Culture news: The depraved history of sex education

Miriam Grossman has written about the history of sex education in America.  The consistent narrative is that of sexually depraved individuals trying to legitimize their own sexual conduct. 

Sermon for Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Trinity 7

                                                                                                            7/14/13

                                                                                                            Mk 8:1-9

            In the years that I knew him, at beginning of every sermon my Grandpa Surburg heard he would look at his watch.  Then, at the end of the sermon, he would look at his watch again. He did this because he timed every sermon.  I am not sure what length he considered to be an acceptable sermon, but he certainly frowned on short sermons that cheated the listener.

            My dad and I used to joke about grandpa’s habit of timing the sermon.  Little did I know that one day I would be timed every Sunday too.  Now in my own case this is not a result of someone deliberately putting me on the clock to find out how long the sermons are.  Instead, it is a result of the fact that the sermons are recorded so that the audio can be placed on the internet at the church’s website.

            Frank Glaub is our church’s “sound engineer” and he dutifully makes sure the sermon is recorded so that it can go on the website.  I learned that by digitally recording the sermons he is also getting an exact measure of how long each one is.  From time to time he will mention how long a sermon was – particularly if it has gone longer than normal.

            Generally speaking my sermons are usually around fourteen minutes.  Some might be a little shorter; some might be a little longer, but they pretty much fall in that range.  There are two reasons for this.  First, we are such a text based, and now also video based culture, that we have real limitations in our ability to take in oral communication.  There was a time when people thought nothing of listening to an hour long sermon, but those days are gone.  If I started to preach for an hour every Sunday, I would probably hear about it at the next elders’ meeting – if not before then.

            The other reason is that I am realistic about my own abilities as a preacher.  If you are going to preach beyond fifteen minutes on a regular basis, you had better be really good.  And while I think am certainly adequate for the preaching task, I am also realistic about the fact that I am not good enough to pull that off on a regular basis.

            Our Lord Jesus had no such problems for several reasons. First of all, he did live in an oral culture that was used to listening for long periods of time.  More importantly, he was a master teacher of great oratorical skill, who also happened to teach with an authority that was unique to his person as the Son of God.  What he said and the way he said it was different.  People recognized this and were drawn by it to hear him. And there was also the fact that his teaching was accompanied by miracles of healing.

            When you put all of this together you find that people were drawn to listen to Jesus for long periods of time.  Yet even by Jesus’ standards, the events in our text must have stood out as unusual.  We learn that people had gathered in a deserted place and had been listening to Jesus for three days.  Apparently it had not occurred to them that not only had their food run out, but they also were in a place where it wasn’t possible to get more.  Either Jesus’ teaching and presence had captured their attention so greatly that they didn’t notice this, or if they did, they just didn’t care.

            However, our Lord Jesus did notice and he did care.  Our text begins by saying, “In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.’”

            Now we need to realize that this is not the first time something like this has happened. Two chapters earlier a crowd of five thousand men, plus women and children, had been listening to Jesus teach.  On that occasion the disciples had called attention to the problem of food and asked Jesus to send the crowd away so that they could go and buy some for themselves.  But instead Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” The disciples mentioned the immense cost this would entail – far more than they could possibly afford. And then our Lord worked a miracle as he used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed the whole group.

            This time, Jesus points out the problem.  And the disciples respond by calling attention to their location. Literally, the Greek rendering of their question asks, “From where will someone here be able to satisfy these with loaves in the deserted place?” The focus was not on the cost, but instead on the location.

            Now when we listen to this account, we are probably inclined to scratch our head and wonder about the disciples.  After all, Jesus has in the past performed the miracle of feeding a large crowd.  Why do they not have this in mind as they face this new pressing situation?

            Of course when we ask this, we are conveniently overlooking the ways that we do the same thing. For you see, Jesus Christ has revealed to you something even more remarkable than the feeding of a large crowd with five loaves of bread and two fish.  He has revealed to you his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.  He has revealed that by his saving death you have been reconciled to God and have eternal life.  He has revealed that the resurrection of the Last Day has already begun in Jesus, and because of your baptism you have the guarantee of sharing in that resurrection.

            You know about this. Yet in spite of this fact, when faced with financial or health challenges you worry.  You know about this.  Yet in spite of this fact, when wronged you choose to bear a grudge instead of forgiving.  You know about this.  Yet in spite of this fact, when you see someone who could use your help you turn away and get on with your own business.

            The disciples were not looking at the present in the light of who Jesus Christ is and the reign of God that was present in him.  And so Jesus took the initiative.  He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”  When they told him that they had seven, he commanded the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the bread and when he had given thanks over it, he broke the loaves and he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. Likewise he blessed some small fish, and had the disciples give them to the people as well.  All of the people ate and were satisfied, and the bread and fish never ran out.  In fact when they were done eating they gathered up the broken pieces and there were seven baskets full.

            Now perhaps you want to say, “Pastor, it’s really not a fair comparison. After all the disciples saw Jesus work a feeding miracle with their own eyes.  In fact, they saw two of them.  We on the other hand didn’t actually get to see the risen Lord on Easter morning.  We have only heard about it through the disciples’ witness.  If we had seen these feedings with our own eyes, it would be so much easier to have faith.  It would be so much easier to trust in Jesus and share his love with others in our lives.”

            We often think this. But the facts just don’t support it.  The miracles did not convince the Pharisees.  Immediately after our text they come to Jesus in order to argue with him and they ask him for a sign from heaven.  The miracles didn’t convince large portions of the people.  And in fact they didn’t even remove misunderstandings from the disciples.

            After Jesus had responded to the Pharisees, he and the disciples got into a boat to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  We are told that the disciples had forgotten to bring along bread.  Jesus warned them about the teaching and influence of the Pharisees when he said, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”  Thinking that Jesus was referring to their absent mindedness, the disciples began talking about the fact that they had forgotten to bring bread.

            Then Jesus responded, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive or understand?  Are our hearts hardened?  Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?”  Jesus reviewed with them the two feeding miracles: how much was used, how many were fed and how much was left over.  And then he said, “Do you not yet understand?”

            Simply seeing was no guarantee of understanding and faith.  Instead, what was needed was to know about the event and to know what it meant.  What was needed was to know who Jesus was and why he was doing it.  What was needed was faith and trust in Jesus, because apart from that the event itself only hardened people in their own ideas about Jesus.

            Jesus’ miracles called for faith. They called for belief in Jesus. And where this faith was present, the miracles strengthened faith and understanding. Where people were willing to take Jesus on his terms the miracles revealed that the reign of God was present in Christ, turning back the forces of Satan, sin, and death.

            This is what Jesus still gives to us.  He continues to work a feeding miracle in our midst.  He doesn’t use bread and fish, but instead in the Sacrament of the Altar he uses bread and wine to give us his true body and blood. Like the miracles of Jesus earthly ministry, it is possible to misunderstand this feeding – to deny who is doing it, what it is and what it means.

            But just like the feeding of the four thousand in our text, the Sacrament is a miracle by which Jesus feeds us and builds us up in the faith.  It is a miracle whereby the reign of God comes into our midst turning back the forces of Satan, sin, and death.  Through his body and blood given and shed on the cross for us our Christ gives us forgiveness, life and salvation. The risen Lord gives into our bodies his body and blood and so assures us that our bodies will share in his resurrection too on the Last Day.

            The people in our text had to wait around for three days in a deserted place to experience the miracle of the feeding of the four thousand.  And of course, they didn’t know that it was coming.  Not even the disciples were expecting it. But in our case our Lord has told us ahead of time, and there is no waiting or surprise.  He has invited us to come to the miracle.  In fact, he has commanded us to come. Our Lord has promised the when his called servant speaks his words over bread and wine, he gives us his true body and blood to eat and to drink.  It is the miracle that we can count on every time until he comes again in glory.    

Church news: An observer notes growing LCMS relationships with other Christian and Lutheran groups

Matthew Block has written an interesting post noting the growing relationships the LCMS has with other Christian and Lutheran groups.  Far from closing herself off from other Christians, President Harrison is leading the synod to seek closer ties with those who confess biblical and confessional truths.  

Life news: Germany builds memorial for victims of Nazi euthanasia, as Europe moves ahead with euthanasia

Germany is building a memorial in Berlin for the more than 200,000 victims of Nazi Germany's T4 euthanasia program.  The tragic irony is that at the same time Belgium, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe are in the process of installing euthanasia based on the same disregard for life.

Culture news: Homosexual marriage is child abuse

Robert Oscar Lopez has written a piece in which he argues that homosexual marriage is child abuse.  He says:

Many gay parenting advocates say these are more noble scenarios since they “wanted” the child, but they are wrong. They imposed their vision ruthlessly on a helpless being and then extorted gratitude. The false equivalency used in order to make the child “love” a second parent of the same sex is coerced and injurious.

In the household irreversibly alienated from constitutive rituals like Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, it is abusive to tell the child it was all for her own good and she shouldn’t listen to her own feelings, nor her peers, neighbors, or any moral authorities on TV who praise motherhood or fatherhood.

It is abusive to tell a child, “We are your moms” or “we are your dads,” and then expect the child never to feel the loss of such important icons, in addition to the injury of having been severed from at least one, and possibly both, biological parents—not because it was necessary, but because the two adults insisted on the arrangement. The lessons children learn from this undermine selfhood: might makes right, little people are subject to the whims of self-serving parents, and powerful people can impose “love” on weaker beings with money or political influence over adoption agencies, family courts, sperm banks, and surrogate mothers.

None of these problems would arise if we lived in a world where gay people saw children not as a commodity for purchase but rather as an obligation requiring sacrifices (i.e., you give up your gay partner instead of making your kid give up a parent of the opposite sex, because you’re the adult.)

When the child begins to ask, “why don’t I have a mom?” or “why don’t I have a dad?” the abuse grows, for the gay “parents” will likely respond with an answer that protects them from criticism but disallows the child’s recognition of hurt feelings.

Culture news: When courts enact "the will of the people" constitutional democracy loses

Matthew Tuininga has written a very good piece in which argues that the Supreme Court's decisions about cases related to homosexual marriage harm constitutional democracy.

Mark's thoughts: Lutheran thoughts about America, Democracy and Government for the Fourth of July

This week on July 4^th our nation will celebrate her two hundred and thirty seventh birthday.  The Fourth of July prompts different reactions from different groups of Christians.  For some it is an occasion that is celebrated in the Sunday service with what is often described as a “patriotic service.”  In the Lutheran church it is an event that is acknowledged in the Prayer of the Church, but otherwise does not interrupt the liturgy and the normal rhythm of the Scripture readings in the lectionary which determine the sermon and selection of hymns.

In part, this difference reflects a different attitude towards worship in general.  However, it also demonstrates a different evaluation of America, democracy and the role of government.  Those who view the Fourth of July as event that is to be celebrated in Church have often accepted the myth of America as a “Christian nation” and therefore God’s chosen nation. 

In fact, the American revolution was deeply related to the intellectual movement of the Enlightenment which was opposed to Christianity.  The Enlightenment considered reason to be the ultimate judge of truth.  As such, it had little use for Christianity and its belief in the incarnation of the Son of God, His death and resurrection, and his miracles.  This  emphasis on reason also led adherents of the Enlightenment to be opposed to dogma (authoritative teaching of the Church such as the Ecumenical Creeds) and tradition (liturgy and the inherited practices of the Church such as the church year and the lectionary).[1]

While there certainly were committed Christians who were involved in the founding of America, many of the prominent ones such as Thomas Jefferson were products of the Enlightenment.  Jefferson was a deist.  He believed that it was rational to speak of a supreme god. Yet this god was not a personal god who revealed himself.  The religion of deism was moralism – a matter of does and don’ts that can be perceived from reason. Unlike the secular view of today, Jefferson and the other founding fathers were not opposed to religion.  They believed that it played an important role in a stable society and therefore they included the First Amendment which says that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  Unlike the European setting where the government officially supported a form of Christianity, the newly formed United States rejected this model.

There has been a tendency to apply biblical language to America.  For example in a 1630 sermon the Puritan John Winthrop applied Jesus’ parable in Matthew 5:14 about “city on a hill” to this land.  Language such as this became part of American folklore and gave rise to the idea that America is God’s chosen people.  However, the only true chosen people called by God, is His Church which is drawn from all nations, Jew and Gentile. As Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”(1 Peter 2:9-10).  As a nation, America is simply one more example of the nations that stand under God’s providential ordering.  Indeed Paul said, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26).

Finally, there are American Christians who also believe that democracy is the form of government that is favored by God and is most pleasing to Him (and in turn this argument is also applied to the ordering of the Church).  However, while we may see many reasons to prefer this form of government, nowhere does Scripture indicate that is better than another or that it is more God pleasing.  In fact as we will see, God has used many different kinds of government in order to carry out his needed work in the world.

As Lutherans, we recognize that America was not founded as a Christian nation, though it certainly is a place where Christians have been allowed to practice their faith in great freedom.  We recognize that while God has richly blessed our nation in ways that inspire our thanks, it cannot claim any unique status before God – only Christ’s Church holds this position.   And we acknowledge that while democracy can be a great blessing, like any other human creation it is just as susceptible to the influence of sin.

We do not adhere to these misunderstandings.  Instead, we confess a much broader and foundational truth which influences our practice every week and not just when July 4^th comes around.  From the beginning, Lutherans have confessed that government is God’s good gift through which He bestows important blessings and that therefore Christians have responsibilities toward the government and can take part in the government.

In the Small Catechism’s “Table of Duties” Martin Luther listed under the heading “Of Civil Government” the apostle Paul’s word from Romans 13:1-4, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”  By this the Lutherans confessed that government has been established by God to restrain evil and maintain peace.  They described this as God’s “left hand” rule for they recognized that while this did not bring the salvation of the Gospel (God’s “right hand” rule), it was still the instrument of God’s action which brought the blessing or security and order.

Because this is true, God also gives Christians certain responsibilities in the relation to the government.  And so the Table of Duties lists under “Of Citizens” Romans 13:5-7 which says, “Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:5-7).  In their duties as citizens, Christians pay taxes that allow the government – God’s instrument – to operate. 

The Table of  Duties also lists 1 Timothy 2:1-3, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).  Because of the way God uses the government for our good, Christians pray for those in positions of leadership.  This is the thing we do every Sunday in the Prayer of the  Church as we offer up prayers for our government and leaders.

And finally, because some in the sixteenth century said that it was wrong for Christians to take part in the “worldly” affairs of the government, the Lutherans confessed in Article XVI of the Augsburg Confession, “Concerning civic affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good works of  God and that Christians are permitted to hold civil office, to work in courts, to decide matters by imperial and other existing laws, to impose just punishments, to wage just war, to serve as soldiers, to make legal contracts, to hold property, to take an oath when required by magistrates, to take a wife, to be given in marriage.”  Not only do Christians pay taxes and pray for the government, but because it is the instrument used by God they are free to serve in a vocation that involves service in the government or its military.

The Lutheran Church avoids many of the misunderstandings put on display by Fourth of July celebrations.  Instead, we give thanks for the blessing of our country and confess the truth about God’s work that occurs through every government, no matter whether they recognize Him or not.  We do this every Sunday, while also recognizing that each Sunday the Divine Service remains focused on one thing: the Gospel of Jesus Christ through which we receive the forgiveness of sins and salvation. 

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[1] For excellent treatments of the way these themes influenced American Christianity see: Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization of American Christianity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989) and Mark A. Noll, America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).