Reflections

Today's Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 3:1-17; Acts 9:1-22

And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees and scribes resented Jesus for treating everyone the same way. Jesus ate with the righteous Pharisees and scribes, and then He ate with sinners. He made no distinctions between them.

Jesus is only imitating His Father. God is like a shepherd who pursues his lost sheep, or like a woman who searches for her lost coin. If a shepherd celebrates when he finds his lost sheep, and if a woman celebrates when she finds her money, then won't God celebrate when a sinner repents? Certainly people are more important than sheep and coins.

Jesus describes God as a father who celebrates when His younger, rebellious son returns to Him. This story is similar to the previous two stories, but there is a significant difference. In this story, there is an elder son, who never left his father and resents his father for celebrating the younger brother's return. Obviously, the elder brother represents the Pharisees and the scribes. They don't merely resent Jesus. They resent His Father, too.

Perhaps you were a lost lamb, or a lost coin, or prodigal son. Maybe you left the Church, renounced the faith, and committed really atrocious sins. You may have experienced the Father's love when you returned, were re-clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and were brought to the table.

Most likely, that didn't happen to you. So are you like the elder brother? Of course not! You join the prodigals at the Father's table, don't you? You recognize that you were brought into the Father's family when you were baptized, not because of your works, but because of His grace, right? You know that God gives every good thing to all of His children, including you, because Jesus died for everyone. So with the Father, you can rejoice when another sinner repents. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, the protector of all who trust in You, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy on us that, with You as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 25:1-2a, 5b, 15, 20; antiphon: v. 16, 18)

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 2:1-24; Acts 8:26-40

My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. (From the Introit for the Third Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever seen a wild animal trapped, perhaps in a net or a cage? Or maybe you've seen an animal that was wrapped up in some litter? I've watched several videos of wild animals that were caught and of some compassionate humans attempting to release them. The wild animal never takes his eyes off the humans. The animal is afraid and he fears the humans. He thinks that they are dangerous. So the animal snarls, barks, and bites.

Have you seen a domesticated animal that was trapped? They've learned to trust humans, especially their masters. They trust the one who feeds them and cuddles them. When they are trapped, they look toward humans, but for a different reason. Their eyes are filled with fear, but also faith. They look to humans for help.

In a sense, unbelievers are like wild animals. They look at God and feel only terror. They expect God to be a harsh judge or a cruel dictator. Some might want to believe that God is kind, but they can never trust Him. Unbelievers are always trying to hide from God, or flee from Him, or fight Him.

You are not like that. Once you were, but then the Lord adopted you and brought you into His family. The Lord saw you wrapped up in sin and trapped behind the bars of death. So He released you by wrapping your sins around Himself and willingly stepping into the grave.

Whenever you find yourself in trouble, whenever you find yourself caught in a net, you turn your eyes to Jesus and pray to Him. You believe that He will save you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and most merciful God, in this earthly life we endure sufferings and death before we enter into eternal glory. Grant us grace at all times to subject ourselves to Your holy will and to continue steadfast in the true faith to the end of our lives that we may know the peace and joy of the blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead and the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Times of Affliction and Distress)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 1:1-18; Acts 8:1-25

"Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you." (Joshua 1:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Moses was so important to the Israelites. He was their prophet, speaking the Word of the Lord to them. He was God's agent of redemption, who confronted Pharaoh and led them out of Egypt. He was their intercessor, praying for the people of Israel after they had broken the covenant. He ruled over them and guided them to the Promised Land. Then Moses died. Who would replace him?

Moses knew that he would need a replacement. In Deuteronomy he said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from among your brothers – it is to him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy 18:15). At first Joshua replaced Moses. God told him, "Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you." Just as Moses sent spies into the Promised Land, so did Joshua. Just as God split the Red Sea for Moses, He split the Jordan River for Joshua. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses and told Moses to take off his sandals. He did the same to Joshua.

Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land, because Moses had died. Years later, Joshua died, too. Other people will try to fill the shoes of Moses, but they will fail often and they will all die.

Thankfully, God has given to us a new and greater Moses. This Moses is named Jesus. He will never fail His people. He once died, but then was raised from the dead and He will never die again.

This Jesus spoke the Word of the Lord and He still speaks to God's people through His called and ordained servants. He is God's Agent of Redemption, redeeming us from the slavery of sin. He intercedes for us as He sits at the Father's right hand. He rules and guides His Church, until His people enter what the Promised Land prefigured: perfect rest inside the New Creation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

At last the march shall end; The wearied ones shall rest; The pilgrims find their home at last, Jerusalem the blest. Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice, give thanks, and sing! ("Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng" LSB 813, st. 6)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 31:10-31; John 21:1-25

We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us. (The Small Catechism: The Lord's Prayer, Sixth Petition)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. According to Luther, the Christian life consists of two parts: faith in the Lord and love toward the neighbor. Both parts are expressed by this petition.

Christians pray for forgiveness because they are sinners. They pray for forgiveness every day, even until their dying day, because they commit sins every single day.

Some people think that we are justified by the works we perform before our conversion and others think that we are justified by the works we perform after our conversion. This petition proves how wrong-headed such thinking is. We are justified by faith alone – from start to finish!

Of course, such grace does have implications for how we live. It isn't that we merit God's forgiveness by our willingness to forgive. No, God forgives us because Christ died for us. In turn we forgive others, because of God's willingness to forgive us.

At the foot of the Cross we see how great our debt to God was, and we see how small our neighbor's debt to us is in comparison. If God's anger toward me lasts only a moment, then what right do I have to stay angry with my brother? So we acknowledge in this petition that we will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.

If you are struggling to forgive someone, go to your pastor. Confess that you are slow to forgive, so your pastor can absolve you. Then you can pray for a change of heart and discuss how you can do good to those who hurt you, in spite of your hurt and mixed feelings. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, That they may trouble us no more; We, too, will gladly those forgiven Who hurt us by the way they live. Help us in our community To serve each other willingly. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st. 6)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Luke 1:57-80

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 30:1-9, 18-33; John 20:1-18

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David. (Luke 1:68-69)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Most fathers probably feel like singing the moment their first child is born. Zechariah couldn't contain himself. I mean, who can blame him? He couldn't say a word for nine months, and the birth of your child is pretty exciting.

Interestingly, when he starts to sing, he doesn't begin his song by thanking God for his child or by marveling at his son. In fact, he doesn't mention the child until verse 76! Zechariah knows what's most important. He sings about how God has visited His people and redeemed them. He sings about a Horn of Salvation, a mighty King from the line of David.

Really, this song is all about Jesus. The whole Bible is about Jesus. Our worship and hymns should be all about Jesus.

John is significant because he prepared the way of the Lord by proclaiming God's Word (Luke 1:76). He told people about the coming salvation, the forgiveness of sins that would be achieved by the death of the Lamb (Luke 1:77). The Church celebrates the birth of John, because he was the forerunner of Christ.

Sorry, John. This was never about you. And he knew that. As John himself said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). And guess what? It isn't about your pastor, either. It isn't about the church musicians. It isn't even about you.

Every Divine Service is about Jesus. Every Divine Service is about His obedience, His crucifixion, and His resurrection for the salvation of mankind. Every Divine Service is about His forgiveness and salvation, given to you through water, Word, bread, and wine. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: 1 John 3:13-18

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 27:1-24; John 20:1-18

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. (1 John 3:14)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are saved by God's love and not by our love. We don't love God so that He might love us. We don't love our neighbor hoping to merit eternal life. Thank God, for whose love is perfect enough to save himself?

God has shown us His love through His Son, who laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16). This is a freely-given love. For the sake of Christ, God forgives our sins. "He is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:2). We will live forever, because we have faith in Him. Faith alone saves.

Love follows faith. Faith in Christ produces love. If you know the love of God found in Christ, you will love God in return. You will also love your fellow Christians. Love is not a cause of our salvation, but it is a sign of our salvation.

How do you know that your faith isn't fraudulent? How do you know that your faith isn't a sham? Look at how you treat your brothers and sisters. The unbelieving world hates the Church (1 John 3:13), but the Christian knows that he has passed out of death and into life because he loves his neighbor. His acts of love confirm his election and his calling (2 Peter 1:10).

Of course, the Christian's love will never be perfect in this life. The flesh will get the better of you: You will lose your temper with your brother, get annoyed by his habits, say harsh words. That's why we must abide in the love of God. We can never move beyond it. We must return to the Father's promise in Baptism, to the Son's life-giving Body and Blood, and to the Spirit's word of Absolution.

As we abide in God's love, His love will have its way with us. His love will deal with sin's guilt and sin's power. And on the Last Day, we will be perfected in His love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Faith clings to Jesus' cross alone And rests in Him unceasing; And by its fruits true faith is known, With love and hope increasing. For faith alone can justify; Works serve our neighbor and supply The proof that faith is living. ("Salvation unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st. 9)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Proverbs 9:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 25:1-22; John 19:23-42

Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. (Proverbs 9:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lady Wisdom invites everyone to commune with her, to sit at her table and eat with her. She wants to correct and reprove us. She wants to give us instruction, the first lesson being the fear of the Lord. She promises blessing and life, warning us that the way of folly leads to death.

Many Jewish rabbis identified wisdom with the Law. Indeed, the Law is good and wise. The Law instructs us, teaching us what it means to fear the Lord. The Law promises blessing and life...to those who obey.

The apostles took the characteristics of Lady Wisdom and applied them to Jesus. For example, just as Proverbs claims that God created everything through wisdom (Proverbs 3:19), the apostles claim that God created everything through Jesus.

According to the Gospel, Jesus gives an unconditional blessing and He is the only way to life. He doesn't punish our sins, but He takes the punishment upon Himself. He dies for our folly. When people ask for something to do, Jesus replies, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:29).

Every Sunday you come to the table of Jesus, the true Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). He sets before you bread and wine. This bread isn't rules and this wine isn't advice. This bread is His Body, nailed to the Cross for you, and this wine is His Blood, shed on the Cross for you!

Every Sunday the Lord communes with you. He puts on your tongue a pledge that He will forgive your sins and give you everlasting life. He gives you a foretaste of the eternal feast – a feast that you cannot access by moral efforts, but only by grace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, our God, in Holy Baptism You have called us to be Christians and granted us the remission of sins. Make us ready to receive the most holy body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all our sins, and grant us grateful hearts that we may give thanks to You, O Father, to Your Son, and to the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Prayer for a right reception of the Lord's Supper)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Luke 14:15-24

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 24:1-22; John 19:1-22

Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. (Luke 14:23-24)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our Lord is determined to throw a party – a party that will last forever. He paid for the whole thing: the food and the wine, the music, the games, etc. There will be no entrance fee. Jesus' blood covered the entire cost!

The Lord sends out heralds with an invitation: "Come, for everything is now ready!" Indeed, every Sunday, the appetizers are set out for the guests. The Body and Blood of Christ are laid out on the table, a foretaste of the Feast that can begin at any moment. Every Sunday the party favors are distributed: the forgiveness of sins, the presence of the Spirit, joy, peace, and life in abundance!

Some people will be party-poopers. They will offer all kinds of excuses to not come to the Divine Service. They are not even good excuses, but when you don't want to do something, any excuse will do. The Lord won't force those people to come. A guest who doesn't want to be there would ruin the party for everyone else.

Still, the party will go on. The Lord says to His heralds, "Go invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Bring in the outcasts, the shunned, and the unpopular. My house must be filled!" Those are precisely the people who receive the invitation with joy. A lifetime of failures, disappointments, and rejections has shattered their pride. Nobody deserves the Lord's invitation, but these people know how undeserving they are.

Don't be surprised when you come to church and find a bunch of broken sinners there. That's who the Lord invites to His party. If you are a poor, broken sinner, then you are welcome there, too! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, since You never fail to help and govern those whom You nurture in Your steadfast fear and love, work in us a perpetual fear and love of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Second Sunday after Trinity)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Introit for Second Sunday after Trinity

(Psalm 18:1-2a, 27, 30a, 49; antiphon: v. 18b-19)

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:22-23:12; John 18:15-20

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. (From the Introit for the Second Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Much of the Bible is poetry, full of metaphors and images. Such language can speak to the heart better than literal prose and dogmatic formulas.

The Lord is your rock. When I think of a rock, I think of something sturdy, strong, and stable. Recently, I smashed open geodes with my daughter. Even with our hammers, it took a lot of effort to crack them open. My brothers and sisters, you are built on Jesus. Thus, you are on firm ground. This Rock makes you secure and stable.

Your Lord isn't just a rock. He is a mighty fortress. You don't merely have rock beneath your feet. You have rock all around you – impenetrable walls protecting you. You have been baptized into Christ. Since you are in Christ, the devil, the world, and death itself cannot harm you. They have to get through Jesus first. They tried to tear down Jesus, but this Fortress was raised up again.

Rocks and fortresses are inanimate objects. You must go to such objects. You must enter a fortress to benefit from its protection. You must build your house on the rock to benefit from its stability. But a deliverer or a rescuer is a person – a person who seeks you out. Your Lord didn't wait for you to come to Him. He pursued you. He saw that you were in danger and He came to your aid. He entered this world as a man to save your life, even at the cost of His.

Then Jesus sent to you another Helper, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit comes to you in water, in Word, in bread and wine. He comes to enlighten your mind, to absolve you of your sins, and to bestow on you everlasting life. Who is better than a stable rock, a secure fortress, or a mighty deliverer? Your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness; No merit of my own I claim But wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand. ("My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" LSB 575, st. 1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:1-21; John 18:1-14

When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. (John 18:6)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Judas, the band of soldiers, and officials sent by the priests and the Pharisees said that they were looking for Jesus, Jesus replied, "I am he." Perhaps this was merely an admission that He is Jesus, or perhaps Jesus is saying the divine name – I AM (Exodus 3:14).

Either way, what happens next is amusing. Immediately, the band of soldiers and the Jewish officials fell backwards, right to the ground. Jesus knocked over His enemies with a mere word. They did stand back up, probably shaking a bit. They did arrest Jesus. However, John recorded this amusing detail, so that you might know that Jesus went with these men willingly.

Jesus is the true God, the Almighty. Nobody can force Jesus to do anything against His will. Indeed, He really could have come off the Cross, if He wanted to.

That's the point. He wanted to go with these men. He chose to die on the Cross. Even though Jesus felt real human fear, He didn't wield His great power to protect Himself. His death was a genuine sacrifice.

Your God died for you. He died in your place. He died, so that you don't have to die. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends" (John 15:13-14).

As Paul wrote, "One will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth, The guilt of sinners bearing And, laden with the sins of earth, None else the burden sharing; Goes patient on, grows weak and faint, To slaughter led without complaint, That spotless life to offer, He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies, The mockery, and yet replies, "All this I gladly suffer." ("A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth" LSB 438, st. 1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero