Reflections

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 8:4-12

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 7:1-17; 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:22

Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A bird has more sense than you do! That is the message God used to invite His people to return to Him. We call that the preaching of repentance. The people rejected the invitation and yet Jeremiah kept up the call. The meaning of Jeremiah's preaching is clear: even the birds, irrational creatures, know their appointed time and return to their homes, which they have left. Instinctively, they follow the pattern fixed for them by their Creator: they travel hundreds of miles, because that's what they've been created to do. Unbelieving Jerusalem had sunk below the common sense of a bird!

What is sadder than the people's refusal to hear the Word and return to the Lord their God is that they had forgotten how much God loved them. "My people know not the rules of the LORD." That is a tricky translation. The Hebrew word is mishpat which means righteous judgment. It's not just rules to be followed but also a declaration of innocence.

The people were so caught up in themselves that they pushed aside the mercy and promises of God: His just decrees and the justice He had done and would do for them. That is a picture of us, too. Sad to say, but we know it is true. Thankfully, God still sends Jeremiah to stick His Word into our ears and call us to repentance and faith.

God the Father would fulfill all His righteous promises in Christ. Instead of pouring out the punishment for sin upon the world, the Father pours it on His Son. At the Cross the righteous judgment of the Law is proclaimed. Jesus is overthrown in death, but only for a time. Jesus, the perfect One, rises from the grave and brings you along with Him. Jesus took your place in death on a cross and in a stone-cold tomb so that you would know God's righteous judgment: You are free from sin and death in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Now my conscience is at peace; from the Law I stand acquitted. Christ hath purchased my release and my ev'ry sin remitted. Naught remains my soul to grieve: Jesus sinners doth receive. ("Jesus Sinners Doth Receive" LSB 609, st. 7)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Luke 19:41-48

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 6:1-19; 1 Corinthians 9:1-23

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." (Luke 19:41-42)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Interesting, isn't it? Jerusalem contains the word "peace" (salem) in its name yet does not recognize the peace of God in the flesh as He prepares to enter her gates.

As Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus and the lack of faith that doubted Jesus could call him out of the grave, so Jesus weeps over a people who cannot know and see (believe) that He has come to bring them peace. But those tears do not keep Him from His appointed task.

In Luke 18, Jesus told His disciples what would take place in Jerusalem: "'See we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day, he will rise'" (Luke 18:31-33). Ironically, Luke tell us that this news was hidden from the disciples' eyes as well.

Why would these things be hidden from their eyes? Because Jesus needed to fulfill His work. Nothing of what He said or did would make true sense until He died and rose from the dead. The people of Jerusalem sought peace by other means. The disciples wanted a "Son of Man" who would be triumphant, not someone who would die nailed to a Roman cross. We make our own "peace" treaties with God on our own terms.

But it is the Cross and, finally, the resurrection of Jesus that changes everything. Your eyes have been opened to see and your hearts made new to believe: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Jesus does not now weep over you. He rejoices over you who are baptized and receive His peace! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, you declare your almighty power above all in showing mercy and pity. Mercifully grant us such a measure of Your grace that we may obtain Your gracious promises and be make partakers of Your heavenly treasures; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-55

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 5:1-25; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." (Luke 1:46–49)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Church honors significant people of faith throughout the year. They serve as witnesses to us of the faithfulness of God and we are therefore encouraged to follow their example in faith and life. This day, we give thanks to God for Mary, the mother of Our Lord.

In his magnificent commentary on the Song of Mary, Luther wrote these words: "Whoever, therefore, would show her (Mary) the proper honor must not regard her alone and by herself, but set her in the presence of God and far beneath Him, must there strip her of all honor, and regard her low estate, as she says; he should then marvel at the exceedingly abundant grace of God, who regards, embraces, and blesses so poor and despised a mortal. Thus regarding her, you will be moved to love and praise God for His grace, and drawn to look for all good things to Him, who does not reject but graciously regards poor and despised and lowly mortals. Thus your heart will be strengthened in faith and love and hope. What do you suppose would please her more than to have you come through her to God this way, and learn from her to put your hope and trust in Him, notwithstanding your despised and lowly estate, in life as well as in death?"

"Notwithstanding your despised and lowly estate"—what wonderful words! Mary recognizes the truth. She is not worthy of this gift from God, yet she receives it in faith. Mary is a picture of us! We deserve the fruits of our sin—death! But in Mary's Son we are given resurrection life. Notwithstanding our despised and lowly estate, we are highly exalted by God and remembered in His mercy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Your only Son. Grant that we, who are redeemed by His blood, may share with her in the glory of Your eternal kingdom, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 1:1-27; 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short…For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29a, 31b)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The appointed time has grown very short. The present form of this world is passing away. Some days those words ring so true. We see the disruption and frustration that sin brings into this world. Our graduation celebrations are cancelled because of a virus. We are isolated away from our friends at school, church, and work. Weddings are postponed indefinitely. The present form of this world is passing away.

Yet some days, Paul's words sound just too negative for us. We have joy. We are free from anxiety in our callings. We become betrothed to another and rejoice.

So what should our view of life look like? A gloom that paralyzes us or unbridled joy? God's Word shoots it right down the middle for us with words from the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7. Applying wisdom that can only come from God, Paul reminds us to live life with one eye on this life and one eye on the Last Day. During the time that remains for us in this world, we focus on things that are eternally important. That doesn't mean that we should ignore the joys and gift of this life, like friendships or marriage, but that our lives would not be preoccupied in this "passing away" world.

In another place, Paul puts it this way: "…as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and possessing everything" (2 Corinthians 6:10). What a freeing way to live life! We know that Jesus has overcome the world. Our sins are washed away in His blood. Baptism has joined us to Jesus forever. His Body and Blood feed and sustain us. We are free to live in joy and free to look forward to the new heavens and new earth, the home of righteousness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The night will soon be ending; the dawn cannot be far. Let songs of praise ascending now greet the Morning Star! All you whom darkness frightens with guilt or grief or pain, God's radiant Star now brightens and bids you sing again. ("The Night Will Soon Be Ending" LSB 337, st.1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 31:1-13; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24

So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. (1 Samuel 31:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It ended so badly for Saul. The one whom the prophet Samuel had anointed as king over Israel dies by his own hand in the midst of a battle that he never should have fought.

Saul's death wasn't an honorable one. His body was mutilated and hung on a city wall. What was good news for the Philistines was deflating news for Israel. The dishonorable death of Saul was the sad result of his lack of fear, love, and trust in God. In fact, his last recorded meal was in the house of a medium after he consulted with a demonic spirit masquerading as the ghost of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 28).

But that isn't the whole story for Israel. David had been anointed king (1 Samuel 16:1-13) and was alive. God's promise to have an "anointed one," a Messiah for His people, would hold true. "I will raise for up for Myself a faithful priest…and I will build him a sure house, and he shall serve in my presence forever" (1 Samuel 2:35).

God holds true to His promises. In the fullness of time He sent His Son, David's Lord and David's heir. On a cross outside a city wall, naked and bleeding for the world to see, the King of the Jews died a dishonorable death, and it was the Lord's doing. It seemed like good news to an idolatrous world hostile to the Gospel of forgiveness and life. But the death Jesus died, He died for all that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5). What seems a most dishonorable death works life and salvation for the world, and for you.

Saul's unfaithfulness and shameful death could not overcome the faithful promise of God to send a savior King. We are recipients of truly Good News that faithful messengers have preached to us: Jesus' death and resurrection have overcome the binding power of sin and set us free to live in His mercy and bear His grace to the world. We are not left to a dishonorable end. We are honored to be included in Jesus' death and to live in resurrection-to-life hope! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

I thank Thee, Jesus, Sun from heaven, whose radiance hath brought light to me; I thank thee, who has richly given all that could make me glad and free; I thank thee that my soul is healed by what Thy lips revealed. ("Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower" LSB 694, st.3)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: The Small Catechism: Baptism

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 28:3-25; 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What a gift! A gift that keeps on giving! Holy Baptism. I have always been struck by the profound simplicity of Luther's words in the Small Catechism and their faithfulness to the witness of the Bible. From beginning to end, the catechism reminds us that our relationship to God comes about by His grace.

My favorite part of the catechism is our reading for this day: Holy Baptism, part 4. It distills into one beautiful (and long) sentence numerous biblical truths about salvation and then it perfectly connects them to Holy Baptism.

What does Baptism mean for you? It means the daily death of your Old Adam and the emergence of the new man made righteous and pure by water and Word. And what is that Word? "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Daily death and life in Jesus. Yes, the event of water and Word being applied to you happened once, in time. But the remembrance of your Baptism is a daily reality. You've heard it before: we don't say, "I was baptized." we say "I am baptized." It is an ongoing reality worked by Jesus.

You are joined to Jesus' death and raised with Him. You now walk in a new life created and sustained by the Father, in the Son and by the power of the Holy Spirit. To see what that beautiful and wholesome life looks like, read the entire text for today from 1 Corinthians 6! It is a beautiful description of what it means to be washed and made holy (sanctified) in Jesus. And so you are! Baptized! Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

So use it well! You are made new—in Christ a new creation! As faithful Christians, live and do within your own vocation, until that day when you possess His glorious robe of righteousness bestowed on you forever! ("All Christians Who Have Been Baptized" LSB 596, st.6)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 26:1-25; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. (1Corinthians 10:12)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The apostle Paul was a super-religious guy in his previous life. We also know him as Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had his religious life all neatly packaged up, ready to give to God with the expectation that God would reward him for his good efforts and works. Paul would learn, in baptismal wonder, that such ideas were foolish (Acts 9). Salvation does not rest in any human. It is a gift granted for the sake of the death and life of Jesus alone.

It seems like Paul is quoting a Proverb he surely had memorized in his Pharisee days: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Some in the church at Corinth prided themselves on their own super religiosity and spiritual strength. They should be careful, Paul warns, not to fall from grace. That is a good warning for us as well. It keeps us from centering our life of faith on us instead of the One who really makes it all possible. It works repentance in us and moves us back to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Along with Paul's warning, he adds a beautiful word of promise: We will not be tested beyond our God-given capacity. When faced with trials, we can count on God's faithfulness. "God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

God remains faithful to the promise He made to you in Baptism. He will be with you always (Matthew 28). He has joined you to Jesus, the One who overcame every temptation and trial by His perfect obedience and death. The resurrected Jesus is there with forgiveness and mercy when you do fall. With every trial He will give you strength to endure and will, in His own time, create the "way out"! In Christ, there is no need to stand on anything but His promise! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is near with His cheer; never will He leave me. Who can rob me of this heaven that God's Son for me won when His life was given? ("Why should Cross and Trial Grieve Me" LSB 756, st.1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 22:26-34

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:23-44; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. (2 Samuel 22:34)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Really, David? Your elderly feet like the feet of a deer? You couldn't even protect your old self from the Philistines and had to be told by your solders to just stay home and not get yourself killed (2 Samuel 21:17).

David believed something that his soldiers would not: God the LORD was at work for the sake of His people. Whether David lived or died, it was the mercy of the LORD that would endure. The perfect Word of the LORD always proves true; He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him, old and young alike.

David believed the promise that God had made to Adam and Eve, confirmed to Abraham, and restated to him: God would send One who would redeem the world from sin and the death that comes through sin. He would send One who would be King over all the world and live forever.

The LORD kept His promise and sent the world David's greater son, Jesus. Jesus brings the light of forgiveness and life into the darkness of the world. Jesus is the mercy of God in the flesh. Jesus is blameless yet bears our blame and guilt on the Cross. Jesus rose from the grave and will give our dead bodies their resurrection, too. Jesus sets us secure on the heights, washed and fed at His font and table.

Old David wasn't delusional, he was filled with faith by the mercy of God. He lived by faith in God's promise that even his tired old bones would be renewed in resurrection life. His sin would be answered for by another, Jesus, and his way made pure and blameless for all eternity.

Such is your life. The merciful LORD has redeemed you in His Son. Your sin is answered for and your death overcome by the Christ. "This God – His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him" (2 Samuel 22:31). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

This is a sight that gladdens – What peace it doth impart! Now nothing ever saddens the joy within my heart. No gloom shall ever shake, no foe shall overtake the hope with God's own Son in love for me has won. ("Awake My Heart, with Gladness" LSB 467, st.3)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Luke 16:1-13

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 25:1-22; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

You cannot serve God and money (Luke 1:13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yes, Jesus, we get it. We cannot serve God and money. If only it were that simple. The new you in Christ says a loud "Amen" to the word of Jesus that concludes the parable of the rich man and the shrewd manager. However, the old sinful you cannot say "Amen" to Jesus' conclusion.

We are faithless in the management of much and very little. We love money and the security it brings. If only we had more. We serve money with our time and talent as if it were a god and not a gift from the One whose hand supplies all our needs of body and soul. We get it all backward: We live in service to money instead of recognizing that money serves us. So this parable becomes a call to repentance. Put to death the dishonesty and idolatry that dogs you day by day. We pray with saint/sinner David, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:1-2).

The key to wrapping your heart and mind around the meaning of this parable is to focus on the mercy of the rich man, not the dishonesty of the manager. Mercy.

The dishonest manager was commended because he chose to serve his lord, who he trusted would be merciful. He used unrighteous wealth to achieve his goal, though he trusted not in the wealth but in his merciful master.

In Luke 12:34 Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be." Faithful disciples will be commended for seeing that the crucified and risen Jesus is their treasure, and for trusting in His mercy. And that mercy is delivered to and for you this day in Jesus' Body and Blood which keeps you, body and soul, now and forever. That's mercy! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Let your merciful ears. O Lord, be open to the prayers of Your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Introit for Trinity 9 (Psalm 54:1-3, 7; antiphon: v. 4-5)

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:16

O God, save me by your name… (From the Introit for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. David cries out to God in a time of trouble. He is being persecuted by King Saul, and the locals where he is hiding out, the Ziphites, have given him up (1 Samuel 23:19-29, 26:1-5). David is in trouble, his enemies are closing in, and danger is imminent. What does he do? He calls on the Name of the Lord.

As you know from your catechism, God's Name is more than His title. It is also His character and reputation. To call on the Name of the Lord is to call on God, who is all powerful and able to save. God commands us to use His Name correctly. How is this done? By doing what David did, namely, "Call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks."

Where do you turn when danger is near? Many turn to false gods like money: "If only I were rich, then I wouldn't have to worry." Some turn to family and friends, the government, or doctors, depending on the problem they face. None of these things are bad in themselves. In fact, they can all be precious gifts of God intended for our good. The problem arises when we place our trust in the gifts and forget the Giver. God is "my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life." All of us fail to trust as we should. We worry and fret, placing our hope in the wrong things.

Jesus Christ knew His enemies would not triumph over Him. He had perfect trust in His heavenly Father even though He knew that great suffering and death lay ahead. Nevertheless, He didn't waiver on His way to the Cross: "Not my will but thine be done."

And with His face set like flint, He pressed on to the Cross, calling out to His Father throughout and entrusting Himself into His hands. His perfect trust and obedience have set us free from the sins of worry and doubt and failure and everything else. We, too, can call upon Him with every confidence that He will ultimately deliver us from every evil in this life and for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Dear name! The rock on which I build, My shield and hiding place; My never-failing treasury filled With boundless stores of grace. ("How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" LSB 524, st.3)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero