September 21, 2024

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16, 6:1-9, 15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16

“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew certainly sacrifices something. He sacrifices his certain income and the wealth and status that goes along with it. And every Christian sacrifices something in order to follow Jesus. There are certain roads closed to us once we belong to Christ. It cannot be otherwise. But that is not what Jesus is talking about when He cites the prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6). In Hosea, the sacrifice is the sacrifice for sin, offered in the temple over and over again. God says that the people are like a morning cloud that comes and goes, fickle and wavering. They come and offer the prescribed sacrifices, but then they depart from God in their idolatry and sin.

Tax collectors were perceived as doubly evil by the people around them: they made their living off what they collected over and above what was required in taxes, and they collaborated with Israel’s oppressors in Rome. Their critics among the Pharisees and the leaders of Israel no doubt gave the proper sacrifices at the proper times, upholding the Law of God. Their outward acts are righteous and holy. It wasn’t just the Pharisees who believed it about themselves, but the people around them would have thought so as well. Jesus appears as both the sacrifice and the mercy. Once He shows up, the line of righteousness does not run between Pharisees and tax collectors but between everyone and Jesus. There is no one healthy, no one righteous. And Jesus has come to call every sick person and every sinner.

Everything depends on where you stand. If you stand with the outwardly righteous, Jesus will be a threat and an enemy. But if you know that you are a sick sinner, Jesus is the healing physician and the forgiving mercy of God. Matthew sits there at the table with Jesus, not in self-righteousness, but in the perfect relief of being the object of the mercy of Jesus, who would be sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. That is where you and I find ourselves, as well: at the table of Jesus’ mercy, in the all-encompassing forgiveness of God, eating and drinking as forgiven sinners with the sacrificial Lamb of God. Thanks be to God for His gracious calling and merciful welcome of sinners such as us!

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Son of God, our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, You called Matthew the tax collector to be an apostle and evangelist. Through his faithful and inspired witness, grant that we also may follow You, leaving behind all covetous desires and love of riches; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.

September 20, 2024

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 18 - Psalm 37:5-7; antiphon: Psalm 37:4

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16

“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act” (Psalm 37:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Waiting for the Lord to act when things do not appear to be going the way they should be going is one of the most difficult things to do. We see whatever evil is going on. Does God? If He does, why does He allow it to continue? When will He intervene? Will He?

In Psalm 37, David says, “Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil” (37:7-8, emphasis added). God certainly knows all the evil in the world, and He knows it far better than we will ever know it! He knows not only all the evil that is happening right now but all the evil that has ever happened and will ever happen.

But God does not only know of evil. Not only will He set it right when evil-doers are caught and punished; not only will He put all things right on the Last Day, ridding His creation of sin, death, and the devil; He has already put evil right on the cross. Jesus’ crucifixion is where all evil comes to its full expression, in the killing by creatures of their Creator. And Jesus takes all that evil, including your sin and mine, and dies under its weight. By doing that, He buries sin and death in His grave and leaves it there when He rises from the dead.

It is true that we still see evil in the world after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, but that is only the death rattle of this old creation. The present form of this world is passing away (1 Corinthians 7:31). God has made this known to us by His Spirit. And He has made us part of this same story in our Baptism; the same old/new, death/resurrection line now runs through us as it does through the creation. Because of this, we can be still before Yahweh and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:7). When Christ is revealed, then He will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body (Philippians 3:21), and “He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday” (Psalm 37:6).

Your future is assured by Christ’s resurrection, so you can be patient as God works all things together for our good in Christ. He who has called you according to His promise in Christ is faithful. He will surely do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

In the midst of evil, O God, grant us the assurance of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and all evil, so that we may wait patiently for the revealing of that victory in the whole creation. Amen.

-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.

September 19, 2024

Today's Reading: Catechism: Table of duties: of civil government

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20, 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-15

“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.

Sometimes, we think that if other people are not doing what they are supposed to do, then we can do what would otherwise be wrong. We think that we will do what we’re supposed to do when they do what they’re supposed to do. We’ll obey our parents when they do everything God has commanded them to do. Husbands will only sacrifice themselves for their wives when their wives submit, and wives will only submit when husbands act like Jesus. Likewise, we think that we will be subject to the governing authorities when the governing authorities do what God has given them to do.

But all of those are contrary to God’s word. The fact is, of course, that the sinners in the government, in families, and in marriages will never do everything that they are supposed to do. But God’s Law does not have exceptions. We don’t get to decide whether we will follow God’s word based on what other people do. We obey God, not people. And obeying God means that we obey those whom He puts into authority over us, whether parents or governing authorities (which are extensions of the Father’s authority). The explanation of the Fourth Commandment reminds us: “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.”

What does this mean? What should we do when the government does not act according to God’s will to protect the innocent and punish the evildoer? The most obvious example is when governments persecute Christians. What will submission to the governing authorities look like in that case? It will mean continuing to hear God’s word and receiving His sacraments. The government may abuse its authority and put us in prison or put us to death. Even so, we trust the God who instituted them more than those He put into authority. As Jesus says to Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). Jesus does not deny Pilate’s authority to put Him to death, but He tells Pilate that his authority comes from God.

We must continue to do what God has given us to do according to our vocations. We pray that everyone else properly carries out the vocations God has given them. We pray that when they do not act rightly, God will replace them. Above all, we pray that God will have mercy on all of us in Christ.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord God, you have put into place all authorities. Cause them to serve according to Your will, for the good of all people. Give us full trust in You, so that whatever anyone does, we are assured of Your mercy in Christ. Amen.

-Rev. Timothy Winterstein is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, East Wenatchee, Washington.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

The new Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.