A Lutheran pastor shares his experiences and thoughts with his flock, family, and friends.
Every night at bedtime the kids get to pick a song to sing. Several nights ago Andrew picked a random hymn from the hymnal, “Our Father, Who from Heaven Above” (CW 410), Luther’s hymn on the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t fight him on it.
But since Hannah can read well enough to sing hymns that she hasn’t seen before, I really enjoyed singing several stanzas of this hymn with her.
Since school has been in session for over a month now, I've been thinking quite a bit about Lutheran schools in general and ours in particular. I've been thinking about the strengths of our schools (as opposed to public schools as well as to other Christian or private schools). I've also thought about the relationship between our churches and our schools.
I could go on and on about these two topics, but let me just share some observations from this title page of on of the books on my shelf. It's from a music book (copyright 1894) that I got from my great-uncle George after he died.
If you can't read German or Fraktur script, the title page explains that the book is a mixed collection of songs, sacred and secular, German and English, in various parts. But then it states the book's intended use: "for our schools."
Observation #1: Our schools are a part of our churches. The mission of our schools flow from the mission of our churches. That is reason for supporting them.
Observation #2: Lutherans have been at this for a long time. Yes, things have changed over the years. But Lutherans (all the way back to Luther himself) have always seen Christian education as a key part of our work.
Observation #3: Music has an invaluable place in our Lutheran schools. It has a place in education because it's a good teacher. It has a place in Christian education because it proclaims the gospel to our students and it gives our students the opportunity to proclaim the gospel to others at worship. And then it also prepares them for a lifetime of gospel proclamation through music—for themselves and for others in corporate worship.
Regarding this last observation, I am very excited to use a new resource video that was recently published called Children Making Music. I hope that things like this go a long way to building interest in children and music in general. But I believe that is a step in the right direction to help build awareness of the role music plays in the proclamation of the gospel.
Like I said, I could go on and on about these things. But it is a topic that is dear to my heart and a big part of my current role.
Yesterday at Trinity we observed the minor festival named for the tax collector-turned apostle Matthew. Since it fell on a Sunday this year and since it is year A in the three year lectionary series (and I've been preaching on the gospels), it seemed good to take this opportunity. It was a little refreshing to switch to red paraments during this long green season. But it was especially interesting to think a little about Matthew's perspective in writing a Gospel account. We don't hear really anything else about Matthew except that he was a tax collector (something Matthew always makes sure to point out). In recent weeks we've seen God's generosity in the parable of the workers in the vineyard, God's complete forgiveness in the parable of the unforgiving servant, God's concern for any one sinner who goes astray in Mt 18. I think studying the call of Matthew helps explain why Matthew would write these things. Jesus had shown this same concern, forgiveness, and extreme generosity to Matthew.
A Shepherd's Story 