Psalm 47,2-3.6.8-9; Mark 16,19. Exaudi

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 47,2-3.6.8-9; Mark 16,19 3117

Exaudi (6. Sonntag nach Ostern)  042 weiß 

Germanus, Bishop of Paris, ✠ 576

28. Mai 2017 

1. O Jesus, Christ, Thou Almighty Son of God, who is no longer in humiliation here on earth, but is seated at the right hand of Your Father, Lord over all things: We beseech You, send us Your Holy Spirit; give Your Church pious pastors, preserve Your Word, control and restrain the devil and all who would oppress us; mightily uphold Your reign, until all Your enemies shall have been put under Your feet, so that we may hold the victory over sin, death and the devil, through You, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, One True God, world without end.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich for Christi Himmelfahrt).  

2. The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God. For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a Great King over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted! 

  3. This past Thursday the Church celebrated the Ascension of Jesus back into heaven. Our Introit describes the event this way: »The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God.« To be at someone’s right hand is a position of great honor, and Jesus seated at the right hand of His Father indicates that He now rules on behalf of His Father: the Son speaks and acts in synchronicity with His Father. 

4. Jesus’ ascension is an important event, as the Introit tells us: »For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a Great King over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us and nations under our feet« Jesus’ ascension is another step in the culmination of God’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history). Sin has been atoned for in Jesus’ crucifixion; death and the grave have been conquered in Jesus’ resurrection; the enemies of God now begin to yield before Jesus on his throne. Jesus is the Α και Ω (Αλφα and Ωμεγα; Alpha and Omega), who died and returned to life (Revelation 2,8); He has the keys of Death and Hades (Revelation 1,18); His Father makes His enemies a footstool for Jesus’ feet (Hebrews 1,13). On the last day Jesus will depart from His throne and lead His angelic host to gather all His saints into His presence (Revelation 19,7). He will strike down the nations and rule them (Revelation 19,15). He will cast the devil, Death and Hades into the lake of fire and sulphur (Revelation 21,10.14). Then Jesus will create a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21,1) where God will dwell with His Church for all eternity. 

5. Until that last day arrives, Jesus has given His Church a great commission: »All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And, behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age« (Matthew 28,18-20). Jesus has commissioned and authorized His Church to proclaim the gospel: Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins is preached; people are baptized, communed and absolved. The Lord desires all to hear and believe, and so His Church carries out His great commission throughout the four corners of the earth. 

6. Saint Luke records the event of Jesus’ ascension: »Then Jesus lead His disciples out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God« (Luke 24,50-53). We are here today to join the disciples in worshipping the ascended Jesus, and we look forward to next Sunday’s celebration of Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was poured out and the nations began to draw unto the Lord in greater and greater numbers. Jesus said to His disciples: »When the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete (Helper), arrives, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness« (John 15,26-27). 

7. We begin to bear witness to Jesus in our Gottesdienst (Divine Service) as we confess Him in the Apostles’ Creed, praise Him in our hymns and hear the words of His Holy Scriptures. Then we leave this sanctuary and return to our lives in the world where our kind words and good deeds bear witness of Jesus to our neighbors before we even tell them the gospel. Words of kindness and deeds of love help prepare hearts and minds to be receptive to the gospel. The Holy Spirit uses the gospel to create faith in Jesus. Each one of us has an important part to play in this great commission. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian Christians: »What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Slaves through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. he who plants and he who waters are one, for we are God’s fellow workers« (1. Corinthians 3,5-9). 

8. The gospel tells us that God desires everyone to dwell with Him for all eternity, and to ensure this He sent to us His Son. Jesus promises us: »Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will return and will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also« (John 14,1-3). This is what Jesus is doing right now: He is preparing our place to dwell with Him forever. As we await our Lord’s return, we do so with joyful hope: »I am with you always, to the end of the age« (Matthew 28,20), and when the Lord returns on the last day He will usher in an eternal fellowship in His present that is infinite in joy and blessings.  Amen. 

9. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, Thou who reigns over the nations upon Your holy throne; raise up our eyes unto Your ascended resurrection glory so that we are comforted that on the last day You will vindicate Your Church.  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^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12. Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.  

Summer worship service

Beginning Sunday May 28 

our Sunday worship time will be at 9:30 a.m. 

until after Labor Day.

Psalm 95,1-3.6-7; John 16,24b. Rogate

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 95,1-3.6-7; John 16,24b 3017

Rogate (5. Sonntag nach Ostern)  040  weiß 

Helena, Empress and mother of  Constantine, ✠ 328 

Hospitius, hermit, 681

21. Mai 2017 

1. О Lord God, Heavenly Father, who through Your Son did promise us so that whatsoever we ask in His Name You will give us: We beseech You, keep us in Your Word, and grant us Your Holy Spirit, so that He may govern us according to Your will; protect us from the power of the devil, from false doctrine and worship; also defend our lives against all danger; grant us Your blessing and peace, so that we may in all things perceive Your merciful help, and both now and forever praise and glorify You as our Gracious Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One True God, world without end.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich for the Rogate) 

2. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be full. O let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us enter into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. O let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. 

  3. Jesus told His apostles on Maundy Thursday: »Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be full.« This statement is part of a larger teaching Jesus presented to them in the context of the Passover meal, the institution of the Lord’s Supper and hours before His Passion would begin ending with His crucifixion. His statement is sandwiched in the context of God blessing His people, thus His conditional statement is: when you ask, My Father will give you complete joy. 

4. The rest of Rogate’s Introit is verses from Psalm 95 that comprise the Venite (O come), which is liturgically sung in morning Matins. The Venite begins: »O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation!« The object of our singing is the Rock of our salvation. Recall the conversation Jesus had with Peter: »Jesus said to His disciples: „But who do you say that I am?“ Simon Peter replied: „You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.“ And Jesus answered him: „Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against her“« (Matthew 16,15-18). The rock of confessing is to confess Jesus to be the Rock of salvation, and immediately Jesus tells His disciples what it means to be this Rock, this Christ: »I must be killed and on the third day be raised« (Matthew 16,21). In John 16, Jesus is on the cusp of fulfilling this. He tells His apostles: »A little while, and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you« (John 16,16.20.22). 

5. Jesus grounds this promise upon His very own resurrection from the grave. The Apostle Paul tell us that Jesus’ resurrection is the certainty and cornerstone of our faith: If Christ has been raised, then your faith is certain and your sins are forgiven (1. Corinthians 15,17). Yes, Jesus is the guarantee that our joy will be full. The Venite assures us that »The Lord is a Great God, and a Great King above all gods«. The Apostle Paul proclaimed our Great God to the Athenian Greeks at the Areopagus (Acts 17,16-34). The Areopagus is the Hill of Ares (Mars, to the Romans, the god of war); it served as the chief court where murderers were tried (the Greeks believed this is where the Pantheon tried Ares for the murder of Poseidon’s son, Alirrothios). By Paul’s time, the Athenians had built a temple to the unknown god on the Areopagus. This temple represented any god not honored by the Greeks. The Greeks believed the gods punished those who neglected to worship and sacrifice to them, so this temple covered any god or goddess the Greeks may have not known about due to ignorance. 

6. Paul proclaims from the Areopagus: »Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: To the unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, so that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for In Him we live and move and have our being;[Epimenides of Crete] as even some of your own poets have said: For we are indeed His offspring.[Aratus’ poem Phainomena] Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead« (Acts 17,22-31). Paul told the Athenians: yes, you have been ignorant of a god, the Most High God, higher and mightier than your beloved Zeus. This unknown god is the God of the Jews and He sent His Son, not to punish you like Zeus’ sons Apollo and Ares were apt to do in fits of rage, but to die for you and rise again for you. Many of the Athenians who heard this mocked Paul for at that time Greek philosophy generally denied the resurrection of the dead. Rather they held to the Platonic ideal that one’s soul lived on after death and forever left behind the inferior and corrupt body of flesh. Nevertheless, some Athenians accepted Paul’s teaching about Jesus and His resurrection.  

7. The Introit exhorts us: »When you hear God’s Voice, do not harden your hearts.« The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are replete with examples of people hardening their hearts to God. Some harden their hearts because they cannot believe the miracles performed by God and through God in the Holy Scriptures. Others can’t accept some of Jesus’ teachings so they reject Him completely. Most reject God over the fact that the Scriptures claim that Jesus has redeemed us and we need do nothing in regards to our salvation but believe and trust in Christ. The Apostle Paul says it quite clearly in his Epistle to the Romans: »Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life« (Romans 5,1.10). The voice of God’s bishops cry out: Behold, Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world, yes, He has taken away your sin! 

8. Jesus tells us: »Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be full« (John 16,24). We all have petitions and concerns that we take to the Lord in prayer; do so with confidence that our Lord hears your prayers and answers them. Sometimes God’s will and our will are not in sync, but rest assured that God answers our prayers so that His Name is ultimately glorified. The Church’s joy is that the gospel be preached to all and that all who hear it receive it in faith. We know that does not always happen, yet the Church continues to preach Christ to a world that needs Him. May you likewise pray to the Lord that His will be done in your lives and in the lives of all for whom you pray. »Let us sing to the Lord and bless His Name. For the Lord goes forth to judge the world in righteousness and the people in His faithfulness« (Psalm 96,2.13).   Amen. 

9. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who does not reject our prayers nor removes His steadfast love from us, teach us to remember that You have risen indeed, and in rising have made our joy complete.  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. 

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

Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. 

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

Psalm 98,1b-2,4-6; 98,1a. Cantate

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 98,1b-2.4-6; 98,1a  2917

Kantate (4. Sonntag nach Ostern)  039  weiß

Pachomius, Abbot in upper Thebais, Egypt ✠ 348 

14. Mai 2017 

1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, who did through Your Son promise us Your Holy Spirit, so that He should convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment: We beseech You, enlighten our hearts, so that we may confess our sins, through faith in Christ obtain everlasting righteousness and in all our trials and temptations retain this consolation, so that Christ is Lord over the devil and death, and all things, that He will graciously deliver us out of all our afflictions and make us forever partakers of eternal salvation, through the same, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One True God, world without end.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich for Cantate).  

2. O sing to the Lord a new song, Hallelujah, for He has done marvelous things! Hallelujah! His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! 

  3. Cantate is Latin for sing, and our Introit exhorts us to sing a new song for the Lord has done marvelous things. His most marvelous thing is His Easter Resurrection. Many powerful and rich hymns are based on the events of Easter.  

4. The Introit exclaims: »The Lord’s right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.« This is how the Gospels begin their story of Jesus. Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy tracing His ancestors from Abraham through to Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mark begins with John the Baptizer preparing the way for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Luke begins with the accounts of John and Jesus’ births. John begins by telling us that in the beginning was the Word, this Word was God and that Jesus is this very Word and God. Each Gospel begins with its unique prologue showing that Jesus is bringing to us the promised salvation of God the Father. Mary the mother of Jesus sings the Magnificat (Luke 1,46-53). Zechariah the father of John prophesies the Benedictus (Luke 1,68-79). Both are proclamations of rejoicing in the salvation Jesus brings to our fallen world. 

5. This salvation play out in an odd way. The Gospels tell us that, in general, the Jewish crowds are receptive of Jesus and believe He is sent from God the Father; even Greeks and Romans behold Him as a mighty teacher. Most of the Jewish religious and political leaders, with a few exceptions, are critical of Jesus and accuse Him of either being a lunatic or a liar. Jesus explains the disrespect and disdain He receives from His own people: »But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children seated in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates: „We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.“ For John arrived neither eating nor drinking, and they say: „He has a demon.“ The Son of Man arrived eating and drinking, and they say: „Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!“ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds« (Matthew 11,16-19). Even worse, there were some who heard Him preach but refused to repent. Jesus excoriates them, saying: »I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you« (Matthew 11,24). Our generation and culture are no better and no different from that of Jesus’ day. 

6. In our Cantate Gospel lection, Jesus informs us that His Father has hidden the truth of salvation that no one truly knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him from the wise and intelligent, but has instead revealed these things to those who are like immature or little children (Matthew 11,25.27). Jesus’s biggest critics were the scribes and priests; the Pharisees concerned themselves with the Scriptures, the laws and the traditions of the elders, while the Sadducees concerned themselves with the animal sacrifices and the Jewish rituals. The scribes and the rabbis had the synagogues in the towns up and down Palestine; the Levites and priests had the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus preached and taught in the synagogues and the temple courtyard where at times He was challenged by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These were the wise and intelligent men in Jewish society for they were the teachers and priests of Judaism. They thought the law and salvation were unchangeable precepts, but Jesus taught such things were pedagogues and guardians established to guide and prepare the people for the messianic fulfillment to arrive in the Son of God. The Apostle Paul, himself a prominent Pharisee, understood what Jesus’ arrival meant; he told the Galatian Christians in his epistle: »The law was our guardian until Christ arrived in order that we might be justified by faith, but now that faith has arrived, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God« (Galatians 3,24-26). The wise and intelligent would not receive such preaching with joy, for it undoes all they had built themselves upon: the meticulous keeping of the law to ear righteousness was dismantled and the solid foundation of animal sacrifices was demolished for righteousness and salvation are given through one man: the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jewish cross welcomed this because it remove the burden of self-righteousness and made it all about believing in Jesus to be righteous. Greeks and Romans who were burdened with their pantheon (of gods and goddesses) all demanding tribute and praise lest they punish you welcomed Jesus as the Only True God who did not give burdens but removed heavy yokes. Prominent Jews like Nicodemus and Zacchaeus, among others, realized that Jesus is the promised fulfillment that the Mosaic covenant had been preparing them for, namely, the arrival of the Lord’s Christ.  

7. Jesus extends His gospel to you: »Draw unto Me, all who have grown weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you relief. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, that I am gentile and meek in heart, and you will find rest for your lives, for My yoke is pleasant and My burden is light« (Matthew 11,28-30). Christ’s yoke is that we are justified by faith in Him; you are God’s child through faith in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age (Galatians 1,3-4). That is the gospel, and the gospel is a burden that is light and easy to bear. This gospel is not earned, but it is freely given. 

8. Our sinful flesh is tempted to follow a different gospel, a gospel that has demands added to it. These different gospels promise much, are delivered with persuasive eloquence by teachers who look respectable, but they really distort the gospel and rob Christ of His true glory and honor. Heed the Apostle Paul’s warning: »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,  then let him be condemned. 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« (Galatians 1,6-9). 

9. The true gospel is that preached by the apostles, written in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament and preached from pulpits that Christ died for you, He has redeemed you and He is risen. Your Baptism connects you to Him and He assures you that your sins are forgiven and eternal life is yours only on account of His death and resurrection. »We are justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law« (Galatians 2,16). This gospel is an easy burden to bear. »God has remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to us. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God« in Christ Jesus, His Chosen One. »Let us make a joyful noise to the Lord and break forth into joyous song and sing praises« for all that God the Father has done for us through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, our Risen Lord, bless us with the joy of Your gospel so that we sing for joy and proclaim Your goodness throughout all the earth.  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^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12. Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.  

Psalm 66,3.5-7a..8-9; 66,1b.2a. Jubilate

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever 

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Psalm 66,3.5-7a.8-9; 66,1b.2a 2817

Jubilate (3. Sonntag nach Ostern)  038  weiß 

Flavia Domitilla, Virgin, Martyr in Rome under Trajan 100 

C. F. W. Walther, Pastor and Theologian, ✠ 1887

7. Mai 2017 

1. О Lord God, Heavenly Father, who of Your Fatherly goodness does suffer Your children to come under Your chastening rod here on earth, so that we may be like unto Your Only-begotten Son in suffering and hereafter in glory: We beseech You, comfort us in temptations and afflictions by Your Holy Spirit, so that we may not fall into despair, but that we may continually trust in Your Son’s promise, so that our trials will endure but a little while, and will then be followed by eternal joy; so that we thus, in patient hope, may overcome all evil, and at last obtain eternal salvation.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich for the Jubilate) 

2. Shout for joy to God, all the earth, Hallelujah. Sing the Glory of His Name, Hallelujah. Say to God: How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power so that Your enemies go cringing to You. Go and see what God has done: He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man. He rules by His might forever, Bless our God, O peoples; Let the sound of His praise be heard, who has kept our life among the living and has not let our feet slip. 

  3. »Shout for joy to God; sing the Glory of His Name!« The Service of Matins begins by singing responsively: 

℣ O Lord, open my lips: * 

℟ and my mouth will declare Your praise (Psalm 51,15; LSB 219). 

Then we sing those opening verses of the Venite: 

O come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise. For the Lord is a Great God and a Great King above all gods (Psalm 95,1-3; LSB 220). 

So also the liturgy of our Divine Service III. Many parts in our Gottesdienst trace back 1500 years and in some cases to the very time of the apostles. Our Divine Service III follows almost identically the Common Service of 1888 which was prepared to help to resolve the confusion of a variety of Lutheran liturgies as the ethnic groups transitioned from their native languages to English. „This admirable work, a product of the confessional and liturgical movement which revived the church in Europe and America in the nineteenth century, was prepared by a Joint Committee representing the General Synod, the General Council, and the United Synod in the South. The plan of work and the excellence of its text commended it to all groups. Within a relatively few years it was included in the official Service Books of practically all the Lutheran Churches in the country. The principle or Rule which guided the framers of the Common Service, was: “the common consent of the pure Lutheran liturgies of the sixteenth century, and when there is not an entire agreement among them, the consent of the largest number of those of greatest weight.“ This decision to reproduce in the English language the consensus of the purified liturgies of the classic Reformation century, placed the project upon an objective, historical basis which limited the assertions of personal taste or preference. Thus, with few exceptions, the Common Service in its newest parts is as old as the time of the Reformation; in the order and great body of its material, it represents the pure service of the Christian Church of the West from the earliest times“ (www.ctsfw.edu/library/files/pb/704). Our Divine Service is one that praises God centered upon the work of Jesus. 

4. »Say to God: How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power so that Your enemies go cringing to You.« Contemporary understanding about God focuses almost exclusively upon the phrase: God is love, and in doing so hearing a verse like Psalm 66,3 sounds odd, perhaps even un-Christian. God, however, is not a Deity with only one characteristic or trait. God gives us both the law and the gospel, judgment and justification, punishment and mercy. Thus, God created both a heaven and a hell. Those who receive God in faith that looks to His Son are those who inherit heaven, but those who oppose God and reject Christ are those who merit separation from God in hell. The Holy Scriptures tell us: »The Lord says to my Lord: Be seated at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool« (Psalm 110,1; Hebrews 1,13). John heard and saw in his Revelation: »I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been martyred for the Word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice: „O Sovereign Lord, Holy and True, how long before You will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?“« (Revelation 6,9-10). Later John heard and saw an angel say: »Just are You, O Holy One, who is and who was, for You brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink It is what they deserve!« (Revelation 16,5-6).  

5. »Go and see what God has done; He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.« From Genesis to Revelation the Holy Scriptures expound upon the acts of deliverance the Lord has done for mankind. »God turned the sea into dry land; Israel passed through the Jordan River on foot« (Joshua 3,13). The Lord saved Noah and his family from the Flood, spared Lot and his daughters from Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction. The Epistle to the Hebrews declares: »And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David, Samuel and all the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out weakness, became might in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection« (Hebrews 11,32-35). The Bible reports 11 resurrections, and the greatest of these is when Jesus Himself rose from His grave on Easter. Jesus blesses us through His resurrection, as the Apostle Paul writes: »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 we too shall walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, then we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His« (Romans 6,3-5). Death no longer has dominion over Christ, therefore death no longer has dominion over us for we are united to Christ forever (Romans 6,9). Christ has fulfilled for us the words in our Introit: »God has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.«

6. Jesus tells in today’s Jubilate Gospel lection: »I am the Vine, and you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in them bears much fruit, and My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit« (John 15,5.8). Christians do good works that flow from faith. Such works are the Ten Commandments, worshipping God faithfully and joyously, supporting the ministry of His Church when and as you can. All of this glorifies God the Father and benefits our neighbor. Thus, the Holy Spirit exerts us to be attentive to doing good works, and so we pray that more and more good works flow from from our foundation of faith in Jesus. »The prayer of a righteous person avails much« (James 5,16). 

7. Psalm 66 concludes: »Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!« (Psalm 66,20). We worship and praise a Merciful and Gracious God who is slow to anger but abounds in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34,6) that is revealed in His Only Son Jesus Christ. St. John assures us of that very fact in his Gospel: »For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life« (John 3,16). May the Holy Spirit work in us to love the world as God the Father loves the world.   Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou preserves the lives of Your Christian people. Give us Your life and strength so that we live, move and have our being in You alone, our Risen Lord.   Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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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. 

Lutheran Service Book. Copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House. 

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

Psalm 23; 33,5b.12a. Misericordias Domini

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Psalm 23; 33,5b.12a 2717

Miserikordias Domini (2. Sonntag nach Ostern)  037 

Eutropius, Bishop of Saintes, France. Martyr middle of the 3^rd c.  

30. April 2017 

1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, who of Your Fatherly goodness has been mindful of us poor, miserable sinners, and has given Your Beloved Son to be our Shepherd, not only to nourish us by His word, but also to defend us from sin, death and the devil: We beseech You, grant us Your Holy Spirit, so that, even as this Shepherd does know us and succor us in every affliction, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, from our hearts obey His voice and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One True God, world without end.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich for Misericordias Domini). 

2. The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord, Hallelujah. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, Hallelujah. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

  3. Misericordias Domini is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday as that is the theme in today’s Gospel lection. Thus today’s Introit: »The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.« The liturgical season of Easter comforts us by proclaiming: Christ’s resurrection is the wondrous sign/miracle that God steadfastly loves you and that He blesses you. 

4.» The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.« The long-lasting effect of the King James Version of the Bible (1611) still makes the powerful mark in many English-speaking Christians who know Psalm 23 by heart in the King James’ Version’s poetic language. The psalm begins by affirming the Lord’s Divine Providence upon His people: we shall not want. This is 1. Article thinking in Lutheran theology. The 1. Articles in both the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds confess God’s creative activity. He made us, cares for us and provides for us. He is not some Deistic Watchmaker who is removed from our lives except to wind us up or provide some minor repairs from time to time. This is not the God found in Holy Scripture. The God of our Scriptures is an immanent, hands on God who relates to His creation as our Father.  

5. »He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters.« The Psalmist here is describing the ordinary activities of a shepherd. What applies to sheep, applies to people. How the people in the Bible regarded their sheep and goats is akin to how we regard dogs and cats: they are pets and part of the family. Having a pet is like herding sheep, goats or cattle: you need to be attentive, provide discipline and guidance as well as care for the basic needs of the animals. The first thing the Psalmist tells us is: take opportunities to lie down and rest from the stress and fast-paced world we live in. This is why the Lord commands us to take a day off  and devote ourselves to worshipping Him. We need both a physical and a spiritual time to rest, and this rest is ultimately found in Jesus Himself. »Draw near to Me, all you who labor and hare heavy laden, for I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light« (Matthew 11,28-30). Jesus Himself rested in His grave after His redemptive work upon the cross had been finished. His light and easy yoke is the gospel of His Resurrection: After we take our final earthly rest, Jesus will raise us up refreshed and renewed. 

6. »He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.« The Lord salvation plan is the restoration of mankind. To restore our soul is to forgive our sin, bear our guilt, purge away our original sin and to bring rest to our troubled conscience. Christ did these very things for us with His death and resurrection. The path of righteousness leads us from the cradle in Bethlehem to the cross outside Jerusalem and the empty tomb in the garden. This righteous path ends at the gates of heaven. Beyond those pearly gates the angelic choir beckons us with this hymn: »Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created. Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe, language, people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth« (Revelation 4,8.11; 5,9-10). 

7. »Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.« Our final journey to God’s heavenly presence culminates with our death. Many fear death as the great unknown, the undiscovered country, that waits to greet us. The Psalmist, however, assures us that death is only a shadowy vale and Jesus shepherds us through it. He Himself broke the bonds of death and escaped the cold clasp of the grave with the very keys to Death and Hades. With these keys He holds at bay every evil, wielding them as a rod and staff, so that He leads us through every valley of darkness that threatens to overwhelm us.   

8. »Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.« Jesus told us: »In My Father’s house are many rooms, and I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, then I will return and take you so that you may be where I am, for I am the Way, the Truth and the Life« (John 14,2-3.6). Part and parcel with this is that Jesus is now preparing a table before Him. This welcoming reception will heap coals upon the heads of our enemies, our heads will be anointed and our cup overflowing. This supper is the coronation first of Jesus where He transitions from the crown price to the king of all creation. His enemies are defeated, we are anointed as sons and daughters of the King and the feasting never ends. 

9. »Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.« This is the blessing that G the Father pours upon His children. First, it is a blessing from His Divine Providence that He supplies all our temporal needs. Second, it is a blessing from His Divine loving-kindness expressed in its fullness in His Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, the Apostle Paul begins his epistles with the greeting: »Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.« This was not merely a stock greeting for Paul to his congregations, but rather it was a greeting meant to remind those churches that God’s goodness and mercy are our blessing solely on account of Christ Jesus. He blesses us temporally and spiritually, therefore our life, yes all the days of our life, are good for God is our Father and Jesus is our Savior. The culmination of the divine blessing is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

10. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He has redeemed us, purchased our forgiveness and opened up heaven to us. He gives us this promise: »My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one«  (John 10,27-30). Jesus is the living personification of His Father’s merciful heart. Rightly does John the Apostle and Evangelist call Jesus the Word who is God and who is of God and who has been made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1,1.14). Jesus is the Misericordia Domini, the Mercy of the Lord, for by His death and resurrection we have the mercy of God the Father.  Amen. 

13. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, send forth the Holy Spirit to gather the lost and give them faith unto life everlasting.  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^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.  

All quotations from the Book of Concord are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-lutherischen Kirche, 12. Edition © 1998 by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.