Grace Lutheran Blog

8th Sunday after Epiphany

2011-02-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

God Reveals Himself by Providing for Our Bodily Needs

Whatever good things we have, we have received them from the Lord. He freely provides all that we need for this body and life, and especially for our body and soul to life everlasting. He sends His ministers of the Gospel as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1) in order that we may be clothed with His righteousness and nourished with His feast. Therefore, Jesus says, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on (Matt. 6:25). As our heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air and clothes the grass of the field, much more will He feed and clothe us. Though we may be faithless and forgetful, and even a mother may forget her nursing child, yet the Lord remains faithful, and He will not forget you (Is. 49:15). As He has comforted His people in the past, He also has compassion on us in all our afflictions. He favors us and helps us in the day of salvation, which has appeared in the flesh and blood of Christ.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

3rd Sunday after Epiphany

2011-01-16T22:25:00.000-05:00

The Lord Manifests His Glory through His Office of the Holy Ministry

By His coming in the flesh and by His preaching and miracles, the Lord Jesus shines the light of His Gospel upon the people who walked in darkness and who dwelt in a land of deep darkness (Is. 9:2). He has also multiplied the nation and increased its joy (Is. 9:3) by calling disciples to Himself from the ends of the earth. For this purpose, He calls Peter and Andrew, with James and John, to follow Him and be fishers of men (Matt. 4:19). As Jesus did, they also go forth proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people (Matt. 4:23). They preach the foolishness of the Cross of Christ as the very power and wisdom of God. This word and preaching of the Cross divides those who are perishing from us who are being saved (1 Cor. 1:18), but it unites the Church, the one Body of Christ, in the same mind and the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:10).

16th Sunday after Pentecost

2010-09-06T14:27:00.000-04:00

Jesus Christ Is the Great Shepherd of His Sheep

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). As He had mercy on Paul, in order to demonstrate His perfect patience (1 Tim. 1:16), so also does He seek out His sheep from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day (Ezek. 34:12). To deliver His flock, He will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick (Ezek. 34:16), and they will no longer be a prey (Ezek. 34:22). He sets over them one great Good Shepherd, the Son of David, who will feed them himself and be their shepherd (Ezek. 34:23). For Christ Jesus is the one Man who, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, would leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it (Luke 15:4). When He finds the lost one and brings it home rejoicing, the angels of God and all the company of heaven rejoice with Him, with great joy (Luke 15:7, 10).

13th Sunday after Pentecost

2010-08-20T08:41:00.000-04:00

The Cross of Christ is the Way into the Kingdom of God

With the cross of Christ, the time has come to gather all nations and tongues (Is. 66:18). The sign of the cross is set forth in the preaching of the Gospel, the declaration of the Lord's glory among the nations (Is. 66:19). Many will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29), but only by the narrow way of the cross. Those who refuse to follow Christ crucified will ultimately find only weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 13:28), whereas Christ's disciples, called from all the nations, will eat and drink with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. They will come into the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

2nd Sunday of Easter

2010-04-10T21:48:00.000-04:00

That You May Believe and Have Life in His Name

On the Lord's Day, St. John the Apostle was given a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. He is the Living One, the firstborn of the dead (Rev. 1:5). He died for all people, and behold, He is alive forevermore! Therefore, He has the keys of Death and Hades (Rev. 1:18). For His death atoned for sin and conquered death, and in His resurrection He opened the kingdom of heaven to us. The sharp two-edged sword of His mouth (Rev. 1:16) calls you to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that by such faith you may have life in His name (John 20:31). To that end, He sends His ministers of the Word, as the Father sent Him, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Resurrection of our Lord

2010-04-04T01:47:00.000-04:00

Christ's Resurrection Is the Firstfruits of the New Creation

The Lord has promised one day to create new heavens and a new earth (Is. 65:17), in which His people shall abide in peace and joy. That new creation has begun in the bodily resurrection of Christ Jesus. All the baptized belong to that new creation. Reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, they are the offspring of the blessed of the Lord (Is. 65:23). The Lord rejoices and is glad in them; He hears and answers their prayers. For if in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor. 15:19). But now Christ Jesus has been raised, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20). We may be perplexed about this (Luke 24:4), perhaps even frightened and brought to our knees, because it seems like an idle tale (Luke 24:11). But faith clings to the Word of Christ and finds His resurrected body--not in the tomb, but in His Holy Supper.

Good Friday

2010-03-30T23:45:00.003-04:00

Behold the Lamb of God, Who Takes Away the Sin of the World

Jesus, the Lamb of God, is led to the slaughter of His cross as the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the world. Despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (Is. 53:3), He is the righteous Servant who justifies many by His innocent suffering and death. He bears our griefs and carries our sorrows; He is wounded for our transgressions; He is crushed for our iniquities; He suffers our chastisement, so that with His stripes we are healed (Is. 53:4-5). As the Son of God, He fulfills the Law for us in human flesh, and so fulfills the Scriptures (John 19:7, 24). In perfect faith and faithfulness, He shares all our weaknesses and temptations, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15), and as our merciful High Priest He brings us to the Father in peace.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Maundy Thursday

2010-03-30T23:44:00.002-04:00

Let Us Love One Another, as Christ Jesus Has Loved Us

By Holy Baptism, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. 10:22), we enter the holy place with Jesus. For Jesus is our Passover Lamb, who has been sacrificed for us. He reclines at table with us and feeds us with His own flesh and blood: the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain (Heb. 10:20). In Christ, the Lord remembers us in mercy and remembers our sin no more; He forgives us all our iniquity (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 10:17). With such love, he loved His own who were in the world, and even loves us to the end (John 13:1). As He washes us and feeds us in love, let us love one another, just as He has loved us (John 13:34)

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion

2010-03-23T23:48:00.000-04:00

The Cross and Passion of Our Lord Are the Hour of His Glory

The King of Israel comes into His royal glory by way of humble obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). He goes as it has been determined (Luke 22:22), according to the Scriptures, voluntarily submitting to His Father's will for the salvation of sinners. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:9). His suffering and death open the way of repentance for the forgiveness of sins because He goes to the cross bearing the sins of the world; and in His resurrection, God the Father vindicates His people and has compassion on His servants (Deut. 32:36). He kills and makes alive; He wounds in order to heal. In remembrance of Him, we praise God, confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

5th Sunday in Lent

2010-03-15T22:31:00.000-04:00

God's Beloved Son Has Redeemed Us
Our life and works apart from Christ, no matter how impressive they may be to the eyes of the world, are ultimately garbage and no righteousness. Rather, it is in the scandalous cross of Jesus that we find our righteousness alone through faith in Christ (Phil. 3:9). By such faith, we know Him and the power of His resurrection (Phil. 3:10). For the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt, has done a new thing for us in Christ Jesus. He has sent his beloved Son into his vineyard—to be killed by sinful men and to become the stone the builders rejected. Yet, the One rejected by men has become the cornerstone of His Church (Luke 20:17). Through the waters of Holy Baptism, he provides us daily refreshment in our earthly pilgrimage--a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Is. 43:19).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

4th Sunday in Lent

2010-03-13T20:44:00.003-05:00

Jesus Christ Has Reconciled Us to the Father

God the Father has opened His heart to us in love. While we were still a long way off, He saw us and felt compassion (Luke 15:20). Therefore, He gave His only-begotten Son for us, making Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). By the ministry of reconciliation, He runs to us, embraces us in mercy, and clothes us with His glory as beloved sons in Christ Jesus. And so we give thanks unto the Lord our God, who has taken away our sins and turned His anger from us (Is. 12:1). As He has become our salvation, our strength and our song, so we will trust, and will not be afraid (Is. 12:2).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

2nd Sunday in Lent

2010-02-22T19:20:00.002-05:00

Jesus Rescues Us from Death and Brings Us into Heaven

The prophet Jeremiah faithfully preached all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people (Jer. 26:8). He called the people to repentance, lest the Lord's judgment come upon them. The violence that Jeremiah suffered for this preaching foreshadowed the cross and Passion of Christ Jesus, who suffered the judgment of God for the redemption of all people. For Jesus comes in the name of the Lord (Luke 13:35) in order to lay down His life for the sins of the world. Earthly Jerusalem was blind to His gracious visitation, and so put Him to death like the prophets before Him. Yet, His sacrifice upon the cross was the cornerstone of the new Jerusalem, His Church. He visits us today in mercy with His preaching of forgiveness, to gather us to Himself within that holy city, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings (Luke 13:34). For our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

1st Sunday in Lent

2010-02-17T22:48:00.002-05:00

Jesus Christ Is Our Champion against the Devil

Jesus Christ, our Champion against the devil, endures and overcomes every temptation (Luke 4:13) on our behalf. He worships the Lord His God, and serves Him only by trusting the Word of His Father: You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased (Luke 3:22). Jesus' victory is now ours through His gracious Word, which is not far away but near us-in our mouth and in our heart, in the proclamation of repentance and faith. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Rom. 10:10). Our confession of Christ includes the prayer of faith, which is not disappointed; for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13). The Lord is not oblivious to our affliction, our toil, and our oppression (Deut. 26:7), but has mercy upon us. He has brought us out of bondage through the signs and wonders of Holy Baptism, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deut. 26:8), and now He leads us by His Spirit even in the wilderness.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Ash Wednesday

2010-02-17T22:47:00.000-05:00

Return to the Lord Your God with All Your Heart

On Ash Wednesday, we come down from the mountain with Jesus and set our face with His toward the cross in Jerusalem. We make our pilgrimage with Him by the way of repentance, and thus return to the dying and rising of Holy Baptism. For Christ Jesus, who knew no sin, became our sin, so that by His death we are released from sin, and in His resurrection we become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Since God has thereby reconciled the world to Himself in Christ, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). He summons you to return to Him with all your heart because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (Joel 2:13). Do so in faith and confidence before Him, and pray to Him as your Father. Give to the needy from a heart of love, and fast for the sake of repentance (Matt. 6:3-4, 6, 17-18).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

The Transfiguration of our Lord

2010-02-07T21:05:00.002-05:00

The Glory of God Is Manifested in the Body of Christ

"Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant," but Christ Jesus "has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses" (Heb. 3:3, 5). A beloved and well-pleasing Son, faithful even to the point of death, Jesus' own body was raised up on the third day as the house of God, and He has brought us into that house through the waters of Holy Baptism (Heb. 3:6). Thus, it was not Moses the lawgiver, but his successor, Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus), who led the people into the promised land (Deut. 34:1-4, 9). Now, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the New Testament Joshua appears in the glory that He is about to manifest by His "departure" (exodus) in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Having entered the waters of the Jordan in His Baptism, He passed through those waters and entered into glory by His Cross and Passion. What He thereby accomplished in His own flesh and blood, crucified and risen, He reveals and gives to His Body, the Church, by the means of His Word. Therefore, the Father declares from heaven, "Listen to Him!" (Luke 9:35).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

2010-02-07T21:04:00.001-05:00

Jesus Manifests His Divine Glory by Forgiving Sins

When Isaiah beheld the glory of the Holy Triune God in the Temple, he confessed that he was lost because he was sinful and unclean. If even the holy angels cover their faces in the presence of "the King, the Lord of hosts," then how could Isaiah stand before Him? (Is. 6:1-5). The glory of the Lord, however, was manifested precisely in His forgiving of Isaiah's sins. He touched Isaiah's mouth with a burning coal from the altar of incense, and sanctified his lips for the proclamation of His Word (Is. 6:6-9). Similarly, when Simon Peter witnessed the glory of God in the miraculous catch of fish, he was brought to his knees and confessed, "I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8). Yet, the Lord Jesus did not depart from him, but calmed his fear and raised him up with His gracious forgiveness (Luke 5:10). With this same forgiveness and love, Christ gathers people from every nations into His Church and pours out His Spirit upon them. The gifts of that same Spirit are manifested in the speaking and hearing of the Gospel for the building up of the Church (1 Cor. 14:12).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Third Sunday after Epiphany

2010-01-17T22:46:00.002-05:00

The Lord Is Manifested as Our Savior through the Preaching of the Gospel

When Jesus opens His mouth to preach, gracious words flow from His lips. The Scriptures are, indeed, fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21-22). For Christ was anointed by the Spirit of the Lord "to proclaim good news to the poor," "to proclaim liberty to the captives," and "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19). By this proclamation, Christ releases His people from captivity and gathers them to Himself in His Church. So it was when the Lord released His people from Babylon and returned them to Jerusalem. "Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people," sanctified the whole congregation by the reading and preaching of the Law (Neh. 8:8-9). As the people then were urged to "eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready" (Neh. 8:10), so are you anointed by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ to share in His feast and to serve the fellow members of His Body with His good gifts, "giving greater honor to the part that lacked it" (1 Cor. 12:12, 24).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Second Sunday after Epiphany

2010-01-17T22:44:00.002-05:00

The Divine Glory Is Manifested in the Signs of Christ

When Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana, it was "the first of His signs," by which He "manifested His glory" (John 2:11). It pointed to His coming "hour," when He was lifted up on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins and the life of the world (John 2:4; 12:23-32). The glory of the cross is incomprehensible apart from the Word and Spirit of God, but disciples of Jesus recognize that glory in the signs of His Gospel, and so they believe in Him. Jesus does not wait for His disciples to discover Him on their own, but He seeks out the forsaken and the desolate and unites them to Himself. He adorns them with His own beautiful righteousness and delights in them "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride" (Is. 62:4-5). Purified by the washing of water with His Word in Holy Baptism, His disciples confess that "Jesus is Lord," and they return thanks to Him "in the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3), as they drink the good wine that He pours out for them, which is the new testament in His blood.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Baptism of our Lord

2010-01-04T23:31:00.001-05:00

The Triune God Opens Heaven to You in Holy Baptism

The Baptism of our Lord is an "Epiphany" of the one true God in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. In divine mercy, He takes His place with sinners and takes their sin upon Himself. "When all the people were baptized," Jesus submitted Himself to a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:21). He had no sins of His own, but He took the sins of the world upon Himself and so was baptized into His own death. Therefore, "when you pass through the waters," He is with you (Is. 43:2). He created you for His glory, and He has redeemed you with His blood, that you may be His own and live with Him in His Kingdom (Is. 43:1, 7). As you are baptized with a baptism like His, so also are you united with Him in His death and resurrection that you "might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4). For all who are baptized into Christ Jesus receive His anointing of the Holy Spirit and are named by His Father as beloved and well-pleasing sons and daughters.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Epiphany of our Lord

2009-12-28T11:25:00.000-05:00

The Lord God Is Manifested in the Incarnate Son

The Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a "Thirteenth Day" of Christmas; and yet, it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season. While Christmas has focused on the Incarnation of our Lord--that is, on God becoming flesh--the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. For the Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1-2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth--not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8-10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5-11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word, to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3-6). With gold they confess His royalty; with incense, His deity; and with myrrh, His priestly sacrifice (Matt. 2:11).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

1st Sunday after Christmas

2009-12-26T14:23:00.001-05:00

The Firstborn Son of God Is Our Redemption from Sin and Death

When the Lord destroyed the firstborn sons of Egypt, He spared the sons of Israel by providing a lamb in their stead. Hence, all the firstborn sons belong to Him. Every firstborn male animal was sacrificed, and every firstborn son of man was redeemed (Ex. 13:12-13). Therefore, the parents of Jesus "brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord" (Luke 2:22). However, He is not redeemed from priestly service but is consecrated for "the redemption of Jerusalem" and "the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25, 38). For God the Father did not spare His only-begotten Son, but offered Him up as the true Passover Lamb, in order to redeem His people from bondage. His Cross has caused many to stumble and fall, but His blood atoned for the sins of the world and delivers us from death. We now depart in the peace of Christ because we are also raised with Him. As we receive His body and blood, we join Simeon and Anna in "giving thanks to God the Father through Him," "singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," including the Nunc Dimittis, with thankfulness in our hearts (Luke 2:28-32, 38; Col. 3:15-17).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Christmas Day

2009-12-20T22:20:00.001-05:00

The Living and Life-Giving Word of God Dwells among Us in the Flesh

The Lord sends out His ministers of the Gospel to make disciples "of all the nations," so that "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." For the Lord has "bared His holy arm" in the incarnate Christ (Is. 52:7, 10). The Child in the manger, born of the Virgin Mary, is the very Word of God, the only-begotten Son of the Father, "whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world" (Heb. 1:2). As "all things were made through Him" (John 1:3), so are all things redeemed and made new in Him. In His body of flesh and blood, we behold "the radiance of the glory of God" (Heb 1:3), "glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). He dwells among us in peace that we might have life and light and salvation in Him. For by His Word of the Gospel, we are born again as the children of God, bearing His name and sharing His eternal life.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Christmas Eve

2009-12-20T22:17:00.002-05:00

The Word of the Lord Is Fulfilled in the Flesh of Jesus

Though Ahaz would not ask, the Lord gives a sign to the house of David, that "the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Is. 7:14). With this promise, He signifies that salvation is by His grace alone; it is no work or achievement of man, but the Lord's own work and free gift. The promise is fulfilled as the Son of God is conceived and born of the Virgin Mary, and the sign is received in faith by the house of David in the person of Joseph (Matt. 1:20-24). "Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary" (Nicene Creed), God is with us (Immanuel) in the flesh of Jesus, Mary's Son. Joseph believes that Word of God and so demonstrates a marvelous example in his immediate and quiet obedience, taking Mary to be his wife and caring for her in faith and love. He loves her because the love of God is manifest in this, that "the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world," "to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Fourth Sunday in Advent

2009-12-13T23:08:00.000-05:00

The Lord Comes to Visit Us in Peace

The Fourth Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the Nativity of Our Lord. With Mary we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Word and Spirit of God. As the Lord dealt graciously with her and did great things for her (Luke 1:48-49), so also He manifests Himself and His glory to us in mercy and gentleness. He comes to rule His people in peace, to "shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord." He comes forth not from the great capital city of Jerusalem, but from lowly little Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2, 4). He comes to sacrifice Himself, in fulfillment of His Father's will, for the salvation and sanctification of His people (Heb. 10:10). He who once visited Elizabeth while hidden in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:39-45), now comes to visit us today, hidden in the lowliness of simple water, bread and wine.

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries

Third Sunday in Advent

2009-12-06T23:43:00.001-05:00

The Coming of Jesus Enables Us to Rejoice

The Third Sunday in Advent has traditionally been called by the Latin word, Gaudete, meaning "Rejoice!" For as you are called to repentance, so also are you urged to rejoice in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. By His own Cross, He has accomplished salvation for you; "He has cleared away your enemies," "taken away the judgments against you," and has come to reign in your midst. Indeed, He rejoices over you with gladness! (Zeph. 3:15-17). Therefore, even from prison St. Paul encourages us to "rejoice in the Lord always," knowing that the peace of God will guard and keep us in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:4, 7). We find an example and encouragement in the case of John the Baptizer. As he languishes in prison, he calls upon Jesus and is strengthened by the Word of the Gospel that he receives. The same good news is preached to you, by which all things are made new and even "the dead are raised up" (Luke 7:22). Do not be offended by the cross, therefore, but let your life be one of prayer and thanksgiving (Luke 7:23; Phil 4:6).

Source: LCMS Lectionary Summaries