Lutherandom Musings Along Memory Lane (1/4/2014)

Remember when Saturday mornings used to be so much fun when you were a kid?

For me, I'd usually stay up as late as I could the night before (after what I thought was such a "hard" and "long" week at school), and then sleep in as late as I wanted to on Saturday morning.

The best part? Whether Dad would make us breakfast or not (his French Toast!), the even better part of my Saturday mornings growing up was plopping myself down in front of our TV to watch cartoon after cartoon! You know, the kind that were only on once-a-week and not available in an instant through YouTube and/or Netflix?

I thought about that recently and decided it might be cool to come up with a new weekly tradition of sorts for us adults to enjoy each and every Saturday morning now that we're all grown up (ok, at least some of us more than others anyway). I mean, isn't it time for us to look forward to Saturday mornings again?

Besides, it will be good for us to recall that childlike faith in fun and laughter if only for a few moments each week. You'll remember that laughter was for Luther a sign of divine grace and also an antidote against the devil too.

From the very beginning, humor had been a theological topic for Martin Luther, embracing the dramatic scope of his whole world view. He himself explained: "When I was unable to chase away the devil with serious words of with the Scripture, I often expelled him with pranks." And so this unique concept is born! Ok, so it's really not all that "cool" or "original" or "fun" to be sure, but it will be our new tradition here, and I'll try to make it worthwhile too. So who's with me then?

Please keep in mind, it won't be flashy, and it will hardly grab and hold your attention like a classic episode of the Care Bears, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, or Voltron would, but these "Lutherandom Musings Along Memory Lane" should satisfy the Confessional Lutheran's appetite for a balanced breakfast that includes your VDMA Vitamins like Vitamin A (Amusement), Vitamin B (Best of the Blogs), Vitamin C (Confessional), Vitamin D (Doctrine), and Vitamin E (Everything Else).

Each Saturday morning, God willing, I'll do my best to share some of the things I remember coming across in my unpredictable journey through Cyberspace during the week (hence, the "Along Memory Lane" part). Of course, this is also where the things you send me via email (if any) will show up too.

Ok, enough with all the commercials! Let's get the show started already, shall we?

8:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN A (AMUSEMENT): This week's edition of Boars In The Vineyard has an hilarious bit on the "Father, Weejus" prayers that are so common these days. Oh yeah, and rumor has it I might know the "Jeffrey" whose question they answered too.


9:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN B (BEST OF THE BLOGS): Forget about the traditional New Year's Resolutions this week. Here's an important message for moms from Vanessa at Hearts on Guard. Made me think of my dear wife who decided to take better care of herself this past year and who has seen phenomenal results. Please share it with the moms you know. The "Yet Always Remember" section is a beautifully Biblical way to end things too!


9:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN C (CONFESSIONAL): "We are faithful to this church, not because it is the church of our Fathers, but because it is the church of the Gospel; not because it is the church of Luther, but because it is the church of Jesus Christ. If it became something else, if its teaching were something other than a correct exposition of the plain Word of God, it would no longer be our church. It is not the Lutheran liturgy that matters. The church can get along without it if it must. It is not the Symbolic Books that count. If it should ever be demonstrated that they contain essential errors, we would be the first ones to cast them into the fire, for our norma normans, the standard by which we judge doctrines, is the Bible alone. Nor is it the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as a separate church in Christendom, that matters. The moment it becomes anything else than the stand on which is put the lamp which alone is a light upon our path, it becomes a sect and must disappear. We would not be Lutherans if we did not believe this!" Hermann Sasse, Here We Stand. The Nature and Character of the Lutheran Faith, trans. T G Tappert. My edition is the 1979 Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide edition, p. 180.


9:30AM DOSE OF VITAMIN D (DOCTRINE): Rev. Eric J. Brown had this to say in a post titled A "New" Year: "It's the first blog post of the new year. So...what's really going to be different this year? I mean, really, what will be? Oh, I could go on about how we are constantly changing as people, although that is over exaggerated. If you do New Year resolutions...how many of them have been repeats? Or I could point to my new son -- isn't that something different?!? Well, yes -- but that has very little to do with the turning of the page of a calendar. Often we will mark January 1st as the time of new hope, of new dreams. I have a slightly different take. I'm still the same. Still Eric Brown. Still sinful. Still beating down temptations. Maybe from an outsider's perspective I've 'grown' -- maybe I've got a few pet sins contained so they don't pee on the carpets in front of the guests. Maybe I don't. The fact remains that yesterday I was a sinner, struggling through this life in a fallen world. I remain that today. Yesterday, I needed Christ and His mercy. Today, I need Christ and His mercy. Tomorrow, I will need Christ and His mercy. You want to ponder change this New Year? Well, I rejoice that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I rejoice that just as I was forgiven and strengthened in 2013...Christ Jesus still is the same Savior He has been. The Word of God still remains. I am baptized, still. It hasn't been revoked. The Word of God is still preached. The Supper still exists. On account of Christ, I am forgiven. And that change to 2013 to 2014...that's just a reminder that we are ever closer to the day when He returns, when we really will be changed, when we will be like Him, when we will be raised. Does this sound dour to you? Eh, not really. I hope I enjoy 2014. And I will. And maybe there will be great sadness -- I'm sure there will be. That's the way of life in this fallen world -- in the midst of tragedy we still see God's blessings and rejoice. But take heart, Jesus Christ has overcome the world -- and this is true no matter how quickly those resolutions are broken, no matter how quickly disaster strikes, no matter if this year is worse than the last. Jesus Lives! The Victory's Won! True in 2014."


10:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN E (EVERYTHING ELSE): I'm going to file this in the "Boy, I Wish I Had Thought of That!" category. Gene Veith referenced this Lutheranism FAQ put together by Steve Born, a convert to Lutheranism who bases it on the objections to Lutheranism and various questions he received from his earlier Pentecostal co-religionists. At the site, you can click them and find some quite helpful answers to some common criticisms, objections, and questions. Be sure to visit Steve’s Lutheran Pages.

Sorry, but that's all I have for you this week.

In a Lutheran Layman's terms, now that your belly's full and you're wide awake, and you have the whole day in front of you, just go outside and play, but play nice and never, ever bend the rules just to get along or to be liked (Galatians 1:10; Jude 1:3).

Grace and peace to you and yours!

[NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with Lutheran doctrine -- in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word -- so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Thank you in advance for your time and help. Grace and peace to you and yours!]

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