August 2, 2025

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 8 - Psalm 49:7-8, 13-14a, 15; antiphon: Psalm 49:1-2

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 17:20-47; Acts 26:24-27:8

“But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.” (Psalm 49:15)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

In Perelandra, the second book in C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy, the main character is sent to the planet Perelandra (what we call Venus) to save that planet from the kind of temptation and Fall that happened on the silent planet (what we call Earth). As the story begins, the man is sealed into and later arrives on Perelandra in a coffin-like spacecraft. And who exactly is this character who flies through the celestial vault in a casket, only to arrive at an unfallen planet and rescue it? A most fitting name: Ransom. 

The story Lewis tells us of Ransom’s cosmic adventure and rescue of Perelandra is a beautiful picture of the true story of ransom in our own world. What the Psalmist sings about in Psalm 49 is God’s rescuing and redeeming work of ransom. If God were to come to earth, we might imagine that he would do so in some spectacular way, perhaps a spaceship that would put the Millennium Falcon or the U.S.S. Enterprise to shame. Perhaps God would come faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But Look! Behold! Not up, but down. 

Our Ransom comes from above, but is found below. So don’t look up at the stars through a telescope, but look through your ears to the manger. God, our Ransom, comes to save us, not in a spacecraft, but wrapped in swaddling cloths and cooing and wiggling in the arms of the Virgin Mary. His name is Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. His name is Ransom, for he will pay for your sins with every drop of his blood on the cross.

What the Psalmist sings - God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol - takes place in the manger of Bethlehem and the cross outside Jerusalem. After all, God’s work of Ransom doesn’t happen once upon a time, or in a galaxy far, far away. But in the days of Caesar, when all the Roman world was taxed and when Quirinius was governor of Syria, and when Pilate washed his hands. And the good news is this: your ransom is no science fiction story; it’s a fact. Under the darkness of a noonday night sky, Jesus gave his life as a ransom for you. And three days later, he walked out of the cold, dark expanse of the tomb to bring you new life. 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Since Christ has full atonement made And brought to us salvation Each Christian therefore may be glad And build on this foundation. Your grace alone, dear Lord, I plead, Your death is now my life indeed, For You have paid my ransom. (LSB 555:6)

Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz, pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.

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

Step back in time to the late Reformation and learn about a divisive yet inspirational figure: Matthias Flacius Illyricus. His contributions to Lutheranism still echo in our teachings today, from the Magdeburg Confession to parts of the Lutheran Confessions. Learning about Flacius’s life will help you understand more intricacies of the Reformation than ever before.