Saturday prior to Proper 10

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Romans 3:23-25 –The great hymn of faith “By Grace I’m Saved” (LSB 566). The glory God intended man to be is the glory that man had before the fall. (See Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:5-6; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10. Believers in Christ will again have this glory through faith in Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews 2:5-9)

By grace I'm saved, grace free and bound-less;
   My soul, be-lieve and doubt it not.
Why stag-ger at this word of prom-ise?
   Has Scrip-ture ev-er false-hood taught?
No; then this word must true re-main:
   By grace you too shall heav'n ob-tain.

By grace! None dare lay claim to mer-it;
   Our works and con-duct have no worth.
God in His love sent our Re-deem-er,
   Christ Je-sus, to this sin-ful earth;
His death did for our sins a-tone,
   And we are saved by grace a-lone.

By grace! O mark this word of prom-ise
   When you are by your sins op-pressed,
When Sa-tan plagues your trou-bled con-science,
   And when your heart is seek-ing rest.
What rea-son can-not com-pre-hend
   God by His grace to you will send. 

By grace! This ground of faith is cer-tain;
   So long as God is true, it stands.
What saints have penned by in-spi-ra-tion,
   What in His Word our God com-mands,
What our whole faith must rest up-on,
   Is grace a-lone, grace in His Son.

Collect for Saturday of the Week of Pentecost 5: Prepare our hearts, O Lord, to accept your word,  Silence in us any voice but yours, that hearing, we may also obey your will; through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen (Anonymous) [2]-

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[1] The Good Samaritan Woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books in Pictures ©WELS for personal and congregational use.

[2] Collect for Saturday of the week of Pentecost 5, For All the Saints, a Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

Good-Samaritan by Aime Morot Le Bon. copyright Google images 

 

Friday prior to Proper 10

 

[1]

Luke 10:25-37 - Obedience leads to eternal life. The common understanding of a neighbor is one who lives close to you in a neighborhood. In today’s world this is not necessarily the case. Many do not even know even the name of the family who lives in the apartment down the hall, nor the couple living in the adjoining townhouse. Using this definition of “neighbor,” the lawyer was sure he was exempt from the law to love your neighbor. In the parable, Jesus gives a new understanding of a neighbor; he is one who is in need of your assistance given out of love.

Obedience to God leads to Eternal Life

The two great commandments and the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable is helpful as it not only defines a neighbor but illustrates obedience to the divine law of love.

The term “Lawyer,” V.25 refers to a scribe or an expert in the Law of Moses; He “stood up” probably to attract Christ’s attention. He has a reason for testing Jesus, possibly to convict Him of some unorthodox statement that would injure His reputation as a teacher.

Jesus cleverly turned the tables on His cross-examiner V.26 by showing that he lawyer already knew the answer to his question. The answer was drawn from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, correct as far as the word went. V. 28

But no one can do what the Law requires toward God and neighbor, yet, inability to keep the Law for eternal life does not mean there is to be no effort to keep it. Implicit in Jesus words V.28 is the idea that we are not merely to theorize about love but to practice it.

Now the lawyer probably embarrassed and perplexed, tried to show that he had acted in good faith by putting forth another question, ”And who is my neighbor?” V.29 Where am I do draw the line?  What followed was not to answer the man’s question but to show him that it was the wrong question. The right question is not ”whom am I to regard as neighbor?” but rather, “to who can I be a neighbor?” The right answer to that question is, “to anyone in need of my help.”

One’s neighbor may well be the person you least expect. Love knows no bounds of race, space, or character.

The Lord asks, “How does the Law read?” The first table is obvious; God should always be number one. The second table is equally plain; “Love your neighbor as yourself.” One who can accept himself, in spite of all sins and failures, as one whom God has loved and forgiven, must also extend also such loving forgiveness and acceptance to those who are also loved of God; namely, our neighbors, our fellow-man.

“Who is my neighbor?” asks the scribe in response. In Phillips’s translation the answer is given succinctly; “He who shows practical sympathy.”

What exactly does the Lord Jesus want to convey to His audience? They should not merely have “head knowledge” of faith; they should really give up on the idea of “seeking to justify themselves.”  For salvation is impossible to men it is possible only with God. But, if a person knows that the justified child of God in Christ is to live that faith, how doe he do it? By loving the LORD God and by extending practical help to others in the world.    

Collect for Friday of the Week of Pentecost 5: Thou hast called us into thy presence, O God. Be thou therefore light for our darkness and strength for every high purpose wherein we are weak. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. [2]

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[1] The Good Samaritan Woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books in Pictures ©WELS for personal and congregational use.

[2] Collect for Friday of the Week of Pentecost 5, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

Thursday prior to Pentecost 10

[1]

Colossians 1:1-14— Obedience pleases God. In daily life we are accustomed to being transferred, and with each transfer we hope it means a promotion with larger salary. We may transfer schools. We may get a transfer at work from one department to another one. The company may transfer us to another city. In our Epistle Paul talks about the greatest transfer of all: from darkness to the light of God’s kingdom.

Under the theme “The Benefits of Obedience” Paul would remind us that obedience pleases God.

Paul gives thanks for the Colossians’ faith and love vv.3-4 grounded in their heavenly hope. V.5 The Gospel, not the local perversion of it, has produced their hope I them and this same Gospel was manifesting its power wherever it was being preached in the world. V.6 Having reminded them V. 7 that they had heard the Gospel of the grace of God from Paul’s helper Epaphras, from whom Paul had in turn heard of the Colossians’ love v. 8 Paul informs the Colossians (v.9 of the continuing prayer for them that they would grow in the knowledge of this Gospel so that they would not be ensnared by false wisdom but would have the ability to discriminate between the false and the true and to grasp the relations in which things stand to each other.

Such spiritual wisdom and understanding, centering in the Christ whom the Gospel reveals issue in right practice. V.10 God Himself supplies the power to lead a life pleasing to Him and to persist in so doing with patient joy. With God strengthening them, the Colossians would be able to lead lives of continual thanksgiving to the Father for the great things He had done through His Son; redemption, forgiveness, deliverance from darkness, and qualification of a heavenly inheritance. Vv.12-14

For newness of life in Christ: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness and put upon ourselves the armor of light now in the time of this mortal life in which Your Son, Jesus Christ, came to visit us in great humility, that in the Last Day, when He shall come again to glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to life immortal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.   [2]

Collect for Thursday of the Week of Pentecost 5: O God, who by Thy Holy Spirit didst at first establish a Church, and who, sanctifying it by the same Spirit, dost still preserve and govern it; hear, we beseech Thee, the prayers of Thy servants and mercifully grant us the perpetual assistance of thy grace, that we may never be deceived by any false spirit, nor overcome by the suggestions of flesh and bold, but in all our doubts may be directed in the ways of truth, and in all our actions guided by this Thy Holy Spirit; who, with Thee, and Thy eternal Son, liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen (John Wesley) [3]

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[1] The Good Samaritan Woodcut by Baron Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books in Pictures ©WELS for personal and congregational use.

[2] Collect for newness of life in Christ, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis

[3] Collect for Thursday of the week of Pentecost 5, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. II © 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

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[1] The Good Samaritan copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] https://www.1517.org/articles/old-testament-leviticus-199-18-pentecost-5-series-c

Image of the Good Samaritan copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things 
 

Wednesday prior to Proper 10

[1]

Leviticus 19:9-18 - Obedience demanded from the Lord your God. Notice throughout the Old Testament reading that the people are reminded, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 18:1) God’s people are given instructions concerning a morality reflecting God’s holiness. God was preparing His people for a life different from their pagan neighbors, whose life-style was deplorably immoral. Our lesson is an expansion of the Ten Commandments as the Lord gives detail as to how and why we must live. We live in obedience because of the relationship with have been given with our God.

The Old Testament Lesson for this Sunday is written in the third book of the Torah. The text is Leviticus 19:9-18 and it follows the declaration of an important reality in verse 2 of the chapter. “You are (will be) holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” Contextually this is a far superior translation than: “Be holy, because…” So, the set-up for our text is the declaring to the Israelites the reality which is theirs because they are the children of God, people of the Covenant. “You are holy because the LORD your God is holy, and this is what that looks like.” In other words, because of the relationship of presence the LORD has with His people, His holiness ‘gets on them,’ and, as a result, this is what their life now looks like because the holy LORD is their God. The LORD says, “You are mine, I am yours and this is how we live and walk together.” United together in covenant and communion, the people are holy because of their union with the Holy One.

When considering these chapters of Leviticus, it comes down to identity and relationship. These laws, statutes and commands, given at Sinai, anticipate the people of Israel living with their LORD in the Promised Land.[2]

Collect for Pentecost 5: O Lord, whose gracious presence never fails to guide and govern those whom You have nurtured in Your steadfast love and worship, make us ever love and adore 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.

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[1] The Good Samaritan copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things

[2] https://www.1517.org/articles/old-testament-leviticus-199-18-pentecost-5-series-c