Reflections

Today's Reading: Small Catechism : Table of Duties, to Wives Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:14-25:12; 1 John 2:15-29   Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther continues to list out the duties that those who are in Christ are called by God to do. Under the category of wives, Luther simply points to Paul's lette...

Today's Reading:   Malachi 4:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 24:1-13; 1 John 1:1-2:14 "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings." (Malachi 4:2a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The prophet Malachi was told by God to proclaim the coming judgment of the Lord. On that day, the Lord would come with great glory and might, and the arrogant and all evil doers...

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 14:1-23; 2 Peter 3:1-18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you were to look at the stories that surround the birth and life of Nicholas of Myra, you will very quickly begin to think, "What a great man!" If one can believe the...

Today's Reading: Luke 21:25-36 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-12:6; 2 Peter 2:1-22 "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As the Day of Judgment draws near, the world in which we live will become even more chaotic. There will be signs and wonders. We will have wars. There wi...

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday in Advent (Psalm 25:4–5, 21–22; antiphon: v.25:1–3a) Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 10:12-27, 33-34; 2 Peter 1:1-21 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday in Advent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you are out walking in the woods, you want to find a clear path. Without a path, the way can be treache...

Today's Reading: Romans 13:11-14 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 9:8-10:11; 1 Peter 5:1-14 For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. (Romans 13:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wake up! He is coming! He will be here soon! Get ready! The days of Advent pass quickly, and soon Jesus will be here. Christmas is in 21 days; will you be ready? The Church is always in a state of tension. Ea...

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:5-8 Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 8:9-9:7; 1 Peter 4:1-19 The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 27:7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord promises that He will raise up from the righteous branch of David a King who will reign with wisdom and justice. Unlike earthly kings who are selfish, fallible, and unjust, this King will be perfect. His kin...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism:  Table of Duties, To Husbands Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 7:10-8:8; 1 Peter 3:1-22 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. (Colossians 3:19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther lays out Scripture passages that point out the duties Christians are to follow in their daily lives. This list has different categories for th...

Today's Reading: John 1:35-42a Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 6:1-7:9; 1 Peter 2:13-25 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (John 1:35-36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist's job was to point the way to Jesus, and he was good at his job. In John's Gospel we read about the calling of a disc...

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 5:1-25; 1 Peter 2:1-12 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever thought about how long it took Noah to build the ark? While we d...

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. . .  (Matthew 21:4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today we begin the season of Advent. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word "advenire," which means "to come," and for the next 25 days, the Church will be preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. Preparing takes time and lots of hard work. Just like cleaning the house must be done be...

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame. (From the Introit for the First Sunday in Advent) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Like the Last Sundays of the Church Year, the season of Advent provides time for us to be trained in patient waiting. The Sundays just past taug...

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:3-5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. See the Tre...

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." (Revelation 21:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To the world and our faithless eyes, the Church often looks like a hot mess. From our view She is not much of a Bride, but more like a schizophrenic bag lady on a city street. But t...

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The catechism reading for last week was directed to those who serve in civil government. This week the target of Lu...

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Thessalonian Christians were confused about the end. Some thought that Christ had already come, and they had missed it. But the apostle Paul reminds them that the Last Day will be so unmistakable that no one is going to miss it. Others thought...

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. . . I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress." (Isaiah 65:17,19a) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah saw the vision God placed before him. Nearly 700 years before Christ came, God lifted his eyes...

"And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." (Matthew 25:10-13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I remember as...

O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! (From the Introit for the Last Sunday of the Church Year) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The days of this world are numbered. That is a truth revealed to us in the Scripture readings for the last Sundays of the Church Year with their focus on the return of Jesus on the Last Day. The Introit for tomorrow,...

Jeremiah said, "You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared." (Jeremiah 38:20)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The false prophet Hananiah declared in the Name of the LORD that God would come to the aid of His people. The items that were stolen from the temple would be returned, along with the thous...

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:50–51) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Old Testament Divine Service the only way to enter into God's presence was within the tabernacle. The tabernacle was divided into two parts: the Holy P...

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It was most likely that Nero was the Roman emperor when Paul wrote the letter to the Roman church. If you know anything about Nero, it should be this--he was an anti-Christ figure. He lived his life in co...

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. Have you noticed that when you are anxiously waiting for something, like the Amazon Prime item you ordered just yesterday, it takes forever for that thing to arrive? In the reading today...

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 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. (Dan...

"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" (Matthew 25:37-40) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus tells us that He will come in His glory with an angel host and from His glorious throne he will make a judgment: sheep to the right and goats to the left. The sheep go into the eternal kingdom prepared for them befo...