More Icha-flogging on a Blog Where I Do Not Post Articles or Comments. WELS Documented

WELS Documented

1. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2015 at 2:48 PM

   "Our first run-in"? Way to go, Rev. Father Spencer. The ink is hardly dry on the obituary and you are already speaking ill of the dead. Shame on you.

   Reply
2. 
   Joel LilloFebruary 2, 2015 at 10:57 AM

   Those who knew Pastor Soukup knew him as a man who loved the message of the gospel so much that he wished everyone knew it and who did everything in his power to get people to hear that message. That, I'm pretty sure, was the driving motivation behind what he said in his "run-in" with "Father" Spencer. As usual, we see "Father" Spencer putting the worst construction on something that someone said.

1. 
   

   
   
   Joe KrohnFebruary 2, 2015 at 5:37 PM
   "This is the ultimate in cowardliness, to make accusations about someone publicly after they have died." --anonymous
   
   Nice job.
   Reply
2. 
   AnonymousFebruary 2, 2015 at 7:44 PM

   Some of us don't want to get our reputations assassinated in your old buddy's blog, Joe, over on Ichabod.

   Reply
3. 
   AnonymousFebruary 2, 2015 at 8:13 PM

   I can't help but get a mental picture when I hear "Ichabod" come up.
   
   It's like a western movie (High Plains Drifter comes to mind). The town is gathered to discuss how to get rid of the gunslinger who has them all scared. Then you hear the jingle of spurs coming down the boardwalk and someone whispers with eyes wide - "Ichabod" as they all turn towards the door, lips a quiver, wiping sweat from their brow (sic).
   
   It makes a funny mental picture wouldn't you agree? Rhetorical question so no need to answer. Of course I am in the crowd, though for vanities (sic) sake I like to think I am whispering "Search Engines" as a general pejorative rather than just singling out "Ichabod".
   
   Eine arme Schaf

   Reply

***

GJ - What started this tirade was Pastor Steve Spencer's comment that he and the late Pastor Paul Soukup had a different opinion about the effects of teaching the truth. That became a chance for the junkyard dogs - anonymously - to start biting and devouring.

I was not even on the page and--snap, bite, drool, snarl--they started on me. Watch them whine about being quoted, as if reading and quoting a blog is opening someone's mail.

"You're not too happy with Ichabod, Anonymous.
Maybe you should saddle up, sit down with him,
and tell him your sins.
I mean - his sins."

Too Cold and Too Bold in Gardening?

Use the Force - of Creation, Luke.

One reader is intrigued with my early planting of peas and sunflowers. Today we woke up to 15 degree temps here in NW Arkansas. Many times in January I was outside in a short-sleeved shirt, and I was used to getting the newspaper for our neighbor without the benefit of shoes. Dressing up means - wear shoes, clean sweats.

That January planting took place when we pulled back mulch from last fall and planted peas, then sunflowers along the back fence. That is easy when the mulch is placed in the fall. The ground stays soft, especially if lawn and weeds have been rotted by the covering. I learned that when I built a pine branch shelter for animals before the Minnesota winter. I did not see any wildlife there, but the area under the branched composted and became very soft for turning over.

The peas will do fine at 15 degrees. They can be planted in the fall, though many resist that because the seed is vulnerable to fungi and animals the whole time.

Spinach is easily started in the fall and continued in very early spring, since it likes cold (like peas) and attracts bugs, which dislike the cold.

This should not shock people, but city folk are often unaware of how much winter wheat is grown. Winter wheat is also planted in the late autumn and very productive from its enjoyment of spring rains.

Vigorous plants may host insects, but they shake off the damage by growing so fast. Seedlings attacked by insects can be seriously weakened, but beneficial insects, birds, and soil health will mitigate that problem.

Forget grocery store carrots, which are pretty good.
Carrots right out of the ground are delicious, sweet, and nutritious,
from baby seedlings - so cute - to full grown and dug up from the snow.
They are two-year plants, so they are not old and useless for eating until the second year.
Then they flower like their cousins - Queen Ann's Lace.

Next on my list is a second planting of peas, because they will grow before anything can. After that, a row of carrots will be planted. Carrots can be planted weeks before the last frost. Carrots can be kept in the ground into the winter, to sweeten them. In Midland I was never tempted to dig for carrots in the snow, but people think that is a great little adventure. I did grow kale and that can be harvested green from under the snow.

Let's think about that. Kale is so tough, it is still green under the snow. The texture has to be close to rubber, maybe tougher - and that is correct. But it is nutritious, like everything in the cabbage or crucifer family (crucifer for the flower - aka cole and brassica plants). The family is cold tolerant, even cold loving. Brussels sprouts, loved by gourmands like me, hated by city slickers, get better with a frost.

The taxonomy of common cruciferous vegetables

common name	genus	specific epithet	Cultivar group
Horseradish	Armoracia	rusticana
Land cress	Barbarea	verna
Ethiopian mustard	Brassica	carinata
Kale	Brassica	oleracea	Acephala group
collard greens	Brassica	oleracea	Acephala Group
Chinese broccoli (gai-lan)	Brassica	oleracea	Alboglabra Group
Cabbage	Brassica	oleracea	Capitata Group
Savoy cabbage	Brassica	oleracea	Savoy Cabbage Group
Brussels sprouts	Brassica	oleracea	Gemmifera Group
Kohlrabi	Brassica	oleracea	Gongylodes Group
Broccoli	Brassica	oleracea	Italica Group
Broccoflower	Brassica	oleracea	Italica Group × Botrytis Group
Broccoli romanesco	Brassica	oleracea	Botrytis Group / Italica Group
Cauliflower	Brassica	oleracea	Botrytis Group
wild broccoli	Brassica	oleracea	Oleracea Group
bok choy	Brassica	rapa	chinensis
Komatsuna	Brassica	rapa	pervidis or komatsuna
Mizuna	Brassica	rapa	nipposinica
Rapini (broccoli rabe)	Brassica	rapa	parachinensis
Flowering cabbage	Brassica	rapa	parachinensis
Chinese cabbage, napa cabbage	Brassica	rapa	pekinensis
Turnip root; greens	Brassica	rapa	rapifera
Rutabaga (swede)	Brassica	napus	napobrassica
Siberian kale	Brassica	napus	pabularia
Canola/rapeseed	Brassica	rapa/napus	oleifera
Wrapped heart mustard cabbage	Brassica	juncea	rugosa
Mustard seeds, brown; greens	Brassica	juncea

Another reader is all set to plant, but her garden is under a foot of snow. We had two inches of snow predicted - accumulation! Oh no! I saw some flakes falling this morning, but not enough to make the car windshield white. Frost on the windshield has been a no-show all winter, with a few exceptions.

I am looking for bulbs to poke through the soil now, but the cold nights of February may slow that down quite a bit. We are usually a month ahead of the flowers in Midland, Michigan, where we once had six inches of snow fall in May.

I believe n God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.

Your Superbowl Halftime Entertainment - Blessed by the WELS Stuporstars: Tim Glende and Ski

Tim Glende and Ski posed with Katy Perry,
the no talent Superbowl entertainment for 2015.
I hope she didn't sing one of her porn songs -
that would embarrass WELS, maybe.

I used to wonder why Glende and Ski were so enchanted with Katy Perry. Let's skip the first two reasons.

The third reason - she lip-syncs her songs and they lip-sync their copycat sermons.

Oh oh. She did go porno for the Superbowl:

"I thought it would be appropriate to draw blood tonight," tweeted the singer, who also sang excerpts from I Kissed a Girl and Teenage Dream during her set.

Classic Father Hollywood - Women Consecrating the Elements in WELS

Or both - Sam Birn's graphic on his Facebook page.

Girls Gone Wild, WELS Edition

In spite of the Wisconsin Synod's reputation for "conservative" rigor, WELS has a rather "liberal" view when it comes to women officiating at the Eucharist.

According to this Q&A from the WELS's own website, there have been at least two instances where laywomen in the WELS have said the Lord' Words of Institution over bread and wine and served it, claiming that it was the body and blood of the Lord. The practice was in no way condemned by the WELS hierarchy, but rather, the practice is current under a "moratorium" in order to "keep from offending our brothers."

This error has come about by the intersection of an error on the doctrine of the ministry combined with a legalistic view of the role of women.

First, WELS does not believe the pastoral office has been divinely established, and further teaches that "The Bible establishes all of public gospel ministry but does not establish a pastoral office as such or vest certain duties exclusive to that office" (Emphasis added).

From this starting point, WELS adds the next premise that the differences between male and female are limited to a legalistic "thou shalt not," as the article puts it:

"Since the Bible does not assign specific duties to the pastor, WELS approaches the matter of women communing women from Scripture's man and women role relationship principle. WELS doctrinal statements on the role of man and woman say that a woman may have any part in public ministry that does not assume teaching authority over a man. That, of course, would include women communing women" (emphasis added).

And this has moved beyond the theoretical into the practical:

"WELS has had only two instances of women communing women, and our Conference of Presidents has since issued an indefinite moratorium on such practice to keep from offending our brothers until the matter is mutually resolved" (emphasis added).

The "it's only happened twice" defense reminds me of the Monty Python sketch claiming that the British Navy now has cannibalism "relatively under control."

In other words, the theology of male and female boils down to an oversimplified and law-based overarching principle that women are free to do anything and everything in the Lord's economy so long as she does not exercise authority over a man in doing so - when in fact, the role of women is much richer than the "anything other than..." approach of the WELS. Accepting these two premises and following them to their logical end yields the result of women saying the Words of Institution over bread and wine, and distributing the elements to each other as if they were the true body and blood.

This is roughly the equivalent of my asserting that since I'm an American citizen, I can sign my name on a bill and make it a law, or that I can authorize people to go up into the Statue of Liberty's crown, or may indeed put stars on my lapels and order military personnel about. I can do no such thing. It is a matter of authority. Pastors are ambassadors of Christ, and speak by His authority, standing in His stead and by His command. The American ambassador to Canada speaks with the authority of the government of the United States. Of course, I am free to visit the Parliament in Ottawa, but unlike the word of the ambassador, my word bears no authority. Any statements I make have no force behind them, as I have not been placed into any such office by those who have such authority to delegate.

This is quite different than the Roman Catholic assertion that at a man's ordination, a metaphysical change in his person has happened. But this is also quite different than the Protestant assertion that ordination is nothing more than a quaint ceremony. Sometimes the president of the United States is called "the most powerful man in the world." Not so. I'd be willing to wager than any middle linebacker in the NFL could take out President Obama in any kind of a strength competition or fight. What the president has is not personal "power," but rather delegated personal "authority" that he exercises "by virtue of his office." Not even someone more "powerful" than the president can make laws and issue commands to the military. If someone were to attempt to do so lacking authority, it would be a mutiny and a rebellion.

The examples in Scripture of those who assumed and usurped authority not given by the Lord do not end well. Korah's rebellioncomes to mind.

And lest we become too smug in the LCMS, I think we should be on guard. We do have deaconesses who are described as "ministers," some even serving in institutional chaplaincies, providing spiritual care to both men and women. I have even seen this work described as being "pastoral" - though there is great care not to turn this adjective into a noun. At some point, the earlier understanding that deaconesses would only teach women and children has been superseded in the LCMS, as deaconesses are now permitted to teach men as well as women and children. What authority they have and do not have seems to be on a sliding scale of gray, and varies with whomever is asked.

But the problem goes well beyond the malleable role of the deaconess. I recently heard firsthand of a "laying on of hands" in the LCMS that involved not only clergy, but the congregational elders (after all, see 1 Tim 4:4...) and the female congregational president as well. I know that sometimes clergy wives are even involved in these ceremonials.

We also have an oxymoronic "office" in the LCMS called "lay minister." Male "lay ministers" have been given "license" for "Word and Sacrament ministry" by district presidents. Female "lay ministers" take the same classes and hold the same synodical designation, yet (to my knowledge) there have not been instances of female "lay ministers" either preaching or presiding over an alleged Sacrament of the Altar. But I do think this toe-to-the-line of the Wisconsonian view of the office of the ministry and the roles of the sexes leaves the possibility open.

One of the most foolish things anyone can ever say is: "It can't happen here."

We in the LCMS have a similar rather limited theology of the sexes as the WELS. We tend to focus on the narrow and myopic legalistic issue of "what women are allowed, and are not allowed, to do" (functionalism) rather than the deeper and eternal issue of what men and women were created to do (ontology). Function ought to flow from ontology rather than trying to reverse-engineer the situation in the opposite direction.

I suspect there are some in our midst who indeed would make the argument that women have the divine authority to bless bread and wine (even as they have the power to physically say the words), that they can indeed also have the churchly permission ("call") to do so as long as no men take the "sacrament" from her hand, and so long as she does not lay claim to the title of "pastor." And there are some that will, no doubt, make a couple arguments in favor of women consecrating based on:

1) The charge of "Donatism." This is the ancient heresy that the validity of the sacrament is based on the moral standing of the officiant. However, sex has nothing to do with moral fitness. It is rather an ontological distinction. For example, men are not denied the privilege of carrying a child in the womb based on a moral reason, it's rather a question of reality and vocation. Just as a good and righteous American citizen can write his name at the end of a bill passed by Congress, the fact is that his righteous signature is not effective whereas that of even a wicked president is - by virtue of authority. A person's sex has nothing at all to do with Donatism.

In fact, the Donatism charge can even go the other way. For example, a very pious and morally upright lay woman can say all the right words over bread and wine without having any authority from God, neither from Scripture nor from the Church, and yet a wicked ordained male pastor with a valid call can do the same thing - and there is no doubt whatsoever of the validity of the sacraments he officiates over.

This is because the issue is authority, not moral fitness.

In fact, there was an interesting conversation between some LCMS seminary professors over this very issue. You can read the initial article about the "validity of churchly acts of ordained [sic] women" here and the rebuttal against the charge of "Neo-Donatism" here.

2) Emergency baptism. The argument goes that if women can "confect the sacrament," so to speak, regarding an emergency baptism, then it follows that she can similarly officiate over celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. But this is a leap of logic that presumes that all sacraments are equal and that we are not bound to any authority in these matters apart from our own modern whims. The crux of the matter is that emergency baptism is just that - a life and death situation. The Church has long established this form of Holy Baptism, and has never denied the fairer sex the extraordinary authority to administer the Holy Sacrament in matters of extremity. However, the same cannot be said for other sacramental and churchly acts. For there are no emergency marriages or confirmations or communions. Our confessions cite the scenario attributed to St. Augustine in which one dying man baptizes the other, and the newly-baptized administers the Sacrament of Holy Absolution to his fellow. There is no mention of any other sacrament or church rite. Most certainly there is no precedent for emergency lay Communion.

Just as female ordination inevitably leads to the blessing of same-sex marriages, I also believe that a functional view of the ministry inexorably leads to women functioning (if not outright claiming to be) pastors. Until we in the LCMS come to grips with the idea of ontology (both of ministers and of the sexes), we will continue to follow in the train of our conservative brethren, even though the tracks have taken a radical turn to the left.

HT: Dr. William J. Tighe

Septuagesima Sunday - The Third Sunday Before Ash Wednesday

Septuagesima Sunday, 2015

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #132                           O God of God                                    3:55

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 # 151            Christ the Life                       2:78

Grace and Mercy - Do People Really Want Justice?

The Hymn # 227     Come Holy Ghost                             2:72

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 #409   Let Us Ever Walk                              2:91

1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.  25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:  27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;  2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;  4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

KJV Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Septuagesima Sunday

Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy holy word hast called us into Thy vineyard: Send, we beseech Thee, Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may labor faithfully in Thy vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Thy word and do Thy will, and put our whole and only trust in Thy grace, which Thou hast bestowed upon us so plenteously through Thy Son Jesus Christ, that we may obtain eternal salvation through Him, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Grace and Mercy - Do People Really Want Justice?

This parable is familiar to most who go to church and hear the historic lessons. This narrative teaches more about human nature and our reaction to God's grace.

The overall plot is familiar to anyone who hires people as day laborers. The idea is that one job needs to be done, and some people are looking for short-term work.  This fits our human situation because we do all kinds of work in many places before our days are over. Everyone wants to be paid well, and if we are, we take that for granted until things change and half-pay is the norm. When things are really bad, any pay for any job is good.

God's grace is the central issue in all confessions of the Christian faith. That is another way of saying - how are people rewarded for being trusting in God for forgiveness and salvation. 

The ultimate reward is forgiveness and eternal life. so that makes an interesting parallel in this story. Everyone gets a penny.

First he hires people at the beginning of the day to work in the vineyard, for a penny. We still use that term for church work. I recall a pastor writing and saying, "I am glad you will be working in the vineyard." He neglected to say that the vineyard (LCA) was being replanted with poison grapes.

Luther wrote:

We should not consider what the penny or shilling means, not what the first or the last hour signifies; but what the householder had in mind and what he aims to teach, how he desires to have his goodness esteemed higher than all human works and merit, yea, that his mercy alone must have all the praise.

Later, more are hired, four more times They will get whatever is right, and no specific promise is made to them. But the pay is given in reverse. The last hired get a penny, so the first hired think, "We will get more, because we worked all day."

But they only get a penny. They are quite unhappy, in spite of their earlier agreement.

11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

First of all - people complain about how little the others have worked compared to them. Secondly, they make known how much they suffered.

This represents the human reaction to what others receive. Of course, we always have a very slight understanding of anyone else, but still the Old Adam says, "This is not fair. They have done very little to deserve this, while I have suffered terribly in comparison. The reward should be just, equal."

Luther:

4. Hence the substance of the parable in today’s Gospel consists not in the penny, what it is, nor in the different hours; but in earning and acquiring, or how one can earn the penny; that as here the first presumed to obtain the penny and even more by their own merit, and yet the last received the same amount because of the goodness of the householder. Thus God will show it is nothing but mercy that he gives and no one is to arrogate to himself more than another. Therefore he says I do thee no wrong, is not the money mine and not thine; if I had given away thy property, then thou wouldest have reason to murmur; is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own ?

The answer reminds us of God speaking out of the whirlwind to Job:

3 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

This parable builds toward the ending, and that ending should be given a lot of thought.

We always think of justice or fairness, whether we admit it or not. The first issue is answered well by Paul in Romans. No one wants justice, because the Law condemns us even if we fail in even one part of the Law. 

The human view of justice is, "I deserve more, because he did less."

God's first response is ironic humor. "I did you no wrong. You agreed with this offer. Accept that and do not argue. I am giving My goodness and mercy to the last hired just as I am giving to you."

God's mercy and goodness belong to Him alone. When He gives it, He is breaking no law. He is not taking from one man to give it to another.

Is thine eye evil, because I am good?

Therefore, God asks why His goodness makes man see evil.

How This Happens Today

Sometimes we get a special burden to bear. It may be our own disorder or handicap. It can be caring for children with special needs. It can be a congregational call with nothing but problems, or it can be the abuse of a synod that rewards common criminals, drunks, adulterers, and sex offenders.

There is always an example to observe and covet, asking why God allows such a thing to happen.

But we do not know how God works in the broadest sense until much later. Age and experience have given at least a higher spot to observe those things from the past and a prediction of the future - if I am only standing on an anthill.

I have pointed out to many men that abusive leaders have given them a blessing in sending them away. There are many more opportunities with freedom than with slavery under the slave-masters. The worse others have behaved, the more they will see God's justice, which is terrible indeed.

The Gospel is not chained, as Paul observed. It can go everywhere, but no one should use the Gospel as an excuse to be lawless, as many are today.

When God gives us special children, He has given us special blessings. Sometimes they cannot live or live the ideal life. But I know two little girls who were constant blessings to others and still bless us today. Another baby girl, far more fragile, grew up and lost all kinds of ability from her disease. She suffered terribly from the disease she had and from people taking advantage of her weakness. But she was completely involved in caring for others.

This is how God blesses with His goodness, although it is completely hidden from many. Most pastors will labor in the vineyard without being noticed or even thanked very much. They hear members praise the famous media ministers, who often live in $10 million houses. Meanwhile, the parsonage roof leaks and furnace needs repairing. 

Children look at mothers as obstacles blocking their path to happiness, and the mothers carry on, enjoying the fact that they love their children, than having them and loving them is reward enough.

God's goodness is revealed in His ability to turn ordinary water into wine, as the miracle at Cana indicated. If we look at God's goodness as evil, because others seem to get more, then all we have to do is wait. Time wounds all heels. If the undeserving get too much, God will whisk it away suddenly.

If the goodness seems slight at the moment, later it will compound its interest and be clear - but only to thankful hearts.