Reflections

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22 ; Matthew 13:44-58 “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” ( Deuteronomy 10:16 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God commanded the sons of Abraham to get circumcised. Circumcision was a sign attached to the covenant promise that God would bless the offspring of Abraham and also bless...

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46 , Introit: Ps. 122:1, 6, 8–9 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 28-15:15 ; Matthew 13:24-43 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ( Matthew 22:41-42 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees sent a lawyer—an expe...

Today's Reading: Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity   (Psalm 122:1, 6, 8–9 ; antiphon: Liturgical Text) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 13:1-18 ; Matthew 13:1-23 Give peace, O Lord, to those who wait for you, and let your prophets be proven faithful.” (From the Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our Introit for tomorrow, we ask for two things. First, w...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 12:13-32 ; Matthew 12:38-50 “Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.” ( Deuteronomy 12:13-14 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Moses warns the Israelites that they canno...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12 ; Matthew 12:22-37 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.” ( Deuteronomy 11:26 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Boy, that sounds familiar. Blessing and curse are important words in the book of Genesis. In the beginning, God created man and woman, and then, “God blessed them” ( Genesis 1:28 ). Later, we learn about the Tree of Life, whic...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism:  Confession Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:1-25; Matthew 12:1-21 What is Confession? Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. ( Small Catechism: Confession )...

Today's Reading:   Ephesians 4:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22 ; Matthew 11:20-30 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ( Ephesians 4:1-3) In the Name + of Je...

Today's Reading: Proverbs 25:6-14 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22 ; Matthew 11:1-19 Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give. ( Proverbs 25:14 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Rain is a precious thing in the Middle East. In some parts of that land, they receive as little as eight inches of precipitation each year! Without enough rain, your crops will fai...

Today's Reading: Luke 14:1-11 ,  Introit: Ps. 119:1–2, 5–6; antiphon: Ps.   119:137, 124 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20 ; Matthew 10:24-42 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” ( Luke 14:11 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Collect, we ask that God would help us to withstand the temptations of the devil. One of the greatest tempta...

Today's Reading: Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity ( Psalm 119:1–2, 5–6; antiphon: vv.137, 124 ) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19 ; Matthew 10:1-23 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart. ( Psalms 119:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalms were the songs and prayer...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25 ; Matthew 9:18-38 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant….” ( Deuteronom...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9 ; Matthew 9:1-17 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” ( Matthew 9:15 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. For those who have the ears to hear, Jesus has just revealed who He is and what He came to do. First, He revealed...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism:  Baptism, part 4 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:1-21 ; Matthew 8:18-34 What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. ( Small Catec...

Today's Reading: Ephesians 3:13-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40 ; Matthew 8:1-17 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ( Ephesians 3:20-21 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When that widow at Nain saw Jesus o...

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20 ; Matthew 7:13-29 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” ( 1 Kings 17:20 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We have yet another confrontation with death. Once again, death has taken the only son of a widow. The parallels between this story a...

Today's Reading: Luke 7:11-17 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29 ; Matthew 7:1-12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ( Luke 7:12 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Whenever I read Luke 7:12, I imagine that classic Dr. Seuss story called The Za...

Today's Reading: Introit for the 16th Sunday after Trinity ( Psalm 86:1, 7, 12–13; antiphon: vv.3, 5 ) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37 ; Matthew 6:16-34 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. ( Psalm 86:13 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I hope you enjoyed Psalm 86 last Saturday, because the lectionary has given us yet more of it. And...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15 ; Matthew 6:1-15 “Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.” ( Deuteronomy 1:38 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Moses would not lead Israel into the Promised Land. He would die just outside the land, because he sinned against God. Thankfully, God raised up a man like Moses named Josh...

Today's Reading: Luke 10:17-20 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:19-36; Matthew 5:21-48 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? ( Hebrews 1:14 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Angelology (the study of angels) is fascinating. There are different kinds of spirits: cherubim, seraphim, angels, archangels, etc. They have different jobs: So...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism:  Baptism, part 3 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:1-18 ; Matthew 5:1-20 How can water do such great things? Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that...

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:25-6:10 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 3:6-4:6; Matthew 4:12-25 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. ( Galatians 6:6 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No one likes to talk about money in church. No one wants to talk about what they give or get a lecture about how they ought to give. Trust me, pastors really don’t like preaching ab...

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 2:1-3:5 ; Matthew 4:1-11 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. ( 1 Kings 17:16 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When sinners are given an abundance, they become selfish. They want to receive far more than they need. In times of scarcity, things are...

Today's Reading: Matthew 6:24-34 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14 ; Matthew 3:1-17 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” ( Matthew 6:33 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We worry. We worry a lot. We worry about what we will eat and what we will wear. We worry about this life, which must end. And make no mistake, it will end, no matter h...

Today's Reading: Introit for the 15th Sunday after Trinity ( Psalm 86:4, 6, 15a, 16; antiphon: vv.1a, 2b, 3 ) Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38 ; 1 Timothy 6:3-21 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. ( Psalm 86:6 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Read Psalm 86 in its entirety. Clearly David composed this psalm in a time of trouble. David calls himself “poor and needy” ( Psal...

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21 ; 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. ( 1 Timothy 5:17 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In many Lutheran churches, there are a group of laymen called elders who aid the pastor in his ministry. Frankly, it is a bit odd to call these laymen elders. In the New Testa...