June 21, 2023

Today's Reading:Table of Duties, Luther’s Small Catechism: First Article Part 2

Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 11:1-10, John 10:22-42

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. (Matthew 6:26)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Is that all? I know, I know…if you’ve read through Part 1 of Luther’s Small Catechism’s explanation for the First Article, the response I should expect is: Isn’t that enough?! “God has made me and all creatures!” He has given me my body and soul and still takes care of them. That’s no small feat! Something that only God could do. But Dr. Luther is intent on rescuing us from any delusion we may have cooked up that we’ve pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, or that “our” stuff is really “ours” at all. “He also gives me—“ and I just love it when Luther starts listing things like this. He really gets on a roll here—from the clothes on my back and the shoes on my feet  to my home, family, and the (admittedly modest) little group of animals who provide us with things like eggs and occasionally even meat—all this is from God.

 And we can’t overemphasize this point. It’s not enough to simply believe that God created us. He is still, right this moment, actively holding all things in creation together. And working together the very same things for your good. I know that there are days when you just don’t see it. Maybe you don’t have one of the things on the list. I know that feeling, and it’s not easy. There’s nothing I can say that will soften that feeling of incompleteness, but there is something that Jesus has said on the subject. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that anxiety fixated on food, drink, and clothing is not how creation looks to its creator. The birds are well fed and nourished, the grass is clothed with beautiful flowers…and you? God has already taken care of these things. So seek first His Kingdom and the rest will be added to you. After addressing the body- and life-supporting stuff in creation, Luther reminds us of God’s protection. Danger and evil flee from our Father, and we do well to hide in the shelter of His wings—to call upon Him in our day of trouble—and in so doing, more often than not, our perspective on the temporal things He has given us strikes a more thankful tone. Thanks be to God for the stuff He gives us…but so much more for the love with which He gives it! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Consider how the birds above feed day by day with carefree ease—Does God not keep them in His love? Are we not worth much more than these? Be not afraid to suffer loss of all the things for which you pray, for He who faced for you the cross will give you strength to live each day. Amen. (LSB 736:1, 5)

-Pastor Dustin Beck is Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Warda Texas.

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.