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Wednesday of the First Week after the Epiphany
Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 37:15-28; Romans 6:1-23
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear it and learn it. (The Small Catechism: Third Commandment)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God commands us to remember the Sabbath Day for a reason: that it would be kept holy. That last word matters: holy. It shows why the premise we usually understand regarding the Sabbath Day is completely wrong. Holiness never comes from us, but it always comes from God.
The Sabbath Day was not quarantined from the week as a lightning round for extra Jesus-points. It was not set aside for us to do the work of not working, or even for us to do the work of worship. If the day is going to be holy among us, it’s not going to be based on anything we do.
Holiness comes from God. What if He set aside the whole day because He actually wanted to spend it with you? What if He set the day apart so that there would always be room to receive His gifts of Word and Sacrament? It’s these things that make us holy. Jesus, given in Word and Sacrament, forgive sinners. Any day that happens is a holy day.
The premise of the Sabbath is that God wants to give you real gifts in time and space. Don’t just spend time thinking about Him, but understand that He enters reality to give you real gifts on a specific day. God isn’t hiding in heaven. The day is holy because He shows up to make it that way, and you are holy because He gives you the gifts that accomplish it. He commands them to be received because He loves you enough to insist you receive a gift. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman
“Come unto Me, ye weary, And I will give you rest.” O blessed voice of Jesus, Which comes to hearts oppressed! It tells of benediction, Of pardon, grace, and peace, Of joy that hath no ending, Of love that cannot cease. (Come Unto Me, Ye Weary, LSB 684:1)
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By Higher Things®Daily Lectionary: Ezekiel 37:15-28; Romans 6:1-23
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear it and learn it. (The Small Catechism: Third Commandment)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God commands us to remember the Sabbath Day for a reason: that it would be kept holy. That last word matters: holy. It shows why the premise we usually understand regarding the Sabbath Day is completely wrong. Holiness never comes from us, but it always comes from God.
The Sabbath Day was not quarantined from the week as a lightning round for extra Jesus-points. It was not set aside for us to do the work of not working, or even for us to do the work of worship. If the day is going to be holy among us, it’s not going to be based on anything we do.
Holiness comes from God. What if He set aside the whole day because He actually wanted to spend it with you? What if He set the day apart so that there would always be room to receive His gifts of Word and Sacrament? It’s these things that make us holy. Jesus, given in Word and Sacrament, forgive sinners. Any day that happens is a holy day.
The premise of the Sabbath is that God wants to give you real gifts in time and space. Don’t just spend time thinking about Him, but understand that He enters reality to give you real gifts on a specific day. God isn’t hiding in heaven. The day is holy because He shows up to make it that way, and you are holy because He gives you the gifts that accomplish it. He commands them to be received because He loves you enough to insist you receive a gift. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. –Rev. Harrison Goodman
“Come unto Me, ye weary, And I will give you rest.” O blessed voice of Jesus, Which comes to hearts oppressed! It tells of benediction, Of pardon, grace, and peace, Of joy that hath no ending, Of love that cannot cease. (Come Unto Me, Ye Weary, LSB 684:1)