Unprecedented Times? It’s Time for a Precedent
Fellow saints at Trinity:
In the last few months, how many times have you heard that we were in “unprecedented times,” or words to that effect? I don’t know about you, but I lost count sometime towards the end of April. Of course, this statement isn’t quite true—while people in the United States may not have
experienced something like this COVID pandemic in their lifetimes, it certainly has happened in our
country before and has happened all over the world. Why have people reacted so strongly
over this virus, as opposed to others in the last few decades?
Frankly, for the world, I truly believe that they’ve seen their “god” fail—the god of science and experts. The English author and Christian theologian G. K. Chesterton is often quoted as saying “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything.” While he didn’t actually say that (an author writing about Chesterton did), the point remains: man is an innately “religious creature,” and he will have a go one way or another. The only question is whether it will be the true God. Revealed in the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, or one of man’s own imaginings. Sorry, you don’t get any points for guessing which one is the more popular choice.
Of course, “science,” the state, the mob, and whatever else is out there are all “jealous gods;” that is to say, they don’t want any competition. That’s why totalitarian regimes have always oppressed the Church, and that’s why we’re seeing an unprecedented hostility to the Church in America these days. No, it isn’t one hundredth of what some of our fellow Christians face in other parts of the world; nevertheless, it is something of which we should be aware.
Please read the article in this
newsletter written by our District’s Rev. Jonathan Lange which summarizes the
likely effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock decision. As with the
court’s other decrees, the initial effects won’t directly affect the Church,
but that day will likely come sooner or later. In the meantime, Christians (and
anyone who agrees with them) will start to find themselves passed over for
promotions at work or even fired, publically ridiculed, and a host of other
societal pressures intended to pressure people to think the “proper” thoughts:
that east is west, that up is down, that men are women, and that Oceania has
always been at war with Eastasia.
Looking at the world and what’s going on, it can seem pretty depressing—even hopeless. What will happen to us—either with our place in society or our health (what with viral diseases running rampant)? Well, I don’t know exactly what tomorrow holds, but I do know WHO holds tomorrow—and so do you. Our Lord Christ Jesus holds everything in His hands; in Matthew 11:27, Jesus prayed “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” After His resurrection, Jesus told the apostles that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him (Matthew 28:18). The gospel accounts are filled with the words of our Lord’s proclamation that He holds everything in His hands—and those nail-scarred hands aren’t going to drop you.
In a world that, if you listen to our national media, seems to have gone off the rails, remember the precedent, the established standard, that Jesus brought about on the cross: you are baptized into His name; you are clothed with the perfect righteousness of Christ; and the Kingdom of God is coming—no matter what man tries to do to stop it.
Hear the words of Psalm 2: “Why
do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set
themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against
his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords
from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the
decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of
me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your
possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel.’ Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers
of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the
Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly
kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” All things are in God’s
hands, therefore we pray, Amen, come Lord Jesus.
Bostock v. Clayton County summary
Rev. Jonathan Lange is the pastor at St. Paul in Kemmerer and Our Saviour in Evanston, and he serves as the Wyoming District’s Marriage, Life, and Family Issues facilitator. This is a summary he wrote regarding the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on gender identity. While the court “punted” on the religious impacts of their decision, this will likely affect people in their day-to-day lives before too long.
Justice Samuel Alito’s dissent, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, listed the many areas of public life that stand to be affected by the Bostock ruling. Here they are in Alito’s own words:
Bathrooms and locker rooms.
Laws allowing the differentiation of intimate facilities based on the categories of man and woman may be voided.
Alito wrote: “The Court may wish to avoid this subject, but it is a matter of concern to many people who are reticent about disrobing or using toilet facilities in the presence of individuals whom they regard as members of the opposite sex. For some, this may simply be a question of modesty, but for others, there is more at stake. For women who have been victimized by sexual assault or abuse, the experience of seeing an unclothed person with the anatomy of a male in a confined and sensitive location such as a bathroom or locker room can cause serious psychological harm.”
Schools and colleges.
Disbursement of federal educational funds may also be withheld to force schools and colleges into banning the differentiation of intimate facilities and dorm rooms based on the categories of man and woman.
Alito: “A similar issue has arisen under Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination by any elementary or secondary school and any college or university that receives federal financial assistance. In 2016, a Department of Justice advisory warned that barring a student from a bathroom assigned to individuals of the gender with which the student identifies constitutes unlawful sex discrimination, and some lower court decisions have agreed.” So now that sex has been redefined by SCOTUS to include SOGI, schools and colleges that receive federal funds may be forced to comply.
Women’s sports.
Sporting leagues designed to allow fair competition based on the categories of man and woman may be voided.
Alito: “Another issue that may come up under both Title VII and Title IX is the right of a transgender individual to participate on a sports team or in an athletic competition previously reserved for members of one biological sex. This issue has already arisen under Title IX, where it threatens to undermine one of that law’s major achievements, giving young women an equal opportunity to participate in sports. The effect of the Court’s reasoning may be to force young women to compete against students who have a very significant biological advantage, including students who have the size and strength of a male but identify as female and students who are taking male hormones in order to transition from female to male.”
Housing.
Federally subsidized communal housing (low income and women’s shelters) may no longer differentiate housing arrangement based on the categories of man and woman.
Alito: “The Court’s decision may lead to Title IX cases against any college that resists assigning students of the opposite biological sex as roommates. A provision of Title IX, 20 U. S. C. §1686, allows schools to maintain “separate living facilities for the different sexes,” but it may be argued that a student’s ‘sex’ is the gender with which the student identifies.50 Similar claims may be brought under the Fair Housing Act. See 42 U. S. C. §3604.”
Employment by religious organizations.
With the narrow exception of workers that the federal government deems “ministers,” religious organizations cannot require that their own employees act in accordance with any distinction based on the categories of man and woman.
Alito: “Briefs filed by a wide range of religious groups––Christian, Jewish, and Muslim––express deep concern that the position now adopted by the Court ‘will trigger open conflict with faith-based employment practices of numerous churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious institutions.’ They argue that ‘[r]eligious organizations need employees who actually live the faith,’ and that compelling a religious organization to employ individuals whose conduct flouts the tenets of the organization’s faith forces the group to communicate an objectionable message. This problem is perhaps most acute when it comes to the employment of teachers. A school’s standards for its faculty ‘communicate a particular way of life to its students,’ and a ‘violation by the faculty of those precepts’ may undermine the school’s ‘moral teaching.’ Thus, if a religious school teaches that sex outside marriage and sex reassignment procedures are immoral, the message may be lost if the school employs a teacher who is in a same-sex relationship or has undergone or is undergoing sex reassignment. Yet today’s decision may lead to Title VII claims by such teachers and applicants for employment. At least some teachers and applicants for teaching positions may be blocked from recovering on such claims by the ‘ministerial exception’ recognized in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, 565 U. S. 171 (2012). Two cases now pending before the Court present the question whether teachers who provide religious instruction can be considered to be ‘ministers.’ But even if teachers with those responsibilities qualify, what about other very visible school employees who may not qualify for the ministerial exception? Provisions of Title VII provide exemptions for certain religious organizations and schools ‘with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on’ of the ‘activities’ of the organization or school, but the scope of these provisions is disputed, and as interpreted by some lower courts, they provide only narrow protection.”
Healthcare.
Insurance companies, nurses, pharmacists, surgeons, and general practitioners can no longer treat patients differently based on the categories of man and woman.
Alito: “Healthcare benefits may emerge as an intense battleground under the Court’s holding. Transgender employees have brought suit under Title VII to challenge employer-provided health insurance plans that do not cover costly sex reassignment surgery. Similar claims have been brought under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which broadly prohibits sex discrimination in the provision of healthcare. … Such claims present difficult religious liberty issues because some employers and healthcare providers have strong religious objections to sex reassignment procedures, and therefore requiring them to pay for or to perform these procedures will have a severe impact on their ability to honor their deeply held religious beliefs.”
Freedom of speech.
Employers, federal and private, are responsible to prevent their employees from speaking in any way, shape, or form which may assert, assume, or imply any distinction between people based on the categories of man and woman.
Alito: “The Court’s decision may even affect the way employers address their employees and the way teachers and school officials address students. Under established English usage, two sets of sex-specific singular personal pronouns are used to refer to someone in the third person (he, him, and his for males; she, her, and hers for females). But several different sets of gender-neutral pronouns have now been created and are preferred by some individuals who do not identify as falling into either of the two traditional categories. Some jurisdictions, such as New York City, have ordinances making the failure to use an individual’s preferred pronoun a punishable offense, and some colleges have similar rules. After today’s decision, plaintiffs may claim that the failure to use their preferred pronoun violates one of the federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination. The Court’s decision may also pressure employers to suppress any statements by employees expressing disapproval of same-sex relationships and sex reassignment procedures. Employers are already imposing such restrictions voluntarily, and after today’s decisions employers will fear that allowing employees to express their religious views on these subjects may give rise to Title VII harassment claims.”
Constitutional claims.
The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment must now include the same heightened standard of review for any claim whatsoever that distinguishes between people based on the categories of man and woman.
Alito: “Finally, despite the important differences between the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VII, the Court’s decision may exert a gravitational pull in constitutional cases. Under our precedents, the Equal Protection Clause prohibits sex-based discrimination unless a ‘heightened’ standard of review is met. By equating discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity with discrimination because of sex, the Court’s decision will be cited as a ground for subjecting all three forms of discrimination to the same exacting standard of review.”
Justice Alito concludes:
Under this logic, today’s decision may have effects that extend well beyond the domain of federal antidiscrimination statutes. Although the Court does not want to think about the consequences of its decision, we will not be able to avoid those issues for long. The entire Federal Judiciary will be mired for years in disputes about the reach of the Court’s reasoning.
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
LCMS Stewardship Ministry
Newsletter Article – July 2020
“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” asked the rich young ruler. Jesus said, “You know the commandments.” And the ruler replied, “All these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Luke 18:18–22)
As we listen to this, one question is raised in our minds: Is Jesus speaking to us also or only to the rich young ruler? In other words, is Jesus telling us to sell all that we have and give it to the poor? As good Lutherans, we answer: No! But why? Why should we not sell all that we have and distribute it to the poor?
The simplest explanation is this: If we sold everything we have, our wife and our children would be neglected. In other words, to sell everything we have and give it to the poor would ignore, even abandon, those whom God has placed in our care. Our money, everything we have, is not to be used solely for the church. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t to be used for the purpose God intends.
Everyone has three stations in life, three spheres in which we live and are to be of service to our neighbors. These stations are the church, the family, and society. We are members of all three of these by birth.
- We are born into the church by water and the Word of God, and our duties to others in the church arise from either our birth into the church or the birth of others by Baptism into it.
- We are born into a family, and our duties to others stem from either our birth into that family or the birth of others into our family.
- Finally, we are born into society, which is simply a further extension of our birth into our family. The duties we have toward other members of society come from either our birth or the birth of others into the same society.
All that we have and all that we are is to be pressed into service for the church, the family, and society. If we were to sell all we have and give only to one, the other two would be neglected, and our duties toward them would falter.
So consider your life and all that you have in light of these three stations. You pay taxes to support and help those in society. You provide food, clothing, and shelter for the members of your family. You save for college for your children.
But the one station that is usually thought of last is the church. Since the needs of the family and society are more immediate, the church is often given what is left over. This is not how it should be. Rather, we are to give of our first fruits – the best from off the top – even as Abel gave the best of his flock.
This requires forethought and intent. It means that you sit down and make a plan for what you will give from the beginning. It means sticking to it even when it seems there are other more immediate and pressing things.
This is all the more necessary now as we enter into periods of time while giving is low due to high unemployment or restrictions on meeting in church to give. If we love God, his gifts of forgiveness given through the means of grace we receive at church and only at church, then we will support the church just as we love our country and our family.
For all that we have and all that we are is given to us by our gracious and giving God. He spared no expense for us and our salvation. He gave up His Son into death so that our sins are forgiven, and we will live. What is more, He provides for all that we need for this body and life. And our lives in this world, among these three spheres of the church, the family, and society, are to mirror the generosity of the one who gave us life in all three by birth.
Don’t let the church, your divine family, be ignored or even an afterthought. The church is nurturing you, bringing you up in salvation by Word and Sacrament for eternal life.
Wyoming District
Round-Up
July 2020
District Website:
www.wylcms.org
“Here I Stand” on the Word in the Home
“...REMEMBERING YOU IN MY PRAYERS…” (Eph. 1:16)
For Rev. Vernon Boehlke (emeritus, Riverton), as he undergoes a new round of treatments for cancer. For Rev. Ralph Jaeger (emeritus, Laramie), health
PASTORS AND CONGREGATIONS
St. Paul’s, Sidney is being served by Rev. Allen Strawn (St. Paul’s, Bridgeport) during the vacancy. The congregation is exploring options for calling and caring for a pastor. Rev. Travis Sherman (Grace, Gordon) is serving Grace, Merriman, NE (Nebraska District) while it considers its future. Our Redeemer, Glenrock and Zion, Douglas called Rev. Sean Smith, who is now considering their call. Our Redeemer is being served by Rev. Jon Olson (Trinity, Casper) and Zion is being served by Rev. Darren Pflughoeft (St. Paul’s, Lusk). Pastor-Elect Patrick Baldwin will be ordained and installed at Christ, Rawlins on July 19 at 4:00 pm. Mount Calvary, Dubois is being served by Rev. Gregory Sonnen-schein (Wind River Lutheran Mission, Fort Washakie and Crowheart) dur-ing its vacancy. St. John’s, Lovell is being served by Rev. Jais Tinglund (Zion, Em-blem and Grace, Greybull), with the assistance of Rev. Ron Garwood (emeritus, Christ the King, Cody). Rev. Tim Schnare (Assistant Pastor, Immanuel, Alliance) is fully retiring as of June 30. He and Diane are moving to Illinois upon his retirement. Diane will assume a new teaching position there.
Here I Stand on Marriage
No teaching or confession of the Marriage Estate today should omit warn-ings about the forces arrayed against marriage, life, and family. Very prominent among these forces is Feminist Ideology/Theology. The present decline of the Mar-riage Estate is a complicated story. There are many sins and false teachings that have contributed to the evils suffered in our homes today. What follows is a sketch of this evil doctrine.
Luther put forth a long list of abuses and errors to be corrected in the church: monastic vows, masses for the dead, church festivals being used as occa-sions for drunken debauchery, misuse of excommunication, indulgences, pilgrimag-es, and the like. He urged care for the poor and sought a solution to the separation of the spiritual heirs of John Huss in Bohemia. The teaching and wellbeing of local congregations was always foremost for him: “In your own parish you find baptism, the sacrament, preaching, and your neighbor, and these things are greater than all the saints in heaven, for all of them were made saints by God’s word and sacra-ment” (187). His proposals include an early confession of the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper: “It is an article of faith that the true and natural body and blood of Christ are present in the natural bread and wine” (199).
Finally, he proposed the reform of education. He suggested returning monasteries to their original function: “What else were the convents and monasteries but Christian schools where Scripture and the Christian life were taught, and where people were trained to rule and to preach?” (174). He proposed forming schools for girls also: “And would to God that every town had a girls’ school as well, where the girls would be taught the gospel for an hour every day either in German or in Lat-in” (206). His proposed reform of the universities included significant changes to their curricula, purifying the classical, liberal arts model and giving special emphasis to the languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew).
His school reform proposals, however, focused especially on the use of God’s Word and the teaching of sound doctrine. “It is not many books that make men learned, nor even reading. But it is a good book frequently read, no matter how small it is, that makes a man learned in the Scriptures and godly” (205). “Above all, the foremost reading for everybody, both in the universities and in the schools, should be Holy Scripture—and for the younger boys [and girls!], the Gospels” (205- 206). And here is where you will find one of his best-known statements on schools: I would advise no one to send his child where the Holy Scriptures are not supreme. Every institution that does not unceasingly pursue the study of God’s word becomes corrupt. . . I fear greatly that the universities, unless they teach the Holy Scriptures diligently and impress them on the young students, are wide gates to hell. (206-207)
District Announcements
•
Father and Sons Retreat, June 26-28, in Casper at the Lion’s Camp (Casper
Mountain). See wylcms.org for registration.
•
Wyoming District Homeschool Conference (Casper), July 14-16. Information is
found at wylcms.org
• Lander Youth Camp, August 2-6. See the Wyoming District webpage (wylcms.org) for information.
THE NEXT ROUNDUP
The
next Roundup will be delivered to congregations around July 20 (August 2020
issue).
Trinity
Lutheran Women’s Society LWML Minutes
Wednesday,
May 13, 2020
DATES TO REMEMBER FOR JULY
