Historic Lectionary

Reminder: traditional Lutheran congregations begin the season of Pre-Lent this year on January 31, Septuagesima. That means Transfiguration falls this year on January 24.

Here are the seasonal customs for this time, from the wonderful liturgical resource Lex Orandi:

The Season & Customs of Pre-Lent

The three Sundays before Ash Wednesday are called Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima. These Sundays are privileged, not yielding to any other celebration. From Vespers on the eve of Septuagesima until Shrove Tuesday, the Alleluia is omitted, the Gloria in Excelsis is not sung except on festivals, and the Benedictus replaces the Te Deum in Sunday Matins. Flowers may still be used and the organ played as usual.

At Vespers on the Eve of Septuagesima, the Alleluia, the ancient exclamation of joy and praise, is officially silenced and is not heard again until Vespers on the Eve of Easter. The Alleluia is bidden farewell by singing it twice after the prayers in Vespers, thus: V. Bless we the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia. R. Thanks be to God. Alleluia, allelua. Hereafter, the acclaimation “Praise to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory” is substituted for the Alleluia. Also, the Alleluia verse is omitted from the Gradual at Mass and the Tract is used in its place.

-Christopher S. Esget

Cross-posted at Esgetology

The Gospel reading is the historic one for the First Sunday after Epiphany: Luke 2.41-52.

In today’s Gospel, Mary and Joseph take Jesus to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. When the feast is over, Joseph and Mary begin the journey home, traveling with a large group of their relatives and friends. They imagine that Jesus is with them, probably running along the road with the other young boys while the adults talked about everything they had seen and done in the temple and throughout the great city.

But Jesus is not with them. He is lost. And that is the first application for us today. Sometimes we “lose” Jesus, too; i.e., sometimes we can experience a crisis of faith, where we stop looking to, trusting in, clinging on to the object of our faith – Jesus. Perhaps the most natural prayer for us to pray is in the words of the father with the possessed child: “Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief!” Being a disciple of Jesus doesn’t mean that we never struggle with unbelief, or have doubts. This life in the world and in our sinful flesh is full of challenges and temptations, times when we seem to be losing, or even feel as though we have lost Jesus. There are numerous reasons: we see sins and sinners in the church; we are drawn to this world’s allurements; we become lazy or apathetic; we endure loss of property, reputation, or health; we suffer damaged relationships, sometimes beyond repair. All of these situations can, if we let them, cause us to lose Jesus.

Dangerous also, and Christians are afraid to talk of it, is depression. Some people are prone to it because of body chemistry or temperament; others are driven to it by circumstances in their lives. Manifesting itself in rage, anxiety, or a persistent melancholy, some people feel they are drowning in emptiness. Hope seems blotted out, and faith’s object, Jesus, is obscured. What anxiety, fear, and panic must Mary and Joseph have known, when Jesus was, quite literally, lost from them?

Whether because of our own sins, or through suffering, or prideful apathy, we can lose Jesus. But there is a great lesson to be learned in today’s Gospel. When Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus, He was right where He belonged – in the House of His Father, discussing with the rabbis the Word of God. And that is where we will find Him too, where He has promised to be: in the house of God, the Church, where the Sacraments are given out, and in the Word of God, where He speaks to us.

All of this happens when Jesus is at the age of twelve, which tells us something important about who Jesus is. Last Sunday Immanuel observed the Epiphany, where Jesus was worshipped as God in the flesh by the wise men. Jesus, you see, is both true God, and also true Man. Now at the age of twelve, Jewish boys would particularly begin to leave the society of women and enter the society of man. The rabbis instructed Jewish fathers to be gentle with their boys until age twelve, and then begin to teach him the way of manly living, including strict discipline if necessary. Probably at this point, Joseph would have begun teaching his trade, carpentry, to Jesus. The twelve-year old Jesus was now being treated as a man, and thus went up with Joseph to Jerusalem for Passover.

The point is, a twelve-year old boy begins to do his work. And at twelve, we see Jesus already apply Himself to His proper work – not only the things of His guardian-father, Mary’s husband Joseph, but especially the things of His heavenly Father. He says to Mary His mother, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Conceived without the aid of a man, in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary, God the Father is Jesus’ Father in a way different than God is our Father; Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten, not made; of one substance with the Father.

So now Jesus begins to apply Himself to the work that the Father has given Him to do, and He will keep on working until that work is perfected, when in Jerusalem several decades later, He will say, “It is finished.”

So in this Gospel we see that Jesus is manifested again as true God in the flesh, and we see Him already as a Boy applying Himself to His work on our behalf and on behalf of all humanity.

But we learn something else, too, by Jesus staying in the Temple instead of going with Joseph and Mary at first: If the situation presents itself where we have to make a choice between being obedient to parents or other earthly authorities, or being obedient to God, we must always be obedient to God first. So we will answer with Christ, “I must be about the business of my Father in heaven.”

The challenge of following through with that sometimes comes for us in dramatic moments of testing, but more often we are tempted by little compromises with the world, so that we don’t seem to be too weird, too out-of-step, too radical, too fundamental. But the Holy Spirit says to us something quite different: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This world, or age, seeks to conform us to it, so that our beliefs and morals match what society expects. Thus we allow certain sins to be acceptable for us as Christians. That must not be! You cannot be a friend of God and a friend of the world. You cannot be a disciple of Jesus and a friend of this age. You cannot be led by the Spirit of God yet embrace the Zeitgeist.

So the Scripture says “that by testing you may discern what is the will of God.” What do we test; how do we test? By means of the Scriptures. The will of God is shown in the word of God. If something in your heart or mind conflicts with what the Word says – your heart and mind are wrong. On account of original sin, many of our impulses, thoughts, feelings, and inclinations are sinful. That is why St. Paul tells us to “be transformed by the renewal of [our] mind[s].”

The first aspect of that is humility. By nature we put ourselves first, and above others. The transformation that God wants for us includes not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought; in other words, to think of ourselves lowly, to put others first, ahead of ourselves. This was always the attitude of Jesus; although He was God, and Lord of all, He became a servant of all, humbling Himself to the point of death.

Already we see that manifested today. Jesus “went down with [Joseph and Mary] and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them.” Jesus obeys the Fourth Commandment, even though for Him it is not necessary and did not apply. He obeyed that commandment and all the others perfectly, so that as the perfect man He could give His life for us imperfect men and women.

Now this “being subject” or “submitting” is to be part and parcel of who we are as Christians. The Scripture tells every one of us, “Submit to God” (James 4.7). Regarding the Government, the Word says, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake” (1 Pt. 2.13). To wives, the Spirit says, “Wives … be submissive to your own husbands.” (1 Pt. 3.1). And again to everyone, it is written, “All of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Pt. 5.5b). Submission is thus the characteristic of the Christian.

How then should we live? We should live in submission as Jesus did. Not in order to be saved, for Jesus has accomplished this for us all in His perfect obedience. Yet being a disciple of Jesus means striving to grow in this submission and humility because we are in Christ, buried with Him in Baptism, in communion with Him in this Eucharist, conformed to Him by His Word and Spirit. And when we fail, as we do daily, we cry with today’s Psalm, “In Your righteousness deliver me!” (Introit). When Jesus tells His mother, “I must be about My Father’s business,” that is it: to deliver us in His righteousness.

Rev. Christopher S. Esget

Preached at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Alexandria, VA, on Epiphany I 2009

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit

When the serpent opened his mouth in the Garden of Eden, death rushed out of his mouth. Our first parents heard death’s siren sound and bowed their knees. When God opened His mouth in the Garden of Eden, life rushed out of His mouth. Our first parents heard the promise of the Seed of the woman and believed in God’s promise of new life.

Jesus opens His mouth twice in today’s Holy Gospel. The first time He tells the widow Do not weep. The second time He says Young man, I say to you, arise. The first sentence comes off to our ears as off-putting. A widow, a woman who has already lost her husband to death, now loses her only son to death. Jesus’ response is for her not to weep. Crying is a normal and natural response to grief. Crying and funerals go hand in hand.

This funeral procession is different. Jesus interrupts the procession and, after speaking to the widow, touches the coffin. No wonder those who carried him stood still. Nobody touches the coffin of a dead person. Today’s funerals are a different story compared with funerals 2,000 years ago. High quality coffins allow us to touch the dead person’s resting place. When Jesus walked among us as a man, touching a coffin made a person ceremonially unclean. No one wanted to be near, let alone touch, someone who touched a dead man’s body. Who knows what kind of disease might linger on the corpse?

The fatal disease of sin is why there is such a thing as a corpse. We cry at funerals because death brings separation. We will no longer see the deceased this side of heaven if they were a Christian. If the deceased had no saving faith in Jesus Christ, our tears are much worse. What can be said about a person who believed death was death? What can be said about someone who would not believe in the life of the world to come?

It’s easy not to take the long view at a funeral of a Christian. Our sometimes hidden selfishness peeks out and wishes for another chance to say goodbye, or another round of golf, or one last hug and kiss before falling asleep. Why does God allow death on His timetable and not ours? Why does death visit some families more frequently than others? We think of the Joseph Kennedy family who lost two sons in less than five years. We think of other families who have lost more than one child prematurely. We also think of widows who outlive their husband and children.

Take another long look at death, especially the death of the widow’s son. There you and I will be, unless the Lord returns soon. We will all lay in a coffin. Our mortal remains will go from church to cemetery, waiting for the resurrection of all flesh on Judgment Day. That last clause is the one we forget about at a funeral. We focus on not seeing the deceased again or wanting to see the deceased again for closure that we forget about the dead in Christ rising on Judgment Day at the sound of Christ’s voice.

Jesus’ voice brings a dead son back to life. Jesus says, Young man, I say to you, arise. So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. What mother, having lost her husband and her only son, would not rejoice at having her dead son return to life? What Christian, having lost a family member or friend who trusted in Jesus for forgiveness and life, would not rejoice believing the dead in Christ shall rise?

Sometimes it takes a Christian funeral to remind us of the joy of the resurrection. A pillar of my home congregation died a while back. My mother, who doesn’t care to attend wakes and funerals, told me she left church after his funeral with a smile on her face. Her comment surprised me, but it really didn’t surprise me. Mom’s comment surprised me because she doesn’t like funerals because of being confronted with mortality. Mom’s comment didn’t surprise me because it’s acceptable for a Christian to grieve a loved one’s death, yet rejoice in believing that we will see that loved one when Christ returns. For Christians it’s never farewell but see you at the next meeting.

Who would’ve thought the next meeting would be so soon? The dead son sits up and starts talking. What did he say? Scripture doesn’t tell us. Perhaps it was a psalm much like Psalm 86: You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You. Our Lord’s steadfast love brings life to the dead. Our Father’s steadfast love sends Jesus Christ among us as a man to live the life Adam was meant to live. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God: pure, holy, and sinless. Jesus is God and man. Three times Jesus raises people from the dead in the Gospels. First, it was the daughter of Jairus. Then the widow of Nain’s son rises from the dead. Finally, Jesus’ friend Lazarus rises after four days in the tomb. All three times Jesus spoke a word and the dead comes back to life.

Jesus speaks seven words upon the cross. One of those words was It is finished. Jesus’ work of restoring creation was finished. Death and life contended in combat stupendous. The Prince of Life, once dead, rises from the dead a new creation. Satan’s power is destroyed. Forgiveness of sins and eternal life is ours because of Jesus.

Jesus speaks words to us every Lord’s Day. These words mean what they say and say what they mean. Jesus speaks through men consecrated for speaking His Word amidst His people. When pastors speak absolution, it is as if Jesus Christ Himself stands before you forgiving your sins. When pastors speak the sermon, it is as if Jesus Christ Himself stands in the pulpit proclaiming victory over sin and death. When pastors distribute the Lord’s Supper, it is as if Jesus Christ Himself feeds you His true Body and true Blood. When pastors baptize, it is as if Jesus Christ Himself washes you clean from sin and death in baptismal waters. Jesus presents us to our mother the Church as a new creation bought with blood, washed in water, fed and nourished in preaching and the Supper, sustained in His Word through death into life everlasting.

What joy came to the village of Nain that day when the widow’s son returned to life. What joy comes to us in Momence each weekend when our Savior from death to life does exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit

The following observations are drawn from Beale & Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007).

1. The phrase in 18:9 “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt” echoes the language of Ezekiel 33:13, in which the prophet criticizes his contemporaries for trusting in their own righteousness: “Though I say to the righteous that they shall surely live, yet if they trust in their righteousness and commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in the iniquit that the have committed they shall die.”

2. The pride of self-righteousness is condemned in several Jewish texts, most notably t. Ber. 6:18, where a male Jew thanks God that he is not a Gentile, a boor, or a woman.

3. The Pharisee’s prayer in 18:11 echoes the 6th and 7th commandments of the Decalogue, with the middle term “rogues” (adikoi, “unrighteous” or “evildoers”), being a generic reference to lawlessness.

4. The reference to fasting in 18:12 recalls the stipulation to fast on the Day of ATonemet (Lev 16:29, 31; 23:27, 29, 32; Num. 29:7), during Purim (Esther 9:31), and during further annual days of fastig (Zech. 7:3, 5; 8:19), as well as OT passages that report fasting by individuals as an expression of mourning (2 Sam. 12:21), penance (1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6), and supplication (Neh. 1:4; Dan. 9:3).

5. Tithing: Leviticus 27:30-32; Num. 18:21-24; Deut. 14:22-27.

6. The language of the Tax Collector “Look up to heaven” (18:13a) echoes Ezra’s prayer upon hearing of the numerous mixed marriages in Jerusalem: “O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6).

7. Tax Collector’s prayer: “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” Here Psalm 51:1, 3 linger in the background: “Have mercy on me, O God…For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (50:3, 5 LXX: eleeson me ho theos…kai he harmartia mou enopion mou estin dia pantos).

8. Jesus’ words at the end of the parable: “For all who exalt themselves…” echo those of Ezekiel 21:26: “Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.”

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It takes a lot of nerve to receive taxpayer money from the government to keep your business afloat, and then turn around and give that money to yourselves as executive bonuses.  Most Americans were outraged by these Wall Street bonuses and cried “foul”! It’s so easy to be generous with someone else’s money.

The steward described by Jesus in the parable or story you just heard was equally nervy.  He had gotten caught red-handed cheating the owner for whom he worked, and was told, “Bring in the books and make an accounting of your stewardship. You’re done.”  But motivated by self-preservation, this man used the little bit of time available to him to his advantage.

He went to a number of his boss’s customers and reduced the amount that they owed.  He had no authority to do such a thing, but they didn’t know that.  They assumed that he had been directed to do this by the owner.  Apparently this owner must already have had a reputation as a good, generous man, or those customers would have smelled a rat.  But they gladly accepted the discounts, so that both the steward and the owner made good friends of these customers.  This was vital for this steward, who would soon need a friend he could go to for a favor, after the owner threw him out on his ear. 

This really was an act of thievery; the steward was using money owed to his boss to make friends for himself.  It’s easy to be generous with someone else’s money. 

What happened to that rotten steward?  Anyone listening as Jesus tells this story would assume that when the owner found out, he would be even angrier than he was already, and really lower the boom on that steward.

After all, Jesus, the storyteller is God. God hates sin.  God has commanded us, “You shall not steal”. Naturally then, you would expect Jesus to tell the story in such a way that this thieving steward gets what he deserves.  Doesn’t happen.  Instead, the owner of the company actually compliments the steward for being shrewd and using the owner’s money to take care of himself.  Then, as the hearer’s mouths drop open in surprise, Jesus delivers the punch line or the moral of the story: 

“And I say to you, make friends for yourself by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.”

“I say to you” – that’s Jesus speaking as God.  “I say to you, Christian, imitate what that steward did.”  What? You’ve got to be kidding!  No, Jesus is not kidding.  Not that Jesus would ever instruct us to lie or cheat.   Jesus said, “I have not come to set aside the Law, but to fulfill it.”  What then is the connection?  In what way are we, God’s children, to imitate this thief and liar?

Realize, first of all, that we all have one crucial thing in common with that steward:  You have been entrusted with assets that do not belong to you.  A steward is a manager who takes care of someone else’s goods.

In your case and mine, everything single thing that we have belongs to God.  Everything that you have comes from Him and returns to Him. The early fathers of the Church speak about this.  Gaudentius writes:

“In this world nothing is really ours. … we have been entrusted with the stewardship of the goods of our Lord, either to use them, with giving of thanks, according to our needs, or to distribute them to our fellow servants according as they need. … it is not lawful to misuse indiscriminately the means that have been committed to us, or to claim the right to extravagant expense and display; for we must render an account of our stewardship to the Lord when He comes.”

Likewise, Chrysostom writes:

“We are not placed in this life as lords in our own houses, but as guests and strangers … He who is now rich in a moment is a beggar.  Therefore, whoever you may be, know that you are but an administrator of things that belong to Another. You have been given the right of brief and passing use of them.  Therefore cast out of your soul the pride of dominion, and put on instead the modesty and humility of a steward.”

It’s so easy, isn’t it, to imagine that you’ve worked hard for what you have and it belongs to you, and therefore, to hold on to it with an iron grip.  God says, think again.  “I’m glad to let you use these things for a while, but don’t get attached, and don’t get proud.  Use them wisely.  Especially, use them in such a way that you make friends for yourself and for Me, as did that steward.”

How do you make friends with money, and other goods?  You know the answer to that!  Give it away!  It’s easy to be generous with someone else’s money, as Martin Luther wrote:

Whoever wants to be a Christian must gladly, willingly and benevolently help the one who is in need and give wherever he can.  This is serving God, and He will ultimately reward you.  On the other hand, the skinflints and profiteers who can do nothing but pinch pennies and give nothing to anyone, or very sparingly, served the accursed devil, who will also reward them in kind.”

Don’t misunderstand Luther when he says that God will reward you for this.  Luther, of all people knows that you can’t buy your way into heaven by giving money away, whether it’s to a beggar or the Church.  But when you give it away, two things happen.  First, being a Christian, you make friends for God – people come to see the God you serve as generous, loving and good through your generosity, love and goodness.

Second, when you give it away you are fighting the good fight of faith.  Faith believes God when He says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  Faith trusts and thanks God for all that you need to support this body and life, but ultimately believes that this world is not your home; that you are but a stranger here, heaven is your home.

Such faith is given to you by God, is exercised by fighting the good fight of faith, and ultimately is rewarded when you receive the goal of your faith, the salvation of your soul.  That salvation is the one thing that God wants you to have and hold forever. 

Our God, Jesus the Christ, was willing to give it all away for you.  He laid down His entire life at the cross that you might His life up as your own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.

No one can serve two masters.  You cannot serve God and mammon.  As for you and your house, may you serve the Lord who gives eternal life!

In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
2 Chronicles 28:8–15
Galatians 3:15–22
Luke 10:23–37

Hymn of Invocation
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)

Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)

Offertory Hymn
Lord of glory, You have bought us (LSB 851)

Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
If God Himself be for me (LSB 724)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)

Hymn of Departure
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)

Alternative Hymns
Awake, O sleeper, rise from death (LSB 697)
By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless (LSB 566)
Evening and morning (LSB 726)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
Hope of the world, Thou Christ of great compassion (LSB 690)
In the shattered bliss of Eden (LSB 572)
Jesus, priceless treasure (LSB 743)
Let us ever walk with Jesus (LSB 685)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Lord, whose love through humble service (LSB 848)
O blessed, holy Trinity (LSB 876)
O God of mercy, God of might (LSB 852)
Oh, how great is Your compassion (LSB 559)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Sing with all the saints in glory (LSB 671)
The Law of God is good and wise (LSB 579)
The will of God is always best (LSB 758)
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
With the Lord begin your task (LSB 869)

Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
Proverbs 4:10–23
Galatians 5:16–24
Luke 17:11–19

Hymn of Invocation
O Holy Spirit, grant us grace (LSB 693)

Hymn of the Day
Praise the One who breaks the darkness (LSB 849)

Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Jesus, grant that balm and healing (LSB 421) (Catechetical)
Your hand, O Lord, in days of old (LSB 846)
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)

Hymn of Departure
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)

Alternative Hymns
All people that on earth do dwell (LSB 791)
Christ is the world’s Redeemer (LSB 539)
Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing (LSB 686)
Father, we praise Thee (LSB 875)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
Fruitful trees, the Spirit’s sowing (LSB 691)
How can I thank You, Lord (LSB 703)
If Your beloved Son, O God (LSB 568)
Jesus, Thy boundless love to me (LSB 683)
Let me be Thine forever (LSB 689)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
O God, forsake me not (LSB 731)
O Holy Spirit, enter in (LSB 913)
O love, how deep, how broad, how high (LSB 544)
Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing (LSB 528)
Oh, how great is Your compassion (LSB 559)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LSB 793)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)

Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
1 Kings 17:8–16
Galatians 5:25—6:10
Matthew 6:24–34

Hymn of Invocation
All who believe and are baptized (LSB 601)

Hymn of the Day
What God ordains is always good (LSB 760)

Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
If thou but trust in God to guide thee (LSB 750) (Catechetical)
Evening and morning (LSB 726)
A mighty fortress is our God (LSB 656)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)

Hymn of Departure
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)

Alternative Hymns
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
Children of the heav’nly Father (LSB 725)
Church of God, elect and glorious (LSB 646)
Consider how the birds above (LSB 736)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father (LSB 809)
Have no fear, little flock (LSB 735)
I leave all things to God’s direction (LSB 719)
In God, my faithful God (LSB 745)
Let us ever walk with Jesus (LSB 685)
Lord of all hopefulness (LSB 738)
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
O Holy Spirit, grant us grace (LSB 693)
Once in the blest baptismal waters (LSB 598)
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LSB 790)
Sing praise to God, the highest good (LSB 819)
The will of God is always best (LSB 758)
These are the holy Ten Commands (LSB 581)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
With the Lord begin your task (LSB 869)

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
1 Kings 17:17–24
Ephesians 3:13–21
Luke 7:11–17

Hymn of Invocation
In the very midst of life (LSB 755)

Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
The will of God is always best (LSB 758)

Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
O love, how deep, how broad, how high (LSB 544)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
Sing with all the saints in glory (LSB 671)

Hymn of Departure
God’s own child, I gladly say it (LSB 594)

Alternative Hymns
Awake, my heart, with gladness (LSB 467)
Awake, O sleeper, rise from death (LSB 697)
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side (LSB 752)
Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands (LSB 458)
Entrust your days and burdens (LSB 754)
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)
If thou but trust in God to guide thee (LSB 750)
Jesus Christ, my sure defense (LSB 741)
Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal (LSB 533)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
O Christ, who shared our mortal life (LSB 552)
Once in the blest baptismal waters (LSB 598)
Our Father, by whose name (LSB 863)
Our Father, who from heav’n above (LSB 766)
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LSB 793)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
Thanks to Thee, O Christ, victorious (LSB 548)
When in the hour of deepest need (LSB 615)
Why should cross and trial grieve me (LSB 756)

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
Proverbs 25:6–14
Ephesians 4:1–6
Luke 14:1–11

Hymn of Invocation
These are the holy Ten Commands (LSB 581)

Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Seek where you may to find a way (LSB 557)

Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
We all believe in one true God (LSB 954)
Now, my tongue, the myst’ry telling (LSB 630)
Soul, adorn yourself with gladness (LSB 636)
Son of God, eternal Savior (LSB 842)

Hymn of Departure
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)

Alternative Hymns
From God can nothing move me (LSB 713)
How clear is our vocation, Lord (LSB 853)
I come, O Savior, to Thy table (LSB 618)
I know my faith is founded (LSB 587)
Let us ever walk with Jesus (LSB 685)
Lord Jesus Christ, life-giving bread (LSB 625)
Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray (LSB 623)
Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide (LSB 585)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
O love, how deep, how broad, how high (LSB 544)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Take my life and let it be (LSB 783)
The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (LSB 578)
To God the Holy Spirit let us pray (LSB 768)
To Thee, omniscient Lord of all (LSB 613)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)
Who trusts in God a strong abode (LSB 714)
Wide open stand the gates (LSB 639)

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
Deuteronomy 10:12–21
1 Corinthians 1:(1–3) 4–9
Matthew 22:34–46

Hymn of Invocation
Father most holy, merciful and tender (LSB 504)

Hymn of the Day
Thee will I love, my strength, my tower (LSB 694)

Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Salvation unto us has come (LSB 555)
Christ sits at God’s right hand (LSB 564) (Catechetical)
O God, my faithful God (LSB 696)
Where charity and love prevail (LSB 845)

Hymn of Departure
In God, my faithful God (LSB 745)

Alternative Hymns
Abide, O dearest Jesus (LSB 919)
All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name (LSB 549)
Church of God, elect and glorious (LSB 646)
Eternal Spirit of the living Christ (LSB 769)
For the fruits of His creation (LSB 894)
Lord, help us walk Your servant way (LSB 857)
Lord, it belongs not to my care (LSB 757)
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)
O God of mercy, God of might (LSB 852)
O Jesus, King most wonderful (LSB 554)
One thing’s needful; Lord, this treasure (LSB 536)
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him (LSB 797)
Son of God, eternal Savior (LSB 842)
The Law of God is good and wise (LSB 579)
The Lord, my God, be praised (LSB 794)
The only Son from heaven (LSB 402)
The saints in Christ are one in ev’ry place (LSB 838)
These are the holy Ten Commands (LSB 581)
Voices raised to You we offer (LSB 795)
We are called to stand together (LSB 828)

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity
Genesis 28:10–17
Ephesians 4:22–28
Matthew 9:1–8

Hymn of Invocation
May God bestow on us His grace (LSB 823)

Hymn of the Day / Catechetical Hymn of the Week
Lord, Thee I love with all my heart (LSB 708)

Hymns for the Distribution of the Holy Communion
Triune God, be Thou our stay (LSB 505)
Chief of sinners though I be (LSB 611)
My soul, now praise your maker (LSB 820)
I lie, O Lord, within Your care (LSB 885)

Hymn of Departure
O God, O Lord of heaven and earth (LSB 834)

Alternative Hymns
All depends on our possessing (LSB 732)
Christ is made the sure foundation (LSB 909)
Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing (LSB 686)
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice (LSB 556)
Evening and morning (LSB 726)
“Forgive our sins as we forgive” (LSB 843)
I walk in danger all the way (LSB 716)
If Your beloved Son, O God (LSB 568)
In God, my faithful God (LSB 745)
Jesus has come and brings pleasure eternal (LSB 533)
Jesus sinners doth receive (LSB 609)
Just as I am, without one plea (LSB 570)
Let us ever walk with Jesus (LSB 685)
Lord Jesus, think on me (LSB 610)
Now thank we all our God (LSB 895)
Oh, how great is Your compassion (LSB 559)
Only-begotten, Word of God eternal (LSB 916)
Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing (LSB 737)
Rise, shine, you people (LSB 825)
The will of God is always best (LSB 758)

Rev. Charles Lehmann + 1st Sunday after Trinity + Luke 16:19-31

In the Name of + Jesus.  Amen.

When I was growing up, Christian bookstores didn’t have finance sections.  Now you can, without much effort, find dozens of books devoted to discovering biblical principles of personal finance.  One is even called, God Wants You To Be Rich.  All of these books are based on one very basic mistake.  They assume that the purpose of the Scriptures is to give us advice on how to live your day to day life.  They look at the Bible as the Christian’s instruction book for daily living.

But that’s not what the Bible is for.  The Bible’s purpose is to show us Jesus.  The Apostle John makes this very clear when he writes, “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.”

If you were to go into any of the many books that try to give Christian principles for peronal finance, there are a lot of passages that deal with economics that would find no place in these books.  You wouldn’t find anything about the man who sells all that he has to buy one pearl.  You wouldn’t read a word about the farmer that sows most of his seed where it can’t possibly grow.  You would find no mention of the shepherd who risks almost everything he owns for the sake of one lost lamb.  There are good reasons for that, of course.  If we based our approach to our finances on these parables, we would lose all that we have and our families would starve to death.

Continue reading Sermon for the First Sunday after Trinity

Volume V of The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers contains Augustine’s “A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins and on the Baptism of Infants”

In Book I, (quoting from the intro to this book) Augustine ”…refutes those who maintain, that Adam must have died even if he had never sinned; and that nothing of his sin has been transmitted to his posterity by natural descent. He also shows, that death has not accrued to man by any necessity of his nature, but as the penality of sin; he then proceeds to prove that in Adam’s sin his entire offspring is implicated,showing that infants are baptized for the express purpose of receiving the remission of original sin.”
In chapters 58 through 62 of Book I, Augustine provides a wonderful and thorough exegesis of John 3:1-21.  Here is a snippet from chapter 60:

“He…gives an answer…to the question that he was asked, How these things can be?  “No man,” says He, “hath ascended up to heaven,  but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”  Thus, He says, shall come the spiritual birth, — men, from being earthly, shall become heavenly; and this they can only obtain by being made members of Me; so that he may ascend who descended, since no one ascends who did not descend.  All, therefore, who have to be changed and raised must meet together in a union with Christ, so that the Christ who descended may ascend, reckoning His body (that is to say, His Church) as nothing else than Himself, because it is of Christ and the Church that this is most truly understood: “And they twain shall be one flesh”. … He dignified His flesh with the name of Son of God: that they might not be regarded as if they were two Christs, — the one God, the other man, — but one and the same God and man, — God, because “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;” and man, inasmuch as “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” … If His divine nature, though a far more distant object, and more sublime in its incomparable diversity, had ability so to take upon itself the nature of man on our account as to become one Person, and whilst appearing as Son of man on earth in the weakness of the flesh, was able to remain all the while in heaven in the divinity which partook of the flesh, how much easier for our faith is it to suppose that other men, who are His faithful saints, become one Christ with the Man Christ, so that, when all ascend by His grace and fellowship, the one Christ Himself ascends to heaven who came down from heaven?”