The following email was sent to Representative Emmanuel Clever II, my congressman, regarding an the article I wrote for the Sweet Springs Herald to be published on January 27, 2021.
January 26, 2021
Dear Congressman Cleaver,
Peace be with you in the Name of Jesus, who sits at the
right hand of God our Father, and sends the Holy Spirit,
I along
with the members of my family and congregation pray for you. We are thankful
for many of the things you have done in our community. We were glad to see you
in Concordia several years ago to lay a wreath at The Vietnam Traveling
Memorial Wall. We are thankful that you take the time to listen to the farmers
and even sit for coffee at Casey’s in Sweet Springs. We are also thankful that
you and the other members of congress are safe after the horrible intrusion on
our capitol on January 6.
For the past eight years, I have
been the Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Emma, halfway between Concordia
and Sweet Springs. In all my life, I have never written to an elected official.
I have never preached against one party or another from the pulpit. However, I
am writing to you to share with you what will be published in tomorrow’s
edition of the Sweet Springs Herald concerning your prayer to open the 117th Congress on January 3rd. I have attached a copy of the article. Please take
it in the spirit of Proverbs 9:8-10
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a
wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be
still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is
insight. (ESV)
Mr.
Cleaver, I believe you are a wise man. You’ve accomplished a great deal of good
in your career for your congregation for Kansas City and for our nation. Truly
God has blessed you with many opportunities to serve. Since these are all
blessings from His hand, do not trade the fleeting love of the world for the everlasting
love of God. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus:
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will
acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before
men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33
ESV)
I know
there are many serious differences between my church, the Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod and the United Methodist Church. Despite all of these, I
hope that we can agree that there is really only one God who has revealed
Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. I hope we can agree that Jesus suffered
for the sins of the sins of the whole world and gave His life for us only to
rise from the dead to give eternal life to all who trust Him.
If you
would like, I will be glad to make myself available for discussion about this
article or other matters of policy for our area.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Jacob T. Mueller
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
Emma, Missouri
