Today's Reading: Introit for the 16th Sunday after Trinity

(Psalm 86:1, 7, 12-13; antiphon: v. 3, 5)

Daily Lectionary: Malachi 2:1-3:5; Matthew 4:1-11

I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. (From the Introit for the 16th Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We go to birthday parties because we are celebrating a person's life. We go to graduations because we are celebrating someone's academic accomplishments. We go to events most often because we are remembering something that happened and celebrating that event: Think of 4th of July fireworks or a Memorial Day parade.

Tomorrow we'll go to church to celebrate something. We'll go to remember and to be gathered together with others who are remembering and celebrating. What exactly? We're celebrating that Jesus died and rose and delivered us from sin and death!

The psalmist reminds us in the words we hear tomorrow that we praise God because of what He's done for us. We're excited! We're glad! We're happy! Another week has passed during which He's fed the birds and you. He's made the flowers grow and clothed you. He's borne your burdens and helped you help others. He's taken whatever sins you have and buried them forever with Jesus. He's raised up the new you in your Baptism and has forgiven you each and every day.

So we'll be in church tomorrow, praising God with all our hearts and glorifying Him for deliver us from the depths of hell. Left to ourselves, that's where we would be. Jesus has saved us from all that by His own death and His triumphant resurrection on Easter. Tomorrow, that's what we're celebrating. That's what we're remembering. That's what we're giving thanks for. That's what we're getting all excited about and rejoicing over. The Divine Service is a celebration! A party! A foretaste of the Feast to come! It's a joyous event because we have a gracious Savior who loves us and gave Himself for us. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your great mercy! Bring us to your house to celebrate with all your saints! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O bless the Lord, my soul! Let all within me join And aid my tongue to bless His name Whose favors are divine. ("O Bless the Lord, My Soul" LSB 814, st. 1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17

"I have loved you," says the Lord. "Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the Lord. "Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness." (Malachi 1:2-3).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Whoa! Why is the Lord talking about hating someone? He is responding to Israel, who said, "God doesn't love us!" Really? Have you ever thought that God doesn't love you? He's got it in for you? What did you ever do to make God mad at you so that He's making your life so hard?

That's not how the Lord operates. He tells His people that though Esau and Jacob were twin brothers, He chose Jacob to be the one to carry the promises of the Savior through His line. Later on, when Esau's descendant, the nation of Edom, picked on Israel, the Lord saved them. He rescued Israel so that someday from that chosen people, the Savior would be born.

When you think God is against you, stop and remember how He loves you. He loves you by not sparing His own Son but by sending Him to suffering and death. That's to save you! That sounds awful! Why would the Lord do that? It's not a macho display of His love. It's a love that pays the price for our sins.

On Calvary, the Father abandons His Son so that His hatred of sins is taken care of. God the Father chose you over His own Son in that moment. On Good Friday, God the Father makes His Son into sin, into the curse, so that you would be set free.

Your Baptism into Jesus is the Lord's own promise that He loves you. The pronouncement of Absolution is a promise God loves you. The Body and Blood of Jesus are His pledge and promise that God can never hate you but loves you without measure. If you're ever not sure of God's love, look to those gifts of Jesus which deliver His Cross and resurrection to you. Look to those promises by which He says, "Here is how I have loved and always will love you. I'm never against you. I'm always for you to save you and give you eternal life." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Lord my life arranges; Who can His work destroy? In His good time He changes All sorrow into joy. So let me then be still: My body, soul, and spirit His tender care inherit According to His will. ("From God Can Nothing Move Me" LSB 713, st.3)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:25-6:10

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38; 1 Timothy 6:3-21

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Bear one another's burdens. Carry their load. What Paul is getting at with those words is all about the forgiveness of sins. People mess up. They drag their sins around. They all have baggage. We all do. The Lord Jesus came to bear our burdens by bearing our sins. On Calvary, our sins were His sins. Our transgressions were His transgressions. Our iniquities were His iniquities. Our burdens were His to bear and leave behind in the grave when He rose on Easter.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't tell His disciples to go lay more burdens on people. He didn't tell them to straighten up and fix themselves. He didn't tell them to let people know they had better get right with God.

Jesus sent His preachers to proclaim Good News, that sins are forgiven. Debts are cancelled. Burdens have been lifted and set aside. There is nothing for you to carry that is bad. No need to lift up a heavy load of guilt or shame. No need to struggle under the load of hate and anger toward others. No rack of condemnation is laid upon you. You are free.

In that freedom, because you can leap and skip with no hindrance, you now can lighten the load of those around you. Don't let them be weighed down with guilt and shame and the burden of their sins. Help them. Bear with them. Help them drop that heavy heap at the foot of the Cross so it can be Jesus' burden. Don't press down on them to make their lives harder. Help them see that Jesus has set them free as He has set you free. Washed, absolved, and fed, your burdens have been carried by Jesus. So have theirs. So don't pile on more, but lift and help them let go. Everyone has burdens. Jesus came to take our burdens from us, so that we could be set free and rejoice in being saved out from under those troubles once and for all. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, let me win my foes With kindly words and actions, And let me find good friends For counsel and correction. Help me, as You have taught, To love both great and small And by Your Spirit's might To live in peace with all. ("O God, My Faithful God" LSB 696, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21; 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2

Who receives this sacrament worthily? Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, pt.4)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What makes you ready to receive Communion? Being a Lutheran? Memorizing the catechism? Many generations of young people have gone through the grueling experience of memorizing every last word of Luther's Small Catechism. Many have had to stand in church and have questions hurled at them to see whether they've learned it all. Is that what makes you finally "worthy" enough to get Jesus' Body and Blood?

Learning the catechism is certainly fine training. It's good to know what God's Word says. It's good to memorize the Bible and catechism and hide God's Word in our hearts. It's good to be trained in theology and understand that the Bible is all about Jesus.

But that's not why you get to receive Communion. Jesus says, "This is my Body and my Blood. It's given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." He has a gift for you. You are worthy to receive that gift, but not because you are a good person. You are worthy to receive that gift, but not because you studied hard and got an "A" on your catechism tests. You're worthy, but not because you can say every last word of the catechism. You're worthy because Jesus says you are.

He as much says, "You are a sinner. I am your Savior. I gave Myself into death for your sins. I give you My Body and Blood so you know that forgiveness is truly yours. Eat. Drink. Know that you are forgiven and have eternal life."

You are truly worthy and well prepared, not because you think you are but because Jesus says you are. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

I do not merit favor, Lord, My weight of sin would break me; In all my guilty heart's discord, O Lord, do not forsake me. In my distress this comforts me That You receive me graciously, O Christ, my Lord of mercy! ("Lord Jesus Christ, Life-Giving Bread" LSB 625, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4; 8:1-18; 1 Timothy 5:1-16

And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son." (1 Kings 17:13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How rude! Elijah the prophet met a widow and asked for a little something to eat. She had very little left and it was just enough for a last meal with her son. But Elijah insists she make him food first! How rude! Surprisingly, he is not being selfish. He's teaching her that God promises to take care of her. She prepared food for him and her little jars of oil and flour never ran out until the famine was over!

Do you give an offering at your church? An offering is a sacrifice on our part so that the pastor who takes care of us can be paid and the needs of the church be met: heat, air, electric, and so on. Our offerings make sure our pastor can take care of his family and the church can take care of those in need. So do you give something for an offering?

We don't give offerings because the Lord needs the money! We give offerings because others do: our pastor, the secretary, people in need, and so on. Giving an offering confesses what we believe about the Lord taking care of us. It says, "If I give up this bit of money, I am trusting the Lord will still take care of me and provide for me."

After all, He gave you His Son. Sent Him to die for you. Sent Jesus to strip away all those idols we have and think we have to pay for. By rescuing us from the idolatry of worshiping ourselves, Jesus is freeing us up to be good stewards of the gifts He gives us so we can take care of others. Never give money at church because you think God needs it! Give because your neighbor needs it.

The widow in this story first sought the kingdom of God: She wanted to make sure the prophet was taken care of so he could preach. In doing so, she trusted that the Lord would take care of her. And He did! He always will take care of you, too, because you are His baptized, Body- and Blood-fed people. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Hence, all earthly treasure! Jesus is my pleasure; Jesus is my choice. Hence, all empty glory! Naught to me thy story Told with tempting voice. Pain or loss, Or shame or cross, Shall not from my Savior move me Since He deigns to love me. ("Jesus, Priceless Treasure" LSB 743, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9, 15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. (Matthew 9:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Matthew was a tax collector. He worked for the hated Romans to make sure the Jewish people paid their taxes to the pagan emperor. His job was to tell people what they owed. His job was to collect what was due.

Then Jesus shows up. He calls Matthew from being a tax collector to being an apostle, a witness to His life and death and resurrection, and a preacher of that Good News. Jesus turns Matthew from a guy who tells people what they owe into a herald proclaiming that they no longer owe anything to God. Matthew has gone from being a debt-collector to a debt releaser!

The Greek word "evangelion" is translated "Gospel" and it literally means "Good News." Not bad news. Not scary news. Good News that cheers our hearts and proclaims something surprising and happy: God has forgiven your debts. They have been paid in full by the blood of Jesus! You owe God nothing. You have been set free.

This was such Good News that Matthew is not only an apostle, a preacher of this Good News to the world, he was also an evangelist, one of the four who wrote it down in the book of the Bible that bears his name.

Matthew's life changed that day when Jesus called Him. He learned that life is not about collecting but about letting go. The evangelist recorded Jesus' words that His Supper is given "for the forgiveness of sins" and that disciples would be made by baptizing sinners. That is taking the debts of sinners and stamping them with the great big stamp of "Paid in full" in the ink of Jesus' blood. Your account is cleared. You owe God nothing. Now you can go and cancel the debts of those around you. They don't owe the Lord or you. Debts have been cancelled! Sins are forgiven! Thank you, Matthew, for the Good News! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Praise, Lord, for him whose Gospel Your human life declared, Who, worldly gain forsaking, Your path of suff'ring shared. From all unrighteous mammon, O raise our eyes anew That we in our vocation May rise and follow You. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 518, st. 25)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Matthew 6:24-34

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How do you know that God will take care of you? Look at your car windshield. See? He's feeding the birds! They've got food! So He'll take care of you, too. Birds have food. Lilies look like they're dressed beautifully. They are just birds and flowers! You are worth way more to your heavenly Father than those things!

That's because the Son of God didn't become a bird or a lily. He became man. A human being. One of us. Like you. He did that so He could take your sin and death and make them His own to rescue you from those things forever.

If God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up to the death of the Cross, don't you think He'll make sure you have enough to eat and something to wear? Of course He will. In fact, Jesus is the in-the-flesh proof of the Father's promise to do what you need Him to: save you from sin and death but also to give you your daily bread and take care of you in this life.

Our Old Adam likes to take the things that God gives us and turn them into the most important. You have to get more food! Get more clothes! Get more stuff! As if the Lord is going to let you starve or run around naked! We trust so much in our stuff that we forget it is the Lord who gives us the things that we need. There's our repentance: Repent of worry and of trusting in our stuff more than the Lord.

Jesus died for that false and misplaced trust. He died to bring us back from trusting in the stuff to trusting in the One who gives us all that we need. Water. Word. Body. Blood. Food. Clothing. Everlasting life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse and defend Your Church, and because she cannot continue in safety without Your help, preserve her evermore by Your help and goodness; 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 15th Sunday after Trinity)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Introit for the 15th Sunday after Trinity

(Psalm 86:4, 6, 15a, 16; antiphon: v. 1a, 2b, 3)

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20; 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-15

Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. (From the Introit for the 15th Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Do you really cry out to God all day long? Do you even give the Lord a second thought? Ever gone from waking up all the way through the end of the day without evening thinking of the Lord? Without remembering that God created you and gives you what you have every day? Forgetting that you live as one redeemed by Christ the crucified? Without even thinking that you might need the Holy Spirit for your day? Sure we do! That's why this psalm calls us back in repentance to faith in Jesus and trust in His promises.

Tomorrow we have worship at church. We set aside at least one day a week to go and hear God's Word and be reminded that we need to cry to Him all the day long. We need to remember that we so easily forget Him, and to be reminded that He's always around.

More than that, we cry out to God because He's a God who hears us. When you worship and pray, it never crosses the Lord's mind to think, "Oh, well, there you are this time! Where have you been?" Nope. Every time you open your mouth in prayer and praise, whether it's been five minutes or five years, your heavenly Father, who made you His child through the blood of His Son and the water of the holy font, has a smile on His face!

God doesn't forget us the way we forget Him. He doesn't ignore us the way we ignore Him. He won't! He can't! Not since Jesus died and rose again. That sacrifice of the Lamb of God is your promise that the Lord will never forget you. It's something we should never forget but the promise is in His remembering us. As long as He remembers us, we'll be okay. Forgiven. Children of God. Destined for everlasting life. Be merciful to us? God has done exactly that in His Son Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Today our Father calls us; His Holy Spirit waits; His blessed angels gather Around the heav'nly gates. No question will be asked us How often we have come; Although we oft have wandered, It is our Father's home. ("Today Your Mercy Calls Us" LSB 915, st. 3)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10; 1 Timothy 1:1-20

And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire." (Nehemiah 1:3)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nehemiah was a faithful follower of God who lived his life in exile. He was the cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia. Nehemiah knew his people were in captivity because they had turned away from the Lord. But even while they were in exile the Lord was gracious to them. The King permitted Nehemiah to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, including the temple where God Himself dwelt.

Jesus once told the Jews to tear down the temple and it would be rebuilt in three days. At that time, the temple was the one King Herod had built. But Jesus meant the Temple of His body, which would be killed and then rise again on the Third Day.

From the days of Moses, the tabernacle (tent of meeting), followed by the temple in Jerusalem, was the place where you knew God was. When the Israelites went into exile, it was if God was saying, "I'm not hanging out with you anymore. You don't want me, so go live where I don't!" Ouch! But the coming of Jesus, the Son of God in the flesh, is the reminder that the Lord might appear to be gone for a time but is always among His people. If He wasn't there in the temple when they were in exile, He was still there among them in His Word.

The Church is where God is today. The Church is where Jesus is. People seem to think of "God" as someone or something "out there" but Christians know better. God is a person. A human being. Jesus Christ. He is present among us by water, Word, Body and Blood. He is present in His Body, the holy Christian Church.

The thing about the true God is that He's always been a "somewhere you can find Him" Lord. He doesn't hide in some other dimension. He's right here with us. As a man who can be crucified and died and rise again. As one who comes to us with real, physical gifts. There can be no doubt where Jesus is, and where He is, there we have all we need of God: the Savior who never abandons us but is here to forgive and give life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

God Himself is present: Let us now adore Him And with awe appear before Him. God is in His temple; All within keep silence; Humbly kneel in deepest reverence. He alone On His throne Is Our God and Savior; Praise His Name forever. ("God Himself is Present" LSB 907, st. 1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:16-24

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Colossians 4:1-18

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:25-26)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul's lists of the works of the flesh is not exhaustive. I'm sure you could have a lot more sins listed there. But the works of the flesh all have one thing in common: They are selfish. They are all about pleasing ourselves. They are about putting ourselves first and ahead of everyone else. Lust, coveting, anger, and all the rest are all about giving me what I want no matter who gets hurt. Those desires, along with the idol we make of ourselves, need to be crucified with Christ and drowned by the Spirit in Baptism.

The gifts of the Spirit, on the other hand, are self-LESS. They put God and others first, ahead of ourselves. That's why there are fruits of the Spirit. The Spirit grows in us those fruits, those gifts and qualities which are from Jesus. By His life and death and resurrection, Jesus never once put Himself first. His first thought was always to glorify the Father and to save us. That selflessness that saves is the very heart of the gifts the Spirit gives to you so that, by the Spirit living in you, your selfishness is crucified and your selflessness cultivated.

The Christian life is one of putting others first. That means putting our Old Adam down every day. Our world is pretty much built on the idea of making ourselves number one. Christ came to put others ahead of Himself. To put you first. You're first in Jesus' way of doing things. And His living in you, means that others are first in your way of doing things. This is our baptismal life: Each day we acknowledge the idolatry of self and remember that it is drowned in our Baptism. Each day the Spirit raises up our new creation to glorify God and love others. That's growing fruit in you for the blessing and benefit of those around you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Grant that Your Spirit's help To me be always given Lest I should fall again And lose the way to heaven. Grant that He give me strength In my infirmity; May He renew my heart To serve You willingly. ("How Can I Thank You, Lord" LSB 703, st. 4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor René Castillero