Lutheran Synod Quarterly VOLUME 54 • NUMBER 4 DECEMBER 2014 Lutheran Spirituality and the Pastor One Via or Another? An Overview of Luther and the Later Middle Ages The Early Life of Milton H.A. Otto Milton Otto Tribute Milton Otto Remembrance The Festival Exordium: An Oral Tradition The 875th Anniversary of the Death of Otto von Bamberg (1060-1139) Book Review and Index The journal of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary ISSN: 0360-9685 Lutheran Synod Quarterly VOLUME 54 • NUMBER 4 DECEMBER 2014 Te journal of Bethany Lutheran Teological Seminary lutheran Synod Quarterly EDITOR-IN-CHIEF........................................................... Gaylin R. Schmeling BOOK REVIEW EDITOR ......................................................... Michael K. Smith LAYOUT EDITOR ................................................................. Daniel J. Hartwig PRINTER ......................................................... Books of the Way of the Lord The Lutheran Synod Quarterly (ISSN: 0360-9685) is edited by the faculty of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary 6 Browns Court Mankato, Minnesota 56001 The Lutheran Synod Quarterly is a continuation of the Clergy Bulletin (1941–1960). The purpose of the Lutheran Synod Quarterly, as was the purpose of the Clergy Bulletin, is to provide a testimony of the theological position of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and also to promote the academic growth of her clergy roster by providing scholarly articles, rooted in the inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures and the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Synod Quarterly is published in March and December with a combined June and September issue. Subscription rates are $25.00 U.S. per year for domestic subscriptions and $30.00 U.S. per year for international subscriptions. All subscriptions and editorial correspondence should be sent to the following address: Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary Attn: Lutheran Synod Quarterly 6 Browns Ct Mankato MN 56001 Back issues of the Lutheran Synod Quarterly from the past two years are available at a cost of $8.00 per issue. Back issues of the Lutheran Synod Quarterly and Clergy Bulletin prior to the past two years are available at <www.blts.edu/lsq>. The Lutheran Synod Quarterly is abstracted in Religious and Theological Abstracts, PO Box 215, Myerstown, PA 17067 (E-mail: <[email protected]>; Website: <www.rtabst.org/abstracts>). Copyright ©2014 by Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary. Requests for permission to reproduce more than brief excerpts are to be directed to the Editor- in-Chief. Contents LSQ Vol. 54, No. 4 (December 2014) Lutheran Spirituality and the Pastor ..............................................279 Gaylin R. Schmeling One Via or Another? An Overview of Luther and the Later Middle Ages .................................................................................321 Thomas L. Rank The Early Life of Milton H.A. Otto ................................................345 Elizabeth (Otto) Hermanson Milton Otto Tribute ......................................................................363 Craig A. Ferkenstad Milton Otto Remembrance...........................................................367 Paul E. Schneider The Festival Exordium: An Oral Tradition ......................................371 Glenn R. Obenberger The 875th Anniversary of the Death of Otto von Bamberg (1060-1139) .................................................................................409 Gaylin R. Schmeling BOOK REVIEW AND INDEX Book Review: Lutheran Bible Companion ....................................413 Michael K. Smith Index to Volume 54 ......................................................................417 276 Lutheran Synod Quarterly Vol. 54 Foreword LSQ Vol. 54, No. 4 (December 2014) HE HEART OF LUTHERAN SPIRITUALITY is found in Luther’s famous axiom Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio (prayer, meditation, and afiction). Te one who has been declared Trighteous through faith in Christ the crucifed and who has died and rose in Baptism will, as the psalmist says, “delight … in the Law of the Lord and in His Law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). He will read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word. Trough the Word and Sacraments the entire Trinity makes its dwelling in us and we have union and communion with the divine. When our faith-life is so formed, nourished, and strengthened, we will be a living epistle of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:1–3) and a little Christ to those around us. Tis truth is explicated in the essay “Lutheran Spirituality and the Pastor.” As the church prepares to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation it is necessary that we see Martin Luther not as a brilliantly bright and explosive frework that suddenly appeared in an otherwise dark and dreary sky, but perhaps better as the brightest and most intense light in a sky flled with many other lights. In the essay entitled “One Via or Another? An Overview of Luther and the Later Middle Ages,” the Rev. Tomas Rank considers the infuence of the late medieval era on Martin Luther. Te Rev. Rank is pastor of Scarville and Center Lutheran Churches in Scarville, Iowa. Tis year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Milton H. Otto (1914–1982). Milton Otto was born in Cherokee County, Iowa, 278 Lutheran Synod Quarterly Vol. 54 and baptized in infancy at Hanover Lutheran Church. He prepared for the pastoral ministry and graduated from Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1940. After vicaring at Princeton, Minnesota, and teaching at Eau Claire, Wisconsin he was called as pastor of English Lutheran Church, Cottonwood, Minnesota, and later he was called to the Saude–Jerico Parish of Lawler, Iowa. He served as president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod from 1954 until 1957 during the difcult years of the severance of fellowship with the LCMS. During his years at the seminary, Professor Otto taught the core classes of the seminary and was the dean. He is remembered for his pastoral care and evangelical heart. Te spirit of a Seelsorger (one who cares for souls) was evidenced in his teaching and his faith-life. His evangelical imprint is to be found on a whole generation of ELS pastors. Included in this issue of the Quarterly are a number of articles commemorating the life of Milton H. Otto. Te rubric for the sermon in Rite One of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary states, “On festival days the following order may be observed. [Te pastor] may introduce the sermon with a prayer for the day. Before reading the text he shall deliver an exhortation (exordium) explaining the festival. Te congregation shall sing the festival verse or hymn. Te usual order shall then follow.” In his essay “Te Festival Exordium, An Oral Tradition,” the Rev. Glenn Obenberger has gathered considerable information concerning the use of the exordium, which is extremely valuable for understanding this Scandinavian Lutheran festival tradi- tion. Te Rev. Obenberger is pastor of Parkland Lutheran Church, Tacoma, Washington, and vice-president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Also included in this Quarterly are a brief article concerning the 875th anniversary of the death of Otto von Bamberg, the apostle to Pomerania, and a review of the book Lutheran Bible Companion edited by Edward A. Engelbrecht. It was reviewed by Prof. Michael Smith. – GRS Lutheran Spirituality and the Pastor Gaylin R. Schmeling President, Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary Mankato, Minnesota LSQ Vol. 54, No. 4 (December 2014) The Devotional Writers and Lutheran Spirituality HE HEART OF LUTHERAN SPIRITUALITY is found in Luther’s famous axiom Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio (prayer, meditation, and afiction). Te one who has been declared righ- Tteous through faith in Christ the crucifed and who has died and rose in Baptism will, as the psalmist says, “delight … in the Law of the Lord and in His Law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2). He will read, mark, learn, and take the Word to heart. Luther writes concerning meditation on the biblical truths in the preface of the Large Catechism, “In such reading, conversation, and meditation the Holy Spirit is present and bestows ever new and greater light and devotion, so that it tastes better and better and is digested, as Christ also promises in Matthew 18[:20].”1 Trough the Word and Sacraments the entire Trinity makes its dwelling in us and we have union and communion with the divine and are conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29; Colossians 3:10). When our faith-life is so formed, nourished, and strengthened, we will be a living epistle of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:1–3) and a little Christ to those around us. 1 Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, eds., Te Book of Concord: Te Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 381. 280 Lutheran Synod Quarterly Vol. 54 History of Lutheran Spirituality Luther was certainly a devotional writer. Tis is seen in volumes 42 and 43 of the American Edition of Luther’s Works. He intended his Catechism to be a simple outline of devotion.2 However, when we speak of the Lutheran devotional writers we usually think in terms of the writers of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also following this period there were important Lutheran devotional writers like Walther, Loehe, and Laache to name a few. Te Lutheran devotional writers stood frmly in the fold of Lutheran orthodoxy and the seventeenth-century dogmaticians. Tey confessed the central article of the faith, which is the material principle of the Evangelical Lutheran Church—justifcation