2. Peter 3,8-13. Eternity Sunday

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠
The Word of the Lord Endures Forever
se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

2. Peter 3,[3-7]8-13     5714
Ewigkeitssontag  073 (27. Trinitatis)
Clement, Bishop of Rome, Martyr 100
23. November 2014

1. O God, Thou Source of our lives, You have conquered death and brought us safely into Your Providence. You are our Comfort and Light in the midst of darkness, sorrow and the grave. Death separates us from those we love, but Your love has overcome death and the grave and promises us a grand reunion in heaven. (VELKD, Prayer for Ewigkeitssontag § 1).  Amen.
2. »Knowing knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say: „Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.“ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
3. Jesus tells us in this morning’s parable to watch and be ready for His return. He tells us that His return will be delayed, and therefore we will not know when He will return (Matthew 25,5.12). The Apostle Peter also tells us the same in his 2. Epistle. St. Peter writes: »With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief«, that is, suddenly and unexpectedly. So we know three things about the second advent of Jesus: 1. It will be delayed; 2. It will occur suddenly, without warning; and 3. It will be unexpected. In fact, Jesus tells us that His return will be so delayed and so unexpected that those who await for His advent will fall asleep.
4. The Apostle Peter exhorts us during the delay of the Lord to stand firm in our faith and live each day helping our neighbors. We should not fret about Jesus’ return, obsess with calculating it down to a specific date nor lament at His delay. Jesus will return when He returns. The apostle reminds us that Jesus’ delay is an act of mercy, for He wants to give people ample time to repent of their sin and believe in Him unto salvation. Rest assured, the day will arrive when Jesus decides that the time for mercy is over and He will return. That day will reveal everyone’s faith or unbelief, the creation will be burned up and Jesus will create new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
5. This new creation will be like and unlike the heavens and earth we now know and experience. Yahweh’s original creation involved stars, planets, plants and animals. Creation only became cursed as a result of Adam’s sin. Creation was made perfect and holy, and God’s intention is to remove the curse He has imposed upon His creation and restore the heavens and the earth to the purity in which He originally created them. Many blessings stem from this, particularly that suffering and death will no longer exist for all who believe in Jesus. There will be no sickness, disease, trials, temptations, sin or death in the new creation. This will be so because the Apostle Peter proclaims that righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and earth. The Holy Scriptures tell us that only God is righteous. The Apostle Paul proclaims: »Christ Jesus became to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption from God the Father« (1. Corinthians 1,30), and again: »We are found in Christ; we do not have a righteousness of our own that comes from the law, but that righteousness which comes through faith in Christ« (Philippians 3,9). Jesus Himself will dwell in these new heavens and earth. Again, this is consistent with what He did in the original creation where He took a walk in the cool of the days with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3,8).
6. The Apostle John saw this promised fulfilled in his apocalypse where he put it to these beautiful words: »Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: „Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.“ And He who was seated on the throne said: „Behold, I am making all things new. Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be His God and he will be My son“« (Revelation 21,1-7).
7. This is why the five wise bridesmaids could sleep in peace, for they were confident that they were ready whenever the bridegroom arrived whether they were awake or asleep. And that is what happens in Jesus’ parable: they wait for the Lord, they all fall asleep and those who were prepared enter into the wedding feast. Only faith in Jesus prepares us for His second advent. Therefore, no matter how long He delays, we are ready to join Him when He arrives. When His return catches us unaware, nevertheless we are ready to be with Him. Faith receives the promise of forgiveness by Christ’s merits, and faith hopes in His return. Faith is patient and knows that Jesus delays for a good reason. Faith is content with that delay and will rejoice when He finally does arrive. What a beautiful sight to behold when Jesus’ voice awakens us from our slumber and we join His procession into life eternal on the new heavens and earth.  Amen.
8. Let us pray. O Yahweh, Thou Eternal Life, make known to us the path of everlasting life so that we understand that in Your presence there is fullness of joy and eternal bliss.  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 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Bayer, Oswald. Martin Luther’s Theology. Copyright © 2008 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Cutler, Colin. The Ward of Heaven and the Wyrm in the Sea. Copyright © 2012 Eden Books.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
LSB. Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.
Murphy, G. Ronald, Tr. The Heliand. Copyright © 1992 Oxford University Press.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings. Copyright © 1991 HarperCollinsPublishers.
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.

Devotional thoughts for Saturday

Saturday 22. November 2014 

2. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying: "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours." 

How many people view God as an angry, harsh Deity who mistreats His people? Is that our view of God as well? In the parable of the talents, one servant saw his lord that way . His impression was quite different from his two fellow servants. 

The same is true with God. Some see Him as a fair and gracious but others see Him as hard and demanding. God is indeed hard against sin and sinners. He does not take their sinfulness lightly. Sin must be punished and paid for. This is why He sent His Son. Jesus redeemed us from the law and His Father's anger. 

In Christ we see a different side to God the Father. We see both Father and Son showing mercy and love upon sinners. He blesses us and provides for us. He gives us great talents to be used to glorify His Name. We need never be afraid to approach Him for help. He is a gracious God who gives abundantly. It is a pity that some can only see God as a harsh Deity but that is a result of their own stubbornness. God has shown us how merciful He is, and that through His Only-begotten Son. 

Prayer: O Heavenly Father, both our Father and Judge, help us to see Your fatherly heart manifested in the deeds of Christ, so that we may always be assured of Your love and kindness upon us.  Amen. 

Devotional thoughts for Wednesday

Wednesday 19. November 2014 

2. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

Jesus said: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." (Matthew 25,31-32) 

There will be a final judgment and everyone will stand before Jesus. He will separate the wicked from the righteous. The wicked are condemned to hell with the devil and his angels. The righteous are welcomed into the presence of the Triune God. 

How is one judged? The wicked are judged by their works. Even their seemingly good deeds do not benefit them. They lacked faith in Jesus, so their works were of no account. Their works, or lack thereof, are the evidence that condemns them. 

The righteous have their works shown to them, too. They believe in Jesus, and that is what saves them. Their works are an extension of that faith and evidence of that faith. 

The saving factor at the last judgment is Jesus. He redeemed everyone. Those who reject Him have His condemnation. Those who believe have His righteousness. Everyone receives what they wanted. Unbelievers don't want to be with Jesus, and so they will not be. Believers want to be with Jesus, and so they will be. 

Prayer: O Jesus Christ, Judge and Savior, send the Holy Spirit with the gospel throughout the world so that everyone may hear and believe on You for their salvation.  Amen. 

Devotional thoughts for Tuesday

Tuesday 18. November 2014 

2. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8,22-23) 

The Apostle Paul teaches that even creation needs redemption. Mankind's fall into sin had consequences for creation. The LORD cursed the earth on account of our sinfulness. 

The LORD promises to restore creation and unburden it from its curse. This happens on the last day when Jesus creates a new heaven and a new earth. Jesus will return creation to it original state found in the Garden of Eden. This new earth is for resurrected believers in Jesus. 

In Eden, the LORD used to take a walk in the cool of the evening. He spoke to Adam and Eve. This relationship will be restored on the last day, for this is the relationship the LORD created men and women to have with Him. 

Prayer: O God, Creator of heaven and earth, grant that as the crucified body of Your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the advent of the third day, and rise with Him to newness of life, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (L34, Treasury of Daily Prayer)

Devotional thoughts for Monday

Monday 17. November 2014 
2. Last Sunday in the Church Year

Now Jesus stood before the governor, Pontius Pilate, and he asked Him: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said: "You have said so." But when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer. (Matthew 27,11-12) 

Jesus had the opportunity to give a defense of Himself before the chief priests and Pilate. He chose to refrain from a defense. He was silent when the chief priests brought false testimony against Him, and He merely acknowledges Pilates assessment of Him. Jesus is the King of the Jews, just as Pilate asked. 

Only Rome had the authority at the time to grant kingship in Judea. The emperor had put Herod the Great upon the throne and recognized his heirs as leaders over Judea. A rival king in the region would be considered insurrection; this would not be tolerated by the emperor or the governor. 

Yet, anyone familiar with Jesus' public teaching would soon realize that His claim to kingship was more heavenly than earthly. To be sure, He is the King of Israel and all the world, but He did not feed the messianic and kingly anticipations of the Jews. Jesus kingship was to rout the devil, restore what God had lost, heal the sick, teach the people the Word of God and open heaven to all people. 

This is not the sort of king Pilate was familiar with, nor the Jews. In part this is why Jesus gave no defense. As the true and rightful King, Jesus' ministry was to suffer, die and rise again. Pilate had the legal authority to condemn and crucify Him, and Jesus allowed him to do so. This was to fulfill the salvation history He had set in place since Genesis 3. 

Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, as the Healer of nations, You released many from their bondage to sin, death and the devil, but when it came time to release You, the crowd chose a murderer instead. Through our co-crucifixion with You in the waters of our Baptism, may we continually be released from our sins as we confess You to be our everlasting King; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (1110, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

2. Corinthians 8,1-10. 2. Last Sunday in the Church Year

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

2. Corinthians 5,1-10       5614

Vorlezter Sonntag des Kirchenjahres  071 (26. Trinitatis)

Othmar, Abbot of St. Gallen, Switzerland. † 759. ✠ 

16. November 2014 

1. O God, Your Name is righteous! Show Yourself today as the Living One. Have mercy upon us, and bring comfort and life unto us. You console us, befriend us and heal us, for  You are the Living One who has mercy upon us. (VELKD, Prayer for 2. Last Sunday in the Church Year § 1).  Amen. 

2. »For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, then we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2. Corinthians 5,1-10) 

3. The Apostle Paul delves into the issue that many Christians ponder: Is it better to be here on earth in the body or away in heaven with Yahweh? St. Paul himself pondered this as well in his Epistle to the Philippians: »For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account« (Philippians 1,21.23-24). Paul counsels that both are a blessing. While we are here on earth, we are a blessing to our neighbors and use our talents to proclaim the gospel in our individual settings. Once we traverse our mortal existence into the heavenly realm, we are in the eternal fellowship with the Triune God, His angels and all the Christians who have entered into paradise. 

4. The Apostle also discusses our standing before God. He tells us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Jesus speaks about this in this morning’s Gospel pericope. Our Lord separates all of humanity into two groups who will stand before Him on the last day. Jesus will separate people one from another: some He places on His right and others on His left. To those on His right He says: »Enter, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the foundation of the world.« And to those on His left He says: »Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.« Both groups receive what is due pertaining to what they have done during their earthly life. 

5. We might hear this as meriting eternal life based upon the good works we do during our life. However, this is not what Jesus and Paul are teaching. The 2. paragraph in our Rite of Corporate Confession and Absolution reminds us that: „When we examine our hearts and consciences, we find nothing in us but sin and death, from which we are incapable of delivering ourselves“ (LSB 290). By God’s reckoning and His law’s accounting: by right we should all be placed on His left and told to depart from Him into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. As we meditate upon the law in Holy Scripture we discover that we are cursed and deserve eternal damnation. 

6. Nevertheless, there are countless millions in Paradise regardless of all the bad deeds they did, and this is simply the result of the gospel. The law sets the condition for righteousness and holds everyone to the same standard: do this, and live eternally. We cannot meet the law’s simple and strict condition. The gospel responds by saying: inherit what Christ has merited for you. Both sentences follow the same pattern: enter/depart, blessed/cursed, heavenly reign/eternal fire. There is a key verb present in one sentence but missing in the other. Jesus tells those who are blessed: inherit the heavenly reign, and it is precisely this verb, inherit, that assures us that entrance into heaven is by God’s loving grace, not by the good works commanded by the law. 

6. Eternal life is determined by what is done: the law says by what we have done, but the gospel says by what Jesus has done. Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate as a man condemned as an insurrectionist and a blasphemer. Even Pilate knew Jesus was not guilty of these charges, yet Jesus bore these charges upon Himself on behalf of all the world as a vicarious, sacrificial Lamb. Jesus hung upon the cross as a sinner condemned by His Heavenly Father. The Apostle Paul tells us: »We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.« The Calvary cross became Jesus’ judgment seat. As man, Jesus represented all men and women when He bore their sinfulness. As God, His sacrifice effected all people. Jesus received what every man and woman deserves for what they have done in their body. Jesus bore this sin, paid the redemptive price for it and covered the demands of the law. Jesus was judged and condemned so we would not be. 

7. This gospel is received by faith. When we finally stand before Jesus and His judgment seat we will stand there as inheritors of God’s heavenly reign. The books will be opened and Jesus will see only those deeds in our life that He Himself did on our behalf. We are saved by Him and His good merits recognized by the law. Jesus declares us righteous because He has made us righteous. 

8. We do not, however, ignore our neighbor. We help and attend neighbors when they are in need. This happens as a result of faith doing works of love. We do not fret over these works, for faith just does them as the need arises. The Ten Commandments are our guide as to which works we should be about. Our neighbors give us specific opportunities to live as the Commandments exhort us to live. Jesus even reminds us that many times we will be oblivious to doing these works on behalf of our neighbor as they are just what the faithful do who believe in Christ. 

9. »Jesus will say to His Christians: Enter, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the foundation of the world.« »He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage.«  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. O Lord, Jesus Christ, the Judge of all mankind, You declare us righteousness so that we inherit it as a merciful gift from Your hands that bear the marks of the cross.  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.  

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

LSB. Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Devotional thoughts for Friday

Friday 14. November 2014 

3. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

Jesus prayed: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26,39) 

Here we see the depth and the horror of the cross: even the Son of God prays for it to pass by Him if it is His Father's will. The cup Jesus referred to was the weight of sin and punishment He would soon have placed upon Him as the vicarious sacrificial Lamb for the entire world. On the cross Jesus would bear the curse of the law, His Father's wrath upon sin and sinner and be forsaken for a time. 

We thus see the true depth and meaning of love. God the Father sent His only Son into the world to redeem it. God the Son bore the burden of sin upon Himself. And the world was redeemed, forgiven and saved. Sin has been paid for. God's wrath has been poured out and satisfied. Jesus' blood has been shed. Nothing more is needed to restore us back into eternal fellowship with God. 

This restoration is given to us through the gospel and the Holy Spirit offers it to us as a free gift. We only need receive and believe the promise of God: all your sins are forgiven on account of Jesus Christ. Believing makes the promise our own; we are heirs with Christ. It is so simple, and that is why God calls it grace. 

Prayer: O LORD God, Heavenly Father, through the governance of Christian leaders such as Emperor Justinian, You Name is freely confused in our nation and throughout the world. Grant that we may continue to choose trustworthy leaders who serve You faithfully in our generation and who make wise decisions that contribute to the general welfare of Your people; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen. (1108, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

Devotional thoughts for Thursday

Thursday 13. November 2014 

3. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

Jesus said to the apostles: "for this is My blood of the testament, which is poured out for everyone for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26,28) 

The institution of the Lord's Supper is bookended by two betrayals: Judas Iscariot and Peter. In the middle is Jesus' promise of forgiveness. 

We may not betray Jesus like these two apostles did, but there are many times in our lives where we feel as if we let Jesus down, did not live up to His expectations of us or simply did not understand the fully meaning of what His Word teaches us. Such actions feel like betrayal against our Lord. 

Jesus shows us the merciful heart of God the Father. No matter what sin we commit, Jesus has paid the redemption price for it. No sin can bar us from Jesus and His love. 

Peter came to understand that and was restored into fellowship with Jesus. Judas, unfortunately, did not comprehend this and sought to resolve his betrayal by his own hands. Only Jesus can give forgiveness and restore us back unto the heavenly fold. His mercy and forgiveness are there for us, and He lovingly gives out the gift of forgiveness ... even when we feel like we have betrayed Him. 

Prayer: O Lord, in this wondrous Sacrament You have left us a remembrance of Your passion. Grant that we may so receive the sacred mystery of Your body and blood so that the fruits of Your redemption may continually manifest in us; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (L32, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

Devotional thoughts for Wednesday

Wednesday 12. November 2014 

3. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

Jesus said to His disciples: "You know that after two days the Passover is arriving and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." (Matthew 26,2) 

The first Passover occurred in Egypt. God sent an angel to pass over every home that had put the blood of a lamb upon the door posts. All those inside were spared. Unbloodied door posts told the angel to go inside and slay the firstborn. Thus the LORD redeemed Israel from Egyptian slavery. 

In Matthew 26 the Jews are celebrating the annual Passover feast. This time, another Passover would occur in Jerusalem and again the firstborn would be slain. No bloodied doorpost would spare Jesus, the firstborn of both God the Father and Mary. Jesus would become the new and better Passover lamb. His shed blood on the cross redeemed all the world from sin. 

The first Passover foreshadowed the second Passover. It was a type of what God would ultimately do with His Son to save the world. Christ crucified is the antitypical Passover. No more Passover feasts are needed, for redemption has been accomplished. Now we gather, like Jesus with His disciples, to remember the great saving actions of Jesus our Paschal Lamb. Each Sunday we hear His words, sing His praises and receive His Supper for the forgiveness of all our sins. 

Prayer: O Eternal God, Merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as Judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the reign prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (A87, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

Devotional thoughts for Tuesday

Tuesday 11. November 2014 

3. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

Jesus taught: "Then the King will say to those on His right: 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you since the foundation of the world.'" (Matthew 25,34) 

Many believe that they will earn their salvation based on the good deeds they perform. They envision God the Father as an accountant who tallies up their bad deeds and their good deeds, weighs them in the balance, and if the good deeds outweigh the bad, then they have merited eternal life based on their own goodness. This is basically what the Pharisees taught in Jesus' day: if you obey the covenant and do the commandments, then you will merit righteousness. 

Jesus teaches the exact opposite in His parable in Matthew 25. He tells us that our salvation has been prepared for us long before we even existed. Righteousness is God's merit and only God can tip the balance against sinfulness and bad deeds. Everyone will be found wanting when they are weighed in the Divine Balance. Our bad deeds will always outweigh our good and we can never merit our own salvation. 

The good news is: we do not have to merit our salvation. It all depends on God, and this is why He sent His Son to be our Savior. Jesus paid the price, bore our sin and merited righteousness and eternal life for us when He went to the cross. Jesus gives this righteousness to us as a gift; this is why we call it grace. We don't deserve it. We didn't earn it. But God gives it to us out of His love and mercy. 

We inherit salvation because we are children of God. Jesus redeemed us back into the heavenly family. He has secured our placed. It was His intention to do so since the foundation of the world. 

Prayer: O Lord God of Hosts, Your Servant Martin Chemnitz, the soldier, embodied the spirit of sacrifice. He became a bishop in Your Church to defend the catholic faith. Give us grace to follow in his steps so that when our Lord returns we may be clothed with the Baptismal garment of righteous and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (1107, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

Devotional thoughts for Monday

Monday 10. November 2014 

3. Last Sunday in the Church Year 

Jesus said: "For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." 

Jesus told a parable and compared the reign of heaven to a man going his servants trust of his property and talents. As the parable unfolds, most of the servants are diligent in using their lord's gifts and increase his wealth. Some squander the gifts and fail to even gain interest on their lord's wealth. The servants are then rewarded according to their use of the talents. 

Jesus has entrusted us with gifts, abilities and talents. He expects us to use them to further His reign and to be of benefit to our neighbors. This desire to use the gifts to their fullest is born from faith. Those who refuse to use the gifts given to them show they truly do not believe in Jesus. 

We also see in this parable the great mercy and generosity of Jesus. He gives out lavish gifts and gives even more at His return. Jesus is not, as some argue, a harsh God who willy nilly pours out His wrath on those who follow Him. Far from it! Jesus can become angry and punish, but that is only as a result of gross misconduct born from unbelief. Jesus redeemed us from all our sin and lavishly gave us the results of that redemption: righteousness and eternal salvation. He gives us diverse abilities and talents. We use them in faith and love to bring glory and honor to our gracious, loving Savior. 

Prayer: O Almighty and Ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Dispel from us the works of darkness and grant us to live in the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, so that our faith may never be found wanting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (A86, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

1. Thessalonians 5,1-6. The 3. Last Sunday in the Church Year

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ 

1. Thessalonians 5,1-6 [7-11]    5514

Drittlezter Sonntag des Kirchenjahres  070 (25. Trinitatis)

Theodorus Tyro, Martyr 306 

Martin Chemnitz (b1522), Pastor and Confessor ✠ 8. April 1586 

9. November 2014  

1. O Gracious and Eternal God, You are Light in the night. You are Hope in adversity. You are Life in the midst of death.
Be Thou our Light, Hope and Life so that through the promise given in our Holy Baptism we may live each day in the confidence of Thou abiding Presence (VELKD, Prayer for 25. Sunday after Trinity § 1).  Amen. 

2. »Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief in the night. While people are saying: „There is peace and security,“ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers and sisters, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.« 

3. The „end of the world“ theme is quite popular in our culture. Disaster novels and films seem to always crop up from year to year. We have AMC’s popular TV show The Walking Dead where survivors struggle to exist in a zombie apocalypse world. Nicolas Cage recently stared in a remake of the Left Behind series. Earlier this year Paramount Pictures attempted to sail into success with its movie entitled Noah. Our Holy Scriptures contain disaster stories like the Flood,  Sodom and Gomorrah and the destruction of Jerusalem. For several centuries apocalyptic literature was popular, and  in Jesus’ day that literature was common, too. 

4. The Apostle Paul instructs the first-century Christians about the events regarding the end of the world. St. Paul connects the end of the world with the second advent of Jesus Christ. He writes in his 1. Epistle to the Thessalonians: »The day of the Lord will arrive like a thief in the night.« Paul tells us that many in the world will say: all is well; there is peace and security. But when all seems calm, then sudden destruction reigns down upon unsuspecting men and women.  Noah’s neighbors mocked and ridiculed him until the rains poured down upon them and the waters in the deep burst forth to sweep them all away. The people in Sodom and Gomorrah thought all was well until Lot and his family escaped the city and the fire and brimstone pelted them into oblivion. Likewise, the return of Jesus will surprise everyone and all the wicked unbelievers will weep and gnash their teeth when they behold Him in all His Divine Glory. 

5. The world will pass away, but we should not be dispassionate about it nor fear it (Bayer 331). Instead, we anticipate the last day by faith (Bayer 331), and our faith is not waiting for some anonymous Last Thing but for the Last One (Bayer 333). Our Holy Baptism has united us to this Last One who is Jesus Christ our Lord. The Apostle Paul proclaims: »Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him« (Romans 6,3-5.8). Recall also the Baptismal Prayer that connects our Baptism to the Flood: „Almighty and Eternal God, according to Your strict judgment You condemned the unbelieving world through the Flood, yet according to Your great mercy You preserved believing Noah and his family, eight souls in all“ (LSB 268). Just as Yahweh saved Noah and his family from the Flood in an ark, so does He save us from the destruction of the world in the Church. Again St. Paul tells us: »For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him.« The Church proclaims this gospel. The anticipation of the beloved Day of Judgment is thus identical with the anticipation of the „beloved Lord“ (Bayer 334). 

6. The world may fear the convulsions that foretell the end of their existence, but Christians know that the last day is not the end of life. All of God’s promises are fulfilled when His Son returns to this earth. The Apostle Paul writes earlier in his epistle: »For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words« (1. Thessalonians 4,16-18). And again in 2. Corinthians: »Therefore, if you are in Christ, then you are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God« (2. Corinthians 5,17-19.21). 

7. This all begins in Holy Baptism, and thus we begin our journey with the Lord in the holy waters of the font. He guides us and provides for us during our earthly life. He is with us unto our final sleep and He greets us in His Paradise. Death and the end of the world cannot and do not separate us from Christ Jesus our Lord. »If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord« (Romans 8,31.35.37-39). This is Christ’s promise to us, signed and sealed with His own precious blood, and He fulfills what He promises.  Amen. 

8. Let us pray. O Yahweh, we give thanks to You for Your Name is near. Be Thou our Savior and Defender so that we live each day in the certainty of Your love, mercy and forgiveness.  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 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

Bayer, Oswald. Martin Luther’s Theology. Copyright © 2008 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 

Cutler, Colin. The Ward of Heaven and the Wyrm in the Sea. Copyright © 2012 Eden Books. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

LSB. Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

Murphy, G. Ronald, Tr. The Heliand. Copyright © 1992 Oxford University Press. 

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings. Copyright © 1991 HarperCollinsPublishers. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Devotional thoughts for Thursday

Thursday 6. November 2014 

Trinity 20 

Jesus lamented: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!" (Matthew 23,37) 

In this verse we see the heart of God. Prior to this lament, Jesus had excoriated, criticized and spoken harshly about the scribes and Pharisees. He did so to shake them out of their self-righteous pride, repent and turn unto Him for salvation. They would not comply, and their refusal would have dire consequences for Jerusalem and Judea. 

The Pharisees were one of the groups that worked to have Jesus arrested. They followed in the footsteps of their ancestors: they persecuted and killed their Prophet Jesus. In spite of all of this, Jesus wanted to redeem them and gather them under His heavenly reign. 

The same is true today. Countless millions ridicule Jesus and reject Him. Yet, Jesus would gather them into His reign and be their Lord and Savior. Jesus' rich grace and lavish love assure us that we, even when we run astray, would bring us back unto the fold. 

Prayer: O Lord God, Heavenly Father, the holy city of Jerusalem rejected the prophets and stoned those who were sent to her, killing Your Son, the final prophet sent to redeem her and the whole world from their sins. Through His innocent suffering and death, gather Your Church into His loving embrace so that we may truly be the Body of Christ; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen. (1103, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

Devotional thoughts for Wednesday

Wednesday 5. November 2014 

Trinity 20 

Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but do not practice and observe what they do. For they preach, but do not practice." (Matthew 23,1-3) 

Often, we view the scribes and Pharisees as the enemies in the Holy Gospels. To be sure, Jesus had a number of discussions, arguments and disagreements with them. Here Jesus exhorts the people to follow the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. 

Jesus says they sit on Moses' seat. They were many of the teachers and rabbis in Judea. They taught the Scriptures and upheld the Sinai covenant. Their problem was they added to the people's burden. They increased the number of laws that the people were expected to follow in order to keep the covenant. 

We have the same temptation in the Church. Yes, we have the gospel, but too often other rules and regulations are instituted that obscure that gospel. Too many Christians believe they must do something to please God and earn their salvation. This is simply the error of the Pharisees. 

The gospel is a free gift. We did not earn it. We do not deserve it. Yet Jesus gives the gospel to us freely and we receive it by faith. The gospel teaches us that we are righteous before God solely by the merit of Jesus. This is the central message of the Lutheran Reformation, and it is the central message of the Holy Scriptures. 

Prayer: O Merciful and Gracious Lord, You cause Your Word to be proclaimed in every generation. Stir up our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit so that we may receive this proclamation with humility and finally be exalted at the coming of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (A84, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

2. Corinthians 3,3-9. 20th Sunday after Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

2. Corinthians 3,3-9     5414

20. Sonntag nach Trinitatis  065; The Commemoration of the Reformation

Victoria, Martyr 304 ✠ 

All Souls 

2. November 2014 

1. O Merciful God, Thou Source of Truth, we thank You for the men and women, who bravely confess You, who give to others Your gracious gifts, who trust in life, venerate Your Glory and expose the lies of the evil one. We pray that You, speak through them, spread Your truth, accomplish Your will and work according to Your good pleasure. (VELKD, Prayer for den Gedenktag der Reformation § 1).  Amen. 

2. »And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new testament, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.« 

  3. The Church is constantly in danger of replacing the testament of the Spirit with the testament of the law. The Church is constantly tempted to replace the gospel with the law. Thus the Lutheran Reformation was ignited with Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five Theses on the Schloßkirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg in 1517. His Disputation on Indulgences was the beginning of a debate to rescue the gospel for the Church and Christians. Perhaps the most important thesis that Luther posted is Thesis 62: The true treasure of the Church is the most holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God (Luther, On the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences). The gospel is simply this: »We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified« (Galatians 2,16). 

4. There are, however, competing „gospels“ vying for attention in the Church. Not that there are multiple gospels of equal value, for there is only the true gospel and other competing proclamations that claim to be the gospel but are really diluted proclamations void of the power and Spirit of God’s grace. The Apostle Paul exhorted Christians in his Epistle to the Galatians: »I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be damned to hell! As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be damned to hell! For I would have you know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received the gospel through a revelation of Jesus Christ« (Galatians 1,6-9.11-12). The competing message preached by some in Paul’s day was: „It is not enough to believe the gospel of Christ crucified and risen for your salvation. If you want to be certain of your salvation, then you must also get circumcised and follow the Jewish dietary laws.“ In effect, these Judaizing Christians said justification consists in faith in the gospel plus doing the works commanded in the old testament, particularly circumcision and dietary regulations. Paul replied to them: No!; and he upheld the apostolic preaching that salvation is only by the gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection that is received through faith and thus credited to the believer by grace as justification before God the Father. 

5. Luther’s challenge was a Medieval version of Paul’s adversaries: laws, particularly indulgences, relics and penances, were drawn up to bring comfort to distraught consciences. These laws diluted the gospel’s effect in people’s lives to the extent that they trusted their penitential works more than the grace of the gospel. 

6. The competing message in 21. century American Christianity is moralistic therapeutic deism. This term was first introduced in the book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (2005) by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton. They wrote that individuals develop their own personal religious system and borrow ideas from established religions that they’re familiar with. Many include Jesus in their religion, and hence they self-identify as Christians. Moralistic therapeutic deism thus highlights the following tenets: 

A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth (deism).

This god wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions (moralistic).

The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself (therapeutic).

Therefore, god does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when he is needed to resolve a problem (deism and therapeutic).

Good people go to heaven when they die (moralistic). 

Just add to these tenets Jesus and a few Bible passages and you have what essentially passes for populist American Evangelical Christianity today. This contorted message goes back decades. Robert Schuller popularized it in the 70s and 80s from his Crystal Cathedral’s Hour of Power program. Millions read his 1985 best-selling book The Be Happy Attitudes: Eight Positive Attitudes that can Transform Your Life. Joel Osteen has taken up this mantle today. Millions have read his 2004 best-selling book Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential. Their message is essentially a Christianized self-help approach to live a better, moral life. 

7. Yes, the apostles and pastors exhort Christians to live their faith, and this includes exhortation to Godly morality, but the cornerstone of the Christian faith is not the moralistic therapeutics that is the common fare on any given Christian TV show. The Christian faith is grounded solidly and only on Christ and Him crucified. This is the gospel that supported all of Jesus’ and the apostles’ preaching. »For the letter of the law kills, but the Spirit of the gospel gives life.«  The Apostle Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Philippians that »we do not have a righteousness of our own that comes from the law, but a righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith so that we may know Him and the power of Christ’s resurrection« (Philippians 3,9-10). This righteousness that comes through Christ is the pure, true gospel of the Church. No other religion has this gospel that is grounded on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The one holy catholic and apostolic Church alone has the word of salvation, and it is proclaimed to you this day, and every Sunday, for the certainty of your salvation and the assurance that your sin is forgiven, all through Christ alone. 

9. The gospel of Christ Jesus crucified and risen for you and your sinfulness justifies you: all your sins have been paid for and you are now righteous before God the Father. The gospel sanctifies you: the Holy Spirit daily works in you to create good works by which your neighbors are blessed. The gospel is revealed by faith and received by faith. You are saved. You are righteous. You are sanctified. Christ has made it so. The gospel proclaims it. Believe it, for the gospel is the power of God the Son working in your life through the Holy Scriptures, Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and Absolution. The gospel is yours by grace and it is free all on account of Christ. You can be certain of it, for Christ alone is your righteousness.  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. O Yahweh, teach me the way of Your statutes, and I will observe them to the end .  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.  

Bayer, Oswald. Martin Luther’s Theology. Copyright © 2008 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

LSB. Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

Murphy, G. Ronald, Tr. The Heliand. Copyright © 1992 Oxford University Press. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Devotional thoughts for Monday

Monday 3. November 2014 

Trinity 20 

Jesus said to the Pharisees and the Herodians: "Therefore render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and render unto God the things that are God's" (Matthew 22,21) 

Thirty years ago, liberation theology was popular in Central and South America. Its ideology still influences the Church in some areas to this very day. One of liberation theology's tenets was that Jesus is a political liberator, namely He is all about freeing those who are under an oppressive, tyrannical government. As such, some liberation theologians called for Christians and the Church to rebel against the State. 

Unfortunately, the Gospels do not portray Jesus as a political liberator of the downtrodden. Oh, many of the Jews wished He had been such a messiah and had liberated them from Roman rule and occupation. But in Matthew 22 Jesus upholds the legality of the Roman State and its government over Judea and Palestine: Jesus says to pay taxes to Caesar. 

For us in the United States, tomorrow is election day. As Christians and citizens of this nation we should go to our polling place and vote. This duty is a privilege and a rendering unto our "Caesar" what is his. Jesus wants us to be good citizens of our nation. 

He also wants us to be good Christians and render unto God what is His. We do this with faithful worship attendance at the Divine Service. We give thanks, praise and pray to God. We sing hymns and hear His Word preached. We support our congregation with offerings and service. As God has served us, so we in return serve Him, and we do so from faith without any thought of earning God's favor by it. We are already favored by God the Father, and this is solely through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

Prayer: O Almighty God, You invite us to trust in You for our salvation. Deal with us not in the severity of Your judgment but by the greatness of Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (A81, Treasury of Daily Prayer) 

Devotional thoughts for Saturday

Saturday 1. November 2014

Trinity 19, All Saints' Day

Jesus said: "It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of insurrectionists!" (Matthew 21,13) 

Jesus spoke these words shortly after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He refers to the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (Isaiah 56,7; Jeremiah 7,11). The temple and its courtyard were dedicated to sacrifices, prayer, worship and teaching. But the tables set up in the courtyard to change money and sell pigeons had encroached upon the limited space where people gathered to pray and hear the rabbis teach. The temple had been corrupted, and Jesus reformed it. 

Luther did the same in his day. The Church had been corrupted with penances, indulgences and other works righteousness that encroached upon the pure gospel. Luther overturned those merits of works righteousness and put the focus back on Christ, His merits and the gospel of grace and faith. 

Jesus makes one a saint. You don't need a papal proclamation and proof of two miracles. You only need Jesus and the declared righteousness that He freely and mercifully gives you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Faith receives this righteousness as one's own, and thus, forgiven and redeemed, you are a saint in the eyes of God the Father. As saint's we pray and worship the Triune God. We petition God to intervene in the chaos and corruption found in this world. We pray for peace and the proclamation of the pure gospel.

Prayer: O Almighty and Everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and Godly living so that, together with them, we may come to the unspeakable joys You have prepared for those who love You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (F34, Treasury of Daily Prayer)