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Sermon from March 30, 2025

“Reconciliation”

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Sermon for March 30, 2025

4th Sunday in Lent (Series C)

Let us pray: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.” Amen (Psalm 19:14).

The text for our meditation today is the Epistle Lesson, from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. You are welcome to look at that reading with me in your pew Bibles, p. 966.

Five times in these six verses, Paul uses the word “reconciliation” or “reconcile.” This is not a word used a lot these days.

• Sometimes, it is used when you try to compare your financial records with what your bank or financial institution says - and hopefully, everything reconciles - and comes out the same, correctly.
• Sometimes, the word is used when people are having trouble with one another, and there’s a separation, a division between them - until hopefully things are worked out, and there’s a reconciliation, a coming together again.
• Most often, in the Bible, the word is used to refer to separation from God Himself and His will and the need to be brought together and reconciled with Him.

It all began with the rebellion of the devil, Satan, and many angels who followed him and opposed God and have continued to produce only evil and chaos ever since. It continued with the temptation of Adam and Eve and their falling into sin, as well, bringing a sinful human nature to every person born into this world. Not everyone believes in a sinful human nature, but it is very clear from the Scriptures and from ourselves and the fallen world in which we live. Paul described this condition that he was in and that all of us are in, left on our own, as he wrote, very dramatically, in Ephesians 2:1-3: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world… and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” - under the wrath and judgment of God. And how much can a dead person do? Nothing!

There is nothing we can do on our own to make things right and reconcile ourselves to God. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Your sins, your iniquities, have made a separation between you and your God.” It is a gulf, a separation that we cannot cross on our own. But Isaiah also wrote, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that he cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

What we could not do, God did for us, in the gift of His only Son, our Lord Jesus, and His loving, saving work for us. Paul put it this way in another of his letters, writing about himself: “Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent, I received mercy… and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:13-15).

So, Paul writes, just before our text for today, “The love of Christ (now) controls us because we have concluded this: that One (Jesus) has died for all; therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

And as our text begins, Paul says, “From now on, therefore, (because of the love of Christ and the fact that He died for all) we regard no one according to the flesh, in a purely human way. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer.”

Before the risen Lord Jesus appeared to Paul and turned His life around, Paul, who was a Jewish Pharisee, looked at Jesus as an ordinary man and even as an evil man, just as the Pharisees in our Gospel lesson grumbled about Jesus for receiving tax collectors and other sinners, bad people, and even showing care and fellowship with them, by eating with them. Now, Paul knows better about himself and about others because of His faith and trust in Christ Jesus and His Word and His work. Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new had come.”

And Paul adds, very clearly, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself.” This is God’s doing, from beginning to end. We do not reconcile ourselves to God by our own efforts or our decisions or any good things that would merit or earn God’s favor. All this is from God.

And how could this happen? Paul goes on to say, “In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses, their sins, against them.” All the bad things that we have ever done, all our sins that would condemn us, are forgiven and no longer counted against us in Christ. Paul puts it this way in our text, “For our sake, for us, God made His own Son, Jesus, who knew no sin, had never sinned, to be sin for us” and to suffer the penalty for our sins, as all of our sins were dumped on Him, on the cross. All this was predicted by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. The coming Savior was to be “pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that brought us peace… the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” and “with His wounds, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-6).

It is exactly what was predicted also in our Old Testament lesson for today. “In that day,” the day of the coming of our Savior, “you will say, 'I will give thanks to You, O Lord, for though You were angry with me (because of my sins), Your anger turned away (by the suffering and death of Your own Son, in my place) that you might (forgive) and comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation'… Shout and sing for joy, for great in your midst (on that day) is the Holy One of Israel” (God’s own Son, Jesus our Savior).

This is the Great Exchange that Paul talks about in our text. Christ Jesus took all our sins upon Himself and paid the penalty for them all in our place, and in exchange, we are forgiven and counted as the righteous people of God, reconciled and at peace with God. And how does all this come personally to us? Paul says again and again in our text that God has now given to him and to all the Biblical preachers and writers “the ministry and message of reconciliation.” “We are ambassadors for Christ,” Paul says, “God making His appeal through us. We implore you, on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God.” And the Holy Spirit of God works through the Word about and of Christ to bring people to faith and forgiveness in Him as the gift of God.

We have had quite a number of baptisms in our congregation recently, too, and we know that the Holy Spirit also works through the Word of God connected with water in the gift of Baptism. Paul wrote, in another of His letters, “You were buried with Christ, in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses, God made alive, together with Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us (for our sins), nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:12-14).

This is the most important reconciliation we can ever receive because with it also comes new life and salvation through Christ. We know the Scriptures that say, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned” (John 3:17-18).

And this is Good News not just to get us to heaven one day but also to help us in this life, too, where we continue to be imperfect people, living with other imperfect people. We, too, can share the Good News of Christ with others, as our Old Testament lesson says, “Let this be known in all the earth… Make known His deeds in all the earth. Sing praises to the Lord, for His has done glorious things” for us (Isaiah 12:4-5).

And we can seek to live in Christ in a more reconciled way with one another by God’s power. Children can learn to forgive and be forgiven by their brothers and sisters and others in a better way, as we heard in the children’s message. A father (or mother) can learn to forgive both his sons (or daughters), as we heard in the Gospel lesson - the son who goes far astray and the son who seems to do more of the right things and yet is still angry and resentful and jealous, at times (Luke 15:1-2, 11-32).

And we can learn better to trust God’s forgiveness for us, ourselves, and our own sins and weaknesses when Satan reminds us of these failures and wants just to condemn us and pull us toward despair. We can confess our sins and remember and rejoice in Christ’s full and free forgiveness, already earned for us on the cross. We can trust not in ourselves and our performance but in Christ and His love and His reconciling work that brings us true peace and hope for us all.

Let us pray, “Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep our hearts and minds safe, only where they can truly be safe, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7).

Preparing for Worship - March 30, 2025

The Scripture readings this week are full of the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins this Lenten season, earned for us through Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for us. May we keep taking our sins and failings to Him, trusting His continuing love and mercy for us.

The psalm, Psalm 32, is one of the “penitential” psalms of the Old Testament, where we are encouraged not to hide our sins but to be honest with God and bring them to Him for His full and free forgiveness. King David, the author, had struggled with doing this and was trying to cover up his wrongdoing. He was miserable, though, and the Lord’s hand was “heavy upon him” until he acknowledged his guilt. Then his sin was “forgiven,” “covered” over by God (ultimately, through Jesus), and “not counted against him.” This psalm uses several words picturing our wrongdoing: “transgression” -  stepping beyond the boundary of what is right and good; “sin” - missing the mark of what we ought to be doing; “iniquity” - living a bumpy, uneven way, instead of God’s smooth path for our life; and “deceit” - pretending to be better than we are and hurting others with our dishonesty. Such wrongdoing creates great sorrow for us and others, but as we trust the Lord and His forgiveness in Christ, His “steadfast love surrounds us” and gives us gladness and joy and a “hiding place” in His peace. The Lord then “teaches"  and “counsels” us through His Word, with His eyes upon us for our good and the good of others. We can then have a better understanding and don’t have to be “curbed” and pulled along with “bit and bridle” like a horse but can serve our Lord and others with rejoicing.

The Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 12:1-6. In Isaiah 11, God had predicted through Isaiah the appearance of a fruitful Branch coming from the line of Jesse and David, full of God’s Spirit and with righteousness and faithfulness (Isaiah 11:1-5,10). “In that day,” God will turn from His anger over sin and comfort His people. God Himself will be our salvation, our Strength, and our Song as we trust in Him. For He will be great in our midst as the Holy One of Israel (coming to us in the person of His own Son, Jesus). Through Him, we can drink from “the wells of salvation.” We are also to “call upon and proclaim His Name” and “make known His saving deeds among the peoples, in all the earth.” We will “shout and sing for joy," especially in His payment for all our sins on the cross and His victory over death for us in His resurrection.

The Gospel lesson is from Luke 15:1-3, 11-32, the familiar story of Jesus of the prodigal son and his father and brother. Jesus was being criticized by the religious leaders for welcoming “sinners” of all kinds, including tax collectors, and even eating with them, a sign of care and fellowship. Jesus then told several parables, including the one about a father who had two sons. Normally, a share of an inheritance would only go to a son when his father died. The younger son wanted his share much earlier, almost as if he wished his father were already dead. The father chooses to give him his share, and he goes off to “a far country,” far from his father and his father’s wishes and what is good. Over time, he squandered his inheritance in wild, “reckless living.” This younger son then had nothing left, and when a famine came, he had to get whatever job he could find, a lowly job of feeding pigs, considered “unclean” animals by the Jews. He made little income, and no one would help him, and he thought he might “perish with hunger.” He finally came to his senses about himself and realized what a sinner he was before heaven (not even wanting to mention God’s name) and against his father. He was not worthy of being his father’s son, but he hoped he could be a hired servant for him and survive. His father sees him coming and has great compassion and hugs and kisses him. The younger brother tells his father that he hopes only to be his servant because he has sinned so badly. Instead, his father welcomes him with honors and prepares a celebration because his son was dead and now alive again, lost and now found. The older son, who has been serving his father for years, is very jealous and angry and wouldn’t even recognize his brother as his brother and his father’s son anymore. He seems to have his own sins and failings in his responses to his father and his unwillingness to forgive his brother. He sees only unfairness and thinks only of what he thinks he deserves for his hard work for his father. The father shows mercy and forgiveness for both sons and only wants them both forgiven and reconciled with one another. Jesus is reminding the Pharisees and scribes who criticized Him that everyone is is sinner and needs the mercy and forgiveness that Jesus had come to bring to the world. And he is willing to give that forgiveness to all, by His saving work, according to the loving plan of His Heavenly Father.

The Epistle lesson is from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. This might be called a summary of all the other readings and God’s loving rescue plan for the world in Christ. Just before this lesson, Paul had spoken of the love of Christ that now controlled him and all believers because Christ, for their sake and for all, had died on the cross and was raised in victory to life again. “Therefore,” Paul begins this reading, he no longer looks at Jesus “according to the flesh” as an ordinary man whom he opposed. The risen Lord Jesus had appeared to him and turned his life around. He and all believers are now “a new creation” with a new life in Christ. “All this is from God,” Paul proclaims. It is not Paul’s doing or anyone else’s. God reconciled us sinners to Himself. Where there was sin and hostility toward God and others, now there is peace. God does not count our trespasses against us any longer but forgives them, as the father in the Gospel lesson was willing to forgive both of his sons. It can be done because “for our sake, God made Him, Jesus, to be sin,” to take all our sins upon Himself, though He knew no sin and never sinned, and paid the penalty for them all in His suffering and death for us so that we might be counted righteous and be the righteous children of God our Father, as we are brought to trust in Christ alone as our Savior. Paul’s job, now, is to be “an ambassador for Christ.” God appeals through Paul, then, for all people to be reconciled to Him through Christ. As we sometimes hear of a husband and wife having trouble and then having a reconciliation, God reconciles us to Himself, in Christ. All this is done by Him, through Christ, and by being brought to trust what he has done for us. It is the best news in the world, and this salvation is available to all in Jesus, our Savior. We still struggle with sin in this life, even as a “new creation,” but the Holy Spirit is also at work in us, enabling us at least to seek to be reconciled to other people with whom we have had difficulty, at times. What joy and peace there can be when our Lord enables that, too.

Preparing for Worship - March 23, 2025

All of our Scripture readings this week focus on a key Lenten theme - the call to repentance and to trust in the mercy and forgiveness of our Lord, centered in Christ, our Savior. As Martin Luther wrote in his 95 Theses, “The whole life of a believer is to be one of repentance.”

In the Old Testament lesson, Ezekiel 33:7-20, the Lord calls Ezekiel to be a watchman for the house of Israel, warning the wicked to turn from their evil ways. The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but wants them to turn back from evil and live. The problem is that “our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them.” None of us are good enough in God’s eyes on our own. “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses,” and who of us does not transgress and sin all too often? “If he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered.” We can never trust in our own righteousness because it is never good enough. Even Jesus, in the New Testament, says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). None of us can live up to that standard. We can only cry out for God’s mercy and forgiveness, and we can’t even speak that cry of mercy without God’s grace. As the psalmist, David, says to the Lord, “Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:9-12). It is continually with repentance that we approach our Lord, for it is “a broken and contrite heart that God will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). We pray with Jeremiah, “Bring me back that I may be restored, for You are the Lord my God” (Jeremiah 31:18). We say with Lamentations 5:20, again and again, “Restore us to Yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored. Renew our days, as of old.” And we keep saying, with the writer of Psalm 119, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and give me life in Your ways. Confirm to Your servant Your promise… In Your righteousness give me life… Deliver me according to Your Word… Let my soul live and praise You… I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant”(Psalm 119:36-38, 40, 170, 175-176). Knowing our sinfulness from God’s Law, we seek our Lord’s mercy, and in hard times, may we be spared from saying, “The way of the Lord is not just.”

The psalm is Psalm 85. It begins with a remembrance of how the Lord was favorable to His land in the past and forgave and covered over the sins of the people and restored their fortunes. Now, the psalmist realizes that his people need to be revived and restored again. He knows that the Lord is “the God of their salvation,” and He prays that the Lord would “show His steadfast love and give them His salvation.” The psalmist trusts that the Lord would speak peace to His people, His saints, but He gives a warning that they should not “turn back to folly.” (Some think that this psalm was written as some of God’s people returned to the promised land after the Babylonian captivity, but drifted away from the Lord and His will for them. They faced opposition from the people now controlling that land and soon abandoned rebuilding the walls and the temple in Jerusalem, as they were supposed to do. (See Ezra 4, especially v.4-5, 24 and Nehemiah 1:4, 2:10, 19-20 and Haggai 1:3-11. Note how it was the Lord Himself who had to stir up the spirits of the people through His prophet and His Word and restore them for the work that they were to do. “I am with you, said the Lord… My Spirit remains in your midst… And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord” (Haggai 1:12-14, 2:5, 9). The last part of Psalm 85 looks forward to the future when “the steadfast love,” “faithfulness,” “righteousness,” and “peace” would finally come from the Lord in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Through Him, “the Lord would give what is good.” “Righteousness would go before Him and make His footsteps the way” to peace with God. See these words also spoken in prophecy about Jesus in Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:6-9, and 14-16, etc. These are also the Words used to describe Jesus when He came into the world in Matthew 3:15, John 1:14-17, 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, 30-31, 1 Peter 3:18, etc. And Jesus is the Way to eternal life (John 14:1-6) and we follow “in His steps,” having been “healed” and “counted righteous” and “returned” to our Good Shepherd (1 Peter 2:21-25). Jesus turned our “futile ways” around so that we are “believers in God” with our “faith and hope” in Christ through the “living and abiding Word of God” (1 Peter 1:18-25). It is all God’s doing for us, in Christ.

The Gospel lesson is from Luke 13:1-9. These examples and the parable appear only in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus had been saying in Luke 12:54-57 that people could predict signs of changing weather, but hypocritically, they could not understand how to interpret the present times and the need for repentance and God’s mercy, coming in Him, the Christ. Now, in Luke 13, people were telling Jesus about Galileans who were killed by Pontius Pilate (probably for being Zealots, rebels against Rome). They also noticed the 18 people who had been killed in the collapse of a tower (likely being constructed under the direction of the Romans to provide more water for Jerusalem). People assumed that these people were worse sinners and offenders than others, and that is why they died as they did. Jesus said, in contrast, “I tell you, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Every one of us is a sinner, and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This is what we all deserve for our sins, left on our own. We are no better than those others who died in a tragic way. Paul quotes Scripture in Romans 3: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one,” according to God’s standard. “For by works of the Law, no human being will be justified in God’s sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin… For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Therefore, Jesus is saying, too, that we all need to repent of our sins and look only for God’s mercy and forgiveness for us. The parable of Jesus brings the same message. A fig tree is planted but produces no fruit. It could just be cut down, just using up ground, in a useless way. However, the vinedresser is patient and wants to give the fig tree more time, caring for it, digging around it, and providing the needed nourishment so that it can bear fruit through his efforts, not the fig tree’s efforts. Paul put it this way: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). All of us are saved only by the grace of God through faith - and even that faith is a gift of God. We can take no credit. As long as we are in this life, we are saints, as believers, but also sinners, with a sinful nature that still troubles us and temptations all around. It is Christ who has already paid for all of our sins, but we continually need the repentance and forgiveness we have in our Divine Service and through the Holy Spirit at work in us through the Word of God and the Sacraments. The Greek verb for the word “repent” in Luke 3:3 and 3:5 is in the present tense, which indicates it needs to be an ongoing action. “Unless you keep on repenting, you will all likewise perish.” That is what the words mean. Sometimes we also forget that we sin not only by active evil that we do, but also by what we should do but omit and fail to do. How many of those sins of omission do we do each day? We live only by the continuing grace and mercy of God, earned for us by Christ.

The Epistle lesson is from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. Paul describes God’s Old Testament people as under the cloud of God’s presence and going through a kind of baptism through the Red Sea and receiving spiritual food, the Word of God, along with manna and quail and water provided by the Lord Himself. In fact, Paul says the pre-incarnate Son of God, Christ, was also with them in some way, caring for them. Even with all these blessings, many of the Israelites went astray and were “overthrown” in the wilderness. Their failures, Paul says, are an example for us not to be drawn to evil as they were: idolatry, sexual immorality, putting Christ to the test, continual grumbling, and on and on. We, who have also been richly blessed by God, should learn from these things “written down for our instruction.” Then Paul includes these sobering Words: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” This would be “a misplaced trust in ourselves” and our abilities instead of relying upon the Lord. “God is faithful,” Paul says. God does not spare us from temptations. They are “common to man.” They are not easy to deal with. Paul uses strong words like temptations “overtaking” us - temptations hard to “endure.” Yet, there is always a way to escape. Paul was teaching the same to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1,3: “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus… Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Sometimes, we fail and don’t take the way of escape, though. That is why Paul also says in 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we are faithless, God remains faithful.” Jesus Himself preached, “Repent and believe the Gospel,” at the beginning of His ministry (Mark 1:14). And after His resurrection, He taught that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). There is our hope in Christ - and remember that even repentance is a gift that God works in us, along with forgiveness, in His love for us. See Acts 5:31: “God exalted Jesus at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” See also Acts 11:18: “They glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life,” (eternal Life through Jesus Christ.) May the Lord keep giving us such continuing repentance and forgiveness in Christ!

Preparing for Worship - March 16, 2025

In most of the readings this week, the people following the Lord are being threatened. In Psalm 4, in David’s case, David has often been in distress, literally, in a tight spot, but the Lord has given him relief, giving him some breathing space so that he could escape his enemies, both King Saul and others. See, for example, Psalm 18, where the introduction says that the Lord had rescued him from the hands of all his enemies, and then David calls Him his Deliverer (18:1). In 18:19, David says, “The Lord brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me.” Psalm 3 speaks of David fleeing from his own son, Absalom, and Psalm 4 is likely talking about the same situation when Absalom turned people against his own father. Read 2 Samuel 15:2-6, and see how David says in Psalm 4, “O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?” David says, “How many are my foes… rising against me… and saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’” Yet David knew that the Lord would be “gracious” to him. By His grace and mercy, the Lord would hear his prayer! For "the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself.” David then pleads with his enemies not to do evil and to stop and think about what they are doing and put their trust in the Lord, as David does, with repentant and contrite hearts (Psalm 51:17). David is confident that the light of God’s face would shine upon him (Numbers 6:22-27) and he would ultimately have real joy and peace and rest in safety in His Lord, as bad as things seemed, at times.

In the Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah 26:8-15, the Lord had commanded Jeremiah to speak strong judgment against Judah and Jerusalem, with destruction coming. The priests and prophets (who should have known better) and many of the people surrounded Jeremiah and said, “You shall die!” because he had dared to speak against their city. Then, officials of the city came and listened to all that was being said. They heard Jeremiah say that he was only speaking what the Lord had told him to say. There was still time for the people to mend their ways and obey the voice of the Lord; then, the disaster would not come. He had to speak these very words into their ears. But if they killed Jeremiah, they were bringing innocent blood upon themselves and their city. (If you read on after this text, Jeremiah was spared from dying, at least at this point.)

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 13:31-35, Jesus was likely in Perea, in Herod’s territory, and some Pharisees warned Him to get out of there and blamed Herod (Antipas) for wanting to kill Him. (See how Herod had treated John the Baptist (Luke 3:19-20 and Matthew 14:1-12) and was superstitiously concerned about Jesus, too (Luke 9:7-9).) Some think that the Pharisees were really trying to scare Jesus into leaving Perea and going to Jerusalem, where they would have more control over Him. Jesus knew that Herod was cunning, like a sly fox, but He was determined to do His Father’s will and continue to battle demonic forces, provide cures for people, and do His prophetic work in the days ahead in Perea until He was brought to His goal, His finishing His course, when he would go and die in Jerusalem. Jesus sorrowed over Jerusalem and its people, its children, and had often wanted and tried to gather its people together and protect them, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. Many of the people were not willing, though, and resisted the Word and work of Jesus, as had happened so often to God’s prophets and leaders in the past - as we hear in the Old Testament readings today. Jesus warns the Pharisees that their house, their people, and their temple would soon be forsaken because of their rebellion. That was the reality for many in 70 AD, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans and in later troubles.

Finally, in this passage, Jesus says, “You will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” This is a quotation from Psalm 118:26, and the crowds, including Jews, were shouting these words regarding Jesus on what we now call Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, humbly, on a donkey, just days before His suffering and death. (See Matthew 20:1-11. However, Jesus quotes this passage again in Matthew 23:27-29, later that week, just before predicting the destruction of the temple.) Others, therefore, think that Jesus is also predicting that even after the rejection of Him at the cross, there would still always be a remnant of Jews who would eventually be brought to faith in Jesus and call Him “Lord” in the early church and even to this very day. Jesus never gave up on His fellow Jews and knew that some would still and do still receive the eyes of faith and trust in Him as their Savior, too. We pray for that for them and for all people.

Paul, who was one of those Jews who did come to faith in Jesus later in life, after being strongly anti-Christian, writes words of encouragement to fellow believers in Philippians 3:17-4:1. All around them (and us) are “enemies of the cross of Christ.” Their "god” is themselves and their own bellies and shameful earthy things instead of our Lord Jesus. Paul reminds fellow believers (including us) that our true place of citizenship is in heaven. Paul wrote earlier in this letter, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain... for to depart and be with Christ is far better” (Philippians 1:21, 23-24). Paul is in prison for his faith as he writes this letter, but expects that he will be set free and be able to “strive side by side for the faith of the Gospel” with the Christians at Philippi and others (Philippians 1:27). He urges the believers, “whom he loves and longs for, his joy and his crown,” to “stand firm in the Lord.” Heaven is their true home, with Christ. When they die in faith, Christ will take them to heaven (John 14:1-6). There is also the promise of the resurrection of their bodies (and ours) by Christ on the last day when their bodies will also be changed to be like His glorious resurrection body. There is much about all this that we cannot fully understand or comprehend, but we know that our future is secure in Christ, in life and death, in heaven, and at the resurrection of our bodies. We have a loving Lord who gave His life for us and who will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5-6).

Preparing for Worship - March 9, 2025

The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday, Deuteronomy 26:1-11, reminds the LORD’s people that the land into which they were going was really an inheritance from Him, where His Name would dwell and be honored. The people were to bring an offering in a basket to the LORD of the first fruits from their harvest. They were to give the basket to the priest as they rejoiced in God’s good gifts to them. They were also to worship and speak words about their “father,” Jacob, a wandering Aramean, and all the troubles they had been through in Egypt until the LORD brought them out with His might and His goodness to a land flowing with milk and honey, by His grace and mercy.

The psalm, Psalm 91, continues the words of praise to God Almighty, who is the Refuge and Fortress for His people as they trust in Him. He delivers them from all kinds of trouble and danger as they dwell in the shelter of His presence and hold fast to Him in His love for them. This psalm also pictures, in a prophetic way, the battles that Jesus would have with the devil when He came into the world to be our Savior. That devil, the evil angel Satan, quotes from this psalm, out of context, in trying to get Jesus to do wrong and foolish things. If Jesus really is the Son of God, surely the angels would protect Him no matter what, the devil says. Jesus battles Him with the true Word of God, as we will see.

The Gospel lesson is from Luke 4:1-12. Jesus is dwelling in His Father’s Word and will and has just been baptized, blessed, and full of the Holy Spirit’s power, fulfilling all righteousness for us and all people. While we, as weak people, pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted very directly in order to defeat Satan for us. He faced some of the same temptations that the children of Israel had on the way to the Promised Land. For 40 days, He ate nothing and was much hungrier than the Israelites ever were. They grumbled and complained against God, but Jesus resisted the temptation to do what the devil wished - to make some bread for Himself. Jesus simply quoted God’s Word, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” (He was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:2-3, which adds, “Man lives by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus did that!) The devil also showed Jesus great Kingdoms of the world and promised to give Him authority over them all if Jesus would just worship him. Again, Jesus knew that His Heavenly Father had all authority, not Satan, and He again quoted Scripture: “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’” (Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5-6, 13-14, while the Israelites were soon worshiping a golden calf, a false god.) The devil did not give up but took Jesus to Jerusalem to the pinnacle of the temple, the magnificent house of God, and said, “If you really are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.” Surely God would want to help and protect His own Son if that was what you really were, Jesus. The devil then even quotes Scripture itself, out of context, from the psalm we just looked at. “Angels would surely guard you, Jesus, and lift you up so that you will not even strike your foot against a stone.” That’s what God promises! And what a spectacular miracle you could show people! (See Psalm 91:11-12. Again, Jesus knew the whole context of Psalm 91 and that it was talking about people dwelling close to the Lord, trusting Him, and listening to His Word and not Satan’s word. Jesus also knew that people should not do foolish and dangerous things just to see if God would take care of them. Jumping off the temple would be tempting God just to see if He really would help.) Jesus again quotes Scripture. “It is said, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Deuteronomy 6:16). These temptations are likely only a sample of how the devil worked on Jesus and tried to get Him to do wrong. “For forty days,” Jesus was “being tempted by the devil.” The devil also only stopped tempting to wait for another “opportune time” to work on Jesus again. He would also work on Jesus through other people, like Peter (Mark 8:31-33) and crowds of people (John 6:14-15) and Judas (John 13:2, 27-30). Satan would also attack Him when he was in great agony about what was coming for Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. (See Matthew 26:38ff. and Luke 22:40-46. Even then, Jesus always did His Father’s will. He did it for us, who so often fail to do what God wants, substituting His perfect life for our sins and failures, and earning forgiveness for us by His death for us, on the cross, and then His victory in His resurrection.)

That forgiveness comes personally to us as a gift from God through being brought to faith in Jesus. Paul talks about what Christians proclaim in our Epistle lesson, Romans 10:8-13. He had earlier in this letter said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes… For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith” (Romans 1:16-17). This is the Gospel (Good News) that centers on Jesus as Lord and believing that he is our Savior, and after He died in payment for our sins, “God raised Him from the dead.” For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” And, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (the Lord Jesus Christ) will be saved.” And this believing and faith are a gift from God. (Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” And Paul had written earlier in Romans 9:16: “It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.” As the Lutheran scholar Martin Franzmann wrote, regarding Romans 1:16-17, “The Gospel is power because in it a revelation takes place; by it God makes Himself known and makes Himself count among men. The Gospel is news of God’s action through His Son (Romans 1:3-4,) a saving action which gives men the gift of the righteousness of God. Gift it is, for it asks of the hearer only the receptive yes of faith and it creates that faith in the hearer; it is revealed for faith... Habakkuk had uttered the great Word which pronounced the unbreakable connection between faith, righteousness, and life: ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live’” (Habakkuk 2:4, 3:17-18) (Concordia Bible with Notes; The New Testament, p.261, CPH, 1971). Of course, in other passages, the Scriptures also affirm the connection with baptism as a channel of God’s grace, bringing faith, connected with the Word of God, being “born of the water and the Spirit” (John 3:5-7). See also Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:16, Titus 3:4-7, 1 Peter 3:21, etc. May the Lord keep us firmly in this confidence in Christ and His Word, along with the gift of our baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Preparing for Worship - March 2, 2025

The Scripture readings for this Sunday all relate, in some way, to the focus on the Transfiguration of our Lord, this last Sunday of the Epiphany season. The Old Testament lesson is from Deuteronomy 34:1-12. Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his sin and rebellion against the Lord at times. (See Deuteronomy 32:48-52.) He was able to see all the Land from Mount Nebo, at the top of Pisgah. He died there, then, and the Lord buried him there, at an unknown place. Joshua had already been appointed to lead the people into the Land. Moses had laid his hands on him and blessed him with the Spirit of God. No prophet had arisen again like Moses, though, until the coming of Christ Jesus Himself (Deuteronomy 18:15ff.). Moses came the closest to seeing God. His face would glow after seeing the Lord, but even he did not see the Lord in all His glory. (See Exodus 33:18-23.) We don’t know if Moses was given the wisdom to write these final words of Deuteronomy or if God inspired someone else to add these final words. Legends arose later on about Moses being assumed into heaven, but there is no clear Biblical basis for this idea. There is a mysterious passage in Jude 9 about a dispute over the body of Moses, but nothing more is said about that. This reading is included this week because God did allow Moses to appear with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and to be able to be in the Promised Land, at last, for a short time.

The Psalm is Psalm 99. This psalm emphasizes the reign of God over all the earth and all peoples, even in the Old Testament. His holiness is praised three times, and the angels also sang of his holiness in Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6. Moses, Aaron, and Samuel are described as His priests, who called upon Him, and he spoke to them in a pillar of cloud on His holy mountain. He taught them His testimonies and showed them their wrongdoing, but was a forgiving God to them, and they worshiped Him at His footstool, His tabernacle. We are all to exalt the Lord our God, too, and worship Him, and the fact that Moses appeared with Jesus at the Transfiguration indicates that we are especially to listen to Jesus and His testimonies and worship Him and know the victory he has won for us and await in faith the last day when He has made all His enemies His footstool (Psalm 110:1).

The Epistle lesson is from Hebrews 3:1-6. Moses is described as a faithful servant of the Lord in His house, His tabernacle, testifying to things that would be said and done later, as He was given the first five books of the Old Testament. Jesus, however, is the apostle and high priest of what we now confess and has much greater glory as the Son of God and the Builder of God’s house and the Builder of all things as our Creator. Moses was a faithful servant but also had his failings. Jesus was perfectly faithful, completing the work of salvation for us, and He actually lives in us, as part of His house, His church, and works in us, so that we may hold fast our confidence in Him and boast only of our hope in Him.

The Gospel lesson is from Luke 9:28-36 and is the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus Himself. He takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain to pray. As he prays, He and His clothing are altered and become dazzling white with glory. Moses and Elijah, the great priest and the great prophet of the Old Testament, appear with Him in glory and speak with him of His departure, His “exodus” from this life which he would soon accomplish at Jerusalem (through His suffering, death, and mighty resurrection). The disciples had been sleeping but awakened and saw His glory and Moses and Elijah with Him. Peter doesn’t know what to say but just blurts out the idea of building tents for these three. Instead, a cloud overshadows them, and the Heavenly Father speaks from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the chosen one. Listen to Him.” Then, they saw only Jesus and told no one at that time what they had seen. This was a great Epiphany - the revealing of Jesus in His glory as the Son of God, but it also revealed what He, as the Chosen One of God, was going to have to go through - the terrible suffering and agony of His departure, His suffering and death on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. Jesus was also a true man, and none of this would be easy in any way for Him. This event gave Him encouragement to continue on with His Father’s saving plan, even though he would wish, at moments, that there could be another way than this “cup of suffering” that He would have to drink. He would carry on faithfully, trusting His Father’s strength and blessing for Him, through it all, and accomplish His saving work for us. The Transfiguration was also for the sake of the disciples. They did not want to hear about Jesus suffering and dying. They preferred moments of glory, but they were called to “listen to Him," trusting what He said, though this was not the kind of Messiah they were expecting. As the commentator Donald Miller wrote (Layman’s Bible Commentary on Luke, 1958, p.98-99), everything is being pulled together in Jesus. “What the Law (of Moses) intended and what the prophets (like Elijah and others) had promised is now here in its fullness in Jesus… Jesus is shown to be God’s eternal Son, not in spite of the cross, but precisely because of it… Jesus was ‘the Lamb destined before the foundation of the world'” (1 Peter 1:18-21). The new Exodus, through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, would bring new life and eternal salvation to all. Still today, this Gospel calls us, too, to “listen to Jesus” and through the Holy Spirit, working through the Word of God, to be brought to continuing trust in Christ Jesus.

Sermon from February 26, 2025

“God Sent Me”

Sermon based on Genesis 45:1-15

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. (Psalm 19:14)

The Old Testament text that we have before us is probably one that many of us remember from Sunday School days when we were young. There was Abraham, and then Isaac, and then Jacob, who had 12 sons. Unfortunately, Jacob had a favorite son, Joseph, and he showed his favoritism by giving Joseph a special robe of many colors, which made the other sons jealous. Joseph also had dreams and predicted that his brothers and even his parents would one day bow down to him. His brothers hated him for these and other things more and more until they planned to kill him.

They took his beautiful robe and threw him into a pit, and when Midianite traders came by, they decided to sell him as a slave for some money for themselves. They then killed a goat and put the blood on the robe and convinced Jacob, their father, that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.

Joseph became a slave in Egypt and, after being betrayed by someone, ended up in prison unjustly. The Lord was with him, though, with His steadfast love, even in prison, and gave him the gift of interpreting more dreams. Joseph was able to predict that the Pharaoh’s cupbearer, in prison himself, would be released and restored to his old job.

Two years later, the Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret. The cupbearer remembered Joseph, still in prison, and he was brought to the Pharaoh and was able to interpret the dream. Joseph made it clear that the interpretation came not from him but from God Himself. There would be seven years of very plentiful harvests in Egypt but then seven years of bad harvests and famine. The Egyptians needed to store up much grain and other food during the very good years so that they could survive the bad years. Pharaoh then appointed Joseph to lead this food program and made him second-
in-command in the whole land, subject only to Pharaoh himself. With God’s blessings, the program worked, and when the years of famine came, the Egyptians had plenty of food for themselves and to sell to others.

Other peoples did not have this abundance, and it was during this time that Joseph sent 10 of his sons from Canaan to Egypt to buy food. It had been about 20 years since Joseph had been sold as a slave, and they did not recognize him, but he realized who they were. He questioned them carefully and found out that his father and his closest brother, Benjamin, were still alive. Joseph gave them food and took no money for it, but told them that there would be no more food for them in the future unless they also brought their brother, Benjamin, with them.

The famine went on and on, and their food ran out again. Jacob was still playing favorites, with Benjamin now his favorite. He did not want to let Benjamin go along, but finally allowed him to go so that they would not all starve to death. Joseph again meets with them and speaks with them through an interpreter, as he had done before. He gives them a hard time and even threatens to give them food only if he could keep Benjamin as his slave, as if Benjamin had done something wrong by stealing.

This is when Joseph knew that his brothers had changed. They now cared about their father and didn’t want him to lose another special son, Benjamin, as he thought he had lost his son, Joseph. One of his sons, Judah, pleads with Joseph and volunteers to be Joseph’s slave if only Benjamin is set free. (It is here that our text begins, in Genesis 45. You can read this whole story in more detail in Genesis 37-44 on your own. I am using the ESV translation for most of the quotations.)

Joseph asks everyone to leave the place where he was interviewing the brothers, except for them. Then we hear that he wept very loudly - most likely with joy that he could be reunited and reconciled with his brothers, at last, with love and forgiveness for them. He says, “Now your eyes see and the eyes of my brother, Benjamin, see that it is my mouth that speaks to you.” No longer was Joseph speaking to them through an interpreter, but as their brother, in their own language, directly to them.

And he says, “I am Joseph,” very clearly, and asks about his father, though he already knows that Jacob is still living. The brothers say nothing because they were dismayed - or more literally, in the Hebrew, trembling with fear, because they thought they were in for punishment or even death because they had sold their brother off as a slave. As a powerful leader now in Egypt, Joseph could do whatever he wanted to do with them.

Instead, he asks them to come near him and says again, “I am your brother.” (This is also reflected at the end of this text. He was accepting them again as his own dear brothers, his family, when we hear that he and Benjamin hugged and wept with each other, and he kissed his brothers and wept with them all, and they talked with each other, as friends and brothers again.)

And then, with very forgiving words, Joseph says, “Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” And Joseph says it again and again. “God sent me”… “It was not you who sent me here, but God.” Joseph could now actually see and believe the promise that was given in other Scriptures and especially much later, in the New Testament, in Romans 8:28: “We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.” It didn’t seem that way for Joseph for a long time - in the pit, sold as a slave, ending up in prison for doing the right thing and being confined there for years.

But God was working for good, providing a dream for Pharaoh and giving Joseph its interpretation, and raising him up to be like a father to Pharaoh and a lord and a ruler in all Egypt, and preserving life by his directing the storage of enough food for Egypt and for other peoples, including Jacob and his family.

There are many good lessons we can learn from this story - the importance of family and being caring and forgiving to one another, the danger of playing favorites with children, the call to be patient and trust the Lord, the value of caring for others and providing for their needs in daily life, etc. But there was something even more significant happening. God was also at work, carrying on His plan for salvation for the world through the coming of Jesus as Savior. That was the most important news in the world. Joseph also said to his brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive many survivors.”

When God called Abraham to be the beginning of a new nation, the Jewish nation, He promised, “In your Seed, in your descendant, all families on earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). And He always kept that promise for a remnant of His people to exist, at least, for the Savior was coming through that group of people. Abraham did not have to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Jacob and his family did not die of starvation in the great famine. In fact, Joseph fulfilled another Biblical prophecy (Genesis 15:13-14) in inviting Jacob and family to come and live in Egypt, where they would be safe and prosper for a while. Eventually, they would all become slaves themselves until rescued by the Lord again, through Moses, and brought to the Promised Land - those twelve tribes, descendants from those twelve sons of Jacob.

The whole Old Testament is the history of the ups and downs of these people, but always with a remnant of them surviving and carrying on until the time was right for the coming of the Savior. A passage in 2 Kings 19:30-31 has this promise: “The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion, a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this.”

And from this band of survivors finally came Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4-7). Joseph could love and forgive his brothers, but only for a time, but we read of Jesus in the New Testament, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” - which we all are - “those who were to believe for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

Joseph could preserve life for people for a time, but Jesus provides eternal life “through the faith and love that are in Him, in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14). “For there is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (I Timothy 2:5-6). “For Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit,” by His mighty resurrection from the dead (1 Peter 3:18). Joseph was reunited with his brothers, even after the evil they had done to him, through God’s forgiving love. Hebrews 2:10-11 tells us that “Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers,” either, through the “salvation” and “sanctification” He has provided for us, though we have not deserved His mercy and love. John put it this way: “See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are… Beloved, we are God’s children now…” (1 John 3:1-2).

Joseph was able to provide important food for this life, but Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35) for eternal life for us, enabling us through His Word and Forgiveness and Baptism and the Lord’s Supper we will soon receive in this service to keep us trusting His saving work for us, too. That is our confidence in Him, now and forever. Amen.        

We pray: Now may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds safe, only where they are safe, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. (Philippians 4:7)

Preparing for Worship - February 23, 2025

The Scriptures this week give us what God wants most of all to reveal to us in this Epiphany season - love and forgiveness. It is foremost the love and forgiveness of God for us sinners, though we do not deserve it at all, shown especially to us in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord but also our Savior.

The Psalm is Psalm 103:1-13. David blesses and praises the Lord and does not want to forget the “benefits,” the blessings that come from Him, especially His forgiveness, redemption, and renewal that come through His steadfast love and mercy. The Lord works righteousness for us who are too often unrighteous sinners. (He does this, especially through His own Son, Jesus, who lived a perfect life for us in our place while being a true man on this earth.) The Lord does not deal with us on the basis of our sins but removes our transgressions from us (again through His Son, Jesus). He treats us in this way as our compassionate, forgiving Heavenly Father. He then calls us, in gratefulness to Him, to seek to fear, love, and trust Him in return and gives us the strength to do so through His Holy Spirit, working through His Word, the New Testament tells us.

In the Old Testament lesson, Genesis 45:3-15, Joseph has seen God’s mercy for him in Egypt, even though he had been sold into slavery by his own brothers. God worked the situation out for good by allowing him to rise to a very high position in the Egyptian government and to be able to predict by God’s power a seven-year famine coming in time for him to prepare his country by having plenty of food available to get through the famine and help others, too. Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to buy food that was available there. Joseph recognizes them, and they are terrified that he will take vengeance on them. Instead, he forgives them and promises them a safe place to live in Egypt, where he will make sure their needs are taken care of. They are reconciled and promise to bring their father also to safety in Egypt. God’s mercy and help for Joseph had affected him so much that he was led by God to be merciful to many and forgiving even to his brothers who had betrayed him. (We will hear more of this story in a late May Scripture reading.)

The Gospel reading continues the story from last week of Jesus teaching His disciples in Luke 6:27-38. He had been warning them that they would face much opposition and bad treatment simply because they were following Jesus, the “Son of Man.” Now Jesus teaches them to seek to love, forgive, and do good even to those who hate them and curse and abuse them. He tells his disciples to do for others what they wish others would do to them. Loving others who love them isn’t as hard. But they are to love even their enemies, even the ungrateful and evil, as children of the Most High God, for the Father’s Son, Jesus, would give His life even for them, in mercy for them. (And frankly, we all have sin and evil in us for which we need forgiveness, and for us, also, Christ had to die.)  His disciples are then not to spend their time judging and condemning others, but, above all, to seek to forgive and give mercy and good gifts to others, as Jesus has first done for them.

The Epistle lesson continues the reading from 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul clearly affirms that Jesus not only died for us, paying for our sins, as our substitute. He also rose from the dead as the “first fruits," conquering death and guaranteeing the resurrection of our bodies on the last day when he returns. (He already takes our souls to be with Him in eternal peace in heaven when we die, by His grace and the gift of faith in Him.) On the last day, when He returns in glory, our bodies, too, will be raised and changed and glorified, immortal and imperishable. In the meantime, in this life, we seek to keep the good company of our Lord and fellow believers and try to battle sin. We face many dangers, and it may look, at times,  as if evil is winning, but we know that Jesus has won the victory, and all enemies will finally be subdued, and we trust that our Lord will care for us and will be with us always and provide us the mercy and strength we need to keep the faith and be brought through death to eternal life.

Preparing for Worship - February 16, 2025

All of the Scriptures this week have something to do with blessings and curses and how one is headed for one or the other. The psalm, Psalm 1, says that the one who delights in the Law of the Lord and meditates continually on it is the one who is blessed. He is spiritually nourished by the whole Word of God, like a tree that has plenty of water near and produces good fruit, and its leaves do not wither. This person prospers in what he does, is known by the Lord, and sits in the congregation of the righteous (ultimately by his connection to Christ Jesus, the truly Righteous One and the Savior). In contrast are the wicked sinners who scoff against the Lord and His Word and will. They may seem to prosper in this life but will not stand on the day of judgment and will perish like useless chaff that the wind blows away. They do not have the Lord as their Life and Strength.

In the Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah 17:5-8, the Lord gives Jeremiah words very similar to what is in Psalm 1, only in the opposite order. Cursed are those “who trust in man,” who trust in themselves and others and human strength, so that their hearts turn away from the Lord. They are like shrubs in the desert, without what is truly good, and are parched, living in a wilderness of uninhabited salt land. In contrast is a person who trusts in the Lord (repeated twice!). That person is like the tree with plenty of water (the Lord’s resources) and still bears fruit and does not fear or have anxiety in times of heat and drought but continues to trust the Lord.

The Gospel lesson is from Luke 6:17-26. Many people were coming from throughout Israel and even from non-Jewish areas like Tyre and Sidon to hear Jesus and to be healed of diseases and trouble they had with evil spirits. Even touching Jesus brought power and healing from Him. Then Jesus looked upon and spoke to His disciples, telling them of blessings that are theirs through being brought to faith in Him. (Some think that this is a summary of some of what was said by Jesus in the “Sermon on the Mount” - see Matthew, Chapters 5-7 - or these might be similar words spoken on another occasion. The Matthew passage certainly helps us understand what Jesus is saying, though.) God’s people are spiritually blessed when they know they are spiritually poor by themselves, sorrow over their sins, and hunger for God’s mercy and forgiveness and help for them. They trust in Christ Jesus, the “Son of Man,” and are blessed, even when hated and excluded and reviled and spurned by those opposed to the Lord in this life. Joy will come to them, for they are in the kingdom of God and have the promises of heaven. They are led in the steps of the prophets of old, like Jeremiah, who trusted the Lord and His Word, no matter what. In contrast, again, Jesus speaks of woes and sorrows and mourning coming for those who find their riches and fullness and laughter only in approval and consolation from other human beings and their thoughts and standards. They will be cursed like the Old Testament false prophets and those who followed them in false ways, apart from the Lord.

In the Epistle lesson, 1 Corinthians 15:(1-11) 12-20, Paul points us all, not to human ideas, but to Christ Jesus and His Word and His saving work for us, culminating in His death for us on the cross, in payment for our sins, and his mighty resurrection from the dead, in accordance with God’s promises in the Scriptures. Paul also reminds us of the many people to whom Christ Jesus appeared after His resurrection, including many who were still alive at the time Paul wrote this letter. You could talk with any of them, Paul says, for they were eyewitnesses to the Risen Lord, too. Then Paul says that Jesus appeared to him, also, after His Resurrection and brought him to faith in Him, though he was totally unworthy to receive this blessing because he had helped persecute and kill Christians. (See Acts 7:58-8:3.) Paul goes on to assure people of the certainty of the resurrection and that without it, there would be no hope for them. “If Christ was not raised, your faith is in vain, and you are still in your sins.” Christians should then be pitied for living an illusion. “But in fact,” Paul proclaims, “Christ has been raised from the dead!” He knew it was true because he had seen the risen Lord Jesus alive after His resurrection. The blessings of life now and eternally for Christians depend upon this truth, and the Holy Spirit has brought Paul and us to this trust in Him by faith in His Word and our baptism. Paul was willing to die and did die for this truth in Christ because he knew that our Savior had died for our sins and was raised from the dead and would bless him, too, with eternal blessings in heaven. Our future is also secure in Christ - with these blessings, and not with sorrow and curses that come for those who trust only in human thoughts and ideas.

Preparing for Worship - February 9, 2025

The psalm for this week is another of David’s psalms, Psalm 138. David gives thanks and praise to God “before the gods.” This does not mean that he or other Biblical writers believe in the reality of these so-called gods. In Psalm 135, we hear that “our Lord is above all gods… The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They cannot speak or see or hear and have no breath in them.” They are not real, and there is no reason to “trust in them.” In contrast, David rejoices in “the Name” and “the Word of the Lord.” He gives thanks for the “steadfast love” and “faithfulness” of the One True God, who “strengthens his soul” and helps him when he “walks in the midst of trouble.” The Lord has a purpose for David’s life and will fulfill it. (See David’s description of the Lord’s “fulfilling His purpose for him” and protecting him, even when he was in great danger from King Saul, in Psalm 57:1-3.) The Lord has a purpose for our lives, too, as he has called us to faith in Christ. See Philippians 1:6 and Ephesians 1:5 and 2:9-10. We are “the work of His hands,” and he will not forsake us. (See Psalm 90:17 and Psalm 100:3.) See how “the steadfast love of God enduring forever” is repeated again and again in Psalm 136. See the musicians and others “expressly named” in 1 Chronicles 16:41, who were to thank the Lord “for His steadfast loves endures forever.” We enjoy that “love” now and forever in Christ.

In the Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13), Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord upon His throne in glory, filling the temple and calling Isaiah to be His prophet. Seraphim, angels, were singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord,” prefiguring the clearer revelation of the One True Triune God in the New Testament. (Three times, the Lord is called “holy” in the same way in Psalm 99.) Isaiah thinks he is lost and would die as “a man of unclean lips,” who has seen the Holy God and represents a people of unclean lips, as we all are, as sinners. An angel comes to him, though, and touches his lips with a burning coal and takes away his guilt and sin. His sin was atoned for, paid for, by the work of the Lord (and ultimately by the work of His Son, Jesus Christ). The Lord then asks, “Who will go for us?” (Again, the mystery of the three Persons of the One True God is alluded to, with the word “us,” as in Genesis 1:26 and 3:22, while Deuteronomy 6:4 says that the Lord is One.) Having been cleansed and realizing his calling, Isaiah volunteers to be sent by the Lord to speak to his people. The message will be a difficult one, though. A time of judgment is coming because many people will be blind to the Lord’s truth and lack understanding of it. As a result, Isaiah must predict cities destroyed and houses without people and a desolate land, with people carried away into captivity, as happened with both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel. Isaiah asks, “How long, O Lord?” How long will this go on? There is still hope, the Lord reveals. Though Israel will be like “a stump” of a tree, with only a remnant left, “a holy seed” will come from it, with a whole new life from the Lord  - predicting the coming of God’s Servant, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His message and work of salvation for all people, not just the Jews. See Isaiah 11:1-5 as an example of this picture image being developed more - someone, Jesus, coming from the line of Jesse and David, filled with the Holy Spirit and the Lord’s righteousness and faithfulness. Jesus Himself quotes from this passage in His own time, as he faced the spiritual blindness and dullness of His own people, as He preached Law and Gospel, and many refused to listen. (See Matthew 13:13-17 as an example.) Other New Testament writers quote from this passage, too, especially in sharing how the Gospel moved on from Jews to Gentiles, non-Jews, as welI. (See Romans 11:7-10, for example. (I don’t have time here to go into detail about this, but will try to expand on this at another time and study.) The point is that Isaiah would be preaching both Law and Gospel himself, preparing the way for Jesus and His message and the message of hope in Christ in the New Testament.

We see Jesus bringing that message of hope in Him and a new calling to Simon Peter and others in the Gospel lesson, Luke 5:1-11. People were, at first, eager to hear “the Word of God” Jesus brought. Jesus had to borrow a boat and preach from it because of the press of the crowds around Him. (He was surely preaching “the good news of the kingdom of God” to as many people as possible, as He said He needed to do, in John 4:42-43. He “was sent for this purpose.”) When Jesus had finished speaking, He asked Simon Peter, who owned the boat, to put out his nets for a catch of fish. Peter had fished all night and caught nothing and knew that this was not a good time to fish, but said, “At Your Word, I will let down the nets.” He was beginning to realize the power of Jesus and His Word. Quickly, a large number of fish was caught, with nets breaking and the boats sinking. Peter was astonished and had both awe and fear of Jesus and His power. He fell down at the knees of Jesus. He had called Jesus “Master.” Now he calls Him “Lord” and wants to get away from Him, knowing he was a sinful man, unworthy to be in His presence. Jesus tells him not to be afraid (just as the Lord had assured Isaiah in the Old Testament lesson), for he would now be in the process of continually seeking to “catch alive” people (for Christ and His good news of salvation, which included the forgiveness of sin). The Greek words indicate this ongoing process. Simon Peter and the other fishermen with him then leave their boats and follow Jesus as His disciples. This was, of course, a growing process of learning and growth in faith and service for Peter and the others. (After His resurrection, Jesus kept teaching Peter and the others, even on another fishing expedition, to keep following Him and taking care of other people, His sheep, in love. See John 21:1-19.) That is still the calling - that we are fishermen for Christ and His Good News and love to be shared with as many as possible.

Paul reinforces this message in the Epistle lesson in 1 Corinthians 14:12b-20. For several weeks, we have heard him writing about spiritual gifts that God has given to His people in the church through the Holy Spirit. It is easy to be attracted to what some would call more spectacular gifts that seem impressive and make us feel good for ourselves, like “speaking in tongues” in other languages. Paul reminds us to excel in what “builds up the church,” our fellow believers. Speaking in other languages may look impressive, but it does no good if people do not understand what we are saying and are not built up in the faith. We are called to be mature Christians in our thinking and use our minds and our gifts to instruct one another in faith, in Christ Jesus and His Word. The Holy Spirit works through that clear and true Word of God to nourish the minds and hearts of others. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:14-17). We are concerned about fellow believers but also about “outsiders” who are not yet in the faith. We want others to know and have the Good News of hope and joy and eternal life we have been blessed with in Christ.