September 22, 2024

Today's Reading: Mark 9:30-37

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4; 8:1-18; Ezra 1:1-10:19; 1 Timothy 5:1-16

[Jesus said,] “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”” (Mark 9:35)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The disciples don’t look very good in our reading. They don’t ask the questions they should be asking, and they don’t answer the questions that they are asked. Instead, they spend their time arguing about their status. All in all, the disciples are behaving in a childish way. It may even be easy to criticize them for their behavior. How could they have been distracted from the important teaching that was going on right in front of them? Think about this, though: if the events of the reading had happened in our time, the disciples would have been concerned with clicks, likes, and the number of followers they had on social media. In other words, the disciples' behavior is not all that different from those of us who are overly attached to our smartphones and our social media presence.

The disciples may have been distracted by thoughts about their status because they knew they were eventually headed for Jerusalem. They may have thought that Jesus was going to finally reveal Himself to be the Messiah. Sure, the language about being handed over, killed, and rising was confusing, but the Messiah was going to need people in high places when He began his rule. The disciples were the obvious choice to take those places. They may have thought that they were perfectly positioned to be influencers in the new world order. They had to protect their brands. This is why Jesus speaks of them being last and servants of all.

Put simply, Christianity is not lived out from the top down. It is not like being an influencer on social media, where people look for guidance on what to wear, what to eat, and what to think. Christianity is lived out in the world. It is lived out among the flesh and blood people that God has placed into your life. It is lived out in service to the neighbor. This is because your status as a Christian was founded on the greatest act of service ever. Your status as a Christian was founded on the crucifixion of Jesus. He served you by going to death in your place. He gave up His status to give you an identity as a child of God. He continues to serve you with His Gifts that make it possible for you to serve others. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, grant us humility and childlike faith that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.

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

In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.

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.

September 18, 2024

Today's Reading: Haggai 1:1-2:23

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10; Haggai 1:1-2:23; 1 Timothy 1:1-20

“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The people who returned from exile in Babylon had begun to rebuild the temple, as Cyrus, the Persian king, had allowed them to do. But then, in the face of opposition and threats, they stopped building. So God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to exhort them to start again and give them a promise about His ongoing presence among them.

In the face of the idolatry and the blasphemy of the priests and people, the prophet Ezekiel saw the glory of Yahweh depart from the temple (Ezekiel 9-10). Now, after the exile, God promises through Haggai and Zechariah that the glory will return to the temple and that the glory will be greater than it was previously. But this will not be a glory according to human expectations. “Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes” (Haggai 2:3)? The appearance does not match the reality of the promise.

The temple is tied to the giving of peace, of shalom, which is a whole, entire peace and well-being, where everything is right and there are no more enemies against God’s people. God has them rebuild the temple, even though they are currently surrounded by threats and opposition, based on His promise and their trust in Him.

But the temple always points forward to the day when there will be no more threats, only shalom. So Jesus promises that the temple will be torn down and He will rebuild it in three days. He cleanses the temple because something greater than the temple is here. When that hour comes, when it appears as if Jesus, the place of God’s presence and shalom, is being destroyed, that is actually the glory of God being revealed in the world. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23), and “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Myself” (12:32).

Jesus says that His servants will be where He is, and where He is, in that place, God will give shalom. We wait, like the returned exiles, for the day when all enemies and threats will be removed from this creation, but He gives us His saving presence now—even in the midst of our enemies—at the Table, in the flesh and blood of our temple, Jesus.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, be present with us in the midst of all threats to body and soul, and keep us from our enemies of sin, death, and the devil, until we have the fullness of Your peace and glory in the new 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 17, 2024

Today's Reading: James 3:1-12

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Philemon 1-25; Colossians 4:1-18

“From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:10)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Isn’t it strange how little control we have over our tongues? Why do we continually have to apologize to people because we “didn’t mean to say that”? What did we mean to say? And if we meant to say something else, why didn’t we say that? The tongue is a restless fire, and the words we say can burn down or build up. And it’s not only James who says it. Jesus says, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,” (Matthew 12:36). The words we speak mean far more than we often think. There is an old campfire song that goes, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” It only takes a single word to change completely a relationship. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can also harm and destroy. It should not be so.

But it is also a word that restores, heals, and forgives. It doesn’t start with our words, trying to “take them back” or fix what we’ve said and done. Sin is not like that. There is no fixing what has been broken in the past, what has been burned down, and all the idle and useless words we’ve spoken. It is only an entirely new word, a pure word, a living word, that can rebuild and restore. The Word made flesh enters a world of lying words, damaging words, and killing words and embodies the life and forgiveness of God. He hears words like “Crucify!” and He speaks words like “Forgive.” He hears words of death, and He speaks words of life. He hears words like “If He is the Son of God, let Him come down from the cross and save Himself,” and He speaks the dying word, “It is finished.”

But this Word will not be silenced. He rises from the dead, and the first word He speaks to the disciples in the Upper Room is “Peace.” Peace between God and people; peace between people. Peace that heals where our words have broken; peace that pours quenching water on our burning, igniting words. Peace that spreads from the risen Jesus to His people, spreads from one of His baptized believers to another, spreads from the baptized people of God to those who do not know His peace. His Word is not idle or useless or powerless. His Word alone does at all times the good that He means to do: I forgive you. Take and eat, take and drink; this is My Body and Blood, given and shed for you. His Word is everything, for us and between us, until we see the truth of His Word: “Look! I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5)!

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, cleanse our tongues with Your forgiving word, so that we, too, may speak healing and forgiving words to one another. 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 16, 2024

Today's Reading: Isaiah 50:4-10

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25; Zephaniah 1:1-3:20; Colossians 3:1-25

“He who vindicates me is near…” (Isaiah 50:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

In the words of Isaiah the prophet, we hear our Lord, the Man Jesus, who suffers as the holy and righteous Servant of God. As a man, He hears the Word of God, learns it, grows in the knowledge of it, and obeys it (see Luke 2:52). He does not exercise His human will in rebellion to His Father’s (and His) divine will. He goes willingly to the suffering and death that is the wages of human sin. He gives His back to those who strike and His face to those who pull out the beard. He does not hide from disgrace and spitting. The Lamb goes uncomplaining forth.

But He doesn’t do this for Himself. He does it for you. His knowledge, earned in the flesh by His life, suffering, and death, is for all the unrighteous, for those who do not do the will of God, who do not want to hear His Word, and who rebel against Him. “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11).

He knows His Father and has full human trust in Him. So He knows that He will not be left in the humiliation of the cross or ashamed in His trust. The Father raises Him from the dead and vindicates Him. So we, too, have been given Jesus’ holy confidence in the Father: “Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty?” (Isaiah 50:9a). Paul says it this way: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Romans 8:31-34).

The One who has been vindicated in righteousness, the Holy One whom the Father would not let see decay in the grave, now stands alive forever, interceding for you by His death and resurrection. If this is how God has helped you, neither sin nor death nor anything else can condemn you as guilty. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God that is Christ Jesus, our Lord. If God is for you, who can be against you?

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord God, You have justified and vindicated us in Christ. Cause all those who walk in darkness to trust You, the Light of the world, and keep us forever in that same faith. 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 15, 2024

Today's Reading: Mark 9:14-29

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11, 14-33; Nahum 1:1-3:19; Colossians 2:8-23

“But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” (Mark 9:27)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Between predictions of His death and resurrection, Jesus’ divine glory is displayed on the mountain, and Jesus gives life to an apparently dead boy in the valley. This is beyond the disciples; it comes only from firm belief and prayer. Jesus is the true believer and the doubtless pray-er, but He is in the midst of an unbelieving generation. Apparently, the other nine disciples had been waiting at the foot of the mountain for Jesus, Peter, James, and John to return. While they were gone, a man brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus, but since Jesus wasn’t there, either the man or the disciples decided to try the exorcism on their own.

Jesus comes down the mountain, and the disciples, the crowd, and the scribes are arguing with each other. Jesus says, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” (Mark 9:19) When Moses came down from the mountain and found the people worshiping a golden calf in place of Yahweh, God said that Israel was a stiff-necked, stubborn, idolatrous people (Exodus 32:7-10). People have not changed from that generation to this. We still alternate between pride and helplessness; we still waver between trust in God and the gods we make with our own hands or in our own minds. “I believe; help my unbelief!” There is no cure except death and resurrection. We have been this way since childhood— from conception.

So Jesus goes to Gethsemane to pray, to weep, and to bear all the unbelief of all generations. This is how long He puts up with us: to death on a cross, to the grave. This devil, this death, this sin; they can only be driven out by death and resurrection, just as He says. And He gives a glimpse of it with this boy. “And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” (Mark 9:26-27). So the Jesus who died and rose stretches His hand out to those dead in sin and pulls them up from the water by His Word, and we arise to live in new life before Him forever. “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him” (Romans 6:8). I believe; help my unbelief!

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, our support and defense in every need, continue to preserve Your Church in safety, govern her by Your goodness, and bless her with Your peace; 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.