Luther for the Busy Man

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIV - SATURDAY LESSON: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:11‒13 As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead. James 2:26 We prove the genuineness of our love as Christians by works of love. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). James declares, “Faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26)...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIV - FRIDAY LESSON: 1 PETER 2:13‒17 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4 The lepers teach us faith; Christ teaches us love. Love deals with the neighbor in the manner in which it discovers that Christ has dealt with us. Jesus said to His disciples, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have don...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIV - THURSDAY LESSON: JAMES 1:2‒8 When He saw them He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Luke 17:14 In this Gospel we are given a very warm and friendly invitation to draw near to Christ, to put our faith and trust in Him. There is no doubt that He wants to do for everyone what He did for these lepers. All that is necessary is for us to cast ourselves freel...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIV - WEDNESDAY LESSON: PSALM 103:1‒5 “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Luke 17:13 Faith never asserts merits or tries to purchase God’s grace with works. It pleads only its utter lack of merits, or its demerits, and clings only to the pure, unmerited goodness and grace of God. This is also demonstrated very well by the lepers who have confident expectations in regard to Chris...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIV - TUESDAY LESSON: ROMANS 9:30‒33 As He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Luke 17:12‒13 It is not enough for you to believe that there is a God, and that you make long prayers, as is now the abominable custom. In the case of the lepers, you see how it is a mark of faith...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIV - MONDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 17:14‒21 If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. I Corinthians 13:2 This Gospel (Luke 17:11‒19) places before us a simple story or event that is quite easy to understand and requires little explanation. But although it is quite simple, it sets before us a most important example. In the case of the lepers, it...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIV - SUNDAY LESSON: LUKE 17:11‒19 “The Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 One point of difference between St. Luke and the other evangelists is that Luke did not concentrate only on the work and doctrine of Christ, like the others; he also described the order of His journeys and the routes by which He travel...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - SATURDAY LESSON: PHILIPPIANS 2:1‒4 “And who is my neighbor?”. . . “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:29, 37 The lawyer does not ask, “Who is my God?” It seems that he feels that he owes God nothing. As far as God is concerned, he is quite sure that there is nothing amiss. Nor is he conscious of any shortcomings as far as his neighbor is concerned. But he still comes up with t...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - FRIDAY LESSON: COLOSSIANS 1:9‒12 “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 We have seen in our consideration of this Gospel (Luke 10:23‒37) what God means when He says, “You shall love the Lord your God.” He means you, the whole you, not only your hands, your mouth, or your knees. When we love God with such a fullness of our being, we fulfill this law...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - THURSDAY LESSON: ROMANS 1:18‒25 “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” Matthew 4:10 God allows us to love His creatures; that is why He created them and made them good. The sun is a fine creation of God; gold and silver and everything that is fair and beautiful quite naturally engender love in us. God readily permits us to love these creature...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - WEDNESDAY LESSON: 1 CORINTHIANS 5:6‒8 Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14 The really wicked people in God’s sight are those who are proud of their external performances, who want to justify themselves and be accounted righteous before God because of their works. The lawyer in the Gospel belonged to this class of men. Wh...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - MONDAY LESSON: ROMANS 13:8‒10 A lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself....

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - MONDAY LESSON: ROMANS 13:8‒10 A lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself....

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - SUNDAY LESSON: LUKE 10:23‒37 Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Luke 10:23‒24 This seeing and hearing must be understood quite simply as external seeing and hearing, namely, t...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - SATURDAY LESSON: 1 JOHN 5:9‒15 “Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22 As Christians who are priests before God, we should say, “Christ was certainly a priest in the fact that He prayed for me and acquired personal faith and the gift of the Spirit for me. Hence, I also am a priest who should continue to pray to God that He should g...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - FRIDAY LESSON: 1 PETER 2:9‒10 “I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from the Father.” John 16:26‒27 I should never rely on your works, and you should not rely on mine. But with my faith, I will pray to God for you to give you a personal faith of your own. John sa...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - THURSDAY LESSON: LUKE 12:35‒40 “Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’” Matthew 25:7-9 It is important for you to know how far another man’s fai...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - WEDNESDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 9:18‒22 He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:50 This Gospel (Mark 7:31‒37) suggests discussion on the part played by another’s faith in our salvation. These men brought the deaf man to Jesus as a fruit of their faith in Jesus. The deaf man made no contribution at all; he played an entirely passive role. We should...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - TUESDAY LESSON: GALATIANS 3:23‒29 In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Galatians 3:26 You know now that man is accounted righteous before God and becomes acceptable to God on no other ground but on the basis of faith alone. Hence it is nothing but a false fabrication to teach what has hitherto been taught on this matter in the church, namely, that we mu...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - MONDAY LESSON: PSALM 57:1‒3 Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 The Gospel for this week (Mark 7:31‒37) describes works of love. These men seize the initiative and go to the poor, deaf man with speech troubles to lend him a hand. Without their merits or any initiative from them, Christ sends forth His Word and attends to the spreadin...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - SUNDAY LESSON: MARK 7:31‒37 How are men to call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 The external history of this Gospel or the example it sets before us is good in itself. For here we see how many adopted the pressing need of this poor man as thei...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - SATURDAY LESSON: LUKE 7:36‒50 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 The tax collector (Luke 18:9‒14) stands there and humbles himself. He mentions no fasting, no good work; he mentions nothing at...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - FRIDAY LESSON: LUKE 14:7‒11 “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14 We must take a look here at the foolish hypocrite, the Pharisee. He is adorned with the most beautiful works. First, he gives thanks to God, fasts twice in the week, and gives a tithe on his whole income to God, not to St. Nicholas or St. Barbar...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - THURSDAY LESSON: PSALM 9:7‒12 “The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast.” Luke 18:13 We are urged to produce works as evidence of faith, not that we should pile up merits by them. Doing works freely and gratuitously for the benefit of our neighbor must become our normal procedure. In urging such works upon us, God...

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - WEDNESDAY LESSON: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1‒5 By God’s power [we] are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5 The reason why St. Luke and St. James put considerable emphasis on works is to prevent men from laboring under the false delusion that faith is merely some vague sort of feeling that floats about on the heart like froth on t...