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 Pastor Friedrich Konrad Wyneken. Today we are given a glimpse at what sort of pastor he was and what it may have been like to be a parishioner of his congregation.
45.2 [Part 3] Friedrich Konrad Dietrich Wyneken
—The City Pastor
Blessed Wyneken was very conscientious when it came to preaching. Both in Baltimore and in St. Louis he only wrote out a few sermons in their entirety and never preached a sermon exactly as it was written. However, he was still very conscientious in his preaching preparations and only true sickness or necessary sick calls could keep him from it.
He almost became sick each Saturday due to anguish and worry about the sermon. He would neither eat nor drank; he would groan and sigh; he would look sad and miserable; he truly believed that he was sick and spoke so weakly that a stranger who did not know this was his way could really become alarmed and fear that he was suffering from a severe illness.
After reading Luther or other “old” ones, he would sit and write until 11 or 1 at night. The sermon would then be half finished and suddenly he would then tear it up and throw it into the dustbin because it was wrong! The work began anew. Perhaps the draft was again rejected; perhaps he found grace. In the early morning hours the diligent man would seek out his bed to sleep for several hours but he would not have any peace. On Sunday morning he would still be “sick” and was not happy if he was disturbed. The sermon, the sermon, lies on his heart and mind. How would it be this time? How would he stand before God and before the congregation?
Finally he would stand in the pulpit and begin with a somewhat uncertain voice; he would cough—he would make a slip of the tongue—it would seem that he could not find the words to express his thoughts. In addition, he would make a face as if he had already given up hope of coming to any eloquence this time. But all of sudden a mighty word would escape from his mouth—for example: “we are all stuck in greed over our ears,” or, “all our Christianity is pure hypocrisy unless we also follow Christ in our life,” or, “every Sunday the Pharisees and tax collectors come into church,”—and then it would flow from his mouth like a roaring stream over planes and over jagged rocks. Every trace of unease would disappear. His eyes would shine. Every muscle in his face, every movement of his hands, his entire conduct would testify that he is speaking of a matter that lies on his heart and one which he himself experiences; it is something he would like to preach into the hearts of his hearers, and one for which he would like to win them all. Everyone would feel it; he would not recite a sermon that was only in his head—instead, he would testify of what he himself felt, what he himself experienced, what God’s word has worked in his own heart.
He preached the Law sharply so that the sinner is terrified, and inwardly trembled and anxiously asked: What will happen to me? I am lost!
But he then would begin to teach of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. He would show that all people are redeemed; that even the coarsest sinner should not despair; that the reconciled Father in heaven can help all; that He wants to help all. He would depict the great love of God toward sinners; describe God’s longing to rescue each lost person; rouse the people to receive this grace with believing hearts; scold those who do not dare to seize the grace; ask and implore them to be reconciled with God. He did, in the best sense of the word, the work of a Lutheran preacher. He didn’t merely show the heavenly treasures from afar; instead, he brought them near, presented them to the sinner and gave them courage to seize them confidently and joyfully. –Oh how many first seized the courage to throw themselves with all their sins into God’s arms of grace and to wait for forgiveness for the sake of Christ’s righteousness only after his preaching.
The main content of every sermon of blessed Wyneken was the grace of God toward all people in Christ Jesus. In each of the sermons a sinner could learn how he would be saved. He did not preach of any work of God more dearly than he did on justification; but in so doing he did not forget sanctification. He earnestly called for an upright Christian walk, home devotions, mercy, sympathy with the weak, etc. But he only wanted to know of Christians doing good works out of thankfulness toward God. No one ever heard any talk come out of his mouth about a person having to earn grace. With all earnestness and with emphatic, mighty words, he chastised the false doctrines of the fanatics and papists because they fought against the article of the grace of God which is free and for all people.
Such sermons were very practical and useful to upright people, but not everyone liked to hear them. The Deutsche Jaeger would regularly come once a year into the church in their parade uniforms in order to honor the congregation. They did this only once with Wyneken and never again because he took no notice of them, and, in fact, had even “thoroughly scolded” them.
The Odd Fellows and Red Men likewise were happy to hear him. When they buried a “brother” who had belonged to Wyneken’s congregation, he did not allow them to wear their beautiful aprons and their other pageantry. In fact he had the audacity to preach that they repent and to maintain that they could only be saved through Jesus Christ.
There were other great saints in the congregation who gritted their teeth at Wyneken’s preaching; but all poor sinners, all who despaired of themselves gathered around and thanked God that He had sent this “evangelist” to Baltimore. He was the first (with the exception of Pastor Brohm in New York) in the east of this country to sound once again the trumpet of the Gospel purely, clearly, mightily, and emphatically. Still today thousands still bless the man who by his sermons freed them from fanaticism, unionism and false Lutheranism.
Then when good Wyneken had Sunday’s sermon behind him, all his sickness disappeared. His disposition was serene; he was merry and joyous because he experienced God’s help and could now pleasantly jest with his family or close friends.
He would never keep rough drafts of his sermons and they were soon destroyed. He only wrote the theme and main points in a book in order to be able to see the following year what he had preached on each pericope so he could preach on it differently the next time.
His sermons were fresh, powerful, and, especially during the time that we are now speaking about, direct. He always glad to speak “German,” regardless of whether it was low German or high German. He would not only say to the youth but also to the adults “Instead of standing around on the street, stick your nose into the catechism because you still do not know it.” But when he was direct, one could not be angry with him because one could feel that it was not said maliciously but he merely expressed his good intentions that way.
The sensitive ones of the General Synod could not in the least bear this bluntness. At first they would, now and then, still come to Baltimore to his church in order to hear the peculiar man--especially on Wednesdays. When Wyneken was once so impolite as to speak in his sermon about “wild sows that dug up the Lord’s vineyard,” they never again appeared.
Various people would come to him after the sermon to complain about his statements and expressions. He once preached on the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity “On the Two Church Goers” and showed that, together with the “poor sinners”, “Pharisees” always come to church. He then took the Pharisees and, in his way, gave very accurate thorough portrayal them. After the sermon, two old members of the congregation came and expressed their thoughts on whether there really indeed were such Pharisees among them. But Wyneken soon convinced them that they did not have to look very far at all. They left and never came back to find fault with his sermon.
His sermons were also rich in imagery. He always had beautiful comparisons to commandments which would make what he was talking about clear to his hearers. Thus he once spoke (it was in Adams County) on the difference between the Law and the Gospel. “See,” he says, “it is like this: like a horse with the whip and the oats. If I were to give the horse the whip and spurs, that is a completely different thing than when I pour the trough full of oats for it. The Law is the whip; the Gospel is the trough full of oats.”
Wyneken also spent much energy on confirmation instruction and Christenlehre [An instruction of the congregation by using the question and answer style of the catechism]. His catechism instruction was both simple and dynamic; and he was always pleasant and showed a great desire to bring the milk of the Gospel to the heart of the dear children. He only used Luther’s Small Catechism and the explanation of it that he himself had prepared. On behalf of the Synod he also wrote a book of verses for it that appeared in print in 1849 and was later often reprinted.
One of his confirmands, Dortchen S. was almost deaf and had a very weak ability to comprehend and to memorize. At first Wyneken was at a loss on how he should begin with her. But soon he found the right way. He had her come to his house several times every week throughout the winter and spoke the catechism loudly into her ear, one part after the other, until she finally comprehended enough that he could in good conscience confirm her.
His school was very much on his heart and even if he did not visit it frequently, he cared for it most conscientiously. He saw quite a bit of the teacher, asked about everything, honed his conscience, comforted him and gladly kept school for him when he was sick or wanted to visit Washington or other places. He was always more brotherly than fatherly even toward young people. They truly had a father in him.
So far Professor Krauss
EXTRA SERVICES IN LENT TO PONDER OUR LORD’S SAVING WORK:
07 March
St. John 18.28-30
Two Ways Jesus Is Rejected
14 March
St. John 18.38b-19.6
Ecce Homo! Behold The Man
21 March—
Public Examination of our catechumen
29 March—Maundy Thursday
Zechariah 9. 16-17
God’s Word And Sacrament Do Everything
30 March—Good Friday
Meditations on the Stations Of The Cross
REMEMBER YOUR OFFERINGS EVEN IF YOU CANNOT BE IN CHURCH ON A SUNDAY. THE WORK OF YOUR CHURCH CONTINUES.
REMEMBER THE TIME CHANGE FOR SUNDAY 11 MARCH: The tradition of using Roman numerals on timepieces was established by the early clocks on church towers. During the Crusades, the Church drew the line from the infiltration of heathen Islamic learning by banning the adoption of Arabic numerals on its clocks. To this day, most 'classic' clocks and watches have Roman numerals. [Source: Watch Around Nr. 008 Autumn 2009-Winter 2010]
You may have noticed this Lent that the spot usually occupied by the altar flowers is now occupied by silver communion ware. This communion ware has been in the kitchen closet for decades. It was recently removed from the closet and polished. The bowl may look familiar since we use it for the Ash Wednesday ashes.
A Brief history of the Meriden B. Co; which made our silver communion ware
The Meriden Britannia Company was founded in 1852 in Meriden, Connecticut by Isaac C. Lewis, L. J. Curtis, W. W. Lyman, and Horace Wilcox. The company had its start making products in britannia metal, which is a pewter-like substance generally made from 93% tin, 5% antimony, and 2% copper. In 1855 the company started silver-plating their products. This means, unfortunately, that our products have no lead. In 1876 the Meriden Britannia Company won first place at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition for silver plating. Because of this publicity, by the late 1870s the company was considered to be the largest silverware company in the world. In 1891, the company had showrooms in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, London, and Paris; in addition to an auxiliary factory in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1898 the company became part of the larger International Silver Company. Following WWII, demand for silver slowly declined and the company went defunct in 1983.
Our silver communion ware was offered in the 1886-1887 catalog for the Meriden B. Company. This dates the communion set to the beginning of the reformed congregation that bought the building after the building was destroyed by fire. The flagon was sold at $9.25; the chalice at $3.25; the paten at $4.00; and 'baptismal bowl' at $7.25. The chalice had the option to be gold-lined for an additional $0.75. The 'baptismal bowl' is currently used in the imposition of ashes for the Ash Wednesday service. The picture below is from that catalog. Our communion ware is on the lower left. Also note that the top of our flagon has unfortunately broken off.
Devotional Reading from St. Ambrose
O the divine mystery of that cross, on which weakness hangs, might is free, vices are nailed, and triumphal trophies are raised! So that a saint said, “Pierce my flesh with nails for fear of You” (Psalm 119:120, author’s translation); he says not with nails of iron but of fear and faith. For the bonds of virtue are stronger than those of punishment. Lastly, when Peter had followed the Lord as far as the hall of the high priest, Peter’s faith bound him, whom no one had bound, and punishment loosened not Peter, whom faith bound. Again, when he was bound by the Jews, prayer loosed him; punishment did not hold him, because he had not gone back from Christ.
Therefore you also crucify sin so that you may die to sin. He who dies to sin lives to God. Live for Him who spared not His own Son, so that in His body He might crucify our passions. Christ died for us so that we might live in His resurrected body. Therefore not our life but our guilt died in Him; “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
That wood of the cross is, then, as it were, a kind of ship of our salvation, our passage and not a punishment, for there is no other salvation but the passage of eternal salvation.
While expecting death, I do not feel it. While thinking little of punishment, I do not suffer. While careless of fear, I know it not.
Who, then, is He by the wound of whose stripes we are healed but Christ the Lord? The same Isaiah prophesied that His stripes were our healing (Isaiah 53:5). Paul the apostle wrote in his epistle about the One who knew no sin but was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). This, indeed, was divine in Him, that His flesh did no sin, nor did the created body take in Him sin. What wonder would it be if the Godhead alone sinned not, seeing it had no incentives to sin? But even though God alone is free from sin, certainly every created thing by its own nature can be, as we have said, liable to sin. (Ambrose, Three Books on the Spirit, 1.9.103–106)
A Year with the Church Fathers, pages 374–75, © 2011 Concordia Publishing House.
04 March—The only day of the year that is a command: March forth! And it is a vital lesson for us in Lent
St. Gregory notes: “The going in the way of God is always a forward march.” [Homil. 9 in Evang. NO. 6; cited in Tauler, loc. 5053] The point? Not to advance on the way of the Lord is to go backward.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux put it this way: “When we cease wishing to become better, we cease to be good.” [Epistula XCI, Patrologia, Series Latina, CLXXXII, 224; quoted in LW, XXV, 225]
LENTEN THOUGHTS AND INSIGHTS FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS: Know your enemy, Satan
St. John Chrysostom—Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes the shame; courage follows repentance. Did you pay attention to what I said? Satan upsets the order; he gives the courage to sin and the shame to repentance.” [Homily 8, On Repentance and Almsgiving.]
St. Cyrprian of Carthage—Caution is easier where danger is obvious, and the mind is prepared beforehand for the contest when the adversary declares himself. The enemy is more to be feared and guarded against, when he creeps up on us secretly; when deceiving by the appearance of peace, he sneaks forward by hidden approaches. Therefore, he has received the name of the Serpent. That is always his subtlety; that is his dark and stealthy art for tricking man.
So, from the very beginning of the world he deceived, flattering with lying words. He misled inexperienced souls by their incautious gullibility. He tried to temp the Lord Himself: he secretly approached Him, as if he would creep on Him again, and deceive. Yet he was recognized, and beaten back, and therefore thrown down, because he was recognized and detected. [The Lord Will Answer: A Daily Prayer Catechsim, CPH, 2004, pg. 124]
OUR LORD’S HOLY PASSION
St. Leo the Great (c. 461)—Jesus, knowing that the time was now come for the fulfillment of His glorious passion, said, “My soul is sorrowful even to death;” [Mt. 26.38] and again, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” And these words, expressing a certain fear, show His desire to heal the affection of our weakness by sharing them, and to check our fear of enduring pain by undergoing it.
In our nature, therefore, the Lord trembled with our fear, that He might fully clothe our weakness and our frailty with the completeness of His own strength. For He had come into this world a rich and merciful Merchant from the skies, and by a wondrous exchange had entered into a bargain of salvation with us, receiving ours and giving His: honor for insults, salvation for pain, life for death.
The Divine Service—Forgiveness of Sins: “First, Jesus Himself actually forgives people their sins in the Divine Service. There, on the one hand, He diagnoses sin by the preaching of God’s law which leads sinners to repentance, and He offers pardon to penitent sinners through the proclamation of the Gospel. There, on the other hand, He delivers forgiveness personally through the water of baptism (Acts 2.38) and frees people from sin with His cleansing blood in Holy Communion (Mt. 26.28;1 Jn 1.7). By His blood He does not just forgive us our sins; He too cleanses us from all abuse, all injustice (1 Jn 1.9). By His forgiveness He not only pardons the offender, but also releases both the offending person and offended person from spiritual damage done by the evil deed… Second, Christ has appointed pastors as ministers of the gospel to work with Him in His personal delivery of forgiveness. He authorizes them to exercise the keys together with Him in the congregation that they serve (Mt. 16.18-19; Jn, 20. 21-23)… Third, the risen Lord Jesus involves all the members of the Church in His delivery of forgiveness to each bother and the world. Since they have been forgiven, they are to gently rebuke fellow Christians who do not acknowledge that they have sinned, pray for forgiveness, and forgive them when they apologize for what they have done {Mt. 18.15-35; Lk 17. 1-4; Gal. 6. 1-5; Eph. 4.32).” –From The Theology of Forgiveness and its Enactment, 04 December 2008, Rev. John W. Kleinig
March 2018 LCMS Stewardship Newsletter Article
Hudson Taylor, a Nineteenth Century British missionary to China, is reported to have said, “God’s work, done in God’s way, will not lack God’s supply.” To know God’s way, we need to know His Holy Word. Or to say it another way: you need to know your Bible.
St. Paul, before he spends two chapters on giving, wrote that every thought is to be taken captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
Doctrine matters. And doctrine matters because the Scriptures matter. And the Scriptures matter because this is where we learn the teaching of Christ. Our thoughts must be brought into line with the teaching of Scripture so that our work is what God wants done and so that we do this work in His way.
Bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is recognizing that God does provide. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to pray for daily bread. Praying this day in and day out reminds us that the Lord is the giver of our daily bread, and that we are to gives thanks for His daily provision of it.A good tree bears good fruit. A bad tree bears bad fruit. We have been made good trees in holy baptism. We are fertilized and pruned for bearing good fruit by constantly hearing God’s Word preached and taught in sermon and Bible Class and in receiving the life-giving, faith-sustaining food of the Lord’s Supper. Remember your doctrine, hold on to the Lord’s teaching, and your thoughts will be taken captive to the obedience of Christ.
God is rarely early and never late in His work, as Abraham learned, “on the mount of the Lord it will be provided” (Gen. 22:14). The Lord’s generosity forms our generosity in return. Thus, we set aside for the work of God a generous, first-fruits, proportion of the daily bread that God has given to us. This act of trust in the Lord’s provision is the working out of our faith in Him.
When budgetary discussions pop up, our natural reaction is to point fingers. But remember your doctrine, and what your mother taught about pointing fingers. Our first natural reaction is not always right. In fact, when our thoughts are brought into captivity of Christ, our first reaction should be repentance.
It should raise questions in our own lives. As good trees in Christ who are to bear good fruit, we should ask whether our thoughts are taken captive by obedience to Christ. Have we given generously? Have we given our first-fruits? You know. And God knows. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9).
God will provide. He always has and He always will. He gives His meat in due season. He has not left you as orphans, but has grafted you into His own family. You belong to Him. Remember this, letting this thought dwell in you richly. And you will then be rich toward others.
Why God Gives Immortality
Immortality refers to a perpetual, never-ending reality. Immortality is eternal life, the gift of living forever. It’s one of those incomprehensible concepts, like God’s “infinite” love.
Scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body. But believers know that mankind’s universal plight, the wages of sin, is death.
Do people lose hope when thinking about death? One study[1] predicted that thoughts of death would reduce personal hope for people with low esteem, but not high self-esteem, and that this reduction in hope would be enriched or improved by promises of immortality. Some psychologists note that literal beliefs about immortality help people cope when thinking about death.
The Gospel writer Matthew records Jesus’ words in the 5th chapter, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Here, through the words of the apostle, God encourages His people to consider their future, recalling eternal life that is the reward of faith in a Savior, who endured death for our immortality.
With this gift in mind, all Christians can take heart, confident that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ. His love is infinite and immortal, even beyond comprehension.
Completing our lifetime plan for giving today for blessings to our loved ones and ministries tomorrow is a wonderful way to exalt the Lord, whose love, alone, endures forever.
For more information, contact Robert Wirth, LCMS Foundation Gift Planner @ robert.wirth@lfnd.org or 716-863-4427.
[1] Terror Management Theory: Authors Arnaud Wisman, and Nathan A Heflick, Studies in clinical psychology, human factors psychology, suicide prevention and religion, social psychology, and injury prevention.
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