From the Pastor – February 2026
As we are about to begin the Season of Lent a great deal could be said about it. For many, this Season just means Midweek Soup Suppers and one extra service crammed into our busy week. For others it is a time of introspection and personal self-discipline. Those things can certainly be good and they can also be helpful, for denying oneself for the sake of another is never a bad thing. And using this Season as the catalyst to read the Bible more, or begin family devotions can never be criticized either. And so yes, if these things are on your agenda starting the 18th of this month, then good. But we should make sure to keep them in their proper place.
Luther discusses this in the Small Catechism when he address what makes us worthy to receive Holy Communion. And it is there that he says that, “Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training.” And they are. But these things do not make you worthy to receive the Gospel. That isn’t how the Gospel works. It is not asked of us to climb up on a pedestal of good works and Christian morality before God would deem us worthy to receive His grace and mercy. That is why Paul will tell us in the 5th chapter of Romans that is was precisely while we were still sinners Christ died for us. The Gospel does because we are sinners, not because we have done our best and now God will do the rest.
And so it is in this way that Luther will continue and say that what makes us worthy to receive the Lord’s Supper is to have faith in these words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” What makes the sinner worthy, if we want to use that language, is to recognize that we are sinners and that for the sake of Christ, our Heavenly Father desires to forgive our sins free and clear as a pure gift. … The danger of Lent is to think that this is the time during the Church Year that we must become less sinful. Instead, Lent should be a time in which we recognize just how sinful we are and then rejoice in the gracious gift of salvation won for us on Calvary and in the empty tomb of Easter.
That is why each Sunday we will be making our way to the foot of the cross. We will begin in the Garden of Eden where sin threatens to destroy all that God made good, and we will end at the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ prepares Himself to climb upon the cross and put an end to sin and death forever. Along the way we will hear of the Temptation of Jesus, the promise given to Abraham, the Baptismal conversation with Nicodemus, the water from the Rock in the desert, Samaritan woman by the well, the healing of the blind man, and finally the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
Each and every single week, a step closer to the cross. Each and every single week a reminder of our desperate need for that cross to come to us here in time and space where sin still hurts and the devil still rages and the world still corrupts and death still kills. … And so it is my prayer that this Lent you don’t become a “better Christian” because there is no such thing. Instead, just be a Christian. Which means hear the Law in all of its terrifying harshness. Be broken and be killed each and every day. And then receive the Gospel, that is, the forgiveness of your sins won on the cross and given in Word and Sacrament.
May this be a blessed Lententide for us all, that we may receive the gifts of our Lord and earnestly look forward to Easter Sunday; both the first one and the last one in which we will all be raised from the dead to live with our Lord and our God in perfection for eternity.
Rev. Eli Lietzau
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Something Worth Reading
[All books are available in our church’s library or may be borrowed from the pastor]
Thy Kingdom Come: Lent and Easter Sermons
By: David H. Petersen
This collection of sermons arises from the culture of an active parish life as a part of its usual worship routine. With over sixty sermons spanning Pre-Lent, all forty days of Lent, and the Sundays after Easter, this book now serves as an excellent daily devotion for both pastors and parishioners. Distinctive in his preaching style, Pr. Petersen fluidly interweaves the words of Holy Scripture with his own, immersing us in the text and applying Law and Gospel with sharp insight. As Luther explains in his catechisms, preaching the Word brings the kingdom of heaven from Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to the individual, always pointing us to Christ and Him crucified, died, and risen.
What We Believe—The Power and Primacy of the Pope (Paragraphs 60-69)
The Power and Jurisdiction of Bishops
The Gospel assigns those who preside over Churches the command to teach the Gospel [Matthew 28:19], to forgive sins [John 20:23], to administer the Sacraments, and also to exercise jurisdiction (I.e., the command to excommunicate those whose crimes are known and to absolve those who repent).
Everyone confesses, even our adversaries, that this power is common to all who preside over churches by divine right, whether they are called pastors, elders, or bishops. So Jerome explicitly teaches in the apostolic letters that all who preside over churches are both bishops and elders. He cites from Titus 1:5-6, “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you … appoint elders in every town.” Then [the Letter to Titus] adds that a bishop must be “the husband of one wife.” Likewise, Peter and John call themselves elders <or priests> [1 Peter 5:1; 2 John 1]. Then Jerome adds: But afterward, one was chosen to be placed over the rest. This was done as a remedy for schism, lest each one by attracting a congregation to himself might tear the Church of Christ. For at Alexandria, from Mark the evangelist to the bishops Heracles and Dionysius, the elders always elected one from among themselves and placed him in a higher station, calling him bishop, just as an army would make a commander for itself. The deacons, moreover, may elect from among themselves one whom they know to be active and name him archdeacon. For with the exception of ordination, what does the bishop have that the elder does not?
Jerome, therefore, teaches that it is by human authority that the grades of bishop and elder or pastor are distinct. The content itself says this, because the power is the same, as he has said above. Later, only one thing made a distinction between bishops and pastors, namely, ordination. For it was arranged that one bishop would ordain ministers in a number of churches.
Since the grades of bishop and pastor are not different by divine authority, it is clear that ordination administered by a pastor in his own church is valid by divine law.
Therefore, when the regular bishops become enemies of the Church or are unwilling to administer ordination, the churches remain their own right <to ordain their own ministers>.
Wherever the Church is, there is the authority to administer the Gospel. Therefore, it is necessary for the Church to retain the authority to call, elect, and ordain ministers. This authority is a gift that in reality is given to the Church. No human power can take this gift away from the Church. As Paul testifies to the Ephesians, when “He ascended … He gave gifts to men” (Ephesians [4:8]). He lists among the gifts specifically belonging to the Church “pastors and teachers” [4:11], and adds that they are given for the ministry, “for building up the body of Christ” [4:12]. So wherever there is a True Church, the right to elect and ordain ministers necessarily exists. In the same way, in a case of necessity even a layman absolves and becomes the minister and pastor of another. Augustine tells the story of two Christians in a ship, one of whom baptized the catechumen, who after Baptism then absolved the baptizer.
Here belong the statements of Christ the testify that the Keys have been given to the Church, and not merely to certain persons, “Where two or three are gathered in My name …” [Matthew 18:20].
Finally, Peter’s statement also confirms this, “You are … a royal priesthood” [1 Peter 2:9]. These words apply to the True Church, which certainly has the right to elect and ordain ministers, since it alone has the priesthood.
Bible Study
Join us for Bible Study every Sunday before Service. Continuing in February we will be studying the Book of Romans. You are also invited to Midweek Bible Study each Tuesday morning at 10:00am. Currently, we are studying the book of Ecclesiastes. If you have not had the chance to join us for Bible Study please use this opportunity to begin fresh as we delve into the Word of God together.
