Reflections

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 5 Daily Lectionary: Daniel 3:1-30 ; Revelation 20:1-15 But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” ( Small Catechism Sacrament of the Altar, part 5)   In the Name + of Jesus. Are you cool enough to commune? That seems like a silly question, but som...

Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Daily Lectionary: Daniel 2:24-49 ; Revelation 19:1-21 “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:8 ) In the Name + of Jesus. ‘No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.’ You’ve probably seen the signs in stores or restaurants but have never thought about...

Today's Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25 Daily Lectionary: Daniel 2:1-23 ; Revelation 18:1-24 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” ( Isaiah 65:17 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Dying and going to heaven is not the ultimate fate of the Christian. We are not promised a disembodied life floating on a cloud while playing a harp....

Today's Reading: Matthew 25:1-13 ,  Introit: Ps. 39:4–5, 7– 8; antiphon: Is. 35:10 Daily Lectionary: Daniel 1:1-21 ; Matthew 28:1-20 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” ( Matthew 25:13 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How are you supposed to be prepared for the ending when you have no idea when the ending is coming? The ten virgins in our reading couldn’t even stay awake u...

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 38:1-28 ; Matthew 28:57-66 “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool!” ( Psalm 39:5 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “We’re all going to die!” is...

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 37:1-21 ; Matthew 27:33-56 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ( Matthew 27:46 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When Jesus speaks these words from the cross, he is doing more than making a cry of lament. The words...

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 33:1-22 ; Matthew 27:11-32 “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” ( Jeremiah 33:15–16 ) In the Name + of Jesus....

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 4 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 31:1-17,23-34 ; Matthew 27:1-10 “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: “forgiveness of sins.” ( Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 4...

Today's Reading: 2 Peter 3:3-14 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 30:1-24 ; Matthew 26:57-75 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” ( 2 Peter 3:9 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Inigo Montoya put it best in The Princess Bride when he said, “I hate waiting.” Waiting is tortur...

Today's Reading: Daniel 7:9-14 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 29:1-19 ; Matthew 26:36-56 “And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” ( Daniel 7:14 )  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At the end of a movie, the credits...

Today's Reading: Matthew 25:31-46, Introit: Ps. 85:1, 7, 9, 11 ; antiphon: Jeremiah 29:11a, 12 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 26:1-19 ; Matthew 26:20-35 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visi...

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 25:1-18 ; Matthew 26:1-19 “Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky” ( Ps. 85:11 ). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is a remarkable Scripture passage. Ps. 85 is a cry from God’s people for His blessing. Reminding God of His previous good favor for His undes...

Today's Reading: Matthew 25:31-46 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:21-40 ; Matthew 25:31-46 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” ( Mt. 25:34 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats can be confusing. This parable is about judgment day, when all peop...

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-20 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:1-20 ; Matthew 25:14-30 “I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.” ( Jer. 23:4 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today God teaches you why you have a pastor.  And that is, God gives you a pastor so that you might be spiritually c...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 3 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 22:1-23 ; Matthew 25:1-13 What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," shows us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life a...

Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 20:1-18 ; Matthew 24:29-51 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, a...

Today's Reading: Exodus 32:1-20 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 11:1-23 ; Matthew 24:1-28 “And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’  ( Ex. 32:4 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A translation issue from the original Hebrew helps unlock this text, and an...

Today's Reading: Matthew 24_15-28 ,  Introit:Ps. 130:1–2, 7–8; antiphon: Ps. 130:3–4 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 8:18-9:12 ; Matthew 23:13-39 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.   For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”  ( Mt. 24:23-24) In the Na...

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 7:1-29 ; Matthew 23:1-12 “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” ( Ps. 130:3-4 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A guilty conscience cannot hide.  Try as one might, God sees what is done in secret.  He knows the secrets...

Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 5:1-19 ; Matthew 22:23-46 “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” ( Eph. 5:18b-19 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christians are encouraged to learn psalms.  More than any other book of the Bible, the Psalms speak to every situati...

Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 3:6-4:2 ; Matthew 22:1-22 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way,  and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,  and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” ( Isa. 55:6-7 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Seek the Lord wh...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 2 Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 1:1-19 ; Matthew 21:23-46 Where is this written?  The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and St. Paul write: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: "Take, eat; this is My body, which is given fo...

Today's Reading: Matthew 5:1-12 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 34:1-12 ; Matthew 21:1-22 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” ( Mt. 5:3 ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. All Saints’ Day is a day of backwards blessings. Our Lord sets it up this way, as He pronounces blessings upon people who don’t seem like they are blessed at all.  It’s backwards from what natural ma...

Today's Reading: Romans 3:19-29 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 32:28-52 ; Matthew 20:17-34   “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it” ( Rom. 3:21 ).   In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A young Martin Luther trembled at the fear that the all-knowing, wrathful Judge was watching his every move and weighing it on the co...

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:1-14 , Introit: Ps. 48:1, 9–11 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27 ; Matthew 20:1-16 “Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ( Mt. 22:4c ) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today the Lord bids you to feast at the house of the King!  You know the food will be good. The meals at regular wedding receptions are always tasty - with cake, too! How much better woul...