Wisdom from Luther on Marriage and Celibacy

Pastor Stuckwisch posted a very helpful quotation from Martin Luther on celibacy and marriage, and it may be of some encouragement to students.

 You may find it here in full length, or read the first few paragraphs below:

Dear boy, do not be at all ashamed that you desire a girl, or that a girl longs for a boy, but see to it that it leads to marriage, and not to fornication. Then there is nothing disgraceful about it — as little as eating and drinking is a disgrace. Celibacy is supposed to be a virtue, but it is a veritable miracle of God, just as if a person did not eat or drink. It is beyond the capacity of a healthy body, not to mention the incapability of sinful and depraved human nature.
There are not many virgins to whom God granted a long life; rather hurriedly He whisked them out of this world, like Cecilia, Agnes, Lucia, Agatha, and others like them.
I know full well how noble that treasure is, but also how difficult it is to preserve for any length of time. If in every town, there were five boys and five girls, all twenty years of age, completely pure, with no experience of natural discharge, then I would be right in saying that the state of Christianity was better than in the days of the Apostles and martyrs.

Source: Luther's Works (American Edition) v52, p273.

From the 'You get out of it what you put into it' files...

Thanks to Adriane Dorr for this quotation...

Why are you in college?  The rationale behind the quotation targets the underlying desire society has for the bachelor's degree, and puts in perspective two radically different ways of thinking about the things we believe we should have.

The rationale behind sharing this with you is not to make you wonder whether you belong in college or whether you should have your piece of the American dream via home-ownership, but rather to have you consider your own way of thinking about college, especially if you are a student right now or considering becoming one soon.

Before you go to college, know and be comfortable with your reasons for being there.  For the driven student who excels in self-discipline and determination, college is a great place to acquire the knowledge, experience, and connections that can leapfrog you into your future career.  For the lackadaisical student, however, it may not be for you right now.  There is no shame in seeking employment and saving for the future straight out of high school; there is no shame in taking responsibility for yourself and looking after your own obligations.  Such experience may well be the best incentive there is to go to college, apply yourself, and get a better job when you're done!

Have you ever been tempted...

Not a lot of traffic on the old blog this year...it's been a busy semester, but nothing like a time of stopping and starting again to get back on the wagon!

I'd like to begin by drawing your attention to a posting very relevant to the material I typically cover here.  This one has to do with academic honesty, and the simple advice I would echo is this: be honest!

People can cheat their way throughout so much of life - not just school - but in the end we all know the empty feeling that accompanies success at the expense of integrity.  Do your best, and do what is right!

Read more.

Welcome Back Sunday Sermon: Pentecost Proper 16A

Who am I?

Matthew 16:13-20

10th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16A), 2011

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen. The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day comes from the Gospel of St. Matthew, which you just heard read.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, life is full of questions and answers. Some are of minor significance. Did you take out the garbage? What time is it? Where’d I leave my car keys? Others are repetitive. Did you do your homework? What are you going to be when you grow up? What are you going to major in at school? Then there are the big, once in a lifetime questions. Is this the year the (Detroit) Lions make the playoffs? Will you accept this job? Will you move halfway around the world to work for us? Will you marry me?

And then you have the questions posed by Jesus to his disciples in the Gospel. ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Who do you say that I am?’ These are not questions you ordinarily hear. Even though most are very interested in what others think of them, hardly any would actually go so far as asking such a question. Hearing the answer could be an unpleasant or deflating experience. Yet Jesus persistently asks what people are saying about who he is. And it isn’t as if he doesn’t already know, or hasn’t been revealing it ever since his Baptism in the Jordan River; the question is whether the disciples have come to understand it from all that they had seen and heard.

Most of them had been there from the beginning. They heard the Sermon on the Mount; they witnessed many healings; they watched him calm the storm while at sea; and they were sent out by him to proclaim the Kingdom. They listened to the parables; they asked him questions about the parables; they distributed bread and fish to feed thousands. They also saw and heard all of the other amazing things that Jesus did and said. All of that formed the background for Jesus’ questions. ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ People’s perspectives were limited. Some had only heard the parables. Some had only seen him cast out demons. Still others had only experienced a healing. Naturally, the responses varied. Some said John the Baptist, some said Elijah, and still others thought he was Jeremiah or one of the prophets. All of these were tremendously important Biblical figures, and based on a limited exposure to Jesus’ teachings and actions, one could understand why the people would respond this way. Jesus, however, was not satisfied with those answers.

‘But who do you say that I am?’ Who do the disciples who follow me say that I am? Peter, one of the very first disciples Jesus called, and often the first to speak up, said it all. ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ You may appear to be merely a man, but you are most certainly also God. Jesus blesses Peter in response, because it was not flesh and blood that revealed that truth to him, but the Father who is in heaven.

That confession Peter made, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, would be the rock upon which Jesus’ church would be built, and not even the gates of hell could have a chance of triumphing against it. The keys of the kingdom were then given to Peter and the disciples. The keys are the responsibility to bind the sins of the unrepentant as long as they do not repent, and the responsibility to loose, that is, to forgive the sins of the repentant in Jesus’ name. It is this same responsibility that rests like a yoke on the shoulders of every pastor. Each Sunday you gather here, repenting of all sinfulness in thought, word, and deed, and each Sunday your pastors will use the loosing key, proclaiming you forgiven in Jesus’ name.

This is what make’s Peter’s confession so important – without the God-given understanding and trust that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, there is no loosing of sins. When Peter makes that confession, the floodgates of forgiveness open forth and you see that Jesus came not as a great teacher, not as a fantastic miracle worker, but as the Savior of the world who would die on the cross and rise from the dead for each and every one of you.

But Peter’s confession is not his alone – to confess actually means to same-say; to speak as one – Peter’s confession is and must also be the confession of each and every Christian of all times and of all places. This is a very important consideration for all of you, especially for those beginning the semester of classes tomorrow at Central. I pray that you will bear this closely in mind. The world, the devil, and your own sinful flesh will stop at nothing to attack and erode this confession in you. They cannot defeat Jesus or destroy his church, but they can and do wage war with those who follow him by faith, and there are few points in a lifetime that present a greater threat to this confession than the time spent in college. Minds are opening and growing, eyes are wide open, new friends, new teachers, and new ideas are all around you. Pay close attention to what you are hearing, and consider it in light of your confession.

Be aware of who you are, and be even more aware of whose you are; you belong to the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is through him alone that you have the hope of everlasting life, and that confession, given to you through baptism and strengthened in you through his body and blood, binds you to him, and him to you.

Six chapters earlier in the Gospel, while preparing the disciples to preach for the first time, Jesus illustrated the significance of confessing him. ‘Therefore whoever confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.’ Today Peter speaks the content of that confession, even as Jesus himself is preparing for its fulfillment in his death on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead.

To confess Jesus is to be confessed by him before his Father in heaven, which is an amazing biblical concept. You are saved by the faith you confess in Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Son of the living God. This flies in the face of the common misconception that Christianity, like every other religion in the world, is morally based. Christians care about morality, and our morals are most certainly formed and influenced by our faith in Christ, but moral living is not the goal or hope of Christianity. Eternal living – everlasting life with the Holy Trinity in heaven is what we hope for, and this is not something earned, but something given. Those who confess Jesus in this world are confessed by him before his Father in heaven, and receive eternal life. Even the confession is also a gift – Peter did not speak as he did from his own flesh and blood; his confession was revealed to him from the Father in heaven.

This teaching of forgiveness through Jesus’ death and of receiving eternal life is foreign to human nature, and we are prone to doubt. We will always want to turn our focus inward and look to ourselves for confirmation of that faith or to ensure that we are actually worthy of such a gift. Such doubts are baseless; but they plague us nonetheless because of sin and sinfulness. Do not give the devil room to do his evil work in your head and in your heart. Remember the great confession that you have been given, and remember how our Lord gives it and keeps you in it; you are baptized and forgiven. You hear it in preaching and the Word. You are strengthened in it as you eat and drink Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Altar. These are the means by which God wages battle against sin and unbelief, and he gives them to you every Sunday. Receive these gracious gifts and confidently live the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. To believe this, and to confess this, is to have life everlasting.

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.

30 Days of Music

Another Facebook game - take thirty days, posting one item each day for 30 in a row.  I know that I would never remember to do that, so I'm going to do that on this blog, working a bit, saving the post, and so on, until it's done.  Then I'll post it here and put it up on Facebook.  Just make sure to come back every day for 30 days. :-)

day 01 - your favorite song
Choosing one song is very difficult.  Like so many others, it changes regularly.  I suppose that my favorite song right now, the one that I keep going back to, is 'Reminiscing' by the Little River Band.  Now, to be fair, I'm talking about the band when John Farnum was singing lead, because he's one of the best male vocalists in modern memory.

day 02 - your least favorite song
You would think that after the last one, this would be easier, and it was.  I hate that song by Shaggy where he's like 'I didn't do it.'  I've never even bothered to listen to the whole song long enough to figure out what he didn't do.

day 03 - a song that makes you happy
'For Once in My Life' by Stevie Wonder.  He's simply a fantastic entertainer!

day 04 - a song that makes you sad
Garth Brooks, 'To Make You Feel My Love'.  What's sadder is that I'm no Garth Brooks fan.


day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
Finlandia

day 06 - a song that reminds of you of somewhere
'Somewhere Beyond the Sea' by Bobby Darin

day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
'Nun Danket Aller Gott' - Siegfried Karg-Elert

day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
'Lady' - Kenny Rogers.  As long as nobody asks me why I know all these words, we can still be friends, okay?

day 09 - a song that you can dance to
'That Sunday, That Summer' - Nat King Cole
 
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
Songs don't make me fall asleep - I can't sleep if I'm thinking of a song, actually.  I used to try, but always failed.  I love listening to music before bed, but have to turn it off before I hit the lights.
 
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
'Sinking Ships' - Sloan

day 12 - a song from a band you hate
Anything by REM, but especially the song about it being the end of the world as we know it.  Ugh.

day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
AC/DC - Highway to Hell.  It's my ringtone.  Yes, I like the raised eyebrows when people hear it and wonder aloud, 'is that...on your...?'  :-)

day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
I can't think of anything.  I'm pretty predictable.

day 15 - a song that describes you
'I'm a work in progress.'  I don't know who sings it, and it's a country song, but it sure describes me.  That, or 'Creep' by Radiohead, because I'm a creep.
 
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
'Hangin' Tough' by New Kids On The Block
 
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
'Old Days' - Chicago
 
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
'Old Man River' from Showboat.  Great song.
 
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
'Paranoid Android' - OK Computer (Radiohead)
 
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
Holst: The Planets (Usually Mars, sometimes Uranus and Saturn, too)

day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
Most any song will do, but to balance the above, Jupiter from the Planets.

day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
Haven't been truly sad in a while, but I have enjoyed the fourth movement of Mahler's 5th Symphony at such moments.  Also Mahler's Kindertotenlieder.
 
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
I didn't play anything at our wedding, but I was very glad to have, 'Lord when you came as welcome guest' for the sermon hymn; sung to 'Resignation' tune.  It was great!

day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
So many to choose from.  Literally, so many.  Gerhardt's Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me; For All The Saints'; Jerusalem the Golden; I Know My Faith is Founded; The Day of Resurrection; Of the Father's Love Begotten; O Come, All Ye Faithful; Come Ye Faithful Raise the Strain; Awake my Heart with Gladness; O Sacred Head Now Wounded; The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us; Dear Christians One and All Rejoice; Salvation Unto Us Has Come; etc. etc. etc. etc.
How about this - I want substantive hymns that will comfort anyone who comes.  Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, What a Friend We Have In Jesus, The Old Rugged Cross (is that hymn even about Jesus?), and Great is They Faithfulness do not have the sturdiness, the teeth, if you will, to cut through the shroud of death surrounding anyone.  Sing of life when I die; sing of Jesus' life when I die.  Don't sing about your feelings, please.
 
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite.
 
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
I think my favorite on the trombone was the Hindemith Sonata - that was a killer!  Loved it!

day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
I wish I could still play that aforementioned Hindemith!
 
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
Anything by Rod Stewart - I hear it and feel guilty of a crime against taste, sensibility, and my ears!

day 29 - a song from your childhood
'Dreamer' by Supertramp.  Also sung by my father when we wanted something unrealistic, and when it involved us being bratty, it was sung sarcastically :-)

day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year
Michael Buble, 'Everything'

Sermon for Pentecost 7 (Proper 13)

He Feeds You Forever

Matthew 14:13-21

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (A), 2011

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen. The text for our consideration comes from the Gospel of St. Matthew which was just read.

When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food." But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." He said, "Bring them here to Me." Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus’ important work in this Gospel text could be summed up in one word – miraculous! Feeding five thousand men, besides women and children, cannot be seen as anything other than a miracle when you consider that Jesus did so with five ordinary loaves of bread and two ordinary fish. However, when you think of the other miracles Jesus performed during his life and compare them to this miraculous feeding, the other ones seem to be at least a bit more spectacular.

For instance, would it not be more impressive to be healed by Jesus than to be fed by him? Imagine being able to see or hear, for the first time in your life, because Jesus healed you. Wouldn’t that be spectacular? That is not to say that being fed by Jesus isn’t amazing as well, but compared with being able to speak or to walk when you have never been able to do either of those things before, it does seem to fall a bit short. Given the choice, would anyone want a meal instead of a healing from Jesus? If one of you were lying on your deathbed, would you ask that Jesus give you some food or would you want him to make you better? Would you not trade a miraculous meal for a miraculous healing?

Then again, receiving a miracle from Jesus, whether it is in the form of a healing or a meal is not really up to anyone. The feeding of the five thousand may not seem so impressive as a miracle when compared to the other things Jesus did during his life, but remember that it is the only event, besides the events of Jesus’ Passion, that is recorded in every one of the four Gospels. For some reason, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were compelled to include this particular miracle in all of their Gospels.

What makes this even more noteworthy is that this was not a life and death situation. It is not unlike the first miracle Jesus performed during the wedding at Cana, when he turned the water into wine. The wedding guests could have gone without more wine, and these thousands of people with Jesus at this feeding could have gone home hungry. None would have been that much worse for being sent away hungry that night. The reading even says that Jesus had already been, “moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” Nobody was in danger of starving to death. There must have been a deeper significance to this feeding then, besides simply filling hungry stomachs with food.

When you listen closely to the language Matthew used to describe what Jesus did, that significance becomes clearer. He ‘took’ the bread. He ‘blessed’ it, he ‘broke’ it, and he ‘gave it to the disciples.’ Those words should sound familiar to anyone who has grown up in the Christian Church.

“Our Lord, Jesus Christ, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, ‘Take, eat, this is my body, which is given for you; ...this is my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

Dear Christians, the great significance of this miraculous feeding is that it looks ahead and prepares the way for the greater miracle that Jesus provides when he gives you heavenly food in the Lord’s Supper. He fed five thousand people then from what seemed to be an inadequate supply of bread and fish, just as he continues to feed the whole Christian church throughout the world today with what seems to be ordinary bread and wine. The food that Jesus gave the crowd then was for the sustenance of their earthly lives, but the food that he gives you now is his precious body and blood – heavenly food – that gives you eternal life.

All of a sudden, this miracle of feeding the five thousand is not at all unspectacular, because it proclaims to you that the Lord will feed you forever. The Old Testament reading from Isaiah says the same thing. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.” The five thousand in the text left the cities and places where they lived to go see Jesus when they heard that he had gone to a deserted place. He healed their sick as he had compassion on them, and he filled their stomachs when they were hungry. The disciples had suggested that the crowd be sent away to buy food for themselves, but Jesus gave them food that they could never have bought. They did not need to buy it, for he provided it from himself.

The very same thing, and even more, could be said of you as you gather here, week in and week out. You come because you know that it is here that Jesus comes to you. This place is all but deserted during the week, but when our Lord speaks his word through the pastor and gives from himself in the Lord’s Supper, you come. You come and you are fed from Jesus himself, just like the multitude in the Gospel reading, only it not just earthly food that he gives you. He also gives you the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and everlasting salvation.

Friends, the food is the miracle, and the feeding is the miracle. The miracle is not that our Lord fed those people one meal; it is that he feeds you every meal. Undeserving though you are, his compassion for you is the same as it was on the crowd from the text. He knows the chronic, terminal ailment of sin from which you all suffer, he heals your sickness of sin, and he still feeds you.

The Psalm appointed for today is the 136th Psalm. Every verse ends with, the mercy of our Lord endures forever. Today you are reminded that his mercy also feeds you forever. The five thousand he fed with the five loaves and the two fish were merely a foretaste of how he would eventually feed all of you in the Lord’s Supper, and how he will one day feed you eternally in heaven. He still feeds you the things you need for this daily life, and he continues to feed you with the food that will carry you to that eternal life. With such a truly magnificent miracle taking place right here every Sunday, you never need to think about trading food from Jesus for anything else, because as you receive the food that is Jesus, you receive it all; everything Jesus has and everything he is is given for you. Nothing could be more spectacular.

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and forever. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Socially mediable!

We are really kicking our use of certain forms of social media into high gear in order to more conveniently communicate with our membership.

On Facebook, look for Pastor Jonathon Bakker, Lutheran Student Fellowship at Central Michigan University, Christ The King Lutheran Student Fellowship Alumni Association, and Zion Lutheran Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

On Twitter, follow:
@zionmp - Zion's feed
@CMUCTKLutheran - the Chapel feed
@CMULSF - all the latest and greatest news for our Lutheran Student Fellowship chapter
@pastorbakker - my feed

We still have our websites:
www.zionchristtheking.org
www.lutheransatcmu.org
www.internationalsatcmu.org

We look forward to staying connected with you!

Back in the saddle again...again!

Well, it's been just over a month since the last post, and what can I say, this is an exercise in starting and restarting again.  There are some things knocking around in my head, and when they're ready to fall onto the keyboard, you'll see them here.

The last month has been a blur of family vacation, and Vacation Bible School at our church.  Now it is time to hunker down and focus on the coming academic year at Central Michigan University.  It is year six for me, and I am really looking forward to meeting the new group of students, and especially excited to see all of the returning students and catch up with them on their lives and what they've been up to this summer.  I'm also very excited about the planning for this coming year.  We have a lot of concrete ideas already, and I feel more organized at the start of this year than any previous year.  I pray that our efforts are well received by those to whom we are reaching out with the Good News of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for the forgiveness of their sins, and I also pray for the leadership of our Lutheran Student Fellowship, who will be the engines that keep the activities going!

C'mon, Vancouver!

Wow, what a night!

The game.  The fans.  The excitement!  The ENERGY!!

All for what?  The Bruins won, the Canucks lost, but the real losers are the people who trashed Vancouver in the riots.

The heroes stood out - people who stood between would-be looters and vulnerable people, homes, and businesses.  The thugs stood out too; yelling, calling names, throwing things at the heroes, attempting to incite fights with the heroes, etc.  It was a picture of good and bad in BC's largest city.

Should you be ashamed of losing to the Bruins, Vancouver?  Of course not.  The course of the series proved that it could have gone either way.

Should you be ashamed of the Canucks, Vancouver?  Of course not!  They made it to the Stanley Cup final - the hardest trophy to win in all of sports!  One more game would have done it, but that's no reason to frown at the team - they played great this year and are set to do so again next year!

Should you be ashamed of yourselves, Vancouver?  Not the heroes, but the rioters should be ashamed of themselves.  What does it say about you and your city when you're just looking for an excuse to break things, burn things, hurt others, and destroy property? It's criminal and shameful, and I hope that those responsible are brought to justice and make restitution for what they have senselessly done.  Grow up, thugs.

Sermon for Easter V

Via, Veritas, et Vita!

John 14:1-14

Fifth Sunday of Easter, A 2011

Baptism of Henry James Polley

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord, Jesus Christ, amen. The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from St. John.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; and from now on you know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father. And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I wasn’t really expecting any of us to be left here today, what with the supposed ‘rapture’ set to happen last night at 6pm. Either none of us are true believers, or Harold Camping and his Family Radio network can now add themselves to the long list of false teachers who have repeatedly tried to predict Christ’s return. If I’d been paying attention to how big a news item this would become, he would have been an excellent example for last Sunday’s Gospel reading. Camping makes a strong contrast to the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is the door for his sheep to abundant, everlasting life; but those who do not use the door are thieves and robbers. Camping teaches a different Gospel, which is no Gospel at all.

Still, the Lord always has the most incredible ways of teaching us his lessons. My own family has very recently learned a lesson from the Lord. We have been under considerable stress at home this week with the total failure of our septic drain field. As a pastor, I know that the house needs to be built on the solid rock; but as a pastor with a failing septic system, I have learned that the house also needs to be built near some sand! Of course, faith in Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life is the real rock upon which the house of our everlasting salvation is built.

Those who followed and supported Harold Camping and Family Radio have also learned a lesson. Jesus was serious when he said that, ‘of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’ Now, there are reports of families that stopped working, stopped saving, and even some that stopped preparing for childbirth, believing that they would be in heaven long before the baby arrived all because of Camping’s idea. I admit that I’ve had more than my share of ‘rapture’ jokes this past week, but the truth is that false teaching is no laughing matter. It has tragic consequences.

We do not prepare for the return of Jesus by trying to predict it; we prepare by believing in his Son who came to die for our sins and who rose from the dead. We are to be ready at all times, and by the grace of God, he makes us ready through faith. No matter when Jesus returns, the only thing that will matter is whether or not we are his Father’s children through the adoption of baptism and faith.

The Gospel for today could not be more appropriate for our times. Even though I was certain that Jesus would not return last night, I still found myself wondering, ‘what if?’ What if he comes back really soon? What will it be like? What will happen? Harold Camping claimed that it would be the rapture, a false teaching that the true believers would be taken away while the non-believers would be left behind to suffer punishment for a period of time before finally being sent to the real torment of eternal damnation. What the Bible actually teaches is quite different.

The Gospel from John paints the true picture of what Jesus has in mind for us in the end. ‘Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me.’ Faith comes first, and calms our hearts in the face of all trouble. After all, there are many mansions in Jesus’ Father’s house. We can take his word for it. Jesus told his disciples about this as he was preparing for his passion. His death would make full payment for the sin of the world, while his resurrection would be the ultimate victory over death and the devil. Through that passion, Jesus secured a place for us with him in eternity. It is another reason for us to take heart when the grief and sorrows of this world attack.

He will come back; our Lord will return. None of us knows the day or the hour, but he will return, and that is also comforting. After all, why would Jesus have done what he did and suffered what he suffered if not for the sake of making us his own? He took on flesh, lived a sinless life, died for the sin of the world, and rose from the dead out of his great love for all of humanity and because he knew that it would accomplish our salvation. If any of us were to be with him and his Father and Holy Spirit forever in heaven, Jesus alone could do it.

As our Lord taught this to the disciples, he told them that they knew where he was going, and that they also knew the way to get there. They did not understand, however, and Thomas said so. ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?’

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It sounds simplistic, but what our Lord says is utterly true. He alone is the true God-man, the establisher of the world, and its Savior. His is the life which alone gives life to all who believe in him, and just as he is the door that lays itself down for the sheep, faith in him is the way to everlasting life. No one comes to the Father except through him.

These are among the most criticized of Jesus’ words. Many would rather that John had not included them in his Gospel. They exude arrogance and exclusivity. In no day or age, including the present, are they received by the masses with great joy or comfort.
To God’s people, however, to the sheep of the Good Shepherd, these words give wonderful peace and calm the troubled heart. When the changes and chances of life afflict us, this sentence from Jesus reminds us of the constancy of his great love. When selfish pride overcomes us, it also reminds us of our place in the world. Jesus alone establishes us in the Gospel and he alone brings it to completion at the last day.

And that last day will come, with Jesus returning in glory, to judge the living and the dead. We do not know when it will be, but with the comforting words from Jesus that he is the way, the truth, and the life, we do not need to be tormented by what we do not know. ‘Nobody knows the day or the hour,’ but God does not abandon us.
In this world there will be temptation upon temptation, and there will always be someone seeking to gain influence or power for themselves by claiming to have this or that secret knowledge from God or the Scriptures. Always go back to Jesus’ words here – I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

We cannot predict when Jesus will return to judge the world, but I can tell you when he will be here next; Jesus will be present among us just as he has promised. He is here in the preaching and reading of his Word; in the speaking of the absolution; in the water and word of Holy Baptism, and he comes among us with his body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. Hear his voice and follow him; follow him all the way to eternal life!

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.

June 2011 Newsletter Article

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:6

Brothers and sisters in Christ, warnings about false teachers are prevalent these days. Two months ago there was a lot to be said about Grand Rapids pastor Rob Bell, whose book, Love Wins, teaches a Christian universalism that basically includes all people in God’s salvation, whether they believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins or not. In the last month, Bell’s form of universalism gave way to Harold Camping’s prediction that Jesus would return May 21st, taking all the true believers to heaven with him, and instituting a 153 day time of tribulation, which would basically be God’s judgment upon all that are left behind on the earth. Sure enough, the sun still rose Sunday May 22nd and we rejoiced in the Lord at worship, hearing God’s Word of Law and Gospel and receiving his forgiveness in Word and Sacrament.

In a strange twist, Camping has since come out with yet another date with a new prediction. He still believes that Jesus came back on May 21st, but he twisted his own teaching now, saying that this recent return and accompanying judgment were actually invisible to all. So invisible, in fact, that no one noticed Jesus coming back, nor did anyone feel any retribution for sin or unbelief! According to Camping we now have until October 21st of this year before the end of all existence. That is a Friday this fall, and let me say that I look forward to seeing all of you in church with me on Sunday, October 23rd!

False teaching and the prominence it is receiving in the media of late gives us reason to pause – how is the average Lutheran supposed to understand and interpret every religious thing that we see or hear on the internet, TV, radio, or newspaper? We certainly do not blindly accept as true every single thing that claims to be Christian, but we likewise must be careful before dismissing everything out of hand. The sure and certain measure of truth for us is always the testimony of Holy Scripture. Still, there are as many different ways to read and understand Scripture as there are churches and sects in the world. How many church bodies distinguish themselves from one another over important differences in how they interpret Scripture? Are all readings equally true, or is there a right way and a wrong way to understand Scripture?

Irenaeus of Lyons, a 2nd Century pastor and theologian faced this dilemma in an ongoing debate within the church. To put it simply, there were two main factions – those who held that the God who created the heavens and the earth is different from the Father of Jesus, and that Jesus Christ is not truly incarnate, but rather solely a spiritual being (the Gnostics); and those who held that Jesus’ Father is the very same God who created all things, and that Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. Both camps argued for their positions using the verses of Holy Scripture, but Irenaeus recognized that opposing positions about the very nature of God cannot both be correct.

In response to the Gnostics, Irenaeus could not discredit or undermine the very Scriptures to which he himself appealed for support. Instead, he focused his attention and argument on the way the Gnostics interpreted the Scriptures. It is difficult to encapsulate the nuances of Irenaeus’ arguments, but here is one example that I find extremely helpful. To begin, Irenaeus understood Scripture as having one fundamental plot line – the creation and salvation of humanity through Jesus Christ. All of Scripture supports this plot, and any deviation from this plot is not only a misrepresentation of the Scripture, but a distortion in the understanding of Jesus Christ. He likens it to a mosaic:

[The Gnostic’s] manner of acting is just as if one, when a beautiful image of a king has been constructed by some skilful artist out of precious jewels, should then take this likeness of the man all to pieces, should rearrange the gems, and so fit them together as to make them into the form of a dog or a fox, and a poorly executed one at that; and should then maintain and declare that this was the beautiful image of the king which the skilful artist constructed, pointing to the jewels which had been admirably fitted together by the first artist to form the image of the king, but have been with bad effect transferred by the latter one to the shape of a dog, and by thus exhibiting the jewels, should deceive the ignorant who had no conception what a king’s form was like, and persuade them that the miserable likeness of the fox was, in fact, the beautiful image of the king.

When the passages of Scripture are taken from their rightful spot in the plot line, and reassembled in another fashion, they tell a different story. Each verse may be intact, but taken out of proper context, they tell and different story, and, ultimately, proclaim a different Jesus.

This, finally, is the serious danger of false teachers – they promote a different Christ, and those unprepared or unaware of the difference can be led astray without knowing it until much later. St. Paul says the same thing at the top of this article; the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ. I exhort you to continue to increase in faith and knowledge of that glory of God that is in the face of Jesus Christ. Study that face by studying Scripture; get to know it as well as you know your own face; in doing so you will protect yourself from those who teach falsely and from their false teachings. Those who do so will not be sorry; when a false teaching is presented to them, it will be as Irenaeus says, ‘although he will acknowledge the gems, he will certainly not receive the fox instead of the likeness of the king.’ God grant that you always know and love the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords, your Savior, Jesus Christ!

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

Pastor Bakker

Wisdom from Gregory the Great

"Thus is was that Nathan the Prophet, come to chide the king, to all appearance asked his judgment in the case of a poor man against a rich man.  The king first was to deliver judgment and then to hear that he was the culprit.  Thus he was completely unable to gainsay the just sentence which he had personally delivered against himself.  Therefore, the holy man, considering both the sinner and the king, aimed in that wonderful manner at convicting a bold culprit first by his own admission, and then cut him by his rebuke.  For a short while he concealed the person whom he was aiming at, and then at once struck him when he had convicted him.  His stroke would, perhaps, have had less force, if he had chosen to castigate the sin directly the moment he began to speak; but by beginning with a similitude, he sharpened the rebuke which he was concealing.  He came like a physician to a sick man, saw that his wound had to be incised, but was in doubt about the endurance of the patient.  He, therefore, concealed the surgeon's knife under his coat, but drawing it out suddenly, pierced the wound, that the sick man might feel the knife before he saw it, for if he had first seen it, he might have refused to feel it."

- St. Gregory the Great, 'Pastoral Care' Part III, Chapter 2.

Holy Week Schedule

Greetings friends,

Tomorrow is the start of Holy Week, and I wanted to be sure to post this info for anyone interested!

Zion Lutheran Church is located at 3401 E River Rd., Mt. Pleasant, MI.

Christ The King Lutheran Chapel (CTK) is at 1401 S Washington St., Mt. Pleasant, MI

Palm Sunday - April 17
8:00am @ Zion - Service w/ Holy Communion (this is also the Confirmation service)
9:15am @ Zion - Confirmation Reception instead of usual Bible study
10:15am @ Zion - Service w/ Holy Communion
11:45am @ CTK - Service w/ Holy Communion
7:00pm @ CTK - Student Bible Study
8:00pm @ CTK - Lutheran Student Fellowship meeting w/ officer elections

Wednesday April 20
7:30pm @ CTK - Spoken Service w/ Holy Communion
8:00pm @ CTK - Student Bible Study on Hebrews 11

Maundy Thursday - April 21
4:30pm @ Zion - Maundy Thursday Service w/ Holy Communion
7:30pm @ CTK - Maundy Thursday Service w/ Holy Communion

Good Friday - April 22
1:00pm @ Zion - Good Friday Service
3:00pm @ CTK - Good Friday Service

Easter Sunday - April 24
7:00am @ Zion - Sunrise Service w/ Holy Communion
8:00am @ Zion - Zion Youth Group hosts Easter Breakfast
10:15am @ Zion - Easter Service w/ Holy Communion
11:45am @ CTK - Easter Service w/ Holy Communion
7:00pm @ CTK - Student Bible Study

Myths about Death

One of my classmates from seminary wrote a fantastic article for the current Lutheran Witness on why Easter matters.

You can find it here.

It was a few church newsletter articles ago that I spoke of death and the issue of Christian funerals, and this certainly says it better than I did.  Please go have a look for yourself!

Newsletter article for April 2011

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us

(for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).”

Galatians 3:13

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Gospel of Matthew, our Lord warns us to be on the watch for false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing (Mat. 7:15). In the epistle to the Romans, St. Paul instructs us to mark and avoid those who cause divisions, who put up obstacles, and who teach contrary to the teachings of the apostles (Rom. 16:17). To put it simply, false teachers and their false teachings are spiritually dangerous for God’s people, and Scripture takes them very seriously.

A lot of false teaching about God is quite simple to spot. When the creation displaces the Creator as the center of worship, false teaching is present. When words are added to or removed from Holy Scripture, false teaching is present. When Scripture is twisted to justify sinful behavior, and what is evil is treated as if it were good, false teaching is surely present.

Unfortunately, not all false teaching reveals itself so plainly to God’s people. The opposite of the truth is certainly falsehood, but when it comes to the Christian faith, the issue of error is not simply a two-way street. The ancient word the church has used for false teaching is heresy, a Greek word meaning ‘choice’. To the early Christians (and to us!) it is not a matter of choice. There is only one Christ – one way, one truth, one life – and no one comes to the Father except through him.

False teaching often points to and quotes the Scriptures for support. Just a few weeks ago in Sunday’s Gospel reading on the Temptation of Jesus, the devil himself quoted Scripture in an attempt to lead Jesus into sinning against his Father in heaven. Jesus’ better knowledge of Scripture refuted the devil, but it also reveals the cunning depths to which Satan will go in search of prey.

The reason I am writing about false teaching is to bring to your attention a particular teaching that is becoming more and more mainstream in Christianity, even though it is ultimately a false teaching. This newer teaching is a refinement of classical universalism. Classical universalism claims that all people will end up in the same place when we die because of a universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine, regardless of what anyone believes about the divine. While there is no simple label for this new teaching (perhaps, ‘Universalism through Jesus’), the major difference is that it is more specific in its teaching that classical universalism. In this new teaching, Jesus’ death and resurrection is the universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine, and all will go to heaven because of Jesus, regardless of whether or not they have faith in Christ. For us in the Lutheran church, faith in Christ is essential to salvation. Through faith, we are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9). This new teaching is appealing, especially to those who have less experience discerning false teachers and their teachings. Even those theologically trained can be lured into it, because it is so focused on God’s love and forgiveness.

I mention this because this new teaching has found a very strong and influential voice in Rob Bell, the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, a non-denominational church which over 10,000 people attend on a weekly basis. A brief search on the internet will bring forth multiple reviews and opinions on Bell’s books and teachings, both positive and negative. I encourage you to read some of them for yourself as they go into greater depth than we can in a newsletter article.

For now, here is an example from Bell’s teaching. When it comes to answering the question, ‘Why did Jesus die?’ St. Paul in Galatians teaches that Christ became a curse for us by hanging on the tree (the cross). Bell answers, ‘You don’t confront corrupt systems of power without paying for it.’ As one of my seminary professors put it, Bell treats Jesus’ death as an ‘execution,’ but not a judgment from God against sin. It is close to the truth, but not quite the truth. When it comes to the meaning of the resurrection, Bell teaches that, ‘God has not given up on the world,’ and we are therefore to, ‘trust resurrection.’ Lutherans would say that we are to trust Jesus, whose resurrection from the dead opens the door of eternal life to all who believe.

Bell and his extremely media-savvy congregation have become, for many churches, the ‘go-to’ source for youth ministry resources such as videos, Bible studies, and books. It is for this reason that I draw your attention to Bell’s teachings – I encourage our children, youth, and college students to take advantage of Bible study opportunities whenever they can. Sometimes that means going with their friends to another church for youth group or Vacation Bible School. However, Lutheran parents may want to consider taking some time to talk with their children about what they learn at other churches. Is Rob Bell’s teaching prevalent at this church? You will not know unless you ask. What better way to speak with your children about what you believe and why you believe it? As always, your pastors are always available to help out!

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

Reason #439 why LUTHERAN Campus Ministry matters...

Have you ever wondered where young Lutherans disappear to when they leave the church and don't come back?  There's not one simple answer or place, but here's an example worth checking out.
This quotation speaks for itself:

It was during my sophomore year of college when my life changed forever. That year, I began to attend an on-campus Christian fellowship group—His House Christian Fellowship. I had been baptized as a baby into the Christian faith by Bethlehem Lutheran Church, but because this baptism was done before I understood what it meant to be a Christian, I had myself baptized a second time at age 20 to make a personal commitment to God.

How have we failed this young man?  I met him once, when he stopped by the chapel hoping I would read his book (I haven't, yet), and possibly hoping I'd recommend it to others.  He claimed to be Lutheran, but how do you reconcile rebaptism with Lutheran theology - either he understands one or the other.

I don't have a lot of time to theologize what happened, but here's a man raised in an LCMS congregation who attended a university with a thriving LCMS Campus Ministry *right in the middle of campus*.  You can walk from the church he mentions in his testimony to the chapel I serve in about 12 minutes.  For some reason, however, he began attending another church (I don't know whether he ever attended Christ The King Lutheran Chapel) and began believing what this other church teaches (in other words, he fell for the anabaptist heresy condemned in the Concordia).  I can't speculate as to the reason(s), there could be many.  If he reads this, perhaps he will respond, who knows.  I had long been searching for his story after seeing it once years ago, and am glad to have found it and hope it finds its way to other Lutherans so that they see what we are up against.