Surgery Thanksgivings and Thoughts

On October 4th I had knee replacement surgery to fix an old injury from high school. Here are a few thanksgivings and thoughts about that:

1. Thanks be to God. He understands all suffering and keeps His promises to be with us in it and ultimately to save us from it.

2. Thanks to my wife, Carol, my faithful helpmate and supporter. Experiences like this give couples a wonderful opportunity to live out their faith and love together. Also thanks to my family who kept me in their prayers.

3. Thanks to our church, for your prayers and for fellow church servants who made this time off worry free.

4. Thanks be to God, who gives us such amazing medical technology. Special thanks to surgeon Dr Don Johnston (GSLC member). He is excellent in his skills, tells it like it is, and encourages you all the way. Also thanks to the physical therapists who know how to keep pushing through the pain... and for Vicodin!

5. I started out as a pastor when I was 26 years old. From the very beginning I have helped people through very painful (far more painful than this) experiences, and, of course, the process of death itself. I have always been keenly aware that I have had very little personal experience with physical pain and suffering. That has been a wonderful gift that God has given me. But that lack of experience doesn't necessarily disqualify someone from helping people through painful experiences. God is really the one who helps us. As a pastor I have always believed that it is the overall ministry of Word and Sacrament that helps people in their times of trouble. When a pastor walks into a hospital room, he brings with him the Pulpit, the Altar, the Baptismal Font, the Confirmation Class, the Bible Classes, etc. - that is, he brings the whole ministry of God to the bedside. Pastors are constantly preparing people for all the hardships of life. If your pastor tells you a hundred times in a hundred sermons, "Cling to Christ," he really doesn't need to say much in the hospital room. His very presence is simply a reminder of this main message. The test of any ministry is not how many people it attracts to the pews. The test of any ministry is how it holds up in the hospital room, how it holds up in the face of suffering and hardship, how it holds up in the face of confusion and temptation. I am so thankful for the ministry that we are privileged to have in our church. It is a very basic ministry - a ministry of repentance, forgiveness, and trust in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It's not flashy. But it is faithful, and you will be so happy to have it when the doctor says, "I'm just going to give you something to relax..." That is for the body, but the ministry of Word and Sacrament is for the soul. Every personal and family devotion, Sunday worship service and Bible class has been getting me ready for this day and will get me through whatever lies ahead. I always believed this was true. It is what I've always told people. Now, in a small way, I can say "I personally know it is true."

The Shepherd's Prayer

The true shepherd of Christ must always look to Christ for wisdom and strength. He cannot expect that from the flock he is called to lead. He endures their weakness. He absorbs their complaints. He watches their growth or decline carefully and turns to the Lord to ask, "Am I expecting too much or too little? How shall I lead them? How shall I bring them from Goshen to Gilgal?"

"You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73.24-26).

Kyrie eleison!

Picture by Brother Steve Erspamer who designed our stained glass windows at Good Shepherd.

Biblical Blind Spots

I enjoyed listening to Dr. Jeffery Gibbs recently as he encouraged us to remember the Biblical teaching of the resurrection of the body in all our teaching and preaching. He is right: Too often we jump directly from death to heaven without any reference to Jesus' promises of the resurrection of the body.

Dr. Gibbs was speaking about this with his father-in-law, who replied that he was going to underline all the passages of the Bible that speak to the resurrection of the body. Dr. Gibbs told him that he better get "two pencils." There are many references to the resurrection of the body!

Why do we sometimes overlook such obvious and important teachings of the Bible? There are others teachings that sadly have become "blind spots" for us. I would add to the list the doctrine of election. When was the last time you heard a sermon on that doctrine?

I can think of three possible reasons and remedies for this:

1. We simply do not read the Bible as much as we should, and we often read it in snippets when in fact the authors intended their books to be read as a whole. I have struggled with this my entire ministry. Early on I made a vow that I would spend as much time reading the word of God directly in the original languages and in translations as I do secondary sources.

2. We forget the "Rule of Faith." The "rule of faith" is shorthand for "creeds and doctrinal summaries." The Apostles' Creed and Luther's Small Catechism are good examples. Some might think that these gifts actually foster Biblical illiteracy because people rely on them rather than reading the Scriptures. That can be a temptation. But the creeds and confessions of the church also challenge us to remember the key teachings of the Bible. A simple sermon series on the Apostles' Creed would force a pastor to illuminate potential blind spots.

3. We spend too much time reading secondary sources (commentaries/sermons/Bible studies) FROM OUR CONTEMPORARIES. Secondary sources are helpful as long as we are giving appropriate time to the text itself (see #1 above). But we also need to search through a variety of secondary sources that include interpreters from the past and from other cultural contexts.

Blind spots always need to be avoided. God has given us the appropriate tools to avoid them. I am praying that God will give me and all pastors the wisdom to use these tools properly.