Category: Lectionary - Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry

Psalm 16 - Lectionary for Easter Sunrise

4/16/2021

4/16/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

We use Psalm 16 on Holy Saturday as well as Easter Sunrise. Let's take a look at verse 10, which fits this celebration very well. "You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption" (ESV).

Augustine of Hippo always made sure we were aware of the Psalms being about Jesus. Here, as we realize especially on Easter, Jesus was not allowed to see corruption. He died, yes. But he was placed in a tomb undergorund and didn't have time to decay. He was raised again to life.

When we die, we have every reason to expect that we will see corruption. In this we are different from Jesus. This is one of the main reasons that Christians have historically been relatively unconcerned with embalming. Our body can decay. Jesus did not decay. He rose from the dead and can raise us as well. There's no need to fear.

On Easte, then, and every day, we remember that Jesus remains the uncorrupted one who will raise us in the last day. He can do 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 25:6-9 - Lectionary for Easter Sunrise

4/15/2021

4/15/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

For Easter Sunrise it is traditional to read Isaiah 25:6-9. Many church bodies have regularly kept a fast from Good Friday until Easter Sunday, breaking the fast with a celebration of communion at dawn. The symbolism is that of waiting on the Lord, hoping for his time of resurrection, when we receive life in exchange for deeath. Verse nine, then, says that we have waited for God and his salvation.

We don't like to wait. Yet all through our life on earth, we have to wait. Wait for this or that, for rest, for work, for relationships to start, for meetings to end, for payday, for retirement. We wait and wait.

What are we waiting for? Is it for God to swallow up death and save us? Now that's worth the wait. And in Christ, it is done.

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.

Matthew 27:57-66 - Lectionary for Holy Saturday

4/14/2021

4/14/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Our Gospel reading from Matthew 27:57-66 reminds me of the book of Jonah. It may seem a strange connection, but it's there. In Jonah, every character believes God except Jonah, the one to whom God had specifically spoken.

In Matthew 27, as well as the other Gospels, not one single follower of Jesus expected him to rise from the dead. As far as they were concerned, once he died, it was all over.

After Jesus, death, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate (v. 62). They knew what Jesus had said. Based on Jesus' words about rising from the dead, they asked for a guard so the disciples wouldn't steal the body. Jesus' promise of resurrection was known to the Jewish leaders. It was forgotten by Jesus' disciples .

Pilate, who seemed to have some idea that Jesus might be telling the truth, told the priests to take guards and make the tome bas secure as they could. It seems he may have expected the resurrection as well.

In their time of trial, the disciples were prone to forgetting the promises of Jesus. We are also quick to forget. Especially during the hard times, then, we need to strive to remember God's Word and promises. Yes, that means we recall them, like the priests, not like the disciples. God fulfills all his promises.

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 Peter 3:17-22 - Lectionary for Holy Saturday

4/13/2021

4/13/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

We all suffer in one way or another. Yes, I know. This is a Christian blog. I'm supposed to write about our victory and how Jesus has made everything right. There's no more suffering, is there?

To say that would be to tell a lie about the very nature of the world. We all suffer. Our Epistle reading, from 1 Peter 3:17-22, describes how God in Christ redeems that suffering.

Peter tells us it is better to suffer due to good than due to evil. If I do evil, then I suffer because of it, I get to spend the time of suffering blaming myself. I got what I deserved.

Christ, on the other hand, suffered due to evil, but not his own evil. His suffering was brought on by our sin. This throws a whole new light on the suffering. It shows it as something to be endured for the good of someone else. When we suffer for doing good, we are suffering as a result of other people's evil. It is a deeply Christlike thing to do.

Am I saying that Christians should deliberately place themselves in danger and try to provoke suffering at the hands of others? Possibly, but it depends on the nature of the suffering.

Some of our suffering is relatively light, but very common. Do we face criticism in our work due to other people's hang-ups? Do we return home from work exhausted or sore? Do we go out of our way to help others? These are small, common, and godly types of suffering. We don't want to brag, and we will certainly endure ridicule if we tell people our stiff neck from working in front of the computer screen all day is martyrdom for Christ. Yet we are doing well when we lay down our lives for others, doing the thins our neighbors need.

Jesus laid his life down, in a radical way, which killed him. He did it for the sins of the world. If we suffer, in small orgreat ways, may it be in the service of Jesus, not of ourselves.

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 Holy Saturday

4/12/2021

4/12/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance" (Psalm 16:5-6, ESV).

On the day that I write this, the chilling rain and wind of some days ago has gone away. The waters where I live are no longer flood-stage torrents. The daffodils are above water, and at least three species of trees are in full bloom, putting on a great show of beauty. It's pleasant!

Psalm 16 describes God as our refuge, and confesses that all is well. Is this the case when it doesn't look so great? Were my lines in pleasant places when I fought snow and sub-zero temperatures to do my work? When I was suffering from illness? When I face trials? When the woodpile moves into the deep water?

Yes, in all these times, God is still good. He has preserved his people for eternal life. He will never abandon them. He is always the good Lord.

Our confidence is not in the situation. It is in the Lord of all, who lives and reigns forever. It is in the triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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.

Daniel 6:1-24 - Lectionary for Holy Saturday

4/11/2021

4/11/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Our Old Testament reading from Daniel seems chillingly familiar to many in current American Christianity, and probably even more so to people in some parts of the world. "Wait," you say. "Nobody is being fed to lions because they pray." Granted, but let's take a look at the overall situation.

Daniel was known as someone of faith. People knew he prayed to God regularly. And those who disagreed with Daniel on unrelated grounds wanted to find an accusation that would stick. In their zeal, they searched in vain. Daniel was honest and ethical. his opponents had to create a situation which would provoke him to convict himself.

They did this by arranging for a civil law which he would disobey. No prayer to anyone but the king for the next month. They knew Daniel would not change his practices.

Ardent secularists who want to remove Christians from the public sphere promote laws and regulations which Christians, as a matter of conscience, will not be able to follow. This is at the heart of moves to compel businesses to enter into endorsements they may find offensive. It is at the heart of removal of conscience exceptions which force pharamcists and other medical personnel to support on-demand abortion. It is at the heart of binding counselors so they can't help a person affirm the gender identified by their biology, but rather have to endorse the narrative that the person's mental concept should override DNA. It is at the heart of endorsing prayers in accord with neo-paganism but rejecting trinitarian prayers.

Christians will disobey these mandates. We guard truth and conscience. We may not be fed to lions, but we can certainly be banned from polite society, be defamed, and be insulted. Worse could certainly come.

Like Daniel, though, we stand firm and act in accord with what we have come to believe. The Lord will care for us, to whatever extent he wants, on earth. We trust that he will also guard us to eternity. We stand fast.

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.

John 18:1-19:42 - Lectionary for Good Friday

4/10/2021

4/10/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

The issue of authority is very significant in John's Gospel. John sets out to demonstrate that Jesus is the one who has all authority, as the one who was with God in the beginning and is able to rule over all things.

The authority issue is very prominent in the trial of Jesus, from John 19:7-11. Here, the Jews say Jesus must die because he portrays himself as "the Son of God." This revelation strikes fear into the heart of Pilate.

Within Roman paganism, the gods were thought to involve themselves in the affairs of humans, even fathering offspring with them. To Pilate's reckoning, it was entirely possible that someone could be the child of a god. And this is a frightful idea. What if Pilate were to condemn someone who is part divine to death? This would bring the wrath of the offended god down on Pilate. He would want to avoid any possibility of that.

Pilate, wanting to find the truth, asks Jesus were he is from. This is another chance to discern his identity. But Jesus will not answer Rather, Jesus asserts that Pilate has no authority but what he has received from above. This scares Pilate even more.

In the end, Jesus asserts his authority over sin and death. It is not the kind of victory Pilate would have expected. But it shows that even Pilate's authority is limited.

God in Christ has the authority to forgive his people and rescue them from toil and danger in a sinful world. He has overcome death. What greater authority can we seek?

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 - Lectionary for Good Friday

4/9/2021

4/9/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 is packed full of powerful ideas. Christ died for all, we don't live for ourselves, we are new creations, we are reconciled to God, Jesus became sin for us. We don't have time to explore any of those concepts very thoroughly, even given a whole lifetime. But we can take a moment to think about verse 20.

God has made us his ambassadors, carrying a message of reconciliation. Because he has done everything needed to reconcile us to God in Christ, we carry that message of reconciliation to others.

Central to this idea is that we need to be brought into a friendly relationship with God. We were enemies by nature. But God in Christ has broken down the wall our sin built. We are no longer forcibly shut out of the presence of God.

What does this say about all our attempts to purify ourselves, to justify ourselves, to shape up for God? It says that they are worthless, at least from a divine perspective. There's nothing we can do to earn God's favor. He reconciled us. That's what we needed.

In the end, salvation is of the Lord. It is defined by him, purchased by him, and delivered by him. We are merely his people who invite others to come, hear, believe, and live.

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 22 - Lectionary for Good Friday

4/8/2021

4/8/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

From the cross, Jesus cries out the opening of Psalm 22. It has become a traditional text for Good Friday, as we reflect upon or re-enact some of the events surrounding Jesus' death and resurrection. To make a brief scholarly note, there is credible evidence that in many instances an author will give us just the start of a quotation but in real life the person actually said the entirety of the work. So it is possible that Jesus spoke all of Psalm 22. His Jewish hearers certainly knew the rest of it.

Many of the events recorded in Psalm 22 fit what we know of crucifixion, and particularly of Jesus' experience. The people mocked him. They said God would have to rescue him. He was thirsty. He was surrounded by "dogs" - non-Israelites. They took his clothes and cast lots for them.

We remember that many of these actions were performed by Romans who would not have know of the Psalm.

What of the rest of the Psalm? Verses 27 and following speak of God being the one to whom all nations turn, who rules, who rescues his people. This is the mighty God of all, the one who takes on suffering himself so as to save His people.

God has no forsaken us. He has come to rescue 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.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 - Lectionary for Good Friday

4/7/2021

4/7/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Are you a pretty good person? If we avoid the overly theological answers which say we are sinful through and through or that we have been made perfectly holy in Christ, most of us would say, and others would agree with us, that we are pretty good people. We can certainly find someone who is a much worse example of general goodness and humanity.

Our reading in Isaiah throws some different perspective on this situation. Let's turn on the lights and look carefully. I'm a pretty decent person, but not perfect. When God says he is going to arrange for someone else to take care of my sin, it sounds like a fine idea. After all, taking care of sin is pretty rough business.

Isaiah 52:14 says he is marred.
Isaiah 53:3 says he is like someone suffering so much we don't know what to do, so we hide.
Isaiah 53:5 says he is wounded, crushed, whipped.
Isaiah 53:7 says he is oppressed, afflicted, and led to slaughter.

How did Jesus deserve all this? He didn't. We pretty good people did. This is the kind of loving offer God makes in the Gospel. Believe that in Christ your sins can be taken away. They are. He suffered the penalty for sin in your place. God now looks on you as his holy child.

Now we can return to the highly theological answers. We have sin, enough to warrant our destruction. We are made perfectly holy by God in Christ. That's not pretty good. It's sublime.

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.

John 13:1-51, 34-35 - Lectionary for Thursday in Holy Week

4/6/2021

4/6/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Our Gospel reading from John 13 describes Jesus as the Lord and Savior, which he is, but also as the one who washes his disciples' feet, a job usually reserved for a servant of low status. It is especially telling that, when Simon Peter was approached by Jesus with a basin and a towel, he first refused to be washed. He would rather have dirty feet from walking in the dusty street than to have his Lord wash his feet.

Jesus' response was that if Simon Peter didn't allow it, he would have no part in Jesus. Peter's response swung from one end of the spectrum to the other, in that he suggested that Jesus should wash his hands and head as well.

While Peter's response does indicate a willingness, and even a desire, to be cleansed by Jesus the Lord, he has failed to recognize that Jesus already had cleaned him, through the Word and through his very presence. Jesus responded that Peter didn't need a whole bath. He just needed a little touch-up of his feet.

The Christian, engaged in fellowship with Jesus, hearing his word, basking in his presence, is clean. In some sense, though Christians confess they are sinful by nature, through and through, we can also confess that we have been washed by Jesus. We don't have to bear the filth of our previous associations. We don't have to earn more cleansing. We have been made holy.

Many in our world would like to mock us for such a confession. Christians seem o fall prey to all sorts of selfish and sinful attitudes. We sin against God and others. And sometimes we even seem to take delight in it.

Yes, we do. We need to have our feet washed by our Savior. Otherwise we, who are clean and walk in the holiness of God, will still leave dirty footprints all over the place. We need to have our feet washed.

This is the whole point of receiving God's grace in Word and Sacrament, as often as we can. We don't want to track up the world. After all, we have been washed by God's Word and are ready to be presented before God in his perfect heavenly realm. But as long as we are walking in this world, we need to be washed, at least our feet, by our Savior.

Jesus tells us later that we are to love one another. Let's don't track up their nice clean floors.

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 11:23-32 - Lectionary for Thursday in Holy Week

4/5/2021

4/5/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Communion is a divisive issue. Yet that very statement itself seems self-contradictory. How can "communion" - a celebration that recognizes unity - be divisive?

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 the apostle Paul describes Jesus' words as he instituted this repeating feast of the Church. As often as you eat and drink it, remembering the Lord's death until he comes, you also recognize the unity you have in Christ.

Martin Luther describes our preparedness for communion in terms of recognizing that it is "for you." When the Christian recognizes that here we receive Christ's body and blood, and that they are for us, the realization is also, "This is for me, for my good, to strengthen me in the faith, to realize that Jesus' broken body is for me."

Through many generations, Christians have tried to explain the nature of the body and blood and their presence in communion. This is an important discussion, one we need to keep having. Many would argue that the problems concerning our definition of the true presence of Christ in communion all have to do with our attempts to describe something in ways that go beyond Scripture. This is why, for instance, Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and more radical branches of Protestantism will normally not receive communion together. It's because in our attempts to describe the nature of the body and blood we have reached different conclusions about whether Jesus is present and in what way.

The Scripture will have none of this. The Bible simply tells us it is Jesus' body and blood for us. How can this be? We really can't explain it.

At its heart, though, Christianity isn't about explanation. It is about reception of God's forgiving work in Christ by faith. It is about recognizing that when the pastor puts the host in your mouth, when you drink from the cup, you are receiving Jesus' body and blood and that it is for you. A failure to recognize it as "for you" is what Paul describes as eating and drinking in an "unworthy" manner.

Am I saying here that the right understanding of the presence of Jesus in his body and blood is not important? No, it is important. But the very most important issue is whether it is for you.

Jesus has given his body to be broken for you. He gave his blood to be shed for you. It is for you to receive, as often as you eat and drink it. I would like everyone to reach the conclusion that it is a literal taking part in the body and blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10). But even more importantly, let's be sure we know that it is Jesus for you.

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 116:12-19 - Lectionary for Thursday in Holy Week

4/4/2021

4/4/21
This is an encore post, originally published November 3, 2020.
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Our reading from Psalm 116 speaks of the tender love of the Lord who cares for his people, whether in life or in death. This is the grace of God, to bring us undeserved benefits in every age.

What is the appropriate response to such a Lord? We give ourselves to him in service, we give him thanks, we call on his name when in need, and we bring gifts back to him, realizing that all we have came from him in the first place.

Whether I bring glory and honor to God by my death or by my life, then, I desire to bring him the honor due his name. At some time, I suppose it will be by my death, though I am in no hurry and in no apparent danger at the moment. But God's name is worthy of honor and glory.

Is this a fair exchange? Indeed it is, because God has glorified his name by dying on my behalf, then rising again from the dead to give me a promise of resurrection. So he has shown his glory in a death for me. I can show his glory in a death for him. He has shown his glory in a life for me. I can show his glory in a life for him. In all things, we give thanks to our Lord, who has cared for 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.

Exodus 24:3-11 - Lectionary for Thursday in Holy Week

4/3/2021

4/3/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

It is a fearful thing to approach the God of all. I often shake my head in wonderment at the people who say they want a face to face, unmediated encounter with God. Really? We cannot stand before God, certainly not at our own invitation.

In Exodus 24, God has invited Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel into his presence. Before they can approach God, they need to hear God's Word, they need to see once again the reality of death in the death of some sacrificial animals, and they need to be associated with that death, through the placing of blood upon themselves. Not only this, but the work seems to be applied to all the people of Israel.

We only approach God at his command, and it is required that we be made holy to do so.

What does this have to do with a New Testament understanding of the world? God in Christ has called us to approach him and receive his mercy. We do that through faithful hearing of the Word of God, assenting to it. We confess that we agree with the Scripture, which describes us as sinners and God as the holy one who forgives sinners by his own mercy. We approach God in Christ through Christ's death on our behalf. He is the sacrificial lamb who shed his blood so as to make us holy. And we come find him where he promises to be - present for us in Word and Sacrament.

In this way we, like the leaders of Israel, come before the Lord of all, we eat and we drink, and we are not harmed.

God's mercy calls us to approach him, then. We do it not alone, but with Christ as our mediator.

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 22:1-23:56 - Lectionary for Wednesday in Holy Week

4/2/2021

4/2/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

The traditional Gospel readings during Holy Week are rather long. The intention is to read the arrest, trial, and crucifixion account from each of the Gospels.

Jesus entered Jerusalem with crowds singing his praises and welcoming him as a king. Less than five days later he was arrested and tried in the night. He was then condemned to death, with crowds calling out for him, rather than Barabbas, a known criminal, to be killed. What happened in this time? Why did public opinion shift so radically?

We look specifically at Luke 23:18 and following to make it plain. The crowd around Pilate's headquarters, where he issued judgments, was demanding the freedom of Barabbas and the death of Jesus. They were ready to condemn Jesus, no matter what.

Who made up the crowd around Pilate? It was composed of priests, scribes, Pharisees, Saduccees, household and temple attendants. These were people who had been involved in the arrest and alleged trial of Jesus.

Jesus was brought to Pilate early in the morning. Influential Romans received visitors at the first hour of the day, shortly after dawn. We might think of it as a before-breakfast meeting. At that time, they would grant favors to those who came to them with pledges of faithfulness. They would receive tokens of appreciation for past favors done. Those who were in positions of authority as a judge or a governor would hear brief cases and issue judgments. The Jewish leaders brought Jesus and his charges at this early morning time for that specific purpose.

The leaders who brought Jesus were accompanied by their own attendants, making a crowd in the courtyard. These people were supporters of the high priests. They wanted Jesus dead.

We read slighly later, in verses 26 and following, that public sentiment had not changed since Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. As Jesus was sent to the place of crucifixion, a large number of people of Jerusalem, some natives and doubtless some who were just there for the Passover celebration, followed along, mourning him. They didn't want Jesus dead. He was showing himself to be a Messianic figure. They had welcomed him as the king.

In our world there are those who want Jesus dead, and there are those who want Jesus alive. Regardless of what they want, Christian testimony is clear. Jesus was killed for our sins, rested in the tomb, and rose again the third day, to eternal life. He also delivers eternal life to all who believe on him. We want to be those who would receive him as the king and ruler of all.

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.

Revelation 1:5b-7 - Lectionary for Wednesday in Holy Week

4/1/2021

4/1/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Revelation 1:5b says something startling, if we think about it. The doxology, or statement of glory, dedicates our devotion "to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood." We can easily understand the idea of someone rescuing us from a variety of dangers "by his blood." For instance, when a soldier dies in battle, we commonly use the metaphor of his purchasing our freedom by his blood. One person loses his life, another lives.

When this idea is applied to sins it becomes much more difficult. After all, we generally think of our sins as something primarily within us, though they poke their heads out and do mischief around us as well. But they are ours to deal with, to control, and sometimes to lose control of.

The Bible takes sin very differently. It considers sin as that which leads to death. The soul who sins must die (Ezekiel 18:20). And the instrument of death is ultimately sin, rather than anything else.

What can we do about this deadly thing that lives within us? How do we take it away. Is it by our good works or our effort? Maybe if we are perfectly sincere? Or perhaps it is by repenting, being sorry for our sins? The problem is that we have to be entirely sorry for our sins, which normally leads us to lying about the severity of our sin or the genuineness of our repentance, which is yet another sin.

What recourse do we have? In Revelation we are told that Jesus is able to die for our sins. It is through his blood, i.e., giving his life, that we receive forgiveness of sins.

This is a battle, just as real as the soldier who dies while protecting us from enemy invasion. But it is one which is applied not to our external world, but to the inside. Our sin is paid for. It is forgiven. Rather than costing us our life, it is costing Jesus his life.

This is the price Jesus willingly pays, out of love for you, love for me. So we give thanks to him. It's all we can 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 70 - Lectionary for Wednesday in Holy Week

3/31/2021

3/31/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

When we are afraid, what do we do? We cry out to God for help. Psalm 70 asks God to hurry up and help!

I know I have been in the position of such fear many times in my life. Yes, fear. It isn't always a lack of faith. It is a perfectly normal and valid response to times of trial. There's no need to deny it.

What makes the fear turn into a sinful lack of faith? It's when our fear is accompanied by a commitment to the idea that we are the ones who have to work out our salvation. It's when we put our trust into something or someone other than the Lord.

What trial was facing the Psalmist? We don't really know. But it was serious. There were some sort of enemies involved. There were probably offenses, and they were real issues.

Yet I want to be clear. The outcry in Psalm 70 is not rooted in sinful fear. It is rooted in faith that God is the savior, God is the one who can rescue us from enemies, and a realization that we need to be rescued.

Preferably right not. Or maybe even sooner.

The fact that the Psalm could be written down tells us something, doesn't it? We don't usually write a piece of poetry reflecting on our need for God's rescue during the actual time of trial. We write it later, after some of the trial has passed. Having this Psalm written is an indicator that the situation did pass. God did rescue his servant.

When I am afraid, then, I will commit to trust in God. I will call out to him, not curse him. I will try my hardest to escape the danger, but I will be asking the Lord to rescue me, knowing that I probably can't outrun all the dangers I face.

God, the strong deliverer of his people, is there to rescue them. We who trust in Christ can call upon him. He is ready to help in our time of 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.

Isaiah 62:11-63:7 - Lectionary for Wednesday in Holy Week

3/30/2021

3/30/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

When we distract ourselves from God's priorities and look at the condition of our world, it's easy to fall into discouragement. 2020 has, in some ways, become a verb, and it indicates doom and gloom. Apparently, 2021 has done the same, though it seems to be more like 2020 version 2.0. Recent news has spoken of political intrigue, sharp division among political and cultural factions, and recently a major shipping channel blocked by an accident which has partially paralyzed supply lines for much of the world. What kind of hope do we have?

I might quickly add that nothing has actually changed. The trials we face are different in their specifics, but they are not new. In the time of Isaiah the world was suffering from warfare, political intrigue, diseases, invasions, and all the like. There were no huge ships blocking canals and nobody was carrying goods all around the world, but there were certainly plenty of supply line problems. Trials, disappointments, and dangers are nothing new.

Isaiah gives us some good news, though, and it is still good news for us today, no matter our position in society, in the geography of the world, or our need. In Isaiah 62:11-12 the prophet has a message to "the daughter of Zion" - to everyone who believes God is their savior and reward.

Your salvation comes.
His reward is with him.
He has people, and they are not forsaken.
You who believe in him are his people.

What confidence can we take from this? He may seem slow in coming at times. In fact, it might seem like a promise that we may never realize.

Christians confess that in Jesus, the Lord has come, with salvation. It is by his grace that we are saved. We who believe that He is the Lord can take courage. God's people are not abandoned.

How does this help us?

Even in a time of plague, even in a time of division, even in times of suffering and warfare, even when we are uncertain how our needs will be met, Jesus has shown himself to be the one who can even conquer death.

Nothing will stand before this King who is coming to rescue his people. Nothing at all. He brings his reward. It is not our reward, it is his. Even though we might be too troubled to do anything, even if we are weak, even if we are at the point of death, Jesus promises that he is our life and salvation.

With a savior like that, do we really have anything to fear?

Christians are sometimes accused of being "so heavenly minded they are no earthly good." Yet even amidst those accusations, it is Christians who have been at the forefront of moves for justice, for equality, for charity, for showing mercy. Jesus' reward for his people is delivered thrdough his people.

In this there is great hope. There's purpose. There's all the confidence in the world, because God has called all who believe on him "redeemed," "sought out," and "not forsaken." Our prayer is that we will see that realized, to some extent in this life, and in spades on the last day!

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.

Mark 14:1-15:47 - Lectionary for Tuesday in Holy Week

3/29/2021

3/29/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Our "long Gospel" reading is found in Mark 14:1-15:47, truly a long passage, full of action, from the Last Supper through the burial of Jesus. I'd like to focus today on just one element, that of betrayal. Peter famously tells Jesus that he will by no means deny Jesus. Jesus responds that he will deny Jesus three times before morning.

By my count, Peter denies Jesus no less than eight times in that brief span. He falls asleep rather than praying with Jesus, not once but three times, each one a denial of Jesus' desire to have his disciples praying with him. He retaliates against the guard who approaches to arrest Jesus, another denial of God's gracious will. He flees with the other disciples when the guards assert their ability to arrest Jesus. He comes back later to the high priest's courtyard, where he denies knowing Jesus three times. That's a grand total of eight denials.

Before we are too certain of our ability to remain faithful to Jesus, we should consider the courage of Peter, the apostle who often seemed so brave he might have been bulletproof. Prior to the ascension of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter was exactly the kind of person to confess Jesus and run.

I ask one important question in light of that testimony. Is Jesus the kind of person to cut and run? He is not. Is he the kind of person to deny knowing his people? Not in the least. Is he the kind to fall asleep rather than pray for you? By no means! All right, I admit, that's three questions. But if we can see Peter deny Jesus eight times and realize that Jesus told him he would deny him three times, I can say I am asking one question and proceed to ask three questions.

Even before the resurrection, Jesus minimized Peter's faithlessness. He showed himself, even in the time of his arrest, illegal trial, condemnation, and death, to be the kind of Lord who would restore his disciples.

He's the kind of Lord to restore you and me as well. This is the hope we have. The very same Jesus who gave his life for our sin is willing to forgive, cleanse, and restore us to perfect fellowship with him, even though we are just the kind of people who would deny him. Jesus is the kind of Lord who wants you to live through his perfect life and death on your behalf. He is the God of all restoration.

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 Timothy 6:12-14 - Lectionary for Tuesday in Holy Week

3/28/2021

3/28/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

1 Timothy 6:12-14 exhorts Timothy, and all the rest of us, to "fight the good fight." This passage is often used in a sort of legalistic and moralistic way. We are told to be busy about the things of the Christian life, to involve ourselves in Bible study, church attendance, small groups, witnessing teams, cold call evangelism, wearing of Christian t-shirts and hats to draw attention to the Gospel, and maybe having an assortment of bumper stickers on our cars.

While those are not necessarily bad things to be engaged in, they are not what Paul is talking about. The good fight of faith is fought by holding to eternal life. It is fought by confessing before others that life is found in Jesus. It is fought as Jesus fought it, by asserting that Jesus is indeed the king of all, and that God's kingdom is the one that matters. And in verse 14 it is fought by living a life of purity as we await Jesus' return.

Paul is talking about the perspective we have, and that we allow others to see. He isn't talking about how many converts we can make, how many activities we can involve ourselves in, or how well we can support the Christian bumper sticker store. Rather, what we do is pour our hopes and dreams into the Gospel. We live with priorities bound up in eternity. We care for our enemies, as Christ cared for us when we were his enemies. We refuse to cling to our riches, as Jesus refused to cling to the riches of heaven. We tell people the truth because it's what they need. We bring hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless, and we do it because God is king of all. Even though it may cost us our life, we give our life freely to Jesus, knowing that it is only through him that we live at all.

Does this mean we end up in church a lot? Actually it does, but that's just a side effect of our priorities. Does it mean that our Bible gets read regularly and starts showing wear and tear after a while? Another side effect. Does it mean that people who know us will know that we are Christians? It certainly does. But they know of our Christian testimony not because of the bumper sticker on our car or the message printed on our t-shirt or baseball cap. They know because we have loved them as Christ loves them.

We fight the good fight, a fight that brings hope and help to those around 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.

Psalm 54 - Lectionary for Tuesday in Holy Week

3/27/2021

3/27/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Who is the judge? God is the judge. In Psalm 54, David was in danger. The ascription describes the setting as the time the Ziphites told Saul that David was hiding among them. For this reason, David had a very reasonable fear that Saul would find him and have him executed.

Rather than trying to lash out against the Ziphites or against Saul, David asks God for vindication. When the people of God (Saul's people) and the people who had rejected God (the Ziphites) rose against him, David chose to call out to God for help. In God's time, the enemies would be stopped.

We make no mistake of it. David boldly prays that God would put an end to his enemies. But at the same time, it is David's prayer that God would do it, not that the Lord would make him able to do it.

American culture has seen uprisings of a sometimes violent revolutionary culture in recent years. Some, claiming the name of Christian, have suggested that God would have them rise up against other groups, and even against the government, trying to overthrow evil itself. There may well be times when God would use his people to enact a change of government. This has happened many times. But God's people are never able to stamp out evil through armed force. This is the domain of God and God alone.

What do we do when we are threatened? We pray. What do we do when we are afraid of our enemies? We pray. Yes, like David, we also may wisely choose to go hide somewhere or even to use armed force to stop those who would try to kill us and our families. But in the main, our action is in prayer. We pray that the Lord would stop evil. He is the only one who ever does this successfuly.

What is David's expectation? In the end of the Psalm he considers God's deliverance to be complete. Is God going to rescue his people? Then let us consider it already accomplished. Let the God of all be who He is, the mighty deliverer 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.

Jeremiah 11:18-20 - Lectionary for Tuesday in Holy Week

3/26/2021

3/26/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

In some sense all the Scripture is about Jesus. Yet here in Jeremiah 11 it's partly about him and partly about us. The enemies gather, plotting evil against God and His people. Though Jesus knew all about that, we don't always know. For this reason, in verse 19, we read, "I did no tknow it was against me they devised schemes…" (ESV).

There's a sort of deadly, deceptive way that those who reject God in Christ would carry on in life. There's a constant suggestion that we make concessions, just little concessions. In recent cultural patterns in my home country, these have included creeping attempts to remove gender roles, then devalue people who recognize more traditional gender roles, then decry as bigoted anybody who thinks gender is some innate part of the created order and not a matter of personal opinion. Likewise, natural marriage with its protections was eroded to have no protections in no-fault divorce, then further eroded as it became a matter based on feeling rather than commitment, then by the move to having feelings of affection toward members of the same sex, and, in some areas, now plural marriage may be gaining acceptance, along with pedophilia and the like.

The plot is against God. It isn't against us. We're simply standing in the way. Jesus stood in the way too. He knew what would happen. It cost him his life. Yet he allowed for the enemy to plot against him, knowing that their plot would ultimately fail. Jesus, the Lord of life, could not be held by death. Jesus, who is able to sustain all things by his grace, cannot be defeated. Though the enemies would rage, their raging comes to nothing.

The confidence in verse 20 is that our cause, committed to Jesus, is going to work out just fine. If our purpose is God's purpose, if our plan is God's plan, and if our trust is in the Lord of all creation, we have nothing to fear. He is able to bring all things to pass according to his good will. He will take vengeance where it is needed.

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.

John 12:1-43 - Lectionary for Monday in Holy Week

3/25/2021

3/25/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Verses 30-36 of our Gospel reading from John 12 are very interesting to me. Here Jesus tells how he is going to die. The people ask him how he can say he will die since the Messiah remains forever. Jesus tells the people to believe on him.

First, it should not have been a mystery or a surprise to anybody when Jesus was executed. He had spoken of it, several times, openly. His disciples had heard, though they didn't remember. Despite not remembering his specific words they should also have been able to understand that Jesus cared about them more than he cared about his own life. He consistently showed himself as the one who humbles himself for the benefit of others. Although Jesus spoke of his coming death on several occasions, though, they didn't remember. It came as a surprise.

Second, the people had been reading the Scriptures. They understsood Jesus to be the Messiah. They also understood that the passages which tell about the Messiah said he would remain forever. These were not biblically illiterate people. Jesus' audience included inquiring people who had searched the Scriptures. They had paid attention in synagogue and the discussions of the elders. They had a very valid question.

The problem of the Messiah remaining forever alongside the Messiah dying is resolved in only one way. He has to be raised from the dead to eternal life, or he is not the Messiah. That's exactly what Jesus was promising to do.

The crowd heard Jesus say that he is the light of the world, and that he will be with them, at least for a while. What did they do about it? They didn't believe, despite Jesus' repeated calls that people should trust him.

The same situation abounds in our world today, though it doesn't seem that people have as good a concept of what biblical theology would say about the Messiah or about Jesus' claims. Jesus is still the Messiah. He is still the one who laid down his life. He is still the one who remains forever, since he was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven. He is still the light of the world, making sense of it for all who will believe. The question we need to ask is whether we will believe him or whether we want to walk in darkness so as to avoid the inconvenient conclusion that he is God and we are not. His claims remain there for us to examine and reach a conclusion.

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 Peter 2:21-24 - Lectionary for Monday in Holy Week

3/24/2021

3/24/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Jesus paid it all. That's great!! So there's nothing I need to do?

Not to earn your salvation. Jesus has completed everything you and I or anyone in the world needs for salvation. That's settled.

In my work among people from non-Christian cultures, and even from those who have been exposed to Christianity extensively, a recurring theme is the idea that religions, and especially Christianity, are moral and ethical codes. Follow the rules and everything will work out all right.

Christianity is no kind of a moral code. The Gospel is a proclamation of a gift of God, provided for all who believe, freely. There are no strings attached. None at all. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, period.

However, even while we proclaim this, we recognize that the Christian religion does lay claims on those who are called by Jesus' name. This is the content of our Epistle reading from 1 Peter 2. Jesus has done some things for you, priceless things. You can never repay them. However, he does call his people to follow in his steps, taking his example.

Peter mentions some specifics that should characterize our lives as we try to emulate Jesus' example. He spoke the truth. When he was reviled and insulted, he didn't revile and insult in return. Rather, he trusted that God was able to guard him He committed no sin, but lived in righteousness. We are also to die to sin and live to righteousness.

Most of these characteristics are difficult to measure. What does it mean to die to sin? It's hard to see what an attitude that considers sinning something not worth doing will result in. But we can predict that it will be result in a life spent serving others' needs rather than our own desires. Likewise, trust in God will leave us not trying to depend on our own intelligence, diligence, or natural abilities. Sure, we'll use those things, but we use them as resources that God has given us, not as our own possessions.

The Christian life, then, is pretty complex. It has a lot of nuance to it. We live for God and for the world he has given himself to redeem. We consider ourselves as his servants, his instruments, his people who walk in the ways that he would walk.

Again, this is not a moral or ethical code that we would follow so as to be justified. He has taken care of that. We live out a moral and ethical life to follow in his footsteps. We do it for his sake, knowing that he is the Lord who has rescued us from all the trials we could bring upon ourselves by depending on ourselves. It lets God in Christ be the savior.

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 36:5-10 - Lectionary for Monday in Holy Week

3/23/2021

3/23/21
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 historic one-year lectionary.

Our Psalm for today speaks of the greateness of God's love, which is described as faithfulness, righteousenss, and judgments. How big is God's love? We don't have an adequate measuring tape, and we wouldn't know what to fasten it onto. We couldn't pull it out far enough. How high are the heavens? How great are the clouds? How large is a mountain? How deep is the ocean?

To begin to grasp the Psalmist's wonder, we should remember that the high and unscalable mountains in the Mediterranean region are not as large as the largest mountains in the world. A quick internet search tells me the deepest a person has ever been recorded as diving without special equipment is just over seven hundred feet. In contrast to this, the average depth of the ocean is thought to be over twelve thousand feet. That's over seventeen times as deep as anyone has ever gone unaided.

God's judgments are like the great deep. You can't go that far. They are immeasurable.

How does this play out in our lives, then? When we are tempted to think highly of ourselves, we need to realize that we come nowhere near measuring up to God's majesty. He is utterly beyond our comprehension.

What's our response then? We owe him our love, honor, respect, admiration, and obedience. He is truly the God who knows best. We must make no mistake on this account.

What else should we especially notice? In this Psalm God's majesty is shown in his love, his mercy, his grace, his judgment. He is the God we can look to in faith. He is the God we can look to in hope. And he is worthy of all our trust, so great is he.

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.