As a new and young pastor I often do not "feel" like I'm really a pastor. I worried about this a lot before ordination. How could I possibly minister to my "elders" with God's Law and His Gospel? Would my congregation take me seriously?
Now that I am out here, I have found the most amazing reversal of my expectations. My beloved parish has no problem accepting me and has always shown the uptmost respect for the Office and for me. What is really surprising is other pastors. I feel so out of place whenever there is a gathering of pastors. Some don't speak to me at all (a few have actually ignored me when I spoke to them!) Some are a bit condescending. Some act suspicious of the "new guy." But, overall, most don't seem to want to take any time at all to even acknowledge me.
I have to say, that ol' sinful nature really gets hurt by this. I want to be accepted by my older brothers. I really want to just sit down and talk with them openly and honestly. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple around me who have been just great.
To other newbies, has this been your experience? Am I overreacting? Is this unusual? Is there something wrong with me?
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Talk about being more Catholic than the Pope!
This morning I was driving through Middleville and decided to stop by the local Catholic Church. I had been curious about it since we arrived since the sign said it offered traditional Latin Mass. The priest, Father Gregory, was very nice and open in talking about their congregation, The Most Holy Rosary. What absolutely floored me, though, was when he told me that his order (whose name I have forgotten-it's back at the church) does not recognize the current pope, nor has it recognized the last 5 popes!!
He was quick to assure me that they do still believe in the primacy of the pope, apparently the pope is only infallible if you believe he is. More on this after I do some reading of the literature he gave me.
He was quick to assure me that they do still believe in the primacy of the pope, apparently the pope is only infallible if you believe he is. More on this after I do some reading of the literature he gave me.
Persecution?
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10
This afternoon I went out to get the mail at church. I was waiting for the traffic so I could cross the road when a car full of young men drove by. One of them stuck his head out the window and said something about our church and clergy in general that I will not repeat, as well as blasphemies against the Lord. As they were driving away, he flipped me off.
I know that in the great company of heaven, this counts as nothing, but perhaps it is a sign of the times. I am pretty certain this wouldn't have happened if I had been dressed in civilian clothes.
May God work repentance in these young men's hearts that they may come back to His mercy in Christ.
This afternoon I went out to get the mail at church. I was waiting for the traffic so I could cross the road when a car full of young men drove by. One of them stuck his head out the window and said something about our church and clergy in general that I will not repeat, as well as blasphemies against the Lord. As they were driving away, he flipped me off.
I know that in the great company of heaven, this counts as nothing, but perhaps it is a sign of the times. I am pretty certain this wouldn't have happened if I had been dressed in civilian clothes.
May God work repentance in these young men's hearts that they may come back to His mercy in Christ.
Monday, July 23, 2007
St. James the Elder
This coming Sunday, the Good Shepherd saints will give thanks for the faithfulness of one of the Sons of Thunder, St. James the Elder. You remember James, in one gospel we see his mother asking for her sons glory in the coming kingdom, in another gospel we see James and John asking for glory in the coming kingdom. Again, we see these sons of Zebedee seeking glory rather than suffering when they ask to call down punishment on the inhabitants of Samaria.
In the midst of all this glory seeking we are interupted by the epistle from Romans 8:28-39.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And then, as so often happens, I am reading along for fun, not even thinking about sermon preparation, and God hands me a jewel to adorn His Gospel. This quote from The Hammer of God we see the beauty of the theology of the cross:
“You see, atonement comes only through suffering. Through suffering our Savior opened the gates of Heaven, through suffering his apostles carried the Gospel out in the world--rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer. It is a great favor to bear testimony to Christ by suffering in His fellowship. I believe Scripture calls it bearing in the body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Usually we suffer only for our own sins. But sometimes we are given the favor of suffering for the sins of others. That is part of the mystery of the Atonement: when one is joined to Christ, one is given the task of lifting a portion from a certain sinner and suffering in his stead, so that he does not have to carry alone all the bitterness of his deeds.”
The Hammer of God, pg. 312
In the midst of all this glory seeking we are interupted by the epistle from Romans 8:28-39.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And then, as so often happens, I am reading along for fun, not even thinking about sermon preparation, and God hands me a jewel to adorn His Gospel. This quote from The Hammer of God we see the beauty of the theology of the cross:
“You see, atonement comes only through suffering. Through suffering our Savior opened the gates of Heaven, through suffering his apostles carried the Gospel out in the world--rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer. It is a great favor to bear testimony to Christ by suffering in His fellowship. I believe Scripture calls it bearing in the body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Usually we suffer only for our own sins. But sometimes we are given the favor of suffering for the sins of others. That is part of the mystery of the Atonement: when one is joined to Christ, one is given the task of lifting a portion from a certain sinner and suffering in his stead, so that he does not have to carry alone all the bitterness of his deeds.”
The Hammer of God, pg. 312
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Another Fairy Tale
St. Paul tells us in I Thessalonians5:17 to "pray without ceasing."
Perhaps this fairy tale from the Grimm Brothers collection can shed some light on why we should do that.
The Fox once came to a meadow in which was a flock of fine fat geese, on which he smiled and said, "I come at the nick of time, you are sitting together quite beautifully, so that I can eat you up one afte the other." The geese cackled with terror, sprang up, and began to wail and beg piteously for their lives. But the Fox would listen to nothing, and said, "There is no mercy to be had! You must die."
At length one of them took heart and said, "If we poor geese are to yield up our vigorous young lives, show us the only possible favor and allow us one more prayer, that we may not die in our sins, and then we will place ourselves in a row, so that you can always pick yourself the fattest." "Yes," said the Fox, "that is a reasonable, and a pious request. Pray away, I will wait till you are done." Then the first began a good long prayer, forever saying, "Ga! Ga!" and as she would make no end, the second did not wait until her turn came, but began also, "Ga! Ga!" The third and fourth followed her, and soon they were all cackling together.
When they have done praying, the story shall be continued further, but at present they are still praying, and they show no sign of stopping.
Perhaps this fairy tale from the Grimm Brothers collection can shed some light on why we should do that.
The Fox once came to a meadow in which was a flock of fine fat geese, on which he smiled and said, "I come at the nick of time, you are sitting together quite beautifully, so that I can eat you up one afte the other." The geese cackled with terror, sprang up, and began to wail and beg piteously for their lives. But the Fox would listen to nothing, and said, "There is no mercy to be had! You must die."
At length one of them took heart and said, "If we poor geese are to yield up our vigorous young lives, show us the only possible favor and allow us one more prayer, that we may not die in our sins, and then we will place ourselves in a row, so that you can always pick yourself the fattest." "Yes," said the Fox, "that is a reasonable, and a pious request. Pray away, I will wait till you are done." Then the first began a good long prayer, forever saying, "Ga! Ga!" and as she would make no end, the second did not wait until her turn came, but began also, "Ga! Ga!" The third and fourth followed her, and soon they were all cackling together.
When they have done praying, the story shall be continued further, but at present they are still praying, and they show no sign of stopping.
The Crumbs on the Table*
A countryman one day said to his little puppies, "Come into the parlor and enjoy yourselves, and pick up the bread-crumbs on the table; your mistress has gone out to pay some visits." Then the little dogs said, "No, no, we will not go. If the mistress gets to know it, she will beat us." The countryman said, "She will know nothing about it. Do come; after all, she never gives you anything good." Then the little dogs again said, "Nay, nay, we must let it alone, we must not go." But the countryman let them have no peace until at last they went, and got on the table, and ate up the bread-crumbs with all their might. But at that very moment the mistress came, and seized the stick in great haste, and beat them and treated them very badly. And when they were outside the house, the little dogs said to the countryman, "Do, do, do, do, do you see what happened?" Then the countryman laughed and said, "Didn't, didn't, didn't you expect it?" So they just had to run away.
Now, the way I understand this fairy-tale in regards to the Christian faith is that the countryman is Satan, the deceiver and accuser. The pups are Christians who struggle against the flesh. The mistress is the Law that demands perfection. The devil comes to us and tries to get us to do what we know to be wrong. When we don't listen, he doesn't simply leave us alone, but tries to assure us that we won't get caught in our transgressions. When our mistress, the Law, sees what we have done, she beats us very badly. We may try to push our blame off on Satan, but he only mocks us.
What is missing in this story is Christ. Christians may well become dismayed when presented with the devil's schemes and temptations, and, when presented with the sterness of the Law, some are tempted to run away. But for us who know Christ, we know that in all things and in all circumstances we can turn to Him for mercy, we can turn to Him to silence the deceitful "countryman."
*Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Fairy Tales, Ann Arbor Media Group, pgs. 129-30
Now, the way I understand this fairy-tale in regards to the Christian faith is that the countryman is Satan, the deceiver and accuser. The pups are Christians who struggle against the flesh. The mistress is the Law that demands perfection. The devil comes to us and tries to get us to do what we know to be wrong. When we don't listen, he doesn't simply leave us alone, but tries to assure us that we won't get caught in our transgressions. When our mistress, the Law, sees what we have done, she beats us very badly. We may try to push our blame off on Satan, but he only mocks us.
What is missing in this story is Christ. Christians may well become dismayed when presented with the devil's schemes and temptations, and, when presented with the sterness of the Law, some are tempted to run away. But for us who know Christ, we know that in all things and in all circumstances we can turn to Him for mercy, we can turn to Him to silence the deceitful "countryman."
*Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Fairy Tales, Ann Arbor Media Group, pgs. 129-30
Why it's a bad idea to throw the baby out with the bathwater...
Because you don't want a wet and critically injured baby. I thought that was a hilarious line from the movie For Your Consideration.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Why we wear the clerical collar
Many avoid wearing the clerical collar for the same reason Pastor Torvik did in The Hammer of God.
"You must certainly understand that I want to come as an ordinary human being."
Pastor Bengtsson, an older and much sounder Lutheran pastor had this admonishment, which, in my opinion, is the best explanation of why a pastor should look like a pastor:
"Then you are sailing under false colors. You are no ordinary person. You have been ordained by the Church as a servant of the Word. You have been elected and called by the Christian congregation at Odesjo to be its pastor. You get support from the fields which godly forbears donated for the pastor's upkeep. It is pure dishonesty to take the money, if you want to be just and ordinary person."*
*The Hammer of God, pg. 254
"You must certainly understand that I want to come as an ordinary human being."
Pastor Bengtsson, an older and much sounder Lutheran pastor had this admonishment, which, in my opinion, is the best explanation of why a pastor should look like a pastor:
"Then you are sailing under false colors. You are no ordinary person. You have been ordained by the Church as a servant of the Word. You have been elected and called by the Christian congregation at Odesjo to be its pastor. You get support from the fields which godly forbears donated for the pastor's upkeep. It is pure dishonesty to take the money, if you want to be just and ordinary person."*
*The Hammer of God, pg. 254
What 5 weeks of Divine Knitting will get you
Ok, this is the official announcement. I am a father! God has blessed Lesa and me with a child that is even now being fearfully and wonderfully made in her womb! 
And by fearfully I mean . . . .
take a look at this picture!
But, it is still our baby and we love it! Thanks be to God for uniting our marriage in such a beautiful way.
Please keep us all in your prayers. The baby is due March 5.
For further updates, check out our Roemke Family Blog.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Don't Hide Jesus
Another truly remarkable bit of wisdom from Giertz's The Hammer of God:
"One ought not talk about oneself, it may hide Jesus from view."*
A reminder every Christian, especially every pastor, should have daily.
Amen.
"One ought not talk about oneself, it may hide Jesus from view."*
A reminder every Christian, especially every pastor, should have daily.
Amen.
* pg 151
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