Cyberbrethren: A Lutheran Blog

Book of Concord Video

This is a video that was posted to the interesting social-network site The Wittenberg Trail. There are now nearly 2,000 people who have joined the Wittenberg Trail. I thought this video was rather striking. Your thoughts?

 

Find more videos like this on The Wittenberg Trail

New Post At the Blog of Concord

A new conversation is underway at the Blog of Concord, on the First Part of the Smalcald Articles, "The Awe-Inspiring Articles on the Divine Majesty."

The Journeys of St. Paul in Google Maps

This is pretty cool. Somebody has traced out the journeys of Paul and overlayed it on the Google map functions, so you can see them by regular map, by terrain, and even, the coolest one, the satellite view where you can see the actual land forms, and features. Check it out here.

The Poverty of Liberal "Pastoral Care"

This is an amazing video that shows the absolute poverty of much of what passes for "pastoral care" these days. What a great teaching tool. We can, and must, show great empathy, sympathy and care and let people talk. "Active listening" is a great tool, but too often it becomes the goal and focus of pastoral care, when it must be followed by "active proclamation." So many are, like this man, looking for forgiveness, a "real God" not the emptiness shown here.

Abortion and Annunciation

Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer offers these very good thoughts on the issue of abortion as seen in the light of the Incarnation of Christ. I vividly recall the first time I was struck by this very correct line of thinking: the Annunciation of Our Lord, which marks His virginal conception, is a powerful argument in support of not ending the lives of unborn children. Our Lord was Himself a tiny little human being when only a few cells "old" as it were. By the way, if you have not already, be sure to add Concordia Theological Seminary's blog site to your reader.

Here are Pastor Stiegemeyer's thoughts:

Even though we are still basking in the glory of the Festival of the Resurrection, today my mind turns toward Christmas. That’s because today is the commemoration of the Annunciation, the scene in Luke’s Gospel where the angel tells Mary that she will bear a son who will be called the Son of God. March 25 is exactly nine months before Christmas which, of course, is the the celebration of the birth of Jesus.* Thus today is really the celebration of the impregnation of Mary, the incarnation of God’s one eternally begotten son in the Virgin’s womb. As St. John wrote: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

I never seem to get past this date without needing to comment on the great atrocity of abortion. It is simply not possible to take the incarnation of God’s Son seriously and not be opposed to abortion. The Eternal Son did not begin his earthly pilgrimage as an infant in Bethlehem. He began it as a zygote in Nazareth.

Some modern churches have altered the words of the Nicene Creed to become more politically correct, and in so doing have sold their souls for a mess of pottage. The traditional English translation states that the Son of God “became man.”  In order to avoid the appearance of male chauvinism, some have rendered this instead as “became fully human.”

That is a very unsatisfactory translation. I understand the purpose. By “man,” we do not mean to imply that the incarnation does not benefit people without penises. So we say Jesus became a human being. And that is true enough. The trouble is with the phrase “fully human.” Fully Human? What other options were there? Could the Son of God have entered the world as a partial human? A potential human? Maybe a cyborg or a chimera? The phrase “fully human” implies that there are degrees of being human and that is completely incompatible with the Christian faith.

I’m with Frederica Mathewes-Green who said, “I believe that we begin when our bodies begin…. I believe that where there is a living body, there is a soul. There is no such thing as a living body without a soul; I’ve never encountered such a concept outside zombie movies. You can’t, therefore, say that this living, unique human body suddenly becomes a person at six months gestation, or at birth, or some other time. Where there is a living human body, there is human life.” To read the rest of her stunning essay, go here.

There are ethical implications for what we believe as Christians. It is not possible to take seriously the incarnation of the Son of God while tolerating abortion. Read that sentence again. Read it twice because anyone who denies the true humanity of Jesus is in serious danger.

St. John wrote that anyone who denies the incarnation of the Son of God is the antichrist.  “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist (2John:7).”

A person who accepts abortion must reason that the object being removed from the woman is non-human or somehow less than human, otherwise it is clearly murder. A Christian, however, believes that God became flesh at the point of conception (”conceived by the Holy Spirit”) and this confirms for us the tenet that a zygote is a human being.

I don’t see how anyone can, in good conscience, celebrate Christmas without opposing abortion.

* Before anyone asks, no, we do not know the precise date of Jesus’ birth. These dates were selected by the church and continue to be observed out of tradition.

Lenski Coming to Libronix

Good news! The NT commentary by Lenski are coming soon to a computer near you, thanks to Libronix. A pre-publication price is being offered.

More Lutheran Goodness for Libronix

I was just informed that Libronix is offering a pre-publication special price on a new collection of resources for Libronix, from Northwestern Publishing House. Here is where you can read more about it.

Awake My Heart With Gladness

Awake, my heart, with gladness,
See what today is done;
Now, after gloom and sadness,
Comes forth the glorious Sun.
My Savior there was laid
Where our bed must be made
When to the realms of light
Our spirit wings its flight.

The foe in triumph shouted
When Christ lay in the tomb;
But, lo, he now is routed,
His boast is turned to gloom.
For Christ again is free;
In glorious victory
He Who is strong to save
Has triumphed o’er the grave.

This is a sight that gladdens;
What peace it doth impart!
Now nothing ever saddens
The joy within my heart.
No gloom shall ever shake,
No foe shall ever take,
The hope which God’s own Son
In love for me hath won.

Now hell, its prince, the devil
Of all their powers are shorn;
Now I am safe from evil,
And sin I laugh to scorn.
Grim Death with all his might
Cannot my soul affright;
He is a powerless form,
Howe’er he rave and storm.

The world against me rageth
Its fury I disdain;
Though bitter war it wageth
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.

Now I will cling forever
To Christ, my Savior true;
My Lord will leave me never,
Whate’er He passeth through.
He rends Death’s iron chain,
He breaks through sin and pain,
He shatters hell’s dark thrall,
I follow Him through all.

To halls of heavenly splendor
With Him I penetrate;
And trouble ne’er may hinder
Nor make me hesitate.
Let tempests rage at will,
My Savior shields me still;
He grants abiding peace
And bids all tumult cease.

He brings me to the portal
That leads to bliss untold,
Whereon this rhyme immortal
Is found in script of gold:
“Who there My cross hath shared
Finds here a crown prepared;
Who there with Me hath died
Shall here be glorified.”

Hymn by Paul Gerhardt.

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

A blessed Easter to you all. Here are some thoughts from Martin Luther on the meaning of Christ's victory over Satan, death and hell, from his 1523 commentary on 1 Corinthians, specifically on 1 Cor. 15:54–55.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” is a common saying. St. Paul is able to speak about this article at such length because his heart is filled with it and he is so convinced of it that he regards all else as nothing by comparison. If his heart were not filled to overflowing with such thoughts, these words would never occur to him. Therefore they sound so hazy and strange and incomprehensible to others who do not occupy themselves with such thoughts. But whoever concerns himself with these matters and reflects on another life will, I am sure, comprehend and understand them; for Paul speaks of this subject as though he were already face to face with it. And because Christ is risen and gives us His resurrection against our sin, death, and hell, we must advance to where we also learn to say: “O death, where is thy sting? etc.,” although we at present see only the reverse, namely, that we have nothing but the perishable hanging about our neck, that we lead a wretched filthy life, that we are subject to all sorts of distress and danger, and that nothing but death awaits us in the end.

But the faith that clings to Christ is able to engender far different thoughts. It can envisage a new existence. It can form an image and gain sight of a condition where this perishable, wretched form is erased entirely and replaced by a pure and celestial essence. For since faith is certain of this doctrine that Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection, it must follow that this resurrection is just as effective in us as it was for Him—except that He is a different person, namely, true God. And faith must bring it about that this body’s frail and mortal being is discarded and removed and a different, immortal being is put on, with a body that can no longer be touched by filth, sickness, mishap, misery, or death but is perfectly pure, healthy, strong, and beautiful, so that not even the point of a needle can injure it. That will be the power and the effect, or, as St. Pauls says here, the victory gained by Christ, which will completely do away with and purge our sin and death with its attendant frailties, perils, and sufferings of the body.

Note how St. Paul speaks about this life and existence. He views it not as man himself but as a dress that he must wear now but discards later and replaces with another. He makes no more of death and grave than he does of taking off an old torn garment and casting it away. To him the resurrection is like putting on a beautiful new garment called immortalitas, incorruptibility or immortality. It is spun and woven by Christ’s victory. For the victory of Christ, who overcame all in Himself, was wrought for the purpose of clothing you with it and of cleansing you from your sin and death, so that nothing of your corruptible body remains or of anything that the devil infused in you or that derives from him, all sorts of misfortunes and frailties, error and folly, everything except your natural and true body as created by God. For God did not create man that he should sin and die, but that he should live. But the devil inflicted so much shameful filth and so many blemishes on nature that man must bear so much sickness, stench, and misfortune about his neck because he sinned. But now that sin is removed through Christ, we shall be rid of all of that too. All will be pure, and nothing that is evil or loathsome will be felt any longer on earth. However, this is not brought about in any other way than that we first shed this old, evil garment through death. We must be divested of it entirely, and it must turn into dust.

When that comes to pass, Paul says, this will be fulfilled; now we say: Scriptum est, but then we shall say: Factum est. The time will come when that which is now always preached and spoken about will actually happen and be carried out. And what is that? It is the fact recorded in the words: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” St. Paul states that these words are found in Scripture; I really do not know where in Scripture. They seem to be taken from the prophet Hosea, chapter 13:14, where we read: “Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, I will be your poison. O Sheol, I will be your plague (or pestilence).” That is to say: “I will kill you and do away with you.” For in Scripture poison and pestilence are regarded as a deadly evil, which quickly destroys and kills a person, for instance, when he is stung by the most venomous adders or when he gets a high, virulent fever or contracts the pestilence. It is natural also for the bite of a snake to bring about a fever. St. Paul may have had that in mind and paraphrased it with a few words.

However, I believe that St. Paul’s eyes ranged further and that he wished to include, in addition to Hosea’s statement, all similar ones contained in Scripture; for instance, above all the chief verse from which many others are derived, Gen. 3:15, where God says to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” In the Hebrew we find the same word for both zertreten and stechen.61 That word really means to bite as a serpent bites as it shoots the venom in. It means to say that the serpent will bite Christ’s heel, but He, in turn, will bite its head, that He will be a mortal venom and a pestilence for it, as Hosea interprets from this text. And this verse now prompts this proclamation of St. Paul: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” For our Lord Christ brought it about that the venom and the bites of the devil were deadened and completely swallowed up by Him, who crushed his head, that is, who stripped him of all his might and power. In this way we can relate all similar verses found throughout the prophets to this one. They all flow from this one and into this one, so that all of them comprise but one text. For according to His rich Spirit He melts many verses into one and molds a text from these which is supplied by all of Scripture and expresses the meaning of all of Scripture.

Thus Paul now wants to say: “After Christ has accomplished the purpose of His resurrection, then all that is recorded of the victory will be fulfilled, namely, that by means of it both death and hell will be swallowed up and exist no longer.” Then one may say: “Death, where is your sting? Hell, where is your spear?” Then this will no longer be proclaimed or heard and believed, but we ourselves will feel and experience it. Then the word will no longer be Fiat but Factum est. Then we will be face to face with what is now presented to us in words. In the meantime we must cling to this verse and know that what it says will surely come to pass.

Now note these words. Note how forcefully he speaks of death on the basis of Scripture. He pictures him as entirely swallowed up and devoured, with nothing remaining of him who himself devoured and swallowed up all men on earth. We hear furthermore that He Himself will be a poison to death and a pestilence to hell, which will consume all the poison with which the devil killed and destroyed people. For this poison is nothing else than the curse which has passed on to the whole world. It was blown and beaten into us by the devil, and we must all die from it. That is the drink he offered Adam and we all partook of with Adam when we were born. It has coursed through our body and all its members, and it also manifests itself externally by means of all sorts of distress and sorrow. However, Scripture discloses a salutary medicine and a precious antidote, given us by God in the Word, in which He assures us that He will kill death in return and that He also gives the devil a drink with which he will have to drink himself to death forever. He himself will have to devour his poison, curse, sin, hell, and death which he attached to nature, while we will be saved from these eternally by believing and adhering to the Seed.

“I Myself will do that,” He says; “I will be your death and your pestilence.” He applies these ugly words, death and pestilence, to Himself; and yet they are so immeasurably comforting. For note what and whom He refers to with these words. He is not a foe of nature. No, He shows that He wishes to help nature and subdue its enemy, death and devil. He has compassion with our misery, for He sees that we are now drowned by the devil’s poison and by death and are so submerged in it that we cannot extricate ourselves. He wants to wreak vengeance on him as on His own foe, who poisoned and spoiled His work. Therefore this is a real divine antidote, not taken from a physician’s pharmacy but prepared by heaven and given to us through Christ’s resurrection. It will be harmless for us, but it will kill and ruin only him who gave and served us this poison. And now, when we begin to believe the article of Christ, the potion is already mixed and drunk which eliminates the poison that he injected into my heart and conscience and also into my body. Now we are saved from the curse, and the same poison which we have in us is now poured out for the devil, so that he has to eat death by us. Thus we have drunk a salutary medicine in Baptism and the Sacrament, which expels and removes our poison. This does not kill me but the very enemy who intended to kill me with it. You see, that is why God employs such figurative language and calls Himself a poison, not a poison for us poor people who once were cumbered with death and pestilence, but a poison against the poison of death and hell. Now we who feel such poison and plague can take comfort from that, assured that God befriends us so greatly that He completely removes these from our body and soul and feeds these to devil and death, that his belly is rent by them.

Poison and pestilence are a death which does not kill suddenly and abruptly; but it kills nevertheless. It gradually makes its way through the whole body until it reaches the heart. That is the way God also treats us. He does not want to carry out the victory over death and devil all of a sudden, but He has this proclaimed for a while for the sake of the elect who are yet to be born. So He begins to mix and prepare the potion to be a purgatio or a medication for us, to refresh and to invigorate us but to be poison and death for the devil. This is comparable to a potion prescribed by a physician. This is conducive to a patient’s health, but it is poison to a fever. Thus He could well call His medicine or antidote a poison or a pestilence. Here, too, it is true that one poison expels another, that one pestilence kills the other.

This also applies to Christendom now, when Word, Baptism, and the Sacrament are administered and nothing is proclaimed but that Christ died and rose again. That is the only prescription or purgatio for our sin and death. That we must take daily and let it work, in order to drive the poison from our heart and take us from death and hell to eternal life. He promised us that; and He commanded us to proclaim it and to believe it. Thereby He brings it about in us daily that it penetrates like a leaven (as Christ says in Matt. 13:33). Then the heart grows and grows in faith and learns to despise and overcome this life and its hardships.

That is the victory by which death is to be swallowed up, so that we need fear death no longer or remain in it. For the heart is already saturated by the Gospel, which shall be poison and pestilence to death. It weakens death from day to day and deprives him of his strength, until he is submerged entirely and disappears. For although he is not yet entirely swallowed up in us, the victory gained by Christ is already present, and through Gospel, Baptism, and faith it has become our victory. On the Last Day, when we have taken off the old, terrestrial, perishable garment and put on a new celestial one, we can destroy him completely with this victory. Then we will remain in life forever; then we will behold and perceive life as we now behold and feel the reverse, namely, that death is in us and that we are stuck in death. The victory appears to be his alone, as he as the lord of the world devours and consumes one person after another up to the Last Day. But nevertheless we know from Scripture that victory was wrested from him by Christ, who began to swallow him up in Himself. And through Him we, too, are spiritually victorious over him. Later we will bury death also physically and do away with him entirely, so that nothing will be seen or known of him any longer. Instead, we will have nothing but life and bliss.

Then we will really begin to glory joyfully and defiantly and say and sing: “O death, where is thy sting? O hell, where is thy victory?” That is really snapping one’s fingers at death and hell and saying: “Dear death, do not bite me, but show your anger with me and kill me. I defy death and hell and challenge them to touch a hair on my head!63 Where are you now, you vile man-eaters?” Then there will be naught but making game of death, hell, and devil. And as they now boast and jeer at the whole world, saying, “We defy you to escape us!” tables will then be turned. Then we can vent our anger on them and defy them forever and say: “Now let us see what you are able to kill! Of course, you have been enjoined from killing. Now it is your turn to lie there ignominiously and be ridiculed in the bargain.” This has already begun through Christ on His own body. He sings this song of defiance against death and hell uninterruptedly: “Dear death, once upon a time you crucified and buried Me too; and you trampled Me underfoot. You assumed that you had gained the victory and had devoured Me. But where are you now? I defy you to pursue Me further!” For death has already been drowned and swallowed up entirely on His body, with not as much as a speck of death’s dust remaining on Him. Now we who believe in Him share in this when the hour comes in which we see and feel how death and hell are entirely swallowed up and exterminated. At present, however, we await the hour, assured that this will surely come to pass and that we can already defiantly rely on Christ by faith over against sin, death, and hell.

Luther, M. (1999, c1973). Vol. 28: Luther's works, vol. 28  : 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 15, Lectures on 1 Timothy (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (28:201). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Lumen Christi: Light of Christ -- Ancient Reading for the Easter Vigil

Rejoice now, O heavenly choirs of angels;
Rejoice now, all creation
Sound forth, trumpet of salvation,
And proclaim the triumph of our King.

Rejoice too, all the earth,
In the radiance of the light now poured upon you
And made brilliant by the brightness of the everlasting King;
Know that the ancient darkness has been forever banished.

Rejoice, O Church of Christ,
Clothed in the brightness of this light;
Let all the house of God ring out with rejoicing,
With the praises of all God's faithful people.

(Exsultet of the Easter Vigil)

O night that is brighter than day,
O night more dazzling than the sun,
O night more sparkling than fresh snow,
O night more brilliant than all our lamps!
O night that is sweeter than Paradise,
O night delivered from darkness,
O night that dispels the sleep of sin,
O night that makes us keep vigil with the angels,
O night terrible for the demons,
O night desired by all the year,
O night that leads the bridal Church to her Spouse,
O night that is mother to those enlightened!
O night in which the Devil, sleeping, was despoiled,
O night in which the Heir brings the co-heirs to their heritage.

(Asterius of Pontus  AD 341-400)

Thanks to Pastor Cwirla for this.

Wise Pastoral Wisdom from LCMS District President re. Issues, etc. matter

I've been hearing from a lot of you who are confused, upset and frustrated by the cancellation of the radio show, Issues, etc. It's all too easy in such situations to indulge in speculations and frankly, the eighth commandment can be far too easily trampled in the process. I very much appreciated the wise counsel, and pastoral wisdom, offered by LCMS District President Herb Mueller and thought I would share it with you.

Statement to the Southern Illinois District on Issues Etc. by District President, the Rev. Herb Mueller

My brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus:

God’s peace is ours in Christ Jesus, won for us this day as our Lord Jesus died for us.  He took our sin and death into Himself that He might give us His life and His righteousness.  In the proclamation of His cross and His resurrection, we have life.  I pray God’s blessing and peace for you and yours this Good Friday.

As many of you know, this past Tuesday the very popular Lutheran radio show, Issues Etc. was cancelled and the host, Rev. Todd Wilken (a member of the SID) and the show’s producer, Mr. Jeff Schwarz (a member of St. Paul, Hamel) have been dismissed from the employ of the Synod.  By way of explanation, this is what David Strand, Director of the Board for Communication Services, sent to the District Presidents:

While this was a programmatic and business decision, it also touches on matters of employment and human resources.  Because of this, there is very little that can appropriately be said by way of "explanation" or "reasons" for this decision.

I would respectfully suggest that you direct callers or e-mailers to the Synod's Church Information Center (1-888-THE LCMS, or infocenter@lcms.org), whose staff is equipped to handle such calls.  There also is a brief statement on the KFUO-AM website at www.kfuo.org (from an email, received from David Strand March 19, 2008)

In addition, when I first heard of this, I asked President Gerald Kieschnick if he could tell me why the show was cancelled and why Rev. Wilken and Mr. Schwarz were dismissed.  Following is his response:

Following is a statement from the Board for Communication Services office regarding this matter, which transpired with my awareness but neither by my order nor at my direction:  The “Issues, Etc.” radio program on KFUO-AM has been discontinued. Show host Rev. Todd Wilken and producer Mr. Jeff Schwarz are no longer with KFUO. We thank these men for their years of service of behalf of the station.…To my knowledge there is no reason for disciplinary action regarding those affected (From an email, received from President Kieschnick March 18, 2008)

I have received no further information.  We must always put the best construction on everything. Yet I do realize this leaves many questions completely unanswered.  For instance, why?  What are the “programmatic and business reasons” for the decision?  No one, least of all Rev. Todd Wilken or Jeff Schwarz, has been given any reason.  Please trust that I am diligently seeking more complete answers through personal contacts.  I hope that at some time a further explanation can be offered by those responsible.  There may be good, understandable reasons for this, but at the very least, I do believe those who appreciated Issues Etc ought be given a credible explanation why this was done.

In the meantime, I would humbly suggest that you let your thoughts be known by contacting the Board for Communication Services through David Strand (David.Strand@lcms.org), or by contacting the President’s Office or the numbers given above.  They need to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Please know that I will be doing all I can from my office to help Pastor Wilken and Jeff Schwarz.  The most important thing you can do is to pray for them, pray for our Synod, pray for our leaders.  Please also, in all your contacts, remember the 8th Commandment, remember that we are dealing with brothers in Christ.  Be honest about your thoughts, but remember also our Lord’s Word – “Whatever, you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossians 3:17).

Yours in the One crucified for us this day,

+ Herb Mueller
Southern Illinois District President

A Strange and Dreadful Strife: Meditation for Holy Saturday

There is a stunned, numb feeling after a loved one dies. One moment there is life, then, in the very next second, there is death. The last breath is breathed in, and then breathed out. And so with the Lord also, as He hung there suspended before the world, He said: "It is  finished" and breathed his last. But only for a short while. Only for a little time.

The death was real, very real. Its cold, icy grip took hold and "Christ lay in death's strong bands, for our offenses given." Oh, how the host of Hell must have been rejoicing! Imagine their laughter and glee. "I imagine He wishes he had taken me up on my offer, that day three years before, when I held out to Him the world, if He would only bow down and worship." Surely, Satan was shouting that out with glee.

But the "victory" was short-lived. And on Holy Saturday, as we remember that Christ did lay in death's strong bands, for our offenses given, we realize that the the three strong ancient enemies:  sin, death, and the Devil threaten us as well. We know their cold, stinking breath on the back of our necks. We try to push them away, by excuses or by imagination, comforting ourselves in any way we can. But in the quiet moment of our lives, we know we can not escape.

There is only One who can break us loose from the bondage of sin, and death and hell. Only One whose power undoes what sin has brought. It is to this One that we cling.

Last night we adored the Crucified One on His cross, and today our hearts, minds and souls are filled with prayer, such as this one:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, we pray to set your passion, cross and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; rest to the dead in Christ; to your Holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, one God, now and forever.

In but a few short hours the Church will rejoice and shout out again with joy the Easter greeting, but not now. Now we wait, and watch, and we ponder anew on the Holy Passion of our Lord. "See, His blood doth mark our door; faith points to it, death passes o'er, and Satan cannot harm us."

Here is Luther's mighty Easter hymn, appropriate for Holy Saturday reflection and prayer:

 

1. Christ Jesus lay in death's strong bands,

       For our offenses given;
       But now at God's right hand He stands
       And brings us life from heaven;
       Therefore let us joyful be
       And sing to God right thankfully
       Loud songs of hallelujah!
       Hallelujah!

       2. No son of man could conquer Death,
       Such mischief sin had wrought us,
       For innocence dwelt not on earth,
       And therefore Death had brought us
       Into thraldom from of old
       And ever grew more strong and bold
       And kept us in his bondage. Hallelujah!

       3. But Jesus Christ, God's only Son,
       To our low state descended,
       The cause of Death He has undone,
       His power forever ended,
       Ruined all his right and claim
       And left him nothing but the name,--
       His sting is lost forever.
       Hallelujah!

       4. It was a strange and dreadful strife
       When Life and Death contended;
       The victory remained with Life,
       The reign of Death was ended;
       Holy Scripture plainly saith
       That Death is swallowed up by Death,
       His sting is lost forever.
       Hallelujah!

       5. Here the true Paschal Lamb we see,
       Whom God so freely gave us;
       He died on the accursed tree--
       So strong His love!--to save us.
       See, His blood doth mark our door;
       Faith points to it, Death passes o'er,
       And Satan cannot harm us.
       Hallelujah!

       6. So let us keep the festival
       Whereto the Lord invites us;
       Christ is himself the Joy of all,
       The Sun that warms and lights us.
       By His grace He doth impart
       Eternal sunshine to the heart;
       The night of sin is ended.
       Hallelujah!

       7. Then let us feast this Easter Day
       On Christ, the Bread of heaven;
       The Word of Grace hath purged away
       The old and evil leaven.
       Christ alone our souls will feed,
       He is our meat and drink indeed;
       Faith lives upon no other.
       Hallelujah!

Behold, the Lamb of God: Meditation for Good Friday 2008

It was your sin, and mine, that put him on the Cross. We had no place in the Paradise our first parents were driven from. Guilty, as charged. Doomed. Condemned. Even as the scourge bit deeply into his back, thorns pierced his head, nails tore through his hands and feet, the spear pierced his side, so my sins did the same. And your sins. They put him there. So deeply does sin separate the world from God, that it is only possible through the death of the beloved Son that sins can be, and, thanks be to God, are forgiven. Peace with God once more is made. But what a terrible price! Oh, how terrible.

"Good" indeed, is this Good Friday. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and on the cross was the highest service of God, to mankind: His son, sacrificed and given up for the sins of the world, just as had been promised to our first parents (Gen. 3;15). Finally the head of the Evil One was under the foot of the Holy One of Israel. The Suffering Servant was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our offenses (Is. 53), and by the stripes and blows He endured, we are healed, and we are restored to peace with God. He appeared to offer up the last and final sacrifice, to put away sin, forever (Hebr. 9:26). With repentant joy, we receive the salvation won for us by the atoning sacrifice Christ our Lord offered up for our sins.

As a result of that first good Friday, we have peace with God. His love is poured out into our lives, flowing over us, a deep scarlet rich love, pouring out just as the blood poured forth from the cross. Therefore, there is no grief too deep, no hurt too painful, no sin too horrible, no guilt too enormous, that it is not covered over by the blood of Christ, and swallowed up in His victory over sin, death and devil.

Nothing in all the world can ever separate you from the love of God. Nothing is stronger than the love that holds you. There is no power on earth, no grief, no sickness, no pain, no loss, not hurt, no trouble...nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate you from the love of God which is yours, through Christ Jesus your Lord. Nothing, ever. You are loved by God. Always and forever. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:57).

And so on this day, when we gather to ponder and meditate on the enormity of our sin, the awful, terrible price exacted for it in the death of our Savior, through tears of repentant joy, we can, and must, and will say again, with the Apostle St. Paul:

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." (Gal. 2:20).

Here is Paul Gerhardt's beautiful hymn, A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth.

1. A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of all men bearing;
And laden with the sins of earth,
None else the burden sharing!
Goes patient on, grows weak and faint,
To slaughter led without complaint,
That spotless life to offer;
Bears shame and stripes,
and wounds and death,
Anguish and mockery and saith,
"Willing all this I suffer."

2. This Lamb is Christ, the soul's great friend,
The Lamb of God, our Savior;
Him God the Father chose to send
To gain for us His favor.
"Go forth, My Son," the Father saith,
"And free men from the fear of death,
From guilt and condemnation.
The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,
But by Thy passion men shall share
The fruit of Thy salvation."

3. "Yea, Father, yea most willingly
I'll bear what Thou commandest;
My will conforms to Thy decree,
I do what Thou demandest."
O wondrous Love, what hast Thou done!
The Father offers up His Son!
The Son, content, descendeth!
O Love, how strong Thou art to save!
Thou beddest Him within the grave
Whose word the mountains rendeth.

4. Thou lay'st Him, Love upon the cross,
With nails and spear Him bruising;
Thou slay'st Him as a lamb, His loss
From soul and body oozing;
From body 'tis the crimson flood
Of precious sacrificial blood,
From soul, the strength of anguish.
My gain it is; sweet Lamb, to Thee
What can I give whose love to me
For me doth make Thee languish?

5. Lord, all my life I'll cleave to Thee,
Thy love fore'er beholding,
Thee ever, as Thou ever me,
With loving arms enfolding.
Yea, Thou shalt be my Beacon-light,
To guide me safe through death's dark night,
And cheer my heart in sorrow;
Henceforth myself and all that's mine
To Thee, my Savior, I consign,
From whom all things I borrow.

6. From morn till eve my theme shall be
Thy mercy's wondrous measure;
To sacrifice myself for Thee
Shall be my aim and pleasure.
My stream of life shall ever be
A current flowing ceaselessly,
Thy constant praise outpouring.
I'll treasure in my memory,
O Lord, all Thou hast done for me,
Thy gracious love adoring.

7. Enlarge my heart's own shrine, and swell,
To thee shall now be given
a treasure that doth far excel
The worth of earth and heaven.
Away with the Arabian gold,
With treasures of an earthly mold!
I've found a better jewel.
My priceless treasure, Lord, my God,
Is Thy most holy, precious blood,
Which flowed from wounds so cruel.

8. This treasure ever I'll employ,
This every aid shall yield me;
In sorrow it shall be my joy,
In conflict it shall shield me;
In joy, the music of my feast,
And when all else has lost its zest,
This manna still shall feed me;
In thirst my drink; in want my food;
My company in solitude,
To comfort and to lead me.

9. Of death I am no more afraid,
New life from Thee is flowing;
Thy cross affords me cooling shade
When noonday's sun is glowing.
When by my grief I am opprest,
On Thee my weary soul shall rest
Serenely as on pillows.
Thou art my Anchor when by woe
My boat is driven to and fro
On trouble's surging billows.

10. And when Thy glory I shall see
And taste Thy kingdom's pleasure,
Thy blood my royal robe shall be,
My joy beyond all measure.
When I appear before Thy throne,
Thy righteousness shall be my crown,
With these I need not hide me.
And there in garments richly wrought
As Thine own bride, I shall be brought
To stand in joy beside Thee.

For Us Pleads, in All Trial, Fear and Need: The Lord's Body and Blood

Today is the day in the Christian church year known as Maundy Thursday. Why "Maundy"? It is a word derived from the Latin word "Mandatum" which means "command" and originates from the words of our Lord spoken on the evening of this holy day so many years ago: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35). 

Where does this love come from? Is it a human emotion?  Oh, it is that, but so much more, in fact, much greater than a feeling. The love about which our Lord speaks is the eternal self-sacrificing and self-giving, self-emptying love that animates the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity Himself. "God is love" and therefore, "We love God because He first loved us." (1 John 4). How? As Christ told us, "No greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends." (John 15:13).

And on this day we have Love Incarnate giving Himself to us as He institutes the Most Venerable and Blessed Sacrament of the Altar: the Lord's Supper, also known as the Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Lord's Table.

What is it? It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, given to us Christians to eat and to drink.

It is the holy of holies of the New Testament. It is where we are given, by the Lord Himself, into our very mouths, the body and blood given up and shed for us on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). All the ancient Old Testament animal sacrifices were foreshadows and types of the One final and last eternal sacrifice, the sacrifice by which our sins were cleansed and by which we are set free.

In the Holy Meal we have a share in that sacrifice and are given to eat of that sacrifice, as a sign, promise and assurance that we, personally, are covered by that sacrifice. Where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation.

Through the Lord's Supper, Christ fortifies us to face whatever grief, pain or loss comes into our life. And, they will come, be sure of that. There will be the unexpected loss of a job, a disappointing decision made that impacts many. The loss of a loved one to death, which we will all go through. There is the worry and pressure of life in a busy world, the stress of a strained relationship, or a marriage that is going through a difficult time.

And there is, always and ever, the sin that is ever before us. From which we can not escape, try as we might, the sin that brings us the weight of guilt and, like Adam and Eve, causes us to realize how naked and without excuse we stand before the Holy God. And we turn to the Lord of Life and plead for mercy and He answers our prayer. He says to you, "My son, my daughter, your sins are forgiven! You are mine. I have called you by name. Nothing shall separate you from my love. No sin is too great for my blood to cover. I love you. I forgive you. I lay down my life for you. You are my friend. Take, eat. Take, drink. This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you. Do this, in remembrance of me."

I can think of no more beautiful meditation on the priceless treasure of the Lord's Supper that Martin Luther's hymn: O Lord We Praise Thee

May God grant you a blessed Maundy Thursday.

O Lord, we praise you bless Thee, and adore Thee, in thanksgiving bow before Thee. Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish our weak souls that they may flourish.

O Lord, have mercy!

May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary, that our sins and sorrows did carry, and Thy blood for us plead in all trial, fear, and need.

O Lord, have mercy!

Thy holy body into death was given, life to win for us in heaven. No greater love than this to Thee could bind us; may this feast thereof remind us!

O Lord, have mercy!

Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain Thee that Thy blood should bless and sustain me. All our debt Thou hast paid; peace with God once more is made.

O Lord, have mercy.

May God bestow on us His grace and favor to please Him with our behavior and live as brethren here in love and union nor repent this blest Communion!

O Lord, have mercy!

Let not Thy good Spirit forsake us; grant that heavenly-minded He make us; give Thy Church, Lord, to see, days of peace and unity.

O Lord, have mercy!

Why Libronix and Not Accordance

In my post on the Macintosh Alpha version of Libronix, which is now available for you to take a look at and try out, I made a comment about the program: Accordance. The company that produces Accordance sent me an e-mail, politely, but firmly, protesting my remark that with the advent of a Mac native version of Libronix, Accordance has been effectively left in the dust. I'd like to elaborate on why I'm convinced this is true.

First, Libronix is the largest provider of digital texts. There is simply nothing else like it out there. All major Christian publishers are using them as their platform of choice and there are literally hundreds of software titles out there.

Second, it offers very powerful original language research tools, which have been steadily improving over the years to the point where I believe it is on a level equal to anything else out there, or close enough to it that there is no reason to obtain alternative software packages like Accordance of BibleWorks.

Third, I obtained a copy of Accordance some while ago in order to have access to the writings of the Church Fathers for a project I was working on, and I was shocked at the clunky interface of Accordance, one that obviously has not been improved and kept up-to-date with the evolving Macintosh Interface. And, I was stunned by the lack of core functionality in Accordance when it comes to proper citation of texts when you copied from the program and pasted into your word processor.

Fourth, for Lutheran PC users, I believe Libronix is the platform of choice simply due to the fact that nowhere else can you obtain digital editions of Luther's Works, the Concordia Electronic Theological Library, shortly Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, later in this year all the volumes of the Concordia Commentary volumes, and in the coming years even more volumes of Lutheran texts digitized, and this is just from Concordia Publishing House. Augsburg-Fortress and Northwestern are also both using Libronix exclusively. Simply put, there is no other resource remotely comparable to it for Lutheran theological research and study.

All these reasons combined, in my opinion, make the choice obvious: Libronix.

Issues, etc. Archive is Available

The archives of previous episodes of Issues, etc. is available once again. It is a tremendous ministry resource. Issues, etc. was The LCMS's only nationwide media effort and was extremely successful in articulating a well considered, thoughtful and intelligent presentation of the Lutheran faith. Three hours every single day and a nation-wide Sunday broadcast, all available via streaming audio on the Internet. There was nothing else like it available. At least we still have the audio archives. It would be wise to download as much of it as you can.  I would hope that another effort like this show can be launched again, using the Internet to once again reach a worldwide audience. May God grant it!

Issues, etc. .... Thank You! We will miss you.

Today I received the very sad and disappointing report that the Lutheran talk radio show, Issues, etc. has been canceled and the host and producer terminated.

Issues, etc. reached out clearly and widely with the unique witness and message of Christ-centered, cross-focused, Biblical, confessional Lutheranism. They had listeners all around the world, literally, thanks to the Internet.

The show provided an amazingly diverse and fascinating number of issues and topics. They featured as guests a wide range of pastors, seminary and college professors, and Synodical leaders, such as Dr. Paul Maier and others.

I always appreciated how much work Todd Wilken did keeping us informed about all the latest trends and fads and movements. His interview series with people like John Spong were fascinating! Absolutely. Jeff Schwarz did excellent work keeping the whole thing humming along.

Thanks for all the wonderful work done over the years by Issues, etc.! You will be missed!

Singing the Faith: Living the Lutheran Musical Heritage

A great new resource is now available from the Good Shepherd Institute in Fort Wayne, Indiana Singing the Faith: Living the Lutheran Musical Heritage.

Here is the press release from the seminary

Concordia Theological Seminary's Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music announces the release of an 80-minute DVD with Dolby Surround Stereo called: Singing the Faith - Living the Lutheran Musical Heritage. This is a four-week study that tells the history of Lutheran congregational song and is viewable in four 20-minute segments or as a play all video. This teaching aid includes a 32 page teacher's guide and reproducible classroom handouts.

The course is taught by Christopher Boyd Brown (Boston University, School of Theology), Kevin J. Hildebrand (Concordia Theological Seminary), Martin Jean (Yale University­­Institute of Sacred Music), Robin Leaver (Westminster Choir College), Richard C. Resch (Concordia Theological Seminary), Carl F. Schalk (Concordia University Chicago), Stephen P. Starke (St. John Lutheran Church, Bay City, Michigan), and Daniel Zager (Eastman School of Music). The DVD features congregational singing in many settings as well asperformances by Martin Jean; The Bach Vesper Choir of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, New York City with Rick Erickson as Cantor; and Craig Cramer from The University of Notre Dame. Glorious artwork from all over the world accompanies the story.

The DVD package may be purchased from the Seminary Bookstore or directly from Concordia Publishing House's web site or by calling 1-800-325-3040.

The product number is 99-2260 and is listed at $24.95.

All proceeds will benefit The Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theologyand Sacred Music.

Screenshot from Libronix for the Macintosh

Yup, it works. It is definitely an alpha test version, a bit buggy, has crashed on me a couple of time, doesn't have the full range of features that is coming, but...I'm able to search Luther natively on the Mac now. Luther is where he belongs now: on the Macintosh!!

Click on the image below for a larger view.

Logos for Macintosh: It's Finally Here!!!

Now this is BIG news. We Macintosh users have been waiting, hopeful and watching, for the advent of LOGOS for Macintosh. It is here! It is here, and...the really big "wow" factor here is that apparently it will work just fine with all our existing Libronix library files, which means....we won't have to shell out for all the libraries we have in the PC version. If I'm not reading the materials on the web site correctly, let me know, but that's how I'm understanding this comment:

Q: How do I get the Mac version of my book files?

 

A: There is no Mac version of Libronix books. Both the Windows version and the Mac version of Libronix read the same .lbxlls files. You will need to transfer them to your Mac by using your original DVD and CD media, an external hard drive or USB flash drive, or some other method.

Download the public beta test version here.

Download a movie of it here (no sound).

Cranach Portrait to Sell for $4-$6 million dollars

More evidence that Lucas Cranach is being rediscovered. I wonder what old Master Cranach would think of this bit of news? Christie's is holding an auction in April and among the items for sale are:

Beautiful portraits of the Princess Sybille of Cleves (estimate: $4,000,000-6,000,000) by Lucas Cranach the Elder from the Important Old Master Paintings sale Source

But here's the question I had. Will the people paying millions for a portrait of Sybille have even the slightest clue about who she was and what she believed and what she did? I was delighted to read the following auction description:

This portrait of Princess Sybille of Cleves (1512-1554) was painted when she was fourteen years old and newly betrothed to Johann Friedrich I (1503-1554), the future Elector of Saxony. The oldest daughter of Johann III, Duke of Cleves, and Maria of Jülich-Berg, Sybille grew up at court in Düsseldorf with her sister Anne, one of the future wives of Henry VIII. Her marriage into the House of Saxony placed Sybille in the middle of the greatest ideological struggle of the sixteenth century, a reformation not only of the church but also of the state. A committed friend and supporter of Martin Luther, Johann Friedrich was actively engaged in the Reformation and took dramatic political and military risks to protect the reformatory movement. Sybille conducted a correspondence of her own with Martin Luther and actively supported her husband's many campaigns, defending Wittenberg in his absence during Emperor Charles V's siege of the city in 1546.

This portrait of Sybille was painted sometime after her betrothal to Johann Friedrich in September 1526 and before their marriage on 3 June 1527. Emperor Charles V and Johann Friedrich's uncle, the Elector Friedrich III (called the Wise), had arranged a marriage between the future Elector and the Emperor's youngest sister Katharina in 1521. With no wedding having materialized by February 1524 and the marriage of Katharina to her cousin, King John III of Portugal, taking place in February 1525, the Elector began searching for another bride for his nephew. Johann Friedrich's betrothal to Sybille of Cleves took place at Burg on the Wupper on 8 September 1526 and the wedding ceremony followed on 3 June 1527 at Torgau. Lucas Cranach provided the lavish decorations.

The jeweled and feathered wreath, the object most associated with the bride in sixteenth-century Germany, is the most obvious indication that this portrait was painted after Sybille's betrothal in September 1526. The wreath was linked symbolically to the bride's virginity, and she presented it to the groom at the engagement and wedding ceremonies as both a testament to and an offering of her virtue. The procession to the church was an important part of the wedding ceremony on all societal levels and at this time the bride would wear her hair loose or uncovered apart from the wreath, as Sybille appears here. In her procession into Saxony, Sybille was accompanied by two hundred horses ridden by the nobility of Jülich and Cleves.

Apart from the wreath, symbols of her betrothal to Johann Friedrich are literally woven into the fabric of Sybille's dress. The House of Saxony is symbolized by the pattern in the gold fabric of her sleeves and around her waist and the three large interconnected chains around her chest. The pendant hanging from her neck announces the joining of the two families and suggests that this portrait was commissioned by her father. The letters on the pendant, 'i/j b c s', indicate both her lineage and the family she is soon to join - her father's full title was Duke of Iülich/Jülich, Berg and Cleves, and the dynasty she is joining is that of Saxony.

A second betrothal portrait of Sybille of Cleves by Cranach appears together with a pendant of Johann Friedrich in Weimar (fig. 1; Schlossmuseum, oil on panel, 55 x 36 cm.). Both panels, signed with the artist's mark and dated 1526, are taller and slightly narrower than the present portrait. Sybille wears the same dress with the Saxon pattern woven into the gold fabric and the three large chains around her chest. Her hair is similarly worn down and the wedding wreath likewise sits at an angle on her head. Subtle changes in her pose and appearance, however, suggest a slightly different moment and, perhaps, the passage of time.

The Weimar painting shows Sybille in a similar three-quarter-length pose against a dark background and her hands, rather than clasping one another at her waist, are held one over the other in a slightly lower position. Her hair has been pulled behind her shoulders and her face has taken on a more mature aspect. Her features and bone structure are more defined and her gaze appears to be more purposeful as she looks in the direction of her husband. Two changes in Sybille's dress are significant: her dress is red, the color of the dynasty of Cleves, and the pendant bearing her father's initials has been replaced with a jeweled cross.

While Friedländer dated the present painting to 1525 largely due to the sitter's more youthful appearance, the details of Sybille's dress confirm that both this portrait and the Weimar pendant were painted during her nine-month betrothal to Johann Friedrich. Every aspect of these portraits, from the fabrics and jewels to her hair and her pose, had some significance to the contemporary viewer and while not all of the iconography is decipherable today, the differences between the Weimar painting and the present portrait may explain something about the circumstances in which they were created. As a pendant, the Weimar portrait served as a visual record of the formal joining of the houses of Saxony and Cleves. As with the divisions of a coat of arms, she represented her family by wearing the colors of her dynasty but the replacement of the more personal pendant bearing her father's initials may be an acknowledgment of the necessary shift of her loyalties from her own family to that of her husband.

No pendant to our portrait is known and the green fabric of Sybille's dress has no connection with either house. It could have been a color that she particularly liked or carried some general association, as in previous centuries, with hope. There is no question that the pendant in this painting emphasizes her own lineage and it is possible that this portrait was made for Sybille's family in Cleves while the one in Weimar was an official portrait documenting the match. Cranach's linear style and his abstract sense of volume indicated by the concentric bands around Sybille's chest and arms lends itself to the use of the portrait medium as a way of signaling status. In court portraiture of this period the signaling of status was the goal.

The union between Sybille of Cleves and Johann Friedrich of Saxony was a successful one and seems to have been genuinely affectionate. They had four sons, three of whom lived to adulthood to become Dukes of Saxony, Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Gotha. Johann Friedrich conceded the capital city of Wittenberg to Charles V in 1547 in order to save the lives of his wife and sons and Luther's letter to Sybille of 30 March 1544 reflects her feelings of loss when he was away:

That your Electoral Princessly Grace is unhappy because Our Most Gracious Lord, Your Electoral Princessly Grace's husband, is away, I can well believe. But because it is necessary, and because his absence is in the service and for the good of Christianity and the German nation, we must bear it patiently in accordance with God's will. If the devil were able to keep the peace, then we would have more peace and less to do, and especially less unpleasantness to bear.

The present work was part of the superb collection of old master paintings formed by Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W. Erickson. Alfred Erickson (1876-1936) was of Swedish descent but was born at Farmers Mill, New York. He was educated at Brooklyn and at the age of twenty-four began a long association with the advertising business that culminated in the establishment of the Erickson Advertising Agency, later to become McCann-Erickson, Inc. In the 1920s he and his wife, Anna, began to assemble a collection of paintings that would represent the development of European art from the quattrocento to the end of the eighteenth century. His widow continued to add selectively to the collection after her husband's death in 1936. The collection was dispersed in a ground-breaking sale at Parke-Bernet Galleries on 15 November 1961 where 24 lots fetched a total of $4,679,250. The portrait of Princess Sybille of Cleves by Cranach was lot 6 in that sale and was purchased for $105,000 by Agnew's, the London dealers, on behalf of the late Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. It was the preceding lot to Rembrandt's Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer purchased for the world record price of $2,300,000 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. held an avid interest in literature and the English language since his undergraduate years at Harvard, and he focused his early energies on the collection of manuscripts and first edition books by renowned English authors, including Milton, Pepys, Shakespeare, Spenser, Keats, and Lewis Carroll, later extending these to include landmark literary objects that eventually embraced two Gutenberg Bibles and the unparalleled Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (folios of which were offered by Christie's in 1976 and 1988). He formed an outstanding collection of miniature books, became an experienced amateur in English Silver, which he collected into the 1950s, and acquired over time a small but exquisite number of paintings, including the Cranach offered here. Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and numerous other institutions are today the beneficiaries of donations made by Mr. Houghton from the various collections he formed during his lifetime.

We would like to thank Maike Vogt-Lüerssen for her generous help in cataloguing this note. We are further grateful to Dr. Werner Schade for confirming the attribution to Lucas Cranach the Elder on the basis of photographs (private communication, 22 February 2008).

Oh, by the way, Christie's is also selling Picasso's take on this portrait. He did this one based on Cranach's portraits. I say without an ounce of hesitation that Picasso's work is garbage. Yes, I've studied art history. Yes, I've seen a lot of Picasso's work. Yes, I know all about modern art. And, for the most part, it is, and remains, garbage.

Martin Luther on Facebook

Can you believe it? Martin Luther knows how to keep up on the latest communication technology. He even has a page on Facebook now! You can talk to him and ask him questions. Pretty cool.

Luther Bible Online

Did you know the last edition of Luther's Bible translation, from 1545, is on-line?