Reflections

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food."  (Isaiah 55:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The ways of t...

And [Jesus] said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves."  (Luke 10:2-3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus sends out the 72. It's kind of like a dry-run for Pentecost. The disciples are to go out and preach the...

"Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find." And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment...

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, his holy mountain. We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. (From the Introit for the 20th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Let us pray: Lord God, Heavenly Father, You alone are worthy of our praise. You have made Your goodness known to Your Church, Your salvation is proclaimed...

"This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. …  But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." (Matthew 13:13, 16) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The parable of the sower is often one of our favorites. We love to hear about the reckless sowing of the seed and how the sower scatters indiscrimi...

But [Jesus] answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  (Matthew 12:39-40) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What is the will of the Father? That...

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 and salvation. (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, pt. 3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why do we eat and drink t...

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You have a new life in Christ. That is the gift of your Baptism. Christ's Cross has been brought to you. His victory over sin, death and the grave has been splashed down upon you in the wet Word of the font. You have been bur...

Today's Reading: Genesis 28:10-17 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22; Matthew 11:20-30 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jacob is on the run. He is in fear for his life. He had tricked his father into giving him a bl...

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:1-8 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22; Matthew 11:1-19 "For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ‘Rise and walk'?" (Mathew 8:5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We need Jesus to be more than just a miracle worker, more than just some carnival barker who sells us snake oil medicine out of the trunk of his car, more than some magic genie who is rea...

Today's Reading: Introit for the 19th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 78:1-3, 4b; antiphon: Psalm 35:3b; 34:17a, 6b; 48:14a) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Matthew 10:24-42 We will tell the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done. (From the Introit for the 19th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Is the idea of evangelism...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19; Matthew 10:1-23  "If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town." (Matthew 10:14)  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How often have you worried about someone you love who does not believe in Jesus? It happens all the time. Fathers worry about their children's faith. You worry about your...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25; Matthew 9:18-38 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. (Matthew 9:35, Evangelical Heritage Version) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Matthew 9 is a whirlwind of activity. As soon as Jesus finishes healing one person, someone else is beggin...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 2 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9; Matthew 9:1-17 Where is this written? (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Sacrament of the Altar is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ given for Christians to eat and drink. This is a strange thing to believe. It looks like mere bread and wine. All t...

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours…(1 Corinthians 1:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I have a bad habit of skipping Paul's greetings. Get to the point, my friend. We can pretend I'm so pi...

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40; Matthew 8:1-17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. (Deuteronomy 10:17) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, t...

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20; Matthew 7:13-29 Which is the great commandment in the Law? (Matthew 22:36) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees often tried to trick Jesus by asking Him questions that don't have good answers. Ask your dad which one of his children is his favorite. There's no good answer. So which commandment is the great one? Are there...

Today's Reading: Introit for the 18th Week after Trinity (Psalm 122:1, 6, 8-9; antiphon: Liturgical Text) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29; Matthew 7:1-12 Hear the prayer of Your servants, according to the blessing of Aaron upon your people. (From the Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apocrypha is a collection of books written during the time between...

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37; Matthew 6:16-34 Do not be anxious about tomorrow. (Matthew 6:34) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What do Deuteronomy and the Sermon on the Mount have to do with one another? On the surface, it looks like these are very different writings. Our reading from Deuteronomy promises that the Israelites will defeat their enemies, while Jesus preaches that we should not...

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 1 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15; Matthew 6:1-15 It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Sacrament of the Altar has many different aspects and dimensions and we speak of it using an assortment of names which all reflect these varied pur...

Today's Reading: Luke 10:17-20 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:19-36; Matthew 5:21-48 Nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus had earlier sent 72 disciples to go out and prepare His way. They were to go with very few supplies, announce the peace of God, and rely on the generosity of strangers for their wellbeing. This sort of thing seems fairly impossible before it...

Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Matthew 5:1-20 Bearing with one another in love… (Ephesians 4:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You are not alone. We are all in this together. These are not empty platitudes or meaningless slogans. This is the truth. We confess together that we believe in one holy, Christian/catholic, and apostolic Church. There are not many ch...

Today's Reading: Proverbs 25:6-14 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 3:6-4:6; Matthew 4:12-25 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (Proverbs 25:11) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A word fitly spoken, depending on the price of gold and the size of your apple, is worth somewhere around $10,000. The average person uses about 7,000 words in a day. If these were all fitly spoken, yo...

Today's Reading: Luke 14:1-11 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 2:1-3:5; Matthew 4:1-11 Friend, move up higher. (Luke 14:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Sometimes Jesus teaches us things that don't seem to have any immediate practical application. For instance, just a few verses before this parable of the wedding feast, He teaches that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which grows and gives a pl...

Today's Reading: Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 119:1-2, 5-6; antiphon: vs.124, 137) Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love and teach me your statutes. (From the Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord deals with you according to His steadfast love. This is love that does n...