It's that time of year again! The season of Lent is a time for repentance and reflection. It comes in the days that lead up to Easter for a reason. Easter is the single most important day of the church year! (yes, more important than Christmas;) Without the message of Easter, we would not be Christians. Let me write that again for emphasis - Without the message of Easter, we would not be Christians.
It sure would be easy to show up for Easter Sunday in spanking new clothes and a ham at the ready. Let's be honest. We know the story like the back of our hand. Christ died, Christ rose.
But what if we slowed down a little bit? What if in the days leading up to the "Big Day" we thought a little more about why Christ came, why Christ had to die, and what it means to me that Christ rose from the dead.
This is Lent. And to an even greater extent, our whole Christian life. Law and Gospel. Sin and Grace. Repentance and Forgiveness. Dying and Rising.
I may end up saying this about every chapter but this one gets to me because it's everything. And all that everything is done already by Jesus.
Some highlighted passages for me from this chapter:
Instead of insisting that human beings attain perfection, Lutheran spirituality begins by facing up to imperfection. We cannot perfect our conduct, try as we might. We cannot understand God through our own intellects. We cannot become one with God. Instead of human beings having to do these things, Lutheran spirituality teaches that God does them for us - He becomes one with us in Jesus Christ; He reveals Himself to our feeble understandings by His Word; He forgives our conduct and, in Christ, lives the perfect life for us.
We do not have to ascend to God; rather, the good news is that He has descended to us. Most philosophies and theologies focus on what human beings must do to be saved; Lutherans insist that there is nothing we can do, but that God does literally everything. (pg 25,26)
Yes! Yes! Yes! I would be in despair if this were otherwise. By nature we are dead in our sin. Dead. As in, dead as a doornail. God does everything. He comes to us, He raises us to life in Him, He sustains us, He works good in us. By grace, through faith. This is not only pertinent to our initial coming to faith but vital to our everyday lives.
The author suggests the three kinds of "spiritual aspirations" that human beings tend to gravitate toward. Those are moralism, speculation and mysticism. I thought he did an excellent overview of what makes these particular ways so appealing to our nature. They can all be found in some way whether in various world religions, no religion (for which I'd argue that everyone has some belief system whether you want to call it religion or not) and even within Christianity. Perhaps it can be more subtle in Christianity because it's mixed with truth and the waters are muddied?
... Lutheran spirituality addresses the moral impulse of the will by Law and Gospel. In place of speculation, the need of the intellect met by the Word of God. In place of a mystical union with God experienced by the emotions, Lutherans focus on God's union with human beings in Christ and the phenomenon of faith. In every case, God does it all. (pg 33)
Law and Gospel. Hand in Hand.
The Law shows us our sin, our need for a Saviour, our inability to keep even one law perfect. Yes, it also serves as a guide and a curb. But the Law is the prelude to the Gospel. Those broken by the Law are convinced of their need and of their inability to save themselves. Then the message that God does it all comes as an astounding relief, as good news. (pg 35). What an Easter we have then!
The Gospel shows us our Saviour! We've been broken down by the Law and in despair knowing that if left to ourselves, we will surely fail miserably. The proclamation of this good news of the Gospel brings us sweet relief and absolute assurance that Christ perfectly fulfilled the Law for us. Christ took our sins and suffered on the cross. Christ conquered death for us. We are justified by faith!
Faith for Lutherans is not a "decision to accept Christ," as it is described by later evangelicals. Making salvation a function of the will would be moralism, dependent, again, upon what we do, our effort, willpower, and action, in all their actual futility. (pg 36)
But the Law and the Gospel, the dynamics of repentance and the acceptance of Christ, are part of the fabric of Lutheran spirituality, not just a one-time occurrence but a pattern entered into again and again throughout one's life. (37)
Saint and Sinner ... I am both. Why is this so important to know and understand? I don't think I truly appreciated this until I considered it as any different. If I didn't have this understanding of justification, what might that look like in my life? How would that change me? What would be my motivation to be good? What kind of assurance of my salvation would I have?
I highly recommend listening to Issues, etc. podcast: The Gospel for Former Evangelicals: The Christian Life. It is an excellent way to round out this week's reading!
Homework: 1. This week in worship, take special note of the Confession/Absolution part of the Lutheran liturgy. What does this mean to you? 2. If you have a memento of your Baptism (picture, handkerchief, certificate), get it out this week and use it to "remember" (even if you were too young to actually remember) your Baptism. Luther's Catechism states, "The old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts," explaining the significance of Baptism; whereupon "a new man should daily come forth and arise, who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever."
We pray:
Lord Jesus, precious Saviour, who went all the way to the cross to redeem me, a lost and condemned creature, graciously look upon me in this Lenten season, and let me find cleansing and healing in Your precious blood. My transgressions caused You the agony of the garden. My sins nailed You to the accursed tree. You were forsaken so that I would not be forsaken throughout eternity. Make me see the awfulness of my sin and then Your wondrous love that would not let me die.
Grant that I may ponder day after day upon Your passion. Let nothing distracting take my thoughts from You. Draw me closer that I might find in You forgiveness and peace.
Bless this Lenten season in our many Lutheran congregations. Grant to the pastors grace to proclaim Your glorious passion with consecrated hearts, that all who hear this message of reconciliation may love You more and more. Abide with my household, and let sin have no dominion over us. As I ponder anew Your death for my transgressions, make me bold to live to You today and tomorrow and forever. Amen. (Lutheran Book of Prayer)
5 comments:
I slacked off on the homework somewhat, and I am late in posting this comment, but with that said...
What a week of reading, listening, contemplating! And that prayer you shared, Rachel, at the end of the post was wonderful.
I really appreciate the recommendations of the Issues, Etc. podcasts. I feel like I'm getting such an education! But then I have to beware of the temptation of the "speculation" path to God... right? ;-)
Linking moralism, speculation, and mysticism to the three faculties of the human mind – intellect, emotion and will - was such an eye-opening insight! And the fact that he even backed it up with Bible passages, such as Romans 3:10-11 (There is no one righteous, not even one (moralism); there is no one who understands (speculation), no one who seeks God (mysticism)." And then the answering verse, John 14:6 - "I am the way (moralism), and the truth (speculation), and the life (mysticism)."
I find it very helpful to have these three areas of tension defined, so that I have an awareness of "polarities" of the "complexities of life" I am balancing!
Probably my biggest struggle is with moralism. Veith says, “the very effort to be moralistic tends to breed harshness, pride, and even cruelty, hardly signs of being ‘a good person.’” I seem to have a harsh, prideful moralist in my head criticizing my failures and weaknesses, urging me to stop being lazy and simply work harder to be the person I know I “should” be. These voices speak as if being perfect is quite a simple matter – if only I wasn’t such a weak and lazy person. Sometimes I feel like I’ve tried to live up to the expectations of this cruel moralist for so many years and have been unable to measure up, so I should just accept the fact that I am weak and lazy and stop making an effort to do anything well. Maybe what this girl needs is a stronger daily dose of gospel!
My favorite quote of the chapter was the last paragraph: “When I discovered the radical depths of the Gospel, I found the impulses that variously made me a moralist, a speculator, and a mystic all resolved – or rather put in tension with each other and swallowed up in the cross.”
Another notable quote for me was “The spiritual life has to do with recognizing God’s work – what He accomplished on the cross and what he continues to do in people’s lives.”… I can't say more about it at this point, but it was thought-provoking to me. I'd love to have the opportunity to hear that quote discussed someday in a Bible class or something.
Rachel’s comment – “Without the message of Easter, we would not be Christians.” I’ve often thought about how I can reflect that in my family’s Easter celebration. There is so much hubbub leading up to and surrounding Christmas, so that our children would think that it’s the biggest, most important holiday. Easter can easily slide by without a great deal of notice. Rachel says “But what if we slowed down a little bit? What if in the days leading up to the ‘Big Day’ we thought a little more about why Christ came, why Christ had to die, and what it means to me that Christ rose from the dead?” Is that the answer? Still contemplating...
I enjoyed reading all your comments - thanks for taking the time to share them:)
"I find it very helpful to have these three areas of tension defined, so that I have an awareness of "polarities" of the "complexities of life" I am balancing!" - I agree. Just having an awareness can help us spot in ourselves and in what we're hearing what is NOT Biblical and true.
"Probably my biggest struggle is with moralism." - I appreciate your honesty and can relate too. I also can take this a step further and expect it of others - my kids, husband, family, church family. It's not fair to expect perfection from myself or any of the above when we are far from perfect. It's hard to see the robe of righteousness that Jesus sees when He looks at each of us. Maybe when I see the glaring signs of sin in myself and others, instead of being critical I can use that as a reminder of the gospel that we are all receivers of His grace, made perfect in our weakness. Instead of criticism, compassion.
In regards to desiring an Easter celebration in our homes that bring about at least as much importance as Christmas, I think we have one thing going for us - the Lent part of it hasn't been taken over like Advent has been secularized. At least we're not fighting against that as much!
Lent in my home is the exact opposite of Advent. Instead of all the decorations coming out, it's all cleared out. My house is decidedly bare. It's quiet. No wreath on the door, no dining table centrepiece, etc. What is out is some seasonal books, Passion art, our Lenten garden - all reminders of this time of year. It's kind of depressing actually when you add to it the gloomy days of this time of late winter/early spring (here, anyway), the snow and rain and lack of visible life outside. It's perfect, really. We're quiet but we know what's coming! It looks like spring will never come but we know it will. Just like we know Jesus rose when it looked to the disciples like he wouldn't! After 6 weeks of all of the above, you should see what happens to this house Holy Saturday/Easter! The spring decorations and wreath come out, fresh tulips fill the previously bare tabletops and if we're really lucky, we might spot some buds on the trees outside:) It's a celebration!!!!!
To be continued ...
comment continued ...
My husband had a great Lenten sermon last Wednesday that was more eloquent than I could be about this. The text was from when Jesus told Peter he would sin and deny him and Peter insisted he wouldn't. (like arguing with Jesus is ever the thing to do!) Matthew 14:27-31:
" Those statements are TRUE of us too, and they suck the wind right out of our sails – why would He tell us that we are all going to FAIL – and disown our Lord?!
Well . . . if His goal here was to inspire them (and us) to do a little better and reach a little higher and achieve little more . . . then no, these words would help much at all. THAT . . . was NOT His goal.
Do you know what His goal was?
Mull that over for a moment in your own brain. I did. Do you want to know what I think? I think He wanted them – and us – to get real / to get honest / and to confront our FAILURE – right in its ugly face."
“What should Peter have said here when Jesus told him that they would all fail and that Peter would disown Him?” I think Peter should have just SHUT his mouth . . . and not said a thing. I think we should do the same, when Jesus sticks our own faces in the mud of our sin and failures. We are tempted to jump up like Peter and object: “No. No! I am strong! I am not like those other people who have failed you Lord – I will stand by your side, and never let you down!” Oh . . . yes . . . you will. CONFRONT that ugly truth my friends: You and I are going to FAIL Him, and disown Him, in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions. The disciples were all failures and losers . . . and we are too.
As that harsh reality sinks in, let me ask you this: Can you see why we need Jesus so much? He came for sinners – for losers and failures like Peter, like Paul, and like you and me. Oh – He doesn’t want us to fail miserably – He just knows we will. And . . . He came to erase our failures, blunders, mistakes and broken lives – through His perfect life – broken, killed, and sacrificed on our behalf."
"As Holy Week approaches yet again this year – be quiet, reflect, and watch Him confront the REAL ugliness and horror of humanity. The Risen Christ forgives, heals, and restores “fallen failures” – turning them into champions!"
This is what I'm trying to do in my home - for me and my family - during Lent. I take a lesson from what Peter should have done and shut up. Be quiet. Don't make excuses, don't defend, don't minimize the sin that comes so easily, don't try harder and imagine it could ever be enough. Be quiet. And listen to HIM.
Thank you for the reply, and especially for sharing the part of your husband's sermon! That was just the kind of thing that harsh, prideful moralist in the back of my head needs to hear from Jesus regularly! I did wonder about the Scripture reference you mentioned, though. Is there a reason for referring to Peter walking on the water? There very well could be - like the fact that anything we ARE able to do is only by Jesus' power...?
Whoops! I meant to put Mark 14. So sorry!!! That should make much more sense:)
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