Commemoration of Silas, Fellow Worker of St. Peter and St. Paul

 

Today we remember and give thanks for Silas, Fellow Worker of St. Peter and St. Paul.  Silas was chosen by Paul (Acts 15:40) to accompany him on his second missionary journey from Antioch to Asia Minor and Macedonia. Silas, also known as Silvanus, was imprisoned with Paul in Philippi and experienced the riots in Thessalonica and Berea. After rejoining Paul in Corinth, he apparently remained there for an extended time.  Sometime later he apparently joined the Apostle Peter, likely serving as Peter’s secretary (1 Peter 5:12).  Tradition says that Silas was the first bishop at Corinth.

Collect of the Day:

Almighty and everlasting God, Your servant Silas preached the Gospel alongside the apostles Peter and Paul to the peoples of Asia Minor, Achaia and Macedonia.  We give You thanks for raising up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of Your kingdom, that the Church may continue to proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

 

Treasury of Daily Prayer, pg. 1198

 

Mark's Thoughts: The State can't restrict the Church's celebration of the Divine Service - SID Resolution 1-05

                          Photo courtesy of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

On Friday, Feb. 4, the Southern Illinois District in convention passed Resolution 1-05 To Affirm the Church’s Essential Nature and Freedom to Celebrate the Divine Service.  It affirms the essential nature of the Church’s Gospel work, and declares that the Government has no God given authority to place restrictions on the Church’s ability to celebrate the Divine Service, and on God’s people who wish to attend and receive the Means of Grace. Instead, in the face of health concerns, the Church will implement those actions that in her own judgment do not interfere with her God-given functions, while respectfully disregarding any government decree, mandate, executive action, law, or court order which does so interfere.

 

I voted for the resolution, which passed with 94.81% of delegates voting in support of it (Today’s Business, Volume 2, pg. 19).  I will confess that my own understanding of this issue has grown and changed since March 2020 because of the events that have taken place.

 

When Covid-19 first appeared in the spring of 2020, there were so many unknowns about the nature of the virus and the threat it posed.  As state and local governments enacted restrictions aimed at “flattening the curve,” churches viewed this through the lens of Romans 13 and the need to obey authorities. We willingly obeyed as services were cancelled.

 

However, here in Illinois religious services were placed under restrictions that did not apply to other settings.  Governor Pritzker’s stay at home order issued on May 20, 2020 did not include religious services among “essential activities,” and so services at churches were completely shut down, while liquor stores, home and garden stores, etc. remained open.  His April 30, 2020 extended stay at home order added religious services to “essential activities,” but limited those services to ten people or less.

 

Several churches sued the Governor, and after May 28, 2020 when Governor Pritzker refused to respond to the Supreme Court case, churches were not subject to the Covid directives that he issued.  The Governor indicated at that time that the state was not providing mandatory restrictions on churches and instead, he issued “COVID-19 Guidance for Places of Worship and Providers of Religious Services.” 

 

On August 26, 2021 the Governor issued his executive order that “all individuals in Illinois who are age two or over and able to medically tolerate a face covering (a mask or cloth face covering) shall be required to cover their nose and mouth with a face covering when in an indoor public place.” The “all” in the executive order did not indicate any exemption for churches.  Without acknowledging it, the Governor ignored his earlier May 28, 2020 position about churches that had been expressed in “COVID-19 Guidance for Places of Worship and Providers of Religious Services” as the mandate went into effect on August 30.  Those guidelines had been removed from the Illinois Department of Public Health website at the time of the Governor’s Aug. 26, 2021 mask order, and are no longer available on the Illinois Department of Public Health website.

 

On October 14 we in the Southern Illinois District learned that the Illinois Department of Health website now had a link to a document under the heading “Mask and Vaccine Requirement FAQ’s” which stated that “The free exercise of religion is exempted from the face covering requirement.”  While the  document was dated Sept. 3, it was not available on the Illinois Department of Health website during the weeks after the Governor’s mandate went into effect on Aug. 30. I worked with the site on multiple occasions during that month as I sought to investigate the mandate and consider our congregation’s response, and it was not present. It is clear that this information was added to the Illinois Department of Health website towards the very end of September.  No announcement about this new information was made.  That is why the Southern Illinois District leadership and pastors did not know about it.

 

During the month of September Governor Pritzker, to the best of our knowledge at the time, placed mandatory restrictions on the Church, an act that contradicted his May 28, 2020 statement and the “COVID-19 Guidance for Places of Worship and Providers of Religious Services” issued at that time.  The manner in which we learned that the churches had an exception from the mandate did not indicate an open and transparent willingness to affirm the free exercise of religion.

 

As we understood it during September, the governor’s new mask mandate did not prevent the Church from worshipping.  It had as its aim public health which is a responsibility of the State, and so my congregation chose to observe it. We viewed this as matter of Roman 13 in which we seek to obey the State when its mandates and commands don’t directly violate God’s Word. 

 

At my congregation we sought to obey the Governor’s mask mandate during the time we were left with the impression that we were subject to it. But the reality is that if strictly enforced, the mask mandate allowed the State to place requirements and limitations on who can attend the Divine Service and who cannot. It said that you must wear a mask if you wish to enter the church.  If you don’t, when you are physically able to do so, then you can’t come into the church.  This placed a limitation on members that is not even imposed on individuals who have been excommunicated. They are permitted to attend the Divine Service, but not to receive the Sacrament of the Altar.  I knew a member in our congregation in the medical field who had investigated the various studies about the effectiveness of masks and was convinced that they are of no real benefit.  This person believed that forcing people to wear them perpetuated a lie, and as a matter of conscience the individual would not wear a mask.  If strictly enforced, the governor’s mandate would have forced the Church to deny access to the Divine Service to this individual. 

In the end we found in our congregation that we could not strictly enforce the mask mandate, because we were not going to allow it to prevent people from receiving the Means of Grace.  The fact we felt compelled for the sake of the Gospel to avoid strict enforcement revealed that the State cannot be allowed to dictate what happens in the Church’s worship. 

These experiences have led me to recognize that the Lutheran doctrine of the two kingdoms prevents us from accepting any form of mandates/executive orders that direct how the Church is to administer the Means of Grace and the Divine Service. This is, of course, not a legal argument, but instead is a theological one.

It is an important Lutheran insight that God’s rule occurs in two different ways within the world.  The Church rightfully operates in God’s right hand rule through the Gospel as she seeks to bring forgiveness and salvation through Christ’s Means of Grace.  The State rightfully operates in God’s left hand rule, as it works through the Law to maintain order and restrain sin.  The State has no authority or place in God’s right hand rule that occurs in the Church through the Gospel.  The State cannot place limitations on the Church’s administration of the Means of Grace. As Lutherans, we recognize that the administration of the Means of Grace and the Divine Service are simply not the State’s God given sphere of responsibility and authority. This is something the Church simply can’t accept. The left hand rule of the State can never be allowed to deny attendance at the Divine Service.  This is not its realm of authority.  Instead, the Church is in charge of the administration of the Means of Grace.

 

The Church may choose to make adjustments in the face of various situations that arise.  She may draw upon the information provided by the Government’s actions as it works in its proper sphere of authority, and choose to implement those she finds to be appropriate. But the Government cannot place restrictions on the Church’s ability to celebrate the Divine Service, and on God’s people who wish to attend and receive the Means of Grace.

 

Below is the text of Resolution 1-05.  The Whereas statements lay out the important theological data that guide our thought as Lutherans. The Resolved statements reflect a proper approach and response by the Church.  The official text can be found on pg. 42-43 of Today’s Business, Volume 1.

 

 

Resolution 1-05 To Affirm the Church’s Essential Nature and Freedom to Celebrate the Divine Service (Derived from Overture 1-05.)

 

Overview: During the course of the pandemic the Government issued orders that shut down all religious services by including them among “non-essential activities.” It later restricted religious services to ten people or less, and eventually required those attending to wear masks. All these actions placed restrictions on the Church’s ability to celebrate the Divine Service, and on God’s people who wish to attend and receive the Means of Grace. This has raised questions that need to be addressed about the Government’s right to dictate restrictions to the Church regarding the celebration of the Divine Service.

 

Resolution:

WHEREAS, to obtain saving faith God has given the Word and Sacraments and instituted the  Office of the Ministry to administer these gifts (Matthew 28;18-20; John 20:21-23; AC V.1-3; AC 14 XIV), and

 

WHEREAS, the Church is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is purely preached and the holy sacraments are administered according the Gospel (AC VII.1), and God has commanded his people to gather to hear his Word and receive His Sacraments (Acts 2:42; 1 Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25), just as the Lutheran Church confesses that the Sacrament of the Altar is celebrated every Lord’s day (Ap. XXIV.1), and

 

WHEREAS, this is the essential function which only the Church fulfills as God brings salvation to the whole person, body and soul (Romans 5:1; Philippians 1:23; John 11:25-26; Philippians 22 3:21), and

 

WHEREAS, God has designed His creation with three estates – the Family, the Church, and the Government, and

 

WHEREAS, these Three Estates remain (and continue their defining functions) until the end of time, even during pandemic, famine, war, etc., and

 

WHEREAS, the authority of the Government in relation to the Fourth Commandment is derived from the estate of the Family, “For all other authority is derived and developed out of the authority of parents” (LC I.141), and

 

WHEREAS, the government is given by God to reward good and punish evil and maintain order as defined by God’s holy will (Romans 13; AC XVI.1-2), and deals with bodies and goods, not spiritual matters (AC XXVIII.11), and

 

WHEREAS, the Church rightfully operates in God’s right hand rule through the Gospel as she seeks to bring forgiveness and salvation through Christ’s Means of Grace, and

 

WHEREAS, the Government rightfully operates in God’s left hand rule, as it works through the Law to maintain order and restrain sin, and

 

WHEREAS, the Church is not entirely independent of the Government’s left hand rule as she deals with non-spiritual matters of operation (zoning laws, building permits, occupancy permits, etc.), and

 

WHEREAS, the Government has no God given authority over the spiritual matters of the Church’s administration of the Means of Grace as they take place in the Divine Service; therefore be it

 

RESOLVED, that we affirm the Church’s essential nature, purpose, and ongoing function in this world until Christ comes again in His glory, and be it further

 

RESOLVED, that we affirm the Church’s and Family’s status as having their God-given role in caring for both body and soul, and be it further

 

RESOLVED, that we confess that the Government has no God given authority to place restrictions on the Church’s ability to celebrate the Divine Service, and on God’s people who wish to attend and receive the Means of Grace, and be it further

 

RESOLVED, that we affirm that in time of pandemic or public crisis the Church in Christian freedom should seek to implement measures that serve the public good while continuing to carry out her essential role of offering the Word and the Sacraments in the Divine Service, and be it further

 

RESOLVED, that we exhort and encourage one another to confess boldly the essential nature and function of the Church, especially in the event of future government mandated shut downs or restrictions to the celebration of the Divine Service, and be it further

 

RESOVLED, that we confess to the world that only the Gospel of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ can provide final victory over sin, sickness, and death; and finally, be it

 

RESOLVED, that the congregations of the SID will take notice of all government actions regarding public health and while "seeking to live at peace with all men" the Church will implement those actions that in her own judgment do not interfere with her God-given functions, while respectfully disregarding any government decree, mandate, executive action, law, or court order which does so interfere.

 

Sermon for the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord - Mt 17:1-9

 

Transfiguration

                                                                            Mt 17:1-9

                                                                            2/6/22

 

          If you were to ask Peter what the most impressive miracle or experience with Jesus was during his ministry, he certainly would have a long list from which to choose.  Jesus was constantly healing the sick and casting out demons.  The raising of the dead – such as Lazarus was certainly amazing.  The feeding of more than five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish is the only miracle recorded by all four Gospels, so certainly this made a great impression. The stilling of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus’ later walking on water and calming another rough sea were definitely remarkable.

          But if he were to choose just one of them, we may get a hint about which one made the greatest impression from our epistle lesson. There Peter writes: “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.”

          Peter refers to what happened at the Transfiguration of Our Lord.  And of course, he mentions only one aspect of this event, for in addition to hearing the voice of God the Father, Peter, James, and John, briefly saw Jesus in his divine glory, and also saw Moses and Elijah.  Having experienced this glorious event with Jesus, imagine the shock that Peter must have felt as Jesus hung on the cross on Good Friday. And yet, this shocking contrast – this shocking contradiction – is what stands at the heart of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. It shows us how God has worked salvation for us. And it also gives us insight and encouragement about how we are to view our own lives.

          Our text begins by saying, “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”  Matthew’s Gospel very rarely says anything about the timing of events, so the “after six days” should catch our attention and prompt us to ask, “Six days after what?” 

          The answer is two-fold.  First, after asking the disciples about how people were identifying Jesus – to which answers were given like John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets  - our Lord had asked: “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter had replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus then answered, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

          Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God – a confession made possible only by God the Father. And second, right after this Matthew tells us: “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Our Lord says that he is going to suffer and die.

          This was too much for Peter.  In Jewish thought, by definition the Christ – the Messiah – couldn’t die.  Such a death was the proof that a person wasn’t the mighty and victorious Messiah. Peter responded by saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But Jesus turned and rebuked Peter saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

          Jesus has been correctly confessed as the Christ, the Son of God.  He has said that he has going to suffer and die.  This is the background as Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain. Then Matthew tells us, “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” 

We learned at Christmas that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God.  Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary he is God in the flesh – true God and true man. Yet here for this brief moment, Jesus allows his divine nature to shine forth.  He reveals his glory – the glory of the Son of God who is the second person of the Holy Trinity.

And then there was still more, as Matthew adds: “And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.”  The disciples saw Moses and Elijah, two of the greatest figures in the Old Testament, talking with Jesus.  Both had encountered Yahweh at Mt. Sinai. Both were associated with end times.

The experience must had been overwhelming. So Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” The problem with this statement was that it seemed to place Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. And in contrast to the general impression that Jesus was a prophet, six days earlier Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.  Indeed, Jesus stood before them at that moment shining in divine glory!

And then God acted to set aside any such confusion.  Matthew tells us, “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’”  The bright cloud indicated God’s presence, and the Father identified Jesus as his beloved Son and told the disciples to listen to him. 

The Father’s words should sound familiar. They are the same ones that we heard at the beginning of the season of Epiphany when we celebrated the Baptism of Our Lord.  There we saw that these words from Isaiah chapter forty two identified Jesus as the Servant of the Lord.  At his baptism, Jesus took on the role of being the suffering Servant – the One who would bear our sins. As the prophet said in chapter fifty three about the Servant: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” 

This is why Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed.  As Jesus will say later, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Jesus died on the cross to give us forgiveness.

A crucified Christ was a contradiction in terms.  But Jesus had not only spoken about his death.  He had also told the disciples that on the third day he would be raised.  Our Lord stands transfigured in glory, and his transfiguration points forward to his resurrection.  Yes, Jesus will suffer and die for our sins.  But a death that simply ended in death could not overcome what sin has done to us.  Instead in his resurrection on Easter Jesus was vindicated by the Father as the Christ and defeated death.

The Transfiguration of our Lord shows us that in God’s way of doing things, suffering and glory are not contradictions.  Instead, Jesus passed through suffering and death in order to carry out the Father’s saving will for you. And by passing through these, he emerged in the resurrection as the exalted Lord who declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

But this is not only a description of Jesus’ ministry to save us.  It also is true of everyone who follows Jesus and believes in him.  Just after predicting his own suffering, death, and resurrection our Lord went on to say, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Our Lord says that to follow him will mean being willing to suffer.  It may even mean dying – for that is the reason a person took up a cross.  There is nothing about “your best life now” here as we live in this world.  Yet the reason Jesus can say this is because he is the One who has risen from the dead. He has defeated sin and death.  He has given us eternal life.  His resurrection is the guarantee that suffering and glory are not contradictions for the Christian. Instead the way of suffering and death follows in our Lord’s steps and we know where they lead because on Easter the tomb was empty.  Jesus has risen from the dead, he has ascended into heaven and is exalted at the right hand of the Father.

Suffering and glory are not contradictions for the Christian. This truth extends beyond explicit suffering for the sake of Christ and the Gospel to our life in general.  Our natural reaction in the face of suffering and death is to question God.  After all, who wants these things?  More often than not, we can’t explain why he has allowed them to be present in our life.

Yet in the transfiguration of Jesus, we see that this is how God works. For God, they are not contradictions.  Instead, God is the One who works through the cross.  Because we are fallen sinners are who are always inclined to turn away from him, he allows these things in our lives that show us we must place him at the center of our life.  He crucifies the old Adam in us by these experiences in order to lead us to trust and believe in him more.

God works through the cross. But this is not a contradiction with his love. It is not, because he has already revealed that love in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The resurrection of Jesus is the source of God’s love and life that gives us strength and meaning as we face these times.

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus has just been confessed as the Christ, the Son of the living God. He has just predicted his suffering, death … and resurrection.  In the transfiguration Jesus reveals his divine glory, and God the Father speaks words that remind us of his sacrificial mission to save us.  Jesus will die, but the glory of the transfiguration points forward to the glory of the resurrection on Easter. As they were going down the mountain Jesus told the disciples, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

We live in the knowledge that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead.  His resurrection gives us the assurance that times of suffering and loss in our lives are not the absence of God’s love.  Instead, they are God at work to draw us closer to himself.  And in the resurrection of Jesus we learn that suffering and loss will come to an end forever. It will when the risen Lord returns in glory on the Last Day. The resurrection of Jesus sustains us in this hope.  As Peter wrote at the beginning of his first letter: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”   

 

Feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord

 

Today is The Feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord.  In Leviticus 12:1-8 the Lord instructed that when a woman gave birth to a child, she was ritually unclean for forty days.  At the end of that time she was to come to the temple and a sacrifice was to be made for her purification.  Exodus 13:11-6 also taught that the people of Israel were to redeem by sacrifice the first born male as a reminder of God’s rescue in the Passover.  Mary and Joseph faithfully live according to God’s Word and we find that even as a baby Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Torah.

This is the fortieth day since Christmas, and so we remember and give thanks to God that the Son of God entered into the world in the incarnation and fulfilled all of the Old Testament as He carried out God’s plan of salvation.  This plan included salvation for the Gentiles and so Simeon calls the child in his arms “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  We continue to sing Simeon’s words in the canticle, the Nunc Dimittis.

This day in the Church year is also known as Candlemas.  Just as Christmas is short for “Christ Mass,” so Candlemas is short for “Candle Mass” (Mass was the medieval name for the Divine Service).  On this day the congregation processed into church carrying candles.  The light of the candles recalled Simeon’s words about the light for revelation to the Gentiles.

Scripture reading:

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:22-32).

 

Collect of the Day:

Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

 

 

 

Mark's thoughts: How should a Lutheran view the Apocrypha?

 

In recent years, the Apocrypha has received increased attention among Lutherans.  Concordia Publishing House even published The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes.  There is no doubt that the Apocrypha is a key resource for understanding the history, thought and piety of Second Temple Judaism.  It is also certainly true that the early and medieval Church used the Apocrypha as Scripture.  It is not surprising that this background left an impression on the Lutheran Church as the Apocrypha held an ambivalent status that surprises a modern Lutheran who knows only the Old Testament and the New Testament in the Bible.

However, an examination of the history of the Old Testament canon, of Luther’s translation of the Bible, and his own comments about the Apocrypha are a helpful caution against over emphasizing the importance that the Apocrypha has for Lutherans.  While they may provide interesting and pious reading, they are not inspired Scripture and in number of cases provide accounts that most likely did not occur.

The books of the Old Testament were written between ca. 1400 B.C. (Pentateuch) and ca. 400 B.C. (Chronicles).The evidence indicates that the Jews had a fixed collection of authoritative works in the first century A.D. (most likely this had come into being during the time of the Maccabees, second century B.C.).While the temple stood, the standard for the canon revolved around which books were laid up in temple (see Josephus, Antiquities, 3.1.7; 4.8.44; 5.1.17).  In his Antiquities he relates how they were laid up in the temple and describes this as if it had been that way for quite some time. Josephus in the first century A.D. Against Apion (1.37-43) tells of how there were 22 books.

Other evidence indicates a fixed and limited canon of Scripture.  Fourth Ezra (post 70 A.D.) says that there are 24 books (14:22-48) (24 is the most common way of describing things, though the books can be grouped in different ways).  The Babylonian Talmud (dated to 200 AD, but based on traditions that may extend back as far as 70 AD) lists 24 books that are identical to our Old Testament (B. b. Baba Bathra 14.14b-15a).  The fact that these diverse and varied sources (the Greco-Roman influenced Josephus, the apocalyptic work of Fourth Ezra, and the beginnings of rabbinic Judaism) all designate a limited canon is significant.

 Writers from second century B.C. to the first century A.D. cite every book of our Old Testament as Scripture except for Ruth, Song of Songs and Esther.  At the same time, Jews were reading for edification other works such as those usually called Apocrypha (e.g. Tobit, Sirach, Maccabbees) and Pseudepigrapha (e.g., 1Enoch).  The Greek translation of the OT, the Septuagint (LXX), collected canonical books together with what we now know as non-canonical books (works that were edifying reading).  Modern scholarship has recognized the diversity that existed in Second Temple Judaism.  There is little doubt that there were readers who treated the writings as Scripture. However, this was not the prevailing view (see above) and it is not the view of the New Testament.

 The NT never quotes the Apocrypha as Scripture.  As part of the Jewish cultural milieu these works were well known and often express entirely orthodox ideas.  It is not surprising that New Testament writers allude to them or use language that calls them to mind, such as Paul does with Wisdom of Solomon 13-15 in Romans 1:19-21, 23-25. Only Jude cites the Pseudepigrapha (Jude 9 tells of the account from the Assumption of Moses; Jude 14 refers to 1En 1:9).  However, there is debate as to how exactly Jude is using these texts.  2 Peter, which seems to be related to Jude, doesn’t use these citations.

We must not underestimate the influence of the break between Christianity and Judaism around the end of the first century A.D.  The Church became Gentile and no longer had a connection with the setting in which the canon arose.  The distinction between canonical Scripture and edifying works was no longer understood.  It wasn’t until the fourth century A.D. that the technology of the codex allowed for all of the OT be put in one codex.  Before this time it wasn’t obvious which ones were “in the book.”

The earliest Christians such as Paul used the Greek translation of the OT, Septuagint (LXX), when citing Scripture.  The LXX became the Christians’ book since during the second century A.D. Jews produced new translations of LXX in order to remove readings that lent themselves to Christian interpretations of the Old Testament (Aquila, Symmachus).  From the second century A.D. on, Christians began to use all of LXX.  Most readers were no longer fully aware of the distinction between the books within this collection.  However, there were doubts and disagreements.  Around 180 A.D. Melito of Sardis relates the canon he learned from the Jews (it differs from ours in that it adds Wisdom of Solomon and omits Esther) (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 4.26.13-14).  Melito assumes that Christian canon is same as one he received from the Jews.

Prior to Jerome (late fourth century A.D.) Latin translations of the LXX had been done (in which the canonical and Apocryphal books were mixed together).  Jerome produced a new translation of the OT from Hebrew originals and a new translation of the Apocrypha from the Greek.  Jerome was familiar with Jewish canon and stated that outside of the 22/24 books (depending on how you combine them), all the rest are Apocrypha.  They could be read for edification but should not used for establishing dogma (see the discussion in F.F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, 87-93).  The same view can be found in Athanasius 22 books (ca. 296-373 A.D.); Synopsis Scitpurae Sacrae 22 books (ca. 350-379 A.D.); Cyril of Jerusalem 22 books (ca 350 A.D.); Epiphanius – 22 books (exact same list as our canon) (ca. 320-400 A.D.); Gregory of Nazianzus 22 books (ca. 370 A.D.).

The Vulgate, like earlier Latin editions, included all of the books together.  Most in the Church used the entire Vulgate on an equal basis.  However, the Church also remembered the distinction indicated by Jerome.  Hugh of St. Victor, head of school at Abbey of St Victor at Paris in the twelfth century said that Apocrypha could be read but didn’t have authority (On the Sacraments, I, Prologue 7).

Although the psuedepigrapha was used by the early church (probably influenced by the books’ own claims to be prophetic), usage declined rapidly after the time of Origen (late second century A.D.) and they were no longer in the picture by the fourth century A.D.

Martin Luther’s treatment of the Apocrypha in the German Bible that he helped produce provides useful guidance in how Lutherans should approach the these works. First, Luther did not follow the practice of the Vulgate (or of the Septuagint) in which books of the Apocrypha were mixed in among canonical books.  Instead, he set the Apocrypha off as a separate section. Second, “Luther’s translation of the Apocrypha was selective in that he omitted some of the books or portions that had been included in the Septuagint and Vulgate” (Bachmann, nt. 1, Luther’s Works 35, pg. 337).  Third, in addition to setting the Apocrypha off as separate material, the 1534 printing of the Bible included the title: “Apocrypha: These books are not held equal to Holy Scripture: and are still useful and good to read” (“Apocrypha: Das sind Bücher so nich der heiligen Schrift gleichgehalten: und doch nützlich und gut zu lessen sind”) (text cited from Reu, Luther’s German Bible, 225.)  Reu correctly observes that by this title page the Apocrypha are “marked as something secondary in contrast to the canonical books” (Luther’s German Bible, 226).

Finally, Luther’s assessment of a number of books in the Apocrypha as expressed in his 1534 prefaces correctly frames the manner in which we should view them.  He says of Judith: “If one could prove from established and reliable histories that the events in Judith really happened, it would be a noble and fine book, and should properly be in the Bible.  Yet it hardly squares with the historical accounts of the Holy Scriptures, especially Jeremiah and Ezra” (LW 35, 337).

Instead. Luther describes it as a kind of pious fictional literature: “Therefore this is a fine, good, holy, useful book, well worth reading by us Christians.  For the words spoken by the persons in it should be understood as though they were uttered in the Holy Spirit by a spiritual, holy poet or prophet who, in presenting such persons in his play, preaches to us through them” (LW 35, 339).

He says of Tobit: “What was said about the book of Judith may also be said about the book of Tobit.  If the events really happened, then it is a fine and holy history. But if they are all made up, then it is indeed a very beautiful, wholesome, and useful fiction or drama by a gifted poet” (LW 35, 345). Thus Luther’s assessment is: “Therefore this book is useful and good for Christians to read.  It is a work of a fine Hebrew author who deals not with trivial but important issues, and whose writing and concerns are extraordinarily Christian” (LW 35, 347).

Luther says of Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon: “But the texts of Susanna, and of Bel, Habakkuk, and the Dragon, seem like beautiful religious fiction, such as Judith and Tobit, for their names indicate as much” (LW 35, 354; Bachman notes that: “The subordinate role of the prophet Habakkuk in Bel and the Dragon verses 33-39), as well as the reference to him in the opening verse of the Septuagint text … may have led to Luther’s inclusion of the name in the title; nt. 65).

Of course, what would become the Roman Catholic church took a very different approach towards the Apocrypha.  In addition to past use in the Church, the status of the Apocrypha was wrapped up in other doctrinal issues (for example, Roman Catholics used 2 Mac 12:46 which talks about making atonement for dead as a verse in support of purgatory).  In 1546 the Council of Trent made the Vulgate text the authoritative text and accepted all the books without distinction. This continues to be the Roman Catholic position.

So what is a Lutheran to make of the Apocrypha?  In my New Testament graduate studies I have worked extensively with them as sources for understanding Second Temple Judaism. Certainly, they are very important in this role.  But for the lay person, what importance do they really have?  They are not part of the canonical Old Testament, and are not the inspired Word of God.  There are books that contain pious, orthodox statements (e.g. Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach) that are similar to what are found in the Psalms and Wisdom literature of the Old Testament.  A number of the writings (e.g. Judith, Tobit, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon) are best understood as pious fictions that can be read as conveying some spiritual worth.

However, the net result of reading the Apocrypha is very minimal.  If one has completely mastered the Old Testament and New Testaments, then certainly the Apocrypha is something to read.  Personally, I have not in any way arrived at the point, so I will continue to focus on the canonical Old and New Testaments.  I suspect that most people will find themselves in the same position.    

 

 

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - Mt 8:23-27

 

Epiphany 4

                                                                           Mt 8:23-27

                                                                           2/30/22

 

          When launched in the 1958, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest Great Lakes freighter.  She was 729 feet long – the equivalent of two and a third football fields. She was able to carry a massive load of iron ore from the west to steel mills in the east as she plied the Great Lakes. The impressive ship was a favorite sight of those who lived in that region.

          However, despite her size, a storm on Lake Superior proved to be too much for her.  In November 1975 the Edmund Fitzgerald encountered a storm with extreme winds and waves that were up to thirty five feet.  In one of the last messages sent by the captain he said: “I have a bad list, lost both radars. And am taking heavy seas over the deck.  One of the worst seas I’ve ever been in.”  The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in the storm, and the entire crew of twenty nine men was lost. Their bodies were never recovered.

          If the conditions turn against you, bodies of water can be a threat to any sized ship.  That is true is you are in a massive freighter on Lake Superior.  It is also true if you are in a small boat on the Sea of Galilee.  In our Gospel lesson this morning, we learn about how the disciples of Jesus encountered a storm that threatened to sink their boat. They react in fear instead of faith.  And Jesus demonstrates that he is the incarnate Son of God who has come to bring God’s reign to a fallen world.

          The Gospels depict Jesus’ ministry as one in which he was constantly busy preaching and healing.  Just before our text, Jesus has healed Peter’s mother in law from a fever. Then we are told, “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.’”

          Our Lord based his ministry at Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee, and frequently travelled on the water as he went from place to place.  It was only natural. First, it was easier than walking.  And second, he had among his disciples men who had been professional fishermen.  They knew all about sailing and could take Jesus wherever he needed to go.

          Our Gospel lesson begins with the words, “And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.”  Jesus and the disciples set out on the Sea of Galilee, and as they were traveling on the water two things happened. First, Jesus fell asleep in the boat. And second, a great storm arose on the sea.

          Jesus was asleep in the boat.  Our Lord was obviously tired from his work of ministry, and so he fell asleep.  In fact, he was sleeping so soundly that he had not even been aroused by the storm that was now threatening the boat.

          Jesus was tired and slept.  In this simple fact we receive an important reminder about who Jesus is.  During Christmas we celebrated the incarnation – the fact that the Son of God entered into our world as he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  Jesus is God in the flesh – he is true God and true man. We tend to focus on the fact that Jesus is true God, because of course, that’s what makes him unique and our Savior.

But it is equally important to realize that Jesus is truly human in all ways that we are, apart from sin. The Son of God took on a human nature in the incarnation in order to redeem and restore our humanity to what God intended it to be.  Our Lord Jesus lived as one of us in the world, and he knows every human experience – not just because he is the omniscient Son of God – but also because he lived them as one of us in this world.

Our text tells us that a great storm arose, one that was causing the boat to be swamped by the waves. The disciples – even those who had spent their lives on the Sea of Galilee – were fearful. So they went to Jesus and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

Now on the one hand, this seems like it was the appropriate thing to do.  The disciples faced danger, and so they went to Jesus. But our Lord’s response soon tells us that this was not the act of faith.  Instead, it was one that was driven by fear.  He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”  In the midst of the storm that appeared to threaten the sinking of the ship, Jesus asked, “Why are you afraid?”  Now from a worldly perspective the answer was obvious: There as a great storm and the boat was being swamped by the waves!  But Jesus question points to a deeper truth.  Jesus was in the boat with them and so there was no need for fear.

And that leads next to Jesus’ assessment of the disciples: they were of little faith.  Their action of waking Jesus in the midst of the storm showed that they did not fully trust and believe in him.  But note also that our Lord says that they are of little faith.  This was still faith in Jesus.  Even if it was not yet would it could be – what it should be – their waking the Lord and calling out to him for help did show faith.

Like the disciples, we are people who at times do fear.  We do have doubts.  We do fail at those moments when we should speak and act in ways that are produced by faith in Jesus Christ.  We need to confess these for what they are – a lack of faith.  They are sin – the old Adam at work in us.

But at the same time, if we are willing to confess them as sin, then that is the voice of faith.  Admittedly, these failures demonstrate little faith.  It is a faith that needs to grow and mature – and we’ll talk more about that later – but it is still faith.

After Jesus described the disciples as of little faith, he then demonstrated why he should be the object of great faith.  Matthew tells us, “Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”  Our Lord rebuked the winds and the sea – he ordered them to cease.  Next week we will celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord.  After Jesus and the disciples had come back down from the mountain where this had taken place, he encountered a man who son was possessed by a demon.  There too we hear the same word: “And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.”

Both of these actions – rebuking the winds and sea, and rebuking the demon – show us who Jesus Christ is and what he has come to do.  He is the Son of God in the flesh.  And he has come to bring God’s reign – his saving action to reverse all that Satan and sin have caused in this world.

Jesus and the disciples encounter a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Rather than calm, they are met by disorder. Rather than something that is good, they are met by something that is not good.  In the storm we see what the apostle Paul describes in the epistle lesson today: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

The Fall and the entrance of sin have warped and twisted not only us, but creation itself.  The Son of God entered into our world in order to reverse all that Satan and sin have caused.  He came to renew us and creation itself.  He came to make things very good once again. We see this when Jesus performs miracles of healing. We see it when he casts out demons. And we see it in our text when Jesus rebukes the storm and brings calm to the Sea of Galilee.

After Jesus had stilled the storm, we hear in our text, “And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?’”  We know the answer.  He is the Lord. He is the Son of God.  He is the Creator of the cosmos.

In our text, Jesus displays this incredible power.  And yet the means by which the Lord carried out his mission to bring God’s reign culminated in an action which is the opposite of power in every possible way.  The Son of God became man in order to defeat sin and death by suffering and dying on the cross.  He came to be the sacrifice for sin in our place.  He came to receive God’s judgment against sin that we deserve.  The Son of God became man, without ceasing to be God, in order to die.

That death redeemed us from sin – it freed us from the damnation we deserve. And on third day, God carried out his act of new creation when he raised Jesus from the dead. He began the resurrection of the Last Day when He raised Jesus with a body that can never die again. Because this has happened to Jesus, the risen and exalted Lord will return on the Last Day to do it to us as well.  And his saving actin will not be limited to us. It will include the renewal of creation itself that has been damaged by sin.

Jesus Christ is the Lord who died on the cross to give us forgiveness. He rose from the dead to defeat death and give us the guarantee of resurrection and eternal life.  These are the reasons that we can have great faith in Christ. This great faith holds on to Jesus no matter what is happening.

In our Gospel lesson Jesus stills the storm and rescues the disciples from danger.  But before doing that, his response to them was, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”  Jesus’ point was that since the Lord was with them, there was no need to fear. The same thing is true for us, no matter what the outcome may be.

The Edmund Fitzgerald sank.  The most famous ship sinking in history, the Titanic, was not caused by the waves of a storm but instead by ice, as more than fifteen hundred people died.  No doubt in these and in the thousands of other ship sinkings that have resulted in death, many who have died have believed in Jesus Christ.

Our Gospel lesson does not teach us that Jesus is going to deliver us from every storm of life.  Until Christ returns it is a fallen world, and we are sinners who will die.  Some of these experiences and deaths will be tragedies that leave us numb.

What our text teaches us is the need for faith in Jesus Christ – a strong and mature faith.  There is no need for fear because Jesus Christ, the risen and exalted Lord is with you no matter what happens.  You live a life that Paul described as being “in Christ.”  You live a life that has been linked to the Lord because you have received Christ’s Spirit in baptism. You have been baptized into Jesus’ death, and so you will share in his resurrection.  The risen Lord said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We do not want to be people of little faith.  We need to be people of mature and strong faith.  In seeking this goal we need to be involved actively in reading and studying God’s Word, for it is through the word that Christ’s Spirit causes us to grow in faith.  We need to be taking God’s Word into ourselves as we learn it by heart.  When was the last time that you memorized a Bible verse – that you took it into your mind and made it part of you?  That Word of God is there for the Spirit to use as we encounter different circumstances. 

And of course, we need to live a life that is rooted in weekly attendance at the Divine Service. We need to be hearing God’s word preached and receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament. This regular pattern of being in God’s house gives us spiritual nourishment that we need if we are to be strong in faith.

Yet there is another side to this as well.  The old Adam in us fights against the things I have just mentioned. He his content to keep us with as little faith as possible.  And so God at times allows things in our lives that force us to turn towards him.  Like the coach who must push his players so that they improve, God also uses time of difficulty and challenge to cause us to grow and mature in faith.

In our Gospel lesson, the disciples found themselves in circumstances that did just this.  Jesus describes them as “O you of little faith,” but this was just one experience that was part the process by which they came to understand who Jesus was.  They did not achieve a full understanding until after Jesus rose from the dead. And then? They were willing to suffer and die in order to tell others about Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord.  Because we know the same Lord, we are able to trust and believe in him and his care, as he sustains us in faith through his Means of Grace.