Gate of Heaven

Exaudi (2016)

Audio

Exaudi

May 8, 2016 AD

Old Testament: Ezekiel 36:22-28

Epistle: 1 Peter 4:7-14

Gospel: John 15:26-16:4
 
 
 
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Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

From the fourth chapter of the first letter of St. Peter, the seventh verse:

The end of all things is at hand.

This Sunday, between last Thursday’s feast of the Ascension of our Lord and next Sunday’s feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, is a kind of “in-between” day in the Christian year. In fact, our whole life as Christians is an “in-between” kind of thing.

It’s a truth so obvious that you might well wonder why a preacher would even bother to mention it. And the truth is this: Earth is not Heaven— although on a perfect spring day earth does come close to suggesting something of that final splendor foreseen and promised in Jesus’ glorious resurrection.

But earth is not heaven. And it is a snare and delusion to imagine that this world will grow better and better until the human race finally succeeds in establishing God’s perfect kingdom here on earth. The Christian worldview is opposed to this kind of naive optimism, this myth of progress, which rests on failure to take seriously just about everything our Lord teaches us in His Word. Christ teaches us that human beings— even Christian human beings— will always remain sinful human beings who as long as we live in this world will have to keep on praying as we do in the prayer Christ Himself taught us, “Forgive us our trespasses,” and will have to go on repenting until our last breath. And since this is so, it’s a terrible delusion to suppose that we will ever be able to create some kind of Golden Age in the world’s history, let alone the perfected kingdom of God! Surely history itself should at least have taught us this much: that every attempt to create some kind of heaven on earth has in fact created a veritable hell on earth. Think of the French Revolution. Think of the so-called “workers’ paradise” of the Soviet Union, China, and other countries controlled by Marxist-Leninist thought.

To be sure, we Christians are called to be a light of hope and joy shining in all earth’s darkness, a leaven of goodness in a cruel and selfish world. In Christ’s Sermon on the Mount He uses the image of Christians as the “salt of the earth” because of salt’s preservative powers. So if we Christians are truly faithful to our calling as Jesus’ disciples, then we can like salt preserve the world from utter rottenness. All of this is blessedly true— and yet! And yet any progress is slow and often painful and any improvement thoroughly provisional— for the time being— always at the mercy of the native sinfulness of all human beings, together with the evil purpose of Satan and his evil minions who never rests in his efforts to subvert everything that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, worthy of praise.

But our Lord Jesus Christ has offered the perfect sacrifice for all sin, no matter how dark, no matter how terrible. He has conquered death and the grave and has ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us. Jesus’ glorious ascension into heaven, which took place the 40th day after His resurrection and which we therefore celebrated this past Thursday, is a most necessary reminder that, as Saint Paul writes to the Christians at Philippi, “Our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power which enables Him to subject all things unto Himself.”

Our citizenship is in heaven. This earth is not heaven and we Christians therefore remain “strangers and pilgrims” in this present world, people on a journey, a journey through this present life to the heavenly fatherland. Yes, people on a journey. And when we’re on a journey we realize— don’t we?— that everything is only “for the time being”, nothing permanent. And isn’t this a wonderful picture of what it means to live Christianly, as strangers and pilgrims in this world, as citizens of heaven, our true home? Taking pleasure in everything that is interesting and beautiful and amusing. We can relish all the good gifts a truly loving heavenly Father sends into our lives. And we realize that whatever difficulty we meet along the way is only for the time being, it isn’t going to last forever. And so we are on a journey, and we await for journey’s end.

On this Sunday after Ascension Day we remember how at our Lord’s ascension two angels appeared to the disciples and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This same Jesus which was taken up from you into heaven shall come in the same way as you have seen Him go into heaven.” Shall come on that Last and Great Day when the risen and ascended Lord will appear in glory and make all things new. And who in the meantime— all unseen— rules all things for the eternal good of His believing children.

There is also this. During the ten days after Jesus’ ascension the disciples were gathered together in prayer, waiting for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit which took place on that fiftieth day after Jesus’ resurrection, the day of Pentecost. Jesus gave you and gave me the Holy Spirit in our baptism, the Holy Spirit who continually comforts and strengthens us in our journey, the Holy Spirit who brings Christ to us and us to Christ, and whose coming on the Day of Pentecost we shall next Sunday celebrate with great joy.

Yes, this earth is not heaven. But the risen and ascended Lord Jesus will according to His sure promise come again and usher in a kingdom of light and joy that will have no end. Let us therefore pray for the grace to live in true repentance and in true faith in his atoning death that we may without fear behold Him when He shall come to be our Judge and so rejoice to behold His appearing. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly! Amen.

And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. +Amen.

Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, May 2016

AscensionThou hast raised our human nature
On the clouds to God’s right hand;
There we sit in heavenly places,
There with Thee in glory stand.
Jesus reigns, adored by angels;
Man with God is on the throne.
Mighty Lord, in Thine ascension
We by faith behold our own.

 
– Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885) The Lutheran Hymnal 218, stanza 5

Ascension Day Divine Service, 7:30 PM

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The celebration of the festivals of the Church Year is no arduous duty but rather a blessing and privilege for us Christians who in celebrating these festivals continually trace the loving purpose of God for our salvation. Thursday, May 5th, is Ascension Day. In Christopher Wordsworth’s great hymn for this festival we see with wonderful clarity the meaning of Jesus’ ascension: “Mighty Lord, in Thine ascension we by faith behold our own.” And in times as uncertain as these, it is a great comfort to know that, having ascended into heaven, Christ— not only as true God but also as our still human Brother who knows all our weakness— rules all things for the good of His believing children.

Just ten days later we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost which, together with Christmas and Easter, is one of the three great festivals of the Christian Year. On the first Pentecost the risen Lord sent down the Holy Spirit as He had promised upon the disciples in Jerusalem. God the Holy Spirit continues to come and, through the Gospel and Sacraments, creates saving faith in the hearts of human beings; then and now He brings Christ to us and us to Christ. As Dr. Luther says in his Large Catechism:

We could never recognize [God] the Father’s favor and grace were it not for the Lord Christ, who is a mirror of the Father’s heart. Apart from Him we see nothing but an angry and terrible Judge. But neither could we know anything of Christ, had it not been revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord filleth the world: O come, let us worship Him!

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Christian education does not end with Confirmation but continues throughout our lives as Christians. Every Sunday morning at 9:45 AM we study the appointed readings from Holy Scripture for that day in the Church Year. The number of people attending this class has lately increased. Do come and join us! The format is quite informal, questions and discussion are very much encouraged!

Every Sunday we remember at the altar those whose names are listed in the bulletin. Do take that list home with you and pray for those whose names are listed. I should mention that Queenie Hardaway recently moved to the Augsburg Home. Remember her especially in your prayers as she begins this new chapter in her life.

The Saint Mark’s Conference on April 25-26 was a delightful occasion. The focus of the Conference was the confessional, sacramental, and liturgical life of our dear Lutheran Church, the Church of the Augsburg Confession. I must thank all the members of Our Saviour who helped to make this possible: James Gray for preparing the sacramental vessels and clothing the altar in the correct color of the day; Don Weber for serving as organist on Saint Mark’s Day; Helen Gray, Kathy Gray, Esther Shelton, and Bernie Knox who prepared Monday’s lunch; Paul and Mary Techau who took charge of the social hour following Monday Vespers and helped in other ways; William Hawkins and Ron Lang who were present on both days and always eager to be of help. Visitors were impressed with the reverent service of our faithful acolytes Jamera Breshay-Hawkins and Kai Hawkins. Vicar Trent is ever helpful. I must also thank the women of the Saint Monica Guild of Redeemer Church, Irvington, who prepared and served Tuesday’s lunch. I hope I have not forgotten to thank someone, but if I have, I beg your pardon! Audio from the St. Mark’s Conference is available here.

We have now had the joy of celebrating Easter Day and the bright Easter season. Now we look forward to celebrating the Ascension of our Lord (Thursday, May 5th) and the great Feast of Pentecost.

God is eager to bestow His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation in every Divine Service. Are we similarly eager to receive those gifts and thank and praise Him for His astonishing love?

Affectionately in our Lord and with my prayers,

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Pastor McClean

Things to come…

Free Flea Market – Saturday, May 14th

The first Free Flea Market of the year will be held on Saturday, May 14th, in the rear parking lot of the church. Donations and helpers are needed. Clothing, especially children’s and women’s, household items, games, toys are needed. Also needed are Volunteers to help set up and man the tables that morning. Be here by 8:30 AM. It runs from 9 AM until noon. Each visitor receives five tickets which they can redeem for any item This is our outreach to the community to share the gifis that God has so freely given us. Flyers will be distributed to the neighborhood and a table will be marmed at the iConnections gathering of GEDCO at the site of the old Stadium on May 7th. Join us for a fun day and share your faith with others.

– Judy Volkman

Voters Meeting – following Divine Service on Pentecost, Sunday May, 15th

Spring Clean-Up Day – Saturday, May 21st, 9:00 AM until noon.

Call Anthony Baylor (4l0.486.5199) for more information.

Gate of Heaven

Conference Audio – Opening Remarks and the Wyneken Project

Audio

Opening Remarks – Pr. Charles McClean


The Small Church: How to Build and Furnish It (with some account of the improvement of existing buildings), by F. R. Webber

The Wyneken Project – Pr. Elliott Robertson


“Why Wyneken? Why Baltimore?” | wynekenproject.org

Click here to access all conference audio from the Our Saviour podcast feed on iTunes.

Gate of Heaven

Conference Audio – Panel Discussion

Audio
Left to right: Pr. Eric Andrae, Pr. Roy Coats, Pr. David Petersen, Dr. Leo Mackay

Discussion topics:

Bishop Bo Giertz – Intra-Lutheran ecumenism and reunification – Contemporary worship – ACNA/LCMS talks, Anglicanism, etc. – Lutheran substance and identity – Preaching Law and Gospel – The preacher’s intention and the uses of the Law – Catechesis and liturgy – Modernism/Postmodernism and language – Divorce of style and substance…

…and much else, besides!

Click here to access all conference audio from
the Our Saviour podcast feed on iTunes.

Parish Newsletters

Our Saviour Parish News, March/April 2016

Holy Week & Easter Day:

  • Maundy Thursday: Divine Service, 7:30 PM

  • Good Friday: The Liturgy, 7:30 PM

  • Easter Even: The Easter Vigil, 7:30 PM

  • Easter Day: Festival Divine Service, 11:00 AM

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The season of Lent has flown by and we are now about to enter the Holy Week of the Lord’s Passion. Easter Day is almost here. This Lent we restored the old custom of veiling the crosses and crucifix in purple for the last two weeks of Lent which are called Passiontide. The veiling of the crosses is a sign that in His sufferings Christ’s divine glory as the F ather’s eternal Son was hidden. On Good Friday the crosses are veiled in black.

I think we have had a good Lenten season with a number of visitors at the Wednesday Lenten Vespers and soup suppers. Judy Volkman writes:

The Soup Suppers on Wednesdays in Lent were a great success. 100 people attended over 6 suppers and $213.50 was collected for the turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many thanks to the cooks who shared their culinary talents: Mary and Paul Techau, Maritza and Trent Demarest, the ushers, Julie Watson and Quilla Downs, Judy Volkman, and Helen Gray.

I must also thank Helen Gray for providing a delicious luncheon for the seminarians from our Fort Wayne Seminary who were here recently to see something of the life of our Baltimore city churches.

As most of you know by now, Maritza Demarest gave birth to a little boy on Thursday March 3rd. And so we congratulate Maritza and Vicar Trent in their happiness. The baby will be baptized on Saturday, March 19th, at noon. Everyone is invited. He will be named John Chrysostom which is the name of one of the great fourth century teachers of the Church who was given the name “Chrysostom” which means “golden mouthed” because of his eloquent preaching. Vicar Trent and Maritza were delighted by the baby shower and luncheon on February 21th.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. It goes without saying that Christians will wish to follow our Lord in His passion. I hope that each one of us will make a sincere effort be in God’s house on Good Friday. If the evening hour is not possible, one can attend some part of the Tre Ore Service which every year is held from 12 noon until three o’clock at Bethlehem Church, 4815 Hamilton Avenue. Although the Easter Vigil is a less familiar service, it is in fact the Church’s oldest celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. In the ancient Church Christians would gather on Easter Eve to hear the story of salvation from Holy Scripture, converts to the faith would in Holy Baptism be made one with the Savior in His death and resurrection, and then receive the Body and Blood of the risen Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar. The whole service begins with the Lighting of the Paschal Candle which then burns at all services during the Easter season until Ascension Day. It is then extinguished following the reading of the Gospel which tells of how the risen Lord in His ascension withdrew His visible presence from His disciples. During the rest of the year the Paschal Candle is placed at the baptismal font as a sign that through Baptism we are joined to Christ’s resurrection. It also stands near the body of departed Christians during the funeral service as a sign of the sure and certain hope of the resurrection.

You may have noticed that the Paschal Candlestick here at Our Saviour is a beautifully carved piece of work. I recently discovered in The Home Visitor of April 22, 1963 that it was in fact given to Our Saviour congregation by Pastor and Mrs. Stiemke:

It was designed and hand carved by Mr. Herbert Read of Exeter, England, who also did the credence shelf and the font cover in our church. Mr. Read is probably best known in America for the beautiful memorial screen found in Washington Cathedral. . .The Candlestick is placed as a humble tribute to all who have found true peace in the Risen Lord and gained joy in serving their Master through love and faithfulness; although the tasks performed seemed almost unnoticed they receive our risen Redeemer’s commendation, ‘Well done!’

As members of Our Saviour we owe an immense debt of gratitude to Pastor Stiemke who took leadership in the building and furnishing of this wonderful church in which we are privileged to worship.

The end of April brings the Saint Mark’s Conference on April 25th and 26th. April 25th is Saint Mark’s Day in the calendar of the Church Year. Although primarily intended for pastors, anyone may attend. It goes without saying that members of Our Saviour will not be expected to pay the conference fee! I hope members will be here to welcome our guests.st mark conference flier

There will be four speakers. Pastor David Petersen of Redeemer Church in Fort Wayne will speak on Preaching and the Liturgy. Pastor Eric Andrae of First Trinity Church in Pittsburgh will speak on the witness of Bishop Bo Giertz. (During his long life Bishop Giertz (1905-1998) was the leader of faithful Lutherans in the Church of Sweden; he was in fact one of the great leaders of Lutheranism in the last century.) Our good friend Pastor Roy Axel Coats of Redeemer Church in Irvington will speak on the relationship between doctrine and preaching as seen in the work of Johann Gerhard (1582-1637), one of the greatest of Lutheran theologians. Dr. Leo Mackay, who is a member of Immanuel Church in Alexandria, a trustee of the Fort Wayne Seminary, and corporate vice-president of Lockheed Martin, will give a layman’s point of view concerning Liturgy and Preaching. Although the conference will be focused on preaching, it will also be concerned with the Church’s liturgical heritage. Divine Service will be celebrated on both days and Vespers will be sung on the 25th. The services will include some liturgical practices which were once common among Lutherans but were lost as the Church passed through many struggles both in Europe and here in North America. This Conference is an attempt to put together an “east coast” version of the Saint Michael’s Conference which has been meeting for a number of years at Zion Church in Detroit. In the next week or so I will be asking for volunteers to help with various tasks.

Wishing you a blessed Holy Week and joyous Easter, I am

 

Affectionately yours in Christ,

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Pastor McClean