Pentecost 11 - Proper 16

Pentecost 11 – Proper 16

Luke 13:22-30

25 August 2019

“The Door which leads to God”

O Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting live, grant us without all doubt to know Your Son Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth and the Life that, following His steps, we may steadfastly walk in the way that leads to eternal life; [1] 

“Many will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29)  But only by the narrow way of the cross.

Those who would be saved must enter the kingdom through a narrow door. 

All people are prospects for the Kingdom, but only those who go through the narrow door of righteousness will be saved.

This message of Jesus may be found to be too restrictive to many of our time. For many in our world, “whatever differences religions might have are not as important as the fundamental similarities.” [2]

Well, what are the “fundamental similarities” among religions today? There are only two; first, all religions believe that man is sinful. And second, religions believe that God will somehow broker some sort of deal to make up for man’s sin.

But here is where the world’s religions differ among themselves. Some believe that God will somehow make up for man’s inability to keep the Law. Others say that God will somehow turn His back on man’s sin. But that sort of scrutiny will not measure up to the test of every man.

What separates Christianity from every world religion is the fact that Christianity is not a religion at all. Rather, Christianity is a connection, an association, a link - established with the person of Jesus Christ.

While most religions focus on man working his way up to God the Bible claims that God has come down to man through the person of Jesus Christ. John will tell us in his gospel, “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” – John 1 

These words of Jesus are difficult to be sure. Jesus has a narrow focus. He has turned His signs on Jerusalem. Although the disciples might not see or understand - Jesus has 20/20 vision. The cross looms before Him.

Jesus’ desire is that man would find a bond with Him so that He can dwell with him.  How this connection with Christ is made possible? We enter through the narrow door of righteousness.

1.  We enter through the narrow door. “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” Vs. 24. Though God wants all to be saved, not all qualify. 

It is the narrow door of obedience to Christ and Him alone that grants entry into the Kingdom. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus is the door. Only through Him can you enter. You cannot force yourself through.  He is the door. Only through Him can you enter. The temptation is this; “Try harder.” “Produce more.” “Do more.” “Achieve more.”  Yet, “not the labors of my hands could fulfill the Law’s demands.” The way to the Father is through a narrow door. Only Christ can open it. Jesus is the way –the narrow way.   

2.   It will be open- but only for a time.  “People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” V. 29 The door to the Kingdom is open to all regardless of nation or race. Christianity is a universal faith. God desires all people to be saved. If this is the case, why not evangelize? 

Notice - A reversal. Those who think they are close are out. Those afar are included. Those who consider themselves as first will become last. And those regarded as last, finish first. 

3.   The closed Door. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers.’ Vv. 25-27

The door is closed to religious people who thought they could get in on their own terms – playing by their own rules – “We ate and drank in your presence” they will say.

The door is closed to the wicked, “workers of iniquity,” whether they are in or out of the church. Some will be shut out of heave by their own evil condition. Once the door is closed it will be too late.

There are no more frightening words in Scripture. Jesus says bluntly, “You come from the wrong family. I don’t know you!” They call Him “Lord.”  They prophecy in His name. “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ - Matthew 7:22 

Salvation is dependent on Christ knowing you. And He knows you! “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me… My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.’ (John 10:14; 27-28) 

God's faithfulness is stronger than your faith.  “Even if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” -2 Timothy 2:13 

4.   But those on the inside – there will be bliss and peace forever. There is the glass door. “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” V. 28

With the cross of Christ, the time has come “to gather all nations and tongues” (Isaiah 66:18). The sign of the cross is set forth in the preaching of the Gospel, the declaration of the Lord’s glory “among the nations.” (Isaiah 66:19) Many “will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29)

But only by the narrow way of the cross. Christ’s disciples, called from all the nations, will eat and drink with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God. They will come into “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” (Hebrews 12:22)

A door is a means of entrance and a way to exclude. It matters whether the door is open or closed, whether it is wide or narrow.

The question asked of the Savior, “Will those who are saved be few?” is still being asked today.  During this week. Ponder the Savior’s response.

_____________________

Words- 1,200

Passive Sentences –10% 

Readability – 82.9%

Reading Level – 4.2

1. Collect for Pentecost 14, Lutheran Worship © 1980 Concordia Publish House, St. Louis

2. BOBO’s in Paradise by David Brooks

 

Pentecost 11 - Proper 17 Time in the Word

The Glory of God is the Passion and Cross of Christ Jesus

After St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Lord “began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matt 16:21). Upon hearing this “theology of the Cross,” Simon Peter stumbled into a satanic “theology of glory.” But the glory of God is revealed in the Passion and Cross of His incarnate Son. The faithful prophets, such as Jeremiah, suffered persecution and rejection in anticipation of Jesus’ Cross. Yet the Lord did not abandon them; He remembered them, and He was with them to deliver them (Jer. 15:15–20). By His Cross Jesus has redeemed the world, and in His Resurrection He has vindicated all who trust in Him. Thus the Christian life is a discipleship of self-sacrificing love. Since Christ Jesus has reconciled us to God, we “live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). By the certainty of His Cross and Resurrection, we “rejoice in hope,” and we are “patient in tribulation” and “constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).

Collect for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: Almighty God, Your Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption. Grant us courage to take up our cross daily and follow Him wherever He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Collect for the Feast of St Bartholomew (24 August): Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, chose Bartholomew to be an apostle to preach the blessed Gospel. Grant that Your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

Prayer for patience: O God, by the patient endurance of Your only-begotten Son You beat down the pride of the old enemy. Help us to treasure rightly in our hearts what our Lord has borne for our sakes that, after His example, we may bear with patience those things that are adverse to us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord,

Prayer in times of affliction and distress: Almighty and most merciful God, in this earthly life we endure sufferings and death before we enter into eternal glory. Grant us grace at all times to subject ourselves to Your holy will and to continue steadfast in the true faith to the end of our lives that we may know the peace and joy of the blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead and of the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord,

Prayer for humility: O God, You resist the proud and give grace to the humble. Grant us true humility after the likeness of Your only Son that we may never be arrogant and prideful and thus provoke Your wrath but in all lowliness be made partakers of the gifts of Your grace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord,

Monday, 22 August 2011—Psalm 37:5–7; Antiphon, Psalm 37:4—Those who trust in the Lord and in His promises may sometimes be frustrated and tempted to question the goodness and righteousness of God when they suffer trials, tribulations, and afflictions in this life. David exhorts us here to ‘trust in the LORD . . . delight in the LORD . . . commit your way to the LORD . . . be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him.’ We Christians should remind ourselves that the Lord has demonstrated His goodness and righteousness in many ways, but especially by sending His only-begotten Son to be our Savior. Through Christ, He has already ‘brought forth our righteousness and . . . justice.’ He has given us ‘the desires of our heart’ in the person of our Savior, Jesus, and will, at the Last Day, deliver us out of this vale of tears and take us to himself in heaven.

Tuesday, 23 August 2011—Psalm 26—The psalmist, David, asks the LORD to vindicate him—clear his name—of false accusations. For what reason? Because David has ‘trusted in the LORD without wavering’—he belongs to the LORD by faith. Though Christ has died to forgive every one of our sins, the devil will try to throw our transgressions in our face, and make us despair of salvation. In such situations, we must call upon the LORD to vindicate us—not because we are without sin, but because Christ has redeemed us from sin and its eternal consequence and, by faith, we belong to Him. ‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ (Rom 8:1)

Wednesday, 24 August 2011—Jeremiah 15:15–21—Jeremiah calls upon the LORD to deliver him from the assaults and slander of his enemies. On what basis—his own righteousness? No; like David in the psalm for Sunday (above), Jeremiah pleads on the basis of his trust in the Lord: ‘I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.’ We can call upon the LORD in our times of trouble for the same reason: we belong to Him. Though the proclamation and preaching of His Word, and through the holy Sacraments, God makes us His own and delivers us from the tyranny of sin.

Thursday, 25 August 2011—Romans 12:9–21—St Paul has spent much of his letter to the Romans showing how we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. But faith always manifests itself in love, especially toward our neighbor. Here, Paul illustrates what Christian love, borne of faith, looks like. This is a description of the Christian—not in order to earn our salvation, but because our salvation has been earned for us by Christ.

Friday, 26 August 2011—Matthew 16:21–28—In Sunday’s Gospel account, Jesus tells the disciples very clearly what must become of Him: ‘suffer many things . . . be killed, and on the third day be raised.’ This is the plan of God for our salvation, which is why Jesus speaks so harshly to Peter when he contradicts Him. The theology of the cross—that salvation entails suffering—is difficult for the natural man to accept. This is why so many Christians in our world are theologians of glory—looking away from the cross and focusing on temporal blessings, rather than seeing the blessings we have by the cross and by suffering.

Saturday, 27 August 2011—The hymn of the day, Hail, Thou Once Desipsed Jesus (LSB #531), connects the suffering of Jesus with our salvation and shows that the glory of God is revealed in the suffering and death of His Son. ‘Worship, honor, power, and blessing / Thou art worthy to receive’ because ‘Thou didst suffer to release us . . . Thou universal Savior, Bearer of our sin and shame.’

This week’s Time in the Word written by Pr, Jeffrey Keuning
Lectionary summary on front page from LCMS Commission on Worship
Woodcut by Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, © WELS
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House

Pentecost 11 - mid-week

1 Kings 19:9-19

"What are you doing here?" is the question that God asks the prophet Elijah. It is a question that God asks of us today. "What are you doing here?" Twice God asked Elijah what he was doing here in a cave away from his work.
The story is an interesting one. Elijah was just upon the top of Mt. Carmel, on the mountain of success, he was God's spokesman, His champion. But now he is in the valley of despair. What is a prophet doing away from the job and hiding in a cave? He fled there because he was afraid of wicked Queen Jezebel's revenge. She was out to kill him. Now, we might not have had our lives threatened but the feelings which Elijah experienced are universal. We each have our highs and lows. In this situation Elijah is feeling discouragement, despair, and failure. When we get down where do we turn? We turn to the Lord, who helps and supports us.
As God finds Elijah in his condition and restores him to positive action likewise God is able to sustain each of us. In our lesson for this morning we see how God can lift us out of our despair. When we feel like giving up because of discouragement God asks us three basic questions.
[1] Question number one. Are you jealous for God?
Twice God asks Elijah the basic question "What are you doing here?" Elijah explains to the Lord that he is jealous fro God. Enemies have destroyed God's altars and killed His prophets. The people have forsaken God. Elijah is jealous for God. He wants God to be adored, obeyed and followed. Apparently Elijah felt as it he had failed to bring his nation to that point. He feels as if he had failed God. Consequently Elijah runs away as a defeated warrior.
These feelings can be ours when we feel as if we have let God down. We try to live moral and upright lives. We want out light to shine before men. But what do we do when we get the feeling that we have not done enough, or that our stand for God and His Word has been waning?
God did not condemn Elijah for being jealous, but instead He brought Elijah out of his discouragement resulting from his zeal for God. God knows you are faithful. God knows your heart. God knows your faithfulness. Do not give us! Rather remain faithful to Him as He remains faithful to you.
[2] Question number two. "Are you afraid?"
Elijah had fled to a cave in a wilderness, because he was afraid. Wicked Queen Jezebel had pledged her revenge against Elijah and had threatened to kill him. Yet, there is no hiding place from God.
No one but God knew where Elijah was. Likewise, for you and for me God knows where we are. Wherever we go God is there. David asks "Where can I go from Your presence?" In Psalm 139 he writes: "O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me! Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down and art acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether...where can I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, thou are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou are there!
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night", even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee." (Psalm 139:1-4; 7-12)
Elijah learned of the grace of God. God came to Elijah who was frightened. He was in need of encouragement and assurance. Elijah needed to be sent back into the fray. Such is the grace of God. The Savior takes the initiative and comes to us who are in trouble and sets us free. He did that when He sent His Son Jesus to the cross and He continues to come to you and to me through Word and Sacrament to comfort us in every time of need.
[3] Question number three. Are you the only true follower of God?
Elijah felt as it God had left him. The cure for such despondence is to know God and to realize that He is constantly with us. How can we know God? He is not known in the spectacular, majestic feats of nature; of wind, earthquake, and fire. God reveals Himself in the quiet, intimate "small voice". God's Word, the Bible is God's primary way of revealing Himself; of making Himself known to us. If we are to hear God's still small voice, we must get quiet and listen. And in that stillness He simply says "I am with you always, even unto the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20)
After coming to Elijah and assuring him the Lord sent him back to the place where he belonged. So often, the cure for despondency is action - the Lord simply says to His prophet "Go!"
God tells Elijah to return to society and to resume his service to God by anointing both political and religious leadership. When we find ourselves in despair, the cure is often found by getting out and doing something for God and for people. As you leave this house of prayer this morning out into the world which is often cruel and hostile know that you do not walk alone. The Savior will attend to your every need. He will uplift, support and direct you. Yes, friend, the Savior will accompany you. Walk with Jesus, He walks with you. Amen.

Pentecost 11 - Proper 14

August 8, 2010
Pentecost 11 – Proper 14
Hebrews 12:1-3
What Faith Can Do For You

We talk about the wonderful things it is to have faith. This indeed is true. For the average church member faith is something you should have but you do not always know why. What difference would faith make in your life? Does faith have any practical help for your life? The writer to the Hebrews tells us what faith can do for you -

1. Faith is the assurance of spiritual realities. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. v.1
A. We can persevere when we remember the witnesses.
1. There are witnesses in both the Old and New Testaments for us to remember.
2. You are not alone in this race. It’s not a sprint it’s a marathon all 26 miles! The number of Christian runners is large also today.
B. Their witness is encouraging.
1. There’s nothing new under the sun. Those who have gone before us experienced some of the same burdens and sins as we do. We’re not alone.
2. By faith we are able to lay ever hindrance aside.
3. The burdens cares and troubles of this life soon will be no more. Paul would write to the saints in Rome theses encouraging words - I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. –Romans 8:18 And to the Philippian congregation he would say, What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:8

Transition: Faith assures us of certain spiritual realities. It helps us discover that God is present in our lives.

2. Faith gains God’s approval. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. v. 2
A. We will make it when we fix our eyes on Jesus.
1. Christ endures much worse suffering that we will ever be required to endure.
2. Yet, He persevered for us by keeping the final joy in view. The cross, and empty tomb are now the marks of your salvation.
B. He is faith’s enabler.
1. He authored your faith when in Baptism He started us in the race.
2. He will perfect and finish what He has begun in you.

Transition: Throughout this entire ordeal God is teaching you.

3. Faith enables you to understand God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. v. 3
A. There will come a time when you are tempted to think that you can’t go on any more. This happens to even seasoned runners. What happens when you hit that brick wall?
1. When sickness and troubles come, we may begin to think that God has become the enemy.
2. When such challenges come we commit ourselves to God.
B. Your Savior uses every circumstance to draw you closer to Himself.
1. He has a deep love for you.
2. He has both your temporal and eternal good for you.

We can persevere in our Christian walk when we remember the witnesses, submit to the Father’s discipline, and most important, we fix our eyes on Jesus.

Time in the Word Pentecost 11 - Proper 14

The Lord Is Surely Coming to Give You His Kingdom

The Lord Himself was Abraham’s shield and great reward. For “the word of the Lord came to him” and sustained the patriarch’s faith in the face of death (Gen. 15:4). By divine grace, Abraham “believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6), on account of the holy Seed, Christ Jesus. To that one old man, the Lord granted “as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore” (Heb. 11:12). The Lord is likewise faithful to you. It is His glad desire “to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Therefore, “consider the ravens” and “do not be anxious for your life,” but instead “seek for His kingdom” (Luke 12:22, 31).

Collect for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: Almighty and merciful God, it is by Your grace that we live as Your people who offer acceptable service. Grant that we may walk by faith, and not by sight, in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer for steadfast faith: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayers in times of affliction and distress: Almighty and most merciful God, in this earthly life we endure sufferings and death before we enter into eternal glory. Grant us grace at all times to subject ourselves to Your holy will and to continue steadfast in the true faith to the end of our lives that we may know the peace and joy of the blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead and of the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, the consolation of the sorrowful and the strength of the weak, may the prayers of those who in any tribulation or distress cry to You graciously come before You, so that in every situation they may recognize and receive Your gracious help, comfort, and peace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for hope of eternal life in Christ: Almighty, everlasting God, Your Son has assured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that our faith in Christ may increase daily and that we may hold fast to the hope that on the Last Day we shall be raised in glory to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Monday, 2 August 2010—Psalm 147:8–11; antiphon, Psalm 147:7—Psalm 147 is a great hymn of praise to God for His abundant power and His understanding beyond measure (v. 5), and, especially for His steadfast love (v. 11). It is well for us who fear the Lord to sing to the Lord with thanksgiving, because He has saved us from the futility of trying to earn our way into His good graces. He gives us the good things we need for this life, and has done everything necessary for our salvation.

Tuesday, 3 August 2010—Psalm 33:12–22—What is it that gives the Lord pleasure, as He looks down from heaven upon His creation, and upon the children of men? It is not the might of man, his great armies, his war horses, or the strength of warriors. No, what pleases the Lord is those who fear him…those who hope in His steadfast love. He desires and takes delight in delivering their souls from death, of providing for the salvation of His people, and sparing them from famine and the wants of the body.

Wednesday, 4 August 2010—Genesis 15:1–6—Abraham was an old man, and his wife both barren and well beyond child-bearing years. Yet the Lord promised to Abraham that he would be father to many descendants, too numerous to count. If this promise had been made by a mere man, it would be utter nonsense, foolish and unthinkable. But the promise of a great nation coming from Abraham was not made by any man, but by the Creator of the earth, the universe, and all things, the Almighty God. Abraham’s response was one of faith: he trusted the Word of the Lord, and the Lord counted him righteous because of it. Likewise, when we trust in the Word of the Lord—specifically, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, slain and risen again for our salvation—then we, too are counted righteous by the Lord. Trusting in His promises to bring us the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of our souls delivers that very salvation to us. We are saved by faith—faith which God Himself delivers to us by Word and Sacrament.

Thursday, 5 August 2010—Hebrews 11:1–16—We are saved by faith, and the eleventh chapter of Hebrews is the great chapter of faith in the Bible. First, the author gives us a good succinct definition of faith: it is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Then, he proceeds to recount some of the great heroes of faith in the Bible: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham (who believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness, as we read in the Old Testament reading), and also Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Let us also add our own names to this list, for God has, by His Word and Sacrament given us saving faith and preserved us in it. We, too, who trust in God alone for our salvation, will spend eternity with those listed here and all who die in the faith, rejoicing in our Lord forevermore.

Friday, 6 August 2010—Luke 12:22–34—In this sinful, troubled world in which we live, it is altogether too easy to succumb to the cares of the world and become anxious. But our heavenly Father, who desires only what is best for us, provides not only for our earthly needs, but, more importantly, has provided for our eternal salvation. We can rest secure in the fact that we have a loving and gracious God who knows our needs and provides for them.

Saturday, 7 August 2010—Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe (LSB #666). In the face of anxiety and especially, spiritual warfare, we can be confident and unfearing, not because we are strong in ourselves, but because the Lord is for us and fights for us; therefore, we can rest in the certainty that not earth nor hell’s satanic crew against us shall prevail.

Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House

This week's Time in the word is written by Pr. Jeffrey Keuning who serves St. John Dexter and Zion Casey IA

Pentecost 11, Proper 15

In the eight verses of this morning’s gospel Jesus mentions the word “eat” eight times. Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man you can not have eternal life. What does Jesus mean by these words? Is Christ to be literally eaten? Jesus says, “believe in Me,” “come to Me.” Christ is to be taken into one’s life, digested so that Christ permeates the whole of life. As food is taken into the body is lost in the body, and brings strength to the body, so Christ is to become a part of us. It is a way of becoming one with Christ. Many today are searching for a personal experience with Christ. It is expressed in the phrase, “born again.” Christ desires

1. To be personalized – He desires a personal experience.

2. To be individualized – a one to one experience.

3. To be internalized – Christ comes into a person’s life.

4. To be homogenized – Christ and the believer are fused into one.

In these words Jesus will also use the word life six times. The believer eats Christ to live spiritually just as one must eat physical food to life. Either that or starve to death. Christ is our spiritual food which is necessary to life. Isn’t it interesting that we can have spiritual hunger pains and can die spiritually from lack of food? It is eternal because it is the life of Christ who is eternal.

Time in the Word - Proper 15 - Pentecost 11

The theme for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost is Incarnating the Christ. Christ is the Living Bread who came down from Heaven, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), who gives His flesh for the life of the world.

We can find this Living Bread nowhere else but in Christ. As Peter answered, when asked by Jesus if he wanted to leave, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” After Jesus ascended into heaven, when called before the Jewish council, Peter would proclaim again, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Come, feast on the Living Bread. Gladly hear His Word, and eat His Body and Blood, given for you for the remission of all your sins.

Monday, 10 August 2009—Psalm 111:1–5, 9; Antiphon, Psalm 111:10—Athiest groups are taking out ads on city buses in cities across the U.S., even in Indiana (South Bend and Bloomington, so far), that proclaim that there is no God (‘You Can Be Good Without God’; ‘In the Beginning, Man Created God’). What utter nonsense! What through-and through foolishness! The psalmist tells us what it truly means to be wise: to fear the Lord, to recognize all that He has done for us. Those so-called ‘atheists,’ far from disbelieving in a god, have made themselves their own god, and a very poor one at that.

Tuesday, 11 August 2009—Psalm 34:12–22—This is a continuation of the psalm for last Sunday. In the antiphon for to-day (v. 11), David calls us to listen to him, that he may teach us the fear of the Lord: one who is not foolish, and acknowledges the Lord, will turn away from evil and do good; he will seek peace and pursue it. These righteous ones will the Lord deliver out of all their troubles.

Wednesday, 12 August 2009—Proverbs 9:1–10—In the Old Testament reading, we continue our education in the way of wisdom from the wisest man who has ever lived, Solomon. Here, he gives wisdom a personality, and we start to understand that the personification of wisdom is Christ our Lord, for it is Christ who invites us to eat of His bread and drink of His wine. These are His body and blood, which He gives for the life of the world.

Thursday, 13 August 2009—Ephesians 5:6–21—In this section of our reading from the book of Ephesians, St Paul continues his instruction of how we ought to live. Since Christ has made us His own, and, since, by Word and Sacrament, we have eaten the living Bread that comes down from heaven, we ought to walk, not as unwise, but as wise. We ought not allow ourselves to be deceived by charlatans masquerading as men of God; we ought not take part in the sins that the world takes pleasure in; we ought, rather, make the best use of time, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Friday, 14 August 2009—John 6:51–69—Jesus declares that He is the Living Bread that came down from heaven. It is through Him alone that we can be forgiven, that our sins can be removed, that we can partake of eternal life. Through Word and sacrament, Christ feeds us, bestowing faith and nourishing it. The bread that He gives does not just satisfy for a short time, like earthly food; whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.

Saturday, 15 August 2009—This week, the final two stanzas of O Living Bread from Heaven (LSB 642) serve as the hymn of the day. Having received from the Lord Jesus Christ living bread, we seek to serve Him with holy fear, living as wise, not foolish ones, during our days on earth, and looking forward to the day when we leave this world below, and enter Heaven, where joys unmingled flow.

Collect for Pentecost 11—Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way that leads to life eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

This week's Time in the Word was written by Pr. Jeffrey Keuning who serves St. John Dexter and Zion Casey, IA