Pious Lutheran

Christ Enthroned , Emmanuel Tzanes, 1664 King Jesus Nourishes His Church Jesus’ ascension marks His enthronement as King His church lives in the wilderness of this world King Jesus rules with a rod of Iron, His Holy Word, in order to nourish us “ So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down. ” Sounds pretty lame, huh! Here Jesus dies and rises again, conquers sin, death, and hell, and what does He do next? He sits down. It sounds terribly anticlimactic, kind of like the creation account. God creates all things, from nothing and chaos to a perfectly ordered universe teeming with life, and then on the 7th day God rested. But of course God didn’t just give up on the 7th day and take a nap, but He thenceforth continued to uphold and preserve the universe. Likewise, Jesus ascending to heaven and sitting down does not at all mean He’s just kicking back in His Lay-Z-Boy, throwing back a couple beers and lazily smoking His pipe. Instead, Jesus’ asc...

The Christian Martyr's Last Prayer , Jean-Leon Gerome, 1883 True Christian Joy The Sorrows of life Worldly Joy Godly Joy Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! “ Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. ” You will be sorrowful, Jesus says. There are some people who really embrace that, and go so far as to enjoy being upset and angry. We live in an outrage culture, where every issue that arises causes us anger, and our first and only response is to be outraged! Instead of thinking clearly about the issues, or trying to have a balanced and level headed approach to problems, calmly and rationally managing crises, we blow up and become enraged. Or, if we’re not outraged, we’re also prone simply to sorrow and grumbling, wallowing in our problems, saying: Woe is me! Perhaps we have valid reasons to be upset; we really are treated unjustly, or have been injured, or our lot...

The Good Shepherd , Imperial Palace of Constantinople Mosaic, 5th-6th Century  The Good Shepherd’s Voice Significance of shepherds throughout history and today Shepherds lead and defend the sheep Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leads us with His voice and defends us with His life Pastors are shepherds Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Jesus said: “ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ” This follows what Jesus said earlier: “ I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. ” Jesus is the Good Shepherd. I would guess that this imagery of Jesus as a shepherd is one of the most popular images of our Lord. It’s one of the oldest existing depictions of Christ. It’s a very common painting to have as an altarpiece, in sanctuaries, or simply hung on the walls of our homes. The psalm most commonly known by people, the 23r...