Reflections

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 19:1-21; Ephesians 3:1-21

And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Elijah’s hiding in a cave waiting to die. Something happened that gets passed over too often. Elijah forgot how to be disappointed. Because he forgot how to hope.

We all have those corners of our heart left abandoned, where hope has died. It's easy to rush past Elijah in the cave. Still, I don't even want to know how many people have that abandoned little corner of their heart where their hope in God died. It's not that they think He doesn't exist, but that they don't believe they can depend on Him. They may have gone without for a bit too long. They might have waited for Him to avenge them or to answer muttered prayers. Fix what's broken. Plenty of folks looked. And they did not find God.

Elijah is on the mountain looking for God, too. He's afraid for his life. He's got nothing left. Everything he fought for fell apart. There's no getting back what's gone. So God revealed Himself. Not in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in the low, whispering Word.

The reason so many of us have given up hope is that we look for God in places He isn't. It's a trick the devil uses to grind down hope. Even fallen, sinful man loves to put hope in the wrong thing. It's called an idol. The way to kill it altogether is only from one place. So Satan points us to where God isn't (and never promised to be) and asks, "Why isn’t He there?" And he makes more sense than we want to admit.

Those are the places we wish He would be. They are the places that make us feel safe. Powerful. Fulfilled. Happy. God is not in the power of the government's protection, not in hearing the personal testimonies from famous people that say our religion isn’t horrible. God is not in the size of the bank account, or in the cookouts, or the days at the lake. He is not in the power of the earthquake or the vengeance of the fire.

If that’s the God you're looking for, I understand why it's hard to swallow the foolishness I ask of you. Trust some invisible guy who, if real, and if powerful, let you get into that mess to begin with? Never mind that He warned you, "Thou shalt not," and you sinned and did it anyway. Confess and hear Absolution. Come, lay yourself bare so I can say, "In the stead and by the command of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I forgive you this and all your sins." And what? Now it's just. . . ok?

And why? Because it's what your parents believed? Because you were raised in this church? This is hard enough on a good day, much less when you're sick, scared, or alone. When hope is being ground down. "I cannot by my own reason or strength believe." That has to come from somewhere else. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the low, whispering Word of Christ.

And He still speaks. What are you doing here? Why are you hiding? Why are you afraid? You're not as alone as you think. God would not limit Himself to your good days or your good attitude. He passes by Elijah, whispering words of peace and hope, and He passes by you, too. Not to rush past, but to dive into the valley of the shadow of death, that hope would live where there rightly should be none.

If you have the same dead corner of your heart where hope has died, know that God will not abandon you. He can save us without those things we think we need. He went without them, too. He entered this world and took on human flesh. Human need and human want. Even human sin. He bore the attacks and the lack and the sufferings and the pain. But more, He did it for you. Because of all the places we look for God and don’t find Him, He does insist on being near to you. He just wants to do it in a way that endures.

The cross. The empty tomb. Hope lives with our Lord, even hidden in caves, alone and afraid. Hope stands even as so much crumbles around us, because Christ crumbled with us and then He rose again. He carved a path through the dark, through the tomb, and out again.

To this day the Church stands to repeat these words, not because the world needs another institution, but because of all the times we've buried the last bit of hope in something in the world. Because God wants a place for you to collapse when hope runs thin, when questions get hard, when light seems gone. Because we need something to believe that actually saves. That wipes away tears, that drags us through when everything else gives out. That whispers hope to us that even death cannot destroy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Merciful Father, by Word and Sacrament You have created Your Church in our world to be a caring family. Grant Your comfort to those who live in loneliness. Help them to find a place of healing and pleasant fellowship among people faithful to You. Amen.

Today's Reading: Galatians 3:15-22

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:20-40; Ephesians 2:1-22

But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You’re imprisoned under sin. That’s you in yourself. That’s every single man, woman, and child who's ever lived, is living, or will live. That’s just who we are, in ourselves, without faith in Jesus.

What imprisons you under sin? The Scripture does, God’s Word of Law does. He condemns what you do: how you bug your sister, make your teacher, coach, or your parents mad, fail your friends, or continue to mistreat the people you don’t like or who’ve wronged you, even though Jesus says to love them. (God hates all this stuff.)

All those actions would be bad enough! But it’s not just what we do. It’s who we are! Conceived sinful. Born sinful. We live sinful lives. And we die sinful deaths. It’s what sinners do. And to sinners, sinners who act out their sinner-ness against those around us, well, the Lord God, the Creator of the universe, says, "Guilty! The sentence is 'physical death and eternal damnation.'"

That’s God’s Law against every single person ever. His Law does this because God is holy, righteous, true, and just. But He’s not just speaking it to make you feel bad about yourself, so that you’ll finally get your act together and be a good person to be saved. No, that won’t work. (It hasn’t worked yet, has it?)

He says you’re guilty in yourself and your actions, “so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” He makes that promise. You’re saved because of Jesus. In Jesus there’s mercy. Mercy not because of you. Mercy in Jesus. Jesus alone. Jesus alone for you.

Jesus took your guilty sentence. (See, God’s Law was against every single person ever.) All your yucky sins and sinfulness became His. He claimed it all as His own. You get all that He is--perfect and eternal righteousness. All yours in Holy Baptism, received by faith, trusting in Jesus.

The Law is true towards our sinner-ness, apart from Jesus. But you believe in Jesus, you’re baptized in Him. So you have to be innocent, forgiven! Jesus died your death and rose again for your justification, your “innocent verdict.” And that’s what you are 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 and no blessing. ("Salvation unto Us Has Come" LSB 555, st.8)

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, pt. 3

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 18:1-19; Ephesians 1:1-23

Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. (Acts 2:38-39)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When I was 11 years old, I went with my best friend to his Baptist Bible camp. I had a good time most of the week. (I mean, it was not as good as an HT Conference, but nothing is!) The last night there, one of the counselors told me that since I was baptized as a baby, I should decide to be baptized again so that it would be more meaningful rather than something my parents chose for me.

I came home with a brain swamped by questions. Had my parents made a mistake and done things wrong? Did my Baptism mean anything since I didn't choose it? The worst question of all was wondering what would happen if my parents or pastor found out that I was questioning my Baptism! I (WRONGLY) imagined it would go badly for me, so I kept my questions to myself, which only made things worse.

Thankfully God knew how to rescue me from these doubts without my asking Him to. During confirmation classes about two years later, Pastor Rauschek and Mrs. MacLain used the Scriptures and the Small Catechism to teach us the answers to all the questions I was too afraid to talk about. I learned that Baptism means what God says it means. It is a life-giving water, rich in grace no matter when it happens in a person's life.

My parents had made no mistake getting me baptized about a week after I was born. Again and again the Scriptures rejoice over all the things that God does in Baptism and really does not say much about what you and I do there! He unites us to Christ's death and resurrection (Romans 6), gives us a new birth from above (John 3), washes away our sins and pours the Holy Spirit into our hearts (Titus 3). Best of all, God's promises in Baptism are for adults and for children (Acts 2). And there is nothing I could do to make it more meaningful than that! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus' cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me since my Baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood? ("God's Own Child, I Gladly Say It" LSB 594, st.2)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: 2 Chronicles 28:8-15

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 16:29-17:24; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, "Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you." (2 Chronicles 28:9, 11)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. About three centuries after David had united the kingdom of Israel, we turn to 2 Chronicles to find it is split into two. The Northern Kingdom of Israel has just won a civil war as brutal and bitter as the worst sibling rivalry. The writer of 2 Chronicles pulls back the curtains of heaven to let us know that God is directing history. The Northern Kingdom's army is His tool to discipline King Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah. The Lord wants them to repent of their false worship, which even goes so far as to include child sacrifice to pagan gods in 28:3. Yikes!

The victorious warriors are all excited about the wealth of slaves they are bringing back home. But then Obed, the prophet of the Lord, gets in the way of their victory parade. And the situation completely changes as these soldiers suddenly have compassion for their captives. Not only do they free them from slavery, but they actually give us a great example of living out the Fifth Commandment (and Seventh as well), helping and supporting their neighbors in every physical need before bringing them back to their families in Judah!

How on earth is such a change of heart possible? It's not. Not with man. But with God all things are possible. As the Lord sent His Word down from heaven through the mouth of His servant Obed, it worked repentance into the soldiers' hearts. Just like when Jonah preached repentance to Nineveh. Just like when your pastor or a fellow Christian speaks God's Word to you and it works to create and strengthen your faith in Christ, the mighty warrior of the Lord, who has freed you from your captivity to sin and clothes you with His righteousness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, in Your deep compassion You rescue us from whatever may hurt us. Teach us to love You above all things and to love our neighbors as ourselves; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Luke 10:21-37

Daily Lectionary: 1 Kings 12:20-13:5, 33-34; 2 Corinthians 8:1-24

Jesus said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." (Luke 10:28)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Context is pretty important. What are the facts surrounding the situation?

"Mom, can I use the car this weekend?"

"What needs to happen before I let you drive?"

"My room needs to be clean."

"You got it--do this and you get the keys."

If this conversation happened when I was a teen, the condition of my room meant I would not get the car until long after the weekend was over! I probably would have tried asking, "Exactly how clean does it need to be?"

Jesus sounds like He is saying that a person can do good works to get themselves into eternal life. "Do this and you will live." Context helps us to understand why Jesus says this. The lawyer asked Him a Law question, so Jesus gave the man a Law answer. And the Law starts to do its work on the man like a mirror, showing him that he had not lived a life that is clean enough to inherit eternity. He tried to justify himself by limiting the neighbors he needed to love, and that was when Jesus described a perfect standard of love in the good Samaritan--a standard the lawyer knew he could not live up to.

Neither can you. Nor can I. However, the Gospel message is that Someone completely different and foreign from us has. While keeping His life perfectly clean, Christ found us after sin and death had beaten the life out of us. He showed us mercy by taking up our burdens and paying for our healing not with silver or gold, but with His precious blood and innocent suffering and death. By His death, you inherit His eternal life for free.

Now you and I go and do likewise in having compassion on those around us, not because we can save ourselves, but because this is the way we start over and live again in the life of Christ after He has saved us by His mercy. 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 and no blessing. ("Salvation unto Us has Come" LSB 555, st.8)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Mark 6:14-29

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

The king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. (Mark 6:27-28)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Poor John the Baptist was trying to do God's work of preparing the way for the Lord. Yet we see that it lands him in jail and gets him killed. Look at evil King Herod Antipas behind it all, getting away with it as he is free to do whatever his heart desires.

This is one of the many ways that sin and Satan work on us, drawing our attention to what works in this world so that we think doing the right thing will hurt us and temptations will have no consequences.

But that is an illusion. Appearances can be deceiving. Herod is not free. He is a captive slave to his lusts. After getting half-brother Philip's wife Herodias to be his own, he refuses to leave his adulterous marriage behind when John calls him to repent. His sexual urges control him so that he cannot even say no when Herodias and Salome make their grisly demand for John's head on a platter. Mark reports that then Herod's guilty conscience had him terrified that Jesus was actually John the Baptist come back from the dead to get revenge. In the end, Herod Antipas loved his life and lost it all.

John, however, is completely free in the place where all tears are wiped away. Sin can no longer hurt him as he rests from his labors in heaven with the Lord. And even before his execution, John was free because the Holy Spirit filled him. Neither his own sin nor other people's opinions controlled him. He preached so people would receive God's freedom from the sins that were controlling them through the forgiveness of their sin.

Now John lives, even though he died (and even though he sinned before he died), all because Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by His death. And so He took John's sin away. And Jesus takes your sin away, too. You are free. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You gave Your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in both his preaching of repentance and his innocent death. Grant that we, who have died and risen with Christ in Holy Baptism, may daily repent of our sins, patiently suffer for the sake of the truth, and fearlessly bear witness to His victory over death; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Martyrdom of John the Baptist)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Introit for the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (Psalm 31:1, 3, 5; antiphon: Rev. 7:14b)

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

We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. (2 Corinthians 6:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 2 Corinthians 5 ends with beautiful Gospel words explaining how the Father has graciously reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus. Chapter 6 picks up with a warning not to receive that grace in vain. The Gospel is a precious gift from God, assuring us we are reconciled to God apart from anything we can do. It is all an unearned gift. But there is a right way to receive a gift and a wrong way.

The correct way is to show gratitude and appreciation, to thank and praise God for what He has done. The wrong way is to take the gift for granted or disregard it as nothing special. Paul warns the Corinthians, "Don’t receive the precious gifts of God that way, instead, cherish what you have been given. Show gratitude and honor for the One who has blessed you"

Paul goes on to talk about how he honors God for the grace he has received by faithfully carrying out the mission of the Church. He takes seriously the notion that the time is limited and the time is now to proclaim the Gospel. He also makes sure he is not a stumbling block or obstacle for anyone coming to Christ. Paul knows that he cannot cause anyone’s salvation (that is the Holy Spirit’s work) but he also knows that a scandalous life on his part will hinder the Spirit’s work.

In the last section, Paul warns the Corinthians: "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Note that Paul is not saying, "Have nothing to do with unbelievers." Christians are to be salt and light to the world. We are to interact with unbelievers, especially as we share the Good News of Jesus. Yet, he is cautioning Christians against collaborating with unbelievers in a way that will cause Christians to be influenced toward unbelief.

Being ungrateful and letting ourselves be influenced by those who don't believe in Christ are ways we often receive God's gifts in vain. Thanks be to God that He renews our faith with the gifts of His pulpit and altar, and keeps us in our baptismal grace unto eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Christ the eternal Lord. Whose promise hear we claim, Whose gifts of grace are freely poured On all who name Your name; With thankfulness and praise We stand before Your throne, Intent to serve You all our days And make Your glory known. ("Christ the Eternal Lord" LSB 829, st.1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

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

"God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:19)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 2 Corinthians 5 overflows with spiritual treasures! Paul begins by comparing our human bodies to tents. Tents are fun for a little while, but they aren’t a permanent home. They aren’t built to last. That is what happens to our bodies and that is why Christians "groan," longing to be in our true heavenly home. As our bodies break down we are ever more mindful that real life awaits us as God intended it from the beginning. Life without pain and suffering, sorrow and tears. Life in heaven that never ends!

With this perspective, a Christian does not have to fear death. With Paul (and so many Christians through the ages) we can say, "I would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." Of course, that choice is not ours to make. The Lord decides when our time is accomplished on this earth. Until that day, each of us is to make it our goal to be about the Lord's business. For Paul, that meant being a missionary. For you it may mean something else entirely. Whatever callings you have, as son or daughter, sibling, friend, neighbor, classmate, employee, coworker, student, church member, citizen, God gives you opportunities to love and serve those He has placed around you. That is the best way to make use of the time God gives you before He calls you home.

In the final section of chapter 5 we find some of the most beautiful and clear Gospel words in all of the New Testament: "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them." And, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Commit these words to memory. Recall them often! These words tell us how God saves us. The action is all from Him to us. The Father sends His Son; the Son gladly goes and takes our place as sinners. Though He is God, He becomes a man. In His suffering and death, He gets what we deserve so He can give us what we could never deserve: forgiveness of sins and life everlasting in heaven. It is a glorious exchange. Christ takes what is ours (sin and death) and gives us what is His (righteousness and life). And the result is perfect reconciliation with God that will never end. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

He undertakes a great exchange, Puts on our human frame, And in return gives us His realm, His glory and His name, His glory and His name. ("Let All Together Praise Our God" LSB 389, st.4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

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

"So we do not lose heart." (2 Corinthians 4:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Proclaiming the Good News of Christ in the first century AD wasn’t easy. Teaching God’s Word meant facing resistance, hostility, and persecution. Paul says that he and his companions were afflicted in every way.

In such an environment, it would be tempting to change the message to make the Gospel more appealing. If you made it fit in with the popular culture, then no one would take offense and you wouldn’t have to suffer. But Paul called this "disgraceful underhanded ways," and he refused to "practice cunning or to tamper with God’s Word." Paul would not compromise truth for his own convenience.

But wouldn’t compromising result in more people knowing Jesus? Not really. Giving people a watered-down, false version of Jesus isn’t going to put them on the path to salvation. Further, Paul explains that if the Gospel is veiled, "It is veiled to those who are perishing," that is, to those who are lost in sin and deluded by Satan, for "the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:3).

How similar things are today! While most Christians are spared physical persecution, we who by God’s grace have been called to believe in Jesus still face a lot of hostility and mockery. We, too, encounter unbelievers blinded by the god of this world. In such an environment it would be easy to give up on evangelism and say, "Why bother?"

Paul tells us the answer: Just as God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, so He will raise His Christians and bring us into His presence, "so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:15). Why proclaim the Good News if you may have to suffer? Because the end result is worth it! Grace will extend to more people, thanksgiving will increase, and all of this will bring more glory to God.

So, no matter how bad things get, Christians don’t lose heart. "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Christ, our true and only light, Enlighten those who sit in night; Let those afar now hear Your voice And in your fold with us rejoice. ("O Christ, Our True and Only Light" LSB 839, st.1)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Baptism, part 2

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

What benefits does Baptism give? (Small Catechism: Baptism)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lutherans understand just how important Holy Baptism is. As Luther explains in the catechism, "[Baptism] works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this. . ." Baptism is no symbol or representation of something else, it is itself a means of grace. That is, Holy Baptism channels the blessings of Christ’s work--forgiveness, liberation from death and hell, even eternal life--to the person being baptized. What benefits does Baptism give? It gives to sinners what none of us deserve but all of us need!

But notice to whom this is given: ". . . to all who believe this." This is important to note, because there are some who think of Baptism as a spell that is cast or ritual that is performed which guarantees that you will go to heaven. That’s not how it works. If it worked this way, we might as well open the fire hydrant on the street corner, spray everyone who passes by with water, and shout the Trinity at them!

Baptism doesn’t work this way because the gifts it bestows are only received by faith, the faith that God gives and sustains through His Word and Sacraments. For example: A child is baptized, but is raised in an anti-religious home. He doesn’t believe in Jesus or look to Him for salvation. In fact, he scoffs at the fact that he was baptized, because he thinks it is nothing but a silly superstition, or something his grandparents thought was important, but that he never cared about. This man’s Baptism won’t benefit him. It's not because Baptism doesn’t work and deliver that man salvation in Christ, but because that man hasn’t only rejected Baptism, he has rejected Jesus Christ. On the other hand, if he trusted in Jesus and looked to Him for salvation, he wouldn’t despise his own Baptism and all the blessings offered therein would be his.

There is no automatic guarantee that if a person is baptized, that person will be saved. Unbelief negates the blessings offered in Baptism. This works the other way, too. People wonder about the unbaptized. Since Baptism works salvation, can the unbaptized be saved? Just as rejecting Christ can negate a person's Baptism because of a lack of faith, so also a person who has faith in Jesus, yet never has the opportunity to be baptized, will not be condemned. An example is the thief on the cross. Put simply: Lack of Baptism does not condemn, but despising Baptism does.

Because you have been given the gift of faith and were baptized, you are marked as one of His own. All the blessings Jesus won for sinners--forgiveness, salvation, and life--are truly yours. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch