“Lord of Life, continue to lead our nation away from a culture of death, to one of Life. Be merciful to us and lead us to repentance for our support of unjust laws. Uphold and strengthen those who support Life, and your church and Christian people to continue to fight against evil laws and institutions and the harm they do to people. Bless your church to be the Place of Refuge, of green pastures and still waters, for all those seeking healing, washing and renewal. Lord, in Your mercy,our prayer.”

                Finally, I'm using extra space to excerpt an article written by LCMS Pastor and a vice-president of the Synod, Scott Murray. It was titled “Great Sinners” and appeared in “The Lutheran Witness” in January 2017.  “Let us repent of our complicity in abortion.    When a woman who has had an abortion comes to me and confesses her sin, she is not only confessing her sin, but my own. Her repentance rips at her heart. It tears at my ears. For her voice is my voice. Her sin is my sin, because I am complicit. Silence is complicity. As Senator Mike Lee said on the floor of the US Senate some days ago, "In the case of the Planned Parenthood undercover videos in the court of public opinion (as they taught me in law school),tacit consentire videtur: the media's silence indicates their consent." But what is good for the media is good for me too! I need to repent of my complicity, because I have been silent.

                God will not remain silent while we do. He has continued to deliver theof the cross. It gets sin out in the open. What rips our ears and tears our hearts, open His veins. There can be no moral cover-up. God uncovers our sin and places it on the Messiah-King who is crucified for sinners.

                Many people say, but pastor, what can I do? I feel so helpless! What can you do? Show love and compassion to those who are suffering over their abortion or their part in one. With the count of the dead now at 57 million there are plenty of people to comfort!

                I believe that many who have had abortions, performed abortions, aided and abetted the abortion industry, or encouraged another to have an abortion, bear aload of guilt. Many feel cornered into supporting this practice as a religious good because they don't know of the God who sends His Son to suffer on a cross to pay even for the sin of abortion. Christ pays for the sin of abortionists, those who helped a woman decide to abort, those who sort through the mangled body parts for useful pieces, those who carry the trays of the remains, those who run the abortion mills, those who write the talking points covering genocide, for those who have believed the lies told about their beautiful children and have submitted to abortion, and those who have been silently complicit. Jesus has died for all sins, and not just for ours only, but even for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

                You can embrace a sobbing friend who is still grieving over the loss of her child even years later and comfort her with the loving forgiveness of Jesus. Tell her that Jesus died for her. Tell her that her sin cannot overcome the mercy of a God who came into our slaughter-darkened world to be slaughtered for her. Christ calls and embraces with blood-bought forgiveness great sinners; great sinners like us.

May we peal the church bells!

Blessings in Christ, our Lord of Life!