The New Issues, Etc. - A Class Act!

On March 18, 2008, bureaucrats of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod coldly canceled Issues, Etc. and fired Rev. Todd Wilken and Mr. Jeff Schwarz.

Today, June 30, 2008, Wilken, Schwarz, their advocates and their listeners have returned. "The boys are back in town"! And what a class act the first hour has been! (I write this as hour #2 - 4:00-5:00 p.m. CDT gets underway.)

What made hour #1 a "class act"? The reflections on their unexpected yet much appreciated "spring break," thanks to the powers-that-be of the LCMS. (I'm so tempted to write "LCMess," but I will refrain. :-) Not only does the label "spring break" put a most civil light on the past three months, beginning with their unexpected firing and cancellation, but it shows what folks focusing on the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do: put the best construction on things, even when those things personally hurt, even when those things show the full measure of human sin.

Schwarz referred to the pastoral counsel that he had received from Genesis 50, the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers. What an excellent note to strike in this first, back from the dust, retooling - resurrected - hour of Issues, Etc. I hope that note of forgiveness will work to warm the chilly atmosphere that surrounds the LCMS bureaucracy in their lurch away from the confessing, liturgical life of the Church.

Let no one say that Rev. Wilken and Mr. Schwarz are speaking with the flavor of sour grapes in their mouths. Let no one say that any kind of vengeance or bitterness comes through in their words. No, it's back to, well, the issues - theological, ecclesiastical, political, cultural, etc. - and the issues informed and addressed by the worldview of Jesus Christ, His Gospel, His Church, and our life in His forgiveness and salvation.

Well done, Todd and Jeff! Thanks for the lively bump music, for the notes of thanks, for reading the names from the online petition (I guess I'll have to go back and see what number I was so I know when to hear my name on the airwaves. ;-). I especially like the part about "the boys are back in town," though I will put in my plea to lose the one liner about the toilet seats being up. Not quite the picture I wanted in my mind, and the only speck of dust on the otherwise class act of hour #1. (You guys did say you're big boys! :-)

The Lord bless you and keep you.

Homily - St. Peter & St. Paul, Apostles, with Ordination of Michael Bahr

“Flesh and Blood Have Not Revealed This to You”
St. Peter & St. Paul, Apostles –
with Ordination of Rev. Michael Bahr
Matthew 16:13-19 (w/ Galatians 2:1-10)
Trinity Lutheran Church, Bluffs, IL

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Greetings, President Bueltmann and Pastor Eckman. May our gracious God continue to bless you as you serve Him in His Church. Greetings, redeemed saints at Christ, Immanuel, and Trinity congregations. May our Savior continue to comfort, strengthen, feed, and nourish you in His Gospel of sins forgiven, in your Baptism, and with His holy Supper, and may He bless you with love for your new shepherd and with his love for you. And, last but not least, greetings, soon-to-be Reverend Bahr. What a weighty thought! Can you feel the onus of the office starting to press down? May our loving Lord Jesus, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, bless you in your labors of preaching His Gospel and giving out His gifts in Baptism, Absolution, and Supper.

I am both humbled and honored to proclaim God’s message of mercy for you on this momentous day. I also marvel at the timing. An ordination is a joyous, historic event in any congregation, but especially today for the tri-parish – three congregations in one parish – of Christ, Immanuel, and Trinity. Mike, it’s certainly a joyous, life-changing event for you. After all, today you receive the mantle of the Office of the Holy Ministry, the mantle of serving at the bidding of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the mantle of loving your one flock of three congregations. And here’s the marvel. Today we celebrate this joyous event on the very same day that we remember St. Peter and St. Paul for laying down their lives for Christ and His Gospel. Could there be a message here? Yes, I think so. And a great one!

In today’s collect we acknowledged that “Peter and Paul received grace and strength to lay down their lives for the sake of [God’s] Son.” Then we prayed for God’s strength to confess His truth “and at all times [to] be ready to lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us.” That, fellow saints in Christ, is what this ordination is all about—laying down one’s life for Him who laid down His life for us. Members of Christ, Immanuel, and Trinity, that is what your pastor will do for you, and what you will do for him. Mike, you will indeed sacrifice yourself—your time and talents, your energy and efforts, your prayers and love—for your flock. No, this laying down of your lives may not take on the form of martyrdom, but it will take on the shape of sacrificing yourselves for one another in Christian love. Let’s hear what this meant for Peter and Paul, and then what it means for you, Mike, and the congregations committed to your care.

St. Peter and St. Paul were both “second-career men.” Peter first worked as a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. Then the Lord Jesus called him to follow Him and promised that he would “catch men alive” by tossing out the net of the Gospel and bringing them into the boat of Jesus’ Church. Sure, Peter had his problems, his bull-in-a-china-shop personality, his sins, and even his infamous three-fold denial. But as we hear in today’s Gospel reading, he also made the good confession. Jesus asked His twelve disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Oh, and did they know that answer for this seminary exam! “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” But then Jesus asked them, point blank: “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” You see, it’s not enough to know the scholarly answers or the answers in current discussions and publications. Jesus wants to know what His disciples truly believe and confess. So, Peter speaks for the whole group: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Well done, Peter!

Then Jesus gives the real punch line of the story: “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” No, human wisdom did not lead Peter to confess Christ. No, human insights did not serve as the foundation for Jesus’ Church then, nor do they now. Rather, Peter confesses the Truth who comes down from the Father—the Truth-in-the-flesh named Jesus, the Truth who laid down His life on a cross to restore us to life with God.

Then there was St. Paul. His first “career” was being a zealous Pharisee, so zealous that he wanted to hunt down, arrest, and even kill off every pesky little Christian he could find. But, once again, the Lord Jesus got the last word. Our Lord confronted Saul on the road to Damascus and enlisted him—ordained him—to preach the Gospel that he formerly tried to extinguish. In our Epistle reading, St. Paul tells us of his reception by the other Apostles. He “went up because of revelation and set before them the gospel that [he proclaimed] among the Gentiles.” And what Gospel was that? Hear what he says a few verses later: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

Paul confessed the same Jesus as did Peter—the Son of the living God, the Christ who saves us, who gives His life for us, and who lives His life in us. For both Peter and Paul, this one confession would consume and shape the rest of their lives. Both Peter and Paul would proclaim this one confession of Jesus the Christ, the Savior of sinners to any and all who would hear it, and even to many who would reject it. Peter and Paul would lay down their very lives for this same confession of Christ crucified and risen. As tradition has it, they both suffered martyrdom in A.D. 67—Peter by being crucified, and upside down at his own request, after all, he didn’t want to be crucified the same way His Lord did; and Paul by being beheaded, after all, he was a Roman citizen. You see, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, came into our flesh, suffered and died for us, and rose again to forgive all our sins and give us life with God. This Jesus and His message of life and mercy were not revealed by flesh and blood, but by our Father in heaven. This Jesus enabled both Peter and Paul to devote their lives to proclaiming the Gospel and to lay down their lives in confessing the Faith.

Mike, this is the very confession and message of Christ for which you lay down your life, figuratively speaking, here today. You see, flesh and blood have not put you here at the tri-parish of Christ, Immanuel, and Trinity, but your Father who is in heaven, and your Savior who laid down His life for you. Very shortly, you will stand before God and His redeemed people and make some solemn promises. Before you make your ordination vows, pay special attention to these words of introduction: “God gathers His Church by and around His Holy Gospel and thereby also grants it growth and increase according to His good pleasure” (LSB Agenda, 165). God Himself gathers you and His people around the confession of Christ, the Son of the living God. That’s the foundation of His Church—not your brilliant personality, not your diligent sermon preparation, not your wowing Bible class presentations, but the confession of Christ crucified and risen for us sinners. God Himself grants growth to His Church—not by means of well-crafted mission statements, not by strategies modeled after the business world, not even by ginning up some blazing zeal to get people excited about missions. No, God grants growth to His Church at His good pleasure and on the foundation of Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living God. Proclaim Him, confess Him, teach Him, comfort your people with Him and His forgiving mercy, and you will do what your Lord sets you apart to do here today.

Redeemed saints of Christ, Immanuel, and Trinity, I urge you to remember one thing from today. Flesh and blood did not put Pastor Bahr here among you, but your Father who is in heaven, and your Savior who laid down His life for you. Sure, you went through the proper channels of contacting your District President and requesting Vicar Bahr from the seminary, and then calling him to be your pastor. But always remember that it was your Savior who loves you who now puts Pastor Bahr here to serve and love you. After Pastor Bahr makes his solemn promises, you will be asked: “Will you, the faithful, according to the Church’s public confession, and speaking for the whole Church, receive [him] as a servant of Christ and minister of Word and Sacrament?” (LSB Agenda, 167). That applies not only to today’s joyous event of ordination, but it also applies to each and every day for as long as our Lord keeps Pastor Bahr here. No doubt there will be times when you just don’t want to listen to him, especially when he confronts you with your sins. No doubt there will be times when Pastor Bahr makes his mistakes in words and deeds. After all, we pastors are chiefs of sinners, you know. But your heavenly Father and your Savior have still put him here to love you by giving you the good confession of Christ, the Son of the living God. So, pray for him, support him and his family, listen to his Christ-centered teaching, and be comforted by the message of sins forgiven and life with God. I am confident that Pastor Bahr will feed and nourish you with the very Bread of Life who is Jesus Christ Himself.

So, today we join with St. Peter and St. Paul in laying down our lives for the Truth who is the Son of the living God, the Truth who is Christ who loves us and gave Himself for us. After the Ordination Rite, our Lord will again come to us in His Body and Blood, the same Body and Blood that was broken and shed on the cross, the same Body and Blood that sustained Peter and Paul to lay down their lives in martyrdom. May this Body and Blood forgive us and give us the life of Christ here and now. May this Body and Blood strengthen us to lay down our lives to confess Jesus Christ in our day. May this Body and Blood strengthen you, Pastor Bahr, and you, dear saints at Christ, Immanuel, and Trinity in the forgiveness and life of Jesus. May this Body and Blood of our crucified and risen Savior be the focal point and the beating heart of your life together for many years to come. After all, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Amen.

St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles

From today's "Weekly News" page of our bulletin at Hope Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO:

Today, June 29, we observe the minor festival of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles. The observance of this day began early in the 300s, and this day is probably the most ancient of all of the Apostles’ days. One tradition says that St. Peter and St. Paul both suffered martyrdom on the same day, June 29, in A.D. 67, but other sources give February 22, in A.D. 68, as the date of their martyrdom. It is more likely that June 29 marks the day when the bodies of both St. Peter and St. Paul were removed to the catacombs in the year 258 and that this date became the date for the feast. Since both Apostles were martyred for the faith, the color for today is red.

As we celebrate the day of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles, we get to hear excellent Bible readings that we do not often hear in the course of the Church Year. Acts 15 tells us of the first great Church council in Jerusalem, which St. Peter and St. Paul both attended and advised. The council had to decide if Gentile converts to Christianity should be circumcised before being welcomed into the Church. The council rightly decided that even Gentiles become Christians by God’s grace. In Galatians 2 St. Paul tells us about his welcome by the other Apostles. In Matthew 16 St. Peter makes the good confession of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living
God,” the confession on which the Church is built and stands to this day.

Of course, we thank God for giving St. Peter and St. Paul as Apostles who proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Peter was considered the “Apostle to the Jews,” and Paul was considered the “Apostle to the Gentiles.” The Apology of the Augsburg Confession (XXI:4-6) says this about honoring saints such as Peter and Paul: “Our Confession approves honoring the saints in three ways. The first is thanksgiving. We should thank God because He has shown examples of mercy, because He wishes to save people, and because He has given teachers and other gifts to the Church…. The second service is the strengthening of our faith…. The third honor is the imitation, first of faith, then of other virtues. Everyone should imitate the saints according to his calling.”

Collect of the Day
Merciful and eternal God, Your holy Apostles Peter and Paul received grace and strength to lay down their lives for the sake of Your Son. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that we may confess Your truth and at all times be ready to lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us, even Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse
We praise You for Saint Peter;
We praise You for Saint Paul;
They taught both Jew and Gentile
That Christ is all in all.
To cross and sword they yielded
And saw Your kingdom come;
O God, these two apostles
Reached life through martyrdom. (LSB 518:19)

IE minus 2 days

Less than two days until the new incarnation of Issues, Etc. hits the airwaves on Internet and radio. Check out the new website - www.issuesetc.org - for all the details.

Homily - Trinity 5 Midweek

Confessing Christ Before Men
Trinity 5 Midweek (A-Proper 7)
Matthew 10:5a, 21-33

Let’s begin tonight with a little story. According to Snopes.com, it’s only an urban legend, but it still serves as a good parable to go with our Gospel reading.

The story is told of a university philosophy professor who was a deeply committed atheist. For one required philosophy class this professor would spend the entire semester trying to prove that God could not exist. He used impeccable logic, and so all the students were afraid to argue with him. In the twenty years that he taught this introductory class, no one really had the courage to challenge him. Sure, now and again students would debate him in class on this point or that, but none really challenged him or questioned his presuppositions. After all, this professor had a reputation.

On the last day of every semester the professor would tell his students: “If there is anyone who still believes in Jesus, stand up.” In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. Everyone knew what he would do next. He would say, “Because anyone who believes in God is a fool. If God did exist,” the professor would say, “He could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that He is God, and He can’t do it.” Every year the professor would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom, and it would shatter into pieces. The students would only stare in silence.

Most students were convinced that God could not exist. Sure, some Christians undoubtedly slipped through, but for 20 years no one had mustered the courage to stand up.

Then, as the story goes, one year, one devout Christian freshman enrolled in the class. He had heard the stories about this professor. For the whole semester he prayed for courage to stand up at the end of class and truly challenge the professor. Finally, the day came. The professor gave his end-of-semester challenge to stand up. So this freshman stood up in the back of the class. The professor and the rest of the class were quite surprised.

The professor shouted, “You FOOL! If God truly existed, He could stop this chalk from shattering into tiny bits.” The professor proceeded to drop the chalk, but this time it slipped from his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As the chalk softly hit the floor, it simply rolled away, unbroken. As the story goes, the professor left the room, and the young freshman took the opportunity to talk with other students about Jesus Christ.

Yes, an urban legend; but also a good illustration for what we hear from our Lord tonight: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Our Lord Jesus sent out His Twelve Apostles to confess Him to the world. He also sends us, His Christians, to make the same confession in our day.

What do you say when someone asks you about Jesus Christ, or asks you why you’re a Christian or why you go to church? What would you say to someone who might challenge your faith in Christ by saying that He does not exist, or that God cannot possibly be good or love all people? How would you confess Jesus Christ and His forgiveness, life, and salvation if it were illegal to do so and you could be fined or imprisoned?

No doubt, the Twelve Apostles must have asked similar questions. And Jesus knew that their confession and witness would be met with resistance and rejection. Everyone from authorities to family members would reject confessing Christians and even persecute them. After all, they did it to Jesus; they would also do it to His disciples. As Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master…. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”

So, tonight we hear some comforting and encouraging words from our Lord. Basically, He says, “Confess, bear witness, and don’t be afraid of what other people say or do to you.” It was good encouragement for the Apostles then; it’s good encouragement for us now. After all, it comes from our Savior who Himself was betrayed, beaten, and crucified to forgive our sins and restore us to life with God.

Our Lord encourages and comforts us in our confession of Him in three ways. First, He says, “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.” Don’t worry if people talk about you behind your back just because you’re a practicing Christian. Let them utter their secret slanders and covert comments. Such insidious things will be exposed on the Last Day. Our task as Christians is boldly to tell what Jesus has said and done.

Second, Jesus says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Yes, death is a frightful thing. After all, it separates body and soul, and that’s not how God created us to survive and live. But as Christians, we need not worry if we are punished, or even martyred, for Christ and His life-giving Gospel. Our gracious and loving God still takes care of us. What we should rightly fear is being separated from Him, which happens only if we deny Him. Even the worst things that persecutors can do to us Christians cannot separate us from God and His love in Christ Jesus.

And the third way in which our Lord comforts and encourages us is this: “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Now, before you scratch your heads, ponder this. Jesus says that two sparrows are “sold for a penny.” The Greek term used here might be better translated as the pay for about a half hour of work. With the current minimum wage, that’s about $3.30, for two sparrows. And yet your heavenly Father takes great care for each and every little sparrow on the face of the planet. Now, don’t you think that He’ll take care of you? After all, you are much more valuable than sparrows that go for just over a buck and a half apiece. You are bought with the blood of Christ Jesus. You are cleansed with that blood in your Baptism and nourished on it in the Eucharist. Of course, your heavenly Father will care for you in time of rejection or persecution for confessing Him.

So take courage in your lifelong confession of Jesus. He gives you a most soul-strengthening promise: “Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven.” Remember that you confess Jesus Christ every time you come to His house on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings. You confess Him as you attentively hear His words proclaimed for your forgiveness and life, every time you gather around His Table to eat and drink His Body and Blood. You confess Him every time you read, pray, and sing His words together in your families. You confess Him when you faithfully and honestly do the work of your different jobs and callings in life. And, yes, you confess Him every time you are asked to give the reason for the hope that you have.

So, be bold, be courageous, and be comforted. Your Lord Jesus gives you the opportunities to confess Him before other people. And when you confess Him, He is with you and gives you the words to say. In fact, you might even want to keep in mind the words of King David in Psalm 27(:1): “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Amen.

Fatherly Wisdom-Honoring John the Baptist

Bede (The Venerable) (673-735) gives this explanation for celebrating the Nativity of John the Baptist:

Quite rightly does the universal Church, which celebrates the many triumphs by which the holy martyrs gained entry into heaven, honor also the birth of Saint John the Baptist and his alone, apart from that of our Lord. We may be certain that this custom did not arise without the support of the gospel. On the contrary, we should treasure in our hearts the fact that as an angel appeared to the shepherds when our Lord was born and said: Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day a savior, who is Christ the Lord, so also an angel told Zechariah that John would be born, adding: You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. With good reason is the birth of each celebrated with joy and devotion, but in the one case joy is proclaimed to all peoples at the birth of Christ the Lord, the Savior of the world, the Son of almighty God, the Sun of Righteousness, while in the other case it is recounted that many will rejoice at the appearance of the Lord's forerunner, his mighty servant, a blazing and radiant lamp.

John went ahead in the spirit and power of Elijah to teach the Lord's people to be perfect, baptizing them with water so that they would be able to accept Christ when he appeared. Christ came after John in the spirit and power of God the Father to make it possible for them to be perfect, baptizing them with the Holy Spirit and with fire so that they would be able to see the face of the Father (Homily II, 20; quoted in For All the Saints, vol. 4, p. 1314, emphasis original).

Nativity of John the Baptist

Today the Church celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist and gives thanks to God for His forerunner who announced the coming of the Coming One, our Lord Jesus Christ. Based on Luke 1:36, we know that John was six months older than Jesus. Thus we celebrate John's birth on this day, six months prior to Christmas. Today's feast, then, properly begins to prepare us for the coming celebration of our Lord's Incarnation and Birth--a subtle six-month Advent season, if you will.

Not only does the Church calendar begin to prepare us for our Lord's Incarnation and Birth, but the cosmos also joins in proclaiming the relationship between John and Jesus. As others have noted, the feast of John's birth comes at the beginning of summer, just after 21 June, when the amount of the day's light is at its peak. From this point on the daylight will decrease each day until the winter solstice on 21 December. However, come winter and the time when we celebrate our Lord's Nativity, the light will again begin to increase with each day. What a marvelous cosmological tool to echo John's own words: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn. 3:30). It also reminds us that our true light is not John, but Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.

Lutheran Service Book appoints Isaiah 40:1-5 as today's Old Testament reading. John, of course, fulfills the prophecy of a voice crying, "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God." It was most fitting that our Lord would send His forerunner ahead of Him to prepare people, because our Lord Jesus would bring the truly life-saving and life-giving message: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." John was given the honorable vocation of directing the people's attention to the Christ who would bring such comfort.

Acts 13:13-26 serves as the Epistle reading. While in Pisidian Antioch St. Paul is asked to proclaim "any word of exhortation for the people" and proceeds to recount how God had saved His people from Egypt, led them through the wilderness, and brought them into Canaan. He also spoke of the prophet Samuel and of kings Saul and David. As he then spoke of Jesus, St. Paul said, "Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'" St. Paul teaches us how to honor and remember John the Baptist--as one who prepared the way for the Savior by preaching a baptism of repentance.

The appointed Gospel reading is Luke 1:57-80, the Nativity of John the Baptist. Since Zechariah, John's father, could not speak (see Lk. 1:20), Elizabeth had to give the unexpected name "John." When Zechariah confirmed this name by writing on a tablet, he was able to speak. Then, led by the Holy Spirit, Zechariah sang of John's vocation and purpose in life. John would be "called the prophet of the Most High" and he would "go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins." Not only would John preach a baptism of repentance, but he would also direct the people to their God-given Savior who would forgive their sins.

Therefore, when we celebrate the Nativity of John the Baptist, we end up celebrating the things of most importance: our Lord's Incarnation and Birth and our Lord's comfort and salvation in repentance and baptism, that is, in the forgiveness of sins.

Collect of the Day
Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn Verse
We praise You for the Baptist,
Forerunner of the Word,
Our true Elijah, making
A highway for the Lord.
The last and greatest prophet,
He saw the dawning ray
Of light that grows in splendor
Until the perfect day. (LSB 518:18)

Fatherly Wisdom-Where Christians Live

Another pearl Bishop Bo Giertz:

As Christians we live in the kingdom of forgiveness, where retaliation and the common order of justice no longer apply. Living as followers of Jesus often means being strangers in the world, something people find absurd, provocative, unrealistic, or ridiculous. At the same time we bear witness to Christ and open the eyes of those who are "of the truth" ("Tuesday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity," To Live with Christ, p. 456).

Fatherly Wisdom-Babes in Christ

This gem comes from Bo Giertz (1905-1998), a former Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Sweden, and is a portion of his meditation written for the Monday after Fifth Sunday after Trinity based on 1 Corinthians 3:1-23.

From the beginning a Christian can be a babe in Christ. Babies need milk. They can't handle solid food. that's also the way it can be with those whoa re babes in Christ. They don't understanding the deepest wisdoms in the Gospel. For example, people who have become disciples and really want to be Christians may still not be in the right state of mind to understand the speech about righteousness from God It's obvious to them that in order to be children of God, they have to stop sinning and be born again. It's also obvious to them that the improvement consists of being better and doing better. Their hearts want to follow Jesus. They haven't understood, however, that there is only one possible path to salvation, namely, to accept what Jesus has done for them, despite everything. They can understand it from a purely theological perspective, but they haven't understood it in their hearts. Giving them such milk to drink could mean allowing them to take in as much as they can understand. They do their best by improving themselves and living according to Jesus' admonitions. That's when they discover how inadequate they are and what Jesus really means. God is the one who works in the field and builds His Church (To Live with Christ, CPH, 2008, p. 454).

Issues, Etc. Comment Line Now Open

From Mollie over at Augsburg 1530:

The new Issues, Etc. Listener Comment Line is now open.

The number is (618)223-8384.

Listeners can call and leave any comment –positive, negative, good, bad, ugly, it’s all welcome.

Even though the show doesn’t air until June 30, people can still call. They’ll be using some of the comments on the air after next Monday.