Tetelesti

During this week, I made it a point to commit myself to attending the varied services building up to Easter morn. It has not been without a good share of learning and an improved understanding of scripture. The three hour service of Tre Ore with the pastoral meditations on the words spoken by Christ during the Crucifixion was very god at invoking thought.

Pastor Knea's message on the words "It is finished," were particularly stirring. These words come form the Gospel of John, Chapter 19, verse 30:

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished," and He 

bowed His head and gave up His spirit."

These words have crucial meaning for us.

In the Greek, these three words are represented by a single word: Tetelesti.

It is written in the Greek to show that it has very directed meaning defined in our English as a very specific message. In other words, this was not a generalized statement. It was directed to show that in taking the soured wine that all of the prophecies concerning His death had thus been fulfilled.

When Christ said, "It is finished," He was speaking in reference to what is written in Psalm 69, verse 2:

"They gave me also gall for my meat and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

He was being obedient to the Father. He was fulfilling his purpose. This was yet another descriptor of his death similar to those in Isaiah, chapter 53 (which also clearly describes the mission behind His death).

It is crucial for us to know that His actions were atonement. His death was atonement for our sin. Isaiah clearly says this. The events of the day are predicted and fulfilled. He paid our debt.

So when you read this passage and your eyes rest upon "It is finished," know that this means so much more than just the end to His anguish or His death fast approaching. It means that the act has been fulfilled. The debt has been paid.

As our lips take His Body and His Blood, given and shed for our sins, remember that it is finished. The atonement for our sins was made complete. He said it himself. "It is finished."

Tetelesti! 

That was yesterday. It is now Saturday.

It was the Sabbath. While Mary and the Apostles grieved, observing the Sabbath, they had forgotten his promise of return. The next morning his Resurrection would be revealed.

For us this will be remembered tomorrow morning. 

Maundy Thursday

The Lord has washed their feet. He has announced that he will be betrayed. The last supper has occurred  He has stated His mandate. He now goes to the Garden to await the betrayal and finish what will end as an atonement for our Sins. He awaits those who will take Him.

The Stripped Altar

For us, two thousand years later, the Sacrament of the Altar has been shared. The Communion vessels have been taken away, the candles removed, the adornments at the Altar have been stripped and the lights dimmed. No one stands near the chancel. The Pastors have left. The sanctuary now empties as the congregation leaves.

The next day for Him brings the cross and Very God of Very God meeting Death.

For us, Tre Ore and Tenebrae.

This is Maunday Thursday. It is the day of the last supper and the institution of the Sacrament of the Altar. Webster's defines the origin of the word "maundy" as:

ME maunde, fr. OF mandé, fr. L mandatum command, order; fr. the words spoken by Jesus to his disciples after washing their feet at the Last Supper, “a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another” (Jn 13:34 AV) — more at mandate

This is the command that we must take action to love and care for those around us. We are to minister to those around us. Not to be confused with our salvation by grace, but a commandment for His believers to be   engaged in service. We must show His love through us by loving those in need.

What comes to my mind in this moment is a saying I have heard many times before:

We are to be IN the world, not OF the world.

Our congregations are of those who share the same doctrinal convictions. We believe the same thing. Our church family is exceptional at taking care of those within the church itself. The care and concern that is shown over any issue of a church member is always obvious.

But the mandate is more than this. It is also evident in the way that as believers that we show our love to those around us. We work with those outside the church as well. It ranges from Food Pantry work to school operation. In all of these things the saving grace of Christ is taught. His love is shown.

He stooped down to wash the feet of His disciples. The Son of God demonstrating his mandate.

He then established a new covenant in His blood, by his own words. His body and His blood, given and shed for me... for you. For us, this is the ultimate comfort. It was by no coincidence that all of this occurs at Passover.

When we see that stripped Altar on Maundy Thursday, we must remember the symbolism of this ritual. 

Christ was stripped of His power and glory. He was taken into custody. He was abandoned and denied by those who were followers until they failed in fear of association. He would be beaten, his very skin stripped away by whip designed to tear away flesh. He would be crowned with more pain. He would watch as those who had welcomed Him into Jerusalem just a few days before would now choose a murderer over Him while calling for His death. He would carry his cross on an already raw back. 

When we see that stripped Altar we remember just what was given for our sins. Our sins prevail against our will every day. This is why we can never succeed against the measure of the Law. But it was His will to die for our sins, to be the Lamb of God. In doing so He became all we would ever need. He conquered death. He conquered the sentence of our sin.

Tomorrow, He will cry out:

"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani."

And it will be done. His sacrifice will be complete, but that will not be the end of the story. It will be the beginning.

Tomorrow, two-thousand years later, we will remember the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On Sunday, the tomb will be empty, the stone rolled away. Peter will run to the tomb and marvel.

This Sunday, we will shout:

HE HAS RISEN, HE HAS RISEN INDEED, HALLELUJAH!

Why am I a Missouri-Synod Lutheran - Part 2

When I last left you in part one, I was attempting to convey the history and influences behind why I believe what I do and how I have ended up with my views I have today. There have been several blog posts since then, so if you are coming in on this one without reading "Why I am a Missouri-Synod Lutheran - Part 1," you may want to go back and start there. Just sayin'...

Just for fun, and not to imply
I have a faith such as Luther's. Me
as Luther for a church program,
complete with hammer and 99
Thesis's. Note shaved bald
spot and monk cut.

Once again, a disclaimer... This particular blog is not being written to raise any one's ire that my beliefs may differ from anyone else's. I hold many Christian brothers and sisters who are strong in their faith in great regard as I believe does our triune God. However, let’s also be clear that I do not support a totally non-sectarian approach to Christianity either. I am convicted to believe in this manner. For me, I will use words similar to Martin Luther. Here I stand. I can do no other.

I mentioned sin trying to always take the reins in part one… it will be a focus of this writing as well…

Sin. I cannot water down the meaning of sin. Sin is our doom. Sin is inherited from Adam at the Fall. I learned this clearly in my Baptist High School. Some religious figures at some churches wish to not speak upon the subject or draw much attention to it because:

• Talk of sin scares people...
• Talk of sin makes people feel guilty so they stop coming to church...
• Preaching sin just makes us sound all mean and judgmental...
• The reasons go on...

Palm Sunday at St. Paul's LCMS Evansville, Indiana

If sin is not important then we do not need a Savior. This is Holy Week. Last Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday representing Christ's entry into Jerusalem to the excitement of those who greeted him, only to be crucified FOR OUR SINS within a few days. In between, He exposed sin in the temple. Sin as greed of control caused those in power over the people to plot against Him. Sin as greed caused Judas to betray Him.

The Law shines the spotlight on Sin. To not talk about it devalues everything a perfect Christ did for us. So... during Holy Week, I am going to write this "Part 2" on sin as it accentuates why I am an LCMS Lutheran (not to mention that I will be adding in some family background that I was unaware of until recently as a bit of irony).

Kyrie Eleison...

Joyce Meyer (sorry to pick on her as I know that a lot of liturgical Christians do) says: "I am not poor. I am not miserable... and I am not a Sinner." I think that illustrates my comment above about the importance of recognizing and pointing out our sinful nature. Not to mention that it is heretical in nature and most assuredly blasphemy. 

Her reference is to one form of the liturgical confession:

"I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious to me, a poor, sinful being." - Divine Service, Setting Three, Lutheran Service Book, page 184, Copyright 2006, Concordia Publishing House

One thing my Baptist upbringing and education taught me: Scripture is inerrant and the whole of scripture is the word of God alone (Sola Scriptura). So this education helped me to grasp a core LCMS principle: Therefore, when the Holy Bible defines me by the Sin of Adam, my thoughts, my words and my deeds as a sinner. I am but a sinner. To be a sinner is poor and miserable. As a sinner, I cannot come into the presence of God. My sentence is but death. Only through grace alone (Sola Gratia), through Faith alone (Sola Fide), in Christ alone (Solus Christus) am I made clean and forgiven. And even this is but to the glory of God alone (Soli Deo Gloria) for His good purpose.

So... another reason why I am an LCMS Lutheran? We call ourselves what we are: Poor... Miserable... Sinners.

But... yet... as we will all yell aloud this coming Easter Sunday: HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! And because of a wooden, blood soaked cross and a three-day old empty tomb, we sinners, by water and the Word, are forgiven, made whole and may enter into the presence of the Father. Again, through Grace Alone... We can receive the comfort of the Sacrament of the Altar "Given and shed" for me (a poor, miserable sinner). As a poor, miserable sinner I can now be a part of the Church, His holy bride. This said so concisely in the hymn below:

"The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, Her Lord. 

She is His new creation, 

By water and the Word. 

From Heaven He came and sought her 

To be His holy bride; 

With His own blood He bought her, 

And for her life He died." 

"The Church's One Foundation" 

- Samuel J. Stone, 1839-1900, Public Domain, LSB 644.

So, how does this illustrate the "Why Lutheran" point? It comes down to the essentials of Christianity.

Well... if you remember in "Part 1" (I know, I have skipped around a lot since then, but that is how my brain works), I was telling you that I was focused on BEING a Paramedic and BEING a Firefighter, not BEING the Christian God intended for me to be and certainly not BEING a Christ-centered husband.

I was centered on excitement. That was it. SINNER! (don't worry, it's my nature... yours too). So I crashed and I burned. I got divorced (my fault). Pitied myself for a bit. In the span of four months, I was alone and drunk most of the time (at least till a good friend at work came by early one evening and took all my alcohol away). 

I struggled for a bit in a lot of ways. Dated someone from Lebanon (not the one in Tennessee either). Read the Koran. Left Firefighting. Did not go to church for two years. Then met another girl.

This one took me to my first ever LCMS Lutheran service. It was Holy Week 1996. It was Maundy Thursday at Our Savior Lutheran in Evansville. We attended with my soon

Our Savior LCMS - Evansville, Indiana

to be Wife's Grandmother Alma. The impact of the stripped Altar at the end of the service and exiting the Sanctuary in darkness was the impact that initially told me I had finally come unto (not found, as He continually finds me) the depth of worship that I had been seeking all my life. The message was clear. Lord, bring it all together for me. I was ready to listen. Far from where I needed to be... and still learning today. Still imperfect and guilty by the Law, but forgiven through the sacrifice of The Lamb. 

By Fall of that year, I was in an adult Confirmation class at Trinity Lutheran in Darmstadt, Indiana (where Annette led us as her parents were married there). This is where I met Pastor Martin Keller who guided my initial learning and of whom I still greatly enjoy his sage advice today. We were married at Trinity in 1997. It is no wonder that my favorite services are Maundy Thursday, Palm Sunday and the power of Reformation Sunday.

"With might of ours can naught be done.

Soon were our loss effected;

But for us fights the valiant One,

Who God Himself elected.

Ask ye, Who is this?

Jesus Christ it is,

Of Sabaoth Lord,

And there's none other God; 

He holds the field forever."

- Martin Luther, 1483-1546, Public Domain, 

LSB 656 (see also variant LSB 657).

The depth of worship and clarity of literal interpretation of scripture had me at once. The clarity of the exposure of sin and the need for redemption is always clear. That redemption is accentuated in every prayer, sermon, liturgical action... The church is my home.

I sin daily... hourly in fact. The world wants to make the church the enemy at time for pointing out sin. Just because we do something, be it desire or by nature, does not make it right. We are guilty simply by association with Adam. With that guilt exposed by the Law, Christ is the Atonement. His Resurrection is victory over death. It is not just that he died for our sins. He rose again. He has gone to prepare a place for us.

Do not point out sin without loving the sinner. Despise the sin. Love the sinner as Christ has loved us. For we are no better, just forgiven.

My life is not perfect. I falter daily. My wife can write tomes on how I can mess things up. I still struggle at becoming a better Father. With the Lord's help I grow in that and many areas.

St. Paul's Stained Glass

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 

I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 

- Revelation 3:20

He doesn't just knock once. He keeps on knocking for me. Every single time I falter, He is there to show me the wrong and help me learn the right. Many times I do not understand. The Word comes to me through scripture.

I will close with this. Look at this crown of thorns. Judean thorns are not like those of a rose bush. They are long and penetrating. When you think of the price paid for our sins, be broader than the cross. Start at the agony in the Garden, the beatings, that crown of thorns forced onto His head, the carrying of His own tool of death carried upon His freshly torn back... Dull nails, nine inches long, pounded through His innocent hands and feet. The price of sin is death... and He paid it for our sins.

Then as the words of the Apostle's Creed state... "He descended into Hell."

This Sunday... Easter morning, rise with thanks in your heart for He has risen and ascended. Those who know Him will someday see Him in glory.

This is not the end. In Part three (I know... promises, promises) I will talk about Early Church history and the Sacrament of the Altar (some of my favorite Lutheran Theology).

Till the writing virus overtaketh me again... May He bring you peace!

Below is a link to Pastor Fisk's Worldview Everlasting video blog which in this episode is a phenomenally clear discussion of sin and the essentials of Christianity that will offer more than I possibly can. So if you want more, click the link already!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cDfsY28SwqM

Soli Deo Gloria

Opps... forgot to add one last thing I promised. Guess my family was Lutheran after all. I knew my paternal Grandfather was named Luther. He died a year after I was born. Dad always told me that his father had been "something that was a lot like Catholic, but protestant." I had never been to my Grandfather's grave at Oak Hill Cemetery before. They could not find a Luther Turpen. However... They did find a Martin L. Turpen! I guess a full generation in the past, I come from Lutheran roots. Still trying to track some more things down on this...