“John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6).

Locusts are the local name for the Carob pods which are similar to chocolate.  They are roasted and are edible and nutritious.  John was a vegetarian.  He was clothed with cheap clothing and was purposefully meager in His provisions.  He was as the Lord made him to be.  Our preparation does not need to be fancy, but meager, for we come to the Lord in need and our Lord provides all that is needed.

Lord, help me to not fall into the trap of pretense where I think everything must be over-thought and prepared for before I journey in faith.  You have given me the basics that I need.  You must be the One who saves me, taking me from where I am to where I need to be.  Guide me in the way of salvation, not depending upon anything I think I may know, but wholly leaning upon You who has come to save us.

Lord Jesus, You have laid all needful things before us so that we may come in faith, trusting You each step of the way.  Guide me in the way of salvation, for You have given me the revelation of You, the Word made flesh.  As to the rest, I do not know, but You do.  Whatever my lot in life, help me to be thankful that You have prepared the way for me to live in order that I may take up my cross and follow You wherever You lead.  Amen.

“John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:4-5).

The beginning of the Gospel starts with repentance.  Unless we confess that we have a problem, we cannot see the need for salvation.  If we think we can do it, or should do it on our own, we miss the point that Jesus has come to save us.  In order to repent, one must be aware of the need.  In order to repent perfectly, it takes a perfect man, but then, a perfect man does not need to repent.  Christ alone is the perfect man who leads us towards perfect repentance.

Lord God, help me to see that daily I sin and daily I need to repent.  Rather than playing games with You, thinking I am okay, help me to see my complete dependance upon You.  Guide me by Your Spirit so that I am quick to repent, humble in submission and willing to follow where You lead.  These words are easy to say, but they are so hard to accomplish.  Lead me so that I learn to obey all that You direct.

Lord Jesus, You alone who is perfect leads the way.  You sent John the Baptist before You to prepare the way and You have come preparing the way so that I may know the way of right living.  Help me today to do those things which are needed in order that I may humbly walk in the right and narrow way of the Gospel.  Guide me into Your goodness, helping me each step of the way, and teach me to be faithful.  Amen.

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight’” (Mark 1:3)

From the passage in Isaiah 40, we are reminded that our time here is short.  The message comes that salvation is made available by grace and through faith. Behold, the Savior has come.  Some will follow and others will not.  We should not stop preparing the way of the Lord.  Every person needs help to make the way of the Lord become the way of living.  We live in a wilderness and the Lord is calling us home.

Lord, help me so that I am not content with the wilderness in which I find myself.  You have put into me a longing for my true home, which is in and with You.  Help me by deepening in me the eternal desire You have planted in me so that I help by making ready the way You have established.  Guide me in Your grace to live on the straight and narrow path, speaking Your word of truth.

Thank You, Savior of my soul, for coming into the wilderness of this world.  You have given me the words of life.  Help me to walk the straight and narrow path that You have set before me.  When I err, let me repent and set me again on Your path.  When I stray, lead me back to safety.  May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my mind be upon what is right and true.  Guide me ever deeper into the salvation You have given me.  Amen.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way” (Mark 1:1-2)

The Lord, who knows the beginning from the end, has prepared us in order that we may receive the Good News of salvation which comes through the only begotten and anointed Son, Jesus.  We too are a part of preparing the way for others to receive the good news of the Gospel.  Everyone is a messenger.  The question is, what is the message that is being shared?  Share the Gospel with others that they may receive what You have received.

Lord, I come to You because messengers have come to me.  Prepare me to be a messenger of the Gospel so that others will have the opportunity to receive salvation as I have received it from You.  Guide me ever deeper into the mystery of the revelation of the Good News which You have brought for all.  Lead all the faithful through this world to humbly come into Your presence now and forever.

Lord Jesus, Son of God and Eternal Savior, the way was prepared before me, first by You and then by others.  Help me to be a part of Your kingdom and continue to prepare the way so that others may receive what You have given me.  You have given the words of eternal life.  Help me to speak those words, live those words, and abide in the truth of Your eternal presence now and forever.  Amen.

Luke 16:19-31

Pastor: Good morning boys and girls! Welcome! Let’s say good morning to our friend Sammy. Ready? One, two, three: Good morning, Sammy!

Sammy: Good morning everyone!

Pastor: Sammy, today we are learning about a man named Lazarus.

Sammy: Yes! Lazarus is such a cool name.

Pastor: Yes it is. What do you remember about Lazarus, Sammy?

Sammy: Well, I know that he likes dogs. Maybe the dogs like him. He has a dog. No wait: he has several dogs. I think the dogs lick him.

Pastor: Hold on, Sammy. It seems like you remember the part about the dogs licking Lazarus’s sores.

Sammy: Yes that’s the part I remember.

Pastor: Boys and girls, do you remember anything else about Lazarus?

[Allow time for responses]

Pastor: Lazarus had a hard life on earth. He was poor. He ate scraps of food. And the dogs licked his sores.

Sammy: So Lazarus was hungry a lot and he had a lot of boo-boos.

Pastor: Yes he was, and he did.

Sammy: That’s horrible. Why didn’t anyone help him?

Pastor: I am not sure. The rich man in the story had a lot of money and was able to help Lazarus, but he chose not to help him.

Sammy: Well, why not?!

Pastor: Sometimes it’s hard to think of other people when everything is going well in our lives. When our lives are challenging, and we receive help from others, then we realize the importance of giving what we can to each other.

Sammy: I know our church helps a lot. We give food and clothes and supplies to other people in our community.

Pastor: Yes, we do. We have many people here who are very generous. And that’s what Jesus wants of us. He wants us to give to each other. He wants us to love each other.

Sammy: What happened to Lazarus in the end? Did the rich man finally help him?

Pastor: No, the rich man never helped Lazarus. Lazarus went to heaven and the angels waited on him. The angels gave him food and something to drink. They helped him put on better clothes, too. Lazarus gets to spend eternity with Jesus.

Sammy: At least the story has a good ending.

Pastor: Yes—for Lazarus.

Sammy: Boys and girls, will you pray with me? Will you please fold your hands and bow your heads? Dear Jesus, help us to see the poor and the hungry in our community. Help us to feed others. Thank you for giving us serving and loving hearts. Amen.

Pastor: Bye, Sammy!

Sammy: Bye, everyone!

Luke 16:1-13

Script:

Pastor: Good morning boys and girls! Welcome! Let’s say good morning to our friend Sammy. Ready? One, two, three: Good morning, Sammy!

Sammy: Good morning, everyone! Pastor, I’ve decided today that I am going to be a manager.

Pastor: That’s a great goal, Sammy! When you become an adult sheep, I am sure Farmer Luke would be willing to give you more responsibilities around the farm.

Sammy: Actually, Pastor, I am going to start being a manager today.

Pastor: Sammy, in order to be a manager, you need someone or something to manage.

Sammy: Yes, Pastor. I know that. Today is the first day that I am going to be your manager.

Pastor: Sammy, that’s not going to work.

Sammy: Why not?

Pastor: I am not sure you know what a manager is, Sammy. Boys and girls, will you help me explain this concept to Sammy? What is a manager?

[Allow time for responses]

Sammy: That makes sense. A manager keeps track of people and items and helps to run a business in a smooth way. This person keeps everyone focused.

Pastor: Exactly.

Sammy: I don’t know, Pastor. I think you really need me in this role.

Pastor: Sammy.

Sammy: I’ve seen your office, Pastor. The dust bunnies tell me everything. You need me to be your manager.

Pastor: Let’s refocus. Jesus talked to his disciples about a manager who wasn’t doing a good job in the Gospel of Luke today. The manager almost lost his job, but he decided he needed to try once more to impress his boss. He settled accounts and did his best to collect as much income as he could.

Sammy: He sounds like he tried.

Pastor: Yes, he did, but only after his master talked with him. You see, Jesus is teaching about faith. When we have a little bit of faith, we can accomplish only a little bit. But when we have a big faith, we can accomplish big things. That’s the power of God’s work in us.

Sammy: So we don’t want to be managers, then?

Pastor: There’s nothing wrong with being a manager; we just want to be good managers of all that we are given.

Sammy: That make sense to me.

Pastor: Let’s pray: would everyone please fold your hands and bow your head? Dear Jesus, we love you. Please increase our faith in you and help us to always look to you for help. Amen.

Sammy: Bye, everyone!

Pastor: Bye, Sammy!

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Through others you have come to faith.  By your faith others will come to faith.  A part of what the Lord is doing in us is having us be a part of community building.  We do not do this alone.  To be a disciple is to follow Jesus.  Be steeped in Trinity, sharing with others the promise of salvation and learning how to be obedient.  It is the journey for all of us and our belief shows through our action.  If we believe, we do.

Lord, help me to see things as they are.  In our time, folks believe in specialization, compartmentalization and isolation.  You call us together to be community, helping one another and doing as You instruct us.  Teach me to follow Your ways and not just the ways of the world.  Guide me to live according to Your word and not by the false words of this world.  You are always with us.  Help me to always be with You.

Lord Jesus, even amid miracles, You know how easily I can become distracted.  Help me to be Your disciple at all times in all places.  Help me to be immersed in You, abiding with You and knowing You are with me.  Help me to learn obedience.  Help me to share these things with others I meet that they too may have the opportunity to live into the eternal life You grant by faith and through grace.  Amen.

Editor’s note: The Social Statement as amended was approved by the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly 762 to 16.

Rather than repeat Pastor Nelson’s comprehensive review of the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, I focus on the social statement “Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All” and its resolutions. This document represents a significant attempt to reshape Lutheran public witness within contemporary American civic engagement. As someone committed to the Augsburg Confession and the Book of Concord, I see this statement as indicative of the ELCA’s growing theological accommodation to secular ideologies, often undermining historic Lutheran doctrine, Christian liberty, and the two-kingdoms approach. Below, I offer a Lutheran theological rebuttal, addressing the document’s most serious theological issues and providing a confessionally-rooted correction.

Confusing the Two Kingdoms

At the heart of the ELCA’s statement is a blurring—often, a collapse—of the Lutheran distinction between the “right-hand” spiritual kingdom (regnum gratiae) and the “left-hand” civil kingdom (regnum politicum). The document’s language routinely invokes public service, advocacy, and “civic life” as vehicles for the realization of “shalom,” the biblical vision of justice, well-being, and wholeness. While Lutherans affirm that God works through both “kingdoms,” the Confessions strictly delimit their means and goals: the Church is constituted by the ministry of Word and Sacrament, calling sinners to repentance and faith; the State orders external affairs and restrains evil by the sword (Augsburg Confession XVI, XXVIII; Romans 13). By asserting that “God’s people are called to both engage in bringing about a better world and be vigilant in regard to any earthly arrangement,” the document opens the door to a confusing activism where the proclamation of the gospel is practically subordinated to the Church’s civil agenda. This is not God’s unique gift to the Church (Word and Sacrament), but a giving over of the Church’s authority to temporal ideologies and causes, however well-meaning.

Erosion of the Doctrine of Sin and Justification

Lutheran theology begins all social analysis with the acknowledgment that even the noblest human efforts—political, economic, or philanthropic—remain shot through with original sin (homo incurvatus in se). The ELCA document affirms a general brokenness but shifts quickly to systemic theories of oppression, power, and identity, echoing contemporary sociological frameworks more than biblical anthropology. Furthermore, its soteriology is social, not christological: the Church’s role is cast as “seeking justice and reconciliation,” with little mention of Law and Gospel or the unique necessity of Christ’s atoning work. The Augsburg Confession teaches that the Church alone possesses the means of grace for forgiveness and new life (Augsburg Confession V; Apology IV). In contrast, the ELCA’s focus risks distilling Lutheran teaching into general moral uplift and activism, undermining both the necessity of Christ for sinners and the Church’s saving mission.

Instrumentalization of Doctrine and Liturgy

Repeatedly, the proposed statement invokes baptismal vocation as a calling to “public advocacy” or “prophetic presence” for contemporary social causes (especially DEIA, as noted throughout the Assembly). While all Christians are called to serve their neighbor, confessional Lutherans insist this flows from justification by faith—never as a requirement or condition to secure justice in this age (Formula of Concord, SD VI). Instrumentalizing baptism and liturgy as tools for social transformation shifts their meaning from divine gift to human project. The document thus confuses the orders of creation and redemption, attempting to effect spiritual change through law-oriented means.

Undermining Christian Liberty and Congregational Autonomy

The social statement’s call to centrally program civic engagement, advocacy, and even curricular recommendations for all congregations and ministries reflects a form of ecclesial coercion foreign to Lutheran doctrine of Christian liberty (Galatians 5:1; Augsburg Confession XXVIII). The binding of conscience—especially by making DEIA or any other social framework mandatory within the Church—contradicts the very heart of the Lutheran confessional principle: “It is not necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be the same everywhere” (Augsburg Confession VII). The uniform imposition of such agendas threatens both the diversity and the spiritual freedom of congregations.

Conclusion

The proposed ELCA social statement on civic life is marked by theological accommodation, confusion of Law and Gospel, and a radical collapse of the Church’s spiritual calling into political activism. Lutheran theology calls for faithful two-kingdoms engagement, proclamation of Christ’s atoning work, and the preservation of Christian liberty—rejecting all attempts to transform the Church into an agent of political or social revolution. The world, not the Church, is the field for partisan experiment; the Church must remain free to preach Christ crucified for sinners, for “to him alone belongs the glory” (SD II, Luther’s Small Catechism).

It is 2025—an auspicious year.  We are a quarter way into the 21st century.  The Lutheran Reformation is just beginning to essay its second half millennium, and just as the printing press projected the ideas of a firebrand priest named Luther across the continent before a decadent hierarchy could crush him as they did Jan Hus a century before, so now the internet can empower the Church to reform and retool for the changing challenges of ministry.

I know, I know; from shadow-banning, to AI, to the identity crisis in young people, to the manipulation of the masses through algorithmic engineering, the internet actually seems to be the source of most of our ministry challenges.  Fair enough.  I do not mean to downplay any of the challenges theological or pastoral that this new and increasingly ubiquitous reality presents to the proclamation of the gospel, the cultivation of genuine Christian discipleship, and ultimately, the salvation of persons.  The kinetic component of the spiritual warfare that has always been the province of the Church now seems to be moving at a speed that is dizzying and whose geographic boundaries are less clear; the narratives the Church would historically recognize as spiritual propaganda used to largely be “over there,” as the world was divided into Christendom and the mission field.  Now we carry these narratives around in our pocket via the raucous voices of not just traditional pundits, but social influencers and YouTube “experts” whose probity and veracity are vouched for primarily by the number of subscribers they can capture and retain.

Complicating the picture further is the fact that this technology was born in the bosom of Western culture precisely at the moment that Nietzsche’s “death of God” made all things possible and French post-structuralism was teaching anyone college-educated that right and wrong were merely social constructs meant to obscure what was in fact the raw exercise of power, and that this logic informs the programming of not only the Artificial Intelligence about which we are all concerned, but the search engines we use to learn about them.  Social observer Ted Gioia estimates that we have at most twelve more months within which the average, well-educated person will be able to tell what is real from what is computer-generated in their news feed, and historian/social philosopher Mary Harrington has noted that functional literacy—the ability to focus on, digest, and synthesize information gained through long-form reading—is already plunging so precipitously that it will soon be at medieval levels, despite the ubiquity of text in our lives. Clergy may shortly become “clerics” once again, an elite defined by their competency with written language.

“Where is the good news in this?” we may well ask.  It is that the Church has some unique opportunities before Her at this time.  This past weekend, like an incarnation of Robert Jenson’s prediction in his October 1993 First Things article How the World Lost Its Story, a couple from a Pentecostal background visited my church for the first time precisely because they discovered on our worship stream solid Biblical preaching married to the singing of the Kyrie and Gloria.  The husband had been discovering through YouTube videos what he may never have discovered even 20 years ago, when the only spiritual voice was that of his pastor; he was learning that the mode of worship he had grown up with was novel, not apostolic, and he was seeking a firmer foundation for himself and his family.  For my part, I am excited at the prospect that the fervent piety that characterized their upbringing might leaven the at-times stolid, business-as-usual daily demeanor of central Pennsylvania Lutheranism.  I am hopeful that it can do this without fueling Lutheranism’s historic pendulum swing from Pietism to Neo-Orthodoxy since they come seeking, not escaping from, the liturgical, Sacramental life of the historic Church. 

Can you imagine what the fervency of such piety married to orthodox Biblical faith grounded in profound liturgical formation might look like?  I can.  Think Polycarp, Maximos the Confessor, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther… There is much more to say in future articles about the opportunities that this historical moment affords the Church, but one at least is the healing of some of our historic divisions through wider mutual knowledge and appreciation.  John Paul II prayed that the 3^rd millennium of Christianity would be the millennium of healing our divisions.  Wouldn’t it be just like God to use what is seemingly a great weapon in the hands of our ancient Enemy to accomplish that seemingly impossible task?