Pastor's Corner

Amazing Grace, God's Expression of Love

The Lord be with you:
In a conversation with a childhood friend of mine during my recent trip to Ghana, the topic of "Thankfulness" came up. In most Africans cultures (if not all) one can not have a normal conversation without mentioning God or making a reference to a deity. In the course of our interaction the power of faith was brought to my attention. I was amazed how these poverty stricken people still have faith and believe in God, and thus, find ways to be thankful in their circumstances.

In Genesis 1:28, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply." God was not just giving humankind a suggestion; He was speaking a powerful principle into existence. This is the same God who created light out of utter darkness just by saying, "Let there be light." So when God told humanity, "Be fruitful and multiply," God was creating a universal principle that was as certain as gravity: from that moment forward, man would bear fruit and increase. Of course that applied to having children. But it also applies to human's very nature; whatever was in human's nature would increase and multiply.

We see this same principle of increase at work in Isaiah's prophecy of Christ's kingdom. Isaiah said, "Of the increase of His government there shall be no end." That means that the increase will never stop increasing. God put the same law of increase into place for humans.

Human nature and character will always expand. If human's nature is only good, then that principle of multiplying is wonderful. But if sin is introduced, then that same never ending expansion applies to sin, even one itty bitty sin will grow into gigantic ugly proportions. But God has an antidote to that: if grace and redemption are introduced, they will likewise grow forever.

As believers we have inherited an immeasurable treasure called the grace of God. Yet, so many are willfully trapped by their efforts to obtain God's favour by their works. This explains why so many Christian remain woe-fully un-thankful. The Bible exacts thanks-giving as an expression of one's sense of completeness in Christ.

Never underestimate the power of thanks-giving. God's Word emphasizes caution against the neglect of giving thanks to God. The lack of gratitude is a sure tell sign that one is walking in darkness. The result is a pattern of defensiveness and defiance.

Purposefully acknowledge your oneness with Jesus Christ. Know that Christ is your sufficiency. Thanks-giving is not something that we can manufacture. It is simply the out flow of knowing and responding to God's amazing grace

God never blesses an individual just for that person's exclusive benefit. God calls each of us to be a blessing to others. So often we forget this last part. R.G. LeTourneau, a businessman who built heavy construction equipment, came to realize this only after God took him through many trials. Once the Lord had all of LeTourneau, he came to realize that the question wasn't whether he gives 10 percent of what the Lord gave him. Rather, the question was, "What amount does He want me to keep?" LeTourneau was known for giving 90 percent of his income toward the end of his career and was a great supporter of world missions. But the Lord doesn't bless people just for the ability to give financially. God has given people many more gifts beyond the financial.

What is happening with the spiritual fruit of God's blessing on your life? Is it clogged, or is it freely flowing to others? Ask the Lord to free you to be a blessing to those in your circle of influence.

Really, God has been good to us, now what is our response? God is limitless, and He put this limitless expression into humanity. What we do with it is up to us.

May God bless you,
Your friend and pastor,
Samuel King-Kabu.

Round Churches, part 6

Horne Church

Horne Kirke - In the village Horne (a small village outside Fåborg) on the southwest coast of Fyn can you find the only round church on this island. The walls and cornerstones are well over 1000 years old, and in the first centuries it served two purposes ? one as the House of God and the second as protection for the people of the village in bad times.

Horne Kirke - build around 1100 - is Fyn's largest village church and is its only round church. It is of movie fame since it was featured in the Danish screen movie ?Adams Æbler? in 2004. It is similar in overall design to Bjernede on Zeeland and Thorsager in Jutland and they differ from the four more famous round churches on Bornholm in having five pillars in the round room instead of only one central one. The round shape of the round churches was chosen because they also acted as a fortified retreat for villagers in case of attacks.

Horne church, a time-honoured round fortress church, unique on the island of Fyn, is encased in Gothic additions and extensions. Over-plastering in the eighteenth century protected the old fresco paintings, which are now being brought to light in hundreds of churches.

The church in Horne is one of the most famous in Denmark, because of the way it is constructed. Part of it, the original part, is round. The gothic additions are not. Today there is no need for it to be used for defence, and now it is just a church and a big tourist attraction.

The original central round church is a ponderous looking medieval structure, attached to which are the rectilinear east and west wings. The alignment of these later extensions was not quite set at 180 degrees, so that the resulting central interior aisle does not split the congregation?s pews evenly, and the traditional women's side is more spacious than the men's side. The circular roof of the massive central tower is constructed of lead panels, which forms an interesting colour and texture contrast to the orange-red roof tiling of the remainder. The exterior stonework has been covered over by many layers of white paint, giving a look of an almost harled (mixture of lime and gravel) coating.

There are three interesting and delicately proportioned weather vanes on the top of the church, each set at a different height, and located at the apex of each section of the church. One of these is associated with the noble family of the astronomer Tycho Brahe and bears the initials P.B.B. (Preben Bille Brahe). The church tower bells are from 1568 and 1630.

Beside the original granite baptismal font now situated within the entrance porch is an intentionally uncomfortable seating bench called the "kællingbænken", or "hags' bench". The present baptismal font is believed to be the work of the Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen. Other treasures include the ciborium (1639) and the chalice (1676), as well as the bronze candle sticks from 1640.

Behind the altar hangs the oil painting ?Jesus and the Little Children? by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg.

Setting: Horne Church is situated in the countryside, amid gently rolling hills, mostly utilized for grain cultivation and grazing cattle. It sits on top of a knoll at the north side of the village of Horne, and it is quite visible from far away and many directions. Hvedholm Manor, a building historically related through the Brahe family, is located about three kilometres to the east. The ?Bøjden Nor? is a bird sanctuary about five kilometres distant where over 50 fauna species can be found.

In the next issue we?ll discuss Thorsager church in Jutland.

The Crusty Luther.

The German reformer, Martin Luther, was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, west of Leipzig. He was the son of Margarete who was 'housekeeper and nanny' for the miner, Hans Luder (his father). Some sources dispute the year of his birth. The parents were devout but poor. Despite their poverty Martin was able to study law, as his father wished. In 1505 Martin earned his Master's from the Philosophy faculty at Erfurt.

On July 2, 1505 Martin was struck by lightning as he was making his way through the forest. He vowed that if he survived he would enter the monastery. Luther survived, entered the monastery at Erfurt, and World History had now irrevocably altered its course.

In 1507, according to the wishes of the Prior, Luther was ordained as priest in Wittenberg, which was then know as the Holy City, the country?s spiritual Mecca. Wittenberg University, which was consecrated in 1502, is where he completed his theological studies, while, simultaneously teaching philosophy and earning a PhD in theology.

Wittenberg was also where Luther, on October 31, 1517, nailed his 95 theses on the door of Schlosskirche. It was marketing such as never having been surpassed since then. The 95 theses were the starting signal for the Reformation, a sharp attack on the Catholic Church and the Pope and the sale of indulgences, which had developed into religious hucksterism.

"The moment you hear your money drop in the box, the soul of your mother (or another person) will jump out of purgatory".

Here, they could have Mass said for your dearest ' for all eternity ' if you paid for it sufficiently, of course.

But 'eternity' ended on October 30, 1536, for that is when the Reformation put an end to 400 years of Catholicism in Denmark. From this date the possessions of the entire Danish church, and we?re talking substantial values, were surrendered to the state, which with one stroke doubled its worth.

Wittenberg is where Luther met the humanist, reformer and professor Philip Melanchthon (1497-19/4 1560), who became a close friend and collaborator.

In earlier times the congregations had stood up during the entire church service. Now benches were installed. The service was now longer, and it was decreed that the minister should preach in Danish, a departure from the Latin services held previously.

Martin Luther's aim in his 95 theses was to promote theological debate and to reform the Catholic Church. It was not his intention to break with Catholicism.

But it turned into a bitter strife - he must now pay for contradicting the Pope

On May 26 1520 Martin Luther received a bull from Pope Leo; that is to say he was declared a heretic, excommunicated, an outlaw and banned from participating in church life. This upstart must be suppressed, thought the pope.

However, Martin Luther burned the Bull in rebellion on December 10 of the same year, in a public square in Wittenberg. He thus demonstrated that he no longer recognized the authority of the Pope.

He was greeted with great jubilation from the large flock of people gathered around ? the people were with him. It was here that Martin Luther expressed these famous words: 'Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God. Amen.'

At the Diet of Worms in 1521, the outlaw Martin Luther was kidnapped by his friend and Electoral Prince, Frederick the Wise of Saxony. He brought the Augustinian monk to exile at his castle Wartburg. Martin Luther had dared to say to the German Kaiser that the teachings of the church were wrong if they could not be supported by Bible texts. While in Wartburg the Electoral Prince got Martin Luther to translate the New Testament from Greek to the more intelligible German. As the story goes, it took him only 11 weeks, so he must have had assistance. He wrote ?Luther?s Small Catechism? in 1529, the same year as ?Luther?s Large Catechism?, which was intended for use by the clergy. He also wrote many hymns: ?A Mighty Fortress is Our God? is perhaps the most widely known hymn in the world. This hymn was recorded on the church bells of the Schlosskirche.

But, this monk, Luther, was also a bit of a crusty soul. The monastic life and celibacy was too melancholy for the boisterous Martin Luther. He did not want to turn his back on the world.

He who does not love women, wine and song, becomes a lifelong fool.

He could easily put away two litres of wine during a fine dinner. This no doubt contributed to his corpulence and double chins. Martin Luther, despite being a monk, married the former nun, Katharina von Bora. She had lost her mother at the age of five, and her father dropped her off at a convent. Katharine was exceedingly industrious, full of initiative and extremely intelligent. But convent life did not suit her. Together with eleven others they fled the convent. It is said that the escape was engineered by Luther - so perhaps the monk had ulterior motives - who knows?

So, it became the task of Martin Luther and his cohorts to find husbands for these eleven girls. Perhaps Katharina was involved in the planning, because she refused to marry any of the prospective grooms that were recommended to her. Instead, she dared state that if Martin Luther or one of his cohorts would be suggested to her, she would gladly agree. This brought good results ? Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther were married on June 13 1525. 'You know what has happened to me' wrote Luther in the wedding invitation. 'I have become braided into my sweetheart's braids. I hope that all the angels will laugh and that all the devils will cry at this wedding.' I won't dare to presume to know whether the angels laughed or the devils cried ? or perhaps the reverse. But the wedding was nothing less than an international Catholic scandal. Imagine ' a monk of 42 years of age marrying a nun of 26 years of age ' how scandalous !

The couple settled down in the former Augustinian monastery in Wittenberg. The energetic Katharina looked after their home with skill and assurance, for her husband and their five children, and several other members of the extended family as well as eleven foster children which they took in. Besides that, Katharina started breeding pigs and brewing beer. Due to her many initiatives, determination and her great strength, Martin Luther called her 'Herr Kathe', a self-appointed martyr. Incidentally, this same Katharina von Bora, was given a gold ring by the Danish King Christian II.

It was said that Martin Luther fought a lifelong battle with the 'Devil'. In addition, he suffered the plague of kidney stones in later life, as well as arthritis and insomnia. He was given an amber cross by a fellow faithful, partly as a healing object but also as a religious symbol. Not too surprisingly, the corpulent gentleman died of heart failure on the 18th of February 1546, at the age of 62 years in the town of his birth, Eisleben. He is buried in the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg. That's how far he had to go, before the crusty Luther came to rest.

November 10, Martin Luther's birth date, has acquired the name of Luther.

Written by Frede Lauritsen of Ringkjøbing, Denmark (and translated into English by Jette Blair)

Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner & Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2011/09/07
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal