June 18, 2017

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:1-11

“At the door of the seminary where I work we try to remember the “access” code. At the computer we turn the noun into a verb: “I need to access that file.” When I am at home trying to retrieve messages from my workplace e-mail account and my finger or my memory slips as I try to type in my password, the screen goes blank except for the sad judgment: “Access denied.” Many of us have different passwords for our e-mail accounts, our banking, our travel service and the on-line vendors from whom we order books, CDs and fresh fruit. I write a carefully coded list in the back of my date book of all the passwords I am apt to need and only hope that I do not lose the date book. Paul wrote for a world in which people were desperately trying to find the passwords that would give them access to God. Some thought that careful obedience to the law of Moses was the key. Others thought that civic virtue was the key. Still others tried to placate God by the breadth of their philosophical knowledge. Paul’s astonishing claim is that there is only one password we need to remember: Jesus Christ and that in Jesus Christ everyone has access to grace. And suddenly the entire picture is reversed. It is not that we are striving to reach God, it is that God is striving to reach us–grace. It is not that we use Jesus to attain God’s mercy, it is that God sends Jesus to enact the mercy that God has intended from the beginning of time. Grace, however, is not only the activity of God in Jesus Christ that reaches out to include everyone (in Paul’s case, especially both Jews and Gentiles.) Grace is also our dwelling place “This grace in which we stand.” God’s goodness to us surrounds us and upholds us and defines who we are. Our lives are shaped by the gift we can never achieve but can only receive.” (June 15, 2008, Commentary on Romans 5:1-11, David Barlett, “Access” has become a key phrase in our technological age”)

I know we have this thing called grace that tells me, tells us that we are forgiven.  Paul spent much time agonizing over this very fact – he spells out his argument in his letter to the Romans.  He says basically that “Yes our sins are forgiven through grace and faith, but that should not lead us to continue to lead sinful lives purposefully so that more grace can abound.”  No, instead as baptized children of God, we are baptized into the Grace of Jesus, and then called to go forth and look for ways to do good, not ways to sin.  For you see, the one that knows every sparrow, is the one who knows every person and their particular need.  God calls you and me to go forth each day looking for ways to be the hands and feet of Christ, to be the voice for the voiceless, to bring comfort to the suffering, and to bring the Word of God’s peace to those facing the sword of oppression and disillusionment.  And if we are worried about what to do or what to say, Jesus says “what you will say will be given to you, for it is the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”  That same Holy Spirit will guide us past our fears and doubts – that Holy Spirit that is infused in us in our baptisms. 

It is in remembering the promises of our baptisms that God calls us away from our comfort items and out of our comfort zones – to experience that burning inside of us, like Paul experienced a burning inside himself, a burning, a compulsion to share the love of God – to speak God’s Word.  It is not necessarily the beginning of a life guaranteed to be without trouble, without challenge, without cares, but it is the beginning of a trusting relationship with God, where we trust God to lead us and guide us.

Pastor Dave

June 17, 2017
Devotions: The Counter-Reformation: Thomas Cajetan

Thomas Cajetan’s real name was Tommaso de Vio. The name Tommaso was taken as a monastic name, while the surname Cajetan derives from his native city of Gaeta. He was born on February 20, 1469 and died on August 9, 1534. At the age of fifteen he entered the Dominican order, against the will of his parents. He was educated in Naples, Bologna, and Padua, devoting himself to the study of the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas. He studied humanism which was sweeping Europe at that time.
He was an Italian Cardinal and Catholic theologian – and he was part of the revival of Scholasticism during the sixteenth century. Cardinal Cajetan is probably best known for his opposition to the teachings of Martin Luther. At the Diet of Augsburg Cajetan was called upon to test the teachings of Luther. He also was one of nineteen Cardinals who refused to annul the marriage of King Henry the VIII to Catherine of Aragon, causing the king to break with the Roman Catholic Church and establish the Church of England.

Treatises written by Cajetan in 1517, before he had any knowledge of Luther’s theses, show that Luther was justified in his assertion that the Church had not yet arrived at a firmly established position on the doctrine of dispensation. The doctrine of Dispensation. Have you heard about Dispensationalism? If you follow the “Left Behind” book series and movies, you know a little about this doctrine. It is a way to read the bible that considers biblical history as deliberately divided by G-d into defined periods or ages. Each age of G-d’s plan is to be administered by humanity (who will also be held accountable) in a particular method of stewardship. Here is how one Lutheran pastor speaks to the issue of Dispensationalism:

There are of course many Lutherans who read such things as Late Great Planet Earth and the novels by LaHaye and Jenkins, but for the most part, dispensationalism is foreign language in our parishes. I wonder if this is because Lutheran hermeneutics concerns itself first of all with Christ, the Scriptures as the cradle of Christ, etc. Since the Scriptures are first of all the cradle of Christ, and then are read through the law/gospel dialectic, there’s little space for talk of dispensations, dividing up of time into periods, nor do we look the Scriptures as a road map for where history will go. We look to the Scriptures to see where Christ is. Bibles with dispensationalist commentaries (like the Scofield Bible) would distract and detract from that of utmost importance. Lutheran eschatology also plays a role. Because all is taken care of in Christ (justification by faith alone without the works of the law), we need not be busy reading the “signs of the times”, something American Christians are especially busy doing. If Christ is coming today (and for all I know he is), I wish to be caught planting a tree, or blogging, or having a nice supper with my spouse. Fulfilling our daily vocations IS being prepared for Christ’s coming, and this by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Lutherans and Dispensationalism, March 2, 2005, Clint Schnekloth)

Cajetan also seemed to regard the doctrine of confession as a subject open to controversy. In 1519, Cajetan helped draw up the bill of excommunication against Luther. (newworldencyclopedia.org, Cardinal Cajetan)

Scholasticism: is a method of learning taught by the academics of medieval universities sometime around 1100 to 1500 CE. Scholasticism originally began as a reconciliation of the philosophy of the classical philosophers with medieval Christian theology. It was not a philosophy or theology in itself, but a tool and method for learning which emphasized dialectical reasoning. The primary purpose of scholasticism was to find the answer to a question or resolve a contradiction. It is most well known in its application in medieval theology, but was eventually applied to classical philosophy and many other fields of study.

Pastor Dave

Please collect bottles of shampoo and packs of diapers for Trinity’s Table.