Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison

Sigh.... "Whoever says he is in the light and...

2012-01-14T12:02:57.576-06:00

Sigh.... "Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." I Jn. 2

"defend him, speak well of him and put the best construction on everything." Small Catechism.

"Blessed are you when others revile you..." Jesus

The ring was a surprise gift from my beloved for the 10th anniversary of my ordination, now fading quickly into the past. I treasure it for that reason. My wife and I have been through so very much together (now married 31 yrs, and Christ has been with us through it all, and all undeserved.). It has a carved stone with Christ on the cross, which daily reminds me that my terrible sin is paid for by the death of Jesus, and it also reminds me that in this life we shall have many trials and much pain as we take up our cross and follow Jesus. It has an Alpha and Omega on it too... That tells me Jesus is God, first and last, and my life is encompassed completely in his love for eternity. There are also two cherubs on either side of the ring. These angels remind me of the Lord's gracious sending of his angels to protect and preserve as I find myself in some very challenging places and circumstances.

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, and along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Eph. 4

I've made it a habit over a long time not to respond to anonymous notes, letters and postings. I just want you to know that I have now added you, "Mr/Mrs Anonymous" to my daily prayer list. If I have sinned against you, or the church has sinned against you in some fashion, I urge you to write me at Matthew.Harrison@lcms.org so I can ask your forgiveness and also forgive you.

In Jesus, MH

Thanks so much. Your point is well-taken and has b...

2012-01-14T11:46:44.870-06:00

Thanks so much. Your point is well-taken and has been a concern of mine too. Unfortunately, there are sin and shortcomings all around on this issue. When elevated to the level of the Supreme court a principle was at stake which quite left the original problem in the dust. Unfortunately we are nothing but sinners and there are many cases of church workers who do not receive the best treatment, and workers who fall short in their treatment of the congregation. That said, I am very proud of the spirit I've witnessed where there is a deep genuine concern for people who serve. At LCMS world relief there is hardly a day that goes by without action to assist a church worker in need. Lord have mercy.

As an LCMS member, the thing that disturbs me abou...

2012-01-13T01:10:52.326-06:00

As an LCMS member, the thing that disturbs me about this case is not how the Court ruled, but how the Synod treats its called ministers. The calling of a teacher is supposed to be one of the highest callings in the Synod, yet when this teacher fell ill and recovered, her calling apparently did not matter. She was told that she could not return, and when she went to the secular courts she was fired.

The sad lesson from this is that one would be better off NOT being a called minister. After all, the Synod didn't take care of its called minister in this instance - a secular government would have taken better care of her.

Is this the message that we as a Synod want to convey?

THANK YOU PASTOR HARRISON. AHH YES......THE WORD ...

2012-01-09T23:54:01.825-06:00

THANK YOU PASTOR HARRISON. AHH YES......THE WORD IS SO COMFORTING.......THANKS BE TO GOD! BLESSED EPIPHANY!

We are, and pray you and yours are as well.

2012-01-03T21:39:40.814-06:00

We are, and pray you and yours are as well.

My pleasure! Pray you are well in Oz!

2012-01-02T20:09:46.550-06:00

My pleasure! Pray you are well in Oz!

As someone who has not yet had the opportunity to ...

2012-01-02T19:11:57.140-06:00

As someone who has not yet had the opportunity to visit Germany, I'm really enjoying these pics, Pr Harrison. Thanks for posting them (and more please).

Do we have a driver?

2011-12-29T11:10:16.538-06:00

Do we have a driver?

Dear Bishop, What a excellent music which I have e...

2011-12-25T17:39:31.071-06:00

Dear Bishop,
What a excellent music which I have enjoyed. Thanks for the Christmas gift.I wish a happy Christmas and blessed new year.
Rev. Solomon Rajan babu, Pastor,ALC,India and a Mission & Evangelism Director.

Excellent. Merry Christmas.

2011-12-25T12:02:09.520-06:00

Excellent. Merry Christmas.

What a gift! Enjoyed the music Pastor & Dr Har...

2011-12-25T08:29:49.549-06:00

What a gift! Enjoyed the music Pastor & Dr Harrison.

A blessed Christmas, Pr Harrison.

2011-12-25T01:59:10.270-06:00

A blessed Christmas, Pr Harrison.

I would love to see a good English treatment of th...

2011-12-20T20:36:44.927-06:00

I would love to see a good English treatment of the Smalcald War. Unfortunately, I can't find one.

It seems that if the Church was being secularized ...

2011-12-20T19:10:55.387-06:00

It seems that if the Church was being secularized in 1952, it was trying to secularize itself in 1972. The supposedly Lutheran architect E. A. Sovik, who influenced many of the churches we attend today, wrote:

"Just as in his parabolic teaching the lessons about God and his kingdom were derived from real or imaginable 'secular' models, so the ritual of the church is derived from the ordinary model of the common meal... Jesus' ritual unites the secular and the holy, implies a continuity between religion and life, proclaims an ubiquitous God, and asserts the possibility that all men may live their lives in God."

Later, in a chaper fittingly titled, "The Return to the Non-Church", he writes:

"A house of worship is not a shelter for an altar; it is a shelter for people. It is not the table that makes a sacrament; it is the people and what they do. The things are adjuncts, conveniences, symbols, utensils. The presence of God is not assured by things or by symbols or by buildings, but by Christian people." (emphasis added)

Sovik, Architecture for Worship, p. 12, 33

I didn't find the phrase "forgiveness of sins" anywhere in his book. Did we willingly secularize ourselves?

I found one sentence striking, "Indeed, the c...

2011-12-20T17:41:17.590-06:00

I found one sentence striking, "Indeed, the church does not live on from the faith of the fathers." Repent is to be the cry of the fathers of this day, so the church may now survive.

These are called "sermon glasses" (or s...

2011-12-19T12:07:00.101-06:00

These are called "sermon glasses" (or sandglasses) and came into general use in the 16th and 17th century for the purpose of determining the length of the sermon. An article, "Antique Clocks" (originally published in 1950), notes this in its discussion about hourglasses:

"An old device was a rack containing a row of four hourglasses of identical size but running at different speeds, the sand in the first glass passing completely through in fifteen minutes, the second in thirty minutes, the third in forty-five minutes, and the fourth in an hour. By looking at this quartet of glasses one could tell approximately how many minutes of the hour had glided away... The sermon glass, which was almost as important an adjunct of the early colonial meetinghouse as the Bible, ran for twenty minutes, but the sermon did not end when the sand expired in the glass. Long sermons were then the fashion and a minister was to some extent judged by the number of times he turned the glass while preaching."

Another discussion with pictures of sermon glasses place over or near the pulpit (primarily in Anglican churches) is in Pulpits, lecterns, and organs in English churches by John Charles Cox (H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1915., p. 147ff}.

Anonymous (silly name, btw)...If Law and Gospel ar...

2011-12-19T09:06:20.536-06:00

Anonymous (silly name, btw)...If Law and Gospel are properly distinguished (that is, applied), you've got all of the application one needs...though I fear you're referring to more of the pop-psych, self-help type stuffs, yeah?

The problem with some sermons is CONTENT. If a ser...

2011-12-19T08:10:10.906-06:00

The problem with some sermons is
CONTENT. If a sermon has good CONTENT
then the pew sitters are not even
concerned about the length.

CONTENT is more than Law/Gospel, it
is also meaningful application to
the hearer's life. What does God's
Word have to say to me? Sometimes
that question is overlooked.

You'd better translate 'bludger' for y...

2011-12-18T17:25:12.855-06:00

You'd better translate 'bludger' for your American readers, Pr Harrison ;0)

Poor bludger probably had to keep it less than an ...

2011-12-18T16:15:57.450-06:00

Poor bludger probably had to keep it less than an hour... Hardly enough time for a proper sermon!

Dr. Raabe is also one of the most articulate facul...

2011-12-18T13:42:59.533-06:00

Dr. Raabe is also one of the most
articulate faculty members . He is
able to discuss most issues in the
church today with scholarship that
is Biblical and Confessional.

During my year at Saint Louis, I was blessed to ha...

2011-12-18T06:28:17.213-06:00

During my year at Saint Louis, I was blessed to have both Dr. Raabe and Dr. Hummel. Wonderful pastors and wonderful scholars.

2011-12-18T05:05:44.141-06:00

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One of my favorite people.

2011-12-17T21:57:19.368-06:00

One of my favorite people.

I blogged on Fondows experience with a tour guide ...

2011-12-17T07:13:15.909-06:00

I blogged on Fondows experience with a tour guide in Wittenberg when she saw the Latin School - we need to get this done.