Jesus, refuge of the weary
Blest Redeemer, whom we love,
Fountain in life’s desert dreary,
Savior from the world above:
Often have Your eyes, offended,
Gazed upon the sinner’s fall;
Yet upon the cross extended,
You have borne the pain of all.
(LSB 423 st.1)
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4-5
Have you ever had to carry a burden for another? Maybe a close family member had an illness or some disability, and you found yourself struggling to care for their needs on top of your own. Maybe a loved one confided in you a personal struggle they were having, and you felt the weight of that problem pressing down on you as your heart went out to them and you offered them encouraging words and lifted them in prayer. As believers in Christ, we are called to carry the burdens of one another. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). In so doing, God uses us as His instruments of love and mercy to help others in their earthly afflictions.
Christ knew what it was to bear the burdens of others. But He did not stop at bearing the pain of illness or personal struggles–He bore the weight of our every sin. He was pierced for us…crushed for our iniquities. When we bear another’s suffering, we’ve given them temporary relief. But when Christ bore the pain of all on the cross, He won for us eternal relief. He defeated sin, death, and the devil and He won us peace with our heavenly Father. He is our Blest Redeemer, and we owe to Him our deepest gratitude and love for all He has done and continues to do for us.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, we owe You everything for bearing our sins on the cross and for taking the punishment that we so justly deserved. In this Lenten season, let us daily remember Your finished work that we may strive to live in a way that honors and glorifies Your holy name, now and forever. Amen.
Then, for all that wrought my pardon,
For Thy sorrows deep and sore,
For Thine anguish in the Garden,
I will thank Thee evermore,
Thank Thee for Thy groaning, sighing,
For Thy bleeding and Thy dying,
For that last triumphant cry,
And shall praise Thee, Lord, on high.
LSB 420 st. 7
“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray’…And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’”
Matthew 26:36, 39
What is this cup that Jesus speaks of? Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering…These two things have happened to you—who will console you?—devastation and destruction, famine and sword; who will comfort you?” (Isa. 51:17, 19).
The One who will comfort us is the true Son born of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth. He is here in the Garden of Gethsemane to take His people by the hand and completely drink the cup in their place. This is His father’s will.
In His anguish over His impending doom, what does He do? Does He go out for one last night on the town? Does He go down to the convenience store to buy something that might take the edge off what He knows is coming? No. In His sorrow and anguish Jesus comes before His Father in prayer saying, “Thy will be done.” Thanks be to God that Jesus did drink this cup! By suffering and death of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Scripture has been fulfilled that says, “Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: ‘Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more’” (Isa. 51:22).
Let us pray: Almighty God, merciful Father, continue to guide Your people, whom You have redeemed by the precious blood of Your Son, so that we may always be safe from the powers of this world that desire our destruction; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree program at CTSFW is designed for the working pastor, meant to help him pursue advanced study applicable to his ministry while he continues to serve his people. The cost of tuition will be going up in the fall of 2020; for any pastor who applies to the program by March 15, 2020—exactly one year from now—with the intention of starting before the fall of 2020, CTSFW will lock in the current cost of the program, $350 per credit, for four years. This is one of the most affordable rates in the country for graduate programs.
The program offers a hybrid structure of online study paired with weeklong intensive classes on the CTSFW campus three times a year to serve our pastor-students. “The program minimized the logistical difficulties of continuing education and maximized the integration of that education into practical parish ministry,” said the Rev. Peter A. Speckhard of Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Munster, Indiana, who recently defended his thesis and will graduate this May. “I enrolled in order to give some structure and accountability to my study.”
It offers three concentrations: Pastoral Care and Leadership, Teaching and Preaching, and Mission and Culture. “This program helped me to focus my studies in a way that I could not have done on my own,” explained the Rev. Brent Klein of Trinity Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minnesota, who also will be graduating this May. “I learned from the readings, the time spent with colleagues during the intensive weeks, and the assignments for the classes. What I appreciated most was that some of the classes I took directly and immediately benefitted my congregation. Even before I had finished the classes, I applied what I had learned for the blessing of the people I serve.”
The Rev. Adam Filipek, also a spring graduate, spoke on how it has increased his skills in preaching, teaching, the biblical languages, and pastoral care, as well as the benefits he saw in his dual parishes, Holy Cross Lutheran Church and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lidgerwood, North Dakota. “It has aided in cultivating, in the saints, a deeper love for the one true God, and a desire to dwell with Him here in time, in the Divine Service, and daily through confession and absolution, witness, service, and acts of mercy in the assumption of their respective vocations.”
To learn more about the program or to begin the application process, visit www.ctsfw.edu/DMin. You can also contact our Graduate Studies Department directly with questions about the program at [email protected] or by calling (260) 452-2203.
The Rev. Dr. Gifford Grobien, Director of the DMin Program, teaches a class.
Thou hast suffered great affliction
And hast borne it patiently,
Even death by crucifixion,
Fully to atone for me;
Thou didst choose to be tormented
That my doom should be prevented.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
LSB 420 st. 6
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:8
The hymn writer Ernst Homburg used a strange word in today’s stanza: “Doom.” He used the word “doom” to describe the end of our lives, saying, “That my doom should be prevented.” We usually use “doom” to mean “destruction,” “downfall,” or “ruin.” And in a sense that’s right. Homburg describes what happens to us because of our sinful condition. But “doom” also means “judgement” or “placement.” Because of our sinful condition, the place we all must go to is the grave.
This stanza of the Lenten hymn invites us to think about how our Lord Jesus came “for us men and for our salvation.” Jesus humbled Himself and became a servant unto death (Phil. 2:8). What does it mean that He was a servant? A servant is someone who provides for a need or a want. But Jesus does much more than that. In His service for us, Jesus has brought us out of death and into life. It means that He endured all the punishment we deserved, not only pain, agony, and death, but the wrath of God against our sin. He suffered all of the torments that should be ours. He took our sin upon Himself, and bore its full weight even unto death. On the cross, His precious blood was poured out as a pure sacrifice (Eph. 5:2), to give us life in place of death.
Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, You sent Your only Son to take on our flesh and serve us in His death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. Have mercy on us and look not upon our disobedience but look upon Your Son who was obedient for our sake, even unto death. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Yesterday’s convocation was once again hosted and organized by the CTSFW Life Team, who invited Dr. Christopher Stroud, a board certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist, to speak on the topic of contraception in view of pro-life values. Dr. Stroud and his wife, a certified nurse midwife, began the Fertility & Midwifery Care Center here in Fort Wayne so that they could uphold their values in a pro-life practice, utilizing Creighton Fertility Model/NaProTEHCNOLOGY (TM), which means they do not prescribe artificial contraceptives, place IUD’s, perform sterilization procedures, refer for IVF, or refer or participate in abortions. Since the pro-life goal is to protect the unborn and both recognize and respect human life from conception to natural death, his intention was to explore whether contraception is linked with abortion, specifically from a scientific viewpoint.
In his talk, he spoke on the science behind menstruation and the way that artificial contraceptives and IUD’s work. “This is not a Catholic talk,” Dr. Stroud began, who is himself a Catholic. “I’m not going to talk theology. I’m going to talk biology and maybe a little bit of sociology.” His intention was to equip our future pastors and deaconesses (and their spouses, many of whom were in attendance) to talk about it with the people they will someday serve.
To understand artificial contraceptives, you must understand the science behind the menstrual cycle. In as short a summary as possible:
The follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) signals follicle development in a woman, preparing the egg for ovulation (when the egg drops into the fallopian tube where sperm may be waiting). As the follicle containing the egg develops it produces estrogen, which in turns signals the lining of the uterus to thicken in preparation for possible implantation of an embryo. It also spurs on fertile cervical mucus, which allows the sperm to travel far enough up into the fallopian tube to reach the egg when it is released.
When enough estrogen has been produced, a surge of luteinizing hormone signals ovulation; the ruptured follicle left behind when the egg drops is now known as the corpus luteum and produces progesterone to stabilize the lining of the uterus for the next 14 days in preparation for a possible pregnancy, should sperm reach the egg. Fertilization happens in the distal part of the fallopian tube; the embryo is a genetically distinct human being before it travels the full length of the tube and implants in the hormonally-prepped and waiting uterine wall.
Artificial contraception works through a three-branched method:
1. A negative feedback loop. The contraceptive floods the woman’s system with estrogen in order to trick the body into thinking she’s already pregnant and thus shouldn’t release FSH to begin the process of ovulation; the egg never drops.
2. It dries up the cervical mucus, so that sperm can’t travel up the fallopian tube; fertilization can’t happen if sperm and egg never meet.
3. It makes the lining of the uterus so thin and atrophied that the embryo can’t implant. The life already created in the fallopian tube has nowhere to go; the pregnancy is terminated.
Different brands may claim or even intend to do one of these over the other, but they ultimately employ all three. The functions can’t be separated. For example, pulled from the artificial contraceptive, Lo Loestrin Fe, website:
“COCs lower the risk of becoming pregnant primarily by suppressing ovulation. Other possible mechanisms may include cervical mucus changes that inhibit sperm penetration and endometrial changes that reduce the likelihood of implantation.”
Meaning: if it fails to stop ovulation, it might stop sperm from reaching the egg or it might make it impossible for an embryo to implant.
It was a packed house in L-7 for the convocation, students and their spouses intent on learning more about the issues, knowing they will someday face these questions in their own ministries and in the course of their service.
IUDs (a t-shaped device inserted into the uterus) work a little differently but also similarly. Some brands release a low dose of hormone to thicken the mucus to prevent sperm passage, but then also thins the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation in case the sperm make it anyways. Others release copper, intended to prevent sperm from reaching/fertilizing the egg but which also prevent implantation.
As to “Emergency” contraception like Plan B, the morning after pill, it claims to prevent 7 out of 8 pregnancies (put another way, it’s 88% effective) if taken within 72 hours. What does this tell us? It’s cycle independent. In other words, Dr. Stroud explained, there’s no way it’s just stopping the release of an egg from the ovary: it has to be preventing implantation as well, killing life already created, in order to be 88% effective at any time in the woman’s cycle.
These companies get away with the language because of a declaration by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in September of 1965 (of which, Dr. Stroud admitted, he was once a member; he did not always take the stance he does now):
“Government agencies and American medical organizations agree that the scientific definition of pregnancy and the legal definition of pregnancy are the same: pregnancy begins upon the implantation of a fertilized egg into the lining of a woman’s uterus.”
“It flies in the face of mammalian biology,” Dr. Stroud said. Fertilization is defined as separate from pregnancy only in human beings. For every other mammal, it is recognized that fertilization=pregnancy. “Follow the money,” he added. There’s a lot of incentive to preserve the status quo and the cover-up of scientific fact, considering that it’s estimated by 2022 that artificial contraception will by a $31 billion business.
“There are much better, ethical ways to prevent pregnancy,” he ultimately concluded.
Dr. Stroud also spoke on sociological trends (abortion, divorce, etc., as well as rising health incidences like ectopic pregnancies and premature labor) from the 50s to now, cited several studies on the link between contraceptive use and the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions (which find, opposite of the claim that contraception reduces both, instead rise alongside each other). He also pointed out some of the perhaps unintended lessons being taught: that unborn children are objects, only valuable if desired; that a baby is a negative side effect of sexual intercourse; that a baby thus should (and can) be eliminated if not intended.
An avidly listening audience member.
At the end of the session there was time for questions. One student asked about the off-label use of hormonal contraceptives for those women with heavy flow, terrible pain, irregular periods, and so on. Dr. Stroud answered with his goal as a doctor: instead of covering up the pain, get a diagnosis first and find out what’s causing the irregularities or heavy flow and pain. He compared it to a runner going to a doctor after pulling something in his leg, and rather than diagnosing if it’s a problem with the muscle, ligament, or bone, the doctor instead prescribes two Vicodin and tells the runner to go ahead and get back on the treadmill. The great danger in ignoring the root of the problem is that you allow it to progress, unchecked, for years.
May God grant us the wisdom and strength to bring to light that which is covered; and to forgive us when we ourselves hide in darkness. Thanks be to God for His grace, and the unsearchable depths of the forgiveness He grants us in Christ. And thank you to Dr. Stroud and the CTSFW Life Team for another learning opportunity, equipping us to face the issues in our culture today and those that our future pastors and deaconesses will encounter more and more as they go out into the field.
Thou hast suffered men to bruise Thee,
That from pain I might be free;
Falsely did Thy foes accuse Thee:
Thence I gain security;
Comfortless Thy soul did languish
Me to comfort in my anguish.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
LSB 420 st. 5
“Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death.’ Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him.”
Matthew 26:64-67
It’s difficult to stand by and watch injustice happen. There are painful sights that wrench our gut with compassion; sights that make our blood boil with anger. Yet while it’s difficult to watch others suffer, it’s just as hard for us to sit quietly when we ourselves are unjustly attacked. Our instinct is to strike back and exact our vengeance.
Matthew describes the perfect picture of an innocent man suffering at the hands of the unjust. Jesus endures the shameful sting of the slap, spit in his face, and the pain of merciless beating. Yet as provoking and undeserved as the attack is, Jesus endures it with patience and silence. The hymn writer voices why: Jesus suffers painful beatings so that we might be free from pain; Jesus suffers false accusations so that we might stand free from accusation. In this season of Lent, let us imitate Jesus as we patiently endure trials, trusting that all is in the hands of our heavenly Father.
Let us pray: Merciful Father, You sent Your Son as a lamb to the slaughter, and yet He remained silent. Grant us strength to be long-suffering in times of trial, so that we may learn to rely wholly on your will and word, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Heartless scoffers did surround Thee,
Treating Thee with shameful scorn
And with piercing thorns they crowned Thee.
All disgrace Thou, Lord, hast borne,
That as Thine Thou mightest own me
And with heav’nly glory crown me.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
LSB 420 st. 4
“And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’”
Matthew 27:28-29
Jesus was stripped, beaten, and mocked. He suffered and was humiliated. By His suffering we know Jesus comes alongside us in our suffering, and yet He does so much more. Jesus suffered all of this on your behalf. He was brought low so that you could be raised up to the heavenly places. Our Lord was stripped so that you could be clothed in the white robe of His righteousness by Baptism. A scarlet robe was placed on His body, a body that would soon be covered with His own scarlet blood as He hung upon the cross. Your blood need not be spilt, for Christ’s precious blood pays your debt of sin. A piercing crown of thorns was pressed upon the King of Glory’s head, so that you may receive the crown of everlasting life. A reed, which was used to beat our Lord, was put in His hand, so that you could be given a scepter of the heavenly kingdom. Those soldiers mockingly knelt before Jesus saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” What they said was true, even though they said it mockingly. Our Lord is not weak in this scene—rather, this is the coronation of our King. For Christ the King is Christ the Crucified.
Let us pray: O God, Your Son endured humiliating suffering at the hands of heartless men. Grant by Your Holy Spirit that Your Church would be strengthened in times of suffering, ever conforming to the image of Your Son, that Your Church would remain faithful unto death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Say good afternoon to the ladies of our Seminary Guild! Normally, any pictures taken at these meetings are from the back of the room, but today we had the opportunity to take one from the front. These faithful women serve our seminarians, deaconess students, and their spouses and families in very personal, meaningful ways.
Some of their ongoing projects include support of the Food and Clothing Co-op, providing snacks to the students during final weeks and birthday treats for the single students on their birthdays, making t-shirts and booties for babies born to our married students throughout the year, and the annual Legacy Project. They also support a larger project that benefits the students each year; most recently, this project was to purchase new furniture for Student Services.
Today marked the second to last of their meetings for the academic year. The final meeting is a Spring Luncheon on April 9, though their work will continue through the end of the year and into graduation, when they host additional receptions and give gifts to the wives of each graduate and to the deaconess graduates.
To learn more about what these women accomplish (and how to get involved), go to www.ctsfw.edu/SemGuild.
Thou hast borne the smiting only
That my wounds might all be whole;
Thou hast suffered, sad and lonely,
Rest to give my weary soul;
Yea, the curse of God enduring,
Blessing unto me securing.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
LSB 420 st. 3
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’—”
Galatians 3:13
When we hear the word “cursed” we tend to think of fairy tales, Disney movies, or Harry Potter. Curses are terrible things that evil witches put on innocent victims; to us, they are often seen as things of fantasy; certainly, curses are not a part of our reality.
However, the Bible gives us a different reality. Not only are curses real, but Paul tells us that all of sinful mankind is cursed—we are under “the curse of the law.” “Cursed” here means that we have been sentenced to divine condemnation for breaking God’s Law; the curse of humanity is separation from God, death, and hell. We have all sinned and, therefore, we are all deserving of this very real curse.
But Paul also explains to us that God did not leave us in our cursed state. Out of His great love He sent His only Son into this cursed world to become a curse for us. Death upon a cross was reserved for the worst criminals and, indeed, upon that cross Jesus became the worst criminal, cursed on our behalf. He took the sins of the entire world onto Himself and as punishment He bore the curse that we deserve. He faced both separation from God and death—the curse meant for us—because of his great love for us. In “becoming a curse for us,” Jesus redeemed us from our curse so that now we are invited into God’s family and will live with Him eternally. Just as curses extend beyond fairy tales, so do happy endings. By becoming a curse on our behalf, Jesus has given us the happiest ending there ever could be—eternal life with Him in paradise!
Let us pray: Beautiful Savior, thank You for becoming a curse for us and in doing so redeeming us from our curse of sin, that we may live with You in eternity. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thou, ah! Thou, hast taken on Thee
Bonds and stripes, a cruel rod;
Pain and scorn were heaped upon Thee,
O Thou sinless Son of God!
Thus didst Thou my soul deliver
From the bonds of sin forever.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
(LSB 420 st. 2)
“I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.”
Isaiah 50:6
With sharp detail, Isaiah gives to us a prophetic image, not about himself nor about someone in his own time, but someone yet to come although he was from the beginning—Jesus of Nazareth, God’s chosen servant to bring about deliverance. Thus He, although He was born without original sin and committed no sin of His own, was treated as the greatest of sinners. He was struck, He had his beard pulled out, He was disgraced and spat on.
Why? For you. Because of the sins of which all of us are guilty, both that which we are born with and those that we daily commit, we deserve to be the one struck, spat on, disgraced. We deserve, as we confess in the Divine Service, temporal and eternal punishment for our sins. But Christ bore our sins, suffered, died in our place, making full atonement for our sins, giving us true forgiveness from the Father. And He rose on the third day that we may be justified, that we may be made right with God.
Let us pray: Dear Father, this Lent we come before You with true repentance and beg forgiveness for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who bore what we deserved; through His name we pray. Amen.
