Art Simon and the Ruth Simon Family

Art Simon, founder of Bread for the World, has died. Art was the son of our former church member Ruth Simon. Art worshiped here at Good Shepherd when visiting his mother. The whole family is full of interesting stories.

1. When Ruth was a newborn, she was left on the side of the road in Iowa. A Lutheran pastor found her and took her to an orphanage. Eventually they sent her to a Lutheran family in St. Louis. Her adoptive mother died, and Ruth was sent to another family. Ruth claimed the mother in this family tried to poison her. She firmly believed that Holy Cross Lutheran School, in St. Louis, saved her life by sustaining her faith in Jesus. To the end of her life, she was a strong advocate for Lutheran schools.

2. Ruth married Martin Simon, who went to China as a missionary for The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. During a rebellion in China, they were forced to return to the US. Together they published a Lutheran family magazine and wrote one of the most well-known children's devotional books in the Lutheran church: Little Visits with God. I grew up on this devotional book and still remember some of the stories. One story was about a gorilla in the zoo who hoarded all the food, but it was too much for him to eat himself. Another story was about a poor family who prayed to God for food. A rainstorm came up suddenly and washed the labels off some food cans that were displayed outside a grocery story. They ended up giving the cans of food to the poor family.

3. Paul Simon, their other son, dropped out of college and bought the Troy, Illinois newspaper. He started investigating the well-known Collinsville gangster Buster Wortman. Ruth claimed his work helped bring down the gangster and led Paul into politics. Paul became a senator from Illinois. When he ran for president, Ruth called every LCMS pastor in the state of Iowa before the Iowa Caucuses. Ruth was very pro-life, especially considering her "foundling" experience. However, she firmly believed to the end of her life that her son Paul was also "pro-life." Paul told me that he took the "I'm personally against abortion" approach. He believed that laws against abortion were like laws that forced people to attend church. In the end, they just wouldn't work. After Ruth died I lost contact with Paul. But I think his mother would have been disappointed with some of his writings about abortion.

4. I read Bread for the World in college and would agree with Art that evil politics plays a major role in the problem of hunger throughout the world. But underlying the politics are evil worldviews and cultural traditions. Advocating for better politics is good, and it is an important part of our vocation as citizens. But believing, living, and preaching the Gospel to all the world is the most important thing we can do to push back on evil. Ruth would have absolutely agreed with this.

5. Ruth was an incredibly servant minded person, a virtue that she passed on to her sons. She was worship and Bible study every Sunday. She personally called every acolyte the week before they were scheduled to serve in order to remind them. She often ran errands and gave rides to all the "older ladies" of the church. In most cases these ladies were younger than Ruth. I remember when Paul and Art came to take her car away from her. That was devastating for Ruth. But I encouraged her to keep serving by devoting the rest of her life to prayer. She did that, and finished the race well. She left a good legacy for all to follow.

What the Choosing of Matthias Teaches Us About the Church

Joseph or Matthias? 

So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Acts 1.21-26 

(ESV) 

 Introduction 

     Jesus told the disciples in the upper room: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you..." (John 15.16). It doesn't get any clearer than that. In this Christian church no one should be elbowing their way into any position of leadership. God is the head of the church, and He is the builder of it (Hebrews 3.4). In this way the church is unique among all other institutions along with the family, which He also establishes in marriage. 

What Twelve Witnesses Shows 

     The temptation and demise of Judas is a great sadness and a great loss. But it is a reminder to us that we have to be on guard ourselves against the temptation of greed or any other temptation. We can be tempted, for the sake of silver or any other earthly thing, to betray Jesus. Jesus and His kingdom has to be the most important person and thing in our life. After the loss of Judas, Peter spoke to the ten other apostles reminding them that this was prophesied, and that he needed to be replaced. Why was it so important that the kingdom move forward with twelve witnesses of the resurrection rather than just eleven? It must have had something to do with the twelve tribes of Israel which God originally chose. The number twelve is always the number of God's people and always a reminder that it is God who makes us His people. On the island of Patmos, John saw a vision of the people sealed as the servants of God. There were 144,000 of them, twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes (Revelation 7.4ff). Twelve is always a reminder that the church belongs to God. 

 Two Great Blessings 

     A bishop in San Francisco forbade a congresswoman from receiving holy communion because of her support for the sin of abortion. When this was first reported, another California politician decried the decision claiming the bishop didn't care about the people of San Fransico. This man has the view that the church is a manmade organization that needs to be in agreement with whatever the people believe. We hear this kind of talk a lot. The church needs to get with the times; it needs to adjust to the popular beliefs and morality of the world. It is the belief that the culture creates the church rather than the other way around. The twelve witnesses to the resurrection is another reminder that God created the church, and that the church creates its own culture whether the world likes it or not. This is the first blessing that comes out of the choosing of Matthias. 

     The second blessing is seen in the way Judas' vacancy was filled. The aposltes put forward two candidates: Joseph and Matthias. Then they cast lots with prayer to see which one God would choose. This again emphasizes that ultimate truth that God is the head of His church, that He is leading it, and He is giving to it His strength. Sometimes church workers are tempted to manipulate this calling process and to get themselves into positions of church leadership. The problem with this is that church servants are fighting against principalities and powers in their ministries. They have to have God's strength not their own. To know that you have been called by God to serve in His church gives that worker great confidence and strength. There is no second guessing here. 

 Conclusion 

     So here are two blessings: The church belongs to God and not to the world, therefore it stands on a firm foundation. Second, church servants are called by God and therefore strengthened by Him. The same applies to everyone called to full-time service or not. The more you see your situation in life as a calling under the control of God, the more you will also see the strength of God to help you in your service to Him. Amen.

Jesus Didn't Condemn Abortion or Homosexual Behavior?

How does a Christian respond?  

1.  Jesus said the Hebrew Scriptures cannot "be broken" (John 10.35). Those Scriptures affirm that life begins at conception: "You formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139.13).  

2. Jesus commissioned the Apostle Paul to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles:   "I am sending you  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me" (Acts 26.17-18).

3.  Paul brought the Gentiles out of numerous sins including homosexual behavior:


"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6.9-11)