October 5, 2023

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23, Colossians 4:1-18

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5-6)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Are you a preacher or a hearer? If you are a preacher, as you well know, you must also count yourself a hearer. What does the preacher preach? The mystery of Christ, the Word of God (both Law and Gospel), repentance and Christ crucified for sinners, the forgiveness of sins. What does the hearer hear? All of the above, the clear Word that flows from the faithful preacher’s open mouth…the splendid mystery of Christ revealed, the forgiveness of sins. 

Who do the hearers receive from the preacher? They receive Jesus. All of Him. What great gift God has given to His Church for you. He opens heaven to you through the preaching of God’s ordained ministers. This is a joyful mystery of God’s working in us and among us. So, we give thanks and pray for the preachers that He would open doors for the Word to be declared in all its clarity and power. 

Hearers (that’s all of us) live as such…hearers of the Word, wherever you may find yourself. “Walk in wisdom” is another way to say the same thing. Hearers walk in and with Jesus. The baptized, who are the hearers of the Word, are baptized into Christ. Jesus is the wisdom of God who dwells in you, and you in Him. “Walk in wisdom” … walk in Jesus. 

Christian speech, by which I mean how we speak in all of life’s situations, begins with preachers putting Jesus into our ears. How we speak to those within the household of God, fellow believers, and “outsiders” matters…it matters a lot. Gracious words are words that don’t betray your hearing, and expose you to be a hypocrite…hearing one thing and speaking another. 

Gracious words reveal Christ in you to those who hear you. Speech “seasoned with salt” is not laced with profanity, gossip and animosity. Christian speech is not argumentative. Gracious speech is seasoned with kindness, sincerity and truth. Gracious speech is a mark of hearers living under God’s grace. 

“Grace be with you,” that you may be gracious. “Grace be with you,” St. Paul’s final word to you today, a good final word, for God’s grace is His eternal kind and merciful favor towards you that you hear in the preaching of Christ crucified. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, 

 O Lord God of hosts;

let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me.  

 O God of Israel.

My prayer is to you, O LORD. 

In the abundance of your steadfast love 

 answer me in your saving faithfulness. (Psalm 69:6,13)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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.