Pious Lutheran

Doubting Thomas , Peter Paul Rubens, 1615 Jesus Delivers His Peace through Pastors Those who took hold of the horns of the altar, where blood for them was shed,  pleaded for grace in their need. Thomas needed to take hold of the horns of the altar of Christ’s body, in order to find peace from His sins. Since we cannot take hold of Jesus’ wounds,  Jesus sent Pastors to speak in His stead and by His command, so that we may have peace. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! In the Old Testament God had made a merciful allowance for accidental murderers, allowing them to flee to God for mercy by taking hold of the horns of the bronze altar outside of the tabernacle. The bronze altar stood directly outside of the holy place, and at this altar the sacrificial animals were burned up morning and evening, along with other sacrifices during the day. On the Day of Atonement the blood of the lamb would be placed onto the horns of the altar. So those horns for Israel were...

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio, 1600 The Ministry of Peace Jesus’ work of death and resurrection give us peace, as seen in the wounds which remain in Jesus’ resurrected and glorified body. Jesus gives this peace through His pastors whom He sent to forgive sins in His place. Pastors come and go throughout life, yet the peace which different pastors give comes from the same Christ Jesus. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Have you ever been gripped with fear? The Apostles were in our reading today. “ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. ” Though, one day, not long before this, the Apostles had heard that Lazaraus had died, and that Jesus was going to go to him. It was a risky trip, since the Jews were seeking to stone Jesus. But Thomas piped up: “ Let us also go, that we may die with Him ” Then, on the night when Jesus was betrayed, Peter and all the apostles said:...

Doubting Thomas,  Caravaggio, 1571-1610 The Forgiveness of Sins Delivers from fear; Gives peace; and is Still delivered today Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! God says “ There is no peace for the wicked. ” Although they will often say “‘ Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. ” There is but One who gives us peace, namely Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who by His chastisement has brought us peace. He gives us His peace in the forgiveness of sins. In saying “ Peace be with you, ” Jesus forgave the apostles their sins. So it is with the forgiveness of sins that we are delivered from fear and given peace. Where there is forgiveness of sins there is life and salvation. But where sins are not forgiven, there is no peace, instead there is death, and thus there is fear. And so we heard: “ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. ” The apostles were filled with fear of death because they...

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas , Caravaggio, 1602 Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! This Tuesday is the 175th anniversary of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. 175 years isn’t much when compared to the 505 years since the Lutheran Reformation, or the 2000 years since Jesus began His public ministry, or the thousands of years before that when God founded His church with Adam and Eve, but 175 years is still worth remarking on today. The LCMS had humble roots here in the US, not unlike the church on that first Easter morning. Jesus began with just 12 apostles, although on Easter morning Judas had already hanged himself and Thomas was mysteriously missing, so there were just 10 at the first Easter. The apostles were hiding inside for fear of the Jews, afterall if their master was crucified, then certainly they were next. But from those few men the church spread across the face of the earth! Likewise, the LCMS was founded April 26, 1847, by just 14 small congregat...

"The Incredulity of Saint Thomas" - Caravagio, 1601   Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Last Sunday we celebrated Easter, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Having risen from the dead, Christ made it abundantly obvious that He has overcome the world, namely He’s overcome the devil, sin, and death. Since Jesus, who is our brother, has overcome the world, we too overcome the world with Him. “ For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ” What does it mean to overcome the world? It means to resist wicked passions and desires. “ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ” We must overcome the world, because the world and its desires are passing away, and if we belong to the world then we too will pass away. So St. John says “ Do not love the world or the th...

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! It’s fascinating, the artwork depicting Christ, at least up until recent decades, predominantly depicted Christ as One who suffered. For example, the most common image of our Lord is that of Him hanging crucified on a cross. Another common image of Jesus, present in many sanctuaries as the altar piece, is that of Christ with His arms outstretched and His palms opened to reveal the holes in His hands.  That particular image is described in our Gospel lesson just read: “ Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ” The sight of Christ’s wounds caused the disciples to be glad. Indeed, the wounds of Christ cause all believers to rejoice. It’s not that seeing Christ on a cross gives us some sick sort of morbid satisfaction, like watching a gory horror film. It’s not that we’re ob...