The following is the sermon I preached for my daughter, Renata Peperkorn’s installation as Kantor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I am deeply thankful and honored to be able to preach for this wonderful, joyous event. What a gift! Below you will find a link to the YouTube of the service, including the sermon. You will also find a link to a short post that Renata made on Facebook about the music she played in the service. -TAP
Link to Renata’s Post on the Music
TITLE: “Sing with the Spirit”
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. —Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV
St. Paul was no stranger to the suffering and hardship we live under here on earth. He recognized the futile, empty ways that the world would have us live in, ways that would choke the very life out of us. We are surrounded by it on every side. God gives us the fulness of life in His Son, and we cast it aside for fleeting pleasures and empty promises that would have us give up our very souls for one more hit, one more distraction, one more stumble on the road to perdition.
It does not matter if your vice is social media or gossip, alcohol or sports drinks, lust or gluttony. Whatever the temptation might be for you, know that Satan seeks to draw you away from the Living Bread who gives His life for the world. We are, in so many ways, fools who have surrounded ourselves with the very things that would destroy us, thinking that we are stronger than all the Christians who have gone before. St. Paul is right. Truly, the days are evil.
So look carefully how you walk, St. Paul says, not as unwise but as wise. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, “…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” St. Paul knows something that the world has forgotten. St. Paul knows that what drives away the devil, what gives life and joy, what makes sense in a world gone mad, what does all these things is music that carries the Word of God.
- When Moses parted the Red Sea and brought the people of Israel through on dry land, they sang.
- When Deborah and Barak defeated the forces of Canaan, they sang.
- When David calmed the troubled heart of Saul, he sang.
- When David repented of his great sin and shame, he sang.
- When Hezekiah restored the true worship of Yahweh in the Temple, they sang.
- When Job was about to perish, he sang.
In times of joy and sorrow, war and peace, plenty and famine, the people of God sang.
- When they were rounded up like cattle and carried off to Babylon, they sang.
- When they returned to Zion, and the Lord restored them, they sang.
And who can forget the great songs of our wondrous Messiah?
- When the angel announced the coming of John the Baptist, Zechariah sang.
- When John the Baptist leapt in his mother Elizabeth’s womb, Mary sang.
- When the Savior of the world was born, the angels of heaven sang.
- When Jesus was presented in the Temple, Simeon sang.
- When the children of Zion saw the Lord was in their midst, they sang.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! But such singing is not only joy. It is also sorrow, comfort, and more than our hearts can ever express.
- When Hannah learned she was no longer barren, she sang.
- When the Exiles wept at the loss of their homeland, they sang.
- When the disciples went to the Mount of Olives with Jesus, they sang.
- When Jesus Himself was on the cross and dying, he sang.
At the very culmination of the ages, when the world ends and the new creation begins, heaven and earth will sing together, Worthy is the Lamb Who Was Slain.
For this reason, Martin Luther once said, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in this world.” Or, as hymnwriter Martin Franzmann put it, “Theology must sing!” Music sanctifies our lives so that even when we suffer, we know that we never do so alone, for Christ and His holy Church are with us all the way.
As a pastor for many decades, I can attest to how the Word of God, carried along by the music of the Church, has shaped the piety and faith of generations. When the best and noblest of music is taught and fostered in the Church, faith grows where it is planted, sustains during times of drought and hardship, and bears us home to the bosom of Abraham (LSB 708:3).
I can remember singing Lord, Now Lettest Thou Thy Servant Depart in Peace at the bedside of more saints than I can count. And those words brought comfort and hope to those who grieved when no mere words could possibly break through. Music brights to light the heart’s need like nothing else can.
I can remember singing O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth, at the very first Higher Things conference before your Kantor was even born. We were told that high schoolers can’t sing hard music. Bah. Watch them. Some of those same youth are now husbands and wives, pastors and teachers in our churches. I’ve talked to them.
I remember singing Behold a Host Arrayed in White with 98-year-old Linda Nergaard. She couldn’t have weighed 80 pounds sopping wet, and she would wander the hallways of her nursing home, so I had to always go hunt for her. I would start the hymn, and she would sing along in Norweigan. It may not have been the most beautiful harmony, and yet strangely, it was. We sang it at her funeral and many others.
I remember singing God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It when a young boy in a wheelchair died. His pastor, well, one of YOUR pastors, preached that death cannot end our sadness, for we are baptized into Christ.
We could bring these to mind all day long. Every pastor could tell you stories like this. Get Pastor Berg started, and you’ll probably never get him to stop. But none of this is possible without churches like Trinity, Messiah, Holy Cross, Lamb of God, St. Paul’s, or whomever it may be. None of these would happen without those churches teaching the faith through the church’s song.
It takes work. It takes dedication. It takes patience. It takes starting with I am Jesus’ Little Lamb with the little ones and working your way up as they grow. It takes a congregation that is willing to let the little children come, for of such is the kingdom of God. If they do not learn it when they are young, they will not remember it when they can’t even remember their own name. It means teaching hymns they will grow into their whole life long, not just ditties they will grow out of.
Today Trinity installs a new Kantor. Kantor is just a $.53 word that means singer. A Kantor leads the church’s song. It doesn’t matter if it’s with a voice teaching the little ones or a mighty organ carrying our song of praise, it is still the song of the Lamb who died and rose again and now lives forevermore.
So welcome your new Kantor, the one who will lead you in song. I may be a little biased, but take care of her. You have a long line of musicians and kantors in this holy place, and she is honored to be in your midst. It is a testament to the work that God does here, nurturing and growing the faith of the people of God.
The world is evil, but you are wise. “…address(ing) one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” For in this Lord lies your salvation.
In the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen.
Dr. Todd A. Peperkorn
Trinity Lutheran Church, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Installation of Renata Peperkorn as Kantor
August 18, 2024 (Proper 15b)
Ephesians 5:15-21