Monthly Archives: December 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 11, 2015
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Our Concern For The Poor Speaks To Our Faith — Rev. David J. Schreffler

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December 11, 2015

“This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” Amos 7:7 – 9

“What were Amos’ reasons for speaking as he did…? What convictions lay behind his words? There are three outstanding elements in his preaching…The first is that Israel’s faith must manifest itself in concern for the poor, for the underdog, for the suffering, for those at the bottom of the social ladder. Amos insisted…that the quality of social justice is the gauge of righteousness in people.” Hagen Staack (1913 – 1992) Prophetic Voices Of The Bible, “For All The Saints”, volume III (p. 45)

Hagen Staack — He was a professor and head of the religion department at Muhlenberg College from 1955 until the 1970s when he became professor emeritus. He also taught the sciences for Temple University’s general education program for teachers. Before joining the Muhlenberg faculty in 1955, he held faculty posts at the University of Hamburg (Germany) and the Theological Seminary at Hamburg. Staack was vice pastor of Chestnut Hill Lutheran Church, Limeport, for 25 years, retiring in 1983. He was supply pastor of Jerusalem Lutheran Church of Eastern Salisbury, 1955-58, and pastor of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ridge Avenue and Chew Street, Allentown, 1950-55.

Amos was very vocal about social justice – he complained about the treatment the poor received at the hands of the rich. I like the comment by Staack that the gauge of our righteousness is found in how each one of us handles the issue of social justice. Social justice is not just for the advocates, for those who like to attend rallies, or for the leftist “wackos”. We all need to be involved in social justice, for social justice is at the heart of the gospel-inspired life. What do I mean by social justice? Briefly, it means “justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.” Yes, Jesus said we will always have the poor with us. That does not mean we should accept their plight without somehow hoping to ease their burdens.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on December 10, 2015
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A River of Evil Separates Us — Rev. David J. Schreffler

Locals in a small Slovakian town woke in horror this week when they found a river running through their small town flowing bright red with....blood. Roman Podbrezova, 65, from the foothill town of Myjava in Slovakia, had gone for a morning walk when he saw the river which runs through the centre of the town bubbling with blood. "I just could not believe my eyes," he said."The river was dark red. It was like something from a horror film. Blood cascading through the centre of town." Another local said: "This is really creepy. Yesterday evening I walked past here and it was it's normal beautiful bluey-green. "Now it looks like someone slaughtered 1,000 virgins or something. I'm not superstitious, and we've never had any serial killers or anything like that here, but this isn't normal. "How could a river fill with blood without some seriously evil event behind it?' he said.I immediately called the police." Police spokesman Elena Antalova said: "We are checking the source of the blood and what caused it. "At the moment we are thinking it could have come from dead fish or maybe someone washed a barrel containing blood in the river. "It seems it came from the drains directly above the museum," she said. Another possible answer to the mystery may be a slaughterhouse several miles upstream on the River Myjava. Usually its water is pumped into a retaining pool where it is filtered before being released into the river. Police think the filtration system my have gone awry.

December 10, 2015

“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 1:5 – 12

“There remains an experience of incomparable value. We have for once learnt to see the great events of world history from below, from the perspective of the outcast, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed, the reviled—in short, from the perspective of those who suffer. The important thing is that neither bitterness nor envy should have gnawed at the heart during this time, that we should have come to look with new eyes at matters great and small, sorrow and joy, strength and weakness, that our perception of generosity, humanity, justice and mercy should have become clearer. We have to learn that personal suffering is a more effective key, a more rewarding principle for exploring the world in thought and action than personal good fortune.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer [1906 – 1945] Letters and Papers from Prison, “For All The Saints” volume III, p. 41)

How much greater suffering could you or I suffer than to be separated from the presence of the Lord? In my way of thinking, this is what Hell is – having a chasm between me and Christ. I am reminded of the gospel story of the man Lazarus who lies at the gate of a rich man. The rich man never sees the poor man, never reaches out to even give him a morsel of his food, and both die at about the same time. The rich man finds himself in torment, separated from Abraham (and we must assume here, separated from Christ) and a great chasm is fixed between them. This, in my mind, is the greatest source of the rich man’s torment –his separation from G-d.

The world looks for ways to separate us from the presence of the Lord in our lives. A river of evil runs through all the world, and the presence of this foul water washes over people, and places alike. Whether you agree with me or not, what else can I suppose is the origin of the separation between people, between people and G-d, between G-d’s people and people. This river of evil works every day, keeping people apart, spilling its banks to increase its ruin, drowning people in hate and discord.

What bridges this river of evil is love – G-d’s , love for us, and our love for each other which is built and modeled upon G-d’s love. But this bridge has a troll – the devil himself. He will try desperately to keep us off the bridge of G-d’s love, mercy and grace. But, as we know, love conquers all things. There is nothing more that Evil hates than G-dly love, and our love for each other.

Pastor Dave