Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: 2. Corinthians 6,1-10. Invocavit

Thursday, March 10, 2022

2. Corinthians 6,1-10. Invocavit

2. Corinthians 6,1-10 1622

Invocavit 25

Fridolin, Abbot at St. Hilaire, France. ✠ 538

6. Marz 2022

1. ℣ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will deliver him and honor him.

℟ With long life will I satisfy him: and show him My salvation (Psalm 91,15a.c.16).

O Lord Jesus Christ, with Your grace abide with us, so that henceforth the wicked enemy's cunning may not harm us. Amen. (Act bleb mit deiner Gnade gepreist elkg 276,1 2021 Josua Stegmann)

2. »Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. [Isaiah 49,8] Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.«

3. In 1999 Daniel Reitz wrote the following in his article The Suffering Irish: „The Irish have suffered, as few other peoples have, from famine, civil war and occupation. You could even say that pain is the Irish way of life. They don't really need a reason to suffer, but they do have an explanation for why so many of them endure it: God. For Irish Catholics -- the fold that brought forth James Joyce, Edna O'Brien and Frank McCourt -- suffering has always been presented as something offered up to God, a sort of insurance policy to increase your likelihood of getting into heaven“ (Salon Tuesday 31. August 1999).

4. One only need watch the TV news or scroll through the Internet to find stories about Ukrainians suffering at the hands of Russian invasion and military attacks upon their cities. The close cultural connections that Ukraine and Russia historically share make the fighting even more painful as it is akin to brother fighting brother or cousin fighting cousin. The same sibling rivalry as old as Genesis 4 is being played out again in a 21. century adaptation of Cain and Abel.

5. Paul tells the Corinthians: »but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.« Christian’s do indeed suffer in this earthly life. Our Gospel pericope reminds us today as we journey through the 1. week of Lent that even Jesus Himself, the holy Son of God, suffered and was tempted at the hands of Satan. In the middle of St. Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says: »A disciple is not above his teacher …. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher …. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me« (Matthew 10,24-25.38). Trials and hardships are part and parcel for the Christian life.

6. Jesus came to this earth to take up His cross. He was born with human flesh and born under the law to put Him in our place complete with trials, hardships and tribulations. Jesus is the Son of God, but He was treated as an imposter and a blasphemer; He is the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, but He was not known as God by many people; Jesus is the Life of the world, but He was crucified, died and was buried; He brought the Heavenly Father’s pure grace and mercy into this fallen world, and yet Jesus’ spirit was sorrowful over the many who rejected the gospel; He is rich, yet Jesus became poor for our sakes; He has all the treasures of heaven, but He set them all aside for a time so as to come to this earth; Jesus was bruised for our iniquities and crushed for our transgressions.

7. Paul quotes in his Epistle the Prophet Isaiah: »In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you« (Isaiah 49,8). That’s Yahweh speaking through Isaiah. Yahweh heard, and He sent Jesus to help us, for Jesus had always been the Helper promised to us since Adam brought sin upon all mankind. Paul looked to Jesus in every tribulation he faced.

8. The Psalmist assures us that Yahweh will answer us and deliver us. Whatever cross we bear on behalf of Christ, we do not bear it alone — Jesus is with us. Paul says: »We are treated as imposters, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as nothing, yet possessing everything.« This is the promise of the gospel and the fruit of the gospel.

9. This gift is given to us in Christ Jesus our Savior. He was tempted as we are tempted, yet He did not sin. He suffered hardship, yet persevered. He bore our iniquities, and redeemed us back to God the Father. He died and was buried, then He rose from the grave. Christ is our Hope and our Helper, our Savior and our Salvation. We follow Him through tribulation; we trust Him in all things. We await His 2. advent.

10. Who trusts in God

A strong abode

In heav’n and earth possesses;

Who looks in love

To Christ above,

No fear the heart oppresses.

In You alone,

Dear Lord, we own

Sweet hope and consolation,

Our Shield from foes,

Our Balm for woes,

Our goal and sure Salvation. (Who Trusts in God a Strong Abode lsb 714,1 Joachim Magdeburg)

This is most certainly true.

11. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippines 4,7). Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Merciful, Eternal God, You did not spare Your own Son, but gave Him up for us all to bear our sins on the cross. Give our hearts such faith so that we may never be frightened or despair. Amen. (Die pommersche Kirchen-Ordnung und Agenda, 288.1; Stratman 35).

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.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Thursday, March 10, 2022

2. Corinthians 6,1-10. Invocavit

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