Count the Empty Pews at Trinity WELS, Waukesha - Martin Luther College (WELS)

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Quasidmodogeniti, The First Sunday after Easter, 2015. John 20:19-31. Doubting Thomas

Caravaggio - The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

Quasimodogeniti, The First Sunday after Easter, 2015

  

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Time

The Hymn #192                                Awake My Soul with Gladness - Gerhardt

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 #208                Ye Sons and Daughters      

       

The Two Natures in Christ

The Communion Hymn # 200         I Know that My Redeemer      

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 #187                               Christ Is Arisen            

First Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee, that of Thine ineffable grace, for the sake of Thy Son, Thou hast given us the holy gospel, and hast instituted the holy sacraments, that through the same we may have comfort and forgiveness of sin: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that we may heartily believe Thy word; and through the holy sacraments day by day establish our faith, until we at last obtain salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV 1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

KJV John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The Two Natures in Christ

The three great heresies in the Christian Faither are attacks against the divinity of Christ, against His humanity, and against justification by faith. This Gospel lesson addresses all three. One hymn, "Ye Sons and Daughters of the King," is dedicated to telling the story of this lesson.

KJV John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 

Christian worship began to be on Sundays because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday. This verse shows how the disciples were so impressed with the human nature in Christ that they only saw His torture and crucifixion. They were terrified of the religious opposition, which almost always more bitter than government opposition. The doors were locked because of this fear.  Nevertheless, Jesus appeared before them.

Those who have trouble with the Two Natures in Christ, like Calvin, have Jesus finding a secret entrance to this room, or being there in hiding before the door was locked. That is the temptation of rationalism, to find a human reason for divine activity. 

Jesus' divine nature was never limited by His human nature. Crowds who wanted to grab or stone Him could not. Likewise, the grave could not contain Him.

3. "Yea, Father, yea, most willingly
I'll bear what Thou commandest;
My will conforms to Thy decree,
I do what Thou demandest."
O wondrous Love, what hast Thou done!
The Father offers up His Son!
The Son, content, descendeth!
O Love, how strong Thou art to save!
Thou beddest Him within the grave
Whose word the mountains rendeth.
TLH, 142.

Jesus first Word to them was "Peace." That word is overused and abused today, but it was His pronouncement upon them, a word in the New Testament that is always associated with forgiveness and salvations.

20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 

To show He was not a vision, not a ghost, Jesus displayed His hands and His side. That must have been an odd moment in their lives, because of those gathered there, in hiding, only John had been at the cross. He could verify the wounds. The others must have felt guilty because they had scattered, as the Old Testament predicted, "I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered."

But His presence caused the disciples to be glad. Their darkened understanding was beginning to come alive, and Jesus built this up, as He does with us. Faith bears the fruit of joy, which is evident here. Because of their faith in Him, they were glad to see Him alive.

Luther:

2. Faith, as we have often said, is of the nature, that every one appropriates to himself the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which we have already said enough; namely, that it is not sufficient simply to believe Christ rose from the dead, for this produces neither peace nor joy, neither power nor authority; but you must believe that he rose for your sake, for your benefit, and was not glorified for his own sake; but that he might help you and all who believe in him, and that through his resurrection sin, death and hell are vanquished and the victory given to you.

3. This is signified by Christ entering through closed doors, and standing in the midst of his disciples. For this standing denotes nothing else than that he is standing in our hearts; there he is in the midst of us, so that he is ours, as he stands there and they have him among them. And when he thus stands within our hearts, we at once hear his loving voice saying to the troubled consciences: Peace, there is no danger; your sins are forgiven and blotted out, and they shall harm you no more.

21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

In spite of their flaws and weaknesses, Jesus had a great message for them. He pronounced peace on them again. He came through closed doors, which is how He comes to people through the Word. Babies are not looking for something when they received baptism and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

When an adult first believes, his heart is opened by the Word, not by persuasion and human reason. People look for miracles, and yet conversion by the Word is the greatest of all miracles.

Luther observed, against the Enthusiasts, that Jesus did not displace the furniture. He does not enter our lives by causing chaos and confusion. Some false teachers try to emphasize their power by making their converts do extreme things, causing confusion and dismay if they do or if they refuse.

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

The Office of the Keys is neglected because of the confusion today about the Law and the Gospel, about absolving sins and retaining them. It does no good for someone if he continues to sin and he is told he is always forgiven, past, present, and future. That only hardens him about the nature of sin 

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 

There was a growing body of believers who had seen the risen Christ, but Thomas had not. Because of this, he refused to believe without physical proof, and actual touching. His demand was so great that Jesus gave him the proof, which was both a great and terrible event. He was urged to touch the wounds and likely he did. He had more proof than anyone that Jesus died and rose again. But that was also a reminder that he denied this until he had the proof.

26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

The eight days would be today, since the Jews counted each day, so a week later was 8 days later. Jesus appeared again and offered them peace again. Although people have often said Thomas did not touch the wounds, that would contradict Jesus' own command.

Thomas not only saw the human nature of Christ, the actual wounds, and touched them, but recognized in faith that He was and will always be God Incarnate. Luther noted in the Emmaus sermon that many things belonging to God's revelation are startling, powerful, and almost too much for us to bear. But that is the nature of God compared to our weak nature. 

What makes us glad to know the risen Christ is realizing He is just what He promises in John's Gospel - the human face of God. He taught only what the Father taught, did only what the Father commanded.

What is God like? Jesus is the answer about God's nature, will, love, and mercy. There is no separation in those qualities, but a difference in Persons. This is too much for coarse and greedy blokes, so it is hidden from them.

Luther's Sermon for the Sunday after Easter

Luther's Sermon for the SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.   John 20:19-31

This sermon is not in edition c. It is found in the “Rules and Instructions for those going to the Lord’s Supper.”

German text: Erlangen edition vol. 2, 324; Walch edition vol. 2, 989; St.

Louis edition vol. 2, 724.

TEXT:

John 20:19-31. When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then said he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written, in this book: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.

CONTENTS:

THE NATURE, FRUIT, POWER AND AUTHORITY OF FAITH.
I. IN GENERAL

II. IN DETAIL.

A. The Nature And Character Of Faith, Which 1. Is here set forth In clear words 2.

2. Is illustrated by Christ’s entrance through closed doors 3-4.

B. The Fruit Of Faith.

1. The first fruit is peace. a. The nature of this peace n5-7 b. How this peace is to be distinguished from the peace of the world 7- 8. c. How this peace springs from faith

2. The second fruit is joy 10-11.

C. Of The Power Or Virtue Faith Should Show Forth.

1. In general, that we love our neighbor

2. In detail. a . That we seek to bring our neighbor to believe 13. b. That we seek to serve our neighbor, only in that which he needs 14.

D. Of The Authority Christ Gave To Faith.

1. That this authority is so great and mighty that no one can praise it enough 15.

2. That this is not bodily nor temporal but spiritua1 authority 15-16.

3. This authority belongs to every Christian

4. How we should thank God for this power

5. How this authority becomes of great comfort to believers

18. 6 . How this authority is to be rescued from the misuse of the papists 19-20.

* Unbelief is great blasphemy of God 21.

SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL:

1. First, it is shown that the disciples are deficient in their faith; for they were afraid, as all are who have not been made bold by the Spirit of God.

Moreover, Thomas believes not until he sees and feels.

2. The disciples believe not without public signs. But blessed are they who have not seen, and believe only the Word of God.

3. The signs, by which the Lord Christ was known he shows us in the times of trouble and when we are under the cross, and then we learn aright who Christ is.

SECOND SUMMARY:

1. That we have peace, as the fruit of Christ’s resurrection.

2. As Christ was sent by the Father, so we also are sent; therefore no one should think that he will come to glory without tribulations and the cross.

3. The true and faithful, that is, those in whom the Spirit of Christ is have the power to forgive and retain sins.

4. But when John says: “These things are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name;” ye see what John wrote is sufficient for faith, and where faith is, there is also life in the name of Christ. Therefore all teaching is in vain and unprofitable, that does not proclaim the Gospel.

1. This Gospel praises the fruit of faith, and illustrates its nature and character. Among the fruits of faith are these two: peace and joy, as St.

Paul writes to the Galatians, where he mentions in order all kinds of fruit saying: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22. Thus these two fruits are also mentioned in our text. In the first place, Christ stands there among the disciples, who sit in fear and terror, and whose hearts are greatly troubled every hour expecting death; to them he comes and comforts them, saying: “Peace be unto you.” This is one fruit. In the second place there follows from this sweet word the other fruit, that they were glad when they saw the Lord. Then he further bestows upon faith power and authority over all things in heaven and on earth, and truly extols it in that he says: “As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” And again: “Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” Let us now consider each thought in order.

2. Faith, as we have often said, is of the nature, that every one appropriates to himself the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which we have already said enough; namely, that it is not sufficient simply to believe Christ rose from the dead, for this produces neither peace nor joy, neither power nor authority; but you must believe that he rose for your sake, for your benefit, and was not glorified for his own sake; but that he might help you and all who believe in him, and that through his resurrection sin, death and hell are vanquished and the victory given to you.

3. This is signified by Christ entering through closed doors, and standing in the midst of his disciples. For this standing denotes nothing else than that he is standing in our hearts; there he is in the midst of us, so that he is ours, as he stands there and they have him among them. And when he thus stands within our hearts, we at once hear his loving voice saying to the troubled consciences: Peace, there is no danger; your sins are forgiven and blotted out, and they shall harm you no more.

4. And this entrance the Lord made here through barred doors, going through wood and stone, and still leaving everything whole, breaking nothing, yet getting in among his disciples. This illustrates how the Lord comes into our hearts and stands in us, namely, through the office of the ministry. Therefore, since God has commanded men to preach his Word, one should in no wise despise a mortal man into whose mouth he has put his Word; lest we get the idea that every one must expect a special message from heaven, and that God should speak to him by the word of his mouth. For if he imparts faith to any one, he does it by means of the preaching of man and the external word of man.

This is going through closed doors, when he comes into the heart through the Word, not breaking nor displacing anything. For when the Word of God comes, it neither injures the conscience, nor deranges the understanding of the heart and the external senses; as the false teachers do who break all the doors and windows, breaking through like thieves, leaving nothing whole and undamaged, and perverting, falsifying and injuring all life, conscience, reason, and the senses. Christ does not do thus.

Such now is the power of the Word of God. Thus we have two parts, preaching and believing. His coming to us is preaching; his standing in our hearts is faith. For it is not sufficient that he stands before our eyes and ears; he must stand in the midst of us in our hearts, and offer and impart to us peace.

5. For the fruit of faith is peace; not only that which one has outwardly, but that of which Paul speaks to the Philippians ( Philippians 4:7) saying it is a peace that passeth all reason, sense and understanding. And where this peace is, one shall not and cannot judge according to reason. This we shall see still farther in our Gospel lesson.

6. First, the disciples sit there behind barred doors in great fear of the Jews, afraid to venture outside, with death staring them in the face. Outwardly they indeed have peace, no one is doing them any harm; but inwardly their hearts are troubled, and they have neither peace nor rest. Amid their fear and anguish the Lord comes, quiets their hearts and makes them glad, so that their fear is removed, not by removing the danger, but in that their hearts were no more afraid. For thereby the malice of the Jews is not taken away, nor changed; they rave and rage as before, and outwardly everything remains the same. But they are changed inwardly, receiving such boldness and joy as to declare: “We have seen the Lord.” Thus he quiets their hearts, so that they become cheerful and fearless, not caring how the Jews rage.

7. This is the true peace that satisfies and quiets the heart; not in times when no adversity is at hand, but in the midst of adversity, when outwardly there is nothing but strife before the eyes. And this is the difference between worldly and spiritual peace. Worldly peace consists in removing the outward evil that disturbs the peace; as when the enemies besiege a city there is no peace; but when they depart peace returns. Such is the case with poverty and sickness. While they afflict you, you are not contented; but when they are removed and you are rid of the distress, there is peace and rest again from without. But he who experiences this is not changed, being just as fainthearted whether the evil be present or not; only he feels it and is frightened when it is present.

8. Christian or spiritual peace, however, just turns the thing about, so that outwardly the evil remains, as enemies, sickness, poverty, sin, death and the devil. These are there and never desist, encompassing us on every side; nevertheless, within there is peace, strength and comfort in the heart, so that the heart cares for no evil, yea, is really bolder and more joyful in its presence than in its absence. Therefore it is peace which passeth and transcendeth all understanding and all the senses. For reason can not grasp any peace except worldly or external peace, for it can not reconcile itself to it nor understand how that is peace if evil is present, and it knows not how to satisfy and comfort a person; hence it thinks if the evil depart, peace departs also. When however the Spirit comes, he lets outward adversity remain, but strengthens the person, making the timid fearless, the trembling bold, changing the troubled into a quite, peaceful conscience, and such an one is bold, fearless and joyful in things by which all the world otherwise is terrified.

9. Whence does he receive this? From his faith in Christ. For if I truly believe in the Lord from the real depth of my heart, that my heart can truly say: My Lord Christ has by his resurrection conquered my need, my sin, death and all evil, and will be thus with and in me, so that body and soul shall want nothing, that I shall have all I need, and no evil shall harm me: if I believe this, it is impossible for me to be faint-hearted and timid no matter how much sin and death oppress me. For faith is ever present and says:

Does sin burden you, does death terrify you, look to Christ who died for your sake and rose again, and conquered every evil; what can harm you?

Why will you then fear? So also in case other misfortunes burden you, as sickness or poverty, turn your eyes from it, lock the door to reason and cast yourself upon Christ and cleave to him, so shall you be strengthened and comforted. If you look to Christ and believe on him, no evil that may befall you is so great that it can harm you and cause you to despair.

Therefore it is impossible for this fruit to remain outside, where faith is, so that peace does not follow.

10. From peace the other fruit now follows, as is taught in this Gospel.

When Christ came to the disciples and said: “Peace be unto you!” and showed them his hands and feet; then they were glad that they saw the Lord. Yes, to be sure they had to be glad, for that they saw Christ was the greatest joy the heart of man can experience. Hitherto we have been permitted to see our hands, that is, we have been taught to trust in our works; this brought no gladness. But to see Christ makes us glad. And this takes, place by faith; for thus St. Paul in Romans 5:1-2 says: “Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

11. Thus we have the fruit whereby we know who are true Christians. For he who has no peace in that in which the world finds nothing but unrest, and is joyful in that which in the world is nothing but gloom and sorrow, is not yet a Christian, and does not yet believe. This truth is being also sung at this season everywhere in the hymn on the Lord’s resurrection; but hardly anybody understands it. He who composed it surely understood it aright. He does not stop at the Lord is risen, when he says: “Christ is risen from his Passion ;” as though this were sufficient, but brings it home to us and adds: Let us all rejoice in this. But how can we rejoice in it, if we have nothing of it and it is not ours? Therefore, if I am to rejoice in it, it must be mine, that I may claim it as my own property, that it may profit me. And finally he closes: Christ will be our consolation, that we can and shall have no other consolation but Christ. He wants to be it himself and he alone, that we should cling to him in every time of need; for he has conquered all for our benefit, and by his resurrection he comforts all troubled consciences and sad hearts. This the Gospel teaches concerning faith and its fruits.

12. Now follows the office of the ministry. The power of faith now develops love. For it does not yet suffice that I have the Lord so that he is mine, and that I find in him all comfort, peace and joy; but I must henceforth also do as he has done: for it follows thus in the text: “As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

13. The first and highest work of love a Christian ought to do when he has become a believer, is to bring others also to believe in the way he himself came to believe. And here you notice Christ begins and institutes the office of the ministry of the external Word in every Christian; for he himself came with this office and the external Word. Let us lay hold of this, for we must admit it was spoken to us. In this way the Lord desires to say: You have now received enough from me, peace and joy, and all you should have; for your person you need nothing more. Therefore labor now and follow my example, as I have done, so do ye. My Father sent me into the world only for your sake, that I might serve you, not for my own benefit. I have finished the work, have died for you, and given you all that I am and have; remember and do ye also likewise, that henceforth ye may only serve and help everybody, otherwise ye would have nothing to do on earth. For by faith ye have enough of everything. Hence I send you into the world as my Father hath sent me; namely, that every Christian should instruct and teach his neighbor, that he may also come to Christ. By this, no power is delegated exclusively to popes and bishops, but all Christians are commanded to profess their faith publicly and also to lead others to believe.

14. Secondly, if you have exercised yourself in this highest work and taught others the right way of truth, then make up your mind to keep on and serve everybody. Then the example of your life and good works follows; not that you can thereby merit and acquire anything, seeing you have beforehand everything that is necessary to salvation. Furthermore Christ now gives a command, he breathes upon the disciples and says: “Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

15. This is a great and mighty power which no one can sufficiently extol, given to mortal men of flesh and blood over sin, death and hell, and over all things. The pope too boasts in the canon law that Christ has given to him power over all earthly things; which would indeed be correct if the people rightly understood it. For they apply it to the civil government; this is not Christ’s thought; but he gives spiritual power and rule, and wishes to say this much: When ye speak a word concerning a sinner, it shall be spoken in heaven, and shall avail so much as if God himself spake it in heaven; for he is in your mouth, therefore it has the same force as if he himself spoke it.

Now it is always true, if Christ speaks a word, since he is Lord over sin and hell, and says to you: Thy sins are forgiven; then they must be forgiven and nothing can prevent it. Again, if he says: Thy sins shall not be forgiven thee; then they remain unforgiven, so that neither you, nor an angel, nor a saint, nor any creature, can forgive your sin, even if you martyred yourself to death.

16. This same power belongs to every Christian, since Christ has made us all partakers of his power and dominion; and here his is not a civil but a spiritual rule, and his Christians also rule spiritually. For he does not say:

This city, this country, this bishopric or kingdom you shall rule, as the pope does; but he says: Ye shall have power to forgive and to retain sins. Hence this power pertains to the conscience, so that by virtue of God’s Word I can pass judgment as to what the conscience can cleave to, so that against and above that no creature can do anything, neither sin, nor the world nor Satan. This is true power. But thereby no power is given me to rule over temporal matters, over a country and people, externally after the manner of civil governments, but a much higher and nobler power, which can in no sense be compared with it.

17. Therefore we shall thank God, that we now know the great power and glory given us through Christ in his plain Word, as St. Paul also highly praises and extols it to the Ephesians, saying: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3. And again: “God made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:5-10.

18. Observe, what great transcendent comfort we have in that God awakens in us also the same power he exercises in Christ, and bestows upon us equal authority. As he made him sit in heavenly places, above all power and might, and everything that can be named; so has he invested us also with the same power, that those who believe have all power over heaven and earth. This we have in the words he left behind him; and they are so powerful, that when they are spoken by us, they avail as much as if he himself were on earth and spake them in the majesty and glory in which he now exists. And this is the power we have from his resurrection and ascension; there he gives us power to. kill and to make alive, to consign to the devil and to rescue from him.

19. But in this matter one must proceed carefully, and not do like the popes. For they have reached the point to have the power, that however and whatever they say, so it must be, because they say it. Nay, this power you have not, but the divine Majesty alone has. it. They say thus: If the pope speaks a word and says: Thy sins are forgiven thee, they are blotted out, even though you neither repent nor believe. They mean by this, that they have the power to bestow and withhold heaven, to open or shut it, to locate one in heaven or cast into hell; far from it that it should be so. For from this it would then follow that our salvation depended on the works, authority and power of man. Therefore, since this is in conflict with all the Scriptures it can not be true that when you open or shut, it must be open or shut.

20. Therefore we must rightly understand Christ when he says: “Whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained ;” that this does not establish the power of him who speaks but of those who believe. Now the power of him who speaks and of him who believes are as far apart as heaven and earth.

God has given us the Word and the authority to speak; but it does not therefore follow from this that it must so be done, as Christ also preached and taught the Word, and yet not all who heard it believed, and it was not everywhere done as he spake the Word, although it was God’s Word.

Therefore Christ’s meaning is: Ye shall have the power to speak the Word, and to preach the Gospel, saying, Whosoever believeth, has the remission of his sins; but whosoever believeth not, has no remission of sin. But ye have not the power to create faith. For there is a great difference between planting and giving the growth; as Paul says to the Corinthians: “I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” 1 Corinthians 3:6. Hence we have no authority to rule as lords; but to be servants and ministers who shall preach the Word, by means of which we incite people to believe.

Therefore, if you believe the Word, you gain this power; but if you believe not, then what I speak or preach will avail nothing even though it be God’s Word; and if you believe not these words you are not treating me but God himself with dishonor and contempt.

21. Therefore, unbelief is nothing but blasphemy, which makes God a liar.

For if I say, your sins are forgiven you in God’s name, and you believe it not, it is the same as if you said: who knows whether it be true, and whether he be in earnest? by this you charge God and his Word with lying.

Therefore you better be far from the Word, if you believe it not. For when a man preaches his Word, God would have it as highly esteemed as if he himself had preached it. This then is the power given by God. which every Christian has, and of which we have already spoken much and often; hence this is enough for the present.

Pruning for Sunshine. Soil Food in Recognition of Creation

Cat selfie by Danielle.

Last year our Army veteran created an enormous pile of branches when he climbed up into his trees and pruned with a handsaw. I asked him to prune for me, and he wisely asked for an electric pruning saw, a miniature electric chain saw on an extension pole. I did not wield the saw.

When he tried it out the first time, he was in hog heaven. Yesterday we learned how much an inexpensive tool could do. When I pruned mesquite in Phoenix, I was just the same. The more I cut away, the more some additional cutting seemed necessary and good. A neighbor came over and helped out with all the dragging of limbs to the front for pick-up. He said when we were almost done, "I read your Wormhaven book." He joined the chorus in asking about all the roses.

Mr. Gardener supervised from the fence and talked about the roses too. He said, "I could watch you guys work all day long."

The timing worked out, because the rain predicted all week never arrived. Storms are now blowing north of us across Missouri and south toward Little Rock.

I have been manually pruning since we moved to Springdale, because some tree limbs drooped almost down to the ground.

Four Kinds of Soil Food
While I was waiting for the crew to form, I pruned the newly awakened crepe myrtle and let all the dry material land below to add to the mulch. I still had time so I added sidewalk weeds and their soil to the pile. That looked tacky so I put a bag of wood mulch on top of that. Many times I have built a pyramid of organic food at the base, only to see it shrink down as the soil creatures devoured it.

There are four basic kinds of soil food easily added to benefit plants:

1. Wood mulch is very slow to decay because of the complex structure of  cellulose. Bacteria breaks it down. Likewise, newsprint lasts a long time while wet and against the soil, holding water, blocking sunshine, and fostering the creatures of rot and decay.
2. Lignin, which forms bark and the covering of stems is even tougher. Fungi have to  break down lignin.
3. Tree leaves can decay fast when shredded, or last all winter intact when they come from sycamore trees. They are mostly carbon, so they do not fire up the heat loving bacteria than thrive on simple sugars and make a compost heap warm.
4. Plant greens and foods are simple sugars that decay fast, attracting bacteria and various soil creatures. Green means more nitrogen, more heat, and faster decay. This group is juicier and adds its own moisture to the process. I throw fallen pears into the compost but leave rotten apples out for birds to enjoy. Starlings hammer apples into applesauce with their powerful, pointed beaks.

All four kinds of food are constantly landing on the soil, only to be raked up and hauled away. I cluck my tongue in pious consternation when I see 15 bags of leaves being trucked away from a property in ironic green bags. Doubtless they buy bags of inorganic fertilizer to green up the lawn they are depriving of food. O tempora. O mores.

Returning food to the soil means a net gain, because solar energy produces so much food in combination with the minerals and water from the soil. Every plant, tree, and bush is productive. Re-using its produce makes them even more productive as the soil creatures capture and retain the elements that feed the roots. Brett and Amy Meyer did that simply by piling leaves under the cherry tree, doubling its production.

Three sisters.

My first Three Sisters garden was planted on top of four feet of compost, a combination of Christmas trees at the bottom, autumn leaves, grass clippings, yard waste, rabbit and horse manure. Nothing had any value in the eyes of most, but in combination with the design of Creation produced Silver Queen corn, pole beans, and pumpkins. Edible purslane grew up too - ever the opportunistic weed that really tastes good.

We are blessed with wonderful soil and big yards in this area, plenty of rain and inexpensive water when it is dry. Most neglect the opportunity, even though they have many mouths to feed. I buy one green pepper, look at the price, and say, "What?" I would rather grow what I can and share the excess.

In the past it was natural for people raised on the farm to have a Victory Garden in their backyards. Children learned gardening skills, and the garden provided food and flowers.