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Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- At the Change of the Millennium The change of millennia included suspense, and made people stop to think of the past and to ask about the future. It was an event, which only a small portion of mankind has been able to experience. After the change of the prior millennium, 30-40 generations have lived without coming even close to that milepost. Many certainly even gave thought to what is time and what is eternity, that dimension where time doesn't exist. A millennium is such a long period of time that when it changes, eternity touches man, who is shackled to time. During the few weeks prior to the change of millennia, the newspaper in my hometown interviewed people of different ages and educational backgrounds. They were asked whom they considered the most remarkable persons of the concluding millennium and what, in their opinion, were the most important events and noteworthy inventions of that period of time. Naturally, the answers differed, but they had a common trait. Nearly everything important had happened, all noteworthy persons had lived, and the great inventions had been invented during the past fifty years. Only a few things of importance had taken place during the first half of the last century, in the previous century, or before that. The sampling, which included over a hundred people, shows how we are tied to our own time. Although we might already be old, our memory does not cover more than a small fraction of the past millennium. We must take information from history to assist our memories to recall what happened during the past millennium. Even historical information becomes more meager the nearer we come to the beginning of another era. In a similar manner, the newspaper asked people about their concept of the future at the change of millennia. The answers gave a picture of people's hopes and fears. Again, they had a common characteristic. The period of time, to which the expectations extended, was only a few years. We do not have the ability to see into the future. The speed of change makes it more difficult to evaluate the future. People are, indeed all of mankind is, bound to time. Man Bound to Time and the Lord of Time A healthy person can move. If he loses his ability to move about, or if it is limited because of illness or an injury, he experiences it as a trial. We can move north and south, east and west. We can climb and descend. We have these three dimensions at our disposal. The question is of something so natural that we seldom think of it. The fourth dimension is time. It differs from the above-mentioned dimensions because it is not in our control. We cannot move freely through time, but we are bound to it. Time moves on, and we move with it. Sometimes time flies, and sometimes, it crawls. At other times, it feels that it has stopped for a moment. We cannot hasten the passage of time, or turn it back. We cannot jump forward or past a difficult period at hand. Time is part of our lives so fundamentally, that it is difficult to imagine a state of being in which time does not exist. Such is eternity. Luther illustrates this by describing a small bird, which flies to a mountain and scrapes its beak on it and flies away. After a millennium, it returns and does the same thing. Sometime, after an incomprehensible length of time, the mountain is worn down. But eternity never ends. A thousand years is not eternity, not even a fraction of it, even though, at its change, it makes us consider eternity. To people born into and bound to time, Scripture speaks of God, Who is not bound to time. He, the Creator of heaven and earth, is also the Lord of time. He has set time to perform its function and has created man into this time. He has created man to be an eternal being also. He has intended man to live even after time no longer exists. God's Time and Man's Time God has always existed. He has neither beginning nor end, and time does not bind Him. Even the fourth dimension is freely in His use. He is also unchanging, for change belongs to time. God has His own time. It is not the same as man's time. It cannot be measured with our clocks or calendars. Once, in eternity, there was the moment when God started His Creation. It was His time. With His Word, He created the earth and all that we see and comprehend. He also created all that which we do not see, understand, or comprehend. He established the laws and order of nature. He has not needed to correct or revise them. They are in force until God's time, which is the last day, comes. No one else knows that day but the Father alone. God established the borders of time for the world. He created man into time, but differentiated him from the rest of creation. He made man an eternal being. God created man both for time and eternity. For that reason, that, which is outside the realm of time, is of interest to every person. On a clear autumn evening, many of us have looked at the starry sky and thought as did the psalmist, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Ps. 8:3,4). The future has not been veiled to the Lord of Time as it is to us people. He even knew that man would fall into sin. The Son promised to redeem man, who would fall into the power of sin and death. God created everything dependent upon the promise given by the Son. Redemption existed from the beginning and brought the possibility of eternal life within reach of fallen man. The following words from Psalms convey to us a portion of the discussion between the Father and the Son. The Father turns to the Son and says, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Ps. 2:7,8). To this the Son answers, “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Ps. 40:8). The Son, Christ, existed for a long time among men only as the Word of the Promise. They, who believed the Promise, awaited its fulfillment. They probably thought that God tarried long. However, He did not tarry, not even to try the faith of the children of God of the Old Covenant. His time had not yet come. But then God's time came. The angels appeared to the shepherds and announced that a Savior had been born unto them. The angels and the whole heavenly host praised God, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). John says at the beginning of his Gospel, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4,5). It was God's time when Jesus began His public ministry. Mark writes of it, “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God's kingdom, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:14,15). Luke tells of the turning point of Jesus' public ministry, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). It was time for Jesus to redeem His promise, which He had given to the Father before the beginning of time. God purposefully fulfilled His salvation plan, without delaying or hastening. God's time is not only linked to the great events of salvation history; even we can observe in the happenings of God's kingdom when it is, or has been, God's time. Precisely this was in question when, to our surprise, new doors opened over a decade ago for the work of the gospel outside the boundaries of our nation [Finland]. Thirty years earlier, foreign mission work had risen as a topic of dissension. The question is not of the principle, for we had the clear word of Jesus, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). The disagreement regarded joining the activities of the Finnish Mission Society. Conservative Laestadians turned down the offer for mutual work, but agreed on the importance of mission work and remained waiting for the time when God would provide opportunity for their own mission work. This position was held in spite of accusations and criticism. God's time came thirty years later. God's time also touches the individual. It is God's time when He awakens the conscience and allows His kingdom to approach. It is then possible to repent and to believe the gospel. “Behold, now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). A person cannot repent when it feels convenient for him, but only then when it is God's time. For that reason, it is a serious matter when a person hears the call from God's kingdom. The person who rejects the call doesn't know if God's time will come again. Neither does he know when his time of grace will end or when his day of departure will come. God, alone, knows this; He has known the number of our days already before our birth. “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps. 139:16). Measuring Time Man has an understanding of time. There exist at least two differing concepts of time. The cyclical concept has its origins in Greece's Hellenistic culture. According to this concept, time's movement is circular. According to the linear concept, time progresses as it were a straight line, it has a beginning as well as an end point. This concept originates in Judaism, and has moved from there into the realm of the Christian faith. The Christian concept of time is based on scriptural revelation that the time of man has a beginning and an end. The present moment divides time into two parts, the past and the future. It is like a fleet arrow, on which we move forward. In order to live and function in time, where to God has bound him, man has developed methods to measure time. God gave the foundations for this already in Creation. When the earth revolved once around the sun, a year had passed. Nature's activity revealed the changes of the seasons. When the moon circled the earth once, a month had passed. Its passage could be followed by the shape of the moon. When the earth rotated once on its axis, a day had passed. At the same time the day's different parts were born: morning, afternoon, evening, and night. Man could follow the passage of the day by the height and direction of the sun. In the beginning, there were no clocks, but man learned early to measure the passage of time using the sun's shadow to his benefit. Scripture describes the sundial of Ahaz. Prophet Isaiah revealed to King Hezekiah that God would heal him of a serious illness and that he did not have to die yet. Hezekiah asked for a sign to verify God's promise. Isaiah answered that the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz would move back ten degrees for a sign that he would be healed. Hezekiah easily understood that the shadow moves clockwise, but it was difficult to comprehend backward movement of the shadow (2 Kings 20:9-11). Hezekiah, himself, had experienced that time was not in man's control. It was just as difficult for him to understand, as it is for us, that time and the laws of nature are ruled by God. It is a blessed and marvelous thing that the Sun of Grace moves counterclockwise and wipes away previously committed sins. When God had created the earth, He rested and sanctified the seventh day to be the day of rest. In this manner, the week was born. Its passage could not be followed like the day and the month from nature or the heavenly bodies. The week had another purpose. God knew that man, whom He had created, also needed a day of rest. The stressed people of our time would feel better if the sanctification of the day of rest were not so commonly forgotten. The weekly day of rest is not only for idleness or hobbies, but also for hearing God's Word. Luther explains the third commandment in the Small Catechism, “We should so fear and love God as not to despise preaching and His Word, but deem it holy, and willingly hear and learn it.” In the Large Catechism, Luther states his thought, “The emphasis of this commandment is not on resting, but on sanctifying.” It was easy to follow the passage of time for one revolution of the sun, but memory and life extended further. A need to observe time, or the calendar, was born. At least two problems had to be resolved: Where would the observation of years be started, and, what would be done since one revolution of the sun was not exactly twelve months long? The differences were not remarkable during a period of a few years, but if longer periods were considered, the more problematic they became. Different nations resolved the problems in different ways. History relates of many kinds of calendars, which have been made more accurate and changed. At present, one uniform calendar system is probably in use in nearly the entire world. The difficulties, that have been experienced in the observation of time, show that managing time is difficult for man. Determining a time by the ruler in power was formerly common. Prophet Isaiah begins the story of his repentance in this manner, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1). This determination of time shows especially clearly when Luke at the beginning of his Gospel, ties the births and public ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus, to the Julian calendar: “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zechariah, of the course of Abijah: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth” (Luke 1:5). “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)” (Luke 2:1,2). “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Itruraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene” (Luke 3:1). The practice of keeping Christ's birth as the starting point for counting time became general in France and Germany in the 900s. This practice is presently common even in those countries where Christianity is the religion of only a small minority. The Last Times The end of the millennium stimulated some unsound speculation and expectations. People wanted to determine appointed times and draw conclusions from scriptural prophecies that had been taken out of context. They were found to be wrong. There is reason to stay away from such calculations. As historical and as serious a matter as the end of a millennium is, it still is only a brief moment, whose time is determined by the unsure human measure of time. God has not bound himself to our calendar. The early congregation lived awaiting Christ's quick return. Had He not promised to come a second time in His glory? It is related in the Acts of the Apostles how the Christians sold their houses and possessions and everything was held in common. When Christ's coming was delayed, the people who waited for Him had problems. Is Christ even coming? The Christians of that period were just as bound to time as we are. It appears that in Corinth and Thessalonica an understanding arose that they who had died before Christ's coming had believed in vain. Paul refuted this, “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Cor. 15:12). He wrote to the Thessalonians, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thess. 4:13,14). The gospel, which they who had slept in faith had heard, had made them partakers in Christ's Resurrection. When the last day dawns and the graves open, they shall rise to meet Christ together with all believers. The time of waiting will not have felt long to them. Time lost its hold on them when they closed their eyes to this world. Peter wrote that a thousand years with the Lord is as one day (2 Pet. 3:8). He did not mean that we should take the phrase as a unit of measure by which we would observe God's time, and thereby try to fit His omnipotence into our limited comprehension. Peter's words teach us the very opposite that God's time is different from man's, and it is not for man to measure. That word was written for the people who awaited a quick coming of the Lord. They doubted when His coming was delayed. The doubts were increased when some gave up believing, waiting, and watching, and started to ridicule. Peter especially emphasized that the Lord will come unexpectedly, “as a thief in the night.” He says that the coming tarries because there are yet those who must come in. The New Testament also speaks of the last times or days, as well as the events and signs of the times preceding the coming of Christ. In the revelation about the last times, two matters are intertwined. First of all, the children of God are warned about the dangers and errors of the last times, and the importance of watchfulness is emphasized, for the last day shall come unexpectedly. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Now all these things happened to them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11). The Epistle to the Hebrews starts, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1,2). The writers comprehended through faith that the last phase of God's salvation plan, which He had laid down before the beginning of the ages, had begun. Paul joins in this thought with his words to the Corinthians, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19). The Father created and the Son redeemed. When the Redemption had taken place, the congregation of the New Testament, having received the office of the Holy Spirit, set out to bear the sermon of reconciliation into all the world. In his Gospel, Matthew preserved Jesus' own teachings about the last times (Matt. 24,25). The signs are evident in both the outward and spiritual worlds. They are also in God's kingdom. Nevertheless, Christ will come unexpectedly. Ordinary workday life will continue until the end. On the day that Christ will come, two persons will be sowing or harvesting in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Two persons will be grinding grain into flour, one will be taken and the other left. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24:36). All of the scriptural teachings regarding the last times are dominated by the admonition to watch and the warning against being led astray. We want to believe so that we will be ready to receive Christ. Ahead of us is a journey on which we will depart unexpectedly. God's kingdom is secure. When fatigue weighs heavily, the children of God admonish each other to watch. The apostle exhorted the Hebrews, who were also troubled by fatigue, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Heb. 10:24,25). Caring love works to the end so that the weak and tired will reach the destination. The Lord Jesus is the throne of grace until He moves to the throne of glory. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20).

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- Gifts Include Responsibility Jesus related a parable about a master, some servants, and talents, which the master had entrusted to them (Matt. 25:14-30). The master is God, the servants are people, and the talents are the gifts that God has given them. The parable teaches us that the gifts have responsibility attached to their use. God did not give them just for our own joy and benefit, but also so that his purposes would be fulfilled in our lives. The master trusted his servants and gave them great freedom in their actions but did not free them from responsibility. Freedom and responsibility are part of a person's life. The greater the freedom, the greater the responsibility. Responsibility separates man from other creatures. God gave the rest of creation into man's care (Gen. 1:26). In this portion of the creation narrative, man's freedom and responsibility are described perhaps the most broadly. God did not give man the right to spoil and destroy nature or the rest of creation, but he called man to assist Him in cultivating and caring for the earth. What will we answer as members of mankind, when once we will be asked how we have taken care of this duty? Our heads will probably drop down, and we will not be able to defend ourselves with anything. Selfishness, greed, and shortsighted pursuit of one's own benefit have destroyed that which we should have tended. In the parable, the master gave varying amounts of talents, but all received at least one. The talent, as it is translated in the New [Finnish] Church Bible, was a very large coin. It equaled 6,000 denarii, and one denarius was the regular daily wage for a man. One talent, therefore, equaled approximately what a workman could earn during his lifetime. We could also consider that the talent, which all of the servants received for their use, was their temporal life. Every person is responsible for his life, independent of whether he is conscious of it or not. God has equipped us for the sake of living. In the Small Catechism, Luther explains the First Article of The Creed, “I believe that God has made me and all other creatures; that he has given and still preserves to me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses.” God does not “clone.” He has not created two identical persons, but rather every person is an individual. God has His purpose and plan for every person. He has given everyone precisely those gifts necessary to realize that purpose. We often trivialize our own gifts and are jealous of the gifts of others. Sometimes, on the other hand, we overvalue our own abilities and skills. The cause of both behaviors is our own pride. We would want to be better than others. However, God's Word exhorts us to reasonably value ourselves and our gifts (Rom. 12:3). Sometimes we turn down a duty offered us, thinking, “Let others who have better gifts do it.” Are we then like that servant, who received one talent and buried it in the ground? People Were Created to Be With Each Other The gifts, which God has given us, also include those close to us. God did not create people to be alone but to be together. God's statement, “It is not good that man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18), primarily means a spouse in marriage, but it also covers the family circle, all other people, and interaction with them. Our responsibility for the gifts that God has given us includes our relationship to our neighbors. God's Word guides us to love our neighbors and to act in their best interest. Living together with other people gives purpose and content to our lives, while loneliness and selfishness bring distress and emptiness. When we work with other people and in their best interest, we can use our God-given gifts as He has intended. However, connection with other people brings not only content and good fortune into our lives, but often problems, as well. When we do not know how we should act, we can remember from the Sermon on the Mount Jesus' advice known as the Golden Rule: “Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matt. 7:12). We have a tendency to limit the circle to which our neighborly love extends. We are similar to the scribe, who asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). The person, who asked the question, probably had his own answer ready: his neighbors were the Jews, and the closest among them were those who followed the Mosaic Law as interpreted by the scribes and the Pharisees. The Gentiles, sinners, and publicans were left outside this man's love toward his neighbor. Jesus answered his question with the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan and concluded His teaching with the words, “Go and do thou likewise.” In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extended the love toward our neighbor to include even our enemies. In Luther's time, the Catholic Church had developed in such a way that spiritual and temporal life were separate from each other. Luther opposed justification by works, as well as shutting God out of temporal life. To him, the workday life had been intended and given by God. The concept of a continuously active God and a living, ever-present Christ characterized Luther's framework of thought. Luther's concept of Scripture rises from this foundation. To him, Creation and Redemption were not two separate matters, but he looked at Creation in the light of Redemption. Justification by faith is the foundation. When God justifies a person alone by faith, alone by grace, and alone by the merit of Christ, a person is freed to serve his neighbor. Faith is weighed by our everyday life. Work Is a God-Given Duty Work is a duty that God has given to man; therein He has hidden His blessing. Work includes responsibility, whether we do the work in someone's employ or as an independent entrepreneur. The greater our freedom, the greater our responsibility. Paul advised the Christians of his time, “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Eph. 6:5-7). He continued, “Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven” (Col. 4:1). These admonitions from God's Word also apply to today's work life. We do not perform work only for our daily bread, but also because we serve our neighbors and are God's work companions, His subordinates, in governing this temporal world. To Luther, work was part of the calling. Because of the deep significance of work, unemployment is a difficult problem. Unemployment assistance only partially removes the detrimental effects of joblessness. However, there is reason to remember that our worth as a person is not measured by how productive we are or how great an income our work produces. If we think incorrectly in this, we do not remember that, in Jesus' parable, the servants each received a different number of talents. Even when unemployed, we can do beneficial work and work in the calling that God gives. Education Is a Gift From God We live in an education-minded society. Earlier, education was the privilege of only a few and the period for education was strictly limited. When one's education ended, the student was ready for his vocation, which he practiced until he retired. It is different now. An education is everyone's right, more time is used in getting it, and it is continuing. Because of the changes in society, and production, new duties and vocations are born, and, at the same time, the old vocations may become obsolete. Retraining is necessary. It is not self-evident that everyone experiences education as a gift and a privilege. Sometimes, it may feel that it is a waste of time and a hindrance. One may want to get straight to work to earn money to fulfill needs and hopes that seem so important. Such thinking is shortsighted. During our youth, studying is often the work and duty that God has intended for us. Through it, we obtain the knowledge and skills which we will need later. We cannot measure an education's value only by how well-paying a job we can get with it. Even if earnings do not grow, education broadens our intellectual horizons and enriches our lives. When I think of my own life and studies, it is almost humorous to note that the so-called professional subjects have provided me only limited benefit. Instead, the liberal arts courses have been many times more beneficial to me than I thought in my youth. I regret my laziness in studying foreign languages. Study also brings out the varied gifts of different measure that God has given us. Responsibility increases with one's gifts. If we have received abundantly, we do not have reason to be proud, for the gifts have been given by God. If we feel that we have received fewer gifts, they also can be developed. God has not left anyone without gifts, nor has anyone received too few gifts. It doesn't pay to leave our gifts unused, in other words, it doesn't pay to bury our talent in the ground. Often, the place where we want to study does not open for us, although we may apply several times. It is difficult to be satisfied with this and to apply elsewhere. It is difficult to give up dreams, especially when they are genuine and well-founded. Even in these situations, it is good to remember that God leads our lives in more detail than we notice. I have experienced this, myself. When I have understood the matter in retrospect, there has been reason to thank God for the doors that He has closed, and for those that He has opened. When the master arrived, he called the servants to account for themselves. Those, who had taken care of their talents in the manner that the master intended, were called to His joy. On the other hand, that servant, who had hidden his talent in the ground, lost that too. The parable makes us accountable for the use of our own gifts. Responsibility and accountability are matters that can easily oppress us. We feel that we have neglected the care of the talents entrusted to us. The correct care of the talents is the same as bearing fruit. So that we would understand what is under consideration, we have reason to remember the teaching of Jesus about the vine and its branches, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). The question is not that we be skilled and accomplish much, but that we would be partakers of Christ through faith. When we can remain as living branches in Christ, the Vine, God can accomplish His own purpose in our lives. Even for us it becomes true what Paul said of his activities as a worker in God's kingdom and as the apostle to the Gentiles, “Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). The reward, which the master gives his servants, is the reward of grace.

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- Respect for matrimony has crashed in our time. The reason for this has been the general detachment from that set of values whose foundations are in God's Word. At the same time, man has become a shirker of responsibility, a hedonist, and a seeker after his own benefit. In this type of world, a person thinks he doesn't need the security and order in his life that Christian marriage provides. In the congregation of Christ, the concepts of marriage and family have remained unchanged on a scriptural foundation. Living in this world, however, we are in continual contact with values that oppose the values of God's Word, and they find a sympathetic response in our sin-corrupt hearts. Many persons ponder matters relative to marriage and ask, “Has God really said that?” Courting and Engagement When a child grows into youth, an attraction toward the opposite sex awakens. This is a result of the fact that God created people as male and female. There is nothing wrong and no reason to prevent the attraction of girls to boys and boys to girls. But our time has so overemphasized sexuality, that youth is stripped from many children, and they do not have the opportunity to grow to responsible adulthood. Patience in this area of life is not characteristic of our time, rather one should be able to experience everything immediately. Thus, many are driven into loose human relationships of short duration. Actually, a recently published study indicates that the situation among young people is not as gloomy as one would conclude on the basis of public discussions, literature, and magazines. Young people get to know each other in life's normal environment. It is completely natural that believing young people seek their future spouse where they meet each other-at services, camps, and opistos (folk schools). It is a precious matter when one finds his life-companion from among the believing young people. It is good to get to know each other in the everyday environment. In this way, one is spared from many sad surprises. Courting is directed toward marriage, so light-minded “flirting” is not appropriate for a believer. In such there is no question of love, or even of infatuation, but of selfish momentary pleasure, which causes sorrow and tears to the courting companion. The matter in consideration is serious enough, that a person who has fallen into this has reason to examine his heart and the foundations of his faith. Courting, above all, is getting to know one another. When courting companions discuss matters openly, they come to know each other. In this manner, it becomes clear if, on life's important issues, they have such mutual understanding that would form a foundation for lifelong marriage. Many have said that during courtship, especially, they discussed matters of faith. When they noticed that they had a similar understanding about the most important things, it drew them closer and united them. If courting becomes too close physically, the intellectual or emotional familiarization, openness, and closeness suffer. In this way, the courtship is impoverished. When the young people have become well acquainted and convinced that it is they whom God has intended to join as helpmates for each other, they become engaged. Scripture scarcely speaks of courtship, because, in its culture, parents selected spouses for their children through a spokesman. Engagement makes the courtship public. It makes known to everyone that the engaged couple intends to marry. Scripture discusses engagement at length. It is used to describe the covenant between Christ and those who believe in Him. Paul reminds the Corinthians that he had served as a spokesman for them, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). Like this biblical description, the engaged couple promises to be faithful to each other as they await the wedding, the beginning of married life. Although young people court each other with the right attitude and even get engaged, it can happen that they do not become a married couple. It can become clear, little by little, they are not suited to each other. Separation is painful, but it is not wrong. It is still possible to separate amicably, respecting one another. This possibility no longer exists in marriage. In spite of the fact that young people court each other with serious intentions, things can happen to them that may remain as burdens on their consciences. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” If this takes place, it is good to remember, that there is an open fountain in God's congregation for sin and for defilement (Zech. 13:1). It is good if the courting couple together would discuss matters with the confessor. God Instituted Marriage “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Gen. 1:27,28). Scripture relates how mankind was created in God's image as man and woman. Both are crucial to human existence. We are responsible to God and created to live together with each other. Unity is realized most deeply between spouses. The description of Creation illustrates this, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). The relationship between a man and a woman includes both emotional and physical unity. The woman was created to be a helpmeet for the man (Gen. 2:18). I have read that the Hebrew word in question means “help that is facing you.” Spouses are equals and can examine themselves in each other as in a mirror. Their mutual life contains the whole richness of life. Because of the fall into sin, however, it can never be realized as illustrated in the Creation narrative. For that reason, we need the gospel, which is the great treasure and source of strength of a believing home. Marriage Is Lifelong The Pharisees came to Jesus to argue about divorce and referred to Moses, who had allowed a man to write a bill of divorcement to put away his wife (Deut. 24:1). Then Jesus answered, “For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:5-9). Therefore, although the courts may grant a divorce and, in this manner, undo a covenant that was once made, the marriage shall still remain in force before the face of God. Already, during the Old Testament, Prophet Malachi rebuked the people for breaking their marriages (Mal. 2:14-16). According to Matthew, in Jesus' discussion with the Pharisees, He allowed divorce because of adultery (Matt. 5:31-32). Luther discusses this matter in his writing regarding marriage. He points out that adultery is a sin onto death. According to Mosaic Law, a person who broke the marriage vows was to be stoned to death (Lev. 20:10). On the other hand, however, Jesus did not approve the stoning of an adulteress (John 8:3-11), but forgiveness was greater than the Law. A couple of decades ago, divorce was discussed at length at a speakers' meeting. At that time, the speaker-brothers held to the above mentioned quotation from the Gospel of Mark. Marriage is lifelong: what God has joined, let not man put asunder. This does not lessen the seriousness of the sin of adultery, but provides an opportunity for a person to return, repent, and receive forgiveness for a grievous transgression. Luther's Teachings on Matrimony Luther did not consider matrimony to be a sacrament in the manner of the Catholic Church. He also fought against celibacy for the clergy and considered the vows of monks and nuns to be against God's will. In his manuscript, “On Matrimony,” he states that God's Word, “Be fruitful and multiply,” is not a commandment, but a godly deed. Obstructing or neglecting it is not within our power. It is just as unavoidable as that a man is in existence, and more unavoidable than eating and drinking, keeping one's body clean, sleeping or staying awake. It is nature planted into a person. Luther continues later, “The world says of matrimony: 'short joy, long regret.' But say what it wishes, for what God creates and wills, that is an object for it to mock.…Solomon says, 'Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing'” (Prov. 18:22). They who understand this, firmly believe that God has instituted matrimony, put man and woman together, and ordained the bearing and care of children. They have God's Word regarding this (Gen. 1:28). Luther writes in the Large Catechism that the Sixth Commandment has been directed especially toward those who are married. “Let us carefully note, first, how highly God honors and glorifies the married life, sanctioning and protecting it by his commandment. He sanctioned it above in the fourth commandment, 'You shall honor father and mother; but here, as I said, he has secured it and protected it. Therefore he also wishes us to honor, maintain, and cherish it as a divine and blessed estate. Significantly he established it as the first of all institutions, and he created man and woman differently (as is evident) not for lewdness but to be true to each other, be fruitful, beget children, and support and bring them up to the glory of God.” The Everyday Characteristics of Marriage In marriage, couples continue to learn the art of living together throughout their lives. As selfishness is part of our nature, it does not naturally follow that two persons will adapt to living together “as one flesh.” In everyday life's many forms, the dissimilarities of the spouses are felt. Difficulties also are encountered there. When differences of opinion arise and arguments raise their heads, it is easy to forget what was once promised “before the face of God and in the presence of the congregation.” “Who's the boss at our house?” is a vain and wrong question. It is the same question that the disciples presented, “Who is greatest among us?” By saying, “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Mark 10:45), Jesus set himself as the example for the disciples, who were quarreling about their positions. Scripture counsels, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing” (Eph. 5:22-24). In the same manner, Scripture counsels, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it (Eph. 5:25). This advice shifts the question of authority and of station aside. Serving each other replaces it. In speaking of the husband being the head of the wife, the Greek New Testament uses the same word as the point of a plow, which receives the bumps and the blows when cultivating. The word, which is often referred to, now receives broader content. To be the head means to protect and support. Both spouses have their own duties determined by gender. However, we cannot make a pattern that, as such, would adapt to every marriage. The pattern of living in a home is determined by the weaknesses and strengths of the members of the home. The most important thing is that they compete in honoring one another (Rom. 12:10). Conservative Laestadian families are often known for their numerous children. Probably no other factor connected to our lives or teachings has drawn so much attention from outsiders. In this matter, we also experience heavy pressure from the world. Scripture does not teach family planning, but it guides us to regard children as God's gifts (Ps. 127:3-5). When He created man and woman, God said, “Multiply, and replenish the earth” (Gen. 1:28). The understanding of the believers in this matter is based on God's Word. We think as Luther did, “I believe that God has created me and all other creatures.” Children bring difficulties and work to the family, but also God's rich blessing. Life feels worth living, when it has the content that God intended. The Great Mystery of Marriage When he gave advice to spouses, Paul compared matrimony to the fellowship of Christ and His congregation. These analogies to submission, faithfulness, and all-sacrificing love strip us of our false notions of personal privilege, selfish entitlement, and success. On the other hand, they give the foundations to marriage that will last through changing times and amid turmoil. They give marriage a special sanctity and join the spouses more closely, as well as bring the gospel of the glory of Christ to everyday trials and temptations. In a believing home, there is an open fountain against sin and defilement. The believing home is God's kingdom in miniature and a part of the large family of God.

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- Nations and Citizenship There are many kingdoms in the world. Their people are citizens of those homelands. They have rights and obligations. If someone moves permanently to live in another land, he can apply for its citizenship. If he receives it, he usually forfeits the citizenship of his former homeland. Some countries', for example the USA's, citizenship is especially sought after. Also the citizenship of ancient Rome was sought after: all did not have it. Paul had it, and he referred to it in a situation where he especially needed the legal security it provided, “civis romanus sum,” or “I am a citizen of Rome.” Usually a person can only be a citizen of one kingdom, enjoy its rights, and be bound by its obligations. There are few exceptions to this rule. One of these is that in addition to our homeland, we can be citizens of God's kingdom. Pilate once asked Jesus, “Art thou King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.” The boundaries of God's kingdom have not been drawn on any map, nor can its boundaries be found on the land. However, boundaries do exist. They run through hearts. For that reason, one can be a citizen of two nations: his homeland and God's kingdom. God's kingdom is hidden, it is seen only through eyes of faith. Even Jesus said to Nicodemus, ”Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). God's kingdom is as real as the world's kingdoms. It shall last eternally. The nations of the world on the other hand, rise and fall. Their power or size do not guarantee their permanence. The state of Rome, whose citizenship many sought, was a powerful ruler of the world, but it has been vanquished. During our time, the same has even happened to superpowers. Only the hidden, eternal kingdom of Christ remains. The Rights of Citizenship At the change of the millennium, we received a new constitution in Finland. It was distributed to every home. Citizens' rights and responsibilities are defined in the law. We have freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. We have the right to freely choose where to live. This seems self-evident to us, but history tells us that citizens of many nations have lacked this right and many still do. We have the right to participate in political life, by voting, for example. We have compulsory education and military service. We pay taxes so that organized society can act to our benefit. The rights come with obligations, and the obligations with rights. The right to vote is also an obligation; compulsory education is more of a right. The constitution also defines the structure of Finnish society and the hierarchy of the officers of societal duties. First is the President, then the Chairman of the Legislature, the Prime Minister, and so on. However, all citizens are equal before the law. As Christians, we participate in civic affairs. We hold positions of responsibility in the nation and community when they are entrusted to us. We vote in elections and perform duties and functions necessary for society. Scripture teaches us to care for all of the duties given to us as a Christian. “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Col. 3:23). God's kingdom has its own order. A person receives the rights of its citizenship already at birth. It differs from a temporal state in that its citizenship cannot be acquired by application or by joining, but the question is always of birth. A person, who has lost childhood faith and citizenship of heaven receives it through new birth. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Rank in God's kingdom differs from that of a temporal state. In chapter 18 of the Gospel of Matthew, which we can also call the constitution of God's kingdom, it is related that the disciples were troubled by the question of rank. For that reason, they asked Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?” Then Jesus took a child, set him in the midst of the disciples, and said, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and be as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:2-4). God's kingdom is a kingdom of children and the childlike. The greatest is the least and the least is the greatest, “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matt. 20:27). That is something for us to strive toward, when we also would want to be great and in charge. God's kingdom is a kingdom of grace and forgiveness. People live there only by grace and forgiveness. If our forgiving attitude ceases, we drift outside the kingdom. Our greatest right as a citizen is forgiveness of sins. Citizens of God's kingdom also have obligations. The most important, perhaps the only one, is love, because we have become partakers of God's great love. “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11). “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. In this is manifested God's love toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:7-11). Love is a caring love. The children of God care for each other, so that no one would drift out of the grace kingdom. In chapter 18 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives us instruction in this care. They are instructions on caring love, not on ruling or a means for authority. Paul wrote to the Romans, “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7). How We Dwell in Two Kingdoms at the Same Time Citizenship in two nations creates problems that we cannot resolve by isolating ourselves from the world. It is not God's will, for He has intended that we be connected with other people. Our temporal life is a God-given gift. Our temporal homeland is dear to us. God wishes that we would serve our neighbors as citizens of this land. Although we dwell in two kingdoms, we must keep them separate. Our [Finnish] national church is not God's kingdom, even if we would have the majority in the Church Council, nor can we care for matters there with majority rule, as they may be cared for in the home Zion. And even if we had the majority on a town council, we would be unable to care for matters according to our wishes, but we would have to take into consideration what the other residents think. If we acted otherwise, the boundary between the two kingdoms, which were intended to be separate, would disappear. Luther warns about this, “For that reason, these two kingdoms must be kept strictly separate from each other and both must be kept in power, one to make people righteous, the other to create outward peace and prevent evil deeds. Neither one is sufficient in this world without the other” (On Earthly Government). On the other hand, we cannot conduct ourselves in such a way as to behave in our temporal activities as if we were not believing and then, among believers, in their manner. Paul counseled the Corinthians, “Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him” (2 Cor. 5:9). In all of our duties, we want to act as God's children. God sends us into the midst of other people to serve them. He wants us to be a light and salt. This does not mean that we should always preach. God's intention is that we would take with us some of that love with which He has loved us, when He has forgiven us all of our sins.

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- Sometimes, one hears people admiring confession in the Catholic Church and then asking why confession is not used in the Lutheran Church. This probably stems from the fact that little is said about confession and apparently, it is used even less. Confession, however, does belongs to and is part of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Among Conservative Laestadians, confession is practiced, and it is spoken of in sermons. The believer's endeavor is a battle against the enemy of the soul, the world and one's own flesh. In this warfare, we suffer losses and are wounded. Sin attaches and wounds the conscience. To help us, God has given confession wherein we can free our conscience from exhausting burdens and to salve our wounds. “Let us set aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us” (Heb. 12:1). Confession is for remaining in faith, not for entering faith, as the original Lutheran formula for confession teaches. What Is Confession? At the end of the Large Catechism there is, “A Brief Exhortation to Confession.” In it, Luther discusses confession broadly. He condemns the Catholic Church's confession practices. Therein confession was a work forced onto a person under threat of falling into a mortal sin. By this confession one merited forgiveness. The primary emphasis was to give as detailed an account of one's sins as possible. For his part, Luther emphasized the voluntary nature of confession. Force or fear does not drive us to confession. We confess of our own will, because we feel confession to be a gift given to us by God. It comforts and encourages our consciences. According to Luther's understanding, absolution already is confession, although it may not include any special confession of sins. He emphasizes, especially, that the preaching of forgiveness and hearing it are the most important part of confession. Regarding confession the Smalcald Articles teach: “Since absolution or the power of the keys, which was instituted by Christ in the Gospel, is a consolation and help against sin and a bad conscience, confession and absolution should by no means be allowed to fall into disuse in the church, especially for the sake of timid consciences and for the sake of the untrained young people who need to be examined and instructed in Christian doctrine.” The Augsburg Confession states, “About confession, our congregations teach that private absolution is to be preserved in the congregations, although the enumeration of all sins is not essential in confession. It is even impossible according to the Psalmist: 'Who can discern his errors?'” (Ps. 19:12) [Literal translation from the Smalcald Articles in Finnish]. According to the Small Catechism, confession consists of two parts, “One is, that we confess our sins. The other is that we receive absolution or forgiveness from the confessor as from God himself, by no means doubting but firmly believing that our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.” In addition, the Small Catechism teaches that before God, we should acknowledge that we are guilty of all manner of sins, even those of which we are not aware. We do this, for example, in the Lord's Prayer. Before the confessor, however, we should confess only those sins of which we have knowledge and feel in our heart. According to Luther, general confession takes place when the congregation confesses its sins together. This takes place at a worship service and in communion. A confession of love is what takes place when we ask forgiveness of our neighbor for our offenses, whether word or deed. The third form of confession is public confession. In it, we confess our transgressions publicly and ask for forgiveness from the congregation. The fourth form is private confession, in which we confess our sins to a confessor-father privately and receive absolution. When we speak of confession, we generally mean private confession. Scripture and Confession Confession has firm foundations in Scripture. In Psalm 32, David describes his experiences when he had fallen into sin, “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Ps. 32:2-5). When he confessed his sins, he felt that he was before God and not before men. David also experienced the blessing of confession: the Lord no longer reproached him of sin, but there was joy and peace in his heart. James teaches, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). John writes, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8,9). While discussing confession, Christian Doctrine (CD 71) points to the place in the Gospel of John, where the resurrected Savior appears to His own and gives them the office of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the forgiveness of sins (John 20:22-23). The most important part of confession, absolution, links confession to the office of the Holy Spirit. True confession can take place only in the living congregation of God. The most important characteristic of a confessor-father is that he is a believer. Private Confession and Public Confession Sometimes one hears the argument that public confession is more effective than private confession. However, the matter is not so, because the main emphasis in confession is not in the confession of sins but in the absolution of sins. The gospel of the forgiveness of sins is just as powerful and effective in private confession as in public confession. With the wrong emphasis, we make confession into an accomplishment, by which a person attempts to earn merit before God. The shame connected with public confession adds to the merit seeking. The gift changes into a requirement. The effect of confession does not depend at all on whether it is done privately to a confessor-father or publicly before a congregation. The effect of the confession is in the word of absolution, which is proclaimed by an individual person or by an assembled congregation together. In both instances, the question is of the same word of the Holy Spirit, that enlivens and gives strength. Jesus has said of this, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). Among Conservative Laestadians, it has been understood regarding public confession that matters are corrected as to the extent that offense has been caused. In private confession, matters may come out that we correct more broadly. The gospel preached by the confessor-father conveys the power of forgiveness to correct the matters. This takes place when, for example, one has caused an offense against another person or the government. Confession Consists of Two Parts Luther teaches, “As I have often said, that confession consists of two parts. The first is my work and act, when I lament my sin and desire comfort and restoration for my soul. The second is a work which God does, when he absolves me of my sins through a word placed in the mouth of a man. This is the surpassingly grand and noble thing which makes confession so wonderful and comforting” (Large Catechism, A Brief Exhortation to Confession). The danger exists that the emphasis will shift to our confession and to a precise enumeration of our sins. Then the absolution, God's response, goes almost unnoticed. Confession becomes our own accomplishment by which we become better Christians. Without noticing, we fall under the Law. When we do not feel joy and freedom after confession, we think that our confession was not sufficiently detailed and that it should be expanded. Thus, we get into a confession spiral, with the result that the freedom and joy of a Christian disappear from our lives. Our gaze is no longer directed toward Christ, the initiator and finisher of our faith, but inward into our own selves, from which we seek the foundations of faith. However, they are not found there. Again, if the word of absolution proclaimed with the authority of the Holy Spirit by the confessor-father remains the most central and most important part of our confession, we experience freedom from the sins that have oppressed our conscience. Confession is then the gift of God and the grace privilege that He has intended it to be. The section in the Augsburg Confession explaining confession concludes: “Nevertheless, confession is retained among us on account of the great benefit of absolution and because it is otherwise useful to consciences” (XXV). The mention of sins is part of confession because we want to be freed of the sins which burden our consciences. We know that we are before the face of God and we do not want to deceive or embellish matters. In spite of everything, our confession is always imperfect. However, the absolution is perfect: all of our sins are forgiven and our consciences are freed from their burdens. What Keeps Us From Confessing? Although I know that confession has been given to assist me, it is not easy for me to make a confession. The reason can be found in my supposed honor. It feels that no one else could have fallen into sins of this nature. If I speak of them, the confessor-father will not understand me and will not consider me as a believer after that. And what if I do not speak to anyone about my fall, but attempt to believe the matter, that especially weighs upon my conscience, forgiven from the general preaching of the gospel? From my own experience, I can say that one does not receive peace and freedom by this means. No matter how much I have tried to believe, that known matter has always reminded me of its existence. It has been like a stone in my shoe, making travel difficult. Then, when I have spoken of the matters pressing upon my conscience to a confessor-father, I have been surprised. First of all, the confessor-father has understood, and nothing implied that he did not consider me a believer. When, in God's behalf, he has proclaimed all sins forgiven in the name and blood of Jesus, I have experienced liberation. The faults, which gave me pain, no longer rose accusingly to mind. The stone has been taken away, and the travel feels easy. I have only regretted that I have carried burdens on my conscience in vain. I have been a confessor-father, also. The believers, who have related about their matters and whom I have been able to comfort with the words of release, have become close and dear. I have not considered them poor in their endeavor. I have learned to know them as Christians, for whom the matter of faith is important and who endeavor to retain faith in a good conscience. I also know, that as a confessor-father, I have an unconditional responsibility to remain silent. Therefore, confession is a God-given gift to us, that helps us in our endeavor of faith. We go to make confession just as much a believer as when we return. The word of absolution, that belongs to confession has simply freed our consciences from heavy burdens. The performance of confession does not cleanse our consciences, but belief in the word of absolution. God does not cleanse our hearts by confession, but by faith (Acts 15:9). Luther concludes the above-mentioned exhortation to confession thusly, “Therefore, when I urge you to go to confession, I am simply urging you to be a Christian.”

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- Christian Doctrine Teaches Us About Endeavoring “In the life of a Christian is God's peace and joy, but also weakness of faith, temptations, and oppression. God guides His own along the narrow way of the cross. With sufferings, He wishes to try their faith, keep them humble, and draw them into ever closer fellowship with Him. God also often sees His children worthy to confess their faith by their suffering. When a Christian remains in God's hands, his life is supported by an ever deepening confidence that God leads everything for his best benefit. Humble thanks fills his heart because God has been patient to care for him, who is worthless, as His child. The hope of the coming glory also becomes more and more vivid to him. Watching and praying he awaits the final fulfillment of salvation” (CD 84). The Endeavor Is God's Work Scripture often depicts a believing person's life and endeavor as a journey and being on the road. The traveler wants to reach his destination. To achieve this, it is necessary to travel on the right road without turning back and tiring on the way. Isaiah encouraged the Old Testament believers who were journeying amid the trials of forced captivity, “And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isa. 35:8). When Paul stood before Governor Felix, accused of starting a rebellion, he confessed his faith, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets” (Acts 24:14). In His farewell speech, Jesus said that He was going soon to the Father, but that the disciples need not be concerned, for they also knew the way there. Still, the disciples were not sure where it was that Jesus was going and, therefore, did not know the way, either. For that reason, Thomas demanded an additional explanation and Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). This is the core of one's endeavor. The endeavor is not of our doing or achievement, on which basis we would attain eternal life. If it were so, our salvation would depend upon us and would no longer be a gift of God. Fortunately, it is not so. By grace, we have become partakers of God's love and Christ's righteousness. We have received this through faith, which God has effected. Faith is being in the righteousness of Christ and living in forgiveness every moment. We endeavor to preserve this treasure. There are powers around us that would want to wrest it from us. For that reason, the admonition of the resurrected Christ is meant for us, “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Rev. 3:11). Paul instructs, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). Therefore, we are not endeavoring by our own strength, but by the influence of God's Spirit. When Paul encouraged the Philippians to a steadfast endeavor in faith, he also revealed with whose strength the children of God endeavor, “Wherefore, my beloved…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12,13). Christ's Spirit dwells in our hearts through faith and works the will and the doing in us. The Endeavorer Is a Contestant Endeavoring is an archaic word. It is generally used only in discussion about matters concerning faith. In modern speech we speak about competing. Therefore, believers are competitors. The competition is lifelong. One who drops out of the race will never win, whatever the reasons for his dropping out may be. Already during Bible times, in Greece they had arranged Olympic Games, whose program included races of various lengths, throwing the discus, wrestling, and boxing. When Paul advised people to endeavor in faith, he compared a believer to an athlete competing in the Olympics (1 Cor. 9:24-27). Paul certainly did not encourage the young men to participate in the Olympics, for they were part of the heathen religious practice which the Christian's had rejected. He only took an example from an event which was as familiar to the Greeks as the modern Olympics are to us. He invited the young men to enter a more noble contest that lasted an entire lifetime. The runner practices self-discipline so that he would win the prize, and the boxer fights with a definite purpose, and not by flailing the air. The crucial matters of endeavoring in faith are emphasized in Paul's teaching. In the Olympics, the best contestant won and received the prize, which was a crown of laurel. In the endeavor of faith, every one who reaches the end will win and receive a crown. It will not wither or perish, as in the Olympics, but be everlasting. The contestant practices self-discipline because he wants to win. He has a clear goal, which guides his entire life. The Endeavor Is a Battle When Paul also compared the endeavoring person to a boxer, he exposed the other side of endeavoring. There, where the runner concentrates on his running and strives purposefully for the victor's prize, the boxer must struggle with and overcome his adversary. The endeavor of faith is a battle also. Who are the opponents of a Christian in his endeavor toward victory? The familiar phrase from the Catechism answers this question, “We have warfare against a threefold enemy, the devil, the world, and our own flesh.” The warfare becomes difficult because our own corrupt nature is in league with the opponents of God. We cannot flee from the battle nor withdraw into a fort against our enemies, for the front line of the battle goes right through our own heart. There we fight the hottest and most painful battles. We need weapons for battle. Paul described the weaponry of the Christian in his Epistle to the Ephesians (6:10-17). He first reminded them by what strength we are fighting, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Then he admonished them to put on armor, so that the attacks of the enemy of the soul would bounce off of them, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” War veterans have described how, during continuing battles, they cared for their equipment because they needed it. On the other hand, during a stationary war, when often the concern was just to be on watch, the equipment tended to be forgotten. Who wanted to carry a dangling gas mask or helmet when there appeared to be no need for them? This can happen in spiritual warfare, also. However, there is no room to lull oneself into false security. We need all of our equipment because the enemy uses surprise attacks. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The other equipment is for defense; only the sword, God's Word, is fitting also for attack. We do not fight with the arm of the flesh, but with God's Word. Jesus, himself, gave an example of this. When the enemy of the soul tempted Him, He overcame the temptations with God's Word. From Under the Cross to Under the Crown The endeavor is following Christ. He teaches, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:38). The endeavor unavoidably includes bearing the cross of Christ. What does this symbolic teaching of Jesus mean? Crucifixion was a cruel form of condemnation to death that was in wide use in Jesus' time. The condemned person had to carry the crosspiece and the sign on which the bases of his judgment were written. Jesus had to personally experience this. His followers travel the way that their Master has laid out. Carrying the cross signifies first to confess that we cannot reach our destination, eternal life, at all by our own endeavor, but that the cross of Christ is our only hope. He has atoned for our sins with His blood and thus opened the road all the way to the destination. The sermon of reconciliation, the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, brings the power of the victory of Christ's Resurrection to our weakness on the way of the cross. To Paul, the prior doer of the deeds of the Law and great apostle to the Gentiles, the cross of Christ was his only reason for pride, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14). Second, carrying the cross means that, like Paul, we have crucified our flesh with its lusts and desires. The follower of Christ cannot follow the desires and wishes of his flesh when they battle against God's Word and the conscience. This causes many battles, as has been stated previously. Third, carrying the cross signifies the opening of a boundary between Christ's followers and the world. At the time of Jesus and the early congregation, the believers had to separate from Judaism. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews instructed his brothers and sisters, “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come” (Heb. 13:13,14). They did not separate themselves of their own initiative, but when God's time had come, they were shut out of the synagogue community. In his time, Luther experienced the same along with his brothers in faith. We have experienced a great blessing from God that we have been able to believe and to do the work of God's kingdom in fellowship with our nation's [Finland's] church. In spite of all this, we feel that the cross of Christ separates us to “outside the camp.” Trials become familiar to us on this way. God strengthens our faith with them and teaches us patience. If we did not have patience, we would become discouraged encountering our first adversity and our endeavor would remain unfinished. Patience is especially necessary when we stumble and notice that we haven't become good and exemplary endeavorers. We continue to be weak, and corruption affects and lives in us. Patience is required when it becomes clear that our endeavor is not the reason and basis for our salvation. We must return again and again to the place where our journey of endeavor began. To the place where the Lord Jesus is the only reason for our salvation and that we, although unsuccessful, have the right to believe our sins forgiven in His name and blood. Even Paul, in his endeavor of faith, had come to know his weaknesses. We can join with him to say, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities-for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). Confessing Faith At the same time, when Jesus taught His disciples to follow Him under the cross, He spoke of confessing faith, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32,33). Confessing faith is firmly associated with following Christ and one's endeavor in faith. No one can be a believer secretly. The New Testament relates of such people, who tried to believe in Jesus secretly (John 12:42,43, 19:38). They did not want to be labeled or to carry the cross of Christ. The New Testament, in any case, does not relate that they would have reached the destination as victors. In practice, confession of Christ takes place through speech as well as life. It is not forced or contract work. When we confess ourselves to be followers of Christ, we do not gain merits nor do we become better Christians, but it frees us from the slavery of the world and supports us in our endeavor of faith. God's children feel themselves to be timid and weak confessors. Precisely for this reason, they often have doubts of their own faith. Correct confession is not the expression of one's own strength, but as Peter states, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15). I have heard of a believing man, who worked in a factory. He was troubled by the fact that he had so poorly confessed his faith to his coworkers. He lamented of his weakness often to the other believers. However, once one of his coworkers went to speak to their supervisor and asked that he would be moved to another job. He could no longer stand to be in the same job with that man, for unknowingly he constantly preached with his life. The confession of Christ through one's life is not outward righteousness which approaches self-piety, but it is simply living as one believes. Set Aside All Sin and Burden What would it feel like to run a marathon with a heavy backpack? Most likely the runner would drop out. Especially if stones were added to the backpack now and then. On the racetrack of faith, this can happen to a runner. The conscience collects sin, matters over which the conscience rebukes and reminds. The journey becomes burdensome and slow, and fatigue weighs heavily. Those Hebrews, too, were tired in their faith, to whom it was once written, “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). The putting away of sin is confession. Through it, we can remove the backpack. In the following chapter, we will discuss confession more broadly, so in this context, I only refer to this grace privilege. The endeavor of faith can be slowed also by a burden that of itself is not sin. The trials and sorrows of life are such. There is reason to discuss them with another believer so they would not become an obstruction to faith, but that the endeavoring one would receive strength to take them from the hand of the Heavenly Father. Jesus teaches in His Sermon on the Mount that we need not worry about the morrow because our Heavenly Father takes care of us (Matt. 6:25-32). Peter exhorts, “Cast all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). We Do Not Endeavor Alone In the previous section, we examined the endeavor from the viewpoint of an individual Christian. However, we are not isolated endeavoring persons, but we belong to a battling and endeavoring congregation. We would not last long alone, but God has united us in the fellowship of His congregation to partake of all the instructions of grace. They are part of the equipment which we need in our endeavor. The competitor and the fighter need nourishment so that they will have strength, for “an army marches on its stomach.” Fellowship of the congregation means that “we do not despise the sermon and God's Word, but we keep it holy, and willingly hear and learn it,” as the Small Catechism teaches us. The services of God's children are important to us. At services we receive the food which we need while we endeavor. In the fellowship of God's children, we can also hear the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, which frees our consciences of useless ballast. Among the children of God we have also those closest brothers and sisters whom God has given us as escorts. We can speak to them when it feels that, “I do not have strength any longer,” or “I do not understand what I should do in this difficult and problematic situation.” I Shall Be With You The Old Testament tells us about the journey of the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land. At the same time, it symbolically depicts the journey of God's people to that land which God has prepared for His children. When the people traveled in the desert, a pillar of cloud moved ahead of them by day and a pillar of fire by night. Thus, God assured His people that He travels with them. Matthew tells us that the last words of the Resurrected Christ, before He ascended into heaven, were, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). For an endeavoring person who is weak in himself, it is comforting to know that the Good Shepherd, who gave His life for His sheep, still journeys with and leads His own. With His blood, He has opened the way to the destination.

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- Prayer is a part of all religions. With its aid, people strive to make connection with their gods. Scripture informs us that during the time of Elijah the priests of Baal cried for assistance from their god on Mount Carmel. People, who have visited Islamic countries or Israel, have heard for themselves how the Muslims hold specified hours of prayer and have seen the Jews praying at the Western Wall. Prayer also belongs to the Christian faith, and Scripture encourages people to pray. Jesus gave an example for this and also taught His disciples to pray. According to Christian Doctrine, “Prayer is the heart's humble and sincere conversation with God” (CD 78). Luther wanted to free prayer from all the formal rituals that had been attached to it in the Catholic Church. He taught that the essence and nature of prayer is to raise the mind and heart to God. From this it follows that everything else that does not elevate the heart, is not prayer. “For that reason, singing, speaking, or blowing a horn are prayer just as little as scarecrows in the garden are people” (Explanation of the Lord's Prayer). The effect of prayer does not depend on its outward form nor on our feelings or fervency. It is the simple uplifting of the heart to God. Prayer cannot be our achievement, by which we would gain merit before God. Prayer is conversation between God and man. Man does not speak alone; God answers also. When we converse with other people, we may notice that sometimes they may not hear or may pretend not to hear what we say. Our message does not reach its destination. When we converse with God, sometimes it may seem the same. The lack of an answer, nevertheless, is not caused by God's poor hearing or our quiet or unclear speech. God truly hears and understands, and difficulties of language are not an obstacle. He is interested in us and our matters. He also answers, although it may be in a different way than we expected. Sometimes, we only later understand God's answer to our prayer. In prayer, we can speak to God of our needs and our hopes. Scripture guides us also to intercede or to pray in behalf of others. We may enclose within our prayers our close ones, our friends, our people, and our homeland. Paul described in his epistles how he prayed in behalf of the congregations in the various communities. He also asked that the children of God would pray for wisdom and courage for him to proclaim the gospel (Eph. 6:18-20). We, too, can pray to the Heavenly Father that He would bless the work of His kingdom. Prayer also inseparably includes thanksgiving. When we, in silence and with open minds are before God's face, we understand with thankfulness how much we have received from Him. Prayer and Justification From time to time, believers are criticized that they do not give prayer its due respect. The criticism is partially correct, for often we pray too little. This gift that God has given to His children remains in little use. We feel ourselves to be poor at praying. The basis for the criticism, however, is usually this that prayer is not a path to justification for us, as it is for many others. Many people believe that they can confess their sins privately to God through prayer and that God, himself, will forgive their sins. One hears this understanding often, when we exhort someone to repent. “I do not need an intercessor. I will resolve matters privately with God.” But God does not justify sinners privately, rather He sends the owners of the office of remission to preach the gospel of forgiveness to the penitent sinner. I remember how once at the conclusion of some services, I asked a service guest if he had need to believe and receive the forgiveness of his sins. He answered, “I say the Lord's prayer every night and confess my sins to God in it. I do not need to repent in the manner that you mean.” I answered him, “I notice that you believe that God hears your prayers. Every night, you have petitioned, “Thy kingdom come.” God has heard your prayer and now His kingdom of grace has come to you. God wants to answer your other prayer and forgive your sin of unbelief along with all of your other sins.” On the other hand, it is sometimes thought that in no wise does God hear the prayer of an unbelieving person. Someone may even support this with Scripture. For example, Isaiah says, “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood” (Isa. 1:15). However, the matter is not so clear-cut. There are many places in the Bible, that indicate that God has heard the prayer of an unbeliever and has answered it. The decisive factor appears to be what, and with what mind, they pray. I will take three familiar examples from Scripture. They also support what has been said previously about prayer and justification. The eunuch, a servant of the Queen of Ethiopia (Acts 8:26-40), had made a long and difficult journey to pray in the temple in Jerusalem. He thought that it was an acceptable place to pray. There, he hoped to find help and an answer to the distress in his heart, but he did not find help. On his way back, he studied the Scriptures. Again in vain, for he did not understand what he read. However, God had heard his prayers. He sent Philip to the place to explain the writings of Isaiah and to preach the gospel. The eunuch heard Philip's sermon and believed it. Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-8), on his way to Damascus, met the resurrected Christ. Heavenly light blinded him. He, who thought that he knew the will of God and that he was righteous having fulfilled the Law, found that he was blind and without understanding. In his distress, he prayed. God heard the prayer even of a persecutor of the congregation and sent Ananias to help. Saul received his sight and living faith in his heart. He became Apostle Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. The Centurion Cornelius (Acts 10) prayed to God. God heard his prayers and answered him first through an angel. This angel did not preach the forgiveness of sins, but told him to send men to get Peter from the city of Joppa. Cornelius followed the angel's instructions. When Peter came and preached the gospel, Cornelius, along with his family, believed and they received the Holy Spirit. We can conclude from these three examples that God hears the prayers of even the unbeliever, when they are in earnest. Jesus' Teachings About Prayer In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (Matt. 6:5-13). He warned them against vain wordiness and praying for their own merit. At least one matter was clarified to the disciples as they listened to His speech: they do not know how to pray by their own means. Many a sincere person has probably experienced this while praying. To His own, Jesus gave the Lord's Prayer, the “Our Father” prayer. Luther has explained the Lord's Prayer in the Small and Large Catechisms, in his sermons as well as his book, “Explanation of the Lord's Prayer.” In the latter he says that the Lord's Prayer is, without a doubt, the highest, noblest, and best, since it originated from our Lord. Had our righteous and faithful Master known a better prayer, He would have taught it to us also. This must not be understood to mean that all other prayers in which these same words do not appear are wrong. Many saints prayed before the birth of Christ and had not heard these words. Instead, all such prayers are questionable that do not have this prayer's content or meaning. The beginning of the Lord's Prayer can easily slip by without our paying attention to it. For a contemporary of Jesus, it was strange and perhaps offensive to refer to the holy and righteous God as Father. Luther leads us to think of the beginning of the prayer, “The best beginning and preface is that we know clearly how to name, respect, and relate to Him, to Whom we are praying, and how we should behave toward Him, so that He would be merciful and willing to hear us. There is no name among all the names, that would make us more acceptable before God than 'Father.' It is a friendly, pleasant, deep and heartfelt address. It would not be equally loving and comforting to say 'Lord,' 'God,' or 'Judge.' For that reason, the name 'Father' is naturally innate in a person and naturally pleasing. Therefore, it also pleases God the best and moves Him most to hear us. At the same time, we confess ourselves to be children of God by that name. In this manner, we move God the most, inwardly, for there is not a more pleasant sound to the Father than a child's voice.…For the person, who begins to pray, 'Our Father, who art in heaven' and does it from the bottom of his heart, confesses that he has a Father and that this Father is in Heaven.” Almost half a century ago, I sat in church one winter evening. The congregation evening's topic was prayer, on which three clergymen spoke. In two speeches, prayer became a means of justification. The words, “Our Father who art in heaven,” were the text for the second speech. The third speaker rose to the pulpit and read a text that was even shorter than the preceding one, “Our Father, Amen.” Beginning with these words, he led the listeners to see what had had to happen so that we are able to pray, “Our Father.” How great was the love of the Father, that He gave His only Son for the remission of sin. In place of prayer, another way to justification opened. Prayer was revealed as a great gift, the secure and trusting discussion of a child with a Father who loves him. Thy Will be Done Our prayers are often about distress, oppression, difficulties, and the obvious hopes and desires that arise from them. There is nothing wrong in this, for a child has permission to speak freely to his Father. However, in the Lord's Prayer Jesus sets the needs in priority and brings a new dimension to prayer. He instructs us to ask, “Thy will be done.” This is not always easy. Jesus did not only teach in this manner, but also set an example in Gethsemane. The most important and critical events of His life were before Him. The cross, suffering, and death awaited him. More frightening, before Him rose the fact that the Father would cast upon Him the sins of the entire world and, for a moment, would turn His back upon Him. In this situation, one more difficult than we can possibly imagine, Jesus prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matt. 26:39). Jesus' example leads us to the correct humility and childlike trust. The Father knows what is best for us, even when it is difficult for us to be therein content. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your cares upon him: for he careth for you” (1 Pet. 5:6,7).

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- The Passover Meal and the Lord's Supper The Scriptures describe how the Israelites prepared to depart from Egypt. They had a long journey before them to the land that God had promised to their fathers. Not one of them had seen the land, but in their hearts they wanted to get there. Just prior to departure, the people gathered in families to eat the Passover meal as God had commanded them (Exod. 12). The meal included a yearling ram roasted over fire, unleavened bread and bitter herbs. If something was left over, it had to be burned. The outer doorposts of the houses were to be marked with the blood of the Passover lamb. This was important, because God punished the Egyptians the same night and killed all of their firstborn. The punishment did not touch those on whose dwellings the doorposts were marked with blood. This Passover meal was not eaten just the one time when they departed from Egypt, but God commanded that it was to be eaten at the same time every year. This was to be done on the journey to the Promised Land as well as after they had arrived there. “And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and thy sons forever. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep, this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses” (Exod. 12:24-27). This is the meal that Jesus and His disciples gathered to eat in Jerusalem on that Passover when He was captured and crucified. During the meal, Jesus deepened and clarified the meaning and substance of the Passover meal. He, himself, is the Paschal Lamb. The wine that they drank during the meal is His blood, which soon was to be shed for the remission of sins. The unleavened bread, which He broke to give each one his own portion, is His Body. He is the Bread of Life, which is owned by faith (John 6:51). The Passover meal changed into the Lord's Holy Supper. The Word of the Lord was joined to visible elements, bread and wine, and made them and the partaking of them a Sacrament. The institution of the Lord's Supper is described in a consistent manner four times in the New Testament (Matt. 26:19-21, 25-29; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:15-20; and 1 Cor. 11:23-25). The differences in the details emphasize the significance of the different parts of the Supper. John does not describe the institution of the Lord's Supper, but describes, instead, that the Lord Jesus washed the disciples feet in connection with the meal (John 13:1-17). Luther writes, “The Lord's Supper was not invented or devised by any man in his thoughts, rather it was instituted by Christ without man's counsel or deliberation” (Large Catechism V:4,5). "As Often" The Lord's Supper is intended to be received often. “For as often as ye eat of this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come” (1 Cor. 11:26). From the start, the Lord's Supper firmly belonged to the life of the New Testament congregation. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). In the beginning, they gathered daily at a meal, then on the first day of the week, and later less often. We do not have to set guidelines on how often the Lord's Supper should be received, but God's Word instructs us to go to the Lord's Supper when we feel the most need. The words, “as often,” emphasize the great significance of the Lord's Supper. Luther teaches, “Christ means to say: 'I institute a Passover or Supper for you, which you shall enjoy not just on this one evening of the year, but frequently, whenever and wherever you will, according to everyone's opportunity and need, being bound to no special place or time.'…Thus you see that we are not granted liberty to despise the sacrament. When a person, with nothing to hinder him, lets a long period of time elapse without ever desiring the sacrament, I call that despising it” (Large Catechism V:47-49). The Lord's Supper Is a Meal of Remembrance In their descriptions of the institution of the Lord's Supper, both Luke and Paul mention that Jesus said, “Do it in remembrance of me.” As they ate the Passover meal of the Old Testament, the children of Israel remembered their liberation from Egypt and how God had led them to their destination, the Promised Land. The Passover meal reminded the people about the patient love and faithfulness of God. At the Lord's Supper, we, for the strengthening of our faith, remember Christ, our Paschal Lamb, Who gave His life and shed His blood for our sins and the sins of the entire world. As believers at the Lord's Supper, we can eat the body of Christ and drink His blood and thus enjoy the fruit of His work of atonement. Although we do not fully understand the mystery of the Lord's Supper, we still go to the Lord's Supper, since He has encouraged us to do so. At the communion table, we feel the presence of Christ and the strength of His grace. The Lord's Supper strengthens our faith and fixes our gaze on that land which the Lord Jesus has promised and prepared for His own. Who Is an Acceptable Communion Guest? This question was asked in my hometown at a discussion evening for young people where the sacraments were the topic. The same question arose as a burning issue once when we celebrated the Lord's Supper in the small village of Kolyvan, near the bend of the Volga River. At the communion table, we experience, especially clearly, the presence of God, His sanctity, and His love. God's Word exhorts us to try ourselves that we would not be unacceptable communion guests, who partake of the Sacrament of the Altar for their own condemnation. The Small Catechism answers the question in this manner, “He is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: 'Given and shed for you, for the remission of sins.' But he who does not believe these words, or who doubts, is unworthy and unfit, for the words, 'for you,' require truly believing hearts.” Luther states in a short form in the Large Catechism, “But he who does not believe receives nothing” (V:35). That we would make ourselves acceptable, for example, by fine-tuning a special piety, is in no wise the question. The crux of the matter is this, that as pardoned sinners, we can meet our Lord and Savior. Luther says to the communion guests, “[Weak] people with such misgivings must learn that it is the highest wisdom to realize that this sacrament does not depend upon our worthiness” (Large Catechism V:61). As we prepare for the Lord's Supper, we often feel that we are unworthy communion guests. We can be under heavy doubts, and may ponder, “Are we believing in the right manner?” Sometimes there may be some special sin on one's mind, that he has not had the strength to set aside: “Can I go to the Lord's Supper if I have done such a thing?” Before the sanctity of God, our sinfulness comes powerfully evident. The gift of communion is also in the fact that it speaks strongly and admonishes a person to correct his matters. Confession is a grace-privilege, in which we can put away the matters that trouble the conscience. On the other hand, the Lord's Supper does not demand perfection from us. We are sinners in thought, word, and deed. By faith, we can entrust ourselves into God's grace and forgiveness. Jesus has fulfilled all on our behalf. The holy meal gives us strength to rectify our matters. The invitation, “Come, for all is prepared,” is intended for every believer. Most often, congregants who have attended confirmation school partake in the Lord's Supper. According to present practice [in the Ev. Lutheran Church of Finland], children may also come to communion with their parents. As parents, we have the duty in raising our children to prepare them for communion. This means that we speak to the children about its significance. An opportunity for this opens if we take our children with us to communion services. I have noticed, as a father and grandfather, how the children follow the communion service with interest. Already in church, and later at home, they ask about it. We need to answer the questions, explaining that the Lord's Supper is the body and blood of Jesus, which have been given and shed for us. It strengthens our faith. We can bring even small children to the communion table to be blessed. Jesus set the children as an example for a believer, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). In this way, children learn to revere communion already when they are small. A Meal of Unity As we kneel at the communion table, we experience communion with Christ and His family members, the other children of God. We do not endeavor alone as believers, but there are dear brothers and sisters around us who escort us. We also experience joy and thankfulness at communion. “The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Cor. 10:16,17). During the time of Jesus, table fellowship signified a deeper communion than in our time. “He eats and drinks with sinners,” was a great cause of offense for the Pharisees. At communion, we experience the unity of love towards the other children of God. As we prepare ourselves for communion, matters come to our minds by which we have tried the love of our family and friends. For that reason, we see that communion guests often have matters to discuss with one another and that they ask for forgiveness and forgive each other. The fellowship that we experience at the communion table is not limited to the congregation that is present, not even to just the congregation that is now endeavoring and battling. It extends to that entire rejoicing congregation, which shall once gather at the great communion in heaven. In the manner of the Old Testament, the Lord's Supper is the meal of those preparing for the journey, those on the journey, and those who have made it to the Promised Land.

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- Baptism Is the Sign of Covenant God has given promises to people and with them has made covenants, which He has strengthened with visible signs. God does not need signs to remember His covenant, but we weak people with poor memories need them. God made the first covenant with Noah and his sons. “And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth” (Gen. 9:11-13). God made a second covenant with Abraham. God called him and gave him a promise. Abraham accepted the call, believed the promise and was justified by faith. God instituted circumcision as the sign of the covenant. God strengthened this covenant by giving the Law to His people on Mount Sinai. God made His third covenant in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Scriptures call it the New Covenant. Jesus instituted baptism as its sign. Just prior to His ascension into heaven, He said to His disciples, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19,20). This covenant is the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation. Baptism and Faith According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus said to His disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). The order of God's work is clearly evident: first the gospel, then faith, and after that baptism. The same order appears in the familiar descriptions of repentances in the Acts of the Apostles. The Ethiopian Queen's eunuch listened to the gospel that Philip preached to him as he explained Isaiah's writings. The eunuch believed and wanted to be baptized. Philip said, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” The eunuch confessed his faith, and Philip baptized him (Acts 8:26-40). Peter preached the gospel in the home of Cornelius and the listeners believed it; God gave them His Spirit, and they were baptized (Acts 10). According to these portions of Scripture, faith is first and it is followed by baptism. In his treatise, “On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” Luther discusses the unity of faith and baptism. He explains that baptism without faith is ineffective: “In like manner, neither does baptism justify or benefit anyone, but it is accomplished by faith in the word of the promise, to which baptism is joined. For faith justifies and fulfills that which baptism signifies.” Are Children Not Worthy? In Scriptural instruction, baptism was not tied to any known age, but it speaks only of baptism. In the early congregation, persons of all ages were baptized in families. This is an example for us. Infant baptism has divided the opinions of people. Already, at the time of the Reformation, there were people that opposed infant baptism, and such continue to exist. They do not approve of the baptism of infants, as the Scriptures do not contain clear instructions on this and they have the opinion that a child does not know how to believe. Luther fought powerfully against this understanding. In the Large Catechism, he wrote, “Here we come to a question (by which the devil confuses the world through his sects), the question of infant baptism. Do children also believe, and is it right to baptize them?” He responds to this question, “That the baptism of infants is pleasing to Christ is sufficiently proved from his own work” (Large Catechism, IV:47,49). When the disciples disputed about who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus took a child and presented him as the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, as a “model Christian.” He exhorted them to care for children in His name and warned them about offending them because they believe in Him (Matt. 18:1-6). In another context, Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). According to the teaching of Jesus, no one is more worthy to receive baptism than a little child. Infant baptism is also supported by the circumcision of the Old Testament, which was performed when the child was eight days old. In the Epistle to the Colossians, Paul considers baptism to be the spiritual counterpart of circumcision, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk ye in him…in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:6,11,12). There is reason to examine the faith of a child from the perspective of Christ's redemption work. Christ was born as a person like we are. By sinless conception and birth, He sanctified our births. We are born into a redeemed and reconciled mankind, into the fellowship of the redemption work of Christ. For that reason, a small child believes and is justified by faith. The opponents of infant baptism have the understanding that faith is a work of man by which he shows himself to be acceptable to be a child of God and to be baptized. But that faith, of which Scripture speaks, is a gift of God. Those who disparage infant baptism do not have righteousness of faith but righteousness of works. Baptism and Good Conscience In baptism, God joins a child into the fellowship of His congregation to be cared for. The endeavor as a child of God begins there. When a child grows older, the battle against sin begins. Baptism obligates us to it. Paul writes to the Romans, “So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life” (Rom. 6:3,4). According to the teachings of the Small Catechism, baptism signifies that the old Adam in us should be pressed down by daily sorrow and repentance. It must be mortified, with all its sins and evil lusts. In its place, the new man should daily come forth and rise, who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever (Small Catechism IV:3). Many have been preserved in childhood faith and in the covenant of baptism, but many have lost their faith and good conscience, when endeavoring has been forgotten. The conscience has hardened and has ceased to rebuke. Faith has been replaced by unbelief. God has not forgotten them, but still seeks and calls them into His fellowship. When the lost one receives the grace of repentance and new birth, he returns to the covenant of baptism. He does not need to be baptized again, for the covenant is still in effect on God's part. Baptism and Instruction The commandment to baptize contains the duty to teach: “Teach them to keep all that I have commanded you.” As parents, we have a primary obligation to teach our children and to rear them in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. Our own example is an important part of our work of childrearing. Children learn to value faith, God's kingdom, and the holy values associated with them, if these matters are truly important to us. The important things are seen in the life at home. The question is not of overwhelmingly difficult matters, but for example, evening prayers, asking forgiveness, and forgiving. Times for discussion and singing are also good. How blessed it is, if the children are raised so that all go to hear God's Word, whenever the opportunity exists. Instruction in a Christian home is a two-way education. So often the child teaches us to believe. Once, my wife and I were discussing in a rather stern manner. The discussion was broken by our three-year-old firstborn saying, “Why are you arguing? Ask each other for forgiveness already.” In connection with baptism, two or more godparents are named for the child. Their duty is to support the parents in the work of rearing the child. The godparent has received a great gift, a godchild, whose life he can follow as an adult friend. He can be happy and sorrowful with the child, listen to the child and show him love. The godchild also has received an important person to whom he can turn when he wishes. The godparent also has received a duty. When the child was baptized, the godparents and the parents were encouraged to rear him in the Christian faith. It signifies in the first place that, as the child grows, he comes to know what gift he has received in baptism. The gift of baptism is the covenant of a good conscience, as Apostle Peter writes about it (1 Pet. 3:21,22). The most important matter in our lives is to keep faith and a good conscience.

Juhani Uljas | 2000 The Treasure Hidden In a Field -- What Is a Sacrament? The word, “sacrament,” is not found in the English or the Finnish Bible, yet the sacraments are deeply founded in Scripture. In the Latin Bible, the word sacramentum corresponds (ex. Eph. 5:31) to the word mysterion, mystery in the Greek Bible. The mystery of faith, which we cannot fully understand, is connected to sacrament. For that reason, we regard it with the timidity and humility of a child, for we remember that God has ordained it. Christian Doctrine tells about the means of grace, the Word, and the sacraments. In God's Word there are two blades: the Law and the gospel (Heb. 4:12). The duty of the Law is to awaken man to see his condition. The gospel, on the other hand, awakens faith and gives the gift of the forgiveness of sins to the penitent person (1 Pet. 1:23-25). God has given the sacraments to those who have been helped unto faith to support them in their endeavor. According to our Christian Doctrine, the sacraments are holy acts of the congregation, that Jesus Christ himself has instituted. Christ himself is present in them and distributes His grace to us through visible elements (CD 56). In the sacrament God's Word is joined to the visible, even to the elements touchable to the hand, so that we are assured again and again how real is God's grace toward us. The Sacraments Are Signs Given by God The Augsburg Confession teaches that the sacraments are not instituted among people only to be signs of public profession among men. They are, above all, signs and testimonies of God's will toward us. The purpose of the sacraments is to awaken and strengthen the faith of the partakers. For that reason, the partakers must believe and trust in the promises that are offered and shown through the medium of the sacraments (Augsburg Confession XIII). In both the Old and New Testaments the Sacrament is associated with the covenant made by God and His people and the promise given in that connection. God has instituted the sacrament as a sign to remind of His promise. Faith takes hold of the promise of God; the sacrament supports and strengthens faith. There Are Two Sacraments In the Roman Catholic Church there are seven sacraments. During the transitional period of the Reformation, the number of sacraments became a topic of discussion. According to the position of Luther and his friends, the sacraments were to be acts founded on the commandment of God. The Apology to the Augsburg Confession states the matter as follows: “The genuine sacraments, therefore, are Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and absolution (which is the sacrament of penitence)” (XIII:4). Absolution was removed from among the sacraments, because the promise of God was not connected to visible elements but to the Holy Spirit. The resurrected Christ said to His disciples, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whosoever sins ye remit…” (John 20:22,23). The sacraments have not been instituted by men or the church, but God has instituted them. We understand in accordance with the Augsburg Confession, that the value or influence of the sacraments is not dependent upon the officiant's' turn of mind or faith. In them, God has joined His Word to visible elements and not to their officiant's having the Holy Spirit (VIII:1). The Correct Use of the Sacraments Luther wrote the 1520 treatise, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church. In it, he directed his criticism against the sacrament doctrine of the Catholic Church. With the treatise's title, he wanted to indicate that the church had fallen into “Babylonian captivity” because of its errant sacrament doctrine. When speaking of the significance or effect of the sacrament, Luther affirms that there is not a great difference between the sacraments of the Old and New Testaments. In both, first comes God's promise, then faith, which clings to the promise. After that follows the sign which supports and strengthens the faith. For that reason, Luther states that the sacraments are not “fulfilled by doing them, but by believing in them.” According to him, it cannot be true that “the power to justify dwells in them or that they would be signs effecting grace.” They are influential and “give grace surely and effectively when undoubting faith exists.” According to Luther, the sacraments do not benefit unbelievers, even though they should put up no resistance to them. The lack of faith is the most detrimental and persistent obstruction to grace. “Christ says, 'He, who believes, and is baptized, shall be saved, but he, who does not believe, shall be condemned to perdition.' In this manner, He shows that faith is so essential with the sacraments, that it can save even without the sacrament. For that reason, He did not want to add, 'Who does not believe and is not baptized'” (On The Babylonian Captivity of the Church). According to the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, it is most important to understand in what manner the sacraments are to be used. The idea is impossible “that we are justified by an outward worship service without the correct condition of heart, namely, faith. Paul rejects this and teaches that Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but rather that circumcision was a sign given as an expression of faith. We teach in the same way, that in the correct use of the sacraments there must also be faith in the promises associated with them. Faith receives what has been promised and specifically offered in the sacraments. This way of thinking is clear and completely sure.” (Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIII: 18-20 translated from the Finnish version). However, there predominates that same understanding of the sacrament against which Luther fought in his treatise, “On The Babylonian Captivity of the Church.” Therefore, it is necessary for us to hold onto Luther's understanding, which is based on God's Word. According to it, the sacraments were not instituted for receiving faith but for strengthening faith. The correct use of the sacraments requires faith. According to Jesus, living faith will move mountains and overcome the world. In spite of that, the believer does not feel personally strong. One's faith seems weak and doubts surround. Still, no one needs to think that the sacrament would not belong to him because of the weakness of his faith or because of doubts. It is precisely to the weak believer that it belongs. God wants to strengthen our faith through the sacrament and to show that His sure promises are in effect.