When was the last time you picked up your Catechism?” 
 
“When I moved to the house I’m now living in.”
 
OK, I’ll try again. When was the last time you opened up your Catechism? Do you even know where it is?
 
“Uh…Hmmm…It’s been a while…”
 
Honestly now, when was the last time you read through your Catechism? About the time you were confirmed? And even that was against your will, wasn’t it? Study of the Bible’s doctrine by way of the Catechism is often looked at something to endure. In truth, outside of the Bible, there are few resources meatier and more in depth than the Catechism.
 
Can this be a resolution for you this year? To go deep, even deeper into the Word of God? Read, study, and meditate upon the Word. Even browse through your Catechism, if you can find it. (I have extras in my office)
 
Enough of timidity and apathy. Go deep. Use the tools for strengthening faith and life that God provides. Below is a quote from Martin Luther regarding study of the Catechism and the need to “go deep.” May your heart overflow with the deep spiritual well of life and truth that is God’s Word!
 
“We have become infected by a vicious and insidious plague. There are many who are so satisfied with themselves and so bored with God’s truths that they regard the Catechism as such a simple and slight instrument of instruction that they can rapidly read through it once and immediately have it all absorbed and mastered. Having read it through once, they throw it into a corner, as if ashamed to read it again…
 
“To occupy oneself with God’s Word, talking about it and thinking about it, is also a most tremendous help against the devil, the world, the flesh, and all evil thoughts. Psalm 1:2 calls those blessed who meditated on the law of the Lord day and night. It is certain that you will be offering up no incense or candles more potent against the devil than by occupying yourself with God’s commandments and words, by talking of them, by singing them, and by meditating on them. That, let me tell you, is the true holy water, the sign before which he flees and by which you can rout him.
 
“Even if there were no other result or benefit, you should read the parts of Christian doctrine in the Catechism gladly and discuss, ponder, and practice them for this reason alone that thereby you can drive away the devil and evil thoughts. For he cannot stand to hear the Word of God. The Word of God is not like some empty fiction…but as St. Paul says in Romans 1:16, it is ‘the power of God,’ the power, in fact, that flames out to blister the devil but to strengthen, comfort, and help us immeasurably.”
(From Luther’s 1530 Preface to the Large Catechism)
 
A Blessed New Year to you and yours, 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

Every year about this time, I wax nostalgic.  I'm filled with memories of Christmas past.  Here are two.
 
I was about 5. Every year, our families took turns hosting a Christmas party with a meal and the opening of Christmas presents.  This year's celebration was at our house, Christmas Eve, after worship at church.  Our Christmas tree was lit. We were getting ready to open presents. I saw packages--plural--with my name on them!  All was right with the world!  Until I looked out the living room window, and SANTA LOOKED BACK AT ME!  He was right outside the window!  His nose pressed against it, and he was looking me straight in the eye!  I was sore afraid.  So I hid under the card table that had been set up for present opening.  My Uncle Elton crawled under the table with me.  It took a while for my Uncle to talk me down from Santa Terror Mountain and out from under the table, but Elton and I emerged at last. I looked out the window.  Santa was gone.   
 
Years later I stumbled across the rubber Santa mask that my dad had worn that night.  It was hidden away in the back corner of a closet.  It had been a conspiracy!  My dad, my Uncle, my mother, and others had been in cahoots that night!  All because earlier, little Glenn had expressed doubts about Santa being real and coming at Christmas.
 
Let's go back even further.  I 'm 3 or 4.  I'm sitting next to my mother on the piano bench.  She's playing Christmas carols.  I'm listening closely.  It's dark outside.  There's ice on the window.  It's snowing.  We're waiting for my dad to get home.  He's working overtime.  My mom is playing Away in A Manger, to the tune of Cradle Song by William J. Kirkpatrick, 1895.
 
"Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
I love thee, Lord Jesus! look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh."
 
My mom pauses often as she plays the carol.  She repeats phrases, so I will memorize them.  She wants me to learn the music, too, so she shows me the fingering on the keyboard as she plays. 
 
All these decades later, by the grace of God, I remember.  I remember what Christmas is really all about!  Not the masked Santa who appeared outside our living room window and caused me to flee for refuge under a card table.  Rather, Christmas is all about the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger because there was no room for him in the inn.
 
"There were in the same country shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified! But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.” (Luke 2:8-14)
 
We know how the shepherds responded to that first Christmas sermon.  They said to one another, “Now let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger." (Luke 2:15-16)
 
So also we hurry to the stable and kneel beside the manger of our Savor.  In worship.  In family devotions.  In our Bible reading.  And we pray.  Every day we pray. 

"Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven to live with thee there."
 
Merry Christmas! 
Rev. Glenn Schwanke

Christmas is a week away. Finally! Or, Already? No matter how you’re feeling or how things are going, Immanuel!
 
Oh, you think there should be more to this message? Isn’t “Immanuel,” which means, “God with us,” enough? It is, but our hearts yearn for encouragement.
 
Are you familiar with "The Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament"? You are, in fact, the second part of the hymnic paraphrase of Psalm 98 found there we know so well we can sing it by heart.
 
In 1719, Isaac Watts published the above volume. It includes the beloved Christmas hymn (based on Psalm 98), "Joy to the World."
 
Watts didn't intend for this hymn to become a Christmas carol. He wished to write/sing about Christ's second coming. Verse 3, with its references to "sins...sorrows...thorns" and "the curse" actually departs from Psalm 98 and expounds upon the events of Genesis 3. 
 
We, and people all around us, are burdened mightily by sins/sorrows/thorns/the curse. Adding to the burdens are the many tasks and events which clutter December’s calendar and to-do list. There is joy to be found in so much of the spectacle of the season, but it is momentary, fleeting.
 
But there is great and lasting joy to be found in all that our Savior-King has done and continues to do for us. The month of December isn't necessarily a month-long joyride for folks. It's busy, exhausting, anxiety-inducing and often tinged with deep sadness. For us, and for all around us.
 
But there is great joy! God help us to "repeat the sounding joy" at every opportunity to one another and to all around us. Christ the Savior is born, and yes, Sir Watts, he is coming again! Soon! Praise God!
 
Hear the words of the angel and respond with the shepherds: “The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.’” (Luke 2:10,11)
 
A Blessed Christmas to you and yours!
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

The picture to the left is a triumph!  A monumental moment!  To be able to see my garage floor!  To park snow removal equipment where it's handy!  That's the result of over 3 years of planning, napping, resting, dawdling, procrastinating, and then actually doing something about the mountain of boxes that filled half of my house garage.  This mountain had been built when a U-Haul truck was unloaded by a group of caring Christian friends from Trinity, Minocqua, and Peace, Houghton. back at the end of June, 2022.  Ever since then, I'd shuffle around a box or two at the base of the mountain.  Sometimes I would dare to go mountain climbing in search of a box that I really needed.  (Where in the world are my Stormy Kromers?  Ah, in a box with plates and duct tape.  Makes perfect sense.)   
 
But this year, come August, I had had enough.  I vowed to dismantle "Mount Retirement," box by box.  No small feat.  Because everything that had been hastily thrown into packing boxes before I moved to the deep south from the snow country of Houghton--all that stuff needed to be sorted.  And quite a bit went out by the road under a free sign.  (It's amazing what people will take when it's free.  Even some stuff that I was ready to haul to the dump.)  Some stuff was set aside for my daughter or family.  Other stuff went to Good Will.  Still more tool stuff moved into the Tractor Shed where I plan to set up my shop.  Other stuff, bigger yard equipment stuff and seasonal stuff went into the new garage Chris Smith built for me last year, my famous "Taj Magarage."  A smidgen of my stuff went into what I call my "shed in a bag."  That's where my Pontoon boat spends its winter, nestled next to a pile of lumber and a few other odds and ends assortment of stuff I’ve accumulated over the years.
 
For a few months, I felt like I was playing Jenga with stuff.  This piece of stuff fits there.  This piece there.  This one up there.  That one down at the bottom over there.  At times I would think, "Why in the world am I keeping this piece of stuff?"  So I'd put it out by the road, or on the side for my daughter, or in the car for the next trip down to the Rhinelander Goodwill.
 
This was a step beyond downsizing.  Ask my daughter.  I had done that before leaving Houghton.  This was brutal.  This was destuffifying. 
 
And it's been liberating.  It reminded me of what Elma Cline told me years ago.  I visited Elma and her husband in their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I served my first parish, Holy Scripture.  We'd enjoy a cup of coffee and some goodies.  I'd share God's Word and the Sacrament, and Ed and Elma would share the wisdom that comes with age.  During one visit, Elma looked at me and said, "Pastor, the day comes when you realize your stuff owns you.  You don't own it."     
 
Amen, Elma.  Amen.  Sorting stuff.  Storing stuff.  Maintaining stuff.  Fixing stuff.  Moving stuff.  Replacing stuff.  Upgrading stuff.  I have come to the point in my life where I don't just want to downsize my estate, I want to destuffify!  Live simply.  (Well, maybe keep all my ice fishing, fishing, and hunting gear.)  Our Savior knew what he was talking about when he warned, "Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because a man’s life is not measured by how many possessions he has.” (Luke 12:15)
 
Perhaps you need to destuffify this Christmas season?  When we tear down our mountains of stuff, we recognize that the greatest gift of all is already ours.  By faith, together with the Apostle Paul we can shout, "But, whatever things were a profit for me, these things I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. But even more than that, I consider everything to be a loss because of what is worth far more: knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have lost all things and consider them rubbish, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God by faith. I do this so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, in the hope that in some way I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11)
 
Privileged to serve, 
Rev. Glenn Schwanke

Rather than put my boat/motor/trailer away by November 1st in my father’s roomy (but packed) storage garage for the winter, this year I opted to keep it in my own garage in hopes of getting out for some musky “hunting” during November.
 
It paid off.
 
The two days my son Andrew and I managed to get onto the water resulted in one boated musky each time out. Our excursion on November 6th was especially memorable for two reasons: 1) I caught my first-ever November musky; 2) We met Loon(ey), pictured above.
 
I’d always thought the expression, “crazy as a loon,” was disrespectful to loons, but I now think differently. In the spring, loons will make quite a ruckus to drive you away from their nesting area. And, it is wise to steer clear. Let ‘em live. Let ‘em grow.
 
But in November? The loon that harassed us for at least two hours that day made more ruckus than all the loons I’ve ever encountered before combined. The flapping of the wings, the haunting tremolos (the loon’s call), the dive-bombing around and under the boat picked up by the sonar, the click of the reels as the loon sought to disrupt our musky fishing by tugging at our live-bait musky suckers (or maybe it was just hungry?!)
 
Let me be clear: Looney sought us out. Looney entered our territory. Looney disrupted our fishing. Not the other way around.
 
Why? Was its winter quarters near the Gulf of Mexico not yet ready? Had its flight been canceled or delayed due to the government shutdown? Was it injured, desperate? Had its partner taken off with another loon, leaving this one with a broken heart, destined to remain until it would be caught in the soon-to-form ice?
 
I feared we might inadvertently hook the thing. Looney was spoiling for a fight. We even tossed our smallest sucker at it as a sort of peace offering/sacrifice. To no avail. Looney didn’t even acknowledge.   
Toward the end of our two hour standoff, during which we had to monitor the suckers quite closely, I raised one of the suckers from the depths to check on it and a nice musky responded to that action with a satisfying (and spectacular!) strike. Landed it, then released it to fight another day.
 
Which lake, you ask? You know better than to ask. Choose one of the following, or add your own: Area Lake, Banana Lake, Lake Noname, Lake Nunya (as in “none of your business”). Though, if you ask nicely…
 
I know the Bible doesn’t call Satan “crazy as a loon,” but the behavior on display that afternoon mirrors Satan’s approach: brazen, unafraid, crafty, distracting. The Apostle Peter’s description comes close to our experience that day: “Have sound judgment. Be alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
 
Satan is not funny or entertaining. He is not a silly little red entity with horns, a tail, and a pitchfork. He is a terrorist with honey on his lips and hell in his heart. He is a liar and a murderer who puts out his hand for a friendly greeting while clutching a weapon in the hand that’s behind his back. He will do whatever it takes to attack, assault and afflict you.
 
But there is Someone much more powerful than the devil who holds him in check. In fact, Jesus Christ has already won the victory over him on Calvary’s cross, descended into hell to declare it, and risen from the dead to prove it. His victory is ours by faith.
 
The writer to the Hebrews describes this victory: “Therefore, since the children share flesh and blood, he also shared the same flesh and blood, so that through death he could destroy the one who had the power of death (that is, the Devil).” (Hebrews 2:14)
 
The lakes are frozen over. Muskies (and loons!) will have to wait until next Spring. Satan won’t take a break, however. But I rest secure in the knowledge that Jesus is with me, that his words and promises will sustain me.
 
God’s peace be with you,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand