Pr. DFD : October 2019

Sunday, October 27, 2019

All Saints Observed

All Saints (Observed)

Revelation 7:(2–8) 9–17

1 John 3:1–3

Matthew 5:1–12

Saints Are Blessed in the Eternal Presence of Christ All Saints

“A great multitude … from all tribes and peoples and languages” cry out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne” (Revelation 7:9–10). Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we, too, “shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Joined with the throng of angels and a myriad of saints, we shall “serve him day and night in his temple” (Revelation 7:15). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ propels us forward, fortifying us in Word and Sacrament, to our eternal home. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we need to be blessed. And so we are. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure and the persecuted are all blessed, and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:1–12).

O Almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together as one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which You had prepared for those who love You; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

Gracious Savior, keep my eyes ever focused on You and Your blessings, which are mine by grace alone. Amen

Jesus introduces His Sermon on the Mount with nine beatitudes that detail the future blessedness of His disciples. These promised blessings are God's gracious gifts to those who repent of their sins and trust Christ for righteousness. Only after Jesus has assured His disciples of God's goodness to them does He call on them,, in the rest of His sermon, to be good and do good. When we recognize our own spiritual poverty when the Lord leads us to hunger and thirst for righteousness, when He makes us pure in heart so that we seek to worship only the true God, then we are blessed now and forever.

Observe both future and present tenses...

Life for the Christian is a life that is lived by faith - On this All Saints Day Jesus the greatest teacher who has ever lived gives a description of the child of God who has been incorporated into the family of faith. These Beatitudes are the gifts the Savior has given to you.

It is yours now and soon to come. Blessed now are present the rewards future…now and not yet.

Matthew 5:1

Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος· καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ·

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

Matthew 5:2

καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς λέγων·

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

Having sat down, the posture of prophet, posture of learning. Another Moses, Jesus is THE prophet. He came to preach and to die. Works of mercy are out of His compassion. He opens His mouth like that of creation.

Matthew 5:3

Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. To be poor is to rely on the mercy of God. These are indicative and the rewards are all passive.

Not blessed are the growing churches. The only command is "rejoice and be glad"

Matthew 5:4

μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are those who mourn, you are a Christian. You will mourn, but you will be comforted. What do we mourn? As Jesus grieved over Lazarus.

Preach theology of grace as opposed to theology of glory.

Matthew 5:5

μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Meek inherit the earth. Meek are powerless, a picture of the cross. Inherit for free from those who would try to take by force. This is anti world. This is completely out of the realm of measurement and feeling

Matthew 5:6

μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

They will be engorged/enlarged. Their cup will run over for those who hunger after righteousness.

Your blessedness comes from the blessed one who blesses.

Matthew 5:7

μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

The merciful receive mercy. Mercy to the deserving is justice. Mercy is only to the undeserving. Show mercy as you have been shown mercy.

The unmerciful serving misrepresented the king who had shown mercy. He acts as if the king still had the debt hanging over them.

Matthew 5:8

μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the clean in heart because they themselves will see God. The only way in which you see God.

Matthew 5:9

μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.

Blessed are the ones making peace they will be called God's sons.

Matthew 5:10

μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The ones who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heavens.

Matthew 5:11

μακάριοί ἐστε ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώξωσιν καὶ εἴπωσιν πᾶν [a]πονηρὸν καθ’ ὑμῶν ψευδόμενοι ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Blessed whenever they reproach you and say all evil against you on account of me.

Matthew 5:12

χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· οὕτως γὰρ ἐδίωξαν τοὺς προφήτας τοὺς πρὸ ὑμῶν.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Rejoice be glad, your reward is in heaven. In this sameness the prophets were persecuted.

Proper 26 Series C

Proper 26 C

(October 30 - November 5)

Isaiah 1:10–18

2 Thessalonians 1:1–5 (6–10), 11–12

Luke 19:1–10

Collect for Proper 26: O Lord, we pray that the visitation of Your grace may so cleanse our thoughts and minds that Your Son Jesus when He shall come, may find in us a fit dwelling place; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

Collect for Reformation: (31 October) Almighty God, gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep them steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and comfort them in all temptations, defend them against all enemies of Your Word, and bestow on the church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One god, now and forever.

Collect for All Saints: (1 November) O Almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together as one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which You have prepared for those who unfeignedly love You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

Collect for the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed: (2 November) Almighty God, in whose glorious presence live all who depart in the Lord and before whom all the souls of the faithful who are delivered of the burden of the flesh are in joy and felicity, we give you hearty thanks for Your loving-kindness to all Your servants who have finished their course in faith and now rest form their labors and we humbly implore Your mercy that we, together with all who have departed in the saving faith, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, in both body and soul, in Your eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

The God Who Saves

The theme for this coming Sunday goes beyond forgiveness. Salvation is a broader theme which embraces forgiveness. In the Gospel lesson (Luke 19:1-10 salvation comes to Zacchaeus in and through Jesus Christ. The Israelites are saved through forgiveness for their sin of idolatry by virtue of God’s merciful nature and Moses’ intercession. In the Epistles lesson the fact of salvation has occurred, for Paul is writing to those who are “saved” whose faith and love are growing during hard times.

The Lord Comes to Save and Call Us to Himself by the Tree of His Cross

God will judge “those who do not obey the gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8), but “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven” (2 Thessalonians 1:7), He will “be glorified in his saints” (2 Thessalonians 1:10). For by His cross, you are “considered worthy of the kingdom of God” (2 Thessalonians 1:5). Therefore, “give ear to the teaching of our God” (Isaiah 1:10), and “let us reason together” by faith in His Gospel (Isaiah 1:18). “Make yourselves clean” (Isaiah 1:16), not by “the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats” (Isaiah 1:11), but by the blood of Christ. His salvation comes to you by grace, as it came to Zacchaeus. That man sought “to see who Jesus was,” but he could not “because he was small in stature” (Luke 19:3).

It is by way of a tree that Zacchaeus is found by the One he sought, for Jesus Himself “was about to pass that way” (Luke 19:4). The Lord calls Zacchaeus down and goes “in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner” (Luke 19:7). So also, He visits us as sinners, securing eternal redemption for us through the tree of His holy cross.

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus and Zacchaeus.

Luke 19:1

Καὶ εἰσελθὼν διήρχετο τὴν Ἰεριχώ.

He (Jesus) entered Jericho and was passing through.

Luke 19:2

καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι καλούμενος Ζακχαῖος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἀρχιτελώνης καὶ αὐτὸς πλούσιος•

And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.

Luke 19:3

καὶ ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν τὸν Ἰησοῦν τίς ἐστιν, καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄχλου ὅτι τῇ ἡλικίᾳ μικρὸς ἦν.

And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.

Luke 19:4

καὶ προδραμὼν εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἀνέβη ἐπὶ συκομορέαν ἵνα ἴδῃ αὐτόν, ὅτι ἐκείνης ἤμελλεν διέρχεσθαι.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

Luke 19:5

καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον, ἀναβλέψας ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν• Ζακχαῖε, σπεύσας κατάβηθι, σήμερον γὰρ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μεῖναι.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today."

Luke 19:6

καὶ σπεύσας κατέβη, καὶ ὑπεδέξατο αὐτὸν χαίρων.

So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

Luke 19:7

καὶ ἰδόντες πάντες διεγόγγυζον λέγοντες ὅτι Παρὰ ἁμαρτωλῷ ἀνδρὶ εἰσῆλθεν καταλῦσαι.

And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."

Luke 19:8

σταθεὶς δὲ Ζακχαῖος εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν κύριον• Ἰδοὺ τὰ [e]ἡμίσιά [f]μου τῶν ὑπαρχόντων, κύριε, τοῖς πτωχοῖς δίδωμι, καὶ εἴ τινός τι ἐσυκοφάντησα ἀποδίδωμι τετραπλοῦν.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."

Luke 19:9

εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Σήμερον σωτηρία τῷ οἴκῳ τούτῳ ἐγένετο, καθότι καὶ αὐτὸς υἱὸς Ἀβραάμ ἐστιν•

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.

Luke 10:10

ἦλθεν γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

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Lectionary notes LCMS notes

Time in the Word - Proper 26

Preparation for next week, Pentecost 21 - Proper 26

O Lord, we pray that the visitation of Your grace may so cleanse our thoughts and minds that Your Son Jesus when He shall come, may find in us a fit dwelling place; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

The God Who Saves

Preparation for next week, Pentecost 21 Proper 26

Monday, 28 October 2019—Psalm 119:1-2, 10-12, 16; Antiphon, Psalm 119:32—The Antiphon for next Sunday’s Introit proclaims, ‘I am laid low in the dust; renew my life according to Your Word’ We are all dust and ash. In Adam we are all one dead sinner. Yet God in Christ has given us new life. We live, move and have our being in Christ. Daily Christ is giving us this new life. The life we now live in not to ourselves. It is lived in and for Christ.

Tuesday, 29 October 2019—Psalm 119:145-152—This psalm is based on the Hebrew Letter “Qoph”. In this Psalm David is crying with the whole heart. The Lord hears David’s cry and answers him according to the Lord’s perfect will. Likewise, the believer cries out to the Lord night and day. Do not give up in your requests to God. He knows your need and will answer your prayers according to His perfect will for your life.

Wednesday, 30 October 2019—Exodus 34:5-9— Salvation is made possible through a forgiving God. God forgives sin but visits the iniquity of the guilty upon late generations. This lesson must be considered in light of the context. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days getting the Ten Commandments, the people turned to idolatry by worshiping a golden calf. In his anger, Moses broke the tablets on which were written the law. Now, Moses is instructed to get new tablets and to return to the mountain top to get a second edition. God explains why He is giving the people a second chance – He is a God of mercy.

Thursday, 31 October 2019—2 Thessalonians 1:1-5,11-12—Those who are saved endure suffering for the faith. The Thessalonians are commended for their faithfulness in suffering.

Collect for Reformation: ( 31 October) Almighty God, gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep them steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and comfort them in all temptations, defend them against all enemies of Your Word, and bestow on the church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One god, now and forever.

A popular word today is “cope.” People are concerned about coping with inflation, poverty, old age, marital problems. Can Christians cope with persecution, suffering, and hardship? In our Epistles for next Sunday Paul tells of a congregation which learned to cope with hard times. His message to you, You can cope in the face of adversity.

Friday, 1 November 2019—Luke 19:1-10—Sunday’s Gospel gives us the simple steps from a life of sin to a Christian life in Christ. The steps are illustrated in Zacchaeus’ conversion…Climb – he wanted to see and know Jesus because he needed him. Confront – Jesus saw Zacchaeus and ordered him to come down and together they went to Zacchaeus’ house. Change – Christ’s acceptance of Zacchaeus made him change his life.

Collect for All Saints: (1 November) O Almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together as one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which You have prepared for those who unfeignedly love You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

Saturday, 2 November 2019—2 Corinthians 12:9 - Sunday’s hymn of the day is How Firm a Foundation, (LSB #728) The Christian faith is based not on our own ideas, agendas and plans. It rests securely in God’s firm and sure word. Trust that word. It is a sure foundation. It will withstand the storms of life.

Collect for the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed: (2 November) Almighty God, in whose glorious presence live all who depart in the Lord and before whom all the souls of the faithful who are delivered of the burden of the flesh are in joy and felicity, we give you hearty thanks for Your loving-kindness to all Your servants who have finished their course in faith and now rest form their labors and we humbly implore Your mercy that we, together with all who have departed in the saving faith, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, in both body and soul, in Your eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Morning Prayer Readings for this coming week

October 28 Monday Job –Part 1 Selected verses

October 29 Tuesday Job – Part 2 Selected verses

October 30 Wednesday Chapel

October 31 Thursday Job - Part 3 Selected verses

November 1 Friday Samuel 1 Samuel 1-3

Catechism Review: 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed

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Lectionary summary from the LCMS Commission on Worship

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Reformation

29 October 2019

Romans 3:19-28 & John 8:31-36

The way of the cross

There are two ways to finding God. The way of glory. And the way of the cross. The way of glory - rises up - to meet God at the level of His majesty. His beauty. His splendor. His brilliance. His heaven. Look for God in loftier places. In peak experiences. In which people scale the heights of their own reason, creativity, and human potential.

The way of the cross looks for God in a down-to-earth manner. In things that are as lowly. Weak. Poor. And naked. As in that suffering man. Who died on a hill. Outside the gate.

The great religions and philosophies of the world teach that God cannot suffer. God cannot bleed. God cannot die. Because God is God - he has no feelings at all. He has no passions. He has nothing in common with the suffering of human beings. In sharing their anguish. Despair. And sickness unto death.

But what happened on the cross happened to God. It is right to say that God Himself is crucified. Because Jesus is not only man but also God. The crucified Jesus is “very God of very God.” That is exactly what the Nicene Creed also says. If you are seeking God. You will find God hidden in the cross of Christ.

A church that wants to be great and glorious in worldly terms. That wants to be vocal and victorious in political terms. Is deeply suspect. Something is profoundly wrong with any church that wishes to be identified with rich, beautiful, and powerful people. That is the way of glory.

The church seeking glory tends to worship its own growth. Success. Popularity. And peddle cheap grace to those only who can afford to pay their way.

The cross is not only a way to be saved but a way to live. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” To be a Christian is not only to believe in Christ but to follow Jesus. But to follow him where? Into the world in solidarity with the least. The lost. The last.

The cross is not a symbol for pious people meditating on things religious. The people of Christ live their lives under the cross. In school. On a farm. In a family. In a business. At city hall. In the everyday secular world. Doing what needs doing at the moment.

What hangs in the balance is the issue of bondage or freedom. Freedom is the very essence of salvation. In his wonderful treatise On Christian Freedom, Luther wrote: “A Christian is free. . .and in bondage to no one.” Yet, at the same time, he said, “A Christian is a servant, and owing a duty to everyone.” Radical freedom was purchased for us by the cross of Christ. It means to be in bondage to no one. Yet free to serve everyone.

That will sometimes mean suffering. Humiliation. Grief. Disgrace. Not many of the disciples or apostles died of old age. Bearing the cross of Christ aroused conflict and opposition. Christians ought to expect that they may be dealt with as sheep for the slaughter. In Greek the word “martyr” is the same as the word “witness.” Martyrdom means being a witness to the truth. Willing to pay the price that one unavoidably pays in doing hand-to-hand combat with forces of evil in the world. It does not mean taking up the fight. But living by the narrow way. Where God meets us in the cross of Christ.

Look not for a glorious God of majesty. But to a God. Caught dead on a cross. That afflicted man of sorrows. In whom there was no “form or beauty.” (Isaiah 53: 2)

Abide in the Word alone. Snub human thoughts. And opinions. Live by faith alone. By His grace and mercy alone. In Christ alone. Who is everything to us. The Way. The Truth. The Life.

Words-680

Passive Sentences –5%

Readability – 84.3%

Reading Level –3.1

Reference https://lutherantheology.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/a-reformation-sermon/

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Reformation (Observed)

Reformation Observed

Revelation 14:6–7
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19–28
John 8:31–36 or Matthew 11:12–19

The Son of God Has Set Us Free from Sin and Death by His Grace

"Wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Matthew 11:19), and the true Wisdom of God, Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son, has justified us by His deeds. He prepares His way by the preaching of repentance, but He has suffered the violence of the Law and voluntarily handed Himself over to violent men, that we might eat and drink with Him in His Kingdom and “remain in the house forever” (John 8:35). He is “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:18–19), and He has rescued us by His grace from the slavery of sin and death.

By the proclamation of His eternal Gospel “to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people” (Revelation 14:6), “the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law” (Romans 3:21), “that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). And by the hearing of that Gospel of Christ Jesus, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25), “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).

Collect for Reformation Sunday: Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

"O God, Your infinite love restores to the right way those who err, seeks the scattered, and preserves those whom You have gathered. Of Your tender mercy pour out on Your faithful people the grace of unity that, all schisms being ended, Your flock may be gathered to the true Shepherd of Your Church and may serve You in all faithfulness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen"

Matthew 11:12-19

Context John is in prison, world attacking the kingdom of the heavens,

Matthew 11:12

ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως ἄρτι ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται, καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν.

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,[a] and the violent take it by force.

a Or has been coming violently

“From the time of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens suffered violence.” The kingdom - Makes its way advancing with violent force. And violent men have seized it. How does it come. Not by what we think, through violence done to him. Forcibly treated can be taken middle or passive. The kingdom suffers violence. It has been violently attacked by violent men, the flesh, and Satan.

Matthew 11:13

πάντες γὰρ οἱ προφῆται καὶ ὁ νόμος ἕως Ἰωάννου ἐπροφήτευσαν·

For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,

“For all the prophets and the Law prophecies until John.”

Matthew 11:14

καὶ εἰ θέλετε δέξασθαι, αὐτός ἐστιν Ἠλίας ὁ μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι.

and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

“And if you want to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.”

When you hear John you hear all of the prophets, it comes to its finger John and the head Christ.

Matthew 11:15

ὁ ἔχων [a]ὦτα ἀκουέτω.

He who has ears to hear,[b] let him hear.

b. Some manuscripts omit to hear

“He who has ears to hear let him hear.”

Hear what he just said, listen to what he will say. Avoid the theology of glory. NOT BY DOING BUT BY RECEIVING this is a passive thing.

How does the Christian suffer today? We still suffer violence by the big three although not seen.

Matthew 11:16

Τίνι δὲ ὁμοιώσω τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην; ὁμοία ἐστὶν παιδίοις [b]καθημένοις ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς ἃ προσφωνοῦντα τοῖς ἑτέροις

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

“To what will I liken this generation? It is like two small children.”

Matthew 11:17

[c]λέγουσιν· Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε· [d]ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε·

‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

“We played flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge you did not mourn!”

Matthew 11:18

ἦλθεν γὰρ Ἰωάννης μήτε ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων, καὶ λέγουσιν· Δαιμόνιον ἔχει·

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

“John came neither eating or drinking he had a demon.”

Matthew 11:19

ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων, καὶ λέγουσιν· Ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης, τελωνῶν φίλος καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν. καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν [e]ἔργων αὐτῆς.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”[c]

c. Some manuscripts children (compare Luke 7:35)

“The Son of man came and you said he's a glutton and wine drinker a lover of tax collectors and sinners.”

When law was preached you did not repent when gospel preached you did not receive it.

Repent = contrition and faith.

But wisdom is proven by actions. JESUS is this wisdom of God.

John 8:31-36- speaks of the freedom we find in the Truth of Jesus Christ. All of us were born into slavery-the slavery of sin. But Christ has set us free from our bondage by His atoning sacrifice. The One who declares, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life tells us here that the Truth shall set us free. The Truth has set us free: the Truth which embodied in Christ Jesus and the Truth which He declares to us in His Word. We are free, indeed!

John 8:31

Ἔλεγεν οὖν ὁ Ἰησοῦς πρὸς τοὺς πεπιστευκότας αὐτῷ Ἰουδαίους· Ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μού ἐστε,

Jesus began to say to those Jews who had believed in Him if you hold to my teachings you are really my disciples.

Who makes up the crowd? This is the simil both sinner/Saint

John 8:32

καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς.

Then you will know the truth and the truth will free you.

What is "freedom"? To know is to perceive it in a believing way. A deeper kind of knowing the truth. Not the weak knowing of Adam/Eve. They knew evil but did not have intimate understanding of evil. This knowing is to possess Jesus.

John 8:33

ἀπεκρίθησαν [a]πρὸς αὐτόν· Σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ ἐσμεν καὶ οὐδενὶ δεδουλεύκαμεν πώποτε· πῶς σὺ λέγεις ὅτι Ἐλεύθεροι γενήσεσθε;

They answered to him, we are the sperm of Abraham how can you say you shall be made free?

Irony they are children of the promise while he is the promise. See John, "do not presume to say we have Abraham as our Father,"

John 8:34

Ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας·

Jesus said, I say to you ALL the ones who do sin are each individually slaved OF sin.

SEE Romans 6 Jesus changes from external to internal slavery.

John 8:35

ὁ δὲ δοῦλος οὐ μένει ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· [b]ὁ υἱὸς μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

A slave has no permanent place in the family. But a son belongs to it forever.

"Into the age" you remain in the house by being a son. See Galatians 3:26-29

John 8:36

ἐὰν οὖν ὁ υἱὸς ὑμᾶς ἐλευθερώσῃ, ὄντως ἐλεύθεροι ἔσεσθε.

So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.

This freedom comes at a price. The price of Christ's blood. That freedom is forgiveness.

____________

Luther’s Seal © Higher Things

Time in the Word - Reformation Observed

October 21-26, 2019

Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Son of God Has Set Us Free from Sin and Death by His Grace

“Wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Matt. 11:19), and the true Wisdom of God, Christ Jesus the incarnate Son, justifies us by His deeds. He prepares His way by the preaching of repentance, but He has suffered the violence of the Law and voluntarily handed Himself over to violent men, that we might eat and drink with Him in His Kingdom and “remain in the house forever” (John 8:35). For He is “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19), and He has rescued us by His grace from the slavery of sin and death. By the proclamation of His eternal Gospel “to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people” (Rev. 14:6), “the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law” (Rom. 3:21), “that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).And by hearing the Gospel of Christ Jesus, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith” (Rom. 3:25), “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).

Prayers for defending the Church from error: O Christ, our defender, protect us from all those whose plans would subvert Your truth through heresy and schism that, as You are acknowledged in heaven and on earth as one and the same Lord, so Your people, gathered from all nations, may serve You in unity of faith; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, You would have all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. By Your almighty power and unsearchable wisdom break and hinder all the counsels of those who hate Your Word and who, by corrupt teaching, would destroy it. Enlighten them with the knowledge of Your glory that they may know the riches of Your heavenly grace and, in peace and righteousness, serve You, the only true God; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for unity of faith: O God, Your infinite love restores to the right way those who err, seeks the scattered, and preserves those whom You have gathered. Of Your tender mercy pour out on Your faithful people the grace of unity that, all schisms being ended, Your flock may be gathered to the true Shepherd of Your Church and may serve You in all faithfulness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for spiritual renewal: Almighty God, grant that we, who have been redeemed from the old life of sin by our Baptism into the death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, may be renewed by Your Holy Spirit to live in righteousness and true holiness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Monday, 21 October 2019—Psalm 34:1–2, 11, 22; Antiphon, Psalm 119:46—The Antiphon for next Sunday’s Introit proclaims, I will speak of Your statutes before Kings O Lord, and shall not be put to shame. This verse also serves as the inscription for the Augsburg Confession, one of the documents in the Lutheran Book of Concord. We need fear no earthly kings or powers when we make confession of our faith, for we have been set free from fear by the Gospel. Let us make bold our proclamation of confidence in the Lord, who redeems the life of His servants. For this, we bless the LORD at all times.

Tuesday, 22 September 2019—Psalm 46—This psalm of David expresses complete confidence in God, no matter the circumstance. It depicts scenes of turmoil: natural disasters (vv. 2, 3), political persecution (v. 6a), and even the end of days (v. 6b). The one who trusts in God can withstand such troubles, and be still and quiet, for God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Wednesday, 23 October 2019—Revelation 14:6–7—This first angel of John’s vision has often been interpreted by Lutheran commentators as Martin Luther, because of his clear proclamation of the eternal gospel to . . . those who dwell on earth. Certainly God worked through this man, as He works through others, to bring His message of freedom in Christ to every nation and tribe and language and people.

Collect for the Feast of St James of Jerusalem, Bishop and Martyr (23 October): Heavenly Father, shepherd of Your people, You raised up James the Just, brother of our Lord, to lead and guide Your Church. Grant that we may follow his example of prayer and reconciliation and be strengthened by the witness of his death; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Thursday, 24 October 2019—Romans 3:19–28—Theologians use a Latin phrase that describes our relationship with God’s Holy Law: “Lex semper accusat,” that is, ‘the Law always accuses’. This is because none of us sinful humans can obey God’s Law perfectly. Both our original sin and our actual sin condemn us.

But there is a righteousness before God apart from the Law and apart from ourselves and anything we do. This righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to us through faith in the propitiating death of Christ on our behalf. Because of Christ’s fulfillment of the Law, and His blood which He shed for us, God declares us ‘not guilty’.

Friday, 25 October 2019—John 8:31–36—Sunday’s Gospel speaks of the freedom we find in the Truth of Jesus Christ. All of us were born into slavery—the slavery of sin. But Christ has set us free from our bondage by His atoning sacrifice. The One who declares, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life tells us here that the Truth shall set us free. The Truth has set us free: the Truth which embodied in Christ Jesus and the Truth which He declares to us in His Word. We are free, indeed!

Saturday, 26 October 2019—Sunday’s hymn of the day, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (LSB #656) is Luther’s great battle hymn of the Reformation. Based on the Psalm of the day, Psalm 46, it reflects complete confidence in God, even when faced by a host of devils and the earthly adversities they bring. They can harm us none, for they have been felled—defeated—by one little Word, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Savior.

OCTOBER 21-25, 2019

NO SCHOOL --- TEACHER IN SERVICE - - - FALL BREAK

Lectionary summary from the LCMS Commission on Worship

Artwork by Ed Riojas copyright, ©Higher Things.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Proper 24 Series C

Proper 24 Series C

(October 16-22)

Genesis 32:22–30

2 Timothy 3:14—4:5

Luke 18:1–8

Faith Clings to the Word and Promises of God and Perseveres in Prayer

Collect for Proper 24: “O Lord, almighty and everlasting God, You have commanded us to pray and have promised to hear us. Mercifully grant that You Holy Spirit may direct and govern our hearts in all things that we may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.”

Man’s “Goodness” vs. God’s Goodness (Luke 18:1-8)
Rev.Dr. Daniel J Brege

Though Scripture acknowledges that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that there is no one who does good, not even one, and that without faith it is impossible to please God, yet as the Lord Jesus speaks of prayer He verifies that among fallen mankind a kind of “goodness” can be observed. Though this kind of “goodness” in fallen man is to be found, yet such goodness is tainted with sinful motives, tainted with selfish desires. Such apparent goodness must yet be purged of sin in the eyes of the Holy God.

At times Jesus would then use this warped “goodness” in the fallen world as a contrast with God’s wondrous and loving goodness—a goodness uniquely found in the giving of His Son into death for mankind’s salvation.

Our text speaks of an unrighteous judge who neither feared God nor respected man. This description indicates an outward evil of this judge being expressed because of the inner evil of his heart. Nonetheless this judge (though it was because of totally wrong motives) did good to the widow who was petitioning him. If the unrighteous judge did something good, how much more will the righteous God hear and lovingly answer the prayers of His people—for Jesus’ sake—giving them good things with the ultimate good timing that only God possesses?

As another example of this tainted goodness used by the Lord to illustrate something about approaching God in prayer, consider what Jesus says about those who come to God—asking, seeking and knocking at the ear of God. The Lord explains, “If you then, being evil, now how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Lu. 11:13). Observe the commentary on the condition of man: “…you, being evil.” Yet even though people are evil, they still know how to give good gifts to their children. Once again the giving of such good gifts by evil people is a goodness warped by sin, yet there is still a goodness—albeit tainted—that can be recognized among fallen mankind.

The contrast again is clear: If God, who is not tainted by sin, is approached by His children, won’t He give what is good—ultimately the Holy Spirit—to those children who ask?

Why would God hear the requests of sinful people who live in a sinful world? Who are His children that He should listen to them? It is only because there is one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Our approach to our Father in prayer can only happen because God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. Indeed, whatever we ask the Father in Jesus name (that is, consistent with who He is and what He is about), the Father will give it to us. Yes, the Righteous Judge, the good Father who loves His children infinitely more than any earthly Father—this One will always hear us for Christ’s sake.

“Left alone,” Jacob wrestled through the night with the Lord, “until the breaking of the day” (Genesis 32:24). Though “Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him” (Genesis 32:25), he would not let go until the Lord blessed him. At times we, too, strive with God; He strives with us and blesses us by grace. So Jesus teaches us “always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Jesus speaks of “a judge who neither feared God nor respected man” and of a widow “who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary’ ” (Luke 18:2–3). Because of her persistence, the judge agreed to “give her justice” (Luke 18:5). Our Lord dispenses justice generously and swiftly, giving “justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night” (Luke 18:7). He does so according to the Gospel. Therefore, His ministers are to persevere faithfully in their vocation, in what they “have learned and have firmly believed” (2 Timothy 3:14). On the basis of “the sacred writings” (2 Timothy 3:15), they are to “preach the word” at all times and not lose heart (2 Timothy 4:2).

Luke 18:1–8

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Luke 18:1

Ἔλεγεν [a]δὲ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι [b]αὐτοὺς καὶ μὴ ἐγκακεῖν,

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

- ἐγκακεῖν, do not...stop, loosing heart. Become weary, loose confidence.

Luke 18:2

λέγων• Κριτής τις ἦν ἔν τινι πόλει τὸν θεὸν μὴ φοβούμενος καὶ ἄνθρωπον μὴ ἐντρεπόμενος.

He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

-Jesus will call him "unjust" in v.6 Arguing from the greater to the lesser he has no regard for God or for man.

Luke 18:3

χήρα δὲ ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα• Ἐκδίκησόν με ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου μου.

And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

- continued action. She kept coming to him.

- ἀντιδίκου - the "unrighteous" or anti righteous opponent.

Luke 18:4

καὶ οὐκ [c]ἤθελεν ἐπὶ χρόνον, μετὰ [d]ταῦτα δὲ εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ• Εἰ καὶ τὸν θεὸν οὐ φοβοῦμαι [e]οὐδὲ ἄνθρωπον ἐντρέπομαι,

For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,

Luke 18:5

διά γε τὸ παρέχειν μοι κόπον τὴν χήραν ταύτην ἐκδικήσω αὐτήν ἵνα μὴ εἰς τέλος ἐρχομένη ὑπωπιάζῃ με.

yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”

- ὑπωπιάζῃ - blacken my eye, pester, wearing me down...

- "this troublesome widow"

Luke 18:6

εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος• Ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει•

And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

- listen to this one

Luke 18:7

ὁ δὲ θεὸς οὐ μὴ ποιήσῃ τὴν ἐκδίκησιν τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ τῶν βοώντων [f]αὐτῷ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, καὶ [g]μακροθυμεῖ ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς;

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

-God makes justice for His elect

- will he not surely - be slow to help, delay

Luke 18:8

λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ποιήσει τὴν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει. πλὴν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐλθὼν ἆρα εὑρήσει τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς;

I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

- The faith see 2 Timothy 4:4

footnotes

Lectionary notes LCMS notes

Time in the Word - Proper 24

Preparation for next week, the 19th Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 24

O Lord, Almighty and everlasting God, You have commanded us to pray and have promised to hear us. Mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may direct and govern our hearts in all things that we may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of Your Holy Name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

Faith Clings to the Word and Promises of God and Perseveres in Prayer

“Left alone,” Jacob wrestled through the night with the Lord, “until the breaking of the day” (Gen. 32:24). Though “Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him” (Gen. 32:25), he would not let go until the Lord blessed him. At times we, too, strive with God; He strives with us and blesses us by grace. So Jesus teaches us “always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Jesus speaks of “a judge who neither feared God nor respected man” and of a widow “who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary’ ” (Luke 18:2–3). Because of her persistence, the judge agreed to “give her justice” (Luke 18:5).

Our Lord dispenses justice generously and swiftly, giving “justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night” (Luke 18:7).

He does so according to the Gospel. Therefore, His ministers are to persevere faithfully in their vocation, in what they “have learned and have firmly believed” (2 Tim. 3:14). On the basis of “the sacred writings” (2 Tim. 3:15), they are to “preach the word” at all times and not lose heart (2 Tim. 4:2).

God answering prayer is a theme for this coming Sunday. From the Introduction to the Lord’s prayer Luther reminds us, “With these words, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear Father.”

Almighty God, our creator and guide, may we serve You with all our heart and know Your forgiveness in our lives. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives, and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One god, forever and ever. Amen

Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd, without whom noting is secure. Rescue and preserve us that we may not be lost forever but follow You rejoicing in the way that leads to eternal life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Lord, You are just and Your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love You with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves, for the sake of Jesus our Lord.

Prayer for likeness to Christ: O God, by the patient suffering of Your only-begotten Son You have beaten down the pride of the old enemy. Now help us, we humbly pray, rightly to treasure in our hearts all that our Lord has of His goodness borne for our sake that following His blessed example we may bear with all patience all that is adverse to us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Morning Prayer Readings for this coming week:

October 14 Gideon Judges 2-7

October 15 Sampson Part 1 Judges 13-14

October 16 Chapel

October 17 Sampson Part 2 Judges 15-16

October 18 Ruth Selected Verses

Catechism Review: 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed

________________

Lectionary summary on front page from the LCMS Commission on Worship

Monday, 14 October 2019—Psalm 74:18-19, 21; antiphon ,Psalm 74:2a—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, Remember your congregation, which You have purchased of old, which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your heritage. David prays for God to come to the aid of His people and defend His cause in the face of mocking enemies. When we cry out to God, He promises to hear and answer according to our need.

Tuesday, 15 October 2019— Psalm 121 — This psalm is a dialogue of confession and assurance. Its use as a pilgrimage song provides the key to its understanding. Key terms are “the Lord” and “watch over” each occurring five times in this psalm

Wednesday, 16 October 2019— Genesis 32:22-30— In these verses Jacob wrestles with God. He will not let go until God blesses him. Often we struggle; asking God to bless us, to strengthen and increase our faith. Jacob is given a new name. It will no longer be “Jacob”. Now Jacob has acknowledged God as the source of blessing and was about to reenter the Promised Land. The Lord acknowledges Jacob as His servant by changing his name.

Thursday, 17 October 2019—2 Timothy 3:14-4:5— In Palestine, people thought that a time of moral decay would precede the end of the world. The Apostle Paul, the author of this book sees the decadence resulting from false teaching as contributing to this (3:1-9).

Timothy has Paul’s example to follow, particularly the “persecutions” (3:11) he endured. Suffering for Christ is part of being Christian (3:12). While true Christians will be shown to be godly, false teachers “will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived” (3:13) by the devil.

In 4:6-8, Paul sees his death as being close, so he hands on his ministry to Timothy and other future leaders. The ministry is now Timothy’s (“your”, 4:5). May he, like Paul, remain steadfast (“sober”) as he evangelizes, visiting various cities – even enduring “suffering”.

Friday, 18 October 2019—Luke 18:1-8 — Some Pharisees have asked Jesus when the kingdom of God will come; he has answered: it is already “among you”. Using examples from the Old Testament, He has warned His disciples that its full coming will be sudden and unexpected; many people will miss it, being preoccupied with worldly affairs.

In Jewish society, a “widow” (v. 3) had no legal status; she was powerless. The story tells us twice that the judge is a rogue: he neither respects God nor cares about other people (vv. 2, 4). So why would Jesus tell an absurd story? Because such stories are easily remembered and are likely to be retold.The point, never give up when searching God’s grace and favor.

Saturday, 19 October 2019— Psalm 31:1-5- The Hymn of the Day is I trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name, (LSB #734). We trust God’s promises, which are found in the clear promises of God’s Word. We trust only in which God has promises. When searching for God’s promises - go to the source - where His truth is found – the clear Word of our Lord.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Pentecost 18 - Proper 23

Pentecost 18 – Proper 23

12 October 2019

Luke 17:11-19

How you can be made well

From the Catechism we read, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.” [1]

On the way to Jerusalem, on the road that would ultimately lead to His death, Jesus encountered ten pitiable men. He had mercy on them, and, foreshadowing the restoration of all creation at the Last Day, healed them of their dread disease. Only one returned to Jesus to give thanks—a foreigner, the Samaritan.

Christ came into the world to save all people, regardless of ethnicity, skin color, or other outward characteristics. We ought to fall at Jesus’ feet and give thanks for having rescued us from the far more dread disease of sin and its consequences of eternal, and not just temporal, death.

Jesus – whom Himself was a descendant of a foreign, Moabite woman (Ruth) has made us clean. He Himself is the High Priest who declares us clean to His Father, and gives us a place in His kingdom.

But leprosy had made them all outcasts from society, depending on the kindness of strangers in for daily sustenance.

The faith of the Samaritan had grown – for he not only believed in the power of Jesus to heal but he saw Jesus as the only one through whom the Father was working. It was his faith which made him whole. Our text answers a basic question of faith – how you can be made well.

1. What are you are saved from – ingratitude.

A. In a word we call this selfishness.

1. We live in a world where everything seems to be centered on self. We’ve been trained by our culture to believe in ourselves. Not only do we want to be wealthy and famous, we’ve been oriented to feel we deserve it.

2. This focus on self leads some to become self-serving and spoiled. Thinking they should get whatever they want, they will torment anyone who doesn’t give into their demands. Thus, a man all wrapped up in himself becomes quite a small package.

B. Taking things for granted.

1. Possibly we’re so focused on self because we’ve never had it so good. What is there that is lacking in our lives? Do we not live in the lap of luxury?We’re comfortable. And yet there are persons living in misery - feeling unfulfilled, frustrated, disgruntled, angry.

2. We don’t know how good we’ve had it until it is taken away from us. We do not know how these men lived before leprosy became their lot. But we do know what they had become –exiles, untouchable, shipwrecked.

C. Negativism.

1. Blessings are not a guarantee. No one is immune. Do we count our blessings or our problems? Have we grown to expect them?

2. Negativism can possibly be a result of being spoiled.“A selfish man is a thief.” [2} He will steal your heart, your money and your livelihood if you let them.

Transition: We have been saved from ingratitude – yet as we count our blessings we return thanks to the Savior.

2. What we are saved for – gratitude.

A. Counting you blessings. “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praise God in a loud voice.” Vs. 15 The lepers left for the temple and to the priest because Jesus had commandment them to do so. The Samaritan returned. To give thanks to Jesus. He did this because of His faith. Faith always responds with gratitude. That is how you respond. With gratitude and thanks, and a grateful heart.

1. God has blessed us in so many ways. Look around you. Everything is a gift. Consider the open hand of your Merciful Master. “Forgiveness, life, salvation.” These three come from your heavenly Father. How do you respond? “For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.”

2. His mercies cannot be counted. Says the Psalmist: “You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.” Psalm 40:5

B. Recognizing God as the healer. The lepers cried, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Vs. 12 Which moved the hymn writer to inscribe these words, “Other refuge have I none; hangs my helpless soul on thee; leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me. All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring; cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing.” [3]

1. Lepers had to follow a specific prescription – after being quarantined they had to report to the priest. Before they even arrived at the temple behold they were cleansed. The priest’s inspection would verify they were whole.

2. God still works through means. The doctor might hand us the bill but it is the Savior who heals. Christ not only died for all. He died for each.

C. Praising God for His goodness “he came back, praising God in a loud voice.” Vs. 15b Says the Psalmist in Psalm 107:8-9, "Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

1. He heals our diseases. When Jesus says, “Go!” That’s a complete sentence. It is one thing to feel grateful; it is another thing to express it. The louder you called for help, all the louder you should praise God. The Greek word used to describe his giving thanks εὐχαριστῶ is the word that is translated as Eucharist. The Eucharist is public thanks! Jesus is the true healer. Live your lives in perpetual thanksgiving and praise. At His table. And in your life.

2. Christ forgives our many sins. And it is the message of the cross which tells us that God understands our sin and our suffering, for He took them upon himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. From the cross God declares, 'I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and the pain that you feel. But I love you.'

With that lone leaper we can say, for all our Your tender mercies Lord, we give You thanks and praise.

___________

Words – 1,220

Passive Sentences – 11%

Readability – 80.3%

Reading Level – 4.7

Footnotes
1. Luther's Small Catechism "Explanation of the First Article" copyright © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
2. The famous Cuban poet Jose Marti
3. Jesus, Lover of my Soul, stanza two copyright © 1942 The Lutheran Hymnal, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Proper 23 Series C

Proper 23 Series C

(October 9 -15)

Ruth 1:1–19a

2 Timothy 2:1–13

Luke 17:11–19

Faith Returns Thanks to God and Worships Him in the Person of Christ Jesus

Collect for Proper 23 – O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, by Your grace hear the prayers of Your Church. Grant that those things which we ask in faith we may receive through Your bountiful mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

A quick outline based on the collect:

A proper perspective

1. God is our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness.

2. He hears the prayers of His people.

3. As dear children ask their dear Father we always ask in faith.

4. The Lord always responds from His bountiful mercy.

Jesus comes in mercy and, by His Word, heals you in body and soul. “Go and show yourselves to the priests,” for you are cleansed (Luke 17:14), and you are granted access to the Lord’s Temple. It is “at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks” (Luke 17:16) that you worship God, for Christ Jesus is your great High Priest; His body is the true Temple. In Him, you “find rest, each of you in the house of her husband” (Ruth 1:9), for the Lord has “visited his people and given them food” (Ruth 1:6). The person of Jesus Christ lodges Himself in holy food — bread and wine for believers to eat and drink. You lodge where Jesus lodges; His Father is your God, His people are your people. Death cannot part you from Him because His death and resurrection are eternally yours through Holy Baptism.

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead” (2 Timothy 2:8). As surely as death could not hold Him, so surely “the word of God is not bound” (2 Timothy 2:9). His Gospel is entrusted “to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2), so that you “may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:10). Such is the confession of faith for all the saints, who believe, teach and confess the one Lord and Savior — Jesus Christ.

There was no love lost between Jews and Samaritans. Had they been healthy, the nine Jewish lepers would have had had nothing to do with this person whom they considered a half-breed, little better than a heathen. But leprosy had made them all outcasts from society, depending on the kindness of strangers in for daily sustenance.

On the way to Jerusalem, on the road that would ultimately lead to His death, Jesus encountered these ten pitiable men. He had mercy on them, and, foreshadowing the restoration of all creation at the Last Day, healed them of their dread disease. Only one returned to Jesus to give thanks—a foreigner, the Samaritan.

Christ came into the world to save all people, regardless of ethnicity, skin color, or other outward characteristics. We Gentiles, too, ought to fall at Jesus’ feet and give thanks for having rescued us from the far more dread disease of sin and its consequences of eternal, and not just temporal, death. This Descendant of a foreign, Moabite woman has made us clean. He Himself is the High Priest who declares us clean to His Father, and gives us a place in His kingdom. This Gospel lesson will be read on Thanksgiving Day.

Hinting at His Deity (Luke 17:11-19)
Rev. Dr. Daniel J Brege

Of course every time Jesus performed an out-of-this-world miracle—like calming the stormy sea or speaking the dead to life—such miracles hinted at his deity. Similarly every time Jesus was named the Son of God, or when He declared Himself to be the Son of the Father, these hinted at His deity (The Jews understood this to be more than a hint; see e.g. John 5:18; 10:33.).

In Sunday’s gospel when Jesus healed the ten lepers, one returned “praising God with a loud voice. He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him.” This in itself seems to indicate Jesus is God, as the healed leper praises God by giving thanks to Jesus. Jesus then confirms this understanding as He asks, “Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?” The Samaritan, cured of his leprosy, returned to Jesus and at His feet he gave glory to God—to Jesus. Another apparent hint at the deity of Jesus occurs in the command of Jesus that the lepers go to the temple—God’s unique dwelling place on earth. But as this former-leper returns to Jesus, Jesus is not critical of his failure to go to the Temple, for the man is indeed going to the Temple, the place where God dwells among men—in the person of Jesus Christ. The following are a few other hints of the deity of Jesus peppered throughout the Gospel of Luke.

When Saint Luke explains the identity of John the Baptist in Luke 3, the evangelist is inspired to point to him as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that describes the way-preparer as “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord…’” Though “Lord” as a title for Jesus may not always be speaking of His deity, it must here be speaking of His deity, because in Isaiah’s prediction the Hebrew word for Lord is the unique name for God—Yahweh. John the Baptist was preparing the way of Yahweh, the way of Jesus; Jesus is God (Yahweh).

In Luke 7:16, after Jesus had raised to life the dead youth from the town of Nain, the people exclaim, “God has visited His people.” One might understand this to mean that God, through a great prophet, has visited His people. But one can also take it as a confession by the people that Jesus is God, because God as a man was literally visiting His people—for who except God can speak the dead to life?

We find the record in Luke 8:26ff of another merciful, miraculous deliverance as Jesus cast the legion of demons out of the cemetery-residing man of the Gerasenes. The man then begs to go with Jesus, but the Lord responds to him, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” What does the exorcised man do? “So the man went away and proclaimed all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.” These are in back-to-back sentences in which the parallel is obvious: “…tell how much GOD has done for you…[he] proclaimed how much JESUS had done for him.” Hint: Jesus is God.

In Luke 18:18ff the rich young ruler petitions Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replies, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” There is here a hint that if Jesus is the Good Teacher, and because only God is good, then Jesus must be God.

Thanks be to God that in Jesus the fullness of deity dwells bodily, for only God’s death could redeem mankind out of sin, death and the devil’s domain. Truly, as proleptically prophesied by Zechariah, “…the God of Israel….has visited and redeemed His people.” (Luke 1:68)

A hint of trivia - The Armadillo has an antibody for leprosy. - The bacteria that causes leprosy, a chronic disease that can lead to disfigurement and nerve damage, is known to be transmitted to humans from nine-banded armadillos. A new study in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases reports that 62% of the armadillos in the western part of Pará state in the Brazilian Amazon are positive for the leprosy bacteria. June 28, 2018 - See Science Daily

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

Luke 17:11

Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ [a]πορεύεσθαι εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ αὐτὸς διήρχετο διὰ [b]μέσον Σαμαρείας καὶ Γαλιλαίας.

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.

The disease is what unites them. Jesus is going to Jerusalem. He will only stop for them.

Luke 17:12

καὶ εἰσερχομένου αὐτοῦ εἴς τινα κώμην [c]ἀπήντησαν δέκα λεπροὶ ἄνδρες, οἳ [d]ἔστησαν πόρρωθεν,

And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[a] who stood at a distance

Going into a village, ten men, lepers met him standing afar off. Whole cities would come out to meet ἀπήντησαν a conquering King. This is a leper colony. Jesus is going into the leper's village. They come out to greet them.

Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13

"Ten" is a perfect number. All together. They cry out for mercy but at a distance. They have nothing left to lose.

Luke 17:13

καὶ αὐτοὶ ἦραν φωνὴν λέγοντες• Ἰησοῦ ἐπιστάτα, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς.

and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

“They” (plural) lifted up “their” (singular) united voice saying, "Jesus, Master have mercy/pity!" ἐλέησον

Luke 17:14

καὶ ἰδὼν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς• Πορευθέντες ἐπιδείξατε ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν. καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ὑπάγειν αὐτοὺς ἐκαθαρίσθησαν.

When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.

And seeing as they saw (being there present with them) he said "go, show yourselves to the priests.

(To go back to your family. Uncleanness separated them. Cut off from community. The OT statement of original sin.) . Sin is unbelief given flesh and bones.

Sent to the priests think Judas

As they went they were healed.

Luke 17:15

εἷς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἰδὼν ὅτι ἰάθη, ὑπέστρεψεν μετὰ φωνῆς μεγάλης δοξάζων τὸν θεόν,

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;

One from them, seeing right here and now, seeing he was healed, returned with a great voice glorifying God.

He goes to the priests. (Because Jesus sent him. He had to. He went, was examined, then returned.)

Both he and Jesus knew the drill.

Luke 17:16

καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ εὐχαριστῶν αὐτῷ• καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν Σαμαρίτης.

and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.

He threw himself at Jesus' feet. See Ruth 4:7, Christ is the kinsman redeemer. John the Baptist, "I am unworthy to untie his sandals."

The Greek word used to describe his giving thanks εὐχαριστῶ is the word that is translated as Eucharist.

Luke 17:17

ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν• [e]Οὐχὶ οἱ δέκα ἐκαθαρίσθησαν; οἱ δὲ ἐννέα ποῦ;

Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?

Ten were cleansed, were there not? Expecting a positive answer. Ten were cleansed,

Luke 17:18

οὐχ εὑρέθησαν ὑποστρέψαντες δοῦναι δόξαν τῷ θεῷ εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀλλογενὴς οὗτος;

Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Luke 17:19

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ• Ἀναστὰς πορεύου• ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε.

And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.

“has made you well” - has saved you.

Rise up, go and keep going, your faith has and continues to save you. Faith is busy and active.

ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software
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