Redeemer Lutheran Church, DeSoto, MO

Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word, Hymn 517 in the ELW

Dear Redeemer Family:
You may have noticed that I don’t have a Bible quote at the top of the page this month. Instead, I have
the title of a hymn. There’s a reason for that. The hymn, at least the text of the hymn, was written by
Martin Luther. And I chose it because June is a special month for Lutherans, at least historically. We
tend to think of October 31st, and Reformation Sunday. But something important happened on June
25th which is also important for the Reformation, and Lutherans in particular.

On June 25th, in the year 1530, the “Augsburg Confession” was presented to Emperor Charles V of
the Holy Roman Empire. It was written by request of the emperor to explain what the Lutherans
believed in opposition to the Roman Catholics. It was written in both German and Latin (Charles V
didn’t speak German, but he did know Latin). And its author was Phillip Melanchthon, not Martin
Luther. Although Luther had endorsed the document. It was written broadly to include as many
Christian groups as possible, while staying true to the Lutheran understanding of Christianity. It is the
main, or at least most important, Lutheran document and is the basis of our religious interpretation of
Scriptures. It consists of 28 Articles. The first 21 articles, we agreed with the Roman Catholic Church,
and always had (although there were some semantic arguments about some of them). The last 7
articles we disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church. I call them the “bones of contention.” Over the
last centuries, however, there has been agreement on about half of these last seven. The Augsburg
Confession is basically an outline of what Lutheran believe. It is our central document. You may have
studied it in Confirmation Class. I regularly use it when I teach Confirmation Class. It is a marvelous
document.

A second item which involves June 25th, is that that is when we remember Phillip Melanchthon. He
died on April 19th in 1560, but because of his close connection with the Augsburg Confession, he is
remembered on the same date. He also wrote the Apology to the Augsburg Confession. Who was
Melanchthon? He was on of Luther’s best friends. Luther affectionately called him “Little Phil.” He was
short. He was never ordained. He was the university professor of Greek and Wittenberg. He was
particularly known for his scholarship, so much so that he has been called “the teacher of Germany.”
Although he is called Melanchthon. That was his “scholar’s name.” When you reached a certain level
in scholarship during his time, it was common to take a Latin name. Latin was considered more
respectable. Little Phil picked “Melanchthon,” which was the Latin equivalent for his real last name,
Schwarzwald. Yes, he was really Phillip Schwarzwald. When we were in Germany a couple of years
ago, Ruth and I got to tour his home in Wittenberg. He is an extremely important person in our
Lutheran heritage. So, read the Augsburg Confession, and remember Little Phil this month.

In Christ,
Pastor Rose

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Dear Redeemer Family:
A while back, I did a blurb on Hildegard of Bingen, a remarkable woman. And several of you expressed interest in her and thanked me for it. So, this month I thought I would share some more remarkable Christian women who dedicated their lives to Christ we commemorate this month.

On May 4th, we commemorate Monica, mother of Augustine, who died on this date in 387. St. Monica, as she is more commonly known can be seen as the longsuffering mother of that playboy Augustine. She was always praying for her family’s souls, in particular, her playboy son’s. We know this from Augustine’s own writings, namely his book Confessions. She was successful. Her mother, husband, and son Augustine became Christians. She was an acquaintance of St. Ambrose, who would have a tremendous influence on Augustine. I kind of believe that it was Monica who arranged for them to meet. Because of her, the Church received one of its greatest theologians, and one of my favorites.

On May 8th, we commemorate a probably lesser-known Christian woman, Julian of Norwich, Renewer of the Church. She died on this date around the year 1416. Julian was probably a Benedictine nun living in an isolated cell in Norwich, England. She was a Christian mystic and recorded her visions in a book; Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love, a classic mystic work. In her visions, it is declared that “love was the meaning of religious experience, provided by Christ who is love, for the purpose of love.” I didn’t know it, but we have a prayer and hymn (at least the text of it) of hers in the hymnal. The prayer is found on page 87. The hymn is number 735. Like Hildegard, she was very talented.

And finally, on May 21st, we commemorate St. Helena, mother of St. Constantine (the first Christian Roman Emperor). She died about 330. I’ve always found her fascinating for a couple of reasons. First, she was the wife of the Roman Emperor. But she was British by birth. Second, Christianity was an illegal religion in the Roman Empire in her time, yet both she and her son (the future Emperor) were both Christians, and members of the royal family. How? She is known for her generosity to the poor. She is also known for taking a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, scriptures in hand. She decided where a number of the Holy Sites were located in the Holy Land, and had churches built on their locations.

I hope the faith of these three women inspire you this month and encourage you to learn more about them!
He is risen!
Pastor Rose