Big Storm Promises Ideal Planting Frenzy. Bare Fingers Planting Bare Root Roses

Veterans Honor Rose

As they say in Maine, a "wicked stawm" was coming. That meant ideal weather for planting, so I went to work, with Sassy supervising. I bought various tomatoes at Walmart and planted them in the vegetable garden. The sunny (straw bale) garden was a good place to start the Scarlet Runner beans, so I planted them between cherry tomato plants, along the fence.

Later some roses arrived - Big Purple and Veterans Honor. Storm forecasts were more ominous and the weather turned cool and breezy. The push of chilled air is a sure sign of a thunderstorm on the way.

Mrs. Ichabod applied the lash to get me finished before lightning finished me off. Fortunately the rose garden's delightful soil texture extends beyond the mulched area. As I dug between the daffodils and tulips, the shovel sank quickly into the soil, except for one spot.

The Jackson and Perkins roses looked magnificent. This is how I plant bare root roses:

1. I dig the holes in the lawn and apply Jackson Mulch afterwards. No hurry for the mulch.
2. I trim the roots and place the rose into the hole, with support under the base, a little teepee of soil.
3. I do not soak the roses before. I do not add fertilizer to the hole.
4. I clip the roots a bit to make the rose fit into the hole.
5. I scoop crumbling soil in with my bare hands and use upside-down sod on top for stability and decomposition.
6. I water each plant slowly and generously. This settles the soil and hydrates the somewhat dried roots.
7. Later I add wet newspapers and wood mulch around the new roses.

I finished and waited for the threatening storm to erupt. We had barely enough rain to moisten the driveway, but more is coming tonight.

Will Lutherans Come Clean and Apologize for Covering Up Abuse? It Took the Mennonites Two Decades To Apolotize for Yoder's 100 Victims

President Hesburgh was there to give me the PhD diploma.
John Howard Yoder, as my advisor, carried the stole and placed it.

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary apologizes to victims of sexual abuse by former leader John Howard Yoder

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary leaders publicly accepted responsibility and apologized for John Howard Yoder’s sexual abuse of more than 100 women in a worship service Sunday, March 22.

David Brubacher, left, and Ron Guengerich, right, members of the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary board of directors speak during a service Sunday, March 23, 2015 at the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount in Elkhart. The service addressed the sexual misconduct of John Howard Yoder and the pain of his victims. (Sarah Welliver/The Elkhart Truth) (Buy this photo)

Michelle Sokol

Posted on March 22, 2015 at 7:59 p.m.

The Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary community gathered in an emotional service Sunday afternoon, March 22, to acknowledge the pain and trauma inflicted on more than 100 women who were sexually violated by renowned theologian John Howard Yoder.

It was the first time AMBS publicly took responsibility for the abuse and neglect, which happened in the ’70s and ’80s and was first publicized by The Elkhart Truth in 1992.

It was also the first time leaders in the seminary publicly apologized to the women who were victimized.

“What was done to you, whether sinful acts of commission or omission, was grievously wrong,” current AMBS President Sara Wenger Shenk said during a lengthy apology. “It should never have been allowed to happen. We failed you. We failed the church. We failed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Yoder, who died in 1997, was a professor of theology at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary from 1960 to 1984 and also briefly served as dean and president of the Goshen Biblical Seminary. Those two seminaries combined in 1994 and changed the name to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in 2012.

Yoder also taught theology at the University of Notre Dame for 30 years.

• READ MORE: The full text of The Elkhart Truth’s investigative series can be found at the bottom of this article.
• 
  

Nearly two decades after he left AMBC, a denominational task force launched an investigation and confronted Yoder with 13 charges of sexual abuse. The Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference suspended Yoder’s ministerial credential in response and referred him to counseling.

Although Yoder maintained he never intended any harm to the women, he never disputed the charges and he cooperated in the disciplinary process.

The women, who experienced sexual violations ranging from sexual harassment in public places to sexual intercourse, were largely left without closure — until recently. 

Mary Klassen, communications director at the seminary, said there has always been an undercurrent of stories and innuendo that surfaces and wanes every so often.

About five years ago, when Shenk came to AMBC as president, it surfaced again.

Women approached her to inform her there was unfinished business regarding Yoder’s actions, and she listened. Ervin Stutzman, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, was hearing the same calls to action.

“The two of them decided it was time to move,” Klassen said. “It was the sense that there was unfinished business that made them open it up, because that’s the only way to move toward some type of healing.”

Shenk and Stutzman convened a discernment group to continue reconciliation work and answer ongoing questions about how the church responded to the allegations. Part of that effort included commissioning historian Rachel Waltner Goossen to tell the full story.

Goossen was provided access to previously closed files related to Yoder, and she interviewed 29 individuals including Yoder’s victims, his colleagues and former seminary administrators.

Her report, titled “Defanging the Beast: Mennonite Responses to John Howard Yoder’s Sexual Abuse,” was published in the January 2015 issue of The Mennonite Quarterly Review.

• READ MORE: The failure to bind and loose, an excerpt of “Defanging the Beast”

Sunday’s services were another step on behalf of the seminary to admit to wrongdoing and help the women harmed by Yoder heal and find closure.

About 50 gathered at an intimate morning session where women harmed by Yoder’s actions and the seminary’s inadequate response shared their stories. Current and former faculty, administration and board were also in attendance only to listen.

That portion was not open to the media, but Klassen said several of the women told her they had never been invited to share their pain openly and it was helpful. The session was also helpful to Klassen, who had read the articles and research but had never put a face with the names of the abused.

“It made it so real in ways that nothing else had, and that made the afternoon service that much more powerful,” she said.

Evelyn Shellenberger, who served on the Goshen Biblical Seminary board from 1976 to 1987 and was chair from 1983 to 1987, also met with the women and heard their stories for the first time Sunday morning.

She apologized for her part in allowing the abuse to continue, and said she did not know how to use her power as a board member to stop Yoder’s abusive behavior. She said she met with Yoder regularly for three years in attempts to change his way of thinking, but she now realizes that was not enough.

“As I listened to your personal stories, your painful stories, I couldn’t imagine why I was so silent about what was happening,” she said. “I realize now by speaking about you as a letter or a number, this was very depersonalizing. It made the pain you were dealing with seem less real.”

Shenk then read a public apology on behalf of the entire church community. She said she struggled at first with the thought of confessing to something that happened on somebody else’s watch. But eventually, she realized she must denounce the acts of evil that happened under the watch of the seminary.

READ MORE
The full text of several of the statements made at Sunday’s afternoon service are available on theAnabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary’s website, including:

• Shenk’s statement of confession and apology
• Statement of commitment from the AMBS board
• Statement of commitment from AMBS employees
• “A Psalm of Lament for Abused Women,” written and read by Martha Smith Good

“Along with so many others, we fell prey to our desire for a hero,” she said. “Enamored by the brilliance that put our treasured peace theology on the world stage, we failed to truly listen to those whose bodies, minds and spirits were being crushed. There is no excuse.”

Shenk apologized on behalf of AMBS for neglecting to listen and for isolating those who were abused.

AMBS faculty and board members stood together during the afternoon service and read statements of commitment, pledging to do all in their power to prevent future abuse and promising to listen to men and women who have experienced sexual abuse.

They resolved to be diligent in educating themselves about sexual misconduct and to follow the procedures set out in the seminary’s sexual misconduct policy. They pledged to create a safe campus environment for all students, employees and guests.

“We are not left without hope,” Shenk said. “We long for your restored trust, even on some distant day, for your forgiveness.”

1992 Investigative Series

***

WELS, LCMS, ELS management style.
Many stories are not even on this blog.

GJ - I took the Radical Reformation from Yoder, which was a great church history course, and he served as my main dissertation advisor. However, I never knew anything about this until something came out in the papers, about 10 years after I graduated.

Likewise, Stan Hauerwas was my ethics professor and one advisor on the dissertation. I did not know about his wife's emotional turmoil until I read his autobiography, Hannah's Child. My sister-in-law babysat for his son, and probably knew about his wife's bi-polar disorder, but we did not.

The Mennonites dealt more openly with this than any denomination I know about. It is good that they revealed their lack of action, or muted action at the time.

WELS would not fess up in public when DP Ed Werner went to prison, when Tabor helped in murdering his own wife, when Al Just knifed his wife to death, and when the vicar went to Michgan State Prison for having an affair with a minor girl in his vicarage parish.

The Lutherans practice Sharia Law:
it's the woman's fault...always.

Gardening - Always Something New To Learn. Cover Crops

KnockOut Roses are a great way to start a rose garden.
They are disease free and bloom abundantly with a little care:
mulch, water, and prune.

Yesterday was so much fun. The roses were begging to be pruned, so I put on the work gloves, opened my new shears, and began. Many dabblers in rose growing are allergic to pruning.

Prunes are good for bushes. The dead wood saps energy and needs to be cut away. The living branches are trained and shaped by cutting. Roses will put more energy into the remaining parts when thinned. The plant increases its growing energy, above and below ground.

I pruned the crepe myrtle (still dormant) to wake it up and get more energy into the flowering cycle. Rose prunes are always moved away, but I let the crepe myrtle twigs fall into its mulch to provide more organic matter and potential bird nest material.

Straw bales are an inexpensive source
of neutral planting material, and they have a sweet aroma.
I have potatoes and strawberries planted in mine,
with gourds planted on the sides.

Following Brett Meyer's lasagna approach to mulching, I had the straw bales sitting on newspapers that were on top of old wood mulch and ragweed from last summer. The newspapers stuck out from the bales and looked like poorly packed pajamas popping out of suitcases. I put two wheelbarrows of fine, aged autumn leaves along the base. Wood mulch went on top of the leaves, adding some chic to the hillbilly look of a straw bale garden.

Of the 16 roses from last year, only one appeared to have died. I pruned that back hard, just in case it was snoozing. The rest of the roses were cut back by 1/3rd or 2/3rds. There is no magical way to judge, except to prune each one for future growth and shape.

KnockOut Roses are easy-care, not abandon, fail-to-mulch-and water, no-care roses. They are disease free and bloom like crazy. Cut and enjoy the flowers. Make new friends by sharing them.

Pruning is fun because it is always good for the roses. If blackspot appears, a quick prune will keep the spores from increasing. Most of the growing season, my pruning means cutting roses for the altar and for others. Otherwise, like all plants, roses want their flowers to turn into seed. That makes roses want to stop producing flowers - the reason why many roses do not look good or produce well.

So much work! - dig a hole in the rose garden -
plant a Crown Imperial stinky bulb .
Watch them grow a stalk and hang their flowers from the crown.

Last year's Jackson Mulch is almost intact, except for Crown Imperials and Giant Aliums growing through it. If a dandelion grows, I will let it blossom and set seed. Hummingbirds  use the parachute silk for nests. The roots drill down into the soil and earthworms often use the root for a trip upstairs. People yank out a dandelion after a long rain (easy pull) and find an earthworm wrapped around the root. What does that say? Dandelions are great for the hard-working tillers of the soil, earthworms. They also shed a lot of herbal plant material for soil creatures. So stop hating on them.

With rain predicted today and tomorrow, I wanted the pole beans and carrots in the soil. For my abs workout, I raked the mulch back from along the fence. I already had 30 asparagus roots planted there, and I knew where the spots were. Peas were already sprouting there too, very close to the fence,as planned. They surprised me by waiting a long time to pop up.

Parallel to the peas and asparagus row, I cut a groove in the soft soil with my shovel. That is easy at first - but my two-pack resisted being turned into a six-pack. I seldom plant seeds. I tried the bombing run approach, which had me missing the groove most of the time. I found a quick sweeping motion got the beans in the right place to cover and tamp down with the rake. Carrot seeds (very tiny)  went in the same groove.

I began with 7500 carrot seeds. One does not count seeds and plant them one by one when starting with those numbers.

Kong Sunflowers are a good way to capture solar energy
and produce a lodging and food for many creatures.
A grasshopper may live on a sunflower and eat there,
but he cannot keep up with the growth.

So the fence has peas sprouting, asparagus roots growing, pole beans and carrots planted. Along the back fence the earlier black oil sunflowers stayed alive during the last two snow storms (thank you Jackson Mulch) and were poking up for serious growth in the sunshine. I planted Kong Sunflowers, which promise to grow 14 feet tall with branches. They will help screen the backyard view and feed the critters (bees, birds, squirrels).

Mrs. Ichabod wanted to go to the gym at this point, which is really a good idea for both of us. She is managing her diabetes better with regular, very gradual and easy biking. I can prevent injuries by using the equipment, perhaps building up to a four-pack. The Medicare Advantage program covers the gym fee - for geezers.

Cover Crops
Amazon suggested some books for me to buy. I could not resist an inexpensive Kindle e-book about cover crops. $3? I can afford that if I learn one new thing about gardening and the soil.

The author has two websites:

• Waldeneffect - homesteading in the era of hope and change.
• Wet Knee Books - learn from someone else's experiences.

This is a sample from the book, which I hope to review more later.

During the last four years that I've experimented with growing cover crops, my garden soil has turned darker and yields of many vegetables have increased dramatically. Both my own honeybees and wild pollinator populations have been boosted by the copious nectar produced by buckwheat plantings, and my chickens have enjoyed the winter greenery from oilseed radish leaves. Plus, Plus, having cover crops on the ground during the winter prevents erosion, keeps soil microorganisms humming along, and just makes the garden a more interesting place to be. Nowadays, I can't imagine doing without my beds of buckwheat, radishes, and oats.

Hess, Anna (2013-12-07). Homegrown Humus: Cover Crops in a No-till Garden (Permaculture Gardener Book 1) (Kindle Locations 24-27). Wetknee Books. Kindle Edition. 

With some planning, a gardener can extend the season and create more food for the soil and bees with cover crops. For instance, someone has bought 10 pounds of bean seeds. Planting them late in the season will give them time to grow up (and grow productive roots) and then die in the first hard frost. That new green plant material will feed the soil as mulch and also enliven the nitrogen compounds among the roots.

Hummingbirds love scarlet runner beans,
which are probably in very short supply now.

Yeserday, I found bean pods still clinging to the fence,
black and ghostly, but still good for helping the soil.

Mark Jeske Disciple Roger Zehms - Accepts Call to West Des Moines. St. Louis, Columbus, WELS Lutherans for Life, Russia, Texas. "I've been everywhere, man."

------------------------  C A L L S   A C C E P T E D  -----------------------

Zehms, Rev Roger R         Beautiful Savi - West Des Moines IA  03/17/2015

Mequon Class of 1966

Which included Wally Oelhafen, the late Keith Roehl, and Ted Olsen.

The blog updated this fast-moving pastor,
divorced and remarried.

---

In other news - Buske rejected the call to the Playboy Club in Appleton, aka St. Peter, Freedom-to-scratch-any-itch.

Ichabod Running at about One Million Views Per Year

Springdale Strong!

Ichabod reached 3 million views last July 26th.

Views are now about 1 million per year.

From One of the WELS Illuminati - In Defense of Pentecostal Praise Bands

Why I Won't Quit the Praise Band

Please note: This post is a direct response to the post "Why I Quit the Praise Band" by Pastor Eric Andersen found on the blog Steadfast Lutherans. It is not meant to be a personal attack on Pastor Andersen's character or faith, but instead to disagree with the content of his article.

If you'd prefer to listen to this post read aloud, please click here. 

"Lutheran" is not a style. "Lutheran" is a manner in which you understand God, the Bible, the world, and yourself. The divine service and other trappings of the historical Lutheran church are distinctively Lutheran, sure, but they in and of themselves are not requirements for being distinctively Lutheran. To be distinctively Lutheran one must understand God in the same way that the Lutheran church fathers did - by faith alone, through Scripture alone.

I'm alright at guitar, piano, and bass. I know some stuff about setting up a sound system. I've played for a lot of worship events. I've done a lot of research in the genre of contemporary Christian music. During my time at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary I undertook a project to find 20 songs of a contemporary nature (that is, they sounded like the music the majority of Americans listen to, sing along with, and enjoy on a daily basis) that would be useful at the seminary. A select few of those songs can be found at wlsworship.net (realize, please, that most of them are hymn-like, not because I couldn't find other things but because you have to take baby steps when leading the whole seminary family in a new direction.)

So, I've spent some time with the issue of contemporary music styles in a Lutheran congregation's worship services. It hasn't been easy for me, because the genre is new and young and there is resistance from many good, trustworthy, godly people I admire. But I'm not going to quit, and here are some of the reasons.

1. Praise music is suitable for congregational singing. Some of it. Just like some hymns are suitable for congregational singing and some need to be led by a cantor or choir. Fortunately, our predecessors in the church did the good work of filtering out the good hymn melodies from the bad ones. This, actually, is the same work Lutheran contemporary worship leaders do when they say "no" to overly syncopated songs with inconsistent syllabification from verse to verse and "yes" to the ones that find their way onto the lips of congregations quite naturally. Chris Tomlin is a first tenor, Todd Agnew is a second bass, but they didn't copyright their songs to be used only in certain keys, and the fact that millions of people sing their songs at the top of their lungs on a daily basis suggests to me that they are suitable for singing. When Lutheran worship coordinators and worship compendium developers do their work, they'll go ahead and find the keys that fit the majority of voices, making all melodies that are suitable for singing suitable for singers.
2. The text, not the music, should be primary. With this principle I am freed to explore all genres of music - every piece that has ever been written in participation in the family of God, and as an administrator of the means of grace filter out the stuff that won't be helpful and keep the things that will. Limiting myself to a certain segment of the music that has been written would not only limit my options, but it would limit my audience only to people who find a certain style of music to be culturally intelligible.
   Most of the confessional Lutheran people who have written songs for congregations have written hymns, yes - but not all, and not because they carefully researched every genre of music and determined that the chorale was the best and only form of music suited to communicating the truth of God in poetry. As the world and the church continue to diversify, the outward trappings of it (like musical style) will diversify right alongside it - because the core message, not the style, will be primary.
3. When we're at church, we're on regular ground. Regular people come and hear a universal message, and ever since the temple curtain tore in two there is no such thing as designated, particularly holy ground. If there were, though, it would be (as "holy" defines) set apart, distinguished - not by it's style, but by it's purpose, it's results, and most importantly by the God who deigns to make it such. It is he alone who sanctifies anything.
   Please don't get the impression, though, that I'm saying "anything" can be reverent. There are two basic factors that make something reverent: first, it follows the culturally defined norms that communicate reverence, and second, it's message or subject matter is reverent. (You can have somber sounds, organs, orchestras, distortion pedals, or choirs, but you're never going to make singing Blest Is the Man Whose Bowels Move reverent.)
   In the context of Christianity, reverent subject matter will generally come from reminding people of the grand difference between God and us - in power, in love, in everything. No matter what, it will come from the truths of God that he's given us in his Word. It is limited in that way. The culturally defined norms for reverence, however, are only limited to the experience and expectations of the people present at a given worship event, leaving a huge space for variety in style. Reverence is not limited to one style. Quiet and contemplative music can be reverent. Huge concertos with full orchestras can be reverent. Rock music can be reverent. Just because a certain kind of music doesn't communicate reverence to you doesn't mean that it isn't reverent to some other segment of the population (possibly even a significant segment of the population.)
   When I was a vicar, we had solid, traditional music, usually led by organ. One Sunday, a young couple came to visit. My wife and I were excited because, though the congregation I vicared at was friendly and we still hold all of them dear, there weren't that many couples our age. In speaking with them after the service, though, their main reaction was, "You have horror movie music." For them, the organ didn't mean reverent - it meant Dracula.
   The point is, people don't leave themselves behind when they are at worship. They aren't suddenly lifted into a mood or mindset that is transcendent of their regular life. In worship, we "rise up" and meet God, sure, to some extent, but in an equal or even greater way he comes down to meet us, where we are and where we need him. That is the meaning of Gottesdienst.
4. 7/11 songs communicate differently. It's not my intent to advocate too strongly for highly repetitive songs with a simple meaning, but there is a power in repetition that doesn't affect people's minds the same way that lots of good content all-in-a-row does. Repetitio est mater studiorum (repetition is the mother of learning) after all. It even exists in the liturgical  or rite-oriented realm - in the Agnus Dei or the Sanctus, and even the simple fact that many rite-oriented worshiping congregations are repeating the same songs and texts week after week, so that the people will know them when they are older.
   As a side note, when the song "Trading My Sorrows" says "Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, yes, Lord" those words are used as a reference to Christ's "Verily, verily" or "amen, amen" in the gospels and are a powerful approval of the message of the verses, which is a lesson in contentment and even in the theology of the cross: "I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my pain, I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord." That message is exactly what God wants from us - take the focus off of our lives, put it on the grace of God.
5. Theology matters, and praise songs have it. Not all of them, not perfectly. Thankfully I have been theologically trained and can filter out the bad, which is the work of the minister of the means of grace and the reason a hymnal doesn't include every hymn that's ever been written.
   And for those who would point to the genre of Christian contemporary music and say it lacks theological depth and fullness, I would say this: What do you expect? It's mostly lay-people who aren't Lutheran who are writing this stuff! Paul Gerhardt was not the first to write hymns, but he brought the task to a new and rarely paralleled level. If Lutherans, both pastors and laypeople alike, would stop rejecting diverse genres of worship-useful music wholesale, we would start to see our theologians, pastors, and other theologically trained individuals churn out Gerhardt-worthy (or nearly) texts in diverse and modern styles. Lutherans wrote the greatest Lutheran hymns, and it will be Lutherans who write the greatest contemporary songs. )And we could be 20 years further in this process if you'd stop holding our creative minds back with needless guilt over "acceptable" styles of the worship event.) 
6. The Church is Catholic, but not homogeneous. The Church is wildly diverse. God is always 100% the same, but people aren't. Culture and communication vary. Speaking of communication, I think the world of cellphones can teach us a lesson about what worship can look like in our time. Some are advocating for an iOS (Apple's mobile operating system) approach to worship. Let's create one, excellent, somewhat universal product so there is only one option for everybody. Let's force them to use that option even when it doesn't match up with the way they think. Let's point at the wide adoption of that product as proof that it is the only valid product and let's suggest that a top-down approach will serve all.
   Some, on the other hand, are taking an Android approach - one that could be defined by Android's tagline, "Be together, not the same." We are to be united by having one faith, one hope, one Lord - not by having one service, one style or one practice. Part of the beauty of the Gospel is that it transcends tribe, race, or culture. God didn't save us so that we could be perfectly in sync with all other Christian people. He did it so we could in sync with him, which would in turn make us much less divisive toward one another.
   If we, in fear, suggest that all people must hold to a certain practice that has proven true in the past, we are putting the cart before the horse. Liturgy and hymnody don't maintain orthodoxy. People do, because God, in his grace, chooses to use certain individuals and his Word to keep the Church on track. All the glory for this is his - not the liturgy's or some hymns'. For us to suggest that a certain neutral practice of any kind is bound to lead people astray is fear-mongering and misguided.
   
   The Church consists of the communion of saints, a communion that transcends time and culture. The liturgy, on the other hand, as it is typically practiced in the majority of confessional Lutheran congregations, does not transcend time and culture, which is precisely the reason the liturgy is often rejected today. The liturgy we have today has been passed down through the generations, and through that process has adapted and changed in ways our forefathers would not recognize, but would certainly deem appropriate. Pure doctrine drawn from God's Word is the very best Christian tradition and the highest expression of the continuity of the Church from generation to generation. Since we are in communion with the Church of every age, it is only natural that the God we worship would not be radically different than that of previous generations. Not to be confused, of course, with the way we worship.
   
   So, why won't I quit the praise band? Because I'm Lutheran, and to be Lutheran is to point all people to Christ by whatever means available. 

This article was written by Kent Reeder, pastor of Illumine Church in Rock Hill, SC. If you comment, I'll respond.

Roll Call - A Little Story about Creation

When the birds were fashioned by the Creating Word, they had personal counseling about their future roles. They were all told that only so many talents, abilities, and looks, could be available - but not everything in one package.

Peacock by Norma Boeckler

The Peacock.
"You will be one of the most beautiful birds of all. People will collect your feathers. They will use your image as the symbol of color. They will put you in parks and admire you and photograph you."

"But?"

"You will not be very bright. You used up the quota with beauty and your ability to display it in such a spectacular way."

Starlings

The Starling
"You will be very pretty with speckles and also very smart. You will imitate any sound you like. I am giving you a strong beak and a voracious appetite for bugs and seeds. You will use these qualities in flocks and develop vast armadas of birds."

"That sounds good. What is the downside?"

"You will be loathed for being so successful. Very few will appreciate your abilities, you IQ, your keen appetite for killing insect pests."

"I would rather have the talents shifted. I want to awe people like the peacock said he would."

"One more thing. You will get the murmuration. People will stand and stare at your ability to form enormous geometric patterns in the sky with your flock. They will video you and gape at the beauty of these flights."

Grackle in bright sunlight

The Grackle
"You will be smart and talkative like your cousin, the starling. You will be even larger and look black. I am giving your a powerful beak for breaking into the soil and getting your food."

"That sounds rather humdrum, no offense meant."

"None taken. I decided to give you yellow eyes to contrast with your black feathers, and glistening head. When the sun falls on you just right, your head will be iridescent, even your body."

Bluebird - by Norma Boeckler

The Bluebird
"You will be so popular that people will admire you more than they see you. You will be a brand name, part of famous songs, photographed, drawn, and painted. People will buy live and dried worms to attract you and build houses to attract you. Besides that, your song will be enchanting."

"What's the hitch?"

"You will be somewhat rare. You will do well where woods meet large lawns, so that will limit your population. But you will always be in demand, always popular. Don't tell the others, but no one will ever say - I spotted a grackle today."

Cardinals - by Norma Boeckler

The Cardinal
"You will have a very powerful beak for eating seeds. Other birds will have to break open seeds with a great effort. You will sit at the feed and crack them open with ease. Your colors will be spectacular. The males will be bright red all year around. The females will be a delicate brown, not as showy but still elegant. People will name their sports teams and even their prelates after you ."

"That sounds good, but where are we going to be short?"

"Shy. You will be terribly shy most of the time. If the other birds are in the front yard bathing, you will be way in the back. And you will be terribly jealous of your reflection during mating season, always pecking at mirrors, thinking some other cardinal wants your girlfriend and your yard."

More later, upon request.

Mulching Works - God Himself Mulches His Trees with Leaves. He Does Not Rake Them Away or Burn Them

"You don't mulch?
Do you even garden?"

Brett Meyer wrote about a simple but effective way of improving the growth and health of a fruit tree. They piled leaves under a cherry tree last fall. Far more fruit is developing this spring.

One effect of mulching is to keep people off the soil under trees. One old-fashioned orchard owner said, "Never disturb the soil under the trees."

That rule recognizes the delicate soil food web prospers when the conditions are right. Most of the food for all trees comes from the top 12 inches of soil. "Ah, but what are those deep roots for? - some wonder. The deep roots reach down deep for water and minerals, but most of the food is  in the rich, top foot of soil.

Trampling down the soil is going to break up the delicate fungi structures that travel between decaying matter and the plant roots. Fungi tubes are the interstate highway system of soil. Bacteria have spectacular growth rates, but they can barely move on their own. The larger creatures can do far better than bacteria, but there is nothing like the fungi tubes for forcing the decay of organic matter and channeling it to where the plant roots promise  carbon in exchange for water, nitrogen, and other compounds.

Compacting the soil slows down the soil food web. We have to do some walking on or around the garden, but limiting the trampling is good. We can do that with stepping stones, mulch, and garden fencing. Soil mulched all winter will be springy and soft, because all the soil creatures have fed on the mulch and each other for months. Eventually the leaves or wood mulch will be rotted away and pulled down into the top layer of soil.

That minor effort of mulching makes a permanent difference in the soil, because the creatures multiply and swap nutrition with each other. Every single one is a feeder and food. The plants or trees take up what they want but they return it to the soil as leaves and roots. Since solar energy turns into leaves, bark, fruit, and seeds, the food rains down on the soil, with contributions from plant and tree creatures.

As I wrote in Thank You Very, Mulch, the growth of creatures in the soil means that much more moisture can be held in the top foot of soil. Mulch holds water above, slows down wind and solar evaporation, and fosters water retaining creatures below.

This does not go unnoticed by the birds. The supreme air command of the Creator looks down on this scene and finds an abundance of food and nesting material. Birds settle where they can feed their young the porterhouse and strip steak of baby bird food - grubs, caterpillars, insects, and earthworms.

A mulch plantation below means a bird population above.

Suet baskets are ideal for delivering
string and lint for bird nests.

Readers' Comments

Some of you are addicted to cat photos,
and this is one of the best.

Businessman:
"It is a pleasure to contribute to your work of proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by means of Bethany Lutheran Church and the Internet.

I read your sermons, download your books and watch the services during the week, with great humbleness to your teaching. Let me encourage you to continue proclaiming Justification by Faith Alone and Historic Lutheran doctrine, in a world dripping with the venom of the unregenerate and false teachers.

May God continue to use you to correctly teach His Word, educate and mentor His Sheep who, are always vulnerable to attack from the wolves."

That is pretty overwhelming, to have such a kind letter arrive in the mail. Others have written or said similar things, which repudiate the claim that no one reads this blog. And - that no one agrees with Justification by Faith Alone.

WELS Layman:
"I was at a WELS institution of higher education and reading Ichabod. I did not burst into flames or anything else the leaders tell the students will happen - if they read your blog."

That still makes me laugh.

Brett Meyer:
I admonished him for building a new version of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, when I am trying to teach simple gardening. He wrote back:

"...I have to channel my creativity at home.  But I'm incorporating the lasagna method of gardening in the boxes.  Using leaf, wood mulch, paper and horse/cow manure layered on top - with the lawn on the bottom.

Amy said yesterday that our cherry tree has never bloomed so full.  Last fall we followed your ideas and piled leaves around the tree in the front yard.  They're about half their former height now."

 

Judica Sunday, The Fifth Sunday in Lent, 2015. John 8:46-59. Before Abraham Was, I AM

Judica Sunday, The Fifth Sunday in Lent, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #12                 This Day                                         4:80  

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 #40            The God of Abram Praise                         4:94 

Before Abraham Was, I AM

The Communion Hymn #305:1-5            Soul Adorn Thyself             4:23

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 #410               Jesus Lead Thou On                   4:27

KJV Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Prayer

O Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee, that of Thine infinite mercy Thou hast instituted this Thy sacrament, in which we eat Thy body and drink Thy blood: Grant us, we beseech Thee, by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not receive this gift unworthily, but that we may confess our sins, remember Thine agony and death, believe the forgiveness of sin, and day by day grow in faith and love, until we obtain eternal salvation through Thee, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Before Abraham Was, I AM

KJV John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

This is the Gospel lesson that unites the seven I AM sermons in John's Gospel.

• John 6:48 I am that bread of life. KJV
• John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. KJV
• John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. KJV
• John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. KJV
• John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: KJV
• John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. KJV
• John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. KJV

3 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Exodus 3 establishes that the Angel of the Lord is God, not just an angel. Lutherans have always stated that the Angel of the Lord is the Son of God before the Incarnation. Not only is Christ taught throughout the Old Testament, He is also there in the Old Testament. Who was the figure in the oven with Daniel? One like a son of man.

Moreover, the Burning Bush has two natures, like Christ. The bush had its natural form but also a fire that did not consume it. 

This is a Gospel lesson that deals with faith and how unbelievers respond to faith in Christ. There is no question about the theme of this passage, no subtle message or sub-text.

John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. 

When unbelievers hear the Gospel and obstinately refuse to believe the message, they respond by attacking the speaker. One couple was angry with me because I said "In the Name of Christ I forgive you your sins" in the liturgy. And they were Lutheran. They were responding from unbelief and not even listening to the language of the liturgy. They brought it up and they were offended. Who are you to say sins are forgiven? Instead of hearing God's grace in the Gospel, they found sin and error.

John's Gospel is clearer about the immediate opposition of the religious leaders. It is easy to see why. Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us preaching texts and a narrative about many events. John's Gospel shows the three-year ministry of Jesus and offers many additional sermons. Cleansing the Temple was early, and so was the polarization, because Jesus taught faith in Him, righteousness through Him. 

The religious leaders opposed Him because they did not belong to God. They belonged to the devil instead, as Luther wrote in his sermon on this text. This is easily transposed to our times, because many religious leaders are just the same. They reject the Scriptures and the clear truth of the Word of God because they belong to their Father Below and only wish to spend a life of ease with fat bellies and synodical perks.

Do they meet at a trailer park and give the surplus to the needy? No, they spend their winter vacation in a luxury resort in the Caribbean (LCMS and WELS), because after all, it is THEIR money.

If anyone questions them, they are far worse than the Pharisees in their hatred and vindictiveness. Victims should pray to be delivered to the Scribes and Pharisees rather than the synodical leaders. As one layman, "May God have mercy on you, because we won't."

Those are the works of unbelief.

48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?

The religious leaders answered Jesus with name-calling. This one is a a double. Samaritan is the worst kind of insult. Added to that - you are demon-possessed. The speaker at the Emmaus Conference, Jay Webber, told a pastor not to listen to me because "Jackson has a demon." The pastor ignored the ad hominem attack, studied the Word of God, and saw justification by faith everywhere in it.

Ironically enough, we had a member there, who lives only a few minutes from the momentous Emmaus Conference location. He brought free books and that united or ignited some of the traditional Lutheran elements still around in WELS-LCMS-ELS. One never knows at the time.

An effort can seem to be a complete failure, like the peas and sunflower seeds I planted, but God's Word has a life of its own and carries out His will as He determines. The plants were growing - I did not know it.

Opposition and shunning make us feel that nothing is working, but that is the desired effect wished by unbelievers. But no weapon fashioned by man can harm the Word of God. In addition, as the NIV translates one prophesy in Isaiah, "The betrayers will be betrayed." Romans 1 says almost the same thing.

49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 

Did Jesus teach everyone was already forgiven and saved (Jon Buchholz) or did He teach faith in Him?

Nothing is more gracious than God promising that forgiveness and salvation come through faith in Jesus.

1. Faith can vary. A child has perfect faith -  but is unable to explain the non-reciprocity of the Two Natures. (Relax kids - I almost always turn it around. Simply put, the divine nature is not limited by the human nature of Christ. Thus a wall does not keep Him from being in a locked room.)
2. A professor may explain the non-reciprocity of the two natures and not have faith. It is not book knowledge but trust in the Promises. 
3. Everyone has doubts at times, as Luther expressed about the Real Presence, and yet we are not condemned for having doubts but directed to the Word.
4. We cannot be perfect in all respects, yet we still receive perfect forgiveness.

Keep My saying - guard My saying. Trust His Word.

52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

This tirade climaxes with the example of Abraham, who is the exemplar for the Old Testament - that first patriarch. That is also why the entire Bible uses him for justification by faith - Genesis 15, Romans 4, Galatians.

If you want to teach the truth, be prepared to have all kinds of insults screamed at you. The really good ones are whispered in the background, so no one gets credit.

54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.

Jesus taught them clearly - "Long before Abraham ever existed, I AM (God)." If you think this confession is ambiguous, look at the reaction.

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

The universally hated religion, by unbelievers, is the Christian Faith. Mild and innocuous versions are tolerated a bit. But doctrinal Christianity is condemned all over, within and without. Look at how often Christian sermons teach everything but faith in Christ, from activism of all types to condemnations of obvious sin or newly invented sin, to love of the denomination (or parish) and not love of God in Christ.

Man casts off the easy yoke of justification by faith and puts on the heavy yoke of justification by works. It is one or the other. Those who teach justification without faith are teaching justification by works, no matter how many layers of fleece they wear.