Daily Lectionary for February 6-12, 2011

Daily Lectionary for February 6-12, 2011

Sunday Job 3:11-26; John 1:35-51
Monday Job 4:1-21; John 2:1-12
Tuesday Job 5:1-27; John 2:13-25
Wednesday Job 6:1-13; John 3:1-21
Thursday Job 6:14-30; John 3:22-4:6
Friday Job 7:1-21; John 4:7-26
Saturday Exodus 34:29–35; 2 Peter 1:16–21; Matthew 17:1–9

Look forward to the Transfiguration of Our Lord February 13, 2011

Exodus 24:8-18: In this majestic scene upon Mount Sinai, the Lord confirmed the covenant He made with Israel through the sprinkling of blood. This sprinkling prefigured the sprinkling of the blood of the New Covenant that we receive in Holy Baptism and that we partake of in the Holy Supper. In this vision the glory of God is revealed to Moses. It was “like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.” This picture of God’s glory was frightening and awesome to Israel, not because it was merely the display of God’s raw power, but precisely because it was a manifestation of His overwhelming goodness, holiness, and love. Sinners tremble at the revelation of such glory because it is so fundamentally different from our nature as descendants of Adam. The Tablets of Stone and the Law of the Lord that Moses received included the Ten Commandments, to be sure, but it also included the promises of salvation and the ordinances of Israel’s Divine Services through which the Lord would continually manifest His glory at the Tabernacle through the forgiveness of sins in the shedding of Lamb’s blood. This revelation of glory finds its fulfillment in Jesus who was not only transfigured upon the Mount of Transfiguration, but who especially manifested His glory upon Mount Calvary in His crucifixion.

2 Peter 1:16-21: Peter makes it clear to the Church that the Apostles were not "duped" by clever "fables" concerning Jesus. They were "eye-witnesses of His majesty." They were with Him when He was baptized, they listened to Him preach and teach, they saw Him heal the sick and raise the dead, and they touched His hands and His side after His resurrection. Throughout their entire time with Jesus, the Word of the Father was proven true: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Word of the Apostles corresponds to the Word of the Prophets. This Word of God is the only "light that shines in a dark place." It is the only way through which we come to know our Savior and it is trustworthy and sure.

Matthew 17:1-9: Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus when His flesh was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, because Jesus, the Son of God, is the glory of the Old Testament Scriptures. Moses face shone like the Son because he proclaimed the Christ. Elijah was the fiery prophet who preached repentance and salvation because he proclaimed the Christ. The true Tabernacle, the place of the Lord's saving presence, is not any structure that man erects for himself, but the Son Himself who, in His suffering and death, is the fulfillment of every Word of the Law and the Prophets.