Reflections

Today’s Reading: Acts 20:28-35

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 6:1-7:14; Romans 16:17-27

 

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. From your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things. Not just weird or wrong, but twisted. Distorted. They started with something pure and right, then altered it. They started with God’s Word. They turned it into something else. The most dangerous false teachers quote Scripture.

Paul commends to the pastors he leaves behind more than just the Bible. He points them to God and the Word of grace. He points them to Christ and the source of grace: the Cross. Paul commends to them not just the Bible, but also the Gospel. The forgiveness of sins. Of all that the wolves would set tooth and claw to, they hate the Gospel the most. Twist it into moralism, self-improvement, and get-rich-quick schemes. Twist it into less than the whole counsel of God. Rob the Cross from those in need of it. Paul begs them through tears to give the Gospel to sinners. It builds sinners up. It changes them. It sanctifies. Makes holy. Saves. This is what the Church stands on. This is what Jesus gives through Her.

It is more blessed to give than to receive. He’s more blessed than we are. God gives and we receive. God blesses us with His mercy, His favor, His life, and His peace. He needs nothing from us. He gives His gifts to us. Care for the flock by giving them the blood that purchased them. The Church will always look pretty beat up. The wolves and false prophets speaking twisted things are still here, but we have the Gospel, the Word of grace made flesh to die and rise. We have Jesus. He conquered death and gives life to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

–Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

By grace! None dare lay claim to merit; Our works and conduct have no worth. God in His love sent our Redeemer, Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth; His death did for our sins atone, And we are saved by grace alone. (By Grace I’m Saved, LSB 566:2)

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Romans 15:14-33

 

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed. (Romans 15:18)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The archbishop John Chrysostom’s last name means Golden-tongue. Folks heard him preach and he got a new last name because he was that good. Even so, he died in exile. That sounds like a bummer, yet he preached Christ to the end. This is the greater thing.

We want the titles. The praise. The acclamations. Stop. To God be the glory. We remember Chrysostom for what God has done through him. We read his sermons to hear the Law proclaimed in sternness and the Gospel preached in all sweetness. We remember Chrysostom, who only wanted to speak of Jesus. It’s easier to deal with Epiphany in the person of Jesus who heals the sick, but signs and wonders are still being done by the power of the Spirit of God where His Gospel is preached. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. This Word is enough to raise the dead.

It’s hard to look at the visible Church sometimes and see the true and living God at work within it. Faith comes by hearing. It was preached by Chrysostom. It’s preached by your pastor. The Epiphany still happens as we hear the Word and believe. God is revealed. Dying men are given life. Christ is proclaimed, and death is conquered for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

To live is Christ, for us, to die is gain; Where then shall be our hunger, danger, pain? Our joy to preach good news to rich and poor, Then be with Christ, to live forevermore. (The Saints in Christ are One in Every Place, LSB 838:3)

Today’s Reading: Luke 10:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Romans 15:1-13

 

Heal the sick in it and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Luke 10:9)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When I look at this reading, all I can think about is what the 72 didn’t have. Maybe I have too much junk, but it’s hard to imagine a church that close to the brink. I want extra. Because I see the wolves. The pitfalls. The problems. I see all the challenges, and I know myself and my sin well enough to be worried. So anything that helps stand against them? I should have a couple of those.

The thing is, it’s that worry that injects something toxic in this little word we use called missions. At some point it stopped being about giving other people the Gospel and started being about making sure we survive. Making sure the institution survives because we’re very worried about our institutions. We fear, love, and trust our institutions. We have the same problem with them as I have with my junk. As much as I have, all I can see is what I don’t have.

I see the wolves, too. I see sinners who devour what gets in their way, who snap at each other, so worried that they don’t have enough that they lose sight of what they’ve become. They become the wolves who only care about having more to devour.

This is who Christ sent the 72 out to. It wasn’t different then. There were the same fears, selfishness, idolatry, and sin. He’s still sending. And we’re still more focused on what we don’t have rather than what we do. Jesus sent 72 sinners to give His gifts to other sinners so that we would be more than an institution. Say peace be to this house, and there is peace. Say to them, the kingdom of God has come near to you. And it does. Jesus is in your church through the Word and Sacrament. That’s the measurement of the Church. Peace, not measured in stuff, but in the Blood of the Lamb, gives life to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

Almighty God, You called Titus to the work of pastor and teacher. Make all shepherds of Your flock diligent in preaching Your holy Word so that the whole world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Titus)

Today’s Reading: Acts 9:1-22

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 1:1-21; Romans 14:1-23

 

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I think Paul would hate the hymn “Amazing Grace.” “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” It’s literally about Paul, and that’s the problem. Saul, also known as Paul, went to the temple to proclaim Jesus, not himself. Paul doesn’t talk much about his conversion experience, but just continues to confess his sins to the Church he persecuted and clings to Jesus, the Son of God.

I’m a convert. I hate the song, too. Everyone wants to know when the scales fell from my eyes. “Tell me the story of why you’re special.”  I’m not. Paul wasn’t, either. He was the enemy. He watched the martyrs die. He persecuted the Church and persecuted the Lord. There’s something in us that wants to think that adult converts have a better story than the children who were baptized early and raised in the faith. Look at what they figured out. Look at how they’ve changed. The thing is Paul still called himself the chief of sinners. It is a glorious thing when God’s gifts are given to the little children He wants brought near Him. I can’t by my own reason or strength believe as a grownup any more than an infant can. It was the Holy Spirit who called us by the Gospel.

God’s mercy is what makes Paul stand out. It has nothing to do with Paul, but everything to do with Christ. Jesus died for an enemy. Jesus spoke to Ananias, who knew how terrible Paul was, and called him to be an instrument of mercy to him. “Amazing Grace” can mean a lot of things to different people. Paul wants everyone to know the details, not of his own story, but that of his Lord. This Jesus, who was crucified?  He is the Son of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

Almighty God, You turned the heart of him who persecuted the Church and by his preaching caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world. Grant us ever to rejoice in the saving light of Your Gospel and, following the example of the apostle Paul, to spread it to the ends of the earth; 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 Conversion of St. Paul)

January 24, 2020

 

Today’s Reading: Acts 16:1-5

Daily Lectionary: Joel 3:1-21; Romans 12:14-13:14

 

So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. (Acts 16:5)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Timothy is a walking example of what nobody thought would work. They questioned his age. They questioned his lineage. Yet Paul trained him, laid hands on him, and ordained him. And through Timothy, God saw fit to strengthen churches in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

None of this stuff should work through the clergy we have. It feels good to actually say it out loud, because it’s what we’re all thinking anyway. Critiques of Timothy might not have been fair, but they were logical. That’s why God ordains pastors. All of us have flaws. Blind spots. Sins. It might not be fair to point them out, but it’s logical. Look at all the reasons this shouldn’t work. Still, God promises to work good through pastors. Timothy had nothing in himself that was worthy of the ministry. He knew his age and father would be thrown in his face. It’s why Paul tells him not to let anyone talk down to him for being young. It’s why Paul tells him to be circumcised. Stop looking at Timothy and start looking at the God who promised to speak through him.

Sooner or later every Christian has problems with a pastor, because he’s a sinner. Your pastor needs Jesus for the forgiveness stuff, too. The question is, did God still promise to work through him?  That’s what the call is. God promises to work through this particularly inept man to strengthen the Church. It shouldn’t have worked with Timothy, but God defied all odds. Then again, most people stay dead after being crucified, too. The risen Lord holds the Church together, even through Paul and Timothy, and even through your pastor. It doesn’t rest on them, but it rests on the God who conquered death. It’s about Jesus. If He wants to use a cross to save you from death, that’s really no more absurd than hearing the message of reconciliation through a sinner. Rejoice. Christ is at work in what shouldn’t function, and yet has since the beginning. Jesus is proclaimed to sinners, and they live. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Timothy)

Today’s Reading: Romans 12:6-16

Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:18-32; Romans 11:25-12:13

 

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. (Romans 12:9)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you are in Christ, the Law is not about you. You need not earn your salvation. He has won it for you. It’s finished, and there’s nothing left to add to it. The Law still applies, but now it’s about your view of your neighbor. Love actually looks like something. Love for neighbor takes flesh, but differently in each person. We call it vocation. Paul outlines the gifts God would give to your neighbor through you.

We turn a gift into a curse. Sinners take the gifts and try to measure them, to outdo one another in showing honor. It’s hard to measure that unless you’re looking at yourself.

It’s so tempting to compare yourself to others. The Law is great for that. but the Law always accuses. There will always be someone doing more. I cannot give as much. I cannot work as hard. I cannot teach as well. We’re so desperate to make the Law about us, even when it kills us. Lord, have mercy. He does. He fulfills the Law for you. He serves your neighbor through you. If you are in Christ, the Law is not about you. The gifts Paul talks about aren’t about you. It’s all about your neighbor.

Your gifts will differ from someone else’s. That doesn’t make you less holy or your help for neighbor any less. Christ already accomplished your holiness. Let love be genuine. That means look to Jesus and stop measuring yourself. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Serve the people God gave you in the vocations He has placed you in.  Genuine love only comes from the Cross, so start there. Breathe. The Law isn’t about you anymore. Hold fast to what is good. Hold fast to the gifts of God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

Son of God, eternal Savior, Source of life and truth and grace, Word made flesh, whose birth among us Hallows all our human race: By Your praying, by Your willing That Your people should be one, Grant, O grant our hope’s fruition: Here on earth Your will be done. (Son of God, Eternal Savior, LSB 842:4)

Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:1-17; Romans 11:1-24

 

Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? 

We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them. (The Small Catechism: Fourth Commandment)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If we can’t obey the First Commandment and honor God, who is without sin, a commandment to honor a couple of sinners seems…ridiculous. We’re so quick to look for loopholes so we can avoid obedience to those given in authority over us that we’ve already despised them. We’d rather look for excuses than direction. We’d rather find fault than gift. You can say respect has to be earned. Yes, your parents, your government, and your pastor are sinners. All of them. But you’re just as quick to break the First Commandment as you are the Fourth. The problem isn’t actually the call to obey people who are wrong sometimes.

The problem is, we’re afraid that God can’t work through sinners. The Fourth Commandment is a gift. God gave you particular sinners and promises to love you through them. They aren’t strong enough sinners to stop Him. It’s the same as the First Commandment. Respect has to be earned, but God has earned it, and we’ve still not feared and loved God. Your idolatry hasn’t stopped Him from redeeming you. Your disobedience to your parents hasn’t stopped God from working good through them.

The Fourth Commandment is a gift because it actually points out through whom God wants to care for you. Look to them and see God’s hands at work, even through sinful puppets. It isn’t up to your parents to earn your respect. It isn’t up to them to be without sin. It’s up to God to love you through them, so rejoice. This, too, has already been accomplished for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

“You are to honor and obey Your father, mother, ev’ry day, Serve them each way that comes to hand; You’ll then live long in the land.” Have mercy, Lord! (These are the Holy Ten Commands, LSB 581:5)

Today’s Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

Daily Lectionary: Joel 1:1-20; Romans 10:1-21

 

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Stop. Saying. God. Is. Everywhere. Clapping emojis. Of course, God can act anywhere. “Where shall I flee from your presence?”  But His presence is distinct. Moses begs for it. He doesn’t say, “God is everywhere, man.” He says God’s specific presence is the mark of His favor. Side note: never accept theological insight ending in “man.”

The incarnate God is incompatible with the God of the ether. The God who wraps Himself in human flesh to save you doesn’t work through a cloud, but through a cross. You don’t have to wonder where He is because He shows you. God can work everywhere, but what matters is that He works in specific places for you. God’s being everywhere offers no comfort. He’s not satisfied with that, so He promises Moses a revelation, even if it’s just of His back. We don’t get to see His face for another 1,500 years.

The light of the glory of God is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. You are given a vision of the glory of God that Moses didn’t see until he rested. You are given the comfort of knowing that God’s favor is upon you, not by your works, but by His present mercy. Comfort comes from knowing where God is, and more importantly, what He’s doing. He reveals this in a specific place. Christ crucified. Present mercy for you. Baptism. Christ shows up in Divine Service in Body and Blood for you to eat and drink. God can work everywhere but puts Himself in bread and wine for you. God can work everywhere and chooses to work in the water and the Word to bring you comfort in the face of so much that’s unknown. We aren’t limiting God when we say that He wants you to know where and how He’s present. He chooses to reveal Himself this way so that you would be certain of His blessings. You are baptized. The favor of the Lord is with you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

Christ is our cornerstone, On Him alone we build; With His true saints alone The courts of heav’n are filled. On His great love Our hopes we place Of present grace And joys above. (Christ is our Cornerstone, LSB 912:1)

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 47:1-14, 21-23; Romans 9:19-33

 

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. (Romans 9:30–31)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It always feels good to be more loving than God, to find fault in His work. “God, I can’t work all the settings on the washing machine, but here are all the ways you’re running the universe wrong. Trust me.”  Look around. I don’t see enough righteousness. If God would just conform to our ways, our laws, our righteousness, things would go better.

We pursue righteousness just like Israel. We chase a law we’re convinced leads to utopia. We’ve never succeeded, either. So we lament that God won’t do things our way. We think we’re more merciful than God, but in chasing the Law, we miss the Gospel. The clay won’t understand the potter. He chose to save even the Gentiles, who never pursued righteousness. God endures it with much patience. The potter became clay to become the vessel of wrath. The Son became man to endure the wrath of the Father upon the Cross.

We are vessels of mercy, prepared for glory. Your righteousness doesn’t come from works of the Law. That’s a gift. You don’t need to come up with new laws that yield the righteousness that God’s perfect Law didn’t. You don’t need to build a utopia to see everyone loved. God has already worked this love upon the Cross for all: It’s called the Gospel. It’s good news, not just for a few who have figured out the right way to behave, but for all. Faith is trust in the God who endured wrath over sin out of love for the sinners. Faith is trust in Jesus: God who became man to suffer and die to save you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

What mercy God showed to our race, A plan of rescue by His grace: In sending One from woman’s seed, The One to fill our greatest need—For on a tree uplifted high His only Son for sin would die, Would drink the cup of scorn and dread To crush the ancient serpent’s head!  (The Tree of Life, LSB 561:3)

Today’s Reading: John 2:1-11

Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 44:1-16, 23-29; Romans 9:1-18

 

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:11)

 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus fills the jars with more wine for people who’ve already had too much. I think that’s done on purpose. Jesus turns water into wine for anyone who ever left church, ate lunch, and then realized they felt exactly the same as they did earlier that morning, with all the same problems and vices.

This is called a great sign. It manifests God’s glory. It’s not just the beer run from on high. it’s that He threw good after bad. He sent good wine to drunk folks. Our God sends good gifts to sinners. You might not care enough, improve enough, or learn enough. That won’t stop God. He gives more gifts to you, more mercy, more forgiveness. Not because it impresses everyone, because the sign was done in secret. And not because the people earn it by making responsible choices.

Jesus does this great sign because it’s the third day. That’s the day of celebration. The day Christ rose from the dead after paying the price we couldn’t and wouldn’t. And Jesus gives gifts in church for the same reasons: It’s a celebration. He sends good gifts after sinners, regardless of what we’ve done, and however empty we feel. Whether you feel it or not, notice it or not, appreciate it or not, there is good wine here. It is the Blood of Christ for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

–Rev. Harrison Goodman

 

Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; 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 Second Sunday after the Epiphany)