Reflections

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 23:5-8
Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 8:9-9:7; 1 Peter 4:1-19

The Lord is our righteousness. (Jeremiah 27:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord promises that He will raise up from the righteous branch of David a King who will reign with wisdom and justice. Unlike earthly kings who are selfish, fallible, and unjust, this King will be perfect. His kingdom will have no end, and people will come into it from the ends of the earth. 

Oh, what a great day for God's people! No longer will they fear those around them. No longer will there be bloodshed, pestilence, and war. This King shall set up a wall around His people that no one can breach. Naturally, the people look forward to that day. They want to know when it will come and who that King will be. In grace and mercy the Lord tells Jeremiah the Name of this great King: The Lord is our righteousness." 

What a title. God is telling His people that the King will come one day to lead and save them. This King will, by His very name, point out the truth. In the "Formula of Concord" we confess, "Christ alone is our Righteousness, who is true God and man, because in Him the divine and human natures are personally united with each other." Jesus is the true King for whom the people of old have waited for so long. 

It is the same for us today. During the season of Advent, we await the coming of the Lord. The days pass, and the anticipation builds as we all wait for Christmas. The day that the Child born of Mary was laid in the manger is the day that "the Lord is our righteousness" came into this world.

Our sin has destroyed our relationship with the Father and has made us His enemy. You and I can never make ourselves righteous before God. It is only because of the true King and the sacrifice that He offered on the Cross that we are made right. Jesus is true righteousness for all mankind. Without Jesus, no one can ever be right with God, for Christ alone has died and been raised for the forgiveness of all our sins and has brought us into His kingdom. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Heavenly Father, we give thanks that Your righteousness has come into this world of sin. We pray that you would send forth Your Gospel into a world that needs to hear about the King. Continue to guide and direct us by your Holy Word so that we might remain alert until you return again. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen. 

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

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To Husbands
Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 7:10-8:8; 1 Peter 3:1-22

Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. (Colossians 3:19)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther lays out Scripture passages that point out the duties Christians are to follow in their daily lives. This list has different categories for the stations or vocations that you might find yourselves in. There are two Bible verses in the section which pertains to husbands. The first one is 1 Peter 3:7, where husbands are told to be considerate of their wives and to treat them with respect so that their prayers might not be hindered. This is important because if a husband is sinning against his wife, then his prayers will be frustrated; one caught in sin is less likely to talk to God. 

In the second verse (above), Paul tells husbands to love their wives. The English says, "Do not be harsh," but this does not get to the point Paul is trying to make. The Greek word means "make bitter." Scripture is telling husbands that the way they treat their wives will cause wives to react in certain ways. If the husband is rough or rude, then the wife will become sharp and cruel in response. This will lead to sin and to a damaging of the relationship that God established. Husbands must guard their words and pay attention to what they say. When they fall into sin, they must repent and ask Christ and their wives for forgiveness.

A marriage will only work well if it is undertaken with love, repentance, and the forgiveness that Christ has earned on the Cross. At the same time, these words are important for all people. The way we treat others affects them, and it can cause them to react. As children of God, you are called by God to love your neighbor, to show him the love and forgiveness that God has given to you. As you do this, you are bearing witness to the love of Christ that is in you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Oh God, our dwelling place in all generations, look with favor upon the homes of our land. Embrace husbands and wives, parents and children, in the arms of your love, and grant that each, in reverence for Christ, fulfill their duties You have given. Bless our homes that they may ever be a shelter for the defenseless, a fortress for the tempted, a resting place for the weary, and a foretaste of our eternal home with You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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

Today's Reading: John 1:35-42a
Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 6:1-7:9; 1 Peter 2:13-25

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (John 1:35-36)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist's job was to point the way to Jesus, and he was good at his job. In John's Gospel we read about the calling of a disciple of John, Andrew, who heard the Word and followed it. The name Andrew means "manly" or "valor," and throughout his life, he accomplished many physical things. A fisherman by trade, he worked with his whole body, and this training helped him when he was called to be an apostle. Andrew's job was to proclaim the message of the Gospel and to bring people to Christ.

Right from the beginning, he did just that. The Gospel of John tells us, "He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah'" (John 1:41). This drive to bring people to Jesus filled the life of Andrew, and he continued to go forth into all the world to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world. Eusebius, a church historian, writes that Andrew went as far as Kiev, which is now in the Ukraine, in order that people might come to a knowledge of the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done. According to tradition, Andrew died after being tied to an X-shaped cross in Greece.

We remember Andrew this day because the Body of Christ should always remember and give thanks to God for the people He has called to share the Gospel of Christ. The apostle Andrew was a blessing to the Church and to the people of God, for the Lord used this simple fisherman to proclaim His message into the ears of people who were lost in sin and needed a Savior.
 
The Holy Spirit used Andrew, and He uses us today. As believers in Christ, we go to church and receive the Gifts God gives to us through preaching, teaching, and the Sacraments. These things fill us up and lead us to share the message of Christ. In so doing, the Holy Spirit works through us to proclaim the Good News to those still in darkness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

All praise, O Lord, for Andrew, The first to welcome You, Whose witness to his brother Named You Messiah true. May we, with hearts kept open To You throughout the year, Confess to friend and neighbor Your advent ever near. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 517, st.5)

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

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 5:1-25; 1 Peter 2:1-12

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever thought about how long it took Noah to build the ark? While we don't know for sure, many people guess that Noah was working on the ark for about 100 years. Day after day, this righteous man of God worked to build a huge boat without a storm cloud in sight. Hours upon countless hours of sawing, sanding, nailing, and covering with pitch. Years of ridicule and taunting by people who could not understand why he would waste his time or energy building a boat for a God whom they did not listen to and whom they could not care less about. Years passed, and Noah continued to build.

What kept him going? Why did he go out every day to that boat and continue to build? The author of the book of Hebrews gives us the answer: It was all because of faith. Martin Luther writes, "Faith is a living bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it." This was the faith Noah had; he trusted in the word of God and did what God commanded.

Now we know that Noah was a sinner just like all people born on earth. His calling by God was based not on who Noah was but solely upon grace and divine mercy. The Holy Spirit filled Noah with an active and living faith. It was a faith that trusted in the promises of God, including the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the One who died on the Cross to save us from all our sins.

God used the ark to save Noah and his family from the flood that destroyed the earth. Today God uses the Church to protect you from this world and to keep you afloat in the floods of life. The Church is the Holy Ark that helps the people of God receive the Gifts God has given to us. Through preaching, teaching, and the right administration of the Sacraments, the Lord God strengthens our faith and protects us in this world of sin. So it is good that we remember Noah, a man of God and an heir of righteousness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and eternal God, continue to help us live by faith, trusting in your righteousness for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

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

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. . .  (Matthew 21:4)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today we begin the season of Advent. The word "advent" comes from the Latin word "advenire," which means "to come," and for the next 25 days, the Church will be preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. Preparing takes time and lots of hard work. Just like cleaning the house must be done before the arrival of a special guest, things need to be done over the next few weeks as the Church prepares for the coming of Christmas. Advent hymns are sung, a wreath is put up, and candles are lit. In our lives we should also set aside time to prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of Jesus' birth. A good way to do this is to spend more time in the study of Holy Scripture and in prayer. 

On this, the first Sunday in Advent, the Gospel lesson relates the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus the King rides on a donkey, and, with great celebration, enters the Holy City so that He might die on the Cross for us and for all our sin. We must never forget that this was the purpose for which He came to earth. In the Gospel of Matthew you will often read, "This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet." In fact, Matthew points it out to us 16 times, and he quotes the Old Testament 68 times in order to drive home the point that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The promise made long ago in the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve that a Messiah would come has now been fulfilled.

Matthew, moved by the working of the Holy Spirit, wrote down these things so that we might prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Christ. All has been fulfilled in Christ. As we begin our Advent journey, we look forward to the celebration of Christ's coming because this Child comes to fulfill prophecy. He comes to fulfill the Law perfectly. He comes to suffer and to die in our place. He comes to bring peace between God and man. What a great gift given freely for us! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy Power, O Lord, and Come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God world without end. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday in Advent)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame. (From the Introit for the First Sunday in Advent)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Like the Last Sundays of the Church Year, the season of Advent provides time for us to be trained in patient waiting. The Sundays just past taught us to patiently wait for the return of Jesus in glory. The Sundays of Advent will teach us to patiently wait for the Incarnation of Jesus. 

This time of waiting is characterized by increased devotion to the hearing of God's Word and to prayer. And in that hearing and praying our trust in the Lord is renewed. We lift up our souls to God, our only confidence, for we have no trust in anyone else. He is our only hope and salvation. We may have many enemies--the world and the devil himself, and even our own flesh--but they will never exalt over us because God is with us in the flesh of Jesus. Those who give in to the enemies, who abandon trust in God will not succeed. They will be ashamed. God spare us from such foolishness! 

In Christ, we wait on the Lord and trust in Him, and not in ourselves, so we will never be ashamed. We trust in the Lord, so we cling to His Word and hear what He has to say. He shows us His commandments, the way to live, and greater still that He sent His Son to take our human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In that flesh He would bear our sins to death on the Cross in order to remove our shame and silence our enemies. In faith we wait for the Lord. We trust in God for salvation all the more. 

The Lord is truly good to sinners like us. He instructs and leads us throughout our lives by His Word. Despite the attacks of enemies without and within, God leads us in His paths of love and faithfulness. He promises never to abandon us, but to be with us always, even to the very end of the world. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:3-5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. See the Tree of Life growing in the heavenly city along that river and the golden street? Life in all its fullness is pictured with the twelve-fold fruit the Tree produces each month the year around. Even its leaves are filled with healing. "No longer will there be anything accursed" (Revelation 22:3). 

This takes us back to the radiant pureness of the Garden of Eden, the first Paradise. Genesis 2 describes the river that watered it. And in its midst was the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Through Satan's deception and Adam and Eve's sin, the curse of death came into the world. Our first parents rebelled against God's love and ate from the forbidden tree. Death reigned and that curse was passed down to all humanity. For everyone who does not continually do everything written in the Law is cursed. 

But on another tree many centuries later, the Son of God hung nailed to the Cross. He became the curse in our place. And by His death, He undid the curse of Adam's sin. The Scripture declares in Galatians 3, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13). "No longer will there be any curse," God declares. 

The blood of the Lamb that stained the tree of the Cross removes sin's curse. You have been washed clean and made ready to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life in Paradise restored. Death is undone. Life flows from the throne of the Lamb. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Now from the tree of Jesus' shame Flows life eternal in His name; For all who trust and will believe, Salvation's living fruit receive. And of this fruit so pure and sweet The Lord invites the world to eat, To find within this cross of wood The tree of life with ev'ry good. ("The Tree of Life" LSB 561, st.4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." (Revelation 21:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. To the world and our faithless eyes, the Church often looks like a hot mess. From our view She is not much of a Bride, but more like a schizophrenic bag lady on a city street. But that is not how God sees His Bride, the Church. She is spotless and radiant, having been washed by water with the Word (Ephesians 5:26). That's the view that John received in the Revelation and that he shares with us. The Bride, the Lamb, the new Jerusalem, are all revealed together as one glorious reality. 

The wondrous news is that the vision also describes our future. The Lamb is Jesus who was slain for our sins and the sins of all the world. The new Jerusalem is our eternal dwelling place. But how can we be sure of all this? Because God says so. You can count on His Word. Earlier in the vision, John heard these words: "'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also, he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment'" (Revelation 21:5-6). It's all a gift, God's free gift to you. 

You are a member of the Bride of Christ. You have been washed clean by the water and the Word. Are you thirsty? Drink up. Drink from the spring of life-giving water that He offers you free of charge. Come to the Supper of the Lamb and feast on Christ's own Body given and Blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. The world may continue to mock the Bride, but we rejoice in Her and give thanks that God, in Christ, has counted us worthy to be one with Her. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Bride of Christ, rejoice; Exultant raise your voice To hail the day of glory Foretold in sacred story. Hosanna, praise and glory! Our King, we bow before thee. ("O Bride of Christ, Rejoice" LSB 335, st.1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-3) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The catechism reading for last week was directed to those who serve in civil government.This week the target of Luther's admonition is those who hold the holy office of citizen. Luther utilizes one text from Holy Scripture to address rulers but five for those who are governed. Rulers are to remember that their rule is really a stewardship of God's care and order for society and the world. The governed are reminded that those who rule are a gift from God. 
Receiving the gift of civil government moves the faithful  to pray for those who rule. Praying for everyone obviously means that we exclude no one. This was not an easy thing for those first Christians to do. They saw their friends and family dragged into coliseums throughout the Roman Empire where they were tortured and sacrificed. Instead of calling for Christians to revolt, Paul urges those Christians to pray for the very leaders who persecuted them. 
We hesitate to pray for politicians who are revealed to be corrupt and immoral in both their public and personal lives. But there is a very good reason for us to pray even for unbelieving, immoral rulers: so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. That peace serves the Gospel. Leading peaceful and quiet lives allows us to speak the Gospel of peace to all. We quietly tell people that their hope is never in man or the rulers of men. We speak the truth that salvation is found in no Name other than the name of Jesus. We bring people to the preaching of the Word and the washing of water and the Word. We teach that the Body and Blood of Jesus is truly present for forgiveness of sins in the Holy Supper. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, as You have established all temporal authority for our blessing, to reward the good and punish those who do evil, bless those who hold public office in our land that we may live in peace with all godliness. Teach us to honor and respect those who hold office and to receive them as gifts of your gracious hand. Uphold all in public office, that they may execute their duties faithfully and diligently, in the fear of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Thessalonian Christians were confused about the end. Some thought that Christ had already come, and they had missed it. But the apostle Paul reminds them that the Last Day will be so unmistakable that no one is going to miss it. Others thought that those who had died already were lost, that you had to be alive on the day Christ appears. Paul reminds them that the Last Day is resurrection day when all will rise, and believers will be joined to Jesus for all eternity. 
Paul reminds them that they are not in the dark about the return of Jesus. They are prepared by the Word and promises of God. And to remain watchful and ready for the return of Jesus, Paul encourages them to remember what God has granted them for that day. "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" (Ephesians 6:14). They need not fear the great and terrible day of the Lord. For God has not destined them for wrath, but to obtain salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus who died for their sin, would come again in mercy. 
This is our confidence as well. The uncertainty of life in the dying world can be very troubling for us. We are tempted to doubt and fear all the time. The end is lived in confidence, not fear. It is looked for with expectation, not terror. It holds the promise of resurrection and life for those who trust Christ's salvation. Christ has made you ready for His return. He declares you to be children of light, having been made so by the Light of the World. "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:11). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, let at last Thine angels come, To Abr'ham's bosom bear me home, That I may die unfearing;  And in its narrow chamber keep My body safe in peaceful sleep Until thy reappearing. And then from death awaken me, That these mine eyes with joy may see, 
O Son of God, Thy glorious face, My savior and my fount of grace. Lord, Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, And I will praise thee without end. ("Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart" LSB 708, st.3)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch