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February 2008 Newsletter Contents [Newsletter Archive] |
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| Pastor's Article | Vicar's Article |
| Christian Education | Parish Notes |
| Portals of Prayer |
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February 2008 Newsletter Contents [Newsletter Archive] |
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| Pastor's Article | Vicar's Article |
| Christian Education | Parish Notes |
| Portals of Prayer |
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Recently one of our members gave me the December 24 issue of U.S. News & World Report because the cover story was entitled, "A Return to Ritual." It described why many modern worshipers from all differing confessions are embracing tradition. While the article went on to point out that a return to traditional worship forms is taking place, what it means is not so clear. From this observer's place, some of the so-called return to tradition by certain groups is anything but tradition. Instead, there seems to be a hunger for ritual instead of endless innovation. Worshiping in the same way as others do has a certain attractiveness to it. Call it continuity.
Ritual can be defined as an established pattern of observing something. This carries a negative connotation for most people, like having a bad habit. After all, we seem to place more value on spontaneity. But there are good habits, like brushing one's teeth, bathing, eating properly, and so forth. Nobody would suggest that we be more spontaneous when it comes to bathing! Perhaps ritual is best described as a system of set procedures and actions of a group. Ritual becomes a common language of people who share the same things. Families have rituals, too. Thanksgiving dinner has as much ritual attached to it as any meal we have during the whole year. Certain foods are prescribed! Family traditions may differ depending on cultural background and taste, but probably most American families have turkey. It may be roasted or deep fried or smoked, but turkey seems to be the All-American choice for that occasion. In our family certain dishes must be prepared or there are complaints such as, "We always have that! It's just not Thanksgiving without cranberry wine sherbet!"
When it comes to how the family of God does things associated with the Divine Service, it is important that we all "speak the same language." Ritual is our common language. It is the language of our words and actions. The other evening at one of our congregational board meetings I read the Scripture as prescribed in Evening Prayer on the prayer cards. After the reading I said, "This is the Word of the Lord," and all responded, "Thanks be to God." What struck me was that neither the "This is the Word of the Lord" nor the "Thanks be to God" were printed on the card. The response simply came forth as part of our common ritual language that we have in the Divine Service.
The Lenten season has a ritual to it because it is a penitential season, that is, a season of the liturgical year when the people of God examine their hearts and lives in light of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is to say, we take stock of ourselves and why it was necessary for our Lord Jesus to suffer and die on our behalf. We do that with ritual, namely, with the six weeks of Lent. What happens in the Lenten ritual is different than what happens after The Resurrection of Our Lord. They have different emphases.
Lent begins with very solemn actions on Ash Wednesday. As the name of the day suggests, ashes become an integral part of our common ritual. We gather in penitence and show that penitence not only by the words that we speak but also by the way we use our bodies. We assume positions of humility and repentance. We bow and kneel at the appropriate times. We kneel when we receive the ashes on our foreheads. We make the sign of the holy cross. We speak softly and humbly when we confess and pray.
All of these things help convey the proper attitude of the season, but the Lenten season continues for six weeks. During the following weeks of Lent we gather for special services during the midweek, on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM, to hear the Word of God speak to us in this penitential season and to pray the prayer offices of the Church. It is not merely about feeling guilty but even more, to hear what Christ has done for us so that we may improve our sinful lives. All of this is done with a view toward the proper celebration of The Resurrection of Our Lord, and of course, that such improvement in our faith and life will continue beyond the Easter feast.
Ritual takes discipline. Perhaps that is why some people disdain ritual-because it is too disciplined. Doing what feels good doesn't require much discipline, but discipline is good, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us,
"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:7-11, ESV)So Lent is about Godly discipline. Our Lenten ritual helps bring this about.
Our Lenten ritual reaches a climax with the Triduum, the "three days" of Holy Week: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday [the Great Vigil of Easter]. During this time our ritual becomes very regular, very determined, very focused. Very few words of man are used during these days so that we hear again only the words of God himself. We go back to the earliest days of the Church with the use of these ancient rites. We do it the way the people of God have been doing it for 2,000 years. It gives us continuity, much as our Thanksgiving celebrations do year after year. For some, these ancient traditions will seem new because they have never been part of them before, but the more one uses them the more familiar they become, the more they become part of our common ritual. A goodly number of your have remarked that The Great Vigil of Easter is your favorite liturgy of the entire Church Year. It certainly makes a good candidate because it encompasses the Word of God, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion all in a sweep of history that goes back to the very dawn of Creation. The only words of man, really, are those words of the homily, a very short sermon, during the Service of the Word. If there were not a homily I doubt that most would even miss it! [No snide comments allowed here!!!] The whole ritual seems complete in and of itself. What a blessing it would be if more of you took part in this marvelous traditional ritual for the climax of Holy Week!
I have been trying to point you to the benefits of our Lenten rituals, from the beginnings on Ash Wednesday to the midweek prayer offices to the Triduum of Holy Week. I hope that you will understand the value of your participation in these Lenten rituals and that you will adjust your schedules accordingly, sacrificing your usual worldly rituals for those which have eternal value. But that will take discipline and resolve, will it not?
May God the Holy Spirit give you that resolve and discipline so that you will have a truly blessed Lenten season!
Pastor Meyer
JOSEPH
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:18-19)
Have you ever been thrust into a spotlight that you neither expected nor desired? What if your sudden fame came with infamy and great danger? It's kind of like winning the jackpot in the lottery. Everyone thinks that they'll be happy with all of that money, but what usually happens? Fear and isolation seize these unlucky few until they wished they had never received their desire in the first place. How does that apply to Joseph? A lottery winner usually has to have the desire to attain what they win. After all, they can't win without first buying a ticket. Joseph, however, doesn't buy a ticket. He doesn't get millions of dollars either. But he is thrust into the spotlight, only to find himself an enemy of the state and a fugitive from the law.
You know Joseph better as the father of Jesus, who is the Christ. But he isn't really Jesus' father, is he? He doesn't have sexual relations with the Virgin Mary prior to the birth of Jesus, so he's more of a step-father. How often does a step-father invest himself in the child of his wife so completely as to risk his own life, reputation, and well-being?
Thanks to the genealogy at the beginning of the New Testament (in Matthew) we can see that Joseph is an ordinary carpenter with an extraordinary bloodline. His living is a simple one, just enough to support him and his family with no extravagances. However, he descends from such figures as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rahab, Ruth, King David, and King Solomon. Joseph had to come from such a lineage, for it was prophesied that Jesus Christ would descend from kings (Isaiah 9:6-7). But what was it like to be the father of Jesus?
Joseph was pledged to be wed to Mary, who would be the eventual mother of Jesus. We can see this union as sort of a modern day engagement, but even more serious. When Mary turned up pregnant with Jesus, which wasn't due to relations with Joseph, she would have been accused of a heinous crime against her husband. The Bible is very clear about the fact that they weren't having any kind of sexual relations before Mary got pregnant, which is vital to the rest of the story. Jesus was prophesied to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and nothing else would have sufficed. So how do Mary and Joseph pull this off without looking like scoundrels? It seems as if there was only one solution for this apparent infidelity: Joseph would disassociate himself from Mary and she would become an outcast to her people.
According to Levitical law (Leviticus 18:29-30), anyone who engaged in unlawful sexual relations (anything outside of marriage) was to be separated from the people, no longer fit to be in the community. That person would have to wonder to another village to be taken in, and it was quite likely that they would die in their abandonment. However, "Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:19). Joseph, even before knowing that Mary's pregnancy was legitimate, decides not to make her any more miserable than necessary. They never would get that divorce.
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins'" (Matthew 1:20-21). Joseph must take this divine message and commit himself to this child, for something far greater than himself has transpired without his knowledge. Jesus, which literally means 'the Lord saves,' is under Joseph's care when He starts His ministry some thirty years later.
To Joseph's credit, he doesn't dismiss the dream, but takes action. "Then Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus" (Matthew 1:24-25). For the rest of Jesus' life, everyone He met would associate Him with this ordinary carpenter from Bethlehem, but not in a positive way (Matthew 13:53-57). Many would doubt that Jesus could really be God, because they assumed He was the son of Joseph. This was how it must be, for how can anyone have real faith in something he can see with his own eyes? Joseph was the brilliant camouflage that kept people from seeing the Divinity in Jesus, forcing them to have faith in His message of salvation and His numerous miracles. But Joseph wasn't out of the fire yet.
Jesus was being hailed as the Messiah, or Savior, from His very birth. This upset and worried the current ruler, Herod, so much that he plotted to have this child killed before He could become a threat to the throne. How could Herod do this? Well, he was the kind of guy who would kill his own family to be ruler, so why not this obscure child of a carpenter? Bethlehem became a hotspot for Herod's troops, forcing Joseph and Mary to flee to another area or risk the death of Jesus and perhaps even lose their own lives!
"An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him'" (Matthew 2:13). Now they have to leave their home and everything they have behind and hide out in Egypt, which was a foreign area. "So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod" (Matthew 2:14-15a). Joseph doesn't hesitate to act, but jumps right up, gets everything together, and takes off like he was told. This wasn't some weekend trip at the Holiday Inn, either. They had to stay in Egypt until Herod died so that Jesus wouldn't be killed. We're talking about a period of maybe six months to a year. It's a good thing they fled, because Herod, in his anger, killed all the male infants that were about Jesus' age in Bethlehem and the surrounding area, a tragic event that would later be known as the slaughter of the holy innocents.
Joseph receives one more dream on behalf of his son. This one tells him to come home after the death of Herod. On their way to Bethlehem, however, the Angel gave them some impromptu warnings against returning. Archelaus was now ruling, and he wasn't much better than his father. "Having been warned in a dream, he (Joseph and his family) withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: 'He will be called a Nazarene'" (Matthew 2:22-23). Jesus, until the time of His eventual death on the cross, will be referred to as Jesus of Nazareth.
What kind of impression do we leave on our children? Jesus probably wasn't a very hard child to bear; He never sinned in His entire life on earth. The pressure, however, of raising the future Savior of the world would have been immense. So great was the task that Mary has been wrongly heralded by the Roman Catholic Church as more than a mortal, even sinless. No one has ever claimed that Joseph was without sin. He also plays a very limited role in the account of Jesus' life from the Gospels. We get the sense that he realized and embraced his role as a step-father. There is no doubt that he was involved in his Son's life, however. Jesus Himself became a carpenter, a tribute to the work of his earthly father figure.
Joseph and others like him are some of the greatest heroes of the Bible: the quiet and ordinary support characters that do their duty and live upright lives in order that those around them would be capable of extraordinary things. God works through them every bit as much as those who get books of the Bible devoted to them. Joseph will always be known for his role in the upbringing of Jesus, but he is a man worthy of closer inspection. This carpenter made sure that God's will was done on earth through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus' ultimate work on the cross and in His ministry can be attributed, in part, to the love and mercy that Joseph showed, the love that was a reflection of a greater love, the love of God.
Vicar Heath Trampe
[Apology XXIV.3-5]
The purpose of observing ceremonies is that men may learn the Scriptures and that those who have been touched by the Word may receive faith and fear and so may also pray. Therefore we keep Latin for the sake of those who study and understand it, and we insert German hymns to give the common people something to learn that will arouse their faith and fear. 4 This has always been the custom in the churches. Though German hymns have varied in frequency, yet almost everywhere the people sang in their own language. 5 No one has ever written or suggested that men benefit from hearing lessons they do not understand, or from ceremonies that do not teach or admonish, simply ex opere operato, by the mere doing or observing. Out with such pharisaic ideas!
1Theodore G. Tappert, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 250 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2000, c1959).
LIBRARY NEWS
The library has several cassette tapes that have recently been transferred to CDs and MP3s for updated listening, thanks to Ted Czanderna.
They include:
The first two titles from the Gemeinde Seminars held here at Immanuel years ago.
The Keys to Renewal in the Church by Rev. Dr. Kenneth Korby.
Making Sense of American Religion by Rev. Prof. Lawrence R. Rast, Jr.
Great Hymns from "The Lutheran Hour"
Living with Hope by Dr. Dale Meyer
Take Heart in Your Grief by Dr. Oswald Hoffman
One Winter's Night- This accompanies a children's book of the same name. All others listed above are located on the A.V. shelf close to the window.
NEW IN THE LIBRARY
"Women Pastors? The Ordination of Women in Biblical Lutheran Perspective" is the title of a new book recently published by Concordia Publishing House. It consists of a collection of twenty-one essays by various authors from Europe, Australia, and the United States discussing the question from the traditional four theological disciplines: Exegetical, Historical, Systematic, and Pastoral. While much of the work is scholarly, we think that a discerning reader will gain much from the discussion. This question continues to be a divisive issue in Christendom.
Thanks to all who have returned books on time.
Dorothy Senff
03 February Transfiguration, 10:30 AM Divine Service 06 February Ash Wednesday, 7:00 PM Divine Service 10 February First Sunday in Lent, 10:30 AM Divine Service 13 February Midweek Lenten Vespers, 7:00 PM Office of Vespers 17 February Second Sunday in Lent, 10:30 AM Divine Service 20 February Midweek Lenten Vespers, 7:00 PM Office of Vespers 24 February Third Sunday in Lent, 10:30 AM Divine Service 27 February Midweek Lenten Vespers, 7:00 PM Office of Vespers |
BOARD OF OUTREACH, ASSIMILATION & FELLOWSHIP
At the start of this new year I'd like to thank the members of the OAF board for all their hard work and new ideas.
OAF is responsible for many things this year because of our 150th anniversary. We could use as many new ideas and helping hands as we can get. Please consider volunteering to serve on this board. We always get a lot of help at the various functions but we could use more this year. It doesn't have to be a full time commitment, just an acknowledgement you'd be willing to help. Just let a board member know. This sesquicentennial year is very important for our congregation. Not many churches have these. There are a lot of exciting things planned. I look forward to seeing everyone work together to make this easy.
Respectfully,
Brad Cress, Deacon OAF Board
UPCOMING FELLOWSHIP ACTIVITIES
Ash Wednesday- February 6, refreshments served following Divine Service
Midweek Dinners served 5:30-6:30
Dates Feb. 13, 20, 27 Mar. 5, 12
Volunteers are needed to host these meals. Hosting simply means to plan that night's menu and ask people to bring food and serve. You don't have to do it by yourself. Please contact one of the board members if you are interested.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Sunday School attendance is still low. Our Pastor, Vicar and the volunteer teachers work very hard each week in the preparation of Sunday School lessons. Let's come to Sunday School and give them the support they deserve.
Frances Cook is busy planning a display of the preschool materials and inventory. A silent auction will be held to dispose of these materials to the congregation. Members of the congregation have expressed an interest in some of the items. Please support this project with your volunteer help and auction participation.
Vicar and Aunnee are in the planning stage for VBS. Please help if asked.
Hoi Polloi is busy even in the winter months - strudel baking and serving at the German Christmas Service, serving the college student Sunday evening dinner, caroling at Westminster and their own skating and dining.
Many overdue books have been returned - thank you!!!! We have a few more that are overdue so when you are doing your Spring house cleaning, keep your eyes open.
Our Sunday School mission project for January, February and March is called "Project Wittenberg" which is a plan to reestablish a Lutheran presence in the town of Wittenberg, Germany.
Upcoming dates
· Altar Guild dinner Feb 01
· Ash Wednesday Feb 06
· Next BofE meeting Feb 12
God's blessings
Chuck Lux, Deacon Board of Education
2008 FLOWER CALENDAR
The new flower chart for next year has been posted on the rear wall of the narthex. Cost is $16 per week. Please sign up for those Sundays you wish to donate. Any memorials must be reported to the church office the Monday before the Sunday you have chosen.
DEAR FRIENDS,
We would like to express our thanks and gratitude to our brothers and sisters in Christ at Immanuel for all the kindness you have shown to us, for your prayers, and sympathy shared, and for your continued love and support. Thank you, also, to the ladies who prepared the funeral meal for us. I can't begin to tell you how much you all mean to us, as our family in Christ. Thanks also, to Pastor Meyer and to Vicar Trampe for their visits, love and support, and especially the comfort they have shared with us through God's Word.
Thanks and glory be to God for the ministering to us through all of you. May He continue to richly bless our family at Immanuel.
With love in Christ,
Luzia, Nicholas and Kristalena Trexler
TABLE TALK
Martin Luther used to sit around the dinner table and talk for hours with his friends about all kinds of topics, some of them merely reflections on what was happening in their society. In Luther's Works, American Edition, this is called "Table Talk," from the German Tischreden, which can be translated as "after dinner talk." In that spirit we include this monthly column.
Finally, the tide may be turning in the global warming debate. A recent report given to the US Senate lists over 400 scientists who dispute global warming. They are listed as "prominent" and hail from over two dozen countries. The list of global warming skeptics is growing, not shrinking. One scientist who spoke out said that many were reluctant to speak out as skeptics because of intimidation and lack of funding for their research. It should be kept in mind that many in the so-called "green movement" are earth worshipers, that is, those who believe the ancient pagan earth/cult mysteries. Another way of saying it is that they date from a pre-biblical world view when men worshiped the sun, the stars, the moon, etc.
SMILES
Why is it that we are encouraged to eat a lot of natural foods knowing that most people die of natural causes?
The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.
One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.
A kindergarten teacher gave her class a "show and tell" assignment. Each student was instructed to bring in an object to share with the class that represented his religion.
The first student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Levi and I am Jewish and this is a Star of David."
The second student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Mary. I'm Roman Catholic and this is a Rosary."
The third student got in up front of the class and said, "My name is Tommy. I am Lutheran, and this is a casserole."