The Lutheran March 2021 Sneak Preview

N A TIO N A L M A G A ZIN E O F THE L U THE R A N C HU RC H O F A U STRA LIA

MARCH 2021

Be still, an d know that I am God.

VOL 55 NO2

Print Post Approved PP100003514

PSALM 4 6 :1 0

Christian

meditation

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

Enjoying a red-let ter day

EDITORIAL

Editor Lisa McIntosh p 08 8267 7300 m 0409 281 703 e lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au

Queensland Lutherans Diane Smith and Carolyn Spanagel caught up on news and views from around the LCA/NZ during a break at a COVID-safe Christian women’s fellowship event late last year. The event – known as The Red Tent in reference to women of the Old Testament – was staged at Living Faith Lutheran Church Murrumba Downs, in the Moreton Bay area north of Brisbane.

Executive Editor Linda Macqueen p 08 8267 7300 e linda.macqueen@lca.org.au

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Zion Lutheran Church, Glynde SA Retired, English conversation classes assistant and prayer ministry (both volunteer) Most treasured Bible text: Psalm 145:1,2 ‘I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king; I will thank you for ever and ever ... I will praise you for ever and ever.’

Nev Knopke Trinity Lutheran Church, Southport Qld Retired builder

LUTHERAN

Most treasured Bible text: Mark 16:16

OF AUSTRALIA

‘Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’

CHURCH The Lutheran informs the members of the LCA about the church’s teaching, life, mission and people, helping them to grow in faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.

The Lutheran also provides a forum for a range of opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or the policies of the Lutheran Church of Australia.

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March Special features EDITOR'S

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What does the word ‘meditation’ mean to you? Does it evoke feelings of suspicion or fear, thoughts of New Age or Eastern religions and images of chanting Buddhist monks, silent remote retreats or mountain-dwelling yogis?

Sure, many would have heard Christian devotional practice referred to as ‘a meditation’, but what does Christian meditation actually involve? What’s the scriptural basis for this practice?

And what did Luther say in his writings and teachings about the subject?

These are some of the questions we look at this month – an ideal topic as we continue to journey through Lent. This edition is by no means an exhaustive explanation of Christian meditation, but rather an invitation to you, as it has been to me, to begin to explore it – and to discover the entreaties throughout Scripture to engage, if you have not already done so.

Through my research and in speaking with and interviewing some LCA/NZ leaders and members passionate about contemplative prayer, I have realised how little I knew. I have come to see the vital role Christian meditation can play in our faith journeys and its great and varied physical, emotional and spiritual benefits for those who participate in this form of worship.

And that’s the crux of the matter. For while there are many structures for Christian meditation – whether using prayers, sayings, Scripture verses and/or songs to concentrate our thoughts, whether silent or spoken, solo or in a group, guided or self-led, in retreat or everyday life – it is always a way of praising and communing with God and keeping him and his word central in our thoughts.

That’s the difference between Christian meditation and that of secular or other religious traditions. God, in Christ, is our focus. This is about being still and really getting to know him, as we are encouraged in Psalm 46. It’s about listening to the Father, allowing his Spirit to work in us and his Son to reveal himself to us. This is the ‘heart stuff’, the experiential side of our relationship with God. It is something we may too easily ignore if we concentrate only on the ‘head stuff’ of doctrine or dogma.

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Christian meditation: Meeting Christ in Scripture

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Be still and really get to know God

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Ruminating on God’s word

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God’s word brings life in PNG

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Gifts to fellow pastors 25 reflect God’s love

Regulars 13

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Heartland

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Dwelling in God’s word

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Go and Grow

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Church@Home

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#youngSAVEDfree

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The inside story

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Directory

27

Sudoku

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Your voice

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Prayer calendar

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Of course, along with our theme features and study, your March edition is full of Church@Home content, news, views, resources and columns (and Going GREYT! will be back next month).

I pray these pages will be full of blessings for you.

Lisa

PS – Remember, The Lutheran is now also available as a digital edition, so why not encourage people with online access to subscribe via this cost-effective and convenient format, or give a subscription as a gift? Print subscribers can access the digital version at no extra cost, too! Just go to www.thelutheran.com.au/subscribe Our cover: iStock.com

JES U S I S G OD'S LOVE. HE G IVES U S NE W HE ARTS TO L AY AS IDE O UR OL D WAYS, TO B EL IE VE AND FOL LOW HIM, TO L IVE WI T H HIM E VERY DAY.

heartland

RE V JOHN HENDERSON

Bishop Lutheran Church of Australia

GOD OUR RESCUER AMID LIFE’S STORMS ‘When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked; good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed’ (Proverbs 10:25 – The Message).

One day, while driving across the western plains of New South Wales in the mid-summer, we were suddenly caught in the most terrific storm. It seemed to come from the smallest of clouds, yet it blew a gale and pelted horizontal hail and rain at us. Instantly, the road was under water and drains became raging torrents. Debris flew past and tree limbs crashed. Blinded, all we could do was pull up on the highway with our hazard lights on, hoping that no-one would run up the back of us. It was only a local storm and soon over, but for that short while it transformed the peaceful countryside into a world of danger.

In 1975 I visited Darwin soon after Cyclone Tracy and saw the devastation

TH E BI BLE I NTRODUCES US TO A GOD W H O PATI ENTLY AN D LOVI NG LY RESCU ES H IS PEOPLE OVER AN D OVER AGAI N .

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left in its wake. It must have been terrifying for those who experienced it.

I think of those in Fiji and the Pacific who have been struck twice recently, first by Cyclone Yasa and then Cyclone Ana. Sometimes we can feel like the world itself is in the midst of a storm. Not necessarily a meteorological event, but an event involving change, loss, danger and destruction (think COVID-19). We might think the ground itself is moving under our feet – a sensation New Zealanders know all too well.

Truly, the world has been like this ever since humankind’s fall into sin.

We might long for an imaginary halcyon time when everyone is happy and fulfilled. But history shows that whenever human beings come close to happiness, or whatever it is they seek, it doesn’t last. There is more substance in the promise than in the actual delivery.

The Bible contains evidence of that over thousands of years of human history.

Just when the people get it good, something – often what they themselves do – brings it all crashing down.

In response to the chaos self-seeking humans bring upon themselves, the Bible introduces us to a God who patiently and lovingly rescues his people over and over again. It’s a true miracle that we have survived and are still here to share the good news of God’s love for humankind. We owe him everything. However bad the

storm may seem to us, God remains in control (see, for instance, Matthew 8:23-27 and Acts 27:18-26). His word is constant whatever happens. He does not need our endorsement or approval.

We contribute nothing to his power and might. All the same, we struggle to accept our complete and utter dependence on him. Some even choose to deny his existence. But without him, we could not even take the next breath needed to finish reading this sentence.

If God were to withdraw that breath, we would simply cease to be.

So, the storm itself is not our greatest risk. Our greatest risk is forgetting God. Storms will come and go – sometimes more than once. The word of the Lord, however, remains forever.

Your life might feel like a whirlwind.

You might think the church you love is being tossed around by the winds of change and human desire. Sometimes the only thing to do is pull up, put the hazard lights on and wait for it to blow over, as we did on the road that day. But once the storm had passed, and we had checked for damage, we could go on our way once more.

Have confidence that this is God’s world. We are and remain God’s redeemed children. As baptised believers, we belong to God’s family, his church.

We will survive and be the stronger for it. All thanks and praise to him.

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