First Things RSS Feed - Paul T. McCain

The Annunciation of Our Lord

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:01:10 -0400

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The Jack Bauer Evangelism Program

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:40:51 -0400

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The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Gospel

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 06:03:34 -0400

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Don’t Be Afraid: Thoughts in Light of the Health Care Vote

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:02:39 -0400

Excellent words from Dr. Russell Moore:

“Now these three abide: anger, outrage, and fear—and the greatest of these is fear.”

That’s not in the Bible.

But sometimes I wonder if I think it is.

The United States House of Representatives just passed a health care reform bill that I and lots of other Christians opposed. Such legislation should concern us. There are some bad consequences for the weakest and most vulnerable among us, principally unborn children. But should it also concern us that so many of us are talking today about how afraid we are?

Is it a problem that some of us who are tranquil as still water about biblical doctrine and ecclesial mission are red-faced about Nancy Pelosi and the talking heads on MSNBC? Is it a problem that some who haven’t shared the gospel with their neighbors in months or years are motivated to vent to strangers on the street about how scary national health care will be?

It’s not that I think Christians should be disengaged from issues of justice (God forbid!). It’s just that I wonder if we wouldn’t represent Christ and his kingdom better if we did it with a certain tranquility of Spirit, a tranquility that signals we’re not afraid of the rise and fall of temporal kingdoms and their policies.

Read Dr. Moore’s entire post here.

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Happy Birthday Dear Sebastian!

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:38:30 -0400

[caption id=”attachment_5721” align=”aligncenter” width=”480” caption=”Happy 325th Birthday Kantor Bach!”] [/caption]

Our beloved fifth evangelist was born on this day in 1685. Since many male relatives in Bach time shared a common first name: fathers, grand-fathers, uncles, cousins it was common to use a man’s more unique middle name to address them personally, and so, if we were to sing “Happy Birthday” to Bach, we would probably sing it “dear Sebastian.”

What a precious treasure and gift J.S. Bach is to the world. His music is the most influential ever written. When scientists were discussing what should be beamed into outer space to reach potential alien cultures, biologist Lewis Thomas said, “I would vote for Bach, all of Bach, streamed out into space. We would be bragging, of course.” And so we did. When the Voyager space craft was launched, it carried with it recordings from earth, the first being the first movement of Bach’s Brandenberg Concerto No. 2 in F.

To celebrate let’s watch and listen as the incomparable Glenn Gould plays a piano version of Bach’s Cantata BWV 1058, followed by his interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, 1-7, concluding with a movement from one of the Brandenburg Concertos. By the way, you might wonder what Gould is doing while he is playing. He was famous for singing in a low voice along while playing, often vocally harmonizing with the music.

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Top Books

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:56:45 -0400

So, here’s my list. Of course, the Holy Scriptures remain the most important “book” in my life, but that’s a given, so, next, in order, and it is extremely difficult to name only a handful, since there are so many books that have had a profound influence on my life, these are the books that came to mind as I thought of the “top ten” if you are allowed to count series as a single title, and are allowed to add one more.

The Book of Concord The confessions of the Lutheran Church. This remains the most influential book in my life as it continues to offer a guide to confessing the truth of God’s Word. I have pledged my unreserved agreement with their contents and it remains the most important book in my life.

Commentary on Galatians by Martin Luther. One of my favorite of Luther’s many writings. A brilliant presentation of the Gospel.

The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel by C.F.W. Walther. The definitive explanation of the key to understanding the Holy Scriptures.

The Lord’s Supper by Martin Chemnitz. The most compelling and convincing presentation of the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper I have ever encountered.

Here We Stand by Hermann Sasse. A powerful explanation of the “lonely way” that is the Lutheran Reformation. A pivotal text in my understanding of Christianity.

Ante and Post-Nicene Fathers . I know, this is a huge collection, but these volumes are what I cut my teeth on when I discovered the Church Fathers. They remain extremely influential as I became familiar with Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Ambrose, Athanasius, Augustine, Chrysostom, Jerome, to name only a few.

Christian Dogmatics (3 volumes) by Francis Pieper. A Lutheran presentation of classic systematic theology that remains the best presentation offering a good overview of the subject.

The Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism by Robert Preus. A brilliant synthesis of Lutheran orthodox teachers and thinking.

Martin Luther (3 volumes) The definitive biography of Martin Luther.

The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz. A Swedish bishop writes a series of short stories that powerfully present the Gospel and offer a solid antidote to the modern theological evils of Rationalism, on the one hand, and Pietism on the other. I read it regularly.

The Lord of the Rings I continue to read this book as the most compelling meta-narrative about good v. evil in fictional form.

The Aubrey/Maturin Series by Patrick O’Brian. My favorite works of fiction. A constant delight and joy, with every reading, some new insight and new pleasure is to be found. O’Brian is a master of human character study.

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Feast of St. Joseph, Guardian of Our Lord

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:06:41 -0400

Scripture Readings
2 Samuel 7:4-16
Romans 4:13-18
Matthew 2:13-15; 2:19-23

We pray:
Almighty God, from the house of Your servant David You raised up Joseph to be the guardian of Your incarnate Son and the husband of His mother, Mary. Grant us grace to follow the example of this faithful workman in heeding Your counsel and obeying Your commands; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

What do we know about St. Joseph?

Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him. We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:55). He wasn’t rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24). Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph’s genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as “son of David,” a royal title used also for Jesus. We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to the law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety. He knew that women accused to adultery could be stoned to death, so he decided to divorce her quietly and not expose her to shame or cruelty (Matthew 1:19-25). We know Joseph was man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23). We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22) We know Joseph respected God. He followed God’s commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus’ birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man. Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus’ public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry. Source

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:15:00 -0400

As an Irishman, on my father’s side, I’m very pleased to celebrate Saint Patrick’s day as the day to honor the one who was instrumental in bringing the Gospel to my ancestoral people and home. Here from “Crosstalk.com” is the real story of Saint Patrick:

If you ask people who Saint Patrick was, you’re likely to hear that he was an Irishman who chased the snakes out of Ireland. It may surprise you to learn that the real Saint Patrick was not actually Irish-yet his robust faith changed the Emerald Isle forever. Patrick was born in Roman Britain to a middle-class family in about A.D. 390. When Patrick was a teenager, marauding Irish raiders attacked his home. Patrick was captured, taken to Ireland, and sold to an Irish king, who put him to work as a shepherd. In his excellent book, How the Irish Saved Civilization , Thomas Cahill describes the life Patrick lived. Cahill writes, “The work of such slave-shepherds was bitterly isolated, months at a time spent alone in the hills.” Patrick had been raised in a Christian home, but he didn’t really believe in God. But now-hungry, lonely, frightened, and bitterly cold-Patrick began seeking out a relationship with his heavenly Father. As he wrote in his Confessions, “I would pray constantly during the daylight hours” and “the love of God . . . surrounded me more and more.” Six years after his capture, God spoke to Patrick in a dream, saying, “Your hungers are rewarded. You are going home. Look-your ship is ready.”

What a startling command! If he obeyed, Patrick would become a fugitive slave, constantly in danger of capture and punishment. But he did obey-and God protected him. The young slave walked nearly two hundred miles to the Irish coast. There he boarded a waiting ship and traveled back to Britain and his family. But, as you might expect, Patrick was a different person now, and the restless young man could not settle back into his old life. Eventually, Patrick recognized that God was calling him to enter a monastery. In time, he was ordained as a priest, then as a bishop. Finally-thirty years after God had led Patrick away from Ireland-He called him back to the Emerald Isle as a missionary. The Irish of the fifth century were a pagan, violent, and barbaric people. Human sacrifice was commonplace. Patrick understood the danger and wrote: “I am ready to be murdered, betrayed, enslaved-whatever may come my way.” Cahill notes that Patrick’s love for the Irish “shines through his writings . . . He [worried] constantly for his people, not just for their spiritual but for their physical welfare.” Through Patrick, God converted thousands. Cahill writes, “Only this former slave had the right instincts to impart to the Irish a New Story, one that made sense of all their old stories and brought them a peace they had never known before.” Because of Patrick, a warrior people “lay down the swords of battle, flung away the knives of sacrifice, and cast away the chains of slavery.” As it is with many Christian holidays, Saint Patrick’s Day has lost much of its original meaning. Instead of settling for parades, cardboard leprechauns, and “the wearing of the green,” we ought to recover our Christian heritage, celebrate the great evangelist, and teach our kids about this Christian hero. Saint Patrick didn’t chase the snakes out of Ireland, as many believe. Instead, the Lord used him to bring into Ireland a sturdy faith in the one true God-and to forever transform the Irish people.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord
(public domain)

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Can You Remember Life Before .Com? The 25th Anniversary of the First .Com Domain Name Registration

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:52:45 -0400

Twenty-five years ago the first .com Internet domain name was registered. Read the story here . How has our world changed as a result of the Internet? The good, the bad and the ugly. It’s all there/here/out there/on our computers for us to read, interact with, react to, live with, struggle with, enjoy, reject, be delighted with, be repulsed by, harmed, helped, etc.

How has your life been changed as a result of the Internet? How has the Church been changed?

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Laetare: The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:41:52 -0400

The study of how traditions developed surrounding the Church Year is fascinating. This Sunday in Lent is traditionally known as “Laetare” Sunday. Here’s an explanation of how this came to be called the Sunday of Joy, in the middle of Lent. The traditional/classic vestments worn by Lutheran pastors on this Sunday include a beautiful “rose” or “pink” colored chausable. It ain’t my cup of tea, but as my more liturgically attuned friends tell me, real men do wear pink on Laetare Sunday!

The fourth, or middle, Sunday of Lent, so called from the first words of the Introit at the Divine Service, “Laetare Jerusalem” — “Rejoice, O Jerusalem”. During the first six or seven centuries the season of Lent commenced on the Sunday following Quinquagesima, and thus comprised only thirty-six fasting days. To these were afterwards added the four days preceding the first Sunday, in order to make up the forty days’ fast, and one of the earliest liturgical notices of these extra days occurs in the special Gospels assigned to them in a Toulon manuscript of 714. Strictly speaking, the Thursday before Laetare Sunday is the middle day of Lent, and it was at one time observed as such, but afterwards the special signs of joy permitted on this day, intended to encourage the faithful in their course through the season of penance, were transferred to the Sunday following. They consist of (like those of Gaudete Sunday in Advent) in the use of flowers on the altar, and of the organ at the Divine Service and Vespers; rose-coloured vestments also allowed instead of purple, and the deacon and subdeacon wear dalmatics, instead of folded chasubles as on the other Sundays of Lent. The contrast between Laetare and the other Sundays is thus emphasized, and is emblematical of the joys of this life, restrained rejoicing mingled with a certain amount of sadness. The station at Rome was on this day made at the church of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, one of the seven chief basilicas.

Here’s an interesting factoid for you Reformation history buffs. On Laetare Sunday the Golden Rose, sent by the popes to Catholic sovereigns, used to be blessed at this time, and for this reason the day was sometimes called “Dominicade Rosa”. Recall, if you will, the Pope gave one to Elector Frederick the Wise as a way to curry favor with him and seek from him the extradition of Martin Luther to lands where he could be tried, and undoubtedly burned at the stake.

Other names applied to Laetare Sunday were Refreshment Sunday, or the Sunday of the Five Loaves, from a miracle recorded in the Gospel; Mid-Lent, mi-carême, or mediana; and Mothering Sunday, in allusion to the Epistle, which indicates our right to be called the sons of God as the source of all our joy, and also because formerly the faithful used to make their offerings in the cathedral or mother-church on this day. This latter name is still kept up in some remote parts of England, though the reason for it has ceased to exist.

The Appointed Scripture Readings for Laetare

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