Fear Not, Mary, for Thou Hast Found
Favor with God
A
Meditation for Advent and Christmas
We are better off repenting ahead of the Day of Judgment
than at it when it shall be too late. So
repent today, while it is still called today.
This is the heart of Advent.
And let your repentance be filled
with hope and expectation of the One whose first coming we commemorate every
year. For He came in the flesh, our
flesh; and this ought to give us abiding hope even in spite of us, and the sins
we have committed in the flesh. For the
coming One is the one who first became the Son of Mary.
This is a wondrous thing, that the
Son of God and the Son of Mary are one and the same Person: Jesus: God saving. And His way of saving is by binding heaven to
earth, by making of the substance of God and the substance of His mother one
indivisible substance, both divine nature and human nature being bound into one
personal union. Not that the divinity
should be compromised thereby, or that the humanity should be changed into
anything other than pure humanity, but that God and man should become one Person.
Ponder this mystery, for in this
mystery is our salvation: the Son of God and the Son of Mary are one Person. The Son of the Highest gives unto us by
virtue of His holy incarnation a place beside Himself at the throne of His
father David, which means that the message of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed
Virgin is as much a message for you as it was for her, to still her quivering
heart: Fear not. Fear not, Mary, for
thou hast found favor with God. And we
ourselves who are in this same flesh as Mary our sister and our mother. It is the same flesh in which all humanity is
wrapped—this flesh, Mary’s flesh—that finds favor with God.
And this wondrous union takes
place within the quiet place of Mary’s womb.
She rejoices finally in this knowledge, aware that with God nothing
shall be impossible, taking this mystery into her soul. So take it quietly into your soul, and be
confident in this Jesus Christ that you have nothing to fear. For He has put away your sins, and in Him you
shall find favor with God, just as Mary did.
For the favor we find with God is not the kind of favor that results
from our putting away of our own sins, but from looking to Him with repentant
hearts, and in faith seeing that Jesus by this mystery has put away our sins
for us. We therefore in Him, and never
in ourselves, with Mary, find favor with God.
So be found in Him. Receive Him
again. Take into your mouth and into
your soul His holy Body and Blood with abiding confidence that His flesh and
your flesh are become one and the same again, as they have ever been, and that He
who has come in the flesh is the same as He who from eternity is the Son of
God. For in this mystery is your
everlasting salvation.
+ Pastor Eckardt
Get your copy now!
A Sesquicentennial
Commemorative History (1862-2012)
Get your copy in the back of church.
Only $10.00, cash or a check made out to St. Paul’s.
This is the history presented in the series of newsletters through the
first half of this year, with a special appendix: “Memos to Pastors and
Parishes in Trouble,” containing some personal reflections published in 2006 in
Gottesdienst.
Get your copy today: a great
memento of our sesquicentennial celebration and year!
Epiphany Vespers on Sunday Night, January 6th;
Retreat the Next Day
Our annual winter Choral Vespers is scheduled for Sunday
night, January 6th, 2013, at 7 pm. This is the night of Epiphany
Day.
It will be followed by our traditional wine-and-cheese
reception, another annual tradition.
Then on Monday January 7th, we’ll have a Day of Theological
Reflection, from 8:30 – 3:30.
The next day’s fifteenth retreat in the Theological
Reflection series is entitled,
“THE nativity canticles of st.
luke”
This retreat (January 7th) will focus on the first chapter of the Gospel according to
St. Luke, and in particular the canticles of Simeon and the Blessed Virgin
Mary, both of whom exulted in the coming of the Blessed Nativity of our Lord.
If there is
inclement weather, a snow date for Choral Vespers is scheduled for Monday night
(January 7th) at 7 pm.
Decorating During Advent
As is our custom, we decorate the church little by little
during Advent, until finally all is complete for Christmas. The
day on which volunteers are needed help put up the tree is Saturday, December 8th,
beginning at 9 am. Please help!
Special Masses Wednesdays
St. Andrew’s Day is will be observed Wednesday, November 28th
(transf., Nov. 30) at our 7 p.m.
mass.
St. Nicholas’ Day is will be observed Wednesday, December 5th
(transf., Dec. 6) at our 7 p.m.
mass.
St. Lucia’s Day is will be observed Wednesday, December 12th
(transf., Dec. 13) at our 7 p.m.
mass.
St. Thomas’
Day is will be observed Wednesday, November 19th (transf., Nov. 21) at our 7 p.m. mass.
December Birthdays
12/13 Michael Eckardt
12/13 Lynn Woller
12/20 Peter Eckardt
12/20 Rachel Rowe
12/25 Robert Melchin
December
Anniversaries None
December Ushers
Allan Kraklow, Steve
Kraklow, Tom Wells, Bob Bock
First Tuesday Meetings Dec. 4
On Tuesday, December 4th, Altar Guild meets as
usual at 6 pm, and Elders at 7:30 pm.
Between them we will hold vespers at 6:45 pm. All members are invited to attend.
JOTS to play for the Chamber
The Kewanee Chamber of Commerce is holding a “Business after
Hours” event on Wednesday, December 12, from 5:30-6:30. Jazz on the Side, a local ‘big band’ that
includes Pastor Eckardt and Steve Harris, will be playing Christmas music for
the event.
In Our Prayers
In addition to our shut-ins, our current list of prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here following. Anyone wishing to update the lest by addition or subtraction, please inform the pastor.
Sick or infirm:
Mark Baker
Ann Baker
Barb Kraklow
Berniece Harris
Don Murphy
Emmy Wear
Sara Bidni
And also:
David Dakin [re Harris]
Anna Rutowicz [re Harris]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter, cancer]
Caleb Cleaver [Ricknell]
Pam Mansnarus [Ricknell]
Christian Johnson [re Kemerlings]
Madison Lindsay [re Andersons]
Tom Fornoff [Jean Russell’s brother-in-law]
Susan Wahlmann [re Harris]
Nina Hartz [Sharon’s
mother]
Ginny Humble [Harris]
Wren Hampton [re
Murphy]
Unborn twins of Robert and Becky
Schoen
Christopher Lewis, nephew of Carol
Eckardt
Rev. Don Chambers [Manito]
Rev. Glenn Niemann
Rev. Brian Feicho
Owen Slock [5 yr-old with Muscular Dystrophy [Harlow]
Lisa Gustafson [re Harlow]
Crystal Stoll [former member here]
Linda Peterson [re Kemerlings]
In the military:
John Eckardt
Brent Matthews [re Fisher]
Michael and Melinda Fisa [re Kemerling]
Michelle Steuber [re Fisher]
Kevin Thompson
Donny Appleman [re Ricknell]
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton at home; Mark Baker
at home; Anna Baker at home; Mirilda Greiert at Kewanee Care; Ruth Snider at
Hillcrest Home in Geneseo; Emmy Wear at Williamsfield Home in Williamsfield.
Choir Rehearsals in
December
Our Wednesday choir
rehearsals during December are especially
important as we prepare for Christmas, and for our Epiphany Vespers on
January 6th. Choir members please make every effort to attend them
all.
Carolling December
19th
Let’s go caroling on Wednesday, December 19th,
after mass. We’ll plan to go to some
members’ homes, and/or nursing homes, as time permits. This will replace choir rehearsal that night
(Choir members, we’ll practice while caroling, but others, join us!)
Altar Guild
Notes
Advent begins the first Sunday in December. The four Advent Sundays’
color is violet. If roses are obtained, they may be placed on
the Third Sunday in Advent, December 16th.
St. Andrew’s Day will be observed Wednesday evening, November
28th, at 7. Color is red.
St. Nicholas’ Day will be
observed Wednesday evening, November 5th, at 7. Color remains violet (Third Class Feast).
St. Lucy’s Day will be observed on Wednesday, December 12th,
at 7. Color is violet.
St. Thomas’
Day will be observed on Wednesday, December 19th, at 7. Color is red.
The three Christ Masses will be held as usual, 7 pm
Christmas Eve, 12 midnight, and 10 am Christmas Day. Color is white.
St. Stephen’s Day will
be observed Wednesday, December 26th, at 7 pm. Color is red.
The Circumcision and Name of Jesus will be observed on New
Year’s Eve, the 31st, at 7 pm. Color is White.
The
Lighter Side
According to his mother, what
our 2-year-old grandson wants for Christmas is everything offered in every
TV ad he hears. Cleaning products: “I want that.” New BMW:
“I want that.” Nike tennis shoes: “I want that.” Campbell’s soup: “I want that.” Geico insurance: “I want that” . . .
Advent for
the church is a time of penitential preparation for the coming of Christ. It’s helpful to remember this as we also
prepare our households for Christmas.
Unlike the commercial and secular world, the Church’s celebration of
Christmas begins with Christmas, and
runs the twelve days of Christmas, until Epiphany (note, for instance, that our
Christmas Choral Vespers is after Christmas).
Advent has historically been a season of fasting, though not as profound
a fast as in Lent. Some have fasted on
Wednesdays and Fridays during Advent, others in other ways. The finest way to prepare for the coming of
Christ is by contrition and confession (see the paragraph above this one).
The New Testament in His Blood
This series contains brief
liturgical explanations which appear in Pastor Eckardt’s book The New Testament in His
Blood (Gottesdienst, 2010).
The sermon, continued
In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus for His sermon on the Mount
“opened His mouth and taught them.” The Evangelist is doing more than stating
the obvious here. The opening of His mouth indicates the inauguration of
preaching. This is confirmed when we are told at the end of the sermon that “he
taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (St.
Matthew 7:29).
This is another primary indicator
that the substance of Jesus’ preaching was qualitatively different from what
they were accustomed to. This was to be a primary characteristic of the New Testament:
preaching, which centered on Jesus’ fulfillment of the Scriptures. The sermons
in Acts bear this out. In Acts 2 (14-36), Peter announces
that what is occurring on Pentecost fulfills the prophecy of
Joel, and that the resurrection fulfills the words of David. So also Philip “opened
his mouth” (as Jesus was said to have done) and preached Jesus (Acts 8:35), and
Peter also “opened his mouth” (10:34).
Likewise Paul in Thessalonica
“reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that
Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this
Jesus, whom I preach unto
you, is Christ” (17:2-3, emphasis mine).
This, in short, is the nature of
all true Christian preaching, namely to “open” the Scriptures: to show that
Jesus is the Christ, the fulfillment of all the Scriptures, who suffered and
rose from the dead, so that the hearers might believe and be saved.
It ought to go without saying that
the sermon is no place for storytelling, or small-talk, or bantering, or
stand-up comedy. But sadly, this is all-too-often the fare in churches. Seen
from the perspective of the
sermon’s high place in the liturgy, this phenomenon is
especially troubling. There is no evidence of it in any generation except the current
one. The sermon has reached new a new low, against all the history of
Christendom.
The early church’s preachers, by
contrast, routinely sought to incorporate the language and grammar of the
Scriptures into their own words; this was likely more instinctive than
intentional on their part, inasmuch as their profusely Biblical prayers and
meditations would have informed their own speech. But this manner of speaking
was not new in them; they mimicked the approach of the apostles themselves.
The epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter are found likewise
incorporating the words and word patterns of the Scriptures in the apostolic communications.
There were no quotation marks, and
verbatim references were unnecessary. The apostles virtually breathed the
Scriptures, making the Biblical message fresh to the hearers by transforming it
into a
message tailored to their own generation. For instance, St. Paul, when writing to
the Corinthians, refers to Isaiah 49:8, citing the Septuagint version, “I have
heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of
salvation have I succored thee,” and goes on immediately to
declare, “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”
(2 Corinthians 6:2). The discourse does not even contain a reference to the
specific prophet cited, much less chapter and verse. For the Apostle it is
sufficient simply to lead into the citation with the words “For he saith,”
where “he” is all that he uses in referring to
God.
This is the equivalent of apostolic
preaching. (continued, back page)
(continued from page
4)
In many respects, the New Testament epistles are of
the same genre as the sermon. They are commentaries
on the life of Christ, as are sermons; they are
explications of the (Old Testament) Scriptures, as are
sermons; and they proclaim the Gospel, as do sermons. This is the meaning of St. Paul’s words to the
Ephesians: “By revelation he made known unto
me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby,
when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in
other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto
his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:3-5). Since this
revelation has occurred, therefore, St.
Paul continues, “I was made a minister . . . that I
should preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (7-8).
There is a qualitative difference
between the Apostolic Epistles and the sermon. An Epistle is the Word of God by
virtue of its apostolicity as well as by its content. A sermon, on the other
hand, is rightly called the Word of God if its content is consistent
with the written revelation of God. The sermon is called the Word of God in a derived
sense, whereas an Epistle is the Word in a primary sense.
Yet even in spite of this
difference, there is an essential unity with the apostolic mind-set that the
preacher should seek. To be sure, no preacher can claim apostolicity for
himself, yet he is to see that his
sermon preparation follows the same pattern of preparation
we can ascertain the apostles followed in the writing of their Epistles.
The apostles did not gain their
knowledge of the Gospel from direct or immediate revelation any more than the
preacher does today. The revelation which they gained was taught them by Christ
Himself, who actually spoke to them when He was with them. Even St. Paul’s reference
in Ephesians (quoted above) to “revelation,” by which was made known unto him
the mystery, ought not be understood as a direct or unspoken revelation; for we
have record of this revelation: it occurred on the road to Damascus, and was
witnessed by others who were present with Paul. The fact that Paul was already
quite familiar with the Scriptures played a key role in the knowledge he gained
by that vision, that Jesus is the Christ. Now, having gained the Key to the Scriptures,
he was newly able to interpret them according to their fulfillment in and by
Christ.
What was evidently undertaken in
the crafting of an apostolic Epistle was a passing on of understanding that in
Jesus all the Scriptures find their fulfillment, as Jesus Himself taught these
men. When He then made them apostles, by His own authority He gave them
preeminent authority as guardians of the Word of revelation, as He said, “All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations” (St. Matthew
28:18-19).
Similarly, what ought to happen in
the crafting of a sermon is the continued passing on of this understanding,
following the pattern set by the apostles, as well as a necessary verification
that the sermon is fully in accord with the apostolic record. In this way we
call the sermon the preached Word of God.
It is fitting that the sermon’s
introduction and conclusion therefore be given the reply of “Amen,” which is
the assertion of the hearers that they recognize the sermon for what it is.
St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran
Church
109
S. Elm Street
Kewanee,
IL 61443
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