faith

The Good Samaritan……

January 16, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 15 Comments

What were you taught about parables? Earthly stories with heavenly meanings? True enough I guess. But why would Jesus speak in parables? Why didn’t he just give us a clear cut list of what He wanted us to do? Jesus himself answers that question when he say, “….so that you can know the mysteries of the kingdom”.

According to one of my favorite teachers Bill Cwirla,

‘He will hide the kingdom of God in earthly stories…and you won’t ‘get it’ until you get Jesus…..these parables are a crisis of faith and unbelief and you will not ‘get them’ until you get Jesus and who He is and why He came. “

Lutherans cut right to the chase when interpreting the scriptures. Where is Jesus in this parable? Jesus said ‘these are the scriptures that testify about me,’ so they look for Him—-relentlessly. I was always taught to look for myself in the parable. I was taught that they are little proverbs or stories of advice on how I should live. So the parable of the Good Samaritan would be translated something like,

“You should be a Good Samaritan too and help your neighbor. So what kind of a neighbor are you?”

Is this how you were taught to interpret parables? Inserting yourself into them at every turn?

The story of the good samaritan can be paraphrased as follows.

A lawyer (expert in the Torah) asks Jesus what he must DO to inherit eternal life. (Although we’re already in trouble because isn’t an inheritance a gift). Then Jesus asks him what he thinks he must do.

He says, “Love God and love my neighbor”.

Jesus says “Yes, do this and you will live”.

Jesus knows the lawyer can’t DO that but Jesus is a gentleman and will let us live by ‘the law’ if we choose.

The lawyer ‘wanting to justify himself’ says “Well who is my neighbor?”.

And then Jesus tells the parable: A priest and a Levite,on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, pass a nearly dead man who has been robbed and beaten and left to die. They pass him by for various reasons (per Jewish law they would have been rendered unclean for priestly duties) and he’s helped by a Samaritan (not bound by Jewish law) who puts him on his own donkey, bandages his wounds, takes him to an inn and pays his bill. (paraphrased from Luke 10:25)

Imagine my surprise when I hear a wonderful gospel interpretation of the parable that goes like this.

Christ is our good Samaritan. He has found us along the road of life, beaten and robbed and desperate. He rescues us, bandages us, saves us and takes us to the inn (the church) and pays our debt. Pastor Cwirla even takes the terms of the parable in an allegorical way to say: Think of Jesus as our good Samaritan. He literally becomes our neighbor in the incarnation. He takes on our flesh and is bloodied by our sin. The punch line of the parable is that he frees us from the law. The hero of the parable is Jesus. And because the Samaritan is not bound by the law, as are the lawyer and the priest and the Levite, he is free to serve. In other words, Christ became my good Samaritan and died to save and ransom me—-to free me from the law—-so that I am now free to serve others.

You can listen to this teaching here.

Is this a new interpretation for you? Does your heart sing for joy at the thought of Christ being your good Samaritan? I’m wowed. Again. Thank you Pastor Cwirla and thank you to Issues.

Supper and winning…

January 12, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 12 Comments

I read a blog post recently that opined about not having the physical Jesus here with us, present physically so that we could be more ‘near’ Him. To touch Him and get our pictures made with Him. (okay the post really didn’t say that). And of course you and I have been talking extensively about that lately. So it made this prayer all the more striking to me yesterday before I went to the communion rail:

“We do not presume to come to this thy table O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table. But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the body of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink His blood, that we may evermore dwell in Him and He in us. Amen. “

As I knelt down at the rail beside my children and my husband….and beside a dear friend dying of pancreatic cancer….and near a man who can hardly physically walk up to rail anymore, I was completely overcome with emotion. I am so unworthy to receive this gift from God. Here, in the very bodily presence of the Lord I am….and I want to cover my face and hide. I want to cry out and beg for forgiveness. And as I eat the bread and drink the wine, I accept in faith the overwhelming love and grace and forgiveness that is mine. And I think about the frail little man who is blessed with the Lord’s body too….and I wander how many more times he will be able to share this gift with me. And I think of Lonnie and how she has blessed us by teaching our children and I feel so blessed to share this cup of the Lord with her. I love how coming to the Supper levels the field. Young, old, sick, healthy, rich, poor, talented, can’t carry a tune….no matter. There’s only one way to come to the table. As a beggar in need of grace.

So I surely look forward to the day when we will see the Lord face to face. But for today, I am ever grateful for the nearness of Him. In His word. In the waters of Baptism. In His Supper. And those places that He has promised to be, I long to be too. Lord, help us to come with hungry hearts and open hands to Your table. Bringing only sin and doubt. And fill us with faith. And forgiveness. And life.

The pastor speaks these words after communion, “The very body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen you preserving you in true faith to life everlasting. Go in peace, serve the Lord for you are free indeed”.

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And now for the winners of my birTday giveaway. That seems so shallow and empty after talking about God’s gifts to us. But here’s how it went down at my house. EMME picked number 39—’cause that’s how old I am. And since she picked such a fine number, that will be the grand prize winner of a ‘few of my favorite things’. So, Kathy Eller email me with your address and I’ll get cracking on that. In a jiffy. Next, ELEA picked number 7…because she is 6 and EMME is 8—and ‘it’s only fair’. Okay, so congratulations to my friend Country Girl who I will gladly send a copy of my near and dear Lutheran prayer book. Don’t worry that you’re not Lutheran, you’ll love it. Promise. And then my dear Stevie picked number 20. I don’t know why. Maybe he wishes he were 20 again. Maybe he wishes I were 20 again. Maybe he wants 20 kids instead of 8. Maybe when he was picking his number, the clock said 6:20. Could have been the Vikings had 20 points. But regardless, congratulations to Debilou , you also will receive a copy of my favored Lutheran prayer book. As will number 13, Gypsy aka Tam ’cause that’s the number I picked. Or did Steve pick 13 and I picked 20? Well, you are all winners in my book. And if you have play a giveaway with me again, seems Elea picks 7 every time. Just sayin’. And since the teens weren’t here when we picked, I’ll pick numbers 16 and 18 for their ages. So Dusti and Sarah, you win too. You know the routine, email me and I’ll start my Amazon order. Happy Birthday to us all!

Now if you have the fortitude to go back and ‘count’ the numbers of the comments…..we counted every entry once…even is someone posted twice and even the comment was then deleted. That’s just how we roll.

Thank you for reading this blog and for putting up with fact that I violate every rule of blog writing there is. Hugs and kisses and much love!

And for our next serious topic (after part II of the Lord’s Supper, which this post is not) would you like to discuss the feminization of the church or baptism?

And for our next fluffy topic, would you like an eye shadow tutorial or would like for me to redo my laundry room?

Ratty pants, I can’t leave Marcus out. He picks number 22 (is he 22 or 23?). So Mad(elyn) you win too. You know what to do.

Real Presence, Part I

January 8, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 17 Comments

Many of you have expressed interest in some of the specifics of Lutheran teaching. And really, I can hardly restrain myself. I feel like I’ve just found out that Dillard’s is giving out free IPODS to everyone who visits the shoe counter…..that’s how much this teaching has wowed me. There are two teachings in particular that are very different than what’s taught in most American Evangelical churches today; those that surround Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. I’ll attempt to tackle the Lord’s Supper in two parts over the next few days.

In part I, I will explain what Lutherans believe the Bible teaches about the Lord’s Supper and in part II, I will present common arguments against the ‘real presence’ and how we Lutherans answer those arguments. Let me say first that I am no Bible scholar and though I have listened to and read many Lutheran scholars for hours and hours on this subject, I realize I have serious limitations. I do not speak Greek or Hebrew or Latin and I have not been to seminary. (But I know a few people who do and have and I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night). I pray for God’s mercy that I will explain things clearly, with humility, and with the sincerity that His teachings deserve. I will refer you to my favorite Lutheran pastor if this discussion gets over my head. I’ve heard before that you don’t really understand a subject unless you can explain it to someone else. This is my attempt at that. And we should be able to defend our faith and practices. I’m working on that one too.

Let’s dig in.

Lutherans teach the ‘real presence’ in the Lord’s Supper. That the true body and blood of Christ is present ‘in, with, and under’ the bread and wine. There are several scriptures which can be used, but they all have similiar language: “Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take eat; this IS my body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this IS my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” I could stop there I guess. We take Jesus at His word. And since as far back as the time of the apostles, the blessing and giving of the Lord’s Supper has been central to the church’s gathering. In Lutheran churches, it is THE central event of the worship service. Worship is literally the receiving of God’s gifts (His word and sacrament) and returning thanks to Him for those gifts. The Lord’s table is positioned centrally with the pulpit off to the side. These guys are serious about Christ-centered, cross-focused worship.

Most Lutheran churches serve communion every Sunday……taking advantage of every opportunity to receive the blessings promised with the sacrament; namely, the forgiveness of sins. I have to admit that I struggled with this when becoming Lutheran. ‘Eating the Lord’s body….drinking His blood’…..how can this be? Surely He meant a ‘spiritual’ type eating. It just didn’t sound right. At least not to my rational mind. Lutherans don’t attempt to explain how it is this happens. It still looks like bread and wine…..it tastes like bread and wine, and yet Christ says ‘This IS my body and blood’. Jesus’ words have always been powerful like that though. He spoke the worlds into being, he spoke and turned water into wine, he spoke and food multiplied, he spoke and people were healed. Miracles are part and parcel of the christian life, so why is this one so hard for us? Because we’re reasonable and rational and because this teaching doesn’t fit into a nice little box that we can easily explain. We serve a God who thinks and works outside the box. And we can try to twist His words to fit our rational or we can simply take Him at His word.

Why did God choose bread and wine? Maybe He intended for us to see the sacrament as the very sustenance of life. We literally live by the body and blood of Christ. It is likely not a coincidence that just as God used manna in the desert and fed the 5000 and instituted the Passover supper , he also feeds us now…Himself, his body broken for us, his blood poured out for us….. for the forgiveness of sins. He gives us this sacrament in the form of eating and drinking because it’s a concept we understand. We must have food to live. Even more so, we must have His food to truly live.

Almost all churches, I suspect, observe the Lord’s Supper in some form. In the churches where I grew up, it was called an ordinance—-a fancy word meaning law. In the Lutheran church, the sacrament is pure gospel. The unmerited grace of God given to us freely. In my prior experience, it was a ‘representation’ of something Christ did. Lutherans believe it is the means by which Christ’s forgiveness is granted to us…..over and over again. Previously, I was taught that I needed to be ‘right’ with God in order to take communion. Lutherans teach God makes me right with Him in His supper as He imparts His grace to me. To ‘discern His body’ in the Supper, properly understood, I think, means to acknowledge His true presence there.

Lutherans do not believe the scripture teaches transubstantiation as Catholics teach. Of all denominations, Lutherans tend to hold one of the highest views of the sacrament. It is not an ordinance or a representation. It is pure, free, powerful gift from God. A concrete, physical means by which I can know I have received God’s forgiveness and grace…..rather than looking for concrete evidence in myself…in how much I am improving in the christian life. I am so thankful for this tangible gift that Christ gives. We are doubting physical beings who need physical sustenance and reassurance. His supper is His means of giving us both.

For an audio clip on this teaching, click here. Or try this article , written by Todd Wilken. In the next couple of days, I’ll post part II. I welcome your thoughts, your church’s practice, even your questions….which I may or may not be able to answer. Some scripture references include Matt. 26: 26-28 and I. Cor. 11:23. May God bless the reading and studying of His word.

Winners for the giveaway posted on Monday. Yes, I said winnerZ. My family insisted on more than one. You lucky blog friends-a-mine.

Bless this house…….

January 5, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 23 Comments

Ever get the blahs after you take all your Christmas decorations down? Everything seems so drab and dull? And empty? Or cluttered and all the wrong color? I woke up today feeling like that. I’m tired of my color schemes, tired of too much stuff everywhere. I see painting in my near future if I can just but decide what colors I want for 2009? I think I’ll lighten things up, literally. Light colors, more lighting with generous splashes of color. As I was reading my Treasury of Daily Prayer and my Lutheran prayer book this morning, I came across this prayer for the home that I thought I’d share with you. We should never take for granted, despite how much we want to change certain things, the blessing of a home. (It took an inordinate amount of time to type this as ‘puppy’ was chewing on my arm, hand, bible, book, computer, sweater, and so on. He had Job chapter 5 for breakfast. Wonder how that’ll go down?)

Lord God, our home is among the most precious gifts we receive in this life. We realize this all the more as we remember our Lord Jesus. He set aside home and family. Having no place to lay His head throughout His ministry, He chose to sojourn among those He came to save. We prayerfully invite Him to dwell in our earthly home even as He continually invites us by Word and Sacrament to dwell forever in our heavenly home, which He prepares for us.

Make us ever grateful for this shelter from life’s storms. Keep this house always the home of comfort, peace, joy, and forgiveness. According to Your will, protect us not only from the spiritual assaults of Satan, but likewise make our home a fortress against the calamities of nature and the wickedness of sinful men.

Grant us the virtue of hospitality, the joy of harmonious living, and the blessing of gathering around Your word and bringing our families prayers before You. May all who dwell in our home be blessed by Your presence and Your peace, and may all who go forth give thanks for the grace they receive from You through us, Your dear children.

We receive Your lovingkindness in our home as a reminder of the eternal home we inherit through Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

New Year’s Resolutions. Where optimism reigns.

December 28, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 14 Comments

It’s getting dangerously close to January 1. The day we all collectively sign on the dotted line of those New Years resolutions we intend to make. I’ve always been a ‘resolutions’ kind of a girl. I love fresh starts, new beginnings, second chances. And reading Jen’s post inspired me to write about the things I want to change. There’s something kinda vulnerable about making your resolutions known. They seem more ‘official’ and thus the guilt begins to creep in because I know don’t have the best track record of keeping them. The one I seem to keep fairly consistently is exercise. So I always hate going to the gym on January 1st with eight million people I’ve never seen at the gym before vying for the same set of dumbells. The comfort is, I know they won’t be there on Feb. 1. And similiarly, my impeccably organized pantry on Jan. 1st will look like twenty toddlers have been rummaging around in it by Feb. 1st. I slowly seem to make some good lasting changes but I’m not setting any records here. I’ll let you have a peek of my preliminary list….and maybe you can help me.

1. I need to lose a little weight. I have gained 8-12 pounds since I quit working. Depends on what time of day, what day of the month, you know what I mean. My fat jeans are a little snug. I’d like to lose 10-12 pounds but I have a serious sugar addiction…..and reactive hypoglycemia. I exercise regularly and will begin training for a half marathon next week. But I must find a way to cut out sugar. Today is the first day I haven’t had ‘my quota’ of sugar and I felt really well all day. But I have intense cravings. Like a meth addict. Or worse. This resolution though seemingly vain has far reaching effects sometimes. I think about ‘the fix’. I get the ‘fix’ (fudge or cookies or whathaveyou. I’m on a high. I crash. I’m irritable until the next ‘fix’. It’s a vicious cycle that drives me crazy. I cannot continue to be home 24 hours a day if I don’t find a way to control this. And I’ve tried pictures of skinny 18 year olds in bikini’s on the frig door. Doesn’t work. I find myself talking to her and saying things like: “Yeah, enjoy it now. But you just wait til you have four kids and an addiction to sugar. And you know what, you’re too skinny anyways. You look like a 13 yo boy. I like my curves. Now move out of the way so I can get some ice cream, sister. Got any other suggestions?

2. I have to start planning for Taylor’s graduation. My son Taylor graduates from high school this May. I have a party to plan, a scrapbook to finish, pictures to scan, a video to make, and various other fun things I’d like to do for him. Plus a million more tears to cry. This kind of life change is stressful enough so I’d like to minimize the chaos toward the end. Help me plan. He’s a musician and a runner so I’m trying to come up with a clever ‘theme’ for the party. I cried during High School Musical Three ’cause Troy was graduating….and Taylor looks like Troy to me….’cause he’s a boy…..and has dark hair. So, what about a HSM 3 party? There’s plenty of party favors to be found, that’s for sure. (My sister is laughing profusely). Don’t like my idea? Well give me some so that I can begin to work on graduation announcements.

I wanted to teach him ballroom dancing before he graduates too. But that’ll be hard since I don’t know how. Should we take a few lessons together? Am I too ambitious?

3. We need a little more structure in our homeschool. Overall, I love homeschooling. Love it. We’re having a ball. But it’s hard to gauge how we’re doing. I could do a better job at planning. The problem is I’m a very enthusiastic starter of things. And often a very poor finisher. We have been doing a very laid back grammar program and I’m starting Shurley Grammar in January. My school room needs a little work too. I did a great job getting it organized, but keeping it organized is another story. I’m not sure it’s realistic for me to write down lesson plans……but I need a little more structure. I need a teacher’s aide. That’s what I need. Any takers? The pay is lousy but it’d be fun.

4. I could tweak my meal planning a bit to include more low fat options. My meal planning is pretty good but since I’ll be working on #1 I’ll have to make some changes in the content of the food. Maybe I need some new lighter recipes…..with a little less butter and cream. More protein shakes and bars for meal replacements. I LOVE to cook and cook a lot. But I spare no fat. My family can tell too…..if the recipes’ been ‘lightened’ up. They’re like detectives. Maybe I’ll just have to cook normally and eat very small portions. Or gnaw on carrot sticks while they eat creamy cajun pasta.

5. I’d like to have a more structured Bible reading scheme. I use Treasury of Daily Prayer for daily devotions. I’d like to, in addition to that, read the Bible through chronologically. There are online sources that give a schedule but if you have any suggestions, let me know. I’m compiling my reading list for ’09 but I’m not done yet. Do you have any awesome, life-changing books I need to add?

6. I’d like to become a better writer. Blogging has made me realize how much I love writing. Deep down, I’d love to write a book someday, but for now, I’d settle for a published article. I’d like to take a creative writing class but how do you do that and keep up with home activities? I’ve been reading a lot of online articles about writing which only increases my appetite for more. And then watching Marley and Me this weekend made me wanna have my own column. And made me cry profusely for 45 minutes, but that’s beside the point. I have started a ‘writing’ journal’ where I will keep ideas for ‘blogs’ or articles and also great quotes or paragraphs by other authors. Any other suggestions?

The other blogging related resolution I have is to get more organized and efficient with how I spend my computer time. I keep finding more blogs I like to read…..and keep thinking of more things I like to write, but my family needs to eat and wear clean clothes and live in a clean house, so I need to be more purposeful about it I think. What’s your system or do you have one? Do you subscribe to blogs in a reader or just bookmark them or what?

7. I want to be more purposeful in serving my neighbor. I need to find some nursing home people for the girls and I to visit regularly. Maybe volunteer at the local soup kitchen. Service projects of some sort that the girls and I can get involved in. Any suggestions?

8. I need more organization in my home. I need a professional organizer to come to my house and order me around. My house almost always looks clean and organized so I’m pretty good with the big picture. But the details, now that’s another story. This is probably where I need my ultra-organized and tidy neighbors Sue and Leigh Ann to come over and help. My new ADD book said in big bold letters: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY ANY MORE PLASTIC CONTAINERS. I rolled into the floor laughing. Apparently all people with ADD have this misconception that the problem with their lack of organization is the supplies they’ve been working with…..so we go buy more containers with every confidence that this will be the solution we’ve been needing. No kidding, I’m a container freak. And yet if you ask me to find say, the red polka dotted scrapbook paper, I’d hunt for an hour and then I’d get sidetracked by my old yearbook that I happened to run across and you’d find me sitting in the basement laughing hysterically. Then you’d have to remind me what it was I was looking for in the first place. Such is the life with ADD.

But I’m not discouraged. I’m an optimist. This is gonna be my year. To get organized and charitable and skinny and spiritual and to become very teacherly. That’s why I love resolutions. Despite any past failures in these areas, I am fully confident that strides will be made and goals accomplished. You pessimists out there are shaking your heads, aren’t you? You don’t even make resolutions because you’ve seen the outcome too many times. You will sit on the resolutions’ sideline and just wait to see how long it takes until I’ve given in……when I’m only in the book of Exodus is July…….and I can’t find Taylor’s senior picture in May…….and I’m joining Weight Watchers in March. But that’s okay. I love having tasks and goals. And if only one of them ‘sticks’…..well, that’s better than nothing.

Good thing God doesn’t use ‘resolution theology’ with us. He knows us too well. So he designed a plan that didn’t hinge on our sticktoittiveness. He went the whole way. Accomplished it all for us so that even when we fail, he forgives and gives us ‘new mercies every morning’. Even with our ‘mostly likely to fail’ list of changes we intend to make, He has a plan that never fails. I think schemes for personal improvement can be valuable. I’m just thankful that’s not how my relationship with God works.

So, what’s on your list or have you forsaken ‘the list’ altogether?

The Hidden God……

December 21, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 7 Comments

I’ve been reading a lot about the topic Christless christianity and how our inborn sinful nature is always bent towards self. We are by nature self-centered, self-focused and our perspective is always self oriented and is always distorted. Man’s natural theology is, in Lutheran circles, called a theology of glory. The rich man and Lazarus would be a good example. The rich man seemingly had everything……the world by the tail. He wore the finest garments, drank the finest wine and ate gourmet food. Lazarus in contrast seems to be a poor beggar who waits for the crumbs to fall from the rich man’s table. Based on just what you know on the surface, who is favored by God? We would often naturally conclude that the rich man must be favored by God. And we would almost always at least in our minds say “Well surely Lazarus has done something to deserve this”.

A theology of glory likes to ‘figure God out’ and likes to use logic to determine how things are between God and me. Don’t we often think this about those who do not seem to have God’s favor in this life? “Well, God must be trying to teach them something.” If we’re blessed and making moral improvement, we must be ‘right’ with God. And if not, well then the opposite must be true. But as you know, in death the rich man finds himself in hell and Lazarus is comforted in the bosom of Abraham. So can I look at my circumstances in life and tell how it is between God and I? How does God show His favor to those He loves? And how can I know if I have His favor? God hides His glory behind the weakness of the cross. And he shows His favor to us through the death and resurrection of His own son for our redemption. And I know I have His favor because I receive the gifts He has given in faith and thanksgiving. I am favored by God because of Jesus. Thus, a theology of the cross……interprets everything in my life……the blessings, the suffering, every circumstance through the perfect suffering of Christ on my behalf.

God’s ways are hidden and paradoxical:

1. God hides His glory in the mundane elements of bread and wine. Jesus has withdrawn His visible presence from the earth. He is now the hidden God and we must depend on His word to know what He is about. So when God says “Take eat, this is my body”, He is hidden, in-with-and under the bread. We don’t ‘see’ Him there and it seems impossible to me that He is there. So I must trust His very own words and find comfort in His hidden presence in His Word and sacrements.

2. He hides His glory in the weakness of a baby. When He comes to earth, He does not come in glory but in the flesh. The very incarnation of Christ is so incredible to me. How can this be? It was scandalous then and seems scandalous now and so unlike how I would have chosen to reveal myself to the world. The smallness of God in a lowly manger on a lonely night greeted by mere animals and born of the travail and sweat of childbirth. This is God? Yes, this is the very essence of the truth of God. Humbled. Lowly. With His glory hidden. To bring to us our very salvation.

3. He hides Himself in our vocation. God achieves His means of serving and taking care of us through the hiddenness of others doing their vocation. So God hides himself in : a mother making dinner for her family; a father going to work everyday to provide; a doctor using his skills and knowledge to effect healing; a teacher teaching multiplication to her students; the garbage man collecting the trash. It all ‘looks’ and ‘seems’ so mundane…..but that is God at work in the world. Serving and taking care of His people.

So we must take heed to let the theologian of glory in all of us be crucified with Christ. We must accept His ways as mysterious and hidden….. as not yet revealed. Whether our circumstances bring us joy or suffering, our posture to God should be one of repentance; a lensing of all of life through the cross of Christ. For in him are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. 2:3) He will come in glory someday and we await that day with great anticipation. But until then, He has hidden Himself in things that might seem ordinary and even mysterious to us: words, water, bread and wine.

Luther said that Our Lord does not want to be found outside Christ….so he hides Himself in order to be found only in the grace and mercy of Christ. He seldom comes where we expect or look for Him: in victory and glory and glitz. He comes where we do not expect him: in suffering, in shame, in humility, as a baby, in His word, in the water of baptism, in the elements of the Lord’s Supper. God wants to be found in the words of the promise in Christ that give new life. If we find Him outside of Christ, we find Him in wrath.

The ‘hidden’ God is hidden in Christ….come to us in the flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior and who says “I am the way, the Truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through Me.”

Much of what goes on in modern Christianity seems very Christ-less; alot about ‘me’ instead of Christ ‘for me’. We are favored by God because of Christ alone.