When does Christmas Eve begin?

Today I almost laughed out loud when a radio announcer said that some business was open until Christmas Eve Eve. Obviously the guy doesn’t realize that Dec. 24 is not Christmas “Eve” all day. What he meant to say was that it stays open until the evening of December 24, and one “Christmas Eve” would have sufficed. Christmas “Eve” doesn’t technically begin until the Vespers of Dec. 24, the Eve of the Festival of our Lord’s Nativity. The actual Festival is December 25, which I am beginning to find many Christians (and congregations) simply ignore. At my previous parish I held a Christmas Day Communion service every year, and it was usually very poorly attended. I’m not expecting this year to be any different, especially since my present congregation hasn’t celebrated Christmas Day for several years I am told.

This is the kind of thing that just irks me about the Modern (or should I say, post-modern) Church. People make such a big stink over “putting the Christ back into Christmas,” and to what end? So that we can all just sit at home on the actual Festival of our Lord’s Nativity and drink our egg-knog? That is about what it amounts to. The same people who blow a gasket at the fact that the schools now call their parties “Winter parties” rather than “Christmas parties” couldn’t care less if Holy Communion was celebrated in honor of this holy day, or if the Gospel is preached.

If we’re going to call ourselves “Church,” then let’s be the Church! Of course I say all of this “in the way of the Gospel.”

The “Busy” Church

I was perusing my local paper’s “Church Page” the other day and noticed that many of the churches had many weekly events and activities listed, some more so than others. It seemed to be the “social calendar” of the local churches. That’s all well and good. It is certainly great to see lots of social activity and community building going on within our churches. I am thrilled to be the pastor of a church where people do enjoy spending time with each other apart from our Sunday morning Divine Service and Bible Class.

As I read through the list, however, I kept thinking to myself, “Something is missing.” You could certainly tell that some churches are known for their long lists of weekly events, but in many cases only a small percentage of them had anything to do with preaching and Sacrament. I was surprised to see that even the Roman Catholic churches lacked any listing of hours for private Confession. I also noticed that with the exception of the Catholic Church, not one church offered the Lord’s Supper weekly (even other local LC-MS churches). It struck me that in many ways the Church has become more of a community center than a “house of prayer.”

My wife thought I was being too cynical about it, and she was probably right. So, minus the cynicism, here are a few things I would love to be able to add to our church’s listing of weekly/monthly events:

Immanuel Lutheran Church

Holy Communion celebrated every Sunday and on other Festivals of the Church Year
Weekday Morning and Evening Prayer Offices
Private Confession/Absolution available Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings before Bible Class or anytime by appointment.

I’m sure I could think of a few more things, but you get the picture (hopefully). It would be great to see our churches, in addition to providing several social events and gatherings every week or month, actually being “busy” with preaching, praying, and receiving God’s gifts in Word and Sacrament. Wouldn’t it be great to see the events-listing for our church and see many opportunities throughout each week for corporate prayer and worship? I think that we pastors need to stop worrying so much about whether or not “mass numbers” will be at an Epiphany Day Communion Service or an Ascension Day service, or a Saints’ Day commemoration, and just start adding such things to the church’s calendar. Isn’t this the kind of activity we pastors oughtto be about anyway?

I can think of three (off the top of my head) fine examples of this kind of “churchly” scheduling. Pastor Shane Cota and Pastor Larry Beane, both classmates of mine at the seminary, are “busy” offering opportunities for hearing the Word and receiving the Sacrament, not only on Sundays, but throughout the week. Pastor Petersen in Fort Wayne, IN does this as well. I know there are many more that could be mentioned, but I can’t think of any right now. One thing you will find if you ever read through Church Orders of the Reformation churches, and those that followed is that there was no lack of corporate prayer and Divine Service throughout the week. In many places, in addition to offering the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day and on Festivals, Matins and Vespers were prayed by the priests and students daily.

The point is: the Church’s social life should flow from its sacramental and liturgical life, and back to it. Otherwise, we might as well change the names of our churches from ________ Lutheran Church to _____________ Community Center.

Rev. Paul L. Beisel

Sermon for Advent III (Series C) Luke 7:18-28

Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ:

In last week’s Gospel we heard about John the Baptizer, the forerunner of Christ. We heard how he “prepared the way” of the Lord by calling Israel to repentance and announcing the coming of their redemption. Today we hear about John again, only this time he is a prisoner. According to Matthew’s Gospel it was while John was in prison that he sent his disciples to ask Jesus that all-important question: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we look for another?”

“…lest you dash your foot against a stone…”

Had an interesting morning. I was driving to winkel in Eldora, IA at around 9:30 a.m. and was almost to town. Snow was falling, not hard, but enough to cover the road. I was driving my Suburban thinking that it would handle the snow better than my little car. As I was driving, I adjusted just a bit in my steering, and my back end started swinging around, causing me to do a 180 in the middle of the road at about 35 mph. I crossed the other lane and ran backwards into the ditch. Vehicle and driver were unhurt, but a little shaken up. Thankfully I did not do any of the following: hit an oncoming car; hit a pole/fence; roll, etc.

The great thing was, after I came to a stop in the ditch, I was facing the road at an angle, and was able to drive right out. Ironically, or not, I actually said a prayer about 15 miles before that for protection from danger. The Lord answers prayer. It couldn’t have been a “cleaner” spin-out. God be praised.

Homily for Advent 2: Series C

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We learned last week that Advent is the season of preparation. We also learned who it is that is really doing the preparing. The Lord Himself prepared His people for the first coming of Christ in the manger. He prepares us for the celebration and remembrance of that first coming during the Advent season. He does this by calling us to repentance, by showing us the need for Christ’s coming, and by pointing us to the cross.

Since Advent is the season of preparation, it is also the season of John the Baptist. John, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah and cousin of Jesus, is famously known as the forerunner of Christ. Just as Advent prepares us for Christmas, John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ.

Homily for Advent 1 (Series C)

First Sunday in Advent
Nov. 29, 2009
Luke 19:28-40

Beloved saints in our Lord Jesus Christ:

Today the Church begins her four-week preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. We call this time of the Church Year “Advent,” which means “coming.” During this time of year it is customary to consider the three-fold coming of Christ: first in the manger; now in the Word and Sacraments; and again at the final Judgment. In the spirit of preparation, we resist the urge to rush into the Christmas season without first giving ample thought to our desperate situation on account of sin, and our dire need for the Savior born in Bethlehem.

Thanksgiving Eve Homily: Luke 17:11-19

Beloved saints in our Lord Jesus Christ:

When someone gives you a gift, it’s natural to say “Thanks.” It’s one of the first things we teach our children when they are young. “What do you say?” “What do you tell Mrs. Schmidt?” Everyone does this too, not just “religious” types. Even unbelievers know that it is “good, right, and salutary” to thank the person that gives you something, especially when it is undeserved. Of course, unbelievers do not know the true source of all things. They do not know the one to whom they are indebted for their clothing and shoes, house and home, food and drink, husband or wife, and everything else that enables them to live. 

Doctrine and Practice of the Lord’s Supper

My Sunday morning Bible class at Immanuel began last Sunday. I decided to do a comprehensive look at the doctrine and practice of the Lord’s Supper. In my introduction last Sunday I started off by pointing out some differences between Communion practices at the time of the Reformation and following, and the 20th/21st century. For one thing, Communion was offered every Lord’s Day and on festivals. I pointed out that the only reason for not celebrating Communion was if there were no communicants.

I also noted out children as young as age 7 were admitted to the Lord’s Supper, whereas now we wait (typically) until they are 14. At the time of the Reformation, so I said, the Church knew of only one vessel for distributing the Blood of Christ: the Chalice. Individual cups don’t come in until about 1890 in Maine. I pointed these out just to show people how drastically different our practice is now compared with what it was in Luther’s day. And then we discussed the “why”. What happened between the 16th century and the 20th century? Pietism, Rationalism, war, mixing of Reformed and Lutheran theology have all played their part in the deterioration of Eucharistic theology and practice in the LC-MS.

It seemed to perk the interests of those in attendance, both young and old. Ultimately the goals of this study are twofold: (1) Deepen the understanding and appreciation of the Lord’s Supper among my church members, so that (2) We may begin to see the weaknesses in our own communion practice and strive to get our practice to match our doctrine. I hope it will be a fruitful study for all. We’ll be looking at the key Biblical texts, the early Church Fathers, the Confessions, Luther, other Lutherans like Chemnitz, Gerhard, etc. And then we will tackle issues such as closed communion v. open communion; individual cups; communion frequency; age of admittance, etc. In some way these practices are driven/shaped by our doctrine. I am looking forward to this Sunday already!

Homily for Last Sunday of the Church Year (3-year Lectionary) 1st Sermon at Immanuel Lutheran Church

Last Sunday of the Church Year
Mark 13:24-36
Rev. Paul L. Beisel

In many ways the seasons of the church year match those of the calendar year. The celebration of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead comes at that time of the year when flowers begin to bloom and the cold darkness of winter begins to show signs of departure. Creation itself seems to announce the glorious truth that death has been defeated and life has triumphed in Christ.

Then comes the long season of green. Pentecost is the season of growth. During this time farmers are planting and waiting for the growth of their crops. And preachers emphasize the growth of the Holy Christian Church through the work of the Holy Spirit in the Word.  The cool breeze in mid October tells us that the time of summer has come to an end and winter is near once more.

So also at the end of the Church Year, we are reminded that the end of all things is near. Jesus is coming again as surely as he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. The Creeds of the Church echo the words of the Bible when they say: “And He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.” And though there are signs that will announce the arrival of that great day, Jesus reminds us today that no one knows the day or the hour, “not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

A Productive Day

There is so much to do when you move. It seems to have gotten worse since I moved from seminary to my previous post. Today I got a lot done, especially considering the fact that I was carting my young kids around with me most of the day. Bank account set up; phone and internet service set up at the house; new batteries for the house phones; letter of credit written; library cards obtained; and I even got some Facebooking in. Too bad I didn’t “have time” for Morning Prayer or Vespers. Yeah, right. Some days are like that.

Yesterday I was installed as the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church. It was an excellent service, and Pastor Karl Bollhagen preached a great sermon on John 13. The choir sang, the Iowa District East President Brian Saunders was in attendance, and there were, I heard, about 260 people in attendance. There were several members from surrounding congregations, which was also nice. Poor Theo (2) didn’t have a nap all day. He was so tuckered out by the end, but he was a trooper.

I’m looking forward to diving into the work of the Ministry here, and meeting the many members of Immanuel. It’s quite overwhelming, in a way, to go from serving 15 on Sunday morning to 200. I will need the Lord’s help and strength in the days to come.

Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word,
curb those who by deceit or sword
would wrest the Kingdom from your Son
and bring to naught all He has done!