July 9, 2017
Pentecost + 5A

“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” 5At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

The Gospel lesson we have for today comes from the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is speaking to the crowds who have gathered to hear his word. Jesus says “To what will I compare this generation?” We have, for many, many years, given names and defined certain generations. For example, we talk about the 1920’s and we call them the “Roaring Twenties”. It was defined by a period of sustained economic prosperity and gave us terms like the “Flappers” and other social, artistic and cultural dynamism. Then we have the 1930’s and the “Great Depression” generation. I don’t have to talk about that time at all, because we still have a few folks around us who are products of the depression era. Next came the “Baby Boomers”, those born from 1946 – 1964. I am a late product of the Baby Boomer generation. These people brought us the craziness of the sixties, the birth control pill and the moon landing. Finally we have the “Generation X” folks, those born from the mid 1960’s to the 1980’s. And then there is the current generation called the “Millennial Generation”, those born in the 1990’s and following. These people are the ones who will grow up in the real explosion of technology. Jesus says, in essence, “How will I define my generation?” He was looking around and what he saw disturbed him. He said they were like children playing in the market who are unwilling to join in with the happy dancers. They were also like people who were at a funeral but could not mourn. They were, as John the author of Revelation said, “Neither hot nor cold”. They rejected John the Baptist’s ascetics, and they rejected Jesus’ mercy. Instead they were a people who were burdened by a religion that wearied them through excessive rules and regulations. Now, we know something about living in a society of rules and regulations. And we know that sometimes life can leave us feeling lost and alone. So many people carry so many burdens in this life, so many burdens that they just shut down and turn inward. They turn inward and try to find their own means to ease their burdens.

Jesus tells us to cast our burdens upon him – and he will take them on – share them with us – for his shoulders are very broad – and he has yoked himself to us, through the cross. What does it mean that Jesus has yoked himself to us? It means, first, that we need not bear the burdens of salvation – Jesus has already done that. So what Jesus asks in return is that we love God, and love our neighbor. And loving our neighbor means that we help them bear their burdens: we grieve with them when they experience a loss, we give to people who are in need, and we walk with people when they have lost their way. But, it means more than that. You see, Jesus was frustrated with his generation who refused to join in the dance and wanted to be left alone because they had to focus on their own salvation – and worried if they had done enough. Many people today feel the same way – they feel as if they are a burden to others and can’t ask for help. So they try to handle their burdens on their own. And my friends, all that accomplishes is getting them further off track – further separated from others – laden down by their heavy loads. Jesus says: “Come to me” – “Come to me” – “Place your burdens upon me”. We need to practice just that – by giving our burdens to Jesus – but by also welcoming those who come in the name of Jesus to help us bear our own burdens. We need not face life alone……

Pastor Dave

July 8, 2017
Devotions: Timeline of the Reformation: The Council of Trent 1545

Pope Paul III appointed a commission to examine the state of the church, and the commissioning was called the Council of Trent. The commission’s report, Concerning the Reform of the Church, was pointed: Popes and cardinals had become too worldly; bribery to gain church office was widespread; monasteries had lost their discipline; and the selling of indulgences was widely abused.
The pope did not attend the meetings of the Council. But his legates ensured that the pope’s views would always be put forward to those in attendance. The council held a number of meetings, with the three main sessions occurring in 1545–7, 1551–2, and 1562–3. Because there were long lapses in between sessions, those representatives in attendance changed over the course of the council. And the attendance was small; the opening session attracted only 34 leaders, and the largest meeting of the third session had only 255. The council brought together a variety of competing agendas. Some priests and cardinals resisted any reforms that would hinder their lifestyles. Bishops from Spain and France wanted a stronger, independent role. The Jesuits, on the other hand, stood firmly for papal supremacy. Some council delegates, like Emperor Charles V (who faced a Protestant challenge in his realm, the vast Holy Roman Empire), wanted Protestants and Catholics to reach a compromise. In a few instances, the delegates came to blows. Finally, as just a brief overview of the Council and their decisions, on the issues of Scripture and authority, the Catholic Church moved that the only official version of the Bible was the Latin Vulgate, and that no private interpretations of Scripture could depart from the church’s teachings. It also rejected the Protestant view of “Scripture alone” and declared that along with the Scriptures, tradition as preserved by the church was a source of authority.

The Council of Trent helped to bring much-needed reform to the Catholic Church. It also refined the church’s structure and on matters of doctrine, the council made the gulf between Catholics and Protestants deep and lasting. Any remaining hopes of reunion were dashed. The Council of Trent defined what the Catholic Church would be for four centuries. Not until Vatican II, in the 1960s, did a major reexamination take place. (Adapted and adopted from the historylearningsite.co.uk, and christianitytoday.com, The Council of Trent Begins)

Vatican II did bring about some changes in the Catholic Church that we see still in effect today. Perhaps one of the most immediate changes was the revision of the liturgy. In the mid-1960’s permission was granted to celebrate the Mass in the vernacular of the people. No longer would they need to listen to the liturgy in Latin. Recently, however, the Catholic Church has once again allowed the Mass to return to the Latin language in certain circumstances. The amount of scripture read during the Mass was expanded as well. In terms of Ecclesiology, the Council of Trent presented a document titled The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church or Lumen gentium. In its first chapter, titled “The Mystery of the Church,” is the famous statement that:
… the sole Church of Christ which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which our Savior, after His Resurrection, commissioned Peter to shepherd, and him and the other apostles to extend and direct with authority, which He erected for all ages as ‘the pillar and mainstay of the truth.’ This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him.”
Immediately following that statement, which seems to imply that the only true church on earth is the Catholic Church, comes this statement:

“Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible confines.”
Perhaps there is a chance for the Lutherans and the Catholics to find a way to come to an Ecumenical Agreement sometime soon.

Pastor Dave

Please collect toilet tissue and facial tissues for Trinity’s Table.