The Two-Kingdoms Principle

Chapter 8 “The Two-Kingdoms Principle” pp. 151-166

The two kingdoms theology is difficult on the best of days. It is the means by which Lutherans approach human rights and civil government. Braaten observes that in the 19th century it was used to separate the civil world from the religious world, effectively removing the Church from any relationship to human rights or justice. In the 20th century we did not succeed in re-engaging with the civil realm, though there were attempts. In fairly recent times attempts to formulate statements of civil rights have failed to recognize differences among various groups of Christians, thus developing muddled groups of presuppositions. Finally, in many societies, law determines what is just rather than justice determining what should be lawful. Braaten urges Lutherans to recapture a concern for human rights, recognizing that the civil realm is inseparable from the religious realm. The two kingdoms actually function more like facets of one world rather than separate worlds. As we embrace this reality we find that Christ’s care for deliverance from sin and evil extends to rescue from many results of evil. This is a recovery of Luther’s view of two kingdoms.

Finding Voice in the Theological School

Chapter 8, Richard F. Ward, “Finding Voice in the Theological School” pp. 139-152

Ward takes several tacks which surprise me. He begins by illustrating a student who wishes to “find” her voice in a homiletics class. Ward’s assumption is that this is the right reason to be in the class and that the student is speaking of her speaking voice, not a metaphor for her means of expression or her theological orientation. Ward continues by making the vocalization used in speaking a sermon one of, if not THE prime way that truth is discovered, both by the preacher and the congregation. He then discusses the theological implications of the use of the voice. Most of his time is spent asking questions. Most of his questioning belies a postmodern reliance on Romantic philosophy, particularly existential angst. On p. 145 Ward discusses Mark 7:31-37. Not only does he consider the Holy Spirit as “it,” ut he also describes Jesus as leaving his comfort zone and somehow, when the demoniac tells what God has done by ascribing healing to Jesus, Ward says there is a misunderstanding. This page discredits Ward’s understanding of biblical theology. Ward then makes the speaker and the hearer people who together discover how God works in his people. The congregation becomes a performer of the Gospel, which in reality only God can do. Ward leaves us with more questions. Based on his other work in the chapter I find myself not inclined to try to answer the questions.

Thanks for Reading!

Thanks for reading my blog! October 2013 is the highest readership since a spike in hits in April 2011. Do me a favor, though. If this blog is useful to you, drop comments on the posts. Tell what's helpful, what isn't helpful, give ideas for study and writing. And invite your friends. I'd like to be a blessing and help to as many people as possible.

The Enfleshed and Written Forms of God's Word

Chapter 7 “The Enfleshed and Written Forms of God’s Word” pp. 11-173

The idea of God’s Word exists in several distinct guises. In this chapter Kolb and Arand discuss the written Word of God and the “enfleshed” Word of God. God has revealed himself through the documents of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. This revelation is sufficient to lead us to faith in Jesus, who is illustrated in detail. Jesus, the Word of God in flesh, is the one in whom we trust. He is the one who holds all creation together. How do we understand him? Only by way of the written Word of God.

We confess the one person of God the Son as possessing two complete natures, divine and human. The two are not mixed or confused, but dwell together in the person of Christ. To grasp this relationship with Jesus rightly, we embrace both natures as described in Scripture.

For Luther and the other Reformers the written Word of God was our sole authority for all doctrine. It is only in the Bible that we come to understand Christ rightly. Yet we do not reject other authorities. While we read Scripture we also bear in mind the way our historic confessions have viewed the Scripture. We also accept input from those who have shown themselves to be responsible interpreters of Scripture. These are safeguards to our reading of the Bible.

The Law/Gospel Principle

Chapter 7 “The Law/Gospel Principle” pp. 135-150

Braaten asks a question which we would all do well to ask. What is the gospel? The term is used in a variety of ways in the early Church, in the Book of Concord, and in many works of the Reformers. The aspect Braaten considers in this chapter is gospel as the good news of Christ’s work on our behalf. In the Reformation this gospel was compared with “law,” identified as that which God requires of us. A confusion of law and gospel leads to a variety of warped views of life and salvation. In Luther’s writings it is clear that God saves his people prior to and apart from any obedience to God’s law. This good news of the gospel is always seen as something outside of and for us. Because God saves us in this way, apart from our works, we are appropriately considered “simultaneously just and sinner.” Braaten observes that the gospel will not exist without law. Unless there are demands of God there is no purpose in God’s saving love.

When we consider salvation in this paradigm of law and gospel the order of events in salvation, very important in Calvinism, becomes unimportant. What remains is a state of grace. Likewise, election becomes a matter of good news rather than an analytical tool. Our attempts to reach to God through intellectualism, moralism, or emotionalism also pass away. We rightly grasp salvation as entirely by God’s grace.

Sermon for 10/27/13 When I Am Afraid Psalm 56

Sermon: When I Am Afraid

What do we fear?

 fire that destroys a church building

 illness and injury

 illness or loss of a family member or friend

Many concerns in this life, many of them very valid.

What of the people we read about today?

 Eve concerned that the curse of sin would remain upon her world, fearful that she would not bring forth the child of promise

 Cain concerned because somehow his offering was not acceptable to God.

 Cain again afraid that his sin would bring his death.

 Paul is apparently ill, tired, feeling old, abandoned, expecting the Romans to remove his head

 Tax collector in the Gospel who doesn’t know how to pray except that God would have mercy upon him.

 Parents wanting Jesus’ blessing on their children, then being rejected by the disciples.

And where are we in all this? All the people we read about have one fear. In the end, who is going to be there? Who will bring forgiveness? Who will restore my relationship with God? Will I be cast out?

fearful

frail

Who will protect these children? We can’t seem to.

Will they have Jesus’ blessing?

What about our businesses which we fear take us away from fellowship with the Lord (tax collector)?

What of the times we offend others? Is there forgiveness?

What do we do when the authorities come for us?

What will we do when we are ill, abandoned, old?

How will we be forgiven from all our sin?

 try harder?  persevere?

   Those offerings we can bring aren’t going to be acceptable.

   The things we do in church or for the church aren’t going to bring us forgiveness.

   We can’t ever earn our forgiveness. We can’t ever earn God’s grace.

God requires a broken and contrite spirit. As soon as we start thinking we have one of those we are proud of ourselves and ruin it all.

There’s no hope for us to bring forth the child of promise. Not one of us will do it.

When will the bond of sin be broken?

Jesus has come to deliver us from death and sin.

He delivers to us, through his word, all the forgiveness and grace we will ever need.

What is the Church, after all? We’re headed for a big church anniversary. But why are we here?

We’re here to receive God’s gifts promised in Christ and delivered through Word and Sacrament.

We gather for the divine service to hear from our Savior and receive his gifts.

We gather for the Christian education period and for Bible studies throughout the week to explore his riches in the Scripture.

All we do is centered around the forgiveness and life that He gives us.

The Church is not a social club. It’s a life-changing experience of God communicating his gifts to us through Jesus.

All those concerns we walked in here with, they are all taken care of in Jesus. They are no longer our own, because our Lord has invited us into his forgiveness.

You know that I hardly ever do something like this, but I’m going to read something that came across my desk this week. It sums up what we are here for. I’m going to put it in the Shield that comes out next week as well. It’s by James M. Kushiner, Executive Director of the Fellowship of St. James (www.fsj.org). They publish an interesting magazine that our family gets. This is why we come to church, in Kushiner’s words.

We Are Invited

Too often Sunday worship is thought of as a religious obligation to be fulfilled lest God be disappointed at our absence, even counting it as a strike against us. Grudgingly we go, maybe after sleeping in later than we do on other days of the week.

It is true that the sense of obligation is difficult to erase--not that we should attempt to erase it. But the sense obligation toward God should be lost in the joy and gratitude and anticipation we can experience when we realize that in coming we are responding to a divine invitation to receive more than we can ever bring. Indeed, especially coming to the Table of the Lord in Communion, we come as the invited "poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind," who cannot repay the One who invites us, but we receive healing in our coming.

We believe and we confess that apart from Christ we can do nothing, and also that we have no life in us apart from having His life in us (John 6:53).

Admittedly, the world presses in on us throughout the week, including on Sundays, so that we find it a struggle to serve God, rather than mammon, and hard to love God and not the things of the world.

Sunday can be our touchstone. Sunday worship can put us in touch with our true home and the table around which the saints through all eternity enjoy the fellowship of the Lord. We receive the words of the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins; we gather with the heavenly hosts, in the heavenly Jerusalem. We are invited to a rich feast provided for us by a gracious Lord, who blesses us beyond anything we can imagine or deserve.

Sunday is, then, first and foremost a Day of Invitation. If the King invites us to his table, it is natural that we should be very pleased to attend. It's an obligation only when the obvious has to be pointed out to us--that it's not only for our own good, but also for our very best good. It is a day of Rest in the Lord, a foretaste of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

By James M. Kushiner, Executive Director of the Fellowship of St. James (www.fsj.org).

The Use of the Body in the Performance of Proclamation

Chapter 7, Todd Farley, “The Use of the Body in the Performance of Proclamation” pp. 117-138

Todd Farley is a mime and a Christian who trains preachers in presentation skills. He considers it very important that a preacher’s body motions be meaningful, purposeful, and communicate the preacher’s intent. On p. 118 he quotes Martin Luther endorsing the bodily reflection of the genuine message. He then quotes John Wesley endorsing the preacher making physicality purposeful so as to appear natural yet be managed. Farley seems of the opinion that the two were saying the same thing. In fact, while Luther endorsed allowing motion to reflect the message, Wesley took motion to be a purposeful way of manipulating the message. Farley pursues this idea, which strikes me as very disingenuous. By strategic use of motion the performer makes the audience think certain things. He then launches into a discussion of classical notions of gesture and movement, adding occasional Bible verses for illustration.

While our motions say a great deal to the congregation we are ill advised to consider what we do as a performance o the congregation as an audience. Such attitudes can create distrust and eventually prove self-defeating.

On a side note, Farley refers to the lectern as a podium. You stand on a podium. You stand behind a lectern. Never put your hands on a podium!