Sternenachteburg - Shields

Rank can be understood from a quick look at the shield.

A round shield

Every good castles needs a shield for the defenders.  This is the very basic design of the defender's shield.  I have artistic licence with what is possible in my castle's universe, so I have a little fun.

Rank is easily determined by a quick glance at the shield.  A common soldier would have a plain shield. Officers would have their personal or family crest on the shield with the material determined upon rank.  Leutenants would have steel, Captains would have a white metal, and Commanders/Generals would have a Gold metal.  The remaining four shields have to do with a story-line with the castle, so I wont go into detail about them right now.

I also acknowledge that not all fighting positions use the stereotypical shield shape, so I included a round shield as an example of how this would work with multiple shapes.

Stoles

As a future pastor, I cannot help but think about stoles, which is seen as the sign of the office of a Pastor.  Because of that, I like many of my classmates have spent time designing a set of stoles with the hope of maybe one day having the chance to put them together.  These stoles have taken on a life of their own.  Each are an attempt to use the color of the season and symbols of the church for the benefit of the proclamation of the Gospel.

Red - The Cross as the Key to Heaven

The Red Stole is intended to make the viewer think about the Holy Spirit at pentacost.  Blue is the coming of christ and where we meet him at Baptism. Purple has the sackcloth road to Jerusalem.  Green is growing things and Christ being the tree of life.  Black is stark with only the outline of a cross to remind us of the despair of the cross.  White has gold on it to remind us of the kingship of Christ.  Each stole has a unique cross to symbolize what Christ has done.

Each Stole has the same cross on the back though, with the nails and symbols of the lords supper and baptism in it, to remind us that it is through Christ suffering that we have the Means of Grace.

Epiphany 3B - Go Fish

GOSPEL
Mark 1:14–20

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”5 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Goal: God uses his people to be fishers of men, so that all people may hear.

Malady: People are outside of the relationship with God because they have not heard the word of God.

Means:  God calls us and teaches us.

Sermon - Go Fish

Grace Mercy And Peace from God our Father, and Savior Jesus Christ his Son our Lord.  AMEN

One of the things I have come to notice over the years, is that it seems like less kids know what it is like to Go Fishing anymore. I cant prove this with any statistics, but more and more kids that I have run into have never gone fishing before. I’m not sure if this is because apple hasn’t come out with an iReel, or if kids just don’t go outside as much anymore, much less go fishing. Its kind of sad, because they aren’t learning about the skills takes to catch fish, or the patience it takes to wait. I am by no means a master angler, but I have at least know a few things about fishing and the equipment that you need. You need a pole of some sort, a hook and some bait, and a net to bring the fish in. That’s all you really need. One of the important things to learn though is that the equipment changes slightly for the different types of fish you want to catch. Maybe it’s a different bait, or a different type of hook, or heavier equipment. You need to be prepared for every circumstance. I also know one other thing about the fishing I’ve done. Normally you go out for fish, and not men. Its generally not a good thing if your hook grabs onto something other than a fish.

In today’s gospel text however, Simon and Andrew, James and John, were all fishers of fish called to be fishers of men. Now, Today’s Gospel is very similar to last week’s gospel passage in John 1:43-51. In both passages, Jesus is calling disciples to follow him, but there are subtle differences. John’s passage focuses on the call to follow, Mark’s tells us what they would do with that call. Jesus is calling disciples promising that they would become fishers of men. From today’s text we learn about how God uses his people to be fishers of men, so that all people may hear.

It is in simple words that Jesus begins his ministry in the Gospel of Mark, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” There is little pomp and circumstance in his message, merely the truth and a call to believe in it. It is not unusual to see a Man called by God to go out and preach the broken Law and the healing Gospel, the Old Testament was filled with prophets that were sent out to do Just that. God called these men so that his word to the people could be proclaimed. God speaks through intermediaries all the time, because we cannot hear his perfect word directly when we are outside of the relationship with him. Here however it is unique, because instead of being just a man called by God, instead it is a man who is the Son of God. Jesus is able to speak the word directly to the people. But, he does not remain alone; he calls men to follow him. He calls men to become fishers of men. These are men that would continue what Jesus had started long after he died, rose, and ascended into heaven. When these four men were called to be fishers of men, they did not hesitate, they got up immediately and left everything that they had. They acted without hesitancy, preaching what Jesus had taught them, living in what God had given them. They were called to be fishers of men, but first they would be disciples.

It seems appropriate then that he calls fishermen first. Who better to become fishers of men than fishers of fish. Many people know that one of the first things that a fisherman has to learn if he wants to be a good fisherman is to be patient, because without patience one can never catch a fish. You also have to know when to act, since a hook will have its bait eaten away if the fisherman never pulls. An impatient man may never catch a fish, but a man that is too slow to act wont catch one either. And the next things the truly great fishermen learn though is how to learn from your experiences so that you can catch more next time. This isn’t unique to being a fisherman either. To be successful, we have to be able to learn, lessons that are taught to us, what we do good in our attempts, and what we don’t do good in our attempts. To be successful is to learn. Quite simply that is what is meant by being a disciple, it is quite literally being a learner.

If you noticed though, Jesus didn’t call them to be disciples, he called them to be Fishers of Men. They would go out and catch people for the Gospel . Becoming a disciple was an ends to a means, because Jesus knew that he wasn’t going to remain here on earth forever in a physical body, he left behind people that he trained to continue preaching the Gospel, to reach out to those who did not know the why they felt weighted down by grief and sorrow because of the law, and that there was the powerful message of the Gospel that promised them a new relationship with him, the Christ, anointed to be the pure sacrifice for our sins. The words of Jesus “ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” are so simple because with the Christ coming in the body of a man, salvation was there for all people. The light came into the world so that all the dark places in our souls would be eradicated by the pure and holy light of the Love of God. And that is not a time that has come and gone, that only affected men of old, but it is the truth that still rings out in this very Christian and apostolic church.

We too have been called to be fishers of men. We have been called by the power of the Gospel, through the water and the word we are brought into the relationship with God. That means that as children of God we need to learn, to be disciples, so that we may know the many and abundant blessings God has showered down upon us as his children in the church. And we do learn, we learn through Sunday school as children. We learn throughout confirmation. We continue to learn in adult bible class, group bible studies, and through personal bible studies. We learn through the readings and the sermons preached in worship as well. And we learn in all these places, not because of the teacher or preacher, but because when we are called the Holy Spirit enters our lives and teaches us through the WORD. We are disciples.

But, simply being disciples do make fishers of men. Knowing all the techniques of fishing only makes you a fisherman if you actually go out and fish. In the same way, knowing the bible alone does not make you a fisher of men. It simply makes you a very good learner. We were not called to simply be learners though, but to be fishers of men. The 12 disciples did not remain simple disciples forever, but they became Apostles, the sent ones. Learning about the Love of God is great, but we should also want to tell others about it too. God uses his people to tell other people about the Love that he has shown the entire world through his one and only son Jesus Christ.

Fishing for men is not a simple affair. It takes patience, and it takes the Holy Spirit working through us in the things that we have been taught as disciples. We cannot be hesitant, We can take comfort in knowing that results are not always as evident as fishing for fish. You don’t catch a fish with every cast, and not every conversation you have will result in a new member here at holy cross. But if no one ever sends out the line, nothing is ever caught, and if no one ever tells another person about the actions of God, how are they to know? It is the ultimate catch and release experience… those who are caught and not bound up, instead they are caught by the power of the Holy Spirit and set free by the power of the Gospel. Different people will respond to different things, but the root of the message is always the same, Christ and him crucified.

It is important to remember that we are not the same as the apostles. They were called to a unique position to reach out full of the holy spirit working miracles and speaking the words of the spirit. I doubt any of us here will have a moment where because of what we say thousands will convert at one time. But we can remember and learn how we can act like them. They were not perfect. They did not have a perfect record of conversion either. Their power did not come from themselves but through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit calls and equips men and women for different jobs, and some are called to teach, some to serve, and some to fish.

We are called to be fishers of men, like the apostles, and we have been given the power to do just that through the Holy Spirit. We can rejoice and be glad because through Jesus we have been called children of God, and he continues to work through his children so that ALL men may know of his love forever. Get your poles ready, because through the power of the Holy Spirit every day is fishing season. AMEN

Busy Week

This week has been busy for me in and outside of the office.  Next week I will be heading toward Fort Wayne, Indiana to attend Symposia, a theological conference on exegetical and systematic topics that are at issue in todays world.  This years topics are  In Search of Jesus: Why History Matters and  Justification in a Contemporary Context.  I'm looking forward to the second topic especially, because of the ease that people have discussing topics like Justification online.  Click on Symposia for more information.  A short list of the speaker is listed here.

The theme for the 27th annual Exegetical Theology Symposium, January 17-18, is In Search of Jesus: Why History Matters. Main speakers include Richard Bauckham of Cambridge, England; Daniel Johansson of Gothenburg, Sweden; as well as Dr. David Scaer, Dr. Charles Gieschen and other CTS professors.

The 35th annual Symposium on the Lutheran Confessions has chosen Justification in a Contemporary Context as its theme and will take place January 18-20, under the sponsorship of the Department of Systematic Theology. Speakers scheduled to participate include Dr. Jack Kilcrease, Adjunct Professor of Theology and Humanities at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Dr. Erik M. Heen, John H.P. Reumann Chair in Biblical Studies, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia; along with Prof. Roland Ziegler and other members of the CTS faculty.

Because of this trip, this week and next week are dedicated to getting other things done, but hopefully afterwards I'll have more time to post again.

Sternennachteburg - Whats in a name?

Sternennachteburg - Starry Night Castle

For anyone who speaks German, I apologize, I don't but I'm still using the language.  In a previous post I gave the name of the castle which my design gets inspiration from, but I did not give my own creation a name.  That's because it has changed a few times, so I wanted to be sure of my decision before posting it.  

The decided name is Sternennachteburg, which roughly translates into Starry Night Castle.  You can thank Google Translate for the beginning of the German, and me for cobbling(in other words, destroying a perfectly good language) it together.  I chose German because my family has German ancestors and I like the sound of Sternennachteburg.

The name comes from the material that I have built it out of.  It is a blue granite with yellowish spots that remind me a bit of a night sky. This has lead to some interesting story ideas with this castle, since I can play around with geology and science in an imaginary world.  

Out in the Wilderness

OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis 1:1–5

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

PSALM

Psalm 29

             1       Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,

      ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
            2       Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
      worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
             3       The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
      the God of glory thunders,
      the LORD, over many waters.
            4       The voice of the LORD is powerful;
      the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
             5       The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
      the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
            6       He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
      and Sirion like a young wild ox.
             7       The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
            8       The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
      the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
             9       The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth
      and strips the forests bare,
      and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
             10       The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
      the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
            11       May the LORD give strength to his people!
      May the LORD bless his people with peace!

EPISTLE

Romans 6:1–11

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

GOSPEL

Mark 1:4–11

 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Sermon

Grace Mercy and Peace ...

 Our text comes from the Gospel of Mark.

 John the Baptist is often overlooked, but he had an interesting background.  We know from Luke that he was the Son of Zechariah, and he is the subject of the Song of Zechariah, when Zechariah received his voice back and he was filled with the holy spirit and prophesied:

You, My child shall be called The prophet of the Most High,

For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins.

And he became known as the voice of one crying in the wilderness spoken about by the prophet Isaiah. 

 ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”

He was known throughout all of Judea, so that even though he was in the wilderness, people still flocked to hear him preach, teach, and see him baptize.  We know that at least Andrew, the brother of Peter and  one of the 12 disciples, was originally a disciple of John. We also know from other accounts that church leaders and laymen came equally to see this man.

But he was also a shaggy man, dressed in Camelhair and leather, eating locusts and honey, and his place of teaching was the riverbank of the Jordan.  He appeared in the apparel that many of the prophets that went before him wore, eating the food that came to him, and baptized the flowing waters of a tiny river.

He was popular, but he wouldn’t have exactly measured up to today’s idea of popular preachers.  Popular preachers who are immaculately groomed, in expensive churches, preaching that if you believe if Jesus Christ you will never face hunger or pain again.  No, he was not preaching this, he was preaching about a baptism of repentance, and one who would come after him who he was unworthy of untying his sandals.

What made him so interesting that people flocked to him?  And why would we even care today?  We care because it helps us understand the question, “What is repentance?”  AND, we care because Jesus’ baptism by John is one of the few accounts that is recorded in all four gospels.  The Lord’s Supper and the resurrection aren’t even recorded in all four Gospels.  Jesus had no need of repentance and yet he was baptized by John, so why?  Christ came and was washed in the Jordan, so that all Christians may be recognized by God.

As interesting as John the Baptist was, I don’t know if he had come today, if I would have bothered to listen to him.  Let’s face it, if it isn’t easy to get to, most of us today don’t really bother trying to seek someone out.  We want things to come to us, without a whole lot of work on our part.  And who would really want to go out to hear some guy rant at you after walking all day.  Especially a guy that probably would have looked a bit like a raving madman. We might watch a clip or two off of YouTube or the evening news, but that’s about as much work I would want to put in… Unless I liked what I was hearing, and then I’m willing to put in a little more work to get there.  And while some things have changed, I don’t think attitudes have changed that much from john’s time.

People probably first started to come out to listen to John because he was a novelty.  They hadn’t seen someone dressed that terribly in a long time, the time of the prophets.  Just a side note, if anyone thinks they have it bad, or the bible is boring, read the Old Testament prophets.   They are proof that God has a sense of the theatrical and the dramatic.  Because people don’t listen very well, God made sure that people would pay attention.   That’s why Isaiah and the Baptizer wore Camelhair and leather, because God told them to.  So people would have wanted to know if maybe this was a return of the prophets.  The people of Israel hadn’t heard a prophet in 400 years, so the coming of a new one would be a big deal.  They kept coming though, because of what he was preaching and teaching.   A Baptism of Repentance.

People naturally want to be on the right side of God, because when God is for you who can be against you?  But we also know that the one who created Light and all good things is a good and Perfect God, Holy and Pure.  But being fallen and corrupt people we are unable to be perfect.   God knows this, yet he asks his people to be holy as I the Lord your God is holy.  How are we holy?  God gave his people the Ten Commandments, and for more detail, the Levitical laws that detailed how the Israelites were to live, act and be.   But his people were unable to keep these, not because the laws were unreasonable, because what is more reasonable than don’t murder, don’t take what isn’t yours, don’t lie, and honor the one you gives you life.  The Ten Commandments were pretty straightforward but we fail time and time again.  That is why John’s baptism of repentance is so important.

But what is repentance?  Is it simply saying I’m sorry?  It depends on what you’re sorry for, your you sorry that you did wrong, or that you got caught.  There have been plenty of times where if I’m with myself I know I was saying sorry more because I felt bad because got caught and not because I felt all that contrite about what I had done.  That type of apology, is more self righteous than about being repentant. If you have ever had a conversation and used the phrase, “I said I was sorry” you know exactly what I mean.  I’m sorry is not a magic spell that makes everyone happy, and repentance only guarantees a one way action, from you to the other person.  That person has to respond for forgiveness.

Repentance is instead, a turning about in action, a changing of the mindset.  One key part of the repentance that appears here in Mark that doesn’t quite translate into English is the understanding that the repentance comes from the work of God in our lives.  We cannot think of repentance as I have come to realize that I have done wrong, as if repentance requires my head.   That type of repentance leads us to think that I can keep doing whatever I feel like, and then just say, “Sorry” afterwards.  Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Instead it is more like taking a small child and turning them, so they are facing in a different direction. The child can squirm, but they have no choice of looking in that direction.  God grabs us and turn us so that our actions can no longer move in the same direction again.  Our repentance comes from simply listening to what God is calling us to do through the Holy Spirit.  If repentance only guarantees a one way action, from you to the other person, that other person has to respond for forgiveness.  But we don’t have to worry about if we will be forgiven when we are repentant, because God has already said I forgive you.

But why was Jesus Baptized?  John had already said that there was one that was coming that was greater than him.  This is coming from the man about whom Jesus would speak, “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” So then if Jesus is greater than the greatest man, why did he need to be baptized?  It was because Jesus followed in the ways of his father, so that all humanity would know the benefits of being called sons of God.  The baptism of Jesus is the first place where we see the Father Son and Holy Spirit in one place, the son in the water, the spirit as a dove, and the ripping open the heavens with the father’s voice, this is my son with whom I am well pleased.  And that is exactly what we want to hear, that God is pleased with us.

When we had the water poured over our heads, with the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” God was sending his Holy Spirit into our lives, turning us around so that we could be called sons of God.  We still have the gift of free will turn away from him, but he constantly is speaking through his Word reminding us that we have the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

God has made it easy for us to be right with him, because he does all the heavy lifting.  We are turned to him in repentance and he receives us through the Water and the Word, so that we can have life forever in his son Jesus Christ who live and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and forever. AMEN.

Goal:  Christ came and was washed in the Jordan, so that all Christians may be recognized by God.

Malady: People want to be right with God, but cannot do it on their own.

Means:  Through the waters of baptism we have been called children of God.

The Church

In come the pews!

The last time you saw it.

The church continues to grow in detail.  I finally started putting in some of the things like pews carpet.  I wanted the church to be focused on the altar, so arranging the pews was a bit of a difficulty with the unique shape of the church.

Yesterday's post showed more of the detail of the baptismal font, and in today's you can see where it belongs, and understand how it would influence the way you viewed entering the church.

I really like the effect of the stained glass cross at the front, because it has the seasons of the church worked into the detail. The cross has been a project of mine for about six years now, and I hope to one day build it in real life.

Happy Epiphany

Sunday we celebrate the baptism of our Lord by John the Baptist in the Jordan.  Because of Lutheran's sacramental view of baptism, I feel it is important that we put emphasis on the physical elements that we use, just as we do with our theology.  It bugs me when at a Lutheran Church the baptismal font has to be pulled out of a closet, because this treatment it does not seem to resonate with our emphasis on baptism.


In the church that I have been designing, I have been attempting to create a space with a lot of symbolism, in an attempt to get people to think more about the sacrament.  To be fair, I kind of went overboard with designing it, but I like what I have so far.

The baptismal font is in an octagonal pit at the entrance to the church.   The reason for the location and the bridge is to show that it is only through baptism that we are able to enter into God's presence.  The 8 sides curve in to give the feel of being inside a boat to remind us that God saved 8 people through the flood.  In the stairs are cascading fountains. The stairs descending into the pit are painted red to represent the blood of Jesus,and  the stairs ascending are white to represent being made pure in the waters of baptism.

There is more symbolism and art to be worked into it, I just figured this was good for today.

Ring

When I first started designing this ring, I had ordination in mind.  My father was a Lutheran Pastor, and for his ordination he got Luther's wedding ring because of all of the symbolism that it had.  I decided that I wanted to design something like what I would like to have if I had no limits.  I like the idea of this ring, but I doubt it will ever go beyond the drawing board.

Celtic Cross

I've always been fascinated by the intricacy of Celtic crosses.  As a result, I found myself learning more about the history and the ways they have been used.  This was created after a lot of trial and error, but I like the current state that it is in.  The center is a nice emphasis on the sacraments, and the arms and legs are a reminder of the suffering of Jesus.  As more and more crosses are posted you will notice that I rarely have an actual figure of Jesus.  This is not because I am against Jesus being on the crucifix, instead it is because I have yet to feel like I have drawn something that looks remotely human.

Close up of the Center

Pectoral Cross