Category: Lectionary - Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry

Acts 5:12-32 - Lectionary for Easter 2C

4/22/2019

4/22/19
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 first reading for this week, from Acts 5:12-32, describes a period in which the very first Christians were publicly visible. As I read this passage, I am struck by the many times the word “all” is used. In verse 12 the apostles are all together in a public place of worship. In verse 16 all the people coming to the apostles for prayer were healed.

The Christians, however, are not the only people with unanimity. In verse 17 all those with the high priest were jealous of the apostles. For this reason, they locked the apostles up. In turn, the apostles were told by an angel to go and proclaim all the words of life. That is precisely what the apostles continued to do.

The Gospel is presented as absolutely public and applicable to all who will hear. Is there opposition? Certainly. But the people of our world still need to hear all of God’s Word, which is for their benefit.

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.

Luke 24:1-12 - Lectionary for Easter Day, Series C

4/18/2019

4/18/19
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 Gospel this week points out the message of the resurrection. It’s decidedly one of the most controversial issues of Christianity. Or at least it should be.

We notice that the first witnesses to the resurrection were women who had come to make sure all the elements of an appropriate burial were completed. They found that the tomb was open and that Jesus was not there. The reason was given to them by an angelic appearance. These first witnesses, we should remember, would not have been considered qualified to give testimony in court. But God in his grace chose them to be the first to give testimony to his resurrection. He speaks to and through even those who would otherwise be ignored.

The angelic message reminded the women of what Jesus had already said. Despite the fact that Jesus had told his followers of his death, burial, and resurrection several times, they were unable to grasp the idea and had neglected it. With Jesus’ death, their hope also died. But with Jesus’ life, their hope could come to life again. Christianity is all about the resurrection of the dead. We who believe in Jesus, though we die, yet we will live. He shows himself to be the resurrection and the life. And he does exactly what he promised. Jesus promised many other things as well. We do well if we believe he will keep those promises also.

Some of those people to whom the women reported, “to the eleven and to all the rest,” believed their report. Others thought it was some sort of nonsense. Yet over the forty days to follow, they saw Jesus with their own eyes, risen from the dead. Our first reaction to the Gospel may be negative. Yet given time and exploration, we find that the claims of the resurrection are true. Jesus is the Lord of resurrection.

Christianity is the only major world religion based on an actual historical event and on definitive truth claims. The event of the resurrection and the truth claims of Jesus, not our history, not any moral stance, not any testimony about how we feel in Christ should run the show. Christianity is built on the truth of God, just as real today as it was to those women at the tomb.

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.

1 Corinthians 15:19-26 - Lectionary for Easter Day, Series C

4/17/2019

4/17/19
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.

In 1 Corinthians 15:25-26, we read about the enduring power of Christ’s reign. We find that “he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (ESV). We humans have plenty of enemies, and some of them are formidable. In our current culture in the United States, there is a lot of talk about criminal violence, especially shootings at or around school properties. And this is a serious issue. Last year about fifty people died in these incidents. That’s too many. In fact, anything that can reasonably be prevented or treated and that is life threatening is a serious issue. Without mininizing people who are shot going to school, we’ll observe that many more die in traffic accidents caused by someone being impaired or distracted. Even more die from influenza infections. One of the largest killers of humans in the United States is abortion, in which one person can legally give instructions to end the life of another person, all the way up to the point of birth. And yet there’s another cause of death which we really can’t do anything about. It’s called time. Given enough time, no matter our lifestyle or our genetics, every last person’s body will cease to function, every last human being now alive on the planet will die. Some sooner, some later.

The Bible calls death an enemy, and it is indeed an enemy. Normal, healthy people do not want to die. A desire for suicide is never considered a natural or healthy desire. It’s giving in to the enemy, death. We should rather expect that given normal circumstances, people want to and are probably able to live a relatively long and healthy life. But death remains the enemy.

What does God do about it? The context of 1 Corinthians 15 makes it very clear. He becomes human in the place of you and of me. He gives his life to an untimely death, and thanks to his divine ability, he proclaims that he has died in your place and in my place. Not that we won’t die, given time. But in his resurrection Jesus has defeated death itself. It no longer can reign over us, because, like Jesus, we also will rise from the dead. The enemy has been defeated.

Some day the Lord will show that defeat clearly by bringing this world in which people are born, live, and die to an end. He will bring in the new heavens and new earth where we will simply live. In the meantime, the Christian can face even the enemy of death unafraid. Jesus has passed through death into life, as will we.

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.

Psalm 16 - Lectionary for Easter Day, Series C

4/16/2019

4/16/19
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.

In Psalm 16, verses 7-9, we read of the Psalmist’s response to the Lord. He blesses the Lord, he has set the Lord before him. The Psalmist makes a conscious effort to give honor to God, to remember the Lord’s actions and character. This should be the attitude of every Christian. We who claim that God has redeemed us in the person and work of Jesus should make every effort to be not only aware of, but also thankful for, God’s character, revealed in His Word.

A recent study indicated that confessional Lutherans, particularly pastors, tend to be very good with their systematic theology, with commenting on church polity, and make observations about the way the Christian faith is articulated. However, they are relatively weaker in actual use of the Bible. Passages which speak to the concerns they can articulate in their theology don’t readily come to mind. Some will say that the Bible doesn’t speak to all the issues of our time and culture, though it does. It’s a matter of looking adequately at the category of thought and identifying how the Scripture views a current issue.

Like the Psalmist, we need to recall what the Lord has said. Are we confronted by unbelief? Is it a matter of selfishness? Maybe we or others we know are trying to deal with our identity, or with loss, disappointment, pain, or fear of the future. If we think about it, nearly every problem in our society fits into one or more of those seven categories. If not, there are many others we can find in the Scripture. And as we understand what the Lord has said about His character and ours, and how we would deal with the troubles in our world, we will be better equipped to rejoice and take confidence in the identity we have in Christ. Then our heart is able to instruct us. Then we can look to him in hope, day or night.

May Christians everywhere be aware of the riches found in God’s Word!

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.

Isaiah 65:17-25 - Lectionary for Easter Day, Series C

4/15/2019

4/15/19
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.

When I was a young Christian and spent quite a bit of time with my high school friends, some would speak of their hopes for a heavenly home, mixed with their fears about the nature of tha Is it disembodied Maybe I want to reach a heavenly rest but I will miss all these things - good things - that I enjoy here. I was talking once with a Christian singer/songwriter on a concert tour. Before the concert, he said he enjoyed deer hunting. He was looking forward to an eternity where he could shoot a deer, it would fall down, get up, congratulate him on a good shot, and be completely unharmed.

These ideas about eternity are entertaining. But they are contradicted, in part, by Isaiah 65:17-18, In verse 17 we are told that in the new heavens and new earth we won’t remember “the former things.” Do you enjoy fishing, hunting, gardening, making cheese, or playing the trombone in this life? That’s perfectly fine. Eternity will be a place of delight. But “the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind” (v. 17, ESV). We can expect the Lord to give us joys and delights that we don’t have now. Yet we will not miss anything. We will be glad in what the Lord gives us. It will be better than we can imagine.

That’s just the point of the Christian life, isn’t it? We are made new in Jesus. We don’t cling to the old. And as we look to God’s recreation of all, we can’t imagine what it will be like, but we know it will be good.

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.

Luke 23:1-56 - Lectionary for Sunday of the Passion, Series C

4/11/2019

4/11/19
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.

The evangelist Luke, when telling about the crucifixion, notes a period of darkness, approximately three hours’ worth, followed by the veil in the temple being torn, along with Jesus’ calling out to the Father that he was surrendering into the hands of God. He breathed his last and died. Luke 23:47-48 record the centurion in charge of the death squad being amazed, along with all the crowds. They saw what had happened and they understood it, no doubt better than we possibly can.

I’d like to mention just a few of the surprising factors. First, though both solar and lunar eclipses were understood in antiquity, we have no record of a solar eclipse in or around Palestine in the years surrounding Christ’s death. A solar eclipse doesn’t really last very long, but this period of darkness lasted for several hours. Luke and those he talked with interpreted this as a sign from God, not as any sort of natural phenomenon. Second, the veil of the temple was torn in two. This was a tremendously large piece of cloth-work, dividing the outer court from the very holy place. It would not pull apart easily. There’s no record of anyone actually doing it. The accounts given by the evangelists don’t have contrary evidence, such as letters saying it remained intact. There was no natural phenomenon which could have caused this to happen. Yet it’s reported. Again, the impression the witnesses at the time received, the impression we are to receive, is that God is doing a sign. Third, though Jesus was in the same kind of intense suffering which kills people in crucifixion, he had been talking reasonably about forgiveness just moments before. The process which would normally take several days to kill someone did not kill Jesus. Because people typically die of asphyxiation and dehydration in a crucifixion, they don’t have much of a voice. But he called out with a loud voice, then died. The only reasonable conclusion the centurion could have come to was that Jesus didn’t die of being crucified. He died because he surrendered his life. This would also have been evident to the onlookers.

What do we make of this account? Our reasonable conclusion is that God is doing something he wants us to notice. He is opening the holy place. He is making his work obvious to everyone who knows what time it is and that it is normally light in the middle of the day. He is showing that Jesus, the Christ, does have authority to lay down his life, as he said he did, and that he will presumably have the authority to take up his life again.

The Gospels give very real, believable accounts of real events. They were published early enough that readers and hearers could bring contradictory evidence. They show Jesus speaking and acting like the very God who is giving his life to redeem others. Based on these accounts, we should have the same, very reasonable, response to the events. Indeed, Jesus is innocent, indeed he is the Lord.

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.

Philippians 2:5-11 - Lectionary for Sunday of the Passion, Series C

4/10/2019

Philippians 2:5-11 - Lectionary for Sunday of the Passion, Series C
4/10/19
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.

There are two verses in our Epistle reading for this week which can be misinterpreted very easily. I’d like to take a quick look at them. We find of Jesus’ humiliation, “7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8, ESV) We owe it to the text, and to Jesus, to interpret these verses rightly.

First off, when verse seven says Jesus is “in the likeness” of man, it doesn’t mean he is sort of like a human, as many heretical sects have claimed over the centuries. Wanting to defend Jesus’ deity, these people say he wasn’t really human. He just seemed kind of human. But the text here says very clearly that Jesus is born as a human. He is just like humans. If I buy two identical shirts and give one to myself and one to you, one is mine, and yours is in the same likeness. They are not the same shirt, but they are really like each other. Jesus is as human as you or I could ever claim to be. That’s what verse seven says. He laid aside his deity and took up humanity. This is of critical importance to Christian theology because human sin requires the death of a perfect human. If Jesus isn’t human like you or like me, his death can never take our place. He is entirely human.

What about the problem with verse eight? This one is kept a little more hidden. But we want to realize that he was obedient to the death. While Paul says “to the point of death” some, again, trying to defend the deity of Christ, have suggested he was obedient to the point of death but then his death was an illusion or there was a substitute who died in his place, because, being God, he couldn’t actually die. This is not what Paul says, though it could come off that way in translation. What Paul is saying is that Jesus was obedient even though it killed him. Yes, verse eight says that God the Son, Jesus, died a real death, a shameful death, a death which inflicted all manner of pain and suffering upon him.

Is there some good news in this passage? Yes, it is very good news. The Jesus who, though he was and is God, became man, was able to take on all our fallen humanity’s sin. Because he remained perfect, his death was able to substitute for ours. Because God really died for us, he is also able to bring us into his exaltation, where we can be raised with Christ. Because Jesus became like us, he is able to take care of us and make us like himself. Jesus, the Christ, is the one who can walk through death on our behalf and raise us to new life. That was his intent, and that is exactly what he proceeded to do.

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.

Psalm 118:19-29 - Lectionary for Sunday of the Passion, Series C

4/9/2019

4/9/19
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 Psalm passage for Sunday of the Passion has us entering Jerusalem with the Savior, expectant of the sacrifice to be made to God. We start with a gate, the gate of righteousness. We have the metaphor of a building stone and we immediately thing that we are talking about constructing something. What is being built here? A gate of righteousness? What kind of special stone do we use for that? For the gate of the Lord, the building stone is one which has been rejected by man. We find, only later, that Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders, but selected by the Father. How does he construct this gate of righteousness? Not as we would expect. In verse 27 it is built from a sacrifice, one which will atone for our sin.

The foreshadowing of the narratives surrounding Christ’s death is amazing here. He enters into Jerusalem and people quote verse 26. He is rejected by man and selected by God. He is the one who saves all who call on his name. Jesus, the light of the world has shone on his people, even when he is fastened to the horns of the altar as the sacrifice - the altar called a cross. He is the one who was lifted up for us, due to the hatred of mankind and the love of God. By his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus has opened the gates of righteousness. The empty tomb with the stone rolled away, the temple with the veil ripped in two, both are signs that the way has been opened for all who believe on Jesus to enter into God’s presence, through the gate of righteousness.

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.

Deuteronomy 32:36-39 - Lectionary for Sunday of the Passion, Series C

4/8/2019

4/8/19
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.

How great is the compassion of God! Our Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy 32:36-39 points out God’s compassion when he vindicates his people (v. 36). When doese this happen? It is when the people’s power is gone. God’s care for his people shows when his people have hit bottom, when they are at the end of themselves, when they have no earthly hope.

Why would the loving God leave his people to get into such a desperate condition? We see our tendency in verses 37-38. As fallen humans, one of our failings is to take matters into our own hands and try to work out a way of salvation apart from God. Here the temptation was to make other gods and worship them. What is God’s response? He lets his people try their own way, only to see it fail. Those other gods we designed, the ones we trusted, to whom we gave sacrifices and offerings, what happened to them? They were our creations. They were never trustworthy. They couldn’t help us at all, so we fell into failure.

It is when we realize our resources are no good that we turn to the true and living God, the one who can rescue and bring life. It is then that we find the Lord was always there, caring for us, even when we went off on our own way.

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.

Luke 20:9-20 - Lectionary for Lent 5C

4/4/2019

4/4/19
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 Gospel reading this week, from Luke 20:9-20, consists of the parable of Jesus about tenants who despised their landowner, who used his messengers badly, and who finally decided to kill his son and keep the vineyard for themselves. The owner, in righteous anger, will wage war against the tenants.

The Jewish leaders, as we read in verses 19-20, were offended because the parable was clearly pointed at them. From then on, they waged a campaign, spying on Jesus and trying to get him to say something self-incriminating. They really wanted to get rid of Jesus, no matter the cost. Their conflict, in short, became personal rather than theological.

What happens when we engate in a personal battle rather than seeking a genuine understanding of the truth? The truth finally becomes obscured. It can be swept aside in the burning desire to rid ourselves of our opponents. That’s precisely what happened to the scribes in Jesus’ time. They were intent on rejecting him, so they also rejected the words of forgiveness, of reconciliation to God, and of peace with one another which Jesus was delivering. They were so zealous for their party line it never crossed their minds that Jesus might just be the one who fulfilled the Messianic prophecies and would rescue them from sin and death. They rejected him out of hand, to their own destruction.

How do we deal with the message of hte Gospel? Are there some who reject it because they are busy rejecting its messengers? Are there messengers who are provoked to come off message and engage the “scribes” in a fist-fight, verbally or otherwise? How did Jesus deal with it? He told the truth, lived the life he was given, and died his death even on behalf of those who attacked him. Like him or not, he showed he was the one who could reconcile the world to God.

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.

Philippians 3:4b-14 - Lectionary for Lent 5C

4/3/2019

4/3/19
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.

Christians are often encouraged to work, and work very hard, based on our Epistle passage for this week. In Philippians 3:12-14 we are told that Paul pushes and strains for a prize in Christ. And we are also rightly urged to the same striving. Yet we must ask what our right goal is. After all, we will only hit a goal we cannot rightly see by accident. We are much more likely to hit a goal that we are looking for.

Sadly, we easily encourage ourselves right into the fruitless pursuit Paul described in the previous paragraph. In verse three, he spoke of it as a confidence in the flesh. He had the right birth, in Israel. He was of the sect which took God’s Word seriously. He pursued the faith diligently. That sounds very like what we urge ourselves to do. Yet it was useless to Paul, as it is useless to us.

The pursuit Paul needed from the start, the same we need, was to pursue knowing Jesus as Lord. Paul needed to be found in Christ (v. 9), trusting in Jesus’ righteousness delivered to him by grace through faith. As long as Paul worked toward his own goals, his own goodness, his own righteousness, it would not benefit him. It is only as he looked to Jesus that he would find hope.

It is the same for us as for Paul. Our striving can never be after our own godliness, but must always be intended to know Jesus, the one who gave himself for us. This is where we find true hope.

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.

Psalm 126 - Lectionary for Lent 5C

4/2/2019

Psalm 126 - Lectionary for Lent 5C
4/2/19
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.

What kind of joy is it when God’s people realize His work of restoration? In Psalm 126 it is like a dream. I don’t know about your dreams. Mine rarely make complete sense. They seem real, but that reality is somehow different from the reality we grasp when awake. For instance, I once had a dream in which I had to drive a passenger car across town by jumping it from the top of one large garbage truck to another. We know this is impossible. It was annoying but not impossible in the dream.

What of the dream which God in Christ gives us, that our sin has been taken away, our failure transferred to God the Son, our shame taken away by God’s forgiveness which He prepared for us? The only frustration there is wondering if we will wake up and find out it’s not so. In Psalm 126 we don’t awaken from the dream, because it is absolutely true. We go through life as if we are dreaming. We wake to find it is real. We go to sleep and it is still real. Yes, the Lord has done great things (v. 3). That’s the Christian life. It’s perfectly real, and we are all graciously invited to believe it.

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.

Isaiah 43:16-21 - Lectionary for Lent 5C

4/1/2019

4/1/19
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.

“I am doing a new thing” Isaiah 43:19 says. We don’t need to be around American Christianity long to hear that statement or to see the sentiments usually attached to it. Sadly, these interpretations often depart quite radically from what Isaiah was saying to the people of his time.

Notice, if you will, how verses 16-18 retell an event from the Exodus, when the way through the sea was suddenly blocked for the chariots and army of Egypt. The attempt to pursue God’s presence was stopped in a deadly manner. That was the old thing, the former way.

What is this new way God is proclaiming? Here he makes a way for all the wild things that could harm Israel to receive not only access to God but also access to water, that which gives earthly life. Where there is water, there will also be food. The Lord will provide for those formerly excluded and outcast. So far, so good. This is possibly consistent with what our contemporary versions of Christianity would say. Where’s the difference?

In Isaiah, the new thing provides access to the God who never changes. God is the one who calls all the shots. He is the one who defines the way of access. He gets to change the hearts of the wild beasts and of His people. We don’t see God and pursue Him in our own power and according to our desires. Rather, we see the way of salvation that God has made and prescribed, trusting in His grace which He presents as He wishes. The new thing is God’s plan, not ours. We see His character, His revelation, and His means of grace, and so we follow them, trusting in Him alone. God reaigns and calls us to his side, formerly impossible but not a completed event in Christ. He gathers His people and has them show His praise (v. 21).

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.

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 - Lectionary for Lent 4C

3/28/2019

3/28/19
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 Gospel for this week, from Luke 15, is focused on the fairly well known “parable of the prodigal.” Here, the younger son of a living father persuades his father to give him his inheritance. He departs and manages to run through all his money, ending up in very humble circumstances.

While many will shoose to focus on the younger son’s offensive behavior toward his family or on the plan for restoration, or maybe the restoration itself or the older brother’s reaction, I’d like to take al ook at the trouble the young man found himself in. We may remember that pigs are considered ceremonially unclean by Jews. They will not raise them or eat them. How, then, does this young man end up helping someone who keeps pigs, and wishing for a share in the pigs’ food? He is far from home, taking despreate measures in order to stay alive, and engaged in activity which provoked him to guilt and shame on a daily basis.That’s about as far from home as you can be. It’s a profoundly sad place.

How did the young man get there? He had purposely thrown off the shackles of restraint provided by his family and his culture. In asking for his inheritance, he was declaring his father dead. He left home, the place of security, and tried to make his own way, according to his pleasures. By departing from the structure and restraint of his culture, he was faced with the monumental task of re-inventing it all, in a way that would work. This is a recipe for failure.

Many in our current Western world are, sad to say, not like the prodigal. Yes. Not like him. Our culture ran away from those reasonable foundations in the past. Different people will place different dates on the departure, but no matter how you stack it, we are very unlikely to be the first generation in this exodus. Our parents, grandparents, or even earlier generations made the shift. We were born in the foreign country, starving, and feeding pigs, which is loathsome but we were never told why. It’s a sorry state of affairs.

Jesus’ message is the same for us as for the young man. God stands ready to welcome those who have wandered, even those who have never known him. He calls us, by His Word and by the community of Christians, to be restored, to be clothed, to be fed, and to see that He is very much alive. He himself is our everlasting inheritance. This is the good news for us who are far away and starving. We are welcome home.

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.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 - Lectionary for Lent 4C

3/27/2019

3/27/19
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 Epistle reading for this week focuses on how we would consider God and how we would consider one another. At the beginning of the passage, Paul says that at one point we would think of Christ “according to the flesh.” But in light of the resurrection of Christ, that thinking has passed away. The crux of the issue is that God has made reconciliation and given his people “the word of reconciliation” (v. 19, ESV). This sheds light on what Paul might mean when he speaks of consideration “according to the flesh” (v. 16, ESV).

When we think and act in accordance with the flesh, we are the doers and shakers. We are the ones responsible for everything. We find peace with God, we trust, we obey, we work out God’s kingdom. We find that Christ’s work on our behalf is only valid if we contribute to it. We see a risen Christ who needs us to keep his law or he is stripped of his power and authority. This is how life according to the flesh is.

The good news is that verse seventeen does away with the idea altogether. We don’t need to make the rules. We don’t get to make the rules. We are best advised to keep our hands in our pockets and stay away from any temptation to enter into the fray. Why is this? Because God has done the work of reconciling the world, including us, to himself. It is done. Our efforts to add to his work are not only pointless but even harmful. He has accomplished his will.

What is our proper resonse? To make that work of God known to others, calling them to receive God’s reconciling work. After all, in verse 21, Jesus is said to have become sin for us, making us God’s righteousness. The work is done. We may as well receive it with thanksgiving.

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.

Psalm 32 - Lectionary for Lent 4C

3/26/2019

3/26/19
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.

Psalm 32 speaks to the blessedness of the one who is forgiven. It’s important that we remember this is not speaking of someone who was not guilty. Verses 3-5 speak clearly of the process of what a Christian would call “conviction of sin.” Here we realize something is wrong. We try to deny it, to evade the truth, maybe to minimize our sin or learn to live with it keeping it secret. In the end, those efforts fail. We find ourselves preoccupied and troubled, day and night. In the end it consumes all our energy. We have no choice but to call out to God.

What happens then? We still have the sin but we confess it to the Lord. He does not make it nonexistent. He forgives it. The sin? Yes, it has still happened. There may be deep and lasting consequences. But in his mercy, God forgives us. He will not count it against us (v. 1). He also shows us we can’t lie to God. There’s no place for deceit (v. 2).

What is our reasonable action in light of this ? The Christian, over time, becomes both more aware of his sunfulness and of the forgiving nature of God. Rather than denying and hiding our sin, we confess it before the Lord. REally, why would we want to bottle up an offense before God when we know it will debilitate us? No, we don’t hide it. We confess before the Lord and see his forgiveness. There we find a confidence and a stability. We know the God of all mercy, who can guard our hearts and minds.

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Isaiah 12:1-6 - Lectionary for Lent 4C

3/25/2019

3/25/19
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.

Isaiah 12:1-6 is centered around thanksgiving to God. The people of God will give thanks to the Lord. They will tell about what God has done. This brings great joy.

For some reason, we often seem focused on acts of God which appear negative. Our insurance policies may even classify “acts of God” such as earthquakes or forest fires as covered or uncovered incidents in their coverage. Many in our culture seem convinced that God’s work is, by definition, negative.

In sharp contrast to that, Isaiah 12:1 describes God’s work as turning from anger so as to bring comfort. Verse two describes God’s power as something which drives away fear. Verse five says that God’s name is exalted by his deeds, and it assumes that God’s work is good and gracious.

Do God’s people face trials and tribulations? Yes, they certainly do. Is there a healthy fear of God? Yes indeed. We do not want to fall into God’s righteous wrath against our unrighteousness. But what is the focus of the Bible? It is that, in Christ, God’s anger at sin has been satisfied and that he can look at those who trust in Jesus as if they are perfectly righteous in his sight. God has turned from his anger. He has brought comfort. This is the good news, which should provoke our praises, our songs of joy. The Holy One of Israel is great in our midst.

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Luke 13:1-9 - Lectionary for Lent 3C

3/21/2019

3/21/19
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 Luke 13:1-9 confronts us with an unpleasant reality. While we might want to get what we deserve, and hold out some hope that we would get something good, Jesus reflects upon some who were apparently killed while making sacrifice to God. He points out to his questioners that they themselves are no more righteous than those victims of what seems an unjust death. People die, whether of illness, accident, or violence. We cannot hope for better. This earthly life will come to an end, whether we like it or not.

That’s a sobering thought. All our righteousness, all our civic good, all our attempts at caring for ourselves will pass away, if we are looking only at this mortal life. The mortality rate for humans throughout history remains 100%. The Bible mentions a couple of people who were taken up to heaven without dying and one who was raised from the dead. Out of all human history, we are left with a 100% mortality rate.

Jesus gives us some hope in verses 6-9. He calls his people to hear him, to repent and believe. And then he gives a lesson about a man who has a fig tree. It isn’t productive. It should probably be cut down and thrown in the fire. But the vinedresser persuades the owner to leave it for another year in hopes of producing fruit. The tree will receive care and nourishment. Maybe it will produce.

In the end, we don’t find out whether the tree produces fruit or not. We don’t find out whether the people listeniing to Jesus repent or not. We don’t know any of that. But we do know that God’s call to us is crystal clear. He calls us to believe in him. He calls us to change our attitudes so that we are not in line for execution. He invites his people to receive not what they deserve, but the good they need.

The people who were killed are not greater sinners than we are. However, God graciously offers his forgiveness to all who believe. We’re all sinners, in need of forgiveness. In Christ we can receive that forgiveness, not by our righteous works, but by Jesus’ forgiving grace.

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.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 - Lectionary for Lent 3C

3/20/2019

3/20/19
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.

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, the apostle warns the Corinthians. They, as God’s people, are, according to Paul, partakers of the identity of Israel. They all passed through the Red Sea with Moses, though the event was around 1400 years earlier. God gives his people a group identity, and it is one in which his people are under his protective hand. They are those rescued by the Lord.

What happened to the people of Israel? They took matters into their own hands (v. 7). The result of taking their own initiative was an immoral departure from the faith, eventually leading to destruction. They followed their temptation and their desires, departing from the collective people of God.

The Corinthians were never with Moses. How does this apply? Just like the people of Israel, they could remain under the protection of God through faith in Christ. When they choose to pursue their own desires, to solve the problem of eternal life according to their own plan, they will certainly fail. As with the Corinthians, so with us. Christians are called to trust that Jesus has done all that is necessary for our life and salvation. As Moses brought the people of Israel through the sea, Jesus has promised to bring those who trust in Him through death to emerge safely on the other side. We are warned not to trust in our own way, for without it we will not emerge unharmed. As we trust in Christ, we are safe. As we trust ourselves, we are doomed.

This should not be difficult for us to analyze and decide upon. As Christ has called us his people, let us walk as his people.

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Psalm 85 - Lectionary for Lent 3C

3/19/2019

3/19/19
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.

We’re pretty accustomed to thinking about life in terms of defaults. We assume a particular condition which is normally true. This can be applied to most of the situations of our world, even to people and their personalities. And, just as all the people we deal with, God has a personality, a very complex one.

In our Psalm this week, we ask ourselves whether God’s default is favor of justice, since the two seem to be in conflict with one another. In his justice, God cannot abide our sin and iniquity. He is right to be angry at us. God’s justice is central to his nature. However, so is his mercy and favor, by which he forgives and restores his people. What has happened to God’s people? In this Psalm they have been forgiven in the past. Yet they find themselves separated from God. That’s what happens when God is just and we are sinful. Again and again we face his fanger.

If we pause to consider it, God’s forgiveness is not in conflict with his justice. He can’t legitimately bypass our sin. That violates his justice. What option is left for him? He could destroy us to satisfy his justice. Then again, he could show mercy, not by overlooking offenses, but by taking care of them. Forgiveness doesn’t just ignore or minimize sin. It acknowledges it as what it is - an affront to the perfect holiness of God. Then forgiveness takes care of the consequences. God’s holy justice and his perfect restorative love meet in God the Son, Jesus, who gave his life as a ransome for all of our sin. In Christ, both justice and favor are satisfied. This is the hope of the Christian, and the joy of our Psalm.

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Ezekiel 33:7-20 - Lectionary for Lent 3C

3/18/2019

3/18/19
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.

The season of Lent is normally understood as a time of repentance and humility. Our Old Testament reading for this week, from Ezekiel 33:7-20, makes two radical statements which I find particularly humbling. First, in verse 13, if the righteous person, someone who has God’s promise of life, trusts in himself, he will fall into injustice and perish. His good works may be good, but if he is no longer trusting God but trusting himself, all his good works will not save him. This is a vital correction for those who are overly confident. Our confidence comes from God, not from ourselves.

The second humbling statement comes in verse 17 and again in verse 20. Someone who has lived a life of sin and evil can repent of that sin and be forgiven by God. It is not related to his sin but to God’s forgiveness. Likewise, the one who has always done good and does not trust the Lord is not forgiven. We look at this pattern and say God is unjust. However, He is the one who created justice. He gets to define it. And God’s justice is tied to his mercy, poured out on those who believe Him.

In the end, we realize that it is only in God’s mercy that we have hope. He pours out his mercy on those who trust him. If he acted only based on our idea of justice we would have no hope. Rather, we look to him for his mercy and grace.

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Luke 13:31-35 - Lectionary for Lent 2C

3/14/2019

3/14/19
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 Gospel reading for this week shows an uncharacteristic view of Jesus. Luke portrays him as, on one level, not caring about people. Normally we are struck by how much Jesus cares. But here, we see that his care for his own people provokes his disregard for those who have rejected him. He calls Herod “that fox,” indicating he is a conniving person who shold be disappointed (v. 32). Despite what the religious leaders think, he’s going to go ahead to heal people and cast out demons. He doesn’t care what the authorities say or do, he is on his own timetable to go and die in Jerusalem (v. 33). And, although it is a matter of sorrow that Jerusalem will not receive his care, in the end he leaves it desolate (v. 35). Those who would oppose Jesus have condemned themselves. He allows them this. They will have to deal with it as well as they can.

How do we deal with this concept? The fact is, Jesus genuinely calls all people to trust in Him. He is not changing that call. Yet the call tells the world to trust in Jesus or to work out its own salvation. Do we trust in Him as he has said, and add to heavenly joy? Do we trust in ourselves and go to our destruction? Jesus has done all that is needed for life and salvation. If we depart, woe to us. Let us rather be gathered in Christ, as the hen gathers her chicks, to a place of peace, rest, and safety.

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Philippians 3:17-4:1 - Lectionary for Lent 2C

3/13/2019

3/13/19
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.

In our Epistle reading this week the apostle Paul urges the Philippians to imitate him. This passage opens a fearful set of possible misinterpretations. Are we to try to emulate our church leaders? How do we know if they should be imitated? What of the people who are only pursuing power? In light of recent publicity which points out the sinful stiving for selfish and dictatorial influence over others, resulting in all manner of abuse, we need to proceed with caution. We don’t follow churchly authorities blindly.

While Paul tells the Philippians to follow his pattern, and the patterns of others who are similar, he makes it crystal clear how he is different from the power of this world. In verse 19, the result of the bad examples’ life is destruction. They have raised their own desires to the level of a god. Their minds are on earthly, not heavenly things. Those who are headed for destruction have pursued the things of this life only. They are trying to live in the moment, rather than considering eternity.

Sadly, there is a movement within contemporary Christianity which urges living “in the now.” It would say that true spirituality is momentary. It is also elusive. The fact is, rejecting the past and taking no thought to the future is normally seen as irresponsible and unhealthy. Much of what makes society work is an awareness of the possible consequences of our actions.

Paul is not speaking to such a radical departure. He is, however, cuationing against considering only the self and the temporal. He says there is a much better thing for the Christian. We have a heavenly citizenship, eternal and trustworthy. For this, we wait as Christ prepares to change us into His image, out of our image. This is his way of giving us a glory we wouldn’t even imagine ourselves. Yet it is where we are to stand. As we see our leaders walking in this way of glory, we imitate them. Their desire is heavenly, likewise their calling. They will lead us to hope on Christ.

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Psalm 4 - Lectionary for Lent 2C

3/12/2019

3/12/19
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.

Psalm 4 speaks to the troubled spirit Christians can often have when they realize, yet again, that they are radically different from much of the world in their attitudes and outlook. In verse two, the honor of the godly person is portrayed as shame. He endures lies, especially about his motives and character. These lies, moreover, accuse not only the believer but also God. Critics will ask what kind of a God would allow this or promote that. They will take advantage of every instance of a Christian not living up to the standard they have imposed on Christians, and then claim that it proves the Christian is an ungodly person and, furthermore, that God is irrelevant or a force for bad in the world.

Needless to say, this is very frustrating. Then, in verse four, the response to such an outpouring from our world is to remain quiet, to ponder God’s nature and character. To the world of accusers this very response appears to be a concession. It makes the Christian look weak and it fails to defend God’s character as well. That’s the exact opposite of what we normally would like to do. But it is what God gives us to do.

In the end, though, rather than engaging in battle with accusers, we live out a Christian life without apology, without defense. Notice in verse five that we are called to make the offering that is right and to trust in the Lord. Throughout the Old Testament, that kind of trust in God involves loving and serving your neighbor. It involves living a life which brings God’s mercy to the world. Rather than taking our conflict with the world into our own hands and fighting it out, we leave it in God’s hands and live out our trust in Him. According to verse six, we show goodness to others as the outstretched hand of God. We won’t do this if we are busy arguing with someone. We let God’s mercy do the arguing for us.

The outcome of this type of a radical lifestyle is to rest in the peace of God. That’s not a bad outcome, is it? Better yet, it allows others to find God’s peace as well. Is it frustrating? Perhaps. Is it counter intuitive? Decidedly. Is God honored through it? Absolutely.

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.

Jeremiah 26:8-15 - Lectionary for Lent 2C

3/11/2019

3/11/19
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 Old Testament reading from Jeremiah 26 describes Jeremiah’s boldness in the face of opposition. His prophecies had not been favorable for the future stability of Jerusalem. The city would be laid waste unless something very significant changed. Needless to say, the city and relgional leaders were not pleased. They called for Jeremiah’s death because he was apparently opposed to Jerusalem. Jeremiah stood his ground, telling them they could kill him or not, as they wished, but that the condemnation was from the Lord. They really needed to change their ways and obey the Lord.

God’s people often appear to be almost on the lunatic fringe, or at least out of touch with cultural values. In times when much of Western society is trying to recover and emulate pre-Chrsitian mores about the dignity of human life, the individualized interpretations of marriage, and the alternatively trivial or indomitable significance of sexuality, Christians who say human life is inherently priceless, marriage of a man and a woman for life is the basic way of organizing and perpetuating society, and that the marital relationship is centered on commitment appear increasingly disconnected. The larger society may respond with disbelief, hostility, and even abuse or marginalization. Yet all we are doing is exemplifying God’s revealed principles from Scripture, encouraging peace, stability, and safety. Like Jeremiah, we may appear threatening to some.

How do we respond? We may not always be beyond criticism, we may sometimes miss the perfect application of God’s Word, yet we still need to stand for the truth. As in Jeremiah’s time, so in ours. The people who reject God’s word can expect to suffer. We warn them, firmly but lovingly, to trust in God who can save them from every trouble.

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.