Reflections

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 20:5-25; John 17:1-26

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you

have sent. (John 17:3)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We know what the Christian's hope and destiny is—eternal life! But what is eternal life? Naturally, we think that eternal life is life without end; it is living forever.

Some people think that eternal life means the body must die and then the soul can live forever in heaven. Others know about the resurrection of all flesh. They think that eternal life means that Jesus will resurrect the body and that our bodies will live forever. Still, that definition is not quite satisfactory. Jesus tells us that eternal life is not merely living forever, but is the full knowledge of God and Jesus. In other words, we truly live only if we have a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

The psalmist says that his hope is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6 and 27:4). Yes, that means living forever, but it also means living in the Lord’s presence forever. Indeed, God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden precisely because He didn't want them to eat from the Tree of Life and live forever apart from Him.

If eternal life is knowing God through His Son, then you are experiencing eternal life right now! Once you were dead in your transgressions, separated from God, but now God has made you alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:1-7). Christ has reconciled you to God by dying for you. Christ has brought you, who were once far off, near to God (Ephesians 2:13).

Because of Jesus you have a relationship with God that will last forever. If your God and your Savior will live forever, then you will live forever, too. This life started at the baptismal font and it will never end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty, everlasting God, Your Son has assured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that our faith in Christ may increase daily and that we may hold fast to the hope that on the Last Day we shall be raised in glory to

eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Hope of Eternal Life in Christ)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 17:1-28; John 16:17-33

"What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers,

even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving." (The Small Catechism: The Lord's Prayer, Fourth Petition)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why do we pray for daily bread? Because God is the Creator. He makes all material things. Because food, drink, house, clothing, money, and other possessions are good. God said so Himself (Genesis 1). Because God loves us and wants to give us good things. Since you were baptized, you are God’s child. If evil fathers give good gifts to their children, won't your good Father give you even more? (Matthew 7:11)

That being said, we should remember to ask for daily bread. Our Lord tells us to pray for what we need for today. God doesn’t guarantee that we will have a super-abundance of wealth—and that’s probably not a bad thing. Food, clothes, money, and possessions are good, but we abuse good gifts. We are tempted to turn such stuff into our gods. Instead of seeking our worth, our security, and our happiness in the Lord, we depend on our wealth.

Wealth is a nice gift, but a terrible god. It cannot give you worth, keep you safe, or

guarantee happiness. Once you make it your god, you turn your back on the One who

can give you worth, who can save you, and who can give you eternal bliss.

Yes, real poverty is a bad thing. It can cause real suffering and death. However, greed that leads to idolatry is even worse. It leads to eternal death. Thus, Proverbs gives us this prayer: "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30:8-9).

May God give us our daily bread, and may He forgive us when we treat wealth as our god. May He bless us for the sake of the crucified and risen Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Give us this day our daily bread, And let us all be clothed and fed. Save us from hardship,

war, and strife; In plague and famine, spare our life, That we in honest peace may live, To

care and greed no entrance give. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st. 5)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today’s Reading: 1 John 4:16-21

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 16:1-24; John 16:1-16

There is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As a father, I am trying to teach my children to not fear policemen. "They are here to help you," I say. I want them to run to the police if they are in danger. Still, I must admit, even we as adults sometimes fear policemen, especially if we know that we are doing something illegal. We fear the police because they can punish us. And most police officers don’t know me, and so they don’t love me. If they were to arrest me or give me a ticket, they would lose no sleep over it. The same is true of judges. When you go to court, the judge is pretty intimidating. He doesn’t know you or love you. And he has the authority to punish you.

Do you think of God as a policeman or a judge? Are you afraid of Him? Are you afraid that He is going to punish you? Then go and speak to your pastor privately and confess your sins to him. Be ready to hear some incredible good news. Your pastor will show you that "God is love" (1 John 4:16). He is going to tell you that God won’t punish you, because Jesus took away the punishment that your sins have merited. He is going to absolve you, right then and there, as the official representative of God.

I think that you will find that the perfect love of God casts out fear. The idea that God is with you always won’t cause you to shudder, but will provide you comfort. You will even find yourself praying that Jesus will come again quickly and bring Judgment Day. After all, you have no reason to fear His return.

You might even find that God’s perfect love changes the way you live. Often we sin out of fear. However, when God removes your fear, then you are free in Christ to take a big risk and show your neighbor some love. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O love, how deep, how broad, how high, Beyond all thought and fantasy, That God, the Son of God, should take, Our mortal form for mortals’ sake! ("O Love, How Deep" LSB 544, st. 1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today’s Reading: Genesis 15:1-6

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 15:1-29; John 15:12-27

And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our text from Genesis, we see Abram experiencing both doubt and faith. At first, Abram doubted God’s promise, because he had no children. He assumes that Eliezer, his servant, will be his heir. Then, after God makes another promise, Abram believes.

Doubt is the opposite of faith, but the two often coexist in the same person. Although doubt and faith are in conflict with each other, they battle within the same person’s heart. We see this in the Gospel of Mark, when a man says to Jesus, "I believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24).

Does your faith outweigh your doubt, or is it the other way around? Do you have a little, weak faith? In a sense, it doesn’t matter. The size of your faith does not save you. The size of your Savior is far more important. Faith saves you because it clings to Christ. Faith doesn’t save because it is a valuable virtue that impresses God. Faith saves because faith is dependence on Christ, who always saves those who rely on Him.

Still, we don’t want our faith to whither completely. We don’t want it to be submerged and drowned in despair. We don’t want our faith in Christ to be replaced with a faith that clings to idols. So we go to the Divine Service, where we hear the promises of God. These promises elicit, nourish, and strengthen our faith. These promises point us to Jesus that we might cling to Him.

Whether in the Absolution, in the Scriptures, in the sermon, or at the Lord’s Supper, you hear the same promise: “You are forgiven for the sake of Christ, who was crucified for you. You will live forever, because your Savior was raised from the dead.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, because of Your tender love toward us sinners You have given us Your Son that, believing in Him, we might have everlasting life. Continue to grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in this faith to the end and finally come to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Steadfast Faith)

Today’s Reading: Luke 16:19-31

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 14:1-27; John 15:1-11

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. (Luke 16:22-23)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus tells a story about a rich man and a poor man. Which of these men was rich and which was poor? In a sense, the answer is obvious. The man who ate large meals, wore fine clothes, and lived in a house was the rich man. Lazarus was the poor man. He had no food, no clothes, and no home.

On the other hand, the rich man was not as rich as he first appeared. He owned nothing that lasts. He lost everything the moment he died. In hell he couldn’t even find a drop of water to cool his tongue.

Lazarus appeared poor, but he was actually quite rich. He possessed treasure kept in heaven, an inheritance that is imperishable. He belonged to God's family. Thus, after Lazarus died, he enjoyed peace and joy in the presence of God. When the Day of Judgment comes, he will be given an immortal body.

If you have trusted your wealth to keep you secure, repent. If you have sought value and happiness in money and possessions, repent. Admit to yourself that money and possessions cannot give you value or lasting happiness. Admit to yourself that wealth cannot save you on the Day of Judgment.

Also rejoice, for you are like Lazarus! In Baptism you were brought into God's family. Even if you lose all your money, your possessions, your home, your family, and life itself, you are still wealthier than Bill Gates. You have an inheritance, purchased by the blood of Christ! And this inheritance is as imperishable as the body of your risen Savior. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, the strength of all who trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because

through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us Your grace to keep Your commandments that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday after Trinity)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today’s Reading: Introit for the First Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 13:1-4; antiphon: vs. 5-6)

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 13:1-25; John 14:18-31

O Lord, I have trusted in your steadfast love. How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? (From the Introit for the First Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a beautiful contrast here between the tone of the body of the Introit and the antiphon. In the antiphon, the verse that introduces and concludes the Introit, we say that we have trusted in God's steadfast love and that we will celebrate His salvation. In the Introit itself, we complain, "How long, O Lord? How long will you forget me and hide yourself from me? How long will my enemies prevail over me?"

We live by faith, not by sight. Often it doesn't appear that God is giving us His undivided attention. Often we feel like the world is winning and that the grave is the end. We must trust in God's steadfast love when we cannot easily see His love in our daily experiences.

Where we can see the love of God is on the Cross of Christ. A crucifix is offensive to the eyes. It is ugly—a naked, bleeding, dying man. A crucifix offends our pride. "You expect me to worship something so feeble? You expect me to find salvation in a man who couldn't save Himself?"

That's what the eyes see, but the eyes of faith see the salvation of our God. The Gospel pulls back the veil and we no longer see a feeble man being murdered by His enemies. Instead, we see our Creator laying down His life for us. We see our Savior entering the grave in order to make a way out of the grave for us.

Thus, whenever we pray, "How long, O Lord?" we are not speaking out of despair. We pray even such desperate words with confidence. We pray, knowing that God will consider and answer us. He will not abandon us to the grave or hand us over to our enemies. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Help then, O Lord, our unbelief; And may our faith abound To call on You when You are

near And seek where You are found. For You, O resurrected Lord, Are found in means

divine: Beneath the water and the Word, Beneath the bread and wine. ("We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight" LSB 720, st. 3-4)

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 10:1-23; John 14:1-17

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. (Proverbs 10:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The book of Proverbs describes active righteousness in great detail. This verse tells us that the wise and the righteous will bring joy to their parents, but the foolish and the wicked will cause their parents great grief.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). Those who fear the Lord listen to His voice. Indeed, the Lord’s voice, His Word, creates godly fear—humility, contrition, and a desire for the Lord's favor. Wise parents will take the proverb to heart and bring their children to the Divine Service, where they can hear the voice of the Lord. Likewise, they will gather their family for daily devotions and teach the Small Catechism to their children while they are young.

Active righteousness is important, but there is another kind of righteousness. You see, we cannot hope to make our heavenly Father glad with our obedience and diligence. Our best works are stained with sin and grieve our Father.

Thankfully, God has imputed your sins to Jesus, who carried them to the cross. There He was punished in your place. Also, God has imputed the righteousness of Jesus to you. This is the righteousness of faith—passive righteousness. When God looks at you, He doesn't feel sorrow. He feels great gladness! He delights in you, because you have been clothed in the obedience of His Son!

You have no wisdom or righteousness that you can off er to God. Thankfully, you are in Christ, "who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption," (1 Corinthians 30). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging,

O Light of our dark sky: We praise You for the radiance That from the hallowed page, A

lantern to our footsteps, Shines from age to age. ("O Word of God Incarnate" LSB 523, st. 1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today’s Reading: Mark 6:7-13

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 9:1-18; John 13:21-28

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. (Mark 6:12)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who the heck is Barnabas? He was a Jew from the tribe of Levi, who had converted to Christianity. According to Acts 4:36-37, Barnabas sold his field and gave the money to the apostles, so that they could distribute the money to the poor.

Later, Barnabas was sent to Antioch to oversee the congregation that had been planted there (Acts 11:19-26). He worked with Paul in Antioch and then traveled with Paul during his first missionary journey. Barnabas also defended the freedom of the Gospel at the Council of Jerusalem.

God loves to achieve His goals through human beings. When Barnabas was a regular Christian, God used his generosity to help hungry Christians suffering in Jerusalem. Then, when Barnabas became a minister of the Church, God used his preaching to grow the congregation in Antioch and to plant other churches in other towns.

When you go to the Divine Service, God will use an ordinary man to absolve you, to teach you, to rebuke you, to encourage you, to give you the abundant life found in the Body and Blood of Christ, and to bless you with God’s Name. Then you will leave the Divine Service. You will partake in the life of the congregation, interacting with your brothers and sisters. You will serve others in your vocations. God will use your generosity and kindness to bless those around you.

This is the life of the Christian: receiving from a man's hand the blessings of God, and then becoming that hand of God that distributes blessings to others. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, Your faithful servant Barnabas sought not his own renown but gave

generously of his life and substance for the encouragement of the apostles and their ministry. Grant that we may follow his example in lives given to charity and the proclamation of the Gospel; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Feast of St. Barnabas)

Audio Reflection speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:22-36; John 13:1-20

How is God’s will done? God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will.” (The Small Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer, Third Petition)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When we pray, “May Your will be done,” we are saying, “May my will not be done.” From the moment of your conception, your will has been hostile toward God and opposed to His will.

Thankfully, Christ reconciled you to God by becoming sin and dying on the Cross (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Then, after rising from the dead, Jesus sent His Spirit to ignite faith in your heart. When you received the Spirit in Baptism, God became your Father. You love God, treasure His Word, and desire to obey Him.

Still, your sinful nature remains. You feel two desires in your heart. You desire to live under your good and gracious Father, but you also have fleshly desires—desires that you want to satisfy, desires that contradict the will of God. These unholy desires will not disappear until we die or the Lord returns. So we pray, “Father, break and hinder the plans and purposes of my flesh.”

He does. He kills your Old Adam with the Law and strengthens the new man with the Gospel. The Law produces contrition, which pushes the sinful nature back under the waters of Baptism, and the Gospel draws up from the water a son of God, full of the Spirit.

Our Lord doesn’t merely save us from the devil and the world. He saves us from ourselves. Whatever would lead you away from God is crucified and buried with Christ, so that you—a new creation—can live with Him forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Your gracious will on earth be done As it is done before Your throne, That patiently we may obey Throughout our lives all that You say. Curb flesh and blood and ev’ry ill That sets itself against Your will. (“Our Father, Who from Heaven Above” LSB 766, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today’s Reading: Romans 11:33-36

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 8:1-21; John 12:36b-50

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul includes a great deal of theology in his letter to the Romans. He talks a lot about God. He talks about how God will judge mankind, but acquit those sinners who believe in Jesus, for Jesus was condemned in their place. He talks about Baptism, the Law, and the work of the Spirit. He talks about how God is grafting Gentiles into Israel, creating a single family consisting of every tribe and nation.

After contemplating all this theology, Paul breaks into doxology—praise of God. After considering the Gospel for 11 chapters, Paul marvels at a plan to save mankind that no one could have guessed.

This is how Christians worship the Trinity. First, we contemplate the works of the Trinity, especially how the Father sent His Son to die for us, so that the Spirit can give us eternal life. We listen to the Gospel and receive the free blessing of God. Contemplating the Gospel will produce peace, joy, and confidence. Faith responds to God’s work with prayers, praise, and thanksgiving.

The introduction to the Lutheran Service Book captures this balance well: “Our Lord serves us today through His holy Word and Sacraments. Through these means, He comes among us to deliver His forgiveness and salvation...The Lord’s service calls forth our service—in sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to Him and in loving service to one another” (LSB p. viii).

Attend the Divine Service. Hear what the Trinity has done for you. Marvel at the grace of God and rejoice in your salvation. Praise the Lord, for “from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Let praises ring! Unto our triune God we sing; Blest be His name forever! With angel hosts let us adore And sing His praises evermore For all His grace and favor! Singing, ringing: Holy, holy, God is holy; Spread the story Of our God, the Lord of glory!”

(“Alleluia! Let Praises Ring” LSB 822, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero