Dear LCMS,

It is with great confusion that I write this letter. I recently read that Rev. Dr. Matthew Becker has been exonerated of teaching false doctrine in the LCMS. He has been declared not a heretic. I want to rejoice in that decision, and if that truly were the case, I would certainly rejoice in it. However, I find that what he has been teaching and preaching is diametrically opposed to what I have been teaching and preaching, and what is believed, taught, and confessed at my congregation.

First, there is the count of women's ordination in the LCMS. I have long been taught and believe and now teach that the Office of the Holy Ministry is to be filled by men. This has nothing to do with any kind of hierarchy among the sexes. This has nothing to do with any ability or lack thereof in any woman, as not all men are cut out to fill this sacred office, either. It has everything to do with propriety and the conscience of the believer. To men, Jesus gave the authority to forgive and retain sins as validly as if it were God Himself doing it, because He is. (John 20:21-23) It follows, then, that these are the ones to whom it was given to administer the rest of the Sacraments, even as St. Paul says. (1 Corinthians 4:1) It should follow also that since the pastor is to speak with the voice of God, that since the Voice of God, Jesus, is male, perhaps the voice the Christian hears from the Altar be that of a man. Then, there's the line from the Augsburg Confession, a book to which Rev. Becker and I have both subscribed: "Of Ecclesiastical Order [our churches] teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called" (Augsburg Confession XIV, emphasis mine). This is what I have taught, but Rev. Becker teaches otherwise.

When you read Genesis 1, how to do read it? "Even and morning were the nth day," right? There has long be controversy that the day that Moses wrote about (at least in the first chapter of Genesis) isn't really a day, but refers to a period of time that is much longer than a day—an era or epoch, perhaps. Word studies conclude that the word day that Moses uses is nothing other than a day. There is a marvelous little book by Joel D. Heck, In the Beginning, God: Creation from God's Perspective, which goes into great detail what the Scriptures teach and we in the LCMS believe and confess regarding the Six-day Creation. However, Rev. Becker wants you to think otherwise. Included in his views on the creation comes also a favorable view of Darwinian (or perhaps Theistic) Evolution.

So, I have this question. Since Rev. Becker has been exonerated, I must conclude that he is not teaching false doctrine (as was stated in that previous article), and since he and I teach differently, am I teaching false doctrine? Do the Scriptures and Confessions say things differently than I have believed all along; am I wrong? If so, then I suppose charges of false teaching ought to be leveled against me.

Sincerely,
Rev. Geoffrey A. Wagner, pastor
Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church - Elizabeth, CO

Dear brothers and sisters, the glory of the Lord has shone upon us, and shall ever be manifest among us, until the day of His return. Through the rhythms of times and seasons let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.

First, let us recall the year’s culmination, the Easter Triduum of the Lord: His last supper, His crucifixion, His burial, and His rising celebrated between the evening of 2nd April (Maundy Thursday) and the evening of 5th April (the Resurrection of Our Lord).

Each Easter—as on each Sunday—the Holy Church makes present the great and saving deed by which Christ has forever conquered sin and death.

From Easter are reckoned all the days we keep holy.

• Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, will occur on 18th February.
• The Ascension of the Lord is commemorated on 14th May.
• Pentecost, the joyful conclusion of the season of Easter, will be celebrated on 24th May.
• And this year, the First Sunday in Advent will be on 29th November.

Likewise the pilgrim Church proclaims the passover of Christ in the feasts of the Apostles and Saints, and in the commemoration of the faithful departed. The following feasts and commemorations occur on Sundays:

• The Confession of St. Peter on 18th January.
• The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession is observed on 28th June, transferred from 24th June. [This is a custom at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.]
• St. Michael and All Angels is observed on 27th September, transferred from 28th September.
• St. Luke, Evangelist on 18th October.
• Reformation Day is observed on 25th October, transferred from 31st October.
• All Saints’ Day is on 1st November.

To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come, Lord of time and history, be endless praise, for ever and ever. Amen.

I actually went into the office today. I needed to do so in order to write the sermon for tomorrow's Divine Service. I went in with one idea for a sermon; what I ended up writing was something completely different. I find it interesting when that happens. I also put together half sheet handouts for tomorrow and Epiphany.

I made a trip to Walmart to get a few fixings for tonight and tomorrow. I found some cupcakes decorated with the Minions from Despicable Me 2. They happen to be some of Tirzah's favorite fictional characters.

Back home, I texted a couple of folks to determine whether or not we should have Bible Study this week. We decided to cancel.

Then, it was time to get stuff ready for tonight's activities. As usual, we had snacks for supper: cocktail sausages, chips and dips, tater tots, nachos, and carrots and dip...well, carrots were available.

We were going to watch the ball drop in New York for Eastern New Year, but the station cut out with a minute to go for 10 minutes of uninterrupted news...great. Oh well, the kids will still go to bed, as we have church in the morning.

I don't know if I'll last to midnight or not, though...

Our high today was in the low single digits. It got above 0, but not for long. As I write this, it's about -17 outside.

Our garbage was supposed to have been picked up last week, but the roads in town were really icy, so they canceled pickup for our town. We're normally picked up every two weeks, but we were added to the rotation today. I wasn't going to hold my breath about them coming out today, but they did.

Beyond that, I didn't want to venture outside, so I stayed home today. I did a little thinking and planning for Thursday's sermon, having already come up with an idea for Sunday's on Sunday. Tomorrow, I do plan on going into the office to write the sermon.

I played a little more Minecraft with the kids, developing my world a little more, restructuring my rail system, and in some ways, making it more complex.

To relax on my day off, I showed off what I had created in Minecraft to the kids. They were in awe of what I had learned to do with rails and minecarts. They played with me some as I continued to improve upon what I had built. Basically, the day was spent in that.

I played a game of NHL 15 this morning before church. Kicked the snot out of the Pittsburgh Penguins playing as the Tampa Bay Lightning. I meant to charge the controller when I was done, but forgot to plug it in.

After getting ready for church, we headed over that way. I was surprised to be the first ones there this morning, but that gave me time to change the paraments quickly to red since we were celebrating Holy Innocents today (sermon posted). The crowd was a little sparse today, especially compared to what we had on Christmas.

There wasn't any catechesis today. I scheduled today off with Christmas being just four days ago. After church, we went to Safeway.

After lunch, the kids finally played Minecraft on the PS4. I don't get the game, but I'm thinking about giving it a try just so I know what's going on.

After supper, we all had ice cream. We got some fixings for it at Safeway. It made for a nice treat.

Now, we're all tired and just about ready for bed.

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
'A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.'" - Matthew 2:16-18

Lully, lulla, thow littell tine child,
By by, lully, lullay, thow littell tyne child,
By by, lully, lullay!

O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This pore yongling for whom we do singe
By by, lully, lullay?

Herod, the king, in his raging,
Chargid he hath this day
His men of might in his owne sight
All yonge children to slay,—

That wo is me, pore child, for thee,
And ever morne and may
For thi parting nether say nor singe,
By by, lully, lullay.

Alright, so this update is just going to be this week. For the last four days of the year, I’ll be doing individual updates like I did to start the year off. As for this week, it was a pretty busy one which ended with a time of relaxation with family and a friend. But the busyness is to be expected with Christmas being in the week. A service on December 24, another on the 25th, and that’s in addition to what normally happens on Sunday.

It seems all I post lately are sermons and weekly updates. Well, this one is a little different.