I planted a 1/2 pound of Borage seed - in the new compost pile. Borage's chief virtues are feeding bees, decorating salads, and increasing the beneficial insect population. I read that its presence alone increases the beneficials. Besides that, Mrs. Ichabod likes it fresh from the plant.
The compost will have a covering of blue and pink flowers. Jesus and Paul used Creation illustrations because people were close to the soil in those times. People are more likely to cite movies than books or the Book. English was once shaped by the King James Bible, with Shakespeare (Oxford) the twin foundations of the English language. Now our language is determined by tweets and cartoons.
The lengthy Parable of the Sower and the Seed is explained by Jesus Himself, which shows that this parable should be studied carefully and kept in our minds. The sower scatters seed without digging and placing seed in marching band rows. Clearly the sower assumes some seed will fall on good soil, where it will flourish and multiply. But lo! What do we have today? Everyone should study the soil and plant the living seed of the Word only where they think it is fertile.
That means, for Lutherans, planting in the wealthy Lutheran suburbs. If the Apostles had followed such a misconception, the Christian Church would be extremely limited today. Our ancestors were not necessarily refined. Christianity provided the Ten Commandments and the freedom that led to America and Western Civilization.
Paul said "Sow abundantly that you reap abundantly." Lutherans have become so indolent that they can barely manage the strength to offer a partial worship service on Zoom, using borrowed messages. Stingy short-term efforts yield microscopic results.
One Biblical pastor was run out of the ministry for criticizing the Church Shrinkage Movement. He thought he was not a success. Sowing the Word faithfully is success. Huss was burned at the stake, as so many were after him, like Tyndale. They did not leave marble cathedrals, but they started or helped the Reformation.
Paul said, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." Vainglorious ministers like to say how much they accomplished, as if God could not do it without them. I heard several WELS pastors brag about how many LCMS members they rescued from the flesh-pits of Missouri. Taking members from one "conservative" Lutheran church to another - that is true salvation! In fact, Frosty Bivens observed in his book about the Michigan District, WELS - that WELS pastors took in Masonic Lodge members as quickly as Missouri excommunicated them. Likewise, George Orvick, ELS, was equally famous for his support of Masonic members. John Brug said he could not keep out Masonic members in his mission church because he would have had no church left.
But that is what becomes of an organization where material success is everything and Scriptural fidelity is an adiaphoron, a matter of indifference. The examples from above are more from the tradition of preaching and worshiping the synod, not the Gospel.
Remaining a believing pastor is success. The pastoral epistles teach that. That seems to be a low bar, but it is really a difficult standard. Every possible pitfall is before the person who dares to preach and teach the Gospel. Today, an ordained Lutheran pastor is in a tiny minority if he teaches Justification by Faith.
The websites, publications, publishing houses, schools and seminaries are devoted to Halle Pietism. As a result, the vast majority of ministers and teachers are Rationalists by default. They do not want a blog about apostasy to address their apostasy.
