Reflections

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 33:1-22; Matthew 27:11-32

“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 33:15–16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. High school might seem like the perfect preparation for the end of the world. After all, each semester is eschatological in nature. At the end of every academic term, you are judged and must prove your worth to move on. You take exams to prove your righteousness, and your worthiness, to advance to the next class or even the next school year. This is especially true in your senior year where you have to prove you’re righteous enough to leave high school while at the same proving that you are righteous enough to be let into whatever is next in your life. Your grades, your extra-curricular activities, and your accomplishments are all judged by those with your future in their hands.

Some think that the end of the world seems to be very similar in nature. On the last day you will be judged, and your eternal fate will depend on your righteousness. All of the stuff that you have done will be used to determine what kind of afterlife you move on to. That is a fully frightening thought. Imagine being in the presence of God with nothing but your works, your thoughts, and your sins in your admission packet. This would be like taking the final for a class you never attended, never did the reading, and didn’t even know you were in. 

Thankfully what is true for high school is not true for the Kingdom of God. The righteousness you have now, the righteousness by which you have already been judged is not yours. You have been given the righteousness of Christ Himself. The Lord is your righteousness and because of that, you have nothing to fear from the end. The righteousness needed to move from this world to the next is not an earned righteousness, it is gifted righteousness. It is a righteousness that God has given to you because of Jesus. You have nothing to fear from the judgment to come because Jesus already experienced that judgment for you on the cross. There he exchanged your sins for His righteousness. The end will come but you are already saved, and you will dwell securely. For you, there will be no final exam.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

May we in faith its message learn Nor thanklessly its blessing spurn; May we in faith its truth confess And praise the Lord, our righteousness. (The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace LSB 580 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.

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 4

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 31:1-17,23-34; Matthew 27:1-10

“Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words, along with the bodily eating and drinking, are the main thing in the Sacrament. Whoever believes these words has exactly what they say: “forgiveness of sins.” (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, part 4) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Does your diet define you? Do you eat to live or live to eat? The answer to those questions probably depends on what you are eating and why. Some meals are celebrations while others are merely fuel stops to keep you going. We eat a variety of things for a variety of reasons often without thinking too much about it. Regular family dinners, holiday meals, burgers from the drive-thru, and even the last stale pop-tart from the back of the pantry can be part of what we eat on any given day. No matter the what or the why this kind of eating is mainly about our bodily life. For better or worse, what we eat has an effect on our physical health. 

The Sacrament of the Altar, on the other hand, is a completely different kind of eating. Here is a meal that delivers far more than nutrition.  It has even been called the medicine of immortality. This eating is about our spiritual life. Here is a meal that strengthens faith and forgives sins. Here is a meal that is specifically given to and for the Christian. This is the meal of the baptized. This is a meal that is God’s gift to you. This is a meal where God serves you. Communion is not something that you do, it is something that you receive. This is a meal where Jesus himself is present giving Himself to you. Here is a place where what happened on the cross for all is applied to you personally. 

What makes this eating so special? This is a meal instituted by Christ for his followers. This is a meal that combines the elements with the Word and promise of God. This is a meal where in and under the bread and wine are the body and blood of Jesus given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This is a meal that benefits you in the here and now while at the same time serving as a foretaste of the feast to come.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Thy body, given for me, O Savior, Thy blood which Thou for me didst shed, These are my life and strength forever, By them my hungry soul is fed. Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood Be for my soul the highest good! (Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior LSB 619 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: 2 Peter 3:3-14

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 30:1-24; Matthew 26:57-75

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Inigo Montoya put it best in The Princess Bride when he said, “I hate waiting.” Waiting is torture, waiting is terrible. Even worse than waiting are those that make people wait. Dinner is ready, but one guest has yet to show up. Everyone is ready to walk out the door, but someone is still getting dressed. In each of these cases, anger and frustration are directed at those causing us to wait. They are the problem, they are rude, and they are only concerned with themselves. 

What if God is the one you are waiting for? Jesus promises in the gospels that He is coming back, in Revelation he even says that He is coming soon. Yet here the Church sits two thousand-plus years later still waiting. Peter even warns us that this waiting will cause scoffers to question all the promises of God. Can God really be for you? Is He making you wait like this? Does a God who never shows up even exist? Should the fact that Jesus has not returned yet cause you to question your faith?

Is God being rude? Is he punishing you with this seemingly endless waiting or is something else going on? Waiting on God is not like waiting for a guest to arrive or for someone to get ready. What some people think is a delay in the return of Christ is actually part of God’s mercy. God does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. In other words, Jesus has not come back in part because He was waiting on you to be part of His people. In addition, He is waiting for all the others who will be part of the uncountable multitude that is the Church. This waiting is not an individual activity, it is a group activity. You don’t wait on God so much as we, the Church, wait on God. While we wait God will continue to serve His gifts and His people will continue to serve their neighbors.

At some point, the waiting will be over and we will all dwell in the new heavens and new earth where there will be all righteousness and no waiting.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone, Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun. (O God, Our Help in Ages Past LSB 733, 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: Daniel 7:9-14

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 29:1-19; Matthew 26:36-56

“And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. At the end of a movie, the credits roll and the screen goes dark, signaling the end of the story. At the end of a book, there is nothing after you get to the back cover, there are no more pages to turn. What about the end of the world? What happens after the end times?  Movies and books now come in multi-part series; will human history get a sequel? 

Many in the ancient world thought that history was cyclical and without meaning. Times were good and times were bad in a never-ending cycle that wasn’t headed anywhere. In other words, they didn’t ask about the next story because there was no story to begin with. 

The Bible teaches us that human history has a beginning and an end. Even better than that history has a planned end, a telos, a goal that God is moving it towards. This means that the end does not mean that the story is over. This means that we get more than a sequel, more than a continuation of the narrative. What awaits us is life in the everlasting dominion of the one like a son of man. 

This will be life as it was meant to be, life without the consequences of the fall. Life in the very presence of the Creator; life that will never end. This is the life that Christ obtained for you through his death on the cross. Jesus conquered sin, death, and the devil for you, and even now you are citizens in His everlasting dominion. This life is not all that there is. There is more to come and what is to come includes you. You have a place in God’s kingdom because He sent Jesus to secure it for you. This life and this world will come to its conclusion, but you will continue to the world without end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Christ sits at God’s right hand, His saving work complete, To reign till ev’ry foe will lie Beneath His feet—All that the Father planned, The Son sought to fulfill, When first He said, “Lord, here am I To do Your will.” (“Christ Sits at God’s Right Hand” LSB 564, 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: Matthew 25:31-46, Introit: Ps. 85:1, 7, 9, 11; antiphon: Jeremiah 29:11a, 12

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 26:1-19; Matthew 26:20-35

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’” (Matthew 25:37–39)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  The end of the church year focuses on the eschatological judgment of God, and where there is judgment language, there is also talk of good works. Good works can be the third rail of Lutheran theology. We say that words like ‘necessary,’ ‘should,’ and ‘must’ can be used when speaking of the relation between Christians and good works. At the same time, we also reject the language that good works are necessary for salvation or that salvation cannot happen without them (FC Ep IV). 

If that wasn’t confusing enough, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats shows us that good works are also invisible. Neither those on the left nor the right are aware of their works. The sheep wonder when they did them while the goats ask when they didn’t do them. This is because good works, strictly speaking, are not something that we do. Good works are the result of God working in us. In other words, good works arise naturally in the believer because of God’s actions in them. God is both the source and the doer of your good works. Your good works began with God working on you in the waters of Baptism, and your good works continue as you live out your baptismal identity. They continue as you fulfill the various vocations that God has given you.

They are largely invisible because you have been freed from having to count them, track them, or keep any kind of record of them. You don’t have to pile up good works like extra-curricular activities for a college application. Good works flow from faith. They do not lead to it.  This is the truth of what Christ did for you on the cross. Without faith in Christ, no work is good. With faith in Christ, even the most mundane action can become a good work that only God can see. May the Lord, who has begun this good work in you, bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of the end of all things and the day of Your just judgment, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here and dwell with Your forever hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one 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.

Today's Reading: Introit for the Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 25:1-18; Matthew 26:1-19

“Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky” (Ps. 85:11).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is a remarkable Scripture passage. Ps. 85 is a cry from God’s people for His blessing. Reminding God of His previous good favor for His undeserving people, the psalmist remembers how God restored the fortunes of Jacob (meaning His people, Israel) at times in their history. When God brought destruction, enemy armies, famines and disease, God’s people were brought to their knees to repent of their sins. But then they trusted in the Word of hope that the prophets brought. This cry of repentance moved God’s heart at times past, and He spared His people and brought them blessings. Even if it didn’t always seem like a blessing at the time.

Today, the psalmist also reminds us about the nature of faithfulness. Faithfulness, he says, “springs up from the ground.” This is partly a reminder of Gen. 2. When God made the first man, He fashioned Adam out of the dust and dirt. Then breathing in His Holy Spirit, the man became a living person. In that sense, Adam also “sprang up from the ground.” The fact that Ps. 85 uses this language suggests it has Gen. 2 in mind. Faithfulness is created. It is not something that we can make or help make. We are on the receiving end of coming to faith. God the Holy Spirit is the creator of faith, just as He first brought Adam’s lifeless body to new life that had been made from the dirt.

Faithfulness springs up from the ground. That’s because God grows it. He plants the seed of the Word in hearts, and brings the hearers to faith as they grow up in the Word. Faithfulness is created. It is therefore a gift of God. Meanwhile, Ps. 85 also says that “righteousness looks down from the sky.” God’s righteousness means being right with God. This happens by the Gospel that does not charge your sins against you, but counts you as pure and innocent despite them. Now that Jesus is ascended into heaven, God’s righteousness also looks down on you from heaven. For God’s righteousness is found in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit takes this righteousness and presses it to you. He applies it, taking Christ and His righteousness from heaven, and by the means of grace bringing Jesus to you on earth. By this He sustains you even in times of hardship as well as good times. Faithfulness springs up from the ground. Righteousness looks down from the sky. Remarkable. But that’s always how God is. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, look upon Your people with favor on account of Christ, and sustain us in faithfulness.  Amen.

-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.

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 25:31-46

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:21-40; Matthew 25:31-46

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” (Mt. 25:34)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats can be confusing. This parable is about judgment day, when all people have to stand before Jesus and be judged. But Jesus will not welcome many to eternal life and salvation. Many will go to eternal death and condemnation.

Who can be saved? In Mt. 25, it seems like Jesus is saying that salvation comes by doing enough good works. He praises those who fed Him, clothed Him, visited Him, etc. But He condemns many who thought they had done enough good works and tells them He never knew them. If you have to rely on your works to be saved, you will never be certain of your salvation. You will doubt, because there’s always some sin in your history. Further, you won’t be able to be saved. No one has done enough, not you, not your pastor, no one. No one can be saved by doing enough works.  

But the parable of the sheep and goats is not about salvation by works. It is about salvation through faith in Christ alone. How so? Jesus tells the sheep that they get to ‘inherit’ salvation. How does one inherit?  Not by works! Rather, one must be chosen by a person before he dies. Then after he dies, his will and testament announce that the heir can now receive the inheritance. For Christians, Jesus has chosen you out of great love to redeem you from your sins. He lived perfectly in your place, and gave His innocent life to die for your sins. But before He died, Jesus set up His will and testament – the new testament in His blood given at the Lord’s Supper. Here He offers you forgiveness, life and salvation. And His death for you makes that inheritance real. You can reject it in unbelief. You can reject this inheritance His death has provided. But, why would you want to? By this inheritance that you did not work for or earn, you receive eternal salvation. The good works Jesus mentions in Mt. 25 are the proof your faith in Christ was real. These works were evidence of faith, but not reasons why you can be saved. God be praised. 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!” (LSB 625:4; public domain)

-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.

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: Jeremiah 23:1-20

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 23:1-20; Matthew 25:14-30

“I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.” (Jer. 23:4)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today God teaches you why you have a pastor.  And that is, God gives you a pastor so that you might be spiritually cared for, that you wouldn’t be afraid, that you wouldn’t feel hopeless and that you wouldn’t wander off into grave danger.  Also that you wouldn’t be afraid of death and damnation, let alone fears of a hopeless future.  This is the task and the calling of pastors.  And they carry this task out especially as they teach you Holy Scripture, as they proclaim the Good News of Jesus to you, as they warn you and as they forgive you, as they offer the Body and Blood of Jesus to you in the Lord’s Supper.  These are the tools pastors use to care for God’s sheep, which includes you.

In the prophet Jeremiah’s time, however, those who were tasked with the teaching and proclamation of God’s Word were false teachers.  They did not speak God’s Word but their own dreams and ideas.  These shepherds did not care for the people entrusted to them.  Their sermons were full of ideas of God’s peace.  However, they would not warn people away from their sins.  These false prophets made it seem like God loved sins and wanted people to continue in their sins.  Because of that, God’s anger was against the false prophets and the people who supported them.

You are a sheep of God.  You are called to be His and to be loved by Him through the mouth of your pastor.  But you have to listen.  Listen to the Word.  Listen carefully.  Something is right and true not because even a pastor says it, but only if it agrees and confesses what God’s Word says.  However, your pastor also might say something that is from God’s Word, and you just weren’t aware of it.  If you hear something off in a sermon, politely ask him if he meant what you heard.  It could be that you just heard it wrong.

What if you don’t have a pastor now?  What if your church is “vacant”?  Pray that God fulfills His promise in today’s passage.  Pray that God sends you a shepherd who will care for you, that you may not be afraid or dismayed.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, guard and keep us under the care of faithful pastors who proclaim Your Word purely and protect us even from dangers we don’t know.  Amen.

-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.

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 3

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 22:1-23; Matthew 25:1-13

What is the benefit of this eating and drinking? These words, "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," shows us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. (Small Catechism VI, Lord’s Supper, 3rd question)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is much benefit to taking the Lord’s Supper at your congregation. It may not seem like it. Don’t go by what it seems like. As with everything in the Lord’s Supper, what it seems like is not what it is. What it is, is what Jesus’ Word says. So close your eyes and open your ears, hearing the Word of the Lord. That Word today says, ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’

Forgiveness of sins is not a small, trivial matter. Forgiveness of sins is the difference between life and death. Now here one might object and say, ‘But I have forgiveness of sins without the Lord’s Supper!’ That may be, but remember what holds on to the forgiveness of sins – that is, faith. Faith is not an arrogant, stubborn attitude that objects to what God gives. Anyone who objects to what God wants to give should also look carefully at himself and ask himself if he even has faith. Because faith in Christ gladly receives what Jesus wants to give. Faith in Christ can never get enough of what Jesus wants to give, especially where the forgiveness of sins is concerned. Smug unbelief and arrogance, however, object to what Jesus gives. Smug unbelief and arrogance don’t want the forgiveness Jesus gives nor does an unbeliever think he needs that forgiveness. Thus, smug unbelief and arrogance will be condemned on the last day, no matter how many times that person says to Jesus, ‘Lord, Lord.’

Jesus knows what you need more than you do. He sees clearly, your vision is distorted. So trust the One who died and rose, who also says His Supper is ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’ Trust this Word and find spiritual comfort in it. By taking the Sacrament in faith and the same confession of the faith, you take this precious gift for your forgiveness and sanctification. Despite your sins, Jesus says this Sacrament is given for you. Trust Him then, and gladly receive.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

“In these last days of great distress, Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness That we keep pure ‘til life is spent Your holy Word and Sacrament.” (LSB 585:2; text, copyright Concordia Publishing House, 1982)

-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.

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 4:13-18

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 20:1-18; Matthew 24:29-51

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  (1 Thes. 4:16-17)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ancient Rome had a unique way to celebrate a visit from the emperor. If the emperor was coming to a city for a state visit, watchmen would play trumpets to let the people of the city know the emperor had come. When they heard the trumpet blast, the people went out of the city walls to welcome the emperor.  Then they all processed back into the city, the people going along with the emperor and his men.

Something like this is going to happen on the last day. But we have more than an earthly emperor who is coming. We have Jesus. He who died and is risen, who ascended and fills all things, who is the king of kings and lord of lords, He is coming! Like the ancient Romans, so believers also will go to meet the Lord as He is coming, and join with Him as He comes to earth in judgment. What Paul is describing in 1 Thes. 4 is not some kind of ‘holy hovering,’ but a welcoming party of believers for their long-awaited Lord.

Why can you anticipate Jesus’ final coming with joy? It’s because He has redeemed you from your sins. Without faith in His Word, a person can only fear Christ’s coming, for He comes to judge the world and the people in it. Only through faith in God’s Word and promise can you have joy and confidence before Christ the judge. Not by your efforts, not by your cheery attitude or your abilities, not by anything that is in you can you have this confidence and boldness on the last day. The only way to welcome Jesus without fear is trusting His Word of absolution. You stand forgiven on account of what He has done. Because of that, you gladly await the heavenly trumpet so that you might welcome Jesus and join Him.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen

“Come, O Christ, and loose the chains that bind us; Lead us forth and cast this world behind us. With You, the Anointed, Finds the soul its joy and rest appointed.! (LSB 679:5).

-Pastor Robert Mayes is Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.

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.