Tag: Reformation

March 2017

On: By: Rev. G. Michael Rose

“Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it
to the end.” Psalm 119:33

 
Dear Redeemer Family:
The year 2017 marks the international observance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. In honor of that
anniversary, our Wednesday Evening Lenten series is built around Luther’s Small Catechism. When we think of Martin
Luther, we tend to think of him as an Augustinian monk, pastor, and university professor. But, it is his work as a biblical
scholar, translator of the Bible, public confessor of the faith, reformer of the liturgy, theologian, educator, and also
father of German vernacular literature that holds him in our remembrance. In Luther’s own judgment, the greatest of all
of his works was his catechism, written to instruct people in the basics of faith.

 
The Small Catechism was designed as a teaching tool of the faith, not just within the church but in the home.
Luther intended for the home to be the place where faith was first shared and taught. To that end he created the Small
Catechism: a simple explanation of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Sacraments.
He included basic prayers for morning and evening, and suggested ways to worship, praise, and revere God during each
part of our day.

 

The series uses scripture readings from the daily lectionary, or passages referred to in the Small Catechism itself. The first week of the series sets the stage for the handing down of the Ten Commandments in Exodus. The following weeks look at each major section of the Small Catechism in turn: the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, and Holy Communion.

 
Studying the Small Catechism offers a way of growing closer to God by thinking on God’s Word and the basics of our faith. As we enter the Season of Lent, and prepare for the arrival of Easter, this will be an excellent method to refresh our faith, and our understandings, as we seek to draw closer to our God. I hope to see many of you there. As always, service will begin on Wednesday evenings at 7:30. And yes we will be having our Lenten Soup Suppers, followed by a Bible Study, prior to worship. May we all have a good, and enlightening, Lenten journey.

In Christ, Pastor Rose

December 2016

On: By: Rev. G. Michael Rose

“You know what time it is.” Romans 13:11

 
Dear Redeemer Family:
We are entering again into the Season of Advent. It is the season of anticipation and expectation.
Not surprisingly, it is the first season of the Church calendar. Yes, we are already into a new year.
You don’t have to wait until January. And for us, this is also the beginning of a special year.

 

This year we celebrate the 500 anniversary of the Reformation. Worldwide Lutherans are gathering to celebrate this anniversary.
Just last Sunday, we celebrated Christ the King Sunday (the last day of the Church calendar), with the expectation of the culmination of the age. And now, we anticipate once again Christ’s coming. We do so in two forms. First, as everyone is already thinking, as He comes as the babe in the manger. I have noticed that certain stores already begin that preparation before even All Saints’ Day. “Christmas” is not just the celebration of Christ’s birth. The word means, “The celebration of Christ.” Although we tend to put our emphasis upon His birth, the day is really a total celebration of Christ’s coming. That includes His coming again, the Second Coming, and the culmination of the age as He does so.
In that sense, we anticipate and celebrate with all of Christ’s believers. We anticipate with the whole Church; past, present and future; and all denominations; throughout time and space. We believe that through Christ’s coming all things can happen. All things are possible. All things are hopeful.

 
As Lutherans and reformers this year, we celebrate the Lutheran theological heritage as an ongoing work of reformation of our own church, and steps toward reconciliation with other churches. The theme of the report prepared by the joint Lutheran-Catholic Commemoration of the Reformation is titled, “From Conflict to Communion.” Five hundred years ago, those words would have sounded as impossible to hold together as the wolves sleeping with lambs and streams flowing through deserts that Isaiah prophesied. It is precisely because of their seeming impossibility that Advent is a perfect time to life them up. Lutherans and Roman Catholics sharing the Eucharistic meal at the same altar? “When hell freezes over,” our grandparents might have said. And yet, in October of this year, leaders of the Lutheran World Federation (of which we are members) and Pope Francis signed a document to work towards that goal. Advent dares us to hope, to stay awake, and to bear fruit worthy of repentance – including for the unkind words and assumptions we have so often made about each other. The whole Church gathered.

 
If we can hold out hope that the new world God is bringing about in Jesus Christ is indeed coming,
and coming soon, and with it will come new highways opened, new protocols declared, then even to this prayer
of unity at the table we can add our own “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus.”

 
In Christ, Pastor Rose