Hear and Taste

Here, at the Table of the Lord, His people partake of the sufferings of Christ as nourishment for our souls.  Why?  Why are we to commune in the sufferings of Christ?  Because it is here, in participating with Him, that we are shaped to be like Him in this world full of sufferings.  It is here that we receive, by Word and sacrament – in the power of the Holy Spirit – courageous faith.

There was a connection in Isaiah 50 between the ear and the tongue.  The Servant listened to the Word so that He could teach it with His tongue.  Tongues are for tasting as well and this time at the Table moves from ear to tongue as well.  We hear the Word of God, then taste His food (thanks to Peter Leithart for some of these thoughts).

Word and Sacrament.  If you want to be nourished, you have to observe that sequence.  If your spiritual ears are closed, this food will be bitter as death to your tongue.  But if God has opened your ears to His voice, He gives you a tongue so that you taste that the Lord is good.  Come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

911 - 15 Years Later

September 11th will always be a sober day in our lives because of the events our nation experienced 15 years ago.  It is good to pause, remember and reflect, both with patriotism and in honor of those who tragically lost their lives.  But, fifteen years into this tragedy, the foundational issue by which this nation will ultimately stand or fall has yet to be addressed by our leaders.  As a nation, we continue in our outright rebellion of God’s laws, and we continue to embrace the god of the people, demos, and his brother, relativism, to the exclusion of the only true King of kings and Lord of lords, even Jesus Christ, the Son of God..  If we continue to do this, we will certainly reap what we sow.

If we continue to arbitrarily determine who deserves the right to life and who does not, refusing to submit to God’s Holy Law, how dare we point an accusing finger at holy-war Jihadists.  They are simply doing what we are doing, making up their own rules.  Just as we have seen throughout the book of Isaiah, God is simply using them so that we might see how bloody we are, how callous we are, how wicked we are. 

If we continue to arbitrarily determine what is true and what is false, what is ethical and what is not, using our so-called humanistic wisdom, then God will continue to send those to us who are simply living this out according to their own so-called wisdom.  It is a glorious thing to die while trying to kill as many infidels (non-Muslims) as possible.  What’s wrong with that for an ideology?  Who says?

If we continue to say that all gods are equal, that there is no difference, as long as you don’t hurt other people, God will continue to challenge that back end “toleration” statement.  “What do you mean, ‘as long as you don’t hurt other people”?  Who gave you the right to set that standard?  What if my god says it is a good thing to hurt other people?  What if I find pleasure in hurting other people?

In my lifetime, Columbine High School and the brutal murders of 9/11, were the very same, absolutely, carefully measured, and yet pulled-punch message from God.  And that message is simple:  Do not continue to demand that God be separated from your public affairs.  Do not demand separation from God, something which is also called hell – for a day is coming that, if you do not repent, that is exactly what He will give you