There is much that could be said about the text of this hymn.  It holds up some of the best characteristics of twentieth century hymnody: powerful word painting, vivid imagery, strong biblical connections, etc.  But I mostly want to talk about the music of this text.

The music for this text, entitled “Lord of Life”, can be best described as haunting yet hopeful.  The topic of the text is death and resurrection, and following the biblical imagery, there are three stanzas that really address the grief of the bereaved.  The music beautifully holds this up.  There is a strength in classic Lutheran chorales that they don’t hide from grief.  Paul Gerhardt is perhaps best known for this.  In the same way, the music has to hold up this very real tension of grief and hope.  Hildebrand’s melody does this well.

But it’s more than that.

In the span of a day, I sang and taught this at our K-8 school chapel, sang and prayed it with a parishioner in the hospital with multiple chronic illnesses, used it to meditate on the text for the upcoming Sunday, and then sang, taught and prayed it with my own family before going to bed.  What a gift!  What a treasure!

Any music that can be taught to kindergartners and then used to comfort an eighty year old man is worth learning.

This is also a great example of why I love being a pastor.  We get to hold these great treasures of the Gospel up to God’s people, young and old.  I probably sang this hymn a dozen times today.  I’ll sing it a dozen more times tomorrow.  What could be bad about that!

-Pastor Todd Peperkorn

This round, however, we brought a friend with us. As soon as the youth met him, like frenzied fans, they wanted to take pictures of him and with him. And take pictures they did! Decked out in a “Dare to be Lutheran” t-shirt, Dr. Martin Luther joined us for the festivities- and happily stood by the youth to ham it up for the camera.

Along with Luther, we brought a television that displayed various pictures of Concordia Theological Seminary; and after a few days of snapping shots of the youth at the Higher Things Conference, we put their pictures up on the tv, too. It was quite the active booth; and we-Rev. Cholak and myself, well…were compelled to match their energy!

All in all it was another wonderful conference, filled with great people, youth and adults alike. The chapel at St. Louis University was absolutely magnificent, too. Our very own Kantor Resch accompanied the youth choir on the organ, which only added to the transcendent quality of the the chapel services. It truly lived up to the organization’s name, “Higher Things,” in which the youth could receive and focus on the gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation that God brings to us in His Holy Word and Sacraments through Christ Jesus our Lord. As God faithfully promises to transform our lives in the Gospel, I am confident that this conference aided in bringing the Gospel to the youth and giving them a firm foundation on which to live and see how God works in the world and in their respective home congregations. They learned (and relearned) that through water, bread, wine and Word, God reveals Himself, works faith, and makes us His own in Jesus Christ. What a blessing to behold with so many young people! Amen!

There have been some misnomers out there that describe deaconesses as “nuns” or “mini-pastors.” This blog post hopes to develop a primer discussion of what a deaconess is and what she is not, and leave you to understand the important distinctions of both. In relation to what deaconesses are alongside any other offices, this will hopefully offer development of a healthy attitude, not only about deaconesses, but the Word of God demonstrated in these instruments of Christ’s mercy.

A DEACONESS IS NOT A NUN:

• A Deaconess reaches out into the community and congregation to the lost and suffering. She has no vows or oaths that she must take, apart from being in agreement and faithful to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions (because it agrees with Scripture).

• A Deaconess is able to be married and carry on deaconess service. Again, no vows of celibacy or monasticism are required or encouraged. Likewise, a deaconess is not required or encouraged to be married, either, if she does not desire these things; so long as she acts in accordance with Scripture in propriety and obedience to the Sixth Commandment (which goes for all people, not just deaconesses!)

• A Deaconess knows the richness of our Lutheran theology, and is able to articulate and act, in mercy, on our confession of faith with grace and wisdom for the edification of the Church, especially to the ones who she has been charged to serve.

A DEACONESS IS NOT A PASTOR:

• The deaconess is consecrated (set apart for godly service), not ordained. Her service begins at the nave and door of the Church. While she does not preach or administer the Lord’s Supper, she can certainly prepare the Altar for the Sacrament prior to the Divine Service, but does not participate in the distribution of it.

• The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod upholds and respects God’s Biblical order of Creation. Woman was created as helper of man (Gen. 2:18). Deaconesses exemplify this and other expressions of God’s Word (Eph 5:25, 1 Timothy 3:12). This is to be understood as the inerrant Word of God truly freeing both men and women to be exactly who they are, in Christ Jesus, as the ultimate focus.

• Diaconal emphasis of service is on care, teaching and reaching out to women, children, and elderly

This primer hopefully brings clarity to some otherwise confused or misleading views. The most important aspect of deaconess service is giving all glory to God, and pointing others to our Savior, Jesus Christ. A deaconess serves as a “buffer”-many times between the world and the Altar and Font, where Jesus promises to be. While all children of God are called to bear witness to the Gospel and show where God is located, a deaconess is a leader and resource to those she serves, helping and encouraging all to works of mercy and compassion. Glory be to God for sending all laborers into His Harvest!