Heiser's Deluxe Episcopal Finery

C. H. Almy, bishop's cross, $1632.

 C. H. Almy - $900 house cassock.

 Miter (fish hat) - $716. Crozier - $300+.

EvangelCatholic said: ↑

Interested in opinions on the mitre, the headgear some of our bishops wear. It seems that in some Lutheran synods/ national bodies the mitre is conspicuously not worn. The Church of Denmark/ Norway/ Iceland and probably most of Germany are examples. While bishops in the Church of Sweden/ Finland/ Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Jordan, India and some countries in Africa do wear mitres.

In north America it is a mixed bag. For example, I have never seen a photo of the presiding bishops in the ELCA/ ELCC wearing mitres but some synod bishops do. Same story in the LCMS.

Any opinions or is this a silly topic?

Heiser wrote about Dugin. It was interesting that he was on the news recently with an assassination attempt. 

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

Vimeo Link - Service

The Hymn # 376                                Rock of Ages

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

As for me, I will call upon God; 

and He shall hear my voice: 

He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.

God shall hear and afflict them, even He that abideth of old: 

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.

Psalm. Give ear to my prayer, O God: and hide not Thyself from my supplication.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, who declarest Thine almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity, mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Gradual

Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of the eye: 

hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.

V. Let my sentence come forth from Thy presence: 

let Thine eyes behold the things that are equal. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. O Lord God of my salvation, 

I have cried day and night before Thee. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #477          Lord Jesus Christ, Thou

The Work of the Spirit

The Communion Hymn # 246     Holy, Holy, Holy                   

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 #447                    Fight the Good Fight

In Memory

Carl Roper

• Two years ago, Carl Roper passed into eternal life at the age of 76, mourned by his wife Lynda. "I AM - the Resurrection and the Life." Their son Roy has been diagnosed with cancer.
• Last year, at this time, Christina Elizabeth Jackson, passed into eternal life.
• In therapy and treatment, Randy Anderson; Pastor Jim Shrader. Medical issues - Kermit and Marie Way, Chris Shrader.  

 Christina Ellenberger Jackson, 1948 - 2021

KJV 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

KJV Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. 47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

Tenth Sunday After Trinity

Almighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Holy Ghost hast revealed unto us the gospel of Thy Son, Jesus Christ: We beseech Thee so to quicken our hearts that we may sincerely receive Thy word, and not make light of it, or hear it without fruit, as did Thy people, the unbelieving Jews, but that we may fear Thee and daily grow in faith in Thy mercy, and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Work of the Spirit

KJV 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

Pagan religions have many expressions of divine worship and ecstatic behavior. They are too numerous to describe, and many are quite appalling. Anything religious and popular is attractive to the uninformed, so there are always waves of new religion, which are not so new after all. World religion classes - which I no longer teach - would yield an outspoken pagan priestess every so often. There were not that many; they seemed more interested in promoting their cause than learning religions of the world.

The Apostolic Age was a time when the Christians were a tiny minority surrounded by every possible pagan religion, given Rome's Empire and connections via their roads and small ships. Augustine was amused by people who would throw ropes and chains around their idols, so their gods did not leave them defenseless. 

Paul's reference to Gentiles means pagans who did follow dumb (silent) idols. In contract, God speaks to us directly and consistently through the Scriptures.

The converts from Judaism were not involved in paganism, but there was a mix and the outside influence was bound to attract the interest of some who were not as educated in the Old Testament. We should not be surprised. I joined a new website for traditional Catholics, because the Jesuit Pope is so predictable. The priest writing today said he was trained this way by his grandmother - If he could not get through the gates when he died, he could go around to the back entrance, where Mary would let him in. 

When Paul writes "concerning" something, he is answering a letter from the congregations asking for some doctrinal or behavioral guidance.

3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Our country has been conquered by clever clergy who despise the Scriptures and offer their own paganism as a solution to life's problems. Just like the Bible paraphrases (supposed translations) they erase those words that do not please them. They find it so easy to corrupt the faithn (Bible) by omissions rather than confessing their own unbelief:

• The Virgin Birth of Jesus - "not an important issue."
• Paul Tillich published a Christmas article where he sashayed into Christmas is all about babies. The Lutheran magazine, LCA. It is now called The Living Lutheran, a magazine for a dying denomination.
• The Resurrection of Christ - "the Easter faith of the disciples," code for the disciples imaging an empty tomb meant Jesus actually rose from the dead.
• The Ascension - those people had no concept of the stratosphere. They lived in a flat world.

This one verse has a lot to say in a few words. No one in a state of ecstasy, like Pentecostalism today, can call Jesus accursed and claim that comes from the Holy Spirit. 

Note that this is a key, toxic factor in our society, especially because of the use of recreational drugs. It is claimed to be true if something is "true for you." We had an ancient history teacher in college who did not know the topic and used her professor's note cards. She confused one definition and made it the opposite of what the textbook said. When I pointed that out, she said, "In my class, this is the right definition." I was just trying to help!

The counter to the error, in Paul's words were that no one can say "Jesus is Lord", except by the Holy Spirit. This emphasizes that confessing the divinity of Christ is the act of the Spirit through the Word of God. It is not based on logic and experience and philosophical proofs, but only on the revelation of God the Holy Spirit. 

We have so much confusion today because any "truth" - except the revealed truth of the Bible! - is true and something to be defended.

4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations [Greek - efficacy], but it is the same God which worketh [Greek efficacy] all in all.

The great marvel of Christianity is the variety of gifts given by the One Spirit.  God parcels them out (Lenski's term) so that everyone has a gift or gifts, and they vary in each person. That means the work of Jesus Christ the Lord is performed in many different ways and is blessed by being faithful to Him and His Word.

People like to glorify themselves and they identify with glorious structures and decorations that fill others with awe (especially plaques with their names). They get carried away with the outward trappings while ignoring fidelity to the truth. God blesses people with artistic skills so they can honor His Name with their talents. Others are gifted with musical skills. 

I keep running into clergy who are smitten by someone's corporate plans, which are promised to be "effective," showing numerical growth. They end up telling God what to do and when to do it. When God does not bow to their orders, they are crushed and despairing. Those who are full of themselves rush around until the bubble pops and their follies are exposed. 

Virtually all the denominations have reached that point through using the same business-oriented guidelines, so they are failing together. As one Church Growth expert said, defending his own sect, "The Masonic Lodge is losing members too!" - an ironic statement, using the Lodge as metric. "As the Lodge goes, so do we."

Most clergy have been caught up in that, because it is taught so thoroughly. Luther was a certified member of the world's largest and richest corporation. But he saw it was the opposite of what is portrayed in the Scriptures. 

If the gifts are discerned and used as God directs, then God's will becomes fulfilled over time and the blessings follow, sooner and later. There is no telling what God can do, because, as the children say, "God can do anything."

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

The elderly veteran in the neighborhood, distributing food and Bibles, suffers from various illnesses and troubles. He gave me boxes to give to someone else and gave away Bibles so he could give more away.

Today, even rarer, is to give the gift of time spent with someone. 

When people look for something positive to offer, and God motivates them, then the results will be favorable for everyone.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working (Greek efficacy] of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

Those who wanted to dominate in Corinth with the Spirit, as they saw it, thought tongues were the only sign and they were the prize-winners. That is one reason why Pentecostalism became a fad in America. When the American Pentecostals identified speaking in tongues as the Chief mark of the Christian Faith, they made it the ONLY mark and everyone had to follow their rules. Paul - in 1 Corinthians 11, 12, 13 - is tamping down this fad and pointing the members toward a Scripture-based set of gifts.

Missouri and WELS became increasingly rationalistic, due to their reliance on dead dogmatics books and seminary lectures, ideal for those who loved to march in order and rank, right off the cliff. The dead dogmatics led to thirst for Pentecostalism and they formed little cells all over. One "conservative" magazine editor defended this and praised it, eying me with genuine animosity.

Believers do not need to buy copies of How To Grow Churches by Dancing on the Pews. They can remain faithful to the Word and pray for God's guidance rather than the latest, greatest, most praised materials.

11 But all these worketh [Greek - efficacy] that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

When people focus on themselves and what they favor, division follows. When they begin with the One-ness of the Triune God, they work in the same direction with different gifts.