L U T H E R A N B E T O D A R E
W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G
/ SPRING / 2002
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editor-in-chief Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 1 Tim. 3:16 (ESV) reat, indeed, is this mystery we confess. Those are great and precious words to every Lutheran. For in those words we are saying what God has given us to say by His Holy Word. Every Christian is called upon to make a ready defense for the hope that is within them (I Peter 3:15). This is an honor and a gift, which only God can bestow upon His children.
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In this issue of Higher Things, there are articles that deal with this confession, this very truth of the Gospel. Christians are called upon to confess this hope under suffering, death, and identity even in the face of pride and mockery. Now I know these are heavy words, but they are good words for the Christian. It is in the face of trials and tribulations that God’s gifts to His children become clearer. Along with thought-provoking articles, this issue also includes the winners of our First Annual Writing Contest and the premiere of a new column. In regard to the contest, we had numerous entries. The judges had a difficult, but wonderful time determining the winners. The contest showed us that Lutheran youth are perfectly capable of articulating the Christian faith to the world. There is no need or desire to “dumb down” the faith, or to make it simply about relevant “how-to” Law questions. This is good news for all of us. The new column is entitled Pulse. An ongoing commentary on contemporary culture. In this issue, the column focuses on the Grammy Awards. It includes reflections on songs and albums by Grammy winners. Why should a good Lutheran care about these things? Good question. We live in the world. Like it or not, agree with it or not, the culture of the day does shape and define us to one degree or another. It behooves us as Christians to consider seriously how the culture of the day affects us. What is good and what is bad? What may a Christian participate in and even enjoy, and what is beyond the pale of Christianity entirely? These are questions that youth and adults alike struggle with (consciously or unconsciously) every day. It is our hope at Higher Things to provide a framework and a way of thinking about these things that will be helpful to all. So whether you’re struggling with big or little questions in your life, this issue will certainly provide some answers for you! H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 2
In Christ, Pastor Todd Peperkorn Editor-in-Chief Higher Things: Dare to Be Lutheran
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CONTENTS
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Baptism and the Great Tribulation
Volume 2/Number 2 Spring 2002
Holy Baptism does not take away the Great Tribulation. It unites us with Christ so we will never suffer hardships alone.
Editor-in-Chief REV. TODD PEPERKORN
A Life Beyond Yourself: The Story of Polycarp by the Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn, Pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church, Kenosha, WI
In the 2nd Century St. Polycarp died a martyr's death. As Christians today, we can learn from Polycarp's death and know that Christ will never abandon us.
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by the Rev. Daniel Woodring, Pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, New Buffalo, MI
More than a Makeover: A Christian View of Death by the Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer, Pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church, Brentwood, PA
Jesus has broken the power that death has over each one of us. When we each stop breathing one day, death won't be a defeat, but a means for God to glorify us as He glorified His eternal Son, Jesus Christ.
10 Lutheranism and Real Life Results of Higher Things First Annual Writing Contest
14 The Other Side by Sandra Ostapowich, member at St. John's Ev. Luth. Church, Maple Grove, MN
The Cross stands between us and God. When He looks at us through it, He sees the new us clothed in Christ and without a body marked by sin.
17 Pulse by the Rev. Eric Robert Andrae, Pastor at the LCMS Campus Ministry, Intl. Ministry and Academy Rectory at First Trinity Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA
This new Higher Things column focuses on the people and products that make up our popular culture, but from a Lutheran perspective.
19 Good Grief: How Depression is a Blessing in Disguise by the Rev. James Winsor, Pastor at Risen Christ Lutheran Church, Arvada, CO
In the darkness of depression, the love of Christ is all you have. And as it turns out, you don't have Christ at all until all you have is Christ.
21 Doughnuts in the Kingdom of God by Kathy Luder
Is there more to Sunday School than just eating doughnuts?
22 Pride—A Virtue or Sin?
Managing Editor PAM KNEPPER
Assistant Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER
Editorial Associates REV. DAVID PETERSEN REV. JAMES WINSOR DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH Art Director STEVE BLAKEY
Business Manager LYNN FREDERICKSEN
HIGHER THINGS, INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS President REV. KLEMET
PREUS
Executive Director REV. DANIEL WOODRING Vice President REV. TODD
Secretary REV. SCOTT
PEPERKORN
STIEGEMEYER
Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN
SANDRA OSTAPOWICH REV. KLEMET PREUS DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH REV. JAMES WINSOR MOLLIE ZIEGLER REV. MARCUS ZILL Higher Things Magazine is published quarterly by Higher Things Inc., 2026 22nd Ave., Kenosha, WI 53140. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the editorin-chief of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2002. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information, write to: Higher Things Magazine, P.O. Box 580111, Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158-8011 or e-mail to Subscriptions@higherthings.org. For general information about Higher Things, Inc., please e-mail info@higherthings.org.
In this world it is sorely tempting to place our hope in our feelings or attitude or willpower. Our Lord reminds us in Psalm 39 that we place our hope in Him and not in ourselves.
by the Rev. David Petersen, Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN
Pride may seem right, but it really is selfish, self-centered, and, yes, sin.
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More Than a Makeover: A H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 8
hen I was 16, I was a bus boy at a local restaurant. I bussed a lot of tables in those days. Now most of it’s just a big blur of dealing with half-eaten dinners, dirty spoons, and washing the sneeze-guard over the salad bar. But I remember one night like it happened yesterday.
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Going about my routine, I suddenly noticed a waitress walking from room to room asking for a doctor. I was wiping tables in dining room number four, but I could see that there was some kind of commotion down the hall.
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I walked a few steps closer and heard the startled voices. Was that someone lying on the floor? What was the waiter doing? “Oh God!” someone said. It looked like a fistfight had taken place.There was a long table with all the chairs pushed back. Scraps on the plates. And a big, yellow birthday cake. A woman died in the restaurant that night. Someone’s grandmother.The whole family was there to celebrate her birthday, but she died at the table. As I was throwing the ruins of her birthday cake into the trash, I realized that while she was celebrating her life, death came and took her away. The waiter doing CPR couldn’t save her. Her family’s distress couldn’t save her. Even the trained professionals with medicine, tubes and equipment couldn’t save her. In spite of many efforts, she still died. Afterward, a Bible verse came to mind. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Growing up in the Midwest, I know what cold weather feels like. And this verse reminds me of how you can see your breath when it’s sub-zero outside.Your breath appears, but only for a moment, and then it’s gone. Is that what life is? Just a breath, a vapor, a momentary mist? That was the day I seriously started thinking about becoming a pastor. It occurred to me that my greatest problem was not that I had a job I didn’t like or that school was stressing me out. Not even that my parents didn’t understand me or that our home life was less than perfect. Death.That was the biggest problem I had to face, the biggest fear I had to overcome. And though I wasn’t exactly sure how, I knew that preaching the gospel and administering the sacraments could really help me. Oh, I’d seen dead people before. A couple of my grandparents and other relatives had died by then. But it’s different in
not there. Right? So we get face-lifts to hide the fact that we age. We live recklessly. We put fingernail polish on corpses. All because we can’t or won’t look at the scary reality that everyone is going to die. Sometimes we even make up strange and ridiculous theories about ghosts, communicating with the dead, or reincarnation. But those are nothing but fantasy.The reality is that all of us die - and it’s final. Why do we die? The world answers that question one way.The Bible another.The world says that we die because death is just natural.You’re born, you mature, you die.The Bible says that God created Adam in His image and likeness, and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. Life comes from God. So where does death come from? St. Paul tells us, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they brought a death sentence upon themselves, and all people. “The many died by the trespass of the one man” (Romans 5:15). The woman in the restaurant didn’t die in the middle of her birthday party because she was a nastier person than you or me. She didn’t collapse, stop breathing, and suffer cardiac arrest because that’s just the way things are. She died because she inherited Adam’s death sentence. And the same is true for all of us. Being a pastor can’t keep people from dying. Or can it? Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Maybe the ministry of preaching and administering the sacraments can cure death. Jesus came to rescue us from the grim reaper. He came to do battle with death and kill it. And that is exactly what He does on Good Friday and Easter, with the cross and the empty tomb. St. Paul says, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). By dying, Jesus breaks the power that death has over us. Everything that Jesus touched became something different. Water turned into wine. Broken bodies became whole. By touching the grave, Jesus changed death
CHRISTIAN View of Death by the Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer
the funeral parlor.They are dressed up and have makeup on that makes them look a lot rosier than they did in the hospital the week before. In the funeral parlor, you have flowers and pink lights next to the coffin and soft soothing music. But lying on the floor in dining room number five, next to the salad bar, is something entirely different.That’s death without its makeup on, and it wasn’t pretty. The world knows that death is wrong, but doesn’t know what to do about it. One way the world faces the grim reaper is with denial. If you just put your head in the sand, it’s
too. And by our baptism into Jesus, we become conquerors with Him. What can be said of Him, can also be said of us. His Easter victory is given to us. When we stop breathing one day, death won’t be a defeat, but a means for God to glorify us as He glorified His eternal Son, Jesus Christ. The Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer is pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church in Brentwood, Pennsylvania. He is the secretary of Higher Things.
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In confirmation class, I learned what baptism was and what it accomplishes. My eyes were opened to the other side of the Cross when I heard how, because of sin, we are all born spiritually blind, dead, and enemies of God—not to mention with physical defects, illnesses, and other maladies.
killed my grandma when I was seven years old—or at least that’s what I thought. My mom and I stopped over at my grandma’s house on the way home from the hospital. I had just had some reconstructive surgery to help my appearance.You see, I was born with a cleft lip. Only this time, things hadn’t gone so smoothly with the surgery. A couple of weeks before the surgery, I had the chicken pox and had taken aspirin for a fever.The aspirin thinned my blood. When the doctor performed my operation, I had an unusual amount of bleeding and swelling. So what was supposed to be a simple procedure, ended up being a two-week hospital stay. I looked horrible. My upper lip was so swollen I couldn’t even stick my tongue out. I was a mess. So when we stopped at my grandparents house on the way home from the hospital, I was very self-conscious about my appearance. I remember opening the door and stepping into the kitchen with my mom behind me. Grandma was getting lunch ready. When she saw me, she stopped, looked at me, and started to cry. I knew I looked bad, but didn’t realize I was ugly enough to make my grandma cry! I ran off and watched TV in the den until it was time to go home. Mom tried to explain that grandma was crying because she was so happy I was alright, but I didn’t believe her. People don’t cry when they’re happy. A week later, I turned seven. I remember mom talking about grandma going to the hospital for some hearing tests. Next thing I knew, everything was crazy. I found out grandma had a stroke during the hearing test. I thought it was my fault because I had made her cry. I couldn’t go visit her at the hospital because I was too young.Then a week later, I was attending her funeral. Of course, now that I am an adult, I know better. I do not have Medusa-like powers to kill anyone who gazes upon my face. But it took a long time for me to grasp that concept. And I had plenty more operations to remind me that my outside appearance doesn’t matter to people who sincerely care about me. Most often, we scheduled my operations during the summer, so I didn’t have to see many people until school started in the fall. But just to keep me humble, God arranged it so that a few operations took place during the school year. I have to wonder what people thought when I showed up at school with stitches and bandages in weird places.The usual upturned-nose, sideways eye-rolling
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glances from the popular girls became quick glances and embarrassed expressions. Some of the guys thought it was cool.They seemed more willing to talk to me in passing, as though I was somehow tougher for having the guts to walk around looking strange. Of course, everything was back to normal after a few weeks. But it got me thinking that there may be more to this whole cleft-lip surgery thing than just God throwing punches at me. Maybe there was more to it than just having to suffer through discomfort and embarrassment? There had to be another perspective I hadn’t yet found. All my life, I had never paid much attention to the baptisms I witnessed in church. I knew that babies were baptized at my church, and other churches didn’t baptize babies. But I didn’t understand why or think much of it. Growing up in Minnesota, most of the people I knew were either Lutheran or Catholic, and had been baptized as babies too.Those people who weren’t baptized yet, I saw as unusual. In confirmation class, I learned what baptism was and what it accomplishes. My eyes were opened to the other side of the Cross when I heard how, because of sin, we are all born spiritually blind, dead, and enemies of God—not to mention with physical defects, illnesses, and other maladies. All of that is washed away in Jesus’ blood that He shed for us on the Cross.The stuff I have had to suffer through wasn’t the end of the story! As far as God is concerned, I have been perfect since the moment I was baptized and made His child. I may still get a bit depressed now and then about having a bad hair day, gaining weight, having a zit on my face, or having a scar that will never go By Sandra Ostapowich away. And I may get self-conscious about how I look to others. But I can remember my baptism and that God doesn’t see those things when He looks at me.The Cross stands between me and God. So when He looks at me through it, He sees the new me clothed in Christ and without a body marked by sin. It doesn’t matter that I bought my jeans at K-Mart, my shirt off the clearance rack, I have a crooked nose and that my face is scarred.That’s only one view of me and not the one that ultimately counts. Sandra Ostapowich is a member at St. John's Ev. Luth. Church in Maple Grove, MN.
er Side her All of that is washed away in Jesus’ blood that He shed for us on the Cross. The stuff I have had to suffer through wasn’t the end of the story! As far as God is concerned, I have been perfect since the moment I was baptized and made His child.
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