From Pr. Hendry’s sermon:
Keep on praying for your needs
and the needs of others.
How? Take look at the Psalms.
“A Father to the fatherless” Ps 68
“For he knows our frame” Ps 103
“Though the Lord is high,
he regards the lowly” Ps 138
and of course,
“The Lord is my shepherd” Ps 23
From Pr. Hendry’s sermon:
What have the witnesses (martyrs) told us?
Jesus was faithful
in His suffering for us.
Jesus was faithful
in gaining eternal life for us, the elect.
Jesus is faithful
in His promise to us of victory over death.
By Jaime Nava –
So my wife was at a Trader Joe’s market. Zoey, our daughter, was with her. As she describes it, some guy with mad scientist hair approached her. In a non-aggressive or confrontational way he tells my wife, “You know, your daughter’s condition is correctable”. Zoey, my little three year old, has Down syndrome. She always has. She always will.
Maybe I should take a little time to explain Down syndrome (also called trisomy 21). This syndrome has a spectrum of people with some who have certain cells having extra chromosomes to others with all cells having extra chromosomes. The odds of a child with Down syndrome are about 1/1000. Most children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 but that tends to be because women don’t have as many kids over that age too. They are often born with heart defects as well. Zoey has extra chromosomes in all cells and was born with heart defects. People with Down syndrome learn to walk later, talk later, potty train later, pretty much do everything later. Should we compare people with Down syndrome to those who do not, it would seem that they have poor quality of life because they can’t always do what most people can do. There’s another way to look at it. They don’t live at most people’s pace.
So this fellow sees my daughter and probably read an article or saw something on T.V. and thought that my Zoey needed some fixing. After all, he was only trying to help. You know, people with disabilities are a drain on parents. They require all their attention. People with disabilities are a syphon on society. They use all that valuable tax money. It would be much better for our freedom and for our bottom line if we just rounded them up and fixed them, if we could. If we couldn’t, well, maybe we just abort. 90% of all people with Down syndrome are aborted (i.e. killed) in the womb. Imagine a school with only 10% of the kids there. Imagine your church with 10% of the people. Why are they gone? Because they were a burden on me and society. That is how our culture, especially many doctors, view people with Down syndrome. The great “straw-man knight”, Richard Dawkins, once tweeted to a woman with a Down syndrome person in her womb, “Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.” So there we have it. Liberty over life. Morality means no burden. Let us make our fellow man in our image.
What can be done with all of this? Shall we spout righteous brimstone? Before I get there, I find some interesting things in media regarding people with Down Syndrome. Have you heard of the runway model with Down syndrome? I’ve also seen videos of a girl singing and a young man who is a weight lifter, each with the same syndrome. I’m torn when I see these things. On the one hand I see a person who is elated with their achievements. What we take for granted is still left for trailblazing. We celebrate their hard work and dedication. On the other hand, I can’t help but think that there’s a hint of “that’s normal so that’s better”. Do we find people more acceptable if they’re more like us? Does the gap between them and us grow smaller when they do what we do? Why do we think there’s a gap at all, us and them? I don’t want to downplay the hard work of those with major obstacles. I do want to point out that one reaction we have to disabilities is to try to make them more like us. This brings us back to the mad scientist at Trader Joe’s.
My first reaction is to give him a mitt in the gob, a molly wop if you will. That’s my gut reaction. The other reaction is to build myself a stilted horse with “pity” on the side so I can look down on the poor fellow and feel sorry for his lack of empathy. The reality is Zoey feels the effects of Adam and Eve’s rebellion far more than we. She carries the weight of the curse with such grace and humble stride that I am ashamed at myself. She doesn’t shake her little fist at God or at her parents. In fact, I dare you to find someone more loving, caring, peaceable, generous, and so much more than my Zoey. What I see in my daughter is God’s power made perfect in weakness. Grace is made sufficient for Zoey. She will have to rely on Christ for all her needs of body and soul. She will have to remain in someone’s nearby care all her days. She is not a burden on society, she is a burden on Christ and on His mercy. It is the exact burden God Himself desires for us all.
Zoey knows what it is to be poor in spirit. Can we say the same? Do we look to make other men into our image or do we cherish them for who they are, the burden of God? The great equalizer of the grave comes for us all. Where is our strength then? We can only find it, as Zoey does, in Christ alone.
I was working as a waiter in a cafe just into my twenties. I remember this one fellow walking up to me and speaking to me about the end of the world. He told me that if I wasn’t ready, I’d be left behind. I bring this up because this fellow, who was telling me about the fire and brimstone of being left behind, thought he was doing something he wasn’t. He thought he was doing evangelism.
Why was he not doing evangelism? Wasn’t he sharing things in the bible to someone who he thought didn’t know things about the bible? Whether he was sharing things that were biblical is debatable but more importantly, he wasn’t evangelizing because he wasn’t sharing the Good News. The word evangelism comes from the Greek. It’s two words mooshed together. The first word is Eu (pronounced yoo). Eu means good. The second word is angelion. You can see the word angel in there. Angelion means news or message. As a side note, angel means a messenger. So Eu + Angelion = Good Message or Good News. This is where we get our word evangelism from. The eu became ev at some point but that’s language for you.
So we have some shmancy Greek talk about the word Euangelion, so what? The euangelion or evangelism is telling people good news. Telling someone that if they are going to be left behind if they don’t believe is not good news. Actually, it’s bad news. What’s the Good News? The Good News is this, no matter how good you are or how bad you are, God saves you anyways because of Jesus. The Good News is not about you, it’s about Jesus for you. The Good News is that, despite being a crummy Christian, Christ is perfect for you. The Good News is that no matter how long it has been since you’ve been to Church, Jesus will always welcome you back. The Good News is that if you have been hurt by the church, even by other Christians, there are still places that proclaim that Jesus loves sinners, even me and even you. The Good News is free for you because Jesus paid it all. The Good News is that a holy and righteous God sees perfection in you because of Jesus for you.
If you have a church, go there and listen for the Good News. If not or if you’ve been gone from the church for a long time, if you don’t think you’re good enough to go to heaven, if you have been hurt by the Christians, you are welcome to join rotten, hypocritical sinners like you at Good Shepherd. We preach evangelism every Sunday. In fact, we do Evangelism every day because sinners like us need it every day. For us, Jesus is the center of our service, our sermons, everything because seekers or not, we all need Jesus all the time. The Good News is Jesus Christ forgives you despite you. That’s Good News. That’s Evangelism.
If you would like to hear more or discuss something you read here feel free to contact me, Rev. Jaime Nava at Good Shepherd. 909-790-1863
My three year old daughter loves to watch Sesame Street. One of her favorite monsters is Elmo. You know the little guy; big eyes, bright red hair, high-pitched voice. One thing about parenting is this, whatever your child watches, you watch. So I get caught watching a little red monster with my daughter. Elmo has a segment called “Elmo’s World”. It’s a whole thing built around his imagination. Within Elmo’s World there is a real goldfish inside a fishbowl. Her name is Dorothy. Elmo talks to Dorothy. Although we can’t hear Dorothy, Elmo seems to understand exactly what this gold fish is saying. You’ll hear Elmo say, “What’s that Dorothy?” and he will tell my daughter and me what Dorothy is saying. As I watched Elmo with my daughter something occurred to me. The conversation between a red monster and a gold fish can be found in the church too. I don’t mean the actually creatures. I mean the technique Elmo employs to hear what his gold fish says.
Have you ever heard this phrase, “God put it on my heart…”? I’d be shocked if Christians have not heard other Christians use this phrase. It’s used in books by guys like Steven Furtik[1], from churches like NewSpring[2] and by Christians wanting to start a biker church[3]. Search Google with that phrase. The number of pages is virtually unending. It comes in other forms as well. People also say things like, “I was led by God to…” fill in the blank. Break it down and this is what is being said, “The future is unknown. Even so, I have a certain feeling/emotion about that future. I believe the emotion I feel is God communicating directly to me. I trust that this feeling will lead to a good outcome if I act on it.” This is integrally connected to the way many churches and Christians operate today. They look internally (i.e. emotionally) for God and His Word, His voice. On the flip-side, not feeling moved for Jesus is a cardinal sin for many American Christians.
This actually changes how God’s Word functions. Along these lines the Word isn’t the guide, it needs one. So we guide the Word to fit what we feel God is saying. Step out in faith like Peter. Don’t doubt like Thomas. Be courageous like Paul. Slay those big Goliaths in your life like David. The Word is meant to move in the direction from external to internal. In this case, though, we’ve twisted to move from internal to external. It takes the firm foundation and turns it into silly putty. What is that end? We end up like a little red monster talking to his fish.
Saying “God put it on my heart” means you become a prophet for God. “Thus saith the Lord” is no different. It means you become a prophetic mediator between God and your neighbor in this instance. By your feelings, you bridge the gap between the hidden will of God and the world. The problem is this, just as Elmo explains something that is basically made up, we do the very same when we say, “God put it on my heart”. Our heart becomes the goldfish that is moving and we interpret that move as God speaking, God moving. How do you know? “I just do!” No, you really don’t. You’re making things up just like Elmo does when he speaks to his goldfish.
What if you’re wrong? What if the feeling you have is because you heard a song you like or ate a bad burrito? Depending on the situation, it can have disastrous results. What else is the problem? Well, first we are neglecting God’s Word. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) The Great High Prophet has come and revealed everything God wants us to know. Jesus has taught all we need to know in scripture. Where do we find it today? Not in our heart. It’s in the Word outside of your heart. This means that where the Bible speaks, so do we. It also means that where the Bible doesn’t speak, neither do we. So if we say “God put it on my heart” you’d better be able to back it up with a Bible verse in its context. I guarantee you won’t find a verse in the bible that tells you to quit your job to start a church or leave your current wife for another one or to choose one college over another. It’s not there. Stop acting like a better prophet than Jesus. Stop talking to goldfish.
The Christian life, Christian preaching, the point of God’s Word is about sinners who are witnesses of the crucifixion and resurrection of God’s own Son. It’s not finding God in our feelings, in our fish bowls, in the minutia of the day. It’s not in the tea leaves of my emotions. It’s about God’s external Word that kills you, buries you in Jesus’ tomb, and carries you along in His resurrection. It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus FOR you. It’s about what God has already said in His Word that all points to Jesus (John 5:39).
So what about those unknown things you feel God is calling you to do? Well, first speak with your family. Check your budget. Don’t be foolish. If there are multiple ways to go, listen to Yogi Berra, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Your decisions will be tainted with sin because you are a sinner (Isaiah 64:6; 1 John 1:8). Despite you, God is bigger. God will do what needs to be done. By grace, sometimes He might even use you to do it. Stop looking for God’s will in goldfish. Speak what God says and accept the fact that God will use you wherever you are to accomplish His will, that is, to forgive sinners through Jesus Christ.
Rev. Jaime Nava
[1] (p. 57. Furtik, Steven. Sun Stand Still. 2010)
[2] See https://www.facebook.com/notes/newspring-church/no-encounter-is-too-brief-to-be-filled-with-the-hope-of-christ/178167017121
[3] http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/2015/apr/04/revved-up-for-religion/
By nature we humans know that we are not perfect. Deep down we know that God is righteous and holy. So, naturally, there is a human inclination to provide a buffer between us and The Holy and Righteous God. Consider this, in the Roman Catholic Church, the return of Jesus Christ is one of judgment. He bears the sword and will strike down anyone who has not lived up to His standards. This Judge and King is terrifying. To consider that Christ will return one day to enact His wrath on mankind leaves us with no protection. The Law demands too much from us. So we are shoved by the Law into the sword of the Judge. Enter Mary who pleads to the King on our behalf. Mary becomes the buffer, the R2D2 that stops the trash-compacting walls of the Law and divine judgment. She eases our fears. She calms our woes. She hears our cries. The problem with this picture is that it is not biblical. This is a false safety. It feels nice. The sentiment speaks to our emotional nature. Yet a liver shiver is not our lasting safety.
In fact, American Christianity has once again led themselves back into the same error that has been around for centuries. It’s not a new error; same dough, different pan. Safety is felt in yet another leaven by another name. The new verbiage for the safe zone between the ever closing walls of the Law and a righteous King is now a “relationship” or a “walk” or “faith life” or “being on fire”. Surely Jesus wouldn’t smite His chums. It’s no wonder people gauge their level of Christianity by how much time they spend in the Word or how long they hang out at their places of worship or the emotional strings that are triggered by music/pastor/devotionals. Desire for reassurance seeks to take a tangible form. The desire for peace from the Law leads them right back to it. Once again this is not biblical. It is a half-baked loaf from the mixing of Law and Gospel. It is rich and sweet to the taste but leads to spiritual diabetes.
This is the effect of misunderstanding the Sacraments. This is the effect of misunderstanding the Divine Service of God to us. This is the effect of not properly distinguishing Law and Gospel. The Law takes many forms. The Gospel takes many less, but no less effective. Life giving bread is made without yeast of the Pharisees. You have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Your relationship with God is more like Edmond Dantes and Fernand Mondego. You have betrayed to get the girl because you think you’re the better man only to treat the bride like another trinket. You do this each and every day. Your relationship stinks because you stink. There is no safe zone. There is no buffer. Prepare to die. This is the Law and it is in full effect. Thus God incarnates, born of the Virgin Mary. He suffers your fate. He pays the price for His betrayers. The tyrant goes free because of the blood of the Lamb. Jesus came to save you because you need more than a comrade.
How do we know we are saved? Is it Mary who reassures us? Is it a relationship? No, we receive the Word. God gives tangible promises; the cool trickle of forgiveness on our head, the taste of eternal life on our tongue, the pastor’s voice of God in our mind. You, O betrayer, are forgiven. This is not about a relationship or a safe zone. This is about being weighed, measured, and found wanting but also being made right with God through His promises; promises we touch and taste and hear.
Get over yourself. God does not want to simply have a relationship with you like a high school sweetheart. The “relationship with Jesus” jargon is the evangelical version of Rome’s Mary. To be in Christ is so much more. He has brought you back from the dead. By His Word He makes you a good Christian. He does this in baptism and absolution and the Lord’s Supper because HE ACTUALLY SAID SO. You can skip with Jesus across fields of flowers if you want.
As for me, I have a Savior.
“So long as they believe.” “So long as you go to church.” These two statements can be heard in churches across the US. They both represent two ideas in theology. More often than not they are set against each other like two boxers in a ring with Christians rooting for one to win. As much as we hear how opposed one is to the other, we need both and we need both to work together. We can think of them as a hand and a sword.
The first fancy term we’ll use is fides qua (FEE-des KWA). This is faith that holds onto God’s Word, the faith which believes. It’s like a hand that clings to God’s promises. This is what makes a Christian a Christian. So when someone says, “So long as they are Christian” this is what they mean. So long as they have faith (fides qua) then they are saved.
The next fancy term we will use is the fides quae (FEE-des KWAY). This is what someone refers to when they say “The Faith” as in “keep the faith”, i.e. the faith which is believed. This is like the sword that does the cutting. When people see it, foes tremble and friends rejoice.
Here’s how it often plays out in churches today. Some people demand we go by the book (quae) and if you go by the book, all is well. Some people demand that as long as you are in the library (qua) that’s good enough. Why is this a problem?
Let’s take fides qua first. If all we need is faith and that’s good enough then we run into some problems. Let’s say a missionary is sent out by a coalition of churches from different denominations. Let’s say some people are converted. Great! Now what are they taught about baptism? Is it the person’s outward expression of an inward change (ornament) or is it God’s physical means of delivering forgiveness (sacrament)? Is the Lord’s Supper only a remembrance meal or is it also the body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins? If we answer “who cares” to these questions then we are disregarding the Word of the Lord. This is unfaithful (Matthew 28:19-20). If all we care about is “that they have faith” then we are basically saying we are a limp wrist without any sword in hand to defend off devilish error. Doctrine is our protection against wolves in sheep’s clothing. Not only that but saying “so long as they have Jesus” elevates ‘having faith’ over and above what it is we actually believe in! We end up having faith in faith instead of THE faith. It’s like being on a leaky raft adrift at sea and the guy next to you says, “At least we’re not drowning.”
Fides qua (the hand) is more popular in our society today. So when we Lutherans say our sword (fides quae) is symbolized in the Lutheran Confessions, we are looked on as bullies because no one else has a sword. Yet when danger to souls and consciences rears its ugly head, people come running to a place of security. Those churches that have abandoned doctrine for unity may gain in numbers for a time but history reveals that those are the churches that vanish into the world. Those churches that have given up doctrine for unity’s sake often melt away in a blob of moral generalities, looking and sounding just like non-Christians. In a culture living in constant change and fads we desperately need to trust in God’s unchanging Word.
So what about those fides quae only guys? Those who teach only fides quae believe it doesn’t matter if you have faith so long as you are here. So long as you go by the rules, you’re in. So long as everyone can see the sword on the mantle, we’re safe. So having fides quae alone means someone has taped off a corner of the library and claims it is the only true library and the rest is a pile of trash. In this mindset you’re saved if you’re lucky enough to be standing on the correct side of the line. Obviously this is wrong. We are saved by grace through faith. Therefore one is not saved because they always go to church or because they are Lutheran. God gives us faith to trust in His Word, all of it. This means that there are Christians who are saved by God’s Word across all Christian denominations.
The Hand of faith (qua) and the Sword of doctrine (quae) were meant to go together. Faith trusts in all of God’s teachings. Did God create the world in 6 days? Can Jesus be in multiple places at once? Does God predestine people or do we choose to be saved? These are important questions and there are many more. Faith can only come by hearing the Word (Romans 10:14-15). Once saved, God expects us to keep His Word holy (Romans 16:17 and also see the 2nd petition of the Lord’s Prayer in Luther’s Small Catechism). That means that there is more to God’s Word than “Jesus died and rose for you”. Now, everything in scripture points to Jesus and His work but God offers more. Faith grasps all the promises of God. The hand clings to the sword. Through this combination God gives strength to faith and swings this double edged sword to defend us and attack the evil one. Do we throw the sword away so we all get along and don’t hurt people’s feelings? If we do that, there is no way to know what God’s will is or isn’t. How will we know if we are teaching what God wants? The devil is happy to define God’s Word for you. Pure doctrine, teaching, is our protection against false teaching and the devil. Unity in the church without obeying all of God’s Word is not Christian unity but unity of this world.
Do you know what you believe about Baptism? Do you know what you believe about the Lord’s Supper? Do you know the Ten Commandments by heart? Do you understand what the Lord’s Prayer is saying? What do you confess in the Creeds? Is a pastor’s pronouncement of forgiveness God’s forgiveness? All of these things Luther considered the essential basics of God’s Word. They are our Sword. I am sure you have faith but what is your faith in? Open your Small Catechism. Hold it tight and read it. Keep it close at hand as a sure defense against the devil and false teachings. As we do our faith grips tight to our sure and certain hope of God’s promises. Unless of course you’d rather fight the devil with your bare hands…
I’m exiting the freeway and the off ramp has a red light. As I’m waiting for the light to turn green I look around. Along the off ramp is a bunch of trash. Cigarette butts are all over the place. Some soda cans and retired big gulps are here and there. There is all sorts of trash along the side of the road and I can’t help but wonder what these people are thinking. What motivates someone to use the freeway off ramp as their own personal trash can?
I’m sure there are a variety of reasons but I’m going to stick to one, “Someone else will clean it up.” Knowing that tax money will be spent, knowing that some poor slob or someone who cares about the state of the off ramp will come by and clean it up, they toss their garbage out the car window without a second thought. No big deal. Someone else will clean it up.
Do we do this in the church? Is there a “Someone else will” mentality? Is this the mode of operation for our generation? So there’s an announcement, “LWML is getting together his Sunday…” and some of the ladies might think, “Someone else will be there.” Pastor says that bible study is important. “Someone else will go.” Stewardship reports that we’re not meeting the budget, “Someone else will give.” Someone hasn’t been around for a couple months, “Someone else will call or visit.” Why is it someone else? Are we too busy? Are we too tired? Are we too lazy? Here’s the reality, what we spend our time on most, what we think about most, what we will change our calendar around for most, that is our priority. So the question is this, do our priorities line up with God’s priorities? Will we count on this mysterious “someone else” so that what we find most important is accomplished? You and I, we are selfish sinners. Our priorities are messed up. So often we expect someone else to do the job and then we blame someone else when it’s not. If you are not willing to do something about it (whatever “it” is) then do not blame someone else. If you expected “someone else” to do it and did nothing about it, you are just as guilty.
Jesus condescended to our human level. Can you imagine what the world looked like through His human and divine eyes? It would be like pulling up on one of these onramps and you couldn’t get through because of all the garbage. There’s an adulterer over there and a liar over there. On the other side is a thief and right next to the murderer is a drunkard. Piles and piles of sin and decay were strewn all around. Our own works are like dirty rags (Isaiah 64:6) and the things we place over Jesus and His work are garbage (Philippians 3:8). As He saw our death in sin, Jesus didn’t look for someone else. He is the “someone else”. Where we looked inwards, He gave. Where we served ourselves, He washed feet and fed the hungry and healed the sick and had no place to lay His head. This divine “someone else” came here to pour out His gifts of mercy and forgiveness and it all came through an outpouring of blood. It was there as He poured Himself out that we were cleansed. Through His precious blood we were made clean. Through this “someone else” comes life even to those who would litter on a freeway off ramp, who would ignore pleas for help, who would place the secular and temporal over the sacred and eternal. It is only through Jesus and Him alone that we can once again be forgiven. It is through this “someone else” that we can be motivated to do anything good. Through Jesus the Christ you are forgiven. It could only be Him the entire time. He changes our gaze away from our belly buttons and toward the cross where we see what someone else can do and continues to do. Through Jesus you are now “someone else” who forgives, who prioritizes what is holy, who does what is good, right and salutary in faith toward God and fervent love toward one another. All of this because, thank God, someone else did for you.
Rev. Nava
In April 2014, some 19 year old punk decided to urinate in the Mt. Tabor reservoir in Portland. He was caught on a surveillance video. The reservoir shut down and flushed that particular reservoir reserve, 38 million gallons of water. The reservoir decided that they would rather get rid of the millions of gallons water than to allow people to drink possibly contaminated water.
Each church body has its own reservoir of theology, doctrine. Historically, Lutherans have not communed (a banner of fellowship) with many others because the teachings on the Lord’s Supper were completely different. It’s why the German Lutherans came to Missouri in the first place! Two opposing teachings on God’s Word cannot both be correct. At least one is a contamination of God’s Word. Yet there are some Lutheran denominations that not only have no problem with two opposing views of God’s Word but in fact, they embrace it. Pure, clear, refreshing doctrine is allowed to be contaminated and then it’s celebrated when people drink it!
If the church allows a reservoir to be contaminated it can drive people to despair and doubt. Imagine someone who is receiving communion in a joint communion service of two denominations that do not teach the same thing. One says you taste forgiveness and the other says you don’t. After he communed, what did he receive? Was he faithful to God’s Word? Is God’s Word a solid rock I stand on or play-do that I mold as I see fit? This and many more problems arise because the reservoir of God’s Word is contaminated.
Scripture is very serious on pure teaching:
Romans 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
Matthew 28: 19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Doctrine, dogma, catechism, theology, these are all words we use in the church. Essentially they all mean the same thing; teaching. Not referencing just any teaching, they are the teachings of God Himself in His Word. So doctrine, dogma, catechism, theology, they are the pure, life giving, spiritually refreshing reservoir of God. It is of more value than anything on this planet because it is what gives eternal life, it is what lasts.
There comes a time when contamination is poured into doctrine. Sometimes even we Lutherans think we can dilute a contamination with our Lutheran mindset. Contamination is contamination. We can either look away as we drink it up or we can flush it out. The world does not understand the importance of keeping God’s teaching pure. They see it as a waste and as unloving. What could be more loving than desiring to give God’s Word, clear, free of impurities, removing doubt and despair because it clearly provides the Water of Life? We want everyone to drink of the same reservoir but we will not tolerate others contaminating God’s teachings. If we allow contamination then we show a flippant disregard for God’s Word and the people He seeks to save through His Word.
Our Confessions, the Book of Concord, are a litmus test of purity. As members of the LCMS, we confess that the teachings of the Confessions are the proper explanation and presentation of God’s Word. So we could go to any reservoir and, using these Confessions, check to see if it is contaminated or not. When we find another reservoir that is pure, we are joyous to join these reservoirs together. For those that are contaminated, they first need flushing. By doing this, God’s Word remains pure and His name is kept Holy even among us!
From Luther’s Small Catechism, Lord’s Prayer – First Petition
Hallowed be Thy name.
What does this mean?–Answer.
God’s name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may become holy among us also.
How is this done?–Answer.
When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we as the children of God also lead holy lives in accordance with it. To this end help us, dear Father in heaven. But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God’s Word teaches profanes the name of God among us. From this preserve us, Heavenly Father.
Jesus entered Jerusalem during the period of the Passover. This was a time for the Jews to recall God’s saving work recorded in Exodus. The Passover meal is recorded in Exodus 12. So when Jesus was in the upper room with His disciples, He was taking the old meal, a shadow, and in its place gave a new meal, Himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The meal of the first Maundy (Holy) Thursday is one we partake of every week.
Many Christians find the connection to our Jewish roots (via the same faith Abraham had) fascinating. Sadly the “natural branches”, that is the Jews, were broken off of the root when they disbelieved God’s Word and rejected the Son of God (Romans 11:20). Even so, Christians, as a wild branch, have been grafted onto the root who is Jesus (John 15:5) by faith. Christians are a part of Israel because of faith in God’s Word. It’s the way it has always been (Romans 9:6-8).
There is a meal that is thoroughly Jewish that celebrates the Passover. This meal is known as the Seder meal. It contains a structured order for celebrating God’s work in the Exodus with certain cups of wine to recall certain events and eating parsley dipped in salt water to remember the bitterness of the journey and the many tears shed among other things. With our Jewish connection, Christians see this meal as theirs and many Christians and congregations celebrate this meal each year. Some may even use it as an evangelism tool to bring in Jews to the church.
There are problems when Christians celebrate this Seder meal. Firstly, we are told that this is the meal that Jesus Himself celebrated. There is no historic evidence of this. The first full record of the Seder meal as we know it was found around the turn of the first millennium, 1000 AD, from a rabbi’s prayer book. There is zero evidence that Jesus celebrated the Seder meal. Secondly Jesus Himself said, “do this” not “do this and that”. We have what we need to know about the true and final Passover meal from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 1 Corinthians. Finally, the Seder meal commemorates the Passover meal from Exodus, the lamb’s blood that was placed over the doors so that the angel of death would pass over and spare those inside. Jesus is The Lamb of God who causes the final death to pass over God’s people with His own blood. The Passover meal was a shadow looking forward to Jesus. The better meal, the New Covenant, is the one Jesus Himself gave on the night when He was betrayed because through that meal we not only remember but we actually receive forgiveness as we eat body-bread and blood-wine.
If Christians celebrate the Seder what are we doing? We are celebrating the shadow instead of the Son. We are misleading people away from Christ and into a human invention. We are disregarding Jesus’ own words. Here’s the better thing, attend a service on Maundy Thursday and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Use the service from your hymnal. Follow the pattern of God’s people for the past 2,000 years. This is good, right and salutary so to do.
Rev. Nava
For more information read this:
http://www.gloriachristi.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/gardpassoverseder.pdf