lodged in the bark of trees and hidden in bushes.
"Early in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned, while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to where to get its breakfast. Later, when it is hungry, it flies away and seeks a grain of corn, where God stored one away for it, of which it never thought while singing, when it had cause enough to be anxious about its food. Ay, shame on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to eat." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 114. Trinity 15 Matthew 6:24-34
God is celebrating Creation Day by sending a gully-washer of a rain to Northwest Arkansas. I have noticed a relationship between weather and bird feeding. When a big storm is on the way, feeding accelerates. If the birds come out in the rain in numbers, they sense the storm will be long.
The best time to feed birds is right after a sleet storm. God's bird-feeders are trees and bushes, especially in winter. The only time they are really famished comes after the ice covers over their meaty, fatty foods - bugs served on bark and lodged in bushes.
The squirrels, who can be fussy about their food, and careless in their eating, lose their sloppy habits after a winter storm. They will pry each kernel of corn from the ice on their feeders. They will not let a single morsel slip away. They feed earnestly, devouring every scrap available.
The Lutherans who appreciate their doctrinal heritage are not the sons of DPs, the descendants of synodical authors, nor the children of circuit pastors. If they have not endured the cold, November drizzle of apostasy or the dark night of the soul, they simply repeat the bromides that keep their tummies full. They find g-r-e-y areas of Scripture on a regular basis. They defend the indefensible. They declare: 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' (NKJ Luke 12:19).
Those who read the blogs or writings of LP Cruz, Freddy Finkelstein, and Brett Meyer will find that they have struggled with the issues of the Gospel for many years. The word scholarship is not based on the Greek word for IQ or formal education, but on the word for leisure. They have taken the time to study the Confessions to sort out the issues of the day, based upon their own experiences.
There is an immense gulf between those are who are starved for the real Gospel and those who are kept by synod subsidies, foundation grants, and gifts from adulterous men. Kept pastors are safe pastors, equivocators, wafflers, timid souls. Faith in God's Word makes men bold, but trust in material riches will always make ministers into milque-toasts of moderation.
As Chemnitz wrote so eloquently in the Book of Concord:
"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Trigl. p. 1095) Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65. Tappert, p. 632. Heiser, p. 294.
PS - Freddy's pastor gave that Pieper essay to me, about 23 years ago.
