Epiphany 1

Text: Luke 2:41-52

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The 2021 Virginia governor’s race turned out to be one of the most watched in the country. Particularly for a comment made by one of the candidates during a debate regarding the relationship between schools and parents. The candidate said, "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach."

It was a statement that ignited a firestorm and failed to resonate with parents of school-age children as the race for governor came to a close.

For at least a moment, I’d like to say the outrage and demand to be involved in a child’s education led Virginia to become Lutheran, believing in what we call vocation and the office of father and mother. Lutherans have long held the Fourth Commandment in great esteem and as the first and greatest commandment of the second table of the Law.

The Large Catechism says, “To the position of fatherhood and motherhood, God has given special distinction above all positions that are beneath it.”

Fathers and mothers are to do as the Proverb says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (22:6)

Easier said than done.

Even Mary and Joseph had their struggles. But then, as we heard in the Gospel, they left Jesus in Jerusalem and began their journey home to Nazareth with friends and relatives. Maybe it was the conversations between their traveling company that distracted them, maybe their minds were on the tasks or the work that awaited them once they returned home, or perhaps it was cultural – that parents didn't need to have tabs on their children at all times.

Nonetheless, could you imagine their worry and anxiousness when they couldn’t find Jesus – they couldn’t locate the Son, God, their heavenly Father entrusted to their care.

Following the Fourth Commandment, we also understand that children are entrusted to our care. How would you react if your child went missing?

A challenge is that many children do not travel with their parents throughout life, they do not go in the way of the Proverb, the way of faith, a world and culture is waiting to mold and lead them away from the Christian faith. Maybe this happened to some of you as you went off to college, the military, or simply travel the world before settling down.

But is it always the child’s fault when they do not journey with their parents and family? Or has the parent, grandparent, Godparents, or even the Church left the child behind?

I believe an essential question of our day is, have you the same vigor over the education and nourishment of the Christian faith as you do over the education and wisdom of this world?

Do you approach the theological education of children the same way you approach the core subjects of a liberal arts education or the extracurriculars or music programs you desire your children to be in…

It's easy to say yes, but it's hard to honestly examine oneself and admit no.

Unfortunately, many of us leave this sanctuary of God on Sunday, and we leave Jesus here “to be about [His] Father’s business…."

Often when a child wanders from the family, the parents join in the voices of Mary and Joseph, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

No one doubts the distress and anxiousness a parent feels when a child grows and goes missing or departs the faith, it’s a pain and suffering of great spiritual and mental turmoil. The conversations that follow between child and parent might be met with words of regret. Words of greater harm.  

But Jesus’ Words today to His earthly parents are not our words but are words for us. He says to Mary and Joseph, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49

These words of Jesus reveal why He came into the flesh that first Christmas in the first place, to be about His heavenly Father’s business, His Will. 

Mary and Joseph did not understand. They could not comprehend this statement by their Son. At the moment, they were consumed by earthly terror and distress, much like we have become by the terrors and the things that cause pain throughout this earthly life.

But Jesus does His Father's will, and upon the cross, He suffers the terrors of this life, even death itself, that you and your family may have life, eternal life. And this is ultimately why we “Train up a child in the way he should go…." So as the child grows, they won't depart but receive life in Christ Jesus. It's why Elias was baptized this day, to be consecrated, set aside as God's own child, and placed on the way that leads to eternal life.

Look, we are not absent from living in this world. We do not live in convents and monasteries. We live in the world while being in Christ Jesus.

Raising children and a family is complicated. Naturally, we desire the best for them, which means we should, above all else, want them to be raised in the way of the cross – to know how to respond to adversity and hardship, to cling to their faith even more when the way of life and the world around them appears to be inescapable.

But, a child will seldom stand a chance in this world if the fear and love of God are not foremost in their daily education and continually nourished through our words and action throughout the day and as we all rise in the morning and lay our heads down at night.

We must ensure we don't leave here today and journey one day, three days, or six days before realizing Jesus remains in the temple. Instead, we must understand and pray for the Holy Spirit to continually point and lead us to know where God’s temple now resides.

When Jesus said, “[I will] Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” He spoke of Himself because His Father’s Will was carried out in and through His death and resurrection.

Jesus became the temple. Where He is, there the temple of God is found, which means as we gather around our tables and this altar to hear His Word, we keep His sabbath not only today but throughout the days of the week until we gather again.

When this happens, we no longer find ourselves journeying away from our Immanuel but rejoicing in how He is now dwelling with us, growing in us, and leading us into the way of eternal life…

As you live and journey through this world, a world that continues to be hostile toward Christ and His Church, treasure God’s Word in your hearts. Rejoice in your vocations as children, parents, and members of this congregation – the body of Christ.

Pray for one another and help one another as you are able, that we may all remain obedient to God's Word, growing in His wisdom, that we may all confess our Saviors Word and His grace in our homes and before all men, unto the day when He returns for us. +INJ+

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church

Christmas Day

Text: Titus 3:4-7

Dear brothers and sisters, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have you ever experienced a Christmas where you just felt weighed down by life, and the usual joys and songs you find upon your lips are absent? Maybe this is you today. Perhaps you are feeling like the Humbug in Bah Humbug?

Maybe you wish some spirits would visit and help you rediscover this season of joy. Well, they won’t, at least not as they did for Ebenezer Scrooge.

Wouldn’t it be something if Jacob Marley did appear to you this day? To warn you of your heart’s condition and your need for redemption.

In Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol,” there's a fascinating exchange between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley.

Scrooge says to his old friend Marley “You are fettered, tell me why?” 

Marley responds, “I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”

Scrooge replied, “Jacob, old Jacob Marley, tell me more. Speak comfort to me, Jacob!” 

Marley says, “I have none to give.”

This exchange fascinates me because Marley confesses his deeds on the earth have made this chain that now shackles him, and in death, he enjoys no comfort nor has comfort to give.

What has shackled you and now keeps you in a state of bondage?

Your heart…

Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," and again, “How can you speak good when you are evil?” [Matt. 12:34].

Luther says, “Therefore, all the world confesses that no picture represents the heart so certainly as the words of the mouth, as though the heart were in the words.”

What is the picture of your heart this Christmas? Is there a façade within you? Do you say, “Merry Christmas,” while you utter under your breadth those well-known words of curmudgeonly displeasure for Christmas, “Bah Humbug!”

If so, why?

The answer to this question may not be as complicated as you think.

We love money and would rather keep it for ourselves, even unto the grave, than give aid to those in greatest need.

We do not have the concern for others as we should. We do not ask our neighbors enough, “how can I help you?”

Or when it comes to family, we have grown content in the shackles of our strife, and accepting an invitation or visit from the family archenemy seems like we have lost the battle; we have given in.

Yes, it would appear we, too, have no comfort to give and, at the least, have failed to provide the comfort we ought.

What we could use ourselves is a visitation.

And for this reason, Christ Jesus has and continues to visit you, His people, this day.

The Collect of the day provides a lens to why Jesus visits you; as we prayed,
“Almighty God, grant that the birth of Your only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free from the bondage of sin…."

…He comes to free you from the iron bondage of sin forged link by link and yard by yard as you have acted as if no one matters more than yourself.

But the prayer is not a wish or a dream; it is a reality, as we heard in this morning's epistle:

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.”

The action of our redemption does not reside in us or happen through nights of self-discovery but is solely God’s act, as the epistle states, “He saved us.”

Why did God save us, or what moved Him to save us?

His “loving kindness,” or as the Greek would say, God’s, φιλανθρωπία. You know this better as “philanthropy.”

But, φιλανθρωπία is really two words, the first being φιλος meaning love, and the second, ανθρωπος, meaning man or mankind. Together, these words reveal the kindness and love God has for mankind, for His creation, for you. And so God had an Epiphany; he appeared and showed His love in the flesh of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.   

Now, I love “A Christmas Carol;” it’s a beautiful story of redemption, a stunning classic piece of literature. But, for the Christian, the redemption of man must go beyond the adornments of the season – the turkey and garland, the carols sung by a fire - these are all gifts of the season, gifts of joy that must first have their source in the mercy and forgiveness of the Child born of Mary.

This is the crux for many; we can all adorn ourselves outwardly with cheer and glad tidings, but unless a more profound renewal and regeneration occur within the heart, your corrupt nature will be unchanged. Your current state will be no different from that of your past.

For this, you must run to where renewal and regeneration are present for you; you must go to your Baptism, where Jesus assumes your melancholy and all that weighs you down, and in turn, you receive the comfort and redemption secured for you upon the cross. 

This is why Christ Jesus came, appeared, and visited His people that first Christmas, out of loving kindness - to redeem them and you from the sin that binds and haunts the heart. His story has become your story, a true telling of man’s redemption.

So, how do we keep this story of Christmas not only today but throughout the year?

Return to your Baptism and drown the past deeds and sins of life, and through the renewal of the Holy Spirit, arise and awake to new life.

Gather around as we are today to receive the redeeming Word of Christ and His flesh and blood into your ears and mouths – a very present gift of comfort and grace that continually transforms your heart and gives you the words for when another says, “Speak comfort to me, my friend.”

Comfort, it’s what we desire throughout the challenging and trying times of life. And it’s what we receive through Christ the Lord, who has visited us, His people, and made us His heirs, which gives us the hope and confidence of a blessed future – a future of unending peace and joy in His eternal kingdom.

God bless you, and Merry Christmas!

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA

Advent 4 – Rorate Coeli

Text: John 1:19-28

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today, we heard again from John the Baptist. John is in the wilderness, preaching a message of preparation.

The wilderness is often thought of as an unfriendly place. The first part of the word "Wilderness" begins to define the wild characteristics of the environment; it's an untamed and uncontrolled location. A wilderness has an aspect of darkness, where things creep in the shadows, where animal instincts rule, and creatures are often pitted against creature. No one enjoys walking alone in this darkness, knowing that creatures are willing to pounce and attack when one’s guard is down.

But what are the wildernesses of this life?

Sure, the Shenandoahs are just west of here, but isn't the heart of man one of the most lonely and wild places of all?

This past week, I attended a Capitals game. It was fun, they lost to the team formally from Minnesota, but it was a close game. But what was most interesting to me wasn't the game itself but the conversations openly occurring around us. There was no guard over the door of the lips of fans. Instead, their words went beyond reflecting the desolate places not fit for the ears of children.

Sadly, these stories confessed hearts in distress and in need of help.

One person’s career was in shambles as they lost their job, while another confessed how they do the bare minimum of work to get by. Another couple discussed an illness that had seized the body of a friend, the grave was near, and how sad and hopeless they felt this Christmas. Yet, another could be seen arguing with the people they came with, people I'm only assuming were friends or family. Still, others simply didn't want to be home for Christmas this year among their family and friends (the political divide has become too great).

Can you relate with these, your neighbors, and the desolate places of life that have seized their hearts?

What has gone awry in your life?

What is in error?

What is crooked?

What needs straightening?

The message of John the Baptist is not only for the Pharisees and tax collectors but also for you this day, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”

But you can’t make the way straight, can you? Have you been able to fix or correct those things in your life that are broken?

Over the Advent season, the peace of Jesus has been spoken into your ears, but what have you done with this peace? How often have you said to Jesus, "No, thank you, I can fix this on my own. I need to do this on my own. I can find the peace I need, just give me time.”

Well, John comes to you today; his thunderous words go into the wilderness and desolate place of your life and heart and say the time is now, “straighten up.”

But why? Because your Lord is near. With each passing day, judgment is nearer.

So today, you are called to repent and make way for the Lord to proceed into the hostility of your rebellious heart.

John’s call is ultimately one of repentance, which means to confess your sin. I get it; it’s hard to stay on the nice list when we’re addressing our own sin. We are more comfortable putting on brave faces for the season, the façade of harmony, and dealing with our troubles after the family dinner in the silence of our own homes.

But sin doesn't go away if we ignore it. Instead, it means there is a problem that only takes greater root in your heart the longer it goes without help. The longer it goes without repentance.

The Collect of the day is another one of those Advent prayers that begin with, “Stir up Your power, O Lord.”

“Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy.”

It's a beautiful prayer, especially as there is much that weighs us down in this life.

This prayer also directs us to realize that the help one needs, grace, and mercy, must come from outside us. It comes from Jesus, who John the Baptist will confess in the coming day, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

The message John the Baptist preached in the Gospel of John continues to call us to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming again and to do so without delay.

In fact, it’s a reminder our whole life is one of repentance. Our whole life is one of turning back to Jesus and exercising our faith and dependence on Him, and it all begins with Baptism. 

While Jesus stood in the water of the Jordan River with sinners and was Baptized by John, He now stands in the Baptismal waters of the font, granting you new life.

Isn’t this a beautiful image of Baptism, that in it, Jesus calls us from our crooked ways, He calls us from the wildernesses of life, to turn back to Him?

In the waters of Holy Baptism, Jesus stands for you today and invites you to drown and kill the Old Adam so that a new man may come forth in Him.

This is all cause for hearing the words of the Apostle Paul again as he wrote:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So, rejoice…

“Rejoice!” Because Jesus stands with sinners and gives you what you cannot secure in this life; His comfort and peace.

“Rejoice!” Because in Jesus - on the last day, there will be an end to repentance because there will be an end to all sin.

“Rejoice!” Because the Lord is at hand and He has conquered all your fears, He has defeated death and scattered the darkness of the untamed wilderness residing in your life.

The last two weeks of Advent focus on John the Baptist for a reason; before Christ comes to us again, the way must be prepared in our hearts by repentance. A repentance John preaches not only to Pharisees and tax collectors but also to you. May you hear the call of John the Baptist this day and prepare yourself, for your King is near, and you have life, salvation, and peace in Him. +INJ+

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA

Ambrose of Milan

Text: John 3:1-17

In the name of +Jesus+ 

Today, the Church remembers Ambrose of Milan. He is often remembered this time of year for the poignant hymn he wrote, and we sang this night, “Savior of the Nations, Come.” 

But, before becoming a theologian and hymn writer, Ambrose’s entrance into the Holy Ministry was quite unique. 

Ambrose was born in 4th Century Germany to a Roman government official. Like his father, he followed in the family business, becoming a Roman governor to a providence that included Milan.  

For all extensive purposes, Milan was a center of the Church. A conflict brewing over the church in Milan became a turning point in Ambrose’s life.

Two parties were vying to become the next bishop of Milan: the Catholics and the Arians. The previous bishop was an Arian, those heretics who denied Jesus as true God from eternity. In other words, they believed Jesus did not exist until His birth that first Christmas. 

While the Catholics and Arians sparred over the bishop’s seat, someone in the crowd yelled, "Ambrose for Bishop." Surprisingly, the two parties found agreement. We see how loved Ambrose was. However, there was a problem, Ambrose had not yet even been baptized; he was still a catechumen, a student of the faith.  

Despite lacking proper churchly order, Ambrose was baptized and fast-tracked as a deacon, presbyter, and finally a Bishop in one week. We can’t imagine doing this today, but as we reflect, we see how God was at work in Milan.   

Ambrose was steadfast in His faith and confession of Jesus, “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds.”

Ambrose learned early on how the Arians were seducing the crowds through music and song. They knew if they could get a tune into one's head, it would be planted as seeds that bear fruit in due season. However, Ambrose said two can play this game, and from his work, we receive the jewel of the hymn we sang, “Savior of the Nations, Come.”

What I find so joyful and comforting is how the hymn simply and boldly confesses the eternal nature of Jesus and, in a way, encapsulates the entirety of the Second Article of the Creed. This is at the heart of many 4th-century controversies, including the conflict with Arianism. Who is Jesus? 

It’s a question still asked today by a world that resides in darkness. 

In tonight's second reading, Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel and student of the Torah, came to Jesus in the darkness of night. Maybe he came at night out of fear, perhaps it was the only time there was to meet, or maybe it reflects the “shared [blindness] of the Jews that Jesus is the Christ, the one of whom the Torah [always] spoke.”[1]

But, you see, one cannot read the Gospel of John without appreciating the symbolism that runs throughout his Gospel. For this reason, you have to see while Nicodemus appears to have the desire to learn, he also represents a greater confession of unbelief. An unbelief that leads a person to dwell in the darkness. 

We are not absent of this darkness. It manifests in our lives whenever we turn away from our Baptism, the rebirth from above of water and Spirit. Like Nicodemus, we struggle with how this mystery occurs in water and Word, just as the unbelieving world struggles with believing in the holy child, who was from eternity, and who laid upon the hay of a manger that first Christmas before being led to the cross on Good Friday. 

Still, this Savior came not only for you and me but for this world. John 3:16 provides those familiar and comforting words (although here is a more literal translation than you are used to):

For in this manner God loved the world. And so he [God] gave the Son—the only one—so that whoever believes in him might not perish but rather might have eternal life.[2]

From this beautiful passage, we learn how Jesus took upon Himself, the flesh of man, to redeem all mankind (Objective Justification). But it also instructs how the gift of this redemption requires every believer's individual faith and trust (Subjective Justification). 

Sadly, the scene we encounter this evening with Nicodemus and the early Church's battle with the Arians continues to encapsulate our continued struggle as a culture and people. There is an allure for us to attempt to argue with God, to make His ways fit into our ways, and for Him to accommodate our reason and rationale by accepting only the portions of Scripture we agree with. When we do this, we strive to put ourselves above God and His Word. 

But this is not what the Fathers of the Church, such as Ambrose, did. Instead, as disciples and students, they were submissive to the Word made flesh and simply received it as it was written and given to them. 

Ambrose was an unlikely theologian, thrust into the moment in many ways. But, I believe he continues to be an icon not only for the Church but especially for the Office of Holy Ministry. His love for his neighbor was most clearly present through his patient teaching, preaching, and, most importantly, his unwavering confession of Jesus Christ. 

And we can see examples of this ministry as Saint Monica approached Ambrose and asked him to catechize her dear son, Saint Augustine. And by doing so, God used Ambrose to teach and lead another Father of the Church to boldly confess the faith, whose writings are equally used to this day.  

In a more challenging situation, we learn of an interaction between Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius. In a fit of rage, the emperor ordered a massacre at Thessalonica. However, after hearing of the matter, Ambrose boldly stood at the front door of the Church to meet the emperor the next time he attended service and barred him from entering until he publicly repented of his sin. And the Emperor did as Ambrose called him to do. He repented and was welcomed back as a sheep returning to the fold. 

From these examples, we see how Ambrose was a patient teacher, and it should beg us to ask, do we patiently teach others the Christian faith, or are we willing to continue studying, ask questions, and grow in the faith as the young catechumens we remain?

But also, are we willing to honestly confess our sins? Are we willing to set aside the positions, titles, and offices of life to submit to Jesus as the emperor did? Ambrose could have lost his life by approaching him, but he demonstrated greater faith in Christ Jesus and His Word. 

It’s a faith we should strive to imitate in our own lives. And it’s a faith we can imitate because we have been brought out of the darkness of Christ's tomb through the waters of Holy Baptism. We have been brought to the light of life because He, who is the light, abides with us. 

This is what the seventh stanza of Savior of the Nations, Come, confesses so brilliantly!

From the manger newborn light
Shines in glory through the night.
Darkness there no more resides;
In this light faith now abides.

 As we remember Ambrose, let us give thanks for how this faith continued to abide with him throughout his teaching, preaching, and bold confession. But let us also pray for the light of faith to be present among us as we journey through a world that continues to dwell in darkness so that we may sing God's praises both now and through eternity. +INJ+

[1] Weinrich, W. C. (2015). John 1:1–7:1. (D. O. Wenthe & C. P. Giese, Eds.) (pp. 382–383). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

[2] Weinrich, W. C. (2015). John 1:1–7:1. (D. O. Wenthe & C. P. Giese, Eds.) (p. 356). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Advent 1 - Ad Te Levavi

Text: Romans 13:8-14 and Matthew 21:1-9

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today begins the Advent season, so we started the service in a strikingly different way through the praying of the Litany. On our knees and in prayer, we lift our voices to God with pleas for His help and mercy. 

The somber tone conflicts with the world's busyness and holiday chatter. Children are feverishly writing their wish lists, and outwardly, adults are doing their best to make this the hap-happiest Christmas of all. 

An aspect of the Christmas season leads us to believe the façade that we can make the season bright. We can alter the course of time. We can put away all sadness. We can "gift" our way out of family turmoil and strife. 

Yet, still, as we move forward from Thanksgiving and look towards the stockings stuffed with joy and presents under the tree, we all wrestle with the feelings of unreturned love as Elvis Presley's rendition of Blue Christmas plays in the background. 

And this is one reason we begin the season of Advent the way we do, by realizing we are a broken people in need of help, love, and rescuing that cannot come from within nor from the hands of mere mortals. 

Did you catch today's collect at the end of the Litany? We prayed, 

Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection, we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance.

The first item I would turn your attention to is how the prayer begins, “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come.” Throughout Advent, three of the four collects start with the words, “Stir up Your power, O Lord.” The Latin here is, Excita, which means to excite or rouse. It’s an urgent plea (like the pleas for mercy within the Litany) for saving and rescuing. And it’s addressed directly to the Son of Man, the second person of the Trinity, to come and rescue us from the threatening perils of our sin. 

The prayer ultimately redirects us to examine ourselves inwardly, to realize, as the Epistle brings to light, that we have not fulfilled the requirements of the Law because we have not loved others as we sincerely ought. 

Sadly, what truly excites us throughout this life is the sin that continues to dwell within us from birth.

However, the Apostle Paul warns, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” In other words, you know Christ has already come bodily in the manger, and now you must guard against falling into the sleep of unbelief. 

So Paul continues, “let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Paul says the time has come for you to be aroused from your sleep, confess your sin, and cast off the works of darkness. And you should begin to do this through confession and absolution before those you have failed to love as before God. 

Now, while only six sins or works of darkness are listed within the Epistle, don't look for loopholes. They are ultimately linked as a chain to others. For where excess resides, immorality and wickedness often follow in your life. As the eyes of man stare wildly at another, not their own, so your hands, feet, and all your members are quick to follow into sexual sin. Likewise, jealousy, anger, and hatred manifest when quarreling exists -we can easily see this within the home or work. 

So, what are we to do? Pray as we did today, “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance.”

In other words, dear Jesus, rescue us from ourselves! 

And that is what Jesus processes into Jerusalem to do as the words of the prophet Zechariah are fulfilled, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

Jesus enters Jerusalem to be led to the cross out of love for you, to fulfill the Law you cannot, to save you. As Luther writes regarding this procession of Christ, “Here there is no violence, no armor, no power, no anger, no wrath. . . . Here there are only kindness, justice, salvation, mercy, and every good thing” (AE 20:94).”

The great struggle for us is that we often fail to feel the love our neighbors have for us, and in return, we fail to show them the kindness, justice, salvation, and mercy that we receive from Christ Jesus. And I believe this is due to the reality that we attempt to love others apart from His cross. 

The gift-giving, the time with family, and the joys of traditions of the season are all beautiful gifts for us here on earth. But the truth is that apart from Christ and His cross, one cannot truly define, understand, receive, or give love to another as one ought.

That is because the love of Christ is manifested in the giving of Himself upon the cross of Calvary, and that changes everything. Because now, those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus know that they were baptized into His death, and just as Christ was raised from the dead, they put on Christ as they were raised to walk in the newness of life. 

Still, as you walk through this life and this season of Advent, there is wrestling that continues within your heart, it’s a grappling of sin, and this struggle should stir up your heart and voice to join crowds that first Palm Sunday is praying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,’ that is, save us now!”

And by doing so, your pleas confess and exercise your trust that Jesus can and will save you. 

Now, the four Sundays of Advent all have Latin names, and they do, in fact, call us to approach Christmas differently than the world. The name of the First Sunday in Advent has historically been called Ad Te Levavi (Odd T LeVaVee), and the name is derived from Psalm 25, “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You.” (Psalm 25:1)

As you journey through this Advent season, I want to encourage you to spend more time in prayer, not only alone but with family, friends, and this congregation. Because through prayer, you exercise the faith and trust Ad Te Levavi confesses. You learn to place your trust in Christ as individuals, as families, and as the body of Christ more deeply. 

Through your prayers, it will also be revealed that you cannot save yourself, put away your sadness, or gift your way out of turmoil and strife. 

Instead, your petitions will reveal that Jesus, your Immanuel, has saved you, put away all your sadness, and now He gives you the gift of Himself. He grants you His unfailing and enduring love here in the Sacrament of the Altar. 

So, as the days of Advent and life go on, when troubled and uncertain times appear, do not hesitate to call out, “Hosanna to the Son of David,’ save us now!”

Your Savior hears you, He has rescued you from your sin, and He will deliver you from this valley of sorrows and tears at His final Advent. +INJ+ 

Trinity 26

November 13, 2022
Matthew 25:31-46

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 
As we observed All Saints Day last Sunday, we transitioned into the final Sundays of the Church year. This week and next, firmly focus on the end times, the day of Christ's second Advent, His second coming. 

Our Gospel today began with these words, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”

Luther remarked regarding this second coming this way: “He will then not be bedded in the manger, nor ride on an ass, as He did in His first advent, but burst forth from the clouds in great power and glory.”[1]

Think and ponder these words; they are earnest and heavy. 

But this raises the question, do we ponder these words regularly and honestly? 

One of my theology classes recently began studying the Apostles Creed, and one student in class raised their struggles to truly focus on the words of the Creed, to think through the words they speak aloud. I had to tell them they weren't alone. We all struggle. 

We struggle to remain focused for a few reasons. One is that our attention span continues to shrink with every passing day. While the rise of technology can be a gift, it can also negatively affect our ability to truly concentrate on a singular object. This is why many increasingly believe public speakers should limit their remarks between 18-20 minutes to ensure their message is fully received. Some online platforms that publish thought-provoking content, like Ted Talks, strive to keep their talks within these parameters. I have a cartoon on my office door with a congregation half asleep. The caption says, “There is a fine line between a long sermon and a hostage situation.” 

But whether it’s true or not that goldfish now have a longer attention span than man, the reality is that we are easily distracted and lack the patience required to wait upon the coming of the Lord. 

Except that's precisely what the confession of the Creed invites and calls us to do daily as we will soon recite the words of the Nicene Creed, “And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”[2]

But why is it so crucial for us to remain watchful for the second coming of Christ? 

Because if you do not patiently keep watch, you risk falling away from the Christian faith. In this context, keeping alert implies exercising your faith, confessing your faith with words, and ensuring you are kept within the sheepfold. For those who do not exercise this faith, they grow weak, their awareness of the coming of Christ is dampened, they are no longer vigilant, they are as cold as a log separated from the burning fire, and they are now at great risk of falling away as the goats in today’s Gospel. 

Another reason we are called to be watchful from permitting our faith to drift comes from our Epistle today, as Peter wrote, 

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Did you catch these words, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

This leads us to the sheep and the goats… 

We often find ourselves acting as goats, independent and stubborn people who may attend church, who even appear similar to the sheep, but lack patience for the Gospel. But, unfortunately, the goats do not grasp or appreciate the patience of God and the ways He is granting you time to come to be repentance.

But the sheep are those who flock together. They know their Shepherd's voice, they follow Him, and have taken the Psalmists' words to heart, 

            I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
                  and in his word I hope;
       my soul waits for the Lord
                 more than watchmen for the morning,
                 more than watchmen for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)

To be watchmen implies one is vigilant and prepared. They have not fallen asleep but continue to watch the city. 

And that is what the pastoral office is called to do: keep watch over you. To speak to you the words of the law, but also the words of the Gospel. Here, however, one must ask themselves, are you humble enough to see yourself as a goat, that you might confess your sins and be received as a sheep? 

The pastoral office is established by Christ Jesus Himself to tend His sheep. And Jesus says, how you receive those whom I have sent and the words they speak to you matter. He says, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

Yes, you probably haven't seen your pastors needing a drink, nor have you needed to cloth us or visit us in prison. But where was Jesus hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, and weak? On the cross. 

And ultimately, this is where your life leads you, to where Jesus suffered the judgment of sin for you. As He called out, “It is finished.” He declared His victory over sin, death, and the Evil One. 

Yet, as you live within this world, this unholy trinity of sin, death, and the Devil continues to distract your thoughts and words. They strive to silence your confession and vigilance so that you won't be ready for the day of the Lord. This is why we must exercise our faith that through the work of the Holy Spirit, we will be made ready and kept faithful in thought, word, and deed. 

It all begins with confession and absolution. Every time we gather and confess our sins, we exercise our trust and faith in Christ Jesus to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We are also coming before the judgment seat of God. We stand before God and say, we have not kept your law. We have acted as stubborn and rambunctious goats toward the gifts you freely gave us. And as the Father looks upon you, He sees His Son’s death upon the cross for you and renders His judgment, not guilty.

This is the pattern of faith you must continue to exercise throughout your lives as you strive to remain vigilant for the day of Christ Jesus' second coming. It's a pattern of calling upon Jesus for forgiveness, a way of waiting and watching, and a life that has hope in His Word. 

The Lutheran Theologian Albrecht Peters wrote regarding the second coming of Christ, 

For this reason, true Christians must tirelessly beseech their Lord to return, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer; with heads held high, they are to run as fast as possible toward that day of judgment (Luke 21:28), which even Christ Himself describes as our redemption, “that is, not death, but eternal life, no wrath, but pure grace, no hell, but the kingdom of heaven, neither terror nor danger, but pure comfort and joy.” (Creed, pg. 202)

Aren’t these words wonderful? While the term judgment often causes us unease, here, Albrecht Peter tells the Christian to look forward to the day of judgment because you are God's saints. You are His children. And He provides for all of you the words to beseech Him, exercise your faith every day, and wait patiently as you pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come.” 

So, how do we exercise our faith and remain vigilant for the Lord's return? By praying, by speaking the words Jesus has given to us in the Lord's Prayer. These words are our petitions for all that is needed within this life: for our Lord’s kingdom to come, for His will to be done here within our lives today, for us to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving, for our sins to be forgiven as we forgive those who sin against us, for us to be kept from temptation and at last, delivered from the evil one.  

Through these words, you are given the faith needed to keep watch throughout the days of life, your hearts are turned to Christ's second coming, and with eagerness, you await the day, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, [the day when] He will sit on the throne of His glory.” And to you, He will say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” +INJ+
 

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA

[1] Pieper, F. (1953). Christian Dogmatics (electronic ed., Vol. 3, p. 516). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

[2] McCain, P. T. (Ed.). (2005). Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (p. 16). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

Introducing Miriam Reagan Rogness!

“For this child we have prayed.” (1 Sam. 1:27). God richly blessed us yesterday morning with a GIRL for our family, Miriam Reagan, born at 8 lbs. We are beyond smitten with her. The kids were so excited to meet her over FaceTime, especially Lydia, who waited a long time for a little sister. Bows and frilly dresses are in her future! Miriam will join God’s Family through Holy Baptism on Oct. 23. Praise God for His gifts.

Trinity 16

Text: Luke 7:11-17

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today's Gospel sets up with two processions. The first is that of Jesus. Having healed the Centurion's servant just before our text, Jesus is now traveling with a great crowd and approaching the town of Nain when a second procession also of great size is coming out of the village to the cemetery outside of the city gate. Here is a very different procession, a somber procession where a widow brings her only son to be buried.  

You, too, have undoubtedly felt the pain of the widow's grief at the death of a loved one. You have made this procession before, the procession that leads out of the Church and to the open grave. Tears have run down your cheeks, and you have felt the pain you believed would never depart. 

But here at the city gates of Nain, in the middle of the road, two worlds collide, and two parties come together. The first being led by the Word incarnate, the only begotten Son of God, who brings life in His very Word. The other group is a procession of tears, death, and grief. 

We can all relate to this collision of life and death in our own lives. My family has felt we’re in a similar clash of death and life this week. Yesterday, we gathered at the grave to remember Faith Zion Rogness, our child who died in the womb one year ago. And yet, in the coming weeks, we look forward, with joy and excitement, to the welcoming of the newest Rogness baby. In many ways, these emotions are all so confusing.

I believe the Easter hymn, “Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands,” captures these feelings of death and life throughout our days, as well as our Gospel text as it says, “It was a strange and dreadful strife, When life and death contended. The victory remained with life, The reign of death was ended.” 

And yet, our grief often appears to go on without end, doesn't it? 

Grief manifests itself when life's journey comes in contact with a sound, a word, a taste, a smell, or an image that immediately takes one back to the phone call, the tears, and the death.

Where do you turn, and where do you go when the despair becomes so intimate and inescapable? 

Do you lash out with words that can never be unspoken?  Do you question the doctors and nurses, asking, “Are you sure you did everything you could to save my child? “Or, are you sure you did everything you could to help my mother or father?” Or maybe you simply recoil and grieve through an endless vale of tears as the widow in today’s Gospel? 

Still, Jesus sees the widow, He sees how death possesses her and the state of bewilderment she is in, and He goes to her and has compassion. He says to her, “Do not weep.” Or from the Greek, “Do not go on weeping.”

Now, we don't know the widow's name. We only know she lost everything. First, her husband and now her only begotten son. She has no one to care for her - she leaves no legacy, offspring, or heritage. Without her son, she’ll also lack security and someone to provide for her, as was the custom. All she has is her anguish and her tears.

Tears that call out and ask why, why my child? What crime has he committed? What garners such a punishment? 

Martin Luther answered these questions as he wrote, "This mother could certainly lament her own guilt since she lost her son who had inherited sin and death from her." 

These are hard words to hear from Luther, but they remind us of the sin and death inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Since their fall in the Garden of Eden, all life joins this widow's procession in moving toward the grave. And yet, this funeral dirge is not the end of her life’s journey, nor is the grave the end for you. 

As the Easter hymn said, “It was a strange and dreadful strife, When life and death contended. The victory remained with life, The reign of death was ended.”

In a somewhat unusual chain of events and without provoking or calling out, Jesus approached the woman and ordered her, “Do not weep.” And then He touched the open coffin of the boy and said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” At this moment, Jesus takes into Himself this boy's sin and his death. 

This is quite the scene, the only begotten son of the widow was raised from the dead through the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father. 

The already decaying corpse and all the smells that go with it, given life and breath. The silent mouth, now given speech. The cold flesh is given to warm embrace as mother and son are united once again. 

This is what Jesus does in your lives. He comes for you…

For you who are haunted by the images of death etched within your mind – the words that act more like murderous weapons, destroying the love of a friend. 

For you who are paralyzed by the death of a parent or sibling. 

For you who were told, the heart of the little one within your womb no longer beats. 

For you, who have sat in the doctor’s office to receive the darkest news of all – the illness within you is fatal. 

For you, Jesus processes into the hells and storms of your life, all the disaster, and death that surrounds you, and He has compassion - He takes into Himself your sin and death. 

In this way, Christ Jesus has compassion upon you, beautifully wrapped up in the giving of Himself, the pouring out of His blood and His life upon the cross. In fact, it’s a compassion that can only be understood through the cross, where He suffered all the torments of sin and hell for you. 

It is Christ who the prophet Isaiah speaks of when he says, “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces.” (Isaiah 25:8a) 

It’s easy to become disheartened, to believe your savior is not interested in your life and grief as you follow the hearse to the grave or your eyes swell with sadness. Still, it’s in these times, He not only comes to you, but seeks you and visits you in your despair and in your most significant times of darkness. 

In fact, as the young man sat up and began to speak, the people said, “’A great prophet has risen up among us’; and, ‘God has visited His people.’” (Luke 7:16) 

God has visited His people and continues to visit us even now as we grieve the events of life. Through the sounds, the images, and even the smells and that which you taste on this day and in this place should draw you back into Christ Jesus, back into the Church, and back into the Divine Service. 

It all begins in the waters of Holy Baptism, where you were plunged into the depths of Christ's death and grave, and by His Word, you were raised out of these waters to new life. Every week you kneel before the altar and join your neighbors in confessing your weaknesses, your sins, your struggle and sorrows, and Jesus hears them, and through the pastor, Jesus speaks life-giving words to you, “arise, you are forgiven.” Then, as you process to the rail with the singing of angels, archangels, and the whole company of heaven to receive His very flesh and blood, He touches you and gives Himself to you, saying, “Arise! Depart in peace!”

Depart in peace because when life and death contended, the victory remained with life, with Jesus. And now His compassion gives you eternal life. May this joy and truth be your hope and assurance as you journey through this life, as you mourn your broken relationships, the deaths of those you love, or even face the grave yourself. Because on the last day, Jesus will return, and to all the faithful, He will call you from your graves to live with Him forever, saying, “Child, arise!” +INJ+

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA

Trinity 15 + Sermon

Text: Matthew 6:24-34

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today’s Gospel is a familiar passage, and we can all remember someone or even ourselves saying in times of stress and anxiousness over the needs of life, “Don’t worry.” But if you are like me, all I do is worry more when I hear these words; it's all so counterproductive!

The words of Jesus are also very poignant as they reveal there is no middle ground when it comes to the Christian faith, no swaying from one side to another, from one master to another, but rather Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

And yet, it seems like our lives are nothing but a back and forth between the life we live as Christians and the world enticing us away from our heavenly Father. 

But still, Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Or think of these words another way, think of this in terms of the Small Catechism, “You shall have no other gods.” 

These words are exclusive. These words divide. They separate the Christian from the unbelieving world, a world that has not been given nor received this teaching because the heathen world won’t accept it. However, these words are for you, the Christian, to keep you from falling away from the faith and into unbelief. 

And this is a challenge, we are bombarded by the items of everyday life, and in the simplest of ways, the gifts of creation can lead us away from the Christian faith. 

It’s really not magical; it's mammon. 

Now, mammon isn’t just money, even though there was an ancient Syrian god named Mammon, who was a fierce, ugly god, demonic even, and known for the horrible character of coveting and greed. Mammon is more… it’s wealth and property, it’s your devotion to your investment and retirement portfolios (and don’t look at those right now!), your desire for power, positions, and the identity of your titles, it’s actually everything you become attached to throughout this life. 

That is why Jesus’ words sting a little, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” It’s either God or worldly attachments. And the problem with attachments is we worry about them as a child looks frantically for their blanky or favorite stuffed animal at bedtime. We fear that we’ll become detached, that we will lose the object of our desire and trust, and that’s what is at the heart of anxiety.

So what are you attached to? What hampers your faith? Remember, attachments often come in the simplest of ways, they aren’t magical, but they slowly lead you away from God. 

Take the smartphone, for instance; it's a gift. It can help you if you’re in a car accident, it can even connect you with family worldwide, and the phone can track your health and send emergency help in case of a fall. But, it also can lead you into attachment and dependence. You send a family or friend a message, and you can see they’ve read it (through those pesky “read receipts”), and yet no reply. This drives a person crazy, doesn’t it? Or maybe you’ve posted on social media or a blog, and you just can't help to look back, waiting to see who has liked your status or post (Who are your true friends?). We all desire affirmation, don't we? And in the meantime, you lackadaisically pan through the news, hoping you don’t miss anything.

But what happens when you grow so connected you cannot separate from the things that control you? Studies reveal the brutal truth regarding the smartphone, you become anxious, not only physically but emotionally and spiritually. An article I read in Psychology Today calls our attachment issues to technology and the smartphone "FOMO—Fear of Missing Out—or nomophobia—Fear of being out of mobile phone contact or FOBO—Fear of Being Offline.”[1] It’s an unholy trinity of sorts. 

Maybe you’re a Luddite and have no use for technology or the connected world. Good for you (Seriously). But think and ask yourselves, what have you become so attached to that the thought of being detached brings your heart into a state of chaos and worry? Maybe you still worry about the country's direction, inflation, the medical test results you are awaiting, or the move you and your family must make. 

The reality is there is much to consume us, and when we stop thinking about God’s Word and His kingdom, we often become more concerned about the mammon of life found within our hands.

The words of St. Paul are of use for us today, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7, NKJV)

These words refocus us on God our Father, the true object, desire, and trust of our heart. Therefore, we are to go to Him in supplications of want and need and prayers of thanksgiving. 

Similarly, Jesus says near the end of the Gospel, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

How comforting that we aren't left to our own vices, but Jesus instructs and provides us with a rule of faith, seek His Father and His wisdom, and He will provide for you as the meaning of the First article of the creed states, 

“He will richly and daily provide you with all you need to support this body and life…He will defend you against all danger and will guard and protect you from all evil…He does this out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy. For all this it is your duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.”

Aren’t these comforting words? While the world brings us unease and stress, we are called to seek the kingdom of God – a realm of grace and mercy. 

And this is how the Divine Service is laid out for us. First, we come in prayer and repentance, seeking the kingdom of God, His mercy, and forgiveness. And then the pastor not only announces this grace but at the rail Christ Jesus is present for you with His righteousness, His forgiveness, and salvation. What a blessing and joy!

In reality, worry and anxiousness are unavoidable throughout this life, but when you look to Jesus’ cross, rejoice, for He has carried your burdens and now gives you His eternal peace. +INJ+

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201501/iphone-separation-anxiety#:~:text=iPhone%20Separation%20Anxiety%20is%20real,Hinders%20Cognitive%20Abilities%2C%20Says%20Study

An Argument Arose Among Us

***The below is a fuller edition of a newsletter article I wrote for Trinity 15 +2022***

Dear Friends,

I’ve continued reading through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together since I last wrote to you, and the book has profoundly impacted me. It convicts me of my own shortcomings and sin in so many ways. The book has also led me to believe it should be required reading for pastors and highly encouraged for the congregational leaders of the local parishes.

But for today, I want to share some of Bonhoeffer’s words, and I pray they will aid you as they support me this day.

Bonhoeffer begins the fourth chapter with a quotation from St. Luke, “An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.” (Luke 9:46) What we have here is a reminder that the first Church also experienced discord and strife.

But Bonhoeffer goes on to say, “We do not think enough about the fact that no Christian community ever comes together without this argument appearing as a seed of discord. No sooner are people together than they begin to observe, judge, and classify each other.” 

I believe Bonhoeffer is getting to this idea that we are constantly self-justifying ourselves while condemning and judging others around us. Further, our self-justifying and judging ways lead us to the corners of the church to whisper and conspire against our neighbors. 

For this reason, he writes, “‘Those who keep their tongue in check control both spirit and body.’ (James 3:3ff) Thus it must be a decisive rule of all Christian community life that each individual is prohibited from talking about another Christian in secret.” 

“Where this discipline of the tongue is practiced right from the start, individuals will make an amazing discovery. They will be able to stop constantly keeping an eye on others, judging them, condemning them, and putting them in their places and thus doing violence to them.”

Yet, Bonhoeffer turns our self-justifying views on their head as he writes, “Only those who live by the forgiveness of their sin in Jesus Christ will think little of themselves in the right way. They will know that their own wisdom completely came to an end when Christ forgave them.”

“If my sin appears to me to be in any way smaller or less reprehensible in comparison with the sins of others, then I am not yet recognizing my sin at all.”

So, where do we go from here? Bonhoeffer writes, “The first service one owes to others in the community involves listening to them. Just as our love for God begins with listening to God’s Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them.”

“However, God has put God’s own Word in our mouth. God wants it to be spoken through us. If we hinder God’s Word, the blood of the other who sins will be upon us. If we carry out God’s Word, God wants to save the other through us. ‘Whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.’” (James 5:20)

In reality, the source of our arguments is sin and often the sin of self-justification or the judgment and condemnation of others, their ideas, or works. If the words of our mouths cannot be spoken publicly, then they are words we should strive not to speak at all. We should flee the dark corners of the Church and meet our neighbors in the light of Christ with His Word of grace and mercy.

God be with you and guide you always.

In Christ Jesus,
Pastor Rogness

Bonhoeffer: Pastors and Authority

I’ve been rereading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together. The text has many gems, but the quote below stuck out to me. The passage reminds the pastor that they are always in submission to God’s Word. The pastor is a servant who possesses no authority of his own.

In a world where the desire for power and control presses in on all of us, the pastoral office is no different. Pastors, too, must guard against leading congregations into images of their likeness but give way to Christ Jesus and His Word instead.

I hope this quote is helpful to you. Bonhoeffer writes:

The community of faith does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus and of one another. It does not lack the former, but the latter. The community of faith will place its confidence only in the simple servant of the Word of Jesus, because it knows that it will then be guided not by human wisdom and human conceit, but by the Word of the Good Shepherd. The question of spiritual trust, which is so closely connected with the question of authority, is decided by the faithfulness with which people serve Jesus Christ, never by the extraordinary gifts they possess. Authority in pastoral care can be found only in the servants of Jesus who seek no authority of their own, but who are Christians one to another, obedient to the authority of the Word.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, paragraph 92

Trinity 13

Text: Luke 10:23-37
September 10, 2022

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Think back to when you were a child. Were you brought up in the Christian faith? How were you taught to treat others? How about those who hurt or harmed you either physically or emotionally? Those who deserted you and left you in times of greatest need? 

In line with the words of the lawyer in today’s Gospel, you were likely brought up to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Even those who meant harm to you. And this is a good and correct response. It reveals a complete fear, love, and trust in God, as we learned the meaning of the First Commandment this past week in our memory work. It is also a reflection of how the Proverb says a parent is to raise their child as we hear, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

But like the lawyer, we are interested in loopholes as we grow and mature in this life to adulthood. That is what the lawyer's following question to Jesus is all about, finding a loophole. The lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

The lawyer's question implies that there are people who are not his neighbor or his enemy. There are people he should be kind to, care for in this life, and give to in their times of need, and there are other people he doesn't need to be concerned with. He acts as if the law is unclear regarding his neighbors' true identity. This attempts to deflect the argument from himself and justify himself by his deeds and actions. 

If you read the newsletter article for the week, you're already familiar with this quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He says:

The Christian cannot simply take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. In the end all his disciples abandoned him. On the cross he was all alone, surrounded by criminals and the jeering crowds. He had come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God. So Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies. There they find their mission, their work. 

I believe this quote is powerful and important because it begs the question, who has Jesus excluded from His love and mercy? Who has Jesus avoided or turned away in their time of need? Absolutely no one. But, who have you withheld your love and compassion? Who have you avoided in their time of need? 

In the end, the dispute between the lawyer and Jesus boils down to a dispute over the Torah. “Jesus sees the Torah as part of the God-given means to eternal life, and this life comes purely by grace through faith, which is as the apostle Paul says, ‘active in love.’ (Galatians 5:6) Conversely, the lawyer attempts (and fails) to justify himself by twisting the Torah into a legalistic system that would excuse him from showing love to others.” (Just, 450)

Here's the thing, the Law demands your perfection. There are no loopholes. It says, “do this,” and you can never do it. At least not as God has demanded. And still, while your fallen mind believes you can fulfill the holy commands of God, in the end, your endeavors for perfection sadly reveal how you are in love with yourself more than any neighbor. 

The Epistle today makes a distinction between the Law and Gospel promises. It says, “If a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” This passage flushes things out for us. If our kindness could save us, then the law would be our righteousness. But that’s not what the epistle says. Instead, what saves us is faith in Jesus. He is our righteousness. 

The reality is that we really do love ourselves too much and our neighbors and especially our enemies too little. Therefore, we are inclined to justify ourselves and desire to show ourselves as righteous. We look to our deeds and works in the community, church, and homes as lawyers. We look for them to justify us before God. For this reason, the parable Jesus tells the lawyer is also for you.

A man is beaten to the edge of death, stripped naked of his clothes, robbed, and thrown into a ditch to die. The priest goes down the road and passes on the other side of the man. The Levite followed the priest, came to the place, and then passed on the other side of the injured man. Maybe the Levite took the lead of the priest, imitating his example, not desiring to challenge the priest's decision or ranking to pass by the injured man. Likewise, isn't it interesting if we look at how children react to situations similar to this, how their pattern of actions most closely follows their parents and people of authority in their lives? You see, children most often react to the events of life in how they are trained and raised by observing their parents' lead. It’s no different for any of us adults, who follow the patterns laid out first by our parents and now by our leaders.

But the man, who stops to give aid, does so with no regard for himself but unconditional love for his neighbor. After all, there is a chance the robbers and thieves are still around, awaiting a second person to jump. But he stops and carries the man lying in the ditch to safety. He pays for his medical care and promises to pay for future medical expenses. This man is a Samaritan. You see, however, Samaritans and Jews hate each other. They don’t get along and don't associate with one another. They are what the east is to the west; the divide is too large among their people. This story would simply never happen. 

Except it did. Jesus isn't telling a story of what you need to do. That is not it. Instead, He is telling a story of what He does. Christ is the Good Samaritan. He saw the wretched state of mankind. He saw what we had become through our sin and had compassion. He entered this world as a child. He assumed our human nature, breathed our worldly air, followed His Father’s will, and took the lowliest of places among sinners and thieves. He was stripped of His clothes and hung to die a sinner's death, a criminal's death on the cross. 

Jesus does this for you. He comes to the most fallen of man, He comes to the sinner, the helpless, the ones who hate Him with all their strength, and He has mercy on them. It’s not that we loved, but that He loved us. 

So you are in this parable too. You are the man in the ditch. 

God sees mankind collectively in the ditch, groaning in pain and crying out for help. And it's easy for us to cast off, to turn aside from the help He brings. You may still suffer from disease or illness, you may suffer emotionally or physically from the harm of others, and you may feel that you have been left by your fellow man, disserted. But this is why Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, became man. He became a man to rescue you from the misery and grief of this fallen world. On the cross, Jesus pours out His blood so that you would not be cast off forever but restored. 

The lawyer’s desire in today’s Gospel to be justified by His works will never happen. No mere mortal can or ever will do what the Law demands of them. Yet, there is always a place for good works in the Christian life. There is a place for mercy among our enemies and compassion for those who suffer and are in despair, just as Christ has for us. 

Throughout this Gospel, there is a theme of reversal. The lawyer is supposed to be one of the wise of the world, and yet, he doesn’t see Jesus with the childlike faith of the disciples. 

As children have returned to school, we must remind ourselves that we are all children of God - in need of His gifts of mercy and forgiveness. So continue to regularly come to the Divine Service to receive Christ's Word into your ears, be fed with His flesh and blood for the forgiveness of sin, and be eternally clothed by Him in the garments of salvation. For here, He is present for you.

My friends, everyone is wounded. Everyone is dying. All of our lives are broken, messed up, and troubled – we all experience times of being in the ditch. But praise God, Jesus brings you healing, compassion, and eternal life. +INJ+

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA

Trinity 12

How often do you stop and listen to the sounds of life?

While back in Minnesota with my family the past couple of weeks, I encouraged my children after four-wheeler rides to just listen to the world around them - the sounds of creation, the humming of bugs as they flew by, the wind was whipping across the southern Minnesota prairie as the sun set in the west.

It was peaceful and tranquil.

But then the sun set. And darkness, along with the sounds of coyotes and other temporal threats, disrupted the tranquility.  A stark reminder that death is not far from us as we live out our days in the shadow of Eden’s shattered bliss and the inherited sin of Adam flows through our veins, misplacing our words and actions from the Christian life we have been called into.

Martin Luther wrote regarding our Gospel today:
A Christian life consists in this: that, first, we believe and trust in our Savior, Christ, and are assured that we are not forsaken by Him, no matter what need or danger happens. Second, every Christian should also act toward friend and enemy the way he sees that Christ is so willing to help everyone. Whoever does this is a Christian. Whoever does not do this, however, may be called a Christian but is not one. These two cannot be separated; the fruit of faith must follow, or the faith is not real.[1]

So, all this leads to a dichotomy, are you a person whose heart is being turned towards God, or is your heart orientated towards the world you have immersed?

Reflect on the words you spoke this past week, the emails you sent, and the tweets you tweeted. Have they been filled with the fruits of the faith? What did they confess? Who did they confess?

Many of us have roles, positions, and occupations that require the use of written and spoken words every day – but do these words reveal a Christian who truly sits, listens, trusts, and receives the wisdom and Word of Christ Jesus? Or are these words a reflection of the shattered world we believe we can save through our verbal sparring and conniving?

Jesus says in the Gospel of St. Matthew, “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37)

In today’s Gospel, we heard, “Then they brought to [Jesus] one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged [Jesus] to put His hand on him.”

You have a man who has probably experienced being deaf and having a speech impediment since birth. He could not communicate or be understood. Yet, this man had true friends willing to bring him before Jesus, ready to plead and beg on his behalf, "Just put your hand on him, and he will be healed."

Do you bring the needs of your neighbors before God in your prayers with such vigor and humility?

Or do you pray the familiar words of Psalm 141, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity.” (Psalm 141:3-4b) In other words, do not incline my heart to join the company or the mobs of wicked people.

Interestingly, Jesus takes the deaf man aside. He takes him away from the multitude. He doesn’t ask the man any questions either. The Scriptures simply say, “[He] put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’”

In one sense, the manner and method in which Jesus heals the deaf man (by touching his ears and tongue) confesses His two natures – He’s true God and true Man. He is physically and tangibly involved with His creation.

But then Jesus sighs, not an audible expression of exhaustion or relief, but a groan of discontentment with creation. So St. Paul says to the disciples in Rome, “We also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8.23).

And this is what the deaf man receives, adoption and redemption.

You also receive this through the waters of Holy Baptism, adoption, and redemption.

Now, many of you recall these words of Jesus from the baptismal rite at Immanuel, “‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened,’” these are not words required for the Baptism to be valid. Instead, they teach that the faithful Christian is one who continually listens and receives God’s redemptive Word through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Gregory the Great, the bishop of Rome in the sixth century, whose commemoration was yesterday, wrote some fantastic words regarding today’s Gospel, “The Spirit is called the finger of God. When the Lord put his fingers into the ears of the deaf mute, he was opening the soul of man to faith through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”4 

Likewise, this occurred for you in Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit is given through the water and the Word spoken into your ears. The gifts of faith are bestowed upon you as a treasure and gift – like the man in the Gospel, you could only receive.

And this leads to a significant difference between the Christian and the unbeliever.

Through today’s Gospel, we see and learn how the ears become the eyes of the heart. The ears hear, and the heart believes. The tongue then confesses this faith of the heart.

Truthfully, if one was to do away with the tongue and the ears, there would be no difference between the kingdom of heaven and this world. Like the unbeliever, you, the Christian, toils, eats, sleeps, and strives through life. But for the Christian, the ears and the tongue are the difference between you and the unbeliever – because the ears listen and receive the Word made flesh, while the tongue confesses His glorious death and resurrection throughout all creation, throughout all the days of life. (Martin Luther)

So what are we to do? We must become better listeners, not just to our friends, family, or enemies – but first and foremost, to God’s Holy Word. Because where God’s Word is present, so the Holy Spirit works and creates faith in each of us – “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

As Paul goes on to say in Galatians, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) The world should see and hear this when we speak and confess our Jesus. Our Savior.

Still, we are not without sin. We grow discontent with the world we have immersed ourselves and the broken relationships our words continue to cause. When this occurs, we should sigh and groan with Jesus. We should lament and beg for God's mercy. And then rejoice because through your Baptism, you have received adoption and redemption. You have been set apart to live as new creations.

So let us put away the noise of this life and turn back to God our Father’s creative Word, listen to His Son, Jesus Christ, who has the Words of eternal life, and pray for God the Holy Spirit to guide you into the way of life everlasting. The way of charity and love. +INJ+

[1] Luther, M. (2016). Luther’s Works: Church Postil V. (B. T. G. Mayes, J. L. Langebartels, & C. B. Brown, Eds.) (Vol. 79, p. 37). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

The Army Ethic and Moral Injury

The Army Ethic and Moral Injury

SGM Noah J. Rogness

United State Sergeants Major Academy

SMC-DL Class 46

SGM Robbie G. Sierra

31 December 202 

The Army Ethic and Moral Injury

The Army Ethic is a multifaceted tool used to unite Soldiers from all backgrounds and walks of life under one umbrella.  Throughout the past twenty years of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army Ethic remains a priority of the military profession.  The research of this paper will use qualitative means to examine the Army Ethic and the potential for emotional injury due to a violation of a person's ethos or moral belief system, or moral injury.

Research Problem

The Army Ethic is an essential twine woven within the fabric of the United States Army.  From learning the Army Values, Warrior Ethos, and the Soldier’s Creed the first days of basic training, Soldiers begin to build an ethical and moral foundation for their career.  As a Soldier’s career progresses, the Army Ethic remains.  However, how a Soldier applies or experiences the Army Ethic evolves with each leadership position and combat mission. 

Throughout time, the Army has experienced challenges in educating and fostering the Army Ethic.  The Department of the Army (2014) addresses the omission and failure to articulate the Army Ethic in an accessible and understandable manner (p. 1).  Despite efforts to update doctrine and policy, challenges remain in applying the Army Ethic in training and combat. 

The challenges of educating and nurturing the Army Ethic in Soldiers go beyond the words of the Soldier’s Creed, “I will always place the mission first, I will never leave a fallen comrade, I will never quit, I will never accept defeat.”  Combat is the arena where the Army Ethic and personal morals collide.  Without appropriate training and ongoing support, the Soldier will become vulnerable to what is known today as moral injury. 

Many soldiers are unaware of the term moral injury, nor do they understand the symptoms that accompany a moral injury.  Psychologists continue to wrestle with a singular definition of moral injury.  However, it was Jonathan Shay who originally coined the term in his book, Achilles in Vietnam.  Shay defines moral injury as “the psychological, social, and physiological results of a betrayal of ‘what's right’ by an authority in a high-stakes situation” (Shay, 2014, p. 182).  At the core of Shay’s definition is a matter of trust. At the center of the Soldier and leader relationship is trust.  Whether it is the leader or Soldier that violates the Army Ethic or deeply held morals, there is an aspect of trust eroded.  This erosion of trust becomes a readiness issue for the United States Army and its ability to fight and win the nation’s wars.

Research Questions and Strategy

For this research paper, a qualitative lens will guide examining the topic of the Army Ethic and moral injury within the United States Army.  The literature review that follows will begin by examining the Army Ethic as it is the all-encompassing ethos of all Soldiers throughout the United States Army.  Additionally, a review of moral injury will follow a byproduct of a violation of the Army Ethic or a Soldier’s ethos.  The following questions will guide the research of this paper: 

1.     What are the challenges for the United States Army in educating and training the Army Ethic among Soldiers?

2.     How does a violation of the Army Ethic or personal ethos generate moral injury and impact trust in United States Soldiers’ lives? 

Literature Review

The Basis for the Army Ethic

The possession of an ethic in war is nothing new for American Soldiers.  The history of the United States of America encapsulates victory in battle and how the young nation achieves victory.  The concept of an Army Ethic was on full display when George Washington stated, “when we took our oaths and donned our uniforms, we did not lay aside our sense of right and wrong” (Zust and Krauss, 2019, p. 45).  The expectation in war with Great Britain is fought consistently with society’s values and respect for the enemy’s human rights.

            The arena of war today blurs the lines of the knowledge of right and wrong.  The fundamental nature of war consistently causes violations of organizational ethics and personal morals.  The emotional scars Soldiers receive live beyond the battlefield and accompany the Soldier on their journey home.  Emotional scars of war are not new; history used various terms over the past couple of centuries to describe what is now known as moral injury, Soldier’s heart, war neurosis, or shell shock, to name a few (Drescher and Foy, 2008, p. 86). 

A lack of training, understanding, and acceptance by leaders continues to surround the concept of moral injury.  A possible cause of these issues is the lack of understanding and training of the Army Ethic throughout the ranks.  Understanding and training the Army Ethic at the unit and Soldier level and how leaders care for Soldiers when an emotional injury occurs will follow throughout this literature review. 

The Army Ethic at the Organizational Level

Every major organization forms a culture through the use of values, ideals, or creeds.  The United States Army is no different.  The Department of the Army wrote (2010), “Army culture is the system of shared meaning held by its Soldiers, ‘the shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize the larger institution over time’” (14).  The purpose of the Army Ethic is to explain to Soldiers and leaders why we conduct and live our lives in a specific manner. 

The Department of the Army (2014) suggests the Army Ethic goal is to motivate and influence Soldiers to perform in a manner that endears a grateful nation (p. 3).  Further, the Department of the Army (2010) writes there are three primary purposes of the Army Ethic: 

(1) establish core principles as guidelines for moral judgments based on a given operation's moral goal, e.g., defense of America’s autonomy and territory or responding to a humanitarian crisis. (2) it must inform operational design and mission command by helping leaders adapt to the operational context by applying the principles of the Ethic (3). It must provide the standards and framework for developing an individual Soldier's character by instilling the profession’s values and virtues. (p. 19)

As mentioned above and in the Army Ethic goals, the purposes transcend the Army organization down to the individual Soldier behind each weapon on the battlefield.  For this reason, a tension exists within the moral complexity of the Army’s ability to remain lethal on the battlefield and demonstrate a strong professional Ethic from the institutional level down to the individual Soldier (Department of the Army, 2010, p. 16).  In other words, success in battle as a nation depends on a strong ethic, both organizationally and individually.

The Confusion of the Army Ethic

Due to the complexities of combat, the United States Army's goal is to have an ethic that avoids confusion.  The Department of the Army (2014) wrote, “The goal is an articulated, accessible, commonly understood, and universally applicable Army Ethic -- motivating Honorable Service, guiding and inspiring right decisions and actions” (p. 3).  Further, the United States Army wants and needs the Army Ethic to drive its character development (Department of the Army, 2014, p. 3).

 Unfortunately, when outlining and defining the Army Ethic in doctrine and policy, the Army failed to provide a clear and understandable explanation.  Anderson (2016) remarked in his research regarding the Army Ethic, “while the 2013 version of ADRP 1 offered a definition and outlined a framework for the Army Ethic, it did not ‘fully describe the Army Ethic so that it is accessible, commonly understood, and universally applicable’” (p. 9).  Producing an accessible, easily understood, and universally applicable ethic is a difficult challenge for any organization.  Still, the mission of the United States Army demands exactly this to achieve success.

            The failure to produce a universally understood and applicable ethic at the organizational level presents a harmful effect on the Mission Command doctrine.  If the values and morals meant to unify an organization are not understandable, then the goal of trust between the commander and subordinate leader will always be in tension.  Further, the lack of a singular ethic bonding the organization shatters the Mission Command doctrine's success at the tactical level (Department of the Army, 2014, p. 5).

            Like the Mission Command doctrine, the Army Ethic molds Soldiers through training.  If subordinate leaders are to be trusted to make the right decisions in the fog of war, training must become instinctively in line with the Army Ethic.  A challenge Sevick (2011) writes in his research, “When it comes to morality and decision making, our Soldiers simply do not conform to traditional rationalist models that emphasize moral judgment gained from reflection and reasoning” (p. 3). Instead, Soldiers act emotionally.  Emotions are an essential response to almost all high stakes situations throughout humanity.  The results either bring a sense of relief and joy or tattoos an emotional wound upon the heart and mind of the Soldier, leader, or commander that outlasts any physical wound of war.

Moral Casualty in the Foxhole

            Military leaders possess an increased understanding of the importance of emotional trauma better today than in past wars.  Yet, moral injury remains a force protection and unit readiness issue.  The Soldiers’ phycological and spiritual compass is at most significant risk when the Army Ethic or morals of their faith are at odds with a violent situation on the battlefield.  Zust and Krauss believe part of the challenge in preparing leaders and Soldiers for the ethical and moral dilemmas is a failure to build moral reasoning into the Mission Command process (Zust and Krauss, 2019, p. 45).  Zust and Krauss (2019) believe the inclusion of moral reasoning within Mission Command training will “build healing processes into post-combat actions that help service members address perceived moral contradictions” (p. 45).

 The human aspect of war highlights the importance of building moral reasoning into mission command training.  Nash articulates war in the following way:

War is a clash of opposing human wills, fueled by emotion and influenced by mental and moral forces as by technology and material factors. It is seldom the physical destruction of people or equipment that brings victory. Still, the destruction of adversary’s will to fight because of the bombs, bullets, and other hardships they endure. Combat stressors are weapons whose targets are the hearts and minds of individual opposing warriors. (Drescher and Foy, 2008, p. 90)

            The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq left a wake of Soldiers deploying and experiencing combat multiple times.  As researchers continue to learn more about the cause and effects of moral injury, they are beginning to redefine moral injury from Shay’s original definition to reflect a perpetuation of war at the human level of combat.  Nash and Litz (2013) defined moral injury twenty years after Shay as “the enduring consequences of perpetrating, failing to prevent, bearing witness to, or learning about acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations” (p. 368).  For Nash and Litz (2013), the aspect of moral injury lies in the “loss of trust in previously deeply held beliefs about one’s own or others’ ability to keep our shared moral covenant” (p. 368). 

            The failure to keep a shared moral covenant not only results in a loss of trust, but Nash and Litz (2013) believe also leads to “shame, guilt, and self-destructive impulses, and their perpetuation because of an inability to forgive oneself for failing to live up to one’s moral expectations” (p. 368).  The question of moral injury turns to, “How is one healed?” Again, Nash and Litz join a choir of researchers advocating the path of recovery begins with the ability to give forgiveness.  Nash and Litz believe the emotional, cognitive, and spiritual aspects of forgiveness are vital to overcoming moral injury and preventing compiling acts of revenge or mental anguish that erodes trust within a unit (Nash and Litz, 2013, p. 371).

Summary of Findings

            The literature review revealed a systematic challenge to understand the Army Ethic throughout the United States Army.  In a review conducted by the Department of the Army (2014), Soldiers and Army civilians were unable to identify or express the Army Ethic with clarity, “Specifically, members across the profession noted that no single document exists to identify and define the Army Ethic” (p. 4).  A failure of this magnitude poses a tremendous challenge for any organization, let alone the United States Army, whose mission is to defend the nation under established values and morals.

            The reality is every Soldier is a moral actor in the realm of combat.  Zust and Krauss (2019) concluded, “All combatants are moral actors because they make life and death decisions influenced by their core values and lethal skills” (p. 45).  The challenge for the United States Army today doesn’t lie as much as it once did in propelling Soldiers to take the life of an enemy if required to; the challenge now is assisting Soldiers once they have taken a life.

As the literature directs, the United States Army now needs to find ways to support Soldiers processing moral injuries.  The mission of supporting Soldiers through moral injury is pronged; first, it requires preparation through training.  Second, it deals with the topic of forgiveness after any given mission.  The Chaplain Corps and other ethical leaders within the United States Army are positioned to assist units train and prepare for the moral dilemmas of war.  The real challenge will be pairing Soldiers with chaplains and mental health practitioners to work through forgiveness for actions taken or not taken in periods of combat. 

Professional Practice 

            The Chaplain Corps and Religious Affairs Specialist possess an opportunity to lead from the front regarding the Army Ethic and moral injury topic.  The Chaplain Corps participates in the United States Army resiliency program, which helps leaders and soldiers prepare for combat’s emotional gymnastics.  However, incorporating a more robust training program geared towards the Army Ethic in combat and recovery will help soldiers deepen their combat preparation, effectiveness, and recovery.  

Zust and Krauss (2019) point out in their commentary, “Leaders can help prevent moral injury and set the conditions for healing. The first step is to equip subordinates with the training and good moral leadership needed to mitigate and resolve their moral dissonance” (p.48).  Further, leaders that embed moral dilemmas within training will prepare their Soldiers to process various moral situations within combat.  In training, leaders can establish boundaries for how Soldiers operate and begin to lay the groundwork for Soldiers to learn how to heal from moral injury and adapt even while combat operations continue (Zust and Krauss, 2019, p. 49).  Chaplains and religious affairs specialists are ready to lead this endeavor. 

            Incorporating chaplains and religious affairs specialists into the fabric of training allows them to assist and advise the commander and other leaders throughout a unit as ethical and moral questions of war arise.  The reality is that all leaders are an image of the Army Ethic and how they prepare and reason ethical and moral dilemmas will transcend their command.  By equipping leaders and providing experts to assist in the Army Ethic and moral injury fields, the Army will receive better-trained Soldiers, prepared and equipped for combat's resilience.  

            Additionally, the Chaplain Corps is uniquely situated to assist with the recovery from moral injury as secular research points to the act of forgiveness as a central tenant to moral injury recovery.  Nash and Litz (2013) write, “Forgiving requires strenuous emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual work, including sustaining compassion, attaining wisdom, and forgoing talionic justice such as might be found in acts of revenge” (p. 371).  Most faith belief systems provide the rituals required to encourage and assist Soldiers in receiving forgiveness. 

In past wars, the ritual has been a critical component to the readjustment and returning to society for Soldiers.  Often by ship, Soldiers made a slow journey and return from combat to the United States.  The time provided opportunities to talk among one another, time to speak with a chaplain or other healthcare workers.  The journey provided time to mourn among fellow Soldiers.  The rapid return home from combat since Vietnam continues to pose challenges for chaplains and religious affairs specialists in caring for Soldiers.

Further, the issue of recovery and forgiveness deepens for members of the United States Army Reserve and National Guard as they scatter to their communities throughout the country post-deployment.  Soldiers in the United States Army Reserve and National Guard are isolated from the Soldiers, leaders, and chaplains that accompanied them on deployment.  Additionally, chaplains and medical staff return to their parishes or medical practices and cannot assist the Soldiers in greatest need.

Ultimately, the Army's goal is to motivate and inspire a shared identity within the Army.  Senior leaders are the stewardship of America’s most precious resource, her people (Department of the Army, 2014, p. 20).  To use a former slogan and concept, leaders must be, know, and do. They were especially surrounding the topic of ethics and morality.

Connecting Moral Injury to Policy

          As mentioned above, one of the most significant leadership challenges to the Army Ethic is the lack of clarity provided in regulation and policy to leaders.  Over time, updates have striven to clarify leaders, subordinates, and civilians alike regarding the Army Ethic.  Yet, clarity continues to lack in written form.

          Finally, the Department of the Army took time to discuss the Army Ethic topic in greater detail in the recent publication of Army Leadership (ADP 6-22).  As understood throughout this paper, trust is the pillar in which the Mission Command Doctrine stands or falls.  The Army Ethic's goal is to build a culture of trust-based upon the enduring moral principles, values, beliefs, and laws that guide the military profession (Department of the Army, 2019, p. 1-6).  Thus, a robust Army Ethic will assist in training up a strong Mission Command culture.

 A review by Army leadership needs to discern how the Army Ethic transcends the multi-domain battlefield.  The rapid expanse of technology in the battlefield of space and cyber domains provide senior leaders with challenges not experienced in their early days of military service.  The Army Ethic applies to these domains the same, but proposes the question, have the regulations kept up to combat changes?

          Further, as the literature review and findings point out, forgiveness is a large part of moral injury recovery.  Equipping the Chaplain Corps to take the lead in this endeavor is imperative.  An update to the Department of the Army pamphlet for Moral Leadership must be completed and released not only for the Chaplain Corps but also for leaders at all levels.  Additionally, it is essential the Chaplain Corps, as the lead on this update, include a chapter within a new Department of the Army pamphlet regarding moral leadership on the topic of moral injury and guiding principles to train leaders regarding resilience and forgiveness.

Conclusion

Addressing the Army Ethic and moral injury will require multifaceted tools and approaches as the United States Army moves into new areas and methods of combat.  Challenges will remain, particularly how the United States Army clearly expresses and trains the Army Ethic.  A clear and accessible Army Ethic is vital to establishing a shared ethos and moral belief system among all Soldiers. 

          Further, when a Soldier experiences harm to their moral belief system, Soldiers need to know how to process and recover from the moral injury experienced.  Chaplains and Religious Affairs Specialists are knowledgeable and able to assist leaders at all levels in preparing Soldiers for future combat's moral dilemmas.  Ultimately, there are tools for equipping soldiers for embracing a strong Army Ethic and processing moral injury, and they reside in ritual and the act of forgiveness. 

          Moving forward, approaching the Army Ethic and moral injury will remain a leadership issue.  Leaders have a responsibility to incorporate moral reasoning into all training.  Leaders have a responsibility to ensure Soldiers do not lay aside their sense of right and wrong but embrace what guides them both in and out of combat, the Army Ethic.

Reference

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Smith-MacDonald, L. A., Morin, J. S., & Brémault-Phillips, S. (2018). Spiritual dimensions of 

            moral injury: contributions of mental health chaplains in the Canadian armed 

            forces. Frontiers in psychiatry, 9, 592. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/

            fpsyt.2018.00592/full

Zust J. & Krauss S. (2019). Force Protection from Moral Injury: Three Objectives for Military 

            Leaders. Joint Force Quarterly, 92 (1): 44-49. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media

            /News/News-Article-View/Article/1737148/force-protection-from-moral-injury-three-

            objectives-for-military-leaders/

Meditation on the Evening of Roe being Overturned

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

On this, the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, we gather in prayer and praise.

But, for nearly fifty years, you have probably wondered if this day would come.

For nearly fifty years, Roe v. Wade had been part of the fabric of American society.

For nearly fifty years, it appeared our prayers had not been heard, that our voices had grown silent.

However, for nearly fifty years, the Church has stood and gathered around the Word of God, praying with sadness for the life of mother and child.

But today is a different day. Today is a day of great joy!

It is a day of joy for families; for mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts, and uncles. For the children that smile and laugh, for a mother's embrace, and for love a father will cherish.

It's a day for us to thank God for the gift of life and His continued assurance that He hears our prayers even as we believe our lips had grown silent with the likes of Zechariah.

However, today our voices do break forth in joy with Zechariah, praising God for sending His Son Jesus Christ into this world to redeem us from the sin that binds us, the temptations of the evil one that lead us astray, and the death that was defeated by the cross.

And still, tomorrow will see new challenges and new periods of darkness.

My friends, while we give thanks for today’s ruling, nothing changes for the Church on earth.

Tomorrow, we still arise and pray for the mother, father, and child.

Tomorrow, we pray for God to guide our feet into the way of peace, the way that does not permit us to be entangled in the foolishness of this world, but rather the way that leads to His Son, Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow, we still confess the comfort of Christ Jesus and the knowledge of Salvation for the forgiveness of sin to a world dwelling in darkness.

And we ask God to grant us His Spirit that we may walk as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8) That we may be bearers of His name, continuing to care for the unborn, the child, the mother, and the father.

For many years, we have felt like ones in the wilderness with John the Baptist, marching every January, crying out, and confessing to what seemed to be no avail. But, today reminds us that God abides with His children and wishes to grant His comfort to those in distress.

As you go forth from here this night, go forth with peace and joy in your hearts. Go forth with praise and adoration. Go forth, praying and confessing the good news of Christ Jesus to all who continue to dwell in darkness. +INJ+

This photo was taken shortly after Roe VS Wade was overturned

Graduation Vespers 2022

***This sermon was given for the graduation of Immanuel Lutheran School 2022***

We've had many conversations regarding our feelings over the past couple of years, haven't we?

Life is full of emotions and feelings. Some of you probably experienced butterflies, some joy, and some laughs even as you prepared to process into the sanctuary this evening.

Tonight is a big night. It's a night you've been looking forward to, whether with excitement or dread, you've been looking forward to tonight.

When I was your age (And I still do this), I would listen to music that matched my "desired" emotional state. The Black Eye Peas had a song some of you might still know. It began like this:

I got a feeling

That tonight's gonna be a good night

That tonight's gonna be a good night

That tonight's gonna be a good, good night

Well, tonight is going to be a good night.

But, tomorrow will also have a mix of emotions, too – joy along with a bit of sadness. At least I know I’ll be sad tomorrow. Sad to see so many of you attend your last day of school at Immanuel.

These days mark the end of a chapter in your life and begin focusing on the next chapter, high school. And guess what, some of the feelings you experience today, you’ll have again around the end of August as you prepare to begin the new academic year at a new school with new friends, new teachers, and new uniforms.

You can’t escape this.

However, you can remember through all of this who gave you the ability to possess feelings and emotions in the first place. Do you remember what we learned in the First Article of the Creed?

“I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.”

Your Heavenly Father gave you the gift to experience sadness as much as joy. However, He did not say to be solely led by this joy and sorrow, but rather that He “Still takes care of them.”

C.S. Lewis wrote,

Don't bother too much about your feelings. When they are humble, loving, brave, give thanks for them; when they are conceited, selfish, cowardly, ask to have them altered. In neither case are they you, but only a thing that happens to you. What matters is your intentions and your behavior.

So, C.S. Lewis writes that your feelings and emotions are not who you are but something that happens to you. Or one may also say, something that becomes manifest through you.

The question then is this, “Who are you?”

Immanuel Lutheran Church and School taught you what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful. But, when you depart the doors of this school, most of all, you should be able to confess in this world and life who you are by saying, “I am a child of God.”

This is who you are, and because you are God’s child, you have access to your heavenly Father.

Our verse of the year is your verse:

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble;

         I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15)

What is trouble?

Trouble lies in the things of life that bind you up, distress you, or give you emotional trials – like being nervous about a new high school, becoming overwhelmed by your studies, or even feeling isolated from friends and family as you go through transitions. Or, for your parents, this idea of trouble may manifest itself as they watch you grow up tonight, asking the question, “have I done what I’ve been called to do for this sweet child God has placed into my care?”

Again, the answer to these questions resides in the verse of the year,

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble;

         I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15)

The Father says, “I will deliver you.”

Your deliverance from the things that bind you rest, not in how you feel, but in your heavenly Father, as you learned from the First Article of the Creed, “He richly and daily provides [you] with all that [you] need to support this body and life. He defends [you] against all danger and guards and protects [you] from all evil.”

And He does this “out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in [you].”

He does this by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die upon the cross for you, deliver you from your sin, death, and all the many ways the devil works to confuse and mislead you.

And this is really the point I want to get across to you tonight, your emotions and feelings are a gift from God. And while they help to process the many changes of life and even celebrate your many accomplishments, you must remember to always be faithfully led by the cross of Christ Jesus.

And should life’s journey overwhelm you, then pray the words of the hymn of the year:

To God the Holy Spirit let us pray

For the true faith needed on our way

That He may defend us when life is ending

And from exile home we are wending.

Lord, have mercy!

Keep these words close. Remember how prayer is the voice of faith, how this faith brings glory to God and how He will defend you, and ultimately, how He is the one who will bring you into His eternal and loving care. +INJ+

St. Mark’s Conference 2022 + Solemn Vespers

Text Isaiah 52:7-10

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Isaiah depicts Jerusalem as amiss, devasted, and full of waste places. The great city is war-torn and crumbling under continued enemy occupation. What hope does Israel possess as they peer out into the mountains that surround and look down upon them? They are a broken and hopeless people.

We are likewise a broken and hopeless people. We live in a world that is continually at war with itself.

If you’ve ever served in the military, you’ve walked the streets of devastation in foreign lands and places afar. You’ve seen the crumbling foundations of bombed-out infrastructure and the sad faces of defeated and oppressed people.

If you’ve lived in a major American city over the past decade (or owned a television or phone), you not only saw but still see the crumbling foundation of society due to riots, the burning of buildings, and neighbors turning against one another – often under the façade of freedom from oppression.

This life is a battleground, and it leaves all of us feeling oppressed and depressed as we too look about, wondering, is there any hope for peace and redemption?

Still, Isaiah says the watchmen stand guard over Jerusalem. What good are watchmen if the city has already been sieged? What good can they do if the very walls they are to stand upon have been knocked down?

Yet, the watchmen see their hope coming from afar, coming from the mountains - from among the rubble. They see a runner, and as He approaches, they hear his announcement of triumph. The lookouts now lift up their voices as they sing for joy - their King and champion has come, and He brings good news of peace, happiness, and salvation.

These tidings of great joy cannot be contained, but look and hear how even the ruins of Jerusalem break forth into singing, the rubble, and waste left from battle and heartache. But, these are no usual ruins. They belong to the Lord. They are His people, His creation. They are you.

You who feel oppressed by the world and rubble around you.

You who struggle to confess the sin that continually wraps you in bondage.

You who stare into the grave of death as one without hope.

But, your hope comes not from within yourself but through the mighty arm of the Lord.

Moses spoke to the people of Israel, “you shall not be afraid of [those who enslaved you], but you shall remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.” (Deuteronomy 7:19)

The Psalmist writes, “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.” (Psalm 98:1)

And the mother of our Lord said, “He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” (Luke 1:51)

The arm of the Lord reveals His magnificent strength and power, as a gladiator shrugging off his cloak as He enters the Coliseum, readying Himself for battle. Those who wish to oppose Him should tremble with fear and anguish, with thoughts of Pharaoh and his Army being tossed into the sea forever etched within their minds.

Yet, the strength of the Lord’s holy arm is most clearly seen when it appears He is the weakest.

Isaiah writes,

“The LORD has made bare His holy arm

         In the eyes of all the nations;

         And all the ends of the earth shall see

         The salvation of our God.” (Isaiah 52:10)

Upon the cross with arms extended, the only Son of the Father, who entered the ruins of this life through the flesh of a child, hung for the salvation of the world. Given into death for all to see and believe.

But it’s hard to believe when you find yourself in the midst of dust and ashes, the depth of sin and death, the chaos of turmoil.

The Apostle Paul wrote while highlighting our reading today from Isaiah:

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

         “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

         Who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15)

How beautiful are the feet of those watchmen among the waste places of Jerusalem? The preachers and pastors who "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:16)

For many of us gathered here today, this is what we are called to do as undershepherds, to be watchmen among the people of God, not only in their times of joy but especially when everything in life appears to be lost.

We are called to bring the good news of God’s peace, as Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) While you are not guaranteed or promised a life free from hostility, through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, the sin that has separated you from your heavenly Father is forgiven.

And this message is the glad and good tidings of God. The devil and his tyranny no longer hold sway over you, God’s children. Evil must cede to the good and gracious will of the Father.

Because you, His child, have been delivered from sin and death. Through the salvation of God, you have been made free in Christ Jesus.

The world around you may be crumbling, society may be cracking at its foundation, but you have been given a much greater freedom and gift. You have been given a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

So, join with the watchmen as they lift up their voices. Sing with all of Jerusalem, for Christ comes to you and grants you comfort and peace in His Word. +INJ+

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church

Alexandria, VA

Prayer Vigil for the Protection of Human Life

November 29, 2021

Text: Isaiah 9:2-7

***The following meditation was given on the steps of the US SCOTUS in the days leading up to oral arguments of Dobbs VS Jackson Women’s Health Organization***

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

As we have entered the season of Advent, we have entered a time when the Church’s posture is naturally turned toward prayer.

Throughout the Advent season, the darkness of night constantly progresses and increases as we all await our Savior’s arrival – His return.

The world likewise resides in this darkness we now experience. It is the darkness of sin, rebellion, and unbelief.

And yet, Isaiah wrote,        

The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined.

We who walk in darkness desire to see this light and have it shine upon us.

For this reason, we gather in prayer for the light to be upon us and those residing in the darkness of life with us.

You see, the darkness affects us all and is uniquely crafted for each of us - our unique struggles, temptations, and needs. The darkness is our restlessness, our rebellion toward God, our need for control, and our sin.

But, the light is outside of us. We cannot bring ourselves out of the darkness, but rather, we must be led by the light into day.

And so, we must look to whom Isaiah foretells as he writes,

For unto us a Child is born,

            Unto us a Son is given;

         And the government will be upon His shoulder.

         And His name will be called

         Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

         Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

What has been placed upon the shoulders of this child and only begotten Son of the Father is the cross and the sin of the world. In turn, what He now gives to us is His peace – His forgiveness.

As Jesus spoke, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

But ultimately, fear is what led us to this night some forty-seven years ago, on January 22, 1973.

That fear continues today in the minds and hearts of each person struggling with the life residing within their womb.

But, we come tonight to these steps of the Supreme Court of the United States of America in peace, and we come with prayer.

Truthfully, it would be easier to have stayed home this evening, but we cannot do that. We know from the Scriptures that we are responsible for praying for our leaders and everyone in need. The apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”

For this reason and in this night of darkness, we gather to pray for those continuing to struggle with their past abortion, for those who continue contemplating the termination of an ongoing pregnancy, and for those who serve in the legislature, the courts, or any other leadership position throughout our land.

We pray for God’s Word to be a lamp to their feet and a light to their path. (Psalm 119:105)

We entrust these prayers to God our Father, trusting the Holy Spirit to work and transform the hearts of man through the Word and Gospel of Christ Jesus. A Word that announces and gives the forgiveness and life we all so desperately need. A word that leads us to the everlasting light of the Prince of Peace.

So, now let us keep our Advent, permit our prayers to ascend as incense, always trusting in the good and gracious will of our Heavenly Father. +INJ+

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church

Alexandria, VA

Oh, the Places You'll Go: My Promotion Speech for Sergeant Major

This speech was given on the day of my promotion to Sergeant Major - June 19, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the promotion ceremony was conducted via Zoom.

Before I begin, I want to thank CH Solhjem for hosting today’s ceremony and SGM Martinez for providing remarks. I am grateful for their leadership and allowing this ceremony to have the semblance of normalcy in very unnormal times, especially for my family who are watching via Zoom.

Just think of all the places you will go the recruiter says to the new recruit as they are on the verge of enlisting in the United States Army. No, I don't believe recruiters are issued a copy of Dr. Seuss' book, "Oh, the Places You'll Go." Still, in many ways, the recruiting pitch may have some similarities. You'll face danger, travel through wide-open spaces, enter the waiting place (which there are many), and hey kid - you will face problems. Am I doing a good job of recruiting future soldiers yet?

My parents knew all of the risks when they signed and gave me permission to enlist at the age of 17, we are a military family. One grandfather served in the Navy, and another was in the Army infantry during WWII. My father was in the Air Force during Vietnam, and my brother served in the Army National Guard in the 1990s. Still, knowing the danger, my parents granted me permission to enlist during my senior year of high school to become a soldier.

Little did any of us know that danger was creeping at the door, and the horrific events of 9/11 would be close at hand. As a 20-year-old specialist, I got the call to go. From the college life to the mountains of Bagram, Afghanistan, the transformation was quick and traumatizing. Honestly, I could have used a little Dr. Seuss back then to give me some false motivation and confidence as I traveled to places I did not want to go.

Instead, Mr. Charles Hire (former NCOIC of the 10th Mountain Division) and the now SGM Eugene Loveless is what I received. These two men inspired me for the first time in my Army life; they were leaders to me. Mr. Hire and SGM Loveless planted seeds in now fading memories of conversations we had almost 20 years ago, that would change my career's direction. To both of you, thank you.

Those seeds planted by Mr. Hire and SGM loveless have not grown on their own. Many leaders have come along throughout my career and nurtured me through the investment of their time, their energy, and frustration, mentoring me and encouraging me to this day. Thank you, SGM Patrick Savage, the retired Master Sergeants Leamon Duncan, and Gerald Holliday. I would be remiss if I did not thank the chaplains that have given me their complete trust and confidence to demonstrate my potential for increased responsibility. Thank you, CH Brian Harki, CH Charles Causey, CH Jonathan Shaw, CH Jeffrey Watters, and CH Mark Nuckols.

Yet, throughout this career, as you meet many people from all over this land and of every walk of life, some things do not change. My family has remained strong throughout my many mobilizations and deployments in the United States Army Reserve. My family has been there for every goodbye and every welcome home. They continue to encourage and support me as I serve today. Whether it was cards, letters, pictures, or emails, you have been behind me one hundred percent of the way. I am grateful for all of you – mom, dad, Luther, Eve, Jay, Luke, and Emma.

One of the places I was fortunate to mobilize throughout my career was the Office of the Chief of Chaplains. I am a repeat offender, I left the first time none the wiser. But, it is here that I met my wife, Becky, in 2009. Since then, we have survived six to eight moves between the Army, seminary, and the parish. Becky is our family's pillar, she keeps our home and family going. She is super mom to Lydia, Samson, Jonah - and the new baby is the luckiest little boy or girl in the world to have her as a mother. Becky is my greatest cheerleader, the best listener, and my most faithful friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving and forgiving me unconditionally.

As so many of you know, as you become a parent, this profession becomes harder. Over the past two years, I have traveled more than any other time in my career. I met a lot of fantastic chaplains and religious affairs specialists serving this Army throughout the world. But, the loneliest place for me has been in the backseat of an UBER pulling away from my children as they wave goodbye from the front step of our home. They did not sign-up for this career, they were born into it. It’s now part of who they are. Thank you, Lydia, Samson, and Jonah, for always understanding when daddy has to leave and for always waiting for me when I come home. I love you!

These three kiddos don’t see daddy as the desk jockey he is today, they see him as a soldier, not any soldier either. They see their father as the one in pictures they peruse in my photo album from Afghanistan in 2002, holding an M16 next to Mr. Hire or SGM Loveless. If you haven’t figured out, Afghanistan is where a lot of change occurred in my life. Afghanistan is where wearing the uniform became a career.

Approaching this new chapter of my military career as a Sergeant Major, I do so with an appreciation for the past and an eye to the future. Research says at least one of my children will continue in the family business by donning a military uniform. As a parent, I want the best leaders for them. As leaders today, we have the responsibility to foster and create an environment that nurtures, cares, and grows future leaders as we have been cared for.

I referenced Dr. Seuss's book today, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” because it highlights a belief in oneself like the old Army slogan – “Army of One.” Dr. Seuss highlights a belief in the autonomy of man. However, in reality, my career has been nothing of the sort. My family and friends have always cared for and supported me. My brothers and sisters in arms have always stood next to me and led me. And my Lord has never departed from me, no matter how alone I have felt. Today is a testament that I have never been alone in my career. The places I go, we go, we go together, and I thank you all for being part of my career in the greatest Army in the world.

Pro Deo et Patria.

For God and Country.

Devotion at LoveX2 Conference

***The below was given as a devotion at a conference held at the Museum of the Bible in January 2020

Matthew 2:13-18

Prayer:

Let us pray: Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth Your praise not by speaking but by dying. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with Your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

In my tradition, December 28th is observed as a feast day in the church year. The feast is that of the Holy Innocents. The feast of Holy Innocents is the third feast in the first three days of Christmas. The first is on December 26th, St. Stephen, who was martyred in both will and deed. On December 27th, St. John is observed, he is a martyr in will, but not in deed. Lastly, on December 28th, the Holy Innocents are martyred not in will, but in deed. It's not the beginning of the Christmas season you would expect, but it has a purpose in preparing the Church for the Christian life.

The feast of Holy Innocents is the day in the church year when the Church has appointed time to remember the slaughter of the innocent boys in Bethlehem. As we read a moment ago, King Herod was a jealous man, even killing his own family members if he thought they conspired against him. When Jesus was born, and word of a new King came by the magi, Herod could have nothing of the new king and sent his soldiers to murder all male children under the age of two. It was Herod's hope that by exterminating these children, he would rid the world of Jesus and further fortify his way of life, his reign as king. So, on December 28th, the Church marks time and remembers these innocent children who died not in will, but in deed.

The date of the first March for Life, January 22, 1974, was not chosen by us. It was given by the Supreme Court ruling. In many ways, I agree with a former professor of mine and believe it would be helpful for the feast of Holy Innocents and the March for Life to be on the same day. But there is a purpose for each observance on their particular day in time.

The three feasts that range from December 26th through December 28th remind the Christian that this life is brief, but more importantly, Jesus has come. In Jesus, we are always being prepared through His Word for the trials and tribulations of this life. We are always looking forward to the day when we will be brought into His eternal presence. For now, this life becomes a life of suffering, bearing one another burdens, and carrying undesirable crosses. The innocent boys who died at the hand of Herod could not defend themselves, but they received the weight of martyrdom, the crosses they carried brought them death. In this way, as we remember the prayer we prayed a moment ago, the holy innocents offered their praise "not by speaking, but by dying." And for our ears and our hearts, this is absolutely not fair and absolutely cruel.

The feast of Holy Innocents continues to be painful still today, children that never saw or experienced life as you or I have. They would not run around and chase one another or learn to use their voices to speak or sing for joy. Instead, these children were ruthlessly put to death for the purposes of power and lordship. What we see in Herod is a conflict that continues today in all mankind. The conflict resides in the heart. It is the conflict of the will of man, good and evil, saint and sinner.

The March for Life is painful, first because we still must march. But it is also painful because we continue to see the old battle and conflict of the will of man raging against the will of God. It is the conflict that first began in the Garden of Eden as the serpent led Adam and Eve into temptation. In the Garden, our first parents placed their will above God's and were led into the belief that they too could be like God. This conflict and desire for power to be like God continues beyond the Garden and beyond the rule of Herod. This past year, news reports from Indiana and Illinois reported another Gosnell discovery of thousands of human remains from abortions in years gone by, children that will never be identified but known only to God. Dr. Ulrich Klopfer was the one at the center of this tragedy. But, for those children that died at the hands of Dr. Klopfer, a conflict already resided in the hearts of the mothers and fathers to be. These mothers and fathers brought what they saw as the troubles of their life, the crosses placed upon them, and their conflict to the hands of Dr. Klopfer. This is a struggle for me to understand. But it also causes me to examine the conflicts within my own life and whether I turn for power and control over them or whether I pray that God would put to death all in my life that is against His will.

The Feast of Holy Innocents gives us hope because of Jesus. He is the Savior promised to Mary, the One who would be born of a virgin and save his people from their sins. Jesus is the One who would take on the flesh of the innocent children that would never speak, yet praise their God by their deaths. Jesus is the Savior whose death would put an end to death and give life and forgiveness to those trapped in the conflict of sin, joy to the downtrodden, and hope to those who are hopeless in this life.

For Jesus, death will come. But His death will be upon the cross, it is not in the manger or the tender years of His youth. We know little of Joseph from the Gospels, but in the Scripture read today, Joseph is the Lord's earthly protector. The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and warns him to protect the child and flee to Egypt. Joseph is not the Savior, he not a king, and for the great work God gives to him, the protection of your Lord, His name is, for the most part, silent within Scripture.

The world we live in lacks silence. Noise surrounds us, it consumes us. The sounds of the innocents will never break into this world. Yet, by the leaping of John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth proclaims to me that the unborn still hear the great promises of Jesus. While they will not praise the Christ child by words, they will praise Him by their deaths. However, the weeping and lamentation of mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers will continue in the silent corners of this world, lamentation and weeping that joins the voice of Rachel at the end of our reading, "Because they are no more."

Today, Joseph provides an image to the Christian Church on earth as the Church is called to protect those who are unable to give voice to their needs. The Church is called to care for those suffering from the earthly wants and demands of this world. It's the supplication of the Church that "our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips." Pray that our life and our faith confess Jesus Christ, "Who is the resurrection and the life." (John 11:25)

As we discuss issues and ideas today, as we ready ourselves to march again this year, let our voices be united in confessing Jesus Christ to those who suffer from conflict within their lives. Let us confess with our lips Christ and His forgiveness to the mothers that will never hold or hush their sweet children to sleep. Let us confess Jesus Christ to the fathers that will never walk with their children and instill the Christian faith upon their hearts. Let us confess Christ to the grandparent that never had the opportunity to share stories of their parents and pass down their heritage. Let us confess Christ to the Herods of this world, those who seek fleeting power and purpose.

The day of Holy Innocents and the March for Life are regrettably, and sadly yearly dates etched onto our calendars. These dates are days of remembrance, but also opportunities for us to confess Jesus Christ to those in conflict and darkness. So, let it be our prayer that God would "put to death in us all that is in conflict with His will that we may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips." Faith that in Jesus, there is forgiveness. Faith that in Jesus, there is hope. Faith in Jesus for He is our Savior and our Life. +INJ+

Let us Pray: Heavenly father, creator of all that is good. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with your will, enliven us with the Gospel of your Son, Jesus Christ, so that we are prepared in both will and deed to live as your true children on earth. We ask this through your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, ever one God. Amen.