Sunday, February 7, 2021

Nothing Will Happen To Stop Abuse in WELS Schools - Because "Nothing Happened!" - Their Favorite Response

Guenther brought down this bear cub when he was in Alaska.
Now he is in paradise, New Ulm, Minnesota.

WELS is an abusive sect, proven by the fact that they enjoy handing out the abuse and saying, "Nothing happened!" That is so dominant as a response that one ex-WELS pastor said the same thing to me about a non-WELS situation - "Nothing happened!" I had an eye-witness there when "nothing happened."


The leaders of WELS are bullies, sadistic bullies. They love being bullies and they enjoy stories of others being physically attacked. The idea is simple - a minority controls everything and gets what it wants. Their people can do nothing wrong and the rest can do nothing right.

Two recent efforts to end the tyranny ended in the groups being disbanded - Issues in WELS and Intrepid Lutheran. The Intrepid Lutheran founder, Steve Spencer, was the first to leave the group. Some might call him a Judas Goat rather than an Intrepid Lutheran. He did not like GA hazing at all (Mequon). 

The bullies who haze endanger lives, but they also break down people. The staffmembers who approve of hazing get their kicks from it. They think they are tough because they support each other. 

This is how it works. A young man was physically assaulted by a student when visiting a campus the first time. He complained to the right person - and he was marked for ejection - not right away, but when something could be rigged. WELS bullies love to do that and call Holy Hell down on their victim, laughing about it. They are furious when the tactic does not work, but they never stop. They can conjure up another event to rage about, and no one will question their honesty (even if they do).




There is precious little Gospel in WELS. The sect is all Law, very special Law. The Law is enforced by the bullies against the rest. But they are so sanctimonious. WELS is so pure, so good, so beyond anyone's comprehension. There is nowhere else to go, except the ELS, which is Purgatory. 

The bullies are 100% Antinomian. They whine about anything they imagine to be a slight and they treat everyone like dirt. WELS is a great place to learn how to be a total hypocrite. 

The stink-eye is their opening shot. Someone who tells a WELS secret, like one of the murders or something even worse, will get the stink-eye from the entire clan. That is why I protect names, because there is no escaping the penalty of telling the truth. Stink-eye is Round 1, and Extending the Left Foot of Fellow is Round 2. 

There have been good WELS pastors, but they keep to themselves and are kept in the boondocks.

As the Columbus WELS circuit proved, there is no problem in the sect with:
  • Pastoral adultery
  • Pastoral alcoholism
  • Pastoral false doctrine
Telling the truth is an unforgiveable sin.



WELS Prep School Abuse - Also at Their Colleges - Especially at the Mequon Seminary

Former WELS Luther Prep President - Mark Schroeder

A Wisconsin Nightmare


To this day I am still coming to grips with what I experienced from the ages of 14-17 as a student living on the campus of Watertown Luther Preparatory School. For this reason I am posting this on a throwaway account. My goal in sharing my experiences is that others may find they are not alone, and that they too can share their stories and continue healing. I do also hope that those who ran the school are held accountable, those currently in charge force changes if they haven't already occurred, and that future parents and students are made aware of what went on in the dormitories, locker rooms and whole campus of Luther Prep in Wisconsin.

In the 2000's I attended Watertown Luther Prep as a student for most of my high school years though I hit a breaking point and left the school to finish elsewhere. 100+ members of my incoming freshman class had done the same before me. I am not sure how many after me broke down and went back home before graduating as well.

For those who are unaware, Luther Preparatory School is a four year Lutheran high school where students live on campus and away from their parents and guardians. The stated goal of the school is to prepare the next generation for a life in the ministry of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) schools and churches.

My years there were terrible and filled with pain. As an adult I now see many glaring situations that would have been appropriate to call law enforcement, speak to a trusted adult, and likely file lawsuits against the school, the Wisconsin Evangelical Synod, and the individuals charged with the care and well being of the students that boarded and attended there.

However, it was our parents and trusted adults that sent us to live there in the first place. Most were so indoctrinated with the teachings of the WELS that they would not be able to hear our pleas for help anyway. The WELS is a strict Christian group that has its roots in Wisconsin but is now spread widely across the midwest, and even has an international presence. To publicly push against it means a serious threat to ones career, social connections, and if one believes — their eternal life.

As an incoming freshman, school sanctioned hazings were the norm. An event at the start of each year, called the slime line, was held. You were partnered with a senior, and this senior could throw whatever they wanted on you. Eggs, oil, flour, paint, feathers etc. The Dean of Students at the time, oversaw the event and cheered them on. Of course, we were told the event was “optional” but the assigned seniors would make it known that it wasn't.

For me this meant being woken up in my bed around midnight the night before. Four senior boys stood over my bed and pulled me up. They stripped my down to my underwear and inserted a pole through each leg. They then twisted the pole until my testicles were crushed. As I cried and begged for them to stop, they lifted me up and held the pole in the air until my underwear ripped clean through and I fell to the floor. This was called a “pole bender” and was used widely that night throughout the male dormitories by seniors to ensure that their freshman would show up the next day for the slime line. I reported this to the male staff in charge of my floor, but he was a 25 year old fresh out of seminary. He simply laughed at the ordeal we were put through. I was told it was normal and we would get our chance in four years to do the same.

Throughout that year I learned the freshman class was simply going to be abused like this until the end of the year. An overweight friend of mine had sausages and Bologna thrown at him many times walking across campus, constant tauntings, and much more. He too made a few timid attempts to reach out to the staff person in our dorm, but eventually had a mental break and left the school to return home out of state. In fact many people had mental breaks and left the school over the four years I attended.

Football should be a time to learn teamwork, sportsmanship, and persistence. The lessons I learned on the football team at Prep were that if you didn't show up to urinate on the visiting bleachers after chapel the evening before a game night, the team would punch and urinate on you in the locker room. At least a few of the coaches were aware of this practice and thought it funny. I refused to participate in this and was then urinated on by teammates while I attempted to shower. After that I left the team. You should probably bring a seat pad when vising games at Luther Preparatory School.

This was not a rare occurrence though. In the dorms the showers were open and had no stalls. Many times older students found it funny to urinate on us or in our shampoo when we weren't looking. They would slap our testicles and “jokingly” commit other sexual assaults. I sincerely wonder how many hundreds of people were victimized while at this school. It breaks my heart to even think about the magnitude of what went on.

As a whole, LPS was quite unsavory. Very few minority students attended and I'm sure they fared far worse than I. Ethnic names were mocked by students and staff alike. I would hear the N word daily and black students were certainly disciplined and expelled far more often for the same offenses that the white students would commit.

With students living on the campus and many being from the midwest, there were some that were hunters. I recall instances of long guns, compound bows, and hunting knives being kept in dorm rooms by students that were related to the staff. I cannot fathom how this was allowed, but I remember our Tutor at the time (the 20 something in charge of the dorms) holding and admiring the guns of a classmate that he planned to take out hunting on the weekend. Rather than take the extra trip home before hunting, he simply brought it along to his dorm the prior weekend. He was related to a few very high ranking WELS members as well as the school president, so he was told just to keep them in his closet and not talk about them much. Seeing as this kid had punched out a window in an attempt to attack and beat me and my friends the year before, I was terrified!

In the classroom or on the field the decorum of the staff wasn't much better. I'm sure some were good people, but many would purposely enjoy jumbling up names of students that were asian, african american, latin or otherwise not German sounding. I remember an asian classmate that was clearly disturbed every time his name was purposely turned into something else by staff.. he would just stare at the ground as they laughed. Additionally with the WELS being staunchly anti-LGBTQ, many kids were mocked using gay slurs. “Well that sounds gay.” was a phrase used by more than one instructor and professor during class. The sports teams heard that and worse regularly from the coaches if their efforts were deemed unmanly.

Homophobia and hate are ingrained in the culture of the WELS and it permeated the school during my time there. To any of my classmates that had to struggle with their identity while in the WELS, I honor you as you are, and am so sorry for what you must have gone through. I truly hope a life of healing has found you. You are wonderful and beautiful just as you are. Love is love!

I could go on and on about the culture of Luther Prep School, the WELS, their many other schools and churches but I will end with this. I sincerely believe large scale abuse occurred at Luther Prep School and was consistently perpetuated or simply ignored by staff. It is likely still going on. I am now far removed from this sect though and don't know if reforms have happened. I am sure many hundreds of students of this school and other WELS schools have stories the same and likely far worse. My hope is that the discussion can open up and we all find healing and justice.

My ultimate wishes are:

The WELS is investigated and publicly held accountable for its past.

Large scale reforms for the future of LPS and the WELS. (Nail em' to the doors Martin Luther Style?)

Public apologies are issued to all students past and present for the abuse they incurred while at LPS.

Refunds of all tuition money for those past and present that were abused.

If you have an experience with LPS, other WELS school, or WELS in general please speak up now! Sects like this must not be allowed to abuse and destroy another generation.

*edited to remove names of individuals

At Northwestern College, Watertown, hazing meant pretending to have sex with the Springer statue, from the back.


++++


Hello everyone. 

Recently something very serious came to my attention and it needs to be publicly addressed. I attended Luther Prep, one of our synod prep boarding schools and had some rather unacceptable encounters while attending. When I noted any of these to staff in charge, I was told ‘Don’t worry, it used to be worse’ instead of addressing the problem. I had no proof and no corroborating evidence, and my name isn’t a WELS name so I didn’t think any further action would be useful. 

Until the other day a friend of mine shared a Reddit exposé on an anonymous author’s experiences at LPS in the early 2000s. My heart broke. THIS is what our synod out our young people through?? This is the history of how we got to ‘well at least it’s better around here than it used to be’? Because it is NOT better. It’s still not acceptable even in 2021. I truthfully don’t know where to go with this but something needs to happen. I know countless individuals with similar stories, myself included, and many of said individuals are minorities or people who ended up turning away from the WELS because of their experience at prep. I know some of the content below is not doctrinal but I ask you to disregard that and focus on the fact that this person was a brother in Christ who was humiliated for no reason. And that needs to be rectified. Thank you.


+++


The President of Luther Prep at that time was President Schroeder, the now WELS president. I know a lot of people who feel that if guy couldn't watch over me at a school, why do I want to be a part of church body that he is now responsible for?


++++


A former boss of mine attended Northwestern Prep during the 1970s and said the hazing was absolutely horrible then, and the professors turned a blind eye. Unfortunately it turned him off from the WELS because he wouldn't have anything to do with called workers who were complicit in that behavior.



++++

John Lawrenz, on the far left, laughed about the MLS boy who was dangled out the winder. They let go and the boy had one or more bone breaks. They called Paul Kuske's time as dean there - The Reign of Terror. John Brenner was no better at MLS or at Mequon. Two seminarians who complained about hazing at Mequon were hated out of the school.



The rules are selectively enforced, no doubt about that. Family connections are a real thing.

Can confirm the "hazing". I think during my time there was a transition to get rid of a lot of the older hazing rituals. Lots of freshmen parents started complaining. So that was the last year the freshmen were forced to run naked on the soccer field.

I know a WELS pastor who refused to send his kids to LPS due to the hazing he received back in the 80s.

I could talk for a while on this subject (including selective punishment). I was at MLS and LPS (even MLC for just a year). I have to say, MLS was a lot less cultish.


++++

The WELS Thought Police warn once, only. They get even forever.


I went to LPS for one year. I still think about the things I saw and was forced to watch/participate in even after talking to the tutors AND the Dean . The tutors would take part.

I too, have had the thought of, "should I call the police?" This is still a thought that haunts me today. It's not just the hazing (which went beyond the staff sanctioned hazing week) or the showers. The teachers weren't above using slurs for disabilities and other things as the Reddit poster states. There was also so much deprivation of normal rights on a day to day basis such as punishments and simple living dorm comforts.

There's so much I could write, but I was just having this talk the other day with my husband (also an LPS grad). We're stuck with public school where we live for our children. For reasons listed, Prep is not an option unless things have truly changed. We're looking into GPLS. Hopefully this isn't something that's bled into the "culture" of other WELS prep schools.

So yes, it's as bad as the poster makes it sound, and I'd say even worse. The staff knew, allowed it, and some participated.

Sexagesima Sunday 2021, Luke 8:4-15


Video of this service is linked here.

Sexagesima Sunday, 2021

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson




The Hymn #318               Before Thee God, Who Knowest All                      
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

O God, who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do, mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

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 #339   All Hail the Power              

Keeping the Word of God

The Hymn #312          Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Living Bread                             
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 #46       On What Has Now Been Sown        

 Norma A. Boeckler
Prayers and Announcements


  • Treatment and recovery - Rush Limbaugh, Christina Jackson, Mary Howell.
  • Pray for our country and our elected President as major trials continue.
  • Thanksgiving - Glen Kotten is doing well.
  •  Ash Wednesday begins the Galatians study. On Sundays, the Luke Bible study will be followed by Genesis.


SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee, that through Thy Son Jesus Christ Thou hast sown Thy holy word among us: We pray that Thou wilt prepare our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may diligently and reverently hear Thy word, keep it in good hearts, and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Thy power, and in all persecutions comfort ourselves with Thy grace and continual help, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.


2 Corinthians 11:19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.  21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.  22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.  23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool ) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.  24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.  25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;  26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.  29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?  30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.  31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.  32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:  33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.  2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.  3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)  4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.  5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.  6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.  7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:  5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.  6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.  7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.  8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Keeping the Word of God

Introduction to Luke 8:4ff
The parables of Jesus are fictional short stories, designed to convey a message within a picture (like this one, sowing seed) or a plot (the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan). They are introduced as parables in some cases and in other cases, they are parables without the title. We take them for granted, but we should not, because they are intended to stick to our memories and to increase in importance as we dwell on their meaning. We can never exhaust the meaning of a given passage, because the Word of God is always energized by the Spirit, always powerful and effective. They are for believers only. Those without faith or who have lost faith will hear them and not grasp the meaning. They will see the words but be blinded by the Word. However, those with sincere hearts who listen to the Word of God will be fruitful from the Spirit at work. We are fickle and easily distracted, so God employs many tools to keep us in His flock. The parables are very powerful in doing that.

KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

If people read one passage or another, they miss the impact of so many crowds gathering to meet Jesus. John the Baptist continued what the Star of Bethlehem promised, announcing the Messiah and His message of repentance and faith in Him.

In each and every case, the crowds alarmed the Roman government and the priestly class. This built up animosity and fear, because a movement so popular was difficult to suppress.

Jesus began with a parable, one which many know by heart. The opening is very much in the Old Testament Hebrew style of using a word to serve as noun and verb, but this is in Greek, which had become the main language. "The seeder went out to seed the seed, and in seeding..." is relatively close to the Greek play on words. 
εξηλθεν ο σπειρων του σπειραι τον σπορον αυτου και εν τω σπειρειν

This repetition of the same word in various forms emphasizes seed, which we know is the Word of God. The first example is seed that falls onto the pathways, is stepped on into the soil, and is eaten by birds. They are very keen about digging up food in shallow soil, so they are a perfect example of the Word being taught but tramped down in various ways and taken by Satan.

The parables are not for everyone to know and believe. That seems to be a contradiction when we first learn it, and that is not an interpretation but the message from Jesus Himself. Those who idly listen or pay attention out of curiosity lose the Word. There might be a beginning of interest, but one of Satan's Little Helpers will come along and trample the Word so his Father Below can keep his kingdom strong. It works like this. There is the Word first, which is God's program to gather and keep His flock. An unbeliever is alerted to this interest in a person and dashes faith with various tools - ridicule, astonishment, pointing out bad experiences:
  1. You can't possibly fall for that!
  2. You pay attention to him?
  3. Remember that church you left 20 years ago? They are all the same.

This is a warning from Jesus. Some think "keeping the Word" can be a casual acquaintance with God's Word. The word for "keep" is used for guarding someone or some precious object. The eternal Word is not sent out by God as something to be dismissed, ignored, or opposed.

"But I thought the Word was always effective!" So the Word is, but that means effective in converting or hardening, effective in enlightening or blinding. A powerline is effective in lighting up part of a city, but also in exploding and starting fires. We watched the Midland flood grow, years ago, and as the water rose, transformers blew up - impressive fireworks - suddenly useless transformers.

Modern rejective of the English Bible began in 1881, when the Revision of the KJV was published. At the same time, the team of Wescott and Hort published their new Greek New Testament, which was designed to set aside the KJV and replace it with the The Revised Version. Never heard of it? That was a total flop, but the anti-KJV (anti-traditional text) gradually took over. All the major modern Bibles - NIV, ESV, Good News, NASB, New Living, etc partake in this travesty. One example is the relatively "conservative" NASB, which includes the story of the adulterous woman in John 7 - but lo - there is a footnote - "
  1. John 7:53 Later manuscripts add the story of the adulterous woman, numbering it as John 7:53-8:11. NASB
So this NASB is saying, like the rest, but less boldly - "This does not belong in the Gospel of John or in the Bible. Don't be fooled by the KJV."

Wescott and Hort delighted in removing words and verses from the New Testament, and this really set the stage early for rejecting the divinity of Christ, His Virgin Birth, and His Resurrection. 

6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 

This follows the example of seed growing and withering away from lack of moisture. I had a birdfeeder in New Ulm where the seed fell onto roofing with fine soil and dead leaves, an ideal place for sprouting. Sunflowers germinated quickly in the sun, but that stopped with the steady rains. The power of the sun dried them up and they blew away in the wind.

This happens among temporary believers when they hear the saving Truth of the Gospel, faith in Jesus Christ, and are overjoyed. If someone has never known forgiveness, complete and full and free, from faith in the Savior - it is a great moment. It may last for a while, but when trials come along, people say, "This is not for me. My life is worse than before and I have no friends."

This is what Jesus calls trials, temptations, the way of the Cross. Faithfulness to Christ will always be met by blessings but also by hard knocks on the head. If a minister wants to be comfortable, popular, and wealthy, he has to avoid antagonizing the somewhat faithful with the Gospel. The negative side seems overwhelming because the Kingdom opposite God's - The Kingdom of Satan - is unwilling to give up a single adherent, and they always recruit more. 

Shallow pastors are a great boon to the Kingdom of Satan. They give the impression of Christianity, but they only want the good parts, never the cross.

 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 

As many have experienced, when seed falls on good (productive) ground, the fruitfulness is so great that it more than makes up for the losses. "15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it [guard it], and bring forth fruit with patience."

So this is not only a parable about the power of the efficacious Word, but also about those who appreciate the Gospel, guard it with their hearts and minds, and patiently bear fruit over all the years, though many years may seem like a fruitless battle.

The scattering of the Word should mean to us that we have such a precious commodity from God that it should be shared in various ways. I know Audio Gutenberg is posted on every possible spot on Facebook.

So is Norma Boeckler's Christian artwork.

Likewise, I separate the introduction to the sermon and post that - and 35 or so people respond to it. There is no waste is sharing broadly.

One person questioned our online services - a mode he does not care for. I pointed the origin of them, among a few scattered families. Now the total is 30,000 views. Not per year, but from the beginning. He was startled by that. So was I. 

I thought we had a good bunch of books to offer free, dozens of free PDFs. Now the total from the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry is 270+. We can say that free library is an enviable total for any student, pastor, or layman to have on hand. I buy books and obtain free books for projects so I have to send them on. I explained to Christina, "If I kept them all, we would have to pitch a tent in the backyard for sleeping."

The power and efficacy of the Word is shown in our growth in understanding the Scriptures and then our ability to communicate the Word.


 Norma A. Boeckler designed the Bethany altar
and created this photograph of it.


Luther's Sermon on the Parable of the Sower, Luke 8, Sexagesima Sunday



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY.
   


TEXT:

Luke 8:4-15. And when a great multitude came together, and they of every city resorted unto him, he spake by a parable:

The sower went forth to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. And other fell amidst the thorns; and the thorns grew with it, and choked it. And other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. As he said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And his disciples asked him what this parable might be. And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the Word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. And those on the rock are they who, when they have heard, receive the Word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in the time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among the thorns, these are they that have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience.


I. THE NATURE OF THE WORD SPOKEN HERE.

1. This Gospel treats of the disciples and the fruits, which the Word of God develops in the world. It does not speak of the law nor of human institutions; but, as Christ himself says, of the Word of God, which he himself the sower preaches, for the law bears no fruit, just as little as do the institutions of men. Christ however sets forth here four kinds of disciples of the divine Word.

II. THE DISCIPLES OF THIS WORD.

2. The first class of disciples are those who hear the Word but neither understand nor esteem it. And these are not the mean people in the world, but the greatest, wisest and the most saintly, in short they are the greatest part of mankind; for Christ does not speak here of those who persecute the Word nor of those who fail to give their ear to it, but of those who hear it and are students of it, who also wish to be called true Christians and to live in Christian fellowship with Christians and are partakers of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But they are of a carnal heart, and remain so, failing to appropriate the Word of God to themselves, it goes in one ear and out the other. Just like the seed along the wayside did not fall into the earth, but remained lying on the ground in the wayside, because the road was tramped hard by the feet of man and beast and it could not take root.

3. Therefore Christ says the devil cometh and taketh away the Word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. What power of Satan this alone reveals, that hearts, hardened through a worldly mind and life, lose the Word and let it go, so that they never understand or confess it; but instead of the Word of God Satan sends false teachers to tread it under foot by the doctrines of men. For it stands here written both that it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. The birds Christ himself interprets as the messengers of the devil, who snatch away the Word and devour it, which is done when he turns and blinds their hearts so that they neither understand nor esteem it, as St. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:4: “They will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.” By the treading under foot of men Christ means the teachings of men, that rule in our hearts, as he says in Matthew 5:13 also of the salt that has lost its savor, it is cast out and trodden under foot of men; that is, as St. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, they must believe a lie because they have not been obedient to the truth.

4. Thus all heretics, fanatics and sects belong to this number, who understand the Gospel in a carnal way and explain it as they please, to suit their own ideas, all of whom hear the Gospel and yet they bear no fruit, yea, more, they are governed by Satan and are harder oppressed by human institutions than they were before they heard the Word. For it is a dreadful utterance that Christ here gives that the devil taketh away the Word from their hearts, by which he clearly proves that the devil rules mightily in their hearts, notwithstanding they are called Christians and hear the Word.

Likewise it sounds terribly that they are to be trodden under foot, and must be subject unto men and to their ruinous teachings, by which under the appearance and name of the Gospel the devil takes the Word from them, so that they may never believe and be saved, but must be lost forever; as the fanatical spirits of our day do in all lands. For where this Word is not, there is no salvation, and great works or holy lives avail nothing, for with this, that he says: “They shall not be saved,” since they have not the Word, he shows forcibly enough, that not their works but their faith in the Word alone saves, as Paul says to the Romans: “It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16.

5. The second class of hearers are those who receive the Word with joy, but they do not persevere. These are also a large multitude who understand the Word correctly and lay hold of it in its purity without any spirit of sect, division or fanaticism, they rejoice also in that they know the real truth, and are able to know how they may be saved without works through faith.

They also know that they are free from the bondage of the law, of their conscience and of human teachings; but when it comes to the test that they must suffer harm, disgrace and loss of life or property, then they fall and deny it; for they have not root enough, and are not planted deep enough in the soil. Hence they are like the growth on a rock, which springs forth fresh and green, that it is a pleasure to behold it and it awakens bright hopes. But when the sun shines hot it withers, because it has no soil and moisture, and only rock is there. So these do; in times of persecution they deny or keep silence about the Word, and work, speak and suffer all that their persecutors mention or wish, who formerly went forth and spoke, and confessed with a fresh and joyful spirit the same, while there was still peace and no heat, so that there was hope they would bear much fruit and serve the people. For these fruits are not only the works, but more the confession, preaching and spreading of the Word, so that many others may thereby be converted and the kingdom of God be developed.

6. The third class are those who hear and understand the Word, but still it falls on the other side of the road, among the pleasures and cares of this life, so that they also do nothing with the Word. And there is quite a large multitude of these; for although they do not start heresies, like the first, but always possess the absolutely pure Word, they are also not attacked on the left as the others with opposition and persecution; yet they fall on the right side, and it is their ruin that they enjoy peace and good days. Therefore they do not earnestly give themselves to the Word, but become indifferent and sink in the cares, riches and pleasures of this life, so that they are of no benefit to any one. Therefore they are like the seed that fell among the thorns. Although it is not rocky but good soil; not wayside but deeply plowed soil; yet, the thorns will not let it spring up, they choke it. Thus these have all in the Word that is needed for their salvation, but they do not make any use of it, and they rot in this life in carnal pleasures. To these belong those who hear the Word but do not bring under subjection their flesh. They know their duty but do it not, they teach but do not practice what they teach, and are this year as they were last.

7. The fourth class are those who lay hold of and keep the Word in a good and honest heart, and bring forth fruit with patience, those who hear the Word and steadfastly retain it, meditate upon it and act in harmony with it.

The devil does not snatch it away, nor are they thereby led astray, moreover the heat of persecution does not rob them of it, and the thorns of pleasure and the avarice of the times do not hinder its growth; but they bear fruit by teaching others and by developing the kingdom of God, hence they also do good to their neighbor in love; and therefore Christ adds, “they bring forth fruit with patience.” For these must suffer much on account of the Word, shame and disgrace from fanatics and heretics, hatred and jealousy with injury to body and property from their persecutors, not to mention what the thorns and the temptations of their own flesh do, so that it may well be called the Word of the cross; for he who would keep it must bear the cross and misfortune, and triumph.

8. He says: “In honest and good hearts.” Like a field, that is without a thorn or brush, cleared and spacious, as a beautiful clean place: so a heart is also cleared and clean, broad and spacious, that is without cares and avarice as to temporal needs, so that the Word of God truly finds lodgment there. But the field is good, not only when it lies there cleared and level, but when it is also rich and fruitful, possesses soil and is productive, and not like a stony and gravelly field. Just so is the heart that has good soil and with a full spirit is strong, fertile and good to keep the Word and bring forth fruit with patience.

9. Here we see why it is no wonder there are so few true Christians, for all the seed does not fall into good ground, but only the fourth and small part; and that they are not to be trusted who boast they are Christians and praise the teaching of the Gospel; like Demas, a disciple of St. Paul, who forsook him at last, 2 Timothy 4:10; like the disciples of Jesus, who turned their backs to him. John 6:66. For Christ himself cries out here: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,” as if he should say: O, how few true Christians there are; one dare not believe all to be Christians who are called Christians and hear the Gospel, more is required than that.

10. All this is spoken for our instruction, that we may not go astray, since so many misuse the Gospel and few lay hold of it aright. True it is unpleasant to preach to those who treat the Gospel so shamefully and even oppose it. For preaching is to become so universal that the Gospel is to be proclaimed to all creatures, as Christ says in Mark 16:15: “Preach the Gospel to the whole creation;” and Psalm 19:4: “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” What business is it of mine that many do not esteem it? It must be that many are called but few are chosen. For the sake of the good ground that brings forth fruit with patience, the seed must also fall fruitless by the wayside, on the rock and among the thorns; inasmuch as we are assured that the Word of God does not go forth without bearing some fruit, but it always finds also good ground; as Christ says here, some seed of the sower falls also into good ground, and not only by the wayside, among the thorns and on stony ground. For where-ever the Gospel goes you will find Christians. “My word shall not return unto me void.” Isaiah 55:11.

III. THE FRUIT OF THIS WORD.

11. Here observe that Mark 4:8 and Matthew 13:8 say the seed yielded fruit some thirty, some sixty and some a hundredfold, which according to all interpretations is understood of three kinds of chastity, that of virgins, married persons and widows; and virgins are credited with a hundredfold of fruit, wedded persons with thirtyfold, the least of all, and widows with sixtyfold. But this is such coarse and corrupt talk that it is a sin and a shame that this interpretation has continued so long in Christendom and has been advocated by so many noted teachers, and criticized by none of them. In this one perceives how many wide-awake, well-armed and faithful teachers the church has had heretofore, and how one blindly believed another, and how God allowed many noted saints and people to play the fool so completely in these important matters pertaining to the soul that he warned us to believe no teacher, however saintly and great he may be, unless he comes with the pure Word of God.

12. First, it would be doing the Word of God injustice to hold that it brings forth no other fruit than chastity, since St. Paul boasts quite differently in Galatians 5:22. In brief, the Word of God accomplishes all good, it makes us wise, sensible, prudent, cautious, pious, kind, patient, faithful, discreet, chaste, etc. Hence this comment referring only to three kinds of chastity is wholly unchristian. The heathen and wicked people, who neither possess the Gospel nor persecute it, have also virgins, widows and married persons. Doubtless Anna and Caiaphas had been properly married. Thus there were virgins, widows and consorts before the Word of God; for virgins were born, and when the Gospel comes it finds virgins, widows and wives; the Gospel did not first make them virgins, widows or wives.

13. Secondly, thus marriage, virginity and widowhood are not fruits, nor virtues, nor good works; but three stations or states in life created and ordained by God, and are not creatures of our power. They are divine works and creations like all other creatures. For if it should be valid to interpret a station or state in life as good fruit, one would have to say the state of a lord, a servant, a man, a child and of officers was only fruit of the Gospel; in this way there would be no fruit at all left for the Gospel, since such states or callings are found everywhere regardless of the Gospel. But the chastity of virgins is paraded thus for the sake of a show, to the great danger and injury of immortal souls; just as if no virtue adorns a Christian but virginity.

14. I will say further, that chastity is a different and a far higher thing than virginity, and is nothing more than that a woman has never been under any obligation to a man. Besides, however, it is possible that a virgin has not only a desire and a passion for man, in harmony with the character and nature of her female body; but she must also be full of blood and life in order to bear children and multiply the race, for which God created her, and that creation is not her work but God’s alone. Therefore that woman may not hinder God’s work, nature as created by God must take its course, whether children be born or not. But chastity must indeed be a state of a woman’s mind that has no or little desire for man, and has in her body also little or no seed to bear fruit or children.

15. Now it is generally the case that a married woman does not so often experience such desire and lust, such a flow of love or life; for she will be relieved of the same by or through her husband; and besides, where a virgin has only passion in the thoughts of her heart and in the seed of her body, a married woman has much displeasure mingled with the pleasure of her husband, so that to speak in common terms, the high and best chastity is in the married state, because in it is the least lust and passion, while the least chastity is in the state of virgins, because in it there is much more lust and passion. Therefore chastity is a virtue far above virginity; for we call a bride still a virgin, although she is indeed full of desire, passion and love for her bridegroom. Chastity waves high over all three states, over marriage, over widowhood and over virginity. But when God does not work wonders it sinks low and exists most in the married state and least in the state of virgins, and there are not three kinds of chastity, but three states of chastity.

16. True, when we consider virginity according to its outward appearance, it seems great that a woman restrains herself and never satisfies her desires with a man. But what does it help if persons restrain their passions longer without a man or a woman and then satisfy them more than with a man or woman? Is there not more unchastity where there is greater lust, love, lewdness and sensation than where there is less? Therefore to calculate according to the amount of lust and sensation, as unchastity should be considered, virginity is more unchaste than the state of marriage. This is very apparent among prostitutes, who are virgins and yet are very forward and obscene, and cherish greater thoughts of the sin than the sin itself is. In short, I wonder if there is a virgin twenty years of age, who has a healthy, perfect female body.

17. This is enough concerning chastity, that we know how the fruits of the Word must be understood differently and in a wider sense than pertaining to chastity, and be applied especially to the fruits, by which many are converted and come to the knowledge of the truth. For although works are also called fruits, yet Christ speaks here especially of the fruits the seed of the Word brings forth in hearts that become enlightened, believing, happy and wise in Christ, as St. Paul says in Romans 1:13: “That I might have some fruit in you also, even as in the rest of the Gentiles;” and Colossians 1:6: “Even as the Gospel is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also;” that is, many will be made alive through the Gospel, delivered from their sins and be saved; for it is the characteristic work of the Gospel, as the Word of life, grace and salvation to release from sin, death and Satan. In harmony with this fruit follow the fruits of the Spirit, the good works of patience, love, faithfulness, etc.

18. Now that some seed brings forth thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred fold, means that more people will be converted in some places than in others, and one apostle and minister may preach farther and more than another; for the people are not everywhere alike numerous and do not report the same number of Christians, and one minister may not preach as many sermons or cover as great a territory as another, which God foresaw and ordained. To the words of St. Paul, who preached the farthest and the most, we may indeed ascribe the hundredfold of fruit; although he was not a virgin.

IV. WHY CHRIST CALLS THE DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE DISCIPLES AND THE FRUITS OF THE WORD A MYSTERY.

19. But what does it mean when he says: “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Gad”, etc.? What are the mysteries? Shall one not know them, why then are .they preached? A “mystery” is a hidden secret, that is not known: and the “mysteries of the kingdom of God” are the things in the kingdom of God, as for example Christ with all his grace, which he manifests to us, as Paul describes him; for he who knows Christ aright understands what God’s kingdom is and what is in it. And it is called a mystery because it is spiritual and secret, and indeed it remains so, where the spirit does not reveal it. For although there are many who see and hear it, yet they do not understand it. Just as there are many who preach and hear Christ, how he offered himself for us; but all that is only upon their tongue and not in their heart; for they themselves do not believe it, they do not experience it, as Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:14 says: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.” Therefore Christ says here: “Unto you it is given”, the Spirit gives it to you that you not only hear and see it, but acknowledge and believe it with your heart. Therefore it is now no longer a mystery to you. But to the others who hear it as well as you, and have no faith in their heart, they see and understand it not; to them it is a mystery and it will continue unknown to them, and all that they hear is only like one hearing a parable or a dark saying. This is also proved by the fanatics of our day, who know so much to preach about Christ; but as they themselves do not experience it in their heart, they rush ahead and pass by the true foundation of the mystery and tramp around with questions and rare foundlings, and when it comes to the test they do not know the least thing about trusting in God and finding in Christ the forgiveness of their sins.

20. But Mark says, Mark 4:33, Christ spake therefore to the people with parables, that they might understand, each according to his ability.

How does that agree with what Matthew says, Matthew 13:13-14: He spake therefore unto them in parables, because they did not understand? It must surely be that Mark wishes to say that parables serve to the end that they may get a hold of coarse, rough people, although they do not indeed understand them, yet later, they may be taught and then they know: for parables are naturally pleasing to the common people, and they easily remember them since they are taken from common every day affairs, in the midst of which the people live. But Matthew means to say that these parables are of the nature that no one can understand them, they may grasp and hear them as often as they will, unless the Spirit makes them known and reveals them. Not that they should preach that we shall not understand them; but it naturally follows that wherever the Spirit does not reveal them, no one understands them. However, Christ took these words from Isaiah 6:9-10, where the high meaning of the divine foreknowledge is referred to, that God conceals and reveals to whom he will and whom he had in mind from eternity.