Reflections

August 24, 2023

Today's Reading: Luke 22:24-30

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 20:1-23, Acts 28:16-31

But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:27b)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. St. Bartholomew was one of the Apostles. He traveled with Jesus,  listened to Jesus teach, and saw Jesus’ miracles. He heard again and again about who Jesus is and what Jesus was going to do. And yet, he didn’t get it. 

In today’s reading, he was with the disciples as they argued about who was the greatest. This argument occurs right after Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper! It is Holy Week! Jesus is soon going to the cross! And yet, the apostles, including Bartholomew, are concerned about right now. They want a judgment of ‘who is the best.’ They want power, authority, and status. If they were declared the best, then they weren’t the worst -they weren’t last. 

Jesus knew what they were discussing. And even on the cusp of going to the cross and His own painful death, He continues to love them and teach them. He recognizes the power that comes with status: ‘For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table?’ (v. 27a). And yet, He points to Himself, who is the greatest of all, and clearly states that He is their servant. He, the Savior of the whole world, came to serve and save. Even amidst and after their squabbling, Jesus reminds them that His Kingdom will be theirs. 

We are like Bartholomew and the other disciples. We don’t get it. We focus on this temporal world and want power, glory, and dominion now. We want to be the greatest and the best; if you are the best, you don’t need help and aren’t weak. And yet, left on our own, we are dead; we are powerless against sin, death, and the  devil. We are unable to save ourselves and certainly cannot dominate over anything else. We are lost and helpless. 

In His mercy, Jesus saves us. He went to the cross to pay for the sins of the whole world, including Bartholomew’s and including yours. He forgives us our every sin, washes us in Baptism, sends us the Holy Spirit, and keeps every promise. We too are inheritors of His Kingdom. We too are conquerors; it is not by our own merit, but by His mercy and grace. 

Bartholomew died a martyr’s death; God gave him faith and was with him, even unto death. God gives us faith and is with us every moment of this life and the next. We rejoice in the certainty that we are loved, forgiven, and redeemed. We look forward to being in heaven, with Bartholomew and all the saints, eternally praising and worshiping our Savior Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, 

Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.  Alleluia! Alleluia!  (For All the Saints. LSB 677:1)

-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 23, 2023

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: Second Petition

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 19:1-24, Acts 28:1-15

…so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity. (Explanation of The Second Petition) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Did you see it? In this petition, we are praying that by HIS GRACE we believe His Word and live godly lives. But isn’t living godly lives according to the 10 Commandments? Don’t we check the ‘good works’ boxes of behavior and live the Christian life? And furthermore, this petition is about God’s kingdom. That sounds like battle - fighting to the death - winning by force. If only everyone’s behavior would get better. If only *insert a sin that isn’t yours* would be stopped. If only *your neighbor* would act differently. THEN God’s kingdom would come. Then we would win; we could kick back and lord it over those ‘others.’ 

And yet, that isn’t how it works. That isn’t how God works. And eternally, we are grateful that He doesn’t work that way. The consequence of sin is death, and no one escapes it. We are guilty. We are unworthy. We are dead. And furthermore, we were born that way. There is no amount of behavior that can undo a death sentence from the womb. And yet. God sent a solution. He had a plan to save you, to save the whole world, to make His Kingdom come: through grace and mercy and forgiveness. He sent His perfect Son Jesus to pay for your sins, for the sins of the whole world, and to defeat sin, death, and the devil. After three days, His victory, and ours, was complete.  

Therefore, in this petition, we remember that God brings His kingdom by giving His Spirit. He gives us grace in the face of sin and death. In Baptism, we are given new life. We are brought back to life. We are brought into God’s kingdom - through grace. We remember that we are the receivers of mercy and are beggars before Him. This means, though, that we must also  remember that He loves and redeems our neighbors - even that one who keeps sinning. 

You are forgiven. You are part of God’s kingdom through His grace. You are Baptized and Redeemed. Share this Good News with those around you; as a fellow sinner, you know how God’s Kingdom comes. You receive His Body and Blood in the Divine Service; you have assurance in your Baptism. Rest in the assurance that His Kingdom does come and it is through grace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Thy Kingdom come; thy Grace be nigh,  O'er all the Earth, o'er all the Sky; The Holy Spirit of thy Grace, Bestow his Gifts on Human Race.  From Satan's woful Tyranny,Keep all thy Churches safe and free. (Our Father, Who From Heav’n Above, LSB 766:3)

-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 22, 2023

Today's Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 13-18, 28-32

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 18:10-30, Acts 27:27-44

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:29

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God’s Word is trustworthy and true. How do we know? Every promise He made, He kept. Every word He gave has come to fruition. In today’s reading, there is another reality: Gentiles get to be part of God’s family too. His gifts and His mercy extend to those outside of the house of Israel. 

To the proud and Pharisetical Jews, this was awful. How could *those people* get to be included? They didn’t have the *right* bloodline. They didn’t have the *traceable back to King David* family tree. And in fact, Saint Paul writes even more outrageously: ‘branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in’ (v. 19). Not only are Gentiles included, but members of the house of Israel have been excluded. On what merit or word does this get to be the reality? 

Members of the house of Israel were focusing on the wrong thing. They were so sure of their history and their works, they had fallen into unbelief. Unbelief causes separation from God. Similarly, these unbelievers had declared judgment on their Gentile neighbors and were sure that no Gentile could be redeemed. Oh how wrong they were! ‘You, a wild olive shoot were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree’ (v. 17). God pruned the plant, cutting off what is dead and including what was alive. 

You struggle with the same sin as the Pharisetical Jews. You declare yourself ‘god’ when you look at a neighbor who sins differently than you do and think (or say) that they cannot possibly be loved or redeemed by Jesus. Their sin is too bad. Their life is too broken. Or, you look at fellow Christians and think, ‘well at least I am not judgmental like them.’ Saint Paul has a warning for this too: ‘do not become proud, but fear’ (v. 20). 

We all fall short of God’s perfect Law. We become complacent and comparative with our actions or in our attitudes. Repent. Remember that you (and your neighbor) were born in sinfulness. You (and your neighbor) were brought back to life in Baptism. You (and your neighbor) have God’s full pardon through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Rejoice in the overwhelming love you have been given from our merciful and forgiving Lord! Rejoice that God’s love is so abundant that it completely covers you and your neighbor. Rejoice and rest in the knowledge that you (and your neighbor, yes, even that one…) are washed in the blood of the Lamb and are included in God’s family. His Word promises it; God always keeps His promises. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed his blood for me, died that I might live on high,  lives that I might never die.  As the branch is to the vine,  I am his and he is mine!  (Chief of Sinners Though I Be, LSB:611 1)

-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 21, 2023

Today's Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:48-18:9, Acts 27:9-26

The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. (Isaia 56:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Outsider. Foreigner. Doesn’t belong. Outcast. These words describe exclusion. These words create division: if you are out, that means you are NOT in. If you are ‘in,’ there is a temptation to breathe a sigh of relief and do whatever is necessary to maintain the ‘included’ status. To be left out hurts; no one desires to be slighted, forgotten, cut off, or left behind. 

In today’s reading, there is a wild declaration from God: He is going to INCLUDE those who were on the outside of Israel. He was going to not only gather the ‘outcasts’ of Israel, but also include those ‘others’ too. That hardly seems fair; they must be ‘outsiders’ for a reason. And by their exclusion, we can be sure that our inclusion is secure…right? How radical of an idea that those who have been on the outside of God’s mercy can suddenly be included! 

In our sin, we create labels for ‘others.’ We struggle to not self-justify our status as ‘better-than-others’  based on external descriptions (at least I don’t sin like that person) or a false sense of earning our place with God (I go to church every week, so I am definitely ‘in’). We can become complacent in the reality of our own former status as ‘other.’ Before our Baptism, we were dead in our transgressions and alienated from God. We were without hope, certainly not able to earn a spot or make for ourselves an ‘in’ with God. We were the outsiders - the foreigners - the outcasts - the other. 

God in His mercy sent His Son to pay for our sins, give us new life, and declare us as His. This was not earned by us. This was not a negotiation we won. This was His plan for our salvation. In our Baptism, we are made alive, given God’s name, and declared ‘in’ with Him. We live in our Baptism for eternity. He claims us for eternity. 

But what about the worry that including others might take from us what we have? This is unfounded and unnecessary. Jesus died to pay for the sins of the whole world: He has more forgiveness than we have sins. Therefore we joyfully share the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection with all of our neighbors, knowing that God’s mercy is for them abundantly - just as it is for us!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

God would not have the sinner die; his Son with saving grace is nigh.  His Spirit in the Word declares  that we in Christ are heaven's heirs.  (God Loved the World So That He Gave, LSB 571:3)

-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 20, 2023

Today's Reading: Matthew 15:21-28

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:20-47

‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.’  (Matthew 15:22b)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mercy. Undeserved reprieve. Declared innocent in light of clear guilt. 

In today’s reading, a mother is crying out for mercy to be shown to her daughter. She is desperate and coming to Jesus. She has the diagnosis: demon possession. She needs the only true cure: Jesus. However, she is rebuked by His disciples and, at first, dismissed by Jesus. But she is persistent: she comes before Him, kneels, and cries out for help. She does not offer a bargain or a trade. In fact, when Jesus tells her that she is not an Israelite (and in fact suggests that she is a dog), she rightly acknowledges her status. She knows and readily admits who she is and what she needs; she may be an outsider, but she knows who the Master is and what He can do. She feels the weight of her daughter’s troubles and knows that the solution must come from someone beyond herself. She is weak, helpless, and unable to save her daughter. 

We too were once outsiders; before our Baptism, we were dead in our sins and enemies to God. Dead! Dead things cannot fix themselves (or help others). Enemies! Even if we could do something, we would do the wrong thing - the evil thing. We are guilty. We are broken. Left to ourselves, we are hopeless. 

We know the weight of sin; sin causes that which should be perfect to break. We have been brought to our knees in the face of the consequences of sin: our own sin and sins done against us. We are like this Canaanite woman: we are guilty, broken, and have no recourse except to cry out to God for mercy. 

Here’s the Good News! God has and continues to show you mercy! It is undeserved and a reprieve from lasting death. In your Baptism, you were given new life; you are covered by Jesus and named as one of God’s children. We who were enemies have now been claimed and redeemed, chosen and made clean. We have God’s infinite mercy, won for us by Jesus, through His death and resurrection. We didn’t earn it nor do we deserve it, but it is ours. Rest and rejoice in the merciful goodness from our Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting Father, You give Your children many blessings even though we are undeserving. In every trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in Your loving-kindness and mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

-Deaconess Sarah Longmire is the bible study editor for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 19, 2023

Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 12: Psalm 28:1-2, 6-7; antiphon: Psalm 28:8

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:1-19, Acts 26:1-23

Psalm 28:7: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The tenses matter.  David is calling out to God for help. Present tense.  Right now.  If God won’t answer him he’ll die.  Present danger.  There are wicked workers of evil around him.  Present tense. He’s in trouble as He prays this psalm.  

Blessed be the LORD! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.  Past tense.  Before David ever cried out to God for help, the Lord had already heard.  Before they call, I will answer them, says the LORD.  

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.  Present tense.  David, surrounded by enemies and about to die, is helped.  Present tense.  The help that brings him comfort can exist even in the present tense and danger.  It isn’t held out to the future.  It isn’t quarantined to a time you don’t need it anymore.  It’s present tense.  

The help David found comfort in, even surrounded by problems, was rooted not in the absence of problems but the presence of God.  God heard and worked even before the problem.  He has sent His Son to rescue you from every evil before you could ever call upon Him.  The prayers we pray are comforts, not because we need to make God work in the future to fix our present problems, but because He has already worked in the past, and His present Word reminds us of our help now.  That help lasts forevermore.  The rescue we have is eternal.  The victory we have is over the grave.  When you pray, don’t think of prayer as leverage to make God work. Use those words to remember God’s promises.  Everything that you’re asking for has been paid for. The help that you need is from a God not far off.  The rescue that you think can’t be today is already yours.  Blessed be the Lord, who has already worked to deliver us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We all believe in one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Ever-present help in need, Praised by all the heav’nly host; All He made His love enfolds, All creation He upholds. (We All Believe in One True God, LSB 953:1)

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 18, 2023

Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-23

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 16:1-23, Acts 25:13-27

1 Samuel 16:7: “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.””

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord looks at things differently than we do.  We want might. He wants mercy.  Pastors love alliteration even more than allegory.  So when Samuel goes out to visit Jesse to see which of his sons would be the newer, better king, there’s something for us to learn.  Samuel assumes the taller. The stronger.  Someone to crush Saul, who has turned evil.  Someone who would protect the people.  The Lord rejects this idea.  It’s going to be David, despite all the things that make him look weak.  

David’s Son, yet David’s Lord is no different.  The God we want help from stomps the people we hate. He cures all our diseases. He fixes all our problems.  Instead, we get the God who dies on the cross.  We’re as perplexed as Samuel.  But where mercy is worked, peace follows.  

We talk a lot about the theology of the cross and the theology of glory.  We know the difference between mercy and might, and which one our Lord uses.  But we often overlook which one brings peace.  A theology of glory never gives true lasting peace.  Each rescue only kicks the can down the road until the next tragedy, pain, or trial.  Each rescue isn’t a chance to rejoice, but only a chance to look over your shoulder for something else.  But a theology of the cross provides a rescue that even death itself cannot destroy.  It provides the peace of knowing none of these things can separate us from the love of God which joins us in the pit to suffer, to work mercy, and to save.  Ours isn’t a hope of escape from one problem at a time.  Ours is a hope of salvation that none of our problems can rob us of, whether we have them or not.  It’s of a God who isn’t just mighty, but loving enough to work within suffering so that suffering can become a gift, and not just something to spend our days afraid of.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, my God, to Thee I pray: O cast me not in wrath away! Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart, But let Him draw to Thee my heart That truly penitent I be: O God, be merciful to me (To Thee, Omniscient Lord of All, LSB 613:2)!

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 17, 2023

Today's Reading: Romans 10:5-17

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 15:10-35, Acts 24:24-25:12

Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God sends His word to you so that you will believe it and be saved.  And we’re still scared that Christianity is going away.  Despite the boomers telling you how full the church was “back in their day”, it’s not a new problem.  One verse before the promise that faith comes by hearing is the lament of Romans 10:16, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel.” For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?””

I love it when old people complain to me about things I worry about too.  Generation after generation has worried about the wellbeing of Christendom.  Generation after generation has lamented.  Generation after generation has been preserved in faith.  Because no matter how much we worry, God still sends preachers.  He still sends His Holy Spirit by His Word to call, gather, enlighten, sanctify, and keep.  The feet are beautiful because God sends them to speak salvation.  

It's not your job to ascend to heaven. It’s not your job to save yourself.  It’s not your job to save others.  It’s Jesus’ job to descend.  To die. To rise. To ascend back into heaven.  To send forth the Spirit by the feet of preachers.  And to save you and many more by the hearing of that Word. Not all will believe.  That doesn’t nullify the Word.  It just makes it matter more.  In a world of not enough hope, God is still speaking more.  He can’t be silenced any more than He can be uncrucified.  So we hear. We believe. And we confess.  Christ Jesus saved me by His death and resurrection.  He has saved you too. The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

To hope grown dim, to hearts turned cold Speak tongues of fire and make us bold To shine Your Word of saving grace Into each dark and loveless place (Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide, LSB 585:3).

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 16, 2023

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, The Lord’s Prayer: First Petition 

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 14:47-15:9, Acts 24:1-23

Hallowed be Thy name

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. People misuse God’s name a lot.  Not just where toes get stubbed.  Where people lie about who God is. Where people teach falsely in His name. Where people use His name as a weapon for a cause they deem more important than His will.  And yet, God’s name is already holy.  You can’t make God’s name more holy by your prayers.  You can’t make it less holy by your actions.  But we pray in this petition that God’s holy name would be a gift to us.  That the name we can’t sully by our sins would be the name of our redeemer.  That our redeemer wouldn’t abandon us to our sins, but give us a name to call upon in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!

This Petition is a gift because it points to who God already is. That turns the prayer from a burden to a gift.  Now you don’t have to pray for something to happen, but rejoice that it happens near you and for you. He’s establishing His holy name in your life by His Holy Spirit where His Word is preached and His Sacrament administered. You can know where it is and pray that it is given to you too.  You can find comfort in receiving them.  You can find holiness brought near you.  God gives His holy name that you would find comfort in praying to Your Father in heaven, and life in His only Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Your name be hallowed. Help us, Lord, In purity to keep Your Word, That to the glory of Your name We walk before You free from blame. Let no false teaching us pervert; All poor deluded souls convert (Our Father, Who from Heaven Above, LSB 766:2). 

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

August 15, 2023

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-55

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 13:1-18, Acts 23:13-35

Luke 1:48: “for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Blessed are you among women 

To be called the mother of God by the small whispering word

And so much worse by those without ears to hear.

The virgin shall conceive and bear abuse. 

But she named it all Immanuel.

God with us. 

For the belittled and the befouled 

The mocked and reviled, the virgin gives a hymn.

He has regard for the humiliated. 

who in their shame would prefer sticks and stones to words

 used to cause much deeper hurt 

He sheds precious blood and names the least of these holy.  

Exalting what has been profaned,

and blessing what others only curse.  

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of Your only Son. Grant that we, who are redeemed by His blood, may share with her in the glory of Your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ, our Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.