Category: Lent-2b

Mark 8:27-38 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

2/22/2018

2/22/18
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.

Theologian and professor Norman Nagel famously would tell his students, “Don’t tell me about your faith. Tell me about your Jesus.” This is the heart and center of our Gospel reading from Mark 8:27-38. Here Jesus asks his disciples not what they are like, but what he is like. Peter’s response is telling. Jesus is the Christ. He is the Son of the Living God. This should also be the testimony of every Christian.

Why are you a Christian? It is because Jesus is the Christ. He is the Anointed One of God, the one who can save. What confidence do you have? I have no confidence in my own ability or my own righteousness, only in Christ who was crucified for me. What is your hope for the future? I know that because Jesus rose from the dead I also shall rise in the last day, by the power of God. Why do you want to live for Jesus? I want to live for Jesus because he lives for me. How does the Christian life make you feel? That’s a matter of no consequence to me. The Christian life is about Christ crucified for sinners. I’m marked in the Bible as a sinner. I needed Christ to give his life for me. Thanks be to God, that is exactly what He has done. I need nobody else. But what about the fact that Christians fail? That’s exactly why Christians don’t claim any honor for themselves, but only for Jesus, who never fails.

Don’t tell me about your faith. Tell me about your Jesus.

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

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Romans 5:1-11 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

2/21/2018

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2/21/18
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.

It’s hard to visit with someone about Christianity for long before the person begins talking about the quality of your faith. In the Christian community we are rightly very concerned that Christians should be faithful to the Lord. We want to see people living a life of holiness and dedication to God. We shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about how important it is to devote ourselves to honoring God. Yet much of American Christianity makes a grave mistake by urging people to look to the quality of their repentance, the fervency of their prayer, and the wholehearted dedication of their entire being to Jesus as if we can earn God’s favor.

Our reading from Romans 5 shows how this is completely backwards. The Christian life is not about our dedication to Jesus or our self-sacrifice. It is about Jesus, who not only gave his life for others, but did so when they were hopelessly embroiled in sin. If any normal human were to be perfect, which will never happen, that person might consider, at least for a moment, giving his life for other people who are really good. But Jesus showed his love for us by giving his life for us while we were still sinners.

When we consider what it means to be a Christian, we need to focus on God’s work. It is through Jesus’ death for us while we were engulfed in sin and death that we can receive life. Should we try harder? Yes, we certainly should try to live a godly life, loving our neighbor as ourself. But that doesn’t contribute anything to our worthiness. It is only through Jesus’ righteousness that we are saved from sin and death. Our good works don’t benefit God in any way. They benefit our neighbor. May the Lord help us to see the work rightly and live in the freedom of Christ’s love 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.

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Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

2/20/2018

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2/20/18
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 Genesis 17:1-7 Abraham receives a promise of God. Here he is told that he will be the father of many nations, that he will be fruitful, that kings will come from his offspring, and that God’s covenant will be with Abraham and his people forever. What’s startling about this covenant is that God is the one establishing it. Normally we think of a covenant as existing between two people. But this is a remarkably one-sided covenant. God approaches Abraham. God lays out the terms of the covenant. Here, there is nothing required of Abraham except his existence. And God makes all the promises. It’s all from God.

How do Christians respond to such a covenant? Are we willing to accept that the Lord himself will do what is best for us? Are we, like Abraham, ready to accept the covenant as being received by faith and not by works? Are we willing to trust that God is good to his Word?

Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. May we have the same grace, to be partakers of God’s promise by grace through faith.

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

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Psalm 22:23-31 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

2/19/2018

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2/19/18
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 Psalm for this week, I’d like to focus on just verse 24. Here we read the Psalmist’s reflection that the Lord didn’t ignore His people when they called for help. Instead, he listened to his people, even though they were enduring torment and oppression.

We can easily be of two minds when it comes to hearing from our friends. On the one hand, we may prefer to hear from our friends when they are doing well. We like to hear about their victories, their joys, their good news. We are normally ready to rejoice with our friends who are rejoicing. And if they are doing well but ask us for help, usually we don’t mind it too much. We are fairly certain that they won’t be asking us again and again. They won’t be a burden to us. And, frankly, none of us likes it when a friend is always asking for help because of perpetual crises.

What about the other side of the coin? What of the time when our friend is in need? There are times when we may tend to ignore the appeal for help. Maybe we aren’t actually able to do anything we think of as concrete. Maybe we don’t know how to tell our friends that we are still their friends but we can’t or won’t help them. Maybe we think the situation is one which we would have handled easily and that our friend needs to learn to deal with. Maybe we think it isn’t a real need, or that the person brought it on himself and needs to suffer for a while. And whether we are right or wrong, we don’t answer the call, we don’t respond to the email, we ignore the text. It strains the friendship.

How does this verse relate? The Lord God is aware of the needs of his people. He knows whether they are real or not. When we think we are tormented and oppressed, He actually understands the nature of our struggles. He knows precisely what has been happening in our lives. He also knows all the resources we might have to deal with our trouble. What does the Lord do? When we are in trouble He has not simply ignored us. He has provided what we need. We should make no mistake. It isn’t necessarily all that we want. But it is what we need. The Lord has not ignored our trouble. He has given us, in His Word, in the Sacrament, in his attitude of forgiveness and reconciliation, in his substitutionary work for us and his resurrection as the firstfruits from the dead, all that we need for life and godliness. He has not stood by to let us perish. He has done all that is necessary to rescue us. Thanks be 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.

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Mark 8:27-38 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

Romans 5:1-11 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

Psalm 22:23-31 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

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Mark 8:27-38 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

Romans 5:1-11 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

Psalm 22:23-31 - Lectionary for Lent 2B

​Help Fuel This Ministry by Clicking Here!

About Throwing Inkwells

Blog Feeds

Categories

Help Fuel This Ministry by Clicking Here!