Based on Jon Schroeder’s essay for the 60th
biennial convention
of the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod
Arranged by Harmon Lewis
“God opened his
mouth wide and said,
“Let there be light,”
and suddenly,
piercing the darkness,
light came screaming
out of the mouth of
God at 186,000 miles
per second, filling the
world with its
brilliance. God saw
that the light he had
made was good—of
itself, essentially
good.”
– Rev. Jon Schroeder
Our calling to be the children of God
based on essay, Our Calling by Jon Schroeder. Class arranged by Harmon Lewis
Our calling to be
the children of God
1570-73; Oil on canvas, 77 x 109 cm; Galleria Doria-Pamphili, Rome
Our calling to be
the children of God
<< ENMITY >>
Personal
Hostility
Your Offspring
(unbelievers)
You will strike his
heal.
Her Offspring
<< ENMITY >>
(believers)
He (singular) will
crush your head.
“For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the
likeness of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers.
And those he
predestined, he also
called; those he called, he
also justified; those he
justified, he also glorified.”
Romans 8:28-30
Our calling to be the children of God
1. Tell me about the parable
of the wedding banquet.
2.What did the invitation
cost the guests?
3.What did the guests have
to offer?
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
Matthew 22:1-14
“God, who has
saved us and
called us to a holy
life—not because
of anything we
have done but
because of his
own purpose and
grace.”
2 Timothy 1:8-9
4.
Why are we called?
“Come, all you
who are thirsty,
come to the
waters; and you
who have no
money, come,
buy and eat!
Come, buy wine
and milk without
money and
without cost.”
-Isaiah 55:1
5.
What does our calling cost
us?
“God’s love
does not find
the object it
can love;
God’s love
creates it.”
-Luther
Our calling to be the children of God
Why don’t we
depend on
programs,
methods, or
personalities to
work faith in sinful
man’s heart?
“Consequently,
faith comes from
hearing the
message, and the
message is heard
through the word
of Christ.”
Romans 10:17
6.
What tool has God given
to grow his Church?
are therefore 7. What tool has God given
Christ’s
to grow his Church?
ambassadors, as
though God were
making his appeal
through us. We
implore you on
Christ’s behalf: Be
reconciled to God. ”
“We
2 Corinthians 5:20
8.
So that we may obtain
this faith, the ministry
of teaching the gospel
and administering the
sacraments was
instituted. Through
the Word and
Sacraments, as
through instruments,
the Holy Spirit is given.
He works faith, when
and where it pleases
God in those who hear
the gospel.
What does the Lutheran church
confess the reason for the
ministry of teaching the gospel
and administering the sacraments
was instituted?
-AC V,1

Presentation of the Augsburg Confession to Emperor Charles V, 15 June 1530
“I believe that I cannot by my
own thinking or choosing,
believe in Jesus Christ, my
Lord, or come to him. But
the Holy Spirit has called me
by the gospel.”
Luther
Our calling to be the children of God
“This is good, and 9. Who does God want to be
pleases God our
saved?
Savior, who wants
all men to be
saved and to come
to a knowledge of
the truth.”
1 Timothy 2:3-4
“Say to them, ‘As
10.
surely as I live,
declares the
Sovereign Lord, I
take no pleasure in
the death of the
wicked, but rather
that they turn from
their ways and live.
Turn! Turn from your
evil ways! Why will
you die, O house of
Israel?’”
Ezekiel 33:11
Who does God want to be
damned?
“For those God
11.
foreknew he also
predestined to be
conformed to the
likeness of his Son,
that he might be the
firstborn among many
brothers. And those
he predestined, he
also called; those he
called, he also
justified; those he
justified, he also
glorified.”
Romans 8:29-30
Who will be saved?
Our calling is
universal
“We should not
think of this call of
God which is made
through the
preaching of the
Word, a juggler’s
act.”
FC XI, 29, Concordia.
Our calling to be the children of God
12.
13.
14.
The Parable of Sower
Matthew 13:1-9
Tell me about the Parable
of the sower.
What does the seed
represent?
What did the different
soil types represent?
A harsh
reality
26
“Sinners must die, 15. What does this mean?
says Romans 6:23,
‘for the wages of
sin is death’, either
eternally or
baptismally.”
Gerhard Forde,
On Being a Theologian of the Cross:
Reflections on Luther’s Heidelberg
Disputation. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997)
16. Why are some saved and
“I tell you the
truth, anyone who
not others?
will not receive the
kingdom of God
like a little child
will never enter it.”
Luke 18:17
Our calling to be the children of God
“How great is the 17. What is the result of our
love the Father has
calling?
lavished on us, that
we should be called
children of God!
And that is what
we are!”
1 John 3:1
Based on Jon Schroeder’s essay for the 60th
biennial convention
of the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod
Arranged by Harmon Lewis
Our calling to be the mask of God
based on essay, Our Calling by Jon Schroeder. Class arranged by Harmon Lewis
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the bard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
“On February 18, 1546, a most improbable thing happened. The professor
condemned to the stake by the world’s most powerful churchman, and
condemned to an outlaw’s demise by the world’s most powerful nobleman, that
professor died of entirely natural causes.”
Rev. Jon Schroeder
“Dr. Luther’s legacy
to the Church
includes a teaching
that was an
innovative and
reformative
departure from the
medieval theology
of the Roman
Catholic Church: the
doctrine of
Vocation.”
Rev. Jon Schroeder
The word “vocation”
comes from the Latin
vocatio, which means
“calling,” and is the
word used by the Latin
Bible for the call of God
to faith and sonship.
However, “vocation” in
modern English usage is
often associated with
words about a man’s
work, profession, or
trade.
Rev. Jon Schroeder
“Christian vocation
goes much further
than the sum of
work we have to do:
... Like all of God’s
calls, Christian
vocation, too, is a
call with a purpose.
Christian vocation is
our calling to be the
masks of God.”
Rev. Jon Schroeder
Our calling to be the mask of God
“You who are
trying to be
justified by law
have been
alienated from
Christ; you have
fallen away from
grace.”
Galatians 5:4
1.
How do passages like
Galatians 5:4 challenge
the medieval monastic
view of vocation?
 Each one should
“
remain in the
situation which he
was in when God
called him.”
1 Corinthians 7:20
2.
Paul is encouraging new
Christians about their
vocations. How does that
free us from the medieval
thinking of vocation?
DRIAEN JANSZ. VAN OSTADE 1660
SETTING THE TABLE
CLEANING A TOILET
Our calling to be the mask of God
3.
Explain how
a legalistic
approach is
not the best
motivation
for the
Christian to
do good
works.
“I no longer call you
4.
servants, because a
servant does not know
his master’s business.
Instead, I have called
you friends, for
everything that I
learned from my Father
I have made known to
you. You did not
choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you
to go and bear fruit—
fruit that will last. Then
the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my
name.”
John 15:15-16
Why might a son feel
more empowered to
serve then a servant?
“I no longer call you
5.
servants, because a
servant does not know
his master’s business.
Instead, I have called
you friends, for
everything that I
learned from my Father
I have made known to
you. You did not
choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you
to go and bear fruit —
fruit that will last. Then
the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my
name.”
John 15:15-16
Will a Christian properly
make this statement, “To
be a father to my children,
I can do nothing; I am
worth nothing; Christ must
be all and do all for me.” ?
Our calling to be the mask of God
Where is
the dignity
in this?
In 1518, Luther
defended his
theology in front of
his Augustinian
Order at the
Heidelberg
Disputation. In his
twentieth thesis,
he explains that
God reveals himself
to us by hiding
himself.
Rev. Jon Schroeder
“Then Moses said, “Now show me
your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will
cause all my goodness to pass in front
of you, and I will proclaim my name,
the Lord, in your presence. I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and
I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion. But,” he said, “you
cannot see my face, for no one may
see me and live.”
Then the Lord said, “There is a place
near me where you may stand on a
rock. When my glory passes by, I will
put you in a cleft in the rock and cover
you with my hand until I have passed
by. Then I will remove my hand and
you will see my back; but my face
must not be seen.”
Exodus 33:18-23
6.
Why did God
hide himself
before
Moses?
“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on
the mountain in the presence of the
Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore
the mountains apart and shattered
the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord
was not in the wind. After the wind
there was an earthquake, but the Lord
was not in the earthquake. After the
earthquake came a fire, but the Lord
was not in the fire. And after the fire
came a gentle whisper. When Elijah
heard it, he pulled his cloak over his
face and went out and stood at the
mouth of the cave. Then a voice said
to him, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?”
1 Kings 19:11-13
7.
How did God
reveal himself
to Elijah?
“Truly you are a
God who hides
himself,
O God and Savior
of Israel.”
Isaiah 45:15
8.
Why does God hide
himself?
Life dignified with a
purpose
Luther says that
God wears masks
(Larvae dei) when he
interacts with
man. What do you
think he meant by
that?
“But you will receive
9.
power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my
witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the
earth.” After he said
this, he was taken up
before their very eyes,
and a cloud hid him
from their sight.
Acts 1:8-9
What is the mask God
wears to interact with
the world?
Life dignified with a
purpose
The Christian
autoworker heads
to the plant each
day knowing that
even the repetitive
nature of his job
cannot take away
the dignity of
being God’s mask
to provide for his
family.
Life dignified with a
purpose
The Christian
homemaker
covered in baby
food knows that
lack of recognition
for her work cannot
take away the
dignity of God
wearing her as a
mask today to care
for these young
ones.
Life dignified with a
purpose
10.
In what ways
might we crack
the mask of
God?
Life dignified with a
purpose
11.
Where do the
failed masks of
God find
forgiveness?
Forgiven – Greg Olsen
Now observe that when that clever harlot, our natural reason . . . ,
takes a look at married life, she turns up her nose and says, “Alas,
must I rock the baby, wash its diapers, make its bed, smell its stench,
stay up nights with it, take care of it when it cries, heal its rashes and
sores. . . ?”
But into this context Luther breathes fresh gospel air:
What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks
upon all these insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the
Spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as
with the costliest gold and jewels. …O how gladly will I do so, though
the duties should be even more insignificant and despised. Neither
frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor, will distress or dissuade
me, for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight. . . . God, with
all his angels and creatures is smiling—not because the father is
washing diapers, but because he is doing so in Christian faith. [LW 45:39-40]
“Life has no purpose without God. But with
God, all of life has a purpose, from the most
noble estates to the most insignificant duties.
They all have the high dignity of being part of
our calling as God’s mask.”
Rev. Jon Schroeder
For more on the subject of Christian vocation, see the excellent papers from the 2006 Symposium on Christian
Vocation at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. A more extensive treatment of the Lutheran doctrine of vocation can be
found in the papers “Understanding Our Calling,” “Uncovering Our Calling,” and “Unleashing Our Calling.”
http://www.wls.wels.net/sections/continuing-education/symposium/59.php
Based on Jon Schroeder’s essay for the 60th
biennial convention
of the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod
Arranged by Harmon Lewis
Our calling to be the Church of God
based on essay, Our Calling by Jon Schroeder. Class arranged by Harmon Lewis
Our calling to be the Church of God
“I will make you into a 1.
great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name
great, and you will be
a blessing. I will bless
those who bless you,
and whoever curses
you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth
will be blessed
through you.”
Genesis 12:2-3
For what purpose did God
call Abram’s people?
“For you are a people
2.
holy to the Lord your
God. The Lord your God
has chosen you out of all
the peoples on the face
of the earth to be his
people, his treasured
possession. The Lord did
not set his affection on
you and choose you
because you were more
numerous than other
peoples, for you were
the fewest of all peoples.
But it was because the
Lord loved you and kept
the oath he swore to
your forefathers.”
Deuteronomy 7:6-8
Why did God call these
people?
“But you are a chosen
3.
people, a royal
priesthood, a holy
nation, a people
belonging to God,
that you may declare
the praises of him
who called you out of
darkness into his
wonderful light. Once
you were not a
people, but now you
are the people of
God.”
1Peter 2:9-10
Just as God called Israel
into existence to fulfill
his purpose, who has God
called a new people out
of nothing to carry out
his purposes in the
world?
A people with a
purpose
His intent was
that now,
through the
church, the
manifold wisdom
of God should be
made known to
the rulers and
authorities in the
heavenly realms
Ephesians 3:10
4.
What is the church’s
purpose?
Our calling to be the Church of God
“Then the Lord
reached out his
hand and
touched my
mouth and said
to me, ‘Now, I
have put my
words in your
mouth.’”
Jeremiah 1:9
5.
What does it mean to be
the mouth of God?
“Then he opened their
6.
minds so they could
understand the
Scriptures. He told
them, ‘This is what is
written: The Christ will
suffer and rise from the
dead on the third day,
and repentance and
forgiveness of sins will
be preached in his
name to all nations,
beginning at
Jerusalem.’”
Luke 24:45-47
As the mouth of God,
what is the church called
to say?
“All this is from God,
7.
who reconciled us to
himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry
of reconciliation: that
God was reconciling the
world to himself in
Christ, not counting
men’s sins against them.
And he has committed
to us the message of
reconciliation. We are
therefore Christ’s
ambassadors, as though
God were making his
appeal through us. We
implore you on Christ’s
behalf: Be reconciled to
God.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-20
No longer does God’s
voice thunder from the
mountain. From where
can God’s voice be heard
today?
Our calling to be the Church of God
Preach the Word; be prepared
in season and out of season;
correct, rebuke and
encourage—with great
patience and careful
instruction. For the time will
come when men will not put
up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather
around them a great number
of teachers to say what their
itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away
from the truth and turn aside
to myths. But you, keep your
head in all situations, endure
hardship, do the work of an
evangelist, discharge all the
duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:2-5
8.
What are the twin
directives of the church?
Our calling as the WELS
based on essay, Our Calling by Jon Schroeder. Class arranged by Harmon Lewis
“The object and 9. How does our constitution
purpose of the
echo these directives?
synod shall be to
extend and
conserve the true
doctrine and
practice of the
Evangelical
Lutheran
Church...”
Constitution and Bylaws of
the Wisconsin Evangelical
Lutheran Synod. Article IV,
Object.
Our calling as the WELS
Johannes Muehlhaeuser
The mission
minded man
responsible for
our synod’s
founding was
born 209 years
ago in
Notzingen,
Wuerttemberg.
Sharing the Word: A Synod goes
God permits us to live
here on earth in order
that we may bring others
to faith, just as he has
brought us. You must,
says Peter, exercise the
chief function of a priest,
to proclaim the
wonderful deed God has
performed for you to
bring you out of
darkness into the light.
Let it be your chief work
to proclaim this publicly
and to call everyone into
the light as you have
been called.
LW 30:11
“if you utter
worthy, not
worthless,
words, then
you will be my
mouth.”
Jeremiah 15:19
10.
What do you think?
“Outreach over
everything” is a good
motto for the WELS.
Our calling as the WELS
Johannes Bading
John Bading
would become
the second
president of the
Wisconsin Synod,
and would be
known as the man
who led our
church body on its
journey to
confessional
Lutheranism
“Therefore go and
11.
make disciples of all
nations, baptizing
them in the name of
the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching
them to obey
everything I have
commanded you. And
surely I am with you
always, to the very
end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
What part of the great
commission stresses the
need for doctrinally
sound disciples?
Our calling as the WELS
“The calling of the
Church is not to pit
sharing against
keeping or keeping
against sharing. God
calls us to do both:
share it and keep it;
God wants outreach
and inreach, training
and sending, mission
zeal and doctrinal
commitment. One side
of the coin does not
suffice if we hope to
be true to our calling.”
Rev. Jon Schroeder
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should
be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
1 John 3:1