www.lcms.org/witness

february 2006 VOL. 125 NO. 2

Also:Healing Hands of ChristSpecial AdoptionsWelcome Back, Dietrich

MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCEMOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCE

16

4FeaturesFeatures

4 Letters

8 Searching Scriptureby Robert E.Smith

9 Lifelineby Armand Boehme

14 National News

22 Notices

27 Family Counselor

28 From the PresidentGerald B.Kieschnick

WITNESST h e � u t h e r a n

A Magazine for the laypeople of the lutheran church — missouri synod

february 2006

Official periodical of The Lutheran Church—MissouriSynod through the Board for CommunicationServices, Ernest E. Garbe, chairman;

Staff: David L. Strand, interim executive editor; DonFolkemer, managing editor; Joe Isenhower Jr., news editor; PaulaSchlueter Ross, contributing editor; John Krus, senior designer;Robert Sexton, marketing manager and advertising sales; PamBurgdorf, coordinator; Carla Dubbelde, editorial manager, districteditions; Jennifer McBurney, editorial assistant, editorial office:1333 S. Kirkwood Rd., St. Louis, MO 63122-7295; (314) 965-9917, Ext. 1228.

© 2006 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Reproductionof a single article or column for parish use only does not requirepermission of THE LUTHERAN WITNESS. Such reproductions,however, should credit THE LUTHERAN WITNESS as thesource. Cover images and “Shedding Some Light” cartoons arenot reproducible without permission. Also, photos credited tosources outside the LCMS are not to be copied.

Published 11 times per year by Concordia Publishing House,3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118-3968. Individual sub-scription $18.48 per year. Organized congregation subscriptionsand district editions offered at reduced rate if submitted throughlocal churches. Standard A postage paid at St. Louis, MO.

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The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod1-888-THE LCMS (843-5267) www.lcms.org

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Member: Associated Church PressEvangelical Press Association

February 2006 (ISSN: 0024-757X) Vol.125, No 2

Cover painting by Don Kueker © Concordia PublishingHouse. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Reproduction is not permitted without the express writtenconsent of Concordia Publishing House.

To subscribe, renew, or to give a gift subscription,call Concordia Publishing House at: 800-325-3381.

DepartmentsDepartments

4WELCOME BACK, DIETRICHby Uwe Siemon-Netto

After decades of misinterpretation,God’s purpose for Dietrich Bonhoeffer’slife and death is being rediscovered.

10

MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCEby Peter J. Scaer

As Epiphany comes to a close,our Lord offersus a true mountaintop experience—a glimpseof heaven—in His transfiguration.

16

13 HOSPITAL OR GYM?by William Weedon

Does the Church on earth serve as aplace of healing or a place of training?

134

HEALING HANDSby Gary Dunker

Christian medical workers witness the love of Jesus Christ through theirmedical missions in order to heal bodiesand point to the only true healer.

10

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1818 SPECIAL BLESSINGSby Robin R.Mueller

God’s healing touch for “specialneeds”children clearly shows throughthe vocation of adoptive parents.

Bill

Cla

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Cigarette Lady Page 9

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Luth

eran

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Med

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6 ‘I COULD JUST DIE NOW’by William Weedon

Simeon had waited a long time for God’spromise,and then it was there—the Christ.

6

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

Letters

to-the-editor in that same issue—a writer, I must acknowledge, whoadopted a good-natured tone—Mueller understands that to betruly Lutheran does not require oneto find fault.

Are we to find fault with Christ?The Scriptures? The LutheranConfessions? To be truly Lutheranrequires one to be faithful to Christas He reveals Himself in theScriptures and as He is matrixed in the Lutheran Confessions.Professor Mueller, I have never metor even previously heard of you, butI thank you for your encouragingarticle.

Rev. Philip C. Wottrich

Covington, La.

HURRAH! I APPLAUD THE ARTICLE BY

Dr. Mueller! Now we need an arti-cle on the Harry Potter books,warning of the dangers to our chil-dren of sorcery and the occult.

Arlene Demmer

Watertown, S.D.

The February 2002 LutheranWitness cover story, “Good Fantasy,

Bad Fantasy,” included a lengthy

sidebar on “The Case of Harry

Potter.”—Ed.

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE

Wardrobe is the second book in theNarnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis.The Magician’s Nephew begins theseven-book series.

Otherwise, the article was well-written.

Dorothy Cockrell

Silver Spring, Md.

PROFESSOR STEVEN P. MUELLER’S ARTI-cle about the Narnia movie (Dec.’05) was welcome and well done.However, he fell into a commonerror about C.S. Lewis. Although it istrue that Lewis insisted his Narniabooks were not allegorical, Muellergoes even further to say that “Aslanis not equal to Jesus.”

Actually, what Lewis wrote wasmore than allegory. In a letter toMaryland fifth-graders in 1954,Lewis said: “I did not say to myself,‘Let us represent Jesus as He reallyis in our world by a Lion in Narnia’; Isaid, ‘Let us suppose that there werea land like Narnia and that the Sonof God, as he became a Man in ourworld, became a Lion there, andthen imagine what would happen.’”

It is true that Aslan does not “represent” Jesus. Instead, he isintended to be Jesus in a fictionalsetting. This would be as if I wrote abook about Martin Luther as he mightbe if he were a pastor in Americatoday, imagining how he wouldpreach reformation to our congrega-tions. It would be fictional, but itwould not be allegorical since itwould be intended as a picture of theactual person’s hypothetical actions.

Lewis wrote a story about howJesus might have appeared if He hadbecome incarnate in a fantasy worldso that we could stand back a stepand understand better what Jesushas done in the real world.

Rev. Don Neuendorf

Ann Arbor, Mich.

KUDOS TO DR. MUELLER ON HIS FINE

article, “The Lion, the Witch, and theSavior.” Unlike the writer of a letter-

‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Savior’

What C.S. Lewis wrote was morethan allegory. ... Aslan was intended tobe Jesus in a fictional setting.

Rev. Don Neuendorf

Ann Arbor Mich.

Ostriches

CHRISTMAS IS PAST FOR ANOTHER YEAR,and it looks like we in The LutheranChurch—Missouri Synod have keptour heads in the sand again. Well, some

of us haven’t.While our officials in St. Louis—

along with The Lutheran Witness andReporter—apparently said nothingabout the situation, we out in the“boonies” went into every store andmade a point of saying “MerryChristmas!”—rather than offering theinsipid, one-size-fits-all “HappyHolidays.” When will we as a churchbody rise up and fight the anti-Christian movement in America?

Now NBC-TV is airing the atrocious“Book of Daniel.” What are we going todo about it? Will we keep our heads inthe sand, or will we go on the offen-sive?

Rev. David A. Graef

Valparaiso, Ind.

The Synod’s office of Information

Services posted a brief comment on

“The Book of Daniel” on the LCMS Web

site in mid-January. A longer com-

mentary on that TV program will

appear in the February Reporter.Also, one might note that the

December 2004 Lutheran Witness car-

ried a feature story titled, “What Ever

Happened to ‘Merry Christmas’?:

‘Happy Holidays’ and ‘Season’s

Greetings’ Seem to Have Taken Its

Place.”—Ed.

Ol’ Blue Eyes

LET ME STATE MY HORROR AND DISGUST

over “Rediscover Christmas Carols”(December ’06).

Horror and disgust over Christmascarols, you ask? No, horror at seeingthe Frank Sinatra CD “ChristmasCabaret” included among the array ofChristmas CDs shown in the photoillustrations.

Frank Sinatra doesn’t conjure upimages of the Christian family atChristmastime. He was a notorious

FEBRUARY 2006

member of the Rat Pack and probablya misogynist, singing degrading songslike “The Lady Is a Tramp” (“She getstoo hungry for dinner at eight; that’swhy the lady is a tramp”). If gettingtoo hungry for a late dinner makes onea tramp, there probably are no decentwomen left.

Whoever approved or was responsi-ble for this detestable error—Mr. Strandor Mr. Folkemer—should be severelyreprimanded. As editors, how could youpossibly have overlooked such an af-front to Christian women and families?

Carole A. Black

Albuquerque, N.M.

Thrill of a lifetime

MY BROTHER AND I WERE IN DRESDEN ON

that cold, clear, unforgettable weekendlast October when the greatFrauenkirche was rededicated (“A Magnet for Faith,” January ’06). It was the “frosting on the cake” afterour visits to the Luther sites inEisenach, Erfurt, and the Wartburg.

I contributed gifts for a number of years to the rebuilding of theFrauenkirche, and so I received twotickets for the Sunday-evening rededi-cation service and the Monday-eveningorgan concert. On Sunday, my brotherand I were two of many thousandsparticipating and singing with tears inour eyes, “Now Thank We All OurGod.”

The theme of that glorious weekendwas “Friede Sei Euch”—“Peace Bewith You.” I thank God for my Lutheranheritage.

William H. Marshall Jr.

New Buffalo, Mich.

We welcome letters that com-

ment on articles in The Lutheran

Witness. Letters may be edited

for length and clarity. Send letters

to “Letters,” c/o The Lutheran

Witness, 1333 S. Kirkwood Road,

St. Louis, MO 63122-7295; or

send them via e-mail to Lutheran

.Witness@LCMS.org. Please include

your name, postal address, and

telephone number.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS Cover painting by Don Kueker © Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Reproduction is not permitted

without the express written consent of Concordia Publishing House.

by Peter J. Scaer

We live much of our life in the valley and on theplain. In the valley, we walk through the woesof life: loneliness and fear, sickness and sor-

row, regret and failure. On the plain, we experience theroutine and often humdrum nature of life: getting upearly in the morning, getting tired kids ready for school,getting stuck in traffic, cleaning the house, doing thelaundry, attending meetings, answering e-mail, makingsupper, and getting ready to start the whole cycle againtomorrow.

Not that life’s all bad and boring. We do well to countour blessings, little and large.

Still, every once in a while, it’s good to put away thesorrow and break out of the ordinary. Now and again,we crave a little taste of heaven.

Peter had just confessed Jesus to be the Christ, theSon of the Living God (Matthew 16). Our Lord was justbeginning to teach His disciples that it would be neces-sary for Him to suffer and die. What’s more, the disci-ples learned that they too would have to suffer for thesake of the Gospel. It was all a bit much for the con-fused and overwhelmed disciples to digest. So Jesus

took aside Peter,James, and John andled them up onto ahigh mountain, a placewhere the earthseemed to be reachingup into heaven.

What happened nextwas extraordinary, likesome fantastic moviespecial effects. On thatmountain, Jesus under-went a type of meta-morphosis. His facechanged in appearance,and His clothes becamedazzlingly white (Luke 9:29). Those of you who do the laundry might say, like Mark, that Jesus’ clothes“became whiter than anyone on earth could bleachthem” (Mark 9:3). For one wonderful moment, Jesusallowed His divinity to visibly radiate His glory. He didn’t need a spotlight; He was the Light!

As Epiphany comes to a close, our Lord offers us a true mountaintop experience—

a glimpse of heaven—in His transfiguration.

Things only got better. AlongsideJesus, Moses and Elijah appeared.With characteristic enthusiasm,Peter proposed building three tents,one each for Jesus and the two greatprophets. Peter’s suggestion dripswith irony. Having just confessedJesus to be the Son of God, he nowthought he was honoring Jesus byputting Him on the same level as thegreat prophets of old. Peter still hada lot to learn. God gave His wordthrough Moses, but Jesus wasHimself the very Word of God madeflesh. Moses freed Israel fromPharaoh’s cruel bondage in Egypt,but Jesus would lead His people inan exodus out of sin and Satan’styranny, out of death and into the life of heaven.

Just then, the heavenly Fatherdescended in a cloud and cleared upany confusion, saying, “This is mybeloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased. Listen to him” (Matt 17:5).Though Moses was marvelous, andElijah was extraordinary, Jesus wasgreater. God, who in former dayshad spoken through His prophets,fully reveals Himself in His Son. For this reason, the Church stands in reverence for the reading of theGospel. It is in the Gospel that wehear Jesus, God in the flesh.

When Moses came down from Mt.Sinai, his face shone like a moon,reflecting the glory of God. The faceof Jesus, however, “shone like thesun” (Matt 17:2). Appropriately,then, Moses and Elijah faded away,and the disciples saw Jesus alone(Matt 17:8).

Naturally, Peter wanted to stay on the mountain, to bask in the gloryof the Lord. But it was not to be. The Son of God came not to shine inglory, but to walk through the plainsand valleys of our life. He came tothis earth to experience hunger andthirst, loneliness and sorrow, not tomention all the daily frustrations ofliving in this fallen world. He cameto walk in our shoes, to live the per-fect life on our behalf. So, as Hecame down from the mountain, thevery Light of the world was intent onwalking to the valley of the shadowof death. Indeed, this is the trueglory of Jesus. Though He was God’sglorious Son, He allowed Himself tobe bruised and beaten, spit upon andmocked, and nailed to a tree—allfor our sake. In the cross, we see theglory of love.

What does the transfigurationmean for us today? As the glory ofthe Lord is seen in Christ crucified,even now the Lord of glory comes inlowliness. With the ordinary water ofBaptism, God’s Son forgives our sinsand makes us heirs of life eternal. Inordinary bread we feed on heavenlyfood. True glory is not found in theglitz of Hollywood or Las Vegas, orin any ecstatic experience, butrather in any church, large or small,where Christ crucified is preached.

All who embrace the lowly Saviorwill one day join Him on the moun-tain of salvation. There we will gazeupon the face of Jesus, and upon the

glorious scars by which He wonsalvation for us.

What does the transfigurationmean for us today? We don’t need torun this way and that, searching andhoping for some unattainable spiri-tual, emotional, or physical “high.”

All of life’s moments, even the mostmundane, have been transformed.Our lives have purpose; they havebeen sanctified by His holy serviceon our behalf.

So daily and willingly, we pick upour crosses, whatever they may be,and we follow Jesus wherever lifemay take us. In the valley and on theplain, Christ is with us. His presencemakes everyday life worth living.Thank God for the really special andwonderful moments in your life.Then remember that even in life’svalleys, we have hope, as we awaitthe day when the Lord who loves uscomes again in glory.

FEBRUARY 2006

Dr. Peter J. Scaer isassistant professor,Exegetical Theologyand dean of DistanceLearning at ConcordiaTheological Seminary,Fort Wayne, Ind.

Moses freed Israel from Pharaoh’s cruel bondage in Egypt, but Jesus would lead His people

in an exodus out of sin and Satan’s tyranny,out of death and into the life of heaven.

by William Weedon

They brought the offering of the poor; they couldafford only the turtle doves. But it was an offer-ing commanded in the Law. The life of every

firstborn Israelite male belonged to Yahweh and had to be redeemed ever since every firstborn Egyptianmale had died in the Passover. Yet even as Mary andJoseph purchased the offering and entered the templeprecincts, they knew that the real offering was not thebirds, but the Babe. He would be the Offering to end all offerings. In Him the Law would be fulfilled. Theythought that they and a handful of others were the onlyones in the know.

But then they see him, an old man. He is not lookingat them. He is looking at the Babe in Mary’s arms. Andhe is coming across the courtyard with a familiar lookon his face. Mary had seen it before. It was on the faceof Elizabeth when she visited her, and Elizabeth looked

in awe at her swelling womb. It was on the face of theshepherds when they knelt beside the manger and toldher of the angels and their words and song. Now it wason the face of this old man as he hurried toward them,aged arms outstretched, reaching for the Child.

Mary would not lightly give up her precious package toanyone, but she saw and understood the look. Yet anoth-er one in the know. Yet another one who realized thatMary was holding the Offering, the Child that would bringto an end man’s long exile and open wide the way hometo the Father’s house. She knows she can safely give Himinto old Simeon’s arms. He’s been waiting a lifetime.

Simeon holds the Child, looks into His infant face,and he begins to pray. Not to any other, but to Him, to the Child in his arms: “Now, Lord! Now you can let your servant go in peace. I’ve seen Your salvation. A light for the gentiles. Glory for Your people Israel.”

Which is all to say: “I can just die now.” Now that I know that the Death of death lives and breathes onearth, I have no fear. How could I fear the displeasure of God when I see the irrefutable testimony of that loveright here in my arms. God so loved the world that Hegave His only-begotten Son. Gave Him into the flesh.Here is forgiveness! Here is life! Here is the peace thatall the world longs for!

It was surely a stroke of genius when some long-forgotten Lutheran suggested that the words of Simeonwere the perfect words to sing when we come backfrom the Table of the Lord. Having received the bodyand blood of Him whom Simeon held all those centuriesago, we pray with him: “It’s okay, Lord. I can just dienow. Take me home! I’ve seen Your salvation. I’ve tastedYour life. My sins are forgiven. My death is destroyed. I have nothing to fear because You have given Yourselfto me entirely. I can go home right now.”

Mary and Joseph presented the turtle doves that day,but the true Offering was the Child they held—the ChildSimeon held—the Child who is our Lord and Savior andwho delights togive Himself tous that wemight “departin peace”according toHis Word!

Rev. William Weedonis pastor of St. PaulLutheran Church,Hamel, Ill.

Illustration by Ron DiCianniTHE LUTHERAN WITNESS

‘I COULD JUSTDIE NOW’

Simeon had waited a long time for God’s promise, and then it was there—the Christ.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

A son of an active Christiandrifts away from churchwhile at college and never

returns. A man grows up in aremote Arab village and nevermeets a Christian, much less hearsabout Jesus except through theQuran. A busy mother in Japannever fails to honor her ancestorsat their family altar, obeying theBuddhist customs she was taught.

As Christians, we wonder ifthese people could ever be saved.We suspect they may not. “Whyare some saved, but not others?”we ask ourselves, God, and ourChristian friends.

We’re not the first to ask thisquestion. Bishop Augustine ofHippo (A.D. 354–430) taught thatpeople were saved only becauseof God’s grace. In later years, JohnCalvin maintained that God choseto save some people, but to condemn the rest to hell. JacobArmenius taught the opposite—people could choose either toaccept or reject Christ.

Martin Luther believed that thetruth is in the middle. God chose tosave Christians before He createdthe world, but those who are lostchoose to reject God and His sal-vation.

From our human logic, theLutheran view doesn’t makesense. Read the followingScripture passages and write ananswer to why can’t we fullyunderstand this teaching and oth-ers that probe the nature of God:

1 Cor. 2:11–13; Rom. 11:33–36;Job 42:1–3; and 1 John 2:16.______________________________

______________________________

SearchingSCRIPTURE

One of the mostcomforting teach-ings of the Bible isthat God chose tosave His children.Read the following,then in your ownwords write what God’s Word tellsyou about this precious truth.

Matt. 25:34; Eph. 1:3–6; 2 Thess.2:13 ; Matt. 22:14; Acts 13:46–48;Rom. 8:28–30; 1 Peter 1:1-2; James2:10; John 15:16–19; 1 Cor. 1:26–31;Col. 3:12; 1 Peter 2:9–10; Matt. 24:22–24; Mark 13:26 –27; Luke 18:1–8;John 10:28

Since the Bible clearly teachesthat God selected Christians to besaved, even before He created theworld, it is natural for us to assumetwo things. We might believe thatonce a person is saved, he or shecannot be lost. We might also con-clude that God must select thosedamned to hell. Yet the Bible teach-es something quite different. Goddoes not predestine people to go tohell.

According to the following pas-sages, how can a Christian losesalvation?

Matt. 13:18–23 _____________________________________________

Heb. 3:12–15 _______________________________________________

God does not want people to goto hell. What does He want to hap-pen to the lost?

Ez. 18:23, 30–32 _____________________________________________

Matt. 18:10–14 _____________________________________________

John 3:16–17 _______________________________________________

Why Some and Not Others?by Robert E. Smith

1 Tim. 2:3–8 _________________________________________________

2 Peter 3:9 _________________________________________________

Now read these passages andthen write what they tell us aboutwhy people reject God.

John 3:18–21, 36; Matt. 23:37–38;Acts 13:44–48; Mark 16:16; andRom. 2:5 _____________________________________________________

So the Bible teaches two seem-ingly incompatible truths. Thosewho wonder if God could ever for-give them learn of the comfort andhope of His Good News—that Heloves them and has the perfect planfor their salvation through His Son,Jesus. He promises to keep themsafe in His hand. Those who takeGod’s love for granted, turn theirbacks on His grace, and wanderaway from Him learn that they willbe allowed to go to hell.

You and I may not fully under-stand how these fit together, but wetrust that God does. We let the ques-tion go unanswered. We rejoice inGod’s election and bring the GoodNews of His grace to those who arelost.

Brand X Pictures

Rev. Robert E. Smith is electronic resources librarian at ConcordiaTheological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

by Gary Dunker

A s Jesus and His disciplesneared Bethsaida, a blindman was brought to Him.

His friends had heard about Jesus,so they begged Him to restore theblind man’s sight. Taking the man bythe hand, Jesus led him away fromthe village. There on the outskirts ofBethsaida, Jesus spit on the man’seyes and laid His hands on him.

“What do you see?” Jesus asked. “I see people, but they look like

trees walking about” the blind manreplied.

Jesus again placed His hands onthe man’s eyes. The blind man wouldlater recall the compassionatewarmth of Jesus’ hands as his eyescleared and his sight was restored.

The healing hands of Christ—often we picture them when review-ing accounts of Jesus’ earthly min-istry. May we never forget that thosesame compassionate healing handswere nailed to the cross, laid limp indeath, were brought to life at theresurrection, and ascended intoheaven.

Now, by the power of the HolySpirit, Jesus’ healing hands live onthrough the compassionate hands ofmedical professionals. ThroughoutThe Lutheran Church—MissouriSynod (LCMS), thousands of nurses,doctors, pharmacists, medical spe-cialists, and in some cases missionar-ies, serve as Christ’s hands on earth—not to bring glory to but to healminds, bodies, and spirits—that God might be glorified. This articlepresents five of them.

Bobbie Lautenschlager Bobbie Lautenschlager lives in St. Louis, Mo.,

with her husband, Dr. John Lautenschlager.Bobbie is executive director of Lutherans inMedical Mission, after serving with her husband asa medical missionary for nearly 20 years.

She recounts the story of a WestAfrican family with a Christian father,but the mother was not Christian.She had encircled their little mud-block home with numerous shrines

representing spirits or “jujus.” She believed she needed tomanipulate the spirits to act on the family’s behalf.

When their young son fell ill, the mother constantly appealedto the clay pot “juju” that she believed controlled the child’s health.Rice and blood sacrifices brought no healing. In panic the woman took thedying child to the medical mission where the Lautenschlagers were serving.Here the child’s chills and fever were diagnosed as malaria, one of the dis-eases that strikes down young children in undeveloped nations.

Lautenschlager quickly administered anti-malarial medications beforethe child could go into convulsions and die. Subsequent medications con-trolled the malaria parasites. By the hand of God, the child was healed.

Lautenschlager vividly recalls watching as the mother came to faith inJesus Christ. She took a hoe and smashed all of the clay pot jujus ringingher home. She no longer needed the worthless shrines.

The retelling of herson’s miraculous heal-ing brought an amaz-ing reaction through-out the little village asuseless clay pot jujus

gave way to the true healer, Jesus Christ.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS Photos courtesy of Bobbie Lautenschlager

HEALING HANDSChristian medical workers witness the love of Jesus Christ through their medical missions in order to heal bodies and point to the only true healer.

Bobbie Lautenschlager,pictured here with anAfrican child, and her

husband, Dr. JohnLautenschlager, workedas medical missionaries

in West Africa for nearly20 years.

Carol Broemmer Carol Broemmer, a registered nurse, is manager of Health

Ministries for LCMS World Relief and Human Care. “God hasgiven me this opportunity to use the talents, gifts, and lifeexperiences He has provided,” she says.

Carol can recall many times when she knew God waspresent, especially in situations involving life and death.Carol passionately serves as a catalyst to encourageLutherans to share the love of Christ through their medicalvocations, whether in the form of medical missionary, parishnursing, or other opportunities.

William Foster After 20 years of private medical

practice in Fort Collins, Col., Dr. Bill

“Doc” Foster of Norfolk, Neb., servedmore than six years in Toulepleu, Côted’Ivoire, West Africa, as a medical mis-sionary with LCMS World Mission andLCMS World Relief and Human Care.Currently, he is director of ChristianMedical Endeavor, a program ofOrphan Grain Train, the Norfolk-based,LCMS-affiliated relief agency.

Foster recalls morning devotions during his service inAfrica. They were spoken in two or three languages so thosegathered at their little clinic might know the true source oftheir healing.

One day, the medical team was greeted by a child with asevere flesh-eating disease known asBuruli’s Ulcer. The team knew theycould halt the disease, but a plasticsurgeon would be needed to repair thedamage. By God’s hand, a plastic sur-geon studying this disease “happened tobe in the area,” Foster recalls, meaningsome 10 hours away. The disease washalted, and after numerous skin grafts,the child reclaimed his life. And Godclaimed an abundant harvest of soulswhen the child’s whole village becameChristian.

Orphan Grain Train/ChristianMedical Endeavor sends medical sup-plies to Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico,Latvia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Haiti,and many places in the United States.Wherever they work, the Word of Godand medicines are dispensed withcaring hands.

FEBRUARY 2006Top photo courtesy of LCMS World ReliefBottom photos courtesy of William Foster

Drs. Bill Foster, left, and Anita Scribner, top right, meet in Kisumu, Kenya,with Dr. Oyeiyo (across the table) who works with the Evangelical LutheranChurch in Kenya. They met to better understand the medical needs due tothe AIDS epidemic. Carol Broemmer is at bottom right.

Dr. Bill Foster teaches a class in Sierra Leone.

Carol Broemmer, manager of LCMS World Relief andHuman Care Health Ministries, gives toothbrushes andtoothpaste to children at an orphanage in Kenya, Africa.

Anita ScribnerDr. Anita Scribner is board certified in internal medicine and infectious dis-

eases. She and her husband have four children ages 5, 7, 8, and 10. Scribner,who currently treats more than 700 HIV/AIDS patients, recently assisted theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya in assessing their HIV/AIDS strategicplan.

In Kenya, as many as 30 percent of women have HIV, and in some places inAfrica that number climbs to an astonishing 50 percent. Most are sick widowstrying to care for their children before they die. HIV treatment is very afford-able, in some cases as cheap as $6, but in poor African nations even $6 putsmedical treatment out of reach.

Scribner has seen God at work through her, and she says, “HIV/AIDSpatients are some of the most appreciative people that you will ever run into as a physician. I pray we sow seeds that others will reap later.”

Scribner often shares her experiences with her home congregation, OurRedeemer Lutheran Church in Longview, Texas.

John EckrichDr. John Eckrich has “ministered” to LCMS clergy,

seminary students, and professors, in addition to his otherpatients in St. Louis, where he has practiced for more than30 years. His compassion for Lutheran clergy led him tofound Grace Place Lutheran Retreats to assist clergy andtheir spouses to learn to “live well” with the stresses ofpastoral responsibilities.

For 20 years, Eckrich practiced medicine within blocksof the International Center of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. He and his late partner, Dr. FredeMortensen, noticed that clergy and teachers were “burningthemselves up” trying to negotiate the demands of theircalling while balancing the needs of their personal andfamily lives. In response, the Lord led Eckrich to develop a small group of pastoral health advocates to address these needs of Lutheran clergy.

Grace Place Lutheran Retreats chose a different paradigm of helping;instead of treating patients after they become ill, they teach preventativehealth, wellness, and wholeness skills and attitudes to clergy to “inoculate”them against the physical, emotional, and spiritual disorders that can limittheir vibrancy and length of service in God’s Church. Eckrich says, “I amaware of a significant number of our retreat alumni that may not havestayed in their ministry walk without this time of reflection and renewal.”

Throughout His earthly walk, Jesus Christ revealed Himself as “the greatHealer,” a reference to one of God’s Old Testament names, “The Lord whoheals you” (Ex. 15:26), and to the Gospel theme for the Epiphany season. By God’s Holy Spirit, the physical, emotional, and spiritual healing continuesthrough the hands of medical professionals. Yet the greatest healing of all isthat of the soul. It was at Calvary where “the great Healer” did His greatestwork. With hands nailed to the cross He said, “Tetelestai”— “It is finished!”healing our souls to spend an eternity with Him.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS Top photo courtesy of Lutherans in Medical MissionsBottom photo courtesy of Grace Place Lutheran Retreats

Gary Dunker is amember of MessiahLutheran Church,Lincoln, Neb.

Dr. John Eckrich (standing) had treatedhundreds of pastors and other profession-al church workers for stress. He and hiswife, Kathy, started Grace Place LutheranRetreats in 1999. The retreats were devel-oped by pastoral-care professionals andLutheran church leaders.

Dr. Anita Scribner says that this boy atan orphanage she visited was “keento get cuddled, … I don’t think thathappens much.” The AIDS epidemic isstealing the childhood of thousandsof orphans.

FEBRUARY 2006

by William Weedon

In the Church, one has to bewary of phony alternatives—either this or that. This includes

debate about the Church as hospitalor gymnasium. Truth is, there areaspects of both in the Church.

No question that the Church isfirst and foremost and always ahospital. It is the place that dispens-es God’s gifts of healing mercy forsinners who are bound towarddeath and hell and are unable to doanything about it.

Didn’t our Lord say: “It is not the well who need a physician, butthe sick. I did not come to call therighteous, but sinners to repentance”(Mark 2:17)? Is He not the fulfillmentof Isaiah’s words: “A bruised reedHe will not break, and a dimly burn-ing wick he will not quench” (Matt.12:20)?

The Lord, knowing the deepwounds that sin continues to inflictupon His disciples, has set up ahospital where the rich bounties ofHis grace can continually forgive,cleanse, and heal His people.

In His tender compassion for thehuman race, our Lord has estab-lished His Church to be the healingplace, the place where forgivenessof sins flows full and free.

Martin Luther described theChurch in these words in the LargeCatechism: “Everything, therefore,in the Christian Church is orderedtoward this goal: we shall dailyreceive in the Church nothing butthe forgiveness of sin through the

Word and the signs, tocomfort and encourageour consciences aslong as we live here.”

A hospital indeed!And written over thedoors are the words:“For sinners only.”

But is the Church,this hospital for sin-ners, also a gym? St.Paul speaks of theChristian life as anathletic contest:

“Do you not knowthat those who runin a race all run, butone receives theprize? Run in such away that you mayobtain it” (1 Cor. 9:24).

“I have fought the good fight, Ihave finished the race, I have keptthe faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

“Therefore we also, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud ofwitnesses, let us lay aside everyweight, and the sin which so easilyensnares us, and let us run withendurance the race that is set beforeus” (Heb. 12:1).

If the Christian life is a race, thenindeed the Church is the gym whereChristians train to run the race, fedon the nutritious food of the Wordof God and the Savior’s body andblood alone that gives us thestrength to endure the grueling con-test and win at last the “crown oflife.”

The key is that it is always sin-ners who need to take the medicine

of God’s forgiveness, and who arebeing trained as athletes to run therace. By the grace of God in Wordand Sacrament, we are given thesustenance needed to “go in thestrength of that food” all the way tothe mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8).

Hospital or gym? Yes! TheChurch is the healing place for sin-ners and the equipping place for thestruggle against sin, death, and thedevil that every Christian mustendure as he or she runs the greatrace home to heaven.

Does the Church on earthserve as a place of healing

or a place of training?

Rev. William Weedonis pastor at St. PaulLutheran Church,Hamel, Ill.

HOSPITALOR GYM?

Photo by Walter Sanders /Time Life Pictures /Getty Images

by Uwe Siemon-Netto

O ne hundred years afterDietrich Bonhoeffer’s birth,and more than six decades

after his violent death, it is high timefor Lutherans to reclaim one of theirgreatest martyrs. We have allowedhim to be hijacked by too manyunorthodox theologies. Because ofhis jailhouse musings about “reli-gionless Christianity,” he has beenportrayed as the apostle of Christianatheism, as the father of the “God isdead” movement of the 1960s.“Seldom has an author, living ordead, been so misrepresented by hiscommentators and translators,”wrote Paul Lehmann, by no means aconfessional Lutheran but one ofAmerica’s most prominent liberaltheologians.

Never mind that Bonhoeffer inter-preted “religion”—as opposed tofaith—as a form of self-actualizationand self-justification; never mindthat “whatever he meant by ‘religion-less Christianity,’ he certainly did notthink it eclipsed the need for prayer,worship and sacrament,” wroteStephen R. Haynes in his recentbook, The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon.

Left-wingers such as FatherDaniel Berrigan and Beatriz Melano,

a Latin American “sage,” alteredBonhoeffer into an originator of“liberation theology.” Meanwhile,Georg Huntemann, a conservativeGerman evangelical, stripped him ofhis Lutheran credentials by claimingthat he was actually a Calvinist of sorts. Huntemann, himself ofReformed persuasion, used his vol-ume, The Other Bonhoeffer, to railrelentlessly against the LutheranTwo Kingdoms Doctrine, which hethoroughly distorted, clearly notrealizing that Bonhoeffer’s very lifeand death bore the markings of thisdoctrine as none other.

One must be grateful to GustavoGutierrez that at least he, the actualfounder of liberation theology, didnot give Bonhoeffer his imprimaturas a radical. To Gutierrez, Bonhoefferwas, though courageous, a bourgeois.

And that was true. Like most ofthe men and women who sufferedand died resisting Hitler, Bonhoefferhailed from Germany’s upper classes,whose very culture the murderousNazi thugs violated.

Bonhoeffer was born Feb., 4, 1906,in Breslau, then the capital of GermanSilesia, now part of Poland, as theson of a celebrated psychiatrist and anoblewoman. At that time, Europewas at peace; it was still the cultured

continent that had no idea its refine-ment would soon be shattered by theslaughter of millions in the fratricidalfirst World War and then by WorldWar II, the handiwork of Adolf Hitler.According to his biographer andfriend Eberhard Bethge, Bonhoefferconsidered Hitler a tool of theAntichrist.

According to Martin Luther, whenthe Antichrist (or “Beowulf,” asLuther called him) enters a village,the peasants have the obligation toslay him; should they fail to do so,they will incur guilt. This was theway Bonhoeffer felt about Hitler.Before his death in 2000, Bethge toldme that when his friend becameinvolved in the plot to kill the tyrant,he said, “Of course, Christ’s wordsthat those who draw the sword willdie by the sword also apply to us [co-conspirators]. But right now, reasondictates that we must do this, andthen of course we must still turn toGod for forgiveness in Christ.”

Then Bonhoeffer added, “Now forthe first time I have understood whatLuther meant when he wrote [toPhilipp Melanchthon in 1521], ‘Sinboldly but even more boldly believeand rejoice in Christ.’”

Yes, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was astrong sinner in this sense of the

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

After decades of misinterpretation and misrepresentation by many for their own purposes, God’s purpose for Dietrich

Bonhoeffer’s life and death is being rediscovered.

WELCOMEBACK,

DIETRICH

word, for he was a confessionalLutheran. He, who at age 21 hadearned his Ph.D. in theology, did notact in his capacity as a citizen of thespiritual right-hand kingdom—Christ’s realm—when he conspiredto kill Hitler. He did so in his role asresident of the secular left-handkingdom—the realm of reasonwhere God reigns in a hidden way. Inthat kingdom Bonhoeffer was not apastor but an unpaid agent of theAbwehr, Germany’s militaryintelligence service, whichactively opposed the Nazis.

Indeed, so adamantly didhe insist on making this dis-tinction that he even insistedon having his name removedfrom congregational prayerlists for pastors sufferingpersecution for proclaimingthe Gospel. As his friend Wolf-Dieter Zimmermann reported,Bonhoeffer did not wantthese clergymen placed ineven greater danger by beingassociated with him and hisconspiratorial activities.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer latercoined the phrase that “sufferingwith God in a godless world” wasthe Christian’s proper response to“God’s show of solidarity with suffer-ing humanity.” He was prepared tosuffer in the extreme as part of hiscitizenship in the left-hand kingdom,which is still under sin.

He could have avoided this fate.He was in New York in June 1939,trying to avoid conscription into theGerman military. A stellar career as a professor at Union TheologicalSeminary awaited him. But a dailyScripture lesson changed his mind:“Do your best to come to me beforethe winter” (2 Tim. 4:21). So hedecided to return to Germany justbefore the outbreak of World War IIto share his fellow-countrymen’sfate.

“I have made a mistake in comingto America,” he wrote to U.S. theolo-gian Reinhold Niebuhr. “I must live

through this difficult period of ournational history with the Christianpeople of Germany. Christians inGermany have the terrible alterna-tive of either willing the defeat oftheir nation in order that Christiancivilization may survive, or willingthe victory of their nation and there-by destroying our civilization. Iknow which of these alternatives Imust choose; but I cannot make thatchoice in security.”

According to St. Louis mathemati-cian Charles Ford, a leadingAmerican Bonhoeffer scholar,“Bonhoeffer returned from Americabecause he did not want to miss hisencounter with Christ, who waswaiting to form his life.”

Bonhoeffer knew the cross waswaiting for him, and he accepted itin true discipleship of Christ, here, inthe secular realm. He was hangedApril 9, 1945, in Flossenbürg concen-tration camp, only days before it wasliberated by American forces. Hedied nobly, or so the camp’s physi-cian reported later:

“I saw PastorBonhoeffer, before takingoff his prison garb, kneel-ing on the floor, prayingfervently to his God. I wasmost deeply moved by theway this lovable manprayed, so devout and so

certain that God heard his prayer. Atthe place of execution he again saida short prayer, and then climbed thesteps to the gallows brave and com-posed.”

This sounds like an almost bliss-ful ending. It seems, though, that the doctor made up this tale in order to avoid punishment later in a war-crimes trial. B. Jorgen L.F.Mogensen, a Danish diplomatimprisoned in Flossenbürg, denied

the existence of a scaf-fold or gallows in thatcamp. Mogensen iscertain that Bonhoefferdied the same ghastlydeath his two Abwehr

superiors, Adm.Wilhelm Canaris andMaj. Gen. Hans Oster,suffered.

They were slowlystrangled to death by arope dangling from aniron hook that hadbeen sunk into a wall.When they lost con-sciousness they wererevived so that the pro-

cedure could be repeated over andover again. The man who revivedthem was evidently none other thanthe camp doctor who later made upthe story about Bonhoeffer’s elegantend, Mogensen insisted.

Bonhoeffer’s bitter end was in asense his personal exclamation markbehind his own Lutheran theology ofthe cross. So it is time for his radical,atheist, postmodern and other weirdadmirers to step back and hand himover to us. Welcome back, DietrichBonhoeffer, you are home now—finally, 100 years after your birth and nearly 61 after your death!

Photo by Walter Sanders /Time Life Pictures /Getty Images FEBRUARY 2006

A young Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is shown on an outing nearBerlin with a church boy’s group in this undated photo.

Uwe Siemon-Netto, is a scholar inresidence at Concordia Seminary,St. Louis, and director of theConcordia Center for Religionand the Media at ConcordiaCollege, Bronxville, N.Y.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS RubberBall

by Robin R. Mueller

When you consider thatthousands of children willnever experience a lasting

family connection, I think we needto challenge our Lutheran families,”says Rev. Paul Devantier, who wasthe national director of the InfantAdoption Awareness TrainingProgram from 2001–05.

Abortion in the United Statescauses 1.2 million fewer babies to beborn here annually. So U.S. citizensincreasingly seek to adopt infantsfrom Korea, China, and Russia.

Of the nearly 3.9 million babiesborn in the U.S. each year, nearlyone-third are to single women. Themajority of women with unplannedpregnancies choose either abortionor single parenting; just 1–2 percent

choose an adoption plan. InfantAdoption Awareness materials helpcounselors learn how to presentadoption as a positive choice forbirth mothers and their children.

“Meanwhile, a large group of‘special needs’ children—older, bi-racial, and/or infants with medicaland drug-exposure conditions thatmake them difficult to place—des-perately need families,” explainsDevantier.

Paul and Ellen Devantier servedas foster parents for 30 years tomore than 80 children, and havereared two biological and threeadopted children. One daughter theyadopted was considered “specialneeds” because of her age, ethnicity,and the physical and emotionalabuse she had suffered. Anotherwas bi-racial and had seizures as

an infant, which she outgrew.“Labels have nothing to do with

the personality, physical ability, orintelligence of a child. SometimesI’m sure my own flesh and bloodwould not have been acceptable toanyone else.” Devantier adds.

Annually, nearly 126,000 of the534,000 U.S. children living in foster-care homes become eligible foradoption. Their median age is 10; 38percent are African-American, 37percent Caucasian, 17 percentHispanic, and 8 percent of otherraces.

Adoption of foster-care childrenhas been increasing since the late1990s. Nearly 52,000 were adoptedin 2002, 59 percent by their fosterparents, 23 percent by a relative,and 17 percent by a non-relative.Yet, each year, 20,000 children “age

God’s healing touch for “special needs” children clearly shows through the vocation of adoptive parents.

out” of the system, reaching age 18 with no permanenthome or family.

“At age 9 or 10, these children’s chances of beingadopted are close to zero,” says Devantier. “Historically,we Lutherans have been good at reaching out to thedisadvantaged. If just two families from each congrega-tion considered adoption, we could provide homes for 10percent of all children in foster care awaiting adoption.

“With our support system of strong families, schools,and congregations, imagine what blessings we couldbring to these children. What a marvelous opportunityto live out and express our faith.”

The Lutheran Adoption Network (LAN) includes 30Lutheran social ministry organizations that are active inboth international and domestic adoptions and whichare members of Lutheran Services in America (LSA).Counselors at one such organization, Lutheran Familyand Children’s Services of Missouri (LFCS) were instru-mental in linking together the families described below.

A modern-day “Sarah”“Sarah” (not her real name) has two children, 36 and

38, from her first marriage. After a hysterectomy at age26, “I prayed that God would somehow give me anotherchild. I just didn’t know it would be so long!” she laughs.

Now 57, Sarah and her second husband, “Jim” (alsoin his late 50s) have adopted “Rose,” 2 years old, and“Michael,” 1.

Rose, born three months premature, had brain dam-age at birth and was later diagnosed with mild cerebralpalsy. Her birthmother was addicted to methampheta-mine.

“When we got her, Rose didn’t really have a will tolive,” Sarah recounts. For seven months, the tiny infantneeded constant care, suffering from severe acid refluxand seizure-like symptoms.

“She was so stiff, I couldn’t even change her diaper,”says Sarah. After therapy and enrollment in a First Stepsprogram that gives assistance to children, birth to age 3,with special needs and to their families, Rose’s mobilityimproved.

Sarah visited LFCS to show counselors Rose’sprogress and to request a sibling for her. They told herabout a bi-racial Native American infant. “They didn’tknow if he would live, but I couldn’t stop thinking abouthim and praying for him,” says Sarah. She wrote a letter

to the infant’s parents, explaining why she and Jimwanted to adopt him.

Michael, whose right side barely functions, also wasdiagnosed with cerebral palsy. Frequent appointmentswith medical professionals and behavioral counselorsfor both children “are sometimes overwhelming. Youcan read all kinds of books and gather information, butuntil you get into it, you don’t know,” Sarah admits.

“When people see all the work, they say we’re crazy;some say ‘They’re blessed to have you.’ But I say we’reblessed to have them. God gave them to us. We’re meantto be doing this.”

Sarah describes Rose as a “little bookworm” whoenjoys singing and loves her day care and Head Startteachers. Michael is “a beautiful boy who loves to givehugs and kisses.”

“If I were younger, I’d take in more,” she adds. “Theyhave special needs, but their greatest needs are love andcare, just like any other child.”

Photo courtesy of Infant Adoption Awareness

W e’re blessed to have them.God gave them to us.

We’re meant to be doing this.”

FEBRUARY 2006

Rev. Paul Devantier is surrounded by some of the children whoappeared in the “Thanks for Considering Adoption” mass mediacampaign that he directed for the Infant Adoption AwarenessTraining Program of the National Council For Adoption inWashington, D.C. All are children who were adopted.

Top photo courtesy of Paul DevantierBottom photo courtesy of Gary and Nita Koch

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

‘Here’s your new child’John and Faith Marsalek have three

grown children and one grandchild. “Wediscovered we were pretty good at parent-ing. We thought raising good kids was onepositive way to lead a life,” says John.

Seeing friends at church and schoolenjoy serving as foster parents, theMarsaleks, who live in Manchester, Mo.,decided to do the same 15 years ago, whentheir children were 8, 11, and 13.

Since then, they have parented 20babies, who have stayed with them for aweek to 10 months. “One of the thrills inlife is handing someone a baby and saying,‘Here’s your new child,’” says John.

Then along came Jacob, an African-American, 10-day-old infant. He was bornwith spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

When Jacob became eligible for adop-tion, “We lobbied heavily for him toremain with our family,” explains Faith.“We were very bonded. We knew therewould be hurdles with his physical andcognitive development, but we acceptedwho he is and how he is. He was ours.

“He was filled with determination; at 4years old he was using a walker,” saysFaith. [Today], Jacob walks withoutcrutches, though his gait is not normal.”

At 6, Jacob was diagnosed withAsperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism.“As a baby, he had issues with bright lightsand loud noises,” says Faith. “He enjoysinteracting with adults, but interactingwith kids is more challenging.”

Now 10, he enjoys Scouts, video games,baseball, and yard work with his dad andsays he’d like to be a “professional footballplayer.”

Despite Jacob’s challenges and a dozensurgeries, John praises “his amazingstrength and happy outlook. Kids withspecial needs also have special abilitiesother children don’t! You know ‘perfect’has its problems, too,” he teases.

“Jacob lights up a room when he walksinto it. When a problem comes up, he justswallows it and goes on. He has manyabilities and very few disabilities!”

Two of Ellen and PaulDevantier’s childreneagerly greet theirnewly adopted sister.

Eight years ago when Gary and Nita Koch first saw their daughter,Emily, she was a newborn, premature infant. Today, Emily is a veryactive second grader.

“[God] has given us an opportunity to dosomething special with this precious child.”

FEBRUARY 2006

God’s Plan for a Preemie “I believe that God created this child for

us; that’s how I felt the first time I saw her,”says Juanita (“Nita”) Koch.

Gary Koch tears up as he describes hisfirst sight of Emily: “I was not looking at achild or someone else’s child. I was lookingat my daughter. I’ll never forget it.” Eightyears ago, the Kochs saw a 2-pound, 7-ounce, premature baby in an incubator.

Today, Gary sees “a very sweet, caringchild who loves to learn.” Nita describessecond-grader Emily as a “loving, social,family-oriented” girl who enjoys Girl Scouts,swimming, and the library.

How does Emily see them? “It makes mefeel special that I’m adopted,” she says.“They really wanted me and they love me alot.”

Emily had laser surgery for retinopathy ofpre-maturity and has mild cerebral palsy.She experienced some developmental delaysand “her legs get weak when she runs a lot,”says Nita. “But what a blessing—she runs alot!”

When they adopted Emily in 1998, Nita, a nurse, was 44 and had prayed for years tobecome a mother. Gary, a college professorwho teaches counseling and psychology,was 50.

Living in northern Illinois, “We’re blessedto be in a diverse church and university set-ting with many friends who are older parentsof adopted special-needs children or foreigninfants,” says Nita. “Emily keeps us young!

“And it’s such a privilege to instill faith ina child. Our Christian legacy will live onthrough our daughter. It’s a joy to see hergrow physically, emotionally, spiritually.”

“I wish we had three or four more kids,”adds Gary. “I understand life and God’s planmuch more now than when I was younger.He’s given us an opportunity to do some-thing special with this precious child.”

Photos courtesy of Paul Devantier

Robin R. Mueller is a freelance writer for various Lutheran,non-profit, and corporate groups.

The Devantier family sets quite an example of what can beaccomplished when a Christian home is open to foster parenting.In their case, over the years, more than 80 foster children have joined their two biological and three adopted children.

20 THE

LUTHERAN

Rev. Random Name ispastor of Holy CrossLutheran Church,Anytown, USA

Photo by Tom Openlander

from the PRESIDENT

The transfiguration of Christ is receiving heavy emphasisin this month’s issue of The

Lutheran Witness. That’s appropriate,since Transfiguration Sunday is Feb.26.

And, following close on the heelsof Transfiguration Sunday—onlythree days later—is Ash Wednesday,which marks the beginning of Lent.

The joy and ecstasy experiencedby the disciples on the Mount ofTransfiguration at seeing JesusChrist in His glory is a joy to whichwe ourselves also look forward. The day will come when we, too,will see the glorified Christ face toface. We wait for that day in joyfulexpectation!

The season of Lent brings us faceto face with the reality of what wasrequired of Jesus for us to receivesuch a wonderful blessing. I speak, of course, of His life ofperfect obedience to God’s Law, Histerrible suffering, and His sacrificialdeath on Calvary for the wholeworld.

Seeing Jesus transfigured, Hisface shining like the sun, then see-ing Moses and Elijah with Him, ledPeter to blurt out, “Lord, it is goodfor us to be here. If you wish, I willput up three shelters—one for you,one for Moses and one for Elijah”(Matt. 17:4).

Peter and the others were in nohurry to leave the mountaintop. Itwas a wonderful place to be! But all too soon, Moses, Elijah, and thevisible glory of Christ disappeared,and back to “real life” they went.

For us, “real life” includes facingthe reality of our sin and its devas-tating impact on our lives. That’sprecisely the focus of the Lentenseason.

Even on the mountaintop, thedisciples became well aware oftheir sin. When the voice of Godcame from the cloud, the disciples“fell facedown to the ground, terri-fied” (Matt. 17:6). Being in the pres-ence of a holy and just God was toomuch for these mortal and sinfulmen. We would have had the sameresponse.

There are times, of course, whenwe are especially aware of oursinfulness as we see ourselves inthe mirror of God’s holy Law. Butthere are other times when we fallvictim to our human nature, whichtends to pay scant attention to whatwe may consider to be relatively“minor” sins.

Were we to experience God’spresence in the way the disciplesdid on the mountain, you can betthat we, too, would fall to theground, terrified, aware that all

sin—even that which we considerof little account—is offensive andrepulsive to our Maker.

God’s mercy intervenes, howev-er. “Get up,” Jesus said to His disci-ples. “Don’t be afraid.”

There is no need to fear, becauseJesus left His glory on the moun-taintop and set His face toward

THE LENTEN JOURNEY

Jerusalem, intent on making thefinal sacrifice that had broughtHim from heaven to earth.TheLenten season brings us to therenewed awareness that the deathof Christ made payment for all oursin.

It’s particularly appropriate andimportant during Lent that wetake seriously the opportunity,whether in weekend or weekdayworship, for self-evaluation inlight of God’s Holy Word and forthe assurance of Christ’s forgive-ness. This assurance is made verypersonal in the simple earthlyelements of bread and wine—in,with, and under which Christ’strue body and blood are receivedby us “poor miserable sinners,”who are freely and completelyforgiven as a result of Christ’sperfect obedience and His sacri-fice on the cross.

So, as you prepare for and par-ticipate in your Lenten journey,may you be blessed by Word andSacrament for a life that givespraise, honor, and glory to ourTriune God, Father, Son, and HolySpirit.

Jerry Kieschnick

Lives Transformed through Christ,in Time ... for Eternity!John 3:16–17

e-mail: president@lcms.org

Web page: www.lcms.org/president

The ancient custom of being markedwith ashes on Ash Wednesday is agesture of repentance and a reminderof our need for cleansing.

FEBRUARY 2006