Dear friends in Christ,
We continue our survey of Church History from the book of Professor E.A.W. Krauss from our St. Louis seminary of a century ago. This month we continue our look at the life and work of Pastor F.K.D Wyneken as we conclude a look at his life at home. We will see that he was consistent in living out what he preached as we see his love of others and his desire to show mercy.
- 4. [part 2] Friedrich Konrad Dietrich Wyneken: As the Head of the House
With the most sincere delight he remembered his earlier hardships, his poverty, his travels by day and night, his being lost in the forest, his reception in the log cabins, etc. A true joy for souls was shining from his eyes as he explained that so many people at that time received the Word of God with great longing; how they had spoken with each other about God’s Word into the night; how even the women had traveled by foot many miles often on the most terrible paths in order to hear the sermon; how neither storm nor weather deterred the people from coming together with him. “O, that was a beautiful time!” he joyfully exclaimed.
Each time he spoke about it, yes, even with all the joking, one always was left with the feeling: this is a deeply serious man who has peace in God.
Just as unquestionably as Wyneken took to heart and practiced the word of God, “A bishop then must be…hospitable” {1 Tim. 3.2), so he also did the same with “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb. 13.16). For him, giving was truly a joy; he was adorned with this virtue in richest measure and he practiced it not only for a time but from when he first came to America until his old age. He gave to help others until he himself was poor. The result, of course, was that he never had money and that his household, according to human judgment, lacked much. That’s why we speak here about it; otherwise we could have certainly have done it earlier.
The best way to show what he thought about giving and doing good is by giving several examples.
When he still lived in Indiana, if the people in the surrounding settlements had forced money or provisions upon him, he seldom brought them home. Along the way he either gave it to someone in need who asked him for a small gift or he gave it to poor people who lived on the way.
Once, when he still had his accommodations with Mr. Heinrich Rudisill, he arrived riding in stockings; along the way he had given his boots to a poor man wearing torn shoes who had met him and had asked him for money.
Another time his father-in-law had given him money to buy a pair of boots because his were no longer watertight. He indeed went to do this, but returned home with neither boots nor money. Along the way he had met poor people who had more need of the money than he did.
It is rightly said of a very compassionate and generous person: he gives the shirt off his back if he has to. Wyneken literally did that in the following way.
One day he entered a house that stood all by itself. In it some men were busy laying out a man who had just died. Wyneken had visited the now deceased man several times during his final sickness. He then noticed that the men were searching for something that they could not find anywhere— because it was not there, namely a clean shirt. As soon as Wyneken became aware of it, he said, “Wait a few moments. I know where one is.” He went out into the stable and when he returned a short time later, he handed over to the people a fine shirt. His coat, though, was buttoned up to his neck.
As long as he was a missionary, Wyneken paid little attention to his clothing. Even his best suit was mostly threadbare, patched here and there. The congregation, though, was not pleased that its pastor went about in such poor clothes. The yellow pants, about which we had told earlier, were particularly offensive. But he liked them because they were “indestructible” and he wore them in the city as well as in the country.
Everyone knew that Wyneken never had money in the house, therefore he didn’t have any to buy better clothes with. Ernst Voss, the elder, thus once collected $40 for him (at that time a significant sum), brought the money with great joy and urgently asked him to now have a decent suit made. While Voss was still there, a poor woman comes to Wyneken and laments to him her need. She said that her husband was already lying sick for a long time; for months the rent could not be paid; the landlord did not want to wait any longer; she had neither money nor groceries; she and her children suffered hunger; in short, her need was very great. Voss listened for a while but left when he noticed that he was not needed here.
The congregation hoped that it would soon see their pastor in new clothes but he still went about in his old clothes as before. This seemed strange to more and more people, and after several days Voss asked him whether the new clothes had not yet been finished. “New clothes?” Wyneken asked in response. “What new clothes? Where do I get money from for new clothes?” “But,” Voss responded, quite unpleasantly surprised, “did I not bring you $40 that was collected for this purpose? Now you don’t have any more money?” “Yes,” Wyneken said happily, “that turned out quite naturally. Did you not see at that time the poor woman who lamented to me with bitter tears her distress? I gave her the money because she needed it more than I did. And look, my suit is still good enough.” Voss wanted to challenge but Wyneken said, “Now, don’t make a big fuss; the dear Lord can give back to me double the money and new pants in addition if I need it!” “Yes, you are right,” Voss replied somewhat downcast. “So,” Wyneken then said, “do you doubt it? You are a sound Christian to me. Do you not know that in the First Article it says: I believe that God richly and daily provides me with all I need to support this body and life”? Voss was indeed silent but he made a face as if he wanted to say: God indeed provided for you but you have given it away. Now look how you will make it!”
Both went together into the city. They had not gone too far when Postmaster R. called, “Wyneken, here’s a letter for you!” “Where from?” he asked surprised and happy because at that time letters were a more rare occurrence than today. “From Germany,” he replied. Wyneken took the letter and saw right away from the address that it came from his relatives. He opened it and the first thing he took from the envelope was a check for 80 Taler that his brothers sent him “so that he would not starve in the forest.” He showed Voss the check and said, “You see—you doubting Thomas!”
They then proceeded on and went past a shop. Its goods, which stood by the door, included finished clothing. As soon as the salesman caught sight of Wyneken, he said, “Pastor, I ask you to come inside.” Wyneken complied with his wish; Voss also went. “See,” the salesman then says, “I hold up these pants. They were made for a man who lives in the country; he is a man your size. You would do me a great favor if you would just try them on before I send them off. I could then say, ‘They fit him.’”
Wyneken was a little annoyed and didn’t want to do it but when the man asked him again, he went into the corner, put on the pants and went into the light in front of the salesman. “Well,” he said, “how do you like the pants. It is a distinguished look, just right for a pastor!” “Yes,” said Wyneken, “but it is not something for me! As long as I have been a pastor, I never had such pants and now I cannot at all use them.” “Well, pastor,” he responded, “the pants are yours. You shall keep them. They were made for you and –paid for!”
Wyneken bristled at accepting the present. He went into the corner to put on once again the old, comfortable yellow pants. But they were gone. He had to go home in the new pants.
“Now, Voss, what do you say?” Wyneken said to him when he extended his hand to him to depart. Tears were in his eyes; he shook the hands of the godly pastor and left.
Wyneken often emptied his wife’s pantry and flour barrel. Mostly he had to keep himself to the latter because there was nothing else on hand that he could have given away. Because of this his good wife was not infrequently in difficulty and also complained of it but then he would rightly say, “Be of good cheer. Almighty God is exceedingly rich. He will provide so that you again have something to cook and bake. Do not despair! Giving is more blessed than receiving!”
One day his wife made a fine new cloth coat for him. But since his old grey smock fit him more comfortably, he still only wore that one like before while the new coat hung for a long time unused in the wardrobe. When he had to make his the next trip to the synod, his wife also wanted to pack the almost never used coat in the traveling bag. She opened the wardrobe but it was not to be seen. She looked for it everywhere but it did not show up. Finally, she asked her husband where he had left the new coat. “Yes, see, he said, “a poor fellow, a down and out German candidate came one day. He fit the thing perfectly and went away with it full of joy.”
Obviously miserable deceivers exploited Wyneken’s generosity. One day in Baltimore a man came to him. He pretended that he was well off in Germany but since it was difficult for him to learn English he wanted to return to his homeland and so he asked for a small contribution for his trip. Wyneken gave him his last half dollar but then later often had the pleasure of seeing in the streets the man who was tired of America. After such experiences, he would well say, “I’m just glad that I did not deceive him” and at the next opportunity gave what he had.
Many can tell similar stories from his life. He always had an open hand and was, therefore, as we said, poor. He was poor in Ft. Wayne and there he also only had a meager income. It increased in Baltimore to $500 a year and several occasional compensations; but there he also remained poor and only had the absolute necessities.
Mr. Friedrich Schmidt, the publisher of the [Lutheran Church News], had once written him a letter from Pittsburgh. It took a long time before he received an answer. When it finally came, he also received an excuse from Wyneken: he could not get the letter from the post office because he did not have the five cents necessary to mail it. –Once when both were visiting with their friend E. in B., they teased each other about their poverty. Schmidt said, “Money is useless to you; you only give it away!” “And you?” Wyneken responded, “Can you show a dollar?”
Wyneken remain just as poor in St. Louis; and in Cleveland, although there his yearly salary was almost double of what he had before and received several significant gifts, it was the same. His Savior Jesus, though, will repay him the good he had done for the poor, and then he too will be rich.
Wyneken knew nothing of so-called pleasures that many heads of households, also certainly pastors, sought outside of their house and office. His calling and his family gave him much, very much pleasure. He only read the Sun in order to stay informed about the events in the country. For him reading the newspaper was not a pleasure, much less a necessity.
In contrast, he enjoyed visiting members of his congregation, especially the elderly, and related with them in a most brotherly way. At times he also took his wife and children along to such visits. He also liked to spend several hours in the country. He was always a welcome guest with old Ebert, an honorable Alsatian, as well as with his married daughters who all lived together close to the city on Harford Road. So too with the Becks. At times he also traveled to the Horns in Franklin or to other people where he could again see and enjoy a little life in the country.
That’s how Wyneken lived as the father of the house! He did so according to the doctrine, which he, as pastor, publicly taught. He was the same God-fearing, conscientious man at home as he was in the pulpit and in his whole official life.
So far Professor Krauss
REMEMBER OUR FIFTH SUNDAY DINNER AFTER SERVICE ON 29 JULY. PLEASE BE SURE TO BRING A DISH TO SHARE AND JOIN US FOR A TIME OF FELLOWSHIP.
A FRIENDLY REMINDER:
YOUR CHURCH STILL NEEDS YOUR OFFERINGS WHEN YOU ARE GONE ON A SUNDAY
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FAKE NEWS—DEFINITELY NOT YOUR CHURCH’S NEWSLETTER!
THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR CHURCH’S NEWSLETTER:
“We all know, of course, what to make of our newspapers. The deaf man writes down what the blind man has told him, the village idiot edits it, and their colleagues in the other press houses copy it. Each story is doused afresh with the same stagnant infusion of lies, so that the ‘splendid’ brew can then be served up to a clueless [people].”
[Timur Vermes, Look Who’s Back, MacLehose Press, New York, pg. 20]
A POPE PRAISES LUTHERAN MISSION WORK
In his encyclical, Militantis Ecclesiae, of 01 August 1897, Pope Leo XII [left] described Protestantism as the “Lutheran rebellion, whose evil virus goes wandering about in almost all nations.”
A NATION UNDER GOD, A NATION THAT KEEPS THE SABBATH
In 2011, the US Open was won by Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy in convincing fashion indeed. Wielding one of the most impressive swings in golf, McIlroy absolutely dominated the field, winning by eight strokes over his nearest competitor and posting the lowest score ever in the 111-year history of that storied tournament.
But an interesting controversy distracted some attention from McIlroy’s big day. NBC commenced its coverage of the final round with a patriotic montage of flags, soldiers, and salutes (the tournament was played at the Congressional Country Club just north of Washington, DC). The voiceover was of a group of school kids reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. We heard “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation…indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Strangely, inexplicably, the phrase “under God” was excised. NBC was flooded, almost immediately, with protests from around the country, and Dan Hicks, the anchor for the golf coverage, was compelled to issue an apology, even if it was one of those less than convincing “We apologize to anyone who might have been so small-minded as to have been offended…”
One wonders whom the producers of the broadcast were trying to impress or not to offend. I guess it must have been atheist and agnostic golf fans, for I can’t imagine people of any religious denomination who would have been outraged at the mention of God. Of course, by not offending that rather small community, they manage to offend everyone else—and to do violence to the words of the Pledge.
And though it might not be immediately apparent, this is no small thing. The claim that we are a nation “under God” is an affirmation that we stand opposed to tyrannies of all stripes. What creates a tyrant is the assumption that he and his policies are beyond criticism, because his will is the criterion of truth. Political rulers are, in fact, under God, because God is the ultimate criterion of truth and justice; and there is, therefore, a limit to what any political figure can, with moral rectitude, legislate or command. When God is denied, political power knows no limit—even if that power rests in a legislature or in the will of “the people”—and therefore tyranny becomes almost inevitable [emphasis added by newsletter editor]. If you doubt me, take a look at the massively dysfunctional regimes of the last century—Hitler’s, Stalin’s, Mao’s, Pol Pot’s—which were predicated upon the formal and explicit exclusion of God from the public conversation.
One of the most significant contributions of the Bible to politics is precisely the placing of kings “under God.” Israelite kings were not like Egyptian Pharaohs or Babylonians divine-rulers—absolute in judgment and godlike in sovereignty. Rather, they ruled at the pleasure of God and according to God’s purposes, and accordingly, when they ran counter to the divine will, they were placed, quite properly, under judgment.
Take a look at the bitter denunciations of wicked kings by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John the Baptist. The prophets, speaking for God, excoriated Israel’s leaders for their idolatry and their indifference to the suffering of the weak and the poor. It is precisely this biblical intuition that shaped the thinking of the political philosophers of the eighteenth century, who put in place the whole set of checks and balances to which we have become accustomed. The bottom line is this: when the true God is marginalized, someone else or something else—the army, the press, the government, a single leader—plays the role of God, and that is dangerous indeed. I want ours to be a nation under God, not primarily out of pious considerations, but for my own safety’s sake! [emphasis added by newsletter editor]
This is just one of the many frightening faces of an ideological secularism that we have increasingly allowed to dominate public life in America. Curiously, about midway through the final round of the US Open, Johnny Miller, the always-entertaining color commentator for NBC Golf, inadvertently suggested one reason for this dominance. A colleague asked Johnny why Ken Venturi, who won the Open at the Congressional Club in 1964, had played two rounds on Saturday in the blazing Washington heat. Miller explained that, in those days, golfers didn’t play on Sunday for it was the Sabbath day. His simple answer brought me back to my own childhood, when Sunday did indeed have a distinctive texture: businesses were closed, sporting activities were suspended, and almost everyone went to church. The honoring of the Sabbath—stipulated in the third of the Ten Commandments—is a way to remind us of the Lordship of God, and hence it is a supremely effective means to hallow the country. It is sad that we have lost any sense of Sunday’s difference: it is now more or less another weekend day off. It’s sad, yes, but if my argument above is right, it’s also more than a little frightening.
[Robert Barron, Seeds of the Word: Finding God In The Culture, Word of Fire Ministries, 2015, pg. 151-153]
THE BREAD AND WINE/ BODY AND BLOOD IN THE HOLY SUPPER
In the 1 Corinthians and Gospel accounts of the Lord’s Supper, there is no word present that could be translated as “symbolizes” or “represents.” There is no indication that the words of Christ are picture language (for example, as John identifies the apocalyptic writing of the Book of Revelation). Rather, God’s Word clearly teaches that in the Lord’s Supper the bread and wine are a participation (communion) in the body and blood of Christ. God’s Word also teaches that those who misuse the Sacrament sin against Christ’s body and blood.
Neither the bread nor Christ’s body is imaginary. According to Jesus’ words, the bread is His body. Is (estin in the Greek) means “is.” The giving of His body with the bread is just as real as the giving of His body into death on the cross. The fact that bread is there in the Sacrament is evident to the senses—we can see it and taste it. The presence of Christ’s body is something we believe on the evidence of the Word—the Lord of the universe says it is there.
“Is.” It’s the linguistic version of an equal sign. Jesus said that in the Lord’s Supper the bread is His body. The wine is His blood. This is the big mystery at the heart of the Lord’s Supper: Under the bread and wine, we also receive Jesus’ body and blood—the same body that was nailed to the cross and the same blood that was shed for our sin. It is also the same body and blood that Jesus showed to His disciples after He rose from the dead. (Lutheranism 101, p. 150)
The same is true for the blood. That the wine is there is evident as we smell it and see it and taste it. That the shed blood of Christ, the blood of the new covenant, is there we believe on the evidence of God’s Word. Our efforts to understand this holy mystery cannot include the refusal to stand under the Word of God and, by that refusal, deny the mystery.
Devotional reading is from Lutheranism 101: The Lord’s Supper, pages 40–41© 2012 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Prayer rightly to love and treasure the holy Sacrament:
Lord Jesus, You call unto Yourself all those that labor and are heavy laden to refresh them and give rest unto their souls. I pray, let me also experience Your love at the heavenly feast which You have prepared for Your children on earth. Keep me from impenitence and unbelief that I may not partake of the Sacrament to my damnation. Take off from me the spotted garment of the flesh and of my own righteousness and adorn me with the garment earned with Your blood. Strengthen my faith; increase my love and hope; and after this life let me sit at Your heavenly table where You will give the eternal manna to those Who are Yours and let them drink of the river of Your pleasures. Hear me for Your sake. Amen.
Prayer is from Daily Prayers, pages 100–101 © 1935 Concordia Publishing House.
A prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274
Grant me, I beg You, Almighty and most Merciful God, fervently to desire, wisely to search out, and perfectly to fulfill, all that is well-pleasing unto You. Order my worldly condition to the glory of Your name; and, of all that You require me to do, grant me the knowledge, the desire, and the ability, that I may fulfill it as I ought, and may my path to You, I pray, be safe, straightforward, and perfect to the end. Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give me an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon me also, O Lord my God, understanding to know You, diligence to seek You, wisdom to find You, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace You. Amen.
[From The Lord Will Answer: A Daily Prayer Catechism, CPH, pg. 248]
LCMS STEWARDSHIP ARTICLE:
When it comes to stewardship, a favorite Bible verse is the account of the widow’s mite (Luke 21:1–4). It’s a moving account. Our Lord praises the seemingly small gift of two copper coins given by a poor widow above the abundance of gifts given by the rich, saying, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them” (Luke 21:3).
And that is usually where we stop. But the text goes on. “For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:4).
“She … put in all she had to live on.” She gave everything. She held nothing back. She trusted that the Lord who made her and all creatures, who gave her everything she had, who redeemed her from her own sin, from death, and the power of the devil, who called her by the Gospel and enlightened her with His gifts of Word and Sacrament, would continue to do this. He would provide her with all that she needed for this body and life because that is the character of the God she had.
But this is not why we give small gifts. Her gift, though it appeared small, was actually large. When we are tempted to give small gifts it is precisely because we want them to be small! We don’t trust the Lord to provide for us.
We give small gifts because we lack faith in the One who created us, redeemed us, sanctifies and keeps us in the one true faith. We give small gifts because we doubt that God will really give us what we need and desire. We give small gifts because we are not content with what God has already given.
We are not slaves, children of the slave woman, under the Old Covenant (Gal. 4). We are adopted sons of the free woman. And since we are sons, we are also heirs. And heirs receive the inheritance. For everything is already ours in Christ. And thus, moved by the willing spirit of adoption, we do the will of God in financial matters far beyond all that done by those under the Old Covenant who were forced by legal demands.
So what have you decided to give? How do I decide what to give? Let the Scriptures be your guide.
We are to give proportionally to what we have received from God’s giving to us (Luke 12:48; 1 Cor. 16:1-2, 2 Cor. 8:12). But you have not been set free to give nothing. See that you excel in the grace of giving (2 Cor. 8:7).
We are not free to live selfishly outside the Gospel, without regard for God who gives us all good gifts, without generosity for our neighbor who needs us and our gifts, without supporting the community of faith in which we live, without care for our spiritual fathers and those who teach and help raise our children in the faith, without resources for the poor and needy – in short, we are not free to live unto ourselves, hoarding what God has given us only for us.
For love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). And the sum of the law is this: Love God and love your neighbor (Matt. 22:34-.40). We love because He first loved us. We give because He has given to us.
Luther once said, “Possessions belong in your hands, not in your heart” (LW 14:240). There is a reason your 10 fingers spread apart. With your hands you catch God’s gifts for what you need and let the rest fall through your fingers to your neighbors – your family, your friends, your community, your church.
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Giving up Control
Emotional control has constructive and harmful implications. What about giving it up?
Control can be a virtue associated with good management or stewardship. To manage and control expenses, inventory or personnel performance requires discipline and skill that leads to productive results. Controlling behavior, for example, can be the difference between protecting or giving fun to others, or bringing harm.
Tendencies to control often manifest character flaws. When people assert themselves to control others, or when they attempt to control any situation according to their own interests, such controlling can produce undesirable or unintended outcomes. When assertive people are aggressive, dominant or even defiant, they demonstrate insecurity or inflexibility; unable to ‘let go’ of their need to control.
Some people are more passive, submissive or obedient. These people may not want to control and often give way to the will of others. They are often peace-makers and can be easier to live with, provided they are not passive-aggressive. At times, these people may have difficulty making timely decisions and often rely on someone else to determine.
When people ‘let God’ govern decisions, the fruits of ‘agape’ love fills life. Human relationships require the important of ‘letting others’ control certain situations. Whether we assert ourselves or submit to others who do, living with such emotional balance can translate into healthy human interaction.
All mankind will face a time when giving up control will be a common fate for us That is why Christian stewards confess and receive absolution. That is also why those who live in the ‘here and now, live with an eye to eternity.’ We should take time to plan to pass on the earthly grip that we enjoy on the wealth we control until others might also share in the blessings of God’s redemptive love.
For more information, contact Robert Wirth, LCMS Foundation Gift Planner @ robert.wirth@lfnd.org or 716-863-4427.
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