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Commemoration: Lucia, Martyr

Martyred in AD 304 during the Roman persecution under Emperor Diocletian, Lucia (whose name means “light”) was put to death by the sword. She died a virgin, having given away her dowry as an act of Christian charity. Festivals of light are a popular way to commemorate this martyr, especially in Scandinavian countries during the shortest days of the year. Though the truth of the legends that have sprung up around her are impossible to verify (one says that she brought aid to Christians hiding in the catacombs and, to keep her hands free to carry more food, she wore a wreath of candles to light her way), in remembering her during the Advent season we are pointed to the coming of Jesus, the light of the world.

The people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.
Matthew 4:16

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Commemoration: Aurelius Ambrosius

Savior of the nations, come,
Virgin’s Son, make here Your home!
Marvel now, O heav’n and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.

Not by human flesh and blood,
By the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh—
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.

#332 in the LSB was written by Ambrose of Milan, born in Germany in 337 AD and died on Good Friday, April 4, 397 in Milan, Italy. We commemorate Aurelius Ambrosius as a pastor and hymnwriter, one of the four great Latin Doctors of the Church alongside Augustine, Jerome and Gregory the Great.

Ambrose was chosen as pastor of Milan while still serving as a civil governor. History says that the Christians of Milan were divided into factions at the time, and when the 34-year-old catechumen addressed the crowd gathered to elect a new bishop (trying to seek peace between them), someone yelled, “Ambrose, bishop!” The entire crowd agreed, so after Ambrose was baptized on December 7, he was consecrated bishop of Milan. He was bold in his defense of the faith, and pivotal in the theological fight against Arianism (the heresy that inspired Santa Claus to supposedly slap Arius, as mentioned in yesterday’s post).

During this Advent, as at all times, we look to Scripture and Christ crucified as the defense against every false doctrine, and thank God for the servants He has given us across time and space to preserve His Church. If you are looking for materials that focus on Jesus during this holy season, check out the Advent devotional put out by Christ Academy. You can make it a part of your daily devotions by downloading it HERE or by clicking this picture of the cover:

Authors of the devotional include pastors and seminarians, many of them either former attendees or proctors at Christ Academy.

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Commemoration: Nicholas of Myra

Today we commemorate Nicholas of Myra, Pastor, or, as you may recognize him by his more secularly-known name, Santa Claus. Very little is actually known about Saint Nicholas, at least historically. Legend and tradition say that he was the only son of wealthy parents, known for charitable giving and said to have put coins in people’s shoes. Another favorite story of the man, at least in church circles, say that he struck Arius at the Council of Nicaea (the church council from which we get the Nicene Creed), a heretic who denied the divinity of Christ.

As much fun as these tales are, research affirms only this: that Nicholas was a bishop in the city of Myra in Lycia (part of modern-day Turkey) in the A.D. 300s. As always, let our commemoration of the saints point us to Jesus, the greatest gift the world has ever received.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:4-9

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St. Andrew

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus.
John 1:35-42a

Today is the feast of St. Andrew, the apostle recognized as the first of Christ’s disciples. You can find his shield in Wyneken Hall (pictured here), which shows the boat hook of a fisherman and an “X” shaped cross. As we fast approach the Advent season, this symbol of Andrew’s martyrdom directs our focus on the life poured out on us from another cross, where the lamb of God was crucified for our transgressions in order to win us salvation. Come, Lord Jesus!

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Sermon Study: 1 Timothy 2:1-4

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4

For anyone interested in an 82-year-old analysis of this text, we recommend reading this sermon study from the May 1935 issue of Concordia Theological Monthly. CLICK HERE to read it. It’s one of the few articles in that volume actually written in English. 

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With thanks to Jordan DeBoer for the photograph.

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

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All Saints’ Day 2017

As the 500th anniversary of the Reformation rolls into All Saints’ Day, I find myself thinking especially of my grandparents, gone home to eternal peace. They faithfully brought their children up in the Church, and my parents in turn did the same for me and my siblings. Who are you remembering this All Saints’ Day?

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:9-14

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St. James, Brother of Jesus and Martyr

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:1-12

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St. Luke, Evangelist

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, Evangelist. The physician wrote the Gospel of Luke and recorded the history of the early Church and the work of the apostles in the book of Acts. Because of his detailed account of Christ’s sacrificial work, St. Luke’s shield (which can be viewed in Wyneken Hall) portrays the winged ox, the symbol of highest sacrifice.

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
Luke 10:1-9

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October: Reformation Month

As October begins we already find that we’re looking towards the end of the month at October 31st, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. God used Scripture alone to reveal justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to His servant, Martin Luther. Through the Word, God transformed an Augustinian monk crushed under the heavy burden of Law without Gospel into the reformer that nailed 95 theses to a church door and changed the world.

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
Romans 3:21-25

“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

“But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:15-20