Preparing for Worship - September 8, 2024

The Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 34:4-7a, is another of the many prophecies in Isaiah of God’s coming to His people with judgment for sin but bringing salvation, above all. We who have anxious hearts about many things are told, “Be strong; fear not!” When people see many miracles and healings happening through Jesus, they will know that He is the Promised One. He will also provide Living Water, the Water of Life, coming through the Holy Spirit as well. (See John 7:37-39.)

The psalm, Psalm 146, is also prophetic of Christ. We are not to put our trust in other people, even those as powerful as princes, for they cannot bring salvation. They soon die, and their plans perish. We trust the Lord God, our Creator, mostly especially in the gift of His Son, Jesus, who helped the oppressed, gave food to the hungry, opened the eyes of the blind, lifted up those bowed down by the troubles of life, and set us free from captivity to sin. He helped the Jewish widow of Nain (Luke 7:11ff) and non-Jewish sojourners in many places. He was righteous for us and keeps faith forever for us in His life, death, and resurrection for us. Other leaders come and go, but He will reign forever as King of Kings and Lord of Lords ( Revelation 17:14) together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We simply trust Him all our life and say, “Praise the LORD.” The Hebrew for that is Hallelu-Yah (Yahweh) (Psalm 146:1).

The Gospel lesson is Mark 7:(24-30)31-37, where we have two stories of Jesus doing His saving work for people, as predicted in the Old Testament lesson and Psalm. Jesus knew that His primary ministry was among His own Jewish people, but He also went to non-Jewish, Gentile areas like Tyre and Sidon, for He knew that His saving work was for all people and all nations. A Gentile woman with a child possessed by an evil spirit came to Jesus and asked for help. She had the gift of faith and called Jesus “Lord” and trusted Him much more than many of His fellow Jews, knowing that even “crumbs” from Jesus would be enough, and the demon was defeated and cast out, and her daughter was healed. (See Luke 10:13-14, where Jesus predicts such things.) Jesus then went to the “Decapolis” area, an area where there were 10 towns with a mix of Jews and non-Jews. Another person was brought to Him for help. The man was deaf and had a speech impediment, which often happens when people have never heard real speech. Jesus privately healed the man, and he could hear and speak plainly. The people were astonished and couldn’t help but tell others, “Jesus has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” Who does this sound like in Genesis 1:31? See again the parallels and predictions in Isaiah 35:5-6, Isaiah 29:18-19, Isaiah 42:1,6-9, and Isaiah 56:6-8

The Epistle lesson is James 2:1-10, 14-18, the first of several readings from James. As we have heard, Jesus showed no partiality but reached out to all kinds of people, poor and rich, Jew and non-Jew. (See Acts 10:34 and many similar passages.) James reminds the believers, therefore, that they should show no partiality, either, in holding the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, in the church. It would be easy to pay more attention to the rich and powerful, who could benefit the church the most, it would seem. That is not always true, and we are called to love our neighbors, whoever they are. James reminds us that we are all sinners, too. If we sin in just one way (and who can do that well?), we are still guilty sinners. James has already said that holding the faith of Christ is key (James 2:2,5). James has also said that by God’s own will, He brought us forth to faith by His Word (James 1:17-18). But our Lord gives us a living faith that wants to do good for others, in gratefulness for what He has done for us to save us. The gift of faith saves, but such faith shows itself in works of love for our neighbor, in gratitude to God. (See other passages such as Ephesians 2:4-10, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 1 John 3:17, and Matthew 7:21.) We show our faith in the saving work of Jesus in our own works of love for others.