Today's Reading: Introit for St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord (Psalm 34:2-5; antiphon: vs. 1)

Daily Lectionary: 2 Samuel 1:1-27; 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! (From the Introit for St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever shared a meme with a friend? Sent them a picture or a quote or forwarded a post or a tweet? Of course you have. We do this because some things are too good to keep to ourselves and we enjoy them more when we share them with others. That’s the kind of thing David is talking about here in this psalm.

David is proclaiming what God has done for him, and he doesn’t want to keep it to himself. He wants all to join in the praise. "Magnify" literally means to enlarge or make great, but figuratively it means to praise or extol, that is, to make God greater by telling others what He has done.

As a pastor, I have prayed with people in desperate times, when death was near, or some tragedy occurred. I have seen firsthand how fervent prayer to God brings peace and takes away fear. Most of us have been in such a situation (if you haven’t already, trust me, you will.). At such a time, when God answers our prayer and delivers us from some evil, it is only natural that we feel grateful. We may even express that gratitude to another. But how often does our gratitude bubble over like David’s? In other words, have you ever been so moved by what God has done for you, that you can’t stop yourself from sharing with others what He has done? Why is it so easy to share a funny meme or post on Instagram, yet not so easy to magnify the Lord?

We know that we have plenty of reasons to magnify the Lord, the greatest of which is that He sent us His Son to redeem us from sin and defeat the devil. Jesus has opened the Kingdom of heaven to us, and the Holy Spirit has called us to faith and made us heirs of heaven. All Christians thank God for this tremendous and gracious gift. Today, make it your goal to magnify the Lord. Tell someone else how grateful you are to God for blessing you and filling you with hope and see if sharing this with someone else also increases your joy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Tell how the Father sent His Son to save us. Tell of the Son, who life and freedom gave us. Tell how the Spirit call from every nation His new creation. ("Rise, Shine, You People" LSB 825, st.4)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch