What Are the O Antiphons?

What Are the “O Antiphons”?

We all know the Advent carol, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Here are its roots in ancient Church tradition.

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Beginnings and Endings

Here comes the new year. It is normal for us, at this time in the calendar, to look back to the past, and forward to the future. One man who did deeply, and in poetry, was the Christian T. S. Eliot, who wrote “Four Quartets” about the passing of time. Much more than a summary of things past, and hopes future, he talked about the meaning of our lives as we “travel” through time.

He begins one of the “quartets” with the words, “In my beginning is my end.” Now, those are pretty depressing words, if you think about it. All that we are, all that we will be, one day will end in death. Death is present at the beginning. And it is true, biblically. We have all inherited the curse that fell upon Adam and Eve. We will die. And then where will be all our moments and our days? Where will be our joys and triumphs, our happiness? Where will be our tragedy? What will be the value of our efforts? They will be forgotten, lost, erased, much as the sea erases a sandcastle a child has spent a sunny afternoon constructing on the beach. In my beginning is my end.

But Mr. Eliot ends this very same “quartet” with the words, “In my end is my beginning.” He finds life at the end of death, the beginning of something new and better–everlasting life!–after the sorrows of this fleeting life. Where does this hope come from? The Christian knows. It comes from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His death is our life. His gift of rebirth comes in the waters of Baptism. His gift of the bread and wine–His body and blood–feed us for the feast to come. As the old year passes and the new comes, many things change. But not His gifts. Not His will for us to have life forever.

I’ll let the poet put it in words better than I ever could:

“The dripping blood our only drink,

The bloody flesh our only food:

In spite of which we like to think

That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood–

Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.

He is talking about Good Friday, of course. He wants us to see that at the cross time and eternity meet. The result is our life, and meaning and purpose for our lives now.

What a great God we have, who rescues us from the abyss of meaningless existence, and gives us, from His own sacrifice, a history, and present, and a future!

Putting the "Mas" in Christmas

I wrote this in 2002, and put it in this year's newsletter:

Often you will hear Christians comment about how Christmas has become too “worldly”: a time for joy at the birth of a Savior has become just another occasion for gluttony, drunkenness, and a frenzy of shopping. A side-bar to the secularization of Christmas is that people occasionally write “X-mas” instead of “Christmas.” The cry goes up: “Put Christ back into Christmas!” And indeed His presence among us can cure the loneliness, depression, fatigue, and indebtedness of the holiday season.

But I think that, in order to put Christ back into Christmas, we need to put the “mas” back into Christmas. The “mas” I am speaking about is worship.

“Mas” comes from “Mass,” which comes from the Latin word “missa,” the word of dismissal at the end of the worship service. It came to mean the liturgy of the Eucharist (Holy Communion).

What I mean by putting the “mas” back into Christmas is that the place we find Christ is at worship. We put Christ back into Christmas not by worrying about the rush of activity during the holiday season, but by being where He is. The angel who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds never said, “Go and see Him.” He simply said, “Today a Savior has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord.” It was assumed that when the Savior appeared, the shepherds would go to the place where He was. The sign was a baby in a manger.

Later that Savior said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them” [Matthew 18:20]. He bids us make disciples by baptizing and teaching, and then adds, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” [Matthew 28:16-20]. He is with us, when we gather, baptize, and teach in His name.

If you want to put Christ in Christmas, put the “mas” into Christmas. Be where He is. Be in church, to hear Him speak the gospel of forgiveness and life in His name.

Fame and Eternity

24th Sunday after Pentecost

November 15, 2009

Mark 13:1-13

I don’t often start with a poem, but here’s one you may have read when you were in school. It’s by Shelley, and it’s called “Ozymandias”:

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:

`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away".

The poet wants us to understand that no matter how great one may be in his own time, or how great the legacy is that he wants to hand down, the hands of time will destroy the memory of that man, even if that memory is carved in stone. Even the fame of a “king of kings” is doomed to die in the dust of time.

That’s a pretty depressing message, isn’t it? And if that were the message that Jesus was teaching his disciples in our gospel, we should be depressed. But what Jesus says today is both better and worse that what the poet Shelley wrote. It is more horrible than the toppled self-idol in the desert, and more hopeful than the winds of time sweeping us and the memory of us away. That’s what we’ll talk about today.

So I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first? I like to get the bad out of the way, so here goes:

There is something worse than being forgotten, in going to your grave with the knowledge that however important you may be to your family or friends or community or country, the next generations will know nothing of you. And that is that you will come under the judgment of a perfect and just God, who will determine your eternal destiny.

That’s what Jesus was talking about when the disciples came to Him that day in Jerusalem. Their hearts were filled with pride and patriotism at the sight of the temple in Jerusalem. Unless you have ever seen a massive structure, like a great cathedral or stadium, it’s hard to understand how they felt. To give you an idea, the stones that made the temple measured 25 cubits long by 8 cubits high by 12 cubits deep. That’s 37 and ½ feet by 12 feet by 18 feet. And that’s just one stone. This was a structure that took up one sixth of the walled city of Jerusalem, that could be seen from afar, that took one’s breath away. It was one of the wonders of the ancient world, a feat of construction that spoke of power and permanence and pride. No wonder the disciples came to Jesus, saying “What wonderful stones! What wonderful buildings!”

It’s not that Jesus was a yokel who just didn’t get how impressive it all was. He got it, all right. But He knew that all things are subject to God’s judgment. He knew this history of God’s people, who has grown faithless even while they bragged of this achievement. He knew the blood on the hands of those who built this temple. And He knew what He Himself had said through the prophets, that God would abandon this structure, because it would abandon Him, the Messiah.

So he says, “Not one stone. Not one stone will stand upon another. It’s all coming down.” And it did. In 70 AD the soldiers of the future emperor Titus entered Jerusalem, and the temple burned, and was torn to pieces.

And as I said, the worse news is that this isn’t just a historical fact. This is the judgment of God on unbelief, the unbelief of a whole nation. It will also be His judgment on unbelief in our day, in our hearts. What do you think those wars, and rumors of wars, and earthquakes, and famines, are all about? Don’t think it’s as easy as “I can make it through this painful life. Death will end it all.” Death ends little. “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” [Heb 9.27]. And not for someone else. For you, and for me. All the pain and misery in the world are only preliminaries. They are only warning shots fired across the bow. They are wake up alarms, warning us of something far more dreadful.

So it’s worse than we thought. But it’s better, way better. And you will be surprised where I turn for confirmation of this. It’s Jesus words, “You will be beaten in synagogues . . . brother will deliver brother over to death . . . you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” Those are just some of the words Jesus speaks about what will happen to those who believe in Him, and they don’t sound like good news. But let me assure you, they are.

First, they are good news because as Christians follow their Savior, they will experience what He experienced. We do not have a Lord who reigned like an Ozymandias or like a Titus, or like a Herod, the man who had the Temple built. He reigns in suffering and in death. His throne is a cross. And by that suffering and death He put an end to death, destroyed sin in His flesh, and won forgiveness and life. That’s eternal life, folks. That’s means that though dust we are, and to dust we shall return, there is more. That means that though we suffer for bearing the name “Christian,” and though there be mockery, and for some, outright torture and even death, it only means we are follow our Lord, our King, our Savior, on His way. And that way is not the way of death, but the way through death to life.

It is the way to life, and even to fame, for us. Did you hear what the prophet Daniel said? In the resurrection, when Christ returns, the “wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” And Jesus promises that those who remain faithful to Him even to death will receive the crown of life. That’s better than any crown I know of.

So what Jesus told the disciples of His day, He tells us: Don’t be too impressed by human achievement, either someone else’s or your own. Don’t be concerned about your legacy, and what your kids or grandkids or anyone else may think about you. This all will fall under the judgment of God. This all will perish.

But instead, think about what is of first importance, the first things. Think on Christ, who blood has paid the price for our pride and our desire for a future apart from Him. Believe that He died and rose again to cleanse you of this pride. Endure. Don’t be afraid to speak the mind of Christ with friends and family. You’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain. And, as you watch the passing of this world in war and famine and earthquake, set your heart on the eternal: on Christ who reigns in heaven, and here on earth, too, through His word of forgiveness. By faith you are part of Him now. And then, face to face. God grant you that place, that faith, that hope. Amen

Costly Gifts

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

November 8, 2009

Mark 12:38-44

Three years ago there was a shocker for American Evangelicals. As you may remember, the pastor of a 14,000 member “mega-church” in Colorado Springs resigned as a result of a sex scandal. It’s not the first time someone in a high-profile religious position has fallen. Much is made of this in the press, and such scandals disgrace all who bear Christ’s name, and that means you and me. They not only allow our enemies to call us hypocrites. Worse, they turn many sincere, searching people away from Christianity. How can the sheep be clean, if the shepherd is dirty?

But believe it or not, there was a silver lining to this cloud. The members of that church had to think through their faith, and figure out whether their trust was in a preacher, or in the One the preacher represents. Were they attracted to a charismatic or energetic or handsome man, or effective leadership, or a great intellect? Or was it Jesus, who according to Scripture, “had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him”? Was it glory that attracted them? Or was it the one who “was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” He is “as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” That’s the Bible’s picture of Jesus. Is it Him, or something else, that we follow? That’s the challenge those 14,000 people face.

It is a challenge people in Jesus’ day faced. Were they attracted by the glory, the riches of religion? Or something else? Jesus presents us a contrast: a contrast between earthly appearances and heavenly reality.

On the one hand, there was the religion of glory. It had to do with the people called “scribes.” Our culture does not really have a class of people like them. We go in for sports, music, and political celebrities. But those kinds of positions, the places of honor and glory and fame, in Jesus’ day, went to people who were experts in the law and in the traditions of the time. They were the knowledge class, people revered for their brains and intellect, and for their connection to God. And to desire knowledge and wisdom is not a bad thing. The scribes were trained to give you the skinny when it came to what God wanted from you.

The scribes, then, were important and powerful, and people like to hang with the important and powerful. They taught God’s law. So the scribes dressed in the best clothing–after all, they taught God’s law. They took the places of honor at public feasts–after all, they were the most important people of their day. They were sought after. People wanted their attention. Popular, attractive, interesting –they offered the common man a connection with greatness, a connection with significance and meaning, a connection with God.

But there was a problem. The scribes were dependent on the gifts of patrons for their living. And often those patrons were wealthy widows, who were looking for attention. So the scribes preyed on them, even while keeping up a pretense of piety.

Such is the religion of glory. It is a religion of appearances, not of reality. It lives by the law, which judges by what is seen, by outward behavior, and not by inward reality. Its measure is success in the crudest, most earthy sense. You could see it as the rich people dropped their offerings into the treasury box, showing all how philanthropic and generous they were. But it was all outward show, done for the approval of man, and not for God.

And then there was another religion. There was the poor widow, who gave her two coins. Not much of a gift– 1/64 of a day’s labor. But it was all she had, and she gave it out of faith in God and trust in His promise that He would take care of her.

Who is truly religious here? Jesus condemns the scribes, and commends the widow. Her gift is not show; it is the joyful response of one who has received from God and returns what is given. Her religion is not a religion of glory. It is a religion of the cross. There is no “happy end” to this story. God gave her no endless supply of money for her faith, or any earthly reward for her devotion. God took care of her, for that is His promise. What we see of the widow is faith in God, not hope of earthly payback. Her reward was God Himself. Ps. 73 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” This widow knew that.

Now, in our reading there was one person who was poorer than the widow. She had a home to return to, and food in the cupboard. But poorer than her was Jesus, who had no home, no place to lay His head. And what irony! He who made all things, to whom belong the cattle on a thousand hills, gave it all up. He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and became obedient, even to death on the cross. All things eventually were taken from him. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God,” Jesus preached. He was the poor, and by dying for us, has won the riches of heaven. In Jesus, God is our reward, our portion.

That brings us back to our lives, and where we look for God and for hope and security. We too see glory, and we are attracted to it. One of the members of that Colorado church thought the church would no longer continue, because “the church was the pastor.” And when his glory fell, what then?

We are affected by this, too. There is a web site where you can read who among the celebrities of our day are Lutheran. And I’ve heard people say, “we need more ‘stars,’ more prominent people among us, to attract others.” What a contrast with say, John the Baptist, who said, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.”

Those words are a good template was we look at our faith. When we hear a sermon, does Jesus “increase”? That is, does it all become about Him? Or about something else?

When we work, does Jesus “increase”? That is, do we do our work for Him? Or is it all for money, or self-esteem, or power?

When we are with our families, does Jesus “increase”? That is, do we live with one another recognizing that Jesus lived and died for all of us? Do we forgive as He has forgiven? Or do we live to get others to do what we want to do, and live for pleasure alone?

The answer to these questions, if we are honest, will be mixed. We are God’s children through Holy Baptism, and through faith in Christ Jesus. But we are children whose eyes often catch glimpses of glory, and whose feet often follow false trails. We must come back to it again and again: the true glory, the true riches we possess are the forgiveness of our sins, including our wandering eyes and faltering feet, and the riches of life in the age to come.

We should remember the widow, whose faith was in God alone. And we should remember Jesus, whose poverty secured eternal riches for us. And we should return to him, to true faith, and to the cross. There the costly gift was purchased, and there our salvation was won. Amen

Faithful Stewards of Time

October 18, 2009

Ephesians 5:15, 16

Our text is from Ephesians, chapter 5: Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

In the name Jesus. Amen

It is a world of abundance. Even in eastern Montana, we have access to things that not long ago, we would have a hard time finding. We don’t go to the store just for flour, milk and sugar. We buy everything from avocados to tofu, from pineapples to pretzels. We’ve come from the days when Henry Ford said you can buy any color of Model T you want, as long as it’s black, to a day when cars have names like Kia and Hyundai, along with Ford and Dodge. If we can’t find the clothes or music we want, we buy them on the Internet.

It is a world of abundance. But there is a scarcity of one commodity, and that is time. Wouldn’t it be something if we could walk into a store and purchase a few more hours a day, or days a week. We could get so much more done! We could get to the kids’ games and concerts and also get our work done. We could relax on a two-week vacation and not have a mound of work when we return. We could make the summer nights last, and hold off cold of winter. But it is not to be. God has given us an allotment of days, and as they pass, there is no return. The little boy riding his bicycle on the sidewalk now watches his son, and now his grandson: and it seems that no time has passed. The grandmother looks upon her newborn granddaughter and remembers when that was her daughter. And we are sorrowful, and nostalgic, and wonder happened to the time.

The scarcer a commodity is, the more it needs wise management. And we do manage our time, with schedules and multitasking and delegating responsibility to others. I Googled “time management,” and got 713, 000,000 hits. That’s a lot. Though we can mange time, we can’t get it back.

You may be surprised to learn that the Bible knows the sense of lost time. Listen to the poetry of Ecclesiastes as the author describes the effects of time: “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

It is a testimony to our powerlessness, that we can neither add to our days or turn back the clock of time. And so Paul in our text today tells us to make the best use of the time, because the days are evil. They are evil because sin has brought this to us. And part of our sin is that we use our time for our purposes, and not for God’s. This is reflected in the hundreds of ways and times when we are simply to busy for God: not only too busy to worship, or too busy to pray, or too busy for devotion and study, but also too busy to lend a hand to help others, too busy to think on our sin and repent. We think our lack of time is a matter of poor organization. God says it is a matter of bad priorities.

Perhaps the reason we have so little time is that we never have asked ourselves, “Why has God given me my days and years? What are they for?” Without answering that question, it is no wonder we are pushed and shoved about by every little thing. What can we say no to, unless it’s the stuff that makes us personally uncomfortable. Which means we don’t grow, we stagnate, which gives us the feeling that though we go and go, we don’t get anywhere.

So it is a question of how we use the time God has given us. We are to make the best use of time, because the days are evil.

How do we do that? First, we should ask ourselves the hard questions. What should God do to us on account of our abusing the time He gives us? Especially when He warns us again and again that the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and that the reason we have the time we do is so that we might come to our senses and repent and turn to Him? There is only so much time: time to repent, time to learn to know God.

Second, we should realize just what it means that Jesus has died and risen again. It means forgiveness for our abuse of the gift of time. It also means our resurrection–which means we will live eternally. That means that while there is an end to our time on earth, and an end to all time on earth, there is also God’s time, and a life for us beyond this age. The loss we feel because we have lost time will be redressed in that day, and joy will replace sorrow. The early church recognized this by celebrating Sunday not only as the first day of the week, but also as the eighth day, the beginning of a new creation, an everlasting day of light and joy. This is God’s promise to all who trust in Jesus Christ.

Third, we should recognize the remedy that Paul gives us in his letter to the Philippians, a few verses after the one we quoted. Here he tells us how to use our time wisely: “be filled with the Spirit,” he says, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Did you hear that answer? The answer to the misuse/abuse of time is music! A certain kind of music, of course, but music. Music is often considered on option or a luxury to our world, and to some, a waste of time. But in those psalms and hymns and spiritual songs we take time to honor Christ our Lord. We praise Him; we pray to Him. We sing about His redeeming love, His mighty works. “We sing the praise of Him who died, of him who died upon the cross. The sinner’s hope let all deride; for this we count the world but loss.” We sing in a way that says “my time is better spent this way, unhurriedly, than in a mad rush to do a hundred other things.” We sing God’s word to ourselves and to our world, that all may hear and believe.

Dear Christians, time management is not an option for us. We all do it, or must do it. God grant us to get our priorities right, so that he may be honored, and so that we may have eternal life. Amen

Worms

Mark 9:38-50

By David Peterson, adapted by James Hageman

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

I address only the sinners in this congregation. This ought to send chills down your spine. This is the prophet Isaiah's description of Hell quoted by Jesus. Hell is not make-believe. Nor is it reserved only for the most evil people, like Hitler and Stalin. It is the place for sinners. It is the just reward for their works. This is the place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. It is the place, O Sinner, for you! For your hand, and your foot, and your eye, all cause you to sin, and worse - your mind, your personality, your heart! Americans tend not to believe they may not go to heaven. If you have never before imagined the possibility that you may not, imagine it now - before it is too late.

Repent. Stop lying. Cease your posturing and pretending, your foolish bravado. God is not fooled. Do you really think He is so impressed with your knowledge, with your mature faith, with your good works and your good reputation, that He will wink at your sins? This is no joke. Why do you care so for the opinions of men? Why do you strive to impress others? Perhaps you should consider the merits of being without hands, without feet, without eyes for a while, instead of finding your loophole around Jesus' words. Sin is your biggest problem. It causes your frustration, your depression, and your anger. Stop dreaming about winning the approval of others or being honorably, though filthy, rich. What you are owed is the place where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Admit it to yourself. Confess it to God. Repent. Woe to us.

And here and only here, O Sinner, find rest: In the cross, where the hands and feet of God Himself were made useless by the nails pinned in them. Where the worm was killed, as the worm Jesus died for us worms. Find the fire quenched in the Cup of refreshment received in Jesus' Name, at Jesus' Word, and, indeed, from Jesus' Hand. Cut off the hands, the feet, the eyes that cause you to sin -from the inside out. Circumcise your heart. Be emptied of self and ambition. Know only Jesus. Be only Christian, nothing else. Be filled with His Blood which makes all things new. You are His because He says so. He said so in the waters of Holy Baptism. There He gave you a Name, His Name. By nothing less than Divine Intervention, you are His little one, His own precious child, helpless and weak, but adored by Him who bought you.

This is the meaning of the word, "Holy." It does not mean "without sin." It means "belongs to God." Thus we speak of Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, the Holy Church, Holy Matrimony, the Holy Office, and so forth, because those things have been instituted and belong to God. They are His. And in those things you too are Holy. In those things you are His. Woe to him who causes you to sin. You are God's own and no one dare tempt you. By Grace, for Jesus' sake, you enjoy the constant attention and devotion of Him who died for you, who prays for you, who defends you. And you also receive the providence, protection, and care of His Father, the empowering love of the Holy Spirit, and the service of an army of angels. You are His. He has forgotten your sins. You cannot lose. Come, and drink from the Cup offered in Christ's Name for you belong to Him. The worm is dead, the fire quenched, in Jesus' side. You are His.

Thanks be to God. Amen.