Reflections

Today's Reading: Luke 6:36-42

Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:1-24; Acts 14:19-15:4

"Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:36)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We judge everything, everywhere, all the time. Do you like the food you eat? Do you like the outfit your friend is wearing? Do you agree with the post you just read? Every day we determine whether we like things or not,  or if someone is right or wrong. Our lives are filled with constant judging. 

Judging, if done in light of the teachings of the Holy Scripture, is not a bad thing. We are told, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). All of us are called by God to search the Scriptures and to use this knowledge and the teachings of Christ to judge right from wrong.

However, there is a difference between using the measure of God's Word to judge and using our own measure. As sinful and selfish creatures, we want what we think is best for us and care little for the good of our neighbor. Often our heart's desire is contrary to the things of God. We condemn and judge on the basis of our authority instead of realizing the truth that all people are under the judgment of Holy Scripture. When this happens, we are no longer being merciful. Instead, we are condemning our brother for a speck, all the while ignoring the logs in our own eyes. This is wrong, it is sin, and we need to confess our transgressions to the Lord.

The psalmist writes, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (Psalm 103:8). The mercy of the Father and the love that He had for His fallen creation is what brought Christ to earth. Jesus came, took our sins, received our punishment, was judged in our place, and died on the Cross so that we might receive everlasting mercy. Because Christ shed His blood for you, you are no longer condemned. Forgiven by God, we are now to show mercy and to forgive in the same way.

What a great gift we received from the hands of Jesus! Using the same measure that we have received, we may–by faith–love, forgive, and live as God intends us to. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Your governance that Your Church may joyfully serve You in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity)

-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Christians need to aspire to being people of THE faith. Not just any will do. In Faith Misused, Dr. Alvin Schmidt shares his case for a Christian reclaiming of the word “faith” from its ambiguous modern uses. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Daily Lectionary: Judges 4:1-24; Acts 14:1-18     

But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. (Judges 4:21)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. And the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . . . once again. Of course they did. When do we not? I almost feel as if each section in the book of Judges is just an example of a year in the life of Eli Lietzau, or even a day for that matter.  I'm constantly falling back into sin, seeking after other gods, hurting and hating my neighbor, being crushed by the Law that oftentimes really does hurt, and then being saved in the most unexpected and impossible way. 

So the Israelites have been sold into the hands of Jabin the king of Canaan. And he has a pretty imposing general in his army, Sisera, who should by all accounts win every battle that he ever enters. But he doesn't win this one, not once the Lord fights for His people. Sisera's army is routed and he goes running, running for cover under the tent of an old friend. He thinks that he is safe and sound, hidden from danger. But as he is exhausted and falls dead asleep, the last thing that ever goes through his head is a spike nailed into the ground by Jael, the wife of his friend. 

Now I may be stretching this a little bit far, but in Sisera I see a little bit of Satan. At the Cross, Satan believed he was safe from his enemy, and more than that, he thought he had won the battle and the war. Rational logic would say that at Calvary, Satan found himself to be the victor as the Lord of life was dying. And so, I have to believe the last thing that went through Satan's head as the nails were pounded into Jesus' hands and feet was, "Victory is mine!"  But wouldn't you know it, both in the case of Jael and her tent and Jesus and His Cross, a spike and a hammer brings an unbelievable end to the enemy and an impossible victory to God's people, to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Salvation unto us has come By God's free grace and favor; Good works cannot avert our doom, They help and save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, Who did for all the world atone; He is our one Redeemer. ("Salvation unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st.1)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Daily Lectionary: Judges 3:7-31; Acts 13:42-52 

After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel. (Judges 3:31)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The judges who we find in the book of Judges are saviors.  That is literally their job description, as laid out in Judges 2:16. Judges are mini-Jesuses, saving God's people from their enemies and pointing forward to the bigger Jesus to come. It's kind of amazing when you take the time to think about it this way, but then again, Jesus is all over the Old Testament. He is foreshadowed and promised and sometimes He even shows up in His pre-incarnate ways.  That's why it's no coincidence that the book of Judges, chock full of mini-Jesuses, begins with the death of Joshua, the man who led God's people into the Promised Land, whose name literally means " YHWH (God) saves,"  and is the Hebrew equivalent of the name "Jesus."  

In today's text we get to hear about the first three mini-Jesuses who began the 400-year trek to Samuel, the final judge, and to the coronation of the kings. (Again, a foreshadowing of Jesus, but we will leave that for another day.) Throughout these four centuries there is a never-ending cycle that happens: The people fall away from YHWH and run after false gods. YHWH hands them over to their enemies. YHWH has compassion on His people and sends them a judge to save them. The people live under YHWH all the days of the judge's life. And then it begins all over again. 

The odd thing is, almost all of the judges come with sword and shield (or in Shamgar's case, an oxgoad) in order to save God's people. They go out to fight, violently, in order to save, bringing death to their enemies. All of this points forward to Jesus, except in an opposite way, like in a mirror. For even though Jesus is the fulfillment of all the judges and saves God's people from their enemies, and even though that salvation will come in violent ways, the violence is done to Him. He defeats the enemies of God's people, sin, death, and the devil, by death. But because He is risen from the dead, there is no need for another judge to follow.  Even as we fall daily into sin, He is and always will be the saving Judge who saves us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Preach you the Word and plant it home To men who like or like it not, The Word that shall endure and stand When flow'rs and men shall be forgot. ("Preach You the Word" LSB 586, st.1)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Third Article part 2

Daily Lectionary: Judges 2:6-23; Acts 13:13-41 

In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. (Small Catechism: Apostles' Creed, Third Article) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We are not as special as we think we are. God does His saving work for you and me in the same way that He does His saving work for everyone else: It is through the Holy Spirit's calling us by the Gospel, enlightening us with His gifts, sanctifying and keeping us in the one true faith. It is all the work of God. He does it all, from beginning to end, and He does it all for everyone. 

As good Lutherans we love to be able to say, "I believe that I can't believe," but sometimes we have trouble believing that for the other guy. Sometimes we heap more and more guilt upon ourselves because we want to be able to say the right things in the right situations in order to get our neighbor to start believing in Jesus. Somehow we think that conversion is part of our job. But if you had nothing to do with your own conversion, how could you think you have anything to do with someone else's? 

It is true that we are told to always be ready to give a defense for that which we believe, but all that means is that we should know what we believe and why we believe it. And of course, we should. Christianity isn't a thing of silly blind faith, but it is built on the objective and historical fact of the resurrection. We should know that and always be ready to proclaim it. But that is where our part ends. Everything else is so far above our pay grade we can't even see the top. Leave the converting to the Holy Spirit. He's much better at it than you or I could ever hope to be. 

And then also be comforted in the fact that as the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of your neighbor to turn it from stone, so, too, is He continually working upon yours so that it might never return to that rocky place of unbelief. Daily and richly, He brings Christ and His Cross to you in Word and water and bread and wine so that you might receive Him who saved you, so that your sins might be forgiven, so that your faith might be forever strengthened. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We all confess the Holy Ghost, Who from both in truth proceeds, Who sustains and comforts us In all trials, fears, and needs. Blessed, holy Trinity, Praise forever be to Thee! ("We All Believe in One True God" LSB 953, st.1)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.   

Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 24:1-31; Acts 13:1-12   

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah is probably one of the best-known prophets in the Old Testament. His book is prominent. He is quoted about as frequently as one could be, by Jesus, the evangelists, and Paul. Some have even called his book the "fifth Gospel,"  because salvation in Christ is dripping from each and every verse.

Isaiah speaks to the people of God, many of whom have gone astray. He proclaims God's Law and calls the errant to repentance. He points forward to a savior, Cyrus, who would save God's people from captivity in Babylon and to a Savior, Jesus, who would save God's people from their enemies of sin, death, and the devil. He preaches the full counsel of God in season and out of season so that confident sinners can be crushed and terrified sinners can be comforted.

Isaiah gives us the scene of the heavenly throne room: "Holy, holy, holy," is shouted by the seraphim as the foundations tremble and shake from the glory of God. He then shines a light on Christ's forerunner, telling John to proclaim comfort and peace and double forgiveness to all those who are terrified in their sin. Isaiah lifts our hearts with songs of the Suffering Servant, each one more Jesus-y than the next, capped off in chapters 52-53. He tells of the silent Lamb who goes despised, stricken, smitten, crushed, buried, and chastised to the slaughter in our stead. There is also the Mountain of the Lord, the future heaven and earth, and so very much more. 

For all of this we can give thanks to our God above who has given us the Words of the prophet Isaiah that we may know that the Suffering Servant has come, and that by His stripes we have been healed. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old, The Lord of all in spirit did behold High on a lofty throne, in splendor bright, With robes that filled the temple courts with light. Above the throne were flaming seraphim; Six wings had they, these messengers of Him. With two they veiled their faces as was right, With two they humbly hid their feet from sight, And with the other two aloft they soared; One to the other called and praised the Lord: "Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth! Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth! Holy is God the Lord of Sabaoth! His glory fills the heavens and the earth!" The beams and lintels trembled at the cry, And clouds of smoke enwrapped the throne on high. ("Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old" LSB 960)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 23:1-16; Acts 12:1-25 

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8b-9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is no promise of a life without suffering, especially for the Christian. We think that there should be. We logically conclude that if we could just figure out the right steps to walk and the correct words to say, then we could find our way onto the simple and easy path to the Promised Land. 

But that just isn't the case. First, it's because we are sinners. Yes, we have been redeemed by Christ and are a new creation in Him, and yet the Old Adam still hangs on and must be continuously drowned in the baptismal waters that make us righteous. And second, the Lord actually promises persecution for the Christian. Just as your sinful flesh hates the things of Jesus, the things of the Church, the things of the forgiveness of sins and life and salvation, so, too, does the world. And the demons will drive all evil to come upon you like a lion hunting down his prey. 

I know that sounds daunting. I know being a Christian in an increasingly secular world is difficult. I know that sometimes it's just easier to hide your Bible at the bottom of your locker and change out your crucifix necklace for a simple silver chain. But know that you are not alone. Not only is your Lord and Savior with you in His Word, strengthening you each Sunday with His Sacraments, but there are millions of brothers and sisters all over the world experiencing the same exact things that you are. 

Cast all of these anxieties at the feet of your heavenly Father. Goodness, when it gets too much to handle, shake a fist or two at Him as well, but then stand in faith in the midst of things that seem too outside of you to control, because they are. Know that the Lord who has redeemed you through His precious blood is also the Lord who has promised to never forsake you, and will grant you all you need to be sustained until the day in which He comes again to take you home with Him forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Christ Jesus is my splendor, My sun, my light, alone; Were He not my defender Before God's judgment throne, I never should find favor And mercy in His sight, But be destroyed forever As darkness by the light. ("If God Himself Be for Me" LSB 724, st.3)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Micah 7:18-20

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 10:1-25; Acts 11:19-30 

Who is a God like you,pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Micah 7:18) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Micah is a hard man, a hard prophet. He says some things that are pretty difficult to hear, but of course, that is how the Law always is. Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah. He speaks some of the same words. It's almost as if the two of them have the same Word to speak, as if they have the same things to say about God and His Christ. 

There is quite a lot of reproving that Micah does throughout his ministry and throughout his book. The people have gone astray, lusting after idols and false gods who could never truly bring them joy and comfort. Micah also has a hard word for the shepherds of the people. Although each man is to be held to account for his own sin, the wrath of the Lord for a shepherd who fails to guard and keep his flock will be double. And of course it will, for the Lord sends shepherds to care for His flock, not to lead them astray. 

Inevitably the end result is that Israel and Judah will crumble in their sin and idolatry. The Lord will bring upon them the wrath of the nations, first the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. And although all of this will take place, the Gospel still prevails. Micah is the one who shines a light into the manger in Bethlehem and prophesies the birthplace of the Christ. And so, even though the Law is severe, the Gospel still prevails. 

Micah wraps up his book of woe and warning with a little bit of Gospel that comforts the conscience. Is there any other God who pardons sin and iniquity, who passes over transgression for the sake of another? No, there is none. Only our God has the language of " forgiveness"  in His vocabulary, winning it for and speaking it to poor miserable sinners who deserve to hear nothing but wrath and condemnation. Ours is the God who is faithful to us, despite our sin and adulterous idolatry. He is the One who keeps His covenant, even after we have broken it, so that our sins might find their way into the depths of the sea. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless; My soul, believe and doubt  it not. Why stagger at this word of promise? Has Scripture ever falsehood taught? No! Then this word must true remain: By grace you too will life obtain. ("By Grace I'm Saved" LSB 566, st.1)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 8:1-28; Acts 11:1-18 

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." (Luke 15:1-2) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord is surrounded by the "wrong" type of people. That is what the "right" type of people think, anyway. And, if truth be told, those "right" types of people make a lot of sense. If I took the time to think about it, I would assume that Jesus would spend the majority of His time with those who lived an upright and holy life, those who have shunned the things of the shadows, where shame and humiliation lurk about. The most rational thing would be for the shepherd to stay with the flock, the woman not to spend the day looking for a nickel, and the father to forget about his prodigal son and focus on the one who stuck around. 

But Jesus doesn't do that, because to be honest, there is no flock, no purse with nine coins, no perfect son who continuously does his father's bidding. I would like to think that I am all of those things. I would like to pat myself on the back for never running off in the country or getting lost in the couch cushions. That's not me, and it's not you, either. But that certainly doesn't keep us from pretending that we're the perfect ones. 

What is meant to be an insult from the "right" type of people is really a compliment, and Jesus takes it that way. For if a savior isn't dining with sinners then he isn't a savior. And no, forgiveness does not mean that when Jesus receives sinners, He grants them permission to remain in their sin. Haven't you read the parables? Jesus is bringing the lost ones back from their sin, back from their danger, back from their deaths. 

A shepherd isn't worth his weight in wool if he doesn't go and track down the silly sheep that lost its way. Because if he didn't do that today, tomorrow he would find himself with two lost sheep, and then three, and then the whole flock. Sheep don't stay in their pens: The shepherd places them there each and every day. And so, of course Jesus receives sinners and eats with them: They are the only type of people there are. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

O God, the protector of all who trust in You, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy on us that, with You as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-56

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 7:1-26; Acts 10:34-48 

"For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy." (Luke 1:44) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Pebble-sized preborn Jesus makes His way to visit His cousin, His forerunner, the one who will make His paths straight. At Mary's arrival, the other bitty baby, John, hears her greeting. But certainly this was so much more than a simple " Hello." Certainly this greeting had all of the trappings of a teenage girl blathering out every last detail of the past few weeks as fast as she could: the angel Gabriel, Joseph's initial and then secondary response, her simple reply in faith. Surely these are the words that John hears.

Baby John leaps for joy: a little baby leap with little baby legs, exuberantly kicking at the walls of his fleshy abode. At six months gestation, John is in the exact place that a person of his size should be, both physically and spiritually. It is there, in that place, that Jesus, His Savior comes to him. Imagine that: The salvific Word of God is so authoritative that it can produce faith in the heart of an unborn child, through the simple greeting of a woman who is merely recounting the events of the recent past. 

But it was in the recounting of these events that the proclamation of the Incarnation took place. God's plan of salvation, taking form in tangible ways and being spoken of in real time and space. It is through this proclamation that John and his mother are brought to faith. And it is this faith, this objective faith in the Incarnation God for the salvation of mankind, that John is going to proclaim to the nations 30 years removed from that first Gospel encounter. 

With tender words, John is going to speak words of comfort to the people of Jerusalem, to you and me. Our warfare is ended. Our iniquity is pardoned. Every crooked place is now straight, every hill brought low, every valley brought level, every obstacle taken away. The Savior is coming, even as a speckle-sized dot floating down Mary's fallopian tubes. That dot is God in the flesh. That dot is the Savior of the world. That dot is Jesus the Christ, and He has come that we might receive from His outstretched and crucified hands double for all our sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty God, You chose the virgin Mary to be the mother of Your Son and made known through her Your gracious regard for the poor and lowly and despised. Grant that we may receive Your Word in humility and faith, and so be made one with Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Visitation)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 6:6-27; Acts 10:17-33

And [Peter] said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean." (Acts 10:28)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Just before our text, Peter has a vision. It's an odd one at that:  A giant picnic sheet is dropped down from heaven covered in all the animals that a good Jewish boy is supposed to shun: bacon and lobster and all things delicious. He is told to eat, but he can't, of course, because that would make him unclean. But the Lord tells him something different: What God has made clean must not be called common.

Of course, this has to do with much more than food, for God isn't all that concerned with food. The food means something more, points to something more important. The Jews had, for a good number of years, seen the Gentiles as inherently unclean. They had a superiority complex over everyone else in the world, simply because of who their grandfather was. They believed that YHWH, God, was only for them and that the salvation that He brought was to stay within their borders.

And this is all strange because Jesus had often spoken to the Pharisees about how lineage meant nothing, about how there would be many Gentiles seated at the heavenly banquet while the sons and daughters of Abraham gnashed their teeth while looking through the window. But it took a while for all of this to sink in for Peter. In fact, he needed a special vision just so that he could wrap his mind around it. No problem, just as long as the Good News of Jesus for all people was proclaimed.

And it was by Peter, for a while. But we hear later in Acts and in Galatians that even the great Peter had difficulty keeping the "Gospel-For-Everyone" business free and clear. He fell in line with the circumcision party that said that a Gentile must first become a Jew if he wanted to be a Christian. But that's just the thing: In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free. There is just forgiven sinner. And no forgiven sinner is greater or less than his brother.

Peter eventually figured this out (check out Acts 15) and spent the rest of his days proclaiming a Jesus for all, a Jesus for you. We give thanks to the Lord above for that! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O love, how deep, how broad, how high, Beyond all thought and fantasy, That God, the Son of God, should take Our mortal form for mortals' sake! ("O Love, How Deep" LSB 544, st.1)

-Rev. Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Audio Reflections speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Come on an adventure with author Eric Eichinger as he unpacks the saga of Jesus' Hero Journey. You'll see how aspects of this journey are seen in popular stories, and how God used Jesus to create the most action-packed one with a real Savior for all. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.