Joy is not optional
And the artistry of Nacho Libre.
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/ Joy is Not Optional (Isaiah 65)
/ The Firstfruits of the Resurrection
We are studying the Feast of the Old Testament on our Wednesday afternoon Bible class at St. Paul in Austin, and we found a number of really cool things yesterday.
There are three feasts that form a group in the spring:
Passover
Unleavened Bread
First Fruits
Passover is on the 14th of Nisan (Abib), on which the lamb is slaughtered in the temple and then eaten with your family. Even though the Jewish day ends at sundown, it seems like there’s provision that the Passover meal would be eaten on, before sunrise on the 15th of Nisan. (This accounts for the Pharisees desiring to hand Jesus over to Pilate before the sun came up, so they could hustle home and eat the Passover meal.)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a week-long feast beginning on the 15th of Nisan and ending on the 21st. The first day of the week is a Holy Convocation, and there’s a number of offerings that are presented in the Temple, including: two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs, and a goat as a sin offering to make atonement (See Numbers 28:16-22). It’s incredible to think that these offerings were happening in the Temple at the same time that Jesus was being crucified.
Furthermore, and this is really cool, the Feast of First Fruits was a wave offering that was offered the day after the Sabbath during the week of Unleavened Bread (see Leviticus 23:9-13). That means on Easter Sunday, the first day of the week, the day Jesus was raised from the dead and appearing to His disciples, the priests were in the temple waving the first-fruits. How about that!
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:20-21)
/ The Profound Artistry of Nacho Libre
“Don’t you want a taste of the glory? See what it tastes like?”
I have always argued that Nacho Libre is one of the best movies ever made, but I’ll have to admit that I felt a little bit alone with that conviction. Now here’s something I’ve always wanted, but never thought I would see: A video explaining the cinematic nuance and deep meaning of Nacho Libre.
“It’s actually a deeply human film that asks, ‘What does it mean to be a man of faith in a world that doesn’t believe in you?’”
(I’ll be excited about your comments on this one!)
/ On Persecution and Suffering: Scripture & Luther
I’m presenting to the pastors next week at the Doxology retreat on the topic of encouragement from Luther in the midst of persecution. I gathered up some great Luther quotes, which you can find here: https://wolfmueller.notion.site/persecution
Where the Word Is, the Cross Follows
Therefore we who would be Christians must surely count on having the devil with all his angels and the world as our enemies and must count on their inflicting every possible misfortune and grief upon us. For where God’s Word is preached, accepted or believed, and bears fruit, there the blessed holy cross will not be far away. Let nobody think that he will have peace; he must sacrifice all he has on earth—possessions, honor, house and home, wife and children, body and life. (Luther’s Large Catechism, Lord’s Prayer, III:65)
/ Upcoming events
If you’re in Arizona or California, I’ll be swinging by in the next few months. Also, all you gentlemen are invited to join us for our men’s retreat in April.
February 27 - February 28, Atonement Lutheran, Glendale 4001 West Beardsley Road, Glendale, AZ, United States
2026 Texas Lutheran Men’s Conference 2026 – The Vocations of Man
April 17 @ 3:00 pm - April 19 @ 10:00 am, Camp Lone Star, La Grange, TX
Continuing Education Class: Welcoming the Unchurched.
May 19 - May 21, Holy Cross Lutheran Church 4701 Grove St. Rocklin, CA 95677 4701 Grove St., Rocklin, CA, Unit
Please add your own theological recommendations in the comments.
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Christ is Risen! Pastor Wolfmueller
Psalm 27:4
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*Wednesday What-Not is a free newsletter. Your subscription is a helpful donation. Thank you!
For more theology, upcoming events, and links to video, audio, etc. visit www.wolfmueller.co.
Help us understand a “wave offering” please. The priests merely wave the sheaves at heaven? It’s profoundly odd to my thinking. Slaughter and burning I get, as with cooking the flesh and eating. Is this Providing the Levites too with sustenance (or wages for their work role) as the earthly use of the offering? Cain seemingly didn’t understand that offering fruits of the freshly accursed ground, and no blood sacrifice, didn’t pass muster. That’s one of several reasons a “wave offering” perplexes me.
What about the companion movie, Napoleon Dynamite? Theology of the Cross, working through weakness, awkwardness, and things that look foolish. Never arriving at popularity - playing tetherball by himself, even at the end with Deb, he still plays the way he always played. Faithful in his plain callings, trusting without results, but always believing.