Reflections

Today’s Reading: Numbers 21:4-9

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 8:5-26; Luke 15:11-32

 

And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Numbers 21:8–9)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Wait a minute! This sounds an awful lot like idolatry! Moses makes a bronze snake, sets it on a pole, and people are healed from a venomous snakebite if they look at it? Why not look to God? Isn’t He the one through whom true healing is given?

Yes, He is. And it may seem weird that the One True God would direct Moses to do something that appears to be so out of character for a God who demands such diligent adherence to His Law, until you look behind the snake, behind the bronze. Why does God tell Moses to do it this way? A snake is the cause of death so they, at God’s command, look upon its representation and are then healed. They look on the lifted-up one in faith, but not with just a blind glance or a quick look. They believe they will be healed because God said to look and live.

In John 3 Jesus says that He must be lifted up just like the bronze snake was, so that sinful humanity might look upon Him and live. Again, it isn’t an idle glance at a crucifix that saves. It isn’t “Hey, God, I looked at your Jesus, what’s in it for me?” Rather, one who has faith that God’s promise is true looks upon the crucified Son of God and is healed, saved from the death of sin. Jesus was lifted up on the pole of the Cross so that the snakebite of sin, its deadly venom coursing through your veins, would be cured forever.

Trust this promise of the Lord. Trust His Holy Word of salvation for you. Trust, with the faith that He gave you in your Baptism, that this Word of the Lord is faithful and true: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” It isn’t because you took a chance on Him, but because He gave everything for you and created saving faith within you, so that you may live forever in His kingdom. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

God would not have the sinner die; His Son with saving grace is nigh; His Spirit in the Word declares How we in Christ are heaven’s heirs. Be of good cheer, for God’s own Son Forgives all sins which you have done; And, justified by Jesus’ blood, Your Baptism grants the highest good. (God Loved the World So That He Gave, LSB 571:3-4)

Today’s Reading: John 16:23-33

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 3:1-16, 39-48; Luke 14:25-15:10

 

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Tribulation seems to be the perpetual state for the modern young person. Something is always going wrong. Whether it is parents, school drama, your sports team, the love of your life, or even (yes) your youth group, tribulation comes for you repeatedly, doesn’t it? There are days when you don’t even want to bother getting out of bed—to say nothing of leaving the house—because you know what’s waiting for you, and you don’t want to face it.

Jesus has the answer for you. Once again, He’s speaking to the disciples just before He is arrested on Holy Thursday. They are going to experience a whole boatload of tribulation over the next few days, and then, a never-ending stream of it for the rest of their lives. Even so, Jesus calms them with His words. He speaks His peace to them. He comforts them with the assurance that He has overcome anything the world can throw at them.

He says the same thing to you. This world hates you. It wants to marginalize you, make fun of you, and yes, even kill you. But take heart: Jesus has overcome the world! Ultimately, it cannot harm you. The Lord of creation has wrestled death to the ground and killed it in His own death and resurrection. He has completely defeated Satan for you and destroyed the world’s power over you. Rest secure in His nail-pierced grasp, knowing that whatever this world throws at you, He has seen it, lived it, and conquered it for you. As that beloved hymn says, “Death you cannot end my gladness, I am baptized into Christ!”

Because you are baptized into Christ, eternity is yours. Life everlasting is yours, and eternal salvation before the Lamb upon His throne is yours, all because Jesus has overcome this world for you. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; 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 Sixth Sunday of Easter)

Today’s Reading: Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Psalm 66:1-2a, 17, 19-20; antiphon: Isaiah 48:20b)

Daily Lectionary:  Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44; Luke 14:1-24

 

But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessèd be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! (From the Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems odd to bless God, doesn’t it? After all He is the one who blesses, right? But this psalm is all about calling out the wonderful deeds of almighty God so that others can know how faithful He is, and how worthy of our worship He is.

Even in the midst of all that you’ve done, the Lord God is still near you and caring for you. Even when you’ve slipped completely away from Him, the Lord gathers you back up into His arms to bless and keep you. So it is absolutely proper to call Him blessed and to sing His praises to those around you. The psalmist recounts all the mighty deeds of God in saving the people of Israel from Egypt and the centuries of warfare and captivity. In all of it, the one steady constant was the Lord God and His love for His people. He never lost faith in them, even when they lost faith in Him.

So it is for you. Your Lord Christ has never lost faith in you. You might have thought you could run and hide and find a place where He is not, so that you could be free of Him. But He was already there waiting for you, ready to scoop you up into His arms once again. You might have thought that you sinned so horribly that there was no way God would ever forgive you. But there stood Jesus, pierced hands reaching out to you, the words of forgiveness on His lips for you.

No, God your Father has not rejected your prayers. He has not removed His steadfast love. Instead, He heaped it upon you higher in times of need. Right now He stands ready to hear your prayer, to forgive your sins, to feed you with His life-giving Sacrament, so that you can use those same blood-whetted lips to thank and praise Him for all He has done, and continues to do, for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

For no one can condemn me Or set my hope aside; Now hell no more can claim me: Its fury I deride. No sentence now reproves me, No guilt destroys my peace; For Christ, my Savior, loves me And shields me with His grace. (If God Himself Be for Me, LSB 724:5)

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:1-20; Luke 13:18-35

 

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (Luke 13:22–24)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you look at Jesus from a modern perspective, this is when the wheels start to fall off during His ministry. He has set His eyes for Jerusalem, and He is inexorably being drawn to that hill outside the city.    As He gets closer, and as that Good Friday draws nearer, the number of His followers becomes fewer and fewer, until only John and Mary are with Him at the cross. Even now He warns His hearers that they will run from Him, and from salvation, soon enough.

How narrow is the door of salvation? It is only as wide as Jesus’s Cross, for He is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life given by which you may be saved. “Did God really say that? Does Jesus really mean that? Surely, if God loves us He won’t be so judgey!” You’ve probably heard variations of those questions at some point. The whole thrust is that God can only save if He works the way *I* want Him to. It is a very selfish and exclusive way to think, not to mention a wholesale slap in the face to the First Commandment.

On the other hand, passing through the narrow door should be the easiest option in front of you. It doesn’t require anything from you by way of works. It seems odd, maybe, that Jesus tells you to “strive to enter” by believing and trusting Him only. But that’s how He has given Himself to you and for you. You can only believe and trust with the faith that He has given to you by the power of the Holy Spirit in your Baptism and strengthened by visits to the altar for the Supper.

Enter by the narrow door of Jesus’ Cross, for it is the only way, and you have already been drawn through it by the working of God for you in Jesus. Thanks be to God for the victory! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

O Lord, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Daily Lectionary:  Leviticus 24:1-23; Luke 12:54-13:17

 

If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. (Leviticus 24:19–20)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. These words from God’s Law in Leviticus are easily twisted into a means of seeking retribution. People the world over have used them as justification for lashing out in anger at the one who has harmed them, to make sure they pay for their sins. But that’s not what almighty God means here. This is a limiting statement, a restraint against overreacting. Don’t respond in anger to the one who has harmed you and take more than you are given to take.

The people of Israel were to take no more than they lost from the one who harmed them. It must have been a bit strange to see a panel of people gathered to yank a tooth or poke out an eye for the injured one. But that is what the Lord instructed for those who had been harmed. It seems odd to our ears, especially in this age of courtrooms, fines, probation, and deferred adjudication, to think that a court would physically harm one who is guilty of harming another.

You no longer have to worry about being physically maimed in payment for the harm you do to someone else. In Jesus, God the Father carried out all the retribution that was needed for His children and for everyone. Jesus died for the sins of everyone, not just for believers. Are you due to lose an eye for something you did? How about have a bone broken because of some shenanigans? Don’t worry, Jesus took that punishment for you. In the same way, Jesus already paid for those wounds you have received from others.

Jesus stood there at the place of punishment and absorbed all of the wounds and suffering due to you and bore them in His death so that you would never need to suffer the wrath you deserved for your sin against God. No matter how bad your sins against your neighbor are, or their sins against you, what you did towards God was far worse, but Jesus has answered for them in His death and resurrection that you may be free. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

For us He prayed; for us He taught; For us His daily works He wrought, By words and signs and actions thus Still seeking not Himself but us. For us by wickedness betrayed, For us, in crown of thorns arrayed, He bore the shameful cross and death; For us He gave His dying breath. (O Love, How Deep, LSB 544:4-5)

Today’s Reading: Third Article of the Creed, part 2

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:23-44; Luke 12:35-53

 

In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. (The Small Catechism: The Creed, Third Article)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Atonement is a bloody thing. All of the Mosaic sacrificial system is bloody, in fact. Purification after giving birth? Blood. Redeeming a first-born son? Blood. Passover? More blood. The Day of Atonement? Buckets and buckets of blood. The pavement stones of the temple were permanently stained dark red from all the centuries of blood that was shed in payment for the sins of God’s people.

Ultimately, though, all that blood was for nothing, wasn’t it? God our Father says through Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” And David writes, “You would not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it.” All that blood, from all of those sacrifices, pointed to the one sacrifice that truly mattered, that truly forgave sins—the suffering and death of Jesus.

One sacrifice, one blood-shedding, for all of mankind. One death in which the blood of Jesus covers every one of your sins. And where is this forgiveness given? How is this blood poured out upon you? In your Baptism, where you die and rise again with Jesus. Where His blood covers you.

Since it is one sacrifice for all, made only once, though, how can you be sure all your sins are forgiven? Because of the Lord’s promises to you in His Word and Sacraments. Because of your pastor’s declaration that, by the command of His (and your) Lord, Jesus Christ, he forgives all your sins. And He doesn’t forgive you in a stingy way. He heaps it upon you. The Holy Spirit makes sure that your church is a place where God’s forgiveness is abundantly poured out upon you and for you. It is a never-ending flood of forgiveness.

Rejoice that you have been given such a gift, that your Lord and God bathes you so freely in forgiveness that you never need to fear that it will come to an end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

We all confess the Holy Ghost, Who, in highest heaven dwelling With God the Father and the Son, Comforts us beyond all telling; Who the Church, His own creation, Keeps in unity of spirit. Here forgiveness and salvation Daily come through Jesus’ merit. All flesh shall rise, and we shall be In bliss with God eternally. (We All Believe in One True God, LSB 954:3)

Today’s Reading: James 1:16-21

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 23:1-22; Luke 12:13-34

 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Luther’s Small Catechism says that God the Father “has given me…He gives me…He richly and daily provides me with all I need…” You can fill in the rest. James covered it all in one line in his epistle, but Luther thought it would be a good idea to put a list together, because it is too easy to forget everything that God provides.

It’s easy to think of your parents, your own paycheck, or your grandparents as the source of your clothes, your snacks and fun, and your Christmas and birthday gifts. But that’s how your Lord and God works, isn’t it? He provides for you through the work of those who have come into your life, to support your life in this world. But it doesn’t stop there; it goes beyond that.

In the creation of faith within you, He has made you His own creation, and His own hands in this world to provide for others. “Christ lives in me,” Paul says, and that’s what James agrees with here. You are the first fruits of God’s creatures, the one with a divine mark given in Holy Baptism, who goes out into this world as the light of Christ. But you never go alone; you are never a free agent in your works for those around you.

The Lord God has equipped you in every way possible for life in this sinful and broken world, and He has provided you with the means to learn even more about His love for you through His called and ordained servants, through the study of His Word, and i corporate worship with your fellow Christians. God your Father never changes. He is the unmoving rock of certainty in your life, the one always ready to hear your needs, and always ready to give you everything you need as you navigate the world around you that He has given.

Go forth joyfully in Jesus, knowing that He is beside you all the way, never abandoning you, and always providing you with all you need, especially the gift of salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

Now thank we all our God, With hearts and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, In whom His world rejoices; Who from our mothers’ arms Has blest us on our way With countless gifts of love And still is ours today. (Now Thank We All Our God, LSB 895:1)

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 12:1-6

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 21:1-24; Luke 12:1-12

 

You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.” (Isaiah 12:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The prophet Isaiah really gets to the point, doesn’t he? Right to the heart of everything the Lord God says to His people, and how He acts in their lives. Again and again in the books of Holy Scripture, almighty God is exasperated with His people, angry to the point of destruction, only to be turned at the last moment by a plea for mercy. Abraham does it, so does Moses. The prophets do it over and over again, too. There is a good track record throughout history of God taming His wrath in the face of repentance and offering comfort and peace. The pinnacle of this action though, is Golgotha and the empty tomb.

All of God’s wrath, all of His anger, all of His retribution were poured out in one tidal wave that crashed over Jesus as He hung on His Cross. Everything you’ve done to anger God, everything you’ve ever said to raise His ire, everything you’ve ever thought that offended Him, crashed into Jesus and shook the foundations of all creation. In that moment the Father’s anger turned away from you. His wrath was satisfied. Because His wrath has been turned from you, because He sees you, a baptized child, through the lens of Jesus-for-you, you can see Him as the One who is always ready to comfort you, always ready to gather you up in His everlasting arms and keep you.

You are able to “sing praises to the LORD, for He has done gloriously” for you. He has taken away your sin and replaced it with Jesus’ holiness, so that He can always look at you as His child, His beloved. He loves you more than anyone else in this world ever could. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

From God can nothing move me; He will not step aside But gently will reprove me And be my constant guide. He stretches out His hand In evening and in morning, My life with grace adorning Wherever I may stand. (From God Can Nothing Move Me, LSB 713:1)

Today’s Reading: John 16:5-15

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 20:1-16, 22-27; Luke 11:37-54

 

“He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14–15)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is Holy Thursday evening. The Last Supper has been celebrated, and they are about to go to the Garden of Gethsemane. Before they do, though, Jesus gives His disciples one more word of comfort: the promise of the Holy Spirit.

It might seem strange that Jesus has to go away in order for the Holy Spirit to come, but that’s how God works. He has a plan beyond our knowledge, a way to save His people and spread the Gospel to untold multitudes that can only be fulfilled if Jesus treads this dark path to garden, cross, and tomb. What the Holy Spirit will bring to them is nothing less than the full might and power and strength of the Word of the Living God. Almighty God Himself will declare to these fledgling preachers the fullness of His saving Word through the Holy Spirit. They, in turn, will deliver it to the next generation, and so on.

Down through the centuries, never being diluted or losing its power, the things of Jesus are received by His servants and declared to the next generation of hearers for their comfort, forgiveness, and salvation. This is how you hear of Jesus. Countless generations before have gathered where Jesus promised to be and the Holy Spirit called, gathered, and enlightened. Now, you do the same. You hear the voice of your Good Shepherd declared by the one the Holy Spirit has called to deliver it to you. And in the declaration of those things of God, you receive something greater than anything else on this earth. Into your ears flow the forgiveness of your sins, salvation from sin, death, and the devil, and the life everlasting: the very things Jesus went ahead of you to gain, on that path to His Cross. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what you have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; 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 of Easter)

Today’s Reading: Introit for the Fifth Sunday of Easter (Psalm 98:1b, 3-4; antiphon: v.1a, 2b)

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 9:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36

 

He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (From the Introit for the Fifth Sunday of Easter)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You think God doesn’t hear. You think He’s forgotten you. You’re pretty sure, in fact. There’s a deafening silence coming from above when you raise your prayers to God. That’s surely what was going through the minds of Jesus’ disciples over the weekend following His death. How could they go on when everything they knew had been destroyed? How could they do anything else once their every reason for living was gone? But Easter morning changed things. Easter morning changed everything. It is entirely likely that this psalm was in their minds and on their lips when their hearts were burning with joy at the realization that Christ was risen!

So it is for you. God your Father might seem silent. He might seem to be far from your cries and prayers, but He isn’t. He’s never far from your side. He proved that to you in your Baptism, when He clothed you with the very righteousness of Jesus. He is even upon your tongue in the Eucharist, once again reminding you what has been given and shed for you. The Lord has indeed remembered His steadfast love. He shows to the ends of the earth His salvation in His risen Son, and he shows it to you as well. He remembers His steadfast love and faithfulness for you, too, in Jesus.

Like the disciples, you are also given to “make a joyful noise,” and “break forth in joyous song” for what He has done for you. Thanks be to God that He has never forgotten you, never forgotten His steadfast love for you. It is always in His mind when He thinks of you. Rest securely in His hands knowing, with the psalmist, that you can sing these words and your Lord hears them, for He is bearing you up even now. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Duane Bamsch

All the earth with joy is sounding: Christ has risen from the dead! He, the greater Jonah, bounding From the grave, His three-day bed, Wins the prize: Death’s demise Songs of triumph fill the skies. (All the Earth with Joy Is Sounding, LSB 462:1)