Putting the “X” Back in Xmas

Those of us whose vocations involve writing or speaking about religion often see in the major holy days a two-edged sword. On one hand, most of the pastors I know could roll out of bed at three o’clock in the morning and preach decent, Christ-centered Christmas or Easter sermons.

However, familiarity of the subject means the risk of falling into annual ruts, operating on mental cruise control: “There are so many things to get done; I’m sure this sermon will prepare itself and all I need to do is preach.”

The tonic isn’t novelty for novelty’s sake. We dare not invent new theology in an attempt to keep the message “fresh” or “relevant.” Even if we find a new approach to the age-old story, we must take care lest we descend into cuteness that undercuts the awesome majesty and humble mystery of the Word made Flesh who “dwelt among us ... full of grace and truth (John 1:14).”

During Christmastide, another pitfall oft befalling Christian pastors, teachers, and writers is a straw man mentality. We can latch on to convenient targets outside the group we’re addressing, setting the mentality of “us (good Christians) against them (everyone who doesn’t do Christmas like we do).”

Each year, well-meaning Christians condemn commercialism, consumerism, and the mixing of the sacred and the secular. Pastors, especially, may rail at “Santa Christian,” who, like the other Santa, only visits us (or our churches) once each year. Other believers circulate petitions or organize boycotts against companies whose employees greet us with “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”

Of course, focusing on the sins and shortcomings of others means that we can overlook our own sins. Sinners rarely mind the preaching of the Law — as long as it isn’t directed at them. And when God’s harsh Law is misapplied to our sinful selves, the His sweet, saving Gospel may likewise have diminished impact.

Bottom line: I can almost guarantee that everywhere in the free world where Christians gather, someone’s going to be demanding that they — whomever “they” might be — “put the ‘Christ’ back in Christmas.” And yes, this is important, but not today’s central theme.

“Christ” is the first of two words in the compound word “Christmas.” However, “Mass,” the often neglected second fiddle, remains important, whether we acknowledge it or not. Therefore, I’ll join others in arguing that we also need to keep Christ’s Mass (His holy Supper) as an integral part of our Christmas celebration. After all, does the physicality of the Incarnation find any clearer earthly expression than when we actually eat the holy body and drink the precious blood of the Babe of Bethlehem?

But we’re not going to talk about that, either. Instead, we’re taking a look at another believers’ bugaboo, the (mis-) use of the letter X. Among many well intentioned Christians, X has fallen into ill repute. This is too bad, because he sports a noble pedigree and once enjoyed a distinguished career and great honor among his fellow letters. After all, where would algebra be without X? And try to imagine all of those pirate stories devoid of maps reminding the treasure hunter that “X marks the spot.”

Nevertheless, some devout Christians strongly object to using this one letter — X — to replace (or “X out”) six letters — C-H-R-I-S-T — in the word “Christmas.” They don’t want to be numbered among the secularists who try to avoid the whole religious, Christian thingie by using the Xmas shorthand for Jesus’ birthday. However, what most unbelievers don’t realize (and what far too many Christians have forgotten or else never knew) is that X has been “standing in” for Christ for centuries.

The word Christ begins with the Greek letter Chi. Chi looks like this: X. Because X also reminds many Christians of a cross, the symbolism becomes even stronger. Chi doesn’t always work alone. Sometimes he partners with Rho. This gets a bit tricky, because the Rho has the sound of our English letter R but looks like this: P. In Christian art and symbolism, you may see the two letters superimposed. Some people mistakenly read and pronounce this symbol as PX (Pee Ex). Actually, it’s the Chi Rho (ΧΡ) — the first two letters of ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, the Greek word for Christ.

It doesn’t matter to the unbeliever if we use Christmas or Xmas. The pagan cares little how Christians write the name of a holiday because he doesn’t acknowledge it as a holy day. We, however, know that in this instance, “X marks the spot ... of Christ!” It remains the Feast of His Nativity even if the world only knows the earthly feasting and, perhaps, some time off from work.

Most Christians celebrate God’s gift-giving by giving or receiving Christmas gifts. We try to keep somewhere in mind the great Gift of Christmas, the birth of our Savior. Meanwhile, the unbeliever gets involved in gift “exchanges” — and if you trade for it, it ain’t a gift. Sadly, even we Christians often forget that true gifts are only given, never traded ... unless....

“Unless what?” you ask.

“Unless,” I reply, “X helps solve the math in a bit of ‘divine algebra.’”

Let’s see how many ways we could plug X into our Xmas equation. We may talk about X-ing something out. We know that X may mean Christ. X also signifies cross and crucifixion. (The X-shaped Cross Saltire is actually the symbol of St. Andrew in ecclesiastical art.) X marks the spot of the treasure. X also replaces or stands in for something else in an algebraic equation. Amazingly, all of these fit.

As we do our Xmas math, we discover a true gift eXchange. It goes like this: X [Christ] X [stood in for] sinners both in perfectly keeping the Law and then by innocently bearing God’s punishment for our sins on the X [cross]. When we look in faith to “Jesus X [Christ] and Him Xified [crucified], (1 Corinthians 2:2)” we see that X marks the spot where we receive the great treasure — the three-fold gift of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. We don’t offer something in eXchange; the Gift of X [Christ] is the eXchange.

X [Christ] X-ed out our sins, our guilt, and our shame. Since X [Christ] X [replaced] us under God’s judgment, X [Christ] also freely eXchanges His worth for our worthlessness, His holiness for our vileness, His wealth for our poverty, and X [replaces] the Law’s condemnation with God’s favor. X [Christ] who was “poured out like water (Psalm 22:14)” on the X [cross] eXchanges our emptiness for the fullness of God’s love, pouring Himself into overflowing cups of joy (Psalm 23:5).

The Xmas hymn Let Us All with Gladsome Voice celebrates the completely one-sided nature of this great eXchange. Its third stanza invites all Xians to join in singing, “We are rich, for he was poor; Is not this a wonder? Therefore praise God evermore Here on earth and yonder.”

Merry Xmas and Happy Holy Days!

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, hymn writer, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

God and Government

Psalm 146:3 says, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.” The Church’s track record of remembering this advice is pretty poor, however. As the state’s treatment of Christianity moved from persecution to toleration to official sanction, many Christians have attempted to make government an arm of the Church.

While much good may have been effected at times, many who claim to be Christians have used the state to oppress those with whom they disagreed. Factions and feuds often led to exile and slaughter as some in the Church attempted to control dissent and enforce moral codes that often had little to do with the words of Scripture.

Of course, Christians aren’t the only ones ready to use government to their advantage. Islam’s control of various governments has led to civil wars and state-sponsored terrorism as it attempts to bring the entire world to submit to the will of Allah. India has seen government oppression based in Hinduism. Similar problems exist elsewhere but I chose to focus on Christianity, particularly in America.

History shows that evil is often disguised as good, promoted by some Christians, and carried out by various governments. Even though America was largely founded by those who came wanting freedom to worship, these same emigrants often extended “freedom” only to those who agreed with them on every point of faith and practice. Their political authorities were often extensions of the churches. Remember that when alleged “witches” faced the accusations of supposedly “good” Christians, it was civil government that held the trials and meted out the punishments.

However, there’s an even more basic problem with putting your confidence “in princes” — or in presidents, prime ministers, potentates and grand poobahs: Emphasizing political solutions de-emphasizes the person and work of Christ. The Church too easily forgets that while it is called to be “salt” and “light” in this world (see Matthew 5:13–16), it isn’t called to legislate or impose morality on the world. Instead, we are called collectively and individually to believe in salvation through Christ Jesus, trust God, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

This by no means precludes Christians being active in government any more than it does our being teachers, doctors, or tradespeople. People of integrity, conviction, and faith are a precious commodity in all areas of human endeavor.

We are no longer “of the world,” as Jesus says in John 15:19, but are still in the world. As such, God doesn’t call us to isolate ourselves, to form exclusive colonies and communes. Instead, He continues to give us family, neighbors, even enemies who may be unchurched or anti-Church.

There is only one “city set on a hill (Matthew 5:14),” the sum total of all believers in Jesus — in other words, His Church. Built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, anchored by Christ our cornerstone, this city cannot fall. It needs neither the support nor the permission of government in order to abide, for even “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)”

If government commands us to sin, “we must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)” Otherwise we obey those in authority, as Paul writes in Romans 13 and we pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1–2), even if they are misguided or flagrantly sinful in their words and deeds. When given opportunity to do or to effect good, we seize it, not to advance the Church nor to impose morality, but simply because it is what Christians do.

When the Church avoids conflicting and messy entanglements with the state, it leaves us free to proclaim “nothing” except “Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2)” to hurting people in a fallen world. God hasn’t appointed us to change the world. Instead, sent Jesus to save sinners and entrusted His Church with the “message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19)” in Christ.

No government, no moral code, no ethical standard can bring God to man or man to faith. That comes through the power of the Holy Spirit in the proclamation of the Gospel by the people of Christ’s Church.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, hymn writer, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 1 July AD 2015.

A Truly Meaningful Christmas

Repost of newspaper column #532

Complaints about people not knowing “the true meaning of Christmas” started this year in mid-October, as the first holiday advertising began. Most Christians complain at least a bit about commercialism obscuring or obliterating a godly celebration of our Savior’s birth. We’re joined by many non-believers who likewise deplore the money-first mentality of the season’s advertising.

While there’s certainly plenty of blame to go around, we who claim to be Christian cannot accuse others without at least partially accusing ourselves. After all, don’t we already know about “the true meaning of Christmas”? Most of us can tell the story, many able to recite it word-for-word from our old King James Bibles.

Unfortunately, knowing the true meaning of Christmas doesn’t guarantee our celebrating a truly meaningful Christmas. In all of life, Christians too often experience disconnects between what we know and what we do. So it is with the Feast of the Nativity. We remember the angel’s words, “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)” Then we forget why we need this Savior.

The Christmas hymn Hark the Glad Sound first announces His coming, then invites our response: “Let every heart prepare a throne And every voice a song.” The next stanzas tell how He brought salvation from “Satan’s bondage” and our own sinful actions. They sing of Christ rescuing mankind from the effects of sin, including mental defect and illness, blindness, fiscal and spiritual poverty, heartbreak, and the like. We know that in time, we receive these only in part; however, we are certain that we’ll enjoy them fully in the Resurrection.

The true meaning of Christmas certainly includes the fullness of Jesus’ life, work, suffering, death, and resurrection. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)” and no amount of commercial or sentimental excess can change this fact. The Christ Child came not to market violent electronic games, expensive new cars, or other consumer items. Likewise, His virgin mother “laid him in a manger (Luke 2:7)” not to invite our cooing over the cute Baby but simply to give Him a place to rest His newborn, helpless body as He entered the world to which His Father sent Him as Savior.

How could any true Christian peer into Jesus’ first bed without also seeing cross and tomb? At the beginning of His life of humble service, Mary “laid him in a manger.” After He died, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Him to “a new tomb” in a garden and “laid Jesus there. (John 19:41-42)” The almighty Son of God began and ended His saving work unable to bed Himself. He depended upon others to lay Him to rest after He drew His first breath and once He drew His last. He willingly “made himself nothing” and “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of ... death on a cross. (Philippians 2:7-8)” We understand the true meaning of Christmas when we realize that everything Jesus Christ did, He did to save us from our sins.

Unfortunately, we often get stuck between knowing the true meaning of Christmas and converting that knowledge into a Christmas that’s truly meaningful. When we become caught up in buying and exchanging gifts, we forget that true gifts aren’t exchanged — they’re given. Indeed, if you expect something of equal value in return, how can it be a gift? We can get tired and frustrated when we desire to focus on the holiday’s central meaning while still going along with so many of the world’s distractions. In this, we don’t differ from Saint Paul, who lamented, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Romans 7:19)”

In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge was terrified into changing his outlook and actions. Dickens commented on the miser’s conversion: “It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.” He then expressed the wish, “May that be truly said of us, and all of us!” Dickens may have gotten some of the actions right — “Love is the fulfilling of the Law (Romans 13:10)” — yet nowhere recognizes that permanent change comes not from within but without. Scrooge’s change was wrought by fear, and fear is a tool of God’s Law.

If we were able to keep the Law, we’d have no need for our Savior. However, we can no more truly and fully “keep Christmas well” than can we “listen to the voice of the Lord ... do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes. (Exodus 15:26)” Christ kept the Law perfectly, fulfilling its demands of which we were incapable. We can’t make ourselves into “better” Christians any more than we can make ourselves into Christians in the first place. The ability and the glory belong to “God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)”

Likewise, keeping Christmas cannot happen because we hate our own actions or despise the world’s greed. Christ’s birthday celebration holds deeper meaning as we quit trying to “keep” or to “do” or to “change” and instead are kept by Him, changed by Him, and have His good done to us. Having a meaningful Christmas doesn’t necessarily mean singing in the Church choir, preaching the festive sermon, or placing a larger than usual offering in the plate — although each of these can be wonderful ways of celebrating the holiday’s meaning.

Christmas becomes meaningful when we quit trying to bend it into our own shapes and instead let it shape us. Instead of a time of demanding that God do what we desire, we ask Him to work His desires upon us. Having a meaningful Christmas means having the knowledge that nothing we can give God could ever match His Gift to us — all the while seeking new ways to offer our thanksgivings by offering ourselves to Him in thought, word, and deed.

A meaningful Christmas won’t be found in malls or online shopping sites. It will not come in a dream delivered by ghosts. Watching A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or A Charlie Brown Christmas aren’t the right answers, either — although Linus’ recitation of the Christmas Gospel to Charlie Brown (see video below) points us in the right direction. Not even at home, gathering around decorated tree or blazing fire, do we usually find a completely meaningful Christmas.

A meaningful Christmas comes when we recognize that God gives us every good gift, including meaningful lives. It comes from the pure preaching of the Gospel Word and the proper use of the sacraments. It comes where and when it pleases the Holy Spirit — and the Spirit is quite pleased to give us the goods in Christ’s Church. Meaning fades through “neglecting to meet together” in Christ’s Church rather than “encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:25)” in corporate worship.

Nothing has changed since apostolic times. Christ still intends for us to receive His gifts in corporate worship. We find a meaningful Christmas as we continue devoting ourselves “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42)” In the gathering of the saints, Baptism saves us “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly. (Titus 3:5-6)” Hearing the Gospel, “the word of the cross” applies “the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18)” that forgives and renews us. Holy Communion feeds us on our pilgrimage, restoring and enhancing meaning through the sealing of a new covenant relationship with God “for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)”

A truly meaningful Christmas comes not by what we say or do. It isn’t anything we can produce or purchase. It isn’t reckoned by the number and value of presents given or received. A truly meaningful Christmas happens only when we realize that without Christmas, none of life would have meaning.

“God bless us, every one!” Bless us with faith, with meaning, and with a fervent desire to give to others the Love that came down at Christmas.



Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Assisted Dying, Not Assisted Suicide

I recently began working with the Johnson County Hospice. When first asked to apply, I considered some of the ethical and religious underpinnings of hospice care. I didn’t want to get into something that would compromise my beliefs.

Death as an abstract concept can be studied and debated. Devout Christians argue whether it is blessing or curse. However, most believers are convinced that directly helping someone die, especially allowing the choice of time and means of death, is wrong. This territory already belongs to those who believe in assisted suicide.

Yet even if we don’t provide chemicals or weapons to dying people in order to speed up their deaths, not everyone believes that hospice is a God-pleasing idea. Some think that anything less than an all-out fight to the end is not much better than suicide and that because hospice points people toward tying well, with as much dignity and as little pain as possible, we are enabling suicides.

I just mentioned “death as an abstract” — yet I cannot easily stand back and study it dispassionately. I’ve buried both of my parents and a number of parishioners. Death divides us. It influences our thinking and colors our relationships. While it may release some from suffering it carries a mountain of hurt for the survivors.

Yet hospice care isn’t only for those who are dying. We’re also here to aid and comfort those who live. We encourage and help work toward reconciliation among distant or estranged friends and relatives. We provide or find respite for over-taxed care givers. We offer listening ears, open arms, and shoulders to cry on.

Spiritual care is deemed so important that even the government (Medicare) and private insurance companies include chaplaincy as a necessary part of hospice care. Yet like the parts of the program, patients may accept or reject chaplain visits. Some have good relationships with their own clergy and congregations. Others simply don’t want anything to do with religious beliefs and practices.

If they accept us, we do everything we can to work within patients’ religious beliefs. However, there come times when chaplains cannot do everything they’re asked and maintain clear consciences. This is particularly so in Middle America, where smaller hospices may only have one or two (often part-time) chaplains, most likely Christians. Yet not all who die, even among the cornfields of Missouri, are themselves Christian. Jews, Muslims, Wiccans, and others also place themselves under hospice care.

If such is the case, we chaplains are not required to go beyond our own beliefs. Nor are we allowed to proselytize those who believe differently. If the care and comfort desired extend beyond our own faith, we look to match our patients with those who share their beliefs.

All of this, however, revolves around one basic point: We serve people whose doctors have predicted a very short life expectancy. As the nurses and doctors work to alleviate physical pain and suffering, chaplains and social workers address hurts of spirit, crises of conscience, and the doubts and fears that arise.

In so doing, we don’t need to say that death is a wonderful blessing — although it can be. We aren’t tasked with leading patients to embrace a “good death.” We can honestly view death as God’s curse on fallen humanity (cf. Romans 6:23) but still help dying Christians see that this dark woe is also the portal to eternal life for those who believe in Jesus. As Scripture says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.(1 Thessalonians 4:14 ESV)” For those outside of Christianity, we at least try to bring calm and some measure of peace to patients and households haunted by impending death.

I cannot pretend to have all the answers. I don’t even know if I’ll wage my own fierce battle when told that my death is close and nigh inevitable or if rather I’ll calmly wait for my last day. How can I presume to make end-of-life decisions for others? Yet for those who share my faith in Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life, or for those whose hearts remain open to inquiry, I do know that I will always point to Christ’s crucifixion and His rising on the third day as God’s unbreakable promise that all who die in faith will be raised to everlasting life.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, hymn writer, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 23 July AD 2014.

May the Force Be with You

Over the past several years, a running internet joke has returned each spring. Picking up on a phrase from a famous movie series, four days into the fifth month, we’re swamped with the punning salutation, “May the Fourth be with you.” Since the Fourth came on a Sunday this year, we saw a bumper crop of Lutherans, Catholics, and other liturgical Christians respond, saying, “And also with you.”

Anyone with even a casual knowledge of any part of the Star Wars saga knows that the original line comes from the Jedi blessing, “May the Force be with you.” In other words, “I wish for you that the cosmic power underlying the universe would align itself favorably with you — and you with it.”

The impact of the Star Wars franchise was and remains a huge part of Western culture. Thirty-seven years old this month, it’s capable of a fresh start with a third trilogy, beginning with a sequel scheduled for release almost thirty-nine years after the original A New Hope. Audiences will probably flock once again and critics may again rave.

Within the Christian Church, the films continue receiving a mixed reception. By-and-large, we agree that there is a cosmic struggle between good and evil. We accept the grim reminders of the power and the persistence of the forces of darkness. We celebrate when good wins out. However, while Star Wars shows much of the ongoing conflict, it misidentifies the source of strife and posits false salvation.

In the mythos of Star Wars, everything is unified by and ultimately springs from an underlying power known as The Force. Sometimes expressed in mystical terms and at others in pseudo-scientific jargon, The Force empowers all that exists and can be used for good or evil. So while Luke Skywalker’s mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi urges his young charge to “use The Force” for good, his nemeses Darth Vader and the Emperor Palpatine try to attempt him to use this same Force rashly and, ultimately, in the service of darkness.

Those who try to reconcile a belief system similar to that of Star Wars and its Force with Biblical Christianity therefore must ignore tenets of one or the other, for The Force has more in common with oriental dualism than with the God of the Bible. Christians believe in all-powerful, all-wise deity as the source of all life, light, and goodness. He isn’t merely one side of a cosmic coin with the other being just as powerful but dark, destructive, and death-dealing. This way of thinking has more in common with Yin and Yang than with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Christianity teaches that evil, darkness, destruction, and decay are not coequal with light and life but are twisted perversions and absences of godliness. Strife comes not because two evenly matched sides inevitably must duke it out but because evil — including Satan, the Evil One — wants to overthrow light and life, order and abundance.

Dualism has been around for a long time as an earthly attempt to explain both order and disorder in the universe. Versions arose counter to Christianity already during the New Testament period. Nowhere is this clearer than in the First Epistle of John. Here, the apostle goes out of his way to point out that light and dark are not only enemies but that darkness is a weak, fallen shadow of the light of God — particularly of Jesus, the Light of the World.

Through John, we also learn that the light vanquishes the darkness and that, while we might chose to serve evil, good — that is, God — must choose us before we can respond in service to Him. Evil might amass tremendous wealth and power and can assemble mighty forces but it cannot be the ultimate source of any of these for all that is has its source only in a good and gracious God.

Scripture shows us that the “Dark Side of The Force” isn’t a mirror image of the Light, nor is it a separate yet equal entity. Evil can never be more than the good it twists and tears. The Dark Side is already judged and doomed by Jesus’ death and resurrection and will pass away entirely when Christ returns on the Last Day. The only force that is truly “with you” is God’s Son Jesus through His Word and Sacraments. Anything that is counter to him is also counter to your well-being, both now and eternally.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, hymn writer, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 7 May AD 2014.

O Antiphon, O Antiphon

Oh, my! This time of the year we often hear the strains of O Christmas Tree and O Holy Night playing on radios and in shopping malls.


The Christian Church, however, is still officially in the preparatory season of Advent. While we ready ourselves to celebrate Christ’s coming at Christmas, we’re even more so preparing for His Second Coming on the Last Day. At the same time, we’re also mindful that He continues to come to us in Word and Sacrament. Thus Advent acknowledges and celebrates what we often call Christ’s “three-fold coming.”


The hymns and appointed Scriptures for the Advent season touch on all three aspects of Christ’s coming. We might sum them up by saying that Advent is our prayer to Him: “O Jesus, as You came in human flesh as the Babe of Bethlehem, come to us now in mercy through Your Word and live in our hearts, that we might be prepared for Your coming in glory to raise us to everlasting life.”


Of all the preparatory hymns, perhaps none is better known than — and well-loved as — Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel. The song’s seven stanzas use a variety of biblical images to speak of Jesus. The hymn masterfully connects Old Testament prophecies with New Testament fulfillment.


Where did we get this hymn? And what are those antiphons mentioned in this article’s title? An antiphon is a brief verse, usually sung before and after a Psalm or a canticle in liturgical churches. The O Antiphons, dating from no later than the 6th Century AD, were written to be used with the Magnificat, Mary’s song of faith from Luke 1, the traditional canticle for Vespers, Christianity’s ancient service for the close of day. They were intended to be sung over the seven days preceding Christmas Eve.


We call them the “O” Antiphons because each begins with that interjection. Their traditional order from the 17th through the 23rd of December is as follows: O Sapientia (Wisdom), O Adonai (Lord), O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (Key of David), O Oriens (Dayspring), O Rex Gentium (King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel (God with Us). They lead in roughly chronological order from eternity to the Nativity of our Lord.


By the 12th Century, a Latin hymn based on the seven O Antiphons came into use. During the mid-1800s, John Mason Neale and Henry Sloan Coffin made an English translation. Note that the final antiphon became the first stanza, thus we normally begin the hymn by singing, “Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel.”


If we reverse their traditional order, we can form a Latin acrostic from the first word of each of the antiphons: Ero cras. This can be translated, “I shall be [with you] tomorrow.” Thus we have a reminder that our Lord promises to return for us. Therefore, His Church pledges itself to join together to receive Him by faith through Word and Sacrament until we finally receive Him by sight on Judgment Day.


Visit the post Come, Lord Jesus! Look carefully at the seven O Antiphons and the seven stanzas of the hymn. See how steeped they are in Old Testament imagery. As Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. (John 5:39)” He fulfilled the prophets’ words. He is God’s Word made flesh, who ransomed sin-enslaved humanity, both “captive Israel” and all the other nations of mankind.


See also Aardvark Alley with its daily postings of the O Antiphons plus links to additional resources.



Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, hymn writer, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 18 December AD 2013.

The Best of All Possible Worlds

It was an ironic Kris Kristofferson song. It has become a somewhat clichéd expression.

However, the phrase “best of all possible worlds” actually comes from a serious philosophical work, Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man, and the Origin of Evil by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. It was part of his effort to reconcile free will, determinism, and the problem of evil in a Creation established by a loving God.

If you’re like most people, when you hear the expression, you immediately think, “I sure hope not,” or, “That’s not right.” Even if you’re not a Christian, or if you don’t believe in original sin, it’s not hard to conceive of circumstances where there is less pain, suffering, and death, where people act more kindly and lovingly toward one another. Even most who accept death as “a necessary part of life” still think that there’s something wrong when parents must bury children.

Leibniz looked at things just a bit differently. He treated God like a mathematician — or a casino odds maker. He assumed that God knew everything would come unglued once it was made and taught that He’d put everything together so as to minimize the damage once sin was loosed in Creation.

While Leibniz probably thought that he’d discovered cause for optimism, I think that it’s a really cynical way of understanding God, ultimately seeing Him as someone who’d chosen not merely the lesser of two evils but the least of all possible evils.

For this and other reasons, philosophers and theologians have rejected Leibniz’s way of thinking almost since he espoused it. Bertrand Russell considered the concept illogical. Voltaire so thoroughly scorned the concept that he mocked it throughout Candide. There, Dr. Pangloss uses “best of all possible worlds” as an ongoing mantra. From Voltaire, English gained the adjective panglossian, meaning naively or unreasonably optimistic.

Yet even when we admit that this is a broken, fallen, hurting, bleeding, and dying Creation, we also realize that it’s a Creation filled with beauty, wonder, love, and light.

I thought of this as I watched the Perseids, the annual August meteor shower. Beautiful light trails and occasional brilliant fireballs blaze across the sky as tiny dust motes from slowly disintegrating comets rip into earth’s atmosphere at amazing speed.

Much of earth’s natural beauty comes from changing, decaying nature. Erosion, a bane of crop farmers, carries off tons of fertile soil every year. Erosion also helped to carve such majesty as the mountains, canyons, caverns, and the stone arches and bridges of the West. Scarred though it be, Creation still reflects at least some of the majesty of its Creator.

The Christian knows that for all its beauty, this world is not the best but also realizes that even with its brokenness, it isn’t the worst. We still await the best world, for God says, “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. (Isaiah 65:17)”

This New Creation awaits all who have faith in Jesus as their Savior and who know that the Father forgives their sins because of the Christ’s sacrifice. The worst possible world, of course, is that to which the impenitent unbelievers are condemned.

While neither the best nor the worst, we know this world is better off for having Christ as its Redeemer. His Church makes it better — this not because Christians elevate the world through their own holiness but because they bring Jesus’ goodness into bad circumstances and situations. The saints care for their broken brothers and sisters and do good even for the earth’s most wicked inhabitants in response to the infinitely greater good Jesus has done fore us. Until our time here ends, this remains the best place for us to receive Christ’s forgiveness and to show mercy for His sake.

Best world or worst? Isn’t this a nonsense question? This is the only world in which we now live, although as Christians, we know that by faith we are are citizens of the New Creation.

Here, our Good Shepherd guides and guards us. In this place we learn to trust our loving God to do what is best for us. This is where we respond in kind to His love by loving those around us.

NB: I wrote this rather quickly during the wee hours of Monday night and Tuesday morning, before and after our meteor watching excursion. I wasn’t scheduled but was asked to step in when the scheduled writer was unable to turn in something for the weekly column rotated among area ministers.

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, hymn writer, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 14 August AD 2013.

Questions from Young Christians

This time around, I thought I’d reply to some random questions from youth that I recently received.

1. What type of fish swallowed Jonah?

The Bible doesn’t tell us. The Hebrew merely says “great fish.” The Israelites being largely landlubbers, they don’t seem to have done much to distinguish among various sea creatures. Therefore, we cannot be sure if it was even a “fish” by scientific definition or a member of the whale family.

If it were a creature of the Mediterranean still in existence today, our candidates are limited. In my mind, the sperm whale and the great white shark would be most likely. An average sized sperm whale and a large great white are among the few aquatic animals with throats and esophagi large enough to swallow even a small man whole, without chewing him up or crushing him first.

If the vomiting was a natural act rather than one designed by the Lord specifically for the occasion, a whale is most likely, since they are capable of doing just such a thing.

2. What do you do if you’re crazy for someone who doesn’t feel the same way?

Be patient — craziness normally passes. You need to decide how much you want to invest emotionally, financially, and even spiritually in trying to develop a relationship that may or may not ever bear fruit. Then either act accordingly or walk away graciously. Continually longing from afar usually ends up leading people into resentment or full-fledged hatred. We don’t own each other and attempting to “take possession” of another is sinful. If you see no chance for mutual affection, open your options to others and let your decisions be guided by your faith and your intellect as well as your heart.

3. Why were Adam and Eve naked?

They didn’t need clothing to protect themselves since God had placed them in an ideal environment. In their case, their physical nudity wasn’t an issue until they realized that they were spiritually naked before God.

They sewed together leaf coverings and hid among the trees not because their bodies were shameful but because they signified the shame that was theirs following their fall into sin.

4. Why does God let Satan exist? If He knew the future, why did He create Satan?

Why did God make Adam and Eve? Why does he allow mankind to continue? God created because it is His nature to create. He made all things good. What happened afterwards wasn’t God’s fault but that of His creatures. We aren’t given reasons for many of God’s actions. In fact, He often cuts off such questioning: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8)”

However, He does tell us the reason for His most important act. He sent His Son in human flesh to undo the Devil’s dirty work and to cleanse us from our inborn and ongoing sin because “He so loved the world” that he wants you to believe and “have eternal life. (John 3:16)”

5. Why did God make four seasons?

He may not have. Conditions at the beginning of Creation may have been quite different from those now. The seasons as we know them may be the result of the Fall.

Even if there were distinctions in the very beginning, the changing of the seasons is tied to the planting, growth, and harvesting of various plants, thus benefitting all living things. Note also that extreme northern and southern parts of the globe essentially have only two seasons and equatorial regions only one.

6. How do we build a relationship with God?

On our own, not well at all. Our tools and materials are limited, broken, and stained with sin. God is the Builder. He reaches out to us through His Son, by His Word, in the Church. He moves us to respond to Him in faith then to show love to others.

Yet once we are made His through faith, He leads us to regular worship. There we hear how much He loves us and receive His forgiveness. There we eat and drink Christ’s body and blood and are fed and nourished in this “family meal” that joins us closer to Him and to each other. Truly, most Christians draw closer to their Lord when in community with each other than on their own.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, hymn writer, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 24 July AD 2013.

No “Buts” about It

Want to say no without actually saying, “No”? It’s easy — agree with someone and then add a “but.” We like to use “but” to disagree without sounding disagreeable. When we “but in” to others’ statements, we’re actually telling them to “butt out.”

Most of us are guilty at times of using “but” to avoid going along with the thoughts of others — but when others do it to us, watch out! How dare they tell us yes and no in the same breath! And if it pains us, imagine what God thinks when we say “but” to Him.

Many classic Christian heresies grew out of people saying “but” to clear words of Scripture. Arius said, “Yes, Jesus is the Son of God — but He’s not really God.” He also would have replied in the affirmative if you’d have asked him, “Was there ever a time when the Son of God was not?”

Nestorius confessed that Jesus was God and man — but established a theology that so divided the divine and human natures that the Christ was essentially two people in one person. He claimed that certain things only happened to the man-part or the God-part and not to the entire Son. Heretics such as these accepted what they could comprehend and then rejected what was difficult or uncomfortable to believe.

Today, millions of people will agree that Jesus was a great teacher or a mighty prophet — but not God’s own Son. When they hear Him say, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, (John 14:6)” they’ll say, “Yes, but not the only way, the only truth, and the only life.” Often, they would rather embrace the contradictions of conflicting beliefs than the paradoxes of biblical Christianity, where God’s harsh, sin-condemning Law stands beside His gracious Gospel that forgives and forgets our wickedness.

In our own faith and personal piety, we also can be guilty of using “but” in order to hold God at arm’s length. Often this comes in our hesitance to fully and completely accept Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Our fallen natures resent divine monergism — the idea that God is solely responsible for establishing and maintaining our salvation, our faith, and our new lives as believers.

Not wanting to think of their natural-born selves as sinners, rebels, God’s enemies, or spiritually dead, people try to put a “but” after agreeing with our Lord’s absolutes. Yes, Scripture plainly teaches that God rejects, condemns, and finally damns unrepentant sinners — but I’m not really all that sinful. Yes, I’m saved only by grace through faith in Christ — but I have to do or undo something before this salvation takes effect.

When we say “but” to the Law, we tell God that we aren’t really as bad as He says we are. When we say “but” to the Gospel, we demean Jesus’ sacrifice by claiming that there’s something good and right in us that can share the credit (and the glory) for our salvation.

When the Holy Spirit catches us in this error of agreeing with God and then contradicting Him, He moves us to repent and receive full forgiveness. Instead of the self-accommodation of “but” the Spirit teaches us to say, “Amen.”

Amen is the “anti-but.” It means “truly” or “so be it.” Amen is faith’s answer to an all-powerful, incomprehensible God. Amen tells the Lord, “You’re right. I may not understand or even like what You’re saying — but that’s fine, because You’re God and I’m not.” Instead of our “but” negating God’s holy Word and perfect will, our “Amen” becomes the “but” that negates our own sinful disagreement with Him.

“Verily, verily,” Jesus often said. This, “Amen, amen,” was and remains His way of saying, “My Word is truth.” When that truth lives in us, it drives out our sinful “buts” that we might respond in kind. When the Law rebukes our wickedness and calls us sinners, we say, “Amen.” When the Father invites us to receive His forgiveness for Christ’s sake, we say, “Amen.” When Scripture tells us that we cannot save ourselves or cooperate even in the slightest manner in our salvation, we say, “Amen.” And when we open our hearts and minds to Him in prayer, we close with “Amen” because we are certain that He truly hears and will answer in the way that is best for us.

God grant you the integrity in your everyday life to avoid hiding behind your “but.” May you plainly and clearly agree or disagree with others, yet always in humility and respect, letting your yes be yes and your no be no. And when receiving God’s Word or responding in prayer, may He lead you to ever reply with the whole Church, “Amen! Yes, Lord! Amen!”

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 1 May AD 2013 in a slightly different form.

Pentecost Hymn: Upon the Plain of Shinar

Genesis 11:1-9 is the appointed reading for Pentecost in the One Year Lectionary and Year C of the Three Year cycle of readings. It tells of the confusion of tongues at Babel. Pentecost shows God undoing the curse of Babel as He brought the Gospel to disparate tongues through the Apostles’ preaching.

This hymn tells the story of Genesis 11 and continues it into the New Testament. Human disunity — a sign of our lack of oneness with God Himself — is undone by Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. As we are made one with God, so now God also works to unite the world’s disparate tongues into a united voice of faith and praise.

I wrote Upon the Plain of Shinar in the LM (88 88) meter but it also works as an LMD hymn. Therefore, I’ve provided versification and suggested tunes for each form and a link to a copier-ready PDF with both LM and LMD included.

LM (88 88) suggested tunes include Gottlob, es geht nunmehr zu Ende, Herr Jesu Christ, O Heilige Dreifaltigkeit, Winchester New, and Wo Gott zum Haus.

1. Upon the plain of Shinar stood
   The sinful heirs of Adam’s fall.
   They formed and fired bricks of mud
   To raise a town with tower tall.
   
2. They said, “This tow’r and city bold
   Shall serve as beacons for our race.
   Their majesty our hearts shall hold,
   To cease our straying from this place.”
   
3. Their wicked, vain, and prideful hearts
   The Lord condemned: “It shall not be.
   Your evil minds pervert fair arts —
   You think yourselves to be like Me.
   
4. “This unity of sinful pride
   Has led you to deep shame and woes.
   Your evil efforts I’ve denied —
   Now turn, O neighbors, into foes.
   
5. “Your tongues,” He said, “Shall speak no more
   What each the other comprehends.
   Your pridefulness I do abhor;
   Be banished to the earth’s far ends.”
   
6. This curse upon our fathers’ pride
   Its full and fell intent achieved.
   Mankind was scattered far and wide
   And foreign tongues were ill-received.
   
7. To join the scattered tribes again
   The Son of God took human frame.
   By bloody death, through bitter pain,
   He reconciled us in His name.
   
8. Then came the time for Christ’s ascent
   To God’s right hand, His heav’nly home.
   The Holy Spirit Jesus sent,
   To grow and counsel Christendom.
   
9. The Holy Spirit testifies,
   “Believe in Christ; be whole again.
   Forsake fore’er satanic lies
   And live as one with God and men.”
   
10. Come, join in faith, each race and tribe;
    Sing praise to God, the Father wise,
    The Spirit, and the crucified
    And resurrected Jesus Christ.

LMD (88 88 D) suggested tunes include O Grosser Gott and Tallis' Lamentation.

1. Upon the plain of Shinar stood
   The sinful heirs of Adam’s fall.
   They formed and fired bricks of mud
   To raise a town with tower tall.
   They said, “This tow’r and city bold
   Shall serve as beacons for our race.
   Their majesty our hearts shall hold,
   To cease our straying from this place.”
   
2. Their wicked, vain, and prideful hearts
   The Lord condemned: “It shall not be.
   Your evil minds pervert fair arts —
   You think yourselves to be like Me.
   “This unity of sinful pride
   Has led you to deep shame and woes.
   Your evil efforts I’ve denied —
   Now turn, O neighbors, into foes.
   
3. “Your tongues,” He said, “Shall speak no more
   What each the other comprehends.
   Your pridefulness I do abhor;
   Be banished to the earth’s far ends.”
   This curse upon our fathers’ pride
   Its full and fell intent achieved.
   Mankind was scattered far and wide
   And foreign tongues were ill-received.
   
4. To join the scattered tribes again
   The Son of God took human frame.
   By bloody death, through bitter pain,
   He reconciled us in His name.
   Then came the time for Christ’s ascent
   To God’s right hand, His heav’nly home.
   The Holy Spirit Jesus sent,
   To grow and counsel Christendom.
   
5. The Holy Spirit testifies,
   “Believe in Christ; be whole again.
   Forsake fore’er satanic lies
   And live as one with God and men.”
   Come, join in faith, each race and tribe;
   Sing praise to God, the Father wise,
   The Spirit, and the crucified
   And resurrected Jesus Christ.

 — W. P. Snyder © 2007, 2013
May not be used or reproduced without permission

Click for a copier-ready PDF in LM and LMD.

Cross Posted: The hymn in this form, together with the suggested tunes, originally appeared on my Happenings blog.

Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Tags: hymn | Pentecost | Shinar | Upon the Plain of Shinar | Babel | The Tower of Babel | Genesis 11 | Christian | Christian hymnody | hymnody | Church year | Christian year | Christian calendar | liturgical calendar | liturgical theology | liturgics | exegetical theology | exegetics | lectionary | feast | festival | Pastor Walter P. Snyder | Ask the Pastor | Happenings

Blessing Objects

Q: Is it okay to “bless” things in the Church? I’m thinking specifically of things like ashes, palms, or even wedding rings.

A: Our current Agenda for Lutheran Service Book and its predecessors all have sections on blessing of new buildings and additions, new fixtures (organs, bells, altars, windows, etc.), new paraments and vestments, and the like. The LSB Agenda has some seventy pages devoted to the topic, with both rites and resources.

The “blessing” of the rings printed in the LSB marriage rite is actually a blessing of the union they symbolize and, at the barest of minimums, it passed LCMS doctrinal review: “Send Your blessing upon the couple who shall wear these ✠ rings as a constant reminder of their marital fidelity.”

In the past, many Lutherans kept the practice of blessing the coming planting and growing season on Rogate (the Sixth Sunday of Easter). In some places, this practice continues. There are also churches (not necessarily Lutheran) that annually bless domestic animals (both livestock and pets). Others near ports and marinas hold blessings of watercraft.

Parts of Christendom also observe the Rogation Days (25 April as the Major Rogation Day and the three days prior to Ascension as the Minor Rogation Days). “Rogate,” the traditional name for Easter 6, got its name from the traditional Gospel of the day. It means to ask or petition, based on Jesus’ teaching the disciples to ask the Father for what they need in John 14.

It is never wrong to seek God’s blessing on godly vocational and recreational pursuits, let alone on those things that the Church uses in its proclamation of the Gospel. That in mind, however, I think that of the three things mentioned in your question, I would be much less likely to participate in the blessing of either ashes or palms than of rings.

I think that house blessings are one of the most loving types of pastoral ministry in the flock, as the ministers visit homes and pray for the Lord’s protection of those dwelling within. So also the blessing of other structures where godly vocation is practiced. And if one’s vocation involves a truck or tractor, then blessing a Peterbilt or a John Deere likewise is right, fitting, and proper.

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Transfiguration to Disfiguration—and Back Again

A Meditation on Transfiguration, Lent, and Easter

Today, Ash Wednesday, marks a time when those who follow a liturgical calendar of the Church year change seasons. From the time of Christmas (Jesus, the Word becoming flesh) through Epiphany (Jesus shown as the Christ to Jews and Gentiles), we move into the time of Lent (Jesus setting forth to die). From a time of feasting and celebrating, we transition to one of penitence and fasting, of looking backward at our lives and inward toward ourselves and seeing nothing truly good that we are or have done.

Epiphany ends with the Transfiguration of Our Lord, which celebrates that day when Jesus stood on the mountaintop conversing with Moses and Elijah about His upcoming departure (exodus; see Luke 9:31) from this life. Lent concludes with our Savior’s disfiguration at the hands of those who tortured and crucified Him, as the Church gathers in solemn remembrance of His suffering and death on Good Friday.

Both of these events are part of God’s plan for saving sinful mankind from the evil with which we are born and our accumulated wicked thoughts, words, and deeds. Both the glory and the gore testify to God’s love for sinners as He came down in human flesh to bear our sins and win our forgiveness.

Jesus, Moses, and Elijah all knew grief and pain as the Devil and sinful people attempted to thwart them. Yet each overcame and triumphed in the tasks God assigned. Jesus supplanted Moses as the great Rescuer. Moses led an exodus of Hebrews from bondage in Egypt while Jesus headed the exodus of all believers from eternal slavery to sin, death, and Satan. Elijah gloriously and bodily ascended to the Father without suffering earthly death. Jesus even more gloriously rose from the dead before His own ascension to God’s right hand.

As we begin the season of Lent, we trust that Jesus already cemented our victory. We may still suffer, whether because of others’ actions, the consequences of our own sins, the weakening of our bodies or minds due to age, illness, or accident, or because of Satan’s direct assault. However, just as Moses and Israel crossed the Red Sea, Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal and showed the Lord’s might, and Jesus conquered death by dying and rising, so we will one day attain everlasting life.

Life’s events may disfigure our bodies or crush our minds but Christ’s Holy Spirit transfigures our spirits, creating and sustaining faith through Jesus’ forgiveness applied in Baptism, Absolution, and Holy Communion. Transformed by the Gospel, you need not fear the Devil’s attempts to malform you, for “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Jesus, the perfect Image of His Father suffered the disfiguration of His Passion and death in order to transfigure us who were born hideously disfigured by sin into His own image. Exchanging the glory of heaven for the pain and death common to man, He then exchanges our sins for His righteousness and promises to glorify us in the Resurrection.

May God keep the image of Christ crucified before your eyes so that you may always trust that “he was pierced for our transgressions ... and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)”

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Walter Snyder is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author of the book What Do Lutherans Believe, and writer of numerous published devotions, prayers, and sermons.

Article first appeared in The Concordian of 13 February AD 2013.