The Inauguration Was Everything I Expected - Times 100

 

I grew up in the 1950s, when we read the newspaper, watched intelligent TV news anchors, and discussed what was happening at the dining room table. As I wrote before, my parents said more than once, "We are turning into Rome."

And we were. That took some time, because those days were not close to what we have today. We did not have drug dealers living on our street. Breaking into homes and businesses - not at all common. It was too easy to identify culprits, like the hoodlums who stole a cash register from my father's bakery. They had been kicked out for hanging around the cute waitress.

President brought back the olden days in his Inaugural Address. I was shocked to see so many issues addressed, each one aimed definitely for the good of our Constitutional Republic.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (a stolen name) tore everything apart,  starting officially in 1988. As the Lutheran CORE pointed out recently, all the evil and nothing good has come from the smirking, radical, self-destructive witches of that merger.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Epiphany 3 Centurion - "Here behold the attitude of faith toward Christ: it sets before itself absolutely nothing but the pure goodness and free grace of Christ, without seeking and bringing any merit. For here it certainly cannot be said, that the leper merited by his purity to approach Christ, to speak to him and to invoke his help. Nay, just because he feels his impurity and unworthiness, he approaches all the more and looks only upon the goodness of Christ. This is true faith, a living confidence in the goodness of God."

 

Third Sunday after Epiphany. Matthew 8:1-13. Christ heals the Centurion’s Servant, or Two Examples of Faith and Love. The Faith and Baptism of Children

TEXT:

Matthew 8:1-13. And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And he saith unto him, I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

And when Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed in that hour.

I. TWO EXAMPLES OF FAITH AND LOVE.

1. Two examples of faith and love are taught in this Gospel: one by the leper, the other by the centurion. Let us first consider the leper. This leper would not have been so bold as to go to the Lord and ask to be cleansed, if he had not trusted and expected with his whole heart, that Christ would be kind and gracious and would cleanse him. For because he was a leper, he had reason to be timid. Moreover the law forbids lepers to mingle with the people. Nevertheless he approaches, regardless of law and people, and of how pure and holy Christ is.

2. Here behold the attitude of faith toward Christ: it sets before itself absolutely nothing but the pure goodness and free grace of Christ, without seeking and bringing any merit. For here it certainly cannot be said, that the leper merited by his purity to approach Christ, to speak to him and to invoke his help. Nay, just because he feels his impurity and unworthiness, he approaches all the more and looks only upon the goodness of Christ. This is true faith, a living confidence in the goodness of God. The heart that does this, has true faith; the heart that does it not, has not true faith; as they do who keep not the goodness of God and that alone in sight, but first look around for their own good works, in order to be worthy of God’s grace and to merit it. These never become bold to call upon God earnestly or to draw near to him.

3. Now this confidence of faith or knowledge of the goodness of Christ would never have originated in this leper by virtue of his own reason, if he had not first heard a good report about Christ, namely, how kind, gracious and merciful he is, ready to help and befriend, comfort and counsel every one that comes, to him. Such a report must undoubtedly have come to his ears, and from this fame he derived courage, and turned and interpreted the report to his own advantage. He applied this goodness to his own need and concluded with all confidence: To me also he will be as kind as his fame and good report declare. His faith therefore did not grow out of his reason, but out of the report he heard of Christ, as St. Paul says: “Belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the Word (or report) of Christ.” Romans 10:17.

4. This is the Gospel that is the beginning, middle and end of everything good and of all salvation. For we have often heard that we must first hear the Gospel, and after that believe and love and do good works; not first do good works and so reverse the order, as the teachers of works do. But the Gospel is a good report, saying or fame of Christ, how he is all goodness, love and grace, as can be said of no other man or saint. For even if other saints have a good report and reputation, it is nevertheless not the Gospel, unless it tells alone of the goodness and grace of Christ; and if it should include other saints also, it is no longer the Gospel. For the Gospel builds faith and confidence alone upon the rock, Jesus Christ.

The Past Predicts the Future - Here Are Echoes from an Earlier, Squirrely ELCA.Response from The CORE

 

https://www.lutherancore.website/

Recent comments from The Lutheran CORE - https://www.lutherancore.website/2025/01/13/reconsiderations-more-than-simply-editorial/

Deluded? I was absolutely astounded when I read ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s response to the recent action taken by the United Methodist Church to affirm the historic Christian view of marriage and human sexuality. Speaking of the very different vote that the ELCA took nearly ten years ago, she said, “Yet, though a controversial decision at the time, our 2009 action has brought strength and blessings for our life and mission beyond what we could have imagined a decade ago.” [emphasis added] 

How in the world could she make a statement like that when she wrote the following in the February 2019 issue of “Living Lutheran”? “Our congregations are growing older and smaller. At least 40 percent of our congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of 50 or less. ELCA membership decreases by 70,000 people a year, or roughly the loss of a synod per year. Clergy retirements outnumber new candidates for ministry. Financial pressures and building maintenance create stress. There is a dearth of people in their 20s and 30s in our pews.” 

<Bad News > Imagined Good Having recently said all of that, how could she now say that because of the 2009 decisions the ELCA is experiencing “strength and blessings for our life and mission beyond what we could have imagined a decade ago”? 

Revelations 

Instead the ELCA is revealing what it really believes and the direction in which it is determined to go by its doing nothing to address the “We Are Naked and Unashamed” movement and nothing to counter the growing influence and message of its most famous public spokesperson, the author of the book, Shameless: A Sexual Reformation. Also, while the Presiding Bishop is quick to respond to so many other issues, she refuses to respond to recent state legislation regarding abortion. How could she expect God to give “strength and blessings” to a church body that is refusing to deal with such blatant rejection of His Word? 

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GJ - Kids were warned that smashing a puddle of toxic mercury would spread the liquid all over. That was a threat issued by various teachers and parents. ELCA counter-threatened their congregations and swore everything would be fine. Each Presiding Bishop was worse than the one before, leaving them with Elizabeth Eaton, who took a leave of absence for six months.

She is due a retirement in 2025. Strange how her current photographs are so different from the grinning Liz of the past. 

What could be more trite and juvenile than a Liz selfie with an ELCA conference?