How could a loving God ... ?

Today in Bible class someone was discussing a child who had died in a plane crash; those following current events this week will be familiar with it. While we may grieve less over the loss of someone who is old, the death of a child is always seen as a tragedy. And someone in class had been faced with the question, "How can God let that happen?" 

To be clear, the questioner was not directly affected by the loss of the unknown child, but was affected by the fact that we live in a broken world. I don't think we go wrong there to express confidence in God's goodness, in God's love. God raises the dead. 

When we speak to those directly affected: we mourn with those who mourn. When we speak to those not directly affected but who are troubled by the tragedy -- and when we too are naturally troubled by tragedy -- the time may come sooner to remember God's faithfulness to the world he made. 

Making all things new

In this new year, I wanted to ponder the Scriptures that talk about new things. While the book of Ecclesiastes may mention "There is nothing new under the sun," the Bible's overarching theme is about renewal, as the Bible's finale is the promise of a new beginning with a new heaven, a new earth, and God making all things new. Here is a quick look at the main "new" things that are discussed in scripture: 

• a new house is dedicated to God
• with the new moon there would be feasts
• new wine was a cause for rejoicing, and needed special handling
• a new covenant, with a new heart and a new commandment
• singing to the Lord a new song
• a new heaven and a new earth
• in which we are given a new name

Here is a word cloud of verses discussing "new": 

appointed (7) away (9) behold (12) blood (6) bring (6) burnt (11) burst (5) cart (6) commandment (9) covenant (9) create (5) days (5) declares (5) destroyed (5) drink (9) earth (9) feasts (15) flesh (6) forth (6) garment (6) gate (5) give (11) god (20) grain (15) heart (7) heaven (9) holy (5) house (22) israel (10) king (6) lord (35) man (8) moon (28) name (8) offerings (37) opened (6) pass (5) people (6) regular (5) sabbath (16) saying (7) sing (8) skins (5) son (5) song (11) spirit (8) things (9) wine (20) wineskins (8) writing (5)

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Forgiveness in the sacraments: How it relates to Christ's ministry

One thing that happens often in controversies is that people of different views don't understand each others' positions. There are a certain number of Protestants who become angry at any mention of sacraments, and particularly at the mention of being forgiven at the Lord's table or that baptism now saves us. If someone believes that sacraments are human works, the reaction is understandable. But here is what they look like from a Lutheran point-of-view: 

We are saved by grace -- that is, God's forgiving love toward us through Christ. We know that Christ cleanses us and sends us the Spirit by which we call God our Father. So non-sacramental types are surprised to hear that's exactly what we believe happens in baptism. In baptism, the Spirit came on Christ like a dove, and the Father acknowledged Christ as a dear son. In baptism, God sends his Spirit to us too. Scripture calls it a "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." And here in baptism we are joined to Christ's death and resurrection. So baptism is not "another way besides Christ" that we receive forgiveness and new life. It is exactly through Christ that we receive forgiveness and new life in baptism. Baptism is the good news of Christ in a form we can touch and see. 

We know that Christ's death and resurrection save us. His sacrifice was for us, his blood a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. Again, the Lord's Supper is not "another way besides Christ" that we receive forgiveness through his death and resurrection. It is exactly in Christ's death and resurrection that we receive new life at the Lord's Supper, in the new covenant in his blood shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Again, the Lord's Supper is the good news of Christ in a form we can touch and see. 

There are people who honestly, earnestly believe that when we speak of "the means of grace" (Word and Sacrament, to a Lutheran), that we mean grace comes outside of Christ. In fact, we mean more simply that Christ himself, and the good news of our forgiveness, is received when we are baptized and when we receive the Lord's Supper. 

Best of the Blogroll 2024

Each year on this blog, I like to welcome the New Year by recognizing blog neighbors whose work enriched my spiritual life during the year. Here are the best-loved posts of 2024:  

• Common Denominator - Ken Schenck is a prolific blogger and YouTuber, and that's just in his spare time. For a sample, see his 2024 year in review. 
• Conciliar Post is on my reading list because of its work in Christian reconciliation, a longstanding interest of mine. This year they reached their 10-year anniversary and announced the publication of selected conversations from the first 10 years of their blog.  
• Dr Claude Mariottini has gone to a lighter posting schedule this year. He posted about Moses and YHWH's interaction face-to-face. 
• Forward Progress - Michael Kelley is a prolific poster of edifying content. Hiss post about The Surest Way to Resist the Devil was both insightful and humbling. I was blessed by his fellowship-centric post on Three Reasons Why 2 Are Better Than 1. I was grateful for his Biblical faithfulness and clarity about temptation when focusing on the original temptation, "has God really said?" His post on "Three Promises You Woke Up To This Morning" are a welcome breath of good news in a sometimes dark world. 
• Glory To God For All Things - Father Freeman's post showed me unexplored depths on the view of sin as "missing the mark" with his ponderings on purpose, direction, the identity of the target as God, and the identity of the arrow as ourselves. 
• Hyperekperissou keeps up a steady and faithful stream of book reviews, such as a recent book about contemporary monasticism. 
• Meta's Blog - Joe Hinman contributes to the field of answering atheist objections. One persistent area of focus is explaining atonement, in which he advocates for understanding atonement as God's solidarity with humanity.  
• The Pocket Scroll - One of his posts that I loved best this year was on spiritual self-control and tools in the post Join the battle, for you are already in it. In another particularly edifying one, he explored how knowing God informs preaching, and included the gem "Theology is good because it helps us know and love God more."
• Reading Acts often posts on current academic literature in the field of Biblical Studies, and takes it in turn to host the Biblical Studies Carnival such as this recent one (November 2024). 
• Roger Pearse is a standout in the field of ancient manuscripts and related fields. I actually had a chatbot use his site as a reference within the last month, and for an area I hadn't realized he'd covered. Some of his thought-provoking posts this year include The Megiddo Mosaic, and a book review of Saints of Ethiopia, which touches on an interest of mine in the under-remembered heritage of Christianity in many places in the world. 
• Sun and Shield - Martin LaBar posted an intriguing collection of hymns and spiritual songs with imagery of rocks and stones, and a related post on rocks and stones in Biblical imagery. There is a lot of depth in Scripture which God reveals through imagery, and it needs someone who follows the deeper themes and motifs of Scripture and God's self-revelation. There lies some of the "treasure hidden in a field" for those who take the time to look for it. 
• Thinking Christian - Tom Gilson contributes a reality-check about serving in the mission field right here at home. 
• Undivided Looking - Aron Wall continued his in-depth series on comparative religion with a piece on the moral depth of religions. 

Thank you to all Christian bloggers in 2024 for posting informative, uplifting, and edifying content, both the ones I'm aware of and the ones I'm not. Best wishes and blessings for 2025!