August 5, 2023

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 10: Psalm 105:39-43; antiphon: Psalm 105:1

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:21-2:17, Galatians 6:1-18

They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.  (From the Introit for Pentecost 10)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is no surprise that this is tomorrow’s Introit when you know that the Gospel reading is the Feeding of the 5000. These words dovetail (or is it ‘quail tail’?) nicely with what Jesus does.

This psalm is a quick overview of what God has done for his people from the call of Abraham up to the people coming into the Promised Land. It is a remembrance of all that God has done in love for His chosen ones.

When you hear these words tomorrow, and your pastor proclaims the Gospel to you about how Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, think back to these words and rejoice that God our Father has been providing for His people in strange and mysterious ways century after century since He called Abraham to be the father of his people.

Sure, the modern grocery store may not seem as miraculous as the loaves and fish, or manna on the ground each morning, or flocks of quail drifting through the camp at catchable speed, or water gushing from a rock in the wilderness, but it is indeed a miracle of modern engineering that fresh (and shelf-stable) foods are replenished as fast as you can load a grocery cart. Not to mention fast food outlets and their offerings.

The giving of First Article Gifts, of our Daily Bread, is what God our Father does for a living. He allows the rain to fall on the just and unjust, He provides food and shelter for all of His creations, and He preserves us in safety with an eye to eternity.

These gifts of food and drink, house and home, and all that the explanation to the First Article of the Creed in the Small Catechism spell out come to us because God remembers his holy promise.

As marvelous and as amazing as these miracles are, and the reception of our Daily Bread, they all pale in comparison to Jesus giving his very self for us and our salvation. Even this is a gift of God because by it, He remembers His holy promise.

So the next time you are wowed by a beautiful dinner or a surprising find at the grocery store, remember that God your Father remembers His holy promise to you and He sustains you because He loves you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things is wondrously reigning And, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining. Have you not seen All that is needful has been Sent by His gracious ordaining?  (LSB 790:2)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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

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.