What Hath Athens to Do with Jerusalem?

Tertullian, in about 200 A.D., sought to synthesize/merge the classical rhetorical style of speaking with theological issues as discussed in papers, sermons, etc. In doing so, he brought the conflicting idealogies down to this simple and yet profound question: What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem?

I gave this question to my older girls to answer a couple of years ago as a short writing assignment. In cleaning out my Bible cover I found Sarah's... here it is.

What Hath Athens to Do with Jerusalem?

If were were able to reasonably understand all aspects of what we believe there would be no point or purpose or need for faith. Logic and reason have everything to do with understanding man and nothing to do with understanding God. It is impossible to understand everything about God because of our finite human reasoning. That which we cannot understand must be taken on faith. Without that faith, that trust, our relationship with God would be like any other human relationship.

Slaughter of the Innocents

So soon after the joy of Christmas Day where we celebrate the Christ-child coming to us in the form of a human-babe as our Savior, is the remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children, which was yesterday.

“Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 'A voice as heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more' .” (Matthew 2:17- 18).

I cannot fathom such heinous acts. And yet, each sin I commit is heinous to our Lord. There isn't a heirarchy of sins as if one is more heinous than the other. All grieve Him.

Thankfully we can cling to the cross and be assured of the forgiveness of ALL of our sins in Jesus Christ's name and because of Jesus Christ's shed blood!

Pastor's Sermons, and a Homily

Sunday we had Matins, and it was d i f f e r e n t.

In the past, our church has made a habit of doing Matins on the 5th Sunday (if there is one) from the red hymnal (TLH) page 5. People in our town have come to expect this and often visit our church from other parishes so they can take part in Matins on those Sundays.

Since we were having services on three successive days, this past Sunday we tried it from the new burgandy hymnal, (LSB, page 219). We're gonna need some time to work on this...

The kids from the two confirmation classes split up readings following the Common Antiphon. This was punctuated by still pictures of the other children from Sunday school classes who were still photographed several weeks ago as various characters in the Nativity story. Because these pictures were projected on a screen at the front of the church, those families with young kids packed the pews up front. Pastor made a wry comment about the population up front that day. :-)

Our middle daughter sang a solo a capella during the offertory, What Child Is This (LSB 370 verses 1 and 2). I suppose some would same I'm prejudiced, but I do love to hear her sing, especially a capella.

Because I was recovering from a tension headache/migraine and the after effects of the medication for that, my oldest daughter will give her synopsis of Pastor's homily that day.

S shares: "The text this Sunday came from the Old Testament reading, Isaiah 7:10-17. Pastor began by giving us a little history of the conflict going on, of Ahaz thinking he could save his kingdom (Judah) from the two warring kings bent on destroying him by placing his faith in Tiglath-Pileser I, the Assyrian King, rather than placing his faith in the Lord who is always faithful to Israel and Judah. This story can also be found in 2 Kings 15-17. God told Ahaz He would not let these two kings take Jerusalem. However, with fear in our hearts from outside threats, we become paralyzed. Ahaz rejected God because he thought he could fix it himself. Threats often get our attention, but the most important question is where will you put your trust when fear surrounds you? If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. Ahaz was told by Isaiah to ask God for a sign. Ahaz, in his piety, said he would not test the Lord. But the Lord wanted to give him a sign, and so he did. He foreshadowed Christ’s rejection by the world. He said that Israel’s salvation would come from a humble maiden, not a “strong” king on the throne. Immanuel, the name God gave His Son in Isaiah, means God is with us. He always has been, and always will be. He strengthens us with His Word and His Promises."

My favorite hymn from this service was Now Sing We, Now Rejoice (LSB 386, verse 2). Come from on high to me; I cannot rise to Thee. Cheer my wearied spirit, O pure and holy Child; Through Thy grace and merit, Blest Jesus, Lord most mild, Draw me unto Thee! Draw Me unto Thee!

Christmas Eve there was a candlelight service in the evening. This is always an impressive service as we realize the impact of Christ's coming into the dark world with His light.

The church was brimming with members in happy moods, eager to share hugs and hellos. It was crowded, so folks had to sit up front, again. Here we were treated to a service laced with hymns appropriate to the readings. I still was not completely over the headaches, so my middle daughter offers her notes from Pastor's sermon that evening.

K writes: "The text for the Christmas Eve service was Luke 2:8-14, about the angels visiting the shepherd’s as they watched over their flocks by night. Pastor told this story from a different perspective though, from the view of Herald, the apprentice angel who longed to give an important message. One day God announced that He would be sending His Son down to earth to save it. This was of course, the biggest news that heaven had ever heard before. It got the Archangels like Michael and Gabriel talking about how human’s ignorance of important things and their penchant for the mundane might put a slight damper into God’s plan. Even though God had written the law on their hearts, they still ignored Him. But God had decided to send love, instead of more laws, in the form of His Son. And not in something grand by human standards, but as a baby, a helpless, tiny infant born of a virgin. As the angels watched the birth from heaven, Herald noticed that no one down on earth really noticed what was happening, after all, it was just a baby being born, and that happens every day. So Herald decided to try and tell the people what was going on. But they were all too busy, except the shepherds. He appeared to them, and they trembled from fear. After telling them not to fear, some of the other angels had noticed what Herald was doing and joined him in the spreading of the good news. Hark the Herald Angels Sang, Glory to the Newborn King. "

My favorite hymn from this service was The People That in Darkness Sat (LSB 412, verse 2), To us a Child of hope is born, To us a Son is giv'n, And on His shoulder ever rests, All pow'r in earth and heav'n, All pow'r in earth and heav'n.

Yesterday, we had a communion service in the morning at our regular service time. I was disappointed to find that the sanctuary was not very populated. Although I do understand the struggle of the morning and the tradition of opening gifts on Christmas morning.

Some time back in November, our Pastor has asked our middle daughter if she wanted to sing a solo for one of the services near Christmas. She agreed to do the one on Sunday, and he asked her if she would consider singing on Christmas Day. But first he had to check something and said he'd get back with her. As we entered the church and were removing our coats (it was snowing lightly), he asked her if she would do another solo at this service. He was getting back with her. :-) Ok... she took a deep breath and agreed. He said she could sing whatever song from the hymnal she wanted. But, upon looking through it, we had sung most of the songs in the last fews days or would, and so she asked him if she could sing O Holy Night verses 1 and the chorus, which isn't in the hymnal, but Pastor agreed to let her sing it. It's her favorite Christmas song.

Yesterday's sermon was about gift giving and gift getting as described by Garrison Keillor and how this represents what people think of us, or expect of us. Garrison Keillor opines that the best gifts are those we give ourselves.

Pastor believes that unexpected gifts are sometimes the most delightful because we don't always ask for what we need and we aren't even sure what we need sometimes.

Jesus Christ, in the form of a human baby was a gift that was unexpected. He was not the powerful warrior expected. He was a disturber of the peace, however. Pastor admonished us to find pleasure, surprise and delight in the gift of God, through His Son, who aids us through all our trials and tribulations.

My favorite hymn from this service was Let All Together Praise Our God (LSB 389, verse 4 and 7), He undertakes a great exchange, Puts on our human frame, And in return gives us His realm, His glory and His name, His glory, and His name and Your grace in lowliness revealed, Lord Jesus, we adore, And praise to God the Father yield, and Spirit evermore; We praise you evermore.

At church on Christmas Eve we meet a new family visiting our church for the first time who had recently moved here from Illinois. They've yet to find a place to call home and so are living out of a motel for the time being. Turns out this is a homeschooling family with a daughter close to our youngest daughter's age. They were looking for a liturgical church after leaving the Roman Catholic church three years ago. I think they were looking for more than what our smaller parish offers, but their transcience during this time of year seemed poignant. They were obviously lonely and in need of some fellowship. I've done what I can to introduce them to the various aspects of the homeschool community. I pray they'll soon be connected to a church and a homeschool group for the support each offers.

12 Days of Christmas

For those not from a liturgical background, the 12 Days of Christmas may be a misunderstood time of year because so many think it ends with Christmas Day, when actually it's just beginning. It's a short period of time between Advent where we prepare for the coming of our Lord (with the three-fold anticipation of the remembrance of Jesus Christ's birth, Jesus Christ's coming to us now in Word, wine and bread, and in His return to us) and Epiphany (which begins with the wise men's visit to Jesus and ends with the beginning of Lent (a penitential season where we remember Christ's last 40 days on earth).

For those with questions about the 12 Days of Christmas, I high recommend this site for your edification about this special time of the church calendar.

Today we remember the feast of Saint Stephen, the first martyr, whose death is told in Acts 7:54-60. In Matthew 23:24, Jesus said, "Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city.” Jesus tells us this in His last week on earth. After His triumphant arrival in Jerusalem. He knows what is to be His outcome. He knows what is to be the disciples' outcome. His prophetic words first take hold when Stephen is stoned to death.

This reminds me of Psalm 3, where David laments his distress when his son, Absalom, has expelled him from the city. Stephen, too has been expelled...from the synagogue by the Sanhedrin. Unlike David, Stephen is not afraid, and he faces his death with courage provided by the sight of the King of Kings with His Son, our Savior, by His side.

And so this verse seemed appropriate to today, Psalm 3:3 "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head."

God is our shield, just as He was Stephen's especially on that day he was tortured to death.

Hopes and Prayers

There are times when hope is a precarious thing. It balances on a precipice between doubt and faith. The slightest breeze can upset the balance.



One of the hardest things is that sometimes people equate your hope to some kind of yardstick of your faith. If you have hope, then you have faith, and the more you hope, then that's an expression of your faith expanding.



But it doesn't work like that. I think sometimes people who believe that really haven't gone through times of trial and depravation. It grieves me to see people suffer for extended periods of time and for others to then knock 'em down a little more by somehow expressing that their faith isn't quite adequate if they don't hope enough.



Prayer can be the same way. In faith and hope we turn to our Lord with whispered or spoken pleas, words that express the depths of our hearts' desires. Desires for peace and contentment as well as possibly earthly ease in our everyday struggles. When those struggles remain, when we continually fight the battles of survival (and that may be different things for different folks) and there isn't relief, then there are some people who will tell you that you aren't praying adequately, or that you have a secret sin in your life and you're being punished for it. These responses grieve me as they are not Biblical and again, knock down those who have been praying in earnest hope of relief and a change in circumstances.



I guess, I'm trying to say that I wish we could all remember to be kind to one another. To walk beside each other in love and companionship and to express ourselves a little more carefully with each other.