Preparing for Worship - October 23, 2022

We’ll begin today with the Gospel lesson, Luke 18:9-17, which is central to understanding the primary message of the Scriptures and helps us with the other readings this week. Last week, we heard Jesus teaching us to keep praying and not lose heart. This week we hear Him saying that not all prayers are good and acceptable prayers, though, as we hear His parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Both men are in the Temple in Jerusalem and praying to God. The Pharisee offered a typical prayer of a Pharisee of his day, focusing on all the good he had done for God and others. Surely God would reward his very good behavior by bringing His deliverance of His people soon. It was human achievement that earned God’s favor and blessing, he thought. In contrast, the tax collector had nothing good to offer God. All he could do was humbly confess his sins and throw himself and his trust upon God and His mercy and forgiveness. Jesus clearly said, then, that the tax collector alone went home justified, counted acceptable in God’s eyes purely by God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness to him, as a gift. 

A brief story follows, where the disciples don’t want Jesus bothered by those bringing unimportant little children to Jesus to be touched by Him. The children could offer nothing to Jesus. They could only receive His mercy and love and blessing. Yet Jesus wants them brought to Him and says everyone needs to come in the same way as a little child, dependent entirely on Him and His free gifts and mercy for them.

In the Old Testament lesson, Genesis 4:1-15, two men, Cain and Abel, also approach God, but the offering of only one is accepted. We don’t know all the reasons why, but both Cain and his offering were not acceptable, as his heart was not in the right place. That is evident from his anger about God and his refusal to repent of his sin, crouching at his door, and his willingness to kill his brother, Abel, in vengeance for God being unfair to him. Cain is unhappy with everything God does, yet God still does show mercy to him, in not allowing others to kill him. It seem from what Jude, verse 11 says, Cain never did repent and return to the Lord for His mercy.

The Psalm is Psalm 5. We don’t know what was going on in David’s life, as he groans and cries out and prays to the Lord for His help. He does trust in the “steadfast love” of the Lord in all his troubles, though. He “fears the Lord” and knows that the Lord will lead him in “a straight way” and spread His “protection over him.” David mentions nothing that he can offer to God, but he knows that God is righteous, as he “takes refuge in Him.” The same is true for all “who love His Name” and “bow down” to Him in faith

In the Epistle lesson, 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18, Paul is in prison in Rome and knows his death is near. At times, every other human being deserted him, but God has not. Paul has been far from perfect, but God will give him a “crown of righteousness” because he “has kept the faith.” The same will be true for all who have trusted the Lord and “loved His appearing” - His appearing first to bring salvation to the world and His promise of appearing again to “bring Paul (and us) safely into His heavenly kingdom.” He is faithful and keeps His promises, purely by His grace, given to us, too, as a gift.