Northwoods Seelsorger

For those in the ancient liturgical traditions the above title may seem a bit odd. Holy Week precedes the Easter feast, and Easter week, as such, would be the first week of this new festival. Why then the word "versus"? Recently someone who is participating is a community Easter cantata was struggling when she noticed that there would be practices during Holy Week, especially on the evening of Maundy Thursday. She is a Lutheran and the Holy Week observance has always been very important to her. When she brought up her dilemma, a local Pentecostal pastor (of the church sponsoring this cantata) acknowledged the "sacrifice" some of the "extras" were making during what he called "Easter week." Still, he did not seem to appreciate that skipping out on church during Holy Week is a sacrifice in a negative way. Then again, without any real sacramental theology he would be unable to truly appreciate the deep significance that Maundy Thursday has ...

Relics have long been important to certain sections of the church, most notably the Roman Catholic. As defined by Wikipedia, a relic is "an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial.” At the time of the Reformation a lucrative trade in relics became the center of Luther's concern as he witnessed not only an abuse of the practice's original intent, but also became increasingly disturbed by what to him was a displacement of Christ from the heart of the people's devotion and worship. The peddling of relics, in fact, seemed to have no end, and unfortunately no apparent means of regulation against fraudulent claims and the exploitation of the common man who simply trusted what his religious leaders told him. Admittedly in modern times these gross abuses seemed largely absent - until, that is, eBay allowed the renewal of this ancient abuse. According ...

Recently the RNS included this brief undated article: Muslims say Obama's denials come up short By Omar Sacirbey (UNDATED) To many Muslim Americans, it's understandable that Sen. Barack Obama has vociferously dismissed allegations that he is a “closet Muslim.” But what disappoints them is that the Democratic presidential contender has not followed up the denials -- which leave the impression that being Muslim is bad -- with comments saying that there is nothing wrong with Islam. His perceived silence on the issue, to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, reinforces the impression that politicians view Muslims as personae non gratae. “I was hoping that the response would not be to proclaim the horror of being insinuated a `Muslim,”' wrote one Muslim blogger, Manan Ahmed. “This is the state of Islamophobia in America today, where a simple declaration -- `He is a Muslim' -- casts doubts on a presidential campaign.” Why must we read so much into everything? In an election season ...

Dear Abby may not be a great source of news, but it is sometimes a fascinating insight into what many people are thinking today. Just recently someone submitted an answer to Abby's query "What do you think is society's greatest problem?" The writer did not think she would print it, but Abby said that it had "merit." Here is what the writer said: "...in my opinion organized religion has a lot to do with why the world is so badly messed up. Although most religions espouse values of kindness, generosity and good works, in practical application, it seems that religion is used more often to divide 'them' from 'us,' and to give people yet another way to discriminate against one another. It isn't limited to wars between different religions; one need only look back a few years to see different sects of Christians killing and terrorizing each other in Northern Ireland. And look at the state of religious warfare today. Muslims are murd...

Much has been made of the role of Evangelicals and the current presidential race. They are credited, for example, with giving Gov. Huckabee a several state win on Super Tuesday. However, they are also far from united around one particular candidate at this early stage in the game, and one wonders if their numbers are lower this time around due to a decreased excitement about lowered expectations of being able to put a true conservative back into the White House. There is also the conflicted issue of Mitt Romney and his Mormon faith with which many Evangelicals struggle. Then, to upset all, I read this as well at Religious New Service: Poll finds 'born again' support for Democrats By Adelle M. Banks WASHINGTON -- The latest numbers from a California researcher about likely voting preferences of “born again” voters has given Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign something to trumpet. The Barna Group in Ventura, Calif., released statistics on Monday (Feb. ...

For Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians and other churches that still employ the historic liturgy, Ash Wednesday has the been the traditional beginning of the season of Lent. Although inconsistent with it's name, some Lutheran churches omit the imposition of ashes on this day (due in part to it's supposed Catholic overtones). Nevertheless, they retain the day and the season. I was under the impression that other Evangelical churches, especially the Baptist variety, did not observe this day or the Lenten season, again because of the supposed Catholic association. But before I declared this impression to be fact, I did a search on Google with "Ash Wednesday" and "Baptist." Surprisingly there are many Baptist churches that do have an Ash Wednesday service. Some even observe Lent. One church actually was going to offer the imposition of ashes! Now how can that be? After jettisoning the liturgy and other historic trappings of the church catholic, why w...

It's a little word, but it can say a lot. "If" makes us pause and consider what comes next. It can qualify what comes next, or simply remind us of what will result from certain actions. Often in the Divine Service God's people recite John's familiar words: " If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8,9) Denying our sinfulness sets us up to be liars. However, confession occurs under the assurance of God's constant forgiveness. Notice that the apostle did not say that God's forgiveness is dependent on our confession. It exists prior to it. It is a reality in the very nature of God that finds its fullness in the cross of His Son. In technical terms we call this "objective justification." This morning as I was reading an online devotion I ran across an ...

I am currently making my way through Dr. Paul Zimmerman's book A Seminary in Crisis that I reported about here at least a year ago. It is a fascinating insight into that era in Missouri's history which led up to the famed "walkout" at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Since the events took place when I was but a teenager, it is interesting now to catch up with history and learn what I could not have known then. After I purchased the book I saw Dr. Ed Schroeder has written a critique of it on his Crossings site, although I only read a portion of it at the time. I just finished reading all three parts. You can read all them for yourself, but I do want to draw your attention to one section. Although Dr. Schroeder attempts to distance himself from any personal bitterness of those years (He was eventually dismissed as professor due to false teaching), this bitterness - in my opinion, at least - leaks out when he claims with prophetic insight that Missouri is actual...

This afternoon I watched part of 1968 with Tom Brokaw on the History Channel, and later found myself comparing that year when I was 7 and the current year in which my youngest daughter is now 7. Sometimes we look at the present and bemoan how horrible life has become, forgetting just what the past really looked like in comparison. 1968 was as pivotal year in terms of societal upheaval as any in the last 40 years. The entire culture was transforming, and it was doing so in the midst of intense anger, violence, and a seeming disregard for all of the moral restraints of the previous generation. In 1968 I was living in California with my mother who was raising me as a single mom (She had moved there in the late 1940's.) Born out of wedlock my mother decided to raise me alone, and my father decided to bow out and let her do it. She never asked for child-support, and as far as I know, he never gave any. I met my father but once, and remember little to nothing of him. After I be...