I have been reading Dr. Peter Leithart's book on the four Gospels (The Four: A Survey of the Gospels) on Sunday mornings for the last several weeks.  In his discussion on Jesus' table fellowship, he compares these two passages:

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths". (Genesis 3:6-7)

"When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread". (Luke 24:30-35)

For both Adam and Eve and the Emmaus-bound disciples, eyes are opened as the result of the consumption of some food.  Adam and Eve recognize their own nakedness after eating disobedience to God.  The disciples at the end of Luke's Gospel recognize the risen Lord Jesus while eating with Him.  Each time we receive the elements of bread and wine in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we have the opportunity and privilege of having our eyes opened too, that we may see by faith that which one day we will see by sight. 

Jesus, Bread of Life, I pray Thee, Let me gladly here obey Thee.

By Thy love I am invited, be Thy love with love requited;

From this Supper let me measure, Lord, how vast and deep love’s treasure.

Through the gifts Thou here dost give me, as Thy guest in heav’n receive me.

(from the hymn, Soul, Adorn Thyself With Gladness)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41, ESV)

On my way home from a round trip to Nashville today, I listened to a recording of a conversation my pastor had with some other Christian brothers on the subject of “worry”.  At one point in the conversation the passage on the tumultuous storm on the sea from St. Mark’s Gospel was discussed.  The disciples become terrified by this great storm on the sea while the Lord sleeps.  Certain that they are all going to drown, they essentially ask Jesus, “Sorry to wake You, but there’s a big storm out there, and we’re all going to die.  Don’t You care?  Do something already!”  How often do we face similar storms in our own lives?  If we could personalize such storms, we would ask the Lord, “I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer, Lord.  Don’t You care?”  “My wife is dying, Lord.  Don’t You care?”  My child seems to be wandering away from the Faith, Lord.  Don’t You care?”  I don’t know how I will be able to make ends meet, Lord.  Don’t You Care?”  There is a limitless list of “storms” that could be inserted here.  To all these storms, our Lord’s response is the same: “Peace!  Be still!” as He proceeds to question our lack of faith in Him.  The same God Who commands the storm to stop also sent the storm in the first place, for our good and His glory.  The Prince of Peace Who bids the storm to cease gives us the peace to endure every storm He sends to us in His holy providence.  In the midst of these storms He sustains us by His indwelling Holy Spirit, the ministry of His Word, the prayers of the saints, and His Holy Sacraments.  Jesus told His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27, ESV)

Each Lord’s Day, as the Agnus Dei is chanted before the Eucharist, we petition our Lord:

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace.

Amen!

Despite my best efforts  to convince my thirteen year old son that duct tape is not a satisfactory home improvement investment, he decided to repair the round chrome thingy on the kitchen faucet that keeps falling off by affixing it with duct tape.  Yes, I need to find a more permanent solution.

It seems that much of the modern church has adopted the same duct tape mentality with regard to reaching the lost.  Let’s get them in, regardless of the cost.  They want to be entertained?  Let’s entertain them.  We’ll give them a rock concert every Sunday (or Saturday evening, since they would rather sleep in or play on Sunday).  We’ll offer classes and small groups for every imaginable demographic.  Classes just for teens, pre-teens, post teens, young marrieds, double amputees.  One local church a couple of years ago even promoted its Easter Service by offering raffle tickets to all who would attend the service.  One of those lucky ticket holders would win a new car (I’d hate to have been the church treasurer who had to sign the check for that one).

So, like duct tape these entertainment driven approaches to evangelism may work for a time, but what happens when the thrill is gone?  Do they look for the newest, most outrageous effort of some other church to draw them in, or do they just quit altogether in favor of secular entertainment offerings that are actually of much better quality anyway?  Like the first three seeds in our Lord’s Parable of the Sower, something comes along to kill their interest in all things related to Christ and His Church.

When the modern church like a drug addict exhausts all the latest trips, all the latest highs, and finds herself on skid row, maybe she will then be ready to consider the means that our Triune God has always used to draw people to Himself.  Mundane things as words written on paper, water, bread, and wine have always been used by our God to save individuals, families, nations, and cultures.  His program has not changed.  He still uses these means today.  Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!

The Banquet

Once upon a time, the great King of the realm threw a great Banquet.  He sent the invitation to this Banquet near and far.  The Day of the great Banquet finally arrived.  The massive Table was covered with every imaginable meat prepared in the most delectable fashion; vegetables as pleasing to the eyes as the palate; fruits of all colors, tastes, and textures;  the most expensive aged wines that filled the room with their bouquet;  desserts sweet and plentiful;  all served on the finest china, goblets, and silverware.  The responses of the invitees were as follows:

·         “How thoughtful of you, Sir, but I’m just not hungry, I couldn’t eat a bite.”

·         “Nice display of food, but I’d rather go to McDonalds.  In fact, I’m making a steady diet out of their paltry menu.”

·         “I’m just too busy.  I don’t have time.”

·         “I hate this food and I hate the King.  In fact I think I’ll overturn His Table and trample the food into the floor.”

·         “Sir, I am overwhelmed by your unbelievable kindness in inviting me to this glorious Banquet.  Though I am not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your Table, I accept your gracious invitation and will boldly come with a heart overflowing with love and gratitude.”

The first four respondents have this in common: sooner or later, each will starve to death.  Only the last one will live.

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.” (I Samuel 4:21-22)

The context of this passage is that the Ark of the Covenant has been captured in battle by the Philistines as a result of the foolish actions of Eli's wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas.  Hophni and Phinehas die and battle, and Phinehas's wife dies giving birth to a son she names Ichabod, meaning Israel's glory has departed. 

Today marks Independence Day for the U.S. of A.  The U.S. is certainly not Israel, but we have to honestly acknowledge that the glory that once was this great nation has largely departed.  Examples abound.  Forty years and over 50,000,000 of the unborn legally murdered; sodomite marriages increasingly protected by civil law; military involvement in regional conflicts all over the world that have no impact on national security; heroic men willing to lose their own freedom to expose unconstitutional surveillance and spying tactics by the federal government are branded as traitors; a president and federal bureaucracy that rules in a manner frighteningly close to the most notorious regimes of the twentieth century; religious liberty and free speech continue to be restricted.  The list could go on.  What keeps our just God from wiping this nation off the map?  I do not know the answer to that question, nor do I know His perfect, eternal decrees and the purposes behind them. 

I would venture, however, to suggest that part of the answer to this question may be found in faithful people of God (including my wife and three children) who braved heavy rains yesterday to stand for the sanctity of human life in front of our town's abortuary amidst the blasphemous, profane, and abusive words of their pro-death opponents; pro-life Texans who sang "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound" in their legislature while being taunted by the (appropriate) shouts of "Hail Satan" from their God-hating, death-loving opponents; Christian families who say "No!" to allowing the government to educate their children; faithful pastors and priests who affirm Biblical marriage between a man and a women while being accused of "hate speech" by the liberal media and sadly some in the church; simple Christians and small town churches caring for widows, orphans, and the unwanted while no one but God is watching.

Our nation has been graciously given a great legacy of freedom, the likes of which has largely been unknown in world history.  Men have willingly given their lives to secure this freedom for future generations.  But the capital of these earlier great generations is now all but exhausted.  I do not think that the best days of this nation are necessarily behind us.  However, if there is ever to be a return to the freedoms and liberties that previous generations once enjoyed, it will have to start on the local level.  Forget Washington.  Reclaim Bristol, or whatever town or city in which you reside.  Stand for life.  Proclaim the Truth in love.  Above all, support and be members of churches that are not ashamed of the Gospel, are unafraid of engaging the surrounding culture with the Truth of God's Word, and are solidly grounded in the Trinitarian and Ancient Christian Faith.  Kyrie Eleison.  

I originally wrote the article that follows last December in memory of King Herod’s massacre of the Holy Innocents on December 28th.  It is, however, just as relevant at any time during the year, so long as the murder of the unborn is still legal and protected by the civil government.  Each Wednesday the pastors, elders, and other members of our church, joined by other area Christians, bear witness to the sanctity of human life in front of our city’s very own portal to hell, the Bristol Regional Women’s Center.  Our church actively supports the fine work of our local Abortion Alternatives and Crisis Pregnancy Center in tangible ways detailed in this article.  My prayer is that the doors of our local abortion mill, as well as every other mill throughout this once great nation, will soon close forever.  Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayers!

  HOLY INNOCENTS  -  28 DECEMBER 

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by order of King Herod.  Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims, and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  [Lutheran Book of Worship 1978]

               

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

                “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

                                are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

                for from you shall come a ruler

                                who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

                Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

                Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

                Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

                                “A voice was heard in Ramah,

                                                weeping and loud lamentation,

                                Rachel weeping for her children;

                                                she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:1-18 ESV)

You know the story.  The eastern Magi follow the star to Bethlehem in search of a newborn King.  After learning from the Magi that a King has been born in his realm, megalomaniacal King Herod sends soldiers to murder all baby boys two years old and under in an effort to snuff out any potential rival to his throne.  Joseph is warned in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod’s deadly rage.

Of course, wicked rulers intent on murdering the most helpless and innocent of a society are not confined to Year 0 Judea.  Christian singer, musician, and author, Michael Card, makes this observation in his song, “Spirit of the Age”: “A voice is heard of weeping and of wailing, history speaks of it on every page, of innocent and helpless little babies, offerings to the spirit of the age.”

Our love for the ancient liturgy, the sacraments, and Mother Church, as well as marking time in accordance with the Christian calendar must inspire us to action, to be salt and light in the world.   In the United States, over  50,000,000 of the weakest and most helpless among us have been brutally murdered since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973.  We are called to be the voice of those who have no voice, to call our nation to repent of this gruesome holocaust against the unborn.  Mother Teresa once said:

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters"
“And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign." (Mother Theresa -- "Notable and Quotable," Wall Street Journal, 2/25/94, p. A14)

There are numerous practical ways that individual Christians and local churches can actively, yet lovingly, work to see the day in which the abortion carnage is ultimately ended and serves as a shameful reminder of a barbaric past that preferred fornication and the abortionist’s tools over the very image of God.

• ·         Become a volunteer for the local Crisis Pregnancy Center (most offer training to those who will counsel ladies in crisis pregnancies that visit the office or call a hotline)

• ·         Recommend that your church, or perhaps several churches, organize a baby shower for the CPC to provide diapers, pregnancy tests, infant clothing, car seats, etc. free of charge to those that choose life for their babies and are in need of such items.

• ·         Adopt a child and/or offer financial assistance to families that seek to adopt, but cannot afford to do so.

• ·         Share the Gospel outside of abortion clinics and pray for repentance to those within and those who enter into these temples of death.

• ·         Pray for the end of abortion individually and corporately.  This should be regularly included in “Prayers of the People”, litanies, etc.  In addition seasons of prayer and fasting could be organized. The Church must repent of her silence in allowing the murder of the unborn to become an acceptable practice in this and other nations.

• ·         Determine to never vote for any political candidate that supports the murder of the unborn.  Obviously, if all professing Christians would simply unite in not supporting pro-abortion candidates, they could not possibly win election.

• ·         In discussions with pro-abortion co-workers and friends, continually focus on the life of the baby (it is a human being, created in the image of God from the moment of conception).  For example, in those extremely rare cases in which pregnancy occurs as a result of rape or incest, there are three parties involved – two are innocent and one is guilty of a criminal act.  How is the cause of justice served by executing the most innocent of the three?

• ·         Be always ready to offer the balm of the Gospel of God’s grace and forgiveness to those who have participated in the murder of the unborn (doctors, nurses, mothers, fathers, grandparents).  The Westminster Divines correctly affirmed, “As there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; so there is no sin so great, that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.” [The Confession of Faith, Chapter XV, Section IV]

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

                “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46 ESV). 

Our Lord’s words are certainly applicable to a number of social ills, such as poverty, homelessness, and fatherless families.  The most helpless of society, babies in the womb created in the very image of God must also be included.  The question before us is, will our worship remain in the sanctuary for an hour or two on Sunday morning, or will it inspire us to action on behalf of “the least of these”?