June

5 June 2016 Proper 5 - Divine Service Setting 1

Luke 7:11-17 “Jesus, the Lord of life”

12 June 2016 Proper 6 -Matins

Luke 7:36—8:3 Jesus, the Friend of Sinners

19 June Proper 7 - Divine Service Setting 2

Luke 8:26–39— Jesus the destroyer

26 June Proper 8 Prayer and Preaching

Luke 9:51–62 - Christ’s Messengers Proclaim His Kingdom

We now move into the non-festival portion of the church year calendar. Our focus will be on the life of Jesus as He is portrayed in the gospel of Luke the physician.  Some of the great stories concerning Jesus’ life will be reviewed this coming month. Take some time each week to review the lessons for the coming Sunday. Pay particular attention to the Gospel lesson. They tell the story of Jesus. Following is a brief summary of this month’s gospels.

June 5 Proper 5 - Jesus raises a widow’s son in Nain. We feel our weakness. It is as though the world is often too much. Death is the final declaration of defeat. We need to hear the story of Jesus’ raising the widow’s son at Nain to be reminded that life is stronger than death and that this life comes from Christ. Jesus is called, “Lord” – He is the Lord of life. Circumstances though they are cannot and will not disrupt Jesus from restoring and giving us His life.

12 June Proper 6 - Jesus’ enemies accused Him of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yes, He was, and is! A woman—a noted sinner— anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, and wiped them with her hair. Simon the Pharisee was scandalized that Jesus would allow this, but Jesus teaches that forgiveness is for sinners, not for the self-righteous. The woman, sorry for her sins, has them forgiven by Jesus. When we repent of our sins—which are many—we, too, are forgiven. Thanks be to Jesus that He is a friend of a sinner like me!

June 19 Proper 7 - Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, can only rescue and redeem. We are helpless in the face of adversity from the devil and his demons, for our fallen nature is unwilling and unable to fight against him. Like the demoniac, we need recuing by Jesus. He has accomplished our rescue by His death on the cross, where He defeated Satan and the powers of darkness.

June 26, Proper 8 - In Luke 9:51, the whole tenor of the Gospel according to St Luke changes. Jesus sets His face to go to Jerusalem. Now the focus is on the cross. Where He will redeem humanity. From the clutches of Satan. From bondage to the Law. From everlasting death. Our eyes, too, must ever be focused on the cross of Christ. It is there alone that we are able to find true freedom. If we are going to faithful to the Lord, as was Elijah, we must always proclaim Christ - crucified as a sacrifice on our behalf.

Lord of all power and might, author and giver of all good things, graft into our hearts the love of Your name and nourish us with all goodness that we my love and serve our neighbor;

I would like to express my thanks for allowing me to further my education this past academic year. For 37 weeks (September – May) I was a chaplain at Lutheran Hospital fulfilling one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. The course, designed for pastors serving in parishes, included 400 clinical hours of visitation in three designated units at the hospital. I was assigned to the Orthopedic Hospital, a coronary telemetry unit, and Medical Surgical Intensive Care. The course required me to spend eleven days as the on-call chaplain (eight 16-hour shifts, and three 24-hour shifts) as well as numerous reading assignments, reflection papers, and visitation verbatim narratives. The purpose for taking this course was to make me a better pastor and to enhance my pastoral skills. In the course of this unit, I have discovered that the relationships, which we have and the life we share within the congregation are so vital to work that each of us are called. May the Lord continue to bless our Friedheim family as we gossip the gospel and live as salt and light in this world.