Lutheranism 101

A conversation over at Saint Charles Place got me thinking about how much information there is online about Lutheranism, and wishing there was some central place to find it all. Well, here's a go at it.

I set up Lutheranism 101 to be a clearing-house for information about Lutheranism. The first order of business is to get some of the links about basic Lutheranism on there. The I will begin looking for blog posts about basic Lutheranism.

If this project takes off, we can eventually delve into more complex issues in Lutheran theology. But this is a start for now.

Giving thanks for all the saints

This has been a busy month here at Saint John Lutheran Church. Fittingly, November begins with the celebration of the festival of All Saints and ends with the holiday of Thanksgiving. This month, the family of Saint John has given thanks in many ways: during the Thank-offering Service, at the Good Neighbor Sunday lunch, and in our Thanksgiving evening service.

But most especially this month, we have given thanks for all the Saints. On All Saints Sunday, we remembered all those who passed into glory during the preceding year as we re-dedicated our cemetery Gazebo. We have also gathered together on three seperate occassions to affirm the power of the resurrection and mourn the loss to our lives as we celebrated the lives of three members of our family who died this month.

It has been a humbling experience: to reflect on the many gifts given to us by God through these saints, and to give thanks to God for their witness and example. I pray that we may all continue to be blessed to know persons like Jerry, Lillian, and Evelyn, and that we may continue to be strengthened and taught by the saints who came before us.

Advent Blue

We just celebrated the festival of Christ the King, and now it is time to begin the new liturgical year with the season of Advent. With the arrival of Advent comes the perennial question: Is the color of Advent blue or purple?

Prior to the changes of the late 20th century, most American Lutheran churches used purple vestments and paraments during the season of Advent. However, in the last 30 years, many churches have started using a deep blue for this season. And so the debate rages: Is Advent purple or blue?

Many who advocate a blue Advent talk about blue being the color of royalty (i.e., "royal blue"). They talk about, rather than a penitential focus, Advent being a time to prepare for (to steal a Tolkien phrase) the return of the King.

Many who advocate a purple Advent talk about purple being the color of penitence and repentance. They often like the parallels between advent and Lent, and may talk about Advent being a "little Lent." Changing to blue, for them, takes the focus off of the most important part of preparing for the return of the King -- repentance.

Unfortunately, "blue adventers" and "purple adventers" often think that the other group is out to ruin this wonderful season of the church. The fact is, if they could listen to one another, they would hear that they are both right. The former liturgy professor at Sewanee, J. Neil Alexander (a former Lutheran, now bishop of the Atlanta Diocese of the Episcopal Church), used to say that we are all held captive by the berries.

Yes, blue is the color of royalty -- but so is purple. Both colors of fabric were very expensive in the days before chemical dyes, because they required such deep, rich colored berries. If you lived around the Mediterranean, chances are your royalty wore purple -- because those were the berries (or other natural dyes) in wide use. If you lived in Northern Europe, chances are your royalty wore blue -- because those were the berries available.

And Yes, purple is the color of penitence -- but so is blue. In the days before chemical dyes, it was nearly impossible to make fabric that was true black -- the color of mourning and repentance. What you wound up with, depending on the natural dyes (berries) you used, was usually either a dark purple or a dark blue. Again, the differences were regional.

So is the "correct" color for Advent purple or blue? Well ... I guess yes is the only answer that works.

Re-Design Coming

I have switched over to Blogger Beta, and am working on a redesign of this blog. I have never been quite happy with the layout, so we will see if we can get something that works a little better.

*** Switch is made ... I would appreciate any feedback on the new layout. I was going for easier to read, and easier to find what you need. Did I succeed?***

Sunday Special

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. Now the holiday is over, and it is back to the grind.

This week's Sunday Special features a member of the Blogging Lutherans WebRing who comes from the LC-MS. Preachrblog is the main blog of Pastor Thomas Chryst (aka "Preachrboy"), a pastor in the LC-MS.

In addition to designing the logo for the Blogging Lutherans WebRing, Pr. Chryst is a prolific blogger. Preachrblog extends into two futher sites, an archive of sermons and an archive of hymns written by Pr. Chryst. As if this were not enough, Pr. Chryst also maintains the very useful Lutheran Blog Directory.

Preachrblog has been online since January 2005, so there is plenty of stuff there to keep you busy on a rainy afternoon. You will find among the posts Pr. Chryst's sermons, commentary on current events, and links to some of the best resources for Lutherans on the web.

Please stop by and visit Preacherblog this week. Leave a comment, and let Pr. Chryst know that the Blogging Lutherans sent you.

Badge of Honor

Every week, a blog is chosen from among the Blogging Lutherans member sites to be the Sunday Special. The chosen site receives a feature post here on postings from prairie hill.

As if that honor were not enough, I have designed a "Sunday Special" badge for featured sites to display on their blogs. If your site if chosen as the Sunday Special, please proudly display your badge of honor.

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish each of you a blessed Thanksgiving. This evening, the congregation of Saint John will gather to start our holiday by giving thanks to God. I pray that each of us will find the time and the words to offer thanks to God.

I love this holiday. It is such a wonderful opportunity to gather with family. Very often, families gather only in connection with something else -- a birth, a death, or a marriage. But at this time of year, we gather just because we can. It is truly a gift.

Step away from the computer screens. Go and enjoy your family, and give thanks for the many good gifts God has given to you.

In the News ...

I don't often comment on the news of the day, but as I was getting my daily dose of information today, I was overwhelmed by the significance -- and sometimes the strangeness -- of these stories.

The profiling of Muslims as criminal suspects has become quite common since 9/11. I have heard more than one air traveller talk about feeling uncomfortable flying on a plane with anyone wearing a turban. So I was not particularly surprised to read about the 6 Muslim Imams (religious leaders) being pulled off of a US Airways flight. No, I was not really surprised, but I did wonder ...

What would happen if a Christian pastor was treated that way in a predominently Muslim country? What would be our reaction if it was six pastors? And is such profiling a statement about the politics of a war in Arab countries, or about the Islamic religion?

Then I read about Lebanon. It seems that in Lebanon, a politician was killed. This would not be big news, except for he also happened to be a Christian -- in an Arab country, where the political power is delicately balanced between Christians and Muslims. Definitely a tragedy -- but is this a political or a religious tragedy? The line seems to be getting blurrier and blurrier.

And of course, Jerusalem is in the news. This is a story that has been a hot topic in the Biblical Archaeology Review (one of the publications that brough the Dead Sea Scrolls to light) for at least four or five years, but has finally caught public attention. It seems that the Waqf - the Muslim group that governs the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - has been clearing out part of the Temple Mount as they have been doing renovations, and those renovations just happened to be in one of the oldest parts of the Mount (an area known as Solomon's Stables). Now, Israeli Archeaologists have gotten into the rubble that has been removed, and are making huge discoveries. The question: is this about the religious significance of the Temple Mount, or about the questions of political power and control in Israel?

There is a reason I read my news, rather than watch it. This morning as I left the house, I had the news on. I know now that all the above things are going on today, but had I only watched the news I would have thought that OJ Simpson's cancelled book deal was the only thing that happened today.

Sunday Special

This week's featured Blogging Lutherans member is David, who runs the blog Here I Stand. Las week this site featured a WELS blogger, so I thought it would be fair to feature an ELCA blogger this week.

David is a seminarian, preparing for the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA. In order to enjoy the freedom of postng his thoughts, David blogs semi-anonymously (look at what has happened to many LC-MS seminarian blogs), this means we know his first name, but not the details of his life.

I remember being in seminary, and all of the ideas that were sparked by classes and discussions with friends. With David, we get to see these thoughts, as he shares them with us on the blog. He has posted on the Ten Commandments (and also here), on faith, on congregational decision-making, and on whatever else occurs to him. The blog gets a fresh post about 3 times a week, and is definitely worth the read.

Stop by Here I Stand and pay David a visit this week. Leave a comment letting him know what you think of his blog, and tell him that Blogging Lutherans sent you.

The Hymnody of ELW, Part 2

In a previous post, I compared the hymns selected by the worship committee of Saint John Lutheran with the hymnody of the new Evangelical Lutheran Worship. I had promised to provide some of my observations from having done that project; here they are.

First, only those who were in the room know the actual reasons for the selection, translation, and tunes of the hymns in ELW. In seminary, I had the privilege of getting to know Marion Hatchett, on of the architects of the episcopal 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the 1982 Hymnal, and an emeritus professor of the School of Theology of the University of the South. The comments that Prof. Hatchett would make about the struggles over these very issues opened my eyes to the variety of reasons (often not as cut and dry as one would expect) that would cause a committee to shape a hymnal the way that it does. That said, anything you read here about why a decision was made one way and not another is conjecture.

One other caveat: I was only looking at a particular selection of hymns - the 77 hymns selected for use in Saint John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill from All Saints Sunday until the Baptism of our Lord. The rest of the hymnal could produce very different observations.

1) My first observation is about the hymnody of ELW is that it tends to pull toward traditionalism. If the LBW changed a hymn to contemporary 2nd person pronouns (you, yours), ELW likely restored it to archaic pronouns (thee, thine). If the hymn is widely known to be a part of one particular cultural tradition, ELW restored at least one verse in the original language (e.g., Silent Night in German, The Bells of Christmas in Danish, and Children of the Heavenly Father in Swedish).

2) There is no tendency toward the heresy of modalism. As some of you may know, modalism is the heresy of naming the three persons God using only the functions of God. This is the favored heresy of those who want to avoid masculine language of God: calling the persons "Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer." (The error being that God is defined as being three distinct persons, who all participate in each function). Yes, some -- although not all -- of the masculine pronouns were received. It seems to me to have only been done when doing so (a) did not produce a large theological shift in the hymn, and (b) did not ruin the poetry of the hymn. But, while there was some noticeable change to the pronouns, there was very little change to the language of Father, Son, and Spirit throughout the hymnody that I looked at.

3) Along the lines of #2, I have heard it said that the changes of in the hymnody of ELW are driven by a "feminist agenda." I found no evidence of this. Yes, "humankind" is sometimes used, but in other places "mankind" is used. Yes, some (although not all) masculine pronouns are changed, but God is still called by the Triune Name of Father, Son, and Spirit.

4) The poetry of ELW seems to be much better than the LBW was. No one I have ever met would argue that the LBW is a paragon of poetic language -- must describe it as clunky and clumsy. Much of what I looked at in ELW seemed to strive for (and generally achieve) a better poetic feel.

5) There is a tendency toward traditionalism -- oops, did I say that already? Oh well, it deserves to be said twice. Did you like the Service Book & Hymnal (red book) translation of A Mighty Fortress better than the LBW translation? Both are in ELW. Do you like to see the heritage of our German, Danish, or Swedish hymn writers honored? ELW does that in a way that no English language Lutheran hymnal has.

All that said, ELW also seems to look forward to the future with a strong sense of mission. I didn't spend much time looking at them, but there are Spanish language hymns also, new hymns written to be sung in new settings. Unfortunately, much that aims at the virtues of diversity and inclusivity in the church winds up belittling and devaluing anything that is white, european, or traditional. ELW seems to reach out toward the values of a diverse church and an inclusive church, while continuing to uphold and affirm the gifts that we have inherited from our european traditions. And for that, I am grateful.

(This, and the previous post on the ELW hymnody, can also be found linked through my recap of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, linked under "posts of interest" in my sidebar)

New Blogging Lutherans Logo

Thanks to Pastor Chryst for the shiny new graphic/links for the Blogging Lutherans group!

The Hymnody of ELW

This is a pretty long post, my apologies.
In an effort to get a firm handle on how the use of Evangelical Lutheran Worship will affect the congregation of Saint John, I did a little survey. At our most recent Worship Committee meeting, we selected hymns for All Saints Sunday (Nov. 5th) through the Baptism of our Lord (Jan. 7th) from the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) and With One Voice (WOV). After the fact, I decided to look and how many of those hymns are in the new hymnal, and whether the translations or arrangements are any different. I thought that this would be an especially good selection of hymns to look at, because these include many people's favorites. (In a later post, I will offer my reflection on the hymns I have looked through).

Of the 77 hymns for that time period, four are not found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). If the rest of the church year follows this pattern, that works out to meaning that 95% of the hymns that we regularly sing are included in ELW

The four hymns not included are:
1) Lord, Prepare me to be a Sanctuary (not found in either the LBW or WOV)
2)Seek Ye First (WOV 783)
3)Dear Lord and Father (LBW 506)
4)Bind us Together (WOV 748)

Out of the 77 hymns I looked at, these are the 27 differences that I found when looking at the texts and tunes of what is in the LBW/WOV next to what is in ELW. (I will come back later and provide some overall comments on these changes, but I thought this post was long enough for now).
For all the Saints (LBW 174; ELW 422):
Verse 2: “You Were there rock” … “Thou wast their Rock” (and “thou” throughout)Images of warfare retained, images of kingship/lordship retained

One Bread, One Body (WOV 710; ELW 496)
Layout is much easier to read than the WOV layout

Take My Life that I May Be (LBW 406)
Found in 2 different places:
1)ELW 583, in the “Vocation, Ministry” Section
Includes a Spanish translation by Vicente Mendoza (1875-1955)
Music arranged by Mark Sedio (b. 1954)
ELW Refrain = LBW verse 1; ELW v.2 = LBW v. 4;
ELW v.3 = LBW v.3; ELW v.4 = LBW v.5
2) ELW 685 in the “Stewardship” section
same tune, arrangement, and verses as LBW

Let Us Break Bread Together (LBW 212; ELW 471)
In LBW, v.3 is arranged slightly differently than 1 & 2;
in ELW all 3 verses are the same

Let All Things Now Living (LBW 557; ELW 881)
LBW v.2 “His law he enforces: the stars in their courses” ;
ELW v.2 “God rules all the forces: the stars in their courses”

Great is thy Faithfulness (WOV 771; ELW 733)
Text and tune are the same: “Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father”

Come, Ye Thankful People Come (LBW 407; ELW 693
LBW v.1: “Come, you thankful”;
ELW v.1: “Come ye thankful”
Throughout, the text is changed to the archaic 2^nd person pronouns (thee, thy, thine, thou)

Amazing Grace (LBW 448; ELW 779)
ELW adds the anonymous (but very well known) 5^th stanza “When we’ve been there ten thousand years …”

Now Thank We All Our God (LBW 533/534; ELW 839/840)
Male pronoun (“he”) changed in a few places [“in whom his world rejoices” becomes “in whom this world rejoices”] but the verse “All praise and thanks to God, the Father now be given” remains unchanged.

Praise and Thanksgiving (LBW 409; ELW 689)
LBW v.1: “Praise and thanksgiving, Father we offer for all things living, created good” ;
ELW v.1: “Praise and thanksgiving, God, we would offer for all things living, you have made good”
LBW v.3: “Father, providing food for your children, by your wise guiding teach us to share” ;
ELW v.3: “Father, providing food for your children, by Wisdom’s guiding teach us to share”
LBW v.4: “Where all obey you, no one will hunger; In your love’s sway you nourish the land” ;
ELW v.4: “Where you are reigning, no one will hunger; your love sustaining showers the land.”

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (LBW 328/329; ELW 634)
LBW sets the text to two tunes: Coronation and Miles Lane;
ELW only Coronation (which is the only setting I’ve ever heard a congregation sing)

ELW leaves out what is stanza 2 in the LBW (“Crown him you martyrs of our God, Who from his altar call…”)

At the Name of Jesus (LBW 179; ELW 416)
ELW leaves out LBW v.4 [“Bore it up triumphant with its human light ..]
LBW v.6: “Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again in his Father’s glory with his angel train …” ;
ELW v.5: “Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again on the clouds of glory with his angel train …”

Crown Him With Many Crowns (LBW 170; ELW 855)
ELW leaves out LBW v.5 “Crown him the Lord of peace …”

Just as I am (LBW 296; ELW 592)
ELW leaves out LBW verses 2 & 4

Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending (LBW 27; ELW 435)
LBW v.1: “Lo! He comes with clouds descending, once for favored sinners slain … Swell the triumph of his train” ;
ELW v.1: “Lo! He comes with clouds descending, once for our salvation slain ... Join to sing the glad refrain”

ELW v.2 is not in LBW: “Now redemption long expected, comes in solemn splendor near; all the saints this world rejected thrill the trumpet sound to hear: Alleluia … see the day of God appear.”
LBW vv. 2,3 are not in ELW

Break Now the Bread of Life (LBW 235; ELW 515)
ELW leaves out LBW v.4: “Oh Send your Spirit, Lord, now unto me …”

O Come, O Come Emmanuel (LBW 34; ELW 257)
Rather than the LBW’s 5, ELW includes the traditional 8 verses
The layout of the tune is closer to the old processional plainsong arrangement

LBW v.4: “Oh Come blest Dayspring come and cheer our spirits by your advent here …” ;
ELW v.6: O Come, O Dayspring come and cheer; O Sun of justice now draw near …”

Wake, Awake (LBW 31; ELW 436)
The harmony of Wauchet Auf is a slightly different arrangement than that of the LBW
Last part of v.1: LBW “… Prepare yourself to meet the Lord, who light has stirred the waiting guard”
ELW “… Rise and prepare the feast to share; go, meet the bridegroom who draws near”

Last part of v.2: LBW “…We go until the halls we view where you have bid us dine with you” ;
ELW “… Oh, hear the call! Come one, come all, and follow to the banquet hall”

LBW v.3: “Now let all the heav’ns adore you, and saints and angels sing before you. The harps and cymbals all unite. Of one each shining portal, where, dwelling with the choir immortal, we gather round your dazzling light. No eye has seen, no ear has yet been trained to hear. What joy is ours! Crescendos rise; your halls resound; hosannas blend in cosmic sound.” ;
ELW v.3: “Gloria! Let heav’n adore you! Let all the saints and angels sing before you, with harp and cymbals clearest tone. Gates of pearl, twelve portals gleaming, lead us to bliss beyond all dreaming, with angel choirs around your throne.No eye has caught the light, no ear the thund’ring might of such glory.There we will go: what joy we’ll know! There sweet delight will ever flow.”

Go, My Children (WOV 721; ELW 543)
ELW does not have LBW v.4 [“I the Lord will bless and keep you …”]

When Peace like a River (WOV 346; ELW 785)
The tune of ELW is Ville Du Havre instead of It is Well (ELW adds the traditional refrain, making the meter 118119 & refrain, instead of 118119)

I am So Glad each Christmas Eve (LBW 69; ELW 271)
ELW leaves out LBW v.5 “When mother trims the Christmas tree …”

Away in a Manger (LBW 67; ELW 277/278)
In addition to the LBW setting to the tune Away in a Manger, ELW includes an arrangement to the tune Cradle Song (which I think is a very pretty melody)

O Come, All Ye Faithful (LBW 45; ELW 283)
The translation throughout is the same, but ELW includes the Latin for the refrain (venite adoremus)

The Bells of Christmas (LBW 62; ELW 298)
ELW retains the Charles Porterfield Krauth translation of the LBW, but also provides Grundtvig’s original Danish of the first verse

Children of the Heavenly Father (LBW 475; ELW 781)
ELW retains the same translation as the LBW, but provides the original Swedish of the first verse.

In the Morning when I rise (WOV 777; ELW 770)
ELW has a new arrangement: the melody is the same, but the harmony is different

Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness (LBW 224; ELW 488/489)
ELW 488 is identical to LBW 224.
ELW 489 is a new tune (Canto al Borinquen – L M D & refrain),
leaves out LBW v.2, and includes Spanish translations of the verses.

Of Popcorn & Popes

I couldn't resist sharing this when I saw it.

It seems that the Vatican is branching out, becoming a full multi-media outlet. New Line Cinema (who brought you the Lord of the Rings), is getting ready to release its new movie based on the biblical narrative of the birth of Christ, The Nativity Story. (By all indications, this look like it will be a pretty good movie; faithful to the biblical narrative and still good cinema -- maybe not as good as the Ten Commandments, but is any movie, really. I found a review of the movie here, and of the script here).

So far so good. But this is where it gets interesting. It seems that the Vatican has agreed to host the 7,000 person world premiere ...

Let that sink in ...

In the Pope Paul VI Hall in Vatican City - A room that often hosts official papal audiences, concerts of sacred music, etc - the Vatican will host the latest Hollywood premiere.

But in and of itself, even that isn't interesting enough. Oh no, there's more:
It seems that the 16-year old actress who plays the pregnant Virgin Mary, Keisha Castle-Hughes, is now pregnant. Now, after acting as a pregnant 16 year old, the pregnant 16 year old has been shut out of the November 26th Vatican premier.

And yes, this is really what is being reported in the news ... I couldn't make this stuff up.

Good Neighbor Sunday

This Sunday (Nov. 19), Saint John Lutheran will celebrate our Good Neighbor Sunday. Prairie Hill has always been a very close and friendly community, and this event is excellent evidence that that tradition continues. Everyone is invited, regardless of whether or not you are a member or regularly attend Saint John, to join us this Sunday for worship and a turkey dinner. If you are a member, bring a friend with you. It is guaranteed to be a good time.

In addition to the festivities and fellowship of the turkey dinner, the worship service will be a Thank-offering service, led by our women's groups (Women of the ELCA and Ladies' Aid). The speaker for the service will be my beautiful wife, Julia, and a Women's Choir will perform under the direction of Mary Longhofer. It will be a wonderful opportunity to offer God our thanks and praise.

Worship will begin at 10:05 am, and the meal and fellowship will follow immediately afterward.

For more information about upcoming events at Saint John, visit our homepage or our online calendar.

The Haunting of Suicide

Many deaths are tragic, most deaths leave the survivors with a feeling of sadness, but no death seems to cause more emotional, spiritual, and intellectual turmoil than a suicide. Suicides seem to cause exponentially more grief than other deaths, and seem to be the hardest sort of thing for a person to mourn.

Every death produces questions. Could something have been done to prevent this? Did I -- even unintentionally -- contribute to this death? Is this somehow my fault? Where is my loved one now, and what is the state of their soul? What were my loved ones last moments like?

Most of the time, through the process of grieving, these questions get answered - or just moved aside. I think that we often decide that the most haunting questions, those big "Why?" questions, are unanswerable. I don't know if I could/should have done something different, but probably not. I don't know if I contributed to this, but probably not. We figure out that searching for definitive answers to those questions will not bring our loved one back (when we don't, we usually get yoked with a case of survivor's guilt).

But with a suicide, we expect to somehow find definitive answers to the "Why" questions. Why did he die now (Why did he do it?)? Why didn't we stop him? Why didn't we see this coming? And on and on. We are haunted by the whys. This is why a suicide can cause so much more pain than ordinary grieving.

Unfortunately, the questions that come after a suicide are just as unanswerable as they are with any death. We can answer in "probablies," just like we can in any other death, but we are no more likely to find certainty than in any other death. But, just like when anyone dies, the answers to the questions will not bring our loved one back to life. Sometimes, we just have to be prepared to let go of the questions, to hand them over to God. Either that, or we can continue to be haunted by the questions, and haunted by the grief.

Sunday Special

Once a week, I will be highlighting a Lutheran blog who is a part of the Blogging Lutherans webring. This week, my featured site is What Did Jesus Do?, hosted by Ryan.

Ryan is (correct me if I am wrong) a layman in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), and the son of a WELS pastor. The tagline of the WDJD blog is "The goal here at WDJD is to deliver a Christ Centered and Cross Focused message, while at the same time, trying to help others do the same." In his first post on the blog, Ryan explains the meaning of WDJD.

There are fresh posts on WDJD about once or twice a week. Lately, Ryan has been writing about the author of Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, and his congregation, Saddleback. In the archives, you can find great posts about decision theology, homelitics, and evangelism, among other things.

Stop by WDJD and pay Ryan a visit this week. Leave him a comment, and let him know that the Blogging Lutherans sent you.

Veterans' Day

Those who know me, know that I am in no way a warhawk. I tend to believe that Christian theology should always prefer peace (true peace) to war.
Yet none of that matters when it comes to how I feel about Veterans' Day.

Over the years, I have come to know men and women who served our country during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, both Gulf Wars, and countless other international conflicts, as well as those who have served in the armed services during times of peace.

To each of these men and women, I can only say "thank you." I do not know the things you have seen and done. I cannot imagine the situations you have faced. I only know that when you were ordered to go, you went. Whether or not I agree with the politicians who sent you has nothing to do with what I think of you and your service. I thank you for your protection of this country, for helping to ensuring the safety of my family and loved ones, and for your willingness to go wherever you have been needed.

In addition to remembering and thanking Veterans who have completed their service, today I also remember those who continue to serve in the armed forces. The following prayer is from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, and today it is a part of my prayers:

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils that surround them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Blogging Lutherans!

The Blogging Lutherans blog-ring is taking off. Thank you to everyone has recently added your blog. At some point, I will do a summary of everyone on the WebRing -- Of course, you can always just press "Next" on the blog-Ring in my sidebar and just start surfing through the sites!

I must say a special word of thanks to Jorge at Winged Man and David at Here I Stand. They were the first to join the Blogging Lutherans group, and did not give up on it even though it didn't really get going for a while. Thanks guys.

Also, thank you to Pastor Chryst, who maintains the eminently useful Lutheran Blog Directory for promoting the Blog-Ring.

To join, click here.

(If you are still waiting in the queue, make sure you have the code on your site -- I am unable to add you unless you do. If you have lost the code, or your password, leave me a comment here and I will email you).

Kristallnacht

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I am back from the family funeral, and preparing the bulletin and sermon for the funeral at Saint John.

In all of the hoopla over the election results and political events of the day, the grim anniversary of Kristallnacht could easily be forgotten. It was on November 9th, 1938, that violence broke out against the Jews in Nazi Germany. In two days, over 1000 synagogues were burned and 7000 Jewish businesses were looted. An unknown number of Jews were assulted and killed. The following day, more than 30000 Jewish men were shipped off to concentration camps. Thus, the "night of broken glass" marks the beginning the great tragedy of the Holocaust (or Shoah).

As Lutherans, we have extra reason to never forget. It was the German Lutheran church that colluded with the Nazi party (with the minor exception of the small Confessing Church movement). It was the writings of Martin Luther than provided the theological justifications for the rampant anti-semitism and German nationalism of the Nazi party. It was the abuse of the Lutheran "2 Kingdoms Theory" that allowed so many Germans to turn a blind eye to the sins of their government and fellow citizens.

There were certainly points of light in the Lutheran reaction to the Holocaust. There was the Confessing Church, and Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and the response of Lutheran Denmark in helping the Jews flee Germany and Denmark. However, the collaboration of the Lutheran Church, Lutheran Theology, and German Lutherans with the Nazi program of extermination overshadow those dim lights.

In 1994, the ELCA issued this statement to the Jewish Community. Dr Franklin Shermann, an ELCA staff member and member of the US Holocaust Museum's Church Relations Committee, wrote this summary of the relationships between Christians and Jews after the Holocaust.

Martin Niemoller - a German Lutheran pastor who support the Nazi regime and its anti-semitism early in the war - was later jailed for standing up to Hitler when the church was threatened. He spent eight years in the concentration camps of Sachsenhausen and Dachau, and later signed an admission of guilt with other German church leaders for his role in the Holocaust. Niemoller had this to say, reminding us all to speak up on behalf of our neighbor, and to speak against injustice even when it doesn't affect us:

When the Nazis came for the communists,I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Today, we remember the victims of the Holocaust. And we also remember the great tragedy that can occur when ordinary people are silent in the face of evil. The Kaddish is the Jewish prayer for the dead. Today, it is a part of my prayers:

Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for usand for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

When it Rains ...

A word to all those who work in the church:

Never say "I think this is going to be a slow week."

Do you know what happens when you say that?

God laughs.

What, on Saturday, looked like a slow week, now has one funeral in my beautiful wife's family, and one in the congregation.

Prayers for for Jerry's family and for my in-laws would be much coveted ... as well as prayers for my beautiful wife and for me.

Recommended Reading

LutherPunk has asked "What 20 books most influenced your theology?" Like him, I can't help but think that 20 is a very limited number. On his list, he used anthologies to get around influential works by more than one author. Here are my parameters: going to try listing only 1 work from each author. Again, the Bible goes without saying, and is assumed. The list is not in any particular order.

1) No Future Without Forgiveness, Desmond Tutu
2) Book of Concord (not technically an anthology)
3) Treatise On the New Testament, that is, the Mass, Martin Luther (one of my favorite of his lesser-known writings ... highly recommended for other liturgical aficionados)
4) The Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin
5) Systematic Theology, vols 1 & 2, Robert Jenson (especially volume 1)
6) For the Life of the World, Alexander Schmemann
7) Reclaiming the Great Commission, Claude Payne
8) John: Anchor Bible Commentary, Raymond Brown (which might as well include Community of the Beloved Disciple)
9) God For Us, Catherine Mowry Lacugna
10) God: The World's Future, Ted Peters (the first systematic theology I ever read ... In High School)
11) I and Thou, Martin Buber
12) Fear and Trembling, Soren Kierkegaard
13) The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Christian Initiation, ed. Edward Yarnold
14) Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
15) Chistus Victor, Gustaf Aulen
15) The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
16) Paul, NT Wright
17) Preface to Romans, Christopher Bryan (as my NT professor, I was also quite shaped by his And God Spoke)
18) Charity & its Fruits, Jonathan Edwards (a series of sermons ... my favorite is "Heaven is a World of Love")
19) Catechetical Lectures, Cyril of Jerusalem
20) And Also With You: Duncan Gray and the American Dilemma, Will Cambell (You can't ever meet Bishop Gray or hear his story, and not have it shape your theology)
21) Luther's Theology of the Cross, Alister McGrath

My word! Is that all the more I can list?! What about the sermons of John Chrysostom, or the Theologia Germania, or anything about Grundtvig, or even Augustine. Twenty books is definitely not enough. But nonetheless, there it is. The 20 books that first came to mind when I was asked, "What 20 books shaped your theology?"

Blogging Lutherans

Wandering around the blog-o-sphere, one cannot help but notice the many ways that various bloggers are connected to one another. One of the more helpful tools are blog-rings. They connect like-minded bloggers, or blogs that have similar themes.

A group of us are beginning a blog-ring for Lutherans. This help to raise the visibility of Lutheran bloggers, and make it easier for people to surf Lutheran sites.

We need your help. The more blogs on the blog-ring, the higher our visibility. It is really a win-win situation for everyone involved. Your site receives more traffic from people surfing Lutheran blogs. Lutherans become more visible and easier to find on the web.

It is just a small bit of code to add the blog-ring to your site. The ring is open to any and all Lutheran bloggers, so please, consider adding your site to the Blogging Lutherans Ring.

Fallen Clergy

By now, most everyone has heard about the indescretions of Pastor Ted Haggard. For me, this has been an example about what is worst in our public discourse in this country.

1) Conservatives have been quick to defend Pastor Haggard, saying that his actions were a terrible thing, but having no further meaning. I understand the compassion that they are calling for us to have for the man and his family. But where was the same compassion when Pastor Jesse Jackson was accused of moral indiscretion, or President Bill Clinton? Can you imagine if conservatives had the same compassion when a liberal leader fell from grace as they do when a conservative falls from grace?

2) Liberals are almost gleeful in the feeding frenzy that has followed the news about Pastor Haggard. These are the same people who argued that a person's private life does not affect his/her public life when talking about the moral indescrections of Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson. What happened to the compassion and understanding? And how can anyone be happy to see a person - any person - ruin his or her life?

Bottom line: a person's political agenda should not affect how we view the news of a tragedy like this. If we think compassion and understanding should be our guiding principle, then compassion and understanding should not be limited to our own political party. If we think moral accountability and public responsibility should be the guiding principle, then we ought not make exceptions for those who share our political agenda.

For myself, I will be praying for Pastor Haggard and his family - as well as for the young man who has brought these accusations forward. Any way you look at it, this is a tragedy. There are no winners in a situation. The only hope is that God will find a way to bring healing into the lives of all those involved.

In My Hands

Well, the wait is over. At a worship committee meeting, someone brought a personal copy of Evangelical Lutheran Worship that they received at one of the ELW training sessions. So now, in my hot little hands, I am holding a copy of Evangelical Lutheran Worship (my own copies probably won't arrive until January, I think I purchased mine during the third printing). I also received today and am just starting to look through the Leader's Desk Edition of ELW.

A couple of thoughts as I glance through these resources.

1) Everyone who has looked at the book has commented on how readable it is. The text is printed and laid out in such a way that is easy on the eyes.

2) I grew up on the LBW. Yet, for almost as long as I can remember, the LBW has been supplemented by other materials. Prayers of the day (collects) from other sources ... Hymns from supplements ... Marriage/Funeral liturgies from other sources ... Ash Wednesday/Good Friday/Easter Vigil service materials copied out of the Ministers' Desk edition ... etc, etc. One of my first thoughts on looking through ELW was "Now I can do a worship service all out of one book." A whole service, without ever having to put down the book and look in another book, bulletin, service insert. That is impressive and important to me.

3) I love having a full Psalter. I think it will add to the richness of worship and personal devotion to have the full set of Psalms readily on hand.

4) I have for years lamented not having options for service music outside of the normal settings. I did not like that if you changed one piece of the service music, you had to change it all. ELW has options ... in particular, I rejoice to have my personal favorites: the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei from Franz Schubert's Deutsche Messe. All told, in addition to the 10 settings of Holy Communion, there are over 80 additional pieces of service music.

In my perusal of ELW, I am thus far every bit as pleased as I had hoped I would be. I will have this copy available for people to look over this coming Sunday, and look forward to any feedback.

All Saints' Day

Although most churches will celebrate on Sunday, today is All Saints Day. Today is the day when we remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who are at rest with God until the Day of the Resurrection.

I have found this to be one of the most humbling and moving days of the church year. It is humbling to think of the many gifts given to us by those who have come before. It is moving to recall that those great still surround and uphold us, the great cloud of witnesses giving us strength to answer Christ's call.

This time of year also gets me thinking about heaven, the Kingdom of God, and the resurrection. In particular, the whole range of confusion that is out there about the after-life. Perhaps more on that later. For now, I will say that NT Wright has written some of the best material on that topic.

Collect for All Saints:

Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.