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Becca Edwards | The Voice of Zion February 2020 -- “Can we do it again next week?” the ninth-grader enthusiastically replied when I asked him how his teaching session went. Since kids often learn best when engaged in interactive activities, what better way to get a hands-on experience than to have our ninth-grade students teach kindergartners and first graders! At the same time, this could teach our teenage students valuable lessons: be role models to the younger ones, have opportunity to learn and study God’s Word from a teacher’s perspective, and ultimately prepare them to become active members of the congregation. “Can we do it again next week?” the ninth-grader enthusiastically replied when I asked him how his teaching session went. Since kids often learn best when engaged in interactive activities, what better way to get a hands-on experience than to have our ninth-grade students teach kindergartners and first graders! At the same time, this could teach our teenage students valuable lessons: be role models to the younger ones, have opportunity to learn and study God’s Word from a teacher’s perspective, and ultimately prepare them to become active members of the congregation. In November, students in the Rockford, Minn. congregation took on a Sunday school teacher’s role and taught a lesson to the kindergarten and first grade classes. The kindergarten lesson focused on prayer with the story of Jonah and the whale, while the first-grade lesson was based on thankfulness and the story of Noah. It was a beautiful scene to see ninth-graders animatedly use the gifts and talents they received from our Heavenly Father to plan, create and teach their lessons led by the same Spirit that unites us all. Those that taught said the smaller students were observant and wanted to listen and participate. Student Teachers Tell How Their Lessons Went: Kate L.: I taught a kindergarten class. It was fun and different than a normal Sunday school class. These little kindergartners are just learning these stories and are interested in them. I would like to do it again sometime. Abby O.: I taught kindergarten and really enjoyed it. I learned that small kids are attentive and excited to learn. Claire H.: I taught kindergarten. It was cool to reverse my role for a day and teach instead of learning. I could see the story from a young child’s point of view. Erica F.: I taught first grade. I enjoyed being able to talk to the students and see what they think of the story. I looked at the story differently and didn’t just listen and forget. Sydney M.: Teaching first graders was fun, I would love to do it again. I learned that they’re very smart and fun to talk to. Damon A.: First graders are good listeners. One student asked, “How many of each kind of animal went on Noah’s ark?” A follow-up question was: “Were they boys or girls?” Elle K.: I taught first graders about thankfulness. It was really fun to teach them, I learned that they’re really smart and funny. It was a learning experience for me too. With cheerful hearts and minds, may we all learn from our Sunday school students to serve God’s kingdom by using the gifts He has given us and be willing workers in His congregation. A child often teaches us, how we should be believing. A small one playing has the care of angel hosts unsleeping (SHZ 558:1).

Pauli Kivioja | The Voice of Zion March 2020 -- Installment 13 of 20, translated from the book Christ Is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever: Writings on the Basics of Faith and Doctrine. (Ed. Ari-Pekka Palola, SRK, 2018) The Word and the Sacraments According to Lutheran understanding, the Word and sacraments are instruments of grace and God's special revelation. The instruments of grace are in this order, Word and sacraments, because it is God's Word that makes the water, the bread and the wine into sacraments. God wants to interact with humans through the Word and sacraments. This means the same as saying that God reveals Himself in Christ. Christ comes to us and into us in the Word and sacraments - His instruments of grace. The Bible reveals that in the time of both the Old and New Testaments God has given His Word and confirmed it with visible signs. God promised Noah that He would no longer destroy humanity by flood, and as a sign of this promise He gave the rainbow. The Lord counted Abraham as righteous and gave him circumcision as a sign of the righteousness of faith. The sacrifices of the patriarchs were also, in Luther’s opinion, such visible signs. Thus the main elements of the patriarchs’ worship were, according to Luther, largely the same as today: preaching the name of the Lord (the sermon), calling for help in the name of the Lord (prayer) and the sacrifice (sacrament). The Lutheran church has two sacraments, baptism and communion. They have been instituted by Christ Himself. Luther adhered to Church Father Augustine’s definition according to which the sacrament consists of the Word and the elements with which the word combines. God’s Word is efficacious in both the audible and visible word. Sermon of the Word As important as the Bible was to Luther, he mentioned the proclaimed word as the true church’s most important attribute: “The gospel is a cry of God’s grace that echoes throughout the world.” The Holy Spirit sanctifies the congregation with the Word. The Word is preached, believed and confessed and believers live according to the Word. In the Word, Christ himself comes into a believer’s heart and unites the believer unto himself. He makes a happy exchange with the sinner: He gives the sinner His own righteousness and takes his or her sins on Himself. As Luther noted, “Only in the holy Word of God, the Gospel of Christ can the soul live, be justified and have Christian freedom…let us therefore hold it for certain that the soul can do without everything except the Word of God, without which none at all of its wants are provided for” (On the Freedom of a Christian). According to Luther, God’s Word and God’s people are inextricably linked: “God’s Word cannot be present without God’s people, and God’s people cannot be without God’s Word. Who would preach or listen to preaching if no people of God were there? And what could or would God’s people believe if God’s Word were not there? This is the thing that does all miracles, sets everything to rights, upholds everything and accomplishes everything” (On the Councils and Churches). Jesus Himself preached of the approaching of God’s kingdom, repentance and the gospel. He also sent His disciples to preach repentance and the remission of sins (Luke 24:47). God’s Word and the sermon of the Word are both the law and the gospel. Both of them must be preached because there are two kinds of listeners (The Law and the Gospel). God’s Word must be distributed correctly: there must be a differentiation between the law and the gospel. The true distributor of the actual Word is the Holy Spirit. A minister does not always even know his listeners let alone see into their hearts. But when the Holy Spirit distributes the Word, each person gets precisely that portion that belongs to him or her. Unbelievers receive the threat of the law, in which case they either repent or harden themselves even more. Believers as well as those souls, who the law awakens, who are remorseful and long for grace, receive in the Word the comfort of the gospel unto their salvation. In the hearing of the Word, the differentiation between the law and gospel actually happens in people’s hearts. The Holy Spirit works through the sermon and impresses the Word into one’s heart. He is the One who gives birth to faith by and through the Word. Baptism Baptism is based on Jesus’ Mission Command and Jesus’ own baptism in the River Jordan (Matt. 3:13–17; 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16). In the mission Jesus gave, the proclamation of the gospel and baptism were closely tied together. The practice was that they who believed were usually baptized immediately after conversion. Baptism joins with the promise of salvation, which requires faith: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). The sacrament of baptism is received by faith. Faith saves without baptism, if the sacrament is not available. Meanwhile despising baptism is contrary to God’s Word. The Gift of Baptism In the sacrament of baptism, God calls everyone by name to be His own. The significance of baptism is not dependent on us, for faith and baptism are God’s work in us. In baptism we are received into the fellowship of Christ and the Christian teachings of His congregation. We also become members of the Christian church. The apostles in their letters emphasized the significance of baptism in addition to faith. Paul noted, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26,27). Peter, in turn, explained, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:21). Baptizing unto Death and Resurrection Baptism signifies death and resurrections: immersion in water signifies death and lifting one from the water signifies life. God joins us in unity with Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, not only into his prophetical teaching office, but also into the high priesthood to sacrifice himself as an innocent sin offering. He was baptized into death, which we deserved (Col. 2:12). The foundation for our baptism is the baptismal commandment given by Christ (Matt. 28:18–20). For Christians, baptism signifies the daily death of the old person and daily resurrection of the new person. Its significance is not only momentary. We have been baptized once, but we fulfill our baptism every day in our endeavor, in undressing the old person and in preserving a good conscience. This means that God has made a covenant of good conscience with us (1 Pet. 3:21). The foundation of the baptismal covenant is Christ’s resurrection. Paul explained, “So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3,4). Infant Baptism Nowadays most baptisms are infant baptisms. The New Testament does not specifically mention infant baptisms, but it does mention that the apostles baptized whole families. As Adam’s heir, even a small child carries original sin and thus is not without sin in and of himself or herself. However, the new Adam’s – Christ’s – redemption work applies to all humankind, even children who are examples of a Christian. Jesus Himself said that children believe in Him (Matt. 18:6). A child’s faith is not conscious in the same way as an adult’s faith is, but the child does have faith and trust in God. For example, in his Commentary on Genesis, Luther clearly states that he believes that God in His goodness saves infants who die unbaptized. He recalled David’s child, who died before he was circumcised. David said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23). Already during the time of the early church, it was taught that the significance of baptism does not depend on the one performing it. Baptism need not and must not be renewed. On God’s part the covenant of baptism is in effect once a person is baptized. Repentance means a return to the covenant of baptism. One who repents need not be baptized again if he or she has already been baptized. The Augsburg Confession instructs: “For those who have fallen after Baptism, there is remission of sins whenever they are converted and…the Church ought to impart absolution to those thus returning to repentance” (Augsburg Confession, Article XII). Communion Communion is not just any meal in remembrance of Jesus and His disciples, but rather it is the meal in remembrance of His death. In Luther’s opinion, in the Bible the topic of communion is discussed clearly only in the gospel narratives (Matt. 2:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:19–22) and in the first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 11:20–34). The Words of Institution Open the Significance of Communion According to Matthew, Mark, Luke and Paul, Jesus gave the entire sacrament, the bread and wine, to all His disciples: “Take, eat,” and “Drink ye all of it.” Communion is thus intended in both forms for all believers. Christ died on behalf of all and shed His blood for all. The Communion words of institution became the most important source of Lutheran communion theology. The words differ slightly in different places in the Bible. In Luther’s Small Catechism they are as follows: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He brake it and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take eat; this is My Body, which is given for you; this do, in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to His disciples saying, Drink ye all of it; This cup is the New Testament in My Blood, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins: This do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.” The Lutheran concept of communion is characterized by the understanding that Christ is truly present in the bread and wine. After the words of institution are read, the bread and wine are still bread and wine; however, they are not solely bread and wine but also Christ’s body and blood. This real presence can be simply believed based on the words of Christ without any philosophical pondering on the essence and characteristics of the bread and wine. According to Luther, the words of Christ are as powerful as the words of creation. The Small Catechism defines the Sacrament of the Altar. It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink. In the Reformed Church, communion is merely a meal of remembrance. They do not acknowledge the true presence of Christ in the bread and wine, but rather only Christ’s spiritual presence in the whole communion event. Luther opposed Ulrich Zwingli and stood by the words, “This bread is my body.” Thereby the bread does not merely signify the body of Christ but it truly is the body of Christ. Communion is a mystery (cf. the Greek word mysterion), and it remains as such to carnal mind. But it is intended to strengthen weak faith. For Christians it is nourishment on the journey, and it has great significance in soul care in different situations in life. Christ’s real presence in the communion elements could be described as Christ Himself laying his pierced hands upon us. The Meal of the New Covenant What does the new covenant that Jesus mentioned mean? The letters to the Romans, Galatians and Hebrews also speak of a new covenant, a new testament. In his writings, Luther equated the testament to a promise. It is a promise that includes the death of the promise-giver. The testament of Christ is described in all of God’s promises since the beginning of the world. All the previous promises are included in the new promise, which has been fulfilled in Christ. God has made a testament, so He had to die. He could not do that without becoming a human, i.e. without His incarnation. The word testament encompasses both the incarnation and death of God. In the words of institution for communion, there is the same new covenant promise. The body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine are the sign and remembrance of this promise. Because God’s promise can only be received in faith, communion is also received properly and worthily only in faith. In the Catholic Church, communion is understood as a sacrifice a person gives to God. Christ, however, is not sacrificed again in communion, but rather He has already sacrificed himself once and for all. A person cannot make agreements with or work with God in any way besides believing in Him. Partaking in communion does not give birth to faith. One can, though, partake in communion improperly. This is what happens when one partakes in communion without faith in Christ. The Power of the Keys The concept of power of the keys actually means the authority to use the keys of the kingdom of heaven. This is a duty of service because Christ did not appoint powers, rulers or governments in the church, but rather duties of service. The power of the keys is based on the words of Jesus to Peter and all the disciples: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23). Luther discussed in detail the use of the keys of loosing and binding in his book A Treatise upon the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, also called more succinctly The Keys. I will examine the subject on the basis of that book. Luther defined the keys: “They are an office, a power or command given by God through Christ to all of Christendom for the retaining and remitting of the sins of men…[The keys’] true significance consists only in binding and loosing from sin. It means to ban and to absolve from the same, to excommunicate and to release from excommunication. For thus Christ speaks of it, and he gives the keys for that purpose” (The Keys). The keys are “a public mark and holy possession, whereby the Holy Ghost imparts holiness anew to fallen sinners. And those who will not be converted nor made holy again are to be cast out of this holy people; that is they are to be bound and excluded by means of the keys” (On the Councils and Churches). The Power of the Keys and the Sermon of God’s Word According to Luther, the power of the keys is both public and private. It exists especially for those who have fallen into sin. Luther conceptually separated the power of the keys from the general sermon, the general gospel. It is not, however separate from or superior to the message of the gospel, but rather it is a special way of using the gospel. According to the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, “The power of the keys administers and presents the Gospel through absolution, which is the true voice of the gospel” (Article XII). In absolution, the message of grace and forgiveness is directed at the person individually. Luther explained, “The office of preaching is to proclaim the opening of the gates of heaven to all. But the keys of St. Peter only apply to some, namely to sinners… We want only the common teaching-key. For those who sin we want to have and keep the true keys that bind or loose…For he who does not sin (but who does not?), or insofar as he does not sin, has the common gospel. But he who does sin also has the keys beside the gospel” (The Keys). The duty of the key of binding isto show the sinner his or her sins by exhorting him or her to fear God and compelling him or her to penitence. Meanwhile, the key of loosing encourages one to receive grace and mercy; it comforts and promises eternal life and salvation through the forgiveness of sins. Luther used the Latin name executores for the keys: they are the institutors and executors of the gospel. The keys do not command or exhort to do any works, rather they either remit sins or retain them. Use of the loosening key brings a penitent sinner into the fellowship of God’s grace: “Rely on the words of Christ and be assured that God has no other way to forgive sins than through the spoken Word, as he has commanded us. If you do not look for forgiveness through the Word, you will gape toward heaven in vain for grace, or (as they say), for a sense of inner forgiveness” (The Keys). The Keys and the Congregation The power of the keys is one sign of the Christian congregation. Luther explained: “Now wherever you see the sins of some persons forgiven and of others retained, publicly or privately, know that God’s people is there. For if God’s people is not there, the keys are not there; and if the keys are not there, God’s people is not there” (On the Councils and Churches). So Luther joined the keys to God’s congregation in addition to the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. God functions through His congregation; He remits and retains sins. The use of the keys has great significance in soul care. Christ did not give His keys to His congregation to harm it or burden it, but rather in order to benefit and aid the congregation. Luther stated, “A Christian is often so weak and timid that he or she is not comforted only by the general gospel but needs private absolution.” Using the key of binding seems harsh, but it also protects the congregation. Luther explained: “There are among Christians some uncouth and rude people with arrogant hearts who would grant to pious persons no rest or peace unless the key which binds is present with its rod...Therefore, the strong key which binds is for the pious Christians a great consolation, protection, defense, and fortress against evil people. Also, it serves as a wholesome medicine and has a beneficial effect on evil persons, although it is terrifying and annoying to the flesh. For this reason we should value dearly from the depth of our heart these two keys as indescribably precious treasures and jewels for our souls” (The Keys). Binding a sinner into his or her sin seems unloving, but its ultimate purpose is to liberate the sinner so that he or she could be free from sin. That is why the keys are called the keys of the kingdom of heaven and not the keys of perdition. Because it is a question of reaching heaven, the keys must contain within them Christ’s blood, death and resurrection, by which He has opened heaven for us. The office of the keys is a high, divine office that grants souls righteousness through the forgiveness of sins. Use of the Keys Instructions for the correct use of the keys is given in a Bible portion called the Church Law of Christ (Matt. 18:15–18). This Christ-given order must be followed. Luther explained, “How then shall we proceed to use the keys rightly so that what is done is valid in God’s eyes? In Matt. 18[:15–17], you have a definite text in which Christ himself describes the office of the keys. You cannot go wrong if you follow his instructions. But if you do not, and instead take a novel and peculiar path of your own, you can be sure that you will err and that you are not in possession of the true keys” (The Keys). Especially in the case of binding it is important to proceed according to the Christ-given order: “In the biblical passage you hear that we must deal with certain public sins, committed by persons who are known, and with cases where one brother sees another commit sin. Furthermore such sins are supposed to have been punished first in a brotherly manner, and finally established as such by the whole congregation” (The Keys). Luther strongly criticized the practice whereby the Pope could ban or excommunicate a person with a papal bull (public decree). The congregation must not be bypassed: “I call it a devil’s and not God’s ban, contrary to Christ’s command, when people are cursed with the ban sacrilegiously, before they have been convicted in the presence of the assembled congregation… I am saying all this for the sake of the congregation. In dealing with one of its members who is under the ban it should be sure of the reason it thinks him to be deserving of excommunication as the words of Christ in our text direct. Otherwise the congregation might be deceived in imposing a ban which is false, thereby dealing with a neighbor unjustly” (The Keys). Luther further illustrated this matter with Paul’s example. Although Paul was an apostle, he did not want to take it upon himself to ban from the congregation a man who lived with his stepmother contrary to God’s Word. Rather, Paul left the matter for the congregation to take care of (The Keys; 1 Cor. 5:1,4). No individual can bind a Christian who is in the fellowship of the congregation, because said individual may err. Use of the key of binding must proceed according to the Church Law of Christ. The keys are closely connected to God’s Word, so they must be used only in accordance with God’s Word. “Truly where the Word of God is not found the keys do not remain either. The keys want to be where God’s Word and the church are, or else they are no keys” (The Keys). The prerequisite for binding is that actual sins, sins contrary to God’s Word, have been committed: “The real Keys [the Keys of Christ and His Church] do not concern themselves either with imaginary sins and virtues as do the last two keys [the pope’s keys]” (The Keys). The effectiveness of the keys is not determined by the sinner’s penitence. Human remorse is always imperfect. The forgiveness of sins is always pure grace of God based on Christ and His work. “You should, indeed, repent. But to make repentance the basis of the forgiveness of your sins and of corroborating the work of the keys, is to abandon faith and deny Christ. By means of the key, he will forgive your sins, not for your own sake but for his own name’s sake, out of pure grace” (The Keys). General Priesthood and Special Office Luther rejected the notion that ordination into priesthood was a sacrament. He lamented that this understanding had caused an irreconcilable conflict to separate ordained ministers and lay ministers from one another. According to Luther, all Christians are priests in like manner and the office is given to some only with the consent of others. He referred to Peter’s words stating that all Christians are partakers of the royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9). “Therefore we are all priests, as many of us as are Christians. But the priests, as we call them, are ministers chosen from among us, who do all that they do in our name. And the priesthood is nothing but a ministry, as we learn from 1 Corinthians 4:1, ‘Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God’” (On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church). Luther considered preaching the priest’s most important duty. They are called pastors (shepherds) because they are to shepherd or teach the congregants. The office of the priest is to preach, to serve with the Word. As such, it is a valuable task. The priesthood is serving with the word of the gospel, not with the word of the law. Luther meant by this that the gospel is the main message which the priest must preach; the law is subject to the gospel. According to Lutheran confessional writings, the office of teaching the gospel and distributing the sacraments is given to the congregation. Each Christian has an equal right to the Word and sacraments, but it is not right for anyone to use this power publicly except as called by the congregation. The entire congregation is thus the spiritual priesthood and it as an entity bears responsibility for spreading the gospel. This is also the basis for installing a servant of the Word. The preacher is chosen, called and sent by the congregation. Two Meanings of the General Priesthood The concept of general priesthood appears in Luther’s writings in two different meanings. It first appeared in his criticism of the Catholic doctrine that a mass is a sacrifice and of the Catholic understanding of the priesthood. Luther considered the Catholic notion, according to which the priest’s most important duty was to daily sacrifice Christ as an atonement sacrifice on behalf of the living and dead, an abomination and a mockery of Christ’s already completed sacrifice (The Misuse of the Mass). The Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament was abolished when Christ fulfilled His atonement work. Christ is the High Priest of the New Testament. According to the New Testament, all Christians are part of Christ’s priesthood. There is no longer a special sacrificial priesthood. Every Christian as a partaker in the royal priesthood has a duty to thank, pray and preach of Christ, who has saved him or her. At the same time, Luther made it clear that there must be order in the congregation. Men who are capable of the task must be called to serve with the Word and sacraments. The congregation cannot live without God’s Word. If it does not have actual preachers and priests, it can call and install such individuals that are able to serve with the Word of God (Letter to the Bohemian Brethren). In its other meaning, the concept of general priesthood appears in the understanding that a Christian is a priest in all that he or she does because he or she is by faith a partaker in Christ’s priesthood. The general priesthood is practiced in everyday life, each one in his or her own calling. The Christian considers his or her daily work as a duty given by God, a calling, in which faith praises God and helps one’s neighbor with good works. A calling is a priestly function in which one brings an offering of thanksgiving to God and an offering of love to one’s neighbor and all this is done voluntarily in faith. All of this service is laborious, but one mustn’t shirk the cross of one’s calling, for the cross is that which makes the calling a true priestly sacrificial worship. Luther’s view of everyday life has a bright, bold and cheerful tone. In this view, a free person lives his or her everyday life and performs priestly duties in his or her calling, free from the guilt of sin and a bad conscience as well as all attempts to attain salvation through his or her own works. In Christ he or she has received by grace as a gift all that he or she needs to gain eternal life. Bibliography Luther, Martin Augsburg Confession. Commentary on Genesis. Original work ”In primum librum Mose enarrationes” 1535–. Concerning the Ministry. Original work ”De instituendis ministris Ecclesiae” 1523. Defense of the Augsburg Confession. The Law and the Gospel. Martin Luther’s First Antinomian Disputation. Original work "Die erste Disputation gegen die Antinomer” 1537. The Misuse of the Mass. Original work ”Vom Missbrauch der Messe” 1521. On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church. Original work ”De captivitate Babylonica ecclesiae praeludium” 1520. On the Councils and Churches. Original work ”Von den Konziliis und Kirchen” 1539. On the Freedom of a Christian. Original work ”Von Freiheit eines Christenmenschen” 1520. Preface to the New Testament. Original work ” Das newe Testament Deutzsch. Vorrede” 1522. Small Catechism. A Treatise upon the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Original work ”Von den Schlüsseln” 1530. Prenter Regin. Uskonpuhdistaja Martti Luther. Kirjaneliö 1982. Wisløff Carl Fr. Tätä Luther opetti. Suomen Raamattuopisto 1985.

The Voice of Zion March 2020 -- The way doth lead to perfect bliss, but a way of pain it is – refrain from SHZ 77. We are living the time of Lent. Lent is a time of preparing for Good Friday and Easter, just as Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas. Before Easter comes, we live the holy week, when we observe Christ’s suffering and the path He trod as He bore His cross to Golgotha. Easter begins on the morning of Easter Sunday, when we celebrate Christ’s victory over death. Our Christian faith is based on Jesus’ redemptive work and resurrection. Easter, the celebration of that resurrection, is Christianity’s oldest and most important holy day. As regards the religious holidays we observe in modern-day life, it appears Christmas has outpaced Easter as a holiday in society and perhaps even in our midst. Why is this so? Christmas is a festival of light and joy during the darkest time of the year. We gladly celebrate the innocent Infant, the fact that He was born so He could save us. We recall the dramatic birth in a barn, the celestial news-bringers, the shepherds, the star, the Magi. We sing, we light candles, we host a host of festivities, we exchange gifts, all to symbolize the arrival of light into this dark world, the greatest gift from God. Meanwhile, Christ’s suffering, His bloody brow, the stripes beaten into His back, the nails pounded through His extremities and His lonely death in agony on the cross are moments that are hard to celebrate and emulate with festive symbols. Furthermore, we know we must acknowledge on a personal level that it was I who caused that pain and suffering. Jesus died because I cannot live without sin. Perhaps this is one thing that has diminished for many people the importance of the greatest Christian holy day: they do not wish to be reminded of sin and its consequences. It may be easy to embrace angel-song, starlight and a newborn baby. But pain, blood and death are not so easy to embrace. We can comprehend a human birth, but a foretold death and especially rising from the dead are things that surpass our human comprehension. Fortunately, we do not need to choose between these two periods of time in our church calendar. There could be no Easter without Christmas, and without Easter, Christmas would have no meaning: we would have no reason to celebrate the birth of Him who was born to save us if that salvation didn’t happen. Without birth and life, there is no death. And without Christ’s death, there would be no resurrection, no eternal life. Easter and Christmas are inseparably intertwined. Both are parts of God’s salvation plan. Easter is the center of our church calendar, a holiday from which we count days and weeks forward and backward. It encompasses the deepest, most profound message of Christianity: Christ’s resurrection from the dead. God raised Christ from the dead to complete the redemption of all the world. In doing so, He made us righteous, heaven-acceptable. He opened the way to eternal life. Apostle Paul summarized the significance of Easter when he wrote that our preaching and our faith would be in vain had Christ not risen from the dead (1 Cor. 15:14). It is therefore fitting and proper that in these days and weeks leading up to Easter, we pause and quietly reflect on what Christ has done for us: had He not died and risen from the dead, we would have no hope of heaven. May we remember this and observe this in our individual lives and when we gather with others. Bible texts, other Christian writings and beautiful songs and hymns of the season can all help bring us closer in our hearts and minds to the events leading to Easter. In reflection and prayer, we can travel with Christ, step by step, as He lived the final excruciating days of His life. We can feel an inkling of the bitter feeling of being completely alone and rejected by God that Christ needed to suffer in order to atone our sin. And we can remember the glory of Christ’s victory over death! Easter, like Christmas, is a celebration of joy and light. Christ went to heaven in glory and left us with His testament: the Holy Spirit and the living gospel, which sustains us as we await His second coming, and which gives us hope of eternal life thereafter. Each of us can believe that the heavenly gifts Christ earned for me are mine when I believe that they are true for me personally. No matter the depth of our sorrow over our sins, we yet fall, again and again. Easter offers the weary, sin-fallen one a place of rest and comfort. We can lift our gaze from our own sinfulness unto the righteousness that God prepared. Like doubting Thomas, we too this Easter can rest in the company of our Savior, who comes to us in His Spirit and in His Word. We can feel refreshed and strengthened in faith and acknowledge: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Your soul has received from His loving gaze the warmth and the splendor of heaven’s rays and the Sabbath’s eternal peace (SHZ 99:3).

Wayne Kallio | The Voice of Zion March 2020 -- Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face: that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. – Matthew 6:16–18 In these three verses at the center of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), Jesus teaches His listeners about fasting. One may fast at any time, but the period of Lent leading to Easter was – and still is in some Christian churches – the time when most fasting occurs. It is traditionally a time of penitence and solemn remembrance of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection at the time of Easter. Three Sets of Instruction Our text begins with “moreover,” which indicates that the teaching must be an addition to something Jesus had previously spoken. So, if we read from the beginning of the sixth chapter, we make an interesting discovery. There are three parallel segments in which Jesus gives the same instructions, with similar examples, in relation to three different behaviors: the giving of alms, praying and fasting. Surely then we realize that this teaching about fasting must be a much deeper matter than marking one’s forehead with ashes or refraining from most food during the days leading up to Easter, as was common among the Jewish people. Let us learn more from the verses preceding our text. “Take heed,” Jesus warns in verse one, “that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them…when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.” When in verse five he addresses the manner of praying and teaches the Lord’s Prayer, He tells His listeners, “When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of streets, that they may be seen of men.” And finally, in discussing fasting, He says, “When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast.” Worship in Humility Through repetitive words and images, the parallel sentence structure and by contrasting desired actions to those done by hypocrites, we understand that Jesus is teaching His listeners – and us – how to conduct ourselves in all forms of worship. We should behave and worship in true humility, true thankfulness and praise to God, with true righteousness of the Holy Spirit. We should avoid that which looks good to others or that which is self-righteous behavior. Jesus teaches us to reject false humility, self-aggrandizement, self-love, self-reliance, self-accomplishment and self-understanding. Such behaviors, Jesus makes clear, are hypocrisy; they gather praise to oneself rather than offer praise to God. Jesus assures His listeners that God is not fooled by such behavior. He states three times how “they have their reward.” This means that they have sought praise and admiration of men and they have received it. And that is all they will receive. Those who worship in truth and righteousness, on the other hand, need not display it openly, but rather “thy alms may be in secret: and thy Father…seeth in secret.” This clear connection between the Father and His true follower is repeated word for word in regard to prayer: “pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy father…seeth in secret.” And once more, in relation to fasting, the same advice is given: “appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy father which is in secret; and thy Father…seeth in secret.” God knows the true heart of faith. He sees beyond the obvious, beyond appearance and into the person’s very heart and soul. An Open Reward A final repeated phrase is a very comforting promise to the true worshiper and the true believer: “Thy father…shall reward thee openly” (v. 4,6,18). The reward, we know, is not the recognition or admiration of other people, but rather the experience of peace, joy and love from God, our Father, here on earth and once eternally in heaven. Is it not then clear in our text that fasting is not simply a physical action or learned behavior, but rather a matter of the heart? It is not abstention from food or eating sparingly as a religious observance, but rather a quiet preparation of the heart to observe and honor the Easter Story in its full significance: that Christ suffered and died on the cross for me and all humankind so that we may be reconciled with God, our Father and giver of life, both temporal and eternal. It is endeavoring to resist sin, to put sin away and to travel with a clean conscience in the kingdom of God. That is what Jesus, so effectively through repetition, teaches us here.

Harri and Elina Vahajylkka | The Voice of Zion April 2020 -- The Bible does not mention godparents, but the concept of godparents has existed since the time of the early Christian Church. At that time, it was mostly adults who were baptized, and one person was chosen to support the newly baptized in his or her Christian life and orient him or her to the doctrines of faith. Nowadays, the primary task of a godparent is the same. The main responsibility of Christian upbringing has always been given to the parents. The godparent’s duty is to support the parents in that responsibility. Who to Select for a Godparent? When we have pondered who to ask to be godparents for our children, we have most of all desired that the godparent be a believer. Through faith he or she thus has the Holy Spirit, which is the best teacher in matters of faith. As Jesus told His disciples: “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). We have not considered it so important that a godparent be a close relative but rather that the person would be close enough to us that we know him or her from the heart. We have also thought that the godparent should be one who willingly accepts this responsibility. We have not looked for the perfect person for a godparent but rather for one who could serve in this duty with his or her own gifts. Formally speaking, the godparent must have received adequate baptismal teaching. In practice, this means the person should have completed confirmation school. More important than formal teaching is that there is living faith in the godparent’s heart, faith that can be related to the godchild. Speak Simply and Pray Providing a Christian upbringing for a child may seem challenging, even difficult. How have you handled this task? I guess that not many of us have kept actual lessons for our godchildren. I think that this instruction is done more as part of daily life. When we see our small godchild, it is good to remind the child again and again that we are his or her godparents, that our relationship is something special. We can remember the godchild with small gifts, by getting to know him or her personally and by helping the child get to know us. I am happy when I hear that our small godchild William has often recognized me at services when I have served at the pulpit. He willingly comes to greet me and sometimes dares to sit in my lap. When a child grows up, we can perform our role as a godparent by visiting with him or her. It’s nice for godchildren to hear that we have been present in their life from a very early age. The most important part of Christian upbringing may be that the child notices that the gift of faith is most important in the godparent’s life as well. Prayer is a gift, a tool that the godparent might use most often in performing a godparent’s duties. God hears the prayer of a believing godparent, even if the godchild lives far away, even on the other side of the world. The godparent’s prayer is sometimes only a thought or a wordless sigh. Still, we as godparents wish to remember our godchildren in their different ages and life situations. Duty Remains throughout Life The duty of a godparent is a lifelong task. As young ones and as adults too we remember our own godparents. We may keep a more regular connection with some of our godparents, and some of our godchildren, than with others. We may be more involved with our godchildren in their early lives and less often later on. We might go to see the new baby, we participate in the baptism, we sometimes attend the young one’s birthday parties. Adolescence and the time of confirmation school are also important times in the godparent-godchild relationship. As the child grows, childhood faith becomes personal faith. Christian Doctrine teaches that God calls a person in the time of youth. The young person ponders his or her own faith and relationship with God. It is a sensitive time in many ways. We can pray for God’s help that we would be able to encourage our godchild to keep faith and a good conscience. A cross or the Holy Bible as a gift after confirmation school reminds of the most precious gift that a person can own – faith according to the Bible and the salvation offered by Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection. Even as an adult, a godchild may want to ponder the big questions of temporal life with his or her godparents. Perhaps he or she dreams of a certain occupation or a spouse and a family. These dreams and expectations are safe to share with a believing godparent. At that time, it is good to encourage the godchild to trust in God’s guidance. It is also good to do the same when the godchild faces disappointments and trials in life. Personal Encounters How can we care for the relationship between a godparent and a godchild? It can be done by reserving time to meet, by traveling together or by keeping contact in another way. When I was traveling a lot for my work, I often stayed at my godparents’ home. There we visited a lot about life and faith. This was important even for an adult godchild. As a minister I have been able to serve our mutual godchildren by officiating at their weddings. I have experienced this as a position of trust and it has brought great mutual joy. Together we have been able to witness how God has blessed this child’s life in a new way. I have also met my own godparents at the communion table where I was able to serve them with the Lord’s Supper. This was a very memorable moment. Eventually comes the moment when we have to say goodbye to our godparent for the last time. Around the casket of our own godparent we feel grateful for the support and guidance we have received. We don’t even know how often our godparent has remembered us in prayer and in thoughts. Still we can experience that those prayers along with visits with our godparent have carried us to this day. Special to Each Other Pauliina Hillukka | The Voice of Zion April 2020 -- Today I got to make a very nice phone call. For a number of days I had felt joy that I would soon call this dear friend. My husband and I had decided that we would ask her to be our newborn baby’s godmother. It was wonderful to hear how happy this made her. We have already had the opportunity to select godparents for six children. Our most important criteria have been that the godparents are believing and are close to our family. I am very thankful that God has blessed us with a group of friends from which we have always been able to easily find suitable godparents. We have always had one request for the godparents: that they would remember the godchild in prayer, and also us parents, that we would be preserved in faith. At its best, the relationship between a godchild and godparent is life-long. I have been able to upkeep a close relationship with my godparents since I was a small child. I barely remember birthday or Christmas gifts, but what I do remember from my childhood and what I still feel is that I am special to them. I have considered my own godparents a good example for me. Visits in their home about life, the way and the journey are precious memories I carry with me. I have been called into the role of a godmother twenty-two times. Each time the duty has been a welcome one and I have accepted it gratefully. It is easy to be happy about small godchildren, and I feel that they are important examples to me of a child’s faith. My oldest godchildren are entering their time of youth and I pray to God for wisdom to help them when the need arises and to walk alongside them in life. O Jesus, keep our children within Your sweet embrace and journey with them daily, and shield them with Your grace. These arms are Your blest kingdom in which You lift and bear, this home that You provide them where they receive Your care. These words of song of Zion 428 contain my greatest wishes as a godmother. That the heavenly Father would protect all my godchildren so that they would remain as God’s children and would once make it to heaven. This wish has already come true for two of my godchildren. Along with sorrow and longing, I feel great thankfulness that they have reached heaven’s home. I Hold Them in My Heart Lori Loukusa | The Voice of Zion April 2020 -- My first godchild was a baby brother to one of my best friends. He was from a believing home where I as a teenager had spent many days and even nights with this busy and happy family. I remember feeling so excited that these special parents in my life had asked me for this duty. My second godchild was the cutest baby girl, the firstborn to a young couple I had gotten close to, also as a teenager. I visited them often – we had many precious visits. When I look back at this time, however, I realize I had no idea then how special and important of a duty this actually was, to be a godmother. And how I later would feel so inadequate, knowing I had fulfilled this duty so poorly. When my husband and I got married, we each inherited a few godchildren. Our first godchild together, my oldest nephew, was born one month after we were married. Life then got busy and one by one our own children were given as gifts from God. Yet it warmed my heart each time we were asked: Will you be godparents (or like we sometimes say in Finnish – kummis) for our little one? These were all special times and all special godchildren, yet our duty as godparents was often lost in the busy shuffle of life. I remember wondering when I got a package together to give a dear godchild for a confirmation gift: does he even know us? Does he even remember that we are his godparents? It was humbling to admit that this was a possibility. We realized after some years that a little Christmas gift, though it adds to the hubbub of the already-busy season, helps to create a bond between our godchild and my husband and me. I remember too how special it was when godchildren remembered us with school pictures, sometimes a little handmade gift. We have a precious letter in safekeeping, written in a little girl’s handwriting, sent to Pentti after he suffered a stroke years ago. And just last year, when we had a misfortunate car accident, an adult goddaughter sent a card: I’ve been thinking about you. Godchildren bring great joy, but sorrow can come as well. Angels came suddenly to take our little godson, just under three years old, from his loving family. His parents and his siblings were left with sorrow and longing and a huge empty place. Their family’s photo on the dining room wall spoke to me through the years when we visited this home. My eyes were drawn to our cute little godson, reminding of the sad day we heard the news of his death. Yet the photo spoke to me too of God’s great love and care, that He has a plan for each of His own – even when we don’t understand. And a little one – who will never know sin or temptation – is safe in heaven. Our oldest godson, our nephew – a believing husband and father – died from cancer almost 41 years after we held him in our arms on his special baptismal day. We shared in his family’s sorrow, yet we rejoiced that his suffering had ended and he had received the greatest victory anyone could ever receive. We remember his family with many prayers. Another married godson and his wife, who live far away, also lost a young son. When we had a chance to see them in our home congregation some months after his death, words were weak to express our sympathy and let them know we remembered them in prayer, yet we were thankful God gave this opportunity. When a dear goddaughter denied living faith and later married, we wondered: should we give her a Bible for a wedding gift? Would she know that we remembered her and prayed that God’s Word could also touch her heart? I remember not knowing what we should do. My prayer today is that God will continue to help me, my husband – and all of us – to remember this God-given duty of being a godparent, to carry these dear ones in prayer and in our weak ways endeavor to help them on their way to heaven. I pray that they can overlook my many shortcomings and know that if I haven’t personally reached out to them as I would wish, I still hold them in my heart. Discussion Points What kind of memories do you have of your own godparents? What were your thoughts when you were called to serve as a sponsor or godparent? What do you think are the most important things about being a godparent? How can you support your godchild temporally and spiritually? Share teachings that you have received and mutual experiences with your godparent. What does a Christian upbringing mean to you?

Hannu Kallunki | The Voice of Zion April 2020 -- Installment 14 of 20, translated from the book Christ Is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever: Writings on the Basics of Faith and Doctrine. (Ed. Ari-Pekka Palola, SRK, 2018) The law and the gospel are two central concepts in the Bible. The law declares God’s righteous will, and the gospel is the joyous message of Jesus Christ and His atonement work. The relationship between the law and gospel is central to the doctrine of how God justifies a sinful person and how the person remains righteous, i.e. acceptable before God. God Gave His Law through Moses The book of Exodus describes in detail how God gave His law. He appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai and spoke to him amid fire and smoke (Exod. 19). God dictated to Moses the law of the Ten Commandments and commanded him to deliver it to the people of Israel (Exod. 20). The Ten Commandment Law contains all that God demands of a person in relation to Him and in relation to one’s neighbors. In the law, God revealed His holy and righteous will and His commandments for humans and how they should live. The first three commandments deal with people’s relationship with God. The final seven commandments govern life alongside other people. The Ten Commandment Law was the constitution of the nation of Israel. It remains the foundation of Western legislation and values. The Law Demands Perfection In the language of the Bible, the law is more than just commandments and prohibitions. It expresses God’s unconditional demand on humans. The law demands perfection. Mere outward observance of the law is not sufficient; rather fulfilling the law requires that the mind and heart completely consent to what the law demands, every moment and in all things – even in one’s thoughts. Jesus said that one who is angry at his or her brother has already murdered the brother, and one who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her (Matt. 5:21–28). The law is spiritual but humans, on the contrary, are corrupt, sold into slavery of sin (Rom. 7:14). Not one person can fulfill the law of God, which remains valid until the end of the world. According to our Savior’s own words, not “one jot or one tittle” will disappear from the law (Matt. 5:18). The law of God is not bound to time and thus does not change as people or humankind change. Humans Corrupted by the Fall into Sin God created humans in His own image. God’s creation work was perfect, and in paradise humans had a direct connection with their Creator. God spoke directly to the people and they had complete knowledge of God’s will and also the ability to fulfill it. The fall into sin completely corrupted the divine nature that existed in humans. God’s will became inclined to evil. As a result of the fall into sin, original sin exists in every person, for which the person himself or herself does not have the ability or the desire to fulfill God’s law. The Duty of the Law The law awakens knowledge of sin in a person who has become separated from fellowship with God. It also teaches the person to know what sin is (Rom. 3:20; Rom. 7:9–13). The law curses a person, strips the person of all his or her own possibilities and reveals him or her to be faulty, a transgressor before God. According to Luther, “the proper and the principal use of the law is to reveal unto a man his sin, his blindness, his misery, his impiety, ignorance, hatred and contempt of God, death, hell, the judgment and deserved wrath of God” (Commentary on Galatians). The law shatters one’s trust in one’s own strength and misconceptions about oneself. The duty of the law is to awaken a person living in unbelief – whether in ungodliness or self-righteousness – and lead the person to Christ and His congregation to receive grace and forgiveness. Sin indeed exists without the law, but a person does not realize his or her own sinfulness unless the law reveals it (Rom. 7:9,10). The duty of the law ends when a person, owning the gift of faith, becomes a partaker in Christ and the righteousness of faith He prepared (Gal. 3:23–26). The law performs God’s work when it reveals sin and cracks and overthrows a person’s self-righteousness. If, on the other hand, a person goes in search for personal merit and acceptability to God by fulfilling the law, then the enemy leads the person astray into works righteousness – the works of self-righteousness. Jesus Has Fulfilled the Law Jesus has completely fulfilled God’s law demanding perfection (Matt. 5:17). He did it out of love for sin-fallen humans. God was in Christ and reconciled the world unto himself and did not impute people’s trespasses unto them (2 Cor. 5:19). God did this in His eternal righteousness so that all people beginning with Adam have been born and will be born into this world as God’s creation and partakers of Christ’s redemption work. All people have been redeemed from beneath the law to grace; therefore, children are born as children of God, heaven-acceptable (Eph. 1:3–5). If a person is deceived by sin and thus loses childhood faith at some point in his or her life, the person is subject to the curse of the law and to condemnation and is separated from the living God. A person who has fallen under the curse of the law nevertheless has the possibility to return to God’s grace and reconciliation with God. To this end God has established in His congregation on earth the office of the word of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:19). It is the office of the Holy Spirit, and it is performed by people who themselves have been able to believe their sins forgiven (Matt. 16:17–19). Paul described in the letter to the Romans how regardless of the law, God has brought people righteousness to be owned by faith, that righteousness which the law and prophets testify. God’s righteousness comes by faith in Christ and it can be owned by all who believe. All people are in the same position, for all have sinned and are without God’s glory and the perfection that the law demands. All people who believe nonetheless receive by God’s grace the gift of righteousness because Christ has fulfilled the law and redeemed people free from slavery of the law and sin. God had placed Christ as the atonement sacrifice and for that reason His blood brings atonement that can be received in faith (Rom. 3:21–26). For this reason Paul proclaimed, “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39). Human Works and the Law The fall into sin corrupted humans so profoundly that human will, nature and mind became inclined to evil. People became incapable of all that is good before God (Rom. 3:12). The law appeals to human reason and will, by which a person is able, at best, to bring about so-called societal righteousness. The law, however, becomes a danger in terms of salvation if it leads to the thought that a person could fulfill God’s law. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul strongly emphasized that those who rely on works of the law are under the curse of the law (Gal. 3:10). Luther also referred to righteousness of the law as active righteousness. This label describes how it is based on actions and works. The opposite of active righteousness is gift righteousness which, as its name implies, is received as a gift, by the grace of God. Luther felt that both were necessary and both had their own role. Each must nonetheless remain in their respective roles. Faith and the endeavor of life, grace and works as well as worship of God and earthly matters must not be mixed together (Commentary on Galatians). Jesus summarized the core essence of the law in two commandments: love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:36–40). Even the law’s original purpose is love. Due to original sin, however, humans lack the ability to place God before all else, fulfill His will and love Him with all their heart. It is just as impossible for humans to love their neighbors as themselves. Paul had to struggle with the fact that he could not find within himself anything that would have been according to God’s will. He felt that he had the desire to do good but yet he could not rid himself of evil because sin dwelled in him. He stated that in his innermost he joyfully accepts God’s law, but in his actions he sees another law fulfilled which battles against the law that affects him within (Rom. 7:15–23). Due to original sin, humans are by nature prisoners of the law of sin. A person can be liberated from this imprisonment only by God’s atonement and redemption work in His Son Jesus Christ. This redemption work can be owned by faith, which God gives as a gift. One who has by faith become righteous consents in his or her heart to God’s law and wishes to fulfill it. This is a fruit of living faith and the Holy Spirit rather than a demand of the law. The Gospel Liberates from the Bondage of the Law The duty of the law is to strip a person of all his or her own possibilities before God and to drive the person to Christ in order to own that which Christ has performed and merited on his or her behalf. The gospel belongs to the one awakened by the law. The core of the gospel is the forgiveness of sins. Jesus himself said that God has so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in His should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus Christ has atoned the sins of the whole world in His suffering and death. He has completely fulfilled the law of God and liberated humankind from bondage of the law. Luther described one who believes the gospel as a “new man in a new world, where is no law, no sin, no sting of conscience, no death, but perfect joy, righteousness, grace, peace, life, salvation and glory.” He continued by asking, “Why do we then nothing? Do we work nothing for the obtaining of this righteousness?” He answered his own question, “Nothing at all…we believe this only, that Christ is gone to the Father and that he sitteth in heaven at the right hand of his father, not as a judge, but made unto us of God, wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption” (Commentary on Galatians). The gospel is on earth among people. Jesus left it to His own with the authority of the Holy Spirit and promised that whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them (John 20:22,23). This office of the gospel in connection with the office of the keys is performed by the Holy Spirit in God’s congregation through believing people. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of grace, where there is no law but rather righteousness, peace and joy (Rom. 14:17). A person who has been able to believe all his or her sins forgiven is no longer under the law but is taught by the grace of God (Titus 2:11,12). The Holy Spirit in the heart of the one who believes guides him or her to live life according to God’s will. Paul stated, “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:9–14). It is not a question of following the law, but rather of living in the freedom of the gospel. The Gospel’s Light and Power The Formula of Concord in our church’s [Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland] Confessional writings states that God’s law belongs to a believer as a guide to living a Christian life (third use of the law). The Formula of Concord explains that the law belongs to a Christian because new birth is not complete in this life but is only beginning. However, there is nothing to be found in the Bible that supports the thought that a person could develop in faith. Christ either dwells in a person or does not dwell; there is no intermediate state. The Christian continues to fall into sin and in the battle against sin he or she needs the law and the gospel. Sin is real in the life of a Christian, but grace and the presence of the Holy Spirit are also real. The Bible does not teach the third use of the law, but rather that is a doctrinal error of which Christendom will likely never be free. In this doctrinal error, the law and gospel have become mixed. The Bible clearly teaches that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes (Rom. 10:4). The law is the schoolmaster until Christ comes but Christians are not under a schoolmaster (Gal. 2:23–25). The law is not made for the righteous but for the ungodly (1 Tim. 1:9,10). Believers are not under the law but under grace (Rom. 6:14). Luther stated that the law is not an instructor to the conscience: “The law and Christ are two contrary things, whereof the one cannot abide the other. For when Christ is present, the law may in no case rule, but must depart out of the conscience and give place only to Christ. Let him only reign in righteousness, in peace, in joy and life” (Commentary on Galatians). Self-righteousness and permissiveness of sin are real dangers, but a believing person is not protected and guarded from these by the teaching of the law, but rather by God’s grace and the power of the gospel. The child of God cannot have two teachers. Paul said, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4). He continued, “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18). At the Council of Jerusalem, the apostles stated that the yoke of the law should not be put on the neck of the disciples (Acts 15). The office of the law ends where the office of the gospel begins. When by the power of the Holy Spirit a believer proclaims the gospel of the forgiveness of sins to one awakened by the law, God transfers the person from a state of soul under the law to grace and gives the person the gift of faith and the Holy Spirit. When by the power of the gospel a person has been able to believe, a new teacher enters the person’s heart: God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not speak in His own name but reveals that which He receives from Christ and the Father. It is the duty of the Holy Spirit to reveal what is sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8–14). In considering how the law teaches compared to how grace teaches, old Christians described the difference in precision as follows: grace is like sunlight that shines into a room. It shows every floating dust particle. It is just as impossible for the law to increase the understanding gained by grace than it is for the moon to increase the brightness of the sun. A believer does not need the light or instruction of the law alongside the light of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God, and it brings salvation to everyone who believes. In the gospel the righteousness which is acceptable before God is revealed from faith to faith. The righteous shall live by faith (Rom. 1:16–17). Bibliography Luther Martin Book of Concord Commentary on Galatians. Original work “In epistolam S. Pauli ad Galatas commentarius ex praelectione D. Martini Lutheri collectus” 1535. Lectures on Romans. Original work “Epistola ad Romanos. Die scholien” 1516. Jussila Heikki. Elämän ihme. SRK 1974. Zidbäck Aulis Ole vapaa, vapaaksi ostettu lauma. Juhani Raattamaa – opettaja ja sielunhoitaja. SRK 1985.

Keith Waaraniemi with Jim Frantti and Eric Jurmu | The Voice of Zion April 2020 -- The COVID-19 pandemic has had a sobering effect on the entire world. During this pandemic, as in all times, we can say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). We turn to God in prayer for ourselves and our communities. We pray for local authorities, national leaders and medical professionals. We don’t comprehend the challenges they face, but through their efforts we receive blessing and protection. They are ministers of God for our good (Rom. 13:4). In North America, federal, state and provincial authorities have given us guidelines on how to slow the spread of the virus. Using their best judgment and available information, they recommend that gatherings be limited, both religious and otherwise. In accordance with these guidelines, LLC has taken unprecedented steps to address the situation. Please refer to News and Notes from LLC for further details. The LLC recommends that all congregations follow the instructions of their local and national authorities. In these times, we may wonder how serious the pandemic actually is. We each have our own perception based on our own perspectives and the information we have received. History may someday tell the tale, but likely the answer will reside with God alone. At this time, we know that the virus spreads at an alarming rate and thousands of people have died. That is why heeding the advice of authorities is not only prudent, but absolutely essential. We pray and trust that God gives the appropriate officials the necessary wisdom to make necessary decisions. Just as previous generations have faced overwhelming threats and have worked together in times of natural disasters, war and economic turmoil, let us each take responsibility to do our part to help slow the spread of the virus. Elders and those with underlying health conditions are especially vulnerable to the virus’ effects, but people of other ages are not exempt either. Human life is fragile for all of us. The events of our daily lives have been significantly altered. School and university instruction is canceled and has shifted to online learning. Family life may feel fuller, at times overwhelming, without normal routines. Many businesses are temporarily closed, and some store shelves are empty. The full extent of this pandemic’s effect on our lives is yet unknown. Changes in employment may begin to cause financial concerns. All of this can make the future feel more uncertain. We may be worried, anxious and doubting. In these times, let us trust in the message of God’s Word, which assures us that there is nothing new under the sun and nothing happens without God’s knowledge. Read Psalm 46:10 and Psalm 73:23–25; there the psalmists sing of God’s presence and blessing. This pandemic reminds us of how much we need one another. Let us now, as always, remember how Jesus instructed us to love our neighbor and carry loved ones in prayer. We pray on behalf of those who are ill and those who care for the ill. We pray for those whose livelihood suffers as a result of economic upheaval. We pray for families and parents who are affected as schools close and routines are upended. We remember those who are alone, those who are suffering and need assistance. Let us comfort and instill hope in our children and youth who may feel distress in uncertainty. Can we see a silver lining beyond this cloud of trial? God’s ways are above our ways. While we must limit social gatherings, this does not prevent us from hearing or meditating on God’s Word. Some congregations broadcast online services, and archived sermons take on a new importance. We cannot gather at services, and we feel a deep longing for believing fellowship. Yet the message and comfort of God’s Word still brings us peace, blessing, hope and joy. We have seen examples of online devotions, Sunday school and Bible class. God is at work in ways we could not have foreseen. May the message of the gospel also reach those who long to find peace of conscience, those that seek a gracious God. In this time, God is granting us an opportunity to focus on our own households, our closest ones. We can be thankful for modern technology which allows us to stay in touch with friends and family. Let us uplift one another and care for one another and pray. Let us find God’s blessings amid the changes we experience. He has promised to give us hope and a future (Jer. 29:11). Amid crisis, our heavenly Father reveals to us all that living faith and caring for our neighbor are the most important matters in our lives. May God give us continued forbearance and patience. We join with the words of the songwriter in song of Zion 382: “What God ordains is ever good.” God will never forsake us!

Matti Taskila | The Voice of Zion May 2020 -- Installment 15 of 20, translated from the book Christ Is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever: Writings on the Basics of Faith and Doctrine. (Ed. Ari-Pekka Palola, SRK, 2018) The Visible and Invisible Congregation The New Testament congregation means the congregation of God, i.e. the Christian congregation, whose members the Holy Spirit has through the gospel called, sanctified, gathered and enlightened with His gifts and protects in the one true faith (Large Catechism). The members of this congregation are called to follow Jesus in “doctrine, life and suffering.” The Christian congregation is in essence the communion – or fellowship – of saints, in which its members remember each other and carry each other in prayer. According to the Augsburg Confession, the Christian congregation is the community of saints in which the gospel is purely preached and the sacraments are administered according to the command of Christ. The communion of saints differs from all temporal organizations in that it believes and lives by the will and guidance of God. In the Bible, the most common names for the congregation are the congregation of God, the family of God, people of God, the house and temple of God. The congregation is also called the body of Christ, since the congregation and Christ belong together (John 15:1–13; Eph. 4:15,16; 5:31,32). Jesus’ work in the world continues in His congregation as the work of the Holy Spirit (Christian Doctrine, item 44). The Christian congregation is simultaneously visible and hidden. In its visible or present form it is the assembled group of believers, which nonetheless can only by faith be understood to be the holy congregation: “I believe that on earth there is a holy group and congregation of pure saints, under one head, even Christ, called together by the Holy Ghost in one faith, one mind and understanding” (Large Catechism). When we speak of a hidden or invisible congregation, we also include those followers of Christ who have passed from time to eternity as well as e.g. all children all over the world. The origin of a child’s faith is in God’s righteous nature: He justified sinful humans for the sake of His Son’s promised atonement and redemption work even before the world was created. A child, nonetheless, as an heir of Adam is corrupted by original sin, but through the merit of the second Adam – Christ – the child is acceptable to God and pure, simultaneously righteous and sinful. The Congregation is Based on God’s Word The living congregation of God is comprised of people that truly believe that Jesus is their Savior. Luther described that where faith hears the voice of the Good Shepherd, i.e. the correct proclamation of the gospel, there it also sees the congregation of God even though the eye would only see a scorn-worthy group of people (On the Power and Primacy of the Pope). Faith is attached to the Word, not to a person. The proclamation of the true Word of God is inseparable from the congregation. The Good Shepherd and His flock belong together. Through the Holy Spirit we see that the congregation is the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Its foundation is the doctrine of prophets and apostles – the understanding of faith based on God’s unchanging Word – where the cornerstone is Jesus Christ himself (Eph. 2:20). This truth is upheld by the congregation. God’s congregation is infallible in its doctrine of justification, because it adheres to the Word of God. In this way God’s living congregation will be preserved on earth until the end of time. The Bible, the written Word of God, is the authority in the congregation. Luther explained: “The spirit of God governs the congregation, and the Spirit of God leads the saints – Romans, 8th chapter (14th verse), and Christ is with His congregation even unto the end of the world (Matt. 28:20) – We know this, I say, for in our creed we say: I believe in the holy, catholic [meaning “universal”] church. It is impossible that the congregation can err in even the smallest point of doctrine” (Bondage of the Will). One Holy Mutual Congregation The innermost essence of the congregation of God can be studied only with the Word of God. Since we as humans cannot comprehend God’s omnipotence and immensity, the deepest value of Christ’s congregation remains a mystery to us. The congregation has no point of comparison or equivalence in this world. Also, a human is unable to determine who truly is a member of the congregation, for only God can see into a person’s heart. The borders of the congregation go “from faith to faith and from heart to heart.” The fellowship of the Holy Spirit transcends all human borders. For that reason the members of God’s congregation can never be recorded in books or lists. According to the Creeds, there is one Christian congregation (Eph. 4:4), because there is only one Christ. Luther proclaimed, “There is not more than one Church, or people of God, on earth. This one Church has one faith, one baptism, one confession of God of the Father and of Jesus Christ. Its members faithfully hold, and abide by, these common truths.” (Church Postil III, 17th Sunday after Trinity, Epistle Sermon on Eph. 4:1–6). According to Luther’s teaching, the Christian congregation also has one mind and understanding. It has manifold grace gifts but it is unanimous in love, without sects or schisms (Large Catechism). The New Testament congregation was born on the first Pentecost when the disciples were given the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–4,41,42). The apostles set out to bring forth the message of God’s kingdom. This task was to continue to the “ends of the earth.” That is why the Christian congregation is also called the apostolic congregation. Its foundation is the testimony of Jesus’ disciples – the apostles. This is stated as follows in the Nicene Creed: “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.” The congregation of Christ is holy because it is reserved for God and Christ’s spirit works within it. The holiness is not due to any goodness on the part of the congregation members; rather it is a gift received in Christ. In spite of its holiness, the congregation is also sinful because its members are corrupted by original sin. For this reason the congregation will never become fully pure in this time. Many forms of sin and doctrinal errors attempt to corrupt it. Luther explained, “The congregation is pure, but it is sinful at the same time. For this reason, it believes the forgiveness of sins and prays, ‘Forgive us our sins.’ We are not called holy because of our nature, as a wall is called white because of its white paint. The holiness in us is not sufficient. Christ is our complete and whole holiness. If what we own is not sufficient, Christ is sufficient” (Commentary on Galatians). The congregation is mutual or catholic because it represents and teaches the entire truth of the Bible and strives to spread throughout the world. Therefore, it does mission work according to Christ’s command. Jesus called His followers to perform this task. He summarized the contents of mission work as preaching the gospel and the presence of God’s kingdom (John 20:22,23; Luke 9:1,2; 10:1–11). The same sermon yet continues with possibilities given by God. He sees into people’s hearts and sends His messengers to those seeking the truth. Mission work is not only done as organized, but each believer is a priest of the Holy Spirit who has authorization given by Jesus to testify of Christ’s grace (1 Pet. 2:9). Therein Christ becomes present for a person. Upholding the Word of God is the duty our Savior gave His followers. He has given His children grace gifts which must be used to edify the congregation and to fulfill the will of God. Peter exhorted believers to be always ready to tell those who ask what their hope is based on (1 Pet. 3:15). Opportunities for the work of God’s Word open up amidst everyday life, work or free time. Martin Luther especially ordered fathers to care for their children’s Christian upbringing (Small Catechism). The Grace House of Absolution Human salvation from the power of sin and death is based solely on the work of Christ. Luther summarized this as follows: “By faith alone, by grace alone, by the merits of Christ alone.” The hearing of God’s Word is essential to the rebirth of an unbelieving person, for “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). A good example of this is Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, when nearly three thousand people believed and were baptized (Acts 2:41). The Holy Spirit affected the birth of faith. The effect of the Spirit was also evident when those who accepted the gospel began to speak boldly of the risen Jesus. Martin Luther firmly linked the congregation and justification of humans: “Therefore he who would find Christ must first find the Church. How should we know where Christ and his faith were, if we did not know where his believers are?” (Church Postil I, Christmas Day, Second Gospel Sermon on Luke 2:15–20). Luther wrote of membership in the congregation: “one is not and cannot be a member of the Christian congregation, unless he is a correct believer, righteous and holy, as we say in the Creed: ‘I believe in the holy Christian Church.’ But one who is not a true believer, holy nor righteous, does not belong to the Holy Christian Church.” (Psalms 118 Commentary). According to the understanding of the early congregation, the congregation is part of the doctrine of salvation. A person’s new birth and entrance into the congregation are simultaneous occurrences. In the Large Catechism, the connection between the congregation, God’s Word and faith are summarized as follows: “Therefore we believe in Him who through the Word daily brings us into the fellowship of this Christian Church, and through the same Word and the forgiveness of sins bestows, increases, and strengthens faith” (Large Catechism). God uses the congregation and forgiveness of sins as tools in justifying a sinner and keeping him or her justified. Concerning the remission of sins, Luther identified three core principles: first, the remission of sins is based on the command of Christ. Second, it is by nature the office of the Holy Spirit. Third, Christ has bequeathed this office on the congregation which has received the Holy Spirit (Church Postil II, First Sunday after Easter, Gospel Sermon on John 20:19–31). God, however, does His calling work everywhere in many different ways. His paths are untraceable, His judgments unsearchable (Rom. 11:33). Lars Levi Laestadius’ closest coworker Juhani Raattamaa called the Biblical congregation of God the “house of grace” or “heaven of grace,” outside of which there is no pure Word. According to Raattamaa, the Holy Spirit does its work of new birth and justification through the congregation. Authorized to do so by Jesus, the congregation performs the office of reconciliation here on earth. The Place to Care for Faith and Mutual Fellowship The members of the Christian congregation are joined together in Christ. The most familiar image of this is likely Jesus’ parable of the vine: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” If the living connection to Jesus is broken, the branch will dry and God will cut it off the tree (John 15:1–6). In that case, the connection to God is severed as well. Jesus also taught about this matter in His farewell speech: “I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). The unity of the saints is unity of the spirit and love, but above all it is fellowship with Christ. Paul described the congregation as the body of Christ, the head of which is Christ Himself. He holds the body together (Eph. 1:22,23; 4:15,16). A person cannot have a true relationship with God without the work of the Holy Spirit and the congregation. Paul compared the relationship between Christ and the congregation to that of a man and woman in marriage (Eph. 5:31,32). That connection is inseparable (Col. 2:18,19). For that reason a Christian cannot believe differently than what the holy, mutual congregation teaches. When Christ – the way, truth and life (John 14:6) – is in His congregation through His Spirit, the congregation endeavors in one faith, doctrine and hope. As the living congregation of God, it clings to the Word of God and Christ’s gospel of forgiveness. Faith is cared for in the congregation: “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). According to Christian Doctrine, a Christian must diligently use God’s Word and the Lord’s Holy Supper, prayer and mutual Christian fellowship in order to be strengthened and remain in faith (Christian Doctrine, item 77). These were a central part of the life of the early congregation (Acts 2:42). Christians’ life together also includes encouraging one another with words of correction, rebuke and instruction (2 Tim. 4:2). Paul exhorted, “Warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men” (1 Thess. 5:14). The mind of a Christian and the atmosphere of grace flow from the fellowship of love effected by God. The righteousness God gives as a gift results in the fruit of submitting to God’s love. It consists of compassion toward oneself and others as well as supporting and caring for one another in love. The intention of loving instruction is not to demand but to encourage and help God’s child in his or her battle against the power of sin. The True People of God Luther taught that the church is not primarily an institution or organization, but it should be the living community of Christ, which the Holy Spirit has gathered through the Word and sacraments. Within the visible church is an invisible congregation. Luther differentiated between a national church and a congregation of brethren. On the one hand he supported the idea of a national church because it cared for the people’s spiritual education. On the other hand, Luther felt that the true congregation or congregation of brethren included the practice of members caring for one another, i.e. “the practice of Christian brotherly discipline.” It was the responsibility of this so-called core congregation to do mission work within the national church (German Mass and Order of Worship). For Luther, the most important hallmark of the true congregation was God’s Word: “First, this Christian holy people is to be known by this that it has God’s holy Word…Wherever you hear or see this Word preached, believed, confessed and acted on, there do not doubt that there must be a true ecclesia sancta catholica, the Christian holy people…for God’s Word cannot be present without God’s people and God’s people cannot be without God’s Word” (On the Councils and Churches). Lars Levi Laestadius also found the core congregation inside the external congregation (ecclesiola in ecclesia). This living Christianity is the true people of God, the community of saints born of faith of the heart and the Holy Spirit, a people who have fellowship in the same gospel or doctrine. The Holy Spirit also renews, sanctifies and governs their hearts. Such a congregation of Christ is always within the external congregation, but it is invisible to “this world,” which does not know Christ’s own (1 John 3:1). Insight on the true people of God opened to Laestadius only after he met Mary of Lapland and with her guidance found a new life in Christ. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland [Finland’s national or “state” church] is a precious gift of God. The instruction the church provides has had a deep impact on our nation’s spiritual life, morals and wellbeing. Within this church is also the living congregation of Christ. In different parts of the world, however, there are members of the congregation of Christ that belong to some other church or are not members of any church. Nevertheless they have unity of the Holy Spirit with the congregation of Christ. This unity cannot be created by blurring doctrial differences between churches or denominations. It is born only of God’s congregation through the remission of sins preached by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God – the Realm of God’s Kingship and Grace The main topic in Jesus’ preaching was the kingdom of God. In the Bible it is also called the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of the Father and the kingdom of Christ. Jesus depicted the essence of the kingdom of God with over thirty parables. Our Savior taught that the coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed or seen (Luke 17:20). To Nicodemus He nonetheless said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). One who is born again sees by faith the kingdom of God, which is among people and has approached him or her (Luke 17:21, Mark 1:15). It is both visible and hidden. It is the presence of Jesus by faith in the heart of one who is born again. People who have Christ as King in their hearts are members of Christ’s body, i.e. His congregation. They are partakers in God’s kingdom and simultaneously members of the people of God. First and foremost, the kingdom of God is the kingship and majesty of God (1 Chron. 29:11), which pertains to God’s being and His salvation work. The kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), nor does it seek temporal power. It is unconquerable and everlasting (Dan. 7:14), but it can be removed from people’s midst (Matt. 21:43). Therefore a person’s most important duty in life is to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). In reality, a person is not even able to seek God, but God works through other people He has saved: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11, 12). We can read in the Bible that Jesus was received by faith only by the living congregation and its members (John 1:11–13). Apostle Paul preached everywhere of the kingdom of God (Acts 20:25), which appeared among people in Christ. Old Testament believers beheld it with the eyes of the Spirit and awaited its appearance, trusting in God’s promise. According to the Swebilius Catechism, God’s kingdom is a kingdom of grace here in this time and a kingdom of glory once in eternity. In essence it is righteousness, peace and joy given by the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17). God’s kingdom can also be described as the realm of God’s grace and love. Believers inherently possess its deepest essence, which is gift righteousness. In them, God’s kingdom approaches other people. The Congregation Proclaims the Presence of the Kingdom of God In His Word, God has given the hallmarks of the Christian church and the kingdom of God. For that reason, the congregation must always be built on the foundation of God’s Word. The Old Testament congregation meant the people of Israel or the part of it which was assembled around the Word of God. According to our Christian doctrine, the congregation of Christ on earth is alien, scattered and battling. It lives under the guidance of the Holy Spirit until the end of the world, but when Christ comes it will appear together with Him glorified and rejoicing (Christian Doctrine, item 50). One can also attempt to describe the congregation with other pairs of opposites: it is both earthly and heavenly. It is present and yet to come, hidden and visible, divine and human. Nonetheless, no words or human conclusions are sufficient to capture the true essence of the holy, mutual apostolic congregation. In order to learn to know the kingdom of God, we must learn to know God. He is almighty and hidden, merciful and gracious. He hates sin. When God’s children preach the kingdom of God, they reveal the will of God. They are ambassadors of the kingdom of God. Even though the Christian congregation and the kingdom of God are different concepts, they are not separate from one another: the message of the kingdom of God is not genuine without the Christian congregation, and only members of the body of Christ can proclaim the true presence of God’s kingdom. Bibliography Christian Doctrine Briefly Presented. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, 1948. Luther Martin Augsburg Confession. Bondage of the Will. Original work ”De servo arbitrio” 1525. Church Postils I–III. Commentary on Galatians. Original work “In epistolam S. Pauli ad Galatas commentarius ex praelectione D. Martini Lutheri collectus” 1535. Commentary on Psalm 118. Original work “Auslegung des 118. Psalms” 1529–30. Defense of the Augsburg Confession. German Mass and Order of Worship. Original work “Deutsche Messe und Ordnung des Gottesdiensts” 1526. Large Catechism. On the Councils and Churches. Original work “Von den Konziliis und Kirchen” 1539. On the Papacy. Original work “Von dem Papsttum zu Rom” 1520. Svebilius Olaus Lutherin Vähän katekismuksen yksinkertainen selitys. 1745. Lohi Seppo Sydämellinen kristillisyys. Lars Levi Laestadius ja lestadiolaisen herätyksen alkuvaiheet. SRK 1989. Zidbäck Aulis Ole vapaa, vapaaksi ostettu lauma. Juhani Raattamaa – opettaja ja sielunhoitaja. SRK 1985.

Harri Vahajylkka | The Voice of Zion May 2020 -- Courtship has a clear purpose and goal. It aims toward the upcoming marriage of the two that are courting. Courtship is wonderful, but it is also a serious matter. The time of courtship is meant to be a time when the future spouses get to know each other’s background, personality, values and way of life; it is meant to be a time to plan a future together. Falling in love can happen in many ways. It can be sudden and intense or it can last longer, deepening from a friendship or infatuation into love. Sure feelings or insecure feelings are part of falling in love and courtship. One has to give time and space for the other’s feeling of uncertainty, and no one should be forced to commit against their will. Over the years I have met many wedding couples. Love stories never follow the same pattern. Love is God’s gift. Through this gift, God unites two people in marriage, a beautiful gift of His creation work. Courtship touches a person’s deepest feelings such as falling in love. One should not begin courtship without genuine intent to get married. Playing with another person’s feelings can hurt deeply. Courtship should not be used to show how “popular” one is among one’s peers or to show that “I have someone too.” Adolescence and growing to adulthood include infatuation and feelings of falling in love. These feelings, however, do not require courtship. When two people discover one another and notice their interest and mutual affection persisting and deepening, at some point they realize they are in love. What Is Love? The most important tools in courtship are listening and discussing. With these tools you can get to know the person you’re in love with, the person whom you wish to commit to and with whom you’re ready to spend the rest of your life. Love is the gift and power of God that unites two people. Apostle John states that “love is of God” (1 John 4:7). That love is more than just a deep feeling between two people. Married love could be described as many thin strands woven into a strong rope that unites a man and a woman in mutual matrimony. This deep relationship involves loving and accepting the other just as God has created him or her. Nonetheless our own traits or even wrong behavior models learned in childhood do not justify doing sin. We cannot for example use our own short temper to justify insulting words or invalidating the other. Love does not place conditions or demands on another person. One does not need to earn love either. Love also involves building trust and respect. Caring for love requires openness and learning to be open. Two Become One During the time of courtship it is good to learn to express your opinions, wishes and feelings. It is also necessary to listen to what the other shares about himself or herself. Sometimes it takes time to learn openness, but it is worth it. When God unites spouses together, two become one. Then my spouse’s life becomes part of my life. It is good to know what kind of home the other has grown up in and what kind of life the other has lived to this point. In a secure courting relationship one may share joys and strengths in life and also those trials and difficulties that affect what kind of person I am today. The courtship period also includes discussion of what kind of home we want to have in the future. What foundation do we want to build our home on? It is necessary to ask what faith means to you and me. Do we believe in the same way? It is also good to discuss other values that shape our lives. How important are money and temporal success in this life? Do we want to acquire a lot of material goods or perhaps settle for less and spend more time together with our family? What makes you happy in life? Or what makes you unhappy? Even during courtship there are occasionally conflicts, arguments and sin. In those cases we learn how our future spouse faces adversity and difficulties. How do we resolve arguments and take care of matters? We learn that although we love each other, it does not make us perfect or sinless. During courtship we must learn to speak about matters such that we can talk freely and without fear or guilt about what we experience and feel. We must speak and listen to the other as long as it takes for the argument or other difficult matter to be dealt with so that we can be free of it and move forward. Marriage Is Very Special Marriage is the union of two people into one, as Jesus teaches us. He says they are no longer two, but one flesh (Matt. 19:6). In marriage we share and do almost everything in relation to our spouse. How I act or don’t act affects my spouse. How I pay attention to my spouse, serve him or her, what names I use and how I talk to him or her, how I take my spouse’s needs into account…all of these are what Jesus means by “being one.” The most important word in marriage is not me but us. Marital love is part of our everyday life. In everyday life, the trust, affection and respect for the other – things that are born of love that is cared for – are tried. Healthy love shows itself in life’s small and larger things. Love can be expressed by talking beautifully to one’s own spouse and making him or her happy in small ways. I still remember a time years ago when I came home from work to the scent of coffee. At that time my wife did not drink coffee, so I knew it was made for me. That ordinary coffee had a strong aftertaste of love! Seemingly small things can also be meaningful the other way around as well. I have noticed that time together with one’s spouse occasionally has great impact on the wellbeing of our mutual love. If I only have time for work, my own hobbies, friends and helping others, what does that say about our relationship. It is not a good sign if my spouse’s needs are met only after everybody else’s or if we don’t enjoy being together. It is necessary to discuss the big things in life, such as moving to another location, work, bigger purchases, and to decide on these things together. That allows both to commit to the mutual decision and later also stand by it. When a decision is shared by the spouses, then both want to commit to it and also endure any possible resulting adversities. If big decisions are made without consulting one’s spouse, it may cause blame, arguments and bitterness. In the hands of the enemy of souls, fatigue and bitterness are powerful weapons against faith. In this way too we wish to support our spouse on the way to heaven. Already at the beginning of marriage it is worth learning to spend time doing things together. My spouse and I have found that everyday life easily takes us further from one another on an emotional level. Our discussions revolve around everyday topics such as the children’s school, dentists and new bikes. What happened to our deep and love-filled discussions about life, dreams and the future? We have agreed to let the other know if we find that we’ve grown mentally distant from one another. Then we have to reserve time together to go on a walk or to eat out or get away for a short time. Spending time together helps us find the love and that familiar person from under all the matters of daily life. Forgiveness Renews Love God’s adversary, the enemy of souls, is against love. It would wish to destroy all the beauty that God has placed between spouses. Nonetheless, we have been given the strongest antidote to sin. This medicine is the gospel of the forgiveness of sins. Sin causes us to say bad things when we are arguing and to think wrongly of the other. We blame the other and defend ourselves, and we fail to see our own mistakes. We might even wonder why we are married since we have such deep disagreements. When we are able to stop and think about our own actions and words, we often find ourselves lacking. We can pray for the humility to approach our spouse and humbly ask him or her to forgive our sins and transgressions. Our hearts aren’t always willing to forgive, but the gospel thaws hearts and opens up a constructive way to discuss matters. I have found that sometimes when we are clearing up our arguments, I need to again ask for the gospel for the sake of my own corrupt nature. When forgiveness of sins is asked, received and believed, we can continue our journey together in good spirits. The gospel of forgiveness also bears the fruit of being able to discuss those difficult matters that we as spouses have encountered. It may sometimes be necessary to get professional help if the difficulties involve, for example, some sort of violence or abuse of power between the spouses. We may need specialized professional help if, for example, substance abuse or addiction to e.g. gambling or pornography has become a part of one’s life. The gospel gives the sinful person’s life a new beginning and a new opportunity. Surviving these difficulties together deepens the love between spouses and makes clearer the common goal spouses have through faith – eternal life in heaven.

Eric Jurmu | The Voice of Zion May 2020 -- Marriages don’t survive on their own; even long marriages require care, tending and commitment. We cannot place love into another person’s heart, but we can tend to the love that we hold for one another. After many years of married life, it’s apparent to me that love in marriage is constantly evolving. What starts as a little seedling, properly nurtured, tended and cared for, can grow into a beautiful well-manicured tree. Marital love, when properly tended, mellows and deepens, - especially due to the ebb and flows of life. The love I now know is vastly different than the love I knew on my wedding day. In our wedding ceremonies many of us have taken traditional marriage vows – “in prosperity and adversity alike” – for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. Prosperity is easy to accept – all would happily accept the good which God gives. However, adversity is much less welcome. Yet, adversity teaches in ways that prosperity cannot. Enduring adversity requires trust, patience and faith in God in the midst of trials. With the marriage vows comes a lifelong journey and commitment to a spouse which God has given as a help meet (Gen. 2). Even though there are many long-lasting marriages, there is no perfect marriage. Each spouse brings to the marriage that which he or she has learned from life experiences; perspectives and opinions are formed from these. Communication is vital for love to grow, but it’s inevitable that at some point communication will break down. When that happens, respect is of utmost importance. Things said disrespectfully can have long lasting implications. In the end, each person stands to win if he or she finds compromise and common ground. A healthy relationship requires much care and forgiveness. It has to come from within and humility is needed. Enduring through periods of illness in marriage can require a great deal of self-sacrifice that rarely brings recognition. For example, a once very capable partner compromised by illness can be physically and emotionally changed. This can challenge and also change the relationship, and the sick one’s spouse – often also the caregiver – wishes and prays that their loved one and their relationship could return to what once was. Sometimes good health is granted again, other times not. Sometimes there is left a new normal, where better health returns but not as it once was. It is good to prayerfully trust that all of this too is from God. And we can know and be comforted that when we are faithful to our marriage vows and love our spouse, God will bless and care for us even through difficult trials of illness. Trials remind us that here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come (Heb. 13:14). One reason God allows trials is so that we can be companions and escorts to those in similar life situations. We have learned in our life together how much comfort comes from a call to an expectant mother, prayers offered when we have suffered loss or a visit from an angel-friend when we’re weary from the heat of everyday life. Life teaches us that we can in turn offer the same love and support to those who are now experiencing similar trials. There are ways to upkeep a happy marriage. Ride the waves together – when accepted from God, trials are good and remind us of His care and protection. “Count your blessings” is a reminder to be grateful and thankful for all that God has done. Above all, use the gospel of forgiveness generously. It is God’s greatest gift and it is the key to long-lasting marriages. Soon forgotten are the busiest days when so many things were left undone or incomplete. In my life there remains a loving vine with fruits of her labor hanging like lovely blossoms on the walls of Zion (Ps. 128). There remains a deepening love, a tenderness that in the busiest days was hidden under everyday duties and worry and concern. Hands, now work-hardened, still have a tender touch. God has given special blessings as our day of life turns toward evening. A believing spouse can share the special gift of forgiveness, on which all marriages should be founded. It is God’s gift to us. God blesses in obedience and faithfulness. It is our special duty to care for one another in the twilight of life, “until death do us part.” For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1).