Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: May 2022

Friday, May 27, 2022

Luke 11,5-13. Rogate

Luke 11,5-13 2922

Rogate 41

Constantine, Emperor, 337

22. Mai 2022

1. ℣ Yahweh hath redeemed His servant Jacob:

℟ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! (Psalm 66,2).

O Holy Spirit, Thou Dearly-beloved; direct all our life to always be according to Your purpose, so that when we go into the jaws of death You help us die gladly and after death we inherit the eternal house of life. Amen. (Zieh ein zu deinen Toren Paul Gerhardt 1653 elkg 482,13 2021).

2. »And Jesus said to them: „Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him: ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!“«

3. Jesus taught His disciples: »Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be full« (John 16,24). He taught them the Lord’s Prayer with its 7 petitions that ask God the Father to: make His Name holy in our lives, bring His kingdom into our midst, do His will among us, daily provide for us, forgive us of our sins, lead us away from temptation and rescue us from evil. This brief prayer addresses the basic concerns in this earthly life.

4. Jesus told a parable after He taught us the Lord’s Prayer. This parable highlights God’s love and providence for us. He immediately addresses one of the first arguments people tend to make about prayer: well, I don’t want to bother God with my concerns. People usually intend this to be a pious humility, but in reality it may be a pretentious arrogance that presumes to know what God wants in regard to prayers. Jesus flatly says your prayers do not bother God, for He expects you and encourages you to pray to Him. Jesus says ask, and God will give it to you, for He is our Heavenly Father. Luther writes in the Small Catechism: God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our True Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father.

5. Jesus then addresses a 2. argument people tend to make about prayer: well, I don’t know what to pray for or how to pray for it. I daresay, the reason Jesus taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer is because they asked the same questions. What should we pray for Jesus and how should we word it? The Lord’s Prayer gives us simple words and short petitions to pray. We could just pray the Lord’s Prayer alone for their whole life and we would pray for all the concerns Jesus says are near and dear to His Father’s heart.

6. Prayer is not also not an activity that becomes null and void if you say or use the wrong words. God knows your heart and intention; He will not give you something harmful. His desire is to always give you that which is good, beneficial and helpful to you. We only need to pray, and let God answer and decide according to His perfect will what good gifts to give to His children and when to give those gifts.

7. Jesus then addresses a 3. argument people make about prayer: well, I can’t find the words to pray. This often occurs when we are in crisis or distraught; we are overwhelmed with emotions and find it difficult to put our thoughts into words. A tragic accident or illness, an unexpected death, unspeakable violence or a natural disaster often occurs unannounced and we struggle to find the words to pray. Recent events in our country and around the world drive this home. Jesus says our Heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. The Psalmist reminds us with these words of God: »Be still, and know that I am God« (Psalm 46,10). The Apostle Paul told the Roman Christians: »The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for us as we ought, but the Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. The Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God« (Romans 8,26.27).

8. Thus God has briefly placed before us all the distress which may ever come upon us, so that we might have no excuse whatever for not praying. But all depends upon this, that we learn also to say Amen, that is, that we do not doubt that our prayer is surely heard, and what we pray shall be done. For this is nothing else than the word of undoubting faith, which does not pray at a venture, but knows that God does not lie to us, since He has promised to grant it. Therefore, where there is no such faith, there cannot be true prayer either (Large Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer 119-20).

9. Be our light in darkness, Lord, Our defender;

In Your presence perils all Must surrender.

Drive all dark satanic snares From each dwelling;

Then, at peace, our hearts Your praise Will be telling (Lord, Support Us All Day Long, Stephen P. Starke, b. 1955 lsb 884,2)

This is most certainly true.

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

11. Let us pray. O Almighty, Eternal God, Faithful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, You are the Eternal Word and Image of the Eternal Father, our Mediator and Savior, crucified for us and raised again. We give You most hearty thanks that You took on our human nature, and are ordained our Redeemer, that in Your flesh You suffered, rose from the dead and now intercede for us. Regard and have mercy on us, for we are lonely and poor. Increase the light of faith in us. By Your Holy Spirit bear with us in our weakness, rule, protect and sanctify us. In you, O Lord, do we take refuge; let us never be put to shame! Amen. (Philip Melanchthon, in The Life of Philip Melanchthon, Charles Frederick Ledderhose, 1855, p. 356; Stratman 43).

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.

Friday, May 20, 2022

Colossians 3,12-17. Cantate

Colossians 3,12-17 2822

Cantate 40

Rupert, Confessor in Mainz, 9^th c.

Dympna, Virgin, Martyr in Gheel in Brabant, Netherlands 7^th c.

15. Mai 2022

1. ℣ O sing unto Yahweh a new song:

℟ For He hath done marvelous things (Psalms 98,1).

O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou risen from the dead; help us to abundantly proclaim Your resurrection, so that receiving eternal salvation we joyfully sing from our heart the great gift of redemption. Amen. (Mit Freuden zart zu diesen Fahrt elkg 445,1 2021 Georg Vetter 1566).

2. »Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.«

3. A prominent aspect of the Christian life is giving praise and thanksgiving to God. Paul exhorts us to do so in his epistle to the Colossians. The Holy Scriptures are full of this admonition, and may of the Psalms are hymns of praise and thanksgiving. Many prayers give thanks and praise to God. Matins, Vespers, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer all focus on singing acclamations to God.

4. Not only does such praise and thanksgiving rightly honor and glory God, but such acts of devotion also bring the peace of Christ in our hearts. We live in a fallen world cursed with sin, tribulation and death. The stress and pressures of life often impact us negatively, wear us down and discourage us. Setting aside time each day to worship God benefits us spiritually, physically and mentally.

5. Jesus often set aside time for prayer. The Gospels tell us that He would go and pray alone or pray with His apostles. it was during these times He taught His disciples how to prayer and even taught them the Lord’s Prayer that we use to this day in both private and in the Gottesdienst (the Divine Service).

6. In His Beatitudes, Jesus taught us: »Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you« (Matthew 5,44). In our confirmation classes, my pastor taught us several times that the best thing we can do for someone who is our enemy, our adversary, who simply irks us, is to pray for that person. When you do this it aligns you perspective with God perspective. As you pray for someone you being to see them in a different light; you see them as one whom God also loves and provides for. You begin to see them not as an adversary but as a fellow child of God for whom Christ died for and forgives.

7. To often we get caught up in sides: us v. them, I’m right and they’re wrong. Everyone else become the other, the outsider and the enemy. That makes it easy to dismiss them. This is the way the fallen world operates and it fuels a constant state of fighting and strife among groups of people. Such animosity never ends well, as history and current events teach us over and over.

8. Paul tells us that Christ has given us a better way: be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, bearing with one another, forgiving one another and finally loving one another. These are just some of the fruits of the Holy Spirit that bear forth from faith in our risen Savior.

9. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome (John 8,12; 1,5). His Light scatters the darkness and illumines His Church (1. Corinthians 4,5; 2. Corinthians 4,6). As Christians we bear His Light and help scatter the shadows of fear and oppression. The good fruit of our faith is a comfort to those who are hurting. Our hymns and songs of praise bring cheer to downtrodden souls.

10. The Priest Zechariah sang at the birth of his son, John: In the tender compassion of our G, the Dawn from on high shall break upon us to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet in to the way of peace (Luke 1,68-79).

11. Let our prayers and songs rise before Yahweh,

the lifting up of our hands as the day’s sacrifice.

O Yahweh, we call to You; draw near to us quickly,

hear our voice when we call to You.

Let our prayers and songs rise before Yahweh,

the lifting up of our hands as the day’s sacrifice. (Evening Prayer Psalmody Psalm 141,1-4.8)

This is most certainly true.

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

10. Let us pray. Dear God,

Through Jesus

Christ give us Your Holy Spirit so that we may rightly be comforted by Your resurrection, and day by day increase in such faith, certainty and hope, and finally be saved. Amen. (Martin Luther, Die Gebete Luthers, #606; Stratman 43).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Genesis 1,1. Jubilate

Genesis 1,1-4a.26-28.31a.2,1-4a 2722

Jubilate 39

Victor the Moor, Martyr at Milan, Italy 303

8. Mai 2022

1. ℣ Make a joyful noise unto God all ye lands:

℟ Sing forth the honor of His Name; make His praise glorious (Psalm 66,1).

O Lord Jesus Christ, the Risen One; may the whole world be joyful for Your resurrection, so that all may have the certainty of the resurrected life for all eternity in Your fellowship. Amen. (Die ganze Welt, Herr Jesu Christ Friedrich Spee 1623 elkg 450,1 2022).

2. »Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.«

3. Moses tells us that God created men and women in His Image and Likeness. This established human beings as the crowning point of creation, and He declared of His creation that it is very good.

4. Creation is no longer very good. Humanity has lost the Image and Likeness of God, for we have lost much our holiness and righteousness (Schmalkald Articles I,10). Humanity is wicked and horrible (Schmalkald Articles I,11). Creation has gone from very good to sin-filled catastrophe. Men and women cannot resolve the corrupt human nature we have inherited from Adam and his sin. Only God can restore fallen humanity, and He does so with an eucatastrophe. It is, however, a long road getting from there to here in the Heilsgeschichte (salvation plan) of God. The Scriptures tell the story of how very good creation has become very evil creation and once more a very good creation — this is God’s Heilsgeschichte (salvation history).

5. Jesus told the apostles on Maundy Thursday: »You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy« (John 16,20). The cost to redeem creation lead to heartache for Jesus’ apostles and disciples. The cost of redemption was suffering and crucifixion. God Himself must enter His creation as a man in order to pay the price of man’s sin. Jesus was sent into this world to purchase our redemption.

6. The Apostle Paul says: »Christ has died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sakes was crucified and was raised. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, then they are a new creation. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself« (2. Corinthians 5,15.17-18). Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of the new creation. The old creation has been rescued from the sin, curse and death that God had subjected it to. Jesus’ resurrection has ushered in the 8. day of creation, that is the everlasting fellowship with God. The new creation basks in this light of forgiveness, salvation and resurrection life. To be a new creation is to be righteous on account of Jesus’ merit, to be forgiven on account of Christ’s merit and to be promised a resurrection on the last day, that day when Jesus returns to usher in the new creation to all the fulness He has for it to enjoy. The fruit of this new creation is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5,22-23). We live in this new creation now as we look forward to its full glory on the last day. Let us walk by faith as this new creation.

7. Christ, our human likeness sharing,

Heaven’s love on earth portrayed;

Christ the Shepherd, tending, caring,

In His death our ransom paid:

Christ the Savior,

Christ the Servant,

Be Your life in us displayed. (Christ, Our Human Likeness Sharing, Timothy Dudley-Smith, b. 1926 lsb 847,1)

This is most certainly true.

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

11. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, eternal Son of the Father, after your glorious resurrection you visited and comforted your sorrowing disciples. We pray, come also to us and to your whole Church, and bring us peace and joy. Set our troubled hearts at rest. Give peace in our times, and enable us always to praise you in your church. O Lord, show your wounds to us and to all sorrowing souls, that we may at all times withstand the enemies of your cross and rejoice in your glorious resurrection. Grant us your Holy Spirit that we may die daily to sin and walk in newness of life. O blessed Easter Prince, grant that in the day when you come again, our bodies may be like your glorious body. Keep us therefore, in the joys and peace of this Easter; with the Father and the Holy Spirit you are praised and highly exalted forever. Amen. (Wilhelm Löhe, Liturgy for Christian Congregations of the Lutheran Faith, Fourth Easter Prayer #20, p. 140; Stratman 42-43).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Friday, May 6, 2022

John 21,15-19. Misericordias Domini

John 21,15-19 2622

Misericordias Domini 38

Philip and James, Apostles, Martyrs in Hierapolis, Turkey 80 and in Jerusalem 66

Walburgis, Virgin, Abbess, ✠ 779

1. Mai 2022

1. ℣ The earth is full of the goodness of Yahweh:

℟ By the Word of Y were the heavens made (Psalms 33,5-6).

O Yahweh, our Heavenly Father, You know Your own, the greatest and the lest, from every nation and place; we are certain that we are and remain You children, for You have given us eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. (Es keno her Herr die Seinen elkg 282,1).

2. »When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter: „Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?“ He said to him: „Yes, Lord; You know that I love You“. He said to him: „Feed My lambs.“ He said to him a second time: „Simon, son of John, do you love Me?“ He said to Him: „Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.“ He said to him: „Tend My sheep.“ He said to him the third time: „Simon, son of John, do you love Me?“ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time: „Do you love Me?“ and he said to Him: „Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.“ Jesus said to him: „Feed My sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.“ This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. And after saying this He said to him: „Follow Me.“«

3. During His 40 days of His post-resurrection time on the earth, Jesus asked the Apostle Peter: »Do you love Me?« Three times Jesus asked this and three times Peter replied: »Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.«

4. In our Baptism we are likewise asked a series of questions, particularly: do you believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? We answer in the affirmative and are received into God’s family by Holy Baptism. To be in God’s family is to be loved by God and to love God.

5. There are at least 10 Greek words for love, and in John 21 Jesus and Peter use 2 of those words. The 2 words for love they use are the 2 highest expressions of love in the Greek language. Jesus uses the Greek word ἀγάπη: this is Christian love in its highest expression, the love of God that sent His only begotten Son; it is unconditional and sacrificial love that recognizes another regardless of the qualities the other embodies. It implies an ultimate respect for every human being which refuses ever to consider a person as one who can be reduced to a thing or a means. Peter uses the Greek word φιλία in his response to Jesus’ question: this is a brotherly love and affection between family and friends. This love may become so strong that person becomes more interested in the well-being of the sibling or friend than oneself.

6. Jesus meets us where we are. In John 21, the Apostle Peter is probably still struggling with His denial of Jesus. He had promised Jesus, even swore an oath, that he would stand beside Him come what may, even it it meant dying alongside Him. This is definitely φιλία, and Peter probably thought his love for Jesus was also ἀγάπη. But just hours after his promise, Peter failed to live up to his professed love for his friend, his Messiah and his brother. He spoke another oath, one which denied Jesus 3 times. Even after the Resurrection, that denial probably still stings in Peter’s heart, the pain He caused Jesus probably is still raw. Much as he wants to confess his ἀγάπη of Jesus, Peter knows in his heart he isn’t there yet, and the best he can confess is his φιλία of Jesus.

7. To ἀγάπη Jesus is the highest standard asked of a man and a woman. It involves putting all our faith and trust in Him. We love God who first loved us. »Yahweh shows merciful steadfast love to those who unconditionally love Him« (Exodus 20,6). »Yahweh will unconditionally love you« (Deuteronomy 7,13).

8. In Holy Baptism, God brings us into His family where He unconditionally love us, shows us mercy, blesses us and forgives us. To have God as Father is to have Jesus as Brother and Church as Mother. God’s love for us is like David’s and Jonathan’s love, where soul is knit to soul (1. Samuel 18,1). On account of this great love for us God sent His Son into the world to redeem us (John 3,16). Holy Baptism washes away all sin and begins our journey as disciples who follow Jesus Christ. To follow Christ is to follow Him upon the path of suffering and tribulation during this earthly life, but more importantly, to follow Christ is to follow Him to the cross, through the grave and into resurrected eternal life and triumph. The love of Christ sustains us along our earthly journey, and faith in Christ receives all His help and blessings His richly pours upon us in our time in both the good times and the bad. We love Christ who first loved us and redeemed us back to God the Father. We follow Christ who sought us out and returned us safely to His fold.

9. Today we see once more the unconditional love of God outpoured upon James who has been baptized into God’s family. His sin is washed away, and he is now on the path of Christian discipleship. His Baptismal day shares the day with the commemoration of the Apostle James. We also see the unconditional love of Jesus given to us in His body and blood we shall partake of in a few moments in the Lord’s Supper. His shed blood has redeemed us before God the Father. With these 2 Sacraments, the Holy Spirit strengthens us to daily increase in our faith and trust in the Triune God, thus giving us the assurance of our salvation in Christ and enabling us to daily walk in His Word as His disciples.

10. Lord , I will today

On Your love rely;

Let no evil thought

Cloud the clear blue sky

Joyful and content

With life’s simpler things,

Knowing all I need

From Your kindness springs. (Greet the Rising Sun lsb 871,3 Zhao Zichen 1888-1979)

This is most certainly true.

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

10. Let us pray. O Almighty God, through the death of Your Son, You destroyed sin and death and restored innocence and eternal life through His resurrection, so that we might be saved from the power of the Devil and live in Your kingdom. Grant that we may believe this with all our heart, and in such steadfast faith continually praise You, and give thanks to You. Amen. (Die pommersche Kirchen-Ordnung undAgenda 289.1 from Martin Luther, Die Gebete Luthers, #15; Stratman 42).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Friday, May 27, 2022

Luke 11,5-13. Rogate

Friday, May 20, 2022

Colossians 3,12-17. Cantate

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Genesis 1,1. Jubilate

Friday, May 6, 2022

John 21,15-19. Misericordias Domini