Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: March 2014

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

1. Kings 19,1-8. Oculi

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

1. Kings 19,1-8(9-13a) 1914

Okuli (3. Sonntag der Passionszeit) 026 „Mine eyes“

Victorian, Proconsul of Carthage, Martyr 484

Alvin L. Barry, Pastor, Theologian and Syn. President. ✠ 2001 23. März 2014

1. We, beseech Thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of Thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty, to be our Defence against all our enemies. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer 89).

2. »Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying: „So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.“ Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying: „It is enough; now, O Yahweh, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.“ And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him: „Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the Angel of Yahweh came again a second time and touched him and said: „Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.“ And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, and He said to him: „What are you doing here, Elijah?“ He said: „I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.“ And He said: „Go out and stand on the mount before Yahweh.“ And behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh, but Yahweh was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.«

3. In this morning’s Gospel Lection Jesus exhorts people to follow Him (Luke 9,59), for He wants an absolute claim to the disciples’ allegiance (Gibbs 433). To follow Jesus means to surrender all guarantees of comfort or predictably stable existence (Gibbs 433), but these disciples have sought to qualify or demote the priority of Jesus and His authority (437). Jesus presents the disciples with the question of boundaries (Gibbs 439). Where will the line be drawn (Gibbs 439)? Which relationship will be primary (Gibbs 439). We cannot remain a disciple of Jesus if we demote the authority of Jesus to be on or even below the level of human authorities and responsibilities (Gibbs 439). We cannot look the Son of God in the eye and say: „You are not first“ (Gibbs 439).

4. Anyone who takes God seriously, must decide for a life of love and dedication (ELKB). The Bible tells of people whom God has challenged to extremes: such as Elijah who is exhausted and on the run from death (ELKB). King Ahab and Queen Jezebel wanted Elijah dead because he had prophesied against the idol Baal. Ahab and Jezebel had done much to solidify Baal worship in Israel, so much so that Elijah was one of a few thousands who remained faithful to Yahweh while millions had turned their devotion to idols. Following Elijah’s showdown with 450 priests of Baal on Mount Carmel, in which Yahweh proved Himself to be the One True God, Elijah fled from his king bent on revenge (1. Kings 18,17-40).

5. The One True God has manifested Himself in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God, Christ Jesus. Jesus calls us to follow Him, and tells us plainly: »No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the reign of God« (Luke 9,62). A more modern example will explain what Jesus is saying: No one who drives a car forward while looking out the back window is fit for the reign of God. Jesus tells us that being His disciple is not easy nor is it free. The cost of discipleship involves following Jesus all the way through to His journey to Jerusalem where He suffered, was crucified, died, was buried and rose from the grave. There are many distractions in this life that seek to divert our attention off the Christ who goes to Jerusalem to be crucified for the sin of the world.

6. Our culture is similar to what the Prophet Elijah experienced in Israel. The ten northern tribes under Jeroboam set Israel on the path of worshiping the Canaanite Baals rather than Yahweh (1. Kings 12,28-31). The king was so bold as to proclaim that it was Baal, and not Yahweh, who had redeemed them from Egyptian slavery hundreds of years prior. Israel was comfortable with such religious pluralism. All the gods were the same to them, and it did not matter if they worshipped Yahweh, Baal or some other local Canaanite idol. The same state of religiosity exists in our culture. Conventional American wisdom says: „All religions are equal. All religions offer a path to salvation. All religions have some truth in them.“ Christianity counters this conventional wisdom, saying: „Christianity is not equal to all the other religions in the world, for Christianity is far superior to them all. Only Jesus is the path to everlasting salvation. Only Christianity has the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.“ But many do not want to believe or accept these dogmatic claims of Christendom. Many churches and Christians wander away from historic Christianity and the focus on only Jesus.

7. Consider this statement in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s official magazine of The Lutheran:

„Ask most Christians what they think salvation means and you are likely to get some language about getting into heaven. If you probe deeper, you may hear there are certain things you must believe or say about Jesus because he is the one who issues the tickets into heaven. He is the bouncer who controls entrance into the velvet-roped VIP section reserved exclusively for those who call themselves Christian.

„What you are hearing is some version of the idea that if you practice religion in a particular way, you will be saved. Yet no religion can save us. God alone saves. We Christians do not believe in Christianity. We believe in God. God alone has the truth. God is truth. No religion possesses the whole truth on God. In our best moments, we know that Jesus is larger than any single religion“ (Marty).

This was written for the March 2014 edition of the magazine by a Lutheran pastor, The Rev. Peter W. Marty. His article gives the impression that you don’t really need Jesus to be saved, and that is universalism, a heresy that the Church has condemned for nearly 2000 years. He implies that Christianity is a religion, among many, that has some of the truth, but certainly not all the truth. He is not the only pastor in the ELCA who thinks this way.

8. Perhaps you are thinking: „Well, that’s the liberal ELCA Lutherans, and we’ve always known they are a few cards short in the theological deck. Such sentiments would never rear their ugly head in our pure and pristine LCMS.“ Our synod is not immune from taking our eyes off of Jesus and saying Jesus is one of many ways to heaven. To be sure, the number of pastors is far less than other denominations who would embrace universalism and deny Jesus as the only way of salvation, but we do have some pastors in our synod who defend such sentiments. I know of two pastors who were removed from the synodical roster for holding the very position that Jesus is not the only way to heaven. I know a few others who have made unbiblical statements and are under church discipline because they refuse to repent and believe what the Bible teaches. I also know several other theologians who think similarly but are shrewd enough to not utter such things publicly. These are all pastors and theologians in the LCMS. No denomination is immune from having people in their midst who clearly prefer Baal to Jesus.

9. Discipleship, therefore, is rigorous and diligent. We need to stop looking back over our shoulder and pining for the ways of the world and their false gods. The world promises peace, prosperity and acceptance if we would just acknowledge that their gods are equal to the Triune God. Jesus teaches us: »If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you because you are not of the world« (John 15,19). Jesus here defines the word Church, which comes from the Greek εκκλησια that means those who are called out. The world, however, is relentless in trying to draw Christians back into its idolatrous fold, therefore we must diligently set our eyes upon only Jesus.

10. The apostles, in their epistles, exhort us to stay focused on Jesus: »If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, then he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain« (1. Timothy 6,3-5). »But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work« (2. Timothy 3,14-17). There are countless other exhortations in the New Testament.

11. In a cave on Mount Horeb, Elijah heard the Voice of God and His Voice was merely a low whisper. That Whispering Voice, the Word of God, was made flesh and dwelt among us. The Word of God is Jesus Christ. He walked the path of suffering, crucifixion and resurrection in order to redeem the world from sin, death and the devil. We follow Jesus again this Lent on that path of cross and empty tomb. His death for sin is our death whereby our sin is wiped clean. His empty tomb is the first fruit that on the last day He will open all the tombs, empty them out and bring our resurrected body into union with our soul to live forever in His Divine Presence as one person of body and soul. Baal cannot do this, neither can spiritual meditation, nor any other gods in the world’s many religions. Only Jesus walked the path of crucifixion and the empty tomb, and He did for us and our eternal salvation. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, who stretched out Your hands to be nailed to the cross, guide our hands and order our steps as we live in Your glorious reign so that we may be able to tell of Your wondrous love and gracious forgiveness to our neighbors. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

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 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article.cfm?article_id=11874

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Reminiscere. Hebrews 11,8-10

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Hebrews 11,8-10 1814

Reminiscere 025. „Remember“

Heribert, Archbishop of Cologne, † 1022

16. März 2014

1. Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul (The Book of Common Prayer 88). Amen.

2. »By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.«

3. Jesus quoted the Psalmist in His parable recorded by St. Mark in his Gospel: »The Stone that the builders rejected after testing has become the Cornerstone; this was Yahweh’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes« (Psalm 118,22-23; Mark 12,10-11). This was born out in the parable that Jesus told as it summarized Israel’s history with Yahweh’s prophets: some they beat and others they killed. When the Son of God finally arrived, they killed Him too. The ministry of Jesus bore this out. Jesus attracted a number of disciples, and they numbered at least 500 by the time of His ascension. Unfortunately, most of the elders, rabbis, scribes and Pharisees listened to Jesus, tested His words and summarily rejected Him as their Messiah and Christ. In punishment, God the Father exiled them from the land, destroyed the Temple and gave His inheritance to others. Those inheritors are Christians, both Jew and Gentile, who hear the gospel and believe in Jesus. The Church is the rightful and legal heir of Christ’s vineyard, but this vineyard is not a physical location like Palestine, and there is no theocratic state anymore. Wherever Christians gather is land made holy unto Christ Jesus because our Lord dwells in our midst.

4. Thus the Psalmist refers to the Christ as the Cornerstone that is the essential stone for the foundation of God’s chosen and holy people. True Israel are those who believe like Abraham, and thus the Church is the legitimate heir of the promises for she is the daughter of Abraham because she shares Abraham’s faith in the Christ. Jesus’ Lenten journey heightened the conflict between Him and those who opposed Him. Jesus spoke this parable during Holy Week, and He had entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and had already cleared out the temple. Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard when He told this parable. His audience was probably diverse, including, His disciples, some from the crowds who had heard Him teach before, Jewish religious leaders, including Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees and any number of extra-national Jews who lived outside Judea but were in the courtyard to celebrate the Feast of Passover. The Jewish religious leaders rightly understood that Jesus told this parable against them. They became indignant that Yahweh would disown them and drive them from the City of God. They wanted to arrest Jesus, put Him on trial and convict Him of blasphemy, but they could not at this time because the Jewish crowds held Jesus in high esteem.

5. The old testament was conditioned upon Israel’s faithfulness to the covenant. If they were unfaithful, then Yahweh could enact the expulsion-from-the-land clause. He had done it once before (587 BC), and He was about to do so again (AD 70). This second expulsion would be final and complete, as Jesus was instituting a new testament to replace the old. Jesus is the Son whom the Jewish leadership killed, and in being killed Jesus fulfilled the old testament and stipulated the new testament that was not conditional upon mankind’s obedience. The vineyard, the City of God and the heavenly reign cannot be taken away and given to someone else now, for Jesus is the heir of this will and testament, and He has kept the conditions for its implementation. Jesus has now given this inheritance to all those who believe in Him.

6. The Church is the unconditional heir of Christ, and He has given her the promises and inheritance once conditioned to Israel. The Church cannot lose this inheritance to others, and there will never be a third testament, for the Church is built upon Christ Jesus the Cornerstone. The Church will always exist, and she will be here on earth when the last day arrives with Jesus’ return. This does not mean that individual Christians or congregations will cease to be Christian, for individuals and congregations can choose to walk away from the gospel, Christ and faith in Him. This will not derail the Holy Spirit, for He will just bring in new people to fill the deserted ranks of Christians and congregations.

7. This good news is proclaimed by the Psalmist: »Remember Your mercy, O Yahweh, and Your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of Your goodness, O Yahweh!« (Psalm 25,6-7). God the Father does remember us on account of Christ.

8. But many will stumble over Jesus the Cornerstone, because He is not a tame Christ. Despite His gentle and loving nature, He is powerful and can be dangerous (CS Lewis). Jesus is not tamed by His creatures, but He surprises us with His endless grace (CS Lewis). And so we remember His mercy shown in today’s parable, mercy that is extended to all who receive Him in faith. Some will reject this mercy and miss out on their inheritance, but others will receive this mercy and be granted their inheritance of salvation, righteousness and everlasting life in His glorious presence. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Heavenly Father, You show His love for us in that Jesus Christ died for us while we were still sinners, may we never stumble over this proclamation nor reject this great gift of grace so that we may remain in the Christian faith unto eternal life. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Monday, March 10, 2014

James 1,12-18. Invocavit

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

James 1,12-18 1714

Invokavit (1. Sonntag der Passionszeit) 024 „He will call“

The Forty Knights, Martyrs at Sebaste, Armenia 320

9. März 2014

1. O Lord, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights: Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey Thy godly motions in righteousness and true holiness, to Thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer 86).

2. »Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted: „I am being tempted by God,“ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.«

3. After Jesus’ forty days of fasting, Satan tempted Him three (3) times. Those temptations involved:

I. miracles,

II. religion and

III. power (Nagel 87-88).

In Jesus’ temptations, when everything that is wrong with us hangs on Jesus, He did not sin (87). The Apostle James reminds us: »Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.« For us, this is a condemnation, for we cannot remain steadfast under trial for any sustained length of time; sooner or later we will falter and succumb to trial and temptation. Satan succeeding in tempting Adam and Eve into sinful rebellion against God’s command, and He continues to deceive men and women every day. We have thus earned the shackles of eternal death and separation from God.

4. In Matthew 4, Satan now sees his opportunity to derail Yahweh’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history). He attempts to distract Jesus from His ministry as the Christ. For a creature to tempt the Creator to sin is the height of pride, but Jesus does not shy away from Satan’s temptations. Jesus has numbered Himself among us sinners by receiving from John the baptism of repentance, and this means being tempted as we are tempted.

5. Satan first tempts Jesus to perform a miracle. Satan shows his cunning nature: tempt the Son of God to exercise His Divine power. The temptation is not that Jesus turn stones into bread to feed the multitudes, but to turn stones into bread and feed Himself. This is a temptation for Jesus to use His power for selfish means. Jesus could rightly turn stones into bread and satisfy His fasting stomach, but because Satan wants Him to do so Jesus refused to heed his words.

6. Satan then tempts Jesus with religion: throw yourself from the temple heights, for your angels will catch you. Jesus understands Satan’s implication: put God to the test and make Him prove that His Word is true. Jesus responds that neither God nor His Word needs to be proved. God is trustworthy and true, and so is His Word, so there is no need to put them to the test.

7. Satan finally tempts Jesus to worship him and if does then he will give him all the earthly kingdoms under his authority. Of all the temptations, this one is the most enticing. Both Jesus and Satan know why Jesus is here: He has arrived to crush Satan’s head. Satan attempted to divert Jesus from that task, and he offers Him all the wealth and glory of the temporal kingdoms. Jesus could be a Second Solomon whose peaceful reign extends over all the earth. Jesus could have this if He would just subject Himself under Satan. This temptation is most beguiling because again and again Jesus would be tempted to take this divergent path to glory. His Jewish people wanted Him to be be a mighty conqueror who would sweep aside Rome’s legions and restore Israel as a world power with his own king and independent self-rule. Jesus’ own apostles also thought the path of the Christ was one of power, swords and temporal rule. Every time Jesus said He would be handed over, crucified, die and rise again, the apostles did not comprehend what this meant, denied that it would occur and at times tried to stand in His way and push Him onto the path of power and glory. Jesus successfully corrected them, taught them and walked up to His cross, tomb and resurrection.

8. The temptation of religion still beguiles the Church today. We are masters of putting God to the test. If God does X, then I will do Y. We are prone to put ourselves in situations that force God to act. How often do people argue: If God does such and such, then I will believe. Or the reverse: God did not answer my prayer, therefore I will stop trusting in Him.

9. The temptation of miracles still beguiles people today. After feeding the multitudes, John tells us in his Gospel: »Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself« (John 6,15). Jesus refused to be the people’s miraculous Bread King. Yes, He will satisfy their needs, but He will not be turned into the Divine Farmer who exists only to satisfy the bodily desires of His people. Recall what Jesus earlier told the Samaritan woman He had met at the well: »If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you: „Give me a drink,“ then you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.... Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life« (John 4,10.13-14). Jesus promised to not only be our temporal Provider but also our spiritual Providence who gives salvation and life everlasting!

10. Each of Satan’s temptations against Jesus fall far short of success; they are, in fact, complete failures. Jesus later turns the table on Satan and reverses the temptations back on Satan. The fasting and hungry Jesus is now the Bread of Eternal Life who has rendered Satan to a destitute, starving roaring lion searching for someone to devour and fill his hunger (1. Peter 5,8). Jesus has proclaimed His victory in the very bowels of Hades and now holds the keys to Death and Hades. Outside Jerusalem, on Mt. Calvary, Jesus has thrown down Satan and crushed His head in fulfillment of Genesis 3,15. John saw in his apocalyptic vision this victory where Jesus said to him: »I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades« (Revelation 1,18). Finally, Jesus wrested from Satan all the worldly kingdoms he had boasted to give to Jesus. The Apostle John heard in his apocalyptic vision: »The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!« (Revelation 11,15). Who now bows down and worships whom? The Apostle Paul proclaims: »Therefore God has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father« (Philippians 2,9-11). Yes, even Satan, the prince of rebellion, must now confess and bow before Christ Jesus as his God and King!

11. By overcoming the devil’s temptations, Jesus won the victory over him as a foretaste of the great victory He would later win on the cross and in the empty tomb. Jesus has overcome Satan for us on our behalf. Jesus’ victory is our victory, and Satan can no longer prosecuting us before the Divine Judge. John saw it, and it is now a reality: »Now the salvation and the power and the reign of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, who had accused them day and night before our God« (Revelation 12,10).

12. When Jesus successfully finished His time of temptation, »angels came and were ministering to Him« (Matthew 4,11). Those same angels now come and minister to you in both your bodily and spiritual needs, for Jesus sends them to guide and provide for us in this earthly life. Amen.

13. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus, You appeared to destroy the works of the devil; send us the Holy Spirit to guide us along Your holy path during Lent so that by traveling with You to the cross we see the joy of eternal life that is Your pure gift to us. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Isaiah 58,1-9a. Quinquagesima (Estomihi)

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Isaiah 58,1-9a

Estomihi 022 Quinquagesima 1514

Simplicius, Bishop of Rome, † 483

2. März 2014

1. O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth: Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee: Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake (The Book of Common Prayer 164-65). Amen.

2. »Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to My people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily and delight to know My ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of Me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. ‘Why have we fasted, and You see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to Yahweh? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and He will say: ‘Here I am.’«

3. Grace is not easily understood, and we see this where Mark the Evangelist records that Jesus told His disciples that He must be crucified, die and rise on the third day (Mark 8,31). The disciples did not understand this as grace, and the Apostle Peter even took Jesus aside and privately rebuked Him (Mark 8,32). Imagine that! A disciple privately rebuking his teacher, and the Christ and Son of God at that! Surely we would not speak to Jesus like brash Peter does in Mark 8. But don’t we? Every time we use God’s Name in vain, we are rebuking Him. Every time we curse, swear, lie or deceive by His Name, we are misusing God’s Name for we have set our minds on the things of man rather than the things of God.

4. Jesus has plainly told His disciples in Mark 8 what »the things of God« are (Mark 8,33). Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, and the things of God that He was about during His ministry was to »suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again« (Mark 8,31). This is the first declaration of Jesus that He will be crucified and rise again. He tells His disciples this because they have come to believe that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8,29). Jesus will speak of His death and resurrection two more time in Mark’s Gospel (9,31; 10,33-34).

5. The Prophet Isaiah heard these words of Yahweh spoken against idolatrous, immoral Israel: »Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to My people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily and delight to know My ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God.« Israel’s idolatry had immoral consequences. They ignored their neighbors’ plight. They did not offer help in time of their need. They dismissed them and passed by them. And yet, when they themselves needed Yahweh’s help, they asked: „Where is Yahweh in my time of need?“ So it is with us. We put on our piety, say our prayers, and pledge allegiance to Jesus, but how often do we misuse His Name, ignore our neighbor’s plight and only call upon Jesus for selfish petitions? So also the disciples and apostles of Jesus. Yes, they now understood by Mark 8 that Jesus is the Christ, but they had their own preconceived ideals of what that meant. The average Jewish person in the 1. century A.D. thought the ministry of the Christ was to restore land unto the people, and that meant running out the Roman occupiers and the emperor’s puppet kings who ruled Judea. The disciples and apostles expected Jesus to renew the old, Sinai covenant because, after all, they were keeping up their end of the covenant to remain in the land: they were attentive to the sacrifices at the temple, teaching their children the way of Yahweh, and forsaking all other idols.

6. What the disciples and apostles had failed to consider is that Yahweh had already fulfilled His covenant promise to them. When Joshua lead Israel into the promised land forty years after they left Egypt, at that time and in that activity, Jesus had fulfilled the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 15: »To your offspring I give this land« (15,18). God freely gave Israel the land under the leadership of Joshua. But Joshua instituted another covenant with Israel on behalf of Yahweh. The provision was: God has given you this land as a gift, but if you want to remain in this land, then you must obey Him (Joshua 24,19-20). Israel did not remain faithful to this covenant, and therefore after generations of idolatry, God exiled them from the land that He had given them. The covenant, again, had been fulfilled. When the people returned from Divine exile seventy years later, God restored to them the land, but it was not like the good old glory days under Joshua or David. God had fulfilled His covenant with Israel, and He now let Israel re-dwell in the land, but He also let other nations rule and occupy the land as overseers of Israel. Cyrus let the people return to Judea and rebuild the temple and live in the land, but he still ruled over them as the King of Persia. Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and Judea fell under his rule and the Seleucid Empire. Finally the Romans marched in after defeating the Seleucids and flew their imperial standard, chose kings to rule the region and even elevated and deposed the high priests for the Jewish temple.

7. Jesus had not arrived to renew or restore the old covenant that He had made with Moses, Joshua or Ezra. That old covenant was temporary and preparatory. Jesus arrived to fulfill the old covenant and institute a new one. The apostle tells us in his Epistle to the Hebrews: »Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant…. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf…. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of all, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him« (Hebrews9,15.24.27-28). The Apostle Paul writes in his Epistle to the Romans that Jesus is the promised offspring of Abraham (Genesis 15; Romans 4,18); »this Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification« (Romans 4,25). Again, St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Galatians: »Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying: „In you shall all the nations be blessed.“ (Genesis 22,18) So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith« (Galatians 3,7-9).

8. The Prophet Isaiah says that only when fasting, prayer and helping our neighbor is done selflessly and out of love, then God the Father will send forth His righteousness. Unfortunately, as Isaiah well-knows, Israel cannot fulfill that requirement. Neither can we, and that is the point Yahweh makes through Isaiah: we sinners cannot ever do enough to merit God’s good graces upon us. Therefore, God Himself promises to fulfill the very law He has imposed upon us. Jesus arrived and healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, dined with rogues and sinners. Jesus showed love for His neighbor, and He did so purely out of love for them. His ultimate act of love for His neighbor was to allow Himself to be crucified, die and rise from the grave. Because Christ Jesus has done this, now »shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and Yahweh will answer; you shall cry, and He will say: ‘Here I am.’« In His suffering, death and resurrection Jesus said: Here I am to be the new testament that redeems all My neighbors, yes, the entire world of sinful men and women who have ever lived and who will live. In all this God the Father was well-pleased with His Only-begotten Son, and now when we cry out unto our Lord, His response is quick and decisive: Jesus replies: Here I am.

9. Jesus walked this gospel path of forgiveness and salvation. It was a path that was undertaken in the shadow of the cross and crucifixion. His disciples and apostles cannot comprehend this and think it is a path imposed upon Jesus by those who would hinder His work as the Christ. Jesus, however, tells the apostles that the cross is not a departure or a ploy of Satan to distract Him, but the cross is the very will of the Triune God that He has come to fulfill as the Christ.

10. Jesus called His disciples and apostles to follow Him along this path, and today He likewise calls us to follow Him: »If anyone would walk after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save his life« (Mark 8,34-35). Our Christian life of faith is besieged with trials, tests and tribulations. Jesus calls us to bear them and their heartache as we keep our eyes focused on Him and where He went. He went to the cross to die for the sins of the world. He went to die and be buried in a tomb. He went to hell to take the keys of Death and Hades as His own possession. He rose on the third day, and ascended back to heaven to be in the presence of His Father. Jesus has already done these things, and because He has done these things He is with us and brings us through each one as well. Jesus’ journey ended at the right hand of God the Father in glory, and that is where our journey will end as well, for that is why Jesus arrived, was crucified and rose from the dead so that on the last day He will return and raise us up to be in His glorious presence for all eternity. Amen.

12. O Christ Jesus, who accomplished everything written about You by the Prophets, help us to follow You to the cross and the empty tomb so that one day we will also ascend up to heaven and behold the everlasting salvation You have prepared for us. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

1. Kings 19,1-8. Oculi

Monday, March 17, 2014

Reminiscere. Hebrews 11,8-10

Monday, March 10, 2014

James 1,12-18. Invocavit

Monday, March 3, 2014

Isaiah 58,1-9a. Quinquagesima (Estomihi)