April 15, 2023

Today's Reading: Ps. 105:4-7; antiphon: Ps. 105:8

Daily Lectionary: Ex 19:1-25, Heb 13:1-21

Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,  Psalm 105:5.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christ is risen! An old saying says, “those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.”  This statement is typically used to remind us of our past failures and faults and that we hopefully learned from them and didn’t repeat them.  But what about the joyous parts of our history?  My dad passed away almost 20 years ago, and I have a long account of memories, joys, and sorrows I shared with him.  I often recall those things with my children and even try to imitate what I learned from my father. As Christians, we have a shared history recounted in the Holy Scriptures.

Psalm 105 recounts and celebrates God’s history with Israel, closely connected to the psalm before and after. These three psalms follow Israel’s history from Creation and the Fall (Psalm 104) to God’s call of Abraham to the conquest of the land (Psalm 105), ending in Israel’s exile (Psalm 106). Today’s reading shares family stories of God’s faithfulness.

The Psalmist calls people to “remember the wonders he has done” (v. 5). Later in the Psalm; we are reminded of the promise God made to Abraham to give his descendants the land of Canaan (vv. 8–11).   One theme runs through this psalm: God keeps His promises!   Even today, we are reminded of the history of the salvation that Jesus continues to give for the world's life.  In Divine Service One, during the Eucharistic Liturgy, we hear after the Words of Institution the proclamation of our history in Christ “As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your Resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment.   As Jesus first gave the Eucharist to His disciples, this blessed meal has been passed down to us today to eat and drink.  We remember and recall Jesus’ passion, Death, and Resurrection in this meal.  We repeat and celebrate our history over and over each Sunday.  We recognize the Lord’s faithfulness and the works He has done. By this history, we are never doomed but redeemed and saved.  Christ is risen! 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Heavenly Father, God of grace, govern our hearts that we may never forget Your blessings but steadfastly thank and praise You for all Your goodness in this life until with all Your saints, we praise You eternally in Your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Collect for Thanksgiving to God - LSB page 310)

- Pastor Kent Schaaf is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.