October 27, 2024

Today's Reading: Mark 10:46-52

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 29:1-29; Matthew 18:21-35

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up; He is calling you.”  (Mark 10:48-49)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If you ever want to stop Jesus in His tracks, just cry out to Him for mercy. You can practice that today when the Church sings, “Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.” I usually sing that at the top of my lungs, not because I think the louder I sing it, the more likely Jesus will hear me. Jesus hears me and you because we are His.  

I will cry “out all the more” for mercy because I can still hear the world, the devil, and my own conscience telling me, “Be silent! Who do you think you are, pastor, crying out to Jesus for mercy? You are not worthy to do that. Crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out from and leave Jesus alone.”

To silence such fears, Jesus says to the blind man and to us, “Your faith has made you well.”  Jesus doesn’t say this because faith deserves some credit– Jesus deserves all the credit. Jesus says this to tell us our faith in Him to have mercy is never wrong, is never misguided. Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to us.

Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to the cross for you. His cross sets you free from everything that makes you unworthy. Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to you in your Baptism. Your Baptism promises you that whatever rock you crawled out from under has been washed away by His blood. Mercy is why the Father sends Jesus to you in your pastor and at the Holy Supper today. Jesus wants to say to you, too, “I love you. I forgive you. And I save you. Go your way; your faith (your Jesus!) has made you well.”

You want to stop Jesus in His tracks? Just cry out to Him for mercy. You can practice that today when the Church sings the Kyrie, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

O God, the helper of all who call on You, have mercy on us and give us eyes of faith to see Your Son so that we may follow Him on the way to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

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

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House.