Reflections

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 28-15:15; Matthew 13:24-43

"At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD's release." (Deuteronomy 15:1-2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wouldn't that be great if after seven years mortgages were cancelled? Car payments were no more? Student loan payments were forgiven? The money you owed your friend was forgotten about? In Old Testament Israel, this was a command of Yahweh: that they forget their debts to one another after seven years.

But God is not primarily concerned with financial debts. This forgiving of money debts was a picture of something bigger: the forgiveness of sins. Sin is like a debt. You've done something against someone. You owe them. Forgiveness means they don't hold it against you and you don't hold what they owe against them.

The New Testament declares that Christ cancelled our debt of sin before God. Whatever the Law said we owed and demanded that we pay is forgiven by Christ's death on Calvary and His resurrection on Easter. Whatever the Law demands you pay God, even your own life for your sins, has been paid in full by Jesus. You owe God nothing. Not a penny.

Baptism, Absolution, Gospel, and Supper are all stamps of "paid in full" for you. They are promises and reminders and delivery methods to tell you that your debts before God are cancelled. Let them trouble you no more.

The Holy Spirit, having forgiven your debts, teaches you to love others and forgive their debts. How can you call in what is owed to you, when the Lord doesn't call in what you owe to Him? This is why in one version of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus actually uses that word: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are indebted to us." We don't owe. So they don't owe us either.

This wonderful cancelling of debts is not an every seven years thing but a Jesus thing. Wherever Christ is, there debts are cancelled and forgiven. There payment has been made. There is freedom from sin and death because it's all been taken care of by Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

"Forgive our sins as we forgive," You taught us, Lord, to pray; But You alone can grant us grace To live the words we say. ("Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive" LSB 843, st. 1)

Reflections Audio Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 13:1-18; Matthew 13:1-23

...you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13:3).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are lots of self-styled "prophets" out there. They think they speak God's Word. Some even sound like they do. Some might even predict things will happen that actually do! Though most are easily proven to be frauds and liars. So what do you do? How do you tell whether what they are teaching is true? You compare it with the Word of God which the Holy Spirit has given to us in the Scriptures.

The Old Testament points us to Christ. The New Testament testifies of and preaches Christ. The whole Bible is about Christ. And not just any Christ, but the Christ who is true God and true man, who died on the Cross and rose again on the Third Day to take away our sins. Just about every false prophet and preacher will contradict those things in some way.

Some might deny who Christ really is, and say that He was just a man, or God "in disguise." Most will simply teach that you must grab hold of your salvation yourself in some way and that your changed life is evidence of your salvation. All of these things deny that Christ is our Savior in that He is true God in the flesh and because He died for our sins wholly and completely.

If preaching points to you, it is false. If preaching doesn't direct you to Christ and to your Baptism, Absolution and His Supper, it is false. We know this because the whole Bible points us to Jesus in some way (just as we saw in the Gospel lesson at the beginning of this week).

Even if some preaching sounds good and true, test it! Check it! Compare it with God's Word to see whether it's really giving you the Savior Jesus. If not, then have nothing to do with it. For the Lord gives us His Word, NOT to confuse us, but to comfort us beyond a shadow of a doubt that our sins are forgiven for Jesus' sake. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Preserve Your Word and preaching, The truth that makes us whole, The mirror of Your glory, The pow'r that saves the soul. Oh, may this living water, This dew of heav'nly grace, Sustain us while here living Until we see Your face. ("Preserve Your Word, O Savior" LSB 658, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, Hearers

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 12:13-32; Matthew 12:38-50

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wow! What a great example of preaching and pastoral proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have in Matthew 12! It reads, "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, 'Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.' But he answered them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'"

This typological/Christological sermon should and must be preached at every sermon by a faithful pastor. Your pastor should preach the cross of Golgatha, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to his people. With a message of such importance, it is only necessary that we as hearers be instructed to respect and uphold the Office of the Holy Ministry

We hold high the Office and the man who bears that Office. But why? Isn't he a man just like the rest of us? Martin Luther explains it to us perfectly in his explanation to the Third Commandment. He states: We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. In the holding of the preached Word as sacred, we come to appreciate the pastor and the authority he has over us because of the Gospel that He speaks. Thanks be to God that His Word comes to us through holy, yet sinful men. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

"You shall observe the worship day

That peace may fill your home, and pray,

And put aside the work you do,

So that God may work in you."

Have mercy, Lord!

("These Are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12; Matthew 12:22-37

You come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:7-8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lots of people have this idea of Judgment Day as a time where you have to stand before God on the Last Day and face the record of your sins, unveiled for all to see. Sure, you might get a pass because of Jesus, but you've still got to face everything you've done.

But Paul tells the Corinthians they will be blameless on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Blameless. Nothing to show. Nothing to pin on them. No sins to recount. No "permanent record" to go over. No waiting in line for your turn to "face the music" about everything you've ever said and done.

The One who makes this true is Jesus. He has covered your sin and wiped it out by His blood, shed on the Cross. He has made sure by His resurrection that your resurrection is not an awakening to a long list of stuff you've done wrong, but to an eternity, where you stand holy and spotless before God.

You are baptized. You are clothed with Christ's righteousness. God cannot see your sin. It is covered by Jesus. You are bodied and blooded by Jesus. He lives in you and therefore your sin cannot be exposed for all to see. God does not see it. You are blameless.

No matter how good the news of salvation in Christ is, there is a part of us—our Old Adam—who figures that somehow, somewhere, someday, we're going to have to own up to our sins and see them displayed in front of everyone. But that's not true. That's not why Jesus came. He came to take your sin away and He has done that.

On the "day of our Lord Jesus Christ," you don't have in store some embarrassing exposure in front of the whole world. You have the welcome of your Father who, for Jesus' sake, has already prepared a kingdom for you from before the foundation of the world. No judgment for you. Only the blamelessness that comes from being in Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

My Savior paid the debt I owe And for my sin was smitten; Within the Book of Life I know My name has now been written. I will not doubt, for I am free, And Satan cannot threaten me; There is no condemnation! ("The Day Is Surely Drawing Near" LSB 508, st. 5)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-21

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:1-25; Matthew 12:1-21

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

In the Name + of Jesus. If only it were that easy! Yahweh says, "Do this!" and we should just do it, right? Some people say that God would not have given us the commandments if we could not keep them. Paul says otherwise. He says the Law was given to "increase sin" and to show us that we CANNOT do it.

There is only one person who walks in all of God's ways, loves Him, and serves Him with all His heart and soul and who keeps His commandments. That's Jesus.

So the obvious question might be, "Well then, why does God give us the commandments? Why do we even bother?" Because the commandments show us that we need Jesus. The catechism teaches us this, as you can see if you run through the meaning of each commandment. Are those things you don't do or do like you're supposed to? No? God's wrath awaits those who break His commandments.

So Jesus comes to say, "I will take your sin. Let your breaking the commandments be Mine. And let My keeping them be yours." With that blessed exchange of His righteousness for our sin on Calvary, we are saved. His righteousness and obedience are given to you at the font and supplied by Absolution and the Word and His Supper. Those gifts always declare that in Jesus, your sin has become His and His perfection and obedience are yours.

So now reread the words above. Is that you? In and of yourself, no way! But in Jesus? Absolutely! For all that He has is yours. And it is His obedience which counts for you before your heavenly Father. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Mine is the sin, but Thine the righteousness;

Mine is the guilt, but Thine the cleansing blood;

Here is my robe, my refuge, and my peace:

Thy blood, Thy righteousness, O Lord my God.

("Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face" LSB 631, st. 5)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22; Matthew 11:20-30

"On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:40)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Love God. Love your neighbor. Every commandment teaches us to do one or the other. Our problem is that we do neither. Instead of loving God and others, we are turned inward, loving ourselves. God owes us a break. Other people should live to serve us. That's sin.

Perhaps the man asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment so that he can try to keep it. That won't work, either. No, what has to happen is that all the Law and the Prophets hang on those two commandments.

What are the Law and the Prophets? That refers to the Old Testament. What is the Old Testament about? The promise of a Savior. It's about Jesus. So let's try that: "On these two commandments hangs Jesus." Now we're getting to the heart of the Law's fulfillment.

Jesus, as true God and man, loves both God the Father and His neighbor. On the Cross, He loves His Father above all things, because He is obedient and dies for sinners. On the Cross, He loves His neighbor as Himself—even more than Himself, because He dies for every person ever. There the Law is fulfilled. Its judgment is poured out. The commandments are kept and fulfilled. There, everything that was promised by God in the Old Testament happens and comes true: The Savior keeps the Law and commandments for you.

Now, baptized into Christ and filled with His Word and Body and Blood, you love God and love your neighbor. According to the commandments, you don't. In Jesus Christ you do. And both are true, but what counts is what Jesus has done. His obedience covers your disobedience; His being punished for sin sets you free. That's how the Law and the Prophets hang on these commandments when Jesus literally hangs upon the Cross of Calvary for you.

Greatest commandment? Love God. Also, love your neighbor. Jesus did. So therefore you do, too, in Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, forasmuch as without You we are not able to please You, mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; 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 18th Sunday after Trinity)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity

(Psalm 122:1, 6, 8-9; antiphon: Liturgical Text)

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22; Matthew 11:1-19

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." (From the Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name of + Jesus. Amen. Sometimes Pastor's right on point with his sermon. Sometimes the organ lifts you up into the heavens. Sometimes you're surrounded by the full-throated voices of 2,000 youth singing the hardest hymns in the book in four-part harmony at a Higher Things conference, and you think that even heaven can't be this good.

But sometimes it can be a real drag going to church. Sometimes Pastor preaches boring sermons. Sometimes he chants like an alley cat. Sometimes the organist hits as many wrong notes as she hits right ones And sometimes, you were just up late last night partying—er, studying. What's there to be glad about?!?

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" (Psalm 122:1). The Lord's house gladdens us, not because of its outward beauty, its compelling speakers, or its other-worldly experiences. The Lord's house gladdens because of the message that is proclaimed there. "'Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!' For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, 'Peace be within you!'" (Psalm 122:7-8)

The peace that makes us glad in the Lord's house is a peace that the world cannot give. It's a peace that surpasses all understanding. It's the peace of being reconciled to God. It's the peace of sins forgiven.

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord,'" because the house of the Lord is the only place in the whole world where the Gospel of peace is proclaimed. It's the only place where you are directed to the scars in Jesus' hands and side—scars that say, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19-20). It's the only place in the entire world where the Body and Blood of the One who died and rose are given for you. Indeed, "I was glad when they said to me 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.

Grant then, O God, Your will be done, That, when the church bells are ringing, Many in saving faith may come Where Christ His message is bringing: "I know My own; My own know Me. You, not the world, My face shall see. My peace I leave with you. Amen." ("Built on the Rock" LSB 645, st. 5)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Matthew 10:24-42

"What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:27-28)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our text, Christ lovingly invites us not to fear. How strange this is to our ears since we tend to internalize fear and anxiety. It is almost as if we should say to Jesus, "Well, that's easy for you to say, you're Jesus." Then again, maybe that's the point. To claim that the body doesn't matter as much as the soul is to detest the creation of each and thus the creator. However, very few people would look at it that way.

While we are alive, we are willing to go through anything to minimize the pain that the body feels. After we die, people gather around the casket and offer words that seem helpful, but often refer to the body as a "vessel" or "shell." Yet Christ tells us that we should not fear the sword and pain. Nothing can destroy our relationship with our Father, who is in heaven. Thus, we do not need to worry those "who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" but "rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." The worst thing for a Christian to imagine is that God has abandoned them. Here, in these words, we find the opposite. Christ tells us not to fear the pain and death of the flesh but fear the one who can take your soul into death. With Christ, there is only life after His death. And for us, we have life for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies

Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

("Abide With Me" LSB 878, st. 6)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19; Matthew 10:1-23

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of them Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 10:5-7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems that every Christian knows of the Great Commission in Matthew 28. We are given the command to "go." We are given the baptismal formula, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." However, there is an often-overlooked Greek word in that sentence. The word ethni is most often translated as "nations," yet in this context, the word "Gentiles" is a better option. Why? It simply puts a bookend on the first commission found in our text in verse 5.

It can sometimes be hard to wrap our minds around the idea that Christ became flesh to first go to the chosen people of Israel. It is from the house of Israel that the Law and prophets came. Even all the prophetic texts about Christ in the Old Testament came from the Jews. So it is good, right, and salutary that Christ would send out His disciples to go to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Perhaps our first reaction is to say, "Hey, that's not fair." Why would Jesus say, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans" (Matthew 10:5)? To be honest, that's what makes Matthew 28 and the translation of ethni so unique and important.

The beautiful thing about the Great Commission is that it is on the other side of the Cross and resurrection of Jesus. In His sacrifice, Christ was lifted up and has drawn all men unto Himself. We, who are Gentiles, are not separated from God, but have been ransomed at a price and that price is the blessed blood of Jesus Christ. Christ has washed us, feeds us, and teaches us through the mouths and hands of His pastors. We are the sheep who were not lost, but have been rescued from the sin, death, and the devil. Thanks be to God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain,

could give the guilty conscience peace, or wash away the stain.

But Christ, the heav'nly Lamb, takes all our sins away,

a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood than they.

("Not All the Blood of Beasts" LSB 431, st. 1, 2)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To Bishops, Pastors, and Preachers

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25; Matthew 9:18-38

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.(Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To Bishops, Pastors, and Preachers)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Beyond reproach" is an essential attribute for bishops, pastors, and preachers. It is also the one you hear district presidents, circuit visitors, and congregation members throwing around more than any other. But Luther gives us a much bigger picture in his Small Catechism. He allows the pastor to understand his role better without having to be beaten with the reproach club quite as often. Here in Timothy we have the classic list. Pastors are also called to the teaching of true doctrine and are expected to hold a pure confession of the faith. The Table of Duties reminds us of Titus 1:9: "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."

In this epistle to Titus, the pastor is urged to trust in the word of the Lord for all that he has, and all he will suffer for the sake of the Christian faith. A pastor must not not only preach winsome sermons and be completely likable but must proclaim the message of Christ crucified for sinners. This is no small task for a pastor who is also a sinner. Pastors would love to take the path of least resistance in times and situations of conflict, but that is not what they are called to do. All that is required of a pastor is best done when the forgiveness of sins is laid upon the people of God. Then the Gospel is no longer theoretical but tangible, and frees from sinful bonds. In this we find the resounding confession of the true faith. In this the pastor becomes and remains a servant who has done well and has been faithful with much. Thank God that he has put such a pastor in your life to deliver God's Gifts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, help us ever to retain

The Catechism's doctrine plain

As Luther taught the Word of truth

In simple style to tender youth.

("Lord, Help Us Ever to Retain," LSB 865, st. 1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch