Still my favorite song...

Popular in the islands...

"... until such time as we become unthankful..."

"If Christ did not sit at the right hand of God, or daily pour out his Holy Spirit, the Christian faith would languish, for it is contrary to all human reasoning and opposed also by the devil. Therefore, if there were not this daily outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the devil would not allow a single person to cling in faith to Christ, proclaimed by the Pentecost message... But our dear God in heaven has erected an everlasting, divine bulwark to prevent this, namely, Jesus Christ, his Son, our exalted Lord at his right hand. By the Pentecost message he sustains and keeps us in the Christian faith, until such time as we become unthankful and God needs to punish us because of malice and unthankfulness, and inflicts a penalty by permitting the devil to tear away God's Word, as happened in the case of the Anabaptists and the Sacramentarian enthusiasts.

However, the Pentecost message and the Christian faith must endure until the end of the world. If by our unthankfulness we lose it, others will receive it while the world lasts."

Luther, Monday after Pentecost 1534
Klug, House Postils II.171

The church's task over against the world...

But she [the church] must not forget where her peculiar tasks lie. Now it is true, under certain circumstances the church too can confer with the State through its Secretary for Foreign Affairs [Aussenminister]. But she must be clear on one thing. She makes no impression on the world with her resolutions, announcements, and proposals. They are all swallowed by the wastepaper baskets of governments on either side of the iron curtain. Only a few church politicians are making an impression on the world today. But this is not because they are churchmen, it is because they are politicians. This is something the Lutheran Churches of the world still have to learn, although they might have learned it from Father Luther, who wasn’t nearly so naively unacquainted with the world as many often assert. The Lutheran Churches are still sunning themselves in the delusion that they have something to expect from the world other than the dear holy cross, which all those must carry who proclaim God’s Law and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to mankind. But this delusion will soon disappear.

Our American brethren in the faith will also learn this through painful experiences. Instead of setting up a church office in Washington, it would have been better had they equipped some place somewhere in the solitude of their immense country, where prayers would be offered day and night for their government and for the peace of the world. For the church of Christ is not a church that is always busy holding conferences, nor is she a church that does business with politicians and the press. She is ecclesia orans [a praying church]. And this is her main calling. Either she is ecclesia orans, as indeed she showed herself to be already in the catacombs,—or she is nothing.

Sasse, Letters to Lutheran Pastors V

Sasse on the Struggle for the Lutheran Church

Prof. D. Hermann Sasse
Erlangen, Febrary 3, 1949
Rathsberger Str. 4

Very Honored, Dear Brother [Siegfried] Hebart!

...You say, as do so many others in American and Germany, that I still had work to do here in the struggle for the Lutheran church. I still believed that in 1937, when Michael Reu called me to America. At that time I still hoped to have the possibility to work and remain here. I see now that I might have been able to effect and save more in Dubuque than in Erlangen. The unionization of German Lutherandom is a process spanning generations, which no one can stop. Elert, the wise man, already saw this in 1933 and therefore greeted DEK. He said to me at that time after a session with Procksch, in which we had formulated the Lutheran demands and I had come out against the German Christians: “Do you realize, Herr Colleague Sasse, where your position leads? Are you prepared to forsake your professorship? Are you prepared to forsake your salary?” I responded: “I do not know. But I hope that God will give me the strength, if it must be so. As for the rest I am convinced that you could too. Your fathers understood this in 1830.” “But that was completely wrong of them,” was his answer. He ever and again admonished me to make a positive confession over against the new [NDSAP] state, until he said to me in 1939: “I can no longer hold you. Go to America. Thus I accepted the call to Philadelphia, which Dr. Knubel had caused to be issued. This was immediately before the war broke out, which rendered all plans naught. …In no man of our church is the entire tragedy of Lutheranism so clear as in him. Lutheranism can no longer say no, as our fathers could still do so over 100 years ago. It says to every exaction “Yes.” It does so in Germany as in Scandinavia, in America as in the ecumenical movement with the intention to “make the best of it.” Therefore it misses all its decisive moments. It does not notice that the train which it awaits, has long left the station. Of him applies what was once said of Randall Davidson, that were Randall Davidson to be at Lambeth when the last trump sounds, he would be sure to nominate a representative committee to consider and report whether it was the last trump or the last but one….
Your faithful, H. Sasse

Festival Sermons of Luther

The Festival Sermons of Luther, Translated by Baseley, are available from CPH.

Others appear to have hard hearts...

Some scoff...

A few thoughts on Luther's Sermons

"Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage."

A Book for All Peoples

Luther's Sermons - Buy Now

Right from the beginning as a parish pastor I recognized the benefit of reading Luther's sermons, especially as I prepared for the task of preaching each Sunday. I think I was still at the seminary when I purchased the "Church Postils" of Luther. "Postil"comes from the Latin "post ille,"or "after this," based on the old tradition of commenting upon the appointed texts, which came "after" the biblical texts themselves in published expositions. Lenker published his seven volume series in 1905 and it was that series which I referred to most frequently. Many of the sermons in that series were never preached (and thus long). Luther prepared them as a guide for pastors facing the new task of actually preaching the gospel and the texts of the bible. 

While at the sem I well recall Dr. Gene Klug working on the "House Postils" of Luther. These are a collection of sermons which were mostly (not all) preached by Luther in the chapel of his home, the former Augustinian cloister in Wittenberg, to the large gathering of relatives, friends and guests. These sermons were carefully recorded (just how carefully is a subject of long debate and scholarly investigation), and published, but had not appeared in a complete English edition. Klug and Baker Book House remedied that situation with a three volume set. The sermons in this set are classic, insightful, pithy Luther. They are models of preaching law and gospel. In most of the sermons Luther makes only two or three main points. The Reformer steps into his office and preaches with the second person, directly to his hearers, "You are a wretch under the law!" "This good news of Christ is for YOU!" 

I quickly found that reading Luther's sermons on the appointed gospel of the week helped me preach directly to my hearers and with down-to-earth language and examples. I also found that sermon themes often lept out of statements by Luther, like "In Baptism heaven is nothing but doors and windows." As a country pastor in my early years in the ministry, I found Luther's many references to rural life at his time, were as fresh and applicable today as 450 years ago. 

Both the Lenker and Klug editions of the "Church"and "House Postils" are now available in one edition. There could hardly be a better gift for a young pastor (or an old pastor), or for a layperson interested in a lively presentation of all aspects of the faith. Reference to circumstances and people of Luther's day in Wittenberg and beyond are found throughout the sermons and make for fascinating reading for those interested in history. And Luther is EASY to read in these sermons.

The Postils are now available in one set from Baker at an astonishing $44 dollars (4700 pages!). 

Buy. Read. Inwardly digest. Read the House Postils first. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll be delighted by Luther.

Matt H.

Exaudi: "The world, Christ says, will throttle you as heretics. Then your conscience will also become weak and cause you to wonder"

"The world, Christ says, will throttle you as heretics. Then your conscience will also become weak and cause you to wonder: Who knows whether I did the right thing? Oh, I have overreached myself! The world and your own conscience condemn you. Christ says, I know how things will go for you, form the side of the world and from within yourself. You will find little comfort, but I am not going to let you be stuck under this assault. I won't lead you into a quagmire to drown you; rather, when there is no more comfort to be had anywhere, and you are frightened and at wit's end, then will I send the Holy Spirit who is and is called the Comforter. He will remove all despair from your hearts with his assuring word: Have faith, and do no despair; do not concern yourself with the judgement of the world, nor the judgement of your own thoughts, but cling confidently to what I say."

Luther

Sunday After Ascension Day - Exaudi 1532

Klug, House Postils II.145

Luther on the Office of Soldier

Now slaying and robbing do not seem to be works of love. A simple man therefore does not think it is a Christian thing to do. In truth, however, even this is a work of love. For example, a good doctor sometimes finds so serious and terrible a sickness that he must amputate or destroy a hand, foot, ear, eye, to save the body. Looking at it from the point of view of the organ that he amputates, he appears to be a cruel and merciless man; but looking at it from the point of view of the body, which the doctor wants to save, he is a fine and true man and does a good and Christian work, as far as the work itself is concerned. In the same way, when I think of a soldier fulfilling his office by punishing the wicked, killing the wicked, and creating so much misery, it seems an un-Christian work completely contrary to Christian love. But when I think of how it protects the good and keeps and preserves wife and child, house and farm, property, and honor and peace, then I see how precious and godly this work is; and I observe that it amputates a leg or a hand, so that the whole body may not perish. For if the sword were not on guard to preserve peace, everything in the world would be ruined because of lack of peace. Therefore, such a war is only a very brief lack of peace that prevents an everlasting and immeasurable lack of peace, a small misfortune that prevents a great misfortune.

What men write about war, saying that it is a great plague, is all true. But they should also consider how great the plague is that war prevents. If people were good and wanted to keep peace, war would be the greatest plague on earth. But what are you going to do about the fact that people will not keep the peace, but rob, steal, kill, outrage women and children, and take away property and honor? The small lack of peace called war or the sword must set a limit to this universal, worldwide lack of peace which would destroy everyone.

This is why God honors the sword so highly that he says that he himself has instituted it [Rom. 13:1] and does not want men to say or think that they have invented it or instituted it. For the hand that wields this sword and kills with it is not man’s hand, but God’s; and it is not man, but God, who hangs, tortures, beheads, kills, and fights. All these are God’s works and judgments.

To sum it up, we must, in thinking about a soldier’s office, not concentrate on the killing, burning, striking, hitting, seizing, etc. This is what children with their limited and restricted vision see when they regard a doctor as a sawbones who amputates, but do not see that he does this only to save the whole body. So, too, we must look at the office of the soldier, or the sword, with the eyes of an adult and see why this office slays and acts so cruelly. Then it will prove itself to be an office which, in itself, is godly and as needful and useful to the world as eating and drinking or any other work.

Whether Soldiers Too Can Be Saved, LW 46.96

"These are staggering numbers."

"In 80 months of the Revolutionary War there were 10,623 casualties, with 4,435 deaths, or about 55 Americans dying each month of the war.

In 37 months of the Korean War there were 136,935 casualties, with 33,651 deaths, or about 909 Americans dying in combat each month of the war.

"In 90 months of the Vietnam War there were 211, 471 casualties, with 47,369 deaths, or about 526 Americans dying in combat each month of the war.

In 1 month of the Gulf War there were 760 casualties, with 293 deaths, or 148 Americans dying in combat during the month of the war.

In 14 months of fighting in Iraq, there have been 4,685 casualties, with 803 deaths, or 57 Americans dying each month of the war.

Those Americans who died in all these wars—and more could be mentioned—did their duty, and we know who they are, as we visit the cemeteries and note the dates of their shortened lives on the headstones. We know their loved ones, their wives and mothers, and their children, and the friends who shall always miss them.

But let me mention another war, the Big One—ominously numbered with a two, not only because there was a previous war that was thought to be a world war, but because reasonable men rightly assumed there might be more such huge conflicts that would literally embrace the globe—World War II. This was a time when good and evil contended for the world. The largest things were at stake.

It is this war that I want to especially note and remember here today.

In 48 months of World War II there were 1,078,162 American casualties, with 407,316 death, or 6,639 Americans dying in combat each month of the war.

These are staggering numbers..."

Excerpt from Peter Schramm's Memorial Day Speach 2004
www.ashbrook.org

The video is of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Memorial Day Order 1868

Memorial Day Order

I. The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but Posts and comrades will, in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

We are organized, Comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers sailors and Marines, who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead? We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security, is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains, and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledge to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon the Nation's gratitude—the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.

II. It is the purpose of the Commander in Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to call attention to this Order, and lend its friendly aid in bringing it to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

III. Department commanders will use every effort to make this Order effective.

—General Orders No. 11, Grand Army of the Republic Headquarters[1].

From Wikipedia "Memorial Day"

Gettysburg Address

Some think it's "A - OK"

... and Jazz, of course.

For more about Erin Bode, click HERE.

A Life Worth Living Is Enriched By Enjoyment (i.e. Bluegrass Banjo)

A life worth living, as Bonhoeffer says, is enriched also by enjoyment... Here is Flatt and Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys. The Dobro player featured here is the late great Josh Graves, a former next door neighbor to former LCMS Mid South District President David Callies. Matt H

Luther at Worms:"Here I Stand"

"He intercepts my hangman..."

"This is [Christ's] kingdom and office in heaven: He takes my captivity captive, intercepts my hangman, interdicts my sins, exterminates my death, damns my hell." 

Luther's House Postils vol. 2, pp. 119-120

Sermon for Ascension Day 1534 (preached at the City Church)

ELCA Theologians Issue Statement

This came via email today. It needs no explanation. We appreciate the courage of those who produced it. Matt H. 

An Open Letter to the Voting Members 

of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly 

 

We are grateful that the church has called you to serve as a voting member for the 

2009 Churchwide Assembly. Your role at the assembly will be a difficult one. We 

are writing this open letter as Lutheran theologians and church leaders concerned 

about the fidelity and future of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

The proposals are in fact no compromise

 

The proposals to be considered by the Churchwide Assembly this summer from 

the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality are perceived by some as 

compromises that will permit the ELCA to live faithfully with internal diversity 

on controversial ethical questions. The proposals are in fact no compromise. They 

clearly imply that same-sex blessings and the ordination and rostering of 

homosexual persons in committed relationships are acceptable within the ELCA. 

The teaching of the church will be changed 

The teaching of the church will be changed. We should not make such an 

important decision without clear biblical and theological support. The Task Force 

did not provide such support, nor has it been provided in statements from some of 

our colleagues in ELCA institutions. 

Indifference to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church 

  

1. If the assembly adopts the proposed rules of procedure, a simple majority of 

one Churchwide Assembly will alter the moral teaching on sexuality we have 

shared with the vast majority of the church past and present. We are concerned 

that such a procedure shows an indifference to the common mind of the one, 

holy, catholic and apostolic church throughout the ages and across cultures. At 

the least, a two-thirds majority should be required, if indeed the assembly 

should be voting on these matters at all.  

The church is founded on the whole Word of God, both law and gospel 

 

2. The proposals claim that the ELCA can live with profound differences on 

sexual questions because our unity is centered exclusively on the gospel and 

the sacraments. This claim separates law and gospel in a way contrary to both 

Scripture and the Confessions. The church is founded on the whole Word of 

God, both law and gospel. The Task Force texts seem to permit variation on all 

ethical questions, no matter how fundamental. How Christians behave sexually 

is not a matter of indifference to our life in Christ. 

It would damage our ecumenical relationships

 

3. If the ELCA were to approve the public recognition of same-sex unions or the 

rostering of persons in such relationships, it would damage our ecumenical 

relationships with the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and 

Evangelical churches, all of which affirm the clear teaching of Scripture that 

homosexual activity departs from God’s design for marriage and sexuality. 

Furthermore, it would put the ELCA at odds with many of our sister Lutheran 

churches, especially in Asia and Africa. The United Methodist Church and the 

Presbyterian Church (USA) have also recently upheld scriptural teaching on 

this matter. These bodies have officially recognized that the biblical 

prohibitions against homosexual activity remain applicable today to consensual 

sexual relationships between persons of the same sex. 

 

Our unity will be fractured 

4. With regard to calling rostered leaders, the statement proposes “structured 

flexibility,” which we believe will lead inevitably to “local option.” If adopted, 

this proposal will mean that the relationship among bishops, candidacy 

committees, and congregations will become confused and conflicted. 

Practically speaking, there will be two lists of candidates for rostered 

leadership in the church. The result will be that not all pastors and 

congregations will be in full fellowship with each other, nor with many of the 

pastors and congregations of those denominations with whom we are in full 

communion. Further, laity seeking a congregation to join would need to ask 

about which option a congregation has chosen in calling its leaders. Our unity 

in the office of ministry will be fractured. 

 

Conscience can err

5. The social statement calls for opponents in the current controversy to respect 

each other’s “bound conscience,” referring to Martin Luther at the Diet of 

Worms. Luther, however, was not merely claiming that he was sincere about 

the convictions he held; he asserted rather that his conscience was bound to the 

Word of God. Conscience can err. The Word of God, not conscience, is the 

final court of appeal in the church. 

 

We are deeply sensitive to the need of the church to provide pastoral care for all 

people. We are aware that there are some in the church who will disagree with 

this letter. Nevertheless, we feel we are called to support and advocate the biblical 

teaching on human sexuality and urge you to defeat all the proposals from the 

Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality that the Church Council has forwarded 

to you. We pledge to you our prayers and we invite you to work with us for the 

renewal of our church under the Word of God. 

 

 

Rev. Richard Bansemer, Salem, VA, former Bishop, Virginia Synod 

Dr. Robert D. Benne, Director of the Center for Religion and Society, Roanoke College, VA 

Rev. John C. Beem, Miltona, MN, former Bishop, East-Central Synod of Wisconsin 

Rev. Dr. Paul S. Berge, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN 

Rev. Dr. Dennis D. Bielfeldt, Professor of Religion, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 

Rev. Dr. Carl E. Braaten, Professor Emeritus, Systematic Theology, Lutheran School of Theology at 

Chicago 

Rev. Mark C. Chavez, Landisville, PA, Director of Lutheran CORE 

Rev. Dr. James R. Crumley, Jr, Chapin, SC, Former Bishop, Lutheran Church in America 

Rev. Jaynan Clark Egland, Nine Mile Falls, WA, President, WordAlone Network 

Rev. Dr. C. Jack Eichhorst, President emeritus, Trinity Lutheran College, WA 

Dr. Rebecca Frey, New Haven, CT, Lutheran Forum Editorial Staff 

Rev. Gregory P. Fryer, Immanuel Lutheran Church, New York, MY 

Gracia M. Grindal, Professor of Rhetoric, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN 

Mr. David J. Hardy, Esq., Chicago, IL, Former General Counsel of the ELCA 

Rev. Dr. Roy A. Harrisville, Jr., Professor Emeritus, New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN 

Rev. Dr. Roy A. Harrisville, III, Menomonie, WI  

Rev. Dr. Mary Havens, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Prof. of Church History, Columbia, 

SC 

Rev. Carol S. Hendrix, former bishop, Lower Susquehanna Synod, PA 

Dr. Hans J. Hillerbrand, Professor of Religion, Duke University, NC 

Rev. Dr. Paul R. Hinlicky, Professor of Religion, Roanoke College, VA 

Rev. Dr. Stephen J. Hultgren, Assistant Professor of Religion, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 

Rev. Dr. Robert W. Jenson, Princeton, NJ 

Ben Arlen Johnson, Th.D., Professor emeritus, Lutheran Bible Institute in California 

Rev. Dr. Richard O. Johnson, Grass Valley, CA, Editor of Forum Letter 

Rev. Corinne R. Johnson, Crystal Falls, MI 

Rev. Ralph A. Kempski, Aiken, SC, Bishop Emeritus, Indiana-Kentucky Synod 

Rev. Dr. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology, Union Theological 

Seminary in Richmond, VA 

Rev. Gerard H. Knoche, Bishop, Delaware-Maryland Synod 

Rev. Dr. Marc Kolden, Professor Emeritus, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN 

Rev. Dr. David W. Lotz, Washburn Professor Emeritus of Church History, Union Theological 

Seminary, New York, NY 

Rev. Dr. Lamontte Luker, Professor of Hebrew Scriptures, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, 

Columbia, SC 

Rev. Dr. Paul V. Martinson, Professor Emeritus of Missions, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN 

Rev. Dr. Mark C. Mattes, Professor of Religion, Grand View College, Des Moines, IA 

Rev. George P. Mocko, Bishop Emeritus, Delaware-Maryland Synod 

Rev. Dr. James A. Nestingen, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN 

Rev. Richard J. Niebanck III, Delhi, NY 

Rev. Dr. Oliver K. Olson, Minneapolis, MN 

Rev. Dr. Steven D. Paulson, Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN 

Rev. Dr. David W. Preus, Minneapolis, MN, Former Bishop, American Lutheran Church 

Dr. Michael Root, Dean, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC 

Rev. Dr. Paul E. Rorem, Professor of Church History, Princeton Theological Seminary, NJ  

Rev. Russell E. Saltzman, Ruskin Heights Lutheran Church, Kansas City, MO 

Rev. Kenneth H. Sauer, Columbus, OH, Former Chair of Conference of Bishops 

Rev. Dr. James A. Scherer, Professor Emeritus, Missions and Church History, Lutheran School of 

Theology at Chicago 

Rev. Dr. Amy Schifrin, Hershey, PA 

Rev. Paul A. Schreck, Round Lake Beach, IL, former Executive Assistant to the Secretary, ELCA 

Rev. Henry Schulte Jr, Boerne, TX, former Bishop, Southwestern Texas Synod 

Rev. Frederick J. Schumacher, Manchester Township, NJ, Executive Director, American Lutheran 

Publicity Bureau 

Rev. Dr. Hans Schwarz, Professor of Systematic Theology and Contemporary Theological Issues, 

University of Regensburg, Germany 

Rev. Dr. Frank Senn, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Evanston, IL 

Rev. Dr. Franklin Sherman, Schnecksville, PA 

Rev. Dr. Trygve R. Skarsten, Pickerington, OH, President Emeritus of Trinity Lutheran College, 

Everett, WA 

Rev. Paull E. Spring, State College, PA, Former Bishop, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod 

Rev. Dr. John R. Stumme, Chicago, IL, former Director of the Department for Studies in the Church 

in Society unit of the ELCA 

Rev. Dr. Anders Tune, Campus Minister, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH 

Rev. Paul M. Werger, Iowa City, IA, Former Chair of Conference of Bishops 

Rev. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, Associate Research Professor, Institute for Ecumenical Research, 

Strasbourg, France 

Dr. David S. Yeago, Professor of Systematic Theology, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, 

Columbia, SC 

Rev. Dr. J. Larry Yoder, Professor and Director, Center for Theology, Lenoir-Rhyne University, 

Hickory, NC 

Dali's "Christ of St. John of the Cross"

Like millions of others, I love this painting... The fact that it was produced by the odd and enigmatic Dali endears it all the more. I find in Christ's cross "the very unity of the universe." The following is from Wikipedia. Pastor H.

Christ of Saint John of the Cross is a painting by Salvador Dalí made in 1951. It depicts Jesus Christ on the cross in a darkened sky floating over a body of water complete with a boat and fishermen. Although it is a depiction of the crucifixion, it is devoid of nails, blood, and a crown of thorns, because, according to Dalí, he was convinced by a dream that these features would mar his depiction of Christ. Also in a dream, the importance of depicting Christ in the extreme angle evident in the painting was revealed to him.

The painting is known as the "Christ of Saint John of the Cross," because its design is based on a drawing by the 16th century Spanish friar Saint John of the Cross. The composition of Christ is also based on a triangle and circle (the triangle is formed by Christ's arms; the circle is formed by Christ's head). The triangle, since it has three sides, can be seen as a reference to theTrinity, and the circle may be an allusion to Platonic thought.^[1] On the bottom of his studies for the painting, Dalí explained its inspiration: "In the first place, in 1950, I had a 'cosmic dream' in which I saw this image in color and which in my dream represented the 'nucleus of the atom.' This nucleus later took on a metaphysical sense; I considered it 'the very unity of the universe,' the Christ!"^[2]

The painting and intellectual property rights were acquired by Glasgow Corporation for £8,200, a price considered high at the time. In 1961, the canvas was damaged by a visitor to the museum (using a brick) because the viewpoint of the artist was looking down rather than up on the subject. It has since been successfully restored. In 1993, the painting was moved to the city's St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, but returned to Kelvingrove for its reopening in July 2006. It won a poll to decide Scotland's favorite painting in 2006, with 29% of the vote.^[3]

The Spanish government is said to have offered £80 million for the painting, but the offer was turned down.^[4]

Footnotes

1. ^ Gaultier, Alyse. The Little Book of Dali. Paris: Flammarion, 2004.
2. ^ Descharnes, Robert. Dali. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2003.
3. ^ "Salvador Dali's 'Christ of St John of the Cross' Wins Herald Poll", GlasgowMuseums.com, August 30, 2005.
4. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20060702/ai_n16532511

Apology IV IS a bit long...

In Christ, I prefer to stand with "those who are below average."

Versions of social Darwinism live on and will continue to confront us in various ways. May we always prefer - with Christ - to stand with the 'worst people.'

Sasse wrote once (see The Lonely Way, vol. 1) that Nieztsche, like no one else, perceived life without God, and it drove him insane (with help from a STD). It is essential to be familiar with Nieztsche have some idea of where western culture is today. Indeed, "everyone must become his own god."

Click HERE to view a BBC special on Nieztsche which repeatedly verifies Sasse's judgement. As the world about us decays and declines into madness, the truth of Christ shall shine ever more brightly in the darkness. Lord have mercy.

Pastor H

Like Nietzsche, Tille forthrightly declared battle against Christian and humanitarian ethics, which he considered contrary to an ethic based on Darwinian evolution. The moral ideal of evolutionary ethics, according to Tille, must be 'the elevation and more excellent formation of the human race.' ...If an act contributes to biological decline, it is immoral, even if it fulfills the Christan command of love and compassion... 

Tille also interpreted Nietzsche as a proponent of evolutionary ethics, even though he admitted that Nietzsche was not always conscious of the evolutionary underpinnings for his ideas. Tille claimed that Nietzsche did not reject all morality, bu only slave morality, such as Christianity or humanitarianism. But Nietzsche promoted a morality that would produce the Superman, which Tille interpreted as a higher stage of human evolution. 

According to Tille, 'A physiologically higher condition of future humanity is his [N's] final moral goal, his moral ideal, and thereby he draws the final ethical consequence from Darwinism, thereby he expands the theoretical world view of the theory of evolution to the ethical world.' Tille exulted in Nietzsche's rejection of compassion and sympathy, for they will not lead to evolutionary progress. Rather, Tille asserted,

Even the most careful selection of the best can accomplish nothing, if it is not linked with a merciless elimination of the worst people... And the proclamation of social elimination must therefore rbe one of the supreme features of every ethics, which elevates as its ideal the goal that the theory of evolution has demonstrated... Out of love for coming generations... Zarathustra preaches: Do not spare your neighbor! For the person of th today is something that must be overcome. But if it must be overcome, then the worst people, the low ones, and the superfluous ones must be sacrificed... Therefore this means becoming hard against those who are below average, and in them to overcome one's own sympathy.

Richard Weikart, From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany (2004), p. 45.

Cafe' Sola! Savor the Flavor of Mercy! And Help Others!

Coffee that Works...drink Café Sola! Savor the Flavor of Mercy!

Put your coffee drinking habit to work for the good of others. Café Sola is a premium blend roast coffee with a rich, bold, and robust flavor. Café Sola is developed through the partnership of LCMS World Relief and Human Care and Concordia Publishing House. All profits from Café Sola go directly to help with human care projects around the world.

Serve Café Sola on Sundays, during the week for small groups, in the church office, or wherever your coffee drinkers hang out. And now with our new discounted case pricing, you can make Café Sola available to individual members of your congregation. Everyone can play a part.

Ordering is easy! Café Sola is available in individual packages or save 19% when you order by the case. Each Café Sola case contains ten 12-oz. sealable packages. Order as many cartons as you need to supply your congregation. Order extra and sell the individual packages to your members.

Café Sola is Rainforest Alliance-certified so you can be sure that both coffee growers and the ecosystem are treated fairly.

To find ordering information or place an order, please visit www.cph.org/cafesola.

Gotta Love Teddy

www.theartofmanliness.com

From Nietzsche to Hitler on "Lives Not Worth Living"

"Society as the trustee of life is responsible to life for every botched life that comes into existence; and as it has to atone for such lives, it ought consequently to make it impossible for them ever to see the light of day: it should in many cases actually prevent the act of procreation, and may, without any regard for rank, descent, or intellect, hold in readiness the most rigorous forms of compulsion and restriction, and, under certain circumstances, have recourse to castration ... ‘Thou shalt do no murder,’ is a piece of ingenuous puerility compared with ‘Thou shalt not beget!!!’ ... The [infirm] must at all costs be eliminated, lest the whole fall to pieces."

Nietzsche, The Will to Power, 734.

"Humanitarianism is the expression of stupidity and cowardice."

Adolf Hitler

Portrait by Prechtl

Free Mercy Pamphlets Available from LCMS World Relief and Human Care

Call 1-800-248-1930, ext. 1380, and ask for "World Relief and Human Care." You can also access most of these pamphlets in electronic form via the links on the right on this blog. You can also click HERE.

Blessings, Matt H

'I have no use for the sour-faced man.'

"There are two things that I want you to make up your minds to: first, that you are going to have a good time as long as you live - I have no use for the sour-faced man - and next, that you are going to do something worthwhile, that you are going to work hard and do the things you set out to do."

Talk to schoolchildren in Oyster Bay, Christmastime 1898

It appears to make little impression on some...

Rogate - Luther on Prayer in the Name of Jesus

Christ teaches that prayer should be made in his name; for we must confess that we are poor sinners, unworthy to come before God and speak to him, and more unworthy still to ask something from him. In order, therefore, that we do not allow such unworthiness on our part to impede prayer, the Lord expressly enjoins us to pray in his name, and promises that what we ask in his name will be granted. With these words he teaches us that prayer and supplication, by which we worship and honor God, must rest completely on the person of Jesus Christ alone. It follows that every prayer, therefore, not made in the name of Jesus is neither prayer nor worship... Thus in a most loving manner our dear Lord Jesus Christ urgently exhorts us to engage cheerfully and readily in prayer. For whatever we shall ask the Father in his name will press on until it reaches the throne of God, and there the "Yea" and "Amen" have already been spoken.

Luther
Rogate Sermon 1534
House Postils II, pp. 108-09.

"Our dear Lord... still changes water into wine." Martin Luther

When and husband and wife live together as Christians, our Lord God sustains them so richly that they receive more than they ever imagined or believed possible. And I fully believe that, if you were to heap the total amount of money he could earn in a year in front of him on a table, a laborer, who is otherwise very diligent and fears God, would still not believe it was sufficient to support him and his family. But here's where God's secret blessing is at work: today you spend twenty pennies and tomorrow another twenty pennies, and thus day for day you experience God's blessing as you quietly manage your household. Our dear Lord, you see, today still changes water into wine, in my home and in yours (if we are but godly and pious and let him do the caring). Again, it is his doing which multiplies one piece of bread into ten, and causes one coat to wear as long as three otherwise. If we would but open our eyes we would be forced to say, Lord, it is by your will that our household is provided for; when we establish it, we do so in service to you; you have honored it and continue still to honor it with your blessing. For this reason I shall not disdain it, but make it my calling to look after it.

Martin Luther
Second Sunday after Epiphany
House Postils I, pp. 237-8

Sweet Smelling Sacrifices

Not terribly popular with Roman Catholics, but Romans, on the other hand...

"Christ Have Mercy"

Thanks for the kind notes and comments about the book "Christ Have Mercy." It's a testimony about a theological and personal journey into the church's corporate life of mercy in Christ.

The companion video (as well as the book) is available at Lutheran Visuals.

Blessings, Pastor H.

Others simply can't comprehend...

Pocket Edition meets Picaso

Christian Mothers Share with Their Children

Mercy Medical Teams treat another 1172 patients in Kenya!

That's right. Jacob Fiene, who works for and with LCMS World Relief and Human Care Director of Life and Health Ministries, Maggie Karner, reported to me that a team he took to Kenya treated 1172 patients at Atemo and Kisumo, Kenya. Several lives were saved, including a woman who had been in labor for 18 hours and was immediately taken to a local hospital for a c-section. Most patients were suffering Malaria or Typhoid. The team treated a RECORD 454 patients in ONE DAY!

These teams of American LCMS medical personnel and their friends always connect with the local medical community, and in most cases, Lutheran doctors and nurses in the host country. A lot of learning and sharing goes on all around.

And Jacob? He's already off to Haiti, planning the first MMT there... Then it's back to Africa. Then??? I'm hoping India, or South America.





Click HERE to hear from Maggie on the teams and learn more. The recording as done last year but gives you a great idea of what the MMT's involve.

Pastor H

Some find hope...

South American Lutheran Deaconess Gathering

Here's a bit of video from the Lutheran Deaconess Gathering held in Buenos Aires... LCMS WR&HC Director Olga Groh and her husband Rev. Jorge Groh did a SUPER job organizing and running the event! Thanks Guys! GREAT! Thanks too to Pam N., Art J., Jenny W., Dave B. and Carlos H. for presenting! Wonderful... Or as we say in Lawrence Welk land... "Wunnerful-a-wunnerful-a..." The women in the video are doing AMAZING work for the poor and needy all over Latin America. It was a real honor to learn from them and with them!

Matt

Luther on Koinonia, the Sacrament and Love

Here's that section of Luther I noted in the last video on this blog. It's from "On the Sacrament and the Brotherhoods" (1519) and written well before the controversy with those who denied that the sacrament is the true body and blood of Christ for forgiveness.

Enjoy! Matt H.

4. The significance or effect of this sacrament is fellowship of all the saints. From this it derives its common name synaxis [Greek] or communio [Latin], that is, fellowship. And the Latin communicare [commune or communicate], or as we say in German, zum sacrament gehen [go to the sacrament], means to take part in this fellowship. Hence it is that Christ and all saints are one spiritual body,9 just as the inhabitants of a city are one community and body, each citizen being a member of the other and of the entire city. All the saints, therefore, are members of Christ and of the church, which is a spiritual and eternal city of God.10 And whoever is taken into this city is said to be received into the community of saints and to be incorporated into Christ’s spiritual body and made a member of him. On the other hand excommunicare [excommunicate] means to put out of the community and to sever a member from this body; and that is called in our language “putting one under the ban”—though a distinction [is to be made in this regard] as I shall show in the following treatise, concerning the ban.11

To receive this sacrament in bread and wine, then, is nothing else than to receive a sure sign of this fellowship and incorporation with Christ and all saints. It is as if a citizen were given a sign, a document, or some other token to assure him that he is a citizen of the city, a member of that particular community. St. Paul says this very thing in I Corinthians 10[:17], “We are all one bread and one body, for we all partake of one bread and of one cup.”

5. This fellowship consists in this, that all the spiritual possessions of Christ and his saints12 are shared with and become the common property of him who receives this sacrament. Again all sufferings and sins also become common property; and thus love engenders love in return and [mutual love] unites. To carry out our homely figure, it is like a city where every citizen shares with all the others the city’s name, honor, freedom, trade, customs, usages, help, support, protection, and the like, while at the same time he shares all the dangers of fire and flood, enemies and death, losses, taxes, and the like. For he who would share in the profits must also share in the costs,13 and ever recompense love with love.14 Here we see that whoever injures one citizen injures an entire city and all its citizens; whoever benefits one [citizen] deserves favor and thanks from all the others. So also in our natural body, as St. Paul says in I Corinthians 12[:25–26], where he gives this sacrament a spiritual explanation, “The members have [the same] care for one another; if one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” This is obvious: if anyone’s foot hurts him, yes, even the little toe, the eye at once looks at it, the fingers grasp it, the face puckers, the whole body bends over to it, and all are concerned with this small member; again, once it is cared for all the other members are benefited. This comparison must be noted well if one wishes to understand this sacrament, for Scripture uses it for the sake of the unlearned.

6. In this sacrament, therefore, man is given through the priest a sure sign from God himself that he is thus united with Christ and his saints and has all things in common [with them], that Christ’s sufferings and life are his own, together with the lives and sufferings of all the saints. Therefore whoever does injury to [the believer], does injury to Christ and all the saints, as he says through the prophet [Zech. 2:8], “He who touches you touches the apple of my eye.” On the other hand whoever does him a kindness does it to Christ and all his saints; as he says in Matthew 25[:40], “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” Again, man must be willing to share all the burdens and misfortunes of Christ and his saints, the cost as well as the profit. Let us consider more fully these two [sides of the fellowship].

7. Now adversity assails us in more than one form. There is, in the first place, the sin that remains in our flesh after baptism: the inclination to anger, hatred, pride, unchastity, and so forth. This sin assails us as long as we live.15 Here we not only need the help of the community [of saints] and of Christ, in order that they might with us fight this sin, but it is also necessary that Christ and his saints intercede for us before God, so that this sin may not be charged to our account by God’s strict judgment. Therefore in order to strengthen and encourage us against this same sin, God gives us this sacrament, as much as to say, “Look, many kinds of sin are assailing you; take this sign by which I give you my pledge that this sin is assailing not only you but also my Son, Christ, and all his saints in heaven and on earth. Therefore take heart and be bold. You are not fighting alone. Great help and support are all around you.” King David speaks thus of this bread, “The bread strengthens a man’s heart” [Ps. 104:15]. And the Scriptures in numerous places ascribe to this sacrament the property of strengthening, as in Acts 9[:18–19] [where it is written] of St. Paul, “He was baptized, and when he had received the food, he was strengthened.”

In the second place the evil spirit assails us unceasingly with many sins and afflictions. In the third place the world, full of wickedness, entices and persecutes us and is altogether bad. Finally our own guilty conscience assails us with our past sins; and there is the fear of death and the pains of hell. All of these afflictions make us weary and weak, unless we seek strength in this fellowship, where strength is to be found.

8. Whoever is in despair, distressed by a sin-stricken conscience or terrified by death or carrying some other burden upon Iris heart, if he would be rid of them all, let him go joyfully to the sacrament of the altar and lay down his woe in the midst of the community [of saints] and seek help from the entire company of the spiritual body—just as a citizen whose property has suffered damage or misfortune at the hands of his enemies makes complaint to his town council and fellow citizens and asks them for help. The immeasurable grace and mercy of God are given us in this sacrament to the end that we might put from us all misery and tribulation [anfechtung] and lay it upon the community [of saints], and especially on Christ. Then we may with joy find strength and comfort, and say, “Though I am a sinner and have fallen, though this or that misfortune has befallen me, nevertheless I will go to the sacrament to receive a sign from God that I have on my side Christ’s righteousness, life, and sufferings, with all holy angels and the blessed in heaven and all pious men on earth. If I die, I am not alone in death; if I suffer, they suffer with me. [I know that] all my misfortune is shared with Christ and the saints, because I have a sure sign of their love toward me.” See, this is the benefit to be derived from this sacrament; this is the use we should make of it. Then the heart cannot but rejoice and be strengthened.

9. When you have partaken of this sacrament, therefore, or desire to partake of it, you must in turn share the misfortunes of the fellowship, as has been said. But what are these? Christ in heaven and the angels, together with the saints, have no misfortunes, except when injury is done to the truth and to the Word of God. Indeed, as we have said, every bane and blessing of all the saints on earth affects them. Here your heart must go out in love and learn that this is a sacrament of love. As love and support are given you, you in turn must render love and support to Christ in his needy ones. You must feel with sorrow all the dishonor done to Christ in his holy Word, all the misery of Christendom, all the unjust suffering of the innocent, with which the world is everywhere filled to overflowing. You must fight, work, pray, and—if you cannot do more—have heartfelt sympathy. See, this is what it means to bear in your turn the misfortune and adversity of Christ and his saints. Here the saying of Paul is fulfilled, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” [Gal. 6:2]. See, as you uphold all of them, so they all in turn uphold you; and all things are in common, both good and evil. Then all things become easy, and the evil spirit cannot stand up against this fellowship.

When Christ instituted the sacrament, he said, “This is my body which is given for you, this is my blood which is poured out for you. As often as you do this, remember me.”16 It is as if he were saying, “I am the Head, I will be the first to give himself for you. I will make your suffering and misfortune my own and will bear it for you, so that you in your turn may do the same for me and for one another, allowing all things to be common property, in me, and with me. And I leave you this sacrament as a sure token of all this, in order that you may not forget me, but daily call to mind and admonish one another by means of what I did and am still doing for you, in order that you may be strengthened, and also bear one another in the same way.”

10. This is also a reason, indeed the chief reason, why this sacrament is received many times, while baptism is received but once. Baptism is the taking up or entering upon a new life,17 in the course of which boundless adversities assail us, with sins and sufferings, both our own and those of others. There is the devil, the world, and our own flesh and conscience, as I have said. They never cease to hound us and oppress us. Therefore we need the strength, support, and help of Christ and of his saints. These are pledged to us here, as in a sure sign, by which we are made one with them—incorporated into them—and all our woe is laid down in the midst of the community [of saints].

For this reason it even happens that this holy sacrament is of little or no benefit to those who have no misfortune or anxiety, or who do not sense their adversity. For it is given only to those who need strength and comfort, who have timid hearts and terrified consciences, and who are assailed by sin, or have even fallen into sin. How could it do anything for untroubled and secure spirits, who neither need nor desire it? For the Mother of God18 says, “He fills only the hungry [Luke 1:53], and comforts them that are distressed.”

9Cf. Rom. 12:5; I Cor. 12:5.
10Cf. Isa. 60:14; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 3:12.
11See A Treatise Concerning the Ban (1520) (PE 2, 35–54), where Luther distinguishes between the external ban (excommunication) which excludes from the church’s sacramental fellowship and the internal ban (sin and unbelief) which excludes from the fellowship with Christ. Cf. in this volume, p. 144.
12As early as 1515–1516 in his lectures on Romans [12:13] Luther distinguished between the contemporary understanding of “saints” as those who “are blessed and participating in glory” and the biblical understanding of “saints” as “all those who believe in Christ.” WA 56, 469; MA3, Er 2, 398. This second sense is implicit in his use of the term here and throughout this treatise.
13Cf. the English aphorism, “What’s none of my profit shall be none of my peril” (Vincent Stuckey Lean, Lean’s Collectanea [Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1904], IV, 178) with its German equivalents in Karl F. Wander (ed.), Deutsches Sprichwörter-Lexikon (5 vols.; Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1867–1880), I, 1557, “Geniessen, ” Nos. 3, 4, 10, 14.
14Cf. the English aphorism, “Love is love’s reward” (Lean’s Collectanea, IV, 39), with its German equivalents in Wander (ed.), Sprichwörter-Lexikon, III, 136ff., “Liebe, ” Nos. 146, 386, 388, 635, 661, and especially No. 410 which also cites the English, “Love can neither be bought nor sold, its only price is love.”
15Cf. pp. 30–34.
16Cf. p. 82, n. 5.
17Cf. p. 30.
18Luther often called the Virgin Mary by this term of veneration which was common in Western Christendom. Cf. his discussion of the name in The Magnificat (1521). LW 21, 326–327.
Luther, M. (1999, c1960). Vol. 35: Luther's works, vol. 35 : Word and Sacrament I (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (35:50). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.