Sharon Lovejoy - A Blessing of Toads

http://www.amazon.com/Country-Living-Gardener-Blessing-Toads/dp/B0058M799A

Here is Sharon Lovejoy's website.

Lovejoy Resources.

I read many of the classic gardening books at Midland Public Library, in the adult and children's sections:

• Plowman's Folly.
• Six Cows and We're in Clover.
• String Too Short To Be Saved.
• Weeds - Guardians of the Soil.
• Howard's An Agricultural Testament
• Shewel-Cooper's Compost Gardening.
• And all the Rodale Press books.

Many of these books overlap with reminisces about the past, and I find them all fun to read. I regret when I let one slip by, since they are often regional favorites and hard to find later.

Picking up this book at the Barnes and Noble made me certain to buy it later. I was hoping for a Kindle version, but the paperback is well designed and easy to read.

As I wrote before, most gardening books repeat the same old errors and have nothing useful to say, only ways to mislead people into working too hard and spending too much to interrupt the methods instilled and managed by the Creator.

Albert Howard came to India to teach them Western methods, but learned they often knew more than he did. However, he worked to establish composting and said  "the health of soil, plant, animal and man is one and indivisible." 

Lovejoy's first chapter is a work of art, so it is easy to see why she has made a career of her love of gardening. Sometimes people grow into their names, as my archeology teacher did - Lawrence Toombs - pronounced tombs.

She was going to clean up the garden for a visit from an important gardening expert. Instead, Lovejoy watched the birds harvest seeds from her mature plants. She eventually concluded that a seedy garden was good for the birds and everything else. Her advice on growing plants for seed is packed with real information rather than copy and paste truisms.

She loved going to her grandmother's garden each day and has the same reaction now - cannot wait to get into the garden. One plot of land, no matter how humble, can elicit the same joy as it develops. Mrs. Wright came over and said, "Your bulbs are coming up." Since I overplant everything, we are planning how to share flowers and vegetables as they develop. Altar flowers often go to her house and she takes them to a patient who is in hospice care. Today we received a thank you note from the family, about how much they enjoy the flowers. The latest were the Valentine's Day flowers on the altar.

Our garden now includes many families, through distributing roses, extra seed, and - this summer - vegetables. We collect newspapers and turn them into flowers.

Neighbors are learning how to garden more productively, spending less money while getting better results. The veteran is gong to prune my trees, and he is adopting Jackson Mulch for his rose beds. He admired my roses last summer, and I admired his crabgrass.

We had some patches of healthy, tall-growing crabgrass doing to seed, so I pointed out to our helper that crabgrass is a grain brought to America and harvested in the early days. We mulched on top of it later, and the straw bales are on it now. But I have no grudge against a certain amount of crabgrass in the right places. The birds which eat the small grains enjoy it, and people go to the store to buy similar grain to replace what they just destroyed with Roundup.

Another Bad Copycat from Martin Luther College - WELS. Far Too Much Bro-Love

Cat Locked Outside Needs Help - Fast!

"Paul McCain is outside, lecturing me on how to blog. Let me in!"

Birds Learn Gratitude at the Feeder When Ice Coats Their Food

The nuthatch was created to find bugs in bark,
so it easily runs up and down trees, eating pests.

Monday morning was snow and ice-covered, which is when birds need food the most. Snow is not a big problem. They rummage through several inches of snow to get what they need, and bugs are easy to find on tree bark and in bushes.

The ice was all over the Town Car, a thick layer more like iron, and scraper did little damage to it. That is bird-feeding weather.

Undaunted, Sassy Sue and I went into the backyard and dumped sunflower seeds and meal worms at the Jackson Bird Spa.

When birds and squirrels are hungry, they are no longer so picky about their food. They flock around every food source and raise a ruckus, letting the others know where the food is. We normally have squirrels eating in the presence of birds, with little scraps going on. Starlings charge other starlings as they compete for seeds and suet.

I started the suet bags months ago, assuming it would take time for them to feel safe to the birds. Now the insect-eaters flock to  the hanging bags - and swing, eat, fuss, and fight. Starlings make a happy burbling sound when feeding, so we open the window and listen to them.

Purple finches and chickadees love the sunflower seed feeder near our window.
The position of the feeder makes it difficult for larger birds to land and eat.

Sparrows will always clean up.

Starlings, wasps, and hornets are often despised,
but they are the premier enemies of bugs.

One moment the birds are all there. Soon they leave as a group. Now a male cardinal is sitting in the pile of sunflower seeds, picking out his meal.

Male cardinals are especially cautious, so they either show up in groups (before mating season) or feed one at a time when the big crowd is gone.

Creating the new normal, step by step,
until no one can object without being vilified.
Romans 1 fulfilled. 2 Thessalonians in spades.

Feeding During Hostile Weather Is Good for the Birds
The food we offer birds before, during, and after a storm helps them get through the cold weather. They use up more calories in cold weather and find it harder to eat. They may be just as starved after an ice storm as the snow-shovelers are after clearing the walks. Therefore, extra food means more of them will live through the cold weather.

People chatter their teeth about minus 20 wind chills in New York, but we had minus 60 in Southern Minnesota for two weeks. That devastated flocks of winter birds.

I had flat window sills outside and lined them with seed. In the aftermath of crippling snow storms, the squirrels would get on the sill and eat as if it was their last meal. A squirrel that only ate the best corn was happy to chew kernels out of the ice on the sill.

No Gratitude in the Past
America had little or no gratitude for its blessings in the past. We had traditional, Biblical congregations where people worshiped instead of eating popcorn and drinking cola.

We took our freedoms for granted, as if we would always have them.

God created a land where freedom could flourish and citizens could enjoy prosperity from abundant food, mineral, and water resources. Scientists have not figured out how this happened (apart from God's will) but the breadbasket of the world developed without trees, which should have grown up in the Great Plains. The trees had to be imported, so the earliest settlers lived in sod houses. Yuk.

America was almost solid woods from Connecticut to Ohio, but all that stopped at the Great Plains, where prairie grasses with enormous root systems grew, fed the buffalo, got manured, burned in occasional fires, and grew again - building layer upon layer of rich humus soil.

The soil was like pudding in the Midwest. When people jumped from their wagons, the soil showed the shock-waves, like a giant water bed. The only time I have created that effect has been when an entire compost pit was filled with rich sod and rotted.

No one other place has top soil 20 feet deep in places. The European settlers added one more factor. They brought the energetic their earthworms  with a Protestant work ethic. These earthworms spread rapidly and plowed the soil long before John Deere created his polished steel plow. The richness of the soil was a problem, until he solved it and created an industry, a company that defined my hometown of Moline.

The Age of Management by Lying, by Silence, by Theft and Deception

Historic St. John Lutheran Church, on 8th and Vliet in Milwaukee,
was stolen by WELS and Jeske pals.
No one answered how they justified this theft of property and endowment,
and now WELS is running the so-called congregation they kicked out.

When St. John Lutheran Church, independent of any synod, was going to put their services on the Internet, a law firm and two members locked out the pastor, took over the parsonage, grabbed the endowment fund, and shut down the congregation. Here are the details of the theft of St. John Lutheran Church.

This was not some country parish, but the mother church of WELS and an important one for the Synodical Conference. Suddenly, the church is open for business again, with an ex-pastor of WELS in charge, all the resources links on its web page pointing to WELS. No explanation. No apology. When I posted a link to a Facebook page, the FB friend removed it (typical WELS) and the celebration of St. John the Newly Reopened continued.

I heard the thieves recently gave back boxes and boxes of Pastor Kevin Hastings' personal effects. Why do church leaders support theft?

My previous post on a St. John's group went like this:

Gregory L. Jackson

September 19, 2014 · Springdale, AR

I read a post that St. John's will be open for a few hours on a Saturday. Anybody know anything?

The answer was - the church would be open a few hours for a Milwaukee event - Open Doors Milwaukee. Heavy irony indeed, since the doors were locked and the church was darkened, thanks to the work of the Jeske Mob.

They closed the St. John Lutheran Church for Holy Week and Easter in 2013, keeping it closed until - voila! - everything resumed under new management, two years later.

Who is Pastor Roger Drews? Who called him to take over the congregation? We all know WELS is a lawless, abusive sect, but this really sets a record.

Silence. 

Since SP Mark Schroeder does not even respond to a certified letter, after signing the receipt, I am not going to write a letter. Nor should anyone else bother.

WELS-ELS-LCMS leaders.

LCMS Started with Lies, Abuse, and Theft

There is a precedent, the beginning of the Synodical Conference. After serving as Bishop Martin Stephan's hatchet man, CFW Walther organized a riot that came down from St. Louis to  Perryville, threatened the bishop, stole his land, books, and gold, and forced him by gunpoint to leave Missouri for Illinois.

The Synodical Conference cut their teeth on lying by replaying this series of felonies as a noble Reformer (Walther) suddenly finding out Stephan was an adulterer (ha!) and giving the horrid man several options. They still tell those lies in Perryville at the various Walther shrines -and people believe it. 

There was no Saxon Migration until Stephan was suspended, his career over in Germany, for immorality and misuse of funds. See Zion on the Mississippi for details. His lawyers were Marbach and Vehse, the principal lay leaders of the sect when they sailed to America. Nobody knew? When Sephan took long walks in the woods in the middle of the night - with young women - nobody knew?

Why is everyone laughing?
I know - you keep paying for this.

Management by Lying, by Silence, by Theft and Deception

Our society has followed the ecclesiastics in Don't Ask, Don't Tell management. 

The Stalinism found in so many corporations can easily be found in denominations. Do you have a question? You're fired. You are not a team player. You are not loyal. You are the reason we are falling apart. Shun the evildoer. Shun. Shun.

How else can anyone explain the descent of all the mainline denominations--especially the Lutherans--from basic Biblical beliefs to widespread apostasy, endowed seminaries teaching rationalism, and the routine theft of church properties?

I often post Episcopalian articles because the abuse is out in the open with Presiding Bishop Schori and the tranquil traditionalists are in full rebellion against her. Active bishops took their diocese out of the denomination and fought the thieves in court, often losing, but recently winning - South Carolina.

The mainlines have marched back into the Rationalism of the 18th Century - the Enlightenment. If it cannot be explained by human reason, forget it. Anyone who believes the Bible is a crackpot and not to be trusted.

According to studies...

"Have you done a self-study of your congregation? Gather all the statistics and we will use your metrics to revitalize your congregation." Metrics are instruments, but some of us remember when the only instruments were the Instruments of Grace, the Means of Grace, the Word and Sacraments.

As the chairman of the board of Seminex, the first gay Lutheran seminary,
Jungkuntz called himself Old School. He prospered, moving from WELS
to LCMS, from LCMS to AELC and the ALC.

Birds Eat Dessert First - Strawberries Gone, Sunflower Seeds Left

Wild strawberries are spreading in my backyard,
and I am planting hybrid ones in the straw bale garden.
We had some leftover store-boughten strawberries.
My attitude is - "Lots of fresh berries for Mrs. I,
leftovers for the birds," offsetting the net cost in each category.

We woke up to several inches of ice and snow. The car was encased in ice, so much that the snow-melt in the trunk was tough to get out. When I popped the trunk, the automatic shutting device, activated by the weight of the ice, cranked it down again. Getting fingers in to stop the action is impossible. Eventually it opened enough to get the bag out.

I shoveled my driveway and left the car alone. Very few places wee open, and I did not want to find out how quickly the emergency room treated me - an ever-changing ad on a nearby billboard. Sometimes we pass it and say, "What a good time for an accident - only a 10 minute wait."

Sassy supervised a bit but really wanted to explore. We took a short walk together and she stuck her nose under the snow a lot. She is always tracking, but I am not sure which animal. She runs her nose along the surface of the street, lost in the hunt. Once her feet were cold, she went inside.

Meal worms are loved by insect eating birds.
Dried ones are sold at various stores.

Later I got our helper to come over and assist. One neighbor has almost solved his shoveling problems. His driveway is filled with four cars. I worked on the Wright driveway and our helper met me, shoveling the main sidewalk down three properties, snow flying in every direction.

I gave the birds a mix of sunflower seed, strawberries, and dried meal worms. They ate the strawberries first. I saw a large woodpecker working through the mix, eating, and retreating to his perch. He repeated this several times, and no bird challenged him - not even the aggressive starlings.
Apparently he was getting all the meal worms, and websites confirmed that woodpeckers and many other insect eaters love meal worms.

Sunflower seeds were left on the filing cabinet, but no meal worms. I broached the subject of storing live meal worms in the fridge. That caused some raucous laughter. Some birders think dried ones are not good enough, but they will do for now.

I lack a birdbath warmer, so I bought out a wastebasket full of hot water to give them some water for drinking and bathing. The birds left their tracks on the snow on top the pans, so I know they were looking for their normal supply.

Snow Day in Springdale - The Birds Were Right

Live from Springdale, 6 AM, everything is closed today.

Yesterday was warm and sunny. The best temperature gauge is counting the kids playing outside. On Sunday, we had kids biking on the street and doing gymnastics in the grass.

We now have a thick blanket of snow and ice on the ground and cars. From the nearby college, posted yesterday, - "You have never heard a more sincere prayer than the prayer of a college student for tomorrow to be a snow day."

I added, "Doubtless the faculty are joining you." Snow days in college are a double-blessing: no classes and none to make up.

Our helper and I will work on the snow early, because that will facilitate melting later. We have three driveways - the Gardeners, the Wrights, and mine, to clear. I scoffed at the rock salt I saw at Walmart on Saturday. Now I am thinking it would have been a good idea to buy some - though I have two bags left.

Our neighbors should not be shoveling, so it will be fun to help out. How quickly the time flies, from playing in the snow to worrying about falling on ice or having a cardio event. 

Naturally I will clear a spot on the filing cabinet outside to feed the birds. The hanging suet bags defy the weather, so they will be swinging with bird activity. The feeder by the window will bring some chickadees to feast on sunflowers.

I almost planted carrots Saturday and Sunday, and that would have been a good plan. The seed underground would have been sheltered from the cold by the warmth and insulation of the mulch, then by the insulating effect of snow. besides that, snow melt is a great jump-start for hardy seeds.

I was looking out the front window as the day got colder on Sunday. No one notices that the English ivy is unaffected by the weather. It may not grow much in the winter, but it remains green and leafy. Many plants are cold hardy and even favor the cold for best results. I had beets and other seed sewn several weeks ago. I will be most interested in the sunflowers planted weeks ago. If they pop out of the mulch early and take off in growth, I will be emboldened next year to do more of the same.

Ornamental kale is just as not-yummy as common kale.

Kale is the most winter hardy plant I know.
It is green under the snow.

Managing the Press - Works Well with Herman Otten. Bishop Sutton Has To Finesse the Press about Cook

The drunk while texting and driving Bishop Cook is a widow-maker.

http://www.virtueonline.org/why-episcopal-church-got-it-wrong-selection-bishop-cook

TheRaceRadio • 2 days ago

This is all extremely distressing for good Episcopalians who go to church to pray and expect honesty 

from their leadership. Recently Meredith Gould was outed on the Baltimore Brew. She has been hired by

Bishop Sutton to assist in managing this crisis within the church. In that capacity, she has been
posting widely on social media about the Cook case, defending Bishop Sutton,
but without indicating that she was being paid by Bishop Sutton to do so.
According to Gouldher husband also working “a diocesan official” has
phoned the media (specifically, Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post) in
order to have headlines and stories rewritten on behalf of Bishop Sutton. She
claims “human error/laziness” and “nothing nefarious” in the fact that she did
not disclose she was working for Bishop Sutton. Others of us feel differently.
We are also disappointed that Bishop Sutton has claimed not to be communicating
with the press, when in fact he has two people being paid to do so on his
behalf and regularly communicating using various forms of secrecy. The Gospel
and Episcopalians are about openness and honesty. We have a right to expect
this from the leadership.

ReebHerb • 2 days ago

Never heard the term 'Whiskeypalians' used on the West Coast. In fact a TEC church not to far off fired their rector outright when he was drunk on the church wine supple at Nine O'Clock in the Morning. Rumor had it they were pretty okay with the unauthorized (by second wife) pounding out pieces on the organist but a flat out no to the drunkenness.

The term ''iscopalian is of my invention. The 'E' and 'p' are missing. If found please turn in to Bishop Giggles. It is close to midnight for poor ole Dennis Bennett's Nine O'Clock in the Morning church St. Luke's in Ballard. Bp. Rickets has the flames nearly stamped out. Just a little ash left. The Spirit is not welcome in Seattle. Shoo! Go Away!

With the spirit of fairness, let me say, the above church is on the verge of their second interim bishop appointed rector and are looking to appoint a permanent one of their own in the future. Bp. Riddles is a great humanitarian and likes to appoint abused collars from the rescue mission as the interims. The position pays well; $100K+. Any successful candidate will have it super easy. This is not following a strong act. These poor parishioners have heard only four good sermons and eleven okay ones in the last twenty years. All a successful rector will have to do is preach a good ten minute sermon twice on Sunday. The folks will be happy and he can kick back and collect the salary. Heck, you can plagiarize or buy someone else's homily and no one will complain.

The local bishop know affectionately as Gregory the Much Lesser is a class act. He has two passions. The first is to blow sunshine up Schori's robes and the second is a youth emphasis for the diocese. Actually, the seed for the youth emphasis was planted by a heiress, matron, and patron of the church who at age 76 treated herself to a 25 year old Russian husband. Vinny the retired bishop followed suite with a much younger wife that looks better riding around in his Corvette than the old gray haired mare. Youth, youth, youth, but no drunkenness out west especially at Nine O'Clock in the Morning.

***

Paul McCain

GJ - I was at Christian News when the phone calls and faxes were coming in to manage the news at Otten's business. WELS-ELS-LCMS did that all the time. 

District President Al Barry worked out a deal where Otten got material through Paul McCain before the district membership did. People were highly suspicious that Christian News could have the material in print as soon as they saw the "original" in the mail. Paul McCain and Herman Otten told me separately they were working together - top secret, and both of them denied in public--even in writing--that they worked together.

McCain's holy water was barely dry from ordination when he began working as Barry's assistant at the Purple Palace, Paul's reward for managing the media and deceiving the membership and clergy. 

What Is Happening with the Church and Endowment Fund Stolen by WELS?

The WELS District President kicked Hastings out of WELS,
then kicked the congregation out for supporting Hastings.
But they had no qualms about stealing the property and endowment,
under the leadership of SP Mark Schroeder.
The photogalleries include some of my Photoshops,
but nothign about the organ concerts.

"Pastors" I count one.

Pastor Roger P. Drews has recently been called to serve here at St. John’s.  He had been retired for 20 years when the Lord told him He still had work for him to do.  Pastor Drews has had much experience in preaching the pure Gospel.  He has studied the original Greek to give a clearer picture of what the Holy Spirit inspired.  He has authored a commentary on the last book of the Bible which does not follow the current trend.  He  asks “Revelation!  What Did The First Audience Hear?”

In 1977 Pastor Drews started the radio ministry programs “Music For the Master” and “Message From The Master.”  They were syndicated in over 10 stations in the Midwest and Canada.  His church services were sent to troops overseas.  Pastor Drews also started “The Come To The WELS” outreach program.

May the Lord bless his work here.

"History" - Very odd version

The beginning of the congregation dates to 1847 when a group of Lutherans began meeting in private homes in downtown Milwaukee to hear readings of Martin Luther’s sermons. On December 4, 1848 a group of these German Lutheran families led by Pastor Ludwig Dulitz joined forces and started “Evangelishe Lutheran St. Johanneskirche” (St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church). In 1850 the congregation purchased the old Trninty Episcopal Church on the corner of 4th and Prairie (Highland) and dedicated the structure along with a school building.

The following years were a time of growth and expansion for St. John’s, assisted by the enormous number of German immigrants. The congregation called Pastor Johannes Bading to serve in 1858. New schools were built in 1871 and 1877, and the congregation grew to over 2500 members. The need for a larger church building now became obvious.

In the spring of 1889 the congregation hired the architects Herman Paul Schnetzky and Eugene R. Liebert to design a new church building. On July 28, 1890 the new Gothic structure, with a seating capacity of 1100, was dedicated.

Historic St. John's Lutheran Church and Parsonage

Historic St. John's Lutheran Church

Christian education was one of the most important aspects of the church. St. John’s operated as many as three grade schools. Eventually two new congregations, St. Marcusand Apostles of Christ, came into existence from these schools.

In 1950 the neighborhood surrounding St. John’s was taken over by the city and replaced with a public housing project called Hillside Terrace. The expansion of the Milwaukee freeway system came to within three blocks of the church on the west and the south, restricting access to the building.

The school program of St Johns sadly came to an end in 1960. The school building next to the church was eventually demolished.

The last repainting of the church interior was done in 1962. At that time the congregation had dwindled to 72 members and struggled to remain in operation.  St. John’s continued to exist because of work done by members to maintain the property and sound investments made over the years.

In the fall of 1990 a historical designation study report recommended that the church complex be designated a historic landmark.

In 2013 church services were suspended for a time due to a pastoral vacancy and problems caused by reduced membership. Late in 2014 a revitalization project began with an outreach program to draw in new members while bringing back previous ones. With the help of many volunteers we aim to revive this beautiful church and make it again a place to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

***

GJ - I guess they got kicked back into WELS. See the resources page - all WELS.

Let's leave out the Sixth Command and count some major breakages by WELS here.

The Seventh Commandment.


Thou shalt not steal.


What does this mean?--Answer.


We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or property, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business [that his means are preserved and his condition is improved].


The Eighth Commandment.


Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.


What does this mean?--Answer.


We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.


The Ninth Commandment.


Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.


What does this mean?--Answer.


We should fear and love God that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor's inheritance or house, and obtain it by a show of [justice and] right, etc., but help and be of service to him in keeping it.


The Tenth Commandment.


Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his.


What does this mean?--Answer.


We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away our neighbor's wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and [diligently] do their duty.

"In 2013 church services were suspended for a time due to a pastoral vacancy and problems caused by reduced membership. Late in 2014 a revitalization project began with an outreach program to draw in new members while bringing back previous ones." 

Quinquagesima Sunday, 2015. Luke 18:31-43

Quinquagesima Sunday, 2015

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #27    O Bless the Lord                    4:21

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 # 305:1-5               Soul Adorn Thyself             4:23

 The Sermon - Isaiah 53 and Luke 18

The Hymn # 305:6-9                             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 #657               Beautiful Savior                    4:24   

The Epistle. 1 Corinthians 13

THOUGH I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The Gospel. St. Luke 18. 31-43

THEN Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: and hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David. have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood. and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

Quinquagesima Sunday

Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst manifest Thyself, with the Holy Ghost, in the fullness of grace at the baptism of Thy dear Son, and with Thy voice didst direct us to Him who hath borne our sins, that we might receive grace and the remission of sins: Keep us, we beseech Thee, in the true faith; and inasmuch as we have been baptized in accordance with Thy command, and the example of Thy dear Son, we pray Thee to strengthen our faith by Thy Holy Spirit, and lead us to everlasting life and salvation, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Isaiah 53 and Luke 18

Traditionally, the three Sundays before Lenten were spiritual preparation for the season of Lent. When people want to get away from those old Medieval Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, they also abandon the Scriptural foundations for emphasizing the atoning death and resurrection of Christ. Lent and Easter are condensed to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

What matters is not so much the actual traditions but the replacement of worthwhile and edifying services with happy-clappy entertainment. The non-liturgical Evangelicals were the first to move into entertainment, and they were copying the style of the Pentecostals.

I am no expert of what all the non-liturgical  Evangelicals and Pentecostals did long ago, but now they are united with the Lutherans in these characteristics:

1. Elimination of the traditional liturgical Sunday names.
2. Cutting out the liturgy and making Holy Communion an extra service.
3. Replacing hymn singing with paid entertainment on the stage.

Evangelicals are now bemoaning what they led the nation in doing. They no longer have participation in Gospel singing, replacing it with passive listening to highly paid worship teams. People form these worship teams and rock groups money as they travel from congregation to congregation, being booked in advance, paid large amounts of money, and expected to witness (preach) to the congregations.

THEN Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said unto them

In some cases, Jesus spoke only to one, such as Peter, or to the inner circle often mentioned - Peter, James, and John. In this instance Jesus taught all twelve. They had a considerable education in what should be expected in the future, but they did not grasp it. 

Often people discuss this same characteristic of all people, no matter what the subject matter. "I never saw it happening." Some will add, "All the signs were there, but I did not acknowledge it to myself." When financial bubbles build up, someone noted, everyone sees green flags When the bubble has burst, they realize the green flags - go, go, go - were really red flags at that time - no, no, no.

However, even though the words seemed to fly past the 12, they were the basis for their future ministry. The Holy Spirit brought the words to mind and they saw how the Old Testament was the entire foundation for their Gospel work.

Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

This is an important concept, often neglected. Everything was already in the Scriptures about Jesus. In fact, Jesus as the Angel of the Lord was already in their reading, their study, their worship. The Angel of the Lord spoke from the Burning Bush (Two Natures in Christ) and revealed the Name of God. In John 8, Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." He reflected upon His Name as the great I AM.

When Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord, he called the place Peniel, because he saw God face to face. But an angel is not God, is he? Not unless He is the Angel of the Lord, the Son of God before the Incarnation.

All the events revealed by God through the prophets would be revealed, whether the disciples or anyone else believed or not. But they were revealed through the prophets to establish faith and to provide the foundation of the Gospel. The Gospel consists of the Promises and Blessings of God. Although the Gospel is condensed by John 3:16, it is also involves all the aspects of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ.

For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

These are the exact details of the suffering of Christ. They were so different and terrible that they did not sink in when first taught. And when they took place, the disciples scattered in fear. And yet. they became the Gospel narrative, showing how the words of Jesus were fulfilled.

And these fulfill what Isaiah 53 taught for centuries before the words were fulfilled.

Isaiah 53 - 

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

So, Isaiah not only described the suffering, but suffering for a purpose - to pay for our sins, to heal us with forgiveness.

And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

Until their faith was more complete, more informed, the disciples did not recognize this as the heart of the Gospel. Some are still arrested at this point today, and the wolf-preachers like them to stay that way. They think of the Gospel only in terms of typical human happiness. That is portrayed to them (rather sketchily) and nothing materialistic is challenged.

As Luther said, people like wolf preaches and flock to them. So God let's their flocks be chastised and used up. as they are when they suffer from their lords and masters and give up everything for the empire being built.

And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: and hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. 

The second part demonstrates the kind of faith we should have, because a blind man saw what others missed. He knew from hearing the spreading of the Gospel that Jesus fulfilled the Promises of the Messiah.

And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David. have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

Jesus itself was a common name, but they identified one specific Jesus, not giving the title the blind man was willing to shout out. He saw Jesus as the promised Messiah, so he cried out "Son of David, have mercy!" They did not like this, those people without faith, but they could not stop him. He had faith and that faith saw no opposition that could stop him. He cried out even more.

Luther:

10. First, he hears that Christ was passing by, he had also heard of him before, that Jesus of Nazareth was a kind man, and that he helps every one who only calls upon him. His faith and confidence in Christ grew out of his hearing; so he did not doubt but that Christ would also help him. But such faith in his heart he would not have been able to possess had he not heard and known of Christ; for faith does not come except by hearing.

11. Secondly, he firmly believes and doubts not but that it was true what he heard of Christ, as the following proves. Although he does not yet see nor know Christ, and although he at once knew him, yet he is not able to see or know whether Christ had a heart and will to help him; but he immediately believed, when he heard of him; upon such a noise and report he founded his confidence, and therefore he did not make a mistake.

12. Thirdly, in harmony with his faith, he calls on Christ and prays, as St.

Paul in Romans 10:13-14 wrote: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed.” Also, “Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This also shows that the Gospel is revealed especially to the poor, the broken, the afflicted. The great, wise, and powerful do not identify with the suffering of Christ. Not only is it difficult for them, but they associate with those who also see the Gospel as being weak and insignificant for them - a crutch they do not need.

And Jesus stood. and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

Those who call upon the Name of Christ have their prayers answered. That takes faith in Him, which the blind man had without seeing, only hearing.

So many said, "We need to see another miracle to believe." They already saw miracles that no one else had seen, but they wanted more. All the blind man had to do was hear and he believed. 

As Luther implied - Faith comes from hearing the Gospel Word preached. That is my New Revised Amplified Living Jackson Version. Once again there is a direct connection with Isaiah 53.

53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord

revealed?

This is the basis for Romans 10 - when the report (sermon, Word) is preached and heard, faith grows from the Holy Spirit's work in the Word. Those who believe have their sins forgiven. Salvation comes to those who receive forgiveness through faith, by the grace and mercy of God.