WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.525 --> 00:00:07.525 Dear sisters, brothers, classmates, in Christ. The text for today 2 00:00:08.125 --> 00:00:09.225 I changed it 3 00:00:09.225 --> 00:00:10.225 it was such fun. 4 00:00:11.125 --> 00:00:15.325 John Vieker, called me on Tuesday and told me that our classmate Dean 5 00:00:15.325 --> 00:00:19.725 Wenthy, the would not be able to be in the Pulpit this morning because 6 00:00:19.725 --> 00:00:22.125 of family matters that much more 7 00:00:22.125 --> 00:00:26.825 importantly, keep him where he is with his family in our prayers, are 8 00:00:26.825 --> 00:00:30.025 with the Wenty family at this time. 9 00:00:30.725 --> 00:00:35.525 So this morning, I kind of feel like Elijah after the Chariot goes 10 00:00:35.525 --> 00:00:38.225 away and I said to myself. 11 00:00:38.425 --> 00:00:42.425 Hmm, where am I going to go for a lesson? 12 00:00:42.425 --> 00:00:45.225 Because Dean had his choice, you know, but I got mine. 13 00:00:46.125 --> 00:00:50.325 Well, there's some of, you know, I'm still in the parish 50 years 14 00:00:50.325 --> 00:00:52.325 later every Sunday. 15 00:00:52.625 --> 00:00:57.825 So I had just gone over John called me on Tuesday morning and I just 16 00:00:57.825 --> 00:01:00.325 sort of worked out my sermon a little early because I was going to 17 00:01:00.525 --> 00:01:05.425 be here this week and I chose the first lesson for this coming Sunday, 18 00:01:05.425 --> 00:01:07.225 in the three-year lectionary system. 19 00:01:07.725 --> 00:01:12.625 I'll talk about it a little bit more later on but it's Ecclesiastes 20 00:01:12.625 --> 00:01:19.725 chapter, 5, and in verse 20, it says for he will not much remember the 21 00:01:19.725 --> 00:01:26.825 days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. 22 00:01:28.425 --> 00:01:29.425 Oh, what to say? 23 00:01:29.525 --> 00:01:33.925 Well, back in the day, going, 50 years back and you guys haven't aged 24 00:01:33.925 --> 00:01:34.625 a bit. 25 00:01:35.925 --> 00:01:36.525 I love when they come 26 00:01:36.525 --> 00:01:37.625 they turn around your 27 00:01:37.825 --> 00:01:38.825 Oh, that's who you are. 28 00:01:38.825 --> 00:01:39.125 Yeah. 29 00:01:39.125 --> 00:01:41.125 That's who I am now. 30 00:01:41.125 --> 00:01:42.325 Oh my gosh. 31 00:01:42.825 --> 00:01:45.325 Well, back in the day when we were at the Seminary. 32 00:01:46.025 --> 00:01:49.725 I don't want to say it was a little more structured than it is now, but it was 33 00:01:49.725 --> 00:01:52.125 a little more structured than it is now. 34 00:01:54.125 --> 00:01:57.525 So you came in from your colleges, although many of us have been 35 00:01:57.525 --> 00:02:02.225 together at senior college and you had your little conventicles of 36 00:02:02.325 --> 00:02:07.225 Ann Arbor and Bronxville and and like those were your old friends. 37 00:02:07.625 --> 00:02:09.525 And old friends are good friends. 38 00:02:09.725 --> 00:02:14.125 I'm you know, especially attuned to my brothers from Bronxville who 39 00:02:14.125 --> 00:02:18.425 are here, but we even had people from Oakland in our class. 40 00:02:18.825 --> 00:02:22.925 So they have, you know, again a different experience. But when 41 00:02:23.025 --> 00:02:28.925 you got to the Seminary, you got a whole new group of best friends. 42 00:02:29.725 --> 00:02:33.425 And those were the people in your corner of the alphabet. 43 00:02:36.825 --> 00:02:42.425 Well, you sat with them day after day, and year after year. You know, 44 00:02:42.425 --> 00:02:45.025 the letter to the Hebrews has that great 45 00:02:45.225 --> 00:02:47.025 catalog of the Saints. 46 00:02:47.625 --> 00:02:50.525 I have the catalog of the W's. 47 00:02:53.125 --> 00:03:01.425 So today I get to go and have a shout-out Warneck, Weldon, Wenthy, 48 00:03:02.125 --> 00:03:09.325 Wiki, Weeble, Willman, Winkler, Wallenberg, 49 00:03:09.325 --> 00:03:10.425 Wyneken and 50 00:03:10.425 --> 00:03:10.925 Ziglie. 51 00:03:11.325 --> 00:03:13.225 Oh, well John was a "Z" 52 00:03:13.225 --> 00:03:15.325 but he had no alphabetical next of kin. 53 00:03:15.325 --> 00:03:15.825 So 54 00:03:17.625 --> 00:03:22.525 we brought him in with the W's. And I'm pleased to say that my what we 55 00:03:22.525 --> 00:03:23.725 called your alphabetical 56 00:03:23.725 --> 00:03:28.625 next of kin are both here today, Bill Winkler and Dave Wallenberg. 57 00:03:28.625 --> 00:03:34.125 So we still have the little Trifecta from the end of the W's around 58 00:03:34.125 --> 00:03:40.025 and well. We the W's and the Z, learned together. 59 00:03:40.525 --> 00:03:46.525 Practiced sermons on one, another. Practiced the Liturgy on one another. 60 00:03:47.425 --> 00:03:52.225 And became friends as we aspire to the higher calling of the parish 61 00:03:52.225 --> 00:03:57.925 Ministry. And even on called a both for vicarage and our assignments 62 00:03:58.225 --> 00:04:01.925 where did they put us together with our people from the alphabet. 63 00:04:02.325 --> 00:04:05.325 And the the W's ended up and Sieck Hall room 64 00:04:05.325 --> 00:04:08.925 201 together. I especially remember, vicarage Call Day 65 00:04:08.925 --> 00:04:10.425 where people who shrieked about 66 00:04:10.425 --> 00:04:11.425 Oh my gosh. 67 00:04:13.025 --> 00:04:15.825 And well, I have a little story there Jerry Wallenberg is here and 68 00:04:15.825 --> 00:04:16.925 Dave's my alphabetical next 69 00:04:17.225 --> 00:04:22.925 of kin and their call was to Grayling, Michigan. And it said, what was 70 00:04:22.925 --> 00:04:23.025 the 71 00:04:23.025 --> 00:04:23.525 major. 72 00:04:23.725 --> 00:04:26.825 They told you about the town you were going to what was the major 73 00:04:26.825 --> 00:04:29.025 industry and it said Bear Archery. 74 00:04:33.525 --> 00:04:35.925 And Jerry's, we're going to be shooting Bears. 75 00:04:35.925 --> 00:04:40.025 Well, it was actually a company in that, you know, but in any case 76 00:04:40.025 --> 00:04:43.425 those those were absolutely golden moments. 77 00:04:44.025 --> 00:04:47.125 And I've been delighted to read the various biographies 78 00:04:47.125 --> 00:04:49.025 that all the classmates have sent in Tom 79 00:04:49.025 --> 00:04:53.225 Trap was nice enough to collect and send out to us. But especially, 80 00:04:53.725 --> 00:04:56.425 I've looked at the W's and the Z. 81 00:04:57.625 --> 00:04:59.825 Jim Wiebel working in a funeral home. 82 00:04:59.925 --> 00:05:05.125 Well, yeah, that that kind of works, you know, and and again John's 83 00:05:05.125 --> 00:05:08.225 Zylie who just had his first grandchildren. 84 00:05:08.825 --> 00:05:13.325 Oh my gosh, I've got 15 of them and the oldest is 22, but we all have 85 00:05:13.325 --> 00:05:18.425 different stories about the great blessings that we've had all our 86 00:05:18.425 --> 00:05:19.125 days. 87 00:05:19.925 --> 00:05:24.925 So when John called me and said, could you fill in for Dean? 88 00:05:24.925 --> 00:05:27.225 I said, okay, and I said, 89 00:05:27.425 --> 00:05:29.125 But can I choose the text? 90 00:05:29.325 --> 00:05:34.425 Because I had just gotten to know the Old Testament lesson for this 91 00:05:34.425 --> 00:05:35.525 coming Sunday. 92 00:05:35.925 --> 00:05:38.025 Now, there's a story there as well. 93 00:05:38.025 --> 00:05:44.225 Ecclesiastes chapter 5 because it's what I would call a newbie for us 94 00:05:44.225 --> 00:05:45.525 to share and treasure. 95 00:05:46.825 --> 00:05:52.625 Back when the LSB lectionary was being finalized, the chairman of the 96 00:05:52.725 --> 00:05:54.425 lectionary subcommittee, 97 00:05:55.125 --> 00:05:58.425 my esteemed cousin Art Just from the Ft. Wayne 98 00:05:58.425 --> 00:06:02.325 Faculty said, that one of the guidelines that we were going to work 99 00:06:02.325 --> 00:06:02.625 with 100 00:06:02.625 --> 00:06:04.725 as we establish the LSB 101 00:06:04.725 --> 00:06:10.125 Lectionary was to include as many books of the Bible as possible. 102 00:06:10.725 --> 00:06:14.425 Now when the class of 71 got out, we were still in the single 103 00:06:14.425 --> 00:06:16.425 lectionary there was used in 104 00:06:16.625 --> 00:06:21.025 TLH and the like and it did not have a number of the books of the 105 00:06:21.025 --> 00:06:21.425 Bible. 106 00:06:21.425 --> 00:06:26.125 So we remedied that and now in the three-year lectionary, their 107 00:06:26.125 --> 00:06:33.825 readings, from Ruth, Zephaniah, Jude and two from Ecclesiastes. 108 00:06:34.625 --> 00:06:37.625 Some Churches had used traditionally Ecclesiastes 3 109 00:06:37.625 --> 00:06:41.425 there was a Time etcetera, etcetera, but we put a second one in and 110 00:06:41.425 --> 00:06:46.125 that's what you heard this morning, Ecclesiastes chapter 5. 111 00:06:46.525 --> 00:06:51.925 Which ends for he will not much, remember the days of his life because 112 00:06:51.925 --> 00:06:56.125 God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. 113 00:06:57.725 --> 00:07:03.325 Those of us who are Jubilarians, what a great term can attest to 114 00:07:03.325 --> 00:07:09.925 what it means to being occupied by joy. We can share decades of having 115 00:07:09.925 --> 00:07:14.325 seen the gospel at work in the lives of our people and in our own 116 00:07:14.325 --> 00:07:15.525 lives as well. 117 00:07:16.225 --> 00:07:19.825 We have been serving and continue to serve a gracious 118 00:07:19.825 --> 00:07:25.225 God a God who brings us forgiveness of sins, life and salvation in 119 00:07:25.225 --> 00:07:27.325 Jesus Christ. Who works 120 00:07:27.525 --> 00:07:32.525 in us and through us, according to the directing of the Holy Spirit, 121 00:07:32.825 --> 00:07:35.725 day by day and year by year. 122 00:07:36.525 --> 00:07:41.325 Now not all of our classmates responded to Tom's invitation 123 00:07:41.325 --> 00:07:43.925 I hope to more of those biographies come in. 124 00:07:44.425 --> 00:07:49.725 But again, the theme that runs through is that life has been enjoyable 125 00:07:50.125 --> 00:07:51.625 by the grace of God. 126 00:07:52.825 --> 00:07:58.125 Now the Concordia Study Bible, which like LSB, my favorite Hymnal has 127 00:07:59.125 --> 00:08:04.425 wonderful things in it. Notes that according to Christian and Jewish 128 00:08:04.425 --> 00:08:11.525 tradition Solomon, wrote his song early in his reign, Proverbs toward 129 00:08:11.525 --> 00:08:15.725 the middle and Ecclesiastes at the end. 130 00:08:16.425 --> 00:08:20.625 So again, when John called me and I said, wow, did you just even 131 00:08:20.625 --> 00:08:22.225 though we did not put in the lectionary 132 00:08:22.625 --> 00:08:29.225 text for Jubilarians Ecclesiastes, five more than does the 133 00:08:29.225 --> 00:08:36.725 trick. Martin Luther once said, Solomon would teach us to wait in 134 00:08:36.725 --> 00:08:44.225 confident trust and to let God alone do everything above and against 135 00:08:44.525 --> 00:08:48.025 and without our knowledge and counsel. 136 00:08:48.825 --> 00:08:57.225 After 50, or 55 or 60, or even 65 years of ministry 137 00:08:57.325 --> 00:09:03.225 all of us have stories of how we've been surprised by God time after 138 00:09:03.225 --> 00:09:06.725 time, and how it has been a blessing for us. 139 00:09:07.425 --> 00:09:11.625 And at this time, I would like to ask the members of the classes and 140 00:09:11.625 --> 00:09:16.725 1966, 61 and 56. 141 00:09:16.725 --> 00:09:18.325 Can you believe there are three of them 142 00:09:18.725 --> 00:09:22.025 with us to rise and receive our applause. 143 00:09:41.625 --> 00:09:46.025 So, if you want to know what it means to be occupied by joy, that's 144 00:09:46.025 --> 00:09:46.925 where you go. 145 00:09:48.325 --> 00:09:51.825 We remember again, the words of the catechism and it's nice in that 146 00:09:51.825 --> 00:09:53.425 service of prayer and preaching. 147 00:09:53.425 --> 00:09:58.125 We made sure that people heard the catechism and from time to time, 148 00:09:58.425 --> 00:10:05.525 echoed the word, who again, spoke about, where we go and what we do in 149 00:10:05.525 --> 00:10:13.525 Christ. For all this, it is my duty to thank and praise serve and obey 150 00:10:13.525 --> 00:10:16.325 him and we can all respond. 151 00:10:16.625 --> 00:10:17.725 This is most 152 00:10:18.225 --> 00:10:19.625 certainly true. 153 00:10:20.325 --> 00:10:21.025 Amen. 154 00:10:22.225 --> 00:10:27.025 We continue as we stand because I like you sing better when you stand 155 00:10:27.025 --> 00:10:28.025 and you're singing my hymn. 156 00:10:28.025 --> 00:10:28.425 So 157 00:10:29.725 --> 00:10:30.825 782. 158 00:10:30.825 --> 00:10:31.425 We rise 159 00:10:31.425 --> 00:10:32.625 joyfully to sing.