The [Low, Low] Cost of Discipleship

Lord have mercy!

If there was ever a passage of Scripture that more preachers have done violence to through poor exegesis it has got to be Mark 8:31-38. (Okay... maybe aside from Matt 28:16-20... and, come to think of it also Matt 26:26-28... ...You know what? I'm just going to stop and move on with my original point.)

Mark 8:31-38. Never have I been subjected to more lukewarm, soft-peddled legalism in all my life! ARGH!

It is beyond me how anyone can hold a straight face as they preach this passage to support a purpose-driven theology of glory. God has a great plan for you, alright. You are called to die to self. You are called carry your cross to the place where you are made dead to the flesh and alive to Christ. Doesn't that sound like a ton of fun? Isn't that as cuddly as a bag full of kittens and rainbows? Doesn't that sound like the quick road to happiness and purpose? *smacks forehead*

So what's the answer? Well, certainly don't tell the people the truth about their calling. Don't nail them to the cross with the full weight of this passage and then bring them to life with total sufficiency of Christ's atonement for all sinners... heavens no! That's not pro-individual. That's not post-modern. That's not anthropocentric enough for us. We don't like the idea of us being total failures and Christ being a total savior. We don't want to be helpless like infants. We don't want a savior. We want an enabler... a divine life coach.

I have an idea: let's just invent our own exegetical damage control and soften the blow of Christ's words for the modern ear. Let's deprive our people of the benifit of the rebuke that Peter was given and tell them it will be okay if they just keep trying really really hard. Let's encourage them to keep deceiving themselves into thinking that every minor deviation from their original life plan is actually the hidden hand of God. Better yet, let's point them to those moments rather than to their baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the confession of sins. Let's put a veil on over Moses' face and pretend that we've got this "Christian" thing nailed down solid. *smacks forehead again*

Lord, when will You free us of this mediocre spirituality that is masquerading as deep, Biblical truth? When will You reject the message of these false teachers and return the wayward church to the sound doctrine of Christ crucified for the souls of men? How long must we languish, O Lord? How long?

Daylight Savings Time Reminder

Remember, folks, if you find yourself in Hawaii, Arizona, or the nation of Iraq, DO NOT "spring forward" an hour on Sunday.

...everyone else enjoy your short night. =P

Is it God's Will That You Are Tromented?

...or is it actually your own willful rebellion that torments you?

Hear the Word of the Lord: "But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?" -Ezekiel 18:21-23 [ESV]

The Lord God says later in that same chapter, "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." -Ezekiel 18:30-32 [ESV]

These are not the words of a tormenter or tyrant who punishes and refines without neccesity. God gathers no pleasure or joy in inflicting suffering and death upon the wicked. God desires that the wicked repent. We serve a God of love. Read Ezekiel 18 and see that it is not God who is unjust and cruel. We are the ones who are unjust and cruel.

Let there be an end to your torment. Repent and turn from your transgressions. Turn from wickedness and walk in righteousness. Now this is not a revival of morals and ethics. God is not calling you to try harder and stop being wicked. Our Loving God would not call you to do the impossible!

He is calling you to the righteousness of Christ Jesus. He is calling you to mercy. Get out from under the Law that is killing you and live by faith in Christ.

As the apostle says, "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe."

"For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." -Romans 3:19-25 [ESV]

If you are suffering, make sure that you are suffering because you are zealous for what is good [1 Peter 3:8-22] and not just because you are fighting God so that you can live under the Law when you try to have salvation and communion with God by your own works, on your own terms, using your own timetable, through your own methods or means, and according to your own limited understanding.

That was my own mistake for over a decade. It was a miserable condition and there was no peace.

Blessed Is the Man Who Fails to Please God

I rejoice that the Holy Spirit prevented me from enjoying the self-righteousness of my youth. I thank Almighty God that He did not offer the comfort or communion that I earnestly prayed for. I was blessed when He hid Himself from me as I struggled to reach Him. What a great, painful refinement of my soul!

Thank God that I was too weak to live well enough to be fooled into thinking that I was righteous. Thank God that I was too inattentive to be earnest in my good works. Thank God that I was too sinful to be clean, too hypocritical to be a good example, and too tormented to be joyful or pleased with this life. It was a bit of mercy that God never satisfied me with my enthusiastic false worship.

I was too lustful to be chaste. I was too arrogant to be humble. I was too judgemental to be merciful. I was too sinful to think that I was basically good; too much of a failure to think that I was doing Christianity correctly.

Blessed is the man who fails to please God. Blessed is the man who is so completely wretched that he could never see himself as doing everything that he needs to do to reach God. Blessed is the man who, because of his legalism, is so starved by lack of faith that he pleads for the Holy Spirit, but is left alone in the dark.

For those are the men who have had their ears and eyes opened by God's holiness that is found in His unforgiving and perfect Law. Those are the men who are having the rebellion and pride beaten out of them with relentless, divine fury. They are starved of faith, worked to death, and dragged to exhaustion. These wicked servants are being tortured... and for good reason!

Because they were not meek, they were destroyed.
Because they did not love, they were rejected.
Because they were selfish, their flaws were magnified and increased.
Because they did not believe, they were shaken to their foundations.
Because they wanted to buy holiness, they were given nothing.
Because they were foolish, they were handed over to their own futility.
Because they wanted to live, they had to be killed.
Because they hated Christ, they received God's wrath rather than mercy.

So that they are made a ruin. Their white-washed souls are broken open so that they can wallow in their own filth. They are crushed and degraded. They are handed over to their own foolishness and are allowed to consume themselves until they have nothing left but their own failure, despair, and fear. Not only do they no longer want to live their way anymore, they don't want to live at all! Not only can they no longer climb to heaven, they lack the strength and will to even lift one hand to protest their "maltreatment". They are totally broken and left for dead.

They would not listen. They would not hear. They would not see. They covered their ears and stamped their feet. Their rebelion had to be beaten down. Their loud, blasphemous voices had to be silenced.

And then, in that moment when all human words cease and all earthly means are removed, the Angel of the Lord puts away his flaming sword and declares, "Fear not! I bring you good news!" And that dead trash heap of hopelessness is illuminated as the gates of heaven, locked tight for years from the inside, are thrust open by Grace and the choirs of angels and saints begin to sing. The way is shown to these blessed, tormented souls through the Holy Word and the Blessed Sacraments. They are lifted up and their lifeless bodies are carried through the gates as the whole company of heaven rejoices at their arrival. The poor fools haven't even realized what has happened.

The pure and clear Gospel of Christ, the evangel, is here. What sweet music and refuge!

Every Lent, I return to the place of my ruin. I stand at the scar in the earth where my quest to be holy ended in a catastrophic colapse; a total failure of mind, body, and soul. I look at the smoldering crater and I marvel at my own stupidity... and the depth of God's infinite love.

Let's Chat

I published my new AOL IM screen name on my profile and blog. Let's chat!

Solifidian1518

...because if I'm online, I am probably sitting in my hooch... bored out of my mind! =P

My Seven Rules When I Confront People

I have seven primary rules (...that I can think of at the moment) that I use when I confront people with their error or transgression. They are:

1. I try to remember that I have done or thought just badly as this guy if not worse.

2. Odds are pretty good that I don't see everything clearly and I need to hear the other side of the story/issue before I rush to judgement. Who knows, my opponent may even have something to teach me (this is especially true of subordinates and children).

3. Where possible, I attack the issue or mistake and not the individual. In fact, I usually try to treat the other guy as my ally against the mistake that he is a victim of. I try to use positive comments and reinforcment to highlight the good of the person while addressing the problem.

4. Understanding causes and motives is the key to unlocking the truth in most disagreements.

5. I do my best not to beat a dead horse.

6. When dealing with others I always abide by Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity."

7. I am willing to accept headway or at least a partial victory. Resolving conflicts is a process which requires people to be exceedingly patient.

Crashing the Table Talk Party

So I get to my living quarters and press play on my favorite Lutheran talk radio program with a game show theme... and lo and behold, they were reading my email on the air! :P Thanks guys! I'm flattered and overjoyed that I was able to brighten your day.

Let me take this moment to plug their show. Go check them out right now here. And if you like the show be sure to check out their Table Scraps extra programing... it is pure gold. Oh, and donate to them because this program is providing an important service: a light-hearted, simple presentation of Lutheran theology.

I am more than happy to provide the text that they read on the air for your reading enjoyment. If you want to know the context that prompted this email... you are just going to have to go listen to the show! :P

--------------------------

Greetings Most August and Pious Iron Preacher, Pastor Bryan Wolfmeuller,

Shepherd of the Most Fortunate Flock of Hope Lutheran Church of Aurora Colorado,

Stalwart Defender of the true Faith of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Beloved Son of the Missouri Synod,

Slayer of Heretical Teachings and Apostates,

Frequent Theological Contributor to the Lively Discourse on Issues, Etc,

Friend and Brother to all Who Meet Him,

And Bold Confessor of the Book of Concord,

...and to his lowly and humble seminarian co-host,

Grace and Peace from Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I just donated to Table Talk Radio for the Johann Tetzel Fundraising Drive. I wanted to know if my Table Talk Points could be given to some of my already deceased family members. Deep down, I feel that they need my points far more than I ever could since I live a good life, go on pilgrimages, and donate to your radio show. Since I am so pious, such points would be wasted if granted to me. It would only make sense to give these valuable points to others. If earning Table Talk Points for the dead is possible, please forward my points to the appropriate divine offices in purgatory thru the dedicated communications network located in the pope's ex cathedra bunker at the Holy See. If it is not possible to grant points to the dead, please forward my points to some pitiful sinner in need of the comfort that the points earned by my works will bring them. Thank you....

--------------------------

Hehe... good times. :P

Keep up the good work and keep cranking out informative, entertaining programs!

Oh, and if you know Pr Wolfmeuller, I'll give 1,000 points to anyone who introduces him as the "Stalwart Defender of the true Faith of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" etc, etc, etc, dear listener.

Mercy

How much of our wretchedness and sin spews out freely in the last word? We all crave to possess it. We jump at the chance to have the last word. For what?

To win?
To destroy?
To witness suffering?
To earn the praise of men?
To preserve our pride?
To get even?
To compensate for our own weaknesses?
To reward a word of correction with malice?
To indulge our own stubbornness?
To relish in the sheer pleasure of the last word?

When our enemy is beaten down we have to deliver one more blow. When our enemy seeks a way of escape we have to attempt one more deadly shot as he departs. When our enemy strikes us, even in those cases where his attacks are feeble and ineffective, we must rage back at him with all of the ferocious wrath that we can muster.

We kill. And not just with our hands, but with our mouths as well. Our wicked heart controls them both. That is the source of this great ungodliness.

We are all the worst murderers. Lord have mercy!

Ash Wednesday by the Rivers of Babylon

...well, only one of them actually: the Tigris.

The chaplaincy on post determined that they "did not see much interest out there for a liturgical protestant Ash Wednesday service." We scrambled and put a service together anyway. Since I was the one making the arrangments, it was Lutheran through and through. We had public Confession and Absolution and the Service of the Word based on Divine Service, Setting 1 from my copy of the LSB. In place of the Service of the Sacrament, we wrote up a form for the Imposition of Ashes based on the litany and some the collects for humility and repentance.

As kantor, I chanted the opening versicles (Open Thou My Lips, Make Haste, and Gloria Patri) and three of today's hymns. I used one of my favorite Gregorian tones for all three to link them together as continuity milestones through the service. The songs were two Lenten hymns from St Gregory the Great: Audi Benigne Conditor and Clarum Decus Jejunii; and a 12th Century Hymn called Ecce Tempus Idoneum. I struggled with the organ so that the congregation could sing Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed for the hymn of the day.

I found a former Lutheran pastor turned Army officer who agreed to officate, preach, and impose ashes. Hearing Lutheran liturgy again warmed my soul and I had forgotten how powerful the readings for Ash Wednesday are!

Everyone loved the service. In spite of only having 48 hours notice and very limited publicity, over 30 people showed up for our humble effort. Praise the Lord!

...I should note that 30+ is a larger attendence than most of the Sunday chapel services here. So much for not seeing "much interest" for Lent from Protestants! :P

They Talked a Ton of Law... but no Gospel

I just finished listening to the round table on contraception over at Issues, etc.

First let me say that I whole-heartedly agree with the guests when it comes to matters of normal healthy relationships. In those cases where healthy children are a reasonable assumption, contraception is sin.

But that is where I part company with many Lutherans. I think it is because my wife and I fall into that category of poorly named “hard cases”. I am not interested in making this post a pity party about my situation, but I say this so that people understand that I am not speaking academically about this topic as so many people do. This is a very personal issue with me and I find the Monday morning quarterbacking to be very offensive.

I submit that suggesting that a grieving and hurting couple abstain from sex for the rest of their lives is the height of cruelty and a total misuse of Law and Gospel. While unrepentant sinners who are using contraception and family planning for selfish needs deserve the full weight of the law, the crushed souls who have watched their children die do not need to be lectured on ethics. They need the Gospel… something that was sorely lacking in this program, but also in almost every single public discussion on this topic.

Placing the horribly legalistic message aside for a moment, it amazes me that people who hold the Augsburg Confession's Article XIII in such high esteem would force celibacy on people who have not been given that gift. We Lutherans confess that marriage was instituted by God as a help against sin. Let me ask you, does driving a wedge between the intimacy of husband and wife through this time of great trial prevent or encourage sin? Does pushing husband and wife away from each other in a time of great suffering preserve God's expressed intent for marriage or pervert it?

Speaking from personal experience, it is a fair assessment to say that celibacy is not something to which I am suited. If it was a natural state for me, I would not have gotten married in the first place. To attempt to pretend that I possess strength of character that I do not would be unwise as it would open the floodgates to all matter of temptations and sin. The very thing that these pontificators are trying to prevent is sin and they encourage it by their suggested course of action. Even if I were capable of such a feat of the law, what about my wife? Once this problem was discovered... what, I am supposed to just distance myself from her according to the flesh? What does that say to her? How do you think she deals with that? Is that love or moralism?

Here we see the prudish sophistry of my opponents. They say that there are two elements to sex in marriage: procreation and pleasure. They argue that the two should not be separated. They call contraception sin because it removes procreation to preserve pleasure. All of this they assemble, not from the direct teaching of Scripture or personal experience, but from historic teaching and their own Aristotelian notions. They take the sin-curbing gift of marriage and throw it out the window in those cases where the flesh doesn’t work right. Where is the clear teaching from the Bible on what to do regarding hard cases? There is none. It is silent. We should be also.

To say that there are only two elements to sex is foolish and overly simplistic. So we have procreation: a material concern. We also have pleasure: a material concern. Well what about spiritual concerns? What about things like intimacy? Is that not a portion of sex as well? Is that not a far greater portion than mere pleasure? That never makes it into the debate.

And I would point out that many of these well-meaning people are advocating a course of action that they do not undertake. These celibacy-peddlers are themselves married with many children. In fact, it is a safe bet that the very day that they tell your wife to put on a chastity belt for the rest of her natural life, they go home to their normal family, play with their children, and go to bed with their wives.

They are placing burdens on people’s backs that they have not dared to move with a single finger. It is my wish that people undertake great care in these matters when talking about such “hard cases” in the public arena. This is not a matter that is well suited for blanket statements and careless words. You are telling depressed, hurting people that they are sinners and that engaging in their most intimate relationship for comfort and solace against temptation is now evil in the sight of God. At what point did you offer them hope? To often, when this topic comes up, you offer them none. Shame on you.

I suggest that all individuals who are not personally involved directly with a chronic “hard case” or are unwilling to set the example for their teaching by being celibate in their own marriages should refrain from rendering such generic advice in the public square. This is not some fascinating debate topic that can be taken so lightly. It is a life issue that is as complex as it is agonizingly painful.

So let me present to these "hard cases" what others were too busy debating to say:

Dear Christian, God loves you.

Christ is the great physician and He is abudant in His blessing and healing. Your broken state exists because of sin. It was sin that came into a good creation and caused it to be cursed when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. You groan and suffer as all creation suffers, but this temporary world will be made new. Christ's death and resurrection has broken the stranglehold of death, brokeness, and sin. It is in this time that we must struggle and wait for the restoration that is soon to come. For those who are Christ's own, a new and perfected body awaits that is free of frailty, death, and disease. In heaven, these sorrows will no longer exist.

Also, Holy Scripture shows us that Christ is a lover and defender of little children. We commend all of those that we have lost and those that have been damaged by sin through severe illness and deformity to His merciful, limitless love. Dear Christian, God is not angry with you. He loves you as His dear child. His wrath has been spared from you because of Christ.

Reach out to your pastor for individual guidence on this matter and gather support from your fellow Christians. If you are bearing the cross of one of these "hard cases", do not listen to generic advice from the internet. You already know more about this subject than they do by virtue of your terrible burden. This issue is not a matter of dogmatic pronouncement. It falls well within the category of direct pastoral care. If you take that route, you will find the comfort that you need. You are not going through a trial that is uncommon to man. There are many who suffer as you do. Seek them out and gather strength in this time of difficulty.

Above all else: Christ calls you to Himself and says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. God bless you.