Reflections

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 18:5-27; Hebrews 12:1-24

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival,

not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of

sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. On the night of the first Passover, each Israelite family gathered together in their homes. They ate a hurried meal of unleavened bread and roasted lamb. The blood of the lamb was painted on the doorpost of their homes. During the night the Angel of Death passed over all the homes in Egypt. In every home where there was no blood on the door, the firstborn was killed. But death passed over each home covered in the blood of the lamb. After this plague upon Egypt, enslaved Israel went free (Exodus 12).

God told Israel that they should continue to observe the Passover each year. For an entire week, they could have no leaven (yeast) in their homes. They could not have it or eat it. During the Passover week, leaven symbolized sin. By removing it, Israel was telling God and one another that they repented of their sin and trusted in God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

In our reading for today Paul teaches us that the Church is Israel. We celebrate Passover continually. For us it is an eternal celebration, for Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb who was sacrificed to deliver us from sin and death, and rose again to set us free. His blood causes death to pass over us forever. Each time we gather to have Holy Communion, we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ, our Passover Lamb, and rejoice that He has saved us.

What about the leaven? The Church is to live a continual life of repentance. Each time we commune, we humbly confess our sin, hear Jesus’ Absolution, and partake of His Body and Blood. He forgives us, gives us His life, and strengthens us in love. Paul doesn’t mean we literally cannot eat bread with yeast in it. But he does mean that we should not become people who do not care about sin, who live in the ways of the world. For we have been set free from slavery to sin and death by the blood of our Passover Lamb, Jesus. So eat Christ, drink Christ, and live in His freedom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Then let us feast this Easter Day on Christ, the bread of heaven; The Word of grace has

purged away the old and evil leaven. Christ alone our souls will feed; He is our meat and

drink indeed; Faith lives upon no other! Alleluia! (Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands, LSB 458:7)

Today's Reading: Luke 24:36-48

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:19-16:12; Hebrews 10:1-18

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to

them, “Peace to you!” (Luke 24:36)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. On Easter evening, the disciples cowered in a locked room. Suddenly, Jesus stood in their midst. He spoke to calm their fear. He also gave them three beautiful gifts. First, He gave them peace. They’d been grieving His death and fearing for their safety. Jesus spoke peace to them—the peace He won on the Cross for them.

Second, He gave them proof that He had physically risen from the dead. He invited them to see His hands and feet and to touch His body. Then He ate broiled fish. They’d heard him speak, they’d touched his wounds, and then they even heard him chew! They knew with complete confidence that He was physically alive.

Third, He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He’d spent the past three years teaching them from Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets all the things that must happen to the Messiah: suffering, death, and resurrection. They hadn’t understood before, but it became clear.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re hearing a sermon or reading the Word and you understand a Bible passage in a way you didn’t before? Imagine how the apostles felt when Jesus opened their minds to understand ALL the Scriptures. Their joy grew by leaps and bounds!

With these gifts, Jesus sent them out to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. They would witness to people far and near about how Jesus had risen from the dead and gives eternal life. They’d seen Him alive, touched Him, and had eaten with Him. He lives forevermore.

Their witness still speaks to you today. In the Bible, they still testify to everything they saw Jesus say and do. They saw Him die and they saw Him alive again. They tell you that Jesus died and rose to save you. They speak the truth of Christ and that truth can set you free. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The foe in triumph shouted when Christ lay in the tomb; But lo, he now is routed, his boast is turned to gloom. For Christ again is free; In glorious victory He who is strong to save Has triumphed o’er the grave. (Awake, My Heart, with Gladness, LSB 467:2)

Today's Reading: Acts 10:34-41

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 15:1-18; Hebrew 9:1-28

To [Jesus] all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:43)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the questions often posed to Christians is whether there are ways to be saved other than faith in Jesus. While it is popular in our modern day to believe that there are many ways to God, the witness of Scripture is clear: God has saved the world through Jesus Christ. There is no way to God other than through Jesus, for He alone is Lord.

This is clear in Acts 10. Peter brings the Gospel to Cornelius, a Roman centurion, a Gentile who had learned about God from the Jewish community in his town. But he didn’t know Jesus yet. The Holy Spirit wants Cornelius and his family to know the salvation that Jesus alone can give, so He works in an amazing way to bring Peter and the Gospel of Christ to Cornelius’ home.

In a beautiful sermon, Peter shows that God has saved the world through Jesus. The Father sent Jesus, anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit, raised Jesus from the dead, gave

proof to the apostles, and appointed Jesus to be the judge of the living and the dead. Cornelius knew about the true God, but Peter made it clear that to believe in God is to also believe in Jesus whom He sent. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Cornelius and his family believed in Jesus and were saved.

The Father has poured all of His love for you, all of His strength to save you, all of His mercy to forgive you into Christ Jesus. He promised through the prophets who came before Jesus that He would win forgiveness for you by His death and resurrection. He poured out the Holy Spirit so that from generation to generation after Jesus ascended, the Gospel would be preached and believed and maintained until you could hear it.

And when you did hear, the Holy Spirit created faith in you. There is no way for you to

be saved other than through Jesus, because God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—has

done everything to save you through Jesus alone. Thanks be to God! In the Name +

of Jesus. Amen.

Good Christian friends, rejoice and sing! Now is the triumph of our King! To all the world

glad news we bring: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! (Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing, LSB 475:1)

Today’s Reading: Mark 16:1-8

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 14:10-31; Hebrews 7:23-8:13

And the crowds that went before Him and who followed after Him shouted saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!! Blessed is the One coming in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The women who came to the tomb early on Easter morning expected to find a corpse. They expected to anoint the body of Jesus, weep, and then return home in grief. Instead, they heard the messenger tell the Good News. Christ is not dead! He is alive! In response to that great news—they ran away, afraid.

Death is something that all people fear. It is likely that these women had encountered the death of family or friends at some point in their lives. They did not enjoy the finality of death and the sadness of loss but were at least familiar with them. They were brave enough that morning to get up early, get the spices, and head to the tomb. But when they hear the Good News they are shaken with fear and they run.

Perhaps what scared them was not death, but the power to overcome death? For only God could do that. Only the eternal God who created life could overcome death and come back to life. The women knew that Jesus was Lord, but His resurrection brought home to them in a powerful way that to be in His presence is to be in the presence of Yahweh—the great I AM—the eternal God.

So they ran in fear, when in truth they now had no reason to be afraid. What they should have feared was death and the punishment for sin but Christ Jesus had died to forgive sins and destroy the power of death. He rose to give these women peace. The enemy was crushed. Their Lord Jesus is the risen Prince of Peace!

On this Easter Day, rejoice in the truth that Jesus rose to give you peace, too! Don’t be afraid to be in His presence. Come hear His Word at church. Remember your Baptism where He washed you clean and gave you His life. Kneel at His altar and eat and drink His Body and Blood under the bread and wine. Let Him feed you and forgive you and bless you as only He can. Don’t be afraid to come near to Him. He lives to save you and love you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Resurrection of Our Lord)

Today’s Reading: Matthew 27:57-66

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 13:17-14:9; Hebrews 7:1-22

“Lord, we remember how that Deceiver said while He was still alive, ‘After three days, I will rise.’” (Matthew 27:63)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We count a day from midnight to midnight. The Hebrews counted time from when the sun went down until it came up again. That’s why God says during Creation, “It was evening and morning.” When the sun goes down, it is a new day!

Jesus was crucified for our sins, died, and was buried before the sun went down on Friday. That’s day one! He spent the evening Friday and Saturday morning in the tomb. That’s day two! When the sun goes down on Saturday and comes up on Sunday morning, that’s day three!

This is important tonight as the Lord gives us one of the most ancient services in the Church: the Easter Vigil. As Jesus rests in the tomb, we keep vigil, or watch, for His resurrection. The service begins outside as the sun goes down on Lent. It continues until the sun fully sets and the Third Day begins, the day Jesus rose again from the dead.

The center of this service is a very tall candle called the Paschal Candle. Be taught by it! The candle has nails to remind you that Christ died on Good Friday. There is an Alpha and Omega, because He is the beginning and the end. The year is also on the candle because all our days and years are in His hands. This is the symbol of the resurrection from the dead in the Church. It will be lit from now on for all Baptisms and funerals—whenever we need to be reminded that we will rise.

The service proceeds through light and darkness, death and life. We hear tonight the Old Testament accounts of how God has worked through the centuries to bring about His salvation in Jesus. We are reminded of our Baptism, where we died and rose again with Him. When the sun is fully down and the day is over, the service changes to Easter. Your pastor will look at you and say, “Alleluia! Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!” You will respond, “He is risen indeed, Alleluia!” Lent is over. Your Lord who died for you has risen from the dead! What better way to celebrate than to receive His Supper! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, You made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord’s resurrection. Preserve in us the spirit of adoption which You have given that, made alive in body and soul, we may serve You purely; 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 Holy Saturday)

Today's Reading: John 18:1-19:42

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 12:29-32; 13:1-16; Hebrews 6:1-20

And so, when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. (John 19:30)

Merry Lent! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Good Friday is Good Friday. It’s Merry Friday. It’s Jesus-died-for-me Friday. It’s not Black Friday—that’s in November! Today is Good Friday!

A sip of sour wine is all Jesus takes to clear His throat. He cries out with a loud voice one word: tetelestai. It is finished. Your sins, your debt, your iniquities are paid in full. He took it all upon Himself.

Today God does the unthinkable: He dies for you. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He’s the beginning and the end, the One who was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 1:8). That God, the only God there is, dies for you on the Cross.

The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We crowned Him with the curse of sin, with its thorns and thistles. The punishment for sin, the hell that we’ve earned, God put on Him. He’s a Man of sorrows. He’s acquainted with our grief. He suffers it all. He redeems it all so that you would be saved. He doesn’t just hold His breath through the crucifixion, He endures it. He won’t take drugs to make it go easier. He is lucid. This is His choice. You are His choice.

Mourn your sins today. Be horrified by what you have done, by what your sins have cause, by the consequences. Your salvation is freely given and freely received, but it wasn’t free. Jesus alone paid for it.

You can’t have your sins back. You can’t pay for them. You can’t do penance to make up for them. If you could, there’d be no reason for Jesus to hang on the Cross. Your sins died with Jesus. You can’t feel guilty about what you have done anymore. He’s taken your guilt. What is finished by Jesus is finished before God. All the evil and awful things you’ve done to others is tetelestai before God.

Today is Good Friday. It’s good because God has made His creation good again today by crushing the serpent’s head. He has died for all. He has redeemed all. All who believe in Him shall never die. They will rise with Him on Easter morning. Merry Lent! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

–Rev. George Borghardt

Almighty God, graciously behold this Your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; 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 Good Friday)

Today's Reading: John 12:1-43

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 9:1-28; Hebrews 2:1-18

“Whoever loves His life will lose it and whoever hates his life in this world will guard it unto eternal life.” (John 12:25)

Merry Lent! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Learn today the truth of the Gospel. It’s upside down! It’s so absurd that only the Holy Spirit can enliven you to believe it. Yet it’s the only thing that saves you.

You were conceived into Adam’s sin. Even if you were to do everything right, you inherited the sin from Adam’s fall. You aren’t going to live perfectly in this life—not even close. You do what you shouldn’t do and don’t do what you should. You miss the mark when it comes to God’s Law. You do it daily. You do it much. You can’t save yourself. You

can’t fix your situation with God. You can’t make it better. You can’t balance the scales with the God who made you. Your good can’t outweigh your bad. You are so deceived, so out of whack when it comes to God, that you don’t even know or understand how utterly evil you are. God’s Word, outside of you, has to tell you how you truly are: You are a sinner. That’s the Law truth of today: “Whoever loves his life will lose it.”

Jesus does what you cannot do: He saves you. God shows His love for His creation by sending His Son to go through Lent and Holy Week for you. The spotless Lamb of God is sacrificed for you on the Cross. For the sheep and for you, the Shepherd is stuck on the Cross. He who knew no sin, who never sinned, who couldn’t sin, came to become your sin. He exchanges your sin for His righteousness. He takes on your death and gives to you eternal life. Salvation is freely given and earned solely by the sacrifice of Jesus, for you.

He has taken His life and His Good Friday and delivered them to you in Word and water. Faith, which is born of the gifts of the Spirit, grasps hold of Jesus, crucified for you, and saves you! That’s the Gospel truth of today: “Whoever hates his life in this world will guard it to eternal life.”

Die to your sins. Confess them to God. Receive His Calvary-earned forgiveness through the Word. You didn’t save you, Jesus saved you. As surely as He is raised on Easter morning, you will be, too! Merry Lent! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

–Rev. George Borghardt

Almighty God, grant that in the midst of our failures and weaknesses we may be restored through the passion and intercession of Your only begotten Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Holy Monday)

Today’s Reading: Exodus 8:16-24

Daily Lectionary:  Genesis 29:1-30; Mark 9:14-32

 

“But on that day I will treat differently the land of Goshen where my people dwell where no flies shall be so that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.” (Exodus 8:22)

 

Merry Lent! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why does God do bad things? Why does He send plagues in the Old Testament? Why does He strike down the firstborn? How can God do such bad things?

He is God. We are His creatures. We are going to struggle to figure out what God is doing. His ways aren’t going to make sense to us. He’s God. He doesn’t have to explain what He is doing and why He’s doing it to His creation. Even if we had the whole thing figured out, our sin and selfishness would cloud and skew our take on what He is doing. When He did bad to us, it would seem unfair. When He did good, it would feel deserved. It is a dangerous thing to judge God.

To learn about God and ourselves, we need to let our Creator speak to us. He does the talking, we do the listening. He does the work, we are on the receiving end of His being our God.

He is our God. We are His people. When God describes Himself, He says that He is good. If He is doing something, it is good. All that He does is described as good! This is why Luther thought that good and “God” must be related linguistically. The words even look the same.

When God describes us, He describes our works: not good! We are selfish and self-centered. We don’t do what God wants us to do. We do what He doesn’t want us to do, daily and much. We aren’t deserving of God’s goodness. We deserve nothing but punishment.

When God causes calamity for us, when He brings suffering into our life, when He calls us out of our sin with punishment, it seems like He is indifferent and evil. But He is not! Even when we think He’s hitting us with a plague of bad, God is doing what He needs to do to save us.

Look at the Cross! God truly shows how He is toward us on Good Friday. He is born into our flesh to live as we are to live and to die the death we deserve. On the Cross, which seems like the most evil thing in the world, God is working out salvation for all men. On the Cross, Jesus shows us that all He does and says is done to save you!

Why does God do what He does? He does it all to save me! He punishes me to make me alive. He disciplines me because He cares for me. If I wonder whether He’s good to me, all I need do is look to the Cross. Merry Lent! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. George Borghardt

Today’s Reading: Matthew 20:1-16

Daily Lectionary: Job 6:1-13; John 3:1-21

 

For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. (Matthew 20:1)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The kingdom of God is never fair in the world’s eyes. The master of the house seems like he’s cheating people out of a proper salary. Today’s workers would demand equal pay, equal benefits, and might even form a union to make sure the master is fair with his employees.

With the eyes of faith, we see that the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of grace and joy. It is headed by a master who is willing to give graciously to all, regardless of how much or how little they have done.

This parable reminds us that in heaven there will be all kinds of people. There will be the seemingly religious success stories: the ministers, the choir members, the little old ladies who attended every Bible study for 75 years, along with those whose presence might shock us, or even dare offend us. You might see your classmates there who thought you were dumb for believing in Jesus. You might see your family members who rarely darkened the door of a church, but still had faith. You might even see someone you think is the worst person in the world.

This doesn’t seem fair, but it is God who does the calling of all to repentance and faith. Receive this good news with joy and rejoice that the invitation has come. God’s grace and mercy and heaven are yours at the expense of Jesus, who labored on the Cross for you and paid the price for your sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. -Rev. Kent Schaaf

 

O Lord, we implore You favorably to hear the prayers of Your people that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness, for the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Septuagesima)

Daily Lectionary: Job 5:1-27; John 2:13-25

 

The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, He heard my voice from His temple. (From the Introit for Septuagesima)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The psalmist reminds us that death and destruction are not simply with us, but that they surround us and even confront us. No one likes being surrounded by despair and destruction and we certainly don’t like being confronted by death. We can try and cover it up, we can try to act like we are full of life and have all things figured out, but death and destruction will always rear their ugly heads. You’ve seen them, you may have experienced them, and you and your family and friends have all been impacted by them.

This is why Christ has come for you. He is the One who was surrounded by those who would mock Him, deny Him, and crucify Him. He confronts your death at the Cross and hears our cry of distress. As He is dying He pleads to the Father on your behalf, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”

As He breathes His last and succumbs to death’s demands, He destroys your curse of sin and death. As He walks out of the tomb that glorious Easter morning He promises that death no more has the victory over Him or you. Sheol and death may still surround us and confront us, but they have lost their power. They have no sting. Christ has won the victory for you and He now stands to hear your cry of distress, your cry for mercy, and He will act on your behalf. His Word of eternal life surrounds you and comforts you in the forgiveness, life, and salvation that He has won for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. -Rev. Kent Schaaf

 

It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, and sing praises to Your name. Amen. (From the Introit for Septuagesima)