Shade Tree Wisdom 10/25/11

          Well, I started with a jacket.  After all, I said to self, it is nearly the end of October, so a jacket is a must.  I was wrong, and soon had it over my shoulder.  It was warm, and muggy.

          Today the church notes the 200th anniversary of the birth of Dr. C.F.W. Walther, the first president of our synod.  A Pastor, Professor, theologian, scholar, author of Law and Gospel, as well as other basic texts, God’s gift to this young church here in America.

          I am glad my church looks to its roots for truth.  Herman Sasse writes, “It is always a sign of deep spiritual sickness when a church forgets its fathers.”  Why?  Because the life of the church finds its strength from the teachings of truth their fathers believed also.

          The greatest eras of the church, the times when she is strongest begins with the cry, “back to the Scriptures”.  Note how often the psalms write of what God did for the fathers.  Psalm 22,4. “The fathers trusted in You, and You delivered them”.  Hilkiah, the priest, found the book of the law, read it to his king, and Josiah started a time of repentance and restoring Israel.

          Jesus began His ministry with “Today this Scripture (Having read Isaiah), is fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4,21.  And Luther began there, “Back to the Bible”, and started an explosion of study and enrichment and growth.

          That is a reason to remember Dr. Walther.  He taught and lived this truth, led and guided a young church and helped it set a solid foundation on the Confessions and the Scriptures.  We remember that with thanks, and do well to build on that solid foundation.

          In 1844 Walther put this statement on the masthead of the Lutheran Witness:
“God’s Word and Luther’s doctrine,
Shall not pass away now and forever.”

GPD 10/25/11