Category: Pentecost 19 C - Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry

Luke 18:1-8 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19C, Proper 24C

10/17/2019

10/17/19
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.

I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. God is just like the judge of Luke 18 isn’t. The judge doesn’t want to do justice. God wants to do justice. The judge doesn’t care about the woman who comes to him. God does care. The judge doesn’t respect anyone. God respects everyone. The judge is afraid the woman will keep bothering him. God wants us to pray and pray and pray some more. The judge is weary. God never gets tired.

The only way the judge in the parable is like God is in his decision to give the woman the just decision she deserves. That’s it. But the judge does it grudgingly, God does it willingly, even eagerly. God is not at all like the judge of the parable.

The point of the Luke 18:1-8 is that God’s people need to keep praying. God is the one who is waiting eagerly to hear and answer our prayers. He wants us to trust in Him, which we will do more and more as we bring our concerns before His throne.

Will the Lord find us with enough faith to come to him for help? Or are we going to go on pursuing the human saviors who don’t want to do anything for us? Lord, have mercy.

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 Timothy 3:14-4:5 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19C, Proper 24C

10/16/2019

10/16/19
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.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 speaks words of encouragement to Timothy. He has a heritage, a godly heritage. He has been taught God’s Word in the past, even from his childhood. Of all people, he should be able to hold fast to the truth.

As a person who did not have a Christian upbringing, I will readily confess that this statement makes me jealous of Timothy’s advantage. He had more years to learn the truth than I did before I faced adulthood and all its challenges. He had Christian family members he could turn to for help. His family gave him gifts that mine did not.

Because Timothy had these advantages, then, do we expect that life is easy for him? We should assume he will be able to walk through his life as a young adult who is caring for Christians with relative ease. But on the contrary, the apostle Paul feels a need to speak those words of encouragement. He would not do so if Timothy didn’t need them. “Continue in the truth! Remember what you have learned! After all, you are probably questioning the power of God’s Word. You may be doubting whether God has given you the words of life.”

It is not uncommon for me to meet people who were raised in Christian settings, who were taken to church frequently, whose family claims some sort of Christian faith, and who essentially don’t believe any of the Scripture. What they learned all those years doesn’t mean anything to them. Maybe they weren’t paying attention. Maybe the congregation wasn’t teaching the Scripture effectively. Maybe the young people were too busy eating pizza and playing ice-breaking games to attend to God’s Words of life. Or maybe their hearts were hardened and they were distracted by the cares of this world.

In these times I am moved not by the jealousy I might have for Timothy, but by the pity I have for those who have been around the Gospel but have never let it sink in. If Jesus has purchased forgiveness for all who believe and has risen from the dead as the firstfruits of a resurrection to eternal life, we should be deeply disturbed that some have managed to miss that message. It is the one great hope we have in this life and in eternity.

Apparently we all need to be reminded. Remember the Word of God. Remember 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.

Psalm 121 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19C, Proper 24C

10/15/2019

10/15/19
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.

Our reading of Psalm 121 reminds us just how practical the Lord is. We think about how we are empowered by God’s mercy and grace to do great things. But what will make us fall apart? Enemies in the hills. Sleep. Blazing sun. Moon rays! That last one makes me chuckle, but then I recall that the English word “lunatic” literally means “struck by the moon,” meaning by its rays. Is this right? God protects his people from forces that we are highly likely to minimize.

Maybe we are afraid of the criminals hiding in the caves in the hills. We’ll usually grant that. Those criminals are kind of dangerous.

But the sunshine? Have you ever been in the blazing, direct sunlight from sunup to sundown, especially somewhere hot? Even if it isn’t hot, you can get a serious sunburn and, if that extends too far across your body, it can be life threatening. The blazing sun is dangerous and it will humble all of us.

Well, what if we are young and strong. Maybe we can avoid being harmed by the sun. Can we stay awake forever? When I was young I used to enjoy the effect of staying up very late to study or work on a special project. My limit was normally about 4 a.m. Now that I am in my fifties, I can have the same effects by staying up to 11 p.m. Fatigue, irritability the next day, strong need for sleep, even falling asleep on my desk. I have become quite proficient!

I guess that’s why moon rays are so dangerous. As I learn to be tired earlier in the evening, really, once I see the moon, maybe it’s time for a nap. We come to the end of ourselves and our resources. Even little things like the rays of the moon can strike us down. Who will we trust? It better be the Lord. He will keep our going out and our coming in, forever.

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.

Genesis 32:22-30 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19C, Proper 24C

10/14/2019

10/14/19
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.

It’s amazing how quickly we can forget the context of a situation. In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestles with “a man” whom he later recognizes in some way as God. Most Christian commentators have taken this to be God the Son, the pre-incarnate Christ. Jacob wrestled with God all night. He wouldn’t let go. He wouldn’t surrender, even after his hip was disjointed.

We forget the context really quickly. What was Jacob doing there, alone? He had sent his livestock, his wives, and his children ahead of him because he was expecting to encounter Esau, the brother he had gravely offended. Jacob wanted to appease Esau. Just in case, Jacob wanted Esau to wage war with or take captive all his family and possessions before Jacob himself would meet up with Esau. That way Jacob could run away if he needed to.

Yes, Jacob wanted to be well positioned to flee and abandon his family if he was threatened. How did we go and make him brave? I have no idea.

What else do we see about Jacob’s frailty? He is wrestling all night. He’s wrestling with God. His hip comes out of joint when God the Son touched it and caused it to come apart. Do we really think for a moment that Jacob was the one who was preventing God from leaving? Do we actually think Jacob could do anything at all to confound God? No, it seems apparent that God wasn’t really fighting very hard. Jacob was in the battle of his life, but God was not.

What was the outcome of the wrestling match? God changed Jacob’s name to be the one who wrestles with God and man and who prevails. That’s what Israel means. But, truth be told, Jacob could never prevail against God and he had a pretty poor track record prevailing against humans as well. He was fleeing both his brother and his father in law. He was not brave by any stretch of the imagination.

We pause, then, and realize that it is the work of God to make us what we are. He has called Jacob the one who prevails, therefore Jacob is exactly the one who prevails. He has called Christians a faultless bride of Christ. That is exactly what we are. He has called us eternal, holy, godly people. That is what we are. Do we fail to look it? Yes, just as Jacob seems more like Jacob (the deceiver) than like Israel (the overcomer). At the same time we are saint and sinner, mighty and powerless. All we have, all we are, is because our Lord Jesus has worked in us according to His good pleasure. We thought we were wrestling with sin, and we were, but it is Jesus who won the battle against sin. We thought we were doing mighty things, but we did them only through the grace of God working in us.

Thanks be to God who calls us his people, and we are.

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 16:19-31 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19 C

9/22/2016

9/22/16
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.

As is often the case, so this week, the appointed Gospel reading from Luke 16:19-31 ties together the other readings. All have had an element of not depending upon ourselves. Most recently, the Epistle reading showed us two types of leaders who will work to strengthen God’s people and direct them to Jesus. Now, Jesus tells of a rich man and a poor man. Socially and economically they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Yet they are both the same in a very important way. Both have died. Both have faced judgment. Both are in the place of their destiny. Both are judged based on whether they were believing in God’s mercy in life.

The poor man had nothing to trust in but God’s mercy. Or so we think. Actually, he could have been embittered by his bad situation. He could have trusted in the dogs who befriended him. He could have trusted in the rich man or the rich man’s servants who provided him with what he needed. He could have trusted in his street smarts, or at least those he used to have. But he didn’t. He trusted in God’s mercy. When we find him after his death he is in paradise.

The rich man had many things to trust in aside from God’s mercy. He could have trusted in his authority, his riches, his earthly power. It appears from the passage that maybe he trusted the message his family had given him, as he asks for someone to go tell his family the truth. Yet none of these things should have made it impossible for him to have trusted God’s mercy, just like the poor man. However, he was rewarded with eternal torment, rather than eternal bliss.

How quick are we to discount the means which God has provided and revealed in Scripture? There are many people in our surrounding culture who will trust anything other than the biblical words which can give them life. Jesus describes God, not Lazarus or the rich man, as being on the throne, deciding their eternal disposition. What does God require? Trust in him. Nothing more, nothing less. Think about the implications. What proof do we need? What proof are we going to be given in this life? May the Lord increase our 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.

1 Timothy 3:1-13 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19 C

9/21/2016

9/21/16
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.

This week’s Epistle reading from 1 Timothy 3:1-13 speaks about the biblical qualifications of elders and deacons. The term used for “elder” (ἐπισκοπής) is also often translated “bishop.” Literally, it means “overseer.” This is the person who would watch over the work of the Church, making sure all is well. The term for “deacon” (διάκονος) indicates someone who would serve others.

Notice that all the character qualities listed for these people are qualities which we would really expect to see in just about any godly man in a congregation. The statement which makes me suggest “man” is that he is the “husband of one wife.” While there is some debate about the role of females as elders or deacons, we’ll leave that for another time and place. Are the qualities (except for being a husband of one wife) generally those of a mature believer in Christ? They certainly are. The elders and deacons are simply mature, responsible people who take their identity in Christ seriously.

The New Testament uses terms for “elder,” “overseer,” and “pastor” interchangeably. Somehow in many circles elders have come to be elected by a popular vote for a particular term of office. Some church congregations specify a number of people who will be elders. In doing so, this distances the elder from the biblical pattern, which indicates someone who would be responsible before God to lead Christ’s people well, especially feeding them in Word and Sacrament. I’d love to see us return to a view which says the office of elder is critically important and that the person who desires it is doing 1) a good thing and 2) will knock himself out to accomplish the tasks.

Is the deacon a second-class leader? Not at all, but the deacon is not an elder. The deacon is not charged with teaching God’s people. This is not an inferior office in any way. It is simply a different role within the body.

Lord, raise up elders and deacons within your Church. Use them powerfully so that your kingdom may come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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.

Amos 6:1-7 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19 C

9/20/2016

9/20/16

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 Old Testament reading this week, from Amos 6:1-7, God warns his people against finding their confidence in the wrong place. These are people who are probably worthy of respect. They are leaders, in Judah (Zion) as well as in Samaria - the historic northern kingdom. The people have a good heritage. They have reason to be proud of their people and their history.

What is the message of God here? It is not that we should despise our heritage. It is that we should not depend on that for meaning, safety, ,and future hope. When God calls his people to consider the nations around them, what they are to see is a group of nations which also have a significant heritage. Yet the people of God are not to emulate those other nations. They are not to try to bring back their own past, either. They are to seek their security and future in God’s present mercies.

How is God working in this day? In Jesus, is he still engaged in bringing forgiveness? Does he give and sustain life? Does he bring a message of good news which is for every nation? Does he show his mercy and grace on people through the faithful care his people give to others? If we are called by the name “Christian” the message God gave through Amos is for us. Look to God, not to our own history or our past. Know that Jesus will work in and through his people for their good and the good of the rest of the world.

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

Psalm 146 - Lectionary for Pentecost 19 C

9/19/2016

9/19/16
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.

Today I have just a thumbnail sketch of the way I look at a Psalm. You can allow the Scripture to fill in the blanks.

Praise belongs to God

v. 3 Not to humans
v. 4     because they pass away

v. 5 Eternal hope comes from God “of Jacob” - - intergenerational

v. 6        who made everything

Not only is God eternal, but . . .
He keeps faith forever v. 6
executes justice v. 7
feeds hungry
releases prisoners
heals blind   v. 8
relieves oppression
loves righteous
cares for foreigners v. 9
defends those without family
stops the wicked

Summary - God reigns forever

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.