Well, that went fast! Symposia 2011 is over and now off to visit the family in Ohio. Here are today's highlights.
Paper #1: 'Walther's use of Luther' by Dr Cameron MacKenzie
Walther was a Luther-an to the extreme. A summary of his appreciation of Luther's teaching would look something like this: Luther's teaching is purely based upon Scripture, therefore to reject Luther would be to reject God's Word. Did Walther go too far in his appreciation? Perhaps; but for Walther it was only the Word of God that was authoritative and it just so happened that Luther taught the Word of God.
Paper #2: 'Missouri’s First Justification Controversy: Edward Preuss Goes to Rome'
Prof Ziegler's paper was one of the two best at the conference. Edward Preuss was a confessional Lutheran at the time of Luther who shocked the Lutherans by leaving Lutheranism for the Roman Catholic church. It was a huge surprise at the time and is still shocking. Prof Ziegler investigated why he left and warned us pastors to keep watch lest the same happen to us. The major issue is that Preuss lost a proper understanding of the distinction between Law and Gospel and therefore he saw Scripture falsely from then on. I'll give you two points for your consideration: 1) the spiritual struggle doesn't occur before conversion, but only after when we are marked as God's children and therefore attacked by the 3 great enemies; 2) the Gospel affects our whole person, therefore we do 'experience' our faith (more at times, less at other times), but the feelings we experience (including tears of sorrow and joy) do not (and cannot) produce the faith, rather the faith produces the feelings. This is what Walther urged in many of his sermons and writings.
All in all a great experience for a young pastor like myself. I was able to sit at the feet of not only the presenters, but also many other seasoned pastors from around the synod. I'm looking forward to returning to you all and incorporating these ancient truths into sermons and lessons.
God's Peace.
+PH
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Symposia, Day 3.2011
Day 3 mostly done, it's gone fast, been great. 5 papers today, plus a reception and banquet tonight with Synod President Rev Matthew Harrison. Pres Harrison preached today in chapel; great sermon, wonderful service, although I was late and had to stand outside in the narthex area because the sanctuary part was overflowing. Should be a treat tonight!
The highlight paper of the day was one by Dr David Scaer, 'Walther and the 3rd use of the Law'. (in case you've forgotten the law is a singular thing, but it functions in 3 ways. 1) like a curb to keep us on track, e.g. the 10 Commandments, 2) like a mirror to show us our sin, which is the main use of the law, and 3) as a guide, to show us how to live out our baptismal lives as Christians in the world.) Dr Scaer's paper was about how Lutherans misuse the 3rd use by de-emphasizing it. Although the main use of the law is the 2nd, to show us our sin, if we neglect to preach/teach the 3rd use then we get into all sorts of ethical/moral trouble. The main example is in the cultures acceptance of homosexual behavior and how this has affected the church. The ELCA in particular, in not teaching the demands of the law concerning how Christians properly act in marriage, etc, have allowed for unChristian behavior. In summary, he said, "The 3rd use of the law allows us to make a temporary retreat to paradise [in the Garden of Eden, where man lived perfectly before God], and allows a view of the future in the greater paradise of eternal life." Very intriguing. I've never considered it this way; not sure what I think about it, though.
Now, it's time to get ready for the banquet. I'll write again after tomorrow's papers and take off for Ohio in the afternoon.
God's Peace.
+PH
The highlight paper of the day was one by Dr David Scaer, 'Walther and the 3rd use of the Law'. (in case you've forgotten the law is a singular thing, but it functions in 3 ways. 1) like a curb to keep us on track, e.g. the 10 Commandments, 2) like a mirror to show us our sin, which is the main use of the law, and 3) as a guide, to show us how to live out our baptismal lives as Christians in the world.) Dr Scaer's paper was about how Lutherans misuse the 3rd use by de-emphasizing it. Although the main use of the law is the 2nd, to show us our sin, if we neglect to preach/teach the 3rd use then we get into all sorts of ethical/moral trouble. The main example is in the cultures acceptance of homosexual behavior and how this has affected the church. The ELCA in particular, in not teaching the demands of the law concerning how Christians properly act in marriage, etc, have allowed for unChristian behavior. In summary, he said, "The 3rd use of the law allows us to make a temporary retreat to paradise [in the Garden of Eden, where man lived perfectly before God], and allows a view of the future in the greater paradise of eternal life." Very intriguing. I've never considered it this way; not sure what I think about it, though.
Now, it's time to get ready for the banquet. I'll write again after tomorrow's papers and take off for Ohio in the afternoon.
God's Peace.
+PH
Symposia, Day 2.2011
Another full day. 7 papers today and a chapel service and then Choral Vespers (which was actually Evening Prayer like we've been doing for evening prayer offices). I won't give descriptions of all the papers for today, but just give some highlights. I appreciate all you checking in a seeing what's going on. Being here makes me long to be back in Victor. But, alas, a vacation stands in my way, which I am also looking forward to.
Today marked the end of the Exegetical Symposium and the beginning of the Confessions Symposium (hence the name symposia, which is plural for symposium.) Anyhow, we began today with some very interesting papers, one on the 'supposed' problem with the river of blood (the 1st plague of Egypt) found in Ex 7. Apparently some scholars don't think that 'blood' really meant 'blood', but either some sort of algae or a mineral deposit. Since when does God not mean what He says in His Word!? And that was the conclusion of the paper: that we must take God at His Word, when He reveals things to us in Scripture, He really does mean it! And the final Exegetical paper (exegesis literally means 'to guide out'; in theology it means getting the meaning of the text from the text itself as opposed to eisegesis, which means that someone is getting a meaning of the text by putting his/her own thoughts into the text; exegesis is good, eisegesis is bad.) the paper was about the King James Version. We got a brief history of the King James Version and how it has affected other English translations of the Bible. Our ESV, for example, is a descendant of the KJV.
After the Exegetical papers, we were given 5 Confessional papers today dealing with CFW Walther (our synod's first president) and his relationship with theologians and other Lutherans of his day. There are a lot of misconceptions about Walther, and some of the these misconceptions are being challenged. I'll just mention one now and you can ask me about more later, if you care. Perhaps the most significant misconception is that Walther was the 'father of confessional lutheranism' after the time of the reformation. Walther was NOT, it was actually Martin Chemnitz (the second Martin). This is not to discount the priceless contributions he made to lutheranism in America, it's just that, technically speaking, he didn't take the lead role.
Another paper that very much interested me was one given by one of my favorite professors, Dr Naomichi Masaki (yes, he's Japanese...and proud of it...and hard to understand at times). He gave a paper on a little known Lutheran Father named Theodor Kliefoth. In his time (1800s in Germany) Kliefoth was very well respected by all confessional lutherans, including Walther. But he's not very well known to us primarily because most of his writings are still in German. So I need to learn German to start translating.
The papers were great, the conversation was fabulous, but the most important highlight of the day was...I got to play soccer with some the guys on the old seminary team. Good fun, great exercise. I'm outa here.
God's Peace.
+Pastor Huelsman
Today marked the end of the Exegetical Symposium and the beginning of the Confessions Symposium (hence the name symposia, which is plural for symposium.) Anyhow, we began today with some very interesting papers, one on the 'supposed' problem with the river of blood (the 1st plague of Egypt) found in Ex 7. Apparently some scholars don't think that 'blood' really meant 'blood', but either some sort of algae or a mineral deposit. Since when does God not mean what He says in His Word!? And that was the conclusion of the paper: that we must take God at His Word, when He reveals things to us in Scripture, He really does mean it! And the final Exegetical paper (exegesis literally means 'to guide out'; in theology it means getting the meaning of the text from the text itself as opposed to eisegesis, which means that someone is getting a meaning of the text by putting his/her own thoughts into the text; exegesis is good, eisegesis is bad.) the paper was about the King James Version. We got a brief history of the King James Version and how it has affected other English translations of the Bible. Our ESV, for example, is a descendant of the KJV.
After the Exegetical papers, we were given 5 Confessional papers today dealing with CFW Walther (our synod's first president) and his relationship with theologians and other Lutherans of his day. There are a lot of misconceptions about Walther, and some of the these misconceptions are being challenged. I'll just mention one now and you can ask me about more later, if you care. Perhaps the most significant misconception is that Walther was the 'father of confessional lutheranism' after the time of the reformation. Walther was NOT, it was actually Martin Chemnitz (the second Martin). This is not to discount the priceless contributions he made to lutheranism in America, it's just that, technically speaking, he didn't take the lead role.
Another paper that very much interested me was one given by one of my favorite professors, Dr Naomichi Masaki (yes, he's Japanese...and proud of it...and hard to understand at times). He gave a paper on a little known Lutheran Father named Theodor Kliefoth. In his time (1800s in Germany) Kliefoth was very well respected by all confessional lutherans, including Walther. But he's not very well known to us primarily because most of his writings are still in German. So I need to learn German to start translating.
The papers were great, the conversation was fabulous, but the most important highlight of the day was...I got to play soccer with some the guys on the old seminary team. Good fun, great exercise. I'm outa here.
God's Peace.
+Pastor Huelsman
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Symposia, Day 1.2011
...my mind is mush. What a day! It was jam-packed with great theology and great discussion. We had a Chapel service at 10 and Vespers at 4:45pm besides the 5 Exegetical papers. The (brief) summaries are as follows:
Paper #1 - 'The Role of Christ's Second Coming in the Church's Mission: Learning from Paul's Eschatology in 1-2 Thessalonians' by Dr Charles Gieschen (personal note: Dr Gieschen and I coached 7th-8th grade boys soccer together for three seasons during my time in Fort Wayne...and we won the conference two of those years!)
-Summary: Eschatology (which means 'end times') is not just in the future, when Christ will come again on the Last Day. Eschatology is past, present and future. Past eschatology is the crucifixion, and present eschatology is the effects of the crucifixion for us today, namely in Word and Sacrament. Part of eschatology is God's wrath. God's wrath now and at the Last Day is real and will come because of sin. God is seeking to rescue sinners from the present helpless idolatry we live in, as well as the hopeless future in hell by giving us the benefits of the wrath He placed on His Son, Jesus, on the cross; this He does by Word and Sacrament.
Paper #2 - 'Democracy or Torah Solidarity? Reflections on Scriptural Ecclesiology' by Dr Dean Wenthe
-Summary: He went all the way through history and gave a summary of how the church was structured in different times. In most times and places the Church had what was called an Episcopal structure, which we do NOT have in the LCMS. He showed us where our structure came from and told us some dangers that could come (and has come in congregations from time to time). In the end we have to find our true identity in Christ and His Sacraments; we must hear and follow the True Shepherd's voice, not promote our own self, but seek His good and gracious will in all matters. We are not an earthly organization, but a heavenly church and we should resist anything that takes away from Word and Sacrament.
Paper #3 - 'The Ecclesiology of Acts' by Dr Kavin Rowe (Dr Rowe couldn't be here because his father is on his death bed, but Dr Just read his paper)
-Summary: (Note 'ecclesiology' means the study of 'church', which includes what it is and how it is structured, etc.) Acts is not so much about church order but about how Christians are to be Christian in a non-Christian context. He looked at Acts 19, and Acts 25-26. He made a bunch of great points, but the main one is the answer to the questions: How does church and politics relate to each other? Are they compatible? The answer(s): Yes and No. Yes, they are compatible because Jesus is not competing to rule against "Caesar", they different types of ruling. But on the other hand, they are not compatible because Christianity "turns the world upside down" because "Caesar" is not ultimately in charge, for every knee will bow to Jesus.
Paper #4 - 'Luke and the Foundations of the Church' by Dr Peter Scaer (personal note: Dr Scaer was my Advisor during seminary)
-Summary: Jesus is THE Shepherd, the Church is founded on Him and by Him. And so He sends out pastors to continue establishing and building His Church. First, He built His Church on Peter, both Peter himself and his confession (we can't separate the two). Then He sent out the 12 apostles, the 7 deacons, and the 70 pastors. And whoever hears them, hears Jesus. This is a comforting promise for us.
Paper #5 - 'Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Philippians' by Dr John Nordling
-Summary: Paul doesn't quote the OT directly, but alludes to it in many places. He was so familiar with the Scriptures that, as he wrote the letters by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the OT just flowed out of him, perhaps unintentionally at times. The same is true for us, that when knowing the Scripture so well, it will just flow out of us in teaching and preaching.
A good day. A full day. Ready for some r and r. I continue to pray for you all and am looking forward to returning.
God's Peace.
+PH
Paper #1 - 'The Role of Christ's Second Coming in the Church's Mission: Learning from Paul's Eschatology in 1-2 Thessalonians' by Dr Charles Gieschen (personal note: Dr Gieschen and I coached 7th-8th grade boys soccer together for three seasons during my time in Fort Wayne...and we won the conference two of those years!)
-Summary: Eschatology (which means 'end times') is not just in the future, when Christ will come again on the Last Day. Eschatology is past, present and future. Past eschatology is the crucifixion, and present eschatology is the effects of the crucifixion for us today, namely in Word and Sacrament. Part of eschatology is God's wrath. God's wrath now and at the Last Day is real and will come because of sin. God is seeking to rescue sinners from the present helpless idolatry we live in, as well as the hopeless future in hell by giving us the benefits of the wrath He placed on His Son, Jesus, on the cross; this He does by Word and Sacrament.
Paper #2 - 'Democracy or Torah Solidarity? Reflections on Scriptural Ecclesiology' by Dr Dean Wenthe
-Summary: He went all the way through history and gave a summary of how the church was structured in different times. In most times and places the Church had what was called an Episcopal structure, which we do NOT have in the LCMS. He showed us where our structure came from and told us some dangers that could come (and has come in congregations from time to time). In the end we have to find our true identity in Christ and His Sacraments; we must hear and follow the True Shepherd's voice, not promote our own self, but seek His good and gracious will in all matters. We are not an earthly organization, but a heavenly church and we should resist anything that takes away from Word and Sacrament.
Paper #3 - 'The Ecclesiology of Acts' by Dr Kavin Rowe (Dr Rowe couldn't be here because his father is on his death bed, but Dr Just read his paper)
-Summary: (Note 'ecclesiology' means the study of 'church', which includes what it is and how it is structured, etc.) Acts is not so much about church order but about how Christians are to be Christian in a non-Christian context. He looked at Acts 19, and Acts 25-26. He made a bunch of great points, but the main one is the answer to the questions: How does church and politics relate to each other? Are they compatible? The answer(s): Yes and No. Yes, they are compatible because Jesus is not competing to rule against "Caesar", they different types of ruling. But on the other hand, they are not compatible because Christianity "turns the world upside down" because "Caesar" is not ultimately in charge, for every knee will bow to Jesus.
Paper #4 - 'Luke and the Foundations of the Church' by Dr Peter Scaer (personal note: Dr Scaer was my Advisor during seminary)
-Summary: Jesus is THE Shepherd, the Church is founded on Him and by Him. And so He sends out pastors to continue establishing and building His Church. First, He built His Church on Peter, both Peter himself and his confession (we can't separate the two). Then He sent out the 12 apostles, the 7 deacons, and the 70 pastors. And whoever hears them, hears Jesus. This is a comforting promise for us.
Paper #5 - 'Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Philippians' by Dr John Nordling
-Summary: Paul doesn't quote the OT directly, but alludes to it in many places. He was so familiar with the Scriptures that, as he wrote the letters by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the OT just flowed out of him, perhaps unintentionally at times. The same is true for us, that when knowing the Scripture so well, it will just flow out of us in teaching and preaching.
A good day. A full day. Ready for some r and r. I continue to pray for you all and am looking forward to returning.
God's Peace.
+PH
Monday, January 17, 2011
Free Conference
Safe and sound in the Fort. The trip was, well, internally exciting. And we could have done without some of it, but that's just how things go sometime. I'll fill in the details on a later occasion, perhaps because they're more embarrassing than anything else.
We got here at about 8:30am (Eastern Time) and met up with Joy folks for a nice breakfast, then I was quickly off to the Free Conference held at Redeemer here in Fort Wayne.
It's good being back here. There's a comfort to returning to a place like this: Joy and I have spent most of our married life here (so far), our first child was born here, seminary beat up on me here (it's a love-hate relationship), but most comforting is returning to so many familiar faces. I didn't expect to miss much of anything here, but, lo and behold, I did. Familiar faces bring back the fond memories, and one thing that I'm looking forward to is continuing to make these same 'familiar face' relationships with all of you back home in Lincoln Township.
But enough with the sentimental junk...
The Free Conference was great! We began with a Divine Service (historically called 'Low Mass' because it was a spoken mass and not on a Feast Day).
Then we had the first presentation. Rev Jonathon Fisk (RevFisk for you You-tubers) was the presenter. His main points were as follows (sorry for the length):
1. The Church throughout the ages has used various 'tools' for carrying out its mission (the Missio Dei, or "Mission of God"). These 'tools' varied from time to time and place to place. One very important example of this is the printing press, invented during the 16th century in Germany (I think) which Luther and other Reformers used to copy and distribute their writings, such as the small catechism, etc. They saw an opportunity and took it and ran with it and many people were blessed because of it.
2. These 'tools' are neither good nor bad in themselves, but are neutral; but they can be used for both good and bad. In Luther's case, he used the tools for a great good.
3. We are coming into a time today when there are tools that have been used in the past (even in recent past) which are being overtaken by more useful and more widely used tools. Examples are: Facebook, Text-messaging, Wikipedia, and other social networking technology that is making communication easier, less expensive, and more powerful.
4. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and especially Confessional Lutherans, need to do like our ancestors and take a hold of these new 'tools' for the sake of the Missio Dei. Synod, for example, is operating on an 'old tool' system that, if it doesn't figure out a way to embrace and utilize the new tools, it will become obsolete.
My observations: I agree with him, BUT with some reservations. We must still recognize that the true Missio Dei is fundamentally what our Lord said it was: Word and Sacrament. (And RevFisk would absolutely agree with this; because he said it.) We should make use of these new tools of communication and structure, etc so long as they are submissive to the Word and Sacrament; or let me say it more directly: the new tools must get out of the way of Word and Sacrament. Tools are useful, but they are just that, tools. And tools can be overused. Hence the saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Word and Sacraments aren't broke, they are pure and perfect, they are the foundation of all Doctrine and practice and spiritual health and yes, even evangelism. So, let's use the new tools (like this blog), in order to draw us all to a richer life together (fellowship) in Him who is our Life, Jesus.
The next presentation was by our own District President, Rev Brian Saunders. He spoke on the relationship of pastor with people.
His main points:
1. Fundamental to the health of the Church is the relationship of shepherd and sheep, as the Bible describes us.
2. Pastors have been given the distinct responsibility of Seelsorger (German: "carer of souls"), and that is what they must do.
3. This is most dramatically shown in pastoral at the Lord's Table. As Pres Saunders said, "We've gotten real sloppy in the last century or so."
4. One thing that our church body has to work through is the question, "Who is the pastor of the pastors?" In Luther's time the structure of the church was a little different. At that time pastors did have pastors, they were called bishops. Bishops were, technically, the pastor of the congregations in a larger area (for example, Iowa District East or Montana, etc). Things have changed for us, but not necessarily for the better. It is still something that is being studied and is starting to be discussed. And it will be a healthy discussion. Not only for pastors, but for the flock under their care.
After an intense, yet healthy discussion on the topics, we ended the day by chanting Vespers together from Brotherhood Prayer Book. It was beautiful and we heard a great sermon from Pr Peterson (pastor of Redeemer, Fort Wayne).
For now: supper.
Have a great evening, and check back in for more tomorrow as Symposia officially gets under way. (And maybe I won't write so much...wow that's long!)
God's Peace.
+PH
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
A basic Family Tree
of Christianity. As promised, here is a chart showing the breakdown of Christian church bodies. Please be aware that this chart isn't without error (for example, Lutherans are not "Protestants"), but it gives a basic picture.
 |
| Source: http://www.chartingpluralism.com/historicalchristianitychart.jpg |
From the OT Reading
in the Treasury of Daily Prayer for yesterday, from Ezekiel 33. (Note: "son of man" here is Ezekiel.)
I sure do love the Scriptures. Just listen to the Gospel clarity, there! "The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses," (which is all the time) yet "I say to the righteous that he shall surely live..." The Lord's declaration of righteousness is what counts! And we know that this declaration is nothing else but the revelation of His righteousness, Christ Jesus, who is spoken over us initially in our baptism and who is given to us again and again as He remembers us in Word and Sacrament.
"He shall surely live." Love it!
10"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?' 11Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
12 "And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins. 13Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. 14Again, though I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live. +
I sure do love the Scriptures. Just listen to the Gospel clarity, there! "The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses," (which is all the time) yet "I say to the righteous that he shall surely live..." The Lord's declaration of righteousness is what counts! And we know that this declaration is nothing else but the revelation of His righteousness, Christ Jesus, who is spoken over us initially in our baptism and who is given to us again and again as He remembers us in Word and Sacrament.
"He shall surely live." Love it!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Day off, Dartball, and Symposia
So what does a pastor do on his day off?
You got it...sleep.
Well, actually, not quite. You see, a pastor's day off is actually a pastor's wife's day off (if the pastor isn't too lazy). Today it worked out that Joy finally got a break (it's been a while; i repent). This morning I sent her off to the IC and she didn't come back till after supper. I enjoyed time with the kids and I think we were all refreshed come the end of the day (and the house wasn't a complete wreck either, which is usually the case when mom leaves for a while, so that was a bonus!). This evening was a bit different since it was Monday; and Monday means Dartball; but let's not talk about that.
But overall (minus the absence of my bride) the day was quite pleasant and now I'm ready for the mad dash to Symposia and vacation. Although, from what I've heard from seasoned pastors, it's supposedly questionable whether it's really worth it for a pastor to actually go on vacation simply because of all the front-end work that needs to be done for the week he misses, and all the catching up that needs to be done when he returns (I'm sure it's not just pastors). We'll see, I guess.
By the way, if you don't know what 'Symposia' is, here's a link to the schedule for the week: http://www.ctsfw.edu/Page.aspx?pid=607
Check it out if you care to. In years to come, I hope to take anyone interested from the congregation, especially the elders. It's a lot of theology in a short amount of time and by the end of the week your mind is mush, but it's so great; it's such a blessing and I pray that I'll come back with some new insights to pass along. And, actually, what I can do is write a post at the end of each day with a summary of what went on and some new theological gem I discovered (like a theological pirate or something...). Now all I have to do is remember to do it. Feel free to remind me.
God's Peace.
+PH
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Cutting it short; when does Christmas really end...or begin?
Perhaps the most common and simple understanding is that Christmas is one day: Christmas day. Santa comes in preparation the night before, laying out the presents to be unwrapped by those who have been expectantly waiting for the unexpected gifts for months in a room billowing with nostalgia.
Another common understanding is that Christmas is actually twelve days, like the song, although I'm not sure how many of us really get five golden rings, or even two turtledoves for that matter.
And perhaps you have your own understanding or your own way of thinking about it that came from family tradition or even just personal preference.
Whatever the case, when we start talking about the real Christmas, the Time of Christmas, as it has been passed down to us from Church tradition, then we do find a concrete answer to it all. In summary, here it is (in case you were wondering):
The Time of Christmas is the first "Time" in the Church Year and consists of three "Seasons", which are Advent Season, Christmas Season, and Epiphany Season. The Time of Christmas always begins on the first Sunday in Advent (well, technically it begins at sundown on the night before Advent 1). The length of this Time changes each year because it goes all the way to Ash Wednesday (which is determined by the ever changing date of Easter). This year, The Time of Christmas began on November 28 and will end on March 8; that's 101 days! That's just about the longest Christmas can be (since Easter is so late).
What people normally think of as Christmas is actually the Christmas Season, which is twelve days, as the song describes. Christmas Season goes from Christmas Day (technically, sundown on Christmas Eve) till January 5th (again, at sundown). January 6th is Epiphany, or, as some have called it, "The Gentile Christmas," because that is the reading of the Magi, the wise men from the east, worshiping the Boy, Jesus. And by the way, we have an Epiphany service this year on Epiphany, January 6 (next Thursday); and President Brian Saunders is coming to preach!
Anyhow, there seems to me to be a few things that contribute to the common misconception of this Time of year. First, and perhaps most obvious, is ignorance of the Church Year calendar. Since society, and therefore your workplace or school, doesn't run according the Church Year, most Christians don't really give it any thought. I would encourage you all to know and appreciate the Church Year in your devotional and prayer life (but more on that in a future post). Another reason for the misconception also has to do with society, but more specifically with the media. After Christmas day, there is this abrupt stop (for the most part) in anything Christmas in the media: Christmas songs aren't played on the radio, Christmas movies/programs stop, etc. And that's fine, the networks/stations have probably found that people just don't watch or listen to it anymore after Christmas day; which leads me to my third observation, namely, Christmas burnout. We are simply bombarded by so much 'Christmas' at the front end of the Time of Christmas, that we just...can't....go...on...like...this...anymore (*phew*). We just stop caring about Christmas. And that's fine, too. Because in the Church, Christmas overload is overload of the two parts that make up the word Christmas: Christ and mass (what we call "Service of the Sacrament"). And it's always good to be overloaded with both, although they are, technically one and the same: Christ is given in Mass and Mass is Christ given. So even when you have been overloaded with Christmas and just don't seem to care anymore, you may know for certain, with faith-in-Christ-certainty, that Christ continues to care for you with everlasting faithfulness. So come, continue to receive Him in preaching and the Sacrament, and be recovered by the One who covers you with His life-blood, even Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church Year, especially Christmas.
*(For an organized lay-out of the Church Year, look in our hymnal LSB, page x.)
Another common understanding is that Christmas is actually twelve days, like the song, although I'm not sure how many of us really get five golden rings, or even two turtledoves for that matter.
And perhaps you have your own understanding or your own way of thinking about it that came from family tradition or even just personal preference.
Whatever the case, when we start talking about the real Christmas, the Time of Christmas, as it has been passed down to us from Church tradition, then we do find a concrete answer to it all. In summary, here it is (in case you were wondering):
The Time of Christmas is the first "Time" in the Church Year and consists of three "Seasons", which are Advent Season, Christmas Season, and Epiphany Season. The Time of Christmas always begins on the first Sunday in Advent (well, technically it begins at sundown on the night before Advent 1). The length of this Time changes each year because it goes all the way to Ash Wednesday (which is determined by the ever changing date of Easter). This year, The Time of Christmas began on November 28 and will end on March 8; that's 101 days! That's just about the longest Christmas can be (since Easter is so late).
What people normally think of as Christmas is actually the Christmas Season, which is twelve days, as the song describes. Christmas Season goes from Christmas Day (technically, sundown on Christmas Eve) till January 5th (again, at sundown). January 6th is Epiphany, or, as some have called it, "The Gentile Christmas," because that is the reading of the Magi, the wise men from the east, worshiping the Boy, Jesus. And by the way, we have an Epiphany service this year on Epiphany, January 6 (next Thursday); and President Brian Saunders is coming to preach!
Anyhow, there seems to me to be a few things that contribute to the common misconception of this Time of year. First, and perhaps most obvious, is ignorance of the Church Year calendar. Since society, and therefore your workplace or school, doesn't run according the Church Year, most Christians don't really give it any thought. I would encourage you all to know and appreciate the Church Year in your devotional and prayer life (but more on that in a future post). Another reason for the misconception also has to do with society, but more specifically with the media. After Christmas day, there is this abrupt stop (for the most part) in anything Christmas in the media: Christmas songs aren't played on the radio, Christmas movies/programs stop, etc. And that's fine, the networks/stations have probably found that people just don't watch or listen to it anymore after Christmas day; which leads me to my third observation, namely, Christmas burnout. We are simply bombarded by so much 'Christmas' at the front end of the Time of Christmas, that we just...can't....go...on...like...this...anymore (*phew*). We just stop caring about Christmas. And that's fine, too. Because in the Church, Christmas overload is overload of the two parts that make up the word Christmas: Christ and mass (what we call "Service of the Sacrament"). And it's always good to be overloaded with both, although they are, technically one and the same: Christ is given in Mass and Mass is Christ given. So even when you have been overloaded with Christmas and just don't seem to care anymore, you may know for certain, with faith-in-Christ-certainty, that Christ continues to care for you with everlasting faithfulness. So come, continue to receive Him in preaching and the Sacrament, and be recovered by the One who covers you with His life-blood, even Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church Year, especially Christmas.
*(For an organized lay-out of the Church Year, look in our hymnal LSB, page x.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)