Your Weekly E-Newsletter -- Thursday, March 30, 2023

“My God, my God, why have

you forsaken me?”  

Mark 15:34

This is one of the so called “seven last words of Christ” – and it is a nearly direct quote of Psalm 22:1.   These words of Christ from the cross are magnificent and terrible all at the same time. They reveal both natures of Jesus – his humanity which suffers as any human would (physically, emotionally and spiritually), and his divinity which endures all for the sake of those he loves. It confirms as Paul would later say in Romans 8:39, that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I write with an invitation and a thought on this verse.  

First of all the invitation.  In 1519, Martin Luther wrote a sermon and sent it to his good friend George Spalatin, titled “Concerning Meditation on the Sufferings of Christ.”  It became one of Luther’s most famous and popular early writings.  In it Luther urged Christians to meditate properly on the Passion of Jesus. Luther reminded his listeners that this did not mean meditation on the evil of Judas or the Jews who urged Pilate on, but to meditate on how Jesus did this for you.  It will be of no use, Luther wrote, for God to be God, unless He is God for you.  This coming Friday (Good Friday) we offer you two opportunities to do that. We will have a noon service that includes a meditative reading on the Passion of Jesus according to John. There will also be a 7:00 p.m. service featuring the musical talents of four gifted area musicians. A string quartet featuring Kathryn Messer will be performing Haydn’s “Seven Last Words of Christ.”  If you are not able to join us in person, this service will be available via Livestream. An email with a link to the Livestream will be sent to you on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

The work musically interprets the Passion of the Lord, and I do hope you’ll be a part of the listening and meditating congregation.   Calvary is blessed to have this work performed as part of our Good Friday observance. The service closes with the traditional “adoration of the cross” when the church can celebrate the cross proclaiming “behold the cross, on which hung the salvation of the whole world.”   Do make worship and meditation on the cross part of your day on Friday.

Now for my thought on this verse from Mark, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  .  It is one of the more perplexing and difficult ones, for it bespeaks a loss of confidence in God on Christ’s part.  The other six last “words” are:

1. Father forgive them for they know not what they do
2. Today you will be with me in paradise
3. Woman, behold your son
4. I thirst
5. It is finished
6. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

All of these words express both human suffering and unwavering trust that God will bring good out of His son’s suffering.  The words “why have you forsaken me" , though, don't express those same emotions. Not that faith cannot express doubt and pour out suffering. It can and still remain faith. But this phrase seems more of an estrangement between Father and Son than the others.  Some commentators agree.  The late Lutheran pastor Walter Wangerin, in his book “Reliving the Passion” wrote the following’

“for though the Son still loves the Father obediently and completely, the Father despises the Son completely because he sees in him the sum of human disobedience, the sum of it from the beginning of time to the end of time.  He hates what he sees … he hates the Son, even unto condemning him and abandoning him.”

He goes on to say; “This is a mystery, that Christ can be the obedient, glorious love of God and the full measure of our disobedience, both at once.”    Good Friday invites meditation upon such a mystery – that heaven to Christ was shut, so that heaven for you could be opened.   I hope you will avail yourself of that splendid, blessed opportunity.  

Because of a cross,

Pastor Ken Nelson 

Seven Last Words of Christ: In 1786, Franz Joseph Haydn received an unusual commission from a Spanish priest. It was for an orchestral work to be performed for the Good Friday service at the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva, an underground church in the city of Cádiz. Haydn was asked to compose a series of slow, meditative “sonatas,” each relating to one of the seven last words of Christ during the crucifixion, as outlined in the Canonical Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.

Haydn wrote this description of the project for the preface of the Breitkopf & Härtel edition, issued in 1801: Some fifteen years ago I was requested by a canon of Cádiz to compose instrumental music on the Seven Last Words of Our Savior On the Cross. It was customary at the Cathedral of Cádiz to produce an oratorio every year during Lent, the effect of the performance being not a little enhanced by the following circumstances. The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp hanging from the center of the roof broke the solemn darkness. 

This article continues HERE.



“

"Bonhoeffer"

A documentary produced by Journey Films

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings continue to influence the church today, and for that reason, the Men’s Ministry of Calvary is hosting a showing of a 90-minute documentary on his life and legacy on Thursday, April 20.   All Calvary members are invited to attend – and we encourage you to invite others as well.  There will be a light supper served at 6:00 p.m., followed by the film and brief discussion time afterwards.  We hope to conclude the evening by about 8:15 p.m.  

“It is right and fitting that such a life gets our attention” wrote a reviewer in the Washington Post. The Minneapolis Tribune wrote “An inspiring portrait of one of the great moral heroes of the 20^th Century.” 

But Bonhoeffer would have dismissed such – as we will see in the film. To him, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”   He saw himself as no moral hero, but as a disciple of Jesus, taking up the cross of courage in the face of tyranny. His faithfulness as a servant of the servant king stands in contrast to the cult of personality that infects so many in our world today.  Yes, Bonhoeffer lived and died nearly a century ago, but the challenges to the church that he faced, while less obviously evil, are nonetheless just as fatal to our witness if not confronted and repented of.   

If your schedule allows, please join us for this extremely well-done presentation of the life and legacy of this disciple of Jesus. All are invited - bring a friend or neighbor!

We express our appreciation to those who have given gifts of flowers to the glory of God this Easter ....

Resurrection of Our Lord

April 8-9, 2023

Women’s Book Group – Monday, April 10

Harnischfeger Room -Brookfield Public Library

12:30 – 2:00 pm

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. 

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

April Mission of the Month

Serenity Inns

In Milwaukee alone, between 1500 – 2000 people are homeless and of those, over 90% have substance abuse problems. An estimated 80% of the current 20,000+ inmates in the Wisconsin prison system are incarcerated because of drug related activities. When men are released from prison, they often times lack the strength and foundation needed to lead a drug and alcohol free life. They struggle to find jobs, housing, and even individuals who will help them down the road of recovery.

Deaths from heroin overdose in Wisconsin and nationwide have become a public health crisis. According to Ashley Luthern of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, (Feb. 18, 2015), “Heroin-related deaths in Milwaukee County skyrocketed by 72% last year compared with 2013, according to data released by the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office.” In 2014 as in 2013, there were more heroin-related deaths in Milwaukee County (119 in 2014) than motor vehicle deaths (74 in 2014). The national trend is at least as tragic with a 39% increase in heroin deaths from 2012 to 2013, the latest year that data is available.

Serenity Inn provides a comprehensive, seven month transitional living program. This program addresses the physical, social, emotional, financial, and spiritual needs of its residents.

Serenity Inn's mission is to offer an opportunity for holistic recovery from addiction and alcoholism to men who need it most, in a compassionate community of accountability. Their vision is a world where addicts and alcoholics who choose recovery may find it.

To support this important Mission of the Month, you may include it in your weekly offering envelope or designate the donation as "Mission of the Month" in your online giving.

Just a reminder that contributions to the NALC's 20/20 Vision Campaign need to be designated as "NALC" either on your giving envelope or on your check. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Rooks at finance@calvarylc.com.

We invite you to provide

Hospitality Treats on Sunday

We invite you to stay after worship on Sunday mornings and enjoy fellowship time and a treat/cup of coffee in Fellowship Hall.

If you'd like to provide treats (donuts, bagels, etc.) for Sunday hospitality time, there is a sheet on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall.  You may bring the treats (six dozen) and drop them off in the kitchen, or simply add a “P” behind your name, pay $30 to the church office and the treats will be purchased for you. 

The sign up sheet for 2023 has been posted on the bulletin board.  Thank you for your support!

If you watch our services via the Live Stream, please take a minute to let us know. There is now a link called "Online Worship Attendance" on the page where you access each week's service.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete this each week. It helps us know that our Live Stream is being viewed and by whom. 

Thank you!

CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH www.calvarylc.com

Regular office hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - noon 262.786.4010

Questions or comments? Email Sue Rowe at communications@calvarylc.com