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Mark 2:23-28 - Lectionary for Pentecost 2B

6/1/2018

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6/1/18
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.

Our Gospel for this week shows us Jesus with his disciples on a Sabbath. They draw attention by picking a bit of grain to eat. This was considered by some to be the work of harvest, forbidden on the Sabbath. Jesus’ answer is that the day of rest is made for the good of humans. It is not a day of suffering, but of rest.

This theme of a rest from suffering extends throughout the Scripture. It is telling that the Old Testament speaks of rest from work, rest from slavery, and rest from the torment of sin all in one breath. In God’s eyes, the Sabbath is a sign of the relief we find in Christ, who rescues us from sin.

Here, then, is the bottom line of our passage in Mark. Jesus comes to give us rest from sin. We are no longer bound to it. We have Jesus, the bread of life, who feeds us with his riches, each and every day. The Sabbath is made for man. It has a Lord, the Son of Man, caring for his people. This is rest indeed.

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

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2 Corinthians 4:5-12 - Lectionary for Pentecost 2B

5/31/2018

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5/31/18
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.

I recently read a series of comments on a friend’s social media post. I don’t remember the point of the original post. What intrigued me was the hatred shown b several commenters toward Christians. Apparently, according to this highly unscientific, small sample, Christians are bigoted people who want to stamp out people’s true and natural sense of good, then turn others into pawns useful to forming a totalitarian (and Republican) government. Well, if that were the point of Christianity I dare say the Apostle Paul would have a problem with it as well.

2 Corinthians 4:5-12 points the reader in the opposite direction. Serving Christ is not about gaining any sort of worldly power at all. On the contrary, it is about bringing the treasure of Jesus to others so they can have life and hope. This is the reason that Christians bring their message to their world. Jesus cares for the afflicted, so we do. We help those who are tempted to despair, for God is the God of hope. We bring care and shelter to those persecuted so they will not be abandoned. We save those who have been struck down so they are not destroyed. This is, after all, what God in Christ has done for us.

Do we care for our world perfectly? Not at all. Nobody but Christ himself does. But by God’s grace we are his ambassadors. We do what we can. To those who have been offended by the acts or failings of Christians, may you be blessed by seeing the many better examples in this world. You may have to look hard, though. According to verse seven, the treasure of God’s love is “in clay jars.” These were disposable containers, almost as common as the clay they were made of. They might draw no notice, but be the very vessel by which God blesses the world. Keep your eyes open!

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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Deuteronomy 5:12-15 - Lectionary for Pentecost 2B

5/30/2018

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5/30/18
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.

Our Old Testament reading for this week is God’s Sabbath command from Deuteronomy chapter 5. Here God not only directs his people to take a day of rest, but also to work hard on six other days (v. 13). We often hear reasons for taking a day of rest. Frequently they seem self-centered. We take a day of rest because we need it. However, let’s notice the reasons given in Deuteronomy chapter 5.

First, in verse 14, it is so those who work for us can rest. It’s good for other people. Our rhythms of work and rest want to care for those around us. Second, it is because God gives rest to his people. The example of this is the people of Israel, who were rescued from bondage in Egypt. They received the rest they needed.

From a New Testament perspective, we who believe on Jesus for salvation have entered into rest from our sins. This is the fulfillment of the Exodus. Like God rescued his people from bondage in Egypt, he rescues his people from captivity to sin. A day of rest, then, is a chance to remember our freedom from sin’s bondage and to proclaim that same liberty to others. This is true rest.

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 81 - Lectionary for Pentecost 2B

5/29/2018

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5/29/18
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 this world full of gods we often hear the refrain - “All religions are simply different paths to the same place. Follow your path!” This is not surprising in some religious groups. But when the idea is held among otherwise reasonable Christians it draws me to a sudden stop. How in the world could anyone say there is a biblical basis for such an idea? Our Psalm for this week points it up very clearly. Psalm 81:9-10 says, “There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. For I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (ESV). Here, among many places, God makes exclusive claims. There is one LORD, not more than one. He is the only one who rescues his people. To say there are others is to proclaim this a false statement.

How do God’s people respond? Through devotion and trust. He is the only one in whom the Christian can hope. This is Christianity in a nutshell. God alone is able to rescue his people, which he does as we open our mouths to receive Him.

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

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    About Throwing Inkwells

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

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