Rev. Tucher

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from Gospel, which was read earlier.

“Peace be with you.” It was just an ordinary greeting, much like our greeting of “hello” or “have a good day.” Just an ordinary greeting, but on the occasion reported in our text, it had an extraordinary meaning.

The disciples were huddled together behind closed doors; afraid, scared because of the authorities. Would they arrest the disciples? Would they execute them because they had befriended the man who was killed for being a traitor and a heretic, this man Jesus? Now there was a rumor floating about that this man was alive again. Stamp out the rumor by rubbing-out the disciples; a sensible strategy. So now the disciples were huddled together in fear.

As the disciples huddle in fear, something miraculous happened. “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” Then there follows in the text those incredible words: “When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.” The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord and recognized Him as Lord by the wounds and scars on His body! It must have been frightening, to say the least, when Jesus first appeared to them when the room was locked. Days earlier, Christ was arrested and killed. Now the body of Christ is missing. Some say that robbers have stolen the body, while others have seen the resurrected Christ. Because of the thoughts of some that the body has been stolen, it would only seem logical that it was the disciples themselves who stole the body. It could even be said that the disciples were the next on the arrest list for propagating the false teachings of Jesus. For that reason, they hid, much as you and I would hide.

(more…)

From the Associated Press:

VALPARAISO, Ind. — Valparaiso University says its next pastor will be a woman — the first in the Lutheran school’s 83-year history.

 

University chapel dean Rev. Joseph Cunningham says the new pastor will be hired from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. That is a more liberal denomination than the Missouri Synod from which the school and each of its pastors have sprung. The university is not affiliated with either denomination.

 

School officials hope to have a candidate to present to university President Alan Harre by late May.

 

Cunningham says they’ve discussed the need for a woman pastor since 2001. Her position will be funded by a $3 million gift from a group of anonymous donors.

All I can say is: Come Lord Jesus quickly!

For an interesting take to the Strand Statement, one should check out Save the LCMS! and his post, Obfuscation!

The following statement was read by Pr. Michael Kumm (Pr. Todd Wilken’s pastor) at the Congress on the Lutheran Confessions (March 25-27, 2008, in Bloomington, MN).

You have to appreciate how Pr. Wilken puts things in perspective with his comments about blood and martyrs, but especially with Christ Jesus being our true, eternal Friend, and the true Martyr who shed His blood for us!

Wilken Statement

When I was on the air, I often joked about retreating each night to the “Wilken Compound” and closing the gate. Radio can be an isolating profession. I would even say in jest, “I have no friends.” I was wrong.

In fact, the first thing Jeff said to me as the International Center’s doors closed behind us on Holy Tuesday morning was, “Now we’ll find out who our friends really are.” We have.

“Thank you” seems to fall short. “Thanks be to God” is better. In the days to come, we will need all the friends we can get.

We’ll always have one. His enemies called Him “the Friend of sinners.” To that I can testify. “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.”

The first person I called on that holy Tuesday morning was not my wife. The first person I called on that morning was my Pastor.

I love my wife (I called her next). My wife is my best friend in the world. But that morning I didn’t need a friend; I needed a pastor.

Our Church needs a faithful pastor too.

If you want to carry on the legacy of Issues, Etc., you already know what to do: Pastors, go to the pulpit and the altar, be faithful to God’s Word and the Lutheran Confession in everything you preach, teach and practice. Preach Christ crucified for sinners.

People of God, require your pastors to do nothing less and nothing more than that. Hear the Word, trust Jesus, live for your neighbor.

Everyone, when decisions are required (be they congregational, district or synodical), remember: You need a faithful pastor, and so does your Church.

I keep hearing in my head those words from Hebrews: “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” This is so true.

This story has no martyrs; no one has died. This story has no sacrificial lambs; no blood has been shed.

The only story I’m interested in telling is the story of the one Martyr, the story of the Lamb of God. That story has all the death and blood I will ever need.

The writer to the Hebrews also asks a question:

The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?

What can man do to me? What can man do to you?

The answer to that question is seen just inside the threshold of the hollow tomb; it is heard in the frightened voices of the women who saw Him alive again; it is written in the blood of the true martyrs mingled with the blood of their Savior.

What can man do to me? Nothing; Christ is risen.

Wir sind alle Bettler,

Todd Wilken

(Source: RAsburry’s Res)

Today, a statement was released on The LCMS homepage.  I must say that I have not read the entire statement yet (maybe I should before I say anything).  However, I have read enough to see that their main point for the cancellation of “Issues, Etc.” was due to low listener audience!  Their proof: numbers from a “blending of the spring 2004 and spring 2005 ‘books.’”  They list the “average listening audience during the ‘Issues’ Monday-Friday timeslot of 1,650.  There is no indication these numbers have grown appreciably since.  (emphasis added)”  They also look at the number of streaming listeners, at a rate of 64 during the last full month (February 2008).  For the Sunday night show, “the peak number of online listeners on the KFUO stream was 39.”

What Mr. Strand does not say is that this in no way includes the number of people who download the archives, listen to it via podcasts or other means other than listening to the show as it is live.  For East Coast people, the live show on Sunday is 10pm, 9pm for Central people.  For some, it is not conducive to listen to a show live.  Therefore, we download the shows the next day.  Where are those numbers in your statement?

The following statement seems to place all blame at Rev. Todd Wilken and Jeff Schwarz’ feet:

Sadly, very difficult financial conditions sometimes require decisions that are not popular among all affected.  In the case of KFUO-AM, the time had come when good stewardship of the church’s funds required a decision that meaningfully curtailed the deep, ongoing losses at the station.  Ending the costs associated with “Issues, Etc.” was the only viable option, and the decision to do this was prayerfully and contemplatively made.

There are other shows on KFUO-AM.  Again, why was it necessary for “Issues, Etc.” to be canceled?   Was everything Wilken and Schwarz’ fault that KFUO-AM was losing money?  I seriously doubt it, but that’s what this statement makes it out to be.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for our sermon this morning is the Gospel which was read earlier.

Darkness. Ask a child what they’re afraid of and more often than not, they’ll tell you that they are afraid of the dark. The darkness can elicit many feelings. You hear a strange sound in the dark and you wonder what is lurking. Your eyes play tricks on you, showing you things in the dark when they’re not really there.

On this particular day, a Sunday, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb of Jesus in the dark. She needs to feel that connection to her dead Savior. She is grieving at the loss of a loved one, just as we would. Somehow, when we stand at the grave of our loved one, we feel that connection.

That is the feeling that Mary Magdalene needed; connection to her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. However, when she arrives she cannot receive that feeling of being connected to Jesus because He is not there.

Many things have taken place in the last week. Christ has been betrayed, mocked, sentenced, crucified and has finally died in what seems like a matter of minutes. All that Christ stood for was now gone, hope buried behind a stone. Now after journeying to the tomb, Mary Magdalene sees that the stone is no longer in its final resting place. She dare not venture into the tomb because of the darkness, in fear of what may or may not be there. That is why she races to get Simon Peter and the other disciples. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

(more…)

So we’re sitting here watching some TV when my wife said that Junior kicked.  She’s been feeling him on the inside for several weeks, but this is the first time that she was able to feel him on the outside with her hand.  She said that I should try to feel him kick.  I was sitting there for a second and sure enough, I felt Junior kick!  I’m a happy daddy now!

Gwen got back from Indy today and brought with her all kinds of clothes for Junior from a couple of baby showers this past week, plus a little shopping spree she did.  After seeing all the clothes and what not, I asked if she could expedite the delivery process and if Junior could come now.  I’m so anxious for his grand arrival.  I told her that I want Junior to come so I can play with him.  She told me that I couldn’t “play” with him like I want to for a couple of months.

I’M READY TO BE DAD!  COME ON JUNIOR!

Good Friday may have originally been called “God’s Friday,” but it is certainly also “good” because of the good gifts Christ won for us on this day. Good Friday is not observed as a funeral for Christ, but as a day for repentance over sin and restrained joy and praise for the redemption Christ accomplished for us on the cross.

The services of Holy Week are tied together and best viewed as one worship service. Therefore as you enter the sanctuary you will notice the candles are lit and there is no Invocation or Benediction.

In the service of “Tenebrae” (darkness) candles are extinguished to symbolize our Lord’s descent into death for our sins. The harsh sound (called “Strepitus” in Latin) has a variety of interpretations, including the scourging by the soldiers, the earthquake at the moment of Christ’s death, or the closing of the tomb.

One must not attend a Tenebrae service without also returning to celebrate the victory of Christ on Easter morning; else we remain in our sadness, unsure of our victory in Jesus. The forces of hell do not and shall not prevail against the Light of Christ. His resurrection is sure. He lives eternally. And we, too, shall live!

(From Trinity Lutheran Church, Gillette, WY Good Friday Tenebrae service)

The following is the “response” email I received from an email I sent David Strand, the Executive Director for the Board for Communications Services. When I say “response,” understand that I use that term very loosely. This is the standard reply that everyone seems to be getting.

—– —– —–