Reflections

Today’s Reading: John 14:15-21

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:22-21:9; Luke 20:45-21:19

 

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16–17)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One would think that Jesus wouldn’t need to say that He was sending the Holy Spirit so many times. You would think that the disciples would get it, that they would take comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit was with them. In the same vein, you might think you don’t need to hear these words from Jesus so many times either. “I hear ya, Jesus. I get it, okay?” But do you, really? Or do you need to be reassured that the Lord is with you, that His Holy Spirit has come to you to be with you forever? Yeah, that’s the right answer—you need to be reassured of His constant presence with you.

And that’s okay, because it is far too easy to forget. When the world assails you, when even your friends get angry with you, when Sunday morning just doesn’t make any sense to you, you need to hear these words of Jesus for you.    In the very next verse, Jesus promises that He will not leave you as an orphan. You are not alone in this world, even if there are days when it seems like you are the only person in existence. This Holy Spirit is your very life, for He has brought you saving faith through God’s Holy Word, through your Baptism, and in leading you to the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Tomorrow, when you gather with your fellow believers at church, you will hear again how God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to the first believers on Pentecost. It’ll sound extraordinary and different from your experience, but it is the same Holy Spirit who has come to you to dwell with you, to comfort you, and to keep you in the saving faith Jesus won for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same 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 Eve of Pentecost)

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:1-21; Luke 20:19-44

 

And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. (Numbers 20:11)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Oops. Have you ever messed something up so badly that almighty God Himself banned you from ever going home again? I would bet that you haven’t, but Moses certainly did. God specifically told Moses to “tell the rock” to bring forth water for the people of Israel. But that’s not what Moses did. He assembled the crowd and basically said, “Hey, y’all, watch this!” before striking the rock with his staff.

Why didn’t God embarrass Moses right then and there by refusing to let the water gush forth since Moses had acted so selfishly? Because He was thinking in much broader terms than Moses was. He had His whole assembled people to care for, so He allowed the water to flow, even if Moses had openly rebelled against His command. Of course, this is the sin that keeps Moses from ever entering the Promised Land. His only glimpse is from Mount Nebo much later, right before he dies.

Even with Moses’s open rebellion against Him, God the Father still has mercy on His people. He always works to care for His people, even when His people do exactly what He tells them not to do. Our God is a God of love, a God of mercy, a God of grace. Even when you sin and mess up so badly that you wonder why He doesn’t just blast you into atoms with a lightning bolt, your God loves you. He may not be happy with you, and you may suffer the consequences of rebelling against Him, but he still loves you, just like your parents do even when they ground you.

Ultimately, God punished Moses’s sin through Jesus, just as He punishes your sin through Jesus, too, because He knew that there was no way you could ever satisfy on your own His demands for perfection or for salvation. Thanks be to God that He is a God of mercy, pity, and grace for you! Thanks be to God that Jesus has borne your failures so that you may live with Him for all eternity where the River of Life freely flows from His throne! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Living God, Your almighty power is made known chiefly in showing mercy and pity. Grant us the fullness of Your grace to lay hold of Your promises and live forever in Your presence; 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 Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter)

Daily Lectionary:  Numbers 16:41-17:13; Luke 20:1-18

 

Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. (Luke 20:13–15)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Selfishness. That’s what Jesus calls out. The religious ruling class did not like that Jesus had drawn such a crowd to Himself. They feared that He would eclipse them and become more important, more favored, better remembered. Wow, were they ever right! Control. That’s what they wanted. Complete and total control over the people and over the message broadcast to everyone in Jerusalem and Judea. But Jesus was having none of it. So He prophesies to them a parable about the very near future.

They weren’t playing around, though. They decided that it would be best if Jesus were…eliminated. Removed. Taken out of the equation. And He knows that’s what they were thinking, so He speaks these words, knowing full well that they would become true very soon. As painful as it would be, Jesus knew this was the only way to break their grip on religion. The only way to destroy their control and selfishness. He does the same to you. You cast Jesus out of the vineyard when you choose your own ideas over His Word or when you decide that you know better how to live than He does. Even when you turn your back on His preaching and go your own way. But He doesn’t leave you there.

He always confronts you with His truth, the truth of His Law and Gospel. He crushes you with His Law and shows you how you have failed Him and His Word. Then He gives you His Gospel. He hears your pleas for mercy, your cry of confession. He covers you with His Absolution and washes you in the blood of His forgiveness. He reassures you of the salvation that He won for you when He was cast out of the vineyard of Jerusalem to be killed outside the city walls. Remember that Jesus did all of this for you. His blood covers all your sin, even your selfishness and control. He destroyed death and its grip on you so that you would be able to rest in His peace. Forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ, our head and cornerstone, Chosen of the Lord and precious, Binding all the Church in one; Holy Zion’s help forever And our confidence alone. (Christ Is Made The Sure Foundation, LSB 909:1)

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:23-40; Luke 19:29-48

 

God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. (The Small Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer, First Petition)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Trying to keep God’s Name holy is a strange concept. It is His Name, after all. How can you do anything to it? How can you damage the Name of the Most High God when He is the all-powerful one? Pretty easily, actually. Have you ever broken something that belonged to someone else, especially by misusing it? You didn’t mean to do it, it just happened. If only you had been more careful!

Grandma’s special crystal vase should be handled more carefully than the plastic cup you can also use to put fresh flowers in. So it is with the Name of God. You keep His Name holy when you treat it properly, when you read, hear, and learn the Word of God as He intends you to receive it. When it is taught in truth and purity. It isn’t that you have damaged God’s Name itself. It is holy in and of itself. Rather, it is that you have caused others to see His Name in a poor light. In a sense, it brings shame upon God’s Name when His Christians behave in a way contrary to God’s Word. It brings God’s status down a notch or two when His name is used flippantly or poorly, using it to curse others.

Instead of being terrified of the possibility of misusing God’s Name, take the positive route. Gather with your fellow Christians to hear His Word preached. Go to the communion rail in humble repentance and joyfully receive the Body and Blood of Jesus, given for you for the forgiveness of sins. When you don’t understand something your pastor says, ask him directly if you misheard him. He will appreciate the opportunity to clarify something he might have misspoken.

Your Lord and God wants you to hallow His Name and use it properly for your devotion and your salvation. He gives you that opportunity every time your congregation gathers for worship. Gladly gather with your fellow Christians and hear the Lord speak to you by His holy Name and you will! In the Name of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

“Your name be hallowed. Help us Lord, In purity to keep Your Word, That to the glory of Your name We walk before You free from blame. Let no false teaching us pervert; All poor deluded souls convert.” (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:2)

Today’s Reading: 1 Peter 4:7-14

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:1-22; Luke 19:11-28

 

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12–13)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. There are any number of accounts of God’s people being persecuted in the early years of the Church. It was almost expected that some sort of pain would come your way if you were a Christian. Don’t be surprised about it, Peter says. Paul tells the Galatians about the “marks of Jesus” he bears on his body. You see in the news today (if you know where to look) that faithful Christians around the world are suffering trials for confessing the faith.

Don’t be surprised. The world hates Christians. So does the devil, and even your own sinful flesh hates your faithfulness. The common thread among the early Christians, though, was that they rejoiced that the Lord God found them worthy to bear these trials and sufferings, and to suffer as their Lord Jesus had.

In the context of our American lifestyle, we have no clue what that means. We avoid suffering as much as we can, through therapy, pills, and more. Anything to avoid whatever looks like suffering. We don’t even consider the idea of suffering for the faith! But God’s Word says something different. There may well be a day when you are targeted by Satan for your faith, and he directs someone you might even consider a friend to cause you grief because of your belief in Christ.

Rejoice in that day, Peter says. But how? How can you rejoice that you are about to suffer? You can because of the eternity Jesus has prepared for you. What is 100 years or even a day compared to forever?

Your Lord God knows you. He never leaves you alone, and He will not abandon you. If He considers you worthy to go through a trial that you think is beyond you, rest in His hands. Call on Him to give you strength, because He will. He has found you worthy, He will never abandon you, and He will save you, all for Christ’s sake. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Lord God, heavenly Father, as we struggle here below with divisions among us, searching for peace among men, remind us daily of the peace of heaven purchased through the bloody death and triumphant resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit is one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter)

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 36:22-28

Daily Lectionary:  Numbers 14:25-45; Luke 18:35-19:10

 

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. (Ezekiel 36:25)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. There is baptismal imagery all over the Old Testament. Hopefully you’ve been taught to recognize it when you read your Bible. Today’s text is pretty clear, isn’t it? Ezekiel almost shouts that these words of the Lord are baptismal.

The people of God are exiled, driven from home and settled uncomfortably in Babylon. The surface reason is that the Babylonian armies have conquered Israel. The real reason is that God’s people have been faithless towards Him and He uses the Babylonians to discipline them for their idolatry. How bad was it? There were idols to false gods in the Jerusalem temple, not only in the courtyards, but inside the very temple building itself! The priests of Israel were praying to false gods across the room from the throne of God the Father Himself, which was in the Holy of Holies upon the Ark of the Covenant!

Even in the midst of the exile, when God’s people are in a foreign land, among people of a foreign language and culture, He still loves and cares for them. Even though they had abandoned Him so completely, He loved them. Ezekiel proclaims God’s Word to them and says that God will wash them clean, cleanse them from idolatry, and restore them to their rightful place in Jerusalem again.

It wouldn’t last, of course. You know well enough that Jerusalem would be destroyed again after Jesus’s day. Until then, the Lord was merciful and gracious, just as He is with you. Through Baptism, He has sprinkled water upon you and washed you clean of your idolatries. He named you as His child and cleansed you in the blood of Jesus so that you would have an eternal home with Him in the New Creation.

When your idolatries creep up on you, when you realize that you’ve turned from Him, remember your Baptism and return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and will receive you again into His presence, because you are His child forever. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ! Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve traveled, All your might has come unraveled, And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with me! (God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It, LSB 594:3)

Today’s Reading: John 15:26-16:4

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:1-25; Luke 18:18-34

 

And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. (John 16:3)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. One of the hardest things to understand is how Christians, or those who call themselves Christians, can act contrary to God’s Word and still think they are doing the right thing, or serving God while doing it. Jesus speaks specifically about the religious authorities who plan to kill him by crucifixion and then shift their wrath to the newly sent apostles who proclaim Him as the salvation of the world. Their great sin is unbelief, Jesus says. They do not know the Father.

In spite of all their work with Holy Scripture, these religious authorities still cannot (or will not) see the Father working through His Son to wash away the sin of the world in Jesus’s death and resurrection. So they will turn to violence and shunning and shaming and rejection of those who carry the message of life everlasting. But not all is doom and gloom. The Helper is on the way, too. The Holy Spirit comes to guide and keep the sent ones, to bear witness, and to help them bear witness, to the saving work of Jesus for the world.

No matter how bad the persecution of the faithful has gotten over the centuries, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, has always borne up His messengers, His witnesses, so that they would be able to proclaim salvation to the world. You can look through history for examples, or just look at the news today, for examples of those who do not know the Father rejecting His message of salvation with violence. The constant throughout it all is that the Holy Spirit continues to be faithful so that the Word of God may be proclaimed and accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.

You have heard the Gospel proclaimed because the Helper guided that proclamation down the rivers of time, from Jesus’s lips and to your ears through your pastor, so that you would be comforted by the work of Jesus for you. Thanks be to God for the faithful sent ones who, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, deliver Jesus for you! In the Name of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter)

Today’s Reading: Acts 1:1-11

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-29; 12:1-16; Luke 17:20-37

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Witnesses are those who speak the truth about what they have seen. Luke says that he had questioned eyewitnesses before writing his Gospel and this book of the Acts of the Apostles. So also, Jesus sends His apostles as witnesses to the ends of the earth to speak what they have come to know about Him.

It is sometimes hard to get witnesses to agree, though. There are just enough differences amongst the Gospel records that some people doubt any of it is true. The same thing happens in everyday life. You’ve probably had two people tell you the same story in completely different ways, yet they both swore their versions were true.

What is consistent though, what never changes, is the content of what these witnesses speak to their hearers. The content can’t change, because it is the very living and active Word of God. It is the truth of the work of the salvation of all mankind through the life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. You wouldn’t know about that, though, if the apostles had just stayed in Jerusalem or Galilee after Jesus’s ascension. They had to be sent. They had to go, teaching and baptizing along the way.

This is how the message of your salvation came to you. From lips to ears to heart, generation after generation, the Holy Spirit guided and gave power to His witnesses so that the number of the faithful would grow daily by the power of that same Word. Thanks be to God that He saw fit to deliver His Word and His Son and your salvation to you this way. Not only do you have a fleshly Jesus, you have a fleshly witness, given for you in your pastor to teach, comfort, and guide you in this life, until your risen and ascended Lord returns to gather you into His New Creation. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

To our lives of wanton wand’ring Send Your Spirit, promised guide; Through our lives of fear and failure With your pow’r and love abide; Welcome us, as You were welcomed, To an endless Eastertide. (Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels, LSB 491:3)

Today’s Reading: Luke 24:44-53

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:1-23, 31-35; Luke 17:1-19

 

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Just before He ascended to the Father’s right hand, Jesus made sure His sent ones knew exactly what they were to do without His physical presence, and why they were being sent to do it. One last time, He opened the Scriptures to them and clearly traced the line from Genesis, through the oracles of the prophets, across the psalms, and up to His own life, death, and resurrection, to be sure they understood that this is how it always had to be—the way it must be for salvation to be procured and proclaimed for all humanity. Now, as He is set to return to the right hand of His Father’s throne, He tells them that they are to pick up the mantle. They are to go forth, not just in Jerusalem and Galilee, but to all the world, to preach the forgiveness of sins to those who don’t even know they need it.

Remember the last time you needed your sins forgiven? Your pastor has been sent to you, just like the apostles were sent to the known world, to proclaim forgiveness, life, and salvation. When you weren’t sure if God would forgive you, it was your sent pastor who reassured you that the blood of Jesus covers all your sin. All of it. When Jesus ascended, He didn’t disappear. He is just as close now as He was to the apostles then, in a slightly different way.

The Holy Spirit has been at work creating faith in you, and Jesus has been upon the mercy seat of the altar of your church, present in bread and wine made Body and Blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Don’t ever worry that you somehow missed out because you never saw Jesus on this earth. He made sure you would always be able to touch Him, to receive Him, to be blessed by Him in the Sacrament of the Altar.

Even though He returned to the Father, He still fills all creation, and especially your church, where He is ready to proclaim His Word to you through the lips of your pastor. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for The Ascension of Our Lord)

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31

 

Our Father who art in heaven…With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. (The Small Catechism: The Lord’s Prayer, Introduction)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s hard to get along with dear ol’ dad sometimes, isn’t it? The rules, the curfew, the grounding, changing the WiFi password and not telling you. Or maybe your father is absent, literally and you don’t have a relationship with him at all. You read Dr. Luther’s words above and struggle to think of how to pray to God as if He is a dear father, because you have a hard time seeing your earthly father that way.

It is a sad side effect of this sinful and broken world that so many people have that response to God the Father. But as with all things of the faith, our Lord gives you a path through the darkness, a light to show you the way to a proper understanding of your God for you. Yeah, maybe your father is hard to communicate with. But you know someone you can speak to about difficult issues, about your joys and your sorrows. It is probably someone your Father in heaven has placed in your life for you.

Give thanks to God that He does give you someone to see as a father figure. Repent of your own feelings of disappointment with your own earthly father and pray for the strength to mend that relationship as our Lord gives you the ability to. Not everything in this life will be healed. Not every relationship will reflect the relationship God our Father wants to have with you, it is true. But He still shows you the better path, through Jesus’ cross and to the Father’s throne, where He promises to always hear your prayers, and where He will always listen to you and give heed to the needs you bring before Him.

Why? Because of Jesus. It is always because of Jesus that our Father hears you, because it is always His gift of faith that gives you strength, His blood that has purified you, and His Word that shows you the way. Because of Jesus you can boldly and confidently speak to your Father in heaven. And He will always hear, and always answer. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Our Father, who from heav’n above Bids all of us to live in love As members of one family And pray to You in unity. Teach us no thoughtless words to say But from our inmost hearts to pray. (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:1)