On the 7th December 1950 Superintendent of Lutheran Missions Christoph Johannes jr wrote the following request for younger missionaries as the present generation was getting on in years. This request was published in the first “Missionsblatt” edited by Rev. Dr. Friedrich-Wilhelm Hopf: Send Missionaries MB 1(1951)43 KPPW
65 years ago Rev. Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Hopf started as editor of the “Missionsblatt”. This was one of his many tasks, which he faithfully fulfilled many years – even decades. In the first edition that he published he gave the following summary of the mission work as he understood it, which contained favourable references to his predecessors in editing the “Missionsblatt”: Pastors Conrad Dreves, Friedrich Wolff and Adolf Blanke. Lastly D. Rudolf Rocholl is also quoted at some length. There pictures are seen above. Here the translation of Hopf’s introduction to the “Missionsblatt” from January 1951: Our Mission Newsletter MB 1(1951)43 KPPW
Here’s a translation of a devotion on Colossians 3:17 written by the late director of Lutheran missions (Bleckmar) Rev.Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Hopf in the first “Missionsblatt” edited by him in January 1951. May it be read in the same Spirit as it was written: 1951 Januar Nr 1 43 FW Hopf Translation KPPW
Here is this morning’s sermon by Dr. Karl Böhmer held in the chapel of St.Timothy at our Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane: 2 Cor. 5:19-21 In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting [men’s] trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Is it possible for you to be in Russia and in South Africa at the same time? Yes, it is. Just go to the Russian embassy here in Pretoria. In some of the suburbs around here, you find a different embassy on every street corner. Now here is the principle on which embassies work: The soil an embassy encompasses belongs to the country concerned. So, if you’re standing in the Russian embassy, you’re simultaneously in Russia, and inside the boundaries of South Africa. The property an embassy is built on is technically foreign soil. For this reason, when countries are at war with each other, sometimes even if they are offended by each other, they will close their embassy in the other country. When war breaks out, they’ll pack things up and withdraw their ambassadors and go home.
Now the apostle Paul tells us that Christ’s death was all about God reconciling the world to himself. Reconciliation is a complete reversal of the relationship between God and the human being. So what was there in this relationship that had to be reversed? Reconciliation puts an end to hostility and enmity. The brutality and the relentless ruthlessness of Jesus’ crucifixion and the events of Good Friday show us what we would never have imagined. The horrific death of God’s Son demonstrates the severity of this fight, this war between God and the human being, and it reveals that it was a war of life and death.
Sin in us and in others is a symptom of a fundamental damage. Sin is the root cause that pushes out shoots and causes deeds, thoughts, words. Sin denies that God is God, it wants power for itself, it stubbornly refuses to acknowledge Him and talk to Him. Sin has declared war on the Almighty God in the deluded notion that it can win the battle. And so sin has distanced us from the Kingdom of God, retreated from the reign of God, embassy closed, ambassador withdrawn, communication shut down. Sin has become the power that holds us captive.
Judging by what usually happens during a war, though, something really strange happened. When war breaks out, mutual embassies get closed and all communications shut down. Sin certainly did this from our side. God should have done that too. By rights, when our parents fell into sin, God should have withdrawn and shut down communication also. End of story. But that’s just it: God has kept the communication open from His side. Not only does He not close the embassy, He keeps sending new ambassadors!
But the power of sin remains. And sin keeps us in debt, keeps the wall up, turns it back on God. A soldier who goes AWOL, who deserts his post and his troops and takes off, can’t just come back to the unit after a couple of months and say: “Hi guys, I’m back!” A gambler who’s lost it all and played himself into major debt can’t just suggest to his creditors: “Hey, let’s just put that all behind us. Let’s be friends again.” There’s something severe between them. Debt is binding, it doesn’t just go away. So it is with sin. Sin has power over us. There is a debt that must be paid. Sin has caused war. And it’s not as if we’re sitting in no-man’s land, able to choose sides, either going with God or going with sin. No, we have already taken a side. We chose sin. It’s war. But God in His tremendous patience and love keeps sending representatives; He opens up embassies; He sends His ambassador. And then we kill Him. Good Friday puts it all into perspective:That’s how it stands between God and us. The Lord dies at the hands of our sin.
You would think: That’s it! For real this time. It’s all over. The ambassador has been killed. Last chance gone. But thank God, it is not so. The cross totally reverses our situation. God takes the biggest war crime of them all – and uses it to make peace with his enemies. God turns the whole situation on its head and puts an end to the strife. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. We need to be clear on this: This is the war crimes tribunal. The guilty are put on trial, put on the stand. And then the judgment is given, the verdict is spoken. But it is not the sinners who are condemned to die, but the ambassador. The ambassador, Christ, identifies himself with the root cause and its consequences: He becomes your sin and mine. That’s sin, dying on the cross. That’s sin being executed. Sin is killed, has nails through its palms, has its body hanging for 6 hours. Why? So that God, when He looks at you, can say: Someone else is your sin. But you? Where you go, righteousness goes, where you stand, righteousness stands, where you live, righteousness lives. Because of Christ, that is so. So Luther also prayed: Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin; you took what was mine and gave me what was yours; you took on what you were not and gave me what I was not.”
That’s the foreign ambassador becoming your advocate. And it is reason for joy, great joy. The war is over, peace is declared, call it out, shout it out, let the message be heard. The great news is that he’s still at it. Still sending his ambassadors, establishing new embassies, sending his request: Be reconciled to God. Repent and rejoice. And now be his mouthpieces and his missionaries, his ambassadors bringing a message of peace to a world at war. Even to Russia, if need be. Amen.
Watchword for the 5th Sunday in Easter called “Cantate Domino”: “Sing to the Lord…” The introit is Psalm 98:1-2: Sing to the Lord a new song, alleluia; for the Lord has accomplished wondrous deeds, alleluia; he has revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles, alleluia, alleluia. His right hand and his holy arm have given him victory.
The Old Testament reading from the prophet Isaiah in the twelfth chapter: In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
The epistle from Colossians in the third chapter: 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The gospel of the evangelist St. Matthew in the 11 chapter: 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
This morning’s sermon during Matins at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane (LTS) on Acts 17:22-32 can be read here: Ac17,22-33 Matins 2016.4.21 and heard here:
We sang the baptismal hymn “All Christians who have been baptised…”. You can listen to us singing that also here:
This year 2016 it is seventy-five years ago that Superintendent Christoph Johannes started a seminary in Salem (Mpumalanga) to train evangelists and assistants. Due to the great war it took some time, before the following report was given about this start-up: Seminary Anniversary 75 years Salem 2016
During Matins I preached on the first epistle of the apostle St.Peter the fifth chapter verses 1-4. Here it is to read (1Pt5,1-4 Matins 2016.4.14) and here it is to listen to:
(Sadly it’s only the first part, somewhere along the line I got a call and pressed the wrong button, that put the rest of the story on hold and we only hear Dumisane continuing with the liturgy once I pressed the button again. I thought to stop, but obviously it was to continue…Well, here goes anyway.)
Jubilate Sunday is the third Sunday after Easter. It is called this because in the liturgy the first line of the introit is “Jubilate Deo omnis terra” (“Shout with joy to God, all the earth”) from Psalm 66 (65).
Watchword for the 4th Sunday in Easter called “Jubilate” from 2 Corinthians 5:17. The apostle St.Paul writes: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Old Testament reading from the first book of Moses (Genesis) 1:1-4a. 26-31a.2,1-4a: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good… 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground– everything that has the breath of life in it– I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good… Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
First letter of St. John the 5th chapter: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Gospel of St. John the 15th chapter: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (Joh 15:1-8 NIV)
Wilhelm's space 