Preparing for Worship - September 5, 2021

The Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 35:4-7a, where God calls His people to “Be strong; fear not!” because He will “come and save” them, bringing healing and joy and a new creation, where it is as if even the desert is transformed. This is a prophecy of the coming of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, and what He will eventually bring to all believers in eternal life.

Jesus is “a Son of Man” in Whom there is salvation, as the Psalm of the Day, Psalm 146, predicts. He is God become man to help and give hope to all, including the  widow and fatherless and sojourners (even non-Jews). We praise Him, because he is One in Whom “we can put our trust” now and always.

In the Gospel lesson, Mark 7:(24-30) 31-37, Jesus shows that He is the Promised One, the Lord and Savior, as He fulfills portions of the Old Testament lesson and Psalm. He heals a deaf man who also is mute and cannot speak; and He meets a non-Jewish woman who has faith that even a few crumbs from Jesus would be enough to help her little daughter - and a demon is cast out of the little girl by Jesus. Jesus does all things well - exactly what is said of God at Creation, too.

In the Epistle lesson, James 2:1-10, 14-18, we are called to show no partiality, but to love the people God has placed around us, no matter who they are, as Jesus taught us. God has chosen us to be rich in faith, in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. That faith shows itself in words and deeds of mercy for others.