Ashes of a consuming fire

Recently I received by e-mail my electronic copy of Logia, a journal of Lutheran theology. Logia dedicates each quarterly issue to a central theme and advertises its editorial schedule well in advance. So I had been waiting more than a year for the Epipany 2010 issue on Lutheranism in Latin America.

There was a lot of good stuff in the magazine, but what I would like to note is a comment by Dr. Douglas R. Groll, professor emeritus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He described Culto Cristiano, the hymnal whose order of service we follow, as "a fine mid-century Lutheran hymnal considered by many non-Lutherans to be the best Spanish language hymnal of the last century." I share his opinion, but I mention this only to praise Culto Cristiano before criticizing it. But it is only a small criticism.

Culto Cristiano (from Concordia Publishing House) was originally published before the revival of interest among Lutherans in the imposition of ashes to mark the start of Lent. The imposition of ashes basically consists of the pastor using ashes to mark the foreheads of the penitent with a cross while repeating a paraphrase of Genesis, chapter 3, verse 19: "Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return." Dust and ashes are often used interchangeably in the Scriptures as images of mortality (as in Genesis 18:27 or Job 30:19). The ashes also signify repentance as the practice of wearing sackcloth and sprinkling oneself with ashes to express sorrow and/or repentance of sin also dates back to Biblical times.
Of course, the cross symbolizes the hope of forgiveness and redemption in Christ.

Ash Wednesday is named for the rite of imposition of ashes, which seems to have originated in the 12th Century. During the Reformation, Lutherans retained Ash Wednesday as the beginning the 46 days of Lent, but the imposition of ashes ritual fell into disuse, for reasons that are not entirely clear. It certainly is rather odd to celebrate "Ash Wednesday" without the ashes, so perhaps it is not surprising that there has been a revival of the ritual in Lutheran circles, including the Lutheran Church of Venezuela.

But there is no recommended form for this ceremony in Culto Cristiano, so there is no standard practice. For our first Ash Wednesday service in La Caramuca, I led our group in the order of public confession and absolution, followed by the imposition of ashes, then by the order of evening prayer. Fortunately, the lessons provided by the lectionary served very well, for instance, Psalm 51:1-13.

I delivered a brief meditation in which I compared the light of God's holiness to the tropical sun at midday. Standing in that intense light for any length of time without covering might mean death by heat stroke or dehydration, but the light of God's holiness is much more intense than the midday sun. Without the protective covering of Christ's righteousness, it would burn us to ashes. The ashes in the form of a cross remind us that because of Christ's suffering and death on the cross, we may walk in God's pure light, free from the powers of darkness.

With the preschool children, I tried a different approach. I showed them a jar of soil, a jar of ashes left after we burned some leaves and a whole leaf from one of our trees. As long This might take a long time, if the leaf was just covered by other leaves, or a very short time if the leaves were burned. So in some countries, dead bodies are buried in the ground and slowly return to dust, while in other countries the bodies are burned and quickly become ash. Either way it's ashes to ashes, dust to dust. But in Christ we have the promise that one day we all will be restored to life, body and soul. So instead of just dumping human bodies in a landfill, or burning them, we honor the deceased with a burial service that expresses the hope that the body planted in the earth will one day rise again to eternal life.

Tower of Babel

Our Sunday school children are learning about the Tower of Babel while the adult Bible classes have just completed study of the fall of ancient Israel. Luz Maria and I were talking about the recurring themes in these Biblical narratives and modern-day parallels.

According to Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel was built on a plain in the land of Shinar, which was in Mesopotamia, most likely in the southern part. Likewise, the Assyrian Empire, which destroyed the kingdom of the northern tribes of Israel, was based in northern Mesopotamia while the Babylonians, who destroyed Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah around 586 B.C., came from southern Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamia, of course, nowadays is known as Iraq. The ancient empires of Mesopotamia eventually fell to the Persian Empire. What was ancient Persia now is called Iran, a nation with which Iraq fought a long and bitter war in the 1980s.

I mentioned to Luz Maria that Saddam Hussein had considered Nebuchadnezzar, greatest of the kings of Babylon, a hero and at the height of his own power claimed to be the “new Nebuchadnezzar.”

Luz Maria noted that the news photos of an unshaven, unwashed Saddam Hussein pulled from the hole where he had been hiding paralleled the account of Daniel, chapter 4, in which God drove Nebuchadnezzar mad and the king wandered the countryside like animal with long, unkempt hair and fingernails that had grown to be like claws.

But it seemed to Luz Maria an even more important point how the ancient Israelites were always mixing it up with the great empires of their day, not just those in Mesopotamia but also ancient Egypt.

Yes, I said, it was a rebuke to these conquerors that this group of quarrelling tribes claimed to be God's chosen people when the Egyptians, the Babylonians, Assyrians and others all believed that they were most favored of the gods. The evidence was easy for them to see: their wealth and military might. So the Israelite's assertion that their God was the true God of all nations and that from Israel would come one who would be king over all the earth just seemed insane.

But all these empires crumbled to dust while the promises of God to Israel endured and found their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

I was also reminded of my own studies in the Gospel of Matthew, using lessons provided by the Juan de Frias Theological Institute. It is difficult but rewarding to study the Bible in Spanish, but is especially interesting to see what is emphasized in materials developed for Latin America.

In the first unit of the Matthew series, there was much discussion of the “cananistas” or zealots. This was the party of Jews which advocated violent revolution against the Romans and the restoration of Israel as an independent kingdom as it was in the days of David and Solomon. The zealots were contrasted with the publicans, or tax-collectors, who were regarded essentially as Jewish collaborators in the Roman occupation. It was noted that Jesus' circle of disciples included at least one former tax-collector (Matthew) and at least one former zealot (Simon). In God's kingdom, even people who seem to be on opposites sides of the political spectrum may become brothers.

Likewise, in my current study (which I have completed except for the final examination by my instructor, Luz Maria) there was a detailed discussion of Christ's temptation. Three temptations, actually: in the desert, on the pinnacle of the Temple and on the high mountain.

The temptation to turn stones to bread in the desert was characterized as the temptation to materialism: focusing on physical needs and ignoring the spiritual. The lesson said that in the realm of politics, materialism feeds hatred and conflict between social classes. But seeking “justice” strictly in terms of material well-being does not bring lasting happiness, does not move the heart toward doing good and does not save the soul.

The second temptation, for Jesus to put on a show of God's power from the pinnacle of the Temple, represents the temptation to vainglory, or pride in one's own power, property or appearance. This temptation, the lesson said, is a trap especially for the well-off and the gifted rather than the poor.

Finally, the third temptation, to bow down to Satan in return for the kingdoms of the world, was identified as the temptation to establish the kingdom of Heaven through violence. It was the temptation for Jesus to choose the way of the sword rather than the way of the cross.

These themes are important in Latin America where the distribution of material wealth is extremely lopsided. Closing the wide gap between the rich and the poor is perhaps the central issue of politics in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. There is a school of thought called “liberation theology” that still is influential here. It originated among Roman Catholic clergy in Latin America during the 1970s. Under Pope John Paul II, the Roman Catholic Church officially repudiated liberation theology in most of its aspects, but doing so cost the Church some of its respect and popularity and the ideas of the liberation theologians are reflected in current political rhetoric.

There are two basic concepts in liberation theology. One is that the Bible teaches us to be compassionate and seek to alleviate the sufferings of the poor. There is a certain amount of truth to this. The other concept is that establishing economic independence and more equitable distribution of wealth in Latin America today is so urgent that Christian charity demands the
support of drastic measures to achieve these goals, even if that means violent revolution.

The second concept fails the Biblical test on three counts:

1.It elevates material well-being over the salvation of souls.
2.It ignores the role of sinful lifestyles in keeping people mired in poverty.
3.It seeks to establish heaven on earth by way of the sword.

As Lutherans, we believe that duly constituted governments of the earth have been ordained by God and are permitted the use of the sword to protect their citizens from foreign aggressors and to maintain peace within their borders. However, we do not believe earthly regimes should be confused with God's kingdom of grace. Our task as missionaries is to proclaim the Gospel, even as
we do what we can to minister to material needs, so that the Holy Spirit may lead people into the kingdom of grace.

And we try not to let our own political opinion interfere with this task. God may use even the most tyrannical governments for His purposes, as He used the Assyrians and Babylonians to call the Israelites back from idolatry.

Of course we pray always for peaceful resolution of problems and an end to hostility between nations.

Cost of discipleship

It happened late one night this past week. Jaime, one of our neighbors, had cleaned his gun and was reloading when it accidentally fired. The bullet hit concrete and sent a big chip flying back to shatter Jaime's right arm.

Jaime was able to find someone who could drive him to the hospital (there is no 24-hour ambulance service here). Most of his arm had to be amputated below the elbow. This may well have serious consequences for Jaime, who is about 30 years old, and his family since he had been earning his living as a welder and metalworker.

Luz Maria and I visited Jaime shortly afterward. We listened to him and stated our belief that while it is hard to understand, sometimes, why bad things happen, God in His love and wisdom can turn misfortune to good. Jaime agreed that it was important to have faith at times like these, and that he did not at all question why God had allowed this to happen. He only gave thanks that
he still was alive (the concrete chip could have struck his head). Furthermore, he was confident that God would show him a way to support his family even without his right hand.

This willingness to bear up under adversity is something one often sees in Venezuelans. It is inspiring and yet something of a challenge to us who claim full assurance of God's mercy and consider ourselves called to communicate this Gospel to others. If this man can lose his right hand and not be dismayed, how much less discouraged should we be by minor obstacles in our path, when God has opened doors for us and blessed us beyond measure?

Often these days I recall reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The German Lutheran pastor wrote this series of meditations on the Sermon on the Mount some time before he was imprisoned, tortured and executed by the Nazis. He could have avoided this fate.. Before the war Bonhoeffer lived and worked abroad. He chose to leave a comfortable life in the United States to return to Germany and minister to his countrymen.

In "The Cost of Discipleship" Bonhoeffer coined the term "cheap grace", by which he meant an allegedly Christian belief-system which does not take seriously the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The term is widely used nowadays as a synonym for the antinomianism that has crept into Christian churches; the idea that God is an indulgent uncle (maybe He looks like George Burns) who overlooks our unrepented sin because He is just such a generous and all-around great guy who does not sweat the small stuff. However, I do not think that is what Bonhoeffer had in mind. It is hard to imagine that he could have imagined the ordination of homosexual clergy, the acceptance of abortion and easy divorce, the gospel of "living your best life now" and the
like.

Rather Bonhoeffer was addressing something he saw particularly in his own Lutheran tradition: The tendency to think that having received the Gospel of Christ, one may continue one's life as before, only with an extra spring in one's step and a sparkle in one's eye from knowing that the just shall live by faith. Bonhoeffer said that to be a Christian is to be a martyr. In fact,
the English word martyr is derived from a Greek word which means "witness" (cf. Acts 1:8 "...and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth"). One cannot recognize the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and go back to a normal life;
it is the depth of the changes in our lives that are our witness to the world. But change means loss and to begin the new life in Christ, one must be willing to lose all, not just the obvious bad habits but also the seemingly good things in life that may draw us away from our God and the mission that He has for us.

Serving as a missionary in a foreign land, I have found, makes one acutely conscious of how short one falls of the glory of God, and exactly what baggage one does or does not need on life's journey. But to die in Christ is to live, and what a just and merciful God takes away, he replaces in greater measure. I have been given my wonderful wife, Luz Maria, and the support of
her large family. For this reason alone I cannot imagine going back to the life that I once had.

And we have been given financial and prayer support by our friends and family in the United States. We thank God for all of you. Luz Maria and I plan to visit the U.S. for about three weeks in August. We want to bring as many people as possible up to date on what we have been doing and raise money for our future plans.

I have been notified that my status as a volunteer missionary with Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod World Missions will not be renewed. The Synod's volunteer missionary program provides opportunities for laypeople serve on assignments that normally last from six months to two years. I have been on volunteer status for three years. What this means essentially, is that LCMS
World Missions has been paying for my health insurance as well as travel and some miscellaneous expenses. I will have to my own provisions for these expenses in the future. But our project has the support of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela and the Venezuela Lutheran Mission Partnership, an independent mission society. So we will continue as the Lord wills.