Pr. DFD : 2021

Friday, December 31, 2021

January

The Collect for a New Year reads as follows; Almighty and everlasting God, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift, we give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits, temporal and spiritual, bestowed upon us in the year past, and we beseech Thee of Thy goodness, grant us a favorable and joyful year, defend us from all dangers and adversities, and send upon us the fullness of Thy blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. [1

We begin a New Year – 2022 A year filled with opportunities, challenges and possibilities. We enter this New Year with the same Savior by our side. The hymn writer encourages us, “With the Lord begin your task Jesus will direct it. For His aid and counsel ask; Jesus will perfect it.” These are not idle or pointless words. They are your reality. The Savior, whose birth we have just celebrated remains ever present to guide and direct you. The calendar might change. The LORD’s mercy will never change.

The coming of Jesus into our world changes everything. For we do not have a God who was too proud to know His people. Or, a God content to rule from a great distance. Or, a God whose majesty was too awesome for us to behold. We have just the opposite. Jesus, the son of Mary and her husband Joseph, experienced the very same humanity, the very same problems, and the very same challenges that you do.

No, you do not walk this road alone. Jesus is the God who came down from heaven. He was that man. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:3-5

Your heavenly Father is completely responsible for your salvation from front to back! You don’t wake up one day and suddenly decide to follow Jesus – Rather, He plants the seed of faith into your heart. He then nourishes that faith by giving you His eternal Word, which is able to make us wise unto salvation.

This is what St. Paul reminds us when he tells us “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Pay close attention to the clear words, and the gentle voice of your Good Shepherd, Jesus, who says, “All that which the Father gives me shall come unto me; and he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” – John 6:37

By faith, we knew of this reality that when God pardons, He does not say He understands your weakness or make allowances for your errors. Rather, He disposes of, finishes with, the whole of your dead life and raises you up with a new one.

He does not so much deal with your failures as does He drop them down the black hole of Jesus' death. He forgets your sins in the darkness of the tomb. He remembers your iniquities no more in the forgetfulness of Jesus' death.

He finds you in the desert of death, not in the garden of improvement. And in the power of Jesus' resurrection, He puts you on His shoulders, rejoicing, and brings you home![2]

Faith teaches us to understood grace. And Grace is karma's worst nightmare; with grace, we get the exact opposite of what we deserve. Grace is found in the God who loves us all; who loved us even unto death, even death on a cross.

Some face the future tentatively and cautiously because of uncertainty. Whatever we face in the future however, it will be the Lord Himself who has promised to direct us. With His guidance in our lives, we are blessed. With the Lord leading, sustaining, and directing us, we can face the future with courage no matter what might come our way. He leads, we follow, and together we are blessed.

[2] Robert Farrar Capon, Parables of Grace, pg. 39

Saturday prior to Christmas 2

[1]

1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 - The hymn of the day for Christmas 2 is Within the Father’s House (LSB 410). Paul mentions “mystery of godliness.” This phrase means the “revealed secret of true piety” that is the secret that produces piety in people. This secret is none other that Jesus Christ. His incarnation is the source of genuine piety. Has Jesus been born in you this Christmas season? By faith He dwells within you.

1 Within the Father's house
The Son has found His home,
And to His temple suddenly
The Lord of life has come.

2 The doctors of the Law
Gaze on the wondrous child
And marvel at His gracious words
Of wisdom undefiled.

3 Yet not to them is giv'n
The mighty truth to know,
To lift the earthly veil which hides
Incarnate God below.

4 The secret of the Lord
Escapes each human eye,
And faithful pond'ring hearts await
The full epiphany.

5 Lord, visit Thou our souls
And teach us by Thy grace
Each dim revealing of Thyself
With loving awe to trace

6 Till we behold Thy face
And know as we are known
Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Coequal Three in One.

Collect for Christmas 2—Almighty God You have poured into our hearts the true Light of Your incarnate Word. Grant that this Light may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen[2]

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Friday prior to Christmas 2

[1]

Luke 2:40-52— Imagine the horror Mary and Joseph went through as they spent three days searching for Jesus. Having traveled to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover the streets of the capital city were filled with a throng of people. It took three days to locate the boy; one day traveling away from Jerusalem, a second traveling back and a third looking for Him. Yet they found Jesus in the temple in the Father’s house. Jesus pointed to His personal duty to His Father in heaven. Even at the age of twelve He was aware of His unique relationship to God. He was also obedient to His earthly parents. A new year has begun. May we dedicate this year to the study of Scripture, weekly attendance at Bible study, worship and frequent reception of the Sacrament. We want to grow in the faith. The degree to which this can be accomplished is determined by the extent to which we use and expose ourselves to Christ’s Word. Notice that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. As our youth mature they need to grow physically, cognitively, as well as spiritually.

Today is the last day of an old year. Take time to reflect on the many blessings the LORD has showered down on you. Take inventory of your life. The old year is past. God is still here. What new ventures might befall us in the New Year? Of this we can be certain the same Savior will guard and keep you. Fare thee well child of God. Fare thee well.

A prayer before we study the Word – Almighty God, our heavenly Father, without Your help our labor is useless, and without Your light our search is in vain. Invigorate the study of Your holy Word that, by due diligence and right discernment, we may establish ourselves and others in Your holy faith.[2]

There is no other Savior against sin and death, no one else to help in heaven or earth, than this singular child of the Virgin Mary named Jesus. Good works are to be done, but they are not Jesus, do not save, cannot rescue from death. This child, however, saves and rescues from death.

When we’re assaulted by ordinary earthly misfortunes, we can counter them most likely with the usual human resources. But when we lie at death’s door, then let go of all else, look only to this Savior, and say, “I know one doctor, advocate, emperor, king, pastor —namely, the child Jesus. He can and will save me from eternal death.” (Martin Luther)

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Thursday Prior to Christmas 2

[1]

Ephesians 1:3-14— Paul would remind us that Christ, the Word, blesses the faithful with sonship and wisdom. Verses 3-6 deal with praise to God for spiritual blessings which come with the gift of the Spirit. From eternity we are destined to be sons and daughters of God through the grace of Christ.

At Christmas we receive blessings. What is the nature of these blessings? We often feel blessed if the whole family got together, if the meals were plentiful, and if the gifts were abundant. Paul describes blessings of a Christian as “spiritual.” They are the blessings received in Christ and because of Christ. Some of the blessings are our being chosen as sons of God to be holy and blameless, faith in Christ, and love for others.

God has a destiny for you. He predestines us not to condemnation or hell but to life as His sons through Christ. It is God’s will for all of us to be saved, to have life, and to go to heaven. This was God’s will even before the world was created. To accomplish this, He sent His Son to the world to die for us that we might by faith become people of God. Though this is our divine destiny, we may reject God’s will and refuse sonship.

Collect for a New Year: Most merciful God, You gave Your eternal Word to become incarnate of the pure Virgin. Grant Your people grace to put away fleshly lusts that they may be ready for Your visitation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.[2]

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Wednesday Prior to Christmas 2

[1]

The back story concerning our reading for today is as follows:

Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh King of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter: Marriage to fellow royalty was a common political strategy in the ancient world, and continues to the modern age. It was not only because royalty wanted to marry other royalty, but also because conflict between nations was then avoided for the sake of family ties.

This was not Solomon’s first marriage. 1 Kings 14:21 tells us that his son Rehoboam came to the throne when he was 41 years old, and 1 Kings 11:42 tells us that Solomon reigned 40 years. This means that Rehoboam was born to his mother, a wife of Solomon named Naamah the Amonitess, before he came to the throne and before he married this daughter of Pharaoh.

Solomon’s multiple marriages, and marriages to foreign women, would cause great disaster in his life. Later in the Book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah was angry and frustrated because the people of Israel married with the pagan nations around them. In rebuking the guilty, Nehemiah remembered Solomon’s bad example: So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?” (Nehemiah 13:25-27).

The foreign wives made Solomon more than a bad example – they ruined his spiritual life. But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites; from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David (1 Kings 11:1-4).

1 Kings 11:4 says this only happened when Solomon was old, but the pattern was set with this first marriage to the Egyptian princess. It perhaps made political sense, but not spiritual sense. “Such arranged marriages were a common confirmation of international treaties, but this one was the beginning of Solomon’s spiritual downfall”

2 Samuel 3:3 tells us that David married the daughter of a foreign king: Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. Marrying a foreign woman was not against the Law of Moses – if she became a convert to the God of Israel. What did not ruin David did ruin Solomon.[2]

1 Kings 3:4-15— As King Solomon begins his rule over Israel, he asks the Lord for an understanding heart. He could have asked for anything and received it, yet as he begins his reign as king he asks the Lord for discretion and discernment. See how the Lord responds in verse 13, “I will give you what you have not asked for.” See Jesus’ promise in Luke 12:31

The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream: This remarkable visitation from God happened in a dream. This is one of the more significant dreams in the Bible.

Ask! What shall I give you. This was an amazing promise. God seemed to offer Solomon whatever he wanted. This wasn’t only because Solomon sacrificed 1,000 animals; it was because his heart was surrendered to God, and God wanted to work something in Solomon through this offer and his response.

The natural reaction to reading this promise of God to Solomon is to wish we had such a promise. We do have them.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)

You have shown great mercy Before responding to God’s offer and asking for something, Solomon remembered God’s faithfulness to both David and now to Solomon himself.

But I am a little child Solomon was not really the age of a child. He came to God in great humility, especially considering the job in front of him.

“The statement is actually Solomon’s poetic way of expressing his inadequacies as he faced the awesome tasks of leadership.”

Solomon didn’t have the false humility that said, “I can’t do this, so I won’t even try.” His attitude was, “The job is so much bigger than me; I must rely on God.”

Give to Your servant an understanding heart. Solomon asked for more than great knowledge; he wanted understanding, and he wanted it in his heart, not merely in his head. Actually, the ancient Hebrew word translated understanding is literally, “hearing.” Solomon wanted a hearing heart, one that would listen to God.

In Ephesians 1:18, the Apostle Paul prayed for Christians, asking that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

To judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. Solomon already understood that a key component of leadership is wise and just discernment. Many leaders do not have this discernment or the courage to use it.

Prayers for a New Year–O Lord Christ, our Savior dear, Be Thou ever near us. Grant us now a glad new year. Amen. Jesus hear us!

Lord God, You made Your beloved Son, our Savior, subject to the Law and caused Him to shed His blood on our behalf. Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit that our hearts may be made pure from all sins; through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. [3]29 December, 2021

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-kings-3/

Monday, December 27, 2021

Tuesday Prior to Christmas 2

[1]

Psalm 119:97-104—This section of Psalm 119 is dedicated to the Hebrew letter “Mem.” Meditating on God’s revelation yields the highest wisdom. As we meditate on the Lord’s words and promises we grow into a deeper understanding of the Lord. Are you thinking of making a New Year’s resolution? Will you keep it? The Lord always keeps His promises. He has bound Himself to His Word.

In 1969, the iconic children’s educational television production Sesame Street launched its fast-paced programming. Each weekday morning the show was “brought to you by the letters…and the number” Its bold colors and targeted content changed the way that media has addressed young children over the ensuing 50 years.

Psalm 119:97-104 is “brought to us by the letter mem, and the number 13.” Mem is the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet in this dynamic acrostic poem from the book of Psalms. Mem maps to the sound of our letter M and it frames the words used in this particular stanza of the Psalm.

The passion and enthusiasm of this particular portion of the longest chapter of the Bible is almost Sesame Street-like, presented at a fast pace in bold and colorful language. “Oh! How I love your law!” To the moon and back…Then, for several verses, the author proceeds to link the law to what it does for the self in rather grandiose and childlike terms: it makes me wiser than my enemies, smarter than my teachers, better than my elders. I am super charged to keep myself from every evil way; and later, the law is represented as ancient candy for the soul—sweeter than honey. Yum! What kid wouldn’t choose sweetness over substance?

Removed from the context of the rest of the chapter, a background knowledge of Torah, and the second line of each couplet in those verses, one could be tempted to believe that keeping the law is at best a rapid-fire shortcut to superiority or at worst an invitation to ethical egoism (I should follow God’s ways because I like it and because it’s good—FOR ME!).

Isn’t that the temptation of the human condition? To skim across the top? To choose the parts that make us look powerful and to leave out parts like the hard work of deep meditation on the ways of God? We seek out the parts that sound scrumptious as the sound of the letter MMMMMM. The temptation to play superficially with Scripture is essentially the strategy used by Satan when he attempted to lure Jesus away from his purpose by tempting him to use Scripture for selfish ends (Matthew 4). And we dare not take the bait!

From the perspective of someone who has spent much energy in ministry considering the spiritual formation of children, I am grateful that Scripture speaks on so many different levels throughout our ages and stages. There is a time in the development of every Christian that we need to see “what’s in it for me.” But if we are to live a life of rich and deep faith, we cannot stay there in the ego driven space of childhood. To use the structure of the poetry and the “brought to you by” language of Sesame Street, we have to move from single letter faith into the world of words, and from isolated words to reading the bigger story. If the images of this Psalm are to be believed, engagement in Scripture is continuous and life consuming, and moves us ever deeper into living out God’s story in our world.

In vs. 97, the passionate embrace of the love of law is followed by the formative discipline of meditation—not the 1-minute breathing reminders that pop up on our Apple watches, but an all-day long awareness that Scripture must infuse our every thought and act. Our relationship to God as understood through Scripture literally becomes our life’s breath and changes the way we breathe though our days—our work, our stress, our joy, our recreation. We are brought to life through the breath of God in our nostrils and we bring God’s life to others as we engage in the living and active process of submission to God’s will as revealed through Scripture. It is not enough to have a God-moment or a cursory read over the verse of the day. We live meditatively, allowing ourselves to be shaped and formed by the law of the Lord in each moment, not a moment.

In vs. 98, being “wiser than my enemies” is likewise paired with active engagement with the law as we face those enemies not on our own, but with the resource of God’s illumination of the Scriptural record that lead us to the heart of God. We know how to deal with the enemies of our souls because God teaches us how to do so. There is a qualitative difference in how the Spirit-led, Scripture-guided believer deals with conflict and life challenges—or there can be—because we are not left to our own myopic perspectives.

In vs. 99, commentators differ in how the Psalmist might have “more understanding than teachers” (an apparent disrespect for the office of teacher so intolerable that Jewish translations of the passage offer an alternative interpretation of the Psalmist’s assertion). Some commentators postulate that the teachers referred to were apostate and not worthy of deference. Others say these were teachers of ancient wisdom who did not represent Jewish tradition, but contributed to a royal education for political purposes. I wonder if the Psalmist refers to teachers of the law who had simply become so numb to the routines of teaching that they no longer felt the passion and commitment the Psalmist experienced. Regardless, this verse makes clear that practicing an integrated application of the word of God leads to deep understanding. Nothing less. We can’t merely grasp at objective knowledge rained down on us from an external source. It isn’t enough to know it for the test. We must be people who practice what we’ve been privileged to learn. Only then can we have true understanding of what we have been taught.

Verse 100 makes clear that neither time nor natural developmental progress can substitute for the hard work of practicing what we’ve learned or are learning. While traditional authority figures may be worthy of respect, there is no “glass ceiling” that can oppress the one who seeks God, and there is no age barrier to receiving God’s blessing.

A deep understanding of the ways of God requires the positive action of attending to and applying God’s law with intentionality as seen in the previous verses, but it also requires removing oneself from evil ways and not turning away from the truth God has revealed (vss. 101-102). This demonstrates the mutuality of the way of affirmation and the way of negation in our spiritual formation. We are called to both affirm the significance of the biblical way and to avoid those things which interfere with appreciation of the biblical way. Both leaning in and walking away are meaningful ways of allowing the word of God to dwell richly within us, and both paths together invite God to speak to every aspect of our being and behaving.

The passage concludes by circling back to the love expressed in verse 97. It engages language that is strikingly similar to Solomon’s appreciation of his bride in Song of Songs 4:11. The imagery of sweet honey reminds us that deep engagement with God’s story is not to be dreaded, even if it is demanding and requires that we become different in multiple steps along the way. The journey is filled with pleasure to the senses and to the soul. But it is a story of both passionate love and diligent marriage. The contrast of love for God’s truth in the beginning of the passage and hatred for false promises of wisdom and understanding at the end are a powerful invitation to choose well between deep love and hope-filled promises.

This passage is quite far from the braggart’s stanza of Psalm 119, though it might appear to be ego driven at first glance. The passage actually reveals the passion of a poet who is committed with nearly childlike enthusiasm to a deep relationship with God through Scripture and who is unafraid of making bold claims about the benefits of who he is becoming through that interactive process.[2]

Collect for Psalm 119: Lord, you are just and your commandments are eternal. Teach us to love you with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves, for the sake of Jesus our Lord.[3]

[2] http://www.aplainaccount.org/psalm-11997-104/

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Monday Prior to Christmas 2

[1]

Psalm 147:1, 5, 11-12 - The Antiphon, is taken from John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory the glory of the One and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” — During this season of Christmas we see the full impact of Christ’s coming into this world. The Word existed before He became a man. Yet He comes to make His dwelling with us. He literally “tabernacles” with us. In Exodus 40:34-35 the Tent of Meeting was filled with the glory of God. Now He comes to dwell with us.

This Psalm is another of the last five psalms that have no title in the Hebrew text, but each of these last five begins and ends with Hallelujah or Praise the LORD!

A. Praising God for His protection and preservation.

1. (1) The goodness of hallelujah.

Praise the LORD!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

a. Praise the LORD: These words are both a declaration and an encouragement of praise to Yahweh. We are encouraged to praise Yahweh with the psalmist.

i. “There is no heaven, either in this world, or the world to come, for people who do not praise God. If you do not enter into the spirit and worship of heaven, how should the spirit and joy of heaven enter into you?”

b. It is good to sing praises to our God: It was right for the psalmist to tell himself and others to praise the LORD, and he assumed that God’s people would do it with singing. The goodness of praise comes from the truth that it is, in itself, pleasant and beautiful.

i. Psalm 33:1 says praise from the upright is beautiful. True praise is beautiful to God, to His people as a community, and to the individual worshipper.

ii. Praise is pleasant and beautiful for humanity. “It is decent, befitting, and proper that every intelligent creature should acknowledge the Supreme Being: and as he does nothing but good to the children of men, so they should speak good of his name.” (Clarke)

iii. Since praise is beautiful, “…an unthankful man is an ugly, ill-favored spectacle.”[2]

Because of the calendar, Christmas 2 is not often observed. By the second Sunday after Christmas many of the decorations are already down, the festivities are over, the gifts have been put away, and Christmas is over and almost forgotten. Now that the hub-bub is over, we can get down to a serious consideration of the meaning of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. In Christ God blesses us with spiritual blessings and has made us sons and daughters through grace. We pray for wisdom as we enter a new year. The Savior entered time and space at Christmas. He will continue to guide our path and direct our steps throughout this New Year. Thus we are moved to pray, “Almighty God, You have filled us with the new light of the Word who became flesh and lived among us. Let the light of our faith shine in all that we do.” -December 27 2021—

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-147/

Time in the Word - Christmas 2

Preparation for next week, The 2nd Sunday after Christmas

For blessing on the Word – Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Monday, December 27 2021—Psalm 147:1, 5, 11-12 - The Antiphon, is taken from John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory the glory of the One and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” — During this season of Christmas we see the full impact of Christ’s coming into this world. The Word existed before He became a man. Yet He comes to make His dwelling with us. He literally “tabernacles” with us. In Exodus 40:34-35 the Tent of Meeting was filled with the glory of God. Now He comes to dwell with us.

Tuesday, December 28 2021—Psalm 119:97-104—This section of Psalm 119 is dedicated to the Hebrew letter “Mem.” Meditating on God’s revelation yields the highest wisdom. As we meditate on the Lord’s words and promises we grow into a deeper understanding of the Lord. Are you thinking of making a New Year’s resolution? Will you keep it? The Lord always keeps His promises. He has bound Himself to His Word.

Wednesday, December 29 2021—1 Kings 3:4-15— As King Solomon begins his rule over Israel, he asks the Lord for an understanding heart. He could have asked for anything and received it, yet as he begins his reign as king he asks the Lord for discretion and discernment. See how the Lord responds in verse 13, “I will give you what you have not asked for.” See Jesus’ promise in Luke 12:31

Thursday, December 30 2021—Ephesians 1:3-14— Paul would remind us that Christ, the Word, blesses the faithful with sonship and wisdom. Verses 3-6 deal with praise to God for spiritual blessings which come with the gift of the Spirit. From eternity we are destined to be sons and daughters of God through the grace of Christ.

At Christmas we receive blessings. What is the nature of these blessings? We often feel blessed if the whole family got together, if the meals were plentiful, and if the gifts were abundant. Paul describes blessings of a Christian as “spiritual.” They are the blessings received in Christ and because of Christ. Some of the blessings are our being chosen as sons of God to be holy and blameless, faith in Christ, and love for others.

Friday, December 31, 2021—Luke 2:40-52— Imagine the horror Mary and Joseph went through as they spent three days searching for Jesus. Having traveled to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover the streets of the capital city were filled with a throng of people. It took three days to locate the boy; one day traveling away from Jerusalem, a second traveling back and a third looking for Him. Yet they found Jesus in the temple in the Father’s house. Jesus pointed to His personal duty to His Father in heaven. Even at the age of twelve He was aware of His unique relationship to God. He was also obedient to His earthly parents. A new year has begun. May we dedicate this year to the study of Scripture, weekly attendance at Bible study, worship and frequent reception of the Sacrament. We want to grow in the faith. The degree to which this can be accomplished is determined by the extent to which we use and expose ourselves to Christ’s Word. Notice that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. As our youth mature they need to grow physically, cognitively, as well as spiritually.

Saturday, January 1, 2022— 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 - The hymn of the day for Christmas 2 is Within the Father’s House (LSB 410). Paul mentions “mystery of godliness.” This phrase means the “revealed secret of true piety” that is the secret that produces piety in people. This secret is none other that Jesus Christ. His incarnation is the source of genuine piety. Has Jesus been born in you this Christmas season? By faith He dwells within you.

Prayers for a New Year–O Lord Christ, our Savior dear, Be Thou ever near us. Grant us now a glad new year. Amen. Jesus hear us!

Most merciful God, You gave Your eternal Word to become incarnate of the pure Virgin. Grant Your people grace to put away fleshly lusts that they may be ready for Your visitation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Almighty God, You have poured into our hearts the true Light of Your incarnate Word. Grant that this Light may shine forth in our lives; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sources

Luther’s Works: American Edit Edition.55 volumes. (Volumes 1 ion. 1-30, Concordia Publishing House; volumes 31 31-55, Fortress Press)

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Christmas 1

Luke 2:25-27
Recognizing the Christ

Grant peace, we pray, in mercy, Lord.

Peace in our time, oh send us!
For there is none on earth but you,
None other to defend us. [1]

What is one baby among so many? Simeon had never met the baby’s parents – yet in this baby he recognized the Messiah - his Lord and his redeemer.

Today is the last Sunday the Year - the Year of our Lord 2021. My prayer for each of you to come to this reality…to recognize the Christ in Jesus – This is my prayer for each of you.

1. Look to Him in hope.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Luke 2:25

Simeon had been told that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. That was his hope to wait to see the promised Messiah and then to depart in peace. Such should be our hope. Simeon was now ready and content to die. He was willing to depart this life because he had received his wish to see the Messiah.

This Jesus took your flesh. He became one of us, so that He might understand you all the better, share in the same experiences that you had, live out life like you do. For if He had not become human flesh. He could not redeem human flesh. For that which He cannot touch, He cannot heal. And if He cannot heal it. He cannot redeem it. [Gregory of Nazianzus] [2]

For Simeon, death had no terror because he, having seen Christ, was sure of his salvation. As the Scripture reminds us, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” Whom among us will be “transported into glory” in this year of our LORD 2022? If we are looking for Christ in hope, like Simeon we can depart in peace.

2. Live close to God. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Luke 2:25

The Spirit gave Simeon not only insight for the present in seeing Jesus as the Messiah but also the insight to see the future concerning the child and His mother. He could see the turbulence and revolution to come with Jesus’ teachings and he foresaw the pain and sorrow that would come with to His mother because of her son’s violent death. The cross cannot be separated from the manger.

There is an animosity, an enmity, a stalemate between you and God. He is perfect. You have sin. He's always right, which leaves you in the wrong.

But Jesus, the perfect Son, who does all things well, has put an end to it.

Jesus' perfection angered all of Jerusalem to the point they killed Him.

But it wasn't just their anger He suffered. It was also for the anger of all those other children He grew up with, of His parents. And yours.

He went to the cross where He died for your despair too over how He has seemingly dealt with you. He suffered for your dysfunctional relationship with a perfect God, for your sins.

And when He rose from the grave, He proved that everything that took Him there is now shattered before God.

Christ came to this world to die for the sins of the world. He came to suffer on Calvary’s cross for you. Your sins, your questions and doubts, your anger and accusations, are all no more before His throne. Instead, you are righteous in God's sight, because this Gospel declares you forgiven and forever free.[3]

3. Be led by the Spirit.

Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required. Luke 2:27

Simeon was a Spirit possessed man. He did not have to wait until Pentecost to receive the Spirit. This reminds us that the Spirit is as old as God, for the Spirit is God. When and how Simeon received the Spirit, we do not know.

It is enough however that we see that the Spirit possessed Simeon, gave him the revelation that the baby Jesus was the Christ, and inspired him to enter the temple at the right time to see Jesus his Savior.

Likewise the same Spirit has directed you to behold this baby and for you to recognize Him as the Christ.

This is the last worship service in the year of our Lord 2021. What can we say? Man has been wounded. Christ has come to heal. Man has been lost. Christ has come to find and return.

Man’s greatest enemy is death. Christ has come to conquer it. Christ, the Divine, stooped to be human, and when he stood back up, He raised us up too.

Friends, I don’t know what this New Year will bring. But of this I am confident; if we look to Christ in hope, if we desire to live close to God, if we are led by the Spirit - 2022 will be a very good year! Blessed Christmas! Happy New Year! In Jesus’ Name! Amen

Words- 920
Passive Sentences –5 %
Readability –82.1 %
Reading Level – 4.7

[2] Christmas Eve 2018 Homily Pr. Ken Kelly, Johnstown, PA

[3] Pr. Tim Daub, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Hecla, SD January 7, 2018