Genesis 16,1-16. Misericordias Domini

Genesis 16,1-16 2824

Misericordias Domini 38 

Tiburtius and Valerianus, Martyrs at Rome 229 

14. April 2024

1. ℣ The earth is full of the merciful steadfast love of Yahweh:

  ℟ By the Word of Yahweh the heavens were established. (Psalm 32,5b.6a vul lxx). 

О Jesus, let us not only esteem very highly and prize above all else the gifts of grace that You impart to us and bestow upon us while we live in You, but let us also use them properly, so that we may reap the sweetest fruits from them.  Amen. (Pieper 149 © 1900; English 87). 

2. »The angel of Yahweh found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And He said: „Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?“ She replied: „I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.“ The angel of Yahweh said to her: „Return to your mistress and submit to her.“ The angel of Yahweh also said to her: „I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has listened to your affliction.“ So she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her: „You are a God of seeing,“ for she said, „Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.“ And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.« (Genesis 16,7-11.13.15.16). 

3. Ishmael. יִשְׁמָעַאל. God will hear. Elroi. אֵל רְָאִי. God who sees. In Hagar’s distress, Jesus, the Angel of Yahweh, sees and hears her cry. In our tribulations, Jesus sees us and hears our prayers. 

4. 16 days ago we heard the Passion text where Jesus cried out: Ήλί ήλί λεμά σαβαχθάνι; Θεέ μου Θεέ μου, ίνατί με έγκατέλιπες; Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquist me? (Matthew 27,46). This anguished plea has been uttered by many since Adam fell into sin. Jesus who is the Second Adam is Immanuel, God is with us, to such depths as to carry our sin and bear our distress. Isaiah proclaimed: »Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all« (Isaiah 53,4-6). 

5. The cross proclaims the merciful steadfast love Jesus has for every sinner. The soul that sins must die (Ezekiel 18,20), and thus Jesus, the Son of God, died to save us from death. We were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6,3-4). A shepherd often marks his sheep with a red mark, so also Christ inwardly marks His beloved sheep with the Holy Spirit, who is the Seal of the Living G with which Christ’s beloved sheep are marked and sealed (Revelation 7,2-3) (Gerhard 376). Christ knows those who are His, and He also makes Himself known to us through His Word and Spirit (Gerhard 376). „Christ knows His own. He regards them as His own. He loves them from the bottom of His heart. Thus, in reciprocation, the beloved sheep also know Christ. They regard Him as their True, Faithful Shepherd, and love Him from the bottom of their heart. They let Him lead and guide them“ (Gerhard 377). 

6. Jesus helps us walk on the path of righteousness; He supports us when Satan and sin oppress. We put all our trust in Christ, for our Lord Jesus Christ leads us (Lead Me, Guide Me v. 2). 

7. „Let us enkindle our soul as a light. Let faith grow fervent in what it has believed. Let our desires grow eager for the things of heaven; and thus to love is already to go there. Let no adversity turn us away from the joy of this inward fulfillment. For when anyone has resolved to go to a chosen place, however rough the way, it does not alter their desire. Let no smiling, good fortune, entice us away. … Let the soul therefore long with desire for its heavenly home. Let it grasp at nothing in this world; for well we know that it will quickly let go. So, if we are truly sheep of the Heavenly Shepherd, if we do not linger attached to the delights of the way, we shall be filled to satisfaction when we shall arrive in the eternal pastures; by the help of our Lord Jesus Christ who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns world without end“ (Gregory I of Rome, Sermon 14 for the Second Sunday after Easter; Oremus 428-29). 

8. Christus nos audit et Christus nos videt. Christus suum cognoscit. Vere praesens est nobiscum in corpore et sanguine suo, dat nobis edendum et bibendum. Christus resurrexit!! Alleluia! Christ hears us, and Christ sees us. Christ knows His own. He is really present with us in His body and blood He gives us to eat and drink. Christ is risen!! Alleluia! 

9. Thus the Lord knows His own,

As He always knew them,

The great and the least

In every people and country

By the work of the blossoming grace 

By the strength of His spirit,

In faith, hope and love

As the work of His grace. 

   (Es kennt der Herr die Seinen elkg 282,5 2021 Philipp Spitta 1843). 

This is most certainly true. 

10. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu. 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 our God, grant us grace to desire Thee with our whole heart, that so desiring, we may seek and find Thee, and so finding Thee we may love Thee and loving Thee we may hate those sins from which Thou hast redeemed us.  Amen. (Misericordias Domini, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.) 

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 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover. 

Starck, Johann. Tägliches Hand-Buch. Copyright © 1852 Enßlin & Laiblin.

Starck, Johann. Tägliches Handbuch. Franz Pieper, tr. Copyright © 19oo Concordia Publishing House.

Starck, Johann. Starck’s Prayer Book. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House. 

Gerhard, Johann. Postilla, Volume 1. Copyright © 2001 The Center for the Study of Lutheran Orthodoxy.