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Lent Devotion

Make me see Your great distress,
Anguish, and affliction,
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And Your crucifixion;
Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear and nails did wound You,
How for them You died, O God,
Who with thorns had crowned You.
LSB 440 st. 2

“And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.’ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the man!’”
John 19:2-5

“Behold the man!” Pilate said, calling to mind another man who cried out in a similar fashion: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b). These were the words that John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness, confessing the reason that Jesus had come, the very reason why He is now in Jerusalem, where the soldiers beat Him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

The soldiers may have been mocking Jesus, but little did they know that the words they spoke to bully and taunt were the truth. Jesus is not only the King of the Jews, but the King of all creation. Behold the man. Yet, He did not enter Jerusalem like a worldly king on Palm Sunday but came riding on a humble donkey. With one little word, He could fell Pilate and the soldiers, but He is silent, like a lamb going to the slaughter. Behold the Man. Shortly after these verses from John 19, Jesus will be taken to the cross and be crucified. Behold the man. Murdered. Slaughtered. Behold the man? Behold, the Lamb.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, You sent Your beloved Son Jesus Christ to endure the taunts and assaults of the devil and the world even unto death. Guard and protect us so that we too may persevere and endure against the devil, the world, and our own sinful natures, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Chelsie MacIntosh, Deaconess Student)

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Collegial Conversation: Being a Public Person

Last week, President Rast led a collegial conversation on “Being a Public Person.” The collegial conversations are held once per quarter, during the usual convocation time slot after chapel, and are always very pastoral, spoken as someone with parish experience to those who are still only students but will someday either be in the parish themselves or will be in a supporting role in ministry and mercy work.

“You will – are – already a public person,” Dr. Rast said. “You can’t get away from it. Ever. Whether or not you want to be, you are.”

Paraphrased in short, his talk went as follows:

1. Whatever you are doing at any point, anywhere, is a public act. Even when you are not wearing the clothes of your office. And the collar is a special target. People are watching and judging you, whether fairly or unfairly. LSB 724 (“If God Himself Be for Me”) was a theme of Dr. Rast’s talk, and he took a moment to quote verse 6:

“Who clings with resolution to Him whom Satan hates
Must look for persecution; for him the burden waits
Of mock’ry, shame, and losses heaped on his blameless head;
A thousand plagues and crosses will be his daily bread.”

“Go in peace!” Dr. Rast immediately added, which got a good laugh from the students. “Serve the Lord.”

2. Know yourself: be self-aware of your strengths, gifts, and limitations. We are differently gifted—that’s why we need each other. “Despite me, the Lord is going to do great good,” Dr. Rast added. He shared some personal experiences and stories, and spoke of the innate gifts that different faculty members bring to the table, explaining, “My colleagues bear me up.”

3. Know your audience. You are engaging a number of audiences, and though you cannot control how they respond, you must be aware and intentional of how you are presenting yourself. Be as blameless as humanly possible. Before you speak, before you publish that post on social media, give it a second thought—maybe a third and a fourth.

“You will do foolish and utterly stupid things,” he went on to promise the students, adding that they will and must continue to learn over the years. “I wish I could tell you there’s a point where you’re done.”

But of course Dr. Rast didn’t leave the talk there. He quoted from Scripture, Philippians 3:12-16:

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”

“You are Christ’s; you are his own dear child,” Dr. Rast concluded. “The promise of Christ is firm and sure.” The students were then dismissed to lunch where they met with their faculty mentors. Collegial conversations always end with the mentor lunch, so that the students have a chance to immediately discuss that day’s topic with each other and their professors.

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Lent Devotion

Jesus, I will ponder now
On Your holy passion;
With Your Spirit me endow
For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
May the image cherish
Of Your suff’ring, pain, and death
That I may not perish.
LSB 440 st. 1

“For he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.’ But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.”
Mark 9:31-32

Jesus’ mission from the very beginning was to be delivered into the hands of men to die for the sins of all people. The disciples had great difficulty with Christ’s teachings about His impending death. It all sounded so strange and ominous that the disciples were driven to silence by the fear that these teachings caused in them. Why would the promised Messiah, who came to rescue Israel, allow Himself to be killed? It didn’t make sense to them, and the thought of losing their beloved Christ was too much for them to bear. But thanks be to God that the truth of what Jesus taught and the accomplishment of His work is not dependent on our own understanding!

Jesus WAS delivered into the hands of men and He WAS killed in His crucifixion. He DID rise again on the third day, just as He said He would. His earthly work was far grander than healing and feeding those in need. He came to heal and to feed the spiritual need of all mankind. We needed to be saved, and that’s what He did.

Let us pray: Lord God, gracious Father, Your will and ways often work beyond our understanding. Send us Your Holy Spirit to comfort us as we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest Your Word, so that we may, with all boldness and confidence, trust that everything You do is for the good of Your dear children, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(John Baseley, Sem. I)

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Lent Devotion

And when, dear Lord, before Thy throne in heaven
To me the crown of joy at last is given,
Where sweetest hymns Thy saints forever raise Thee,
I, too, shall praise Thee.
LSB 439 st. 15

“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:8

St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy was the last letter he would ever write. Paul stood facing the narrow gate of death as he awaited execution at the hands of the Romans. Death was near and Paul stood knowing that his Savior was waiting for him; yes, even at his very side until the end. He knew that his departure from this earth was not victory for the forces of darkness, but a new birth which had begun in his baptism. His dear Savior had washed him clean, claimed him as His own dear child, and was now waiting to crown him with eternal life. St. Paul stood rejoicing in the face of death.

We too live on this earth knowing that death may come at any moment. But rejoice! We don’t have to live in fear, anxiety, or doubt. Jesus appeared to abolish death for us. Our Heavenly Father gave us His Son to wear a bloody crown of thorns and carry our burdens into His death on the cross, where He won for us the crown of righteousness. We can live in peace and joy knowing that Jesus took us in His arms at the baptismal font, washed us clean, and delivered us from sin, death, and the devil. At that moment He claimed us as His own dear children; He won’t ever let us go. Our loving Savior continues to feed and nourish us with the very body that suffered and died on the cross and the very blood that poured from His hands, feet, and side.

So take heart, brothers and sisters! We live in Christ! And we rest secure in His loving arms until the Last Day when, like St. Paul, we too will sing, “To me the crown of joy at last is given!”

Let us pray: Lord God, Heavenly Father, You gave Your Son into death for us. Through His suffering and death, You have given us life. Keep us steadfast in true faith throughout our days until our loving Savior appears once again and gives us the crown of eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Jason Zoske, Sem. I)

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Lent Devotion

But worthless is my sacrifice, I own it;
Yet, Lord, for love’s sake Thou wilt not disown it;
Thou wilt accept my gift in Thy great meekness
Nor shame my weakness.
LSB 439 st. 14

“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
Romans 6:13

What’s in control of your life right now? Does it seem like sin is winning the fight over your life as much as you try to follow Jesus, the Son of God? We all struggle daily, hourly, and sometimes moment to moment with sin. Even though we try to avoid it, we find ourselves back in the black hole of sin in need of forgiveness from God and from our neighbor.

At first, this Bible verse appears to focus on Law, telling us what we should and shouldn’t be doing. It is a command to not give our members to sin but rather to give them to God as instruments of righteousness. However, we find it hard to follow this command.

Fortunately for us, there is also Gospel and hope found in this verse. “Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.” This part of the verse reminds us that Jesus has died for our sins and is the one who offers us forgiveness and brings us from eternal death to eternal life through faith.

Should we just give into sin because we can’t help it, then? Absolutely not! We should take a stand against our own sin, even though we may fail at times. Christ has won the victory over sin and death, so we should give our lives to Him who prepared us to do good things for those around us, not because we have to, but because we want to in order to praise Him for all He has done for us.

Let us pray: dear Father in heaven, You sent Your Son to set us free from sin and death. Help us to always use our lives for Your will and forgive us when we fall short and serve our sin. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Katie Engebrecht, Deaconess Student)

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Friends of the Fort

Friends of the Fort is a group of pastors, supported by their congregations, who bring simple gifts of gratitude to the staff members and faculty that serve here at CTSFW. These past two days you’ve seen two of their number preach in chapel: the Rev. Dr. Steve Sohns from Resurrection Lutheran Church in Spring, Texas, on Thursday and the Rev. Dr. Scott Seidler from Concordia Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri, just his morning. Five others joined them for their trip to campus (and an additional Rev. Dr. who couldn’t make it this year, but whose congregation still contributed to the gifts). Some are alumni of CTSFW, but others claim our sister Seminary in St. Louis as their alma mater. They hail from Florida, Texas, Nebraska, California, Missouri, and Illinois.

“The Friends of the Fort have told us repeatedly what a joy it has been to get to know all of you,” Carrie O’Donnell, Assistant to President Rast, wrote in an email to all staff and faculty, “and they appreciated the opportunity to thank you in person for all that you do in service to our Lord and His Church.”

Our gratitude goes out to Reverends Jeff Skopak, Al Doering, Santiago Keinbaum, Tim Klinkenberg, Steve Sohns, Scott Seidler, Ken Krueger, Charles Mueller, and Chris Esget; for the gifts from your congregations; for stopping by each office and work station to meet all of us; for the thank you cards and letters created by the kids of Grace Lutheran Church and School (Jacksonville, Florida); and for the joy you have given all of us as you have taken this time in the busy season of Lent to encourage those who work behind the scenes.

Thank you.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Thessalonians 5:9-11

From coffee hour following chapel on Thursday. Friends of the Fort provided the sustenance and mingled with students, faculty, and staff.
Prepped gift bags for the staff.
The kids from Grace Lutheran in Jacksonville, FL, created the cards that made it into every gift bag that went out to every faculty and staff member at CTSFW. Dr. Gieschen (right) admires a card while one of the Friends of the Fort members, Rev. Steve Sohns, looks on.
Professor Pless (left) and President Rast (right) speak with Rev. Santi Keinbaum (middle), one of the members of Friends of the Fort, during the faculty appreciation dinner. They are hosting a bbq for the staff tonight.
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Lent Devotion

Whate’er of earthly good this life may grant me,
I’ll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross, shall daunt me.
I shall not fear what foes can do to harm me
Nor death alarm me.
LSB 439 st. 13

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?…For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:32, 38-39

Each church season my wife and I look to learn parts of a new hymn by heart. We chose this hymn (“O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken”) for Lent this year. As we (the Church) move closer to Christ’s Passion, we sing hymns and pray through God’s Word to reflect on what Christ risked and achieved for us. In part, these words give us courage to take up the cross of confessing Christ in our lives. Although this gives us hope and strength to serve our neighbor, the main point of Lent is to reflect on our depravity. These words offer us sincere, concrete hope in the authentic Christ who distinguished Himself from us sinners by His perfect work throughout His life and on the cross so that we might never be separated from Him. Jesus does not condemn us but is constantly interceding for us so that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, we surely have earned nothing but death and harm for straying from the good life that You have wanted to give us. We ask You to hear us and let nothing interfere with our prayers to You. We thank You for Your Son, who faced death all day long so that we are justified before You, and we ask that You strengthen our confession in Your holy name, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Nathaniel Konkel, Sem I)

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Lent Devotion

I’ll think upon Thy mercy without ceasing,
That earth’s vain joys to me no more be pleasing;
To do Thy will shall be my sole endeavor
Henceforth forever.
LSB 439 st. 12

“Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!”
Psalm 143:10

After four weeks of Lent, it can seem as if Easter is still an eternity away, especially for those who are fasting. Likewise, our lives can feel the same way. Through trial and tribulation we find ourselves praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Exhausted, Christians are torn between the desires of the flesh and the godly desires given to them by the Holy Spirit. This conflict can appear to be an uphill battle, a never-ending turmoil, and hopelessly futile.

Yet looking ahead to Easter we know this is not so! Christ has won the battle with His suffering, death, and resurrection. While we feel the effects of sin in our lives and struggle to discipline ourselves during Lent, God still gives us relief. We feast on His body and blood during this fasting period. We see our sin through the mirror of the Law, yet are still continually comforted with the Gospel. We look to the resurrection while still anticipating Good Friday. Through all of life’s suffering and the consequences of our sin, we can still find joy in God’s mercy and dwell on it without ceasing. As baptized Christians, we now find joy in His law and seek after it. We look to God who leads us on level ground, His never-changing Word.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, forgive all that we have done in sin this day. Draw us back to Your Word and give to us Your Spirit, that we may find joy in Your will and look to You until the end of our lives, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Claire Houser, Deaconess Student)

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Called Home: Deborah Moyer

On March 30, God called home a member of our staff, Deborah Moyer, who worked as Housekeeping Supervisor. She had been sick for quite some time, briefly moving to hospice care before passing away this past Saturday.

She worked at CTSFW for 30 some years. “I remember her being here when I was a student,” President Rast said. “She faithfully served for years and years, in a humble way that modeled service for our our future pastors, deaconesses, and our laypersons.”

We will miss our dear sister in Christ. Please keep her husband, her family, and her friends in your prayers.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

Psalm 23

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Lent Devotion

But since my strength will nevermore suffice me
To crucify desires that still entice me,
To all good deeds O let Thy Spirit win me
And reign within me!
LSB 439 st. 11

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
Romans 7:21-25

When we fail in our endeavors, sometimes the only thing we can say is, “I did my best.” Yet in the end a failure is a failure because a sin is a sin. As Christians in this present reality we find within ourselves a battle going on between the sinful flesh and the Holy Spirit. No matter how hard we try, there is no escaping this remnant of sin. It clings to us and will remain as long as we have flesh and bones this side of Christ’s return.

Yet we do not wallow in despair. We who have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection have been given the promise of eternal life and the power of the Spirit to wage war against the desires of the flesh. In this battle between the flesh and Spirit there is no stalemate. The Spirit rules and the flesh is subordinate. In this way we can gain comfort from knowing that when the flesh pushes us to sin, we are prompted and encouraged by the Spirit to seek forgiveness through Christ and to embrace His righteousness. In this way we take comfort in the fact that the Spirit keeps us from despair by leading us to the only source of righteousness: Jesus Christ and His cross.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, through Your Word we know that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We ask that You forgive us of our sin and strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit so that we may ever look to Christ and His saving work for our salvation. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Garrett Buvinghausen, Sem. IV)