Preparing for Worship - February 20, 2022

The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday is from Genesis 45:3-15 and tells us how forgiving Joseph was toward his brothers, though they had treated him so badly and finally sold him to be carried away as a slave to Egypt. He suffered much, but was also greatly blessed by God and knew that God allowed and guided all this to “preserve life” for many, including his own Israelite family, from whom eventually the Savior of the whole world would come.

Psalm 103:1-13, a psalm of David, emphasizes  the forgiving love of God and how He does not judge us on the basis of our many sins, but removes our sins and shows us mercy and compassion, as we seek to fear, love, and trust in Him. He is a compassionate heavenly Father who dearly loves His children.

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 6:27-38, another part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, Jesus call us to have love and mercy toward others, including those who are enemies and treat us very badly. This is a very hard message, until we remember that God has already been very loving and merciful to us, in Christ our Savior. He now wishes us, as His children, to be merciful to others, even “the ungrateful and the evil,” as He has not condemned us, but forgiven us, in what Jesus has done for us.

The Epistle lesson is 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42 - the last of six readings from 1 Corinthians 12-15. We hear again of the certainty of our eternal future in Christ, and His return on the last day to do away with sin and Satan and death, and to raise and change  our bodies into glorified, imperishable, heavenly bodies. In the meantime, we are reminded that “bad company ruins good morals,” and to keep battling sin in our own lives, as we await His return.