Redeemer Lutheran Church, DeSoto, MO

“But God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses.” Acts 10:40-41a

Dear Redeemer Family:
Easter! He is risen! He is risen indeed! That is the traditional Easter greeting. And frankly, it says it all. Easter is the high point, the main item, in Christianity. And its central message. Sorry, it is not Christmas. Most good modern Christians don’t realize that. Christmas has only ever been a minor festival of the Church, an important one, but minor. Easter is the highest of the major festivals.

Although, there are some links between the two, if you stretch the images a bit. At Bethlehem, there is Mary and Joseph. At the tomb, there is Mary Magdalene, a very different Mary. And the tomb belongs to a Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea, who places Jesus’ body in that tomb. There are angels in both. At Bethlehem, the angels are out singing “Glory to God” in the fields of the shepherds. At the tomb, the angels have rolled away the stone door of the tomb. And then sit and wait to see who comes by (that would be Mary Magdalene and the other women). It is the angels who really are the first proclaimers of the Resurrection, “He is not here. He is raised.” Many people miss that part.

And there is a subtle, or not so subtle if you think about it, link to life. At Christmas, we celebrate a new life, the birth of a baby in a stable. At the open tomb, there is also new life, but very different. Christ is alive and made a new creation as he is raised from the dead. In a strange way there is a deeper correlation. At Bethlehem, Jesus emerges from Mary’s womb. On Easter, Jesus emerges from the tomb, which has been a womb of new life for Jesus for three days. It sounds a bit strange, but I think that I like that image.

Christmas is really nothing more than the beginning of Jesus life amongst us. Easter is where it was all heading, the completion. It is Easter, and its gift of new life, which we have all been waiting for. Easter is much more wonderous and beautiful than Christmas. You expect a new life at a birth. You do not expect new life at a tomb. That is the important part of Easter. God demonstrates at the tomb on Easter morning that He is the victor. Jesus is raised victorious of sin, death and the devil. And we will be raised victorious with him! This is the gift of Christmas come to fruition. It is the center of our faith. It is what we cry out in our faith. Christ is raised victorious from the grave. And through our faith in Jesus, we share in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life. This is the full Christmas gift which God intended for us and all of creation. It is the gift beyond and above all gifts from God. Praise be to God!

In Christ,
Pastor Rose

“He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.” Matt. 4:2

Dear Redeemer Family:
Yes, we are now in Lent. And there are numerous traditions about this season. So, I thought that I would
present you with a couple of them, and where they come from. I thought that we would look at the
ones pertaining to food.

First, Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, which is not in Lent proper. The purpose of Fat Tuesday is not to
engage in excess. Rather, there was a practical reason. When Fat Tuesday rolled around, it generally
meant that winter was just about over, and warmer weather was coming. In the time of no refrigeration
for your food, this presented a problem. So, on Fat Tuesday, after a long winter, you were supposed to
clean out your larder of anything which might spoil. By the end of the day on Fat Tuesday, all those
goods would either have to be consumed or thrown away. Then, you sort of let your larder lay fallow for
40 days, to kill the germs. Surprise! There was a practical reason for this tradition.

Second, there is the tradition of not eating meat on Fridays in Lent. Actually, that is an adjustment. In
the ancient Church, they date nothing on Wednesdays and Fridays, whether in Lent or not. Later it
became not eating of meat on those days. Later still, it was changed to not eating meat on Ash
Wednesday and Fridays in Lent. So, rejoice and be glad! It could have been a bit harder for us. As to why
the ancient Church fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays, it was because the ancient Jews fasted on
Tuesdays and Thursdays. They wanted to be different.

And third, and my favorite, the waffle. The waffle actually comes from the Middle Ages. Have you ever
noticed that the word “waffle” looks quite a bit like the word “wafer?” It should. That is where the
waffle ultimately comes from. During Lent, one of the few foods that you were allowed to consume
without restraint was the wafer, namely the wafer of Holy Communion. So somewhere in the Middle
Ages, in France or Belgium (yes, Belgian waffles are now famous in their own right), someone got the
idea of making a larger wafer that could be consumed during the fast days of Lent whenever you got
peckish. The original recipe was only flour and water. And they made them bigger than the Holy
Communion wafer. Also, since the Holy Communion wafers often had some symbol imprinted on them
representing Christ, they early waffles (or rather the waffle irons) had some lesser symbol imprinted on
them. Of course, the waffle has changed a lot since then. But that is its origin. Now, it has become a
staple of many breakfasts, and not just for the Season of Lent either. But the next time that you have a
waffle for breakfast, don’t forget to say grace.

In Christ,
Pastor Rose