Month: November 2017

Date: Last Sunday, Proper 29A + 11/26/17
Text: Matthew 25:31-46

“And I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life  of the world to come.” From the season of Advent we have looked forward to and celebrated the Christmas Gift when God sent His Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. The days of Lent drew us near to the Cross, and through the Cross to the resurrection of Easter. At Pentecost the doors flew open as with a mighty wind we have heard and examined the Word and the gospel of Christ from every angle. As outlined in the Creed Holy Church has proclaimed from God’s Word how He created all things and who He is that created us. We were told about sin and death and God’s deliverance from it through Jesus Christ. That deliverance comes to each person by the Holy Spirit, the Lord and the giver of life, speaking to us and operating in us through the prophets and apostles, through baptismal water. Now we reach the end of the story which is but the beginning of the eternal life for which we look continually. Continue reading “The King on His Glorious Throne”

Date: Pentecost XXIV (Proper 28A) + 11/19/17
Text: Matthew 25:14-30

As we close in on the end of another liturgical year next Sunday, today we hear of our eternal reward as the most joyous and hopeful goal of our faith. In fact the parable of the Talents is all about faith. The joy and the hope is that on our last day we will hear our Lord and Master welcome us with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” The joy and hope is that released from sin and death, we will finally see our Savior face to face. Continue reading “We Shall See Him Face to Face”

Text: Matthew 25:1-13
Date: Pentecost XXIII + 11/12/17

(After singing LSB 764 – When Aimless Violence Takes Those We Love:)

It seems that we are singing this hymn too often these days, these dark days, at the aimless violence in Las Vegas, then in New York, and now in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Though for otherwise misguided political reasons, California Representative Ted Lieu said about a moment of silence in the House of Representatives, “I can’t do this again; I’ve been to too many moments of silences. In just my short period in Congress, three of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history have occurred.” To a degree his grief expresses everyone’s, a cry of helplessness. Continue reading “With Him in the Marriage Feast”