Reflections

March 21, 2024 

Today's Reading: The Creed

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:19-31, Mark 15:16-32

Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. (The Second Article:  Part Two)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Second Article of the Creed is about Jesus, it is about Jesus for you.  It is the salvation story simplified into the smallest little paragraph.  …  God took on human flesh, He incarnated Himself to be one of us.  He stepped out of the glories of heaven, the vast everythingness and everywhereness of His infinite omni-ness and He placed Himself as the smallest speck within a virgin’s fallopian tubes, all so that He could float down into her uterus and be one of us, one with us in every way.

Out of the womb and into the fallen world; perfect God yet perfect man.  The Law ever before Him, ever being fulfilled in every active way imaginable, passively crossing every single “t” and dotting every single “i” in perfection.  Jesus standing as Israel, God’s son, before the Father:  Israel as Israel should have been (perfect) and Israel as Israel truly was (sinful):  The paradox of the Gospel as Jesus stands as both perfect sacrifice and at the same time, sin itself.

Then off to the place of purchase and triumph, Calvary and Golgotha, wallet full of a priceless currency that doesn’t glisten like gold or silver, but instead pulsates with the blood-red vibrancy that courses through His veins.  …  Perfect Lamb led to the slaughter so that His blood could cleanse us from all our sins.  Innocent as only God can be, yet held guilty for every last crime of humanity.  All sins forgiven, all shame remitted.  Death killed and laid to rest in His tomb.  Satan’s head crushed by a nail-pierced heel.

In fancy theological talk we call this “The Great Exchange”, for that is what Jesus did for humanity every step of the way.  What is His is now exchanged for what was ours:  sins for righteousness, death for life, dirty shame for a clean conscience.  …  All of this culminates next week on Good Friday, when Jesus cries out, “It is finished!”  And for the sake of Christ, it is. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lamb of God, pure and holy, Who on the cross didst suffer, Ever patient and lowly, Thyself to scorn didst offer.  All sins Thou borest for us, Else had despair reigned o’er us:  Have mercy on us, O Jesus!  O Jesus!  (LSB 434:1)

-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 20, 2024 

Today's Reading: Hebrews 5:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:1-18, Mark 15:1-15

And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:9-10)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You hear a lot of priestly stuff and temple stuff and tabernacle stuff in the book of Hebrews.  It can be a little overwhelming and perhaps even a little confusing for those of us who are not as well versed in the Old Testament as we should be.  So at risk of over simplifying it all, let’s just say that the writer of Hebrews is showing us how Jesus fulfills the entirety of the Old Testament; and He does so for you.

Jesus is a priest.  We have all heard that before, but He isn’t a priest in the normal order of priesthood.  He doesn’t come from the line of Levi.  His umpteenth great grandfather wasn’t Aaron.  And so He isn’t a priest like we would see in the temple.  Don’t get me wrong, He has some similarities with the Levitical priesthood, namely standing as a mediator between God and His people, but there are some differences as well.  And the major difference is that Jesus is an eternal priest, whereas all the rest were merely temporal.

But there is more…  Melchizedek was the king of Salem.  His name means “King of Righteousness” and His title means “King of peace”.  For Jesus to be a priest in this order means that He is an eternal priest who eternally brings righteousness and peace to His people.  …  Priests stand as mediators.  They stand in the stead of God for the people and in the stead of the people for God.  This Jesus does more perfectly than any priest in the order of Aaron because every other priest had to first offer sacrifices for his own sins, but not Jesus.

Jesus only offers a sacrifice for us, for you.  And opposite the Levitical sacrifices, which were made up of bulls and goats and rams and lambs, perpetually and habitually being slaughtered day and night, Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all.  He, the priest, He, the sacrifice.  He, in the order of Melchizedek, He, in the order of the Passover Lamb.  …  Jesus gives you gifts as your High Priest and those gifts stem from His sacrifice on the cross.  So receive from your kingly priest the gifts He has for you:  life, salvation, and forgiveness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

They rise and needs will have  My dear Lord made away; A murderer they save, The Prince of Life they slay.  Yet cheerful He  To stuff’ring goes That He His foes From thence might free.  (LSB 430:5)

-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 19, 2024 

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:23-3:22, Mark 14:53-72

And [Joseph] rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod.  This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.” (Matthew 2:14-15)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Is it too much to say that fathers are important, that fathers matter, that there is a difference between men and women, and a distinction to be made between the role they play in raising children and nurturing the next generation?  Not too long ago all of that would have been simple and easy to proclaim, almost as if it is woven into the fabric of God’s good nature.   But times change, things get weird, people go a little bonkers and so perhaps it is good to take the time to think about these things every once and awhile.

So are fathers important?  God certainly seems to think they are.  So much so, that He made sure that His Son had a defender, a protector, a guardian.  And this great champion of Jesus, this guardian of Christ, was none other than Joseph: a devout and merciful man who before the visit from the angel had decided to divorce his betrothed in private so that the crowds wouldn’t smash her head with rocks until she and the baby inside of her were dead.

And so I suppose it says something about the nature of fathers that our Heavenly Father made sure His Son had an earthly father, not a second mother, not a family friend, not a bigger brother or a kindly uncle, but a father.  And in our text for today Joseph fulfills one of the most important duties of the vocation of fatherhood, and that is to protect his children.

So down to Egypt Joseph races with his bride and his son, all so that the prophet Hosea could be fulfilled, all so that Jesus didn’t die in the streets of Bethlehem at the hands of Herod.  God provided His Son an earthly father so that Joseph could make sure that Jesus made it to the cross.  …  I know that seems weird, but how else could we look at it?  Jesus needed to fulfill the Law in our stead and then die as a sacrifice on the cross for our forgiveness and our Heavenly Father partly used Jesus’ earthly father to accomplish that.  …  So let us give thanks to our Heavenly Father for Joseph, the Guardian of our Lord.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We sing our thanks for Joseph, The guardian of our Lord, Who faithfully taught Jesus Through craft and deed and word.  Grant wisdom, Lord, and patience To parents ev’rywhere Who guide and teach the children Entrusted to their care (LSB 517:14)

-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 18, 2024 

Today's Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-37

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:1-22, Mark 14:32-52

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.  For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  If you remember anything about Jeremiah you will remember that this guy loves to weep.  Day and night tears streamed down his face, not because he was a cry baby, but because of the grief that he bore over the people of Israel, the nation of Judah.  And because Jeremiah was God’s prophet, his tears were God’s tears.  …  Remember, the people were in exile and this was all from their own doing.  For generation upon generation they had played footsie with other gods, batted eyes with foreign idols, and found themselves in the backseat of Baal’s car.

Their sin was idolatry, First Commandment stuff, but it was often expressed in terms of the Sixth Commandment because YHWH was their true Bridegroom that they had spurned.  Jeremiah and the many prophets before him had constantly warned the people of their idolatrous adultery, but the people never listened.  And so now they find themselves in Babylon, Jerusalem destroyed, Temple torn to the ground.  Things couldn’t get any worse.  They had broken the covenant God had made with them and now they reap the fruit of their labor.

But mystery of all mysteries, God is not yet finished with them.  Like an ever faithful husband He promises to make another covenant with them.  Not like the old one cut with the blood of bulls and goats, but a new one cut with the blood of a firstborn Lamb.  It is this covenant that will last forever, that will never be broken.  And the knowledge of the Lord will be written on their hearts, on your hearts, because He will forgive their iniquity in Christ and remember their sin no more because of the sacrifice of His Son.

And this promise of God will be yours until the eternal vastness of the heavens can be measured, which is just His way of saying, “This covenant in Christ will never end.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Come to Calv’ry’s holy mountain, Sinners, ruined by the fall; Here a pure and healing fountain Flows for you, for me, for all, In a full, perpetual tide, Opened when our Savior died.  They that drink shall live forever; ‘Tis a soul renewing flood.  God is faithful; God will never Break His covenant of blood, Signed when our Redeemer died, Sealed when He was glorified.  (LSB 435:1,4)

-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 17, 2024 

Today's Reading: Mark 10:35-45

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 1:1-22, Mark 14:12-31

[Jesus said,] “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43b-45)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, otherwise known as the sons of Thunder for their boisterous and blustery natures, come to Jesus with a request.  Actually, it isn’t so much a request as a demand.  (Isn’t that just like the sinner to demand that God does something for him?)  Well, anyway, they want to sit at Jesus’ right and left when He comes in glory.  Now I know that we are supposed to put the best construction on everything, but I’m pretty sure that the only reason that they ask this is because they assume that Jesus’ glory is going to look like a throne and a crown and a scepter of might and a courtroom of servants for as far as the eye can see, and they want to get in on the action.  Goodness, I most certainly would!!!

Ah, the sinner and his narrow understanding of greatness…  Jesus sits down these two thunderous brothers (and us while He’s at it) and teaches them/us a better way:  To be first is to be a slave.  To be great is to be a servant.    For you see, greatness isn’t measured by how many people have bowed before you, but by how many people you have bowed before.

But lest we think that Jesus is laying out for us a path of greatness that we must walk, He would instead have us know where His true glory is to be found.  He is making His way to Jerusalem; in fact, it is in the very next chapter.  And from there He will ride His humble mule of a mount all the way to the cross.  For it is at the cross where true greatness is found.  It is at the cross where Jesus’ glory is put on full and gruesome display.  Broken servant-body hanging derelict for you.  The blood of a slave gushing forth to cover all your sins.

In the weakness of the cross is where we find the greatness of our God.  And that is not a greatness that we must earn, instead it is a greatness that we may freely receive. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 16, 2024 

Today's Reading: Psalm 116:1-4, 8; antiphon: Psalm 43:1 

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 49:29-50:7, 14-26; Mark 14:1-11

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial.”  (Mark 14:6-8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Imagine what it must have looked like: everyone is gathered around having a civilized dinner with this fascinating teacher, then this woman bursts in and breaks her jar of oil and pours it on His head. You can picture the stuttered incredulity, yet she is presumably unfazed, even in the face of a scolding over her wastefulness. The Bible has a great deal to say about care for the poor, and with this backdrop it seems perfectly reasonable that people would be concerned about this woman’s waste of three hundred denarii, as that was almost a year’s wages. One expects Jesus to whole-heartedly agree with their concern, yet Jesus commends her, calling her act beautiful, and declaring that wherever the Gospel is proclaimed in the world this story will be told in memory of her. Funny that despite that Mark seemingly still forgot her name. 

Jesus sees and understands the devotion of the woman in Bethany. Her actions are not frivolous, rather they are an unrestrained act of worship. She also recognizes the urgency of the moment, as Jesus will soon die, and dedicates her savings to the care for Jesus’ body. This is really an extraordinary thing, as one can surely understand dedicating your savings to a cause that will continue, then it seems like more of an investment, but to dedicate your savings to anointing a soon dead messiah is foolishness. Yet the woman in Bethany brings what she has and willingly pours it all out for Jesus. She has a job to do, worship to offer, love to bring to the soon crucified king, with no time for concerns about practicalities. With these actions she places His death in the center of her own life, literally pouring out her savings to honor it, and in this way shows us all the meaning of discipleship. As we begin to turn our faces toward Golgotha, we too have an opportunity to contemplate what it means to honor the body poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins. We do not honor Jesus by somehow trying to pay Him back, but by receiving the gifts in His body and blood as He has ordained, and perhaps we can consider the delicious impracticality of clinging to that promise.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, dearest Friend,  

For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?  O make me Thine forever!  

And should I fainting be,  Lord, let me never, never, Outlive my love for Thee. (LSB 450:5)

-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. 

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 15, 2024 

Today's Reading: Mark 13:24-37

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 47:1-31, Genesis 48:1-49:28, Mark 13:24-37

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.\ (Mark 13: 32-33)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a cottage industry dedicated to deciphering the signs and learning when Jesus will appear, and unsurprisingly it makes people a lot of money. Yet, oddly enough despite protracted explanations about how various verses can be used to predict the precise date of Christ’s return, these verses are rarely addressed. Jesus couldn’t be clearer, no one knows the day or the hour, so people should quit using the Bible like a magic decoder ring that will tell them exactly when. 

Instead of looking for signs to give us a timeline, we should simply always be prepared for His return. How do we do that? By staying awake. Jesus doesn’t mean we should undergo a rigorous diet of sleep deprivation, instead He is saying that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be distracted by all the cares and comforts of this world and lured away from Him. It’s easy to forget, especially living with the abundance with which many are accustomed, that we rely on God for all our needs of body and soul. As a result of this abundance many think that the life we have is ours to possess and control. It’s easy to let our souls shrink as we fritter our lives away on silly, meaningless things, complaining of boredom, and grumbling about the neighbors we have been given to care for. Yet Jesus says to stay awake and be on guard because the days are evil. We certainly see this in all the things that lull us into numbed distraction. Like a person walking across the street staring at their phone, we amble through our lives, unaware of all the dangers that assail us. These distractions aren’t always obvious things, sometimes it’s things that simply rob us of gratitude and cultivate our grumbling. 

Instead of cultivating anxious grumbling, our wakefulness cultivates a hopeful longing, awaiting the day when we can bow to our merciful judge who brings healing and restoration with Him. Just as we would stay awake in eager anticipation of a loved one’s long-expected late-night return, we await our Lord’s return. And however joyous our loved one’s return might be, think how much more joyous that glorious day will be. What a reason to stay awake to watch and pray.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The clouds of judgment gather, The time is growing late; Be sober and be watchful, 

Our judge is at the gate: The judge who comes in mercy, The judge who comes in might

To put an end to evil  And diadem the right. (LSB 513:1)

-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. 

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 14, 2024 

Today's Reading: Mark 13:1-23

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 45:1-20, 24-28; Mark 13:1-23

And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. (Mark 13:7-8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. War is so terrible that even a rumor of it brings a particular anxiety. This is no less true today, when a threat of war between nuclear powers brings the dread of annihilation on a scale the world has never seen. We can turn on the news and see war fully underway in various parts of the world, from Europe to the Middle East, and calls for world peace seem like a cliched punchline to a bad joke. For much of the world, war is a constant part of daily lives, causing suffering that is physical, economic, and emotional, and so it can in a very literal sense feel like the end of the world. 

Since the 1980’s a certain type of false teachers took to reading the Bible as a sort of code to decipher world events, and each new outbreak of war would be a signal to them that the end was coming. At times it felt a little like apocalyptic prophecy BINGO: after a certain set of criteria would be hit, that was it, it meant Jesus was coming any day now. Of course, all these prophetic declarations fell short because there are always wars and rumors of war. They’re ubiquitous in a world stricken with sin and death. Jesus here isn’t giving us a roadmap, so we know how close we are to arriving at his second coming. Instead He is telling us that the trouble in the world doesn’t happen outside of the knowledge or power of God, but the trouble is part of the pathway to the joy of His return. It’s no accident He uses the metaphor of birth pangs—labor is hard, it’s messy, it can feel like death is approaching, but it is the approach of new life entering this world. Similarly, our trials are far from the approaching drumbeat of death but are the signs by which we can know that true, full, and abundant life is making its way into the world. They remind us to look to the glorious appearing of our Lord, who promises to return and, in the words of Tolkien, make all the sad things come untrue. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Jesus Christ, do not delay, But hasten our salvation; We often tremble on our way In fear and tribulation   O hear and grant our fervent plea: Come, mighty judge, and set us free  From death and ev’ry evil. (LSB 508:7)

-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. 

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 13, 2024 

Today's Reading: Mark 12:28-44

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 44:1-18, 32-34; Mark 12:28-44

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is the social media trend of “boy math” versus “girl math” but here we are introduced to “Jesus math.” Jesus doesn’t math correctly, and this is a repeated problem with Him. He leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one, He insists that the greatest is actually least in His kingdom, that the least is greatest, and here He is saying that a woman who didn’t give enough to cover a single bulletin put more in than all the rich people whose offerings were surely exponentially more than hers. A truly ludicrous assertion. 

The rich give out of their abundance, meaning their leftovers, and probably not enough to feel a bit of a financial pinch. In contrast, the widow gives out of her poverty, which means her gift is a sign of her hope and expectation, she literally puts her money where her mouth is regarding her trust in God’s provision. Presumably the widow is not a fool and knows that the money she gave was all she had to live on, but she trusted that her Lord would provide all that she needed to support this body and life. 

The lesson here is not a formula for how to give to your church, Jesus is not commanding everyone to give all they have to the church, risking starvation and homelessness. Rather He’s again showing that in worldly abundance there is poverty, in poverty there is abundance, and with our eyes it’s often hard to see which is which. Often we’re at the end of our ropes emotionally, financially, spiritually, and feel as if we have nothing to give, and wonder how we’ll find the strength to do the things we know we should. With the widow we can be comforted that when we give what we have out of our poverty of money, time, or emotional well-being, it is blessed, not measured for quantity, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in Spirit. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Seek first God’s reign, His boundless grace,  His holy name in all you do:

Christ first and last in ev’ry place;  All else will then be given you. (LSB 736: 6)

-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. 

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.

March 12, 2024 

Today's Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 43:1-28, Mark 12:13-27

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. But God...those are powerful six letters. Paul here tells us exactly what our condition is, in no uncertain terms. We are dead, and we’re dead because of our trespasses. What are our trespasses? Those are all the big and small ways we’ve broken God’s law: failing to love Him, failing to love our neighbors, putting ourselves first, serving the desires of our sinful hearts, and maybe even justifying all this sin under some delusion of self-righteousness. These trespasses don’t just leave us crippled, injured, or weak, instead they kill us. We’re entirely captive to them, just as a dead person is entirely captive to death and can do nothing to free herself. Think of it like Lazarus, stinking and rotting in his tomb, certainly unable to walk out under his own steam, but was freed from death by the call of Jesus. 

We are similarly bound up in our grave clothes of sin, and our God, who is rich in mercy and love, calls to us by name, very often for the first time at the font, telling us to come out of our graves. Despite our stinking corpses of sin, He loves us and calls us His own, and makes us alive in Him. His intervention into our deaths is not some spiritual potpourri to cover the smell and make us look a little more presentable, instead when God makes us alive, He is breathing new life into us just as He breathed life into creation by His Word. His Word of grace brings true life to all the dead places destroyed by sin. All of this He does for you by grace. He doesn’t bring you life and treasures eternal because you did something to earn it or warrant it, after all God owes none of us anything, but because He is a God of love and mercy, He seeks to bring peace where there is affliction, grace where there is only condemnation, life where there is death. Your God has called you His own, made you His own, and will raise you up with Him, not because of who you are, but because of who He is. Thanks be to God. 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. (LSB 555:1)

-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. 

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

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.