April 18, 2023

Today's Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9 

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 23:14-33, Luke 4:31-44

1Peter 1:3   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  Christ is risen! I love birthdays, especially when it's the birthday of one of my kids.  I love the joy they get to see and celebrate and the memories and emotions I have of recalling the day they were born. We all have birthdays, but none of us can remember what that particular day was like.  Not only that, none of us chose to be born (thanks be to God your parents went through with it!). Yet your birthday is not just a one-time-a-year event.  When you think about it, every day you live, you get to live out your birthday!  Peter said that God caused us to be born again today. We didn’t do it. God did. It wasn’t you “making your decision for Jesus,” as though you could cause yourself to be born again. No, God caused us to be born again, and he did it through his life-giving Word. Later Peter writes in chapter 3, “Baptism now saves you.” Jesus does the work for us as we are born again.  And each day, you live out your Baptism as Jesus forgives you in the name of the triune God that gives Baptism its saving power! 

This Baptism is also connected to Jesus’s Resurrection, where Scripture talks about him being the “firstborn” of the new creation.  Your Baptism connects you to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter says just that. He says God “has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Christ was dead, and now he is risen. And therein lies the decisive act in all of history. Christ’s Resurrection from the dead gives substance to the excellent news, connects us to Christ in Holy Baptism, and forms the basis for the hope of our resurrection.

Just like our birthday, there will also be our death day.  We do not die without hope the day we leave this earthly life.  Peter tells us about this future in our text. He says we have been born again to a living hope, “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” “Inheritance”–that is what you receive. God gives you the gift of an “imperishable” inheritance–it doesn’t have an expiration date. An “undefiled” inheritance–nobody can mess with it. An “unfading” estate–that won’t get weaker or watered down. And this inheritance is being “kept in heaven for you,” where it will remain safe and secure.  You have been born again to a living hope.  Christ is risen!

Gracious Lord, we give you thanks that in Holy Baptism we receive forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, and eternal salvation.  On our baptismal anniversary continue to bless us by your Word and Spirit that we faithfully keep the covenant into which we have been called, boldly confess our Savior and finally share with all your saints the joys of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (Prayer for Anniversary of a Baptism - modified - 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.