Father's Day +1

The best thing my father (and my mother) did for me was to get me baptized six weeks or so after I was born. I don't remember the event. I have a little picture from that day and my Baptism certificate that I have framed. I know who my God-parents are. On that day I received three fathers: my natural father, my God-father, and my heavenly Father. What a blessing, especially in a time in our society where fatherhood seems to be maligned by certain groups with an ax to grind.

Dr. Nagel once mentioned in a sermon that we are "chrismed, Christed, and christened". What a short, simple, and powerful declaration. Chrism is the act of putting oil on the forehead of the soon-to-be-baptized individual. Christening is another way of saying "Baptism". Both references to holy Baptism bracket Christ. He is in the middle and in our midst. I have pondered on this image and have realized how talented a wordsmith Dr. Nagel has been over the years. His words tell us that it's all about Christ and what He has done for us: the Sacrament of Baptism brings us to Christ and gives us forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life. Christ is the centerpiece in God's salvation history and the means of grace point us to Him alone.

Luther mentions in his Large Catechism that it is the father's duty to bring his children to Christ by getting them baptized, teaching them the holy Scriptures, and the Small Catechism. Such an important responsibility God has given to human fathers. I am blessed and proud that my father did all this and much more for me and my siblings!

Group C Excitement

Euro 2008

Euro 2008 begins Saturday 7 June at 6:00 p.m. CZE (12 p.m. EST) with Switzerland and Czech Republic kicking off on the pitch! One of the ESPN channels will be televising many of the matches.

Video

I bought a little video camera for my computer. It works. Some day soon I hope to try it out more fully and figure out how to post videos to my blog.

When an apology isn't an apology

Father Michael Pfleger spoke from the pulpit of Trinity United Church last Sunday; he was very critical of Senator Hillary Clinton. After his remarks from the pulpit last Sunday, Fr. Pfleger said, "I regret the words I choose on Sunday. ... I am deeply sorry if they offended Sen. Clinton or anyone else who saw them." THAT'S NOT AN APOLOGY!

A true apology involves:
1. the law convicts and convinces you that you have sinned,
2. you are deeply sorrowful of that sin,
3. you repent of that sin and seek God's absolution.

Fr. Pleger did not truly apologize. He "regreted" the words he choose. Regret can be a verb used to indicate an apology, but in his case it fails to be so because of what he said later: "if". To use this preposition in this context is to make the statement a subjunctive, rather than a indicative, clause. If I offended you, then I am sorry; but if I have not offended you, then then there is no harm done and I am not sorry (because no offense has been given).

Sadly, Fr. Pleger's non-apology is symptomatic in our 21st American culture. He is another in a long line of public apologies that fail to truly be an apology. We are so concerned with political correctness, that we are tempted to not take responsibility when we misspeak.

One of the blessings of the liturgy is that when we confess our sins, we take responsibility for them. The old faithful confession goes like this: "O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being." Now that's a confession! It's dripping with penitent words and is in the indicative mood.

Most importantly, this confession gets to the heart of the matter: we have sinned against God. He has the ability to punish us now and eternally for our sinfulness. He is the one we have offended with our sinful lives. But when the law convicts, the gospel is right behind to promise us full and complete absolution. True forgiveness follows a true apology. Our standing before God is certain and sure. Yes, we are sinners; we confess that and we hear God's gracious words of forgiveness, words that are all the more sweeter and comforting because we have owned up to our selves and admitted that we are sinners.

Matthew 6

Tomorrow's Gospel Reading has a lot to say about what currently gets broadcasted on the television in regards to Christianity. On the one hand, you have all sorts of channels and televised church services that focus on the things of this world, namely wealth. Such would be name it and claim it theology, prosperity gospel, and other similar false theologies. The underlying foundation is: Bigger is better, and more is a sign of God's blessings. On the other hand, you have vocal preachers who only talk about liberation theology that focuses on the things of this world, namely power. Such would be any message that makes Christ a political or social liberator instead of a spiritual liberator. The underlying foundation is: social gospel.

Christ promises neither prosperity nor temporal liberation. He does promise liberation from sin, death, and the devil. He does promise to provide for our needs. With just those two, we are richly blessed by God! Anything else He provides is sheer abundance.

The Holy Spirit has given His Church the Word and the Sacraments. With these simple means we find the Church, and when we find the Church we find Jesus, forgiveness, and the Spirit's help to believe and live our lives fully.

I recall in a seminary class taught by Dr. Nagel the following illustration. We come to God needing and wanting His grace. God gives us a cup and begins to fill it up with water. The cup becomes full, but God still pours the water. The water overflows onto the table, flows down to the floor, and runs out the door. God still hasn't stopped pouring the water! That is how Christ gives out His grace and forgiveness.

The Athanasian Creed

Although attributed to Athanasius, the Athanasian Creed (Symbolum Quicunque) was originally written in Latin sometime in the 6th century, possibly in France, and by the 9th century it was used in the liturgy. In the Western Church, the Athanasian Creed is the last of the three great ecumenical creeds (along with the Apostles' and the Nicene). The Eastern Church does not use either the Apostles' or the Athanasian Creed. The only true ecumencial creed in all Christendom is the Nicene Creed.

While not Athanasian in authorship, it is Athanasian (and Augustinian) in doctrine, especially emphasizing his defence of the Nicene Creed and the deity of Jesus Christ. The creed's strong trinitarian confession makes it an obvious choice for Trinity Sunday. Since the 1960s, the use of the Athanasian Creed has declined to its sole use on Trinity Sunday, however, in the 19th century, Lutheran churches were apt to use the creed more often throughout the liturgical year.

The Creed confesses two main doctrines: the holy Trinity and the two natures of Christ. In doing so, the Creed neatly summarizes the orthodox councils and synods of the first four centuries.

Sadly, too many Lutherans seem to just roll their eyes and groan when we confess this Creed on Trinity Sunday. The Creed, however, is not going anywhere: it's in our hymnals and in the Book of Concord. We should follow the exhortation of the collect to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest what the Creed teaches about the holy Trinity and the two natures of Christ. Luther considered the Athanasian Creed as the queen of the creeds in the Church, and so should we.