From the Pastor: May 2010

Dear Saints in Christ Jesus,

Sigh!  Easter is over.

Or is it?  We have a living Lord Jesus who can never die again!  We gather together for the divine service to hear God’s Word and receive the Sacrament of the Altar each Sunday, the first day of the week.  Ever Sunday is a mini-Easter, a celebration of our Lord’s Resurrection, a time when the Risen Lord comes to us in His Word of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

It is vital to our personal Christian health that we continue to regularly attend the services of God’s House, even when the Festivals of Christ like Christmas and Easter have come and gone.  Christians are always living in the shadow of the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb.  We are always living with our Incarnate Savior who died for our sins and rose again, who ascended into heaven and is present with His Church through the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us in Baptism.  He never neglects us.  We should not neglect Him.

It would be unthinkable for a parent to have a child and not feed it.  It would be unthinkable for a person to starve themselves to death when there is more than enough food in their house.  In the same way, it would be unthinkable for the Christian to starve his or her soul by not regularly letting their Savior feed them with His Word and Sacrament.  Christians need regularly the nourishment of God’s Word to keep them strong in faith in the midst of so many temptations and trials.  Consider that the Psalmist writes in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!”  We cannot see that the Lord is good if we are not tasting the food of His Word.  St. Peter picks up this theme in his first Epistle, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:2-3)

You have tasted, you have seen that the Lord is indeed good.  He gave His only Son to die for your sins as your Savior.  Your Risen Jesus is the Living Lord who will call you to Himself in heaven for eternity in the place He has prepared especially for you.  In the meantime, continue to nourish your souls with the pure spiritual milk of the Gospel so that you may praise Him saying, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103)

Pastor Coons