This is the Feast.

“This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia. Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God. Power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and blessing and glory are His. This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia. Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation: Blessing and honor and glory and might be to God and Lamb
forever. Amen. This is the feast of victory for our God, for the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. Alleluia, alleluia.”

Have you ever wondered the history and tradition of our liturgy?  The Hymn of Praise “This is the Feast” has been one of my favorite parts of the liturgy since my family joined the Lutheran Church when I was a little girl.
And the way that at Grace’s Easter Vigil Service it starts out random bells and then comes in so strong, always gives me goose bumps.  So I thought this month, I would share some of its history with you.

Historically, some Western rites provided occasional alternatives to the Gloria in Excelsis as a Hymn of Praise.  In more recent times, the Lutheran Church in North America has made a significant contribution to the church’s liturgy through the alternate Hymn of Praise, “This is the Feast.”

“This is the Feast” was prepared for the Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) and composed by Russell Schulz-Widmar. “This is the Feast” is based off of the traditional canticle, Dignus est Agnus, which you can find on p122 of The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH). Today, we can find “This is the Feast” as an option for the Hymn of Praise in
Divine Service Settings One and Two of the Lutheran Service Book (LSB).  In these settings, it falls between the Kyrie Eleison and the Salutation.  Here at Grace, we use the Lutheran Worship (LW) hymnal, and you’ll find it falls in the same place in the Order of Service.

Drawing directly from the description of heaven in the Revelation to St. John, our voices are joined to that
heavenly throng as we sing with them, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessings!” (Revelation 5:12)

The Lutheran Service Book shows Scripture references for portions of the services next to title.  From these notes, we learn that “This is the Feast” is based on Revelation 5:12-13; 19:5-9.  Revelation 19:5-9 is the Marriage Supper of the Lord.

The text of this Hymn of Praise also draws on the picture of the messianic banquet in Isaiah 25:6, “On this
mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”  It also reflects New Testament images of wedding banquets one of which can be found in Matthew 22:1-14, where Jesus tells that the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet.  In the background of this hymn of praise is also the Passover celebration.

There are times when it is more appropriate to use “This is the Feast.”  It is a hymn to be sung when the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, it does not seem rational to sing about the feast without its presence that day.  It is most fitting during Sundays of Easter, All Saints’ Day through the Last Sunday of the Church year.  It may be sung on select Sundays after Pentecost.  It is not sung during Advent of Lent, because the Hymn of Praise is omitted
during these times.

May you be blessed as you join with the company of heaven, preparing for the heavenly feast.

Blessings and Peace in Christ,
Deaconess Amanda

 

blessings this past March.

The month of March, along with the season of Lent, have nearly gone by in a whirlwind this year.

It’s got me reflecting on the blessings that I’ve been seeing around Grace this Lent:

1. Grace Gala. This was a record breaking year for money raised at the Gala, and I think that everyone who attended agrees it was hard to believe we were sitting in the Fellowship Hall/Cafeteria. It was beautifully transformed, all of the student class projects were awesome, and it was a blessing to attend and be a part of.
2. Stephen Ministry training. We are currently training three new Stephen Ministers, and this year I have been blessed to teach more classes than I did last year after becoming a new Stephen Leader. I have been blessed by my time teaching, and I look forward to seeing God work through the three of them when they become commissioned as Stephen Ministers in May.
3. Martin Luther High School Concert Choir and Troubadours from Glendale, Wisconsin. I think that everyone who was able to attend their concert Saturday, March 17th as well as during our church services on Sunday, March 18th, would agree what a blessing these high school students were in hearing the gifts God gave them in singing. I also was blessed to have two of the senior girls, Angie and Shannen, spend the night at my apartment. I live in a one bedroom apartment, which is fine for a single twenty-five year old and her cat, but I wasn’t sure how the two girls would feel about having a couch and an air mattress for the night when I knew that in some of the houses, they could have entire rooms to themselves. Angie and Shannen’s reaction? “We just spent over twenty hours on a bus. A shower, and anywhere to sleep that is not a bus to sleep is more than we could ask for.” They were such a joy in the brief amount of time I shared with them.
4. Spraining my foot. Yes, that’s a weird one to add on a list of blessings. But at Grace, I am used to being the one who is serving all of you. It really touched me to have so many of you reach out and try to find ways to take care of me, make sure that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing, and do what you could to help me out. So thank you to all who were a blessing to me.

It seems to me that this month was filled with a lot of hectic events for people. I hope that whatever your March brought you, you’re able to take a few moments and make a list of the blessings that it brought you as well. Remember that you have a Father who is with you through every hectic moment, every joyful moment, and pouring out all the blessings over you.

Blessings and Peace in Christ,
Deaconess Amanda

 

 

family devotions.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” ~ Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Family devotions can be intimidating. There are all sorts of questions about how to do it, what do to say, when do we do it?  Or maybe even scarier yet—What do I do if my kids ask me something and I don’t know the
answer?  Sometimes it feels safer to avoid a conversation than for us to admit that we don’t know.
But I’m here to tell you, you don’t have to be afraid. You don’t even need to know all the answers.
Just start the conversation. 

During Lent, I challenge you to find a night, or maybe even a breakfast time that works for your family to start a new Family Devotions tradition.  Turn all distractions off for 15-20min, no phones, no internet, no TV, no music.  Just you, your family and God.  It might seem awkward at first, especially if you’re new to the process, but trust me, by week six you’ll be craving this time together-and so will your kids.  If you have any questions, or want to know more about getting started-please do not hesitate to ask.

Faith 5
A Simple Family Devotion Model

1. Share highs and lows.  Name something good and bad you experienced today.
2. Read a verse or section of scripture from the Word together as a family.
3. Talk about how the verse(s) relate to highs and lows.  Unpack the verse a bit.  What does it mean in your own words?  How might it relate to where you are today in your highs and lows?  Do you sense God calling you to action at all in this passage?
4. Pray for one another’s highs and lows, for your family, and for the world.  Simply talk to God, thank Jesus for the good, and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in specific problems.
5. Bless one another. Trace the sign of the cross on one another’s forehead or palm as a reminder that you belong to God and to one another.

**Faith 5 is a family devotion model created by Faith Inkubators**

Blessings on your journey together,
Deaconess Amanda

 

love, love, love.

“I love…”

What just popped into your head?  Your favorite food?  Your favorite music group?  Coffee?  That place you went on vacation that you dream of returning to?  The beach?  Your favorite color?  A video game?  Ice cream?  A family member?  A book series?  Your favorite sports team?

We use the word “love” to describe a variety of different thoughts and feelings.  We describe our affection for both a snack and someone dear to us with the same word.  Merriam-Webster has four possible definitions for the verb “love.”  To hold dear, cherish; to feel a lover’s passion, devotion, or tenderness for; to like or desire actively, take pleasure in; to thrive in.

Koine Greek (the common dialect in Jesus’ time) has four different words for our one English word “love.”

• Storge is affection, fondness through familiarity, especially between family members or people who have otherwise found themselves together by chance.
• Phileo is the love between friends.
• Eros is love in the sense of ‘being in love’ or loving me.
• Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.

In 1 John 4, you will see a couple times that “God is love.”  Which Greek love do you think John used?  Agape.  God is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love.  What the world considers love is selfish and self-centered, but all true love is from God.  God’s love for us was revealed fully to us in the gift of His Son, who became the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  It is this unconditional love that we hear about in sermons and learn more about in bible study.

 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are…” 1 John 3:1a

Despite all of our selfishness and sinfulness, God loves us so much that through Baptism He has called us His own children.  That is the kind of love that my mind cannot fully wrap itself around.  It is a kind of love that makes my love for coffee look incredibly weak.  It is a kind of love that we don’t want to keep to ourselves, but share.  It is because of this love that we are able to love one another.

My challenge to you is to love one another.  Think of ways that you can show love to your loved ones, your friends, your classmates, your neighbors, maybe even a stranger.  Be as simple or as extravagant as you want.  God showed His agape to us through Jesus—now go, do, and pass the good news of God’s selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love onto others.

Blessings and Love in Christ,
Deaconess Amanda

 

 

 

Surrounded by change.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For the past hour, I have been sitting with a blank Word document before me, trying to think of what to write for this month.  All that I keep thinking is, “It can’t already be a new year, can it?”

January 2012.  By our calendar, it is a new year.  A new year which at this point holds as many possibilities as the blank Word document that was staring at me a moment ago.

This new year, also contains cycles that are already in motion that impact the fresh new year.  Although it is a new calendar year, the school year is nearing its halfway point.  The liturgical church year, which begins with Advent, began about a month before this new year.  The seasons cycle (both in nature and sports) throughout the year.  Although there is a new year just ahead, it’s almost as if we’re constantly fluctuating between new beginnings and being in the midst of waiting for the next beginning.

In the midst of the new beginnings and various cycles, we are surrounded by almost constant change.  Sometimes the changes are small, other times the changes are considerably larger.

God made some huge changes for us.  In the beginning, God changed the nothingness of the universe and created a place for man to dwell with Him.  On the first Christmas, He sent His Son Jesus to the earth He created to be fully God and fully human so that He could change our eternal destination.  When Jesus died on Good Friday and rose on Easter morning, He changed everything.  Instead of leaving us stranded on the path of eternal separation from God with sin, death, and the devil, Jesus exchanged himself.  He bore our sin, death, and punishment in hell so that as baptized children of God, we have forgiveness and eternal life with God.

Even though we often think of change as a bad thing, think of where we would be without it.

This time of year you may be reflecting on the things that happened in 2011, looking forward to what could happen in 2012, what you would like to change for 2012.  A year may be full of successes and failures, joy and happiness, failed expectations and surprising accomplishments, sickness, health, and a host of other memories.  But though we may change, or the circumstances around us, Jesus does not.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. –Hebrews 13:8

No matter what changes to or around us, Jesus remains our constant.  God remains faithful to us, and keeps His promises.

Blessings and Love in Christ,
Deaconess Amanda