ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Representatives from WELS, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) met in Jacksonville, Fla., last week for the eighth in a series of annual informal doctrinal discussions. These are “informal” doctrinal discussions, an indication that we recognize that a restoration of fellowship is not anticipated in the near future. Rather, these meetings are intended to provide a forum that increases mutual understanding of each synod’s doctrine and practice and to establish good lines of communication between the synods. The discussions have been helpful in identifying where the synods agree and where differences remain.
Topics for this year’s discussions included the doctrine of justification (with a focus on objective justification), an area in which the three synods are in complete agreement. Also discussed were the doctrines of the ministry and prayer fellowship, where some differences remain.
New participants this year included Rev. Peter Lange, the newly elected first vice president of the LCMS, and Rev. Paul Prange, the newly appointed administrator for the WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations.
Another meeting is planned for next year and will include continuing discussion of the topics of prayer fellowship and the ministry, as well as a discussion of the WELS statement on the roles of man and woman, “Male and Female in God’s World.”
Be not Thou far from me, O Lord: O my Strength, haste Thee to help me.
Save me from the lion’s mouth: and deliver me from the horns of the unicorns.
Psalm. My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me?
The Gloria Patri The Kyrie p. 17 The Gloria in Excelsis The Salutation
The Collect p. 19
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast sent Thy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to take upon Him our flesh and to suffer death upon the cross that all mankind should follow the example of His great humility, mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of His patience and also be made partakers of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Gradual
Thou hast holden me by my right hand: Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory.
V. Truly, God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart: but as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-nigh slipped; for I was grieved at the ungodly.
Tract. My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
V. Why art Thou so far from helping Me: and from the words of My roaring?
V. I am a worm and no man: a reproach of men and despised of the people.
V. Be not Thou far from Me, O Lord; O My Strength, haste Thee to help Me.
V. I will declare Thy name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.
V. They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born: that He hath done this.
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord! Praise be to Thee, O Christ! The Nicene Creed p. 22
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 #341Crown Him with Many Crowns
Prayers and Announcements
Medical care - Dr. Lito Cruz's wife Lyne, surgery; Dr. Kermit and Dr. Maria Way; Pastor James Shrader and Chris Shrader, Callie and her mother Peggy, C.
Maundy Thursday Holy Communion, 7 PM Central Daylight Time.
Good Friday Vespers, 7 PM.
Easter Sunday Holy Communion. 10 AM.
KJV Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
KJV Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Palm Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast caused Thy beloved Son to take our nature upon Himself, that He might give all mankind the example of humility and suffer death upon the cross for our sins: Mercifully grant us a believing knowledge of this, and that, following the example of His patience, we may be made partakers of the benefits of His sacred passion and death, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The Divine Plan
KJV Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
Palm Sunday is very important because Jesus knew the future, and no one else did. The raising of His friend Lazarus was pivotal in causing the great commotion upon His entrance to this tremendously fortified city high up on a small mountain. As the Gospel of John teaches us, Jesus was arriving as the divine Son of God, having raised a prominent citizen from death and brought Lazarus with Him. The Roman authorities and the Jewish leaders (subordinate to Rome) both had reason (so they thought) to kill Him.
The entry was electrifying, truly Messianic, and more so because their well known citizen, previously dead, was there with Jesus. Jesus shuddered at the tomb of Lazarus because He knew what was being unleashed with the command to rise from the dead (another example of the efficacy of the Word - what God commands, happens).
I was talking with a member about the effect of major change, such as a university picking up and moving across the country. People ask, "What will happen to me?" On a discussion board, one person said, "I don't know if I will have a job next month." After 20 years, I was ahead of the game and already refused to teach there anymore, even if they landed in Arkansas.
Jesus entered Jerusalem knowing what the others did not. Lenski wrote that Jesus knew the owner of the beasts of burden that Jesus used. That was a strange lapse, because rationalism can pop up in odd ways. The Son of God needed a reservation? That is like the Calvinist painting where the angels are opening Jesus' own tomb.
O Love, how strong Thou art to save! Thou beddest Him within the grave Whose Word the mountains rendeth.
The detailed gathering of the animals remind us that even the most trivial action during Holy Week was divinely organized and fitting the calendar that was first revealed when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden while being promised the Savior.
Then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
There is only one way to view these details - Jesus commanding the disciples to present their Master as the conquering Messiah, long promised. That is exactly what happened, which polarized the crowds, the religious, and the Roman leaders. Jesus knowingly provoked the events which followed, fulfilling the hundreds of Promises from the Old Testament, especially Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.
4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
The Bible interprets the Bible, so we are wise if we look for the answers when "scholars are divided." Repeatedly in the Gospels, Jesus had to do things according to the calendar from the Old Testament - Zechariah 9:9 and Isaiah 62:11. The will of the Father and Son were in complete harmony, as explained many times in the Gospels.
The verse itself reminds us of the Two Natures, divine and human. The Messiah would come as a King, and also meek. Great kings throughout history led the battle with their military might and weapons. In Byzantine history, the Emperor had to face battle on his war horse, not riding in a chariot limousine, which caused immediate loss of credibility.
The hope of the crowds meant terror for the leaders. The more the crowds cheered, the more the leaders plotted.
6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
The disciples then were like us today. We know many things, but not the future. I tell Old Testament students the bare outlines of personal disasters my wife and I faced over the decades, which turned into great blessings.
having no place in "normal" higher education, but finding one in radical online schools;
my first "big" book, accepted and scheduled for publication, then rejected, then promoted and sold by those who rejected it, leading to cost-free publishing online;
failing to buy 3 different houses and finding a perfect rental that provided a spare room for a multi-national church.
having a congregation that outlasted the 3 parishes managed by ecclesiastical professionals.
Every detail in the saga of -
Jesus the Son of God,
born of the Virgin Mary,
miracle worker and teacher, atoning for our sins,
rising from death, and ascending to Heaven -
is revealed for our faith in Him, in the Three Persons of the One True God. We need those details in our hearts and minds, because our trust wavers so easily. The least little problem is not too trivial for God to address and solve, in His time, in His way. We cannot look ahead and know the future, but we can look back and be thankful for the many miracles, small and large, that God showered upon us.
When we come across a puzzling or seemingly opaque detail in the Scriptures, we can dwell upon it until the brightness of God's glory shines in it.
8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Judas Maccabeus enjoyed this kind of a welcome, when Israel was free for a short time. That collapsed into Roman rule, Roman taxes, Roman tax collectors, and Roman soldiers. Later a false Messiah came - after Jesus - and brought even more destruction upon the remains of Jerusalem. There are many false Messiahs but only one true Savior.
Is the Bible one unified truth? Where are the palms? They are in the Gospel of John.
KJV John 12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Where is the key to the turmoil and arrest of Jesus? John's Gospel.
KJV John 12:9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; 11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.
What does the Holy Spirit condemn? what is the foundational sin?
KJV John 16:8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me;
Faith in Jesus Christ is access to His grace, and those who oppose it are condemned by God. This is such a little pair of verses, and yet it gathers and sorts everything in the Bible.
