Reflections

November 4, 2024 

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 5:1-19; Matthew 22:23-46

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

How will you know God? Just look around and see the world struggling to know God, or to find God, or to experience God, or to figure God out. We can see some looking for God by climbing a mountain to meet a spiritual guru or trying to find Him through some sort of spiritual practice such as yoga (which is not truly “spiritual” at all since it’s the practice of body and mind and movement techniques), or to locate God by some sort of worldly government or movement, or even by trying to expand the brain spiritually with the use of drugs. It goes on and on. You can probably think of several other ways our generation tries to locate God. 

How will you know God? Moses says: “Hear, O Israel …” It’s by hearing. It’s through your ears. What goes into ears, of course, are words. You will know God by hearing His words spoken into your ears. Take the words Moses tells us, and cherish them, memorize them (“these words … shall be on your heart”). Write them down. Speak them to one another. Keep them in your conversation. Speak them with your children when you’re going down the road.  

In the way the world sees things, we have a strange God. A God comprehended by high-order thinking, a rigidly disciplined lifestyle, or deeply-felt spiritual yearnings—that God our world would accept. But a God comprehended and held onto by hearing His words and holding on to those words in faith—that God is foolishness to our world.

But God comes by hearing. The word to hear is the Gospel, the Word of Christ. This Word forgives sins. It declares you righteous. It cleanses the conscience. It creates faith. As Paul tells us, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?... So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:14, 17).

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous; Bright with Thine own holiness, Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! (LSB 578:3)

-Rev. Warren Graff, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

November 3, 2024

Today's Reading: Mark 12:28-37

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 3:6-4:2; Matthew 22:1-22

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

After His Baptism, where the Father publicly declared Him to be “My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), Jesus was in the wilderness where Satan tempted Him to deny His Father: “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Mathew 4:8-10).

Jesus has kept the Great Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

In this, Jesus also keeps the second Great Commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). For Satan was tempting Jesus to grasp control of all people of “all the kingdoms of the world.” We don’t even need to pause to reflect on the fact that Satan was, of course, lying. Satan had not, in fact, been given authority over all the people of this world. We may focus instead on how Jesus refuses to grasp power and control over all people (cf. Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus receives people from His Father as gifts (John 17:6). Rather than exercising power and control, Jesus desires to serve us with all the gifts the Father has given to Him (cf. Matthew 20:28).

Jesus has kept the two Great Commandments. He has loved His Father with all His heart, and, receiving us as gifts from His Father, He has loved us, His neighbor, even over Himself. 

Jesus has kept the two Great Commandments. That is righteousness. Now, as He serves us with all His Father’s gifts, Jesus bestows that righteousness upon us freely and abundantly. In all of this, His Father is well-pleased with Him. 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus, let me every day hear your word of forgiveness. Build me up in the faith that even as you bore my sin to your death on the cross, so you now clothe me in your righteousness. Amen.

-Rev. Warren Graff, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

November 2, 2024

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 24 - Psalm 89:1-4; antiphon: Psalm 9:1

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 1:1-19; Matthew 21:23-46

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all Your wonderful deeds. (Psalm 9:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The story is told of a woman wanting to look her best for her daughter’s wedding. “Don’t worry, ma’am,” said the hairdresser, “I’ll do you justice.” “Justice!” cried the lady. “I don’t need justice! I need mercy!”

An Old Testament prophet cries out to God that in wrath He would remember mercy (Habakkuk 3:2). That mercy is the “steadfast love” the psalmist is singing about in tomorrow’s Introit. “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever (89:1).”

It is “the steadfast love of the Lord” that sent Jesus to the cross for you to suffer and die for your sins. It is “the steadfast love of the Lord” that sends Jesus in your Baptism to keep the promise of His cross a present reality in the face of all your sins today. It is “the steadfast love of the Lord” that sends Jesus in the absolutions and sermons you hear from your pastor. And it is “the steadfast love of the Lord” that sends Jesus with the bread and wine at Holy Communion tomorrow, “for you, for the forgiveness of sins.”

After all, God made a covenant with His “chosen one,” with “David my servant,” that He would “establish” his “offspring forever,” and “build” his “throne for all generations” (Psalm 89:3-4). That is what will be happening in tomorrow’s Divine Service. For that Offspring is Jesus, and that throne is God’s throne of grace. God is fulfilling His covenant with David, establishing Jesus, David’s Son and David’s Lord, forever on David’s throne. 

That is good news for all of us because God knows our sins. He knows the dreaded fear we have because of our sins. But tomorrow, because of Jesus, God will be calling us to a lively trust, a joyful confidence in His steadfast love for all sinners. Because the justice God will promise tomorrow is the mercy He promised and accomplished for you the first time He sent Jesus. And it will be the same “steadfast love” the Lord sends and accomplishes for you when He sends Jesus on the Last Day.

“The steadfast love of the Lord” “will be built up forever.” Thank God, because that means salvation for all of us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Let children hear the mighty deeds Which God performed of old, Which in our younger days we saw, And which our parents told. So make to them His glories known, His works of pow’r and grace; And we’ll convey His wonders down Through ev’ry rising race. (LSB 867:1, 2)

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

November 1, 2024 

Today's Reading: Matthew 5:1-12

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Matthew 21:1-22

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:12)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When Peter made the good confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). When was Peter in heaven? Peter was with Jesus, and where Jesus is, that’s where the blessings of heaven are. 

To be “blessed” simply means God has acted and given you Jesus. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” because God has acted and given you Jesus. That is why the kingdom is yours. 

“Blessed are those who mourn,” “blessed are the meek,” and “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” because God has acted and given them Jesus. That is why your tears will be wiped away as you inherit the earth, satisfied with the fulfillment of all God’s promises to you with Jesus.

“Blessed are the merciful,” “blessed are the pure in heart,” and “blessed are the peacemakers” because God has acted and given them Jesus. That is why, Jesus is why, you will receive mercy, see God, and be called a child of God. 

And while apart from the first and last beatitudes, the ones in between are future blessings where neither moth nor rust can destroy or thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-21), they certainly are present blessings as well. It is just that one day, we will get to enjoy them in all their fullness. And that brings the beatitudes full circle.

In a world that wants nothing to do with Jesus as our righteousness before God, Christians suffer persecution. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,” and “blessed are you when others revile you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 

Today, on All Saints Day, the Church remembers those who have gone before us in the Lord because “in Jesus” is where all the blessings of heaven are. You ask, “O, when the saints go marching in,” how do I know I will “be in that number?” The Jesus God has given you in His Word, in His Water, and at His Supper. That’s how. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed. Alleluia! Alleluia! (LSB 677:1)

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

October 31, 2024

Today's Reading: John 8:31-36

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 32:28-52; Deuteronomy 33:1-29; Matthew 20:17-34

The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:35-36)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today, we give thanks to God for the Lutheran Reformation, for like an angel flying in midheaven (Revelation 14:6), God used Luther and the Lutheran Reformation to restore the promise of His gospel to a fallen and broken world.

Fallen and broken, everyone is a slave to sin. Jesus says so. “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” If you have committed sin today, and you certainly have, then you are a slave to sin. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (I John 1:8). Truth is, you and I will be slaves to sin all the way to the final breath we take in this life.

But, as also taught by Luther and the Lutheran Reformation, it is also every bit as true you and I are free now. Jesus says so. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Not kind of free. “Free indeed.” “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Truth is, all the way to the final breath we take in this life, you and I are no longer owned or defined by our sins anymore. Jesus has set us free from that.

“But I still sin!” Yes, you do. But Jesus still remains in the house forever, so forever, you still remain free. That is the promise of Jesus’ death for you on the cross. It’s the freedom God washes you with in your Baptism every day, speaks to you in His Word every day, and delivers to you at the Altar with Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Your sins do not own you. Your sins do not define you. Your sins will never tell God who or whose you are. You are His now. And you are declared by God Himself to be free, eternally holy, and righteous in His judgment. 

Abide in His Word, freed one! From cover to cover, Jesus is the truth that sets you free. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

October 30, 2024 

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27; Matthew 20:1-16

For thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ (Jeremiah 31:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who are you? Forget for a second how you would answer that question. How would God answer it? You are holy to God, righteous in His judgment, an heir to eternal life. That is how God would answer that question. 

It was that same promise to Israel of old that prompted the prophet to tell her to “shout aloud with gladness.” Not with fear, but gladness, because it seemed so strange to them, too. Not many years before, the Assyrians had carried many of their people away into captivity. Now, the Babylonians were doing the same. It seemed like Israel was defeated and that her people were conquered. 

Yet, notice God still calls them “the chief of the nations.” They certainly didn’t look the part, did they? That’s like God calling poor, miserable sinners holy in His sight. That’s like God declaring those who struggle with sin and all its ugly consequences righteous in His judgment. That’s like God calling those who ever offend Him and who justly deserve His temporal and eternal punishment His children, now.

But that is the promise of the cross. That is the promise God makes with you from the cross, every day, in your Baptism. It’s the promise you hear in God’s Word of pardon. And it’s the promise God places into you at the Holy Supper with Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Imagine a great company who had been carried far away, among whom many were blind and lame, some even pregnant, being brought back with tears of joy in their eyes, never once stumbling as they crossed over mountain, desert and sea. That is God’s promise to you, to all sinners, with the death of His own Son upon the cross. Not only will God be returning you safely to Himself, holy and righteous in His sight, He already has!

Who are you? What matters is not how you answer that question. What matters most is how God answers it. You are holy to Him. You are righteous in His judgment. You are His child. You are an heir to eternal life. That is how God answers that question. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Satan, hear this proclamation: I am baptized into Christ! Drop your ugly accusation, I am not so soon enticed. Now that to the font I’ve traveled, All your might has come unraveled, And, against your tyranny, God, my Lord, unites with Me! (LSB 594:3)

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House.

October 29, 2024

Today's Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:1-29; Matthew 19:16-30

Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Perhaps you have heard it said of someone, “That’s their life. It’s what they live for.” It could be a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It could be fishing, school, or sports. There’s just something about those things that seem to define who they are. 

When it comes to Jesus, what is that? You’re not going to believe this, but it’s you. The writer to the Hebrews tells us Jesus “always lives to make intercession” for you. That is why, as your High Priest with God, Jesus is able to save you “to the uttermost.”

You think your sins will finally damn you. Your sins lost that power over you when Jesus died for them on the cross. You think your sins are why God will finally forsake you someday. Your sins lost that power over you when Jesus died for them. You think your sins are why God and you are as close as the East is to the West. Your sins lost that power over you when Jesus died for them. And risen now from the dead, Jesus lives to keep it that way, for you.

In Confirmation class, you learned about Jesus’ humiliation, that He was “conceived… born… suffered… crucified, died and was buried.” You learned this was designed by God to save you “to the uttermost.” 

You also learned about Jesus’ exultation and that “He descended into Hell… rose again from the dead… ascended into heaven… sits at the right hand of God… (and) will come to judge the living and the dead.”  You were taught that this, too, was designed by God to save you “to the uttermost” (Romans 5:9-10). 

This is the promise God makes with you every day in your baptism. It’s the promise you hear in His Word. It’s the promise that is given to you at the Lord’s Supper, “for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” Yes, Jesus lives to save even you “to the uttermost.”

You ask, “How far can Jesus save a poor, miserable sinner like me?” The writer to the Hebrews gives you the answer. That’s His life. It’s what Jesus lives for. Jesus lives for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

He lives triumphant from the grave; He lives eternally to save; He lives all glorious in the sky; He lives exalted there on high. He lives to silence all my fears; He lives to wipe away my tears; He lives to calm my troubled heart; He lives all blessings to impart.”  (LSB 461:2, 5)

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House.

October 28, 2024

Today's Reading: John 15:12-16, 17-21

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 30:1-20; Matthew 19:1-15

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. (John 15:18)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why did the world hate the apostles Simon and Jude? Their names are tied together on the church calendar today because, according to tradition, they were both martyred on the same day. Why did the world hate them to death? Because they were faithful to Jesus’ doctrine. That’s why. 

Simon and Jude both taught that God’s salvation does not depend on sinners choosing Jesus but on Jesus choosing them. They taught that God does not love us because we love Him. We love God because God first loved us. Faithful to their Friend’s doctrine, Simon and Jude both taught that we are not saved by the help of grace; we are saved by grace itself. That’s a huge difference. 

Had Simon and Jude taught that God only did His part in our salvation by voting “yes,” and the devil did his part by voting “no,” but now we must do our part and cast the deciding vote– the world would have loved them. Their Jesus would not condemn the world’s works. He would reward them.  

Simon and Jude were Jesus’ friends because Jesus Himself is the Friend of sinners. And as friends of the Friend of sinners, Simon and Jude did what Jesus commanded them. They weren’t going to hide “this little gospel light of mine.” They would remain faithful to the Jesus God sent for us.

That Jesus went to the cross for you to cancel your vote. You are saved by that Jesus. That Jesus comes to you every day in your Baptism to keep calling you His friend. You are saved by that Jesus. That Jesus comes to you in the pardon you hear from your fellow friends in Christ and from your pastor. You are saved by that Jesus. That Jesus comes to you at Holy Communion to say to you, “I choose you. I still call you friend. I forgive you all your sins. And the only vote my Father ever listens to now is Mine.”

Thank God for Simon and Jude. For in their being chosen by Jesus, they have taught us God loves and chooses poor, miserable sinners just like us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Almighty God, You chose Your servants Simon and Jude to be numbered among the glorious company of the apostles. As they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so may we, with ardent devotion, make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

October 27, 2024

Today's Reading: Mark 10:46-52

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 29:1-29; Matthew 18:21-35

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up; He is calling you.”  (Mark 10:48-49)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you ever want to stop Jesus in His tracks, just cry out to Him for mercy. You can practice that today when the Church sings, “Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.” I usually sing that at the top of my lungs, not because I think the louder I sing it, the more likely Jesus will hear me. Jesus hears me and you because we are His.  

I will cry “out all the more” for mercy because I can still hear the world, the devil, and my own conscience telling me, “Be silent! Who do you think you are, pastor, crying out to Jesus for mercy? You are not worthy to do that. Crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out from and leave Jesus alone.”

To silence such fears, Jesus says to the blind man and to us, “Your faith has made you well.”  Jesus doesn’t say this because faith deserves some credit– Jesus deserves all the credit. Jesus says this to tell us our faith in Him to have mercy is never wrong, is never misguided. Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to us.

Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to the cross for you. His cross sets you free from everything that makes you unworthy. Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to you in your Baptism. Your Baptism promises you that whatever rock you crawled out from under has been washed away by His blood. Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to you in your pastor and at the Holy Supper today. Jesus wants to say to you, too, “I love you. I forgive you. And I save you. Go your way; your faith (your Jesus!) has made you well.”

You want to stop Jesus in His tracks? Just cry out to Him for mercy. You can practice that today when the Church sings the Kyrie, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

O God, the helper of all who call on You, have mercy on us and give us eyes of faith to see Your Son so that we may follow Him on the way to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

October 26, 2024 

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 23 - Psalm 131; antiphon: Psalm 130:1-2

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 28:1-22; Matthew 18:1-20

O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! (Psalm 130:1-2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Psalm 130 (all eight verses, not just the two from which the antiphon for tomorrow’s Introit is derived) is popular at funerals. It’s a psalm that pastors often pray out loud as the procession moves from the hearse to the graveside.

There was a country song released recently called “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.” I wish that, too. Most painful of all, though, is when a child dies. Why would God allow something like that to happen? Psalm 131 (tomorrow’s Introit) gives us wise counsel. “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me” (verse 1). Like a weaned child trusting its mother, the psalmist then cries out, “O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore” (verse 3).

There are many things in life we will never understand, and the death of a child is certainly one of them. But whether we understand something or not, it is always good to “trust in the LORD.”  Why? Because with the LORD “there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption” (Psalm 130:7). In His Word, God has revealed to us that He did not put Jesus on the cross only to leave us at the mercy of things we don’t understand in this life. He put Jesus on the cross for you and me so that the only hands we are at the mercy of now in this life and the next are His. That’s a good place to be because those hands were nailed to the cross for you and me to save us from all our sins.

Along with tomorrow’s psalmist, we, too, can “wait for the LORD.”  For in His own timing, perhaps not until eternity, He will make it clear to us how He was always present, always good and merciful in all He sent or allowed in this life. In “the depths,” that seems impossible to believe. But the promise of your Baptism, the forgiveness you will hear from your pastor tomorrow, and the redemption you will receive in Communion all promise you that the Lord’s got this. The Lord’s got you. And there is nothing at all to fear. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate And hath shed His own Blood for my soul. It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul. (LSB 763:2)

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.