Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: Colossians 3,12-17. Cantate

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

✠

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.

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Friday, May 20, 2022

Colossians 3,12-17. Cantate

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