Auden understands Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith not as a mere theological platitude, a trick of biblical grammar, or a catchphrase for men to rally around.
Our Lord Jesus builds, forms, and fashions his church as an artist forms a mosaic.
Luther felt the reform of the church could not simply remain a matter of aesthetics and practice. Something much deeper needed to be rooted out.

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A friend recently told me they had never seen the movie A Christmas Story. “What?!” I exclaimed. “Well, you need to fix that this year.”
He is and evermore shall be God With Us: though we await His second physical Advent, He is still fully human and fully present in His Word and Sacraments.
It’s the Christmas season, that time of year when families gather together to exchange gifts and spend time with one another.
No doubt a few preachers cringe at the thought of "C and E" (Christmas and Easter) Christians showing up for Christmas Eve services...I must confess, when I preach on Christmas and Easter, I do not share this sentiment held by some of my peers.
Lutheran pastors have at least three sermons in these three days. The calendar allows preachers to wed together some important themes this Christmas. The Magnificat (conception), the birth account from Matthew 1, and the fuller account of Christ’s birth from Luke 2 give clear shape to the proclamation for the Feast of the Nativity. The Epistle readings, however, should also be considered as the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of the nativity.
Christmas comes in the dead of winter. In a season when the earth is cold, dark, and bare, songs on the radio belt out a chorus which names this season, "the most wonderful time of the year."
If there’s a time of year to grasp the significance of this number, it’s now. Because the birth of Jesus casts light on the dark meaning of 666. And, most importantly, the birth of God’s Son is the death of that number’s power over us.
It's hard wired into our brain. We can't help ourselves.
God’s name is no different. It, too, carries power. The power of a promise only God can make.
I apologize for my part in making Christmas necessary. I have learned that Christ is NOT the reason for the season, I am.
The death and resurrection of our Lord has indeed removed the power of all these things. But they remain for now, even so.
Past, present, fututre converge in Advent. The historical coming of the Lord Jesus in the flesh, born of Mary to suffer and die for the world's redemption is indicated by having the Palm Suday account read on the First Sunday in Advent. All of the church year revolves around the cross.