Meditation on Mercy

Dear Mount Calvary Lutheran Church,

Over 400 years ago William Shakespeare placed the following words on the mouth of Portia speaking to the Shylock, a Jewish juror, in The Merchant of Venice.

“The quality of mercy is not strainedIt droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: ‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; But mercy is above this sceptred sway; It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God’s When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew, Though justice be thy plea, consider this, That, in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much To mitigate the justice of thy plea; Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.”

Generations have been moved by its timeless meditation on our universal human need for mercy. While we all seek justice, we should be sure we do not condemn ourselves in our pursuit of right and wrong. In the words of Jesus, “the measure you use, will be used back on you.”

Many have noted the phrase, “it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” I would like to take a moment to address this timeless truth.

More than a few find Christianity difficult because of the Jesus’s demand, and it is a demand, to forgive others. This seems so unfair. Indeed, it is! Worse, forgiveness seems like a slippery slope to permissiveness. When evil is uncovered, forgiveness is treated like a magic wand creating a dazzling Halmark moment but little healing, much less justice, for the victim. In an age when everything we have held dear seems to be slipping from our clutches, how can we possibly forgive those who take from us? In the words of an inscription from a cell in Auschwitz, “if there is a God, He will have to ask my forgiveness.”

I don’t pretend to fully understand the pain of the truly suffering, the anger of the rightly wronged, or the anguish of the wronged and agitated soul.

I can say Good Friday, the day Jesus died, is a day of reckoning. It’s the moment we have been secretly waiting for. Indeed, it is the cosmic day of atonement. Whereas one sacrifice could buy ancient Isreal another year on that strip of land in the Middle East, the death of Jesus throws blood across the fabric of the universe. In a moment the author of life steps out of the story. The God of galaxies dies leaving the world eerily quiet in His wake. His people stare every day at the cross-shaped scar. It is a day of justice and mercy. You see, justice and mercy are not opposites nor are they synonyms for soft and hard, weak or strong, permission and punitive, Justice and mercy are a paradox. They are always together, always different. They are twice blessed. They are both so necessary.

Jesus’ death was not a copout, loophole, or technicality. It was perfect justice. A human being was punished for the crimes of human beings to an infinite degree. The sound of nails echoes in the farthest corners of the universe. Jesus’ death did not let anyone off the hook. Rather, the death of Jesus leaves us wondering, “what more can we do?” What more can we possibly hope to contribute to justice? God punished the worst among is in the most dramatic way possible. In one stroke and in the screaming words, “ Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,” that is my God, my God why have you forsaken me, God Himself jumps into hell. Anything we bring to the table seems anticlimactic. All our wars, all our feuds, all our prejudice just seem empty. Devalued. It takes all our strength to throw a pebble at the rock of ages.

We sit in the dark day, 4pm yet pitch black, sobbing. We must rebuild and move on. We must live and this can be harder than dying. How will we live? By mercy. Mercy twice blessed. This is the paradox of justice and mercy. While the death of Jesus is perfect justice, poetic justice, and justice is the most primal sense, God has let us live. God showed us mercy in His nature. Mercy always gives twice. God gave us mercy, thank God. Looking inside at the feral desires of the heart none of us really deserved it. God also showed mercy to Himself in a way. He gave up one son for billions. One child for all his kids. He rescued humanity from human beings, you from yourself. He brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light where in the light of day we call a spade a spade. We can say thank you. We say your mercy is good.

In Jesus’ Service,

Pastor Kurt

The Lenten Exchange

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
    and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
    for the Lord your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
    assemble the elders;
gather the children,
    even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
    and the bride her chamber.

Between the vestibule and the altar
    let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
    and make not your heritage a reproach,
    a byword among the nations.[a]
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?’”

-Joel 2:12-17

The Lenten Exchange

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The tradition of Ash Wednesday has roots going back as far as the Old Testament and is so named for the practice of putting ashes on one’s self as a sign of repentance and contrition. Think of the common Biblical phrase, “repent in dust and ashes.” The meaning stretches to the very first pages of scripture where we read that God made Adam from the dust of the earth. Ash Wednesday is a reminder that we are mortal beings who depend on God for each breath.

Lent goes hand in hand with Ash Wednesday. While we may think of Lent as a Catholic practice, fish frys, fasting, and the like, Lent dates from the earliest days of the church as a time of preparation for Easter, specifically baptisms on Easter. New Christians would be baptized on Easter. In preparation they would fast and undergo extensive spiritual exercises for the 40 days before Easter. The rest of the church would join them in solidarity. Thus, began Lent.

When we talk about Lent today, we often talk about “giving things up for Lent.” Someone says he is giving up social media for Lent. Someone says she is giving up soda for Lent. These things are good and healthy. I do these kinds of things every year. However, there is a danger in only doing healthy things during Lent. Social media can be toxic. Soda or sugar is not the best food for your body. While it’s true that God wants us to take care of ourselves as far as it depends on us and it's true that we Americans are generally terrible about eating well and living simply, the kind of spiritual exercise and change God is after in Lent cuts a lot deeper.

In the prophet Joel we hear that God wants us to, “rend our hearts and not our garments.” In other words, God is after internal change during Lent more than temporary, outside changes especially ones that seem trendy and rooted in mere wellness.This presents a challenge for me and you, are we really ready to rend our hearts this Lent? Put into plain English, are we ready to have our hearts broken this Lent?

It’s so hard to move on from something that we love. Whether it is a relationship that has ended, a loved one who has passed, or simply a hobby we can’t do anymore- our affections must change and adapt throughout life. Lent too is a call to change what we love. It’s going to be hard. Lent strikes deeply at our values. Lent is an example of exchange. We are called not just to trade feasting for fasting and the wedding song for a dirge, we are called to trade our love of sin for the love of God. Sin can be the most difficult thing to give up for Lent. The love of sin, even innocence and fun sins, really rends the heart.

This Lent can we take concrete and intentional steps to trade our pet sins for a deep love of God’s grace? This Lent can we trade apathy for a commitment to virtue? Can we stop saying yes to evil and no to good? Can we start saying yes to charity and no to ourselves?

This is modeled on God Himself. In the contest of giving things up for Lent, God gets the prize. He gave up His only Son for you. He traded His death for your life. Jesus fasted from the joys of heaven for our sorrowful ways. He gave up time there for the painful blip of existence here. He walks alongside us during this 40 day journey.

With all Israel in Joel’s day from the youngest to the oldest, from the peasant to the priest, I invite you to let your heart be broken this Lent. With all Israel, I invite you even now to return to your God.

A truly blessed Lenten journey to all of you,

Pastor Kurt

Why I am Lutheran

Dear Mount Calvary Family,

What churches do you pass on your way to church? You probably pass churches with big buildings. Maybe you pass churches in strip malls. Most churches around here worship in English. Some do not. Then there is the question of what is on a church sign. Some churches have digital signs. A church’s sign will also signal what church body, the denomination, that particular church is a part of. You know the signs: First United Methodist Church, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, and Mount Calvary Lutheran Church. A casual drive around just about anywhere in America begs the question: why so many different churches? Also, if we say we are a part of the Lutheran Church, what does it even mean to be Lutheran? I am often asked, “what is a Lutheran? What makes the Lutheran church unique?” This is an attempt to answer those questions. 

First, Jesus earnestly desires the physical unity of all His followers. Shortly before his arrest, Jesus prayed for a long time asking the Father’s blessing on the infant church. This is called the “High Priestly Prayer” and can be found in John chapters 14-17. Four whole chapters, talk about a long prayer! There Jesus ends the prayer with this petition, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you.” Ideally, there would just be one church body or denomination. Sadly, there are countless Christian groups today. This is the result of sincere doctrinal differences, and, tragically, unreconciled person conflict. Our own church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (which is an unhelpful name but that’s for another time), spends significant time talking with all kinds of churches trying to find more common ground.   Please join me in praying for greater unity in the visible Christian church!

In some ways we as Lutherans are uniquely positioned to facilitate conversation towards this common ground. What does it mean to be Lutheran? It means to keep Jesus at the center. The one thing truly necessary for salvation is faith in the person of Jesus, the Son of God. This is what we emphasize as Lutherans in our teaching, worship, and life. I once knew of a basketball team that spent their entire practices working on the fundamentals. They practiced easy lay up shots, tough defense, and drills desired to teach players how to dribble. The team was pretty successful. In some ways, we Lutherans are the church equivalent of this team. Jesus is fundamental to Christianity. We keep it about Him. The life he lived. The things he taught. The rituals he left us, baptism and communion. We aren’t the most original bunch but we major in the fundamentals of the faith. 

As Lutherans we put Jesus at the center of all we do and this also allows us to hold the center of Christianity. What do I mean by the center of Christianity? Some churches pride themselves on beautiful ceremonies and history, others crazy gifts of God like speaking in tongues, and others still by how much they know, or how much they do for the less fortunate among us. These are all good things to do and practice. Lutherans though are “all of the above Christians.” We can combine any of these things with our laser-like focus on Jesus. In this way, we hold together the varied and sometimes frayed interests of the Christian Church. For example, liturgy and ceremony isn’t the only thing we are about but it pairs well with the one who made the heavens and earth. Further, our Kunama friends eagerly expect the Holy Spirit to directly and miraculously intervene in their lives. This is great as long as it doesn’t cast a shadow on Jesus who sent us God’s Spirit. Lutherans hold the middle with Jesus at the center. 

There has never been a Lutheran president. There aren’t too many Lutheran celebrities, influencers, and TikTock stars. You won’t find any world beating articles about Lutherans in fashionable publications. Nevertheless, stand proud Lutherans you have Jesus. The Christian church across all denominations is like a group of kids at school bringing gifts to show and tell. Some kids have exotic and fun things. Lutheran-Christians though bring pencils and an eraser. We specialize in the fundamentals about Jesus. In this way we are a blessing to the whole world and to the Baptists-Christians, Catholic-Christians etc. who share our faith in Jesus. 

Thanks Things First

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. -1 Timothy 2:1-4

Turkey Day is coming! Where are you going for Thanksgiving? Planes, trains, and automobiles will soon take us away or bring those far away toward us. Thanksgiving is marked with enormous sizes of food. Thanksgiving food is often worked off through football

and 5Ks galore. The specter of Christmas hangs over the day as crowds prepare for Black Friday. For all the tradition, Thanksgiving does not get the fanfare that Christmas and Halloween seem to get. Frankly, Halloween and Christmas have been thoroughly commercialized; a fate Thanksgiving has escaped so far. So many people don’t know what to do with Thanksgiving. It is my prayer that we would discover the deeper meaning and God given purpose of Thanksgiving.

Paul has just sent the young pastor Timothy to the church of Ephesus. His instructions are the book of 1 Timothy. While there is a lot we could mine out from this book, what is notable is item number 1 on Timothy’s to-do list from Paul. Number 1, first thing first, “I urge that supplications, prayers, and thanksgivings be made for all people.” In summary, Paul says the first thing we ought to do when we encounter a different or new situation is to give thanks to God

How beautiful is it that we have an entire holiday dedicated to this very thing!

In between the sugar-crazed frenzies of Halloween and the rush and crush of Black Friday, Thanksgiving stands as a sacred pillar of our obligation to thank God.

First things first, we ought to thank God for all he has given us. The catechism reminds us that spouse, house, home, children, family, friends, reputation, land, animals, and all we have are gifts from God!

First things first, we are called to pray in thanksgiving with other people. “Let us not give up meeting together as is the habit of some,” the author of the Hebrews warns in 10:25.

First things first, we are called to pray for “kings and those in high positions” (1 Timothy 2:2). Our thoughts this election season must travel from “who should I vote for,” to “Jesus, help this person do their job,” on the day after.

Finally, God desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. We give thanks for the salvation we have received through Jesus. We also readily give thanks for others that they too might enjoy life with God.

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving.

In Jesus’ Service,

Pastor Kurt Hellwig

When It Feels Like Scary Times Are Aside

It is the first week of October. Despite the unseasonably warm weather, we have all noticed Halloween decorations going up outside. (You can even find Christmas decorations in Costco!) Fall is firmly upon us with its many rituals and memories.

Halloween can be a divisive subject for Christians and yet, regardless of how you choose to celebrate if you celebrate, you might not be aware that Halloween was originally “All Hallows Eve”—a Christian holiday! November 1st is All Saints Day, a day to remember all those who have died in the faith over the past year. Just like how Christmas has Christmas Eve, so All Saints Day as “All Hallows Eve.” For a further recap on All Hallows Eve as a church holiday, recall that Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Church on the evening of October 31st. He knew many of the scholars and officials he aimed to influence would be at church that evening or the next day. While many superstitions and scary images have arisen around Halloween, the day cannot be separated from All Saint’s Day.

All Saint’s Day draws attention to something much scarier than monsters or costumes. Many churches choose to mark All Saint’s Day by reading the names of those who have passed over the last year and a bell is rung after each name is read. The fear of death looms large even in our isolated and sanitized culture. Losing loved ones is never easy and never the same. Even when the passing is expected it feels like our houses are haunted by grief. The early Christians among the Thessalonians, like many people, experienced these questions about loss. They asked Paul questions about loss. Paul encourages them with these words from 1 Thessalonians 4:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

God bringing the dead with him? This sounds like the stuff of Halloween. However, it is the promise of the resurrection. God will bring back the souls of those are with him. Souls that are with him now for safekeeping. Then they and all people will rise from the dead and inherent that perfect world which marks the end of the Biblical story. This is heaven. This is our life with God and departed relatives. This is our hope.

Life and death will give us pause for death was never meant to be a part of life. As death draws a little closer this month, God invites us to lean in through the All Saint’s Day. For as much as we reflect on death; there, God reminds us of the life that is to come. Although we are sounded by the unfamiliar, we can be unafraid. Sad but hopeful.

In Jesus Service,

Pastor Kurt