blood.

But then, unexpectedly, Jesus spoke. And what He said had never been said before in the Passover liturgy. “Take, eat, this is My Body.” Then, after the supper, Jesus took the third chalice of wine—the one called “the cup of blessing.” Again, He gave thanks. And again, He said something never before heard in the Passover liturgy. “This is My blood of the covenant.” Jesus was treating the Passover meal as if it were His own! And it was! Since He is the Lord, it’s His Passover. When Jesus spoke these new words, He actually put Himself into the Passover meal.

With the bread, He gives His Body as food—the same Body conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, the same Body wrapped in diaper cloths and laid in a manger, the same Body that was whipped and beaten, spit on and slapped, the same Body that was nailed to a cross, laid in the tomb, and raised from the dead on the third day. “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” Of course it is. Jesus’ own words say it is, and His words are true. Jesus gives His Body as bread to eat.

Also, with the wine, He gives His Blood as drink—the Blood of God’s Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world. His cross is the doorpost of the world, and His Blood is the blood of our eternal Passover Lamb. Through the centuries artists have understood the force of Jesus’ words as they depict a chalice at the foot of the cross and a stream of blood flowing out of Jesus’ pierced side and into that chalice. That Blood shed on Calvary’s cross is now our drink of blessing, our cup of thanksgiving, our Eucharistic cup. “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?” Of course it is. Jesus’ own words say it is, and His words are true. Jesus gives His Blood as wine to drink.

When we eat and drink, we incorporate and absorb all the blessings and benefits of food and drink. Our bodies absorb the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in the food. When we eat and drink, we incorporate into our bodies the energy of the sunshine, the nutrients of the soil, the blessings of the rain. When we eat bread, we release and incorporate the energies and nutrients of the wheat. When we drink wine, we release and incorporate the energies and nutrients of the grape.

So, when God’s people of old ate and drank the Passover, they incorporated all the blessings and benefits of God’s grace in the Exodus. When they ate and drank the meal and heard the story of the Exodus, all the blessings of that first night were brought home to them. They could not go back in time to Egypt on that night when Israel walked through the blood of lambs to freedom, but the benefits of the Exodus were delivered to them through the Passover meal. By eating and drinking the Passover, they were united with all of Israel and participated in Israel’s life and freedom. They couldn’t go back to the Exodus, but the gifts of the Exodus could come to them in the Passover.

The same holds true for the Holy Communion. By eating and drinking the Communion meal, you participate in the life and freedom of Christ’s death and resurrection. “Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.” (1 Cor. 5:7). He was offered up for our sins. Jesus walked His own exodus by being baptized, by suffering, and by dying and rising from the dead. Now He gives His death and life for our food and drink. His broken body is our living Bread. His spilled blood is our Wine of gladness. We cannot go back to Calvary, but the blessings of Calvary can and do come to us. On the cross forgiveness of sins and life eternal were won for the whole world. In the Supper, Jesus’ Body and Blood, once offered on the cross for our sins, are now delivered and given to us as a Meal. Here the Son of God gives His life to you.

You’ve heard the phrase: “You are what you eat.” Normally, it’s not true. People who eat carrots do not become carrots. People who eat pork do not become pigs. People who eat chickens do not become chickens. Actually, what you eat becomes what you are. The food you eat becomes your own muscles and skin, blood and bones. However, the Lord’s food in His Supper is different. It’s a heavenly and miraculous food. With this Meal, you actually do become what you eat. “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” We eat the Body of Christ, we drink His Blood, we hear His words, “Given and shed for you,” and we do become what we eat—the body of Christ! And there’s no greater union we can have with Christ and with our fellow believers in Christ! We kneel together at His Table, we eat His Supper, and He makes us one in Himself.

In Jesus’ Supper there is forgiveness, life, and salvation. When we eat and drink His Body and Blood, trusting His words, these things are released—forgiveness for our many sins, life eternal even now, and salvation from sin and death. We like to search for the perfect foods to cure our ills, the foods that give us energy, vitality, and health. We run after the latest food kicks. We pop the vitamins and minerals. We down the latest health potions and energy drinks. We shell out hard-earned money for the latest diet fads. Why? Because we hope to reverse the ravages of death in us, or at least stall them for a while. However, in the Lord’s Supper, our gracious Savior gives us the very food we’ve been looking for. It costs us nothing, and it’s food for eternal life. In the Large Catechism Luther called it, “a pure, wholesome, soothing medicine which aids and quickens us in both soul and body.” Christ Jesus puts His very Body and Blood into us. Think of what that means. It means He goes with us, in all of life, even to the grave, because He will never abandon His own Body and Blood.

You know, it’s a strange thing. Most people would never think of skipping a meal, or neglecting their daily dose of vitamin supplements. But for some strange reason those same people will go weeks, months, even years at a time without eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Christ. Luther was truly amazed to see that when people were no longer forced to go to the Lord’s Supper, they no longer did go. He would be even more amazed today. We let silly, foolish, and trivial things stand between us and the Lord’s life-giving food—the music, the length of the service, the style of the worship, the building, personality conflicts, etc. If I told you that this food could cure cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, or whatever else ails you, would it matter much if we served it on fine china with classical music or on paper plates with hip hop? If you believed that this Supper delivered resurrection from the dead and eternal life, would you let anything get in the way of your eating and drinking?

Many of our problems in church life today come because we do not wholeheartedly believe our Lord when He says, “My Body, given for you; My Blood shed for you.” Everything else pales by comparison. Just think of what many people will endure for great food prepared by a world-class chef—long lines, bad parking, crowded seating, surly waiters, bad lighting, noisy rooms. But if the food is really good, hey, it’s worth it, right? Ah, but if we gave as many excuses for not eating our daily food as we give for not eating the Lord’s Supper, we’d starve to death inside a month.

We need to revive our appetite for the fruits of the cross, our hunger and thirst for Jesus’ righteousness that comes to us in the Lord’s Supper.

That’s why Luther gave us three appetite stimulants in the Small Catechism. First, if you don’t think you need the Sacrament, touch your body to see if you still have flesh and blood. When you discover that you do, then believe words like this: “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom. 7:18-19). Also believe words like this: “The works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal. 5:19-20). Second, if you think you don’t need the Sacrament, look around you a bit, and see if you’re still in the world. If you have any doubts, ask your neighbors; they’ll tell you. Remember that in the world you’ll have no shortage of sins, temptations, and troubles to trip you up. The world will hate you and persecute you. It will give you false teachers and try to persuade you that you’re simply nuts for believing in Jesus and living in His life. Third, if you think you don’t need the Sacrament, know that you certainly have the devil hanging around your neck, putting you in a lethal full nelson and not allowing you to have peace with God or within. He truly does prowl around “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).

So, see if you still have flesh and blood, look around to see if you’re still in the world, and know that the devil is always on the prowl. But even more, recall the great price that the Son of God paid to make you His own. He gave His very Body and Blood on the cross. Also recall the words with which He gives His benefits and blessing to you: “Take, eat, this is My Body given for you; take, drink, this is My Blood shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” It’s the Lord’s Passover, and it’s your Communion with Him. Amen.