Monk of Milwaukee

It’s an emotional game, baseball. The excitement that rises when you hear that crack of the bat signaling a great hit. The frustration that comes after bad plays or when your team just can’t seem to win a game. The joy you get when you see a foul ball handed to a young kid at their first game.The nervous anticipation that comes at the 3-2 count in the bottom of the 9th with bases loaded. Then there’s the sadness. The sadness that comes when the your season ends, magnified if it ends suddenly in the playoffs. The sadness that comes when one of your favorite players leaves your team or leaves the game all together.

This afternoon, when this story was released on cubs.com, I was reminded that baseball is indeed an emotional game. Kerry Wood, now relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, plans to retire after his next appearance on the mound. It could be today, it could be tomorrow, or even Sunday.

Kerry Wood played no minor role in my love of baseball. I remember the excitement that I had as a 10-year-old each time he stepped on the mound. This guy could get 15 - 20 strike outs a game! That excitement never really went away, even after he transitioned to the closer position and now as setup man. That excitement still comes even while following the game through MLB Gameday.

Kerry Wood, one of my favorite baseball players, one who got me excited about the game of baseball, will step onto the pitchers mound one last time in the next couple days. I’ll probably be watching the Gameday screen and that same excitement will come. The ball will leave his hand for the last time in the MLB and then he’ll leave the game as all sorts of mixed emotions set in.

It’s an emotional game, baseball. Kerry Wood, thanks for throwing your last pitch in Cubbie Blue.

I always feel like I need to watch Lord of the Rings after Pr. Schuldheisz is on HT-Radio. So, this time I actually did start Fellowship of the Ring. I came across the Death of Gandalf scene that's posted above. The beautifully sad soundtrack at a time when it seems all hope is lost. Gandalf, the wise, unquestioned leader of the Fellowship is the first to fall. How can they possibly complete their quest after losing the wise, powerful friend? How can they even continue without Mithrandir, their grey pilgrim? All hope is lost.

Aragorn steps up. He lives up to his other name, Estel. He has hope. He does not fall into despair or abandon his purpose. Although his friend had fallen he must keep the rest of the fellowship from despairing to their own deaths. "Pick them up." They must get to a place where it is safe, a forest, a place of life. The Hobbits have no desire to get up they are lost in their despair. They can only be lifted up by those who have been placed in their lives and travel with them.

We fall into despair too. We have no desire to get up and keep moving forward. All hope is lost how can things ever be right again? We despair unto our own death.

The Lord places people in our lives to pick us up. To show that there still is hope. They direct us from that place that will kill us to a place that is safe, a place of life. Our pastors, friends, and family direct us to where there is true hope. Where there is no distress and only life. They direct us to God's Gifts. His Word and His Sacrements. They drown you in the life-giving water of your baptism. The hope in Christ's death and resurrection is placed directly into your mouth. Your despair and hopelessness is swallowed up in the unquestionable hope that you have in Christ.

The world against me rages,
Its fury I disdain;
Though bitter war it wages,
Its work is all in vain.
My heart from care is free,
No trouble troubles me.
Misfortune now is play,
And night is bright as day.
(LSB 467:5)

The Christian life is a battle. It’s a full blow war, really. A war that is far worse than any of the wars that we read about in history books or see on the evening news. No, this war isn’t a battle of nations fighting for territory and power over their small corner of the world. It is a war against three enemies set on killing you - utterly destroying you. The devil, the world and your sinful flesh work with the sole goal of bringing you eternal death and damnation. Their attack is relentless. Not even yielding while you sleep.

The weapons this triune enemy uses are powerful. They are weapons of eternal destruction. They pull you in and make you feel good and forget that there is destruction involved at all! They elevate you above all else. Giving you a sense of power but all the while locking the shackles and pulling the chains tighter and tighter in an attempt to strangle any semblance of life that is in you. You lust after what isn’t given to you. You slander your neighbor every chance you get. Even if you don’t, you fail to speak well of him. You hate your brother. You hate your neighbor. They always get in the way of the only god that you care about - yourself.

Indeed the Christian life is a battle, but you do not stand alone as opponent to the enemy. You stand with the Triune Victor! With the one true God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The devil, the world, and your sinful flesh have been defeated. The war is over. You have been branded with the Name of the victorious one. Victory is yours too!

The war is over! The enemy has been defeated, but the church militant still struggles in post war skirmishes. The enemy remains relentless in his attacks. Indeed he fights all the harder in his known defeat. Trying whatever he can to add to his numbers.

The Christian battles with this. St. Paul captures this in Romans 7. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” You can nearly hear the frustration in his voice. You know that you are called to do good works. You even try very hard at times in order to accomplish them. Many times that leads to despair because you see all the things that you have done that are not good and where you have left undone the good which you are called to do. The enemy gains ground. You don’t live receiving everything as gift from God. You act as if God were not on the scene at all. The battle still rages, unyielding.

Oh, but God is on the scene. The Victor has much more powerful weapons. He arms you with the waters of your baptism, with His Word, with the very weapon that destroyed the enemy once and for all, His body and His blood! He gives this to you, daily and bountifully. He takes upon Himself all of your sin. Those things which you hate to do but still do and those which you are called to do but do not do. He has taken it all upon Himself and has given His righteousness to you. He forgives you. He freely gives you salvation and eternal life.

The Christian life is a battle. When you struggle with the law and are on the brink of despair, you do not need to struggle more trying to do good. There is no hope there. It always shows your utter failure. Yes the enemies weapons are powerful. But the gifts that God has given to you in the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, are immeasurably more powerful. Those gifts have been given to you for your forgiveness, your life and your salvation.

"For nothing will be impossible with God."  And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her." Luke 1:37-38

I think it was last year when Pr. Borghardt blew my mind with the greek of the Annunciation account. "pnma" (thats 'RAY-ma' my blog doesn't like Greek letters apprently) means 'things spoken' or 'word.' And it's only translated as that once in the passage above even though it appears twice. We like to use that first verse as a nice catch phrase and put it on T-shirts. Hey we can win this basketball tournament because nothing is impossible with God.

But this is so much greater than that! So much better than anything we could possibly comprehend! No pnma are impossible with God. No Words! No words are impossible with God. Even Mary’s barren relative Elizabeth has conceived a son. The angel’s word to Zechariah saying that Elizabeth would bear him a son is not impossible. Gabriel’s word, “The Lord is with you!” and “behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Not even those words are impossible with God.

Gabriel puts forth the word of God. Mary responds with “let it be to me according to your word.” She receives the messengers word as God’s word. (You’re given messengers, who deliver God’s word to you, too! You call them Pastor.) Mary puts forth Gabriel’s word who is pointing to the incarnate Word.

This past Sunday something really cool happened. March 25th fell on Judica Sunday. Judica is when passion tide begins and some really crazy things happen in the liturgy historically. The crosses and other images are veiled and the gloria is silenced.

We veil the crucifix because the it is our sign of triumph and we aren’t worthy to look upon it. We aren’t worth dying for. It also happens because of the last verse in the traditional Judica Gospel reading. Jesus says, before Abraham was, I AM. He claims to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He says he is the one true God. And for it the people pick up stones to stone him right there on the spot. But Jesus hides himself so that he dies on his own terms, willingly giving up his life for you.

The gloria is set aside for Passion tide because Jesus sets aside His glory to die. But by dying for you he is also glorified.

Now, Judica Sunday fell on March 25th this year. The Annunciation! And there are all these liturgical rules to follow about which takes precedence. But the Gospel is always more. Why not observe both? You have this seeming conflict between the two. Jesus hiding himself in the Judica Gospel reading and God Incarnate being revealed to Mary at the Annunciation. But they are both there to point to the same thing. That Jesus Christ the incarnate Son of God has come to take all sin upon Himself and die for you! He comes in the flesh at the Annunciation and He hides himself in John 8 so that he can die in His hour for the sins of the world and for you.

Oh yeah, Pr. Borghardt talked about the Annunciation in this week’s video check it out:

I think at times we all feel lonely. Maybe it’s because we’re away from family or close friends have moved away. Maybe a relationship ended and it seems like everyone besides you has found someone to love and be happy with. Perhaps, a close friend or family member has died leaving you feeling lonely. Or maybe it just feels like you can’t make friends or keep them.  

That feeling of being all alone comes and it strikes fast and it hits hard. When you’re alone at night, laying in your bed, or even when you’re surrounded by people, loneliness strikes. I’m not sure if there is any great way to stop it. If there is I haven’t found it yet. But there is comfort. Comfort in the Liturgy, prayer, and the Word. 

When loneliness strikes pray those words that you’ve known since you were a little child: 

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name, 
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen. 

Our! Us! We! When Jesus tell his disciples to pray like that he tells them to do it in their room, with their door closed... in secret. 

So in your room, with the door closed when you’re all alone pray, “Our Father.” You’re in your room all by yourself and praying with plural pronouns? That’s pretty weird isn’t it? 

Or it’s a great comfort! Because even though you feel alone, you aren’t. You join in praying with the Church. "Our Father, give us, deliver us!" You’re praying for your brothers and sisters too! You’re praying for those who can’t find the words to pray. You’re praying for those who are sleeping on the other side that they too may be forgiven and delivered from evil. Which means they are also praying for you when you can’t find the words to pray or while you are sleeping. I take great comfort in that. 

Compline and the Litany do this too (and a host of other parts of our hymnal). “The Lord almighty grant us a quiet night and peace at the last.” “Hear us, help us, save us.” They use plural pronouns because the Church is praying them with you and Jesus is praying them on your behalf. You are in Christ. Your baptism tells you that. His words are your words.

So, when the loneliness strikes and you feel like you’ll never not be alone again, there are those words, “Our Father...” Not just you, but the whole church praying with you and for you. More importantly your Savior who knows what it feels like to be lonely is praying these words, for you and with you. “Our Father...” 

That’s pretty comforting, if you ask me.