The closest we can get to a mirror of the love of God for us is the mirror of the love that he wants us to have for one another in the family. The goal of family members is to reflect the love of God for us in self giving love for one another in the family. How tragic that in our society such a mirror is clouded indeed! There is much to repent of and much to strive toward. Today is the third of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
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Today we’re observing the celebration of the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels, which is celebrated on September 29. For 1500 years the Christian Church has celebrated this festival near the autumnal equinox, the day of 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. As Christians watched the autumn nights grow longer and the days grow shorter, they were reminded of the struggle between good and evil— between the forces of light and the forces of darkness—between the angel armies of God and the demonic forces of Satan. And so, every year as autumn darkened into winter, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangel and remembers that Michael and All the Angels fought on their side.
Today is the third of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
How profound the love of Jesus! He is talking about his impending suffering and all the Twelve can think and talk about is the glory they expect to get out of it, and whether someone else might be getting more and therefore too much! Wouldn’t you think that at least when he is describing his coming Passion he would get a little attention, just a bit of sympathy? But no! The perversity of the best of us is indeed deep and profound. But the love and compassion of the Savior is a thousand times deeper and more profound! He does not cast them off; he does not cast us off either. Instead he patiently demonstrates his love and bids us once more to be concerned only with receiving it and then imitating it.
Today is the second of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
Faithfulness and obedience to the Word of God are not merely one aspect of life out of many. They are the all-important matters of life that should be reflected in all of the rest of life. There is a life-and-death struggle going on with us, as Satan strives with all his might to pull us back into sin and unbelief. The only help that avails in that life-and-death struggle is the help of God’s own Word, the covering of the gospel and the confidence of faith which comes from it. Armed with the promises of God, we storm the gates of heaven with our prayers for assistance, in the certainty that God will hear us and in his Word answer us. May our awareness of the battle and of the victory Christ gives permeate all that we do at work and at play, at home and away, in our lives with family, with friends, with foes as well.
Over the next six Sundays, we focus on The Depths of God’s Grace. Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
Today we conclude our series, Jesus and Our Daily Bread. “But Pastor, that just isn’t the way I see it! I think…” What pastor hasn’t heard that a thousand times from the outsider? It is the natural response to every doctrine in the Bible and most importantly, with the chief doctrines of the Bible. Jesus knows that very well. He even delights in it. And so he tells us things in his Word that by ourselves we would never believe. Are the beautiful truths of the gospel, not least those taught by Jesus in John 6, easy for us to grasp? Not at all! In fact for the natural man and his fallen reason they are impossible. But the gospel is not just one religious tradition among many; it is the only truth that gives life and salvation.
For four Sundays, we have spent our time in the Gospel of St. John, chapter 6. In this chapter, Jesus has shown and taught us that he is “the bread of life.” We have seen the way he provides for our physical needs and heard how he provides for our spiritual needs. Last week we saw how we must fight against putting the needs and wants of this world first. Finally, this week we will see how the message of the Gospel, despite being hard to believe, is the only way to eternal life.
In both his rule over our history and in his answer to our prayers it is axiomatic: the greater the affliction that he permits, the greater his risk that we will fall into despair. The greater his blessings in answer to our prayers, the greater the risk that we will forget him and become arrogant. What afflictions have we had that were great blessings because they drove us to our knees in trusting prayer instead of despair? How many times when he answered did we forget the Giver in the enjoyment of the gift?
Look at all the problems and all the obstacles to following the call of Jesus. Everybody in town seemed to have trouble or sickness or demon possession. Even the mother-in-law of Peter was down sick with a fever that prevented her from hearing the Word and from serving her divine Guest. But each and every one of the problems and hindrances was a blessing in disguise. For each one of them gave people a reason to despair of their own abilities and to seek in Jesus the compassionate and merciful Savior. It is very useful for us to put our own problems and hindrances to following Jesus in this perspective: trials spur us to seek his help; his help should spur us to service. Jesus’ eyes were always and at the same time in two directions: down to rescue and to save us in our need, and up to do it all as an act of worship and obedience to his Father. He prayed. Then he went on to proclaim the gospel and continue his work of casting out the devil.
Why follow him? Jesus shows his glory by his triumph over the devil. In his own day he sometimes did that openly for many to see. He still does it just as effectively but in a less public, less obvious way. Just as his victory made manifest his glory then, so it does now. Just as then, so now, everything is accomplished through his Word.
Jesus shows his glory in the kind of people that he calls to serve him and in using the gospel to make them willing to follow him. This Sunday it is the epistle lesson that gives unity to the readings, since all of the other readings deal with specific calls to a full time following that leaves behind secular vocations. Jesus still calls such to the holy ministry. To all however comes the call to follow him with a willingness to abandon everything should faithfulness require it; the calls in these readings bid us have a mindset that has forsaken everything, even when we are not required to do it.
It is in the Word that we hear the call of God that has in it the secret power of God to give what he commands. He commands: Believe! and the Word creates faith. He says, Follow me! and the Word creates the desire and the ability to follow him. That he should consider it glorious to call sinners, is that not an amazing thing? That he should attach such power to his Word that we answer the call, is that not a wonder that lasts an eternity for each of us?
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