Sanctuary in the Lord's House

Lord God All-Powerful, my King and my God, sparrows find a home near your altars; 

swallows build nests there to raise their young. Psalm 84:3 

Perhaps you would have to be a detailed person to note it, but this Psalm writer does. The temple is radiant with splendor, finely dressed stones and shiny metals, testaments to the glory of the Lord Himself. However, this is not what the writer of Psalm 84 chooses to focus on in his psalm. He focuses instead on a minor, mundane, miniscule detail. The common birds of the field are housed and protected by the All-Powerful Lord God. They find sanctuary in the Lord’s house. 

In a similar manner, in Luke 12, Jesus reminds His disciples that the ravens do not sow or reap. They have no such worries. They do not store away. Yet the All-Powerful Lord God provides them with their daily bread. If He attends to the fine details of their lives, will He not also attend to the fine details of our lives as well? He wants us to have peace. 

Imagine the chaos and clatter surrounding those sparrows and swallows in the temple. People of many nations are constantly coming and going. There is an ongoing cacophony of the bleating and cries of dying animals. Smoke mixed with the stench of burning flesh rises up from the temple courtyard. This seems like no place to find security and peace for a bird of the field. And yet, as the psalmist notes, they do. Even in the midst of these challenges, the Lord provides them a peaceful home, a secure nest. 

Imagine the chaos of our own lives in comparison. People of many faiths and opinions are constantly coming in and out of our lives. Some will ridicule our faith. Some will try to convince us to deny it. The cries of our complaining world try to drown out the voice of our Master. If that were not enough, the stench of our own sinful ways rises up from the temples of our bodies. This world is no place to find security and peace for us. We cannot even find it in our own thoughts, which now accuse and now condemn us. Yet we can find peace. 

We find peace in the same place that the sparrows and swallows found peace. We rush to our Lord, our stronghold, our high tower. Through faith, He draws us to Himself. In His word, He pacifies our anxious souls with His calming love letter to us. He reminds us that His word is, and always will be, truth. He opens the truth to us that though our sins are as evident as a scarlet stain, He has made us white by washing us in His own blood. 

We are at peace. He speaks tenderly to us. We do not have to be afraid. He has made a home for us in the Church, the assembly of all true believers. Blessings. 

Frank Van Brocklin 

Principal Teacher

Coming up in the near future at Immanuel Lutheran School: 

       ❖ Our final soccer game of the year will be on Friday, October 13, away versus St. Peter,

           Schofield. 

❖ The NLHS grade school volleyball tournament will be Saturday, October 14, with warm ups starting at 9:00 AM. 

❖ The annual MAES Child Development Expo will be Saturday, October 14, at the MAES gym beginning at 8:00 AM. 

❖ Our next faculty meeting will be on Tuesday, October 17, after school. 

❖ Due to Medford Public Schools not being in session October 18-20, there will be no bus

    service for Immanuel Lutheran Schools on those days.