Culture news: Let us hear about the rights of God

Dominic Verner has written a brief but insightful piece that examines our age's conception of human dignity and rights and how it is divorced from God and his ordering of creation.  

He writes:
Humanism is easy, but to its devotees in the ACLU we might pose the following challenge: What happens when your assertion, your flattering compliment to our race, is asked to prove its conceptual credentials? As flattering as it may be, human dignity can become rather inconvenient, burdensome, and undesirable, because human beings, even innocent ones, can become inconvenient, burdensome, and undesirable. Can you demonstrate that human dignity is more than an emotivist flattery?

It is of course, but to make such a demonstration the ACLU will have to hear something of the rights of God. Our nature does not belong to Caesar, but neither does it belong to us as individuals. There is only one who exercises the owner’s right, the right to inscribe the order of justice into our very nature. If our nature is merely our own, if it is not a gift from our Creator, then justice, rights, and even “dignity” remain but artifacts, convenient creations of those possessed of political might. The only solid foundation for human dignity lies in this: “we come from God and must return to Him.” Apart from our belonging to God, human rights are as invented as unicorns, human dignity as fictitious as witches.

With an anthropology divorced from the order of creation, our modern day human-rights torch bearers have lost the flame. They could, of course, ask for a light, but for that they will have to raise their gaze.

Mark's thoughts: Where's the cup? - The chalice in the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar

“In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: ‘Drink of it all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” We hear these words every Sunday in the second half of the Words of Institution as our Lord uses wine to give us His true blood.  Jesus’ words are quite specific as He refers to “this cup.”  Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Altar in the setting of a Passover meal.  The New Testament clearly indicates that our Lord had the disciples share in common a cup that He was using (see Luke 22:17 where Jesus speaks about an earlier cup in the Passover meal). 

We do not know what this cup was made of, though clay and glass cups were common in first century A.D. Palestine. What we do know is that almost immediately the use of a common cup became a feature of early Christian worship and was important for understanding the nature and character of the Sacrament.  Paul emphasized the unity created by the Sacrament when he told the Corinthians, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).   

Paul’s words focused on the body of Christ.  However the use of a common cup quickly became important to the Church as she thought about the unity of the Sacrament.  In the early second century A.D. Ignatius of Antioch wrote, “Be careful therefore to use one Eucharist, for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup for union with his blood, one altar, there is one bishop with the presbytery and the deacons my fellow servants, in order that whatever you do you may do it according unto God” (To the Philadelphians, 4.1).

Cups for use in the Sacrament could be made out of glass or stone, but soon the use of gold and silver became typical, even before Christianity became legal.  During the persecution by the Emperor Diocletian, in 303 AD Roman authorities confiscated the property of a church in North Africa and found chalices made of gold and silver.  After Christianity became legal in 313 AD and was then supported by the Emperor Constantine, these chalices became more valuable and ornate.  Sometimes they were quite large and had handles attached to the sides.

During the medieval period the celebration of the Sacrament became something that people watched, rather than the gift of receiving the body and blood of Christ.  When they did receive the Sacrament they only received the body of Christ (often called “communion in one kind”).  As a result handles disappeared and chalices became smaller since usually only the priest handled and drank from it. The Lutheran Reformation restored the blood of Christ to the people in the celebration of the Sacrament as Christians again began to receive both body and blood.  Because the chalice was used to hold the blood of Christ, Lutheran chalices continued the tradition of finally crafted vessels made of silver or gold.[1]

Lutherans continued in the confession of the catholic (universal) Church that the Sacrament is the true body and blood of Christ.  However, churches that originated in the Reformed and radical portions of the Reformation denied this.  These churches believed that the Sacrament was symbolic and that there was nothing more present than bread and wine. Because the Sacrament was held to be a symbol of unity and not the means that creates it through the true body and blood of Christ, it is not surprising that it was this tradition that produced something completely new in the celebration of the Sacrament.  During the 1890’s several Congregational, Presbyterian and Baptist congregations in the United States began using individual communion cups held in a tray.  This change was prompted by concerns about hygiene and disease.

After arising in this setting, during the twentieth century individual cups (now usually disposable plastic) have become very common in Lutheran churches.  In fact the congregation where I grew up and the first two parishes that I have served as pastor have only had individual cups.  This is surprising for several reasons.  First, it is a practice that has its source in a completely foreign theology which does not confess the presence of the body and blood of Christ.  Second, it is a new practice that deviates from two thousand years of catholic practice in the Church.  Third, studies have shown that the chalice is not more prone to pass on illness because of the silver and gold of the chalice, the alcohol in the wine and the turning and wiping of the chalice.  At the same time, the fact that the lip of every individual cup has already been handled by those preparing the Sacrament (not to mention the fact that the plastic cup does not have the same preventive qualities) is often overlooked when people consider the individual cup to be more hygienic.

In response to the request from congregation members, Good Shepherd , Marion, IL will introduce the use of the chalice during this summer.  There are several reasons for this.  First, it corresponds to our Lord’s own practice when He instituted the Sacrament and avoids the ironic situation in which the pastor says, “In the same way also He took the cup after supper,” when in fact there is no single cup present at the altar. Second, it corresponds to the catholic practice of the Church which has used a common cup for two thousand years. Third, while the Sacrament is far more than a symbol, the use of a common cup does effectively convey the unity created by the body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament. It is an important part of the ceremony of the liturgy – the movements by the pastor, the way the communion ware is handled, the vestments, paraments, candles, etc. The ceremony of the liturgy adorns the Means of Grace and sets them before us.  The use of a single cup communicates the truth of God’s Word that the Sacrament joins us together.  It is the Sacrament of unity.

We recognize that there will be congregation members who continue to have concerns about hygiene issues related to the use of the chalice.  For this reason Good Shepherd will continue to use individual cups in addition to adding the chalice.  The chalice will receive the primary role during the consecration, and then both chalice and individual cups will be used in distributing Christ’s blood.

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[1] For an immensely helpful discussion of this and many other aspects of the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar in the history of the Church, see: Edward Foley, From Age to Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist (rev. and exp. edition; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008).

Life news: House passes ban on abortion after twenty weeks

There was good news yesterday as the ban on abortions after twenty weeks was passed in the House of Representatives.  While this is good news, it is sobering to recognize that 196 congressmen voted in favor of the right to dismember children in the womb or to kill them after partially pulling them out of the mother. There is much work to do.

Culture news: Marriage and religious freedom will stand or fall together

Matthew J. Franck has written a very perceptive piece in which he describes how the issues of marriage and religious freedom are intertwined.  He writes,

"After all, if redefining marriage to include same-sex couples accords with justice and moral truth, there is no good reason for the new legal order to make room for “conscientious” religious dissenters, for clearly their consciences are malformed and unworthy of respect. Thus the fate of religious freedom, for scores of millions of Americans, stands or falls with the fate of conjugal marriage itself."

He goes on to say near the end of his piece:

 "And after all, if the new meaning of marriage represents progress toward a more just society, why shouldn’t the coercive power of the state be deployed in all these ways? Religious freedom has its limits, it will be said. Correction: This is being said, in all the liberal-dominated legislatures where marriage has been redefined in recent years, which is why so little accommodation is being made for religious conscience, and why such tiny accommodations as have been made are almost certainly doomed to be evanescent, repealed in coming years as the vestiges of old compromises with backwardness that are no longer necessary."

Franck sets forth different areas of life where the redefinition of marriage will directly impact the Church and religious freedom.

Life news: President Obama threatens to veto bill banning abortion after twenty weeks

President Obama has threatened to veto the bill being considered by the House of Representatives which would ban abortions after twenty weeks.  This comes as no surprise to any one who has followed the President's ardent support of abortion during his career.  He is the most pro-abortion president our nation has ever had.

Church news: Ethiopian Lutherans ask for LCMS assitance with theological education

Remarkable things are happening in Africa as biblical and confessional Lutheranism is making great advances.  In February the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) broke fellowship with the ELCA and the Church of Sweden because of their position on homosexual marriage. Now the EECMY has asked the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod for assistance with theological education.

It is important to recognize what a dramatic shift this represents.  The homosexual issue is causing Lutheran Churches in Africa that have historically had ties to liberal leaning Lutherans to begin to see where the theological presuppositions of liberal Lutheranism lead.  They are rejecting these conclusions and beginning the process of re-assessing their theological stance regarding the nature of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. This is a process that will take time, but if offers the remarkable opportunity to foster greater biblical and Lutheran confessional fidelity in Africa. 

Sermon for Third Sunday after Trinity

Trinity 3

                                                                                                                        Mic. 7:18-20

                                                                                                                        6/16/13

            If you wanted to put something in the least accessible place on earth, you couldn’t find a better spot than Challenger Deep.  Challenger Deep is the deepest place on our planet.  It is located in the Pacific Ocean, at the lowest point in Mariana Trench, southwest of the island of Guam.  Challenger Deep is almost 36,000 feet below sea level.  For the sake of comparison, consider the fact that the top of Mt. Everest, the highest place on earth, is only 29,000 feet above sea level.

            Challenger Deep is inaccessible, not just because you have to travel so far underwater to get there.  It is inaccessible because at that depth underwater, there is a thousand times the normal atmospheric pressure.  It takes a specially designed submersible to get there and it has only been reached four times – twice by manned craft and twice by unmanned ones. Getting to Challenger Deep is a major undertaking, not unlike going to the moon.  In fact, more people have landed on the moon than have reached Challenger Deep.  Twelve men have landed on the moon, but only four have been to this spot at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

            In our Old Testament lesson for today we hear the end of the book of Micah.  As Micah concludes his prophecy he speaks about God’s loving and forgiving character.  He says, “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”  Micah describes sins as being removed from God’s people and cast in a place where they can never trouble us again – in a place like Challenger Deep. He speaks words of comfort that assure us of God’s continuing love.

            You probably haven’t heard all that much about Micah – and that’s really quite unfair.  Micah is rather like any great basketball player who played in the 1990’s.  No matter how good they were, they probably didn’t get all of the attention they could have because they happened to play at the same time that the greatest basketball player in history was playing - Michael Jordan.  Micah lived and wrote in the eighth century B.C. This means that he is from the same time period as the greatest writing prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah.  Isaiah is such a giant in his writing, that Micah has been completely overshadowed.  And that is unfortunate because in his brief seven chapters Micah has some truly amazing stuff.

            Micah lived after the nation of Israel had divided into two nations – the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern one of Israel.  He is unique in that he speaks to both nations and not just one. Micah lived at the end of a time when the surrounding Near eastern powers in Egypt and Mesopotamia had been divided, weakened and distracted.  The power vacuum had allowed the northern and southern kingdoms to flourish – at least economically.

            But while everything seemed to be going well – all was not well. God had rescued Israel in the exodus and entered into a covenant with them. He had taken them to be his people – his own treasured possession.  He had given them the promised land and had blessed them. And yet, the nation had been unfaithful to God.  In spite of God’s warnings, they had become involved with worshipping the false gods of the surrounding peoples.

            Everything about life in the covenant with Yahweh began with fearing, loving and trusting in him above all things. When Israel turned toward false gods, everything else about life in the covenant was corrupted.  The rich took advantage of the poor and stole from them.  People cheated in business transactions.  Justice was perverted as leaders took bribes.

            Now perhaps that sounds like something far removed from your own personal life.  Sure, you hear and read about things like this in the news, but it is not something that you personally encounter. Yet listen to what Micah says about those engaged in this kind of behavior: “Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, ‘Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.”’”

            Those in Judah were doing things that broke the covenant.  Yet they weren’t really concerned because Yahweh’s temple was there in Jerusalem. They said, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.”  The temple of God had become like a magic charm that they believed was a guarantee of safety – a guarantee that no longer involved truth faith.

            How often does that describe us as we think about salvation?  Do you think, “Jesus died for my sins.  I’m saved” – and then go out and harm your neighbor’s reputation by passing on information that puts them in the worst possible light? Do you think, “Jesus died for my sins.  I’m saved” – and then go online and look at that pornography?  Do you think, “Jesus died for my sins.  I’m saved” – and then think nothing of skipping the Divine Service because you have something else you want to do on Sunday morning?

            Micah’s prophecy leaves no doubt about the connection between the faith we profess and the life we live.  Where that life has involved sin, God’s word calls us to confess.  It tells us to admit our wrongdoing before God.  It tells us to repent with a contrite heart – one that confesses the sin and looks to God for forgiveness.

            And when we do this, at the end of his prophecy Micah tells us exactly what we find.  Micah writes in our text, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.” 

            Micah returns us to the character of God that he has revealed about himself. God had declared to Moses, “Yahweh, Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”

            God wants us to know that this is what he is like.  He wants to be gracious and merciful.  He wants to pardon iniquity and pass over sin.  He wants to deal with us according to his steadfast love.  And this is exactly how he deals with all who confess sin before him. This is how he deals with all who return to him, recognizing their need to fear, love and trust in God above all things.

            God has not only told us about this in words. He has revealed it in actions.  At the end of our text Micah writes, “You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.” God had sworn by himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that in their offspring all nations would be blessed.  He had promised King David that he would establish his throne forever. 

            Through Micah in a previous chapter God said, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

            God promised a descendant of David who would be born in Bethlehem.  Micah said of him, “And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.”

            Some seven hundred years later God kept this promise as Jesus the Christ was born in Bethlehem. He, the incarnate Son of God and the descendant of Abraham and David, came to the world to reveal God’s steadfast love and his desire to forgive.  He did this by fulfilling God the Father’s will as he died on the cross for the sins of all humanity – for your sins.  And then on the third day God raised him up as he began the resurrection of the Last Day.

            Because of the sacrificial death of Christ, God forgives sin.  He gives forgiveness and he has done this for you personally in a way that leaves no doubt.  He has done it in a way that assures repentant sinners, that yes, in Christ they are forgiven.

            In our text Micah writes, “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” God has removed you sins and cast them into a place even more remote than the waters of Challenger Deep.  In the waters of your baptism he cast your sins into the depths of Jesus’ death on the cross.  There in the judgment of God against sin in his own Son your sin has been removed.  And because you have been baptized – because you are baptized – it is still removed.  When you repent and turn to our gracious and loving God he greets you with the good news that your sins have been cast into the depths of Jesus’ saving death on the cross. They are gone forever through the waters of your baptism.

            Yet more happened in your baptism the mere removal of sin.  Through baptism you shared in Jesus death. And through baptism Jesus’ resurrection life has begun to be at work in you.  This has happened through the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is the One raised Christ from the dead.  The same Spirit has given you rebirth.  The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is at work in you – leading you to live more and more in the ways of our Lord.

            Yes, God has saved you from sin.  But this doesn’t mean that he has freed you to serve yourself and do as you please.  This is not what it means to be born again of water and the Spirit.

            In the previous chapter, Micah asked: “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

             Micah said that God didn’t need any of these things.  After all, he is the one who pardons iniquity and passes over transgression.  He is the one who has cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.  Instead, God wanted his people to walk in faith as his people.  Micah went on to say: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

            God wanted his people to live in the covenant.  He wanted them to live in the ways that the Torah described.  The same thing is true for you, people who have been made part of the new covenant.  And in fact, at its heart, this life of faith is one and the same.  When asked about the greatest commandment in the Torah, Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

            In the vocations of our life we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are called to treat our husband or wife, son or daughter, father or mother, employer or employee with love, patience, kindness and faithfulness. We are called to place their needs ahead of our own, because that is what Jesus Christ has done for us.  We are called to forgive them because that is what God has done for us in Christ.  He has cast all our sins into the depths of the water of our baptism.  He has cast them into the death of Jesus Christ for us.