Pious Lutheran

The Transfiguration of Christ,  Peter Paul Rubens, 1605 “Listening to Jesus.” God speaks from Mt. Sinai and Mt. Calvary God speaks from the scriptures We listen to Jesus only Why are you a Christian? More specifically, why are you a Lutheran? More specifically yet, why do you belong to this congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod? Membership in a congregation assumes that you share the beliefs of that congregation and the larger church body to which that congregation belongs. So when we belong to a church we should be sure that we believe what that church teaches, and we should be sure that we believe what the pastor teaches. But this raises some questions: How do we know what we should believe? How do we evaluate whether a church or a pastor is right or wrong? Different church bodies believe different things, so who is correct? God the Father answers this question for us: “ behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved ...

Dear children and grandchildren of Jean, family and friends: God’s peace be with you. St. Paul wrote: “ For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ” Jean was baptized into Christ, His name and righteousness were given to her, and therefore she shall be made alive in Christ. This is God’s promise to Christians, so that even in death we have hope and look forward to the resurrection of the dead.  Jean is indeed one of God’s dearly beloved children. During her earthly life she was a faithful sister of Christ here in our congregation, regularly in church in order to hear God’s Word and receive the life-giving body and blood of Jesus into her own flesh. The last few years, when she could no longer make it to services, she gladly received me into her home so that I could deliver God’s gifts to her. Outside of her attendance at church she served her neighbor by working at the hospital. Her humble service in which she laundered clothes and cleaned rooms for the ill ...

  Christ and the Centurion,  Paolo Veronese, 1571                                    Faith in Jesus Faith is humble Faith is confident Faith looks forward to eternity Imagine if the interactions between Jesus and the leper and the centurion  took a different turn, maybe something more similar to our experiences. The leper prays at Jesus’ feet, “ Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. ” But what if Jesus responds, “I don’t will it; be strong in your faith, endure this illness, and I will bring you to heaven with me soon.” We wouldn’t expect Jesus to answer that way in the Bible, yet He answers us that way all the time in our lives. That’s okay, because our faith isn’t in miraculous healings, rather our faith is in Jesus. So like we learn in our readings our faith is to be humble, submitting to the will of Jesus. Our faith is to be confident, trusting that Jesus’ will...

Marriage at Cana,  Jan Steen, 1676 Jesus’ glory is to purify His creation. Jesus reveals His glory through His miracles Water for purification is replaced with Jesus’ blood for purification Jesus purifies His creation; in particular: marriage Moses implored the Lord: “ Please show me your glory. ” Over a thousand years later God does exactly that: “ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. ” This is what we celebrate during this season of Epiphany: Jesus’ glory is “epiphanied,” revealed and made manifest. At the wedding at Cana we learn that Jesus’ glory is to purify His creation. In turning the water into wine we learn that Jesus reveals His glory through His miracles. Moreover, in this particular miracle the water for purification is replaced with Jesus’ blood for purification. Thus Jesus purifies His creation, today He starts with the foundational institution among us: marriage. Back on Christmas Day we learned what’s meant by God’s g...

The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple,  William Holman Hunt, 1854/1855 Founding the family on faith. The family is under assault. The most important element for a successful family is faith. Parents must raise their children to be faithful Christians. Living faithfully is worth it, even if it’s more difficult. “ His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. ” I suppose that sounds a bit quaint and uninteresting today. The whole story of Jesus getting left behind in Jerusalem seems a little unimportant, given the whole scope of the scriptures and all. Yet, in the decades between Jesus as an infant and Jesus at 30 years old, this is the only story recorded in the Bible. While at first glance this lesson may seem a bit unimportant, it does indeed teach a very important lesson. It teaches us about the significance of founding the family on faith. Afterall, the family has been under assault f...

The Glorification of the Name of Jesus , Antoon Sallaert, circa 1630 Baptism is the greater circumcision Circumcision was the seal of God’s covenant promise. Baptism is the new and greater seal of God’s promise in Christ. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  The first day of a new year has already arrived. The joys of 2022 are in the past, and so are all of those sorrows. Some of our congregation has been called to the nearer presence of our Lord over this past year. Over the course of this year, some of us also may depart this life to be with our Lord. It’s fitting therefore that we wouldn’t spend our days in sinful revelry, but rather use these days wisely so as to prepare to receive the inheritance of God’s kingdom.  We have much to contend with in this life which would block us from that reward: satan, temptations, and our own sinful flesh, so let us fight the good fight of faith this year. Many make resolutions which fail right off the bat. But let us, my brothers and sis...