Trinity 12, 2024
“He has done all things well.” With these words the crowd hails the Christ. They marvel at the miracle.
“He has done all things well.” Easy words to say when things are going well. But things aren’t always going well....
Read MoreFree Speech and the Culture of the Therapeutic
The increasing attacks on freedom of speech in America are well-documented. Gov. Walz’s recent assertion against this constitutional right is unsurprising. This trend is part of the larger movement of the therapeutic-based ideology that has captured Western politics and education….
Read MoreEighth Sunday after Trinity 2024
I just finished reading The Infinite Game, a book by Simon Sinek. He says many people, companies, and countries are playing the wrong game; they’re serving short-term goals instead of infinite ones. There’s some worth to the book, but it’s not without flaws. One of its weaknesses is in what he calls “ethical fading.” This is where you have a gradual compromise of ethical standards in, say, what a corporation allows in its business practices. The problem is he assumes an ethical standard without ever defining it or establishing any foundation for ethics. For us, as disciples of Jesus, He is the foundation of all ethics and all Truth. In short, ethics is derived from the Word of God….
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Ready to Leave This Strange Country
Pascha (Passover) characterizes the life of the disciples of Jesus. St. John Chrysostom:
Let not any one of them that eat this Passover look towards Egypt, but towards Heaven, towards “Jerusalem that is above.” (Gal. 4:26.) On this account thou eatest with thy loins girded, on this account thou eatest with shoes on thy feet, that thou mayest know, that from the moment thou first beginnest to eat the Passover, thou oughtest to set out, and to be upon thy journey. And this implies two things, both that we must depart out of Egypt, and that, whilst we stay, we must stay henceforth as in a strange country; “for our citizenship,” saith he, “is in Heaven” (Phil. 3:20); and that all our life long we should ever be prepared, so that when we are called we may not put it off, but say, “My heart is fixed.” (Ps. 108:1.)
(NPNF 1:13, p165)
The Resurrection of Our Lord 2024
“Your boasting is not good.” So opens today’s Epistle. Boasting—or pride—is the fundamental human problem. So we must be told, even on Easter, “Your boasting is not good.” The broader context is a scandal in the Corinthian church. But the problem of pride, of boasting, is universal….
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Every Divine Service Is Easter
A gem from Luther:
We have Easter as often as we celebrate the Mass, preach, and administer the holy Sacrament. With us Christians every day is Easter, except that for ancient memory’s sake we observe a special Easter once a year. And that is not wrong but good and laudable, to observe the time when Christ died and rose again, even though our remembrance of His suffering and resurrection is not restricted to such a time but may be done on any day. As He says: “As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:25).
LW 13, pp355–356
Good Friday Chief Service 2024
Our self-image is always wrong. In times of prosperity, we perceive ourselves with pride. In times of adversity, we may rage and demand better; or, sink into self-loathing. But it’s all wrong, the self-love and the self-hatred. The only right image is to view ourselves cross-eyed; which is to say, we see who we are by looking at Christ’s cross. There we find that our pride is damned, but there is no cause for self-loathing, for the stretched-wide arms of Jesus proclaim the Father’s forgiveness. The cross is the Gospel. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the story of our identity. Our self-image is wrong, but the cross-eyed view is the truth. On Good Friday, we discover God has taken who you are out of your hands.
The gospel is “the eternal statement of who you are” (Russell Moore). The Triduum—the three holy days—give us the Supper of Jesus, the cross of Jesus, the baptism into Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus. These Holy Days give us the gospel, the good news that God in Christ loves us, absolves us, embraces us, welcomes us, accepts us, and will tear open the graves of those who fall asleep in Him….
Read MoreGood Friday Passion Vespers 2024
Other people hurt us. They hurt us with cruel words, breaking promises, or not including us. And when these things happen to us, our natural reaction is to be angry. We might respond in kind – hurt the person back in the same way. But even if we don’t, we tend to hold onto the sin. We remember it, ruminate on it. Over the years, the grudges heap up. The grudges make us angry and bitter.
What does not come naturally is to forgive. Not just move on and pretend nothing happened, but really, truly forgive. Forgiveness is a gift worked by the Holy Spirit….
Read MoreHoly Thursday Divine Service 2024
Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread and gave it to His disciples. And the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ immediately started to quarrel.
St. Luke tells us, “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.” (Luke 22:24 NKJV) After this, instead of praying, they slept. Then they fought the guards, Peter slicing off a man’s ear. Then they ran.
But first, they argued. About who was greatest.
Read MoreHoly Thursday Matins 2024
If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do?
You could try to have fun. Eat your favorite food. Play a game. Watch your favorite movie one last time.
Maybe you’d try to finish up something left undone. Make sure everything was put in order. You might even have some things to get rid of. Things you don’t want anybody else to see. Things that would embarrass you….
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