Preparing for Worship - October 26, 2025

These readings focus on key Biblical ideas emphasized by Martin Luther and many others at the time of the Lutheran Reformation and expressed by Lutherans ever since. The psalm is Psalm 46, the basic text for Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” God is our refuge and strength. He is always present in times of trouble to help us. He is like a “fortress” of protection for us, even when there is chaos among people and nations and kingdoms on earth. And one day (through Christ our Savior), He will take us to eternal life, to “the city of God,” to His “holy place of habitation.” In the meantime, we are called to “be still” and to have faith and trust in Him as our Lord and God.

There is no other Old Testament lesson this week, but as in the Easter season and other times, we have a reading from the Book of Revelation, Revelation 14:6-7. An angel, a messenger from God, is flying overhead and proclaiming with a loud voice “an eternal Gospel,” Good News for all people in all languages. This reminds many of the clear Gospel of God’s Word that Luther proclaimed, calling people to fear, love, and trust in the one true Triune God, Creator of all things, and His saving work through His Son, Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to glory in the Lord, not themselves, and worship Him alone. Luther also made a great effort to put the Scriptures and many of his writings into the ordinary language of his own German people, so that they could understand and trust in Christ as their Savior, through the living water of God’s Word, and one day enjoy the waters of eternal life (Psalm 46:4, Revelation 22:1, etc.). The angel of verse 6 certainly represents the proclamation of the Gospel since the time of Christ and continues to this day, until the day of final judgment and Christ’s return. (See Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10, and Revelation 22:16-17.) The goal is always to have more believers in Christ as Savior, and that we remain strong in that faith.

Martin Luther learned a great deal from his own study of the Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit. That is what Jesus Himself promises in our Gospel lesson, from John 8:31-36. If we abide in, continue in, Jesus’ Word, the Word of God, we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free from the curse and condemnation of sin. We are all sinners and slaves of sin if left on our own, but Jesus, God’s Son, forgave us and set us free by His own sacrifice on the cross for us. He brings us to faith and sets us free indeed to be children of God, now and forever.

The alternate Gospel lesson is Matthew 11:12-19. Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven has come, but it is being treated violently. John the Baptist is the Elijah to come, preparing the way for Jesus the Savior, but he has been rejected and thrown in prison. Jesus Himself is the Promised One, come from heaven, but He too is being criticized and rejected by many, because He is doing what He was sent to do - to be a friend of and Savior for sinners, which we all are. That mission will send Him to the cross. His followers and we, too, are called to trust Him, though He will seem to be “least in the kingdom of heaven” in His suffering and death for us, but the victory will finally be His in his resurrection - an eternal victory for us, too.

The saving work of Jesus is described so clearly in the Word of God, as given to us by Paul in our Epistle lesson, Romans 3:21-28. Paul has just explained that all of us are sinners and that none of us could be justified before God by doing works of the Law (Romans 3:9-20). But now, a righteousness from God has come to us as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ for us and all who believe in Him. We are counted justified by His grace (His undeserved love and favor for us) through the redeeming work of Christ. The big word for that is “propitiation,” a sacrifice of Christ Jesus Himself and His blood on the cross, in our place, in payment for all of our sins. God is thus the Justifier of those who have faith in Jesus. Any boasting of our own about our works or efforts is excluded. “We hold,” Paul says, “that one is justified by faith (in Christ) apart from works of the law.” This statement is foundational to what Luther taught and what we believe today as Lutherans. This passage, along with the others today, focuses on the three “solas,” the three great “alones” that we emphasize as Lutherans. We are saved by God’s “grace alone," through "faith alone” in Christ as God’s gift to us, with “Scripture alone” as the foundation for our beliefs.