The Lutheran Review

Musician and churchman

Dr. Paul Manz, 1919-2009

I received word yesterday from our son, Aaron, that one of the churchs' most beloved and valued musicians had died at the age of 90.  Paul Manz was head of the Fine Arts dept at Concordia College, St. Paul when I was a student.  Near the end of his time at Concordia he was able to see the completion of a fine arts building with pipe organ that he had designed.  However, in the early 1960’s the music department was housed in an old pre-twentieth building dating back to the time when the campus served as a reform school.

We knew we had someone special in our midst, though most of us male students probably didn’t pay a lot of attention to his postludes following the chapel service.  We were too busy watching the coeds.  But there was that rumor, probably apocryphal, that he would sometimes do a postlude of variations on Three Blind Mice.

One of my most memorable classes was the one I took from him in my last quarter at St. Paul.  After two years we were allowed to take our one and only free elective.  A friend and I chose a class in basic music theory.  Dr. Manz really appreciated having the two of us in class.  We worked hard because it was certainly something different than the Greek, Latin and German we had been studying.  Of course, most of the students were those in education, teacher training students.  For them it was one of their required courses.  So they were less interested and less apt to have their work done.

While serving at Concordia for nearly twenty years he also served as organist at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis for 37 years.

One of my most treasured CD’s is his “Paul Manz at Mount Olive.”  Another favorite is a recording of one the many hymn festivals he did with Martin Marty.  The one I have is recorded with the Valparaiso University Chorale.

Dr. Manz died on October 29 as his family sang his motet “E’n so, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”  His funeral is November 8^th.

A full length obituary covering his life and career is available at morningstarmusic.com  

Not every disciple became famous

St. Simon and Jude

We know little about Simon and Jude.  Simon the “zealot” or Cananean is mentioned, but he is never mentioned apart from the list of apostles.  Jude, sometimes called Thaddeaus, is also mentioned in lists of the twelve.  At the last supper Jude asked Jesus why he had chosen to reveal himself to the disciples but not to the world.  Jesus had just told the disciples that in a little while the world won’t see him anymore, “but you will see me. “  Jesus says that whoever loves him (believes in him) will be loved in turn by the Father and himself.  They will come and make their home with that person.  Jesus then promises that the Holy Spirit will come and teach them and bring to remembrance what he has said.

 A traditional story about Simon and Jude says that they traveled together on a missionary journey to Persia and were both martyred there.

 The prayer for the Day numbers Simon and Jude among the apostles noting that they were faithful and zealous in their mission.  There is a comfort to us who will be little known a generation beyond our life.  Like Simon and Jude we have a mission to make known the love and mercy of Christ, though we will never have the lasting notoriety of Paul, or Peter or Martin Luther.

Almighty God, You chose Your servants Simon and Jude to be numbered among the glorious company of the apostles.  As they were faithful and zealous in their mission so may we with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

Hymn writers

O Sing to the Lord

The Brazilian praise song, Contad al Sefior, “O Sing to the Lord,” (LSB 808) would have been foreign to the three hymn writers we remember today.  However, Philipp Nicolai, 1608; Johann Heermann, 1647; and Paul Gerhardt, 1676 provided rich hymns that we are able to use to sing to the Lord.

All three men worked in Germany during difficult times of war and plague.  Philipp Nicolai was a pastor is Westphalia, when the plague killed thirteen hundred of his parishioners.  Consider that number in terms of the congregation at which you worship.  One hundred and seventy people died in one week.  His hymns “Wake awake for night is flying” and “O morning Star, how fair and bright” were included in a series of meditations he wrote to comfort his parishioners. 

Johann  Heermann’s hymns were not written in the objective style of the Reformation, but expressed the emotions of the faith.  Among his hymns is the plaintive Holy Week hymn, “O Holy Jesus” (LSB 439).

Paul Gerhardt lost a preaching position at St. Nicholas Church in Berlin because he refused to sign a document stating he would not make theological arguments in his sermons.  Gerhardt is often called the greatest of Lutheran hymn writers.

Adapted from Sundays and Seasons, Augsburg Fortress 

 

James of Jerusalem

James of Jerusalem, martyr, A.D.62

Paul in Galatians 1:19 reports that after his conversion he went to Arabia and then Damascus.  After three years, he traveled to Jerusalem where other than Peter; he only visited James, the Lord’s brother.

Was James the brother of Jesus?  That’s a difficult question to answer, because the Aramaic word for brother can also mean “cousin” or “kinsman.”    Historically, throughout most of the Church, he is thought to be the son of a widowed sister of Joseph or Mary who had come to live with them.

Initially he, with Jesus’ other relatives did not believe in him.  (John 7:3-5)  However, Paul reports in his great resurrection chapter of I Corinthians 15, that after his resurrection Jesus appeared to the twelve, then to 500 of the believers and then to James.

After becoming a believer, James became a leader in the church in Jerusalem. (Acts 12:17; 15:12ff) Little is known is known about him.  Our knowledge of his martyrdom comes from the historian Josephus who reports that James was stoned to death by the Sadducees in AD 62.

Historically, he is credited with authoring the Letter of James in the New Testament, citing the practical nature of his writing.  Others use this same evidence to conclude that James of Jerusalem did not write the letter.  Personally, I’ve found these arguments over authorship interesting, but not all that useful when it comes to preaching.  Our faith is not grounded in matters of authorship, but in the word that was authored through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer of the Day

Heavenly Father, shepherd of Your people, You raised up James the Just, brother of our Lord, to lead and guide your Church.  Grant that we may follow his example of prayer and reconciliation and be strengthened by the witness of his death; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives, and reigns with You and the holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.     

 

Is the Lord near?

The Lord is near the broken Hearted

Over the last few months several of the Introits (entrance verses) have been drawn from psalm 34.  This past week v. 18 was included, “the Lord is near the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” The verse is an assurance for the righteous, that is, those who look to the Lord, call to the Lord and bless the Lord, because the lord is the only one who is capable of delivering the person from his situation.  The Psalmist invites us to “magnify the Lord” with him and to join him in exalting his name.

David in Ps 51:17 says that the “sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart o God, you will not despise.” Mary sings in the Magnificat, “My soul magnified the Lord…for he has regarded the lowliness of His hand maiden.”

In his commentary on the Mary’s song, Luther refers to psalm 113:5-6, “Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” Then he continues, “for since He is the Most High, and there is nothing above Him, He cannot look above Him; nor yet to either side, for there is no one like Him.  He must needs, therefore, look within Him and beneath Him; and the farther one is beneath Him the better does He see him.”  He says later, “Therefore to God alone belongs that sort of seeing that looks into the depth with their need and misery and is near to all that are in the depths.”

Augustine in his exposition on psalm 34 writes, “These are the great mysteries, brothers and sisters.  God is above all things, if you lift yourself up, you do not touch him but if you humble yourself, he comes down to you.”

No one humbled himself more than did Jesus who made himself nothing to the point of death on the cross.  Therefore, having completed his mission of dwelling among us and dying to save us God highly exalted him.

Because of Jesus death and resurrection we can claim the last verse of psalm 34 as our own, “the Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” (v. 22)     

October Paint Pot

October Gold

When I walked out this morning it felt like spring.  Two traveling birds sang to one another among the golden and rust colored leaves on two oak trees in our yard and that of our neighbor.  Other birds hopped about.  One was attracted to the bright orange berries in a prickly shrub in front of our house.

There isn’t much mention of leaves in the bible.  In the Garden of Eden the “Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” I have always thought of “good for food” for us humans.  But the orange berries on the prickly shrub and the miniature red fruit on the flowering crab in our front yard are not for human consumption.

The only mention of gold leaves is in Exodus 39:3 in connection with the making of the priests’ ephod.  “They hammered out gold leaf.”  This is a little difficult to apply to fall colors, unless one imagines God hammering out the chlorophyll.

A better image is contained in Carl Sandburg’s poem “October Paint” in which he see someone with an October paint pot paiting over the summer green.

We had a light frost on the ground Sunday morning.  We were told that the leaves wouldn’t be as bright this year.  But around our neighborhood the yellows are standing out with the reds confined to the Burning Bushes and other smaller shrubs.

 Sandburg also wrote a poem that describes our October day, today.

Haze Gold

Sun, you may send your haze gold

Filling the fall afternoon

With a flimmer of many gold feathers.

Leaves, you may linger in the fall sunset

Like late lingering butterflies before frost.

Treetops, you may sift the sunset cross-lights

Spreading a loose checkerwork of gold and shadow,

Winter comes soon-shall we save this, lay it by,

Keep all we can of these gold yellows?

Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg, Harcourt and Brace, 1950.

 

 

  

 

St. Luke

St.  Luke, Evangelist

October 18th is the day the church remembers St. Luke, the Evangelist.  Some churches hold a Service of Health and Healing for Luke was a Gentile physician.  He was a follower of Jesus but not one of the 12 disciples.  He was a companion of Paul.  The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are attributed to him.  Tradition says that he was one of the seventy commissioned by Jesus.  Some think that he may have been the other disciple with Cleopas whom Jesus met on the road to Emmaus that first Easter evening.  Tradition also says he was a painter, that he preached in Bithynia (in what is now northern Turkey bordering the Black Sea), and that he died at the age of 84 in Boetia (northeastern ancient Greece).
Luke’s symbol is a winged ox.

Though we don’t know much about Luke we do know, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  We also know, “What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he loses one…” or “A certain man had two sons…” or “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves.”  Our faith would be less sweetened had Luke not recorded Jesus’ life for Theophilus. 

Almighty God, you inspired your servant Luke the physician to reveal in his gospel the love and healing power of your Son.  Give your church the same love and power to heal, to the glory of your Name; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Stray thoughts on Mark 10:35-45

Do for us whatever we ask of you

The LCMS gospel lesson for this Sunday is Mark 10:23-31.  However, all the other churches that follow a periscope have Mark 10: 35-45.  Since my sermon last week overflowed into this week’s LCMS gospel, I went with the flow and preached on everyone else’s lesson.

In Mark 10:35-45 James and John come to Jesus with a request, “We want you to do for us whatever ask of you.”  What they wanted was the places of honor when Jesus came into his glory.  Since, it has to be someone, why not the sons of Zebedee.  Jesus has news for them.  Living under his rule in His kingdom means living by a whole other set of rules.  Under Jesus greatness is found in serving.  It’s the slave who is first.  “For even the son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Being a servant is more than saying the right words.  Earlier this week Becky and I watched the movie “Friends.”  The plot gets complicated so I’ll keep it simple.  Ted Danson and Mary Tyler Moore play a married couple.  The complicated part comes in when he is having an affair with his wife’s friend from the gym who is pregnant with her husband’s child.  But I digress.  Danson goes to a conference and is killed in an auto accident.  The after funeral reception is held at the widow’s home (Moore).  Several people tell her, “Whatever you need don’t hesitate to call.  Okay?”  While one couple is leaving the wife says repeatedly “Whatever you need, anytime, call.”  Through all this the widow stands politely listening to what she has heard many times already that afternoon.  Finally, Moore says, “How about vacuuming?”  The departing woman is stunned.  After an awkward silence, Moore says, “It was a joke!” A minute later the couple is taking their leave.  From off camera the woman calls,”Anything at all, just call.”

Another unused example comes from a sermon on the above text that Martin Luther King preached in 1968, only a couple of months, before he was killed.  The sermon was entitled, “The Drum Major Instinct.”  He says, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.  You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.  You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.  You only need a heart full of grace.  A soul generated by love.”

In Jesus conversation with James and John he speaks of the cup he will have to drink, and they will too one day, and the baptism into which he will be plunged.  Henri Nouwen in his book “Can You Drink this Cup?” speaks beautifully about the connection between the joy Holy Communion and suffering.  “When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become.”

A prayer accompanies this text from Mark in the Lutheran Study Bible, “Dear Father, you have sent Christ to serve us, although He had the right to command our service.  Forgive us, Father.  Lead us to give ourselves for the sake of others, that we, might truly be first with Jesus in His Kingdom.”

   

Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius of Antioch and Martyr

We know nothing of the personal life of Ignatius up until the time he is being taken to Rome where, he believes and hopes, he will be put in the arena and subjected to the wild beasts.  We do have seven letters written during the reign of Trajan (AD 108-117)  However, his letter to the Romans refers to the ill-treatment by the escort squadron of soldiers.

“From Syria all the way to Rome I am fighting with wild beasts, on land and sea, by night and day, chained to ten leopards, a squadron of soldiers, who become worse even through given some benefaction.”

He doesn’t want the church in Rome to try and intervene.  Rather, “Grant me nothing more than to be poured out as a drink offering to God while an altar is made ready so that you may form a choir and sing to the Father in Jesus Christ…Let me be food for the wild beasts through whom it is within my power to attain to God.  I am God’s wheat and I am being ground through the teeth of wild beasts in order that I may be found as pure bread.”

However, he gives no details of his trial or the reason for his conviction.
When his martyrdom approached, he wrote in one of his letters, “I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth…do not stand in the way of my birth to real life.”

The martyrdom of Ignatius and others serves as a reminder that even today Christians face death because of their faith in Jesus.

Prayer of the Day, (Treasury of Daily Prayer)

Almighty God, we praise Your name for Ignatius of Antioch, pastor and martyr.  He offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts so that he might present to You the pure bread of sacrifice.  Accept the willing tribute of all that we are and have and give us a portion in the pure unspotted offering of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

Grace Always

Grace, Preceding and Following

Becky is a morning person.  She is often up by five o’clock.  When I struggle out of the bedroom she sometimes wants to talk about deep things like, “Put the crock-pot on warm at 1:30.”  Me, I head for the coffee which Becky has been kind enough to make before I rise.  It isn’t that she doesn’t have her own needs.  She runs up to the corner gas station and gets a fountain diet coke.

I wish I could be more like Martin Luther. He advises, “In the morning when you get up, make the sign of the cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Then kneeling or standing we are to say the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer plus he suggests something like his morning prayer.  “Then go joyfully to your work, singing a hymn.”  While Luther has been doing all that, I’m just getting my second cup of coffee.  I’ll be awake any time now.

That’s one of the reasons I appreciate the phrase in the Collect for last Sunday,
“Lord Jesus Christ, whose grace always precedes and follows us.”  “Grace always” is coming from Christ.  Grace doesn’t depend on whether I followed Martin Luther’s prescription for starting the day.  I am assured in Christ that wherever I go, grace will arrive there before me and with me. As the psalmist writes, “Where shall I flee from your presence?” (Ps. 139 7b)

When I mess up and don’t do what God would have me do, in other words when I sin, grace follows along behind like a street cleaner sweeping away and washing down the storm drain what I have done amiss.

The Collect in its entirety makes a good prayer to remember this week.

“Lord Jesus Christ, whose grace always precedes and follows us, help us to forsake all trust in earthly gain and to find in You our heavenly treasure; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”