Monday, November 11, 2013

An Autumn Afternoon

For the most part, the weather has been wonderful this fall.  It's been cool and comfortable, which has been perfect for sitting out on the deck and soaking up the warm sun.  I've taken the opportunity the last couple of weeks to read or type or just enjoy the fall landscape of the backyard.

Add a tasty smoothie into the mix, and it's hard to top such a relaxing autumn afternoon.  The recipe I've been using is my adaptation of this one. A few quick notes:  I haven't tried using molasses instead of brown sugar, but I think it would taste wonderful and I didn't have any flax seed on hand, otherwise I would have used that in place of the oats.

Cinnamon Spice Smoothie

1 banana, broken into chucks and frozen
1 c. milk (I guesstimate, so I probably end up
    with more than a cup)
1-2 ice cubes
1 rounded tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. rolled oats
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
a dash of nutmeg

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

We Are the Reformation

I know I'm a little late on this since Reformation was a week ago, but I still wanted to share my thoughts on the subject and introduce one of my favorite hymns (which isn't saying much since I have many of them).

Reformation, which falls on October 31st, is often observed the Sunday before.  This year, my pastor said something in his Sermon that caught my attention:  we are the Reformation.  It's true; the Reformation isn't just some historical event that we celebrate once a year.  It isn't a remembrance of a man, Martin Luther, who challenged what the church was teaching in his day.  We do certainly remember the work of Martin Luther and what it has meant for the church since then, but that is not what the Reformation is about.  It's about Christ, His redeeming work, and the delivery of God's gifts in Christ through the Word and the Sacraments.

We are the Reformation when we preach and teach Christ and Him crucified.  We are the Reformation when we proclaim God's forgiveness to a broken world given to us in Word and Sacrament.  We are the Reformation in a modern church that has forgotten that we cannot do anything to save ourselves.  The Reformation never ended.  It is continued today because we live in a world still broken by sin that still needs to hear the Word.  We are the Reformation.

There are many hymns that confess what the Reformation is.  "A Mighty Fortress" is perhaps the most familiar; however, I would like to reflect briefly on "Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying", number 597 in the Lutheran Service Book (LSB).  The text is written by Stephen Starke, a modern hymn-writer who has written the texts for, contributed to, and provided translations of over thirty hymns in the LSB, including "Scatter the Darkness, Break the Gloom" (#481), "The Tree of Life" (#561), and "We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God" (#941).  You can find the full text to hymn 597 on Starke's blog.  With a powerful minor tune and setting by Jeffrey Blersch, the text presents all of the major themes of the Reformation.

Stanza one, based on 1 John 5:7–8,  reminds us that God comes to us through Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and Scripture.  It is these means of grace that deliver to us the redemption won for us by Christ on the cross. Stanza two is all about Baptism.  Through it, we die with Christ so that we are not consumed by "death's raging flood."  In the third stanza, the focus is the Lord's Supper.  Notice it is Christ doing everything.  We can do nothing.  It is Christ who gives us His life-giving body and blood.  The forth stanza describes the two-edged sword of God's Word giving life to a dying world.  The last stanza bookends the hymn by mirroring the first.  The three witnesses, spirit, water, and blood, together proclaim that it is Christ who has defeated death and it is Him who has given us life eternal.

my pumpkin this Halloween/Reformation