Reflections

Today's Reading: Matthew 23:36-4; Introit Psalm 118:25–28; antiphon: Zechariah 9:9b

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 1:1-28; 1 Peter 1:1-12

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s the beginning of Advent, the preparatory season before Christmas. We know that Christmas is all about the keeping of God’s promise to send a Savior to creation. That promise was made to Adam and Eve. That promise was made to the people of the Old Testament. That promise was made to you and to me. But there was one slight problem with God’s promise: He never said when that promise would be fulfilled.

People throughout time have tried to predict the coming of Jesus, whether it be His initial coming to creation or His Second Coming. But all of those guesses are wrong. God has the time in mind: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law…” (Galatians 4:4) For whatever reason, God chose not to reveal that to His creation. In the end, it doesn’t matter when God’s promised Savior comes; what matters is that God made the promise!

It is for you that God made the promise of a Savior. Sin was not meant to be a part of creation. And so, for creation, God made and God kept the promise. As for the timing of God’s promise, that was known only to God. When God made the promise to Adam and Eve, He never told them when it would be fulfilled. In fact, not even Jesus knew when His coming would occur. 

In the end, our Lord’s coming was not a surprise. It was an event in which God had foretold His people. As for the timing, why was this not revealed as well? Again, Jesus tells us, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” God’s people, wherever and whenever, are called to be ready to receive Jesus whenever He comes, for when He comes, He comes with that which we need the most: the forgiveness of our sins.

As we begin the season of Advent, may our eyes ever be turned to Jesus, ready to welcome Him, as He fulfills God’s promise of salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, amen. (Collect for the First Sunday in Advent)

-Pastor Jared Tucher serves the dual-parish of St. John – Farmer’s Retreat in Dillsboro and St. Paul, Cross Plains, Indiana.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Harrison Goodman.

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.

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 6:1-28; Revelation 22:1-21

“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” (Psalm 25:4–5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The church year ends, and the church year begins anew. One day is in the last week of the church year and the next is in the first week of Advent. In fact, the church year ends the same way that it begins, waiting for the savior. The cry of Maranatha can be a prayer for Jesus to come as well as a declaration that He has come. This is the reality of our lives lived between the comings of Jesus. We declare that He has come in the incarnation, and we await His second coming at the end.

This makes the end of the church year different from the end of the calendar year. The end of a calendar year is treated as a time to take stock, to reflect, and to plan. A new calendar year is seen as a chance to start fresh. There is even the temptation to try and become a new you in the new year.       

A new church year, on the other hand, is a time to pray for more of the same. We pray for God to keep us in His Word. We pray for Him to keep us in the faith. We pray for Him to continue to guide us in the way that leads to eternal life. While we wait for Him to return, we pray for Him to remain with us and continue to give us His gifts. A church year that was for you has come to an end; a new church year that is for you begins. The Jesus who was born of Mary is the Jesus who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He is the Jesus who was raised on the third day and later ascended into heaven. He is the Jesus who is with you now as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and is the Jesus that you wait for. Amen, Come Lord Jesus.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

What joy to know, when life is past, the Lord we love is first and last, the end and the beginning!
He will one day, oh, glorious grace, Transport us to that happy place beyond all years and sinning! 

Amen! Amen!  Come, Lord Jesus! Crown of gladness! We are yearning for the day of Your returning! (O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright, LSB 395 st 6)

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 5:1-30; Revelation 21:9-27

“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Just when the description of the new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven gets really good, you learn that there is a catch. The only people allowed to enter it are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It’s almost as if the city is guarded by a guy with a clipboard who checks to see if your name is on the list before he lets you go past the red velvet rope. What can you do to make sure that your name is on the list? How do you get your name written in the book? 

Variations on this question have been posed throughout the centuries of church history, but the answers always seem to fall into the same category: there is something that you must do to get your name written in the book. What you have to do has some variation, sometimes the focus is on actions, sometimes the focus is on knowledge, and sometimes the focus is on mystical experience. No matter where the emphasis is, however, it all comes down to something that you have to do to get your name written in the book. You are responsible for putting your name on the list. Ultimately these answers and even the question itself gets you nowhere. Any attempt to get beyond the red velvet rope based on your own efforts is doomed to fail. A place in the Lamb’s book of life is not something that you earn, it’s something that is given. Being on the list is a gift. 

It is the Lamb’s book of life, and He does all the writing in it. He wrote your name in His book with His own blood. Nothing unclean will enter the city and you have already been made clean by Jesus himself. Your name was written in the book when he said, “it is finished” on the cross. You remain clean every time you remember your baptism, your place in the city is affirmed in every celebration of communion. There is no catch. The city itself and your citizenship in it are the gifts of God for you. Your booking is confirmed.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

My Savior paid the debt I owe And for my sins 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)

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 4:1-37; Revelation 21:1-8

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Does where you live have anything to do with who you are? For a lot of people, it does. They are proud citizens of whatever town, city, or state they live in; it is part of their identity. They like to participate in the public life of their community.  Imagine if being a Christian impacted that part of your identity and you could no longer participate in the public life of your community. Imagine a place no longer being part of who you are. Imagine not being able to go out to eat, go to the big game, or even get a job. Imagine being told that you were a nobody simply because you were a Christian. 

This was the reality for many of the first Christians. The city they lived in was a large part of their identity. Citizenship came with expectations and responsibilities. There was even a religious aspect to everyday activities like shopping, working, or even attending public events that involved the worship of false gods. Those who became Christians no longer did such things, and this meant that they lost part of their identity. They could no longer participate in the public life of their city. Believers were even accused of being bad citizens. They were accused of being enemies of the very cities they lived in. Some even found themselves wondering who they were. This remains true in many parts of the world today where being a Christian comes at a severe social and economic cost. 

The Book of Revelation offers comfort to Christians facing that kind of identity crisis. It reminds them that they do have a place-based identity, they are citizens of the new Jerusalem come down from heaven. It reminds them that even though they live in a hostile world, they still have a place that is theirs. You too share in this identity. No matter where you find yourself in this world that is passing away, you are a citizen of the new Jerusalem. The city that will someday come down out of heaven is your city. The water of life that washed you in baptism will be yours to drink. No matter where you are from, the City of God is where you are going.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

See the holy city! There they enter in, All by Christ made holy, Washed from ev’ry sin: Thirsty ones, desiring All He loves to give, Come for living water, Freely drink and live! (Christ is Surely Coming, LSB 509 st 2)

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 5

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 3:1-30; Revelation 20:1-15

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, part 5) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Are you cool enough to commune? That seems like a silly question, but sometimes that is what it sounds like is being referred to when we talk about being worthy to receive the body and blood of the Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar. Is that what really lies behind the notion of being worthy to commune? Is admittance to the table based on some kind of ecclesiastical coolness factor and if it is, you want to be cool, don’t you?

The language about worth makes it sound like there is something that you can do to make yourself worthy to receive communion. If this was the case, then communion would be the reward you got for being properly prepared for it. It would be the recognition that you had made yourself worthy. The Lord’s Supper would become the meal that you earned through your efforts. You did your part, now God is bound to do His. If worthiness to commune was based on your efforts how many times a year could you do the work necessary to commune?

Thankfully this is not what the language of worthy to commune is referring to. There is no coolness factor, ecclesiastical or otherwise that you have to worry about or work towards. Communion, like baptism, like the gospel itself, is not a reward, it is a gift. Communion is not something that you earn the right to receive by making yourself worthy. Like all gifts, it is something that is given. You don’t get communion; you receive it as a gift. If communion is a gift, then so too is the status of being worthy to receive it. Belief in the words ‘given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins is what makes you worthy to commune. The belief that the Lord’s Supper is for you is all you need to approach the altar week after week without worry or fear that you are unworthy. The very faith that makes you worthy to receive the gifts of God is in itself a gift of God. He is the one who made you a Christian and He is the one who has made you worthy to commune. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We dare not ask how this can be, But simply hold the mystery And trust this word where life begins: “Given and shed for all your sins.” (The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, LSB 634 st 5)

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 2:24-49; Revelation 19:1-21

“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. ‘No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.’ You’ve probably seen the signs in stores or restaurants but have never thought about the biblical truth behind the saying. Did you know that as Christians you have to be properly dressed for the second coming of Jesus? What does one wear to the eschaton? Luckily, you won’t need a new outfit for the Parousia. The same armor of God that you don for your everyday life as a Christian is all you need to wear for the day of the Lord. 

The breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation are something that you already have and something that you wear every day, you just know them by another name. They are the robes of righteousness given you in your baptism. In other words, they are your baptismal identity. God has already given you all that you need to be properly clothed for the second coming of His Son. 

This section of Thessalonians drips with baptismal language as Paul writes to Christians who needed to be reminded who they were. Members of the Thessalonian church were besieged by a hostile culture that caused them to question their very identity as Christians. Some even wondered about the fate of church members who died before Jesus returned. In response Paul reminds them who they are. They are children of the light; they have put on the armor of God. They are not destined for wrath. All this language came from the very liturgy that had been part of their baptisms. They are no longer what they were, they are no longer of the darkness, nor do they practice the pagan worship they used to. Not even death changes the reality of baptismal identity. The dearly departed have the same promise as those who are alive.  

What was true for them is also true for you. Your baptism changed you and you were given a new identity and you put on Christ Himself.  Clothed with Christ in baptism, you have nothing to fear from the end. It may come like a thief in the night, but the armor of God will keep you safe until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen

Once in the blest baptismal waters I put on Christ and made Him mine; Now numbered with God’s sons and daughters, I share His peace and love divine (Once in the Blest Baptismal Waters LSB 598, st 1)

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Today's Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 2:1-23; Revelation 18:1-24

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Dying and going to heaven is not the ultimate fate of the Christian. We are not promised a disembodied life floating on a cloud while playing a harp. To be sure there is life after death in the presence of Jesus. This is where all the dearly departed are even now as the Church in heaven waits for the full consummation of the kingdom of God. What the dearly departed are now experiencing, however, is only temporary. There is life after death and then there is life after life after death. There is the resurrection and an embodied life in the new heavens and new earth. This is the promise that awaits all of God’s people. This is the promise that awaits you. Your body is not to be escaped or shed; it is to be redeemed. 

The fix for broken creation, the fix for the fall into sin is a new creation. Before the fall God declared his creation good. God’s work of new creation has already begun. It started with the incarnation. It started with the coming of Jesus. The Creator Himself entered into His creation to make all things new. The healings and miracles of Jesus can all be seen as the response of creation to the presence of the Creator. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for all that was broken in creation. He took the punishment for the fall and changed the nature of death itself. Its rule over creation has been broken.  His resurrection signaled the inauguration of a new age where death has lost its sting. Creation remains fallen, but already the new age has dawned. 

You are part of God’s work of new creation. In baptism, you were created anew. You were washed clean in the water attached to the Word and made ready to live in the new heavens and new earth that are to come. Now you live as a new creation in a fallen world, you live as someone who is at the same time sinner and saint.  At the coming of the kingdom, you will be resurrected into a new heaven and a new earth, all saint and no sinner where nothing of the fall will come to mind.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O sweet and blessed country, The home of God’s elect! O sweet and blessed country That faithful hearts expect! In mercy, Jesus, bring us To that eternal rest With you and God the Father And Spirit, ever blessed. (Jerusalem the Golden LSB 672, st 4)

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Today's Reading: Matthew 25:1-13,  Introit: Ps. 39:4–5, 7– 8; antiphon: Is. 35:10

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 1:1-21; Matthew 28:1-20

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How are you supposed to be prepared for the ending when you have no idea when the ending is coming? The ten virgins in our reading couldn’t even stay awake until midnight when they knew the bridegroom was on his way. Half of them didn’t even bring enough oil for their lamps. The parable comes to an end without letting us know what happened. Did the 5 foolish virgins gain entry to the celebration or not?  The Church has been waiting for Jesus to return for almost two thousand years, that is a lot of lamp oil.  Is that all the Christian life is, living in a constant state of wakeful watching? If your concentration slips for just a second, will you wake to find yourself on the wrong side of the door to the party? How do you make sure you have enough oil when you don’t know how long it will have to last?

To make a long story short the oil for your lamp is a renewable resource and God is the one who keeps your supply topped off.  The resurrection of Jesus marked the inauguration of a new age that has not yet come to fulfillment. You are Christians for the long haul. This is a faith that can take you from cradle to grave. It is a faith for a lifetime. At the same time, it is faith that must be taken care of, faith that must be fed and nurtured. It is a faith that comes from hearing the word and receiving the sacraments. In other words, it is faith that needs oil so that its light does not sputter and die. Oil comes from the one baptism for the remission of sins, oil comes from the absolution, oil comes from the communion of the saints. Your lamp remains lit because God Himself tends the flame. 

The church is not a one and done kind of place. You are not left alone waiting. This is why we gather every week around the word of God and receive the gifts of God. We may not know when Jesus is coming back but because he has made us into his people and continues to be with us even unto the very end of the age, we will be ready when he comes back. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, absolve Your people from their offenses that, from the bonds of our sins which by reason of our frailty we have brought upon ourselves, we may be delivered by Your bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen. 

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 38:1-28; Matthew 28:57-66

“Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool!” (Psalm 39:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “We’re all going to die!” is something you hear a character exclaim in a movie as the plane goes down, the ship sinks, or the building explodes. More often than not, in many movies, these words are used as comic relief as if the notion of death is something to be laughed at. Truth be told, death is no joke. It is the one thing that we all have in common. Someday each of us will die. The end of the church year offers us the perfect opportunity to reflect on all things eschatological including the end of our own lives. 

At first glance, the words of Psalm 39 that make up the Introit might seem to offer no help. They describe our lives as fleeting, nothing but a few handbreadths. No matter how many years we have, our lifetimes are nothing before God. If our lives are nothing, then do they mean anything? If death is what awaits us all after a life that puts a breath before God what is the point?   

As it turns out, death is not the end of the world. Death is not final, death is not the end, and even if our earthly lives are nothing before God, we are something before God. In other words, your death is not the end of you. God has seen to it that you continue after death. Here is the truth of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus for you. You were baptized into the death of Jesus and now He is your hope. Death did not hold Jesus, and death will not hold you. Jesus conquered death on the cross and he will lead you through death to eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth that awaits us all. Your life may be a few handbreadths before God, but it is not the only life that you have.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Christ, who shared our mortal life And ended death’s long reign, Who healed the sick and raised the dead And bore our grief and pan: We know our years on earth are few, That death is always near. Come now t us, O Lord of Life; Bring hope that conquers fear. (O Christ, Who Shared Our Mortal Life LSB 552, st 1) 

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 37:1-21; Matthew 27:33-56

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When Jesus speaks these words from the cross, he is doing more than making a cry of lament. The words he speaks would have been recognized by those witnessing his crucifixion as coming from Psalm 22.  This means that He is not just complaining to God. In speaking these words, Jesus is bringing the entire psalm into play. This lament, in the mouth of Jesus, becomes a way to understand the cross itself. With these words, Jesus shows that the psalm is about Him. Even more than being about Him, Psalm 22 is spoken by Him. 

Psalm 22 starts with a lament, but it does not end there. The psalm quickly moves from the questioning of God to a declaration of confidence in salvation and the future of God’s people. In other words, Jesus does not lament in despair but in faith. His suffering is real, but so is His expectation that the suffering serves a purpose. He is forsaken, but He will not remain forsaken. And because He is forsaken no one else needs ever be forsaken. Because He was forsaken you will not be forsaken. 

The speaker of Psalm 22 describes His suffering, the mocking of the people, the piercing of His hands and feet, and even the casting of lots for his clothes. He also speaks of the deliverance of God, the comforting of the afflicted, and all the nations of the earth worshiping the Lord. Out of the suffering of the one comes salvation for all. In the midst of his crucifixion, Jesus gives us a way to understand it. He gives us a way to see in the cross victory and not defeat. He gives us a way to see in His cross, His glory.  

The forsakenness of Jesus becomes a message to future generations that will be added to the people of God. The psalm that begins with lament ends with a proclamation of hope. “Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.” (Psalm 22: 30-31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Can we fathom such deep mercy? Do we see what God has done? Who can grasp this great reversal: Love that gives His only Son? Christ, the sinless for the sinners, For the many dies the One. (Jesus, Greatest at the Table LSB 446 st 4)

-Pastor Grant Knepper is the pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Hillsboro, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

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.