Walther's Criminal Behavior - No Secret To Historians

The keepers of the Walther shrine have hidden the syphilis story,
but the rest is well known.

Part I

One of the UOJ lapdogs claimed I was writing about a secret LCMS history, smirking as if I were making up details or digging up legends known only to a few. The material below is from Zion on the Mississippi, Walter O. Forster, 1953. The book is older than the UOJ Enthusiasts Paul McCain, Jay Webber, Preus Inc, and Jumpin' Jack Kilcrease (who jumps synods and confessions with the greatest of ease). Concordia Publishing House printed the book, which was a doctoral dissertation that employed the resources of the Concordia Hagiography Institute, where McCain had a sinecure.

My copy was owned given to Arthur Stellhorn Welch, whose mother wrote this in 1984:
"This is the authoritative soruce of the history of the Saxon Pilrims who came to America for religious as well as other freedoms. My father's parents, Stellhorn and Buenger, are of this company. I see in your nature and life that cultural and genetic strain." (Emphasis in original)

Zion has been required reading for seniors. Vehse has another account. Now the Stephan records are available in the book above, whose title I modified somewhat.

As I wrote before, Stephan was investigated many times for his obvious immoral behavior with young women. Louise Guenther was the main mistress, but there were others investigated by the police and church officials. The groupies were jealous of each other and vied for Stephan's attention. Two of the lawyers were participants in the court action just before the Saxon departure, which led to Stephan's house arrest. His long-suffering wife gave detailed testimony about Stephan's infidelities, which his lawyers knew about, although they were happy to go to America with him. Vehse and Marbach were brothers-in-law.

Note that Suelflow solemnly recorded Walther blaming Mrs. Stephan for the bishop's adultery!

All the historians know that C.F.W. Walther's future mother-in-law was jailed for her part in kidnapping and hiding the niece and nephew of Ferdinand and his brother. According to the Stephan book, police issued warrants for the arrest of Walther, who left his port early, like Jonah, on a fast ship West, regardless of the fare.

Download it here.

Landing in New Orleans, Walther swore allegiance to Bishop-for-Life Stephan, known adulterer. A few months later, Stephan was suddenly revealed to be an adulterer and a false teacher, for calling himself bishop. Actually, the pastors elected him bishop, so that made them false teachers as well.  As for the lying, let me get started.

Stephan and his group were being dissed in America and Europe for their lawlessness. That is no secret - Zion, p. 345. Stephan's pastors defended their effort and their bishop - in print.

Money was loosely handled, but the laity had control of that, even though they obeyed the directives of Stephan. The bishop showed the signs of third stage syphilis, with many strange delusions and impractical, improvident plans. The unemployed pastors also paid themselves out of the common fund. Ferdinand's brother did not even account for the huge sum, $400, he requested and received. Zion, p. 364.

"The Bishop always had a number of women staying with him at his St. Louis residence." Zion, p. 355. The women included - "Louise Voelker, Louise Guenther, Mrs. Schneider, Pauline Weidlich, and the youthful Marie Schubert, niece of the Walthers." (ibid) He resumed the evening strolls with women, the practice in Germany that attracted police attention. It is no secret that he left his wife behind in Dresden, to fend for herself, and abandoned all his children except his healthy son, who came over and established his own LCMS dynasty.

The clergy were loyal to the hierarchical order, even after the removal of Stephan. Zion, p. 357.

Walther was happy to carry out Stephan's abusive orders. Zion, p. 358.

The Saxons were offered a good deal on land, right in St. Louis, (p. 376) but Stephan wanted to be in the wilderness, so they bought in Perry County. They were running out of money. Zion, p. 373. Stephan the Bohemian had no problem with human slavery. They could have purchased better land for less in Illinois or in another territory. Perry County had spas good for additional syphilis treatment and the advantage of obscurity, away from prying eyes and urban newspapers.

The stories of Stephan's "stupid vanity and gross incompetence" suggests syphilitic dementia rather than the effects of the bishop's title. Zion, p. 387.

On April 24, 1839, five of the pastors (Loeber, Keyl, Oertel, Buerger, Walther) replied to an attack by the St. Louis newspaper, Zion, p. 388. They defended their enterprise and their bishop, but the paper said they were all under a cloud, both in Europe and America. The five pastors reversed themselves a few days later - in print!

The Rogate Sunday sermon (May 5, 1839) and confession story is recorded on p. 392 of Zion. Loerber (a great friend of Walther) preached a sermon. Two women confessed adultery, and Loerber told Walther. But they already knew, and Forster does not seem to believe the story he repeated about the shocking discovery.

"In Germany they did not want to believe ill of Stephan because of their high regard for him and their close association with him. Hence they closed their eyes to all evidence and their ears to all 'slander' against him and pronounced him an innocent martyr." Zion, p. 394

The facts are known to those who investigated them. Stephan became more contagious (third stage syphilis) and shared his disease with his mistresses. The community suddenly became aware that the overlooked adultery had bequeathed a slow, shameful death sentence on their young women, thanks to their bishop. His children and wife were already suffering from syphilis, abandoned in Dresden.

On May 15, Walther and a layman traveled from St. Louis to Perry County. Zion, p. 403. Forgetting Matthew 18, Walther did not confront Stephan but instead defrauded him of the land given by the Saxons (80 acres).  That behavior shows the common understanding in the group, that Stephan had his female groupies and no one really saw anything. After years of ignoring all the girlfriends and the bishop's wife being left behind in Dresden, Walther could not act suddenly outraged over adultery.

Part II

Something else was brewing. The only explanation is an outbreak of syphilis. To defend themselves against the charge of Loerber and Walther revealing a confidential confession (the cover story), Missourians have said, "But everyone already knew." That shows the cover story to be a lie - and not a well crafted lie at that.

Above on May 15, Walther and a layman traveled to Perry County, but not to confront Bishop Stephan. Walther needed to organize the Perry County residents, since the St. Louis Saxons were already united. Recall that Stephan was with his groupies in St. Louis before he moved down to Perry County. The entire Saxon group was in the public spotlight because their sordid reputations followed them. The kidnapping, immoral behavior, and money issues were reported in Germany and in America, although the apologists make it sound like persecution, remaining vague about why two newspapers were so antagonistic about this Holy Spirit anointed immigration.

In Perry County, Walther openly defied Bishop Stephan. The New York group came to Perry County at that time. Zion, p. 408. That included three of the Buengers, "who had been separated from the rest of the family by the performance of the Walther brothers in the incident involving the Schubert children." Zion, p. 404f. Incident? Incident? I wonder if Forster was a little more direct and found his prose edited by the LCMS public relations experts.

The Saxons consisted of three groups at this point: the St. Louis residents, the Perry County pioneers, and the newly arrived New York contingent. The New Yorkers were still loyal and obedient to Stephan. So were the Perry County residents, although they chafed at Stephan's spending and spirochete-fueled delusions.

Walther stayed with the Buengers in Perry County and got them on his side. They were already Waltherians via the kidnapping. J. F. Buenger was one of Walther's closest friends. Zion, p. 408.

"Walther, of course, immediately instructed J. F. Buenger on the state of affairs but did so in the sleeping quarters of a group of about twenty-five to thirty men, and the fact that it was done in Latin did not prevent others, such as Ernst Buenger, from understanding it. This episode is typical of Walther's methods on his mission. He did not make the mistake of immediately mounting a stump and denouncing Stephan, but gave his information to hand-picked individuals, always with the caution that they were to keep it to themselves for the time-being." Zion, p. 409.

By May 19th the "entire colony was seething." Zion, p. 409. Stephan took note, telling Ernst Buenger, "Beware of that Ferd. Walther, that fellow is a fox." p. 409.

That Sunday, May 19th, Pentecost, Walther had everyone listen to him preach, although they had been directed to hear Stephan at a different location. Walther said after his sermon: "Many of you will have been surprised this morning that I preached in spite of the invitation and against the orders of the man who until now has been beloved and respected by us all, but terrible things have happened, which I shall now communicate to you." Everyone believed Walther, so all three groups were united against Stephan. No one went to Stephan in obedience to Matthew 18. Walther began with "tell it to the church," but not until he had most of the people on his side by his crafty spread of the story. Zion, p. 410.

Walther went back to St. Louis to bring those residents to Perry County for the climax of his excellent adventure.

The tacky Walther shrine has been refurbished.

Walther did a superb job in organizing the mob against Stephan
and serving as spin-doctor about his own history.

Part III 
In Pursuit of Religious Freedom describes the arrival of the St. Louis mob and the many criminal acts against their leader:

1. Invading his home.
2. Threatening his life.
3. Strip-searching him for money.
4. Stealing all his money, a large sum of gold.
5. Taking away his books and personal possessions.
6. Making him leave his house and sleep outside.
7. Kidnapping him at gunpoint and forcing him to live in Illinois.

Not one act against Stephan was justified by his adultery. But everything is understandable in light of the spread of syphilis. Daughters and families were humiliated. The Saxon group was shown to be a degenerate cult carrying the most dreaded plague of the time. No real cure was available. A young woman with syphilis would give it to her husband and to her future children. Severe rashes would give away the disease until it went into latency, only to emerge again later with final, deadly results.

The clergy were all in trouble for their published support of Stephan, just before the expulsion. They were just as quick to accuse the bishop in print was they were to defend him in print. Both actions were only a few days apart. This reversal did not come from a dramatic confession or two, but from a much darker source and their justified fears of facing a mob in St. Louis.

I went over the Forster account in Zion to find who was organizing and leading the mob action against Stephan. No other name appears in leadership. Walther acted on behalf of the St. Louis Saxons, coming down to Perry County to steal the bishop's 80 acres and organize the colony. He used the Buenger family to convert the newly arrived New York group to his side. Then he returned to St. Louis to bring those people down to Perry County in the dramatic purge, robbery, and expulsion.

Walther never wanted an early history of the Missouri Synod written down, because he was so much a part of the story. (Suelflow) O. H. Walther married one Buenger daughter and died, so Ottomar Fuerbringer married the widow. C. F. W. Walther married another Buenger daughter and took over his brother's congregation in St. Louis when O. H. died.

Ludwig Fuerbringer was the son of Ottomar, so he was a double-Buenger (mother and aunt) and the nephew of C.F.W. Ludwig also skipped over the early years of the Saxon adventure in his two little books about the Missouri Synod. I find much to admire in Ludwig's life, ministry, and teaching. His books prove the saying that always comes to mind when dealing with historical accounts, "The unspoken word is the most important."

This Walther statue is at the Purple Palace, the LCMS Vatican.
The original is at the Concordia Hagiography Institute.
Another copy is inside the Walther shrine.
Three idols are erected to the same kidnapper and thief in the same city.
CFW is the ruling norm of the Olde Synodical Conference.

Police: Fired teacher kills head of Florida Episcopal church school, self

Dale Regan, head of the Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Fla., in May 2011. 
Police said she was murdered today by a recently fired Spanish teacher who then killed himself.

Police: Fired teacher kills head of Fla. church school, self:

A fired teacher murdered the head of the Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Fla., before killing himself, authorities say.

Update at 6:19 p.m. ET: Undersheriff Dwain Senterfitt said Shane Schumerth, 28, was fired this morning and then returned to the school early this afternoon. He killed Regan, 63, in her office, then shot himself.

Senterfitt said no details were available about why Schumerth was let go.

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Mark Driscoll on the Song of Solomon « Churchmouse Campanologist. Driscoll A Vulgar Bully for the Vulgar Bullies in Fox Valley WELS

Mark Driscoll on the Song of Solomon « Churchmouse Campanologist:

Driscoll is X-rated and a bully, so he attracts vulgar bullies who follow his example. Read this ChurchMouse post at your own risk.

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Pewaukee Universalist Towers To Host Anti-Pope

 bruce-church said...

What the WELS needs now is an anti-SP to occupy the second synodical HQ. Instead of Avignon's anti-pope vs. Rome's pontiff, it will be Pewaukee vs. Milwaukee. The Pewaukee anti-SP could be for Justification by Faith, and the Milwaukee SP for UOJ. I heard Brett Meyer volunteered to be the anti-SP.

WELS Down a Half-Million Dollars - What Better Time To Own Two Headquarters Buildings?

The fat lady hath sung.

From SP Mark Schroeder:

The Synodical Council (SC) held its winter meeting on February 24-25. Major items discussed included:

Budget update and future planning

The SC reviewed the ministry financial plan (budget) performance through the end of calendar year 2011. Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) in 2011 fell short of commitments by $340,000. Actual gifts were $460,000 less than 2010. While more congregations submitted CMO commitments for 2012 than the previous year, the commitments are 0.2 percent less than the actual receipts for 2011; planning had anticipated a 3 percent increase.

The Financial Stabilization Fund will enable current programs to continue without immediate program changes, but the reduced level of expected financial support will require adjustments to spending in the next fiscal year. The Synodical Council asked President Schroeder to prepare a plan for increasing support or reducing synod expense amounts by $1.5 million for the next fiscal year beginning in July, 2012. The areas of ministry will also be encouraged to underspend the current budgetary allocations (as they did last year) and to begin to make initial plans for reduced financial support in the next biennium. Program reductions can be avoided if financial support from Congregation Mission Offerings and gifts from individuals increases beyond the current projections.

Report on college loan delinquency rate raises alarms - latimes.com

Who owes for a Concordia Seminary student loan?

Report on college loan delinquency rate raises alarms - latimes.com:


Reporting from Washington— Some experts have called the nation's soaring college debt load a "ticking time bomb" — a looming crisis threatening young adults, their families and the broader economy.

A new report raises even more alarms: It's likely that as many as 1 in 4 borrowers was carrying a past-due student loan balance in the third quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.

That's a much higher delinquency rate than previously thought. By a more conventional measure, the New York Fed said, 5.4 million of 37 million borrowers with student loan balances had at least one past-due student loan account — a 14.6% rate.

Many educators are concerned about the increasing financial squeeze on college students and their families and the repercussions for the nation's economy.

W. Norton Grubb, a professor at UC Berkeley's School of Education, is worried that rising debt levels are forcing some students to drop out. Only 40% to 50% of those enrolling at universities such as the California State University schools end up completing their degrees, he said.

Such figures have helped bolster a long-held belief by scholars that America's declining or stagnant college graduation rates have become an Achilles' heel in the competitive global economy.

The New York Fed report concluded that "student loan debt is not just a concern for the young. Parents and the federal government shoulder a substantial part of the post-secondary education bill."

Skyrocketing debts may be pushing some graduates into areas of work that have a bigger immediate payoff, such as finance, as opposed to what they want to do or what may produce more benefits for them and society in the long run.

"The debt levels are distorting what fields people are taking on," Grubb said.

The New York Fed said the past-due balances on student loans amounted to $85 billion, or about 10% of the total owed. The same 10% rate applies on average to other types of consumer delinquent debt, such as mortgages and credit cards.

But Fed researchers said delinquency figures for student loans understate the magnitude of the problem. That's because the calculations don't take into account that federally guaranteed loans, which make up the bulk of student debt, typically don't require repayment while borrowers are still in school and for six months after graduation.

If those who are temporarily exempt from making payments are excluded, the report said, the number of borrowers with past-due balances would jump to 27% of the total. And the outstanding balances that are late would rise to 21%. Both figures are about double the unadjusted rates.

As for private, non-guaranteed student loans, Moody's Investors Service reported recently that the default rate in the fourth quarter was 5.1%, about the same as a year earlier.

Still, that rate is about double what it was before the 2007-09 recession. Moreover, the Moody's report noted that some private student loan measures indicated that the pace of defaults is rising and that the problem isn't likely to get better any time soon.

"High unemployment will keep defaults high," Moody's said.

Economists, meanwhile, have differing opinions about the strain of student loans to the broader economy. But there's reason to be concerned on this front.

When asked about such risks by a lawmaker in a hearing last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke replied, "Well, student loans are becoming a very large category of loans."

Indeed, the New York Fed put the latest outstanding student loan balance at $870 billion. That's more than the total credit card debt, $693 billion, and car loan debt, $730 billion.

What's different about student loans is that most of the lending is done by the U.S. government. Even so, as Bernanke noted, if federal lending isn't well managed, it could hurt taxpayers.

Bernanke, in his exchange with lawmakers, added a personal dimension to the student loan issue, saying that his son in medical school expects to owe $400,000 when he graduates.

About 167,000 people, or about one-half of 1% of all student-loan borrowers, owe more than $200,000, the New York Fed said in its report, which drew from Equifax credit data. The average balance per borrower: $23,300.


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The Rented Mule Award. Asking Questions about Doctrine in the ELS, LCMS, and WELS

The Rented Mule Award is an honor I decided to bestow, given the size and depth of my audience.


Individuals earn the award by teaching the historic faith, confessing the truth, and being beaten like a rented mule for their service to the visible church. This could also be called Bearing the Cross, but that phrase has become empty talk. Synods are too busy bragging themselves up to consider that concept.


Luther taught this concept, and his words were often more colorful. Naturally, they are still beating him like a rented mule. When the Roman Catholics stop and rest, the "conservative" Lutherans take over.

He wrote:

"Patient continuance is so altogether necessary that no work can be good in which patient continuance is lacking. The world is so utterly perverse and Satan is so heinously wicked that he cannot allow any good work to be done, but he must persecute it. However, in this very way God, in His wonderful wisdom, proves what work is good and pleasing to Him. Here the rule holds: As long as we do good and for our good do not encounter contradiction, hatred, and all manner of disagreeable and disadvantageous things, so we must fear that our good work as yet is not pleasing to God; for just so long it is not yet done with patient continuance." 
Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, trans. J. Theodore Mueller, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1976, p. 55. Romans 2:6-10.

The modern recipients are:

• The two families in Kokomo, Indiana, who were expelled from WELS for confessing justification by faith. Both families were excommunicated, with WELS using the Kokomo Statements to expel them, followed by WELS blaming them for the Kokomo Statements, three of which came directly from J. P. Meyer. Sig Becker defended the Kokomo Statements. So did Panning, the president of the WELS seminary.
• B. Teigen, who proved in a scholarly work that the Olde Synodical Conference taught a blatant heresy with their creepy Receptionism. The ELS and WELS took turns thrashing him. Sig Becker also defended Receptionism. 
• Walter Meier II, the Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne professor, who showed that the Scriptures teach justification by faith. Jack Preus savaged him nationally in a letter, and Bob Preus replaced him as the next president of the seminary. Demoted and regularly beaten up by UOJ fanatics.
• Rich Techlin, WELS layman and attorney, who dared to point out Glende's and Ski's plagiarism of false teachers. The DP who supported plagiarism would not even grant an appeal. Demi-semi-excommunicated.
• Joe and Lisa Krohn, WELS laity who asked about UOJ and the waste of money thrown at Cornerstone for fund-raising. Excommunicated.
• Bruce Church, banned from Steadfast Lutherans (sic) for citing this blog.
• Lito Cruz, PhD, banned from Steadfast Lutherans (sic) for pointing out their myriad contradictions in defending the anti-Christian UOJ fallacy.

Hebrews Definition of Faith

Art by Norma Boeckler:
The angel appears to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus.

KJV Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Divisiveness persists at Grace Lutheran - Leader-Telegram: Front Page

Divisiveness persists at Grace Lutheran - Leader-Telegram: Front Page:


Grace Lutheran Church again is attempting to break away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to its senior pastor.

During a special meeting Sunday, the congregation voted 236-0, with "a handful of abstentions," to rescind the large Eau Claire congregation's ELCA affiliation, the Rev. Rolf Nestingen said via email.

However, Drew Ryberg, an Eau Claire attorney who is representing nearly 70 estranged members of Grace Lutheran Church in a civil lawsuit, questions the validity of the vote.

"What they did was improper, completely improper," said Ryberg, whose clients are asking a judge to intervene in the dispute over church affiliation.

Nestingen doesn't see it that way. The most recent vote - the historical church's second attempt at disaffiliating with the ELCA in less than a year - was prompted by "recommendations" from the Synod Council of the ELCA's Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, he said.

The Synod Council in January sent a letter to church officials detailing its final decision in an adjudication process resulting from the dispute - that Grace Lutheran Church immediately recognize its sole affiliation is with the ELCA, terminate affiliation with the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ or any church other than the ELCA, immediately restore full voting memberships to all members moved to associate member status since Jan. 1, 2011, and immediately recognize that anyone who meets the required criteria and who does not want to remain affiliated with the LCMC is a voting member.

"It occurred to us that there was a fifth option, to which the judge agreed, that we take another first vote to disaffiliate in order to clearly express the will of those members remaining at Grace," Nestingen said.


'via Blog this'

"I was NOT invited to Emmaus, Brett,
but I was there in spirit.
The Synodical Conference leaders are my buddies."

Thoughts about UOJ - From Lito Cruz, PhD

WELS leaders wanted to feature Kent Hunter (Fuller drive-by DMin)
and Waldo Werning at a conference.
People rebelled enough to have it cancelled.
UOJ is the dogma of the Church Growth Movement.

LPC has left a new comment on your post "Enoch as a Man of Faith":

Dear Dr. Greg,

I have just been thinking.

UOJers do not take seriously Luther's critique of human beings. Luther taught that we neither fear, love nor trust God. To Luther this was the problem.

UOJers rather than confronting the problem eliminates faith by definition and fiat.

UOJers teach that effectively we are saved by grace, period. This is contrary to Eph 1:8 which says we are saved by grace through faith and not of ourselves. That passage itself also teaches that even faith is not of ourselves, yet the argument of Walther and Co says that if faith is emphasized, faith is from ourselves. So they have imported their own philosophical paradigm into the discussion which is foreign to the way Scripture teaches about faith.

UOJ is insidious in that it maligns faith. For UOJ faith is empty and there is nothing to it. Thus in practice, it does not encourage the believer to deal with his lack of faith, to pray , to knock at God's door, to seek, to ask from God. Yet Jesus encouraged us towards these things.

LPC

***

GJ - You are right again, Lito. No wonder you were banned so early from the Steadfast Lutherans (sic).

Their double-talk has them emphasizing grace, which they pronounce GRACE! But they are saying that everyone is already saved - they only need to realize it (rationalism) and "accept God's acceptance," to use Paul Tillich's wording.

As the woman said to Peter, "You are a Galileean. I know that accent."

KJV Matthew 26:73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also
art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.

"Your accent makes it obvious." Jackson Living Translation.

I know the accent because I spent years studying modern Protestant theology while attending conferences where the same language was spoken. The complaint about the old fashioned TV evangelists was "They never teach GRACE!" That meant - "They never teach the absolution of the world, that everyone is already forgiven."

I have heard or read various UOJ gurus expressing this sentiment - "We are justified by GRACE!" That needs to be said with emphasis and a frown, as if correcting a small child.

Throughout the Word of God, we are justified by faith. Throughout the Confessions, we are justified by faith. After the Book of Concord, the Huber opinion was eviscerated by Leyser and his orthodox Lutheran group. Huber was kicked off the Wittenberg faculty for teaching the current WELS-LCMS-ELS-Andrew-Preus position.

Justification by faith does not war against God's grace, but UOJ turns God's grace into a tragic farce. Hitler is a guilt-free saint. Every child in the world is born forgiven, but only some are baptized.

By Faith Abraham, When Tested, Offered Up Isaac

KJV Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even
from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

But Now They Desire a Better Country

Abraham, the Man of Faith in Romans 4

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Noah's Faith, The Genesis Flood, and Holy Baptism. Why Hide the Baptismal Font?Why Deny Baptismal Regeneration with Andy Stanley, Ed Stetzer, and Rick Warren?

Enoch as a Man of Faith

Creation by the Word. But the UOJ Enthusiasts Do Not Trust the Word.Neither Do the Shrinkers

Luther to Pope Leo X

Martin Luther (1483–1546).  Concerning Christian Liberty.
The Harvard Classics.  1909–14.

Letter of Martin Luther to Pope Leo X


AMONG those monstrous evils of this age with which I have now for three years been waging war, I am sometimes compelled to look to you and to call you to mind, most blessed father Leo. In truth, since you alone are everywhere considered as being the cause of my engaging in war, I cannot at any time fail to remember you; and although I have been compelled by the causeless raging of your impious flatterers against me to appeal from your seat to a future council—fearless of the futile decrees of your predecessors Pius and Julius, who in their foolish tyranny prohibited such an action—yet I have never been so alienated in feeling from your Blessedness as not to have sought with all my might, in diligent prayer and crying to God, all the best gifts for you and for your see. But those who have hitherto endeavoured to terrify me with the majesty of your name and authority, I have begun quite to despise and triumph over. One thing I see remaining which I cannot despise, and this has been the reason of my writing anew to your Blessedness: namely, that I find that blame is cast on me, and that it is imputed to  me as a great offence, that in my rashness I am judged to have spared not even your person.

Now, to confess the truth openly, I am conscious that, whenever I have had to mention your person, I have said nothing of you but what was honourable and good. If I had done otherwise, I could by no means have approved my own conduct, but should have supported with all my power the judgment of those men concerning me, nor would anything have pleased me better, than to recant such rashness and impiety. I have called you Daniel in Babylon; and every reader thoroughly knows with what distinguished zeal I defended your conspicuous innocence against Silvester, who tried to stain it. Indeed, the published opinion of so many great men and the repute of your blameless life are too widely famed and too much reverenced throughout the world to be assailable by any man, of however great name, or by any arts. I am not so foolish as to attack one whom everybody praises; nay, it has been and always will be my desire not to attack even those whom public repute disgraces. I am not delighted at the faults of any man, since I am very conscious myself of the great beam in my own eye, nor can I be the first to cast a stone at the adulteress.

I have indeed inveighed sharply against impious doctrines, and I have not been slack to censure my adversaries on account, not of their bad morals, but of their impiety. And for this I am so far from being sorry that I have brought my mind to despise the judgments of men and to persevere in this vehement zeal, according to the example of Christ, who, in His zeal, calls His adversaries a generation of vipers, blind, hypocrites, and children of the devil. Paul, too, charges the sorcerer with being a child of the devil, full of all subtlety and all malice; and defames certain persons as evil workers, dogs, and deceivers. In the opinion of those delicate-eared persons, nothing could be more bitter or intemperate than Paul’s language. What can be more bitter than the words of the prophets? The ears of our generation have been made so delicate by the senseless multitude of flatterers that, as soon as we perceive that anything of ours is not approved of, we cry out that we are being bitterly assailed; and when we can repel the truth by no other pretence, we escape by attributing bitterness, impatience, intemperance, to our adversaries. What would be the use of salt if it were not pungent, or of the edge of the sword if it did not slay? Accursed is the man who does the work of the Lord deceitfully.

Wherefore, most excellent Leo, I beseech you to accept my vindication, made in this letter, and to persuade yourself that I have never thought any evil concerning your person; further, that I am one who desires that eternal blessing may fall to your lot, and that I have no dispute with any man concerning morals, but only concerning the word of truth. In all other things I will yield to any one, but I neither can nor will forsake and deny the word. He who thinks otherwise of me, or has taken in my words in another sense, does not think rightly, and has not taken in the truth.

Your see, however, which is called the Court of Rome, and which neither you nor any man can deny to be more corrupt than any Babylon or Sodom, and quite, as I believe, of a lost, desperate, and hopeless impiety, this I have verily abominated, and have felt indignant that the people of Christ should be cheated under your name and the pretext of the Church of Rome; and so I have resisted, and will resist, as long as the spirit of faith shall live in me. Not that I am striving after impossibilities, or hoping that by my labours alone, against the furious opposition of so many flatterers, any good can be done in that most disordered Babylon; but that I feel myself a debtor to my brethren, and am bound to take thought for them, that fewer of them may be rained, or that their ruin may be less complete, by the plagues of Rome. For many years now, nothing else has overflowed from Rome into the world—as you are not ignorant—than the laying waste of goods, of bodies, and of souls, and the worst examples of all the worst things. These things are clearer than the light to all men; and the Church of Rome, formerly the most holy of all Churches, has become the most lawless den of thieves, the most shameless of all brothels, the very kingdom of sin, death, and hell; so that not even antichrist, if he were to come, could devise any addition to its wickedness.

Meanwhile you, Leo, are sitting like a lamb in the midst of wolves, like Daniel in the midst of lions, and, with Ezekiel, you dwell among scorpions. What opposition can you alone make to these monstrous evils? Take to yourself three or four of the most learned and best of the cardinals. What are these among so many? You would all perish by poison before you could undertake to decide on a remedy. It is all over with the Court of Rome; the wrath of God has come upon her to the uttermost. She hates councils; she dreads to be reformed; she cannot restrain the madness of her impiety; she fills up the sentence passed on her mother, of whom it is said, “We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed; let us forsake her.” It had been your duty and that of your cardinals to apply a remedy to these evils, but this gout laughs at the physician’s hand, and the chariot does not obey the reins. Under the influence of these feelings, I have always grieved that you, most excellent Leo, who were worthy of a better age, have been made pontiff in this. For the Roman Court is not worthy of you and those like you, but of Satan himself, who in truth is more the ruler in that Babylon than you are.

Oh, would that, having laid aside that glory which your most abandoned enemies declare to be yours, you were living rather in the office of a private priest or on your paternal inheritance! In that glory none are worthy to glory, except the race of Iscariot, the children of perdition. For what happens in your court, Leo, except that, the more wicked and execrable any man is, the more prosperously he can use your name and authority for the ruin of the property and souls of men, for the multiplication of crimes, for the oppression of faith and truth and of the whole Church of God? Oh, Leo! in reality most unfortunate, and sitting on a most perilous throne, I tell you the truth, because I wish you well; for if Bernard felt compassion for his Anastasius at a time when the Roman see, though even then most corrupt, was as yet ruling with better hope than now, why should not we lament, to whom so much further corruption and ruin has been added in three hundred years?

Is it not true that there is nothing under the vast heavens more corrupt, more pestilential, more hateful, than the Court of Rome? She incomparably surpasses the impiety of the Turks, so that in very truth she, who was formerly the gate of heaven, is now a sort of open mouth of hell, and such a mouth as, under the urgent wrath of God, cannot be blocked up; one course alone being left to us wretched men: to call back and save some few, if we can, from that Roman gulf.

Behold, Leo, my father, with what purpose and on what principle it is that I have stormed against that seat of pestilence. I am so far from having felt any rage against your person that I even hoped to gain favour with you and to aid you in your welfare by striking actively and vigorously at that your prison, nay, your hell. For whatever the efforts of all minds can contrive against the confusion of that impious Court will be advantageous to you and to your welfare, and to many others with you. Those who do harm to her are doing your office; those who in every way abhor her are glorifying Christ; in short, those are Christians who are not Romans.

But, to say yet more, even this never entered my heart: to inveigh against the Court of Rome or to dispute at all about her. For, seeing all remedies for her health to be desperate, I looked on her with contempt, and, giving her a bill of divorcement, said to her, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still,” giving myself up to the peaceful and quiet study of sacred literature, that by this I might be of use to the brethren living about me.

While I was making some advance in these studies, Satan opened his eyes and goaded on his servant John Eccius, that notorious adversary of Christ, by the unchecked lust for fame, to drag me unexpectedly into the arena, trying to catch me in one little word concerning the primacy of the Church of Rome, which had fallen from me in passing. That boastful Thraso, foaming and gnashing his teeth, proclaimed that he would dare all things for the glory of God and for the honour of the holy apostolic seat; and, being puffed up respecting your power, which he was about to misuse, he looked forward with all certainty to victory; seeking to promote, not so much the primacy of Peter, as his own pre-eminence among the theologians of this age; for he thought it would contribute in no slight degree to this, if he were to lead Luther in triumph. The result having proved unfortunate for the sophist, an incredible rage torments him; for he feels that whatever discredit to Rome has arisen through me has been caused by the fault of himself alone.

Suffer me, I pray you, most excellent Leo, both to plead my own cause, and to accuse your true enemies. I believe it is known to you in what way Cardinal Cajetan, your imprudent and unfortunate, nay unfaithful, legate, acted towards me. When, on account of my reverence for your name, I had placed myself and all that was mine in his hands, he did not so act as to establish peace, which he could easily have established by one little word, since I, at that time, promised to be silent and to make an end of my case, if he would command my adversaries to do the same. But that man of pride, not content with this agreement, began to justify my adversaries, to give them free licence, and to order me to recant, a thing which was certainly not in his commission. Thus indeed, when the case was in the best position, it came through his vexatious tyranny into a much worse one. Therefore, whatever has followed upon this is the fault not of Luther, but entirely of Cajetan, since he did not suffer me to be silent and remain quiet, which at that time I was entreating for with all my might. What more was it my duty to do?

Next came Charles Miltitz, also a nuncio from your Blessedness. He, though he went up and down with much and varied exertion, and omitted nothing which could tend to restore the position of the cause thrown into confusion by the rashness and pride of Cajetan, had difficulty, even with the help of that very illustrious prince the Elector Frederick, in at last bringing about more than one familiar conference with me. In these I again yielded to your great name, and was prepared to keep silence, and to accept as my judge either the Archbishop of Treves, or the Bishop of Naumburg; and thus it was done and concluded. While this was being done with good hope of success, lo! that other and greater enemy of yours, Eccius, rushed in with his Leipsic disputation, which he had undertaken against Carlstadt, and, having taken up a new question concerning the primacy of the Pope, turned his arms unexpectedly against me, and completely overthrew the plan for peace. Meanwhile Charles Miltitz was waiting, disputations were held, judges were being chosen, but no decision was arrived at. And no wonder! for by the falsehoods, pretences, and arts of Eccius the whole business was brought into such thorough disorder, confusion, and festering soreness, that, whichever way the sentence might lean, a greater conflagration was sure to arise; for he was seeking, not after truth, but after his own credit. In this case too, I omitted nothing which it was right that I should do.

I confess that on this occasion no small part of the corruptions of Rome came to light; but, if there was any offence in this, it was the fault of Eccius, who, in taking on him a burden beyond his strength, and in furiously aiming at credit for himself, unveiled to the whole world the disgrace of Rome.

Here is that enemy of yours, Leo, or rather of your Court; by his example alone we may learn that an enemy is not more baneful than a flatterer. For what did he bring about by his flattery, except evils which no king could have brought about? At this day, the name of the Court of Rome stinks in the nostrils of the world, the papal authority is growing weak, and its notorious ignorance is evil spoken of. We should hear none of these things, if Eccius had not disturbed the plans of Miltitz and myself for peace. He feels this clearly enough himself in the indignation he shows, too late and in vain, against the publication of my books. He ought to have reflected on this at the time when he was all mad for renown, and was seeking in your cause nothing but his own objects, and that with the greatest peril to you. The foolish man hoped that, from fear of your name, I should yield and keep silence; for I do not think he presumed on his talents and learning. Now, when he sees that I am very confident and speak aloud, he repents too late of his rashness, and sees—if indeed he does see it—that there is One in heaven who resists the proud, and humbles the presumptuous.

Since then we were bringing about by this disputation nothing but the greater confusion of the cause of Rome, Charles Miltitz for the third time addressed the Fathers of the Order, assembled in chapter, and sought their advice for the settlement of the case, as being now in a most troubled and perilous state. Since, by the favour of God, there was no hope of proceeding against me by force, some of the more noted of their number were sent to me, and begged me at least to show respect to your person and to vindicate in a humble letter both your innocence and my own. They said that the affair was not as yet in a position of extreme hopelessness, if Leo X., in his inborn kindliness, would put his hand to it. On this I, who have always offered and wished for peace, in order that I might devote myself to calmer and more useful pursuits, and who for this very purpose have acted with so much spirit and vehemence, in order to put down by the strength and impetuosity of my words, as well as of my feelings, men whom I saw to be very far from equal to myself—I, I say, not only gladly yielded, but even accepted it with joy and gratitude, as the greatest kindness and benefit, if you should think it right to satisfy my hopes.

Thus I come, most blessed Father, and in all abasement beseech you to put your hand, if it is possible, and impose a curb to those flatterers who are enemies of peace, while they pretend peace. But there is no reason, most blessed Father, why any one should assume that I am to utter a recantation, unless he prefers to involve the case in still greater confusion. Moreover, I cannot bear with laws for the interpretation of the word of God, since the word of God, which teaches liberty in all other things, ought not to be bound. Saving these two things, there is nothing which I am not able, and most heartily willing, to do or to suffer. I hate contention; I will challenge no one; in return I wish not to be challenged; but, being challenged, I will not be dumb in the cause of Christ, my Master. For your Blessedness will be able by one short and easy word to call these controversies before you and suppress them, and to impose silence and peace on both sides——a word which I have ever longed to hear.

Therefore, Leo, my Father, beware of listening to those sirens who make you out to be not simply a man, but partly a god, so that you can command and require whatever you will. It will not happen so, nor will you prevail. You are the servant of servants, and more than any other man, in a most pitiable and perilous position. Let not those men deceive you who pretend that you are lord of the world; who will not allow any one to be a Christian without your authority; who babble of your having power over heaven, hell, and purgatory. These men are your enemies and are seeking your soul to destroy it, as Isaiah says, “My people, they that call thee blessed are themselves deceiving thee.” They are in error who raise you above councils and the universal Church; they are in error who attribute to you alone the right of interpreting Scripture. All these men are seeking to set up their own impieties in the Church under your name, and alas! Satan has gained much through them in the time of your predecessors.

In brief, trust not in any who exalt you, but in those who humiliate you. For this is the judgment of God: “He hath cast down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.” See how unlike Christ was to His successors, though all will have it that they are His vicars. I fear that in truth very many of them have been in too serious a sense His vicars, for a vicar represents a prince who is absent. Now if a pontiff rules while Christ is absent and does not dwell in his heart, what else is he but a vicar of Christ? And then what is that Church but a multitude without Christ? What indeed is such a vicar but antichrist and an idol? How much more rightly did the Apostles speak, who call themselves servants of a present Christ, not the vicars of an absent one!

Perhaps I am shamelessly bold in seeming to teach so great a head, by whom all men ought to be taught, and from whom, as those plagues of yours boast, the thrones of judges receive their sentence; but I imitate St. Bernard in his book concerning Considerations addressed to Eugenius, a book which ought to be known by heart by every pontiff. I do this, not from any desire to teach, but as a duty, from that simple and faithful solicitude which teaches us to be anxious for all that is safe for our neighbours, and does not allow considerations of worthiness or unworthiness to be entertained, being intent only on the dangers or advantage of others. For since I know that your Blessedness is driven and tossed by the waves at Rome, so that the depths of the sea press on you with infinite perils, and that you are labouring under such a condition of misery that you need even the least help from any the least brother, I do not seem to myself to be acting unsuitably if I forget your majesty till I shall have fulfilled the office of charity. I will not flatter in so serious and perilous a matter; and if in this you do not see that I am your friend and most thoroughly your subject, there is One to see and judge.

In fine, that I may not approach you empty-handed, blessed Father, I bring with me this little treatise, published under your name, as a good omen of the establishment of peace and of good hope. By this you may perceive in what pursuits I should prefer and be able to occupy myself to more profit, if I were allowed, or had been hitherto allowed, by your impious flatterers. It is a small matter, if you look to its exterior, but, unless I mistake, it is a summary of the Christian life put together in small compass, if you apprehend its meaning. I, in my poverty, have no other present to make you, nor do you need anything else than to be enriched by a spiritual gift. I commend myself to your Paternity and Blessedness, whom may the Lord Jesus preserve for ever. Amen.
Wittenberg, 6th September, 1520.

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Norman Teigen has left a new comment on your post "Luther to Pope Leo X":

This was an interesting read. Luther thinks that if he can just get to the Pope the problem will be solved. How naive it was for him to think that the problem came from a bunch of toadies. It was a systemic problem, not a problem of poorly educated church officials. It's the system that needs reformation.

In all fairness, many Catholics agree that the system, and Leo X himself, over exaggerated the works part and underestimated the importance of faith. It was impossible for the vast machinery to recover and the errors were further solidified by the Counter Reformation.

The Doctrine of the two Kingdoms had been obscured by the RC church. One of the significant contributions of the Lutheran movement to the larger interests was a clarification of the idea first expressed by Christ himself that 'my kingdom is not of this world.'

Some have contended in the current issue re HHS that certain Lutheran spokespersons have ignored this part of the common Lutheran faith. Some have, foolishly and you know who you are, have said that "We are all Catholics Now!"

Well, we're not Catholics then, or now. Let those who endorse Catholic and Reformed social theory in the guise of religious freedom of action refrain from their foolishness.

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GJ - I do not think Luther was being naive. I remember Roman Catholics at Notre Dame being awe-struck by Luther's daring. He always used the Word. Now people think in terms of "What will work?" and they often mute themselves or try secular methods - like the big show put on by Harrison.

The theocratic method is very dangerous. I do not want to live in any theocracy. Like the foundations, the worst villains take control right away.

If the supposedly conservative Lutheran synod leaders want to make a statement in favor of babies, they should stop working with ELCA and Thrivent.

The Word of the Lord from Jeremiah

Student take on growing debt loads | The Jamestown Sun | Jamestown, North Dakota

Student take on growing debt loads | The Jamestown Sun | Jamestown, North Dakota:


MOORHEAD, Minn. — When Sarah Altmann received her acceptance letter from Bethany Lutheran College in 1999, she was excited to get in — and didn’t think too hard about the price tag.

“I was fresh out of high school, they accepted me, and I didn’t even think about long term,” she said. She didn’t come from money, so she paid for school primarily through loans.

More than a decade later, she’s still paying for it.

Altmann, who later transferred to Minnesota State University Moorhead and is close to finishing a degree in computer science after chipping away off and on for years, still carries about $30,000 in student loan debt. Most of it is from her time at Bethany Lutheran, a small private school in Mankato, Minn.

She doesn’t regret her time there, and doesn’t see the loans as an albatross. Instead, it’s just a persistent reality for her and a generation of college graduates who leave school carrying a heavy debt burden.

Two-thirds of four-year college graduates last year accumulated college debt, according to FinAid.org, an online financial aid resource center. Graduates in debt owed an average of $34,000 — a figure that’s more than tripled in the past two decades.

The local picture isn’t much different:

* At North Dakota State University, about 74 percent of 2011 graduates carried college debt. They owed an average of $28,689.

* At MSUM, about 68 percent of last year’s graduates owed an average of $30,036.

* At Concordia, about 79 percent of students from the 2010 graduating class — the most recent year for which data was available — owed an average of $32,271.


'via Blog this'

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GJ - This astonishes me. The greedy Synodical Conference leaders took all the Schwan loot and put it into wild hair projects, including many new glamorous buildings at schools - Concordia, St. Louis; Martin Luther College; Bethany Lutheran College. Meanwhile they saddled everyone with enormous student loan debts.

Why was nothing done to keep tuition costs reasonable?

Thrivent also pumped hundreds of millions into more projects besides.

The Second Sunday in Lent

By Norma Boeckler

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

The Hymn #652  I Lay My Sins on Jesus 1:24

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual           

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 454      Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire     1:41

Unanswered Prayers

The Hymn # 281         The Savior Calls            1:29

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 374         Grace Tis a Charming Sound 1:91

KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

KJV Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Second Sunday In Lent

Lord God, heavenly Father, grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that He may strengthen our hearts and confirm our faith and hope in Thy grace and mercy, so that, although we have reason to fear because of our conscience, our sin, and our unworthiness, we may nevertheless, with the woman of Canaan, hold fast to Thy grace, and in every trial and temptation find Thee a very present help and refuge, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Unanswered Prayers

Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

This lesson shows how Jesus mission to the Gentiles already existed, because the fame of His miracles reached outside the Jewish community. The Gospel also teaches a clear lesson about unanswered prayers.

Jesus was in Gentile territory, so one point of this miracle is to show that believers already existed outside of Judaism. Some have argued that “Lord” by itself is not so distinctive as we think, since the title was used for secular leaders. In modern Greek, they say Lord Jackson instead of Mr. Jackson, so the term has declined in value over the years.

However, this woman called Jesus “Son of David” too. That was a clear confession of faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah. That meant she knew enough of the Old Testament (the only Scriptures at that time) to rely on the Messianic promises. She also knew the reputation of Jesus for His healing miracles. She believed in Him as a miraculous healer and as the Messiah.

That should not be too surprising, but we do not often think of it. Paul is emphasized as the Gentile missionary, but Jesus was the first missionary to non-Jews. The Promises of the Old Testament moved easily through society because the Scriptures were translated into Greek, the international language of its day.

Trade and travel meant that Jews were in many locations with their Scriptures and worship.

22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

“And behold” emphasizes that this is a remarkable event. A pagan was not expected to make a confession of faith. This woman was looking for Jesus, meeting Him to beg for an act of mercy.

Those who criticize the Bible in the name of niceness will always use this healing story as an excuse to make up fables about the Scriptures and miss the meaning of the healing. Jesus does seem mean and uncaring  - that is the point.

First it needs to be said that no one in the New Testament who asked Jesus was denied. Each healing described in detail has a point or two to teach in addition to revealing the divine power of Christ.

This is definitely a wrenching portrait, because this woman is placing all her hope on Jesus in curing her daughter. Anyone can identify with this.

23 But he answered her not a word.

This brief response has Jesus not even responding to the poor woman. Where is the love and compassion? I have many experiences of sending a personal message, even a certified letter, and not even getting a response, not even an acknowledgement. That is very annoying and seems to be the ultimate in shunning – not even worth an answer.

If we see this miracle as an example of unanswered prayer, or to be more precise, delayed answers, then each step makes perfect sense. We can see the allegory that fits so well with the actual event.

We pray out of dire need and seem to get no answer, not even a response. We see that as no response but it is really a delay in our sense of time.

And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Lenski sees “Send her away” as neutral, because Jesus always healed those who came to Him. However, the woman must have felt embarrassed and slighted as she saw the disciples respond by going to their Master and speaking to Him. “Send her away” could not have sounded good, if she heard the words.

When we are placed in situations like that we always feel uncomfortable wondering what is being said.

This is analogous to the feelings we have when people wonder why misfortunes come our way. It adds to the burden and they enjoy being spectators. Much of this is a matter of perspective. Taunting comes because God blinds people to the meaning of afflictions and the cross in the lives of believers. Unbelievers can only see folly, shame, and misery. The taunting is actually a good sign, and not a bad sign.

We can see from the whole miracle that good was developing, even in the midst of silence and apparent coldness.

This should remind of Chytraeus saying, “It is a sin to question the goodness of God.” Whatever the circumstances. God means something good for His believers.”

Lenski offered a couple of reasons why the disciples wanted the woman dismissed, in the positive sense, “Heal her and send her along the way.” One reason would have that it was unseemly for a woman to be following them and shouting petitions at them.

Another reason might have been their unwillingness to attract attention in a pagan area. That is not far-fetched. When Jesus said they were going to Bethany, to His friend Lazarus, Doubting Thomas said, “We are going to die.”

KJV John 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. 16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Luther sees this answer as exercising the faith of the woman. It was not His time to begin a Gentile mission, even though the beginnings were there due to the power of His healings and teaching. The Gentile mission would start after He completed the mission to His own people.

This corresponds to people saying to themselves, “Perhaps I am not worthy.” But believers know that Christ makes us worthy, that all true prayers are in the Name of Christ, and God responds to us on His behalf.

I see people saying to friends, “I will send positive thoughts your way,” as if positive thoughts are anything but a mockery of faith. Shirley McClaine once asked her followers to think hard about the power going on when the theater went black. They did, and the theater’s power stayed off.

25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

This believer worshiped Christ as she continued her requests. Before she was asking from behind the group. Now she bowed before Him in submission. She did not stop believing, in spite of the outward appearance of rejection. Jesus did not turn her down, but said this:

26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

Lenski does not want Jesus to sound harsh, but that is hard to soften, since dog is a lowly term in the Holy Land and often across the world.

When we are waiting for an answer we feel unworthy and unwanted, so this woman’s actions and words are an example as Jesus said Himself. Her answer was not anger toward God, but a turn on the phrase Jesus used.

27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.

This is why Jesus responded in such a way. He already knew what was in her heart and in His plan, but this developed (as it did with many miracles) so the manner of healing would remain a teaching example forever.

28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

This is an example of temptation versus faith. God allows us to have temptation so that faith can conquer the temptation and show what God can do. When our second daughter became ill and we saw the same symptoms beginning again, while our first daughter was in dire straits already, it was tempting to think, “This is so unfair and wrong, with two in a row, many more years of incompetent doctors and nurses to face.”

Quotations

            SERMON NOTES

         The Second Sunday in Lent

            Matthew 15:21-28

               A HARD SAYING

"But see in this example how Christ like a hunter exercises and chases faith in His followers in order that it may become strong and firm."

     Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983 II,  p. 149.  Matthew 15:21‑28.

"In like manner Moses must precede and teach people to feel their sins in order that grace may be sweet and welcome to them.  Therefore all is in vain, however friendly and lovely Christ may be pictured, if man is not first humbled by a knowledge of himself and he possesses no longing for Christ, as Mary's Song says, 'The hungry he hath filled with good things; and the rich he hath sent

empty away,' Luke 1:53."

     Sermons of Martin Luther, II, p. 149.

         

"All this is spoken and written for the comfort of the distressed, the poor, the needy, the sinful, the despised, so that they may know in all times of need to whom to flee and where to seek comfort and help."

     Sermons of Martin Luther, II,  p. 149.

"Now what does the poor woman do?  She turns her eyes from all this unfriendly treatment of Christ; all this does not lead her astray, neither does she take it to heart, but she continues immediately and firmly to cling in her confidence to the good news she had heard and embraced concerning Him, and never gives up.  We must also do the same and learn firmly to cling to the Word, even though God with all His creatures appears different than His Word teaches.  But, oh, how painful it is to nature and reason, that this woman should strip herself of self and forsake all that she experienced, and cling along to God's bare Word, until she experienced the contrary.  May God help us in time of need and of death to possess courage and faith!"

     Sermons of Martin Luther,  II,  p. 150. 

               WHAT WE LEARN

"As for example when we feel in our conscience that God rebukes us as sinners and judges us unworthy of the kingdom of heaven, then we experience hell, and we think we are lost forever.  Now whoever understands here the actions of this poor woman and catches God in His own judgment, and says, Lord, it is true, I am a sinner and not worthy of Thy grace; but still Thou hast promised sinners forgiveness, and Thou art come not to call the righteous, but, as St. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15, 'to save sinners.'  Behold, then must God according to His own judgment have mercy upon us."

     Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983 II,  p. 153. Matthew 15:21‑28; 1 Timothy 1:15               

"Since God has connected His most gracious promise of forgiveness with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, these also are true and efficacious means of grace, namely, by virtue of the divine promises that are attached to them."

     John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 444.