Pious Lutheran

The Baptism of Jesus, Paolo Veronese, 1575 What Is Baptism? Baptism is a washing with water and the word, by which we are given the name of the Triune God and our identity. Messing with the words, or not believing in the Trinity, negates baptism, because baptism relies on the word of God. Baptism is from God and God’s work, not man, because Jesus instituted it. Baptism is for all Christians, including infants. Baptism is connected to teaching, since baptism and teaching go together. Who are you? How do you identify? Identity politics plays a large role in the world today, and tends to take center stage in our social environments. But your identity as a Christian is already determined for you through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. So what a blessing it will be this Lententide to spend some time pondering God’s gift of baptism and what this means for us. Today we’re looking at the first part of baptism, so open up your small catechisms to the part on Baptism. If you’re using the hymnal i...

The Temptation of Christ, Titian, 1525 ( This painting presents one of the temptations, when Jesus is being offered a stone by a young demon in order that He might turn it into a loaf of bread. Titian's representation of the devil as a young boy helps to emphasize that the devil's temptations are often sly and appear innocent at first glance.) The Devil’s Sly Temptations The Devil’s temptations appear innocent Jesus is the Scapegoat, who bears all our sins in the wilderness Angels minister to us amidst our weaknesses News that the Devil and his demonic minions are at work in our world among us is entirely unsurprising. Of course we see that the devil is actively promoting unrest and violence in our communities, seeking to murder the unborn and the elderly, driving people to murder themselves, giving easy access to lewd materials, breaking apart marriages, sexually confusing especially the young, and leading countless Christians to renounce the faith. But one of the things the t...

The Crucifixion from Isenheim Altarpiece,  Matthias Grunewald, 1516 Blessed contemplation on the Crucifixion We do not understand the cross as we should The cross is seen most clearly through suffering Don’t be silenced and pushed away from the cross, but draw near to contemplate the death of Christ for you “ See… the Son of Man.. will be delivered over to the Gentiles… But they understood none of these things. ” I suppose we often think of ourselves as knowing and understanding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus completely. Afterall, little children know to sing: “Jesus loves me, He who died, heaven’s gate to open wide, He has washed away my sin, lets His little child come in.” Even little kids know that Jesus died to forgive our sins, and because He rose we will rise with Him. But because we think it’s so simple, so easy, we often just leave it there and quickly grow tired of thinking of Jesus' death. But it’s more than just growing tired of the crucifixion, it’s that we d...

The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard , Rembrandt van Rijn, 1637 The Joy of Laboring in the Vineyard God receives us into the vineyard by Grace and the aim to be in the vineyard as part of God’s family, not just to receive payment The Kingdom of God is like unto a vineyard, a place of feasting and joy Living in the Kingdom is one of much labor, but because it’s labor in the vineyard it is always pleasant work I suspect that the parable of the laborers in the vineyard is many people’s most frustrating parable, because it’s just so unfair. Many people experience this today with inflation such that new hires often make nearly the same as a long-time employee with loads of experience. Today’s parable presents us with day-laborers, some of whom began work at the crack of dawn and bore the burden of the day and the scorching heat, and others who showed up at the final hour and hardly did any work. Yet, each of them received a denarius. So the longest working laborers point out the unfa...