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Luke 1:39-56 - Lectionary for Visitation

7/1/2021

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7/1/21
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.

There's a debate raging in the United States these days, as advocates for abortion on demand find their support waning, but have managed to grasp some measure of federal political control. Meanwhile, a recent decision by the Roman Catholic Council of Bishops has started the process of an official articulation of several central Christian doctrines, among them the sanctity of life, and a consideration of how to deal with public figures who claim to be Roman Catholic but deny central tenets of the Church. It has all the appearance of a huge conflagration, as the Roman Catholic Church asserts its historic views and many cultural Catholics who have long ignored those doctrines and practices are likely to be called to account.

It's all about life. Protecting the unborn is so very important because, after all, if they never have the opportunity to be born they will never be able to live a life which brings honor and delight to God and to the rest of the world. We are pledged to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Unborn children are the most vulnerable population there is.

Do they have "true personhood"? That in itself is a poorly defined concept, but we'll take it at face value for now. The assessment of Elizabeth and Mary at the visitation, as recorded in Luke 1:39-56, is that both the unborn John the Baptist, probably at about 24 weeks' gestation, and the unborn Jesus, probably at about 12 weeks' gestation, somehow recognize one another's presence, rejoice themselves, and bring delight to their mothers.

They are people. They are certainly very small people. John might have lungs that are mature enough to function, but Jesus doesn't. They both have beating hearts. They have DNA that is their own, not their mothers'. They respond to different stimuli. They wake and sleep. They move. They are growing.

What is it going to take for those voices in our culture, increasingly a culture of death, to admit that the unborn deserve protection, that they rightly receive the full scope of human rights?

Thankfully, opinion is moving in the direction of those small children. Approximately 50% of Americans consider themselves "pro life" but upwards of 85% think that abortion is not acceptable in just any and every situation. 

We need to keep talking about these little children. The same practice that has snuffed out the lives of over 65 million Americans, legally, since 1973, has almost certainly ended the lives of scientists, artists, creative geniuses, beloved children, and beloved parents. Who knows how many prophets of God have been killed in this way? 

Lord, have mercy. Bring us face to face with the joy of real, live children. Let us see, as did Mary, that God has done great things by bringing children into this 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.

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Romans 12:9-16 - Lectionary for Visitation

6/30/2021

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6/30/21
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.

Historic Christian church services frequently begin with a confession of sin. In fairly general terms we confess that we are sinful, that we fail to do some good things, that we do some bad things, and that we don't love God or our neighbor perfectly. The majority of Christians around the world also have a custom of private confession, in which the individual comes to the priest or pastor and makes confession of sin, receiving forgiveness, or absolution.

What if we don't think we have anything to repent of? What if we are fairly pleased with the way our life is lived?

On one level that's good. Really. I know you thought that I, as someone who certainly confesses that we all have a sinful nature that we can't overcome by any of our efforts, would immediately condemn people who are pleased with their lives. Not at all. If your life is absent from glaring sin and offense, that's a good thing. You are likely to be respected in the community, your family, friends, co-workers, and employers or employees are probably going to find it easy to get along with you, and your life won't have the kind of troubles that some lives do. It's good.

It doesn't mean that you have nothing to confess, though. We all have something to confess before God, and in the presence of our confessor. Let's unpack just a couple of verses, Romans 12:9-10, to see how.

"Let love be genuine." Do I really do this? Or do I pretend that I love God and my neighbor. Have I ever been guilty of this? What if my enemies are in my face. Do I love them regardless? Or do I need God's forgiveness for my attitude toward some people and situations?

"Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." Again, though I avoid a lot of evil things, do I really hate them, or do I secretly or publicly wink at them and excuse them. Am I concerned about the harm that evil practices can inflict on others? Even if I am safe from some of the evils that could kill me, am I bothered enough that those evils can kill? Considering drug use, physical abuse, poverty, and disease, am I willing to rescue others? Am I willing to work for good no matter what the consequences to me might be?

"Love one another with brotherly affection." Even the person I don't like? And what if my brother happens to be one of those people I don't like? Can I then dislike everyone else? No, maybe I'd better not make those concessions. I need to love others like I would love a brother who is very close to my heart. Even if it means doing something to help them.

"Outdo one another in showing honor." Even for those I don't respect? But . . . but . . . but . . .

We have plenty to confess. What's the good news in this passage? It is that Jesus is the one who forgives our sin. He shines his light on our lives and uses convicting words like these to confront us with our sin. But he is the forgiving Lord who has loved us as we are to love one another.

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 138 - Lectionary for Visitation

6/29/2021

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6/29/21 This is an encore post, which originally appeared 7/23/19.
Psalm 138 - Lectionary for Pentecost 7C

7/23/19
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.

Modern Christians in the West seem to have three most pressing concerns. They are important, and should not be minimized. I would identify these three concerns as relevance, worship, and purpose. The third of them, purpose, is addressed in very simple terms in Psalm 138:8. Here the Psalmist affirms that “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me” (ESV). This should be the confidence of every Christian. While we are agonizing over decisions, hoping for divine guidance, the Lord is actively directing us.

As I say this, I recognize that there are a few, maybe more than a few, teachers who somehow find God speaking to them supernaturally and frequently. The rest of us may wonder why we don’t hear God’s voice telling us whether to get on the elevator or take the stairs. Maybe we are inferior.

In fact, the Lord will fulfill His purpose. He will direct us in the way we should go. He is, after all, sustaining all His creation. We are always receiving God’s guidance, but most of us seldom realize it. The places we go, the people we meet, the calls we miss and the calls we answer, all have a purpose. Occasionally we might understand the purpose. Normally we are unaware of it. But the Lord is not unaware of any of it. He uses those encounters as part of our human context, as part of His gracious care for us and for others. No life is purposeless. To say it is actively denies the God who has ordered all things by His grace.

Lord, do Your will in your 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.

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Isaiah 11:1-5 - Lectionary for Visitation

6/28/2021

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6/28/21
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.

Isaiah 11:1-5 describes Jesus, the shoot from Jesse's stump. We realize that, of all people, Jesus is the one upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rests.

What do we learn of the Spirit? He is the Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. Jesus is full of these characteristics. And as the Lord indwells us, we are also filled with the very same personality. Jesus gives us all wisdom, understanding, and all the rest. These things we need.

The response to all these gifts of the Lord is humility. Jesus does not use the power of the Holy Spirit to show arrogance. Rather, he makes judgment in righteousness. He cares for the poor and weak, defending them against those who would press them down.

Jesus, the tender shoot of Jesse, cares for the least in our world. He is truly the one who walks in the power of the 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.

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