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Happy St. Matthias day, dear reader. I’ve been looking over the second reading for this feast, from the Acts of the Apostles, 1:18-26. I was particularly struck by one very explicit reference to the parameters for choosing the successor to Judas: He is to be a witness to the resurrection, he is to have been with the greater company of disciples from the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist to the Ascension, and he is to be a “he.” “So one of the men who have accompanied us…” reads the ESV of 1:21. Looking at the Greek, it is the form of ἀνήρ (I’d transliterate, except I’ve never learned how to do the macron on my computer) and not the generic anthropos (man, person, human being). If these post-Ascension Apostles wanted to be inclusive, this was their opportunity. But among the notable women in their company, none was included to be numbered among the Apostles and take the office left vacant by Judas. Perhaps this has been noted in other writings on women’s ordination, but I was not aware of this. It seems extremely significant to me.
A puzzle is in this pericope as well – Peter changes the text of Ps. 69:25 when he quotes it in his speech on replacing Judas. “May his (αὐτός) camp become desolate,” where the LXX has the plural αὐτῶν (their). (The Hebrew text is also plural.) So far The Lutheran Study Bible and the one commentary I have (F.F. Bruce) doesn’t want to address that problem. I’m going to fire up Logos now and see if any of the commentaries there contain an explanation. It certainly seems the Apostles played fast and loose with the text of the Old Testament, which has always bothered me a bit.
I’ve been trying to be less of a musical snob and learn to enjoy the piano stylings of George Winston. Some of his music isn’t bad, but can anybody explain to me why he insists on *banging* every blasted note of his melodies? Honestly.
Isaiah 55:10-13; 2 Corinthians 11:19—12:9; St. Luke 8:4-15
It is a happy coincidence that today’s OT reading begins by mentioning the snow that comes down from heaven. When we have a heavy snowfall like this, it forces everything to slow down, and makes the world quiet for a time. A prayer for the end of the day makes reference to the end of our life, when the fever of life is over and the busy world is hushed. When everything (except Divine Service, of course!) is cancelled, it gives us a taste of that hushing of the busy world. When that final hushing comes, only one thing will matter, holding on to the Word. And only one division will be made: those who put their trust in the Word’s promises, and those who put their trust instead in the empty promises of devil, world, and flesh. read more…
From tomorrow’s (Sexagesima) Epistle, 2 Cor. 11:19—12:9
A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me,“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
I love this line from Megan McArdle:
I have many flaws. There is no need to go fabricating imaginary ones.
Originally posted here.
Just because I quit Facebook doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy Failbooking. How’d you like to be this girl’s dad?
Source: Failbooking
On Sunday, February 7, Scripture Study and Sunday School are cancelled at Immanuel. Divine Service will be held at 10 a.m.
Volunteers are invited to come early on Sunday morning and help clear snow. Please bring a shovel if possible. Don’t worry about usual church attire – be warm and comfortable.
I’ve been really getting into Pandora lately. If you don’t know about Pandora, it’s a free Internet music service that taps into the “Music Genome” project. Unlike Last.fm (another interesting music service), which utilizes social filtering, Pandora takes into account the music’s characteristics (instrumentation, rhythm, tempo, and on and on – nearly 400 different attributes or “genes”). You can create up to 100 different stations of your own. You start by “seeding” your stations with a particular song, artist, or composer, and Pandora will play similar music. You can then further refine your stations by giving it a thumbs up or down. You can also add variety to each station by adding additional “seed” songs, artists, or composers.
One of my favorite modern composers is Arvo Pärt. My “Arvo Pärt Radio” station not only gives me some of my favorite Pärt pieces, but also some new performances on recordings I do not own, and more interestingly, it’s been introducing me to other composers such as Henryk Gorecki that I wasn’t very familiar with, and Phillip Glass, whom I had thoroughly written off. Some of his work is quite interesting!
I’ve built a “Study” station (for when I’m working on a sermon, etc.) seeded by Pange Lingua and the piano music of Erik Satie. It’s perfect.
Some other stations I’ve built I’ve titled Cool Jazz, Modern Jazz, Progressive Rock, Quirky Girls, and Lutheran Composers.
Check it out. No matter what kind of music you like, it’s loads of fun, especially if you already enjoyed building smart playlists in iTunes or using the Genius feature.
Last night (Wednesday, Feb. 3) we transferred the Presentation/Purification feast from its proper date, Feb. 2. Below is the sermon I preached at the Divine Service.
Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, yesterday was the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of Mary, for it was the fortieth day of Christmas, forty days from the celebration of Christ’s birth. The word “purification” refers to the Levitical law requiring women to remain secluded after childbirth—forty days after the birth of a male child, eighty days after the birth of a female child. During the prescribed time, the mother is said to be unclean, abiding in the blood of her purification. She cannot come into the temple. But, Lev. 12 says, “When the days of her purification are fulfilled … she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood.” This entire practice seems to many to reflect a society with hang-ups about sexuality, and oppressive to women. That is not the case. This particular law shows the ramifications of mankind’s fall into sin. Children that are born are unclean, i.e., unfit to be in the presence of God. They are, from birth, corrupt with sin and wicked. They have no fear of God. They are selfish. read more…
