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Mark 1:1-8 - Lectionary for Advent 2B

12/11/2017

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12/11/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Our reading from Mark 1:1-8 is very brief. The Evangelist Mark is known for his short version of the Gospel. However, even all that is said within the sixteen chapters of Mark’s Gospel is just a beginning (v. 1). God’s work through Jesus’ teaching, death, and resurrection is just the start of what the Lord has done. It’s only a taste. Mark, and, for that matter, all of Christianity, is aware that God has certainly not taken any vacations. He has been hard at work from the time of creation until the present.

As we walk through Mark’s Gospel during this year we will see Mark’s attitude that God is always at work. There’s nothing that happens or doesn’t happen in this world outside of God’s gracious care. We’ll see the Lord’s hand of provision. We’ll see that He is the one who sets up situations to show His glory. We’ll see that he is the one who fills His people with the Holy Spirit (v. 8).

How do we expect to see God moving? It should always be within the parameters of God’s character as disclosed in the Gospel. Here we will see Jesus as the Lord of forgiveness. We will see Jesus as the Lord whose coming provokes us to confession of our sin. We will see that Jesus is the one who can conquer sin and death. We will see that Jesus is the one we need to look for, and that He is right where he promises to be, among His people who look to Him in faith.

Here the Gospel begins.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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2 Peter 3:8-14 - Lectionary for Advent 2B

12/8/2017

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12/8/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

2 Peter 3:8-14 portrays God as incredibly patient. In its statement that “one day is like a thousand years” the text indicates that God certainly has time for all our troubles. Imagine that in your life. For quick reference, a thousand minutes are 16 hours and 20 minutes. If you had your waking hours for a day to take care of each minute’s work, everything could be done with intense care and attention. When Peter says “a thousand years [are] like one day” the opposite holds true. Imagine being able to remember everything from your whole day as clearly as you would if it happened in the last 60 seconds. Even I have trouble forgetting something within a minute, though sometimes I can manage.

The Lord’s patience doesn’t mean that he is simply letting us go our own way, whatever our desire is. Not at all. In the end, he will bring the heavens and earth to a close. Though we work, and work diligently, to take care of our planet and its resources, we realize that they are also temporary. They will pass away. One day the Lord will come and do away with everything that is temporary. He will give a new heavens and a new earth, a place where everything is good and right again.

This does confront us with the reality that our conduct is destined to pass away. In fact, our attitudes, our thoughts, and our actions, good as they may be, are perishable. Many of them should have perished long ago. The Lord’s coming shows us the conduct we should be engaged in. Can we work for good? Can we work as if the Lord, who knows and cares for everything, is working in us and through us? Lord, grant us mercy that we may be faithful with the work you have given us.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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Isaiah 40:1-11 - Lectionary for Advent 2B

12/6/2017

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12/6/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

Our reading this week from the Old Testament is Isaiah 40:1-11. This is the beginning of the second of the major divisions of the book of Isaiah. Some will refer to it as “Second Isaiah.” But that’s a different discussion for a different time.

In the spirit of our Advent preparations, we see if there’s a focus on a coming Lord. Indeed, it’s right there, front and center. God is coming, the mighty king who guards his people. This in itself is great news. With a tender, loving Lord coming to watch over his people, as long as we are identified as his people, we have nothing to fear.

However, there’s more comfort to be found here. Verses 6-8 point out that all flesh, all humanity, is like grass. I asked an expert recently how long grass lives. Some is an annual plant and doesn’t last long at all. Some other varieties of grass may live as long as ten years or so. For grass, that’s a long time. But in human terms, it’s temporary. And if we think about the way many grasses seem to grow up and then die back, depending on the season, it’s pretty difficult to track the actual life span of the individual grass plant.

We are like grass. We’re here today and gone tomorrow. Did you just find yourself looking back at the beginning of the last paragraph? How is all flesh being like grass a point of comfort? The great comfort is not in our being temporary, but in God’s permanence. He doesn’t change in his care. He never changes in his disposition for those who trust him. We can take comfort in God’s eternity specifically because we are mortal.

Another bit of comfort - we feel our mortality day by day on this earth. But the same Lord of Isaiah 40 shows himself to be the God of resurrection in the New Testament. He makes us take on eternity in the resurrection of the dead. And in this eternity we will always see the comfort of the Lord. He is truly the shepherd of his people.

If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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Psalm 85 - Lectionary for Advent 2B

12/5/2017

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12/5/17
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

As we continue in the Advent readings we plead for the Lord to come to his people. Psalm 85 speaks to the idea that the Lord has seemed to forget his people. But here the Psalmist dedicates himself to the Lord’s word again. In verse 8 we confess that we need to hear God’s voice. That declaration of peace the Lord can give will prevent his people from returning to foolish, sinful ways. This is the way of salvation, prepared by God. He works salvation for his people as they hear from him, as they join faithfulness and truth, righteousness and peace.

It is not uncommon for us to forget those alliances. We separate faithfulness from truth, treating them as different realms. Rather, we live in faithfulness as we know the truth. We separate righteousness and peace from one another. Sometimes we pursue righteousness with the loving hammer of our preconceived notions. Sometimes we pursue peace in a way that treats right and wrong as if they don’t matter.  The Word of God sees the alliance as essential. Faithfulness and truth go together. Righteousness and peace go together. We don’t dare separate them. To do so will simply render all ineffective.

In all things, may the Lord go before his people, drawing them down the paths of righteousness and faithfulness, for the good of everyone in this world.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.

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    About Throwing Inkwells

    When Martin Luther was dealing with struggles in his life he once saw what appeared to be an angelic being. Not trusting that he was going to be informed by someone other than the God revealed in Scripture, he took the appearance to be untrustworthy and hurled his inkwell at it. The chipped place in the plaster wall is still visible at the Wartburg Castle, though apparently the ink stain on the wall has been refreshed periodically by the caretaker.

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