Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Monday, April 22, 2024

2. Corinthians 4,16-18. Jubilate

2. Corinthians 4,16-18 2924

Jubilate 39

Anselm of Canterbury, Archbishop ✠ 1109

21. April 2024

1. ℣ Rejoice in God, all the earth:

℟ Sing a psalm to His Name; give Him glorious praise (Psalm 65,1b-2 vul lxx).

Give more light to our intellect so that we may know You and the ways in which we must go. Grant our will a greater conformity to Yours. Implant in our hearts a better and more sincere intention to do everything for Your glory. Amen. (Pieper 158; English transl. 92).

2. »So we do not lose heart. Though our outer man is utterly corrupt, our inner man is being made new day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal.«

3. Lutherans are often fond of paradoxes. One of Martin Luther’s most well-known ones is: Sic homo Christianus simul iustus et peccator, Sanctus prophanus, inimicus et filius Dei est. That a Christian is simultaneously righteous and sinner, holy and profane, an enemy of God and a son of God (WA 40,368.26-27).. Thus a Christian man is righteous and a sinner at the same time, holy and profane, an enemy of God and a child of God (AE 26,232). Every Christian suffers a daily struggle to desire and live holy, sanctified lives pleasing to That a Christian is simultaneously righteous and sinner, holy and profane, an enemy of God and a son of God. Daily we fail in some way, but we resolve with the help of the Holy Spirit to keep our feet on the path of Christian discipleship.

4. The Small Catechism teaches the basics of the new life and discipleship in Christ: how do we live, what do we believe and how do we pray? The 10 Commandments show us our sinfulness, convince us we need Jesus as our Savior and instruct us how to live under God’s will. The Apostle’s Creed teaches that the Triune God creates and preserves us, justifies us and sanctifies us all out of His merciful steadfast love. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us the words to petition our Heavenly Father for His will to be done and for His gifts to be received in the face of all dangers (Small Catechism 231 2017). Christians are baptized in the Name of the Triune God and receive the Lord’s Supper for their forgiveness. Confession of our sins disciplines us to live a Christian life that is one of repentance as we look at our daily responsibilities and wrongdoings, but we do not despair because of the assurance of forgiveness for Jesus sake that God gives to His servants through absolution (Small Catechism 307 2017). These means of grace bring us the gospel and keep our faith grounded and focused upon our Lord Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. The central pillar of our faith is the suffering, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and 2^nd advent of Christ Jesus.

5. Christ’s atonement gives us the victory of life over death and light over darkness. In the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Eucharist we partake in this mystery of redemption, being united with Christ in His death and resurrection. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we taste the sweetness of the gospel. We are joined with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in a foretaste of the feast to come. Hold fast to the promise of our resurrection, for in Christ we have the sure hope of eternal life. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though we face trials and tribulations, though our outer man decays, our inner man is renewed each day by the Holy Spirit through the gospel. In this Easter season, live in the joy of the resurrection, looking to the things that are unseen that is the eternal glory prepared for us in Christ. Let us give thanks to God for the renewal of the inner man, for the forgiveness of sins, and for the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6. As Christians united in the one faith and believing in the same Lord Jesus, we aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with each other, live in peace and greet one another as brothers and sisters in Christ (2. Corinthians 13,11-12). „Holy Eastertide is a time of joy for Christians, for we rejoice from our hearts in our risen Jesus. We rejoice because our redemption is completed. For, after Jesus who had offered Himself to make satisfaction for us, has been raised from the dead, a complete ransom has been paid for us! God is reconciled and has accepted the death of His Son in place of our death and has granted us life for His sake…. We rejoice because we have received the seal and assurance of the gracious forgiveness of our sins, of our peace with God and know that we can fearlessly approach God and that He, in turn, will approach us“ (Starck 88). In this we hope and believe, yes, we have the certainty of forgiveness and salvation through Christ our Lord. Amen.

7. Ans. Misericordiam vero Dei quae tibi perire videbatur, cum iustitiam Dei et peccatum hominis considerabamus, tam magnam tamque concordem iustitiae invenimus, ut nec maior nec iustior cogitari possit. Nempe quid misericordius intelligi valet, quam cum peccatori tormentis aetemis damnato et unde se redimat non habenti, Deus Pater dicit: accipe Unigenitum meum et da pro te; et ipse Filius: tolle me et redime te? Quasi enim hoc dicunt, quando nos ad christianam fidem vocant et trahunt. Quid etiam iustius, quam ut ille cui datur pretium maius omni debito, si debito datur affectu, dimittat omne debitum. (Anselm of Canterbury Cur Deus Homo Bk II,20).

8. Ans. But the merciful steadfast love of God, which seemed to you to perish, when we considered God’s justice and man’s sin, we found so great and so harmonious with His justice, that neither greater nor more just can be thought of. For what can be understood more mercifully than with a sinner condemned to eternal torments and having no way to redeem himself, God the Father says: receive My Only-begotten who I gave for you; and the Son Himself says: receive Me for tour redemption? For it is as if They say this when They call and draw us to the Christian faith. What is even more just than that He to whom a greater price is given to pay the complete debt, if the debt is forgiven with affection. (Why God is Man Bk 2,20).

Ans. Now we have found the compassion of God which appeared lost to you when we were considering God’s holiness and man’s sin; we have found it, I say, so great and so consistent with his holiness, as to be incomparably above anything that can be conceived. For what compassion can excel these words of the Father, addressed to the sinner doomed to eternal torments and having no way of escape: „Take My Only-begotten Son and make Him an offering for yourself;“ or these words of the Son: „Take Me, and ransom your souls.“ For these are the voices they utter, when inviting and leading us to faith in the Gospel. Or can anything be more just than for Him to remit all debt since he has earned a reward greater than all debt, if given with the love which he deserves (Anselm of Canterbury Cur Deus Homo Book II, Ch. 20; Sydney Norton Deane 1903 transl.).

9. Praise God in every land,

Rejoice, O redeemed throng!

For the Lord is risen and stands,

Who for us died was also strong.

Jesus has by His power

Achieved redemption forever,

What He Himself adorns

Now that He came in human form.

(Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen elkg 456,6 2021 Erdmann Neumeister 1718)

This is most certainly true.

10. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.

11. Let us pray. O God of hope, fill Thy children with all joy and peace in believing, that we and they may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Ghost; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Jubilate, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Monday, April 15, 2024

Genesis 16,1-16. Misericordias Domini

Genesis 16,1-16 2824

Misericordias Domini 38

Tiburtius and Valerianus, Martyrs at Rome 229

14. April 2024

1. ℣ The earth is full of the merciful steadfast love of Yahweh:

℟ By the Word of Yahweh the heavens were established. (Psalm 32,5b.6a vul lxx).

О Jesus, let us not only esteem very highly and prize above all else the gifts of grace that You impart to us and bestow upon us while we live in You, but let us also use them properly, so that we may reap the sweetest fruits from them. Amen. (Pieper 149 © 1900; English 87).

2. »The angel of Yahweh found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And He said: „Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?“ She replied: „I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.“ The angel of Yahweh said to her: „Return to your mistress and submit to her.“ The angel of Yahweh also said to her: „I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has listened to your affliction.“ So she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her: „You are a God of seeing,“ for she said, „Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.“ And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.« (Genesis 16,7-11.13.15.16).

3. Ishmael. יִשְׁמָעַאל. God will hear. Elroi. אֵל רְָאִי. God who sees. In Hagar’s distress, Jesus, the Angel of Yahweh, sees and hears her cry. In our tribulations, Jesus sees us and hears our prayers.

4. 16 days ago we heard the Passion text where Jesus cried out: Ήλί ήλί λεμά σαβαχθάνι; Θεέ μου Θεέ μου, ίνατί με έγκατέλιπες; Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquist me? (Matthew 27,46). This anguished plea has been uttered by many since Adam fell into sin. Jesus who is the Second Adam is Immanuel, God is with us, to such depths as to carry our sin and bear our distress. Isaiah proclaimed: »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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on Him the iniquity of us all« (Isaiah 53,4-6).

5. The cross proclaims the merciful steadfast love Jesus has for every sinner. The soul that sins must die (Ezekiel 18,20), and thus Jesus, the Son of God, died to save us from death. We were baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6,3-4). A shepherd often marks his sheep with a red mark, so also Christ inwardly marks His beloved sheep with the Holy Spirit, who is the Seal of the Living G with which Christ’s beloved sheep are marked and sealed (Revelation 7,2-3) (Gerhard 376). Christ knows those who are His, and He also makes Himself known to us through His Word and Spirit (Gerhard 376). „Christ knows His own. He regards them as His own. He loves them from the bottom of His heart. Thus, in reciprocation, the beloved sheep also know Christ. They regard Him as their True, Faithful Shepherd, and love Him from the bottom of their heart. They let Him lead and guide them“ (Gerhard 377).

6. Jesus helps us walk on the path of righteousness; He supports us when Satan and sin oppress. We put all our trust in Christ, for our Lord Jesus Christ leads us (Lead Me, Guide Me v. 2).

7. „Let us enkindle our soul as a light. Let faith grow fervent in what it has believed. Let our desires grow eager for the things of heaven; and thus to love is already to go there. Let no adversity turn us away from the joy of this inward fulfillment. For when anyone has resolved to go to a chosen place, however rough the way, it does not alter their desire. Let no smiling, good fortune, entice us away. … Let the soul therefore long with desire for its heavenly home. Let it grasp at nothing in this world; for well we know that it will quickly let go. So, if we are truly sheep of the Heavenly Shepherd, if we do not linger attached to the delights of the way, we shall be filled to satisfaction when we shall arrive in the eternal pastures; by the help of our Lord Jesus Christ who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns world without end“ (Gregory I of Rome, Sermon 14 for the Second Sunday after Easter; Oremus 428-29).

8. Christus nos audit et Christus nos videt. Christus suum cognoscit. Vere praesens est nobiscum in corpore et sanguine suo, dat nobis edendum et bibendum. Christus resurrexit!! Alleluia! Christ hears us, and Christ sees us. Christ knows His own. He is really present with us in His body and blood He gives us to eat and drink. Christ is risen!! Alleluia!

9. Thus the Lord knows His own,

As He always knew them,

The great and the least

In every people and country

By the work of the blossoming grace

By the strength of His spirit,

In faith, hope and love

As the work of His grace.

(Es kennt der Herr die Seinen elkg 282,5 2021 Philipp Spitta 1843).

This is most certainly true.

11. Let us pray. O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire Thee with our whole heart, that so desiring, we may seek and find Thee, and so finding Thee we may love Thee and loving Thee we may hate those sins from which Thou hast redeemed us. Amen. (Misericordias Domini, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.)

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Sunday, April 7, 2024

John 20,19-29. Quasimodogeniti

John 20,19-29 2724

Quasimodogeniti 37

Hegesippus, Church historian, † 180 at Jerusalem

7. April 2024

1. ℣ As infants who have just been born:

℟ Desire milk so that by it you may mature in salvation (1. Peter 2,9 vul).

Help us, O Risen Savior, that we may keep what we have and that no one may take from us our crown that we even now possess in believing hope. Let us never in any way forsake You. Let [nothing in heaven, on earth or under the earth] ever separate us from Your love, from Your fellowship, from our union with You. Amen. (Pieper 149; English transl. 87).

2. »On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus arrived and stood among them and said to them: „Peace be with you.“ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again: „Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.“ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them: „Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.“ Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,was not with them when Jesus arrived. So the other disciples told him: „We have seen the Lord.“ But he said to them: „Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.“ Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus arrived and stood among them and said: „Peace be with you.“ Then He said to Thomas: „Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.“ Thomas answered Him: „My Lord and my God!“ Jesus said to him: „Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.“ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.«

3. Jesus’ Easter appearances are followed by the exhortation to go and tell others what you have seen and heard. Some see and spoke with Jesus; others hear from eyewitnesses that Jesus has risen. Oddly, the first to hear do not believe. The apostles don’t believe the women when they tell them Jesus has risen. When Jesus appears to the Ten, Thomas was not there, and he likewise did not believe their testimony.

4. The Gospels explain that Jesus told His disciples numerous times that He would suffer, die and rise again. Time and again they did not comprehend what He told them and thus when He does indeed rise they are surprised, then they are told or remember that He did indeed teach that He would rise. Connect to His resurrection is absolution.

5. Jesus told the Ten: „Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.“ The apostles have two essential points to their preaching: 1. Jesus is risen, and 2. Your sins are forgiven. Peter connects Jesus resurrection and forgiveness: »according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time« (1. Peter 1,1-5). And John wrote: »Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples: „I have seen the Lord“—and that He had said these things to her. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world« (John 20,18; 1. John 1,17; 2,2). Also Paul wrote: »He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him« (Colossians 1,18b.22).

6. Thomas’ witness is magnificent. Not only does he see the risen Jesus, but he emphasizes the scars of His Passion in His hands and side. He could even touch those hands and side. He beholds the very signs of Jesus’ crucifixion. The apostles went forth throughout the world proclaiming the forgiveness we have through the risen Jesus.

7. Many will doubt, scoff at or vehemently oppose this gospel proclamation. Others will attempt to divert attention away from the gospel. Some even add works to the gospel that one must perform to be certain of the gospel. Paul dealt with such in his Epistle to the Galatians. A dear and wise seminary professor proclaimed it this way at a chapel service in 1998: „Now that is something they are unwilling to admit. Nobody is challenging Christ. Oh dear, no. The problem is only in what more needs to be said about Christ. That can always be improved, expanded, interpreted relevant to our questions and problems, worked into our program. There must be something that we can show for it, and that best be what God expects and demands, like circumcision. No one admits to adjusting Christ. “It’s the Gospel we’re working on.” The apostle won’t let them get away with that. Adjusted Gospel is adjusted Christ. And for an adjusted Gospel, you don’t really finally need Christ. the apostle goes on to make that quite clear. Can you talk about a Gospel if Jesus had not been crucified? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed. Then Christ died to no purpose. The only Christ who is your Savior is the one crucified. The death He died there for your sins is your death for your sins. He did it in your place. To pervert the Gospel of Christ is to nullify the grace of God. Then Christ died to no purpose. If that is the Christ you are talking about, then you have fallen away from grace. Faith plus obedience is not faith alone. It is not Christ alone. The apostle makes it clear that another gospel is not the Gospel at all. And what is not the Gospel is then clearly recognizable as the Law“ (Nagel 158-59; 160).

8. Too many churches and pastors preach and teach a different gospel with a different Christ. We are not saved by our works. Imitating the apostles doesn’t redeem us. Only the proclamation delivering Christ saves us. That is the gospel: Christ is risen, and through Him your sins are forgiven. Full stop. Nothing else is necessary.

9. Back to Thomas. He sees the risen Jesus; he believes and he makes a beautiful confession: „My Lord and my God!“ Ό κύριός μου καί ό θεός μου. Dominus meus et Deus meus. Thomas saw a man and confesses God (Nagel 123). Thomas’ confession is our confession. The Nicene Creed declares it this way: We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. Christ guarantees the expectation of victory because that victory is connected with God, which replaces the cross of disconnection from God (Nagel 124). Life and victory are ours because we are connected with and share the life and victory of Christ, and these are as solid as certain as God in Christ (Nagel 124). Nothing can shatter a life connected with Christ – not even sin, pain and death – for such a life goes through these with Christ, and with Christ there is a victorious way through (Nagel 124-25).

10. Jesus is our Lord and our God. He was crucified and resurrected to redeem us. „He redeemed mankind upon the cross on the 6^th day, the same in which He had created man in the beginning. The following day He kept His sabbath in the tomb, having finished the work that He had undertaken. But on the 3^rd, that is the first of days, then the New Man, the Conqueror of death, the First-fruits of them that sleep, appeared“ (Bernard of Clairvaux 8^th Sermon on the Holy Pasch; Oremus 413). Vivificabit nos post duos dies; in die tertia suscitabit nos, et vivemus in conspectu ejus (Osee 6,3a). »After 2 days He will revive us; on the 3^rd day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.« (Hosea 6,2).

11. Jesus Christ our Savior,

Conquered death forever,

He is now risen,

And put sin captive in prison.

Kyrie eleison.

(Jesus Christus, unser Heiland elkg 438,1 2021 Martin Luther 1524)

This is most certainly true.

12. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.

13. Let us pray. O God, who for our redemption didst give Thine only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection hast delivered us from the power of the enemy, grant us to die daily to sin that we may evermore live with Him in the joy of His resurrection. Amen. (Quasimodogeniti, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠