Text: Luke 8:26-39
Date: Pentecost V (Proper 7) + 6/23/13
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, for He is the one sent from God to bring salvation to all people, He is the Son of God the Most High. Continue reading “Everything's Better with Bacon”
Text: Luke 7:36—8:3
Date: Pentecost IV (Proper 6) + 6/16/13
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, for He comes bearing gifts and especially the gift of the forgiveness of sins. You can tell if someone has received that gift of forgiveness (or at least you should be able to). Once the great King David proved he wasn’t so great. The prophet Nathan delivered the smack down of the Law uncovering David’s great sin, saying, “You are the man!” David repented and received forgiveness. And even with this huge blot on his record, God does not keep a record and David proceeded to be “the Great King” by God’s grace. As Psalm 130 says, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities” or keep a record of sins, “O Lord, who could stand?” The answer is no one. “But with you there is forgiveness” (Ps 130:3-4). That forgiveness comes only at the cost of the death of Jesus Christ and by faith in Him alone. Continue reading “Thanks be to God”
Text: Luke 7:11-17
Date: Pentecost III (Proper 5) + June 9, 2013
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! In heaven peace, and glory in the highest! He comes to a city called Nain in the midst of His earthly life’s journey to the cross. He comes, as the scripture says, with the Spirit of the Lord upon Him to proclaim good news, liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18). The increasing crowds who followed Him have seen His compassion in releasing people from demon possession (4:33-37), sickness (7:1-10), sin (5:17-26), and now even from death. The people were getting the clear idea that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophetic hope and that with Him the messianic age has dawned. Continue reading “The Dead are Raised”
Text: Luke 7:1-10
Date: Pentecost II (Proper 4) + 6/2/13
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.” But it is only faith that thinks so, that believes so, that the King’s coming is a blessing. Yet that blessed faith shows up in surprising places and persons. That’s because, as we confess in the Augsburg Confession: Continue reading “Worthy to Receive”
Text: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Date: The Holy Trinity + 5/26/13
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, the King “begotten of His Father before all worlds.” As on Pentecost Sunday the center of attention was not on God the Holy Spirit but on Him to whom the Spirit always points, the King, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, so on this celebration of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the center of attention is not on the mystery of the three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but on Him who was sent and glorified by the Father, the One who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and was made man. Continue reading “…Before All Worlds”
Text: John 14:23-31
Date: The Day of Pentecost + 5/19/13
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Having come into the world, “all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11-12). Having ascended back into heaven he lives and reigns over the entire universe. He said He was going away but promised in the same breath, “I will come to you.” Today we celebrate the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life. Yet the Third Person of the Holy Trinity is not anyone new or different but is the Spirit of Jesus. Continue reading “The Spirit of Jesus”
Text: Isaiah 51:4-6
Date: The Last Sunday of the Church Year (Proper 29) + 11/25/12
Instant replay: We have spent this liturgical year hearing the whole story of the gospel once again of the gift of God’s salvation, this year “Through the Eyes of the Prophets.”[1] Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old, spoke to us words of Advent hope, supplemented by a short comment by the prophet Nathan to King David (2 Sam 7), concerning God’s coming salvation and its arrival in the nativity of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, son of David, the Son of God (Is 64; 40; 61). The initial broadcast of the Christmas gospel came through the Epiphany light shining through the prophets Moses (Gen 1:1-5; Dt 18), Eli and Samuel (1 Sam 3), Jonah of all people (Jonah 3), Isaiah (Is 40), and the author of first and second Kings (2 Kings 5; 2). Then we were led to and through the Lenten temptation and teaching, and the Great and Holy Week suffering, passion and death of our Lord through the eyes again of Moses (Gen 22; 17; Ex 20; Num 21) and Jeremiah (31). Isaiah blew the fanfare of Easter for us (Is 25) whereupon St. Luke picked up the story of the first days of the resurrection community, the Holy Christian Church (Acts 4; 3; 8; 10; 1). After 50 days arose the prophet Ezekiel who likened the Pentecost sending of the Holy Spirit to a valley of dry bones being rejuvenated and given life (Ezek 37). Finally, Isaiah’s call by the Thrice-Holy Lord of Hosts led us into the long green season, which we today conclude. In this season, since last June, we’ve heard, in order of appearance (without repeating), Moses, Ezekiel, Job, Jeremiah, Amos, 1 Kings, Solomon, and Daniel. Continue reading “My Salvation Will Be Forever”
Text: Daniel 12:1-3
Date: Pentecost XXV (Proper 28) + 11/18/12
As the Church calendar comes to a close each year the scripture readings point to the last things, the doctrine of the Last Day, the day of judgment, what you confess every Sunday that you “look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” We need to hear about the doctrine of the Day of Resurrection because we increasingly need the encouragement to persevere in faith. We need that encouragement to persevere because every year we are closer to that Day than ever. And, while popular TV preachers try to paint a promising, hopeful picture of “your best life now,” the Bible warns that the last days will be characterized not by progress and happiness but by increasing trouble, tribulation and distress. While many churches seek to emphasize a positive, dare I say “happy” worship experience, the only truly helpful (and “joyful”!) thing is when the Church acts as a moral and cultured force in society, calling sin “sin,” and being about the dispensing of the forgiveness of sins and the true hope of eternal life through the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God. When Jesus spoke of the signs of the Last Day He drew His followers’ attention to what has been written in the scriptures including our reading today from the prophet Daniel. This text will help us take a realistic attitude to life and faith in this sinful world with the increasing hope of final victory in The Day of Resurrection. Continue reading “The Day of Resurrection”
Text: 1 Kings 17:8-16
Date: Pentecost XXIV (Proper 27) + 11/11/12
Jesus praised a poor widow’s offering as being proportionately more than even the large sums the rich people were giving in the temple, implying a greater faith, love and thanksgiving to God. Elijah was sent to a poor Gentile widow to receive sustenance for his journey. The similarity of the two stories would seem to be only in that the central character in each was a poor widow. But that which really ties the two stories together is God’s care and blessing even through seemingly meager resources. When it comes to the big picture of life it’s even worse. On our own we have no resources and yet we have a loving God who supplies us with forgiveness, life and salvation and everything we need solely out of His love for us as a wonderful gift in spite of, and even because of our impoverishment. This is what is behind St. Paul’s statement sung in today’s Alleluia Verse from Second Corinthians—“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). The prophet Elijah was called to represent the one true God who is the source of all life and the God of all comfort and salvation from sin and death. Continue reading “The Widow's Offering”
Text: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20
Date: Pentecost XXI (Proper 24) + 10/21/12
“Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were amazed…. And they were exceedingly astonished” (Mark 10:23-24, 26). “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). “Uh, oh! It must be time for the annual stewardship program. Grab your checkbooks, gentlemen, the preacher’s going to preach about money.” And if that is your fear let me begin by putting your mind to rest. Today we’re not going to use these scripture readings to give Biblical advice only on God-pleasing financial planning and sensible budgeting, though we could.
Rather I draw your attention to the final two verses of today’s reading from Ecclesiastes. “Everyone to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.” “With Joy in Your Heart” is the message of how God’s people discover how to live in this world with the certain hope of the greater eternal life promised us by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Continue reading “With Joy in Your Heart”
