Reflections

Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:42-12:19; 2 Corinthians 7:1-16 

When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. (Mark 6:20b) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist was not out to win friends. He was sent by God to call people to confess and repent of their sins, to change their sinful ways, and return to the Lord God and His way. 

Your pastor is called to do the same thing. He is called to make you uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that you might want to shut him up and tuck him away where he can't be heard anymore. 

John also pointed to Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Your pastor is called to do the same thing. 

We call this preaching Law and Gospel. The Law as contained in the Ten Commandments shows us our sins, like committing adultery in the case of Herod and Herodias. It makes us uncomfortable because we don't like to think of ourselves that way. We don't like hearing that we are sinners who sin in thought, word, and especially in deed. That's why we need preachers to put God's Law into our ears and hearts to convict us of our sins and call us to repentance. 

The Gospel is the Good News that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who was sacrificed on the Cross to take away the sin of the world–to take away your sin, all your sins of thought, word, and deed. Again, you need a preacher to put God's Gospel into your ear so that by the Holy Spirit you believe it. 

Then, like Herod, you can gladly hear God's Word of Law and Gospel through your pastor. It may often perplex you, it may confuse you, and it might not always make sense, but you should gladly hear and learn it. As strange as it may sound that God would send His only-begotten Son into this world just to kill Him on the altar of the Cross, that is the Gospel, the Good News of salvation for you. By His death on the Cross, Jesus has taken away your sin and forgiven you all your offenses against the Ten Commandments, in order that when you are laid in a tomb, you will be with Jesus, kept safe for eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Our thanks for John the Baptist Who, till his dying day, Made straight paths for the Savior And heralded His way! In witnessing to Jesus Through times of threat or shame May we with faith and courage The Lamb of God proclaim. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 518, st.24)

-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.

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: Luke 18:9-14

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 11:1-26; 2 Corinthians 6:1-18

"God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13b) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You there! Do you think you are basically a good person who does good things when given the opportunity? Do you talk about yourself and your accomplishments every chance you get? Are there more selfies on your phone than pictures of others? Is everything you do posted on social media for others to like or comment on? Do you talk trash or gossip about those who are not in your friend group or who are just plain different? That is the Pharisee in our reading. He's self-assured, with no self-esteem issues. He's who we all are according to our human nature. And that's not a good thing in the eyes of God. 

Stare into the mirror of the Ten Commandments. See what a poor, miserable sinner you are. See that you sin in thought, word, and deed, all the time. Confess, that is, say back to God what He says about you. You are dead in your sins and trespasses. You have sinned by your fault, your own fault, your own most grievous fault. 

For you, Jesus died. God has been merciful to you, a sinner. God has in Christ Jesus absolved you of all your sins and washed them all away in the waters of Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit brings you to repent of your sins like the tax collector does, so that the mercy of God overwhelms you with His forgiveness and justifies you because of Jesus's death. In Jesus, you have been exalted with Jesus. Not your doing, but His doing for you. 

Jesus came to save sinners. He came to show mercy to those who do not deserve it in any way, shape, or form. Jesus came for you. In mercy, the Father sent His Son Jesus to be the One who justifies, saves you, so that you can stand up straight and lift your eyes up to heaven to see the place of your salvation — Jesus on the Cross for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than we either desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Your mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things that we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.(Collect for the 11th Sunday after Trinity)

-Rev. Daniel Voth, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, ND.

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 11th Sunday after Trinity

          (Psalm 68:1, 3, 7a, 10b, 19; antiphon: v.5b, 6a, 35b)

Daily Lectionary:1 Kings 9:1-9; 10:1-13; 2 Corinthians 5:1-21

O God, when you went out before your people, in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. (From the Introit for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Introit for tomorrow is drawn from the words of Psalm 68. Like all the other psalms, the 68th is a prayer. It doesn't seem to us like much of a prayer because it doesn't ask for anything. Instead, it is a song of thanksgiving for the great works of God. 

That's how prayer is sometimes. There are days when we can only cry out to God from within our pain. Sometimes we run out of words to say or are so beaten down that we have to rely on the Holy Spirit to cry to God on our behalf (Romans 8:26). And then there are days when we are filled with joy and our prayers reflect it. If you take a quick look at just a handful of psalms, you'll find both kinds of prayer. We are blessed to have the psalms to pray from our own lips.

Psalm 68 moves us to praise God for His goodness. He is the God who rescues His people. He scatters His enemies and those who hate Him flee before Him! He gives power and strength to His people and provides for the needy. He bears us up and He is the God of our salvation. 

When the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh tell you that God is not for you, pray this psalm. When your guilty conscience shouts that you could never be forgiven, pray this psalm. When shame over sin makes you feel completely unlovable, pray this psalm. When the events of your life scream at you that God is absent, pray this psalm. 

For the One who bears you up is the One who was lifted up on a cross to remove the burden of your sin and shame. Jesus is the One who settles you into a home called the Church. Jesus is the One who is your salvation from death! Indeed, blessed be the Lord, who daily bears you up. God is your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

 Father like He tends and spares us; Well our feeble frame He knows; In His hand He gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes. Alleluia, alleluia! Widely yet His mercy flows. ("Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" LSB 793, st.3)

-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.

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: 1 Kings 8:22-30, 46-63; 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Christianity is depicted apart from crosses, it always makes them scarier when Christians find out God actually does give them things they can't handle all the time, despite clinging to a mistranslated verse that doesn't actually say what they think it does.  Because it isn't you who handles all the stuff that's bigger than you. It's Jesus. 

Christianity is never depicted apart from suffering because our symbol is Christ crucified for us sinners. A God who won't associate with suffering is not a God who exists to be crucified for you. So there will be suffering because Jesus suffers for you to forgive you.  There's still suffering now, too, and it's maddening. On its own, it's soul-destroying. So Paul gives us something to cling to. We carry in our bodies the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in us. We are baptized into Jesus' death. Into Jesus' resurrection. That changes things. The world is bigger than you and full of things you can't handle. But you carry with you the death of Jesus, suffering used for salvation, so the world cannot crush you. You carry in your body the Baptism He gives you, so you cling to the resurrection that gives you hope in the face of questions you can't answer. You are not forsaken, because God is in the suffering with you and for you. So you are already brought through suffering. It cannot destroy you.  

The existence of God doesn't preclude the existence of suffering. It confirms it. You have a God who saves through the Cross. That's a God who dives into suffering to save, so He's a God who dives into suffering to carry you through yours, even if it's more than you can handle. This is what it is to remember your Baptism. You are baptized. Make the sign of the cross. Read 2 Corinthians 4:8-10. The life of Jesus that you carry speaks to your pain. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Despised and scorned, they sojourned here; But now, how glorious they appear! Those martyrs stand, A priestly band, God's throne forever near. On earth they wept through bitter years; Now God has wiped away their tears, Transformed their strife To heav'nly life, And freed them from their fears. They now enjoy the Sabbath rest, The heav'nly banquet of the blest; The Lamb, their Lord, At festive board Himself is host and guest. ("Behold a Host, Arrayed in White" LSB 676, st.2)

-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

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: Lord's Prayer, Sixth Petition

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18 

Lead us not into temptation. (Small Catechism: Lord's Prayer)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. After "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," God teaches us to pray, "lead us not into temptation." I wonder if it's to remind us that Christian life isn't linear. You can take the Fifth Petition and run in a straight line one of two ways. The first is the idea of onward and upward. "I'm forgiven and now I build and that only goes one way. Constant improvement until perfection. Until I basically don't sin. Christian life is only measured by progress." The second way is straight on in what we were doing in the first place. "Since I'm forgiven, I might as well keep sinning." We read, "Shall we sin that grace may abound?" and then quickly stop reading before it says, "BY NO MEANS."  That leads to "Since I know I'm forgiven I'll just do whatever I want." Don't worry about who your sins hurt, don't worry about the God who calls us to strive against those desires. Christian life is measured only in freedom to do whatever you want while yelling stuff about grace.

Both are wrong. You're given this petition so you remember not just that you're forgiven, but that you're still in a bad spot. We pray, "Lead us not into temptation." It's not onward and upward or right on in sin. It's death and resurrection. We are constantly in need of the forgiveness that comes through the Cross, and constantly strive to live in the resurrection's freedom from sin. We constantly beg to be free from temptation because we're constantly falling into it. It's war against Old Adam, but it's fought in Christ, not in you. He has already won the victory.  

There is no comfort in beating the drum of the Law. There is no real comfort in claiming that your actions should have no consequences while everything else falls apart because you keep doing dumb stuff. There is comfort in the Lord who tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.  

We pray that we would see the victory we already have in Christ and cling to Him until we see it face to face. Christian life is measured by Jesus' bringing us through sin and death to resurrection. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lead not into temptation, Lord, Where our grim foe and all his horde Would vex our souls on ev'ry hand. Help us resist, help us to stand Firm in the faith, a mighty host, Through comfort of the Holy Ghost. ("Our Father, Who from Heaven Above" LSB 766, st.7)

-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

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: Luke 22: 24-30

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 5:1-16; 2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17 

"But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves." (Luke 22:26)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. St. Bartholomew is my favorite apostle. He's the Charlie Brown of the blessed Twelve. He's the kid who never fits in. He has one of the best lines in Scripture, as the first person to recognize the divinity of Jesus, but John calls him by the wrong name because John's too busy nursing a grudge he still has with Peter 40 years after they argued about who the greatest is. Bartholomew never got to do any of the cool apostle stuff like see the Transfiguration. After Luke closed the letter to Theophilus by talking about the all-stars, like Peter and Paul, St. Bart was martyred in modern-day Turkey for faithful preaching. They skinned him alive. So the Roman Catholics made him the patron saint of leatherworkers, which is amazing. They pray to the guy who got skinned alive for wallets. And this dude just points to Jesus, despite being overlooked and degraded. And he still sings for us in heaven with angels and archangels and the rest of the bunch. 

In the movies, he would get superpowers and finally be the cool kid. Or take off his glasses so everyone at the dance would see he's been handsome all along. In the movies, people like Bartholomew aren't the main character unless something extraordinary happens. In real life, Bart was never the main character, but he served. There is no real lordship in being the greatest, just idolatry. See St. Bart, patron saint of the bullied and the neglected. Praying to him won't get you a wallet or a moment in the spotlight. He'd rather you pray to Jesus, whom he confessed as Lord, whom he faced the grave to meet in the resurrection. If you see yourself in St. Bart, know that the Lord sees you, too, and joins you as the same. He is the One who serves. He is the One who bears the Cross for those who can't save themselves. He is the One who gathers into Sabbath rest those who find none in this place. And He knows your name, and calls you out of this vale of tears to the resurrection, to sing with the blessed saints who have gone before you, while the angels sing along. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

For Barnabas we praise You, Who kept Your law of love And, leaving earthly treasures, Sought riches from above. O Christ, our Lord and Savior, Let gifts of grace descend, That Your true consolation May through the world extend. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 518, st.7)

-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

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: Romans 9:30-10:4

Daily Lectionary:1 Kings 3:1-15; 2 Corinthians 1:1-22

But that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. (Romans 9:31-32a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is nothing wrong with trying to do your best. It is what is expected of you at school, at home, and at work. Your neighbors (teachers, family, and your boss) are blessed by such efforts. But don't bring that idea into your relationship with God. It didn't work for Israel and it won't work for you. The huge rock of the Law will crush you under the weight of its demands; the perfection that God's Law requires of you will always be out of reach. 

The apostle Paul works this truth to a fine point in our reading for today. Israel couldn't reach a right relationship with God because they had the devilish idea that it was up to them to make it happen. They ran smack into the promise of God to save the world by His mercy. They stumbled over it, and kept on going with the idea that they had to do more good things to gain God's approval.

You get sucked into thinking that way as well. Repent. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). No more struggling and striving to keep the Law for salvation! The Law works as a pointer, an arrow aimed straight at the target of Christ. Christ Jesus is where we find that the demands of God's Law have been met. God's righteousness is met in Him as well. Jesus' perfect keeping of God's Law is what makes you right with God. His perfect life is given into death in your stead—instead of you! You get all the benefits of what Jesus did with no strings attached. Faith trusts this promise, and faith is what you have been given as pure gift from the Triune God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

The Law reveals the guilt of sin and makes us conscience-stricken; but then the Gospel enters in the sinful soul to quicken. Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live; the Law no peace can ever give, no comfort or no blessing. ("Salvation Unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st.8)

-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.

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 8:4-12

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 2:1-27; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

"Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord." (Jeremiah 8:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A bird has more sense than you do! That is the message God used to invite His people to return to Him. We call that the preaching of repentance. The people rejected the invitation and yet Jeremiah kept up the call. The meaning of Jeremiah's preaching is clear: Even the birds, irrational creatures, know their appointed time and return to their homes, which they have left. Instinctively, they follow the pattern fixed for them by their Creator: They travel hundreds of miles, because that's what they've been created to do. Unbelieving Jerusalem had sunk below the common sense of a bird!  

What is sadder than the people's refusal to hear the Word and return to the Lord their God is that they had forgotten how much God loved them. "My people know not the rules of the  LORD." That is a tricky translation. The Hebrew word is mishpat, which means righteous judgment. It's not just rules to be followed but also a declaration of innocence. 

The people were so caught up in themselves that they pushed aside the mercy and promises of God: His just decrees and the justice He had done and would do for them. That is a picture of us, too. Sad to say, but we know it is true. Thankfully, God still sends Jeremiah to stick His Word into our ears and to call us to repentance and faith. 

God the Father would fulfill all His righteous promises in Christ. Instead of pouring out the punishment for sin upon the world, the Father pours it on His Son. At the Cross, the righteous judgment of the Law is proclaimed. Jesus is overthrown in death, but only for a time. Jesus, the perfect One, rises from the grave and brings you along with Him. Jesus took your place in death on a cross and in a stone-cold tomb so that you would know God's righteous judgment: You are free from sin and death in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Now my conscience is at peace; from the Law I stand acquitted. Christ hath purchased my release and my ev'ry sin remitted. Naught remains my soul to grieve: Jesus sinners doth receive. ("Jesus Sinners Doth Receive" LSB 609, st.7)

-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.

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: Luke 19:41-48

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 1:1-4, 15-35; 1 Corinthians 12:14-31

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." (Luke 19:41-42)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Interesting, isn't it? Jerusalem contains the word "peace" (salem) in its name yet does not recognize the peace of God in the flesh as He prepares to enter her gates. 

As Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus and the lack of faith that doubted Jesus could call him out of the grave, so Jesus weeps over a people who cannot know and see (believe) that He has come to bring them peace. But those tears do not keep Him from His appointed task. In Luke 18, Jesus told His disciples what would take place in Jerusalem: "See we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day, he will rise" (Luke 18:31-33). Ironically, Luke tells us that this news was hidden from the disciples' eyes as well. 

Why would these things be hidden from their eyes? Because Jesus needed to fulfill His work. Nothing of what He said or did would make complete sense until He died and rose from the dead. The people of Jerusalem sought peace by other means. The disciples wanted a "Son of Man" who would be triumphant, not someone who would die nailed to a Roman cross. We tend to make our own "peace" treaties with God on our own terms.

But it is the Cross and, finally, the resurrection of Jesus that changes everything. Your eyes have been opened to see and your hearts made new to believe: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Jesus does not now weep over you. He rejoices over you who are baptized and receive

His peace! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

O God, You declare Your almighty power above all in showing mercy and pity. Mercifully grant us such a measure of Your grace that we may obtain Your gracious promises and be make partakers of Your heavenly treasures; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. David Magruder is pastor of Peace With Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Collins, CO.

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 Tenth Sunday after Trinity

          (Psalm 55:1, 4-5, 16; antiphon: v.16a, 17b, 18a, 22a)

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 12:1-25; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 

I call to God, and he hears my voice; He redeems my soul in safety. (From the Introit for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Object fixation is when a kid rides his bike into the tree he doesn't want to hit because he can't stop looking at the thing he wants to avoid. I'm fine, if you were wondering. Object fixation is when Christians are so afraid of something summed up under "sin, death, and the power of the devil," that they lose sight of everything else and it becomes their only prayer, which ignores the Cross of Christ, even though the things summed up under "sin, death, and the power of the devil" are the very things undone by the Cross of Christ.  

 The Introit begins out of order, but not. It grabs verses 16, 17, 18, and 22 and knits them together to teach the Church to begin to pray with the same Cross that is woven throughout this and every psalm. We pray based on the redemption won in Christ Jesus. I call to God, and He hears my voice; He redeems my soul in safety. It confronts our object fixation with the Jesus who wasn't afraid to run into the thing we're trying to avoid but keep crashing into. He dives into the mess of sin, death, and the power of the devil and conquers them by His death for you. Read the Introit, and start with the redemption, the victory, and the burdens, the pleas for mercy, the fear, and trembling that are met by a God who will hear your prayer as surely as He has already redeemed you back from the things you pray for refuge from. Your salvation isn't measured by whether or not you find yourself running into some form of those ugly three things anymore. It's measured by whether or not Jesus ran into them for you. He did. So if you find yourself barrelling towards death like I theoretically ran into a hypothetical tree (really, I'm fine), start with the Cross, and find the victory over that thing that's bigger than you. Christ has guaranteed your safe passage into the resurrection by His death. You are redeemed. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

In faith and confidence draw near, Within the holiest appear, With all who praise and pray; Who share one family, one feast, One great imperishable Priest, One new and living way. ("No Temple Now, No Gift of Price" LSB 530, st.3) 

-Rev. Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

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.