Daily Readings February 20-26, 2011

Daily Lectionary

February 20  The Stilling of the Storm—Mark 4:35-41; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
February 21  Jesus Teaches Us to Pray in the Sermon on the Mount—Matthew 6:5-15; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40
February 22  Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer—John 17:1-26; 1 Corinthians 15:58–16:24
February 23  Watch and Pray—Luke 21:25-36; 2 Corinthians 1:1-24
February 24  Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane—Matthew 26:36-45; 2 Corinthians 2:1–3:3
February 25  2 Corinthians 6:11–7:16;
February 26 Sexagesima  Isaiah 55:10–13, 2 Corinthians 11:19—12:9, Luke 8:4–15

Look forward to Sexagesima Sunday February 27, 2011

Isaiah 55:10–13, 2 Corinthians 11:19—12:9, Luke 8:4–15

Scripture Alone

The Sower sows the seed of His Word (Luke 8:4–15). This Word is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:9–13) to conceive new life in those who hear it. But the planting of Christ is attacked by the devil, the world, and the flesh. Satan snatches the Word away from hard hearts. The riches and pleasures of this life choke off faith. Shallow and emotional belief withers in time of temptation and trouble. But see how Christ bears this attack for us! Christ’s cross was planted in the hard and rocky soil of Golgotha. A crown of thorns was placed upon His head. Satan and His demons hellishly hounded and devoured Him. Yet, through His dying and rising again, He destroyed these enemies of ours. Jesus is Himself the Seed which fell to the ground and died in order that it might sprout forth to new life and produce much grain. In Him, the weak are strong (2 Corinthians 11:19–12:9). He is the Word of the Father which does not return void (Isaiah 55:10–13) but yields a harvest hundredfold. 

Sermon February 20, 2011

February 19-20, 2011

Septuagesima

Matthew 20:1-16

“Life isn’t Fair”

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I. The last first - Fairness.

“So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” Surprise, surprise. The Kingdom of heaven is not about fairness, equity, or even, normal common sense. The fair thing, the obvious thing, the decent thing is “first come, first served.” But it is not “first come, first served” or “take a number” in the Kingdom of heaven. For the Kingdom of heaven is not the kingdom of fairness. The kingdom of fairness does exist. It is ruled with an iron fist by that most sublime of all lawyers, Job’s accuser from ancient times, Satan. Yes, Hell is ruled by the exact science of Newton’s principles of retribution: for every action there is an equal reaction. For every sin there is a punishment. The fair wages of sin is death. In Hell, it is always, “first come, first served.”

And our constant complaint has been that life is not fair. Never mind the fact that this chaos and turmoil is the product of our own sin. Never mind the fact that none of us can claim that we were born here and in this time by our own merits, that we earned or deserved it. We could have been born slaves in the American South. We could have been born Germans who lived in fear first under Hitler and then under Stalin. But, when you get right down to it, we are not complaining day in and day out about the truly great injustices and tragedies of this life, such as the lack of civil rights in China, the atrocities of the military regimes in Africa, or the sustained, legal murder and destruction of babies in their mothers’ wombs right in our own midst. Instead, we complain and grumble all day long because other people seem to be having more fun, or have nicer stuff, or better looks and more talent, than we do. We waste away the hours in daydreams, wishing we were richer, thinner, better looking, smarter, more disciplined, and so forth. We imagine ourselves humbly, graciously accepting the accolades of the masses and giving great, inspiring speeches on television. We are sure that if we were rich and powerful we could use it for good. Talk about vanity! Meanwhile, in between fantasies, we grumble about the slightest little ache, pain, or inconvenience. We impatiently tap our foot as we wait for the microwave to heat up our coffee, or the computer to boot up, thinking everything is so slow, such a waste of our precious time! At our worst, we are grossly jealous when other people prosper. We are even judgmental about our friends, thinking they’ve been handed everything, while we have gone unrewarded for our hard work. We act like children on Halloween with their goodies strewn all over the living room floor fighting over a single piece of candy and mad because it looks like someone else might have more.

II. Call to Repentance - Grace

Repent. These complaints, this dissatisfaction, this discontentment is rebellion and dissatisfaction with God. It is saying, “God you are no good at being God. My life is not very enjoyable. It should be better. You should give me more.” How dare you! Repent! The gifts are His. He distributes them not according to Satan’s laws of equity, or according to our vain lusts and evil desires, but according to His own wisdom, generosity, and mercy. We can demand nothing. But if you insist, if you demand recompense on your own merits, your own deeds, if you demand fairness, then that dishonorable judge of fairness, that old devil, will measure your wages with atomic precision: eternal torture in Hell for each and every misdeed, paid in full. You cannot pay the debt. It requires eternity in damnation.

Thanks be to God that the Kingdom of heaven does not run on fairness. Instead, it is “first come, last served.” The First-born, the One by whom all things that are came to be, did not come to be served but to serve. Fortunately for us, He did not take a number. He laid down His life. He gave us His place in line. It is not fair that He should serve us, that He should wash our stinking feet, be circumcised and baptized. It is not fair that He should live as a pauper, while we live as kings. It is not fair that He should suffer and die. But His Kingdom is not about fairness. It is about Grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love. The greatest injustice of all time - the execution of Our innocent Lord, Jesus Christ, found guilty by that most ridiculous of all kangaroo courts - that injustice is how He gives us His undeserved love. It is not fair, but the charges placed over His head were accurate. He is the King of the Jews. He is the King of kings. By His own decree, invoking His Divine Right, He rules now not by power and might, but reigns in the hearts of men who believe in Him by Grace. So we call Him, “Lord.” He is Our Lord by love.

III. The point of the parable: Generous Mercy and Grace

So, back to the parable at hand. The point is rather simple: The vineyard owner over pays. He pays more than his employees deserve. Now, it is hard for us to imagine any employer ever paying his workforce so foolishly. But that is precisely the case in this parable. This is typical behavior for the characters in Our Lord’s parables, especially those who represent Him and His Father. They tend to behave in a seemingly outrageous and foolish manner. That is because the wisdom of God confounds the wisdom of man. But however foolish he may appear, the vineyard owner is not stupid. He knows what he is doing. It is deliberate. No, it is not stupidity that causes him to overpay. It is generosity. The point of comparison, or the lesson of the parable, then, is that God is merciful, gracious, and generous. He does not give us what our labors deserve. Instead He gives us His own Son. He lavishes upon us that which we had no right to demand or expect, that which is utterly and completely unearned. Though He is the Father’s beloved, His most precious possession, nonetheless He gives Him to us that we might live. He is not stupid. He knows full well the cost of our salvation. He pays it willingly. Indeed, this is His good and gracious will. Thus He pays us, rewards us, not according to the work or deeds we’ve performed, for it is not by works or righteousness that we are saved, but according to His mercy. So He pays us with His own abundant love, with His Grace. It is His to do with as He desires. He desires you to have it and to live.

Consider, then, pay day. We go to the line and there we see a crowd gathered together. God is recklessly handing out great things to these people. Some who are gathered there are notorious and terrible sinners of the worst sort. Adulterers, murderers, drunkards, and blasphemers are in the front of the line. Do not be scandalized. Instead, rejoice, O Sinner! By the Grace of God you are counted as one of them. Rejoice and give thanks for this great mystery: God is merciful, loving, kind, patient, steadfast, generous, gracious, and faithful. He loves to forgive. Look not to your own works. Look neither at the sins of others. Make no comparisons. Look to the mercy of Almighty God in the Flesh who loves to love you. Rejoice that you are not alone. Rejoice that these once sinners now saints are with you, that you are with them. Delight in the company of your brothers and sisters, a great, terrible, forgiven people who have been brought out of bondage to sin into freedom in Christ. Revel in the joy of Grace that is not fair. Bask in the wages paid, the reward given, which you have not earned, but have received from His lavish and unfailing love. Your cup runs over, O Christian. There is nothing left to complain about.

IV. Invitation to come and get what He gives.

Come this day then to the Altar. Receive what He desires to give, that which you have not earned: His very Body and Blood. For it is now the eleventh hour and no one knows when the clock will strike twelve. You are a beggar. You have no right to make demands. But this is what He desires you to have. In Grace and Mercy, He treats you not as a hired hand, but as His own, beloved child. He pays the wages due to the First-born, the Son of Righteousness. They are yours. He pays life and salvation, the forgiveness of sins, unity and peace with Him. It is the wages He has determined for you from eternity. Here is the call. You are the chosen. It is your inheritance from Baptism for you belong to Him.

That’s Grace. Come. Be satisfied and content in these gifts. It is what He wants you to have. In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Daily Readings for February 13-19, 2011

Daily Lectionary

February 13 Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray—Luke 11:1-4 (Part 1), 1 Corinthians 5:9–6:20
February 14 Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray—Luke 11:5-8 (Part 2), 1 Corinthians 7:1-40
February 15 Jesus Teaches His Disciples to Pray—Luke 11:9-13 (Part 3), 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
February 16 The Centurion Prays to Jesus for His Servant—Matthew 8:5-13, 1 Corinthians 9:1-23
February 17 A Canaanite Woman Prays for Her Daughter—Matthew 15:21-28, 1 Corinthians 10:14-33
February 18 1 Corinthians 11:1-22
February 19 Look ahead to Sunday  Septuagesima Exodus 17:1–7, 1 Corinthians 9:24–10:5, Matthew 20:1–16

 

Look forward to Septuagesima Sunday February 20, 2011

Exodus 17:1–7, 1 Corinthians 9:24—10:5, Matthew 20:1–16

Grace Alone

The people of Israel contended with the Lord in the wilderness (Exodus 17:1–7). They were dissatisfied with His provision. In the same way, the first laborers in the vineyard complained against the landowner for the wage he provided them (Matthew 20:1–16). They charged him with being unfair, but in reality he was being generous. For the Lord does not wish to deal with us on the basis of what we deserve but on the basis of His abounding grace in Christ. The first—those who rely on their own merits—will be last. “For they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:5). But the last, those who rely on Christ, will be first. For Christ is the Rock (1 Corinthians 9:24–10:5). He is the One who was struck and from whose side blood and water flowed that we may be cleansed of our sin.

February 12-13, 2011 sermon

Transfiguration

Matthew 17:1-9

February 12-13, 2011

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Peter, it seems, is always noticing the water beneath his feet. His eyes grow heavy and he ceases to pray. He waits in denial for the cock to crow. There on the Mount of Transfiguration it is the same. For St. Luke’s Gospel clearly tells us what Moses and Elijah were discussing. It was the Exodus of the Messiah, His departure from this world, His glorious Crucifixion. That is what heaven is interested in. It does not make the angels weep. It makes them sing. They love it. The saints revel in it. For the shameful death of Jesus is their glory. It is the fulfillment of all that Moses and Elijah prophesied. It is the Desire of nations, the Hope of Israel, the Light of the world made good. But Peter, with his standard awkwardness, misses the point. The words of Jesus have not yet broken his heart of its attachment to the finer things. He does not yet see the hidden things of God in the lowly and despised things of this world. He does not yet embrace the agony of God as perfect mercy.

That awkwardness of Peter is no stranger to us. It is a stubbornness born of pride, that wants its own way, that refuses to be sacrifice. It is the demise of marriages, the dissolution of friendships, and the root of war. It refuses to believe that parents should be honored, that spouses should be loved, or that neighbors should be protected above self. It wants lofty, soaring emotional highs, platitudes and easy answers, fancy music and ceremonies, rules to live by and improve; anything and everything but a cross, anything and everything but suffering, death, and blood. Repent. The flesh is weak. We have all succumbed to the vanity of our hearts and wanted fame, honor, and glory with men. According to the flesh, we have all been scandalized by God’s Word.

Here on the Mountain, in Moses and Elijah, is a lesson for Peter and for us. Moses had run away from God and from His people. He had committed murder. He was afraid for his own skin. But God, nonetheless, restored him. He made him His own ambassador to lead the people safely out of slavery to freedom, through the drowning, crushing waters of the Red Sea to dry ground, through death to life. Again, in the wilderness his anger would overcome him and because of it he would not be allowed to enter the promised land. A whole generation had to die in the desert and Moses along with them. The people had to be cleansed, purged of a perverse generation corrupted in Egypt. Slavery had to die. The Law had to be left on the other side of the Jordan.

But Moses did enter - through death, by Grace - the real promised land. He came to Abraham’s inheritance, the land of milk and honey that Canaan only foreshadowed. He died to being enslaved. He died to being a second-class citizen, an adopted son of questionable birth. He died to being afraid, angry, and tired. He awoke in heaven free even of himself, adopted into the household of the Trinity as a true brother of Christ! He lived his life of sorrow by faith, in suffering, with hardship and uncertainty. But in the end he came to faith’s reward. In his weakness he learned to know that there is no other place to turn. That God is his only hope. And knowing that, in weakness he was strong and in death he now lives.

Likewise, Elijah. He also ran and hid. He had called fire down from heaven. He had defeated four hundred false prophets of Baal. The only way it was okay to pray with them in Jezebel’s civic ceremony was if they were mocked and slain! But then, after the wrath of God was revealed upon them, Elijah was afraid. He ran from weak Jezebel lest she would do to him what he had done to them. Full of self-pity, wallowing in self-righteous arrogance, he was certain that he was the only one left, the only one who would not hold hands with Baal’s prophets and call them brother.

But God had mercy even on Elijah. He too was restored. He was fed by ravens, renewed in his strength and zeal, and finally, delivered even from bodily death, so that he ascended by a chariot into heaven. He, too, lived this life of sorrows, of disappointments and frustration, in a small, struggling Church. He lived by faith. He had his doubts, his worries, but now he and his faith are perfect. For what his faith could not do, God did. And by the Grace of God in the Messiah he too has come to faith’s reward.

And so, too, did Peter follow. In the end he stretched out his arms and died. For he would not stand idly by and smile nicely as incense was offered to Caesar, waiting his turn to meekly suggest one more innocuous religious option, one more qualified and weak prayer to a possible god. He was moved by the Holy Spirit. He spoke the Word of God. He laid out the only thing that matters: “Jesus died for the sins of the world. He has made full atonement for all men. He rose again and gladly calls men, ‘brother.’ There is no other salvation. And He is coming back.” And for this Gospel, this invitation to heaven, they killed him. But in that malicious act they did more to honor him then they could ever know. For the things of God are hidden from human eyes. Weakness is strength, foolishness is wisdom, death is life, and martyrdom is the single highest honor.

Above all the Divine liturgy sets us up as fools. We adore bread and wine, water, a book. We kneel before a nerdy man dressed like a clownish woman! The world scoffs at all this pomp and circumstance. But faith rejoices in it. For it confesses what the eyes cannot see: that Jesus is here for His people with healing, with acceptance, with peace. He is not transfigured here, but is hidden in the externals. Those who believe His Word submit to things they cannot understand. That is the true Theology of the Cross. You behave according the promises of God and not by what your eyes behold. The Church, too, is hidden. The saints are unknown. You are they whether the world recognizes it or not. For are you not baptized? Do you not have the Name of God upon you? Have you not been called out of darkness to light? But you are a sinner? Of course, you are. So was Peter. So were Moses and Elijah. And look what God has done for them. It is no less for you. That is a promise that cannot fail.

In + Jesus’ Name. Amen.

February 5-6, 2011 sermon

Colossians 3:12-17

“Love”

February 5-6, 2011

“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

I. Love (3:12-14)

As the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and longsuffering. That’s how our epistle begins. Put on these virtues, it says; don’t just haul them out from time to time, but clothe yourselves in them. Wear them constantly and treat other people accordingly.

Clothe yourself in tender mercies and kindness: wear these daily. Where people are in need, do what you can to assist them. Don’t do so out of pride or in such a way that broadcasts how much it inconveniences you, but do so tenderly—because your brother or sister is in need of help, and you are God’s instrument to help them. On the other hand, as you are able, act as you can so that you do not burden others—but so that those who are in greater need receive the help that is necessary. This goes for congregational life, too: act with tender mercy toward the body of Christ in this place. Where there is the need for service and help, set aside the time to be merciful to the congregation here.

Clothe yourself in humility, meekness and longsuffering. The world works by power, by striving to gain for yourself by being better than those around you. That is not how Christians live. Do not clothe yourself in pride which draws attention to your own achievements, however big or small they are; rather, put on humility which seeks to serve others for the sake of Jesus. Do not seek to use what authority God gives you in order to make people serve you—whether your office of authority be parent, teacher, pastor, supervisor, head of the household, etc.; rather clothe yourself in meekness that uses this authority to serve. Be patient—clothe yourself in longsuffering. There will be plenty of people and situations which annoy you and inconvenience you, perhaps even hurt you: be patient, for the Lord is patient with you.

As you are clothed in these virtues, the text then instructs you: bear with one another and forgive one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do. The elect of God—saved by grace for Jesus’ sake—are still plagued by sin in this world. Therefore, it is necessary that each of us bear with the faults of each other and forgive each other. This is patently obvious, and yet terribly difficult. There will be brothers and sisters in Christ whom you do not like so much; and when you encounter such people, it is easy to spot whatever weaknesses they have and target them: either to marginalize them, push them out or just make fun of them. This ought not be: you and I each have weaknesses and limitations; we have some talents and lack others. We each have sins which need to be addressed, and I am not saying we should overlook sin, especially doctrinal error. But where it is simply a matter of personality, bear with one another. Where there is sin, clothe yourself in repentance if you are the sinner and forgiveness if you are the victim. And where you may still not get along with everybody, remember two things. First, each one here is one for whom Christ died, and that mean the Lord places immense value upon them. Second, the Lord does not require to like people you don’t get along with…but He does require you to love them.

This brings us to the third verse of the text, the summary of the first half: “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” Clothe yourselves in love: wear it constantly. Not the gooey emotional stuff of romantic movies—that’s not the love to which our text speaks. Rather, this love is the totality of all the virtues listed in the previous verses, and more. It is all good thought, word and deed put together. It is the hard work of service toward other people. It is the bond of perfection, our text says; or, in the words of Romans 13:10, love is the fulfillment of the Law.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, you are daily and continually to clothe yourselves in fulfilling the Law. You are daily to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and you are daily to love your neighbor as yourself.

That leads us to two more remarks about the first half of our text. One is that, by now, the warning bell should be ringing in your head. You are already thinking, “We are to clothe ourselves in love. Love is the fulfillment of the Law. Therefore, we are daily to clothe ourselves in the perfect keeping of the Law. And therefore, we are never clothed as we ought to be, because perfect obedience is beyond the abilities of sinners like us.” This is absolutely true. It is not an excuse to be unloving or to give up trying to obey: to do so is to enslave ourselves to sin. We will never love as we ought. That’s why, as much as we need to hear this Law, we also need to hear our Lord’s Gospel. Our behavior won’t save us. Christ will. That Good News is coming soon, but there is one more thing of which we should speak, one sin of which to warn.

I have heard it said that the foundation of the Church is love—the Church stands or falls upon love. As long as we love one another, then the Church is in good shape. As long as we love the people around us, they will become Christians, too. It doesn’t sound bad, at least not at first. But consider this: if Church stands or falls upon love, then the Church stands or falls upon what we do. If people become Christians because we love them, then we are saying that people are saved by our works. Suddenly, this doesn’t sound so good anymore; clearly, in fact, this is a false teaching.

There are side effects to this false teaching: if our love is the foundation of the Church, then our Lord and His salvation are no longer. “Therefore,” the argument goes, “since what matters is that we love each other, then we don’t have to be so careful about what we teach and what we practice. We do not need to teach and work exactly according to God’s Word; rather, we need to change our practice so that what we do appears to be loving.”

By the grace of God, we must give a two-pronged defense. The first is that true love is the keeping of God’s Law, and God’s Law demands that we keep every jot and tittle of His Word. Therefore, anything that departs from God’s Word is no longer loving, even if it appears to be. The second is this: no matter how much we love, it doesn’t save us. If we are forgiven, then love will undoubtedly follow. But if we are not forgiven, we are lost eternally no matter how much we love.

That is why this sermon and text each have a second part, the preaching of the Gospel. That is why we turn from love and turn to peace.

II. Peace (3:15-16)

“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body.” When the angels sang praises to shepherds at Christmas, they sang “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, His first words to them were, “Peace to you.” Sin causes strife. It makes enemies. We witness this in our dealings with other people all the time. But that is only a little reminder of a far more awful truth: because of our sinfulness, we are naturally enemies with God. If we are to be at peace with God, then our sins must be taken away. That is what Jesus has come to do—to bring peace by taking away sin. The peace of God is nothing else than the forgiveness that Jesus brings.

So after instructing you to clothe yourselves in love—telling you that you ought to keep God’s Law, St. Paul quickly tells you to let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Be forgiven. Where you are not as merciful as you ought to be, Jesus Christ is merciful to you: He does not reward you according to your love, but according to His. Because He has died and risen for you, He mercifully forgives you all of your sins. Where you are not kind, He is the kindness of God who has saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit; in other words, because you cannot clothe yourself in kindness as you ought, Jesus has clothed you with Himself in Holy Baptism. Where you are neither humble or meek, Jesus has cloaked His power in meekness and humility, suffering God’s judgment for His enemies in your place, dying your death so that you may live. And where you are not longsuffering, the Lord has suffered with your sin and still patiently grants you His grace today. His grace gives you peace with God; and if you are peace with God, you are His beloved child. And if you are His beloved child, then every good gift of God belongs to you.

As St. Paul points out, this determines the substance of our worship here, for all worship should be designed to bring to you the peace of God. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,” declares our text: we therefore speak the Word of Christ to you, for by it the Word made flesh dwells in you with all of His grace and favor. There are other words in the world that give wisdom and help and good advice, but it is only this Word that gives you peace with God. Likewise, we teach and admonish one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. As we sing liturgy and hymns here, we sing God’s Word to Him and to one another. There are many other songs that convey all sorts of knowledge and good feeling, but the music for worship is that which proclaims God’s peace with us in Christ. Thus, whatever we do in Word and deed, we do it all in the name of Jesus. We do it as those whom He has put His name on as His people. In other words, we love because He first loved us. If we are forgiven, love will follow. If we are not forgiven, all is lost.

As this sermon draws to a conclusion, we dare not ignore today’s Gospel lesson and its importance. Simeon is told by the Holy Spirit that he will see the Christ at the temple, and so he goes to find Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. We don’t know much about Simeon; in fact, for all we know, he may have been a believer who struggled with love and lacked much in the way of mercy, kindness or patience. Whoever he was as an individual, by the grace of God he believed that the Baby in his arms—that helpless, fragile infant—was his Savior. And so he sang his song which begins, “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace—according to Your Word.” Simeon did not appeal to Jesus to save him because of his, Simeon’s, love. Rather, Simeon prayed that the Savior would act according to His Word—and thus bring peace between Simeon and God.

As long as the Lord preserves you here, you will come to the altar and receive the Lord’s body and blood for the forgiveness of sins—the same flesh and blood that Simeon held in his arms, because the same Savior is present with you. Afterwards, you’ll sing Simeon’s song: “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace—according to Your Word.” For, dear elect of God, you live with this certain comfort that the Lord Jesus Christ comes to you with grace and life. He clothes you with Himself. He grants you His peace. Indeed, the peace of the Lord be with you always, for you are forgiven for all of your sins. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

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.