CrossTalk: Fear, Love and Trust in God above all things

COVID-19 has been the occasion of a great deal of evil. Not only have we lost precious people to the illness, there have been other harms as well. Economies have been devastated. Businesses have been bankrupted. People have been set against one another. Families and friendships have been broken. Worship has been impeded, and sometimes forbidden.

But above all of these, the most heartbreaking effect of COVID-19 is the fear that it stirs up. In our age of scientism, we have been conditioned to think that every problem can be solved, and every danger averted by the proper application of science.

But five months into the pandemic, we still have no sure-fire cure for the disease. Some think hydroxychloroquine helps. But others don’t. Purell, disinfectant sprays, social distancing, quarantines, thermometers and masks in a dozen varieties are all said to help. But not one of these things can guarantee 100-percent protection.

Despite all these precautions, people still get sick and some die from this invisible and undetectable threat. Our inability to predict and control the disease gives rise to fear, frustration and anger.

But scientism is a false religion. It cannot control everything. It cannot solve every problem. There is only One who is capable of controlling the universe and curing diseases. The Lord God almighty is the maker of heaven and earth. The One who created the universe and everything in it also created the COVID-19 strain and He still controls it.

We still don’t know whether God created it by an evil scientist or by an accident of nature. But we do know that it is from God. We don’t know whether we might get it from our pet cat or from a stranger at the gas station. But we do know that nothing will happen apart from God’s willing it.

If a friend or a loved one contracts the virus, we don’t know whether it will act like the common cold, or lead to multiple organ failures and death. But God knows. More than that, He remains in control. God is not a mere observer with foreknowledge of events. He remains the creative cause of all things at all times.

When we remember this, we stop fearing the disease and turn to God. We turn to Him to ask Him to remove the disease from our land. We ask Him to protect us and our neighbors from the ravages of the disease. We ask that He will remove all fear from our hearts.

As we ask, we become mindful of our own sin and unworthiness. So, we repent and trust in God’s undeserved mercy. We remember that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son into death to take away the sin of the world.

If COVID-19 brings you to this humble repentance and trust in the mercy of God, it will be the cause not only of much evil, but of the greatest good possible.

Almighty and Most Merciful God, our heavenly Father, we, Thine erring children, humbly confess unto Thee that we have justly deserved the chastening which for our sins Thou hast sent upon us; but we entreat Thee, of Thy boundless goodness to grant us true repentance, graciously to forgive our sins, to remove from us, or to lighten, our merited punishment, and so to strengthen us by Thy grace that as obedient children we may be subject to Thy will and bear our afflictions in patience; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

CrossTalk: Faith, Hope and Love

“So now, faith, hope and love, these three abide; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13.

These beautiful words of St. Paul are the conclusion of the great “Love Chapter” included in his letter to the Church at Corinth. Later theologians would call these three the Theological Virtues. They are three distinct aspects of the Christian life, but they are inseparable.

Faith is the foundation. This is a pure gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Faith is the habit of the heart that causes a person to look always at “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

In Jesus on the cross we see the power of God at work. There God is defeating Satan. There, by His own blood, He atones for the sin of the world. There, also, God shows us the pattern of the Christian life: that there is life in the midst of death, victory in the appearance of defeat, power and wisdom in what the world judges as weak and foolish.

Hope springs from such faith. Hope is that habit of the heart that is always gazing at the empty grave. Hope sees that Jesus arose on the third day and believes that the faithful, too, shall rise to live before God in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.

Christian hope is not like the hope of the world. The hope of the world is uncertain. It is more like a wish that may, or may not, come true. But Christian hope is certain. It is the absolute confidence that Jesus’ resurrection guarantees the bodily resurrection of all the faithful.

Nothing, not even death itself, can overcome the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So, hope grounds a person’s life in confidence. Your well-being no longer depends on the fickle world. It does not depend on the wisdom of rulers, or the kindness of others. Christ alone, crucified and risen again, is your protection from every evil.

Therefore, love proceeds from faith and hope. The faith that sees only Jesus Christ crucified and the hope that always sees Him risen from the grave, frees the human heart from every care and worry and turns the eyes outward. In love, you can turn your eyes to your neighbor.

Love looks to others not for what they can give, but for what they need. Just as “God so loved the world, that he gave” (John 3:16), so also the love of a Christian is always giving. This is what makes Christian love unique.

Worldly love is always looking for someone who can fill needs. Godly love sees people not for what they can give, but for what they can receive. That’s why godly love can focus on the smallest, the weakest, the least deserving and the least able to repay.

God’s love reaches out to you not because you are wise or worthy, strong or beautiful, but because you are in need of His love—and He loves to give. This is the greatest news in the universe. The love of God, while undeserved, is unwavering and does not depend on anything other than the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Faith, hope and love, these are the Theological Virtues, the qualities which flow from God alone. They are not something for you to achieve, but gifts for God to give as an inseparable trinity. Faith begets hope. From faith and hope proceeds love. “And the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

CrossTalk: Pentecost, the Forgotten Feast

There are three pivotal events in the life of Jesus. Most people observe two of them as universal holidays. Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus, is the biggest one. It is marked by Christmas shopping and a federal holiday on December 25. Easter, celebrating Jesus’ bodily rising from the dead, is the second. Stores are filled with candy eggs and chocolate bunnies.

The third great event in Jesus’ life is Pentecost. It has no national recognition and is sells no merchandise. It is the most forgotten of the three. Let’s take some time today to remember it.

Pentecost is the Greek word for 50. It is easily remembered as the 50th day after Easter. Since Jesus rose from the grave on a Sunday (the first day of the week), Pentecost always falls on a Sunday seven weeks and one day later.

But before we talk about Pentecost as a Christian holiday, we should remember that it was celebrated as a Jewish holiday for 15 centuries before Jesus brought it to its fullness. For those centuries, it was known in Hebrew as Shavuot (Weeks), and in Greek as Pentecost.

Old Testament Pentecost celebrated the events at Mt. Sinai seven weeks after Passover. We should remember what Moses said to Pharaoh: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness’” (Exodus 5:1).The Exodus was for the purpose of Pentecost!

After the angel of death passed over those houses that had blood on the door posts, the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and traveled to the foot of Mt. Sinai. There, they were constituted as God’s Holy people.

They heard God’s voice speaking from the cloud. They saw the smoke and fire on the top of the Holy Mountain. They received the gift of God’s personal presence in His Holy Tabernacle.

All of this serves to give meaning to the New Testament Pentecost.

During the last true Passover in Israel, Jesus became the true Passover Lamb. He poured out His blood and applies it to everyone who believes and is baptized (Mark 16:16). In this way, Jesus saves you from eternal death—just as the old Passover lamb saved the Israelites from the angel of death.

On the third day, Jesus rose from the grave. His resurrection mirrors the children of Israel who entered the watery grave of the Red Sea chased by Pharaoh’s chariots and emerged as free people on the other side.

St. Luke tells us what happened 50 days after His resurrection. “When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them” (Acts 2:1-3).

Jesus put the fire of His Holy Spirit on each of the twelve apostles. At Sinai, the fire was on the mountain, and the voice of God had come from out of the cloud. Now, when Pentecost was fulfilled, that fire was on the apostles and God’s word is heard from their mouths.

All this explains why Pentecost should be celebrated as the third important event in the life of Jesus. The apostles are not the real actors. Jesus is. He sent the Holy Spirit. He gave us His ongoing presence. He made His voice heard in Jerusalem, Judea and now, in all the world.

CTQ: Fellowship in Its Necessary Context

In May of 2016, President John Hill asked me to present a paper to the Wyoming District on the topic of the "Overseas Theses" of 1961. The paper that resulted was eventually submitted to the Concordia Theological Quarterly -- the journal for Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was accepted for publication and appeared in the January/April 2020 issue.

Fellowship in Its Necessary Context: 

The Doctrine of the Church and the Overseas Theses of 1961

Why Our Church Decided To Revive In-Person Worship

I am a pastor at a small Lutheran congregation in southeast Michigan, and like many other congregations, my church decided in March to temporarily pause in-person services on account of the coronavirus pandemic, instead posting videos of our services online. At the time, we had to respond quickly to unprecedented circumstances, so we did our best to act in line with Christian principles, even if we could not perfectly communicate exactly why we felt our decisions were appropriate.

Now we’ve had time to reflect and gain clarity. While we still believe we made the right decisions to temporarily pause in-person services, I now believe it’s time for us to start back up. We paused services for one reason: to do our part to slow the initial spread of virus, so our health care system wouldn’t be overwhelmed. It seems that reason has expired.

Continue reading here...

Can the Church ever be Digitized?

Beginning on Tuesday, March 31, our dual parish began looking for ways to broadcast the teaching-content of our public services. This is an attempt both to keep in touch and to continue the instruction of the faithful during these unprecedented days of COVID-19. When the crisis wanes, we will revisit the practice.  Already now, we invite you to think soberly about the plusses and minuses of this practice.

A Guest Essay by the Rev. Dr. Alexey Streltsov: The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Digitization of the Church

On Being a Pro-Life Congregation

Pro-life congregations can find 1,001 things to do. Some of them are as simple as extending communion-rail blessings to the unborn children as well as those born. Others may join the Life Chain on the first Sunday of October or participate in a local March for Life in January. Others may partner with a pregnancy resource center to support mothers in need and so address the fears that drive abortion.

But this article is about being, not doing. Our lives as Christians flow from who we are in Christ. In order to address this foundation, LCMS Life Ministry has provided an important new resource. Marriage, Life and Family: Reflecting the Holy Trinity. It is offered to help congregations and pastors begin to plumb the depths of Lutheran theology through engagement with the most pressing challenges of the day.

Ultimately, LCMS congregations do not engage marriage, life and family as mere social issues. We engage them because through them we have an unprecedented opportunity to proclaim the Father who sends His Son to die for the sins of the world and who, from the cross, gives His Holy Spirit to all who believe.

Engagement with the world today cannot help but see an exponentially increasing chaos. Families are in disarray. Culture is in upheaval. People are set against one another, isolated, angry and hurting. The Christian worldview that once tied communities together has dissolved into rampant nihilism. As a result, the Church is not only marginalized, but attacked with increasing ferocity.

The first step in being a pro-life congregation is to receive these challenges as a gift from God and not a curse to be avoided. No cross can harm God’s people. Knowing this, we can approach the challenges with joy and not foreboding. We can be certain that the more we engage the world with the word of God, the more we will grow.

For Lutherans especially, our respect for the proper distinction between law and Gospel can be exploited by Satan to cause us to be timid and tentative in applying the law to our world. This is disastrous because it mutes three aspects of the Gospel itself.

First, it forgets the beautiful fact that our bodies are created by the very hand of God. His word about how to use them is not a foreign intrusion, but the very words of the One in Whom we live. Second, it also mutes our confession that Christ has died to take away the sin of the world. The promise of the resurrection goes beyond the removal of guilt. It promises freedom from sin itself—freedom from the self-destructive desires and impulses that enslave the human race.

Most importantly of all, marriage, life and family are gifts that God provides to help us see Him in our daily lives. The newest resource from LCMS Life Ministry is designed to start this discussion. It is only a start. But as the LCMS thinks on these matters together, all will benefit from the vistas that God will provide.