Author: Rev. Johann Caauwe

I am a Lutheran pastor in Wood Lake, MN.

Rejoice in God My Savior

Rev. Johann CaauweLeave a comment

As I mentioned in a previous post, this year’s children’s Christmas service was based on the hymn, "O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is". The service took place last Sunday, the day before Christmas Eve. One of the highlights from that service was the singing of that hymn, with the first stanza sung by the kids (K–8). Another highlight would be the preschoolers singing "While by the Sheep". I had been going into the preschool room for the last couple weeks to help the 3- and 4-year-olds learn that one. It was so much fun to do that and to get to know those kids a little better.

But I would have to say the highlight of that service for me was another of the songs. It was a setting of the Magnificat (by James Chepponis). The kids and the congregation sang the refrains, and the verses were sung by a group young women from our congregation, mostly high school-aged. The six of them sang the verses in two parts. They prepared it with minimal rehearsal time in the past couple weeks. All of these girls are ones I have had in our junior choir (which we don’t have this year because there aren’t enough voices). But I have always been so impressed not only by their lovely voices, but by their willingness to sing and try different things. I only hope that these girls will continue to use and develop their talent. That can be really tricky for a high school student if their school doesn’t offer, or they aren’t directly involved in another music program at school.

The Magnificat itself is something that continues to grow on me. One thing that impresses me is how much this New Testament song reflects the language of the Old Testament psalms. It shows, I think, the familiarity that pious Jews had with the psalms and how connect the whole Bible really is.

Come, Lord Jesus

Rev. Johann CaauweLeave a comment

This Advent our midweek services followed the theme, "Come, Lord Jesus." The point was that in Advent there are three ways in which we observe Jesus’ coming to us. He came the first time in the flesh, as a descendant of the woman (Eve) as the fulfillment of God’s promise. Now he comes to us regularly in his Word and Sacrament. But he has also promised to come again at the end of time.

I preached last Wednesday (was that really just a week ago?) for the final midweek service. I used Revelation 22, the last chapter in the Bible, for that service. I just love the way that chapter wraps up the Bible and sets the stage for life until Jesus comes. Our whole lives (not just during Advent) hinge on Jesus’ words "Behold, I am coming soon." And so in a sense, our whole lives are one long Advent season, and our constant prayer during this time is "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." Our "Amen" is our confession of faith that we believe he is coming for us, just as he said.

Over the past several years I have come to enjoy Advent more and more each season. Like I’ve said before, it really heightens the celebration of Christmas when you’ve been waiting in Advent. It gets sort of challenging when you live in a world and society that can’t wait for anything. But Christians are by definition "waiters". We have to, because Jesus said he is coming. And really, what greater joy can we have but to wait upon the sure promise of Jesus? Christmas proves he keeps his promises. His Word and Sacrament show him keeping his promises.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Christmas Top Five

Rev. Johann CaauweLeave a comment

I’ve been trying to figure out how in the world I could summarize or describe the activities of the past week. I think I’ll have to take things one at a time. There are five highlights that I would like to share. I’ll take each one in a separate post.

#5 – Come, Lord Jesus
#4 – Rejoice in God, my Savior
#3 – Gifts
#2 – The Word became Flesh
#1 – O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is

Rest in God Alone

Rev. Johann CaauweLeave a comment

It is customary for youth confirmands to receive their own “confirmation verse.” Sometimes the student choses their own passage; other times it is chosen for them. In any case, I think the passage is supposed to be a passage for the individual to make special application to their lives of faith as they make their confirmation vows and as they walk through life. When I was confirmed, we didn’t get to pick ours. We were told that they were chosen with each individual in mind. But I could never figure out why I got the one I did. It wasn’t a passage that I was very familiar with. It wasn’t one that seemed to obviously apply to me. (By 8th grade I already knew pretty well that I wanted to become a pastor. Maybe I was looking one more specific.)

I was assigned Psalm 62:1,2: “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

It’s a wonderful passage, but it just didn’t jump out at me. It’s no Revelation 2:10 or Romans 8:28. And so I really didn’t latch on to it. If you asked me in high school, I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you what my confirmation verse was (without looking it up in my Bible where it was highlighted).

This evening I was reading the section on Psalm 62 in the Psalms Devotional Commentary that I’m working through. And I thought to myself that this passage has become so much more dear to me now than it used to be. As I have grown more attached to the psalms and as I have grown a little older with just a few more experiences, I have found these words to be priceless: “My soul finds rest in God alone.”

There have been many times that some situation in life and ministry is really weighing on my mind and heart. Maybe it’s something a member is going through or said to me. Maybe it’s some issue at church or school that needs to be resolved somehow. Or maybe it’s some big project or task that’s coming up—either it’s behind schedule or it’s becoming harder than it seemed at first. All of these kind of things take their place in my heart and soul. I can’t simply leave them behind “at work” as though my work were just a job. When these kinds of things weigh heavy, it’s hard to shake them. It’s hard be relaxed, comfortable. These things can even hang on long into the night.

“My soul finds rest in God alone.” If I can come before God at the end of each day, and through Jesus Christ, find a welcome in his arms—does anything else really matter? Yes, those things all need to be dealt with and thought about and worked on, but in God—I need nothing. I don’t need to work to be with him. I don’t need to convince him to let me come. I don’t need to think about the right way to approach him. Only rest. And only in God. Only in Jesus.

So I now appreciate my confirmation verse. Now I add it to my ever-growing list of favorite psalms. And, interestingly enough, very often it’s the psalms to which I turn when I want to “find rest in God alone.”

Children’s Books

Rev. Johann Caauwe1 Comment

We have a lot of books at home. Lots of kids books. And naturally, we also have our share of Christian children’s books—mainly Bible story books. The USA Today had an article on these kind of books a couple days ago. I thought that it made some very interesting observations, which we might forget sometimes. Consider this: "every Bible storybook reflects a certain theology" (Ted Olsen, managing editor of Christianity Today). Unfortunately, much of the Christian children’s literature widely available today reflects a theology that is not in line with the message of the Bible. I’ve noticed these very things in so many of the books that are in the stores or that have come into our home one way or another.

Some of them simply miss the real point of the Bible stories (For example, the feeding of the five thousand: "A boy shares his lunch" Is that really the point?). Or they focus so much on what we are supposed to do and give very little emphasis to what Jesus did for us.

So here’s my suggestion: If you are buying Bible books for children, please read them first. If you aren’t sure what to look for, ask your pastor to show you. A very good series of books for children is the one mentioned in the article, the Arch Books series from CPH. They’re inexpensive and generally, very well written.

Also, here is a link to a radio segment dedicated to children’s bible story books.
"Christian Children’s Books" on KFUO

O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is

Rev. Johann CaauweLeave a comment

Paul_gerhardt
This year’s children’s service is based on Paul Gerhardt‘s Christmas hymn, "O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is." It’s not the most common Christmas hymn. It’s probably not on everyone’s favorites list. But in my opinion there are few that are better. As I was doing a little research I happened upon an article about Paul Gerhardt’s hymns from the Forward in Christ a few years ago. The article is written by Prof. Theodore Hartwig. I thought I’d share a portion of it with you.

Many of Gerhardt’s 17 hymns in Christian Worship are much admired and much used. It would be a credit to our worship practice if another of his hymns, much neglected, won its deserved place in the sun. It is the Christmas chorale “O Jesus Christ, Your Manger Is” (CW 40).

On reading this hymn no one can fail to notice its childlike quality and its focus on the central truth of Christmas: God coming into human flesh. The excellence of the text is matched by a tune of calm, confident serenity that was composed by Gerhardt’s friend, Johann Cruger.

Any commentary on the first stanza simply gets in the way of its beauty: “O Jesus Christ, your manger is My paradise where my soul is reclining. For there, O Lord, we find the Word. Made flesh for us—your grace is brightly shining.”

The second stanza tells how the eternal God condescended to our low estate. The third stanza sings of the comfort gained from Christ’s birth. The fourth raises this comfort to the higher bliss reserved in heaven.

The final stanza bids each believer to turn away from this world’s distractions and keep heart and mind fixed on Jesus. It’s a matchless meditation: "The world may hold her wealth and gold; But you, my heart, keep Christ as your true treasure. To him hold fast until at last A crown is yours and honor in full measure."

We should be grateful that the world has not added this hymn to the roster of carols blared from loudspeakers at scores of shopping centers. When the world touches holy things, it unfailingly cheapens them. Praise God that we possess this hymn exclusively as our own.

I might note here that this year is the 400th anniversary of Paul Gerhardt’s birth. There have been a number of celebrations and commemorations throughout the Lutheran church over the past year to remember and give thanks for such beautiful hymns.

Waiting for Christmas

Rev. Johann Caauwe2 Comments

Img_3324
Over the past several years I have become more and more intent to wait through Advent. I have tried hard to wait for Christmas until Christmas. I separate the Advent music from Christmas music in my iTunes library. My family is gracious enough to indulge me and we wait until the last week before Christmas to put up our Christmas tree. I actually even try to avoid the actual Christmas account (unless I’m prepping for something). I want to wait. I want to celebrate Advent and watch and wait and prepare.

I sometimes have to explain or defend myself for this. I have to explain that I’m not some kind of Scrooge. I explain that what I’ve discovered is that when I celebrate Advent, then I can really celebrate Christmas. The longer I wait for Christmas, the richer the message of Christmas becomes, when it finally comes.

Several years ago, when Sara was teaching in Kewaskum and I was at the Seminary, I had the opportunity to sit right in the front during their children’s Christmas Eve service (on Christmas Eve). We sat in the first row not occupied by the kids. This was one of the first years that I consciously "postponed" Christmas. So that year the first time I really paid attention to the Christmas story, especially those precious words in Luke chapter 2, it came from the mouths of children. There they were, just a few feet from me, and they recited their parts—parts that God first assigned to prophets and apostles and even angels. But here God has given this message also to children, ready and eager to proclaim it—to me. And it just about took my breath away. It’s something so simple that a child could recite it. But at the same time it is something that no human can ever comprehend. In fact, the only way we can really grasp it is with the eyes of faith—as a child.

This morning our school kids rehearsed our own Christmas service parts all together for the first time. And even though our service is not on Christmas Eve (it’s the day before), I already know that it will take my breath away. I’ll do my best to wait for it, and when it finally comes, I’ll be glad that the kids are saying it. Because I don’t think I could make it through. The truth is, over the past several years I’ve found that I can hardly make it through the reading of the Christmas Eve Gospel. "Today…a Savior has been born to you." It’s as though my heart can’t quite take it all in. Really? For me? And I feel like I need to stop and breath and try to absorb it.

So the kids will say the words for us, so that the rest of us can just try to take it all in. I’m looking forward to that. Let me know in the comments what you appreciate or remember most about children’s Christmas services.

Advent Candles

Rev. Johann CaauweLeave a comment

Img_4832
This Sunday our preschoolers and kindergarteners are singing in church. This morning after chapel they were practicing, and I managed to snap a few shots of the kids.

Andrew came with me to church so that he could go to chapel and sing with the kids. (He only goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays and doesn’t normally get to go to chapel.)

Notice the Advent wreath in the background with the first candle lit.