About Hope

Hope Lutheran Church

God’s Work, God’s Way

Pastor’s Letter

Spring is a season of new life, both in the Church and in the world. We have celebrated the light of Christ entering into the dark, cold world on Christmas. We have observed growth of that light, both in the increasing daylight and in the spread of the good news of Christ to the nations in the season of Epiphany. We have journeyed through the long, somber, season of Lenten repentance. And now we have arrived at the season of life—Easter. New life is budding in the creation all around us as we, in the Church, celebrate the new life that Christ’s resurrection brings us.

In a very real way, the Church is about nothing more and nothing less than life. Life is the essence of who we are, and life is precisely what Christ came to this earth to give: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Unfortunately, I cannot say that the Church is “pro-life” without a very specific (and narrow) view of what that means coming into most people’s heads. I suspect that this is because we American Christians have given far too much license for the secular world to invade our thinking. And so it is that the primary categories with which we think are political rather than theological. Saint Paul’s warning against such ways of thinking could not be clearer: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

The Church of Jesus Christ must be thoroughly pro-life. Again, if you hear those words as instruction on how to vote, re-read the previous paragraph. The Word of God is not concerned merely with how you vote. The Word of God is concerned with how you live. Thus, when Proverbs 31:9 instructs us to “plead the cause of the poor and needy”, it primarily has in mind the “opening of one’s mouth”, not the casting of a vote. Likewise, the Apostle James instructs us: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). Note that the key word in this verse is “visit.” We are not to be hearers of the Word only, but doers of the Word (James 1:22).

If the new life that Christ gives to us by virtue of His resurrection isn’t reason enough for the Church to be
thoroughly pro-life, then the Fifth Commandment makes it clear. Concordia Publishing House’s updated
explanation to Luther’s Small Catechism (2017) provides helpful answers to the question: “How does this
commandment apply to some specific issues today?” (Question 62 on page 88 and following). Five answers are given with supporting Bible passages:

[The Fifth Commandment] forbids aborting the life of an unborn child (also called elective abortion)—see Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:16; Luke 1:41-44.

It forbids killing oneself (suicide), seeking help in killing oneself, assisting a person in taking his or her own life (assisted suicide), or killing a person who asks to die or whose life is deemed as too burdensome (euthanasia)—see Psalm 31:14-15.

It forbids acting violently or abusively toward a child or spouse (child abuse or domestic abuse)—see
Colossians 3:19; Colossians 3:21.

It forbids engaging in reckless and self-destructive behavior (for example, substance abuse)—see
1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

It forbids hating, despising, or slandering other groups of people (prejudice, racism, and so forth)—see Acts 17:26; James 2:1; 1 John 3:15; Revelation 5:9.

Life is precious to God, and so it is precious to His Church also. In the Lord’s Church, this life-principal reigns supreme: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39). This means that we must be willing to open our hearts and lives to those in need: orphans, widows, sojourners (immigrants), refugees, the unborn, and all those who cannot defend themselves.

Why is it, then, that the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod seems hyper-focused on the life of the unborn rather than other stages of life? First, we must acknowledge that if and when our church body’s focus on defending the unborn has caused us to neglect or despise other stages of life, we must repent and plead for forgiveness. For the Lord would have us care for life at all stages.

But if there is one life issue which ought to matter most to the Lord’s Church, it is protection of the unborn, for Proverbs 31:8 could not be clearer: “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die.” It is a terrible tragedy when adults are oppressed. But when it is young children, especially the unborn, who are oppressed and put to death, the tragedy is even greater, for they cannot even speak for themselves.

And so it is that the Church must be the voice of those who cannot speak. I will leave the political implications of this to be discussed and debated by others, but there is at least one theological implication worth reflecting on. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of an abortion is that the unborn child is robbed of the opportunity to speak to its Lord and Maker. And so, it is good and right that the Church be the voice of the unborn before the Lord. This is why we pray weekly in the Prayer of the Church that the Lord would have mercy on “those who suffer from legalized abortion in our country.”

This prayer is salutary and necessary for the Church to pray on behalf of the unborn, but it is also necessary to pray on behalf of all who suffer from legalized abortion. Though the murdered child’s suffering is clear, this is not the only suffering which occurs as a result of an abortion. The doctors and healthcare professionals who are complicit in these abortions have a heavy weight on their consciences. And the parents, especially the mothers, who undergo abortions suffer tremendously—in body, mind, and spirit. Abortion is a grievous evil with enduring consequences on many levels.

The “issue” of abortion is more than a theoretical matter for many. If you are suffering in body, mind, or spirit from the effects of an abortion, know that Christ has not abandoned you, and His Church stands ready to walk alongside you and remind you of His mercy: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12).

We are living in evil days where good is thought to be evil and evil is thought to be good. Lord, have mercy upon us! But in the face of such evil, the Church ever stands in hope. Christ is risen from the dead! “Now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). May our Lord grant us such a joy and confidence in the life He has given us that we would be a people that is thoroughly pro-life!
In Christ,
Pastor Akers
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10

Hope Lutheran Church meets weekly at the VFW Post located at 41 Canoe Club Road in Hampden at 2:30pm each Sunday for a full Divine Service with Holy Communion followed by a Bible study.