Treacherous Times for Pastor and People - Rev. F.J. Biltz During the Civil War

“When [Rev. Franz Julius] Biltz accepted the call to Concordia, he perhaps little realized what great dangers he would encounter as pastor of the congregation,” wrote Lutheran historian August R. Suelflow.  Rev. Biltz was installed April 29, 1860, nearly a year before the Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter.  In October 1860, the new pastor attended the convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Illinois and other States in 1860.  He reported to the convention that the members of the congregation at that time totaled 325 souls with 86 students in the parish school.  The relative peace of life in the new parish would be short lived as the Civil War would tear the nation in two and the conflict reach as far as the prairie of Western Missouri. 

The conflict spread to Lafayette County already by the summer of 1861.  William Arndt, who served as professor at St. Paul’s College in Concordia from 1912-1921, wrote of Biltz, “The Civil War had been casting its shadows before it in Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas; but that his own little flock of honest, hard-working, peace-loving German immigrants would become implicated in such bloody affairs undoubtedly must have seemed to him a very remote possibility, if it entered his mind at all.”   According to historian Robert Frizell, Biltz would be interrogated by Colonel Edwin Price, son of Missouri State Guard commander and former governor, General Sterling Price.  While assurances were made to Biltz that the German community would be left out of the conflict, the rebel troops claimed guns, horses, and other goods from the residents of the Cook’s Store area (one of the early names for the community). 

The most personal brush with the conflict for Biltz would come the following year.  On October 5, 1862, Pastor Biltz went to the home of Julius Vogt to baptize newborn twin sons.  As Biltz joined the family and guests for a celebration meal after the baptisms, armed men took descended upon the gathering.  They would take Biltz and others prisoners, killing Heinrich Brockhoff and Heinrich Hartmann.  The band of “Bushwhackers” would wound a number of men, but eventually released Biltz and several others.  Biltz, would in turn, conduct the funerals of the men killed the very next day.

In the summer of 1863, four young men (Conrad Bruns, Louis Fiene, Dietrich Karsten, and William Scharnhorst) from the congregation had been killed by guerilla troops.  As the congregation gathered in the old brick church on the site of the St. Paul’s cemetery for the funeral, reports reached the assembled of approaching troops.  Arndt recounts the chaos that ensued, noting that Biltz remained in the pulpit until the elders pleaded with him to come down.  Once the congregation learned that the troops were approaching were Union soldiers, the funeral continued.  The history of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church notes that Pastor Biltz prayed, “God have mercy on our congregation and on our land.” 

The most deadly conflict with the Bushwhackers would come late in the war, in October 1864.  News reached the citizens of the community that the guerillas were once again in the area.  Approximately 100 men gathered at St. Paul’s to set out to meet the rebel troops.  Biltz was originally with the group that was setting out on horseback, but the tall man was encouraged to go with the other group on foot.  The group on horseback headed East while the group on foot went northeast.  The group on horseback encountered a larger group of the guerillas near Emma and twenty-four local men were killed, thirteen from St. Paul’s.  The second group, that included Biltz, met no enemy troops and returned safely home to the sad news of the deaths of so many.  Once again, Biltz would be called on to bring the comfort of God’s Word for a congregation and community saddened by grief and tragedy. 

In 2009, Biltz’s diaries were discovered in a collection of items from his grandson, Rev. Theodore Walther at Concordia Historical Institute (CHI) in St. Louis.  His diaries note significant milestones during the Civil War era such as comments about specific battles and the assassination of President Lincoln, in addition to his notes about community and parish life.  The diaries were featured in an exhibit at the CHI Museum housed at the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod International Center. 

The days of the Civil War would eventually come to a close and the congregation and community would grow and thrive during the rest of the 19^th Century.  Such growth continued even during the war as the congregation grew to 576 members and with 125 students in the school.  William Arndt summarizes the ministry of Biltz during these treacherous times, writing, “It was in times like these that the faith of the founders and first members of our Synod was tested.  Pastor Biltz, in spite of an alluring call into safe territory, remained with his little flock in the war-torn area, conceiving it to be his duty no to forsake  it in these days of temptation and sorrow.  His heroic devotion to duty constitutes one of the fine pages in the early history of our church-body.  It was but natural that soon the Western District looked upon him as one of its leaders and after the lapse of several years elected him as its President, a position which he occupied with honor for seventeen years.” 

Rev. Dr. Lee Hagan

 

A thorough treatment of the history of the German immigrants who founded the community of Concordia, including the local skirmishes with the Bushwhackers is Robert Frizzell’s book Independent Immigrants: A Settlement of Hannoverian Germans in Western Missouri, published by University of Missouri Press.  Frizell will speak at St. Paul’s on June 15 in the afternoon as part of the congregation’s 175^th Anniversary. 

An article about the discovery of the Biltz diaries was featured in Lutheran Witness in June 2009.  http://blogs.lcms.org/2009/uncovering-history-6-2009. 

The Sights of Dublin and St. Mark

Nearly twenty years ago, I hopped into a cab with a friend in Dublin and told the cabbie to take us to the Chester Beatty Library.  He turned back in confusion and said, “Where?”  I just assumed that anyone who lived in Dublin, but especially a cab driver, would know about the world famous Chester Beatty Library.  This famous museum houses perhaps the greatest collection of ancient and Biblical manuscripts.  Surely, this place is familiar.  But to my disappointment, he had never heard of it. 

Upon arrival, we inquired about seeing the manuscript collection.  As they we were preparing for new exhibition, the collection was not available for viewing.  However, the person agreed to find the curator.  When the curator asked about our interest and we specifically referred to papyrus manuscripts 45 and 46, the expression on his face changed.  He immediately brought us back to the new exhibit and gave us the chance to see the collection of manuscripts.  What was especially meaningful for us was to gaze upon a portion of St. Mark’s Gospel, dated from the early part of the 3^rd Century. 

April 25 is the date on which the Church commemorates St. Mark the Evangelist.  While we do not have Mark’s “autograph” (the handwritten manuscript from the evangelist himself), we can have great confidence in the Biblical text that we read today.  We often find critical Christian scholars calling into question the Biblical text because of variant readings from one manuscript to another.  However, the vast majority of variants are of minor note and are usually related to matters such as word order or grammatical differences. 

Mark is often connected with St. Peter according to tradition.  This young man, who was the cousin of Barnabas, shows up several times as his mother’s home is some sort of base of operations in Jerusalem (as indicated in Acts 12) and as he is included on Paul’s missionary journey.  In fact, as Mark would abandon Paul and Barnabas, whether to include him on the subsequent journey led to the break between the two.  However, Paul’s later letters reveals that he and Mark had been reconciled and that Paul found him useful for his ministry (2 Timothy 4). 

There is much debate over which of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) came first.  Most scholars contend that Mark preceded the others and that Peter was a primary source for his composition.  On a day such as this, we can thank God that He has preserved His Word among us and by that Word He has revealed to us the Person and work of His Son, Christ Jesus.  We can be thankful for the faithful witness of St. Mark.    His Gospel is precise and to the point on one hand, but gives a primary emphasis on the events of Holy Week.  We can be encouraged in the faith by the second Gospel’s revelation of Jesus as the Son of God. 

So if you’re ever in Dublin, make sure you go to Christchurch Cathedral.  You should also see the Book of Kells at Trinity College.  The Guinness Brewery tour is a fun distraction too.  But make sure you make it to the Chester Beatty Library and see P45.  Or if Dublin’s too far, they have a portion of the collection at the University of Michigan.  Either way, thanks be to God for the faithful witness of St. Mark. 

Collect for St. Mark, Evangelist – Almighty God, You have enriched Your Church with the proclamation of the Gospel through the evangelist Mark.  Grant that we may firmly believe these glad tidings and daily walk according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. 

Franz Julius Biltz - Pioneer Pastor

Franz Julius Biltz - “Pioneer Pastor”

                One of the most familiar names associated with the community of Concordia, Missouri,  throughout its history has been Rev. Franz Julius Biltz.  He would serve as pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church actively for 41 years and 7 years in retirement.  He was also instrumental in establishing St. Paul’s College and even served as the first postmaster.  One lasting legacy of Biltz was his coining the name of the town, “Concordia” in 1860.  Famed Lutheran theologian, P.E. Kretzmann,  described Biltz’s leadership in Concordia, “Once a pioneer, always a pioneer!”

                Franz Julius Biltz was a thirteen year-old orphan when a group of German Lutherans left their home country for religious freedom in the United States.  There were more than 600 Saxons who had left the increasing oppressive religious climate destined for the United States, particularly Missouri.  The presence of Biltz among the immigrants was actually a source of scandal as he left with his adult sister, but without the consent of his legal guardian.  A legal notice was placed in the local newspaper that sought his apprehension and anyone involved in his “escape.”  Biltz would remain in hiding for nearly a month until the Saxons would leave Bremershaven, Germany on November 18, 1838. 

                As the Saxon immigrants began to settle into Perry County, they immediately built a log cabin that would serve as the schoolhouse for the students.  This is recognized as the beginning of Concordia Seminary, which today is located in St. Louis.  There were eleven students who were in attendance on the first day of classes on December 9, 1839 in Altenburg.  (The original “log cabin schoolhouse” is maintained at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna, Missouri.  A replica of the log cabin is found on campus at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.)  Among the first students were both Franz Julius Biltz and Maria von Wurmb (a nine year old, who would go on to marry Biltz).  In the early years, teaching responsibilities in the school were carried out by Pastor C.F.W. Walther and three seminary trained men who would in time receive calls to serve congregations, Friedrich Buenger, Theodore Brohm, and Ottomar Fuerbringer.  As his studies moved beyond the basic “gymnasium” level of training to seminary level instruction, the primary teacher was Gotthold Loeber (as the other men had all received calls outside of the Perry County area). 

                Biltz was in attendance at the formation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (known then as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other states) in 1847 as he was presented as a candidate for ordination to the convention.  Biltz was the second graduate of Concordia Seminary after completing his studies (still in the log cabin) in 1848.  He was ordained at Trinity Lutheran Church in Friedheim, Missouri.  In 1853, he accepted a call to Maryland to establish a congregation in Cumberland.  Biltz would serve in Cumberland until 1860 when he accepted the call to return to Missouri, serving a growing congregation in Lafayette County, Missouri (today known as St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Concordia). 

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Concordia will begin a year-long celebration of its 175^th Anniversary on May 25, 2014.  Pastor Biltz was the longest-serving pastor in the congregation’s history.  This is the first in a series of four articles about Pastor Franz Julius Biltz.

Good Friday Sermon - "Behold the Man!"

I.N.I

Good Friday - John 19:5  “Behold the Man”

 

“So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the man!’”

 

            Adam was THE Man!  The original man!  One of a kind.  There had never been another like him because…He was the original man.  God had created the Man in His own image.  He had created all the earth and the fullness thereof for the Man to rule over and to subdue.  God even created a suitable helper for the Man.  God’s perfect love for the Man was seen in the perfect state that He had created for the Man.  All He asked of the Man was for Him to fear, love and trust in Him.  So for a moment, the Man enjoyed the perfect beauty and splendor of God’s creation.  There was no strife or discord.  There was no bloodshed or warfare.  There was no pain or suffering.  Everything that the Man and the Woman saw was good and yet even that was still not good enough. 

            The Man fell.  The Man was not satisfied with the gifts that God gave.  The Man did not trust in God above all things.  The Man sinned.  But God promised that the offspring of The Man and The Woman would come to rescue The Man.  The Man who would come after would be the kind of man that The Original Man was supposed to be.  So when the Man lay with The Woman and their union bore fruit, there were great expectations.  What kind of man would this be?  Would this man be greater than the original man?  Would he be the kind of man that the Original Man was supposed to be?  Those expectations are heard the words of the woman after giving birth.  She declares, “I have gotten a man, with the Lord’s help.”  Not a son.  Not a child, but a man.  Luther even reads into Eve’s words a bit to suggest that she expected that this child would be the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy.  But this Man that the Woman had gotten was hardly the Man for whom she hoped.  Cain was his name, taken from the Hebrew word for gotten.  He was not greater than the original man.  In fact, he was a flawed sinner just like his father before him.  This Man was the kind of Man who killed his own brother in a fit of jealousy and rage.

                So from Cain on, the descendants of the Original Man had been the embodiment of sin.  Their hands were stained with blood.  Their mouths opened to spill forth lies.  Their eyes were not ever on the Lord, but glistened with lust and desire.  Contentment could not be found in the descendants of the Man because they always wanted more.  They were enslaved by an insatiable appetite and thirst for more. 

                The prophet Nathan came to King David, a descendant of the Original Man, and the ruler over God’s chosen people.  God had given him everything and if that had not been enough He would have still given Him more.  After David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, the prophet Nathan tells him of a rich man who steals from a poor man.  When David flies into a rage at the story, Nathan pierces David with the poignant words, “You are the Man.” 

                Let’s be very clear about who you are this evening – “You are The Man.”  Ladies, you too.  You are the fallen sinner.  You are the murderer and the adulterer.  You are the liars and the cheats.  You are the ones who hate and hurt, who cook the books and exchanging lust-filled looks.  Like Adam and Eve, like David and Bathsheba, like all those who have gone before us, You are the Man!  You are the sinner!

                But Pontus Pilate brings Jesus out before the crowds, covered in blood and sweat from his head to his feet, with a purple robe of mockery draped over him a thorny crown pulled down piercing his brow.  Pilate presents him to the throngs of people and declares, “Behold the Man!”  The King of Glory humbles Himself by taking on the servant’s form and being numbered with sinners.  This place of judgment is where sinners belong and yet Jesus takes Adam’s place.   Behold the Man!  He becomes the substitute for Cain and Abel, for David and Uriah!  He becomes the Man that you never could be in keeping the Law perfectly, but He also becomes the Man that you have always been by suffering our punishment and bearing the weight of our sin!  God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us.  Behold the Man!  Jesus became the Man of sorrows for us, to save us and to give to us forgiveness and life. 

                Like Adam, Barabbas was the Man!  He wasn’t the kind of man that he was supposed to be, but he was the man!  A notorious criminal.  A scoundrel.  A wretch.  He found himself imprisoned and that is exactly where he deserved to be.  And yet this man’s place is taken by Jesus.  “A criminal they save, the prince of life, they slay.”  Barabbas was the Man, but Jesus took his place and He became the Man for Barabbas!  When Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd and sends him off to His death, it is not just Barabbas’ place that Jesus takes, but all of ours.  This is why the cross tops steeples and hangs on walls.  It is why it covers facebook pages and marks foreheads and hearts, for it is in the cross that our salvation is realized and we become the Man and the Woman that God intended as we trade our sin for Christ’s righteousness. 

                St. Paul distinguishes between the Original Man and the Perfect Man in Romans 5.  He writes, “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”  Thanks be to God that Jesus became the Man for us!  And through this One Man, grace abounds for you.  Jesus, true God and True Man, for you!  Behold the Man! 

S.D.G.

Rev. Dr. Lee Hagan

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Concordia, Missouri

April 18, 2014

"Fear and Great Joy" - Easter Sermon, 2014

I.N.I

Matthew 28:8 “Fear and Great Joy”

 

“So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.”

 

                When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary reached the tomb, it doesn’t take a lot of assumptions to determine that they were emotionally frayed.  If you consider the roller coaster that Holy Week is for us, nearly two thousand years removed, it was even more traumatic for those who went from the cries of Hosanna to the cries of Crucify Him to the cry “It is finished!”  They had followed him from Galilee and care for him and had been forced to standby and helplessly watch him writhe in pain as he struggled for each breath, until he cried out and breathed his last.  So they set out for the tomb in many ways overcome by the emotions of the previous days.  But then when they arrive, an angel of the Lord announces that Jesus has risen just as He said He would.  The angel sends them to announce this Good News to the disciples and that they will see him in Galilee.  As they departed, these emotional women are filled with two new and seemingly contradictory emotions – fear and joy. 

                John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno were just two guys on the job.  They were Port Authority police officers in New York city which mean that there were responsible for bridges, tunnels, airports, seaports and other locales, including the World Trade Center.  On September 11, 2001, they were just like thousands of other people in New York City, two guys on the job.  But as the first plane crashed into Tower One of the World Trade Center, McLoughlin and Jimeno and hundreds of other Port Authority police officers and other emergency personnel responded.  They were in Tower One, preparing to head upward to assist in the evacuation when the tower collapsed.  The men ran toward the elevator shaft as the building came down all around them.  McLoughlin and Jimeno found themselves trapped within a mountain of steel and cement.  For hours they lied there in the rubble – injured and pinned by debris.  No one came to their rescue.  There they were trapped and waiting to die.  After the search for survivors had been called off because of the darkness of night, two former Marines continued searching on their own.  Eventually, they heard McLaughlin and Jimeno and a desperate rescue effort began.  When the two men were found, they were overjoyed.  They had almost given up hope.  It is captured in the movie World Trade Center when Jimeno says to the Marines, “Don’t leave us” and one responds, “We’re not going anywhere.  You are our mission.”  But just because the men had been found, just because they were filled with joy did not mean that all of the fears were gone.  When their wives were notified that they had been located, there was great rejoicing, but there were still things for which they were afraid.  The men were still trapped.  Rescue efforts were risky.  It was slow and pain-staking work.  They had fear and great joy.  It took thirteen hours to rescue Jimeno and twenty-two hours to free McLoughlin, but they both survived. 

                Dear friends, Mary and Mary leave them tomb on that first Easter with fear and joy.  In many ways that is how we function in this fallen world.  We know that Christ has risen again from the grave.  We know that He will come again in glory on the Last Day.  But we still find ourselves laboring here in the Valley of Tears.  We still live in a fearful world where men shoot at people in cars for reasons beyond imagination.  We live in a fearful world where more than 200 Christians in Nigeria by militant Muslims.  We live in world of hunger and homelessness, sickness and poverty.  We know what Christ has risen, but like McLoughlin and Jimeno, we still find ourselves stuck in the rubble.

                But the rubble is often of our own making.  As a pastor, I once found myself with my hands joined with another man’s as I prayed.  But he was trapped, enclosed in a cage at the city jail on attempted murder charges.  After we prayed, we sang.  It was Christmas Eve and there was still much for which He could rejoice.  He was a sinner, who had become enslaved by anger.  But from his pastor’s lips, he had heard the gracious Word of Absolution, that He was forgiven of this sin.  So there the two of us sang, Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Joy to the World.  There were still fears about his punishment.  There were fears about his relationship with his wife and children.  There were fears about the future.  But on account of Christ’s resurrection, there was joy, even while he was stuck in the rubble.

                Dear friends, there are still things for which you find yourselves afraid.  We are sinners and how often our lives have been reduced to rubble because of our selfishness, because of our anger, because of unfaithfulness, because of our sin.  But Christ’s resurrection sets us free from the sin that so easily entangles us.  Christ releases us from the bonds of that held us.  We were once trapped, but through Christ Jesus, we are now freed by His grace.  That is what gives us joy! 

                The men trapped in the rubble – they were exactly why those two marines came.  They were their mission.  Dear friends, you were Christ’s mission.  You were trapped in the rubble of your sins.  You were exactly why He came to earth.  You were exactly why He suffered on the cross.  And you were exactly why He rose again from the grave.  No matter what fears you face, Christ Jesus has risen again to give you joy.  Yes, we live in a fear-filled world.  But the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  Christ has conquered His enemies of sin, death and the devil, by rising again from the grave.  This is the source of our joy!  This is the source of our singing.  For joy is not based upon our circumstances, but upon our relationship with Christ.  The grieving widow sings the hymns with great joy.  The young couple that is just barely scraping by sits together in the pew, rich in God’s grace and filled with joy.  The forgiven sinner may have made a mess of his life, but before God he knows that all things are made right and therefore he has great joy.  No matter what problems you left at home and will still be waiting for you when you get back – O beloved in the Lord – Jesus has risen from the grave.  Sin and death have been conquered for us.  We have all that we need in Christ.  Even in the rubble of our lives, we still have joy because CHRIST IS RISEN!  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!  Amen. 

S.D.G.

Rev. Dr. Lee Hagan

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Concordia, Missouri

April 20, 2014

A Late Easter for Emmaus Disciples - Easter Sunday

Countless homes and churches have a particular painting hanging on their walls.  It is a rendering of the Emmaus disciples walking with Jesus.  There is nothing particularly impressive about the painting.  It is just a simple picture scene of two men walking with Jesus.  But that is precisely why it is a scene to which so many Christians have cast their gaze as they ponder our Lord’s abiding presence.

                On that first Easter, Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.  They didn’t realize that it was Jesus so they preceded to tell him about the troubling events of the previous days.  They had hope that He was the promised Messiah, but the chief priests and rulers had given him over to death.  Then some of the women came reporting that they had not found his body, but instead had seen a vision of angels who told them that He was alive.  But the disciples themselves had not yet seen the Lord.  So these two men walked to Emmaus in somber grief. 

                The grief word that describes Jesus’ action means to “travel or journey together.”  It is a fitting and comforting Word that describes the action of the risen Christ!  This is what Jesus promises at the end of Matthew’s Gospel when He assures His disciples that He will be with them always.  It is also true for us as Christ is present for us in His Word and Sacrament, as He dwells within us through faith (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20).  It is a comforting resurrection account as Christ journeyed with disciples saddled with troubled hearts and opened for them the Scriptures by teaching them how the Old Testament Law and Prophets all pointed to Him.  The Emmaus disciples are so moved by the encounter that they rush the seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell Peter and the rest of the disciples the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection.

                Lutheran reformers Philip Melanchthon and Nicholas Selnecker used this text as the basis for the hymn, “Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide” (Lutheran Service Book #585).  The first verse, by Melanchthon and the last verse, by Selnecker:

                Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide

                For round us falls the eventide

                O let Your Word, that saving light,

                Shine forth into the night. 

 

                Stay with us, Lord, and keep us true;

                Preserve our faith our whole life through –

                Your Word alone our heart’s defense,

                The Church’s glorious confidence.

 

                As the Easter day draws to a close, may you be comforted with the assurance that Christ has risen again from the grave just as He said.  May you also be assured of His abiding presence with you throughout your journey.  Even in the valley of the shadow of death you need fear no foe or evil because Christ is with you.  His presence and promises comfort you for all the days and roads ahead. 

Waiting on Jesus - Easter Vigil

                The venerable Tom Petty once whined, “The waiting is the hardest part.”  Holy Saturday isn't Good Friday, but it's not yet Easter Sunday.  So what do we do while we wait?  The answer is the Easter Vigil.  Holy Saturday is awkward in one sense as we wait for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.  However, in another way, the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday provides the means by which we wait.  Philip Pfatteicher writes, “The ancient vigil, a watching prayer, was a preparation preceding feasts and consisted of readings and silence and prayer.  But the most ancient of all, most dramatic and most intense is what Augustine called ‘the mother of all vigils,’ the passage of night from Holy Saturday to Easter Day.  It takes its participants from death to life, from defeat to hope.”  So on this Holy Saturday, we wait in eager expectation, like parents anxiously awaiting the birth of a child.  We gather in quiet, reflective prayer and wait for the announcement of Christ’s resurrection.

                It would seem that the disciples would have waited in such a vigil for Christ’s resurrection after He had spoken of it so plainly.  However, it was only the women who went to the tomb early the next morning and even they were not expecting to find an empty tomb.  We have the blessed perspective of the evangelists’ witness to the angels’ words.  So we know better!  We know that death held no mastery over Him.  So we wait in vigil as Christ passes over from death to life.

                The Easter Vigil is a rich and deeply meaningful service on many levels.  As the saints of old would wait in the darkness, we, too, kindle a new fire as the Service of Light begins the service.  The congregation gathers around the new fire and marches into a darkened sanctuary.  As the Service of Light begins like in Evening Prayer, the Exsultet is the Easter proclamation that is sung this night reminding the congregation that this is no ordinary vigil.  Pfatteicher writes, “In Evening Prayer, the candle is a sign, a dramatic portrayal that ‘Jesus Christ is the light of the world.’  In the Easter Vigil, however, the paschal candle is treated as a still more potent symbol, almost indistinguishable from what it represents, Jesus Christ.  It is not that Christians have in their regression become fire worshipers, but that the candle and its flame show to those with eyes to see how all things point to Christ and proclaim his glory.” 

                The second part of the Vigil, the Service of Readings, is a recounting of God’s gracious acts of redemption and rescue from the Old Testament.  The accounts of the Sacrifice of Isaac, Noah and the Ark, the Crossing of the Red Sea, the Valley of Dry Bones, Jonah and the Great Fish, Daniel and the Lions’ Den, and the Three Men in the Fiery Furnace are all familiar accounts that remind the assembly of God’s mighty deeds of old and build the anticipation for God’s ultimate saving act in the resurrection.

                The Service of Holy Baptism connects God’s ancient acts of rescue with His present day deliverance in the baptismal waters. The Easter Vigil was historically the service where catechumens were baptized and welcomed into the flock.  Whether there is a baptism or not, the assembly always remembers the new identity that God gives through baptism.

                The Vigil culminates with the announcement of Christ’s resurrection and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  Here those who have prayerfully waited can celebrate that no darkness could overcome the true Light.  The saints celebrate Christ’s resurrection as they receive His testament, His body and blood under the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of all their sins. 

                The Easter Vigil is the bridge from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.  We celebrate Christ’s passing over from death to life.  Once more from Pfatteicher, “In the grand and powerful celebration of the Easter Vigil, we have the essence of Christianity set before us, as on that most holy night we pass with Israel and with Christ from death to life.  The ancient celebration joins Good Friday and Holy Saturday into one action.  The passion, death and resurrection of Christ are all here.  So is our dying and rising in Holy Baptism and its yearly and daily renewal.  The Great Vigil of Easter is the model for everything we do in worship.  It is, to put it quite simply, the service.  It is a concentration in one service of what Christian worship does throughout the year.” 

                On this Holy Saturday, we are thankful that we have the blessed perspective of knowing that Christ has indeed risen from the dead.  Our watching and waiting in vigil is not in vain.  May God grant us patience as we wait to celebrate His birth and as we wait to celebrate the final Easter. 

                Collect for Holy Saturday – O God, creator of heaven and earth, grant that as the crucified body of Your dear Son, was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the coming of the third day, and rise with Him to newness of life, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. 

Why The Cross? A Good Friday Reflection

             Why the cross?  Of all the ways that God could have saved His people, why did it have to be the cross?  Maybe you’ve pondered that question as I have.  Such difficult questions seldom yield simple answers.  But ultimately, the question is answered by God in the Scriptures themselves.  The cross is the intersection of all of human history up until that point.  The cross is God’s answer when laid against the backdrop of humanity’s fall and repeated backsliding seen throughout the Old Testament.  The best way to understand the cross is to take a look at humanity from the perspective of God as found in the Old Testament.    Jesus’ declaration “It is finished” is a closing of the book on sin and death.  Jesus’ cry is basically a declaration that “This is the end” because His death means that death is finished, because it means that He has atoned for the sins of the world, because it means that the debt for sin has been paid.

The cross is not just the intersection of all of the Old Testament history and fulfillment, but it is also where your life intersects with God.  As St. Paul writes, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  The cross is God’s judgment not just against the fall of humanity, but against your sin.  The punishment that Christ endures on the cross is what you deserved for your selfishness and greed.  His brow was torn by the thorny crown for your anger and resentment.  His hands and feet were pierced for your lies and deceit to your family members, for your adulterous relationships, for your drinking binges.  He suffers on the cross for all of your sins, in your place.  But the cross is also God’s intersection with you as He gives you grace and every spiritual blessing.  In your baptism into Christ’s death, Jesus declared “It is finished” to you.  We also see the dynamic connection between baptism and Christ’s death and resurrection.  As Luther notes, “With the Word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.”  In baptism, you appear before God as the forgiven and redeemed child of God like Adam and Eve, like Abraham and Sarah, like David and Solomon, like Ruth and Rahab, like all of God’s people, sinners redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus.  This is the end of sin and death’s reign.  It is finished.  Now is the time of the Lord’s favor.  Now is the day of salvation.

The cross is God’s answer for all human history as Christ suffers for the sins of the whole world.  But the cross is also God’s solution for you!  You are baptized into that death and resurrection.  You have received the fruits of Christ’s cross.  The great orthodox Lutheran, John Gerhard, reflects upon Christ’s passion with these beautiful words, “Whenever I meditate upon the suffering of my Lord, I cannot but venture a great deal in respect to the love of God and His forbearance toward my sins.  He bends His head to kiss me; He extends His arms to embrace me; He opens His hands to bestow gifts upon me; He opens His side that I may behold His hear glowing with love for me; He is lifted up from the earth that He may draw all men unto Himself; His wounds are livid with grief, yet gleaming with love…Truly with Him is plenteous redemption.”

Collect for Good Friday – Almighty God, graciously behold this Your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. 

Christ for You - Maundy Thursday

                All that we believe, teach, and confess is put into practice in these three days.  Humble, penitent sinners confess their sins.  Called undershepherds of God’s flock pronounce the Good News of sins forgiven for the sake of Christ.  In spite of short attention spans and eyes inundated with screens of all sizes, the saints gather to sit and listen as God is at work through His mighty Word.  These hearers of the Word then meditate and reflect upon the Word, read, preached, sung and prayed.  Then those who have been made one through the work of the Holy Spirit celebrate that unity as together they receive Christ’s Holy Body and Blood under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of their sins.  We remember that Christ is at the center of it all – what is preached, what is confessed, what is received.  It is truly all about Christ for you!  Christ, who willingly walked the way of the cross in our place, comes to us through the Church’s liturgy of these "Three Days," known as the Triduum. 

                On this first of the Holy Three Days, Maundy Thursday, our belief is put into practice as we receive Christ’s lasting testament in the Lord’s Supper.  It is at the Lord’s Table that troubled sinners, who have reflected upon their own sin and need throughout the Lenten season, receive the tangible absolution – Christ Himself for your forgiveness.  This is no mere meal of remembrance.  It is the very body and blood of Christ present for you here at this time and place for your benefits.  The dismissal to the communicants in Lutheran Service Book reminds us of what these benefits include as the pastor says, “The body and blood of our Lord strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting.  Depart in + peace!”

                Therefore Maundy Thursday is about weak and weary sinners coming to the Lord for the blessed rest that He gives through His Word and the Lord’s Supper.  At the communion rail, He forgives our sins, lifts our burdens, grants us strength, fills us with hope and sends out into the world to serve as we have been served.  Our confession of faith is not for books and pastor’s posts.  Ultimately, our confession of faith is about opening our ears and our mouths and receiving the blessings that the crucified Lord gives to the Church through the Word and the Lord’s Supper.  Our theology is not abstract in the least bit.  It is the concrete confession and reception of Christ as the Church assembles, especially on days like Maundy Thursday! 

                Lastly, one of the best volumes that I have found for reading and meditating during Holy Week is The 1529 Holy Week and Easter Sermons of Dr. Martin Luther.  I especially appreciate his sermon on Thursday morning, “An Exhortation to Receive the Lord’s Supper.”  Here are some excerpts from Luther’s sermon, “Now we come to the exhortation.  For I see well how remiss you are in availing yourselves of the Sacrament.  Some say no one should approach who is not hungry, that is, no one should go unless driven by his or her sins.  Others say that they have no need of it.  Satan has often kept me from the Sacrament, too.” (p, 72)  He continues, “I, too, am just now learning to comprehend that access to the Sacrament is not based on our worthiness, but that instead I come as an unworthy person who cannot be worthy.  God protect me from my worthiness.  Indeed I would like to be worthy, but that is an art to which I cannot achieve.  For this reason I come standing on your Word, O God, and I seek holiness and righteousness from you.” (p, 75)  He writes of the promise and grace of the Lord’s Supper, “The second thing that should move us is the promise, about which you have heard the entire week, Christ’s promise ‘for you’ is even stronger than the command…This is sheer comfort, offered to distressed people, who would like the forgiveness of sins…It is a precious medicine and food that helps you in soul and body and gives you eternal life in soul and body.” (p. 75)  He also extols the Sacrament on account of our great need, writing, “Furthermore, you have not only God’s Word, command and promise, but also your need around your neck…You will find much in your heart that afflicts you.  Christ sees this.  For this reason he institutes the Sacrament, commands it, and bases it on his Word so that you may have a means against such affliction.” (p. 76)   Lastly, Luther writes, “A soldier has his rations and must have food and drink to be strong.  In the same way here: those who want to be Christians should not throw the Sacrament to the winds as if they did not need it.  There is immeasurable need for it.” (p. 78)

                May you be blessed as you receive the precious gifts of God on this Maundy Thursday.  May you see your great need and how God meets those needs in the gifts that He gives through the gathering of the saints around Word and Sacrament.  Finally, may these gifts bless you in body and soul as we grow in faith toward Him and fervent love toward one another!

                Collect for Maundy Thursday – O Lord, in this wondrous Sacrament You have left us a remembrance of Your passion.  Grant that we may so receive the sacred mystery of Your body and blood that the fruits of Your redemption may be continually manifest in us; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen. 

Poor Peter, Rich Peter - Wednesday in Holy Week

Poor Peter!  The few hours that lead up to Jesus’ arrest had been difficult ones for Peter.  A reading of Luke’s Passion account avoids singling Peter out as much as Matthew and John do.  When the disciples are rebuked for falling asleep in the Garden, Luke does not mention Peter being singled out as Matthew does.  The striking of the servant of the high priest with a sword is mentioned by all of the evangelists, but only John reveals that it is Peter.  However, Luke records Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s impending denials.  Luke’s Gospel notes that an argument had broken out among the disciples about who is the greatest at the table immediately following Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper.  Jesus rebukes the disciples and tells them that He has come among them as One who serves.  But then, He specifically references Peter, noting that Satan has sought to “sift you like wheat.”  Expectedly, Peter responds by declaring, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”  Sadly, Jesus tells him that this very night that He will deny him three times.  Naturally, Jesus’ word is true and in the courtyard of the high priest, Peter repeatedly denies even knowing Jesus.  Luke then simply states, “And he went out and wept bitterly.”

We can say “Poor Peter” because we know the heavy burden of guilt.  We know the shame of sin.  How often tears have streamed down our cheeks and we have tasted the bitterness of sorrow over our sins.  We understand Peter’s fragile emotional state because we have been there ourselves.  We have denied the Lord with our self-serving attitudes.  We have been more concerned with our own well-being, advancement, and popularity than we have confessing Christ.  We have shrunk from the opportunities to bear witness to Christ and scurried away in fear.  We have been too consumed with satisfying our own appetites and desires that we have had no regard for serving our neighbor’s need by sharing Christ in word and deed.  We relate to Peter because we, also, are poor, miserable sinners. 

But Jesus drank the bitter cup of suffering that Peter deserved by enduring the cross and scorning its shame.  The Lord that Peter denied lovingly offers His life as a substitute for Peter’s many sins and for yours.  The great orthodox Lutheran, John Gerhard, writes, “Take courage then, O my soul, and despair not.  Hope thou in Him whom thou dost not fear; flee thou to Him for refuge, from whom thou has fled in fear.  O Jesus Christ, for Thy name’s sake, deal with me according to Thy name…True it is, O Lord, that my participation in sin merits condemnation, and my penitence can never satisfy Thee; but certain is it also that Thy mercy exceeds all my offense.  In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust, let me never be confounded.”  Peter’s hope and strength was always Jesus.  For even as Jesus predicts his denial, He also assures Him of His merciful love, “but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”  Peter goes out and weeps bitterly, but he does so in faith.  There is guilt and shame, but there is also repentance and faith.  For Jesus had prayed for him so that his faith would not fail.  The same Jesus who reached out His hand and rescued Peter from sinking into the abyss of the Sea, mercifully delivers Peter with His grace. 

Thanks be to God that Christ’s grace and mercy make him, “Rich Peter!”  Peter is lifted up out of His bitter sorrow and made rich through the merits of the Lord whom He denied.  May God truly make you rich in His grace and mercy! 

Collect for Wednesday in Holy Week

Merciful and everlasting God, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all to bear our sins on the cross.  Grant that our hearts may be so fixed with steadfast faith in Him that we fear not the power of sin, death and the devil; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

God’s Great Plan - Tuesday in Holy Week

                When Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He diffuses a volatile situation in which swords are drawn.  He stops His own disciples from trying to impede what the Jews had come to do.  He also assures the crowd that He will not fight them, but willingly goes with them.  Jesus proclaims to His disciples and His detractors, “Let the Scriptures be fulfilled.”  All of the events that will take place are according to God’s great design for the salvation of humanity.  Reading St. Mark’s Passion once again brings great clarity to God’s purpose in Christ’s birth and life, but also His suffering and death.  Christ, the Paschal Lamb, is the fulfillment of all of the Scriptures.  He is Isaac’s substitute and the Passover Lamb by whose blood the enslaved Israelites are set free.  He is Isaiah’s silent lamb before the shearers.  Harold Senkbeil writes, “The solemn rites we observe during this Lenten season are the church’s way of impressing on all the faithful that our Lord Jesus was indeed bruised for iniquities, that he was wounded for our transgressions, that with his stripes we are healed – that he is the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

                But Mark’s Passion account, that the Scriptures would be fulfilled, is also specifically and intimately FOR YOU!  The suffering and death of Christ is most certainly the plan of God for the salvation of His beloved people, prophesied already in the Garden of Eden.  But this is not just a great design, full of layers of Messianic prophecies and rich typological allusions.  At some point, we must never get that Christ’s death and resurrection is FOR YOU!  Christ’s death and resurrection fulfills the Scriptures and takes place according to God’s plan, but it also is the source of forgiveness, life and salvation for you, His beloved child.  In a Palm Sunday sermon, Norman Nagel once preached, “What is this new full, fruitful life?  It is being bound to Christ, serving Him, following Him so where He is, you are, and where you live He lives.  B faith what Jesus did becomes yours.  His dying is counted for your dying.  His rising, your rising.  Life is not what I have done, what I am doing, what I shall do.  Not I, but Christ.  What Christ has done is the glory of Christians.  They show forth what Christ has done for them and now does in them.  The life Christians live is the life of Christ.  The life they live in the flesh is not anymore their own life but Christ’s life in them.  Their life and the life of Christ are so closely bound that their joys are Christ’s joys and their sufferings are Christ’s.” 

                So take time to read the Passion according to St. Mark today (chapters 14-15).  But remember that this great plan was for you.  May you be blessed during this Holy Week as you read and meditate on our Lord’s Passion.

Collect for Tuesday in Holy Week

Almighty and everlasting God, grant us by Your grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s Passion that we may obtain forgiveness of our sins; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

Monday of Holy Week - Meditating on Matthew's Passion

            The days between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday are usually busy days for congregations. Pastors are usually hard at work writing sermons. Altar guild members go over their checklists for the week. Church secretaries enlist help for all of the bulletins to be run. Other volunteers are recruited to assist in the additional services with everything from greeting and ushering to special music or operating the sound system. However, there has been an underappreciated and underutilized tradition of reading and meditating on the Passion readings from Matthew, Mark and Luke on these forgotten days of Holy Week. 

            There is no better use of one’s time during this busy Monday than to sit and read Matthew chapters 26-27 in one sitting.  Take a few moments before this day draws to a close and read Matthew’s Passion account.  There is so much to absorb that you will find that in your entire lifetime you will never fully grasp and comprehend this Word of life.  John Kleinig writes of the blessing of meditation on the Word of God, “The heart of the disciple is the seedbed of God’s Word.  By itself, the heart cannot produce a harvest.  The power to produce the harvest comes from the Word.  So the purpose of meditation is to let God’s Word produce a bumper crop in and through those who receive it.  But mediation disciples take in God’s Word and keep it in their hearts.  The life giving Word changes the barren hearts of hearers into fertile fields.  The Word increases receptivity of their hearts.  The more the hearts of Christ’s disciples listen to the Word and ponder on it, the more fruitful they become.” 

            While farmers are anxious to begin the planting in the fields, we know that there is always time for us to be blessed by the seed of God’s Word (rain or shine, hot or cold, spring, fall, summer or winter).  So take a few moments today to read and meditate on our Lord’s Passion as recounted by St. Matthew.  Walter Wangerin Jr. writes, “When we genuinely remember the death we deserve to die, we will be moved to rememberthe death the Lord in fact did die – because his tok the place of ours.  Ah, children, we wil year to hear the Gospel story again and again, ever seeing therein our death in his and rejoicing that we will therefore know a rising like his as well.   May God bless your reading and meditating on our Lord’s Passion throughout this Holy Week.