My Grandson's Wedding

I am about to receive one of the greatest blessings of my life. This weekend I will preside at the wedding of my eldest  grandson Shawn. He and Marian will exchange vows of faithfulness in a church in south Texas. Needless to say, along with the rest of the family, I am very pleased and excited. 

The young couple has asked me to help them to meditate upon Matthew 7:24-27:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

One of the things often forgotten is that public ministers or pastors did not preside at Christian weddings for several hundreds of years. Marriage for long centuries was understood to be a contract between families. Often couples were not even acquainted with one another. That depended, of course, on the economic level of the families and where they lived. In any event the concept of marriage as one of the so-called seven sacraments did not arise until later in the history of the church. The Council of Trent in the sixteenth century counter-reformation declared that for Roman Catholics a marriage is a sacrament to be administered by the church through the witness and blessing of an ordained priest. The same Council insisted that the couple must exchange rings, a custom that earlier was optional. 

As a Christian pastor committed to the Lutheran confessions, I cannot accept marriage as a sacrament offering special grace to enable the couple to live the Christian life together. We Lutherans reserve the use of the word 'sacrament' to the Lord's Supper and Holy Baptism (and sometimes also penance). That is a topic for much longer discussion at another time.

Instead, I turn to the Word of the Lord Jesus that Shawn and Marian have asked be read and considered at the time of their wedding. Through his Word our Lord promises to strengthen them with His Spirit. His Word is the rock foundation upon which they must build their new house--their common life and the life of their family. As they build upon that Word they will find all they need to face the storms that inevitably will come crashing in upon them like the hurricanes that sweep off the Gulf of Mexico. 

I am very happy that Shawn and Marian have chosen to build their household, their family upon that foundation. In Psalm 103 King David reminds us that our days are like grass. The dry wind comes along to blow over it and it is gone and forgotten. However, the love of our Lord Jesus is eternal and ever lasting with those who hold him in reverent faith and honor. He has made a covenant with us upon the cross, a covenant in which he pronounces forgiveness and mercy. In Christ we are now seen by the heavenly Father as righteous and without sin. We are his sons and daughters. 

Shawn and Marian believe that. They share the same faith as do I and the rest of the family. So, as David says, "The Lord's love is with those who fear him and his righteousness with their children's children" (v. 17). So they need nothing more. They have the love and blessing of Jesus. They are not only part of our family, they are part of the great and eternal family of God. He will guide, protect and defend them until we all dwell together in the Father's house in the new creation. 

Should I be happy about that? Should we have a family celebration this weekend? As we used to say up in Minnesota where I grew up, "Yah sure, ya betcha!" Yes, ya betcha again and again a thousand times over. And we will. I might even post a photo or two the next time I post. Keep looking. 

Heart Health

Since having a quadruple heart by-pass I have been thinking often about my heart, wondering if there is any connection between that bodily organ and what the Bible calls the "heart." Of course, I know there is. It's just that I haven't pursued the connection in any great detail. So, for a few minutes, I'll share with you what I am learning.  

God's command is to love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5). This is a command. It is the law, so its purpose is to reveal our sin and rebellion, to show us what we do not do and what we should be doing. The LORD's blessings are upon those who keep His commands. This surely has much to do with heart-organ health. 

Of course, I know from Holy Scripture that "every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart is only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). It is only when the Spirit of the living Christ enters our hearts that we even begin to love the LORD with our hearts. Before that our hearts quite naturally turn away from the will of God. 

The implications of all this are vast. I'll not attempt to spell them all out, but concentrate upon this one phrase, "with all your heart." 

The Hebrew word for heart is leb or lebab,  a word with many meanings. In its concrete meaning the word refers to the organ itself, together with the breast where the heart is located. In the Biblical story of Absalom rebelling against his father, King David, we read that Joab killed the young man by plunging a spear into his heart (2 Sam. 18:14). That's the organ physicians have learned to work with during the past 30 years. It is what my surgeon worked on when he sewed four arteries on to it, bypassing the blocked areas.  It's what we hear so much about when we're advised to eat heart-healthy food, etc. 

However, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that there is much more to us than our physical being. The term lebab is the richest biblical term for our inner nature. Some want to call it our immaterial nature, but I'm not happy with that definition, because everything about us is inter-related. What recently happened to my organ--together with the progressive therapy--is related to my inner life as well as to my physical being. As I go through physical therapy (treadmill, stretching, etc.) I am constantly reminded of the brevity of life and the importance of spending my days in a God-pleasing manner. Such thoughts refer to my inner nature. 

This brings me back to the abstract meaning of the term "heart". It is really an all-inclusive term, referring to the internal functions of ones personality: feeling, thinking and willing. Here's examples of each. 

When Hannah was blessed with the birth of her son Samuel, she literally gave him back to the LORD and said, "My heart rejoices in the LORD" (1 Samuel 2:1).  We also read that Jacob's heart stood still when he learned that his son Joseph was alive (Genesis 45:26). He simply could not believe it. There are many examples of such emotions and feelings, both positive and negative. For instance, in Proverbs 19:3 we read that "the foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the LORD." 

Fear and anxiety occur in the heart. In Psalm 40:12 we read,  

"For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
         My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; 
         They are more than the hairs of my head; 
         Therefore my heart fails me."

Modern medical science is aware of the connection between emotions and heart (organ) health. When I began physical therapy the therapists handed me a sheet of paper upon which I was to evaluate the stressors in my life on a scale of 1-10. When I refused, they scolded me, pointing out that everyone has stress and that such stress does indeed have an effect upon the health of ones heart. Because of stress my heart-organ can literally fail. I could get a "heart attack" and die! And many have. 

Thinking is also attributed to the heart. To set ones heart upon something may mean that we evaluate and consider this action important. In spite of the plagues during the time before Israel's exodus from Egypt, we see Pharaoh hardening his heart and refusing to allow them to leave. His heart was not moved (Exodus 7:22-23). The hardening of the heart is also a function of the will. Pharaoh could not and would not make a God-pleasing decision. He would not carry out his moral responsibilities. 

Wisdom, that practical application of knowledge to life, is a matter of the heart. "The heart of the wise teaches his mouth,  And adds learning to his lips," says the Proverb (16:23).

Bottom line: I'm working on physical rehab for my heart. A whole program is outlined and my insurance will cover the cost. However, if I plan to become heart-healthy (as I do), then I had best pay attention to my inner life as well, the functions of my heart, my feelings, thoughts, desires, plans and dreams. Are they in tune with my LORD and Savior, Jesus? Have I admitted my failings and embraced His forgiveness--daily? When I do that I am certain that the peace of God in Christ Jesus will guard and protect my heart until I am called to my Father's house (Philippians 4:7). 

Reflections On My Bypass

These days I've received many wonderful cards, phone calls and visits from wonderful people. I thank them for asking me how I'm doing. The truth is, I'm somewhat hard pressed to lay the entire truth upon them about what it means to recover from open-heart surgery. . . at least for me. 

The truth be told, these days I feel like a little boy running to his mommy, yelling, "Mommy, Mommy, come. Me pooh, pooh!" 

When they crack open your chest, remove your heart and start sewing new things in there, they often neglect to tell you about the healing process, the fact that the plumbing is all screwed up, the digestion is confused and the appetite goes flying off on a vacation to the Caribbean. So, now, despite those tiny non-cholesterol breakfasts of Cheerios, those five helpings of fruit and vegetables and the eschewing of most meat and dairy products (would you believe "Silk" instead of milk?), me still runs to Mommy crying, "Come, come, me pooh, pooh!" 

This morning I told it all to the cardiologist. He benignly smiled and said, "Of course. Very normal, very normal." I tried to smile back, but he continued, "You can drive your car now and it's time to begin physical rehab." 

So I lovingly smiled back at my benefactor, bowed my head in deep humility, reached out my enfeebled hand and said, "Thank you!" All this despite the fact that I am now down to a mere 180 pounds--from a once magnificent, cholesterol-loving 215! I sent a telegram to the Caribbean, begging my appetite to return. No reply yet, but I may have the wrong address. 

Yet, you see, I'm ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY! And should walk the paths of this weary world for a few more years, especially when life becomes worth living again, I begin sleeping through the night, I stop having to pee every hour, my chest bone doesn't feel like I've been in a boxing match, the scar down the middle of my chest begins to look like a memory of the war I once was in and weary old appetite returns. 

Meanwhile, if you're still interested, I'm open to a meal out. I've heard that my local Denny's usually prepares a pot of oatmeal once a week, keeping it warm and moist for all those hearty, heartfelt, heart patients who come into their establishment to ask, "Do you have egg-beaters too?" 

The Search for Life

It was because of my third novel, now completed and needing a publisher. What was? My new interest in mysticism.

In that third novel, "Freya's Child," my protagonist, Albert Freitag, has some experiences of the presence of the ancient Nordic gods, particularly the goddess Freya ,that scare him greatly and cause him to question his own Christian faith. 

In a sequel to that novel, the proposed fourth in the Albert and Tillie series set in the days leading up to WW II, I plan to follow this young couple into even more frightening experiences of the mystical. I'll keep you informed. Write me if you're interested. 

Ever once in awhile in Lutheran circles someone calls this person or that a mystic. It is quite common for us to speak about the mystical body of Christ. But all in all, we Lutherans don't trust the mystics, unless you speak, of course, of St. Paul and St. John as mystics. Even then we prefer not to discuss in any depth such experiences as being caught up to the third heaven or encountering angels that take you into the future or the gates of heaven. 

Pardon me, I forget. You're wondering what I mean by mystic or mysticism. Good question. Not easy to answer, because there seems to be no common understanding. One dictionary puts it this way: A mystic is "a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect." 

As to what we Lutherans mean by the mystical body of Christ, I'm afraid that's a phrase begging for clarity. I'll pursue it with you another day. 

Speaking about mysticism in the Christian tradition James Harpur (Love Burning in the Soul) writes that "it is extremely difficult to pin down mysticism in a way that does justice to all the experiences of those traditionally considered to be Christian mystics. . . the experience of mystics has usually revolved around a direct apprehension or awareness of God--and experience that goes beyond the rational faculty of the mind and self-willed activity. It can also be said that it is an experience that has often required devoted and disciplined preparation (for example, through prayer and ascetic practices) and that it admits of degrees of profundity, from relatively mild spiritual illumination to union with God, a conjoining in which the will of the mystic is obliterated, and which is often described as a spiritual marriage" (introduction, pp.2-3). 

Now you know why Lutherans are very leery of the mystics. Here are a few of our problems: 

1. What are "experiences" ? When are experiences not "experiences" of God? 

2. When can you trust that "experiences" are from or of God? 

3. We believe and teach that God makes Himself known through His Word; how is a "direct apprehension or awareness of God" different from God speaking in His Word? 

4. When you speak about "required devoted and disciplined preparation" that sounds very dangerously like what the ancient gnostics talked about. The old Greeks and Romans had their forms of mysticism and spoke about the "initiated," the ones in the know, those in direct contact with the gods. In fact, if you saw that recent movie "The 300," about the Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae, you have a taste of what I mean, because Leonidas climbed the mountain to hear what the gods had to say about the future. In that case, what happens to the classical Reformation teaching about Grace Alone? 

5. What does it mean to go "beyond the rational faculty of the mind"? Must one stop thinking in order to be a mystic?

6. How is Christian mysticism different from Buddhism, etc. or is it? It sounds like one has to lose his/her identity in order to become absorbed into the Reality that is God.

7. How is spiritual illumination different from being in God's Word and walking humbly before Christ? 

This does not mean that I intend to abandon my study. It just means that I will be approaching it with the above questions in mind, as well as things implied by them. Like many believers, I suppose, I have had experiences of God's presence and guiding in my life, but I remain cautious about anything that suggests that I can find God through my own disciplined life or that He is the One I must search out. He has found us. We are the rebels by nature. He came to this fallen world. The world did not rise to Him. That's what the Christian faith is all about. 

Yet. . . 

Jesus did say "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26). 

Is this what the Christian mystics are all about? Stay tuned. 

The Most Normal And Useful Thing

My goodness! Has it actually been a month? And do I have any excuse for neglecting my Blog? 

I think so. How about a quadruple heart-bypass! I thank my God that my heart was strong and I did not have any damage prior to the operation. My docs tell me my recovery should be quite successful and six weeks after the operation I will dive into the physical rehab side of it. Even now I am walking a couple blocks each day and moving about, very slowly of course. 

I am finally finding enough strength to return to my computer and start thinking about something other than how nauseated I felt. But you don't need to hear about all that. 

What struck me moments before I was unconsciously wheeled into the operation room was what my surgeon, Dr. Mark Mettauer, did. He took hold of the hand of his anesthesiologist and she the hand of my daughter and so on. As they all stood around me holding hands Dr. Mark offered a prayer, humbly asking our Lord's blessing upon him, upon those who worked with him, upon my recovery and upon our family. It was the last thing I really remember until I awoke in the recovery room. 

To date, his prayer and that of many, many others, has been answered. 

What a wondrous truth is ours. Our Father in heaven hears our prayers offered in the name of Christ. I take great comfort in that truth and wait for His continued guidance and renewed strength in my recovery. 

I like what Oswald Chambers wrote long ago when he said, 

"The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"— that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). 

"Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won’t count this time"? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you— it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don’t say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now — draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God’s grace through prayer."

My days are filled with this most normal and useful thing. May yours be as well.