The Lutheran Hour
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"A Sunday for Suffering"
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Text: Hebrews 13:3
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During the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior said, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Most of us, given a choice, would forego the blessing of being persecuted. Nevertheless, many in the Christian world have no choice. Today we remember our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for righteousness sake.
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! This Sunday, we remember Christians around the world who suffer because of their faith in the Lord Jesus, and it begins with God’s great words of resurrection victory. Before the empty tomb, where Christ defeated death, the weak find power, the helpless acquire hope, and the dying are delivered. With confidence that Christ has saved us, all God’s people come together, voices blending, in a never-ending song of joy and praise.
Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior? Most Lutherans love to sing. Get a bunch of us together, and it isn’t long before someone says, “Let’s sing.” And what do we sing? We sing old, beloved hymns everybody knows so well. That’s the theory. Sadly, not all old hymns are well known or loved. At my first parish in South Dakota, I picked hymns that were known and loved by everyone, I thought. My first Sunday, the organist played. I sang with gusto. The congregation? They heard a solo from their new pastor. People left church saying, “Where did you get that hymn?” At my Minnesota church, they said, “Vere ditcha git dot hymn?” In Texas, it was, “Where’d y’all get that hymn?” The hardest comment came from my organist who said, “Reverend, I used to pray for a pastor who would pick different hymns. From now on, I’m going to watch what I pray for.”
Indeed, all the Lord’s people, filled with the joy Jesus gives through His life, death and resurrection, love to sing His praises. And no one sings those praises more purely, and sincerely, than those who suffer for the Savior. I’m talking about those who are persecuted by government, friends, family and neighbors, because Jesus Christ is their Lord. I’m talking about those who are the living and dying, fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic words: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11). So I ask, have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
You could have heard that song around the year 320. The Roman emperor Licinius was persecuting Christians. In Armenia, his 12th Legion, nicknamed the “Thundering Legion,” had 40 men who proclaimed Jesus as their Lord. To force a renunciation of their Savior, those 40 were sentenced to spend the night, naked, upon a frozen lake. A warm house, food, and a hot bath were available to anyone who turned from Jesus. If you had been there, in the descending darkness, you could have heard their song to the Savior. The 40 sang, “O Lord, 40 wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee. Grant that 40 wrestlers may gain the victory!” The song became softer as, during the night, one by one, they fell asleep, and died. Only one of the soldiers gave in. He left his comrades and went to the house where the centurion, with the execution squad, kept watch. In spite of the desertion, the song continued: “O Lord, 39 wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee. Grant that 39 wrestlers may gain the victory!” The Holy Spirit used their song, and faith, to touch the centurion. Proclaiming himself a Christian, the centurion went to the ice. By morning, the cold had silenced their song. Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
It is not necessary to go back through the centuries to hear that song. Less than five years ago, another martyr sang for the Savior. I cannot give you the words or the melody she used. All I can do is pass on what was reported by the Asian soldiers who had repeatedly raped this Christian girl. They relate, in amazement, how, throughout her ordeal, she sang strange, Christian songs. To silence her; they shot her. She continued to sing, a bit weaker than before, but she sang. The soldiers shot her again; and she sang. The soldiers became afraid before this witness of faith they were seeing and hearing. They hacked at her with machetes. And, in this world, and this world alone, her song was stopped. Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
It is not necessary to go overseas to hear these songs. The date: September 11. The place: Tower 1 of the World Trade Center, just above where the terrorist plane hit. The scene: the smoke filled offices of Cantor Fitzgerald. The future: None. This building and those on this floor have been marked for death by terrorists. There is no hope. But then, through the smoke, a song was sung. It had no melody. The words did not rhyme. But it was a Christian’s song. Co-workers recognized the voice of Al Braca. Normally, Al was a corporate bond trader. This day he was the Lord’s singer. With death minutes away, Al made a phone call to his family. He couldn’t get through. He left a message with an MCI operator: “Tell them that I love them.” It took a month to deliver that part of Al’s song. In hurried e-mails, in final cell phone contacts, others on the floor told of the rest. They spoke of how Al was praying with 50 of his co-workers; how he was sharing the love of Jesus, and how they could be saved. Al’s son, Christopher, best described that song when he said: “The last thing my dad did involved the two things most important to him–God and his family.” Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
As this sermon is being written, CNN has just carried a news flash. It tells of seven of Jesus’ people, working at a Christian charity, who have been murdered in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the sixth such attack against Christians in that country this year. The hands of all but two of these workers were tied. They were all shot at point blank range. That is the story except for one more detail. The mouths of those who were murdered had been taped shut. No one, except their butchers know why this was done. But I know Christians. That is why I believe these Christians, facing death, sang their heart’s song and shared the Savior. Their murderers would have been afraid to hear that song – and thus, the tape. Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
Governments, institutions, educators, philosophers, mad men and a myriad of false religions have tried to silence the song of Christ’s followers. Each year, about 150,000 believers have their earthly singing stifled. In Africa, a starving mother looks at her emaciated child. A soldier holds out food. He promises to give it to her little one if she will deny Jesus. In her reply, she sings the Savior’s song of salvation. Her child may die, but her baby is Jesus’ baby. Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
In the face of persecution, the underground Church of China continues to sing. Pastors are led away to re-education camps. Scripture passages are memorized before the community Bible is confiscated. Worship is held in places secret and selected at the last second. As for singing, when a hymn is announced it is sung, but only inside each worshipper’s heart. To sing out loud would bring the authorities. Unheard by human ears, these harmonies of the heart ascend to heaven.
Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior? Roy Pontoh was among 150 members of Bethel Church in Indonesia. Roy was at a retreat when a Muslim mob attacked. He was asked, “Are you a Christian?” “I am a soldier of Christ.” The attacker cut off Roy’s hand. Roy was asked again, “Are you a Christian?” “I am a soldier of Christ.” The attacker stabbed Roy and killed him. That day, Roy’s youth pastor, and two others also died. Others lost their homes, their villages, their business. Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior? Listen in the jungles of Indonesia, and you will hear it.
The heartsongs of these believers are shared not to satisfy crude curiosity or so that you might think these sufferers are, in themselves, exceptional, extraordinary people. That would cheapen the song. No, these are the dying chords of men and women, who, having seen their Lord live for them, suffer for them, and die for them, were grateful for the opportunity to say, “Jesus has saved me, I cannot deny Him.” These are mortal men and women who, having seen the resurrected Christ proudly sang, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15: 55-56).
Jesus had said those who followed Him would be “handed over to be persecuted and be put to death” (Matthew 24:7). But He also said: “….when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” In short, Jesus said, ‘Your Father in heaven will write the words to your song.’ Armed with these promises, Christians, under torture, and in their last moments, have sung their songs of thanksgiving and praise. They have sung songs which speak of forgiveness for their murderers (Acts 7:60). They have sung songs which say, “The Lord’s grace is sufficient for us. His power is made perfect in our weakness.'” They have sung songs which say, “To live in Christ is good, and to die in Him is better” (Philippians 1:21). Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
All of these human songs have been inspired by God’s Good News of grace. The Lord’s love was first shared with our sinful forefathers whose wrongdoing had brought discord and disharmony into God’s perfect world. Over the centuries, the promise of redemption was heard by peoples, patriarchs, prophets, and kings. Above Bethlehem’s hillsides angels spoke a song of hope to shepherds as they shared God’s Good News of great joy–a Savior had been born for them in David’s town. During the years Jesus lived with humanity, others were moved by God’s undeserved care. The deaf heard, the lame walked, the dumb spoke, the possessed were cleansed, the dead were restored to life, and a multitude of sick and sorry souls were, by Jesus’ hand, made whole.
Yet, it is the Easter’s empty tomb, we are most touched by God’s great expression of love for us. God’s glorious Good News of resurrection, the words, “He is risen,” spoken by an angel, has, for 2,000 years, echoed and soared throughout the world. No one who has truly heard those words can forget them. No one who has truly paid attention to those words can ignore them. Faith in those words has rescued souls from sin; saved sinners from hell and, for 2,000 years, inspired hymns of gratitude in human hearts on every continent and in every circumstance. But nowhere is the hymn of thanksgiving more clearly heard than those who, in persecution and pain, have said, “Jesus is my hope, my happiness, my all.” Have you heard the song Christians sing to the Savior?
If you do not know the Lord; if you have never met the Savior; then listen. Today, God offers you His love. His love is not a fleeting, fair-weather sort of thing. His love is able to give a Christian enough courage so that he may calmly and compassionately, face a mob and pray for their forgiveness. Today, God offers you forgiveness in His Son. This forgiveness is strong enough to erase everything you have ever done wrong. Today, we bring Him to you. Hear what He says. Do not stop up your ears. Do not let the other, conflicting sounds of earth drown Him out. Write down the number that will be given before this program ends. Let us help you find your song to the Savior.
And to you, who already know Jesus, are you not moved by the songs your persecuted brothers and sisters are singing to the Savior? Just a few of those songs have been shared today. They were told not to make you angry or fill you with rage against the radical rabble of other religions. I do not share these stories so you may seek vengeance upon others. These stories have been shared on this Sunday, so that you might pray for these brothers and sisters, around the world, who are suffering for the Savior who gave His life for them. This is the wish of our Lord, who said, “Remember them that are in bonds, as (if you were) bound with them” (Hebrews 13:3).
Remember them. You may never know their names, but they ARE, because of Jesus’ blood, your brothers and sisters. Their children sold into slavery, are your children. Their daughters raped and mutilated, are your daughters. Their sons, beaten and murdered, are your sons. Their hunger pains are yours. Their thirst, yours. Their chains, yours. Their prison cell, yours. These, your brothers and sisters, ask you to pray that these cups of suffering might pass from them.
But they ask you to pray for something else even greater than their deliverance. They ask you to pray that they might have the courage, the bravery, and the power of the Holy Spirit to sing their song of praise so clearly, and so powerfully, that those who oppress them, those who torture them, those who hate them, might hear of Jesus, be moved by the Holy Spirit, and be saved. They want you to pray for them so that their hearts’ song, mixed with their martyrs’ blood, might be a way for God to unharden hearts and save sinful souls. They ask you to join your song with theirs so that this sinful world might see the Savior. See Him closely. See Him clearly. See Him well.
Have you heard the song your persecuted brothers and sisters, around the world, are singing to the Savior? If you have, sing with them. They may have to whisper their hymns so they are not caught. You who are free, should sing those hymns with gusto and gladness. They may have to slyly sneak to their Sunday services; you who are able to drive to church without fear of arrest, should do so with faithful joy. Let those who have to hide their single Bible, lest it be confiscated; be joined by their brothers and sisters who are free to search the Scriptures. Let the small, but magnificent, offerings of the persecuted be mixed with those who have been blessed, and blessed again. Let our gifts, our lives, our voices be joined together with theirs so this world may know, and believe in the Christ, the Savior, the Son of God. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for November 10, 2002
ANNOUNCER: We’re talking again about English Bible translations. I’m Mark Eischer and joining me is Dr. Cameron Mackenzie, professor of Historical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. Dr. Mackenzie is also the author of “The Battle for the Bible in England–1557 to 1582” published by Peter Lang. Dr. Mackenzie, good to have you with us again. Who writes the footnotes in the Bible and how might that reflect or promote certain interpretations?
MACKENZIE: Well, the footnotes and other helps that accompany a Biblical text are basically the responsibility of the translators or the editors or the publishers or some combination of all three. And I hasten to add there is really nothing wrong with providing such help to the readers. Martin Luther himself did that when he first translated the Bible into German back in the days of the Reformation. But, this is also where theological differences can become very obvious. For even if a translation is a good one, bad notes can lead readers astray. The Scoffield Bible, for example, was originally simply the King James version, which is an excellent translation of the literal type, but with notes prepared by a man who was what we call a dispensationalist, pre-millennialist, somebody who believed in a literal thousand year reign of Jesus and so forth. Well, the interpretation in the notes leads one in a distinctively non-Lutheran direction and so we would say, in an erroneous direction.
ANNOUNCER: Dr. Mackenzie, you’ve raised some important concerns here. I’m wondering, is it possible to choose a bad translation? Will I have to worry now as I walk into the store and look at all the choices available to me?
MACKENZIE: Well, the answer there is yes and no. I mean, you can get a bad translation, but with a little practical advice from your pastor, I think you’ll do fine. There are lots of good translations out there. I haven’t been too explicit at this point but I’ll just say translations like the New International Version, which is used in a lot of our Lutheran churches or the New American Standard Bible or the new English Standard version, or even at a more readable, dynamic level, an American translation, are really all pretty good Bibles. They have been done by respected scholars and although the experts wouldn’t say any of them is perfect, the Bible-reading public can be pretty content when they pick up a version like that, and what they read is faithful to the original and, therefore, is God’s Word.
ANNOUNCER: It is the Word of God that brings us to Jesus Christ, the only Savior of sinners.
MACKENZIE: Absolutely. You’ll find that message even in some of the translations which, for other criteria, I would say, are not the best translations.
ANNOUNCER: Today many Bible publishers are owned by large secular corporations and I’m wondering has this in some instance affected the content. Would you find editorial variations between different editions of the same translation based on the different publishers?
MACKENZIE: The answer to this, I believe, is yes. Bible publication is big business in America. Publishers put out different editions of the same translation and that won’t affect the text so much but it will affect the notes. So, for example, the New International Version, which is very popular in the evangelical Christian community, is available in a host of editions including a very fine one produced by our own Concordia Publishing House. The Concordia Self Study Bible contains notes and other accompanying material and has been produced by some of the best Biblical scholars and our own Lutheran community.
ANNOUNCER: Dr. Mackenzie, are there any other comments you wish to make–things I didn’t ask specifically?
MACKENZIE: No, actually as I reflected on these questions, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of covering our bases here.
ANNOUNCER: Very good. We’ve been talking with Dr. Cameron Mackenzie, professor of Historical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. Dr. Mackenzie, thank you for being with us.
MACKENZIE: You’re very welcome. I enjoyed it.