Matthew 7,12-20 5821
Buß- und Bettag
Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, ✠ 265
17. November 2021
1. O Gracious God, Merciful Father, who does bountifully forgive and show mercy unto all who truly repent of their sins: We heartily beseech You, dear Father, forgive us all our sins, and grant us Your grace, so that all we who call upon Your Name, each day abstain from all unrighteousness and sin, and turn unto You with all our hearts, so that by the power of Your Spirit we may daily be found in sincere faith and obedience, bringing forth fruits of true repentance: grant us also that, seeking and calling upon You in faith and confidence, we may find You a Merciful God and Father, and be assured of Your gracious help and blessing in every need of body and soul, until at length, by Your grace, we obtain eternal salvation. Amen. (Veit Dietrich)
2. »So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.«
3. A day repentance in prayer as a Church service originated in Germany at the conclusion of the European Thirty Years War (1618-48) as a Prayer Service of Confession thanking God for His mercy and grace to His people. Dukes and rulers then continue to hold this service during times of war, epidemics, natural disasters and similar events. As a day set in the middle of the 2. Last Week of the Church Year to repent and pray is a good liturgical and theological practice.
4. Our Lutheran Confessions state in Augsburg Confession XII states: „Concerning repentance our Lutheran churches teach that for those who have sinned after Baptism there is forgiveness of sins each time they come to repent and that the Church should not refuse Absolution to them. Now, sure proper repentance consists of these two parts: one is contrition, that is, terror over the sin; the other is to believe the gospel and absolution, that through Christ’s grace the sins are forgiven and the conscience is comforted and delivered from its terrors. Then improvement should also follow, which are the fruits of repentance, as John the Baptizer says in Matthew 3,8: bear fruit worthy of repentance.“
5. When Jesus began His public ministry, He continued the preaching that John initiated: »So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.«
6. You will know a person by their actions. In this week’s Gospel pericope Jesus said Christians show charity and love to others, but unbelievers show their absent faith by ignoring Jesus and His Christians. We see this in our culture and around the world. But what about us? We are Christians. Does our charity and love showcase our faith in Christ? We are to well aware of our sinfulness. We are guilty of not always being charitable to others in their need. Our conscience is stricken by the words of John and Jesus. Our Lutheran Confessions speak to this condition too. „Our Lutheran churches teach that since the fall of Adam all men begotten in the natural way are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God and with the inclination to sin“ (AC II).
7. The Service of Compline has that wonderfully worded confession of sin: „I confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have send in thought, word and deed by my fault, by my own fault, by my most grievous fault“ (LSB 254).
8. Thus, we confess our sins and pray to God each Sunday, and often on a daily basis because we know our sinfulness and how often we fall short of God’s will. We ask for the Holy Spirit to bless and strengthen us to bear fruit worthy of repentance and faith.
9. The Psalmist exhorts us: »Seek Yahweh while he may be found, and call upon Him while He is near; have a mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions« (Isaiah 55,6; Psalm 51,1). Yahweh will do it, and in doing so will glorify His Name among us and through us. Soli Deo Gloria. This is most certainly true.
9. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
10. Let us pray. O Yahweh, Who is near to those who seek You out; make haste to help us, so that our certainty of salvation is strengthened, our sin is forgiven and we bear the fruits of faith. Amen.
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.
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