Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Date: Pentecost XII (Proper 16A) + 8/27/17
Peter J. Scaer, a professor at our Ft. Wayne seminary, recently wrote, “A couple of people have come up to me today and said, basically, ‘What matters is that we all believe the same thing, and that we love one another. That’s what religion is all about.’” And then he makes the critique, “It’s like they’ve swallowed and regurgitated an aisle of Hallmark Cards.” He then goes on about how Christianity is about more than that, namely, Jesus Christ and what He did to save us from God’s judgment. Continue reading “The Keys of the Kingdom”
Text: Matthew 15:21-28
Date: Pentecost XI (Proper 15A) + 8/20/17
Today’s readings from the Bible highlight the universal intent of God’s plan of salvation. After all, when the Bible says, “God so loved the world,” it means the whole world, all nations, every single person. It is not only for those of Jewish descent or for Germans, North Americans, or Lutherans. Isaiah delivered the Word of God, saying, “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord…these I will bring to my holy mountain…their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” St. Paul is at pains to explain how, though the promised Savior came through the Jews, nevertheless that was no automatic advantage for them. But “God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.” Continue reading “One Fellowship of Love”
Text: Matthew 14:22-33
Date: Pentecost X (Proper 14A) + 8/13/17
Today we ask simply, of what are you afraid? There are fears, for instance, regarding having enough money for the month. There were occasions when the best counselling I could provide a couple troubled by finances was teaching them how to create a budget. Some fear for their physical well being whether regarding hunger or health, illness or injury, or changing conditions requiring medications or monitoring. There are fears related to the world like threatening weather or national relations like the current concern over North Korea. Having almost drown when I was little I was always afraid of water as a child until an amazing man my first year in college taught me how to swim in five weeks! However, we still need to have a healthy fear called respect for water. Of what are you afraid? Continue reading “O Hear Us When We Cry to Thee”
Text: Matthew 13:44-52
Date: Pentecost VIII (Proper 12A) + 7/30/17
As we finish this great chapter of parables of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel with the parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price, I wish you to have in mind the catechism meaning of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed. Do you remember it? “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” We say this because the Bible makes it absolutely clear that, on the one hand, fallen, sinful, spiritually blind, weak, and dead human beings like you and me are completely and totally unable on our own power either to believe in Jesus Christ or even to come to Him. Now a lot of people disagree with that as they think believing and faith is a result of a decision I make. How could it be otherwise, they say, and still be real and personal? The answer is that God works through His Word and is able to do the miraculous, even changing unbelievers into faithful disciples. In other words, it’s all His work, not ours. Continue reading “His Greatest Treasure”
