Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: September 2024

Sunday, September 29, 2024

1. Peter 4,7-11. Trinity XVIII. Feast of St. Michael and all angels

1. Peter 4,7-11 5224

18. Trinitatis. Trinity xviii 65

Nicetas the Goth, Martyr 372

15. September 2024

1. ℣ Give a reward to those who support You:

℟ So that Your prophets may be found faithful day long (Ecclesiasticus 36,18a vul lxx mas).

Da mercedem sustinentibus te, ut prophetae tui fideles inveniantur. lxx mas

O God, rich in grace, You have granted us time to celebrate Your praises this Sunday. You give us Your Holy Word and Sacraments, that we should use them as the means of grace for our salvation. Grant that we may daily increase in stature, wisdom and piety, in the fear of God, in the knowledge of Your will and in favor with You and with all people. Amen. (Stark 39.42; English 13.14 paraphrased).

2. »The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.«

3. God the Father gives talents to every person. His intention is that we use these talents to be a blessing to, and for, our neighbor. How then do we, and will we, use the talents God gives us? Fallen men and women are prone to missuse their talents, seeking to benefit themselves at the expense of the neighbor. This turning in on ourselves corrupt us more and more over time. As the story of Cain and Abel teaches: sin crouches at the door of our heart, but we must rule over the desire of sin (Genesis 4,7). Cain let sinful desire so corrupt him that he did the unthinkable: he murdered his own brother. God exhorts us to be diligent in keeping sin from corrupting us.

4. But this is no easy task for even the most pious people in the Bible succumb to the corruption of sin which reaches its zenith when we convince ourselves that God is a harsh Diety and our enemy, rather than the gracious Giver of talents that He truly is. If we sink to this level of dispair, then the Devil dances with glee for he has turned our hearts away from the one Power in the universe that has always our best interest in His mind. Once a person perceives God the Father as a harsh enemy, then there is nothing that person won’t do to spite God.

5. Into this corrupted world where the self reigns supreme as the most important person to be benefited, the Father has sent His Only Son. This Son of God at first glance seems to be just your every day hard-working Jewish carpenter. But people quickly realized He had the wisdom of the Eternal God and the Divine authority to perform miracles. Jesus lovingly used His talents to help his neighbors.

6. The greatest gift God has given us is His very own Son who redeemed us back to His Heavenly Father by dying and rising again. On account of Jesus we receive the good gifts of this earthly life, and on account of Jesus we will receive the greater gifts of the eternal life yet to arrive. All that we do in this life: how we use the gifts God has given us and how we help our neighbor is ultimately done »in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, for to Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever!«

7. Christ Jesus is God the Father’s costly gift that He has given to us, and Jesus has redeemed us unto everlasting life. In turn, we now are Christ’s gifts to our neighbors so that they may see and know that God loves them, forgives them and is merciful to them. In all our stewardship of the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us, we glorify Christ who is the True Gift.

8. Another gift God the Father gives us is the Archangel Michael and all the angels. The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us: »Are the angels not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?« (Hebrews 1,14). The apostle asks the question and expects us to reply: yes, the angels are our ministering spirits. God’s angels love Him and delight in using their talents to serve us. They are exemplars to us of how to love God with all one’s being who minister to all His creation.

9. „The angels excel in strength. They have powers beyond our reach. They can do things we cannot even imagine. They do God’s bidding“ (Nagel 294). Have you ever had a sense of peace after praying? Or a surge of confidence and resolve during the day or night? A flash of insight or wisdom over some conundrum you’d been wrapping your brain around? God sent an angel to strengthen you, uplift you or guide you. Many times you probably didn’t utter a thought or prayer, but God sent an angel to minister to you because He knew you had a need.

10. Michael has a unique talent; he is tasked to defend God’s people. The Devil delights in tempting and thwarting Christians and Christ’s bride, the Church. When the Devil himself gets involved, Michael is also there to contend against him. The Prophet Daniel was told by an angel: »At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever« (Daniel 12,1-3).

11. Christian tradition lists 7 named archangels; some Orthodox have 8. Lutherans traditionally affirm to the first 4. Michael : Who is like God? A protector. Is found in both Testaments. Gabriel : God is my strength or Hero of God. A messenger. Is found in the Gospels. Raphael : God has healed. A healer. Tobit 12,15; 1. Enoch 20,3. He delivers prayers to God (Tobit 12,12). Is found in the apocryphal Book of Tobit. Uriel : God is my light. Is found in the apocryphal Book of 2. Esdras 4,1; 5,20

12. As Michael and the angels love and serve the Triune God, so do we love and serve the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul tells us: »Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. So now, faith, hope and love abide, but the greatest of these is love« (1. Corinthians 13,7.13). Love is the greatest, for love covers a multitude of sins (1. Peter 4,8). Jesus lived and died by this truth, for greater love has no one than this, but he lay down his life for his friends( John 15,13). (αγαπη/ν is the word used for love in these verses.)

9. Such unconditional love for our neighbor flows forth from our faith in Christ Jesus. May God send us His angels to help us protect our neighbors, proclaim the gospel to our neighbors, be of help to our neighbors and be the light of Christ to the world.

10. Now, Jesus, come and stay with me.

The work my hands have done

I entrust, dearest Savior, to Thee;

Help me finish what’s begun

For Thy Name be glorified,

And let me when it’s eventide

Receive the reward I desire.

(In Gottes Namen fang ich an elkg 769,7 2021 Salomo Liskow 1674).

This is most certainly true.

13. 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.

14. Let us pray. We beseech Thee, most tender Father, that Thy most living fire may purify us, that Thy most clear light may illumine us, and that Thy most pure love may so avail us that without let or hindrance of mortal things we may return to Thee in happiness and security. Amen. (Trinity XVIII, 2^nd Vespers Collect. The Daily Office).

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.

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Galatians 3,26-29. Trinity XVII

Galatians 3,26-29 5124

Trinity xvii 64

Jonah, Prophet, 838-797 bc

Emmeran, Bishop and Martyr, Apostle in Bavaria 652

Jobst Schöne, Bishop of selk 2021 ✠

22. September 2024

1. ℣ O Yahweh, You are righteous:

℟ And Your judgment is right (Psalm 188,137 vul lxx mas).

Iustus es Domine et rectum iudicium tuum. lxx mas

O All-loving God, Your mercy has no end and Your kindness is new each morning. Comfort our sorrowful soul, and show mercy and pity upon us in our distress. Amen. (Stark 238; English transl. 185-86 paraphrased).

2. »But now that faith has arrived, we are no longer under a pedagogue, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.«

3. In Paul’s day, Greek and Roman families sought to obtain a pedagogue for their young sons. These men would chaperone the boys to and from their academic lessons, teach them moral ethics and instill them with society’s virtues, such as discipline, duty and honor. The goal was to produce young men who would be fine citizens and respected members in the family. Once the boys reached adolescence, the pedagogue’s task was fulfilled.

4. Paul states that to prepare us for Christ, Israel and the Gentiles were given pedagogues by God. For Israel, their pedagogue was the Sinai covenant and the Scriptures. They were taught morality through the 10 Commandments and how to worship God. The covenant revealed how one is made righteous, what godly justice is and the nature of sin with its atonement. Sin was atoned for through animal sacrifice. All this was to prepare them for the advent of the Messiah, as Moses and the Prophets prophesied and taught. Thus, John the Baptizer proclaimed of Jesus: »Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world« (John 1,29b)! With the arrival of Jesus, Israel had no more need of their pedagogue.

5. For Gentiles, their pedagogue was the law written on their conscience by God. Paul told the Roman Christians: »For when Gentiles, who do not have the Jewish law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them« (Romans 2,14-15). This natural law functioned as an internal pedagogue. It reveals the Divine standard, even if dimly, that Israel had written in stone. The Gentile poets and philosophers also helped lay the preparation for the Christ. Paul used some of these authors when he preached to the Athenians, who had a limited knowledge of Judaism’s laws and Scriptures but did know the famous quotes of their renowned Greek authors and thinkers. As Paul preached the gospel to the Athenians, he quoted to them a line from their poet Aratus’ work, Phenomena. We know the stanza as it is recorded by Luke in Acts: »Του γάρ καί γένος έσμέν. For we indeed are His offspring« (Acts 17,28c). But lets hear the stanza in its context:

Let us begin with God, whom we mortals never leave unspoken.

For every street, every market-place is full of God.

Even the sea and the harbor are full of this Deity.

Everywhere everyone is indebted to God.

For we are indeed His offspring: and He in His kindness gives to man

Favorable signs and wakens the people to work,

Reminding them of livelihood. (G. R. Mair 1921, 1-8)

6. Paul points out to the Athenians that they are very religious; they have shrines to all the gods and goddesses in their pantheon. And lest they unknowingly forgot a god or goddess, they even had a shrine dedicated to the unknown god. Paul takes this as a pedagogical devotion that laid the groundwork for acknowledging the True God. Paul tells them that this unknown god they worship is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He reveals this unknown god as the revealed God in Jesus Christ who was crucified and risen for them and their redemption. So when Paul quotes Aratus’ poem, the God mentioned by Aratus is not Zeus, as the Athenians had presumed, but that God is Jesus.

7. The task of the Jewish and Gentile pedagogues is to bring the individual to the feet of Jesus. Once there, the pedagogue’s task is complete and an even greater understanding about Jesus continues through faith in Him. The preaching office in the Church is how the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith in Jesus. Paul says: preach Christ crucified and His resurrection. All sound doctrine is founded upon this gospel. Through faith in Jesus, you are a son of God, a daughter of God. In Christ, there are no ethnicities, no classes, no biological classifications that are excluded from His salvation. Christ died for all: Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, male and female. All people are heirs of Christ on account of faith in Him. The Church is one family in Christ, and we are brothers and sisters with Jesus as our elder Brother.

8. Faith is God’s great work in, and on behalf of, humanity; hominem iustificari fide; man is justified by faith. Men and women are justified sola fide (by faith alone), that is, by God alone (Bayer Martin Luther’s Theology 100). cf. Disputatio de homine (The Disputation concerning Man) of 1536; WA 39I,176.34f; AE 34,139 Th. 32. And it gets better: mundum iustificari fidei; the world is justified by faith. This faith … can be understood only as the trustworthy nature of what is given and what reaches all creatures by God’s word of address and promise, and faith is thus the work of God (Bayer Martin Luther’s Theology 100). The Holy Spirit creates, gives and sustains faith in Christ Jesus. By faith, men and women are made righteous. By faith, creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8,21).

9. „God gives only the one way to His favor, which is the way of His giving and our receiving. His giving what we do not deserve is His grace. Our receiving what He gives is faith. God’s way is the way of gracious giving and the only response to that is our receiving, our faith. That is what alone makes God happy; that is what alone makes us happy. The gift God gives is, above all, His Son. Here is the height of giving. For those who rebelled and refused His gifts, God gave His Son to die and rise again so to us He might give the forgiveness achieved by Christ’s atoning death and the risen triumphant life victorious over sin, death and hell. From all the wretched unrest of getting and wanting and getting and wanting again, we have been made free. We are God’s own, living from the gift of His hand. From our glad and grateful hearts we sing, ‘Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!’ There it is“ (Nagel 206 ¶ 12-13). It is yours through Christ! Receive it, and believe!!

10. Though you may seek, by other ways,

To find bliss and salvation;

My heart alone shall be built,

On Christ, my sure Foundation.

His words are true, His works are clear,

His holy voice has bedrock power,

To vanquish our every foe.

(Such, wer da will, ein ander Ziel elkg 647,1 2021 Georg Weißel (1623) 1642)

This is most certainly true.

11. 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.

12. Let us pray. O Almighty God, who after the creation of the world didst rest from all Thy works and as an image of Thine own didst sanctify a day of rest for Thy creatures, grant us that, putting away all earthly cares and anxieties, we may be duly prepared for the services of Thy sanctuary and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal Sabbath promised to Thy people in heaven. Amen. (Trinity xvii, 2^nd Vespers Collect. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Psalm 16,5-11. Trinity XVI

Psalm 16,5-11 5024

16. Trinitatis. Trinity XVI 63

Nicetas the Goth, Martyr 372

15. September 2024

1. ℣ Have mercy on me, O Yahweh:

℟ For I cry unto You all day long (Psalm 85,3 vul lxx mas).

Miserere mei Domine quoniam ad te calmabo tota die. lxx mas

O Gracious and Merciful God, we are ready according to Your holy will … to suffer trials and crosses. Help us to delight and be refreshed in You; be to us a quiet Retreat and a pleasant place of Repose from the storms we endure in our Christian life and faith Amen. (Stark 378; English 271-72 paraphrased).

2. »Yahweh is my chosen Portion and my Cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set Yahweh always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol/Hades, or let Your Holy One see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.«

3. The imagery of a /the cup is used 2 ways in Holy Scripture. »For in the hand of Yahweh there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs« (Psalm 75,8). This is the cup of Yahweh’s judgement and wrath upon unrepentant wickedness. The Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the destruction of Jerusalem are event when Yahweh made wicked people drink His judgement.

4. »You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; You anoint mine head with oil; my cup overflows« (Psalm 23,5). »Yahweh is my chosen Portion and my Cup; you hold my lot.« This is the cup of Yahweh’s mercy and blessing upon His people. Paul calls the blood of Christ we receive in the Lords’s Supper to be a cup of blessing (1. Corinthians 10,16).

5. We all deserve to drink from God’s cup of wrath. We’re all idolaters of our own desires. We want to drink and revel in wealth, the accolades of the world and earthly pleasures. We chase after success and our own righteousness at the expense of charity to our neighbors and fellowship with God. We think such things will please us and satisfy us. For a time they do, but the satisfaction is fleeting and our hearts and souls yearn to be filled once more. But what is missing, that emptiness, is communion with God, and only He can fill that longing.

6. We see throughout the pages of Scripture God drawing near to men and women. The tabernacle and the temple were ways in which Yahweh abided among His people. They knew where to find Him, and they went to Him for mercy and forgiveness. But that Sinai covenant revealed the presence of God in His raw, terrifying Glory. Sinful people cannot bear to stand in the presence of God’s Almightiness.

7. God the Father had a remedy for this: He would send His Son in human flesh to dwell among us. There were times when people would be struck with terror or awe in the presence of Jesus, but on a day to day interaction with Him people could be in the presence of God and not be overwhelmed by His Almighty Glory.

8. The Son of God became man to drink of the cup of His Father’s wrath. Sin must be judged; a sacrifice needs to be made; the cup needs to be drunk. Jesus was born to do this for fallen humanity. The wicked would not drink of this cup, but the Righteous One would, and in doing so He satisfied His Father’s judgment and wrath.

9. Jesus is the only one who could successfully drink the cup of His Father’s wrath, for in the drinking His Father’s wrath in full He exchanges the cup of wrath with a cup of blessing. Jesus gives us a new cup to drink, a cup of mercy and forgiveness. »In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them saying: „Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My ✠ blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.“«

10. This cup that Jesus instituted is a coup of overflowing mercy. Whereas Yahweh’s wrath is intense and brief, His mercy is abundant and everlasting. Christ has pardoned our iniquity and given us double for all our sins (Isaiah 40,2). Christ has more than enough grace to cover our sins. His forgiveness runneth over in our cup.

11. Christ is our Portion and our Cup. „By the Cross, … by Him who vouchsafed to hang upon the Cross, all things are restored, all things are blessed, all things are covered with the dew of heaven. But above all, the human soul, which was barren, bitter, insipid, is made by the advent of the Savior fertile and sweet, and is endued with the salt of wisdom“ (Peter Damian, Sermon 48; Medieval Preachers and Medieval Preaching 69 © 1856).

12. Jesus lives! Of this I’m sure,

Nothing can from Him divide,

No gloom, no power obscure,

No grandeur, nor pain can hide.

He gives strength for every fight;

This is my confidence and light.

(Jesus lebt, mit ihm auch ich elkg 458,5 2021 Christian Fürchtegott Gellert 1757).

This is most certainly true.

14. Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom every family in heaven and earth is named, grant unto our friends, to all members of this household and to all the members of our different families that according to the riches of Thy Glory we may be strengthened with might by Thy Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, length, depth, height and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Amen. (Trinity XVI, 2^nd Vespers Collect. The Daily Office).

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday, September 29, 2024

1. Peter 4,7-11. Trinity XVIII. Feast of St. Michael and all angels

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Galatians 3,26-29. Trinity XVII

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Psalm 16,5-11. Trinity XVI