Tag: Salvation History

THE DIVINE FIRE

In every Lutheran Church sanctuary there’s a special lamp (often with a red glass shell) that burns steadily in the chancel area near the altar. This lamp is known primarily as the “Sanctuary Lamp” (also known as the “Eternal Flame”) and it’s a quiet but powerful symbolic witness. Far from mere decoration, this lamp carries deep biblical roots and rich spiritual meaning for us today — especially as we prepare to celebrate Pentecost Sunday.

The Sanctuary Lamp is no modern invention; its origins reach back to the very commands God gave in the Old Testament. In Exodus 27:20–21, the Lord instructed Moses: “You shall further command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, so that a lamp may be set up to burn continually… Aaron and his sons shall tend it… It shall be a perpetual ordinance to be observed throughout their generations by the Israelites.”

This perpetual lamp stood in the Wilderness Tabernacle and later in the Jerusalem Temple. It burned as a visible sign of the Lord’s abiding presence. In Jewish tradition, this lamp is called the “Ner Tamid” (meaning Eternal Light) and is still found today in synagogues near the ark that holds the Torah scrolls. It proclaims that the Holy One, the Maker of the Universe, is forever present and will honor his covenant promises.

From the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ, Christians carried this ancient biblical symbol into the worship life of the Church. In Lutheran congregations, the Sanctuary Lamp burns in the chancel area near the altar to emphasize the real and true presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar (a.k.a. Holy Communion). Therefore, in addition to declaring the steady presence of God’s Holy Spirit, this special lamp also quietly testifies to the real presence of Christ in, with and through his Holy Supper given and poured out for us.

Consequently, Lutheran sanctuaries have long cherished this symbol as part of our “catholic” (meaning universal) Christian Faith. The red glass of the lamp often evokes biblical images of God’s Eternal Fire manifested to Abraham as a mystical firepot and flaming torch, and manifested to Moses as a burning bush that was not consumed. And for all those J.R.R. Tolkien fans, it brings to mind Tolkien’s fantasy writings in which he references God’s “Flame Imperishable” that refers to the primordial Divine Fire of God Almighty at the center of creation — at the center of all that is, both seen and unseen. Moreover, the red glass and glow of the Sanctuary Lamp remind us of the Fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

As we approach Pentecost Sunday in this Year of Our Lord 2026, the Sanctuary Lamp highlights rich meaning for us. On that first Pentecost over two thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples “with a sound like a mighty rushing wind” and appeared as “tongues of fire” that rested on each of them (Acts 2:2–3). This is the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ! What began in the Wilderness Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temple has now burst forth as the Living Fire of the Holy Spirit poured out on all baptized believers in Christ!

So, the Sanctuary Lamp burning beautifully in our Mt. Olive sanctuary illustrates this Pentecostal reality. For indeed, the Holy Spirit sent by the Risen Christ now dwells perpetually in his Holy Universal Church. He enlightens our minds with his Holy Scriptures, kindles true faith within our hearts by his grace, and empowers us with his Holy Gospel to let our light shine in his name. The red glow of the Sanctuary Lamp invites us to remember that the same Holy Spirit who set the Apostles ablaze at Pentecost still burns brightly among us, within us, and through us, comforting the sorrowful, strengthening the weak, and uniting us as One Body in Christ.

On Pentecost Sunday, when we hear again those ancient events of wind and fire, I invite you to be sure to direct your gaze toward the Sanctuary Lamp during worship that Sunday morning. See in its steady flame the promise that God’s presence is not seasonal or occasional — it is eternal. The lamplight that shone in the Tabernacle, that filled the Temple, and that shines near the altar of Christian congregations throughout the world, signifies the Living Light that shines in every baptized believer through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

May you always let the Sanctuary Lamp remind you of the long history of salvation, giving thanks that the God who commanded the lamp to first burn in the Wilderness Tabernacle is the same Lord and Savior who says to us today, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). May the Sanctuary Lamp continually stir in us a deeper awareness of Christ’s presence, especially in his Holy Word and Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, and may the Holy Spirit strengthen and keep our hearts burning within us with the faith, hope and love of Jesus Christ until he returns in glory.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love!

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim

THE DIVINE MIRROR RESTORED

It’s true that we Lutherans certainly believe that the Lutheran branch of the Christian Faith has many wonderful gifts to offer to the whole of Christianity and indeed to the entire world, but we Lutherans also recognize that we do not have a monopoly on all theological and spiritual truths. And it’s true that we as Christians proclaim that the good news of Jesus Christ provides direct access to the fullness of God’s grace and truth, but we do not say that we have a monopoly on God’s eternal grace and truth. So if members of the Church of Jesus Christ consider those of other religions to be completely ignorant of all theological and spiritual truths, then this is just plain wrong. And if non-Christians assume that we Christians claim to be the sole purveyors of truth, then they’re wrong too.

Nevertheless, we Christians do profess and confess that Christ is “the Way and the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6), and so we earnestly proclaim the good news of his redeeming life, death and resurrection for the sake of the world. In fact, the Holy Scriptures exhort us to always be ready to share the grace and truth of Jesus Christ with our neighbors:

“So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth [of Christ] to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.” – (Ephesians 4:25)

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” – (First Peter 3:15-16)

However, we do this proclamation of Jesus’ good news within the multicultural context of human civilization. For we see throughout the history of salvation (from ancient times unto today) that there is a certain universal pattern we sinful human beings (of all times and places) seem to follow. It’s the pattern of faithfulness and apostasy, and it should be very familiar to us within the Christian Faith because the Holy Bible is filled with this pattern.

The cycle of faithfulness and apostasy is the historical pattern of civilization all over the world throughout the ages. From the very genesis of humanity, over and over again, God calls us, gathers us, instructs us and blesses us. But over and over again, people begin to reject and fall away from God’s revealed truth and grace. Therefore, God decided to send us the exact reflection of the glory of the fullness of himself — Christ Jesus our Lord, the Eternal Son of God and Bread of Heaven.

Let’s imagine that the revelation of God is one great Divine Mirror. And let’s imagine that the pattern of faithfulness and apostasy within human civilization is that Mirror breaking into a thousand pieces and scattering throughout the world. And then, after each shattering of this Mirror, a faithful remnant of believers were left to salvage as many pieces of God’s grace and truth as they could, resulting in a great diversity of faiths and spiritual traditions over time. So each time this shattering would happen in history, a group of like-minded believers would gather their particular shards of the Divine Mirror, and they would follow God’s Light reflected in these shards as best they knew how. And thousands of other groups did the same thing with the shards of truth they had collected.

But then, at the right time in human history, God revealed the fullness of his truth and grace for all people through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is the entire Divine Mirror restored to humanity — for he is the clear-as-glass Living Mirror of Heaven. And it might sound presumptuous to claim that the faith, hope and love of Jesus constitute the complete Divine Mirror reflecting the fullness of God’s Heart for humanity, but that is indeed what we have been granted in Jesus Christ our Lord. Thanks be to God!

However, while we have amazing access to the entire Divine Mirror of God (in all its clarity) through Jesus our Savior, this should not by any means negate the importance of the shards of God’s grace and truth that other religions have access to. In fact, the shards of Divine Truth within non-Christian religions (although incomplete) are nevertheless reflective of God’s saving truth. Consequently, the great non-Christian religious leaders of the world such as Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad, Confucius, and Lao-Tzu (as well as philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and others) have all received pieces of God’s complete Mirror. They all have received a portion of God’s True Light — morsels of the Bread of Heaven (so to speak). So let’s genuinely appreciate the Truth of God from whichever direction it’s coming at us, even from non-Christian sources.

As we Christians share with others the fullness of God’s grace and truth in Christ Jesus our Lord, let’s remember the great Divine Mirror that every compassionate religion has pieces of — precious pieces of the universal reality and saving grace of God. Yet, our evangelical mission is to always uplift how all those shards of God’s Truth fit into the wholeness of God’s pure reflection in Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. And even if a certain non-Christian belief seems to be contrary to the gospel of Jesus, it just might be that this belief is still somehow based upon an eternal principle of God (if we look deeply enough). So maybe that shard of belief that seems to contradict Jesus simply needs a little ‘gospel windex’ to clarify it a bit.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we’re not here to trash the pieces of the Mirror (or the portions of the Bread of Heaven) that people of other belief systems possess. We are simply here to do as it says in Ephesians 4 and First Peter 3, where it says: “let all of us speak the truth [of Christ] to our neighbors, for we are members of one another” and “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect…”

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim