Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: August 2019

Monday, August 26, 2019

Luke 19,41-48. 10. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Luke 19,41-48 4519

10. Sn. n. Trinitatis 055

Louis, King of France, ✠ 1270

25. August 2019

1. O Christ Jesus, The Very Word of God made flesh; send to us the Holy Spirit, so that we hang on Your words that call us to repentance and gives us absolution. Amen. (Luke 19,48)

2. »And Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them: „It is written: My house shall be a house of prayer, [Isaiah 56,7; Jeremiah 7,11] but you have made it a den of insurrectionists.“ And He was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy Him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on His words.«

3. The Lord’s house is to be a house of prayer, worship and preaching where His people gathered to hear His Word and sing His praises. The Jewish synagogues in Jesus’ day were houses of prayer and preaching. The chief house of prayer was the temple in Jerusalem where rabbis would gather with their disciples in the outer courtyard to teach and preach to the crowds going up to pray or offer a sacrifice. 2000 years later, the Jewish people still gather at the temple wall to offer their prayers.

4. In Jesus’ day, those who sold animals for the sacrifices had overrun the temple courtyard, and the result was those going up to offer prayer or hear a rabbi were often hindered from doing so as a result of the commotion and the unrelenting noise from the animals. Practicality had intruded upon prayer, and Jesus was not pleased by this. He called these interlopers „insurrectionists“. It is a harsh word, and Jesus chose it to deliberately offend the Jews who thought they were doing something God-pleasing. They intended to offer a needed service for those going up to sacrifice but did so at the expense of others going up to pray, thus they were no better than those taking part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority.

5. Those who rebel against God do not fare well in the Holy Scriptures. Israel was dispersed from the land and lost to mankind. Judah suffered 2 captivities, temple destructions and razings of Jerusalem. 21st-century Israelis still experience the devastation of God’s wrath: they have the land, but do not control the temple mount, the temple has never been rebuilt and the sacrifices have not been done since AD 70 – 1949 years! All they have is a crumbling wall near the location of the temple to offer prayers.

6. The physical temple in Jerusalem is no more, but God still has His temple, a better and more faithful Temple – His Only Son Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Jews that He would destroy this Temple and raise It up in 3 days. He was talking about Himself: His body was crucified and killed, but 3 days later He raised It up again from the grave.

7. The Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, writes about the temple, its rebuilding and connects it to Holy Baptism. He declares: »What shall we say then? Shall we keep on sinning so that grace may increase? Absolutely not! We died to sin. How can we go on living in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him by this Baptism into His death, so that just as He was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life. For if we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, then we will certainly also be united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with Him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin. For the person who has died has been declared free from sin. And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, He will never die again. Death no longer has control over Him. For the death He died, He died to sin once and for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6,1-11).

8. God’s house is also a place where His Sacraments are administered: Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and Absolution of sin. Today we again see God’s mercy and grace manifested physically before our eyes through the waters of Baptism. And just to drive His loving kindness home to us, God will be working His grace before us again in 2 weeks with another Baptism. Thus we hang on His holy words.

9. A number of things happen at a Baptism. It’s a death, a resurrection, an adoption and an action of forgiveness, among other things. God has been in the business of finding the lost, turning rebels into righteous people, for a very long time – beginning with Adam and Eve, adopting Abraham to be the forefather of Israel and all the faithful in God, like us gathered here this morning. Today, little John, is baptized into Christ Jesus. He is baptized into Christ’s death, buried with Him and raised from the dead with Him through the Glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. John joins us as those adopted into the family of God. He is one whom Christ has chosen, blessed and falls under the protection of Jesus’ angelic heavenly host. John’s sin is washed away in the waters of Holy Baptism, more specifically, his sins have been drowned in the Baptismal waters just like Pharaoh and his army were drowned in the Reed Sea. His Baptism saves him, just like Noah and his family were saved by the ark from the Flood. His Baptism leads him to a life of service and prayer, just like all the saints of God live out their Baptismal faith through their good works.

10. The Lord’s house shall be a house of prayer, and so it is by the merit of Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit. His Church and this congregation is a house of prayer where people gathered to receive from our Lord His gifts of Word and Sacraments; we worship Him with praise and service. The Apostle Paul reminds us that: »Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is within us« (1. Corinthian 6,19). As temples of the Spirit, we are individual houses of prayer. As the Holy Spirit indwells in us, may we lift up our neighbors in prayer, petitioning the Lord that they believe in Jesus, remain steadfast in their Baptismal faith and serve the Lord with gladness. Amen.

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, God of our salvation; watch over us and protect us, both physically and spiritually, so that we remain safe and secure as the people of Your pasture and the sheep of Your hand. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

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

Monday, August 19, 2019

Philippians 3,7-14. 9. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Philippians 3,(4b-6)7-14 4419

9. Sn. n. Trinitatis 054

Agapitus, Martyr 273

18. August 2019

1. O Christ Jesus, who is Wise and Holy; make us wise as serpents and innocent as doves, so that we may be equipped to deal with the ways of this world. Amen. (Matthew 10,16)

2. »Even though I have grounds for confidence also in the flesh. If anyone else thinks that he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶in regard to zeal, persecuting the church; in regard to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. ⁷But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that derives from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – ¹⁰so that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, ¹¹so that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.«

3. The world puts great importance in gaining wisdom, reputation, wealth, respect and other such things. The drive to possess such talents has its place and can be beneficial. The temptation is to put all our resources and energy into pursuing such things and neglecting the spiritual possessions that God would give us as well.

4. Paul had reason to boast in his accomplishments: he is a Jew who knew the law, the Word of God, and counted himself righteous under that law. To look at Paul was to see a man confident in his religion that was further vindicated by the great possessions he had as a result. But Paul counts all this as a loss.

5. The old Paul, the Jew who zealously persecuted the Church, has given way to the new Paul, the Christian who zealously encourages the Church. The change in Paul is Christ who appeared to him on the way to Damascus. Paul proclaims that knowing Christ is more important that worldly wisdom, reputation, wealth and respect; we can lose all these things without fear because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.

6. Our human flesh cringes at hearing this. We don’t want to lose anything for the world often views losing as a failure. Our fallen nature is convinced that if we do enough to please God then He will look favorably upon us. So we spend our lives attempting to keep His law to prove our worthiness. We might even reach the level of the Pharisees and boast that we have earned God’s righteousness by obeying His law. We can even uphold Scripture to bolster our works-driven ethic. »The Lord said to Isaac: „I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed My Voice and kept My commandments, statutes, and laws“« (Genesis 26,4-5). »Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I will guard Your law and observe it with all my heart« (Psalms 119,33-34). »The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man« (Ecclesiastes 12,13).

7. Jesus challenges the Pharisaic twisting of the law into meriting salvation. In His Parable o the Sower, Jesus teaches that those who hear the Scriptures and believe them are saved (Luke 8,11-12.15). Later He proclaims: »The Son of Man has arrived to seek and to save those who are lost« (Luke 19,10). Thus St. Paul writes: »We gain Christ and are found in Him, not having a righteousness of our own that derives from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – so that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection.« We receive Jesus by faith, believe on Him and are saved.

8. Our goal in our Christian faith is Jesus. St. Paul tells us: »Forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.« Our goal is not the things of this world, for the things of this world — wisdom, reputation, wealth and respect — they pale in comparison to the things of heaven. The things of this world tarnish and fade away, but the things of heaven are eternal. Jesus promises that we will inherit the things of heaven: everlasting life in His presence, fellowship with the angels, archangels and all believers in Christ who have gone before us, a resurrected body free from the corruption of sin and a return to the paradise of Eden for which He originally created us to enjoy in His presence where there will be no more death. This is the wonderful prize that God has for us on the last day. Jesus has secured it for us, and He gives us His righteous now as a down-payment on the future blessings that are ours as heirs of God. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Jesus, whose Name is great before the Father; may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You, so that we see the salvation You give by grace that is received by faith. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Parables of Atonement and Assurance: Matthew 13:44-46. http://www.mtio.com/articles/bissar54.htm

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

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Isaiah 2,1-5. 8. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Isaiah 2,1-5 4319

8. Sn. n. Trinitatis 053

Tiburtius, Martyr at Rome 286

11. August 2019

1. O Christ Jesus, our Good Shepherd; send forth Your holy angels to watch over us, so that we are spared and protected from the ravenous wolves of the wicked world and the devils, thus remaining safe and secure under Your Divine Providence. Amen. (Matthew 7,15)

2. »The Word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall go, and say: „Yea, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, so that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.“ For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for all peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, draw near, let us walk in the light of the Lord.«

3. As events last weekend reminded us, sometimes disputes and violence are tragically decided with weapons of warfare, be they swords or guns; neither the heartland of America in Dayton nor the independent Texans in El Paso can escape the hatred that sin often unleashes against our fellow man or woman. Mankind is sinful and our sinfulness at times is unleashed as violence, harm or the murder of other people. It is no surprise, then, that the sin recorded in Genesis that follows Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit is Cain murdering his brother Abel. King Solomon laments: »It is the same for everyone, for death takes the righteous and the wicked, the good and the evil-doer, the one who is religious and the one who neglects God« (Ecclesiastes 9,2). Solomon concludes that our life is a life of vanity (Ecclesiastes 1,2).

4. Mankind’s violence against his or her neighbor is often a complex puzzle that results in the wicked actions against them because they look different, speak differently or are from another country or culture. Divisive language, hateful speech, political rhetoric, prejudice, bigotry and hatred engulf our lives upon this Earth. Some walk too far in the darkness of sin and engage in violence against others; some walk even further to the very center of sinful darkness and take the life of others. The Apostle Paul tells us that: »Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places« (Ephesians 6,12). Paul reminds us that the real enemy is the Devil and his army of fallen angels. Jesus says: »The Devil was a murderer from the beginning and did not remain standing in the truth« (John 8,44). We can condemn hate speech, pass more restrictive laws and try to find the red flags in a troubled soul before they snap, but these things will only be partially effective, and they will never deliver what they promise: an end to senseless violence against people. This is not to the shift the blame, but to say that blame is never the solution (Cwirla 5. August 2019). We contend with sin, with darkness and powerful devilish foes; human laws are ineffective against such enemies, and at best can imperfectly curb violence but they can never end the violence.

5. The Prophet Isaiah tells us there is a Beacon of Light on a mountain that shines forth in the darkness of sin and the Devil. Isaiah encourages us to climb this mountain, where God is, and walk in His path. Isaiah promises us that the Word of the Lord shall judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for all people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation. And I will add: people will not hurt or kill people anymore.

6. Isaiah’s Beacon that he saw is the Messiah, whom we call Jesus Christ. Jesus leads mankind out of the darkness and into the light. In doing so, He suffered the worst violence man can show it to another man: He was rejected, beaten and crucified to death. Jesus took upon Himself the worst hatred a man can show, and in taking it upon Himself He conquers it. He bore our sin and forgave it. He felt our hatred and responded with love. He died and rose to life again in victory.

7. Jesus doesn’t shield everyone from bullets; He doesn’t stop every murderous gunman. In His wisdom, He allows some to live but others to die. And this is why He forbade us the knowledge of evil, because we cannot comprehend why God would not physically protect everyone when they face peril and danger. Such wisdom He reserves for Himself and is not obligated to explain His actions to us who struggle with the unanswerable and painful question: why?

8. Jesus does promise us that He is always with us and will never forsake us. He tells us this again and again and the pages of Holy Scripture. He sends His angels to minister to those who have suffered a grievous loss in El Paso, Dayton and anywhere else where senseless violence impacts men and women. He promises that separation and death do not have the final word, for His word is final and His word is one that reunites those we have lost and resurrects those who have died.

9. Until Christ returns to raise the dead, politicians, lawmakers and judges have their role in trying to curb violence and death. We also have a roll, and it is an important one: we pray. There will be those who scoff (AOC, Booker, Omar, Tlaib, etc.) at this and argue that praying doesn’t do anything. They are wrong. James the brother of our Lord exhorts us: »Is anyone among you suffering? Then pray, for the prayer of a righteous person is able to do much because it is effective« (James 5,13.16). We are righteous on account of Christ, and thus our prayers are effective for Christ hears us and answers us. We pray without ceasing (1. Thessalonians 5,17). It is our duty as Christians to pray and help our neighbor who suffers as we are able.

10. Our Lord will return, and He will purge this world and us of sin and sin’s consequences. We shall dwell in His presence with all believers who have gone before us. »The people who walk in darkness have seen a Great Light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has the Light shone« (Isaiah 9,2). This Light is Jesus, and He will restore us to life and prosperity. Amen.

11. Let us pray. O Lord, who is kind and faithful; shine Your light upon us, so that we see the great work that Jesus does for us who often live in the shadow of darkness. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

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

Thursday, August 8, 2019

John 6,30-35. 7. Trinity

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

John 6,30-35 4219

7. Sn. n. Trinitatis 052

Dominic, founder of a monastic order, ✠ 1221

4. August 2019

1. O Christ Jesus, the Bread from heaven; send to us the Holy Spirit who encourages us to have compassion, so that we may show charity to our neighbors in their time of need. Amen. (Mark 8,1-9)

2. »So the Jews said to Him: „Then what sign do you do, so that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.“ [Exodus 16,4.8; Psalm 78,24] Jesus then said to them: „Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who descends heaven and gives life to the world.“ They said to Him: „Sir, give us this bread always.“ Jesus said to them: „I am the Bread of Life; whoever receives Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.“«

3. In Mark 8, our Gospel pericope for today, Jesus feeds a crowd numbering about 4000 people; He did so with 7 loaves of bread and at the end 7 full baskets were collected with the leftovers. One person would normally eat 1/3 of a loaf at a meal, and 7 loaves would comfortably feed 21 people, yet all 4000 are comfortably fed! That would take a little over 1333 loaves of bread. The leftovers were much more than the 7 loaves Jesus started with.

4. John 6 records another time when Jesus fed a large crowd with only a few loaves of bread. After Jesus had performed this miracle, the people exclaimed: This is indeed the Prophet who is come into the world! (John 6,14). The next day Jesus continues to teach the crowd and they make this connection from the Scriptures: Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, for Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat (Psalm 78,24; Exodus 16,4). The Jewish crowd is set in only seeing Jesus’ miracles in temporal, earthly terms. God has blessed them with bread for the day, just as He provided for their fathers in the wilderness many years earlier. Their perception is only two dimensional, that is, horizontal: what satisfies their physical hunger and belly. But Jesus is operating at a third dimensional perception, that is horizontal and vertical: He provides for both their physical hunger and their spiritual hunger. Their Heavenly Father gives more than just manna and loaves of bread; He also sends down the One from heaven who gives life to the world.

5. We are often like the Jews in John 6; we think in simply 2 dimensions: what our eyes see, our ears hear and our hands touch. Our first, and sadly sometimes our only, concern is how God provides for us physically, so that we measure His goodness by our bank accounts, our possessions and the food we have on our table. If our bodies are satisfied, then we think that is sufficient. But human beings are not simply flesh and blood; we are also spirit and soul. We are created in God’s Image and Likeness, and thus we have real spiritual needs, too. People fill that spiritual void through any number of ways: Eastern meditation, communing with nature, various cultural myths that relate stories of the gods interacting in the lives of people and so forth. In all this we are trying to recapture the fellowship God created us to have with Him, that relationship that Adam and Eve experienced at the close of each day as God walked with them in the Garden of Eden. David put this longing to prose in one of his psalms: O God, my God, I earnestly seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me (Psalm 63,1.8), and again: Blessed are those who strength is in You, O God; they go from strength to strength; blessed is the one who trusts in You!« (Psalm 84,5.7.12).

6. Jesus proclaims to us: »I am the Bread of Life; whoever draws near to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise you up on the last day« (John 6,35.40). Jesus abundantly provides for physical and spiritual needs. After this powerful and insightful teaching of Jesus from the Scriptures, Peter and the other apostles reply with their wonderful confession: »Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God!« (John 6,68-69). They confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16,16).

7. We are here today, 2000 years later, making the same confession. We will receive the Bread of Life that satisfies both our physical and spiritual hunger. The Apostle Paul says of this Living Bread from heaven: »Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread« (1. Corinthians 10,17). The holy apostle is speaking about the Holy Communion of the Lord’s Supper. The Church, he says, receives and eats the one bread that is offered to all at the communion table. Jesus’ discourse in John 6, while not specifically saying that it is the Lord’s Supper, certainly causes the Christian hearer to think about the eating and drinking of the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus and His apostles are clear that the bread and wine in the Holy Sacrament are indeed also His true body and blood given to and received by the communicant. The Lord’s Supper gives us Jesus, the Living Bread from heaven, and when we are given Jesus, we are given eternal life.

8. Luke the Evangelist describes the worship life of the Christians, writing: »And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.« (Acts 2,42). Luke is describing the worship life of the Church. We gather to hear the words of the apostles in the Epistle and Gospel Readings, we devote ourselves to the Christian fellowship of our brothers and sisters in the faith by worshiping together each Sunday, we break bread together in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and we offer up prayers and petitions to our Heavenly Father. There is a great continuity from the apostolic Church and the 21. century Church. We worship the same Jesus, we receive and partake of the same Bread of Life and we are absolved of all our sin in the Name of Jesus. I tell you the absolute truth: Whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life, for Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus gives Himself to you this day; receive Him, believe upon Him and you will life forever and ever in His Divine presence. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Christ, Your Name is praised morning and evening; may our lips and hearts confess You to be our Savior who gives us life, yes everlasting life, so that we put our trust in You our Providence. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Parables of Atonement and Assurance: Matthew 13:44-46. http://www.mtio.com/articles/bissar54.htm

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

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Monday, August 26, 2019

Luke 19,41-48. 10. Trinity

Monday, August 19, 2019

Philippians 3,7-14. 9. Trinity

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Isaiah 2,1-5. 8. Trinity

Thursday, August 8, 2019

John 6,30-35. 7. Trinity