BEARING FALSE WITNESS

I recently came across the following in a blog by Martin Marty, the leading light among American Lutheran church historians.

During our nation’s momentary fit of proposing that we exercise more civility in public life and before we turn back to our uncivil ways, we have time to reflect on the question: are there overlooked sources to which the public, or at least huge chunks of it, can respond and should put to work? The one I will offer will sound extremely particular, parochial, and sectarian. It asks: what if God, as revealed to the vast majority in this Judeo-and Christian culture, were called upon and listened to?

I will draw on the tradition in which I was brought up and still cherish, as I paddle in ecumenical waters and interfaith seas. That source is Martin Luther’s The Small Catechism, which we kids memorized, or his The Large Catechism, which remains an adult guide.

His explanation to the Eighth/Ninth Commandment . . .
Here it is, in modern translation: You are not to bear false witness against your neighbor, which means, We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light. Ow!, and again I say unto you, Ow!

Martin Marty

It’s a clever piece of writing. I wish all the people who claim the name of Christian would follow Luther on this point. In the heated atmosphere of our current controversial age, people seem prone to do anything but interpret everything in the best possible light. If party A proposes something, party B must oppose it because nothing party A does can possibly arise from good motives. This holds true even if ten years ago party B proposed the exact same thing. Each side condemns the other as being out to destroy the country.

I’ve seen churches torn apart by the same problem. People disagree on something. Each side becomes unable to credit the other side with any good intentions. Everything is twisted and distorted to make it look as bad as possible. And sometimes the issue is something as minor as whether the service should be at 10:00 or 10:30.

Then there is the part about slandering others or destroying their reputation. I once served on the board of a Christian School. A decision of the board met with opposition by some of the parents. One of the parents spread vile rumors about me in order to undermine the board’s decision. Fortunately, there were many parents who knew me personally and who did exactly what Luther instructs us–spoke well of me and came to my defense. The slander was silenced in a few days.

I don’t suppose telling all the Christians who have the public ear that telling lies about another person violates God’s commandment will have much affect on them. People seem to have become very selective about what constitutes sin. So twisted things have become that telling lies is justified by claiming it is the truth. Fiddlesticks! If we aren’t putting the best construction on others, we are breaking the commandment.

Ah well, time to get off the soap box. I’m going to take Candide’s advice: “we must cultivate our garden.” I have some lettuce and basil plants that need tending. They don’t stand up too well to all the heat we have had this spring. Come to think of it, people don’t stand up too well to the heat either.

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne





16907

KOFINK GENEALOGY UPDATE

This is going to be of interest to relatives of Carl Kofink of Chicago.  I have previously made some family pictures available here

http://a-pilgrims-place.blogspot.com/2008/08/kofink-family.html
 

and here

http://a-pilgrims-place.blogspot.com/search?q=Kofink

Today I am posting some documents and a bit of genealogy that I have uncovered.

Common knowledge in the family was that my great-grandfather Carl Kofink was born in Heidelberg, Germany October 8, 1858. Carl’s birth certificate has been passed down in the family to me. Here’s a copy of it.

It shows that he was born Karl Kallenberger son of Gottliebin Kallenberger. This is an indication of a birth out of wedlock.

On August 7. 1865 Karl was acknowledged as the natural son of Friedrich Kofink and was allowed to us the surname “Kofink.”  Here’s the document.

Notice that the document misstates the date of Karl’s birth as October 7, 1858. A note on the side in pencil shows the name Gottliebin Steiss. I’ll come back to that in a bit.

I have finally discovered a bit more about Gottlieben Kallenberger.  Her full name was Gottliebin Magdalena Kallenberger. She was born June 4, 1827. Her father was Johann Martin Kallenberger (known as Martin) and her mother was Maria Catharina Kraemer (know as Maria). Her parents were married August 17, 1823 in a protestant church in Klein Ingersheim, Neckarkreis, Wuerttemberg, Germany.

At some time she married Johann Theodor Steiss (known as Theodor). They had two children: Pauline Friederike Wilhelmine Steiss, born February 27, 1871, in Stuttgart, Wuertemberg, Germany and Christian Friedrich Ernst Steiss (known as Ernst) born March 23 1873 in Stuttgart, Wuertemberg, Germany. I have further information on descendants of Pauline Steiss.

Gottleibin Kallenberger Steiss died in Berg, on May 5. 1898. She was widowed at the time. Among the family papers are an accounting of her estate which was divided between Karl Kofink and Ernst Steiss. Here’s the document.

A comment on names that I may have made before. My grandfather, the son of Carl Kofink was named Johann Theodor after Carl’s step-father. I now see that several other family members take their names from this side of the family. Carl’s eldest son Paul Ernst Kofink combines the names of Carl’s step-sister and step-brother. Another son Ernst Wilhelm also takes a name from Carl’s step-brother. The name Ernst was passed on to John Kofink’s son Herbert John Ernst Kofink. I also see where the name Martin came into the family (in another of Carl’s sons Walter Jacob Martin) since that was Carl’s grandfather’s name.

Well, that’s what I have for now.

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival. 

Wayne

18867

VISITATION

Last week had two festivals in it–The Visitation on May 31 and The Ascension of Our Lord on June 2. Neither day was observed by any of the local Lutheran churches including my own. I grew up at a church that celebrated Ascension Day; of course the name of the church was Ascension Lutheran Church. I think I have tried once or twice to have Ascension Day services, but they were poorly attended. Nowadays even Good Friday is poorly attended so I don’t have much hope for observing the Ascension. Even most diocese of the Roman Catholic church transfer Ascension day to the following Sunday which doesn’t make much sense since the Ascension happened 40 days after Easter not 43. At my church no one asked about Ascension Day, though one person was upset that the church wouldn’t be open on Memorial Day. I have a hard time getting people to understand that the church observes the days of the liturgical calendar and not those of the civil calendar. Sometimes when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday some people want to know if services will be cancelled because it’s a holiday. Some churches actually did cancel services last time Christmas Day fell on Sunday, and I’ve seen some churches that call the Last Sunday in Advent Christmas Sunday. I suppose that’s the way things go.

As far as the Visitation (or the Visit of Mary to Elizabeth as Evangelical Lutheran Worship now calls it in its usual verbose manner), I don’t think I’ve ever had public worship on that day unless it might have happened to fall on a Sunday in a year when May 31 was after the Festival of the Holy Trinity. Fortunately the Gospel for the Visitation in also used on the last Sunday in Advent in year C of the three-year lectionary, so I get to preach on the topic at least once every three years.

The heart of the Visitation Gospel is the Magnificat, the song Mary sang. It’s something quite familiar to me since it is part of the order for Vespers, a service that was frequently used for evening services at the Lutheran Church where I was raised. I still remember it in the King James Version that we used.

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in
God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded
the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him
from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy;
As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham,
and to his seed for ever.

Alright, I confess I liked the archaic word “holpen” in this version. I also liked that the Gloria Patri used to be attached to the canticle.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

In the Service Book and Hymnal as well as the Common Service Book before it, the Gloria Patri was sung at least three times in Vespers–once with the opening versicles, once at the conclusion of each psalm, and once at the conclusion of the canticle. The first half of it also appeared in the responsory after the lesson, but that was never used where I attended. There was something comforting about the repetition, like returning home after a journey.  With the Lutheran Book of Worship the Gloria Patri was dropped after the Psalm. With Evangelical Lutheran Worship it was dropped after the canticle and is sung only if Psalm 141 is sung. I believe the Gloria Patri was introduced into Christian worship as a response to the Arian heresy which denied that the Son Is truly God in the same was as the Father is God. Is it just a coincidence that the Gloria Patri is disappearing at the same time that there is a movement among some Lutherans to suppress the name of the Holy Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

In any case, this Magnificat is dear to Lutherans as it is to many Christians. Martin Luther wrote in his commentary on the Magnificat:

“The tender Mother of Christ . . . teaches us, with her words and by the example of her experience, how to know, love and praise God. For since she boasts, with heart leaping for joy and praising God, that He regarded her despite her low estate and nothingness.”

What a beautiful way to express this teaching.


May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne




Ascension Window from the building of Ascension Lutheran Church, Chicago.

The Visitation by Fra Angelico


16836