But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2)

Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed;
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child. (Once in royal David’s City: 1)

During these Christmas days, our thoughts easily turn to consider the little town where mother Mary gave birth to our Savior. The story of that ancient and sacred village engages us still today. Before its gates Jacob buried his beloved Rachel (Genesis 35:16-20). In the fields of Bethlehem pious and faithful Ruth gleaned and gathered her sheaves for her master Boaz (Ruth). On the hillsides above her great-grandson David tended his father’s flocks. The little brook from which the hunted shepherd king so longed to drink in his great thirst (2 Samuel 23:15) still murmurs in the green valley lying at the foot of the town. To the little town of Bethlehem came Joseph and his young wife when great David’s greater Son was born in a lowly cattle shed.

How wonderful are the ways of God! The Ruler of Israel, the everlasting King of mercy, the Lord of peace is not born in some lordly mansion in Athens or in an imperial palace in Rome, but in the poor, little hill village, insignificant Bethlehem. But our God and Father in heaven always does this: A virgin with child; a faithful husband with the proper blood lines; a difficult journey because of a census; choirs of heavenly hosts sing the great Good News to societies lowliest members, the shepherds. “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate” (Luke 1:51, 52).

King David no longer sat on his throne and his hometown was nearly forgotten in the Judean landscape. Yet the promise of salvation was not forgotten. “But our eyes in truth should see him through his own redeeming love, for that child so dear and gentle is our Lord in heav’n above” (Once in Royal David’s City: 3). And lowly Bethlehem, poor and forgotten Bethlehem, is exalted and becomes again the hometown of Israel’s King, the long-expected King – Jesus Christ!

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
Oh, come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Immanuel! (O Little Town of Bethlehem: 4)

• Angels were created by God to attend to the work and the person of Jesus Christ.
• Angels are most often invisible to human eyes.
• Scripture portrays angelic visitations as stunning occurrences.

The Annuciation, Eustache Le Sueur, 17th century

The angel Gabriel appears to a young girl to tell her she will be the mother of God’s Son. Nine months later the darkness is overcome as the angel choir of heaven announces to shepherds that God’s salvation has come to all mankind in the birth of His Son as a baby in Bethlehem.

The greatest good news to come to all mankind, that God in His mercy was sending Jesus to be the Savior of the world, comes on the wings of God’s angels. This is not the work of cherubic figures with harp and bow, but the majestic work given to God’s mighty messengers.

A messenger is “one who is sent” to speak on behalf of another or “one who is sent” to perform a deed or action on behalf of another. From humanity’s point of view, angels are indeed God’s agents, sent from God’s side to do His will and service among us. Besides describing the function of the angels, the Greek word for messenger becomes the English name for them. The psalm writer speaks of the character and heavenly activity of angels:

Praise the Lord, you His messengers,

you mighty ones who do His bidding,

who obey His word.

Praise the Lord, all His heavenly hosts,

you His servants who do His will. (Psalm 103.20, 21. Also Psalm 148.2)

These messengers are the angels of God, charged with the care of men (Psalm 91). Created at the dawn of time, the angels have witnessed every action of God on mankind’s behalf and every era of our existence. As the true and loyal messengers of God, angels always act as an extension of His will and affection toward humanity.

Angels have no physical form; they are not flesh and blood. The Bible indicates, that angels are most often invisible to human eyes. However, God allows His messengers to appear visibly to aid in their contacts with the human race. When visible, the angel is described as having the appearance of a man. (Read Genesis 18.1-2 and Genesis 19.1-5 as two examples of Scripture’s description of angels.) The visible appearance of angels is so strongly associated with normal human form and appearance that the writer of Hebrews states that they can even be entertained as strangers, “without [anyone] knowing it” (NIV Heb 13.12). And yet, Abraham, Jacob, Daniel, Zechariah, Mary, and others had no problem recognizing God’s angels.

Scripture also portrays angelic visitations as stunning occurrences. In most instances when appearing visibly, angels are so glorious and impressively beautiful as to stun, amaze even terrify those who witness their presence. Read again the magnificent account of the resurrection in Matthew 28. Matthew describes the angel who rolled the stone away from Christ’s tomb as dressed in a white garment that shone like a flash of brilliant lightning. Notice the effect the angel had on those who witnessed him: “And for fear of him the guards trembled and became as dead men” (ESV).

The angels were created by God to attend to the work and the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. On the first Christmas, the infant Jesus was born into the world of man for our redemption. While glorious and remarkable, it is not surprising that an entire heavenly choir of angels appears on that night to sing: “Glory to the newborn king; Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”

Numbers 23:4-28

What If God Was One of Us?

God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  (Numbers 23:19)

Joan Osborn wrote a rather well-known song that was entitled, “What If God Was One Of Us.” This song was not a grammatical treasure nor can its lyrics be considered anything close to theological insight. But when I contemplated today’s reading from Numbers 23, verse 19 brought to mind the idea of Osborn’s song.

Here’s Osborn’s chorus to the song :

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin’ to make His way home

Listen again to verse 19:

God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  (Numbers 23:19)

What if God was one us? Just on the two comparisons made in Osborn’s chorus, to think of God in terms of being just one of the guys, to be just another stranger on the bus with us, is disturbing. That He might lie, or maybe even worse, change His mind, that thought is  frightening.

My meditation meandered around and I began to really think about how much different we are from God. Although created in the image of God, we are so far from God’s image that it sometimes seems impossible that we could  ever be spiritually connected to Him.

From the inception of sin into the world through Adam and Eve, man has continually expanded the great spiritual divide by choosing worldliness over and holiness. Yet God—despite all of our faults, —God still loved us—loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, so that whoever believes in Him, would not perish on account of their sin, but have everlasting life. Despite all of our mistakes, God still cares about us. Despite all of our poor choices, God still would not condemn us to eternal death. And yet even after two thousand years since Christ laid down His life for us, mankind  still makes choices, time and time again, that are directly opposite the will of God, to the direction that God has for our lives.

God is not man, that he should lie. Have you ever been the subject of someone’s lie; have you ever been cut by someone’s words? How did it feel? What did you think?

James 3 tells us the tongue is a small thing but oh what damage it can do, like a tiny spark setting an entire forest on fire. Paul encourages us to not let corrupt words proceed out of our mouth, but to speak only what edifies others and imparts grace to the hearers (Ephesians 4:29). Yet we also know that the same tongue can speak both blessings and curses, the same mouth can build up and tear down.

Can you imagine if God were a liar? If all of the promises of the Bible were not true? Can you imagine if there was no mansion waiting on us in heaven? Worse yet, can you imagine if there were no heaven, no life after death at all? Can you imagine if there was no forgiveness and death is just the end of it? Can you image if there some undiscovered tomb in the Middle East where the body of someone called Jesus Christ,s still buried. This would make God a liar, just like one of us. A slave to sin just like one of us.

God is not… a son of man, that he should change his mind. We make decisions based on the best possible information we have at hand; if we need to, we will change our mind, change our direction. We make choices that we justify as being necessary, useful, even beneficial for others. Yet we also make decisions that serve self over God, ourselves over others. We change our minds when it suits us, or when it protects or advances our interests.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if God had not been true to His promises; if He had abandoned Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What reason would we have to have faith in and trust in God.

What if Moses and the children of Israel were left out on their own in the face of the Egyptian army with their back to the Red Sea? What if David had failed against the giant Goliath? What if the lion had eaten Daniel? What if sharks had eaten Jonah when he was thrown overboard? What if the woman who had the issue of blood had gone to Jesus and still bled to death? What if Paul had died when the poisonous snake bit him? What if Job had cursed God and died?

We would have nothing to base our faith on if God is not trustworthy. If God was one of us, could we put total trust in Him?

And what would it be like if God changed His mind about you? Can you imagine? If He was just like one of us, every time you did something that He didn’t approve of, His love and mercy would turn into righteous wrath against your sin. We would no longer be alive and we’d already be burning in hell’s fire.

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin’ to make His way home

God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  (Numbers 23:19)

God is not like one of us. The Bible clearly states in our text that God is not like a man. He was not created out of dirt clay and spittle. Before the world was created, God already existed. God is holy and God is Spirit; that means that He cannot be subjected to worldly things. He cannot be convinced to do things that are not holy. He is not a liar, nor can He be misdirected by lies because He already knows the truth. He is not like man. He is not a liar nor does He act in His on self-interest. He is not vengeful or filled with hate. He is not sinful by nature because His nature is perfect holiness.

Because He is holy, God does not have to repent. He does not have to turn from evil because there is no evil in Him. He is not the son of man, meaning that He was not born of the seed of a man like you and I are conceived and born. Even when God took on our human form and was incarnate, Jesus the Son of God did not sin, He obeyed the will of the Father perfectly, making Him the only perfect man who ever lived.  Jesus is not a son of man, He was not born into sin like you and I. But He is the incarnate Son of God conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary.

And ultimately that is the reason that we are thankful that God is not one of us. We required a Savior who is both true God and true Man; a Savior who was holy and without sin to live the perfect life we can not life; a Savior who could not only live perfectly but stand in our place before the justice of God and take the punishment for the sin of the world, for your sin and my sin. We need a Savior who is not like one of us, a Savior who is the Son of God whom death could not hold, who satisfies the Law and breaks the hold of death over us.

We put aside the idle speculation and thank God that He is God and not like one of us. You can rest assure that all of His promises will be fulfilled. Sometimes the way gets dark, but God will still shine light upon your path. Sometimes is seems like life is more than we can bear, but God has promised to be our burden-bearer. He’s not a liar. He won’t let you down. He has loved you with an everlasting love, and because of Christ, He will never change His mind about you.

Chi Rho symbol

This list presents 101 biblical names and titles of Jesus and where they are located in Scripture.

Besides being merely interesting, such a list could be used, in conjunction with good a Bible with study notes and great references (I recommend The Lutheran Study Bible from Concordia Publishing House), as a way of studying  about Jesus–His character, His nature, and how completely He cares for you. With 101 names of Jesus represented, the list, though not exhaustive, is quite extensive. It is keyed to the ESV text.

1. Advocate (1 John 2:1)
2. Almighty (Mt. 28:18; Rev. 1:8)
3. Alpha and Omega (Rev. 22:13)
4. Amen (Rev. 3:14)
5. Apostle and High Priest of our Confession (Heb. 3:1)
6. Author of Life (Acts 3:15)
7. Author of Salvation (Heb. 2:10)
8. Beginning and End (Rev. 22:13)
9. Beginning of God’s Creation (Rev. 3:14)
10. Blessed and only Sovereign (1 Tim. 6:15)
11. Bread of God (John 6:33)
12. Bread of Life (John 6:35; 6:48)
13. Bridegroom (Mt. 25:1)
14. Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20)
15. Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4)
16. Christ (1 John 2:22)
17. Cornerstone (Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7)
18. Creator (John 1:3)
19. Deliverer (Rom. 11:26)
20. Descendant of David (Rev. 22:16)
21. Door (John 10:9)
22. Eternal Life (1 John 1:2; 5:20)
23. Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11)
24. Faithful and True Witness (Rev. 3:14)
25. First and Last (Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13)
26. Firstborn of the Dead (Rev. 1:5)
27. Firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15)
28. Founder and Perfecter of our Faith (Heb. 12:2)
29. God (John 1:1; Rom. 9:5; 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 John 5:20; etc.)
30. Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)
31. Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20)
32. Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14)
33. Head of the Church (Eph. 5:23)
34. Heir of all things (Heb. 1:2)
35. High Priest (Heb. 2:17)
36. Holy and True (Rev. 3:7)
37. Holy and Righteous (Acts 3:14)
38. Hope (1 Tim. 1:1)
39. Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27)
40. Horn of Salvation (Luke 1:69)
41. I Am (John 8:58)
42. Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4)
43. Immanuel (Mt. 1:23)
44. Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42)
45. King of ages (1 Tim. 1:17)
46. King of Israel (John 1:49)
47. King of the Jews (Mt. 27:11)
48. King of Kings (1 Tim 6:15; Rev. 19:16)
49. King of the Nations (Rev. 15:3)
50. Lamb (Rev. 13:8)
51. Lamb of God (John 1:29)
52. Lamb Without Blemish (1 Pet. 1:19)
53. Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45)
54. Life (John 14:6; Col. 3:4)
55. Light of the World (John 8:12)
56. Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
57. Living One (Rev. 1:18)
58. Living Stone (1 Pet. 2:4)
59. Lord (2 Pet. 2:20)
60. Lord of All (Acts 10:36)
61. Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8)
62. Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15; Rev. 19:16)
63. Man of Dust (1 Cor. 15:48)
64. Man of Heaven (1 Cor. 15:48)
65. Master (Lk. 5:5; 8:24)
66. Mediator of a New Covenant (Heb. 9:15)
67. Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)
68. Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)
69. Only Son of God (1 John 4:9)
70. Our Great God and Savior (Titus 2:13)
71. Our Husband (2 Cor. 11:2)
72. Our Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7)
73. Our Protection (2 Thess. 3:3)
74. Our Redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)
75. Our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30)
76. Power of God (1 Cor. 1:24)
77. Precious Cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:6)
78. Prophet (Acts 3:22)
79. Propitiation for our Sins (1 John 2:2)
80. Rabbi (Mt. 26:25)
81. Resurrection and Life (John 11:25)
82. Righteous Branch (Jer. 23:5)
    

    ICHTHUS symbol

83. Righteous One (Acts 7:52; 1 John 2:1)
84. Rock (1 Cor. 10:4)
85. Root of David (Rev. 5:5; 22:16)
86. Savior (Eph. 5:23; Titus 1:4; 3:6; 2 Pet. 2:20)
87. Son of David (Lk. 18:39)
88. Son of God (John 1:49; Heb. 4:14)
89. Son of Man (Mt. 8:20)
90. Son of the Most High (Lk. 1:32)
91. Source of Eternal Salvation for all who obey him (Heb. 5:9)
92. The One Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5)
93. The Stone the builders rejected (Acts 4:11)
94. True Bread from Heaven (John 6:32)
95. True Light (John 1:9)
96. True Vine (John 15:1)
97. Truth (John 1:14; 14:6)
98. Way (John 14:6)
99. Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24)
100. Word (John 1:1)
101. Word of God (Rev. 19:13)

Last December, I led an introductory class/workshop on prayer and using the then-new Treasury of Daily Prayer. I was asked to publish my notes from the workshop, which I never did; the current sale on the Treasury reminded me of that. (Did I mention it is 50% off? Go buy it!) Here are some of my notes, which are very rough; I have eliminated/modified/summarized a lot of what we did, which was more hands-on, walking through the book:

After some Introduction and Preliminaries discussing the Layout of the Treasury of Daily Prayer (TDP), we walked through placing the ribbons:

Blue: Flexible placement.
TDP recommends using it for “Prayers for the Baptized Life” (page 1312)
However, that comes shortly after the purple ribbon, and is easily remembered because of its placement.
I have my blue ribbon on the Schedule for Reading the Psalms over Thirty Days (page 1436)
Other places you might want to put it:
Small Catechism, page 1446
Preparation for Confession and Absolution, p1458
Preparation for the Sacrament of the Altar, p1465
Brief Instruction for Those Preparing for Holy Communion

After discussing the Lectionary, I talked about the importance of prayer in daily life (a lesson which, alas, I continually need to re-learn myself):

Setting the Stage:

• Make a commitment to daily prayer
• Schedule a time or times, either by the clock or by daily landmarks (e.g., after you get up, after breakfast, before lunch, 10pm, before bed)
• Communicate with others in your family what time you want to pray as a group
• There will be days when you miss it because life intruded, you were lazy, sinful, sick, etc. Don’t worry or let that cause total failure. Simply start again at the right place.
• Don’t try to do too much – better to do something, however small, than to set yourself up for failure and guilt.

Additionally:

• Find a quiet place
• Turn off TV, radio
• Close doors if noise might distract you
• Turn off cell phone, email notifications
• Agree that you will not answer the phone. Let it go to voicemail. It can wait.

And the lesson I learned from using the Brotherhood Prayer Book (and Ben Mayes’ helpful retreats): Spend a minute or two in preparation, putting your ribbons in place (and explaining, if necessary, what will be happening to those who are joining you)

Make a list (index card or scrap paper will do) of people you want to pray for. Family members, pastor, church, godchildren, the nation and leaders, the sick, suffering, mourning; finally, your own struggles and needs.

We then spent some time talking about the different offices of prayer (i.e., Matins, Vespers, the short orders for individuals and families, etc.), and Luther’s advice on starting simply instead of trying to do too much.

On the hymn appointed for each day:

Office Hymn: we will use the hymn stanza for December 6 – sing it if you know the tune; when you are on your own and the tune is not familiar, you can look it up in the hymnal, play it on the piano, or just speak it. Do you what you can and what you have time for. Some may wish to look up the hymn in the hymnbook and sing the entire hymn.

On using the Bible Readings for each day:

For the Bible Reading, we will read just the Old Testament reading.
Since it’s morning and we’re planning to pray later, we can leave the New Testament reading till then. If this is the only time you would be praying today, you could read both readings if there is time.
Another option would be to commit to reading the NT readings one year, and the Old Testament readings the next.

Where to put the “Writing”:

When the Sermon or Catechetical Instruction time comes in the Office, we’ll read the writing and the summary of the Saint being commemorated, or remembered

Using the Prayers:

For the prayers, we will read the prayer of the day in the year (Gold Ribbon), the prayer for the day in the week (Purple Ribbon), and any special prayers

When you are praying by yourself, you simply say all the parts yourself. Nothing else changes. Still speak out loud, unless it would not be acceptable. In those cases, even if you can move your mouth and whisper very quietly, do that.

Discussion of Prayer and Meditation according to a Scriptural Spirituality
Receptive Spirituality
Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio

Prayer is difficult
“Devotion” is so called because it requires devotion, dedication, discipline. The cares of the world, distractions, and sometimes the sinful thoughts that it doesn’t really matter or that nothing really changes can make us give up quickly.

The Fathers spoke of the “exercise of piety,” and like bodily exercise, playing an instrument, mathematics or foreign languages, if we do not keep on exercising, practicing, reviewing, we will lose what we had, and so the last state is worse than the first.

How do we pray?
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and He gave them a set prayer to use: the Lord’s Prayer

In Acts 2:42, the Early Church devoted themselves to “THE Prayers,” implying a set order of prayer.

The Old Testament set out a pattern of evening and morning prayers at the tabernacle, and the Jews who could not attend would pray at the same hours, with set prayers

From the Psalms, we see certain patterns:

“O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.” (Psalm 88:2)
“I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your Word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your Word.” (Psalm 119:147-148)
“Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.” (Psalm 119:164)

The greatest challenge is not to lose sight of the objectivity of the Word.

Christian meditation, Christian spirituality is oral and tangible. We do not experience God in the silence of our hearts; and while we can marvel at the power of God and discern His glory from creation, we cannot know His will from beholding a sunset, mountain, or ocean. We only know His will from His Word.

So when you are meditating on the Word, when you are using the Treasury by yourself, speak the Psalms, Readings, and prayers out loud. This does several things:

It compels you to slow down.

Through engaging not just the mind but the mouth and the ear, more of the body becomes engaged and thus the Word becomes more memorable.

Pray as though someone were listening; God just might be!

The Word of God, and especially the Name of JESUS, drives the demons away and causes angels to rejoice. Name the Name of JESUS wherever you are; at the Name of JESUS every knee must bow.

Luther: “You should meditate [on the Scriptures], that is, not only in your heart, but also externally, by repeating the written words externally and rubbing them (like a herb for its flavor), reading and rereading them with diligent attention and reflection, so that you may see what the Holy Spirit means by them.”

“Spiritual” does not mean intangible; in Christian thinking, it is not the opposite of physical. That which is Spiritual is that which is of and from the Holy Spirit. So for something to be Spiritual, it is something done in, by, or for us by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit works through the means of Word and Sacrament. So don’t look for “spirituality” in an inward meditation of mind-clearing, deprivation, or silence. Look for spirituality where the Holy Spirit is: in the Word (and in the Sacraments)

The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and He teaches us about Christ through His Word. Not mental guidance or immediate illumination, but faith and guidance through the Scriptures, which are external to ourselves.

Read pp. 18f in Kleinig on “The External Word”

Meditation during the week flows from and towards the Divine Service, wherein we receive those other tangible gifts: the Sacraments of Absolution and Holy Communion.

—————————

Pastor Esget’s excellent blog Esgetology:Waiting for the Parousia, is worth the read.

On the last Sunday after the Epiphany, the Gospel appointed for Transfiguration shows us a glimpse of Christ’s reality, a reality seldom seen on this side of eternity. The God-Man Jesus, who in complete submission to the Father left the glory of heaven and humbled himself to be born in the flesh, blood, and bone of man; the Christ of God who, through his life, teaching, and miracles gives glory to the Father, stands before the disciples—and us—fully displayed in his own divine glory and majesty. And with him are the icons of the Law and the Prophets: Moses who was secretly buried by God at his death, and Elijah who did not die, but was taken by God into heaven. And Jesus is having a conversation with them.

It is exactly the fact that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were having this conversation that has led to the liturgical placement of the Transfiguration as the final Gospel of Epiphany. Epiphany as a feast and as a season is about the revelation of God in Christ. First in the story of the magi from the east—signifying the revelation of the Messiah beyond the tribes and people of Israel. Then his baptism is celebrated not only marking the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but also revealing him as the Son of God anointed for his work and blessed by the Father. The Gospels for the Sundays that follow present the revelation of God through the preaching, teaching, miracles, healing, and the announcement of the forgiveness of sins, that Jesus performed during his three-year ministry. On the mountain of the Transfiguration, not only is the full divine glory of Jesus revealed, but there is this holy conversation about Jesus’ exodus, his departure, in other words his coming suffering and death, which is the ultimate revelation of God.

This mountain-top conversation must be the continuation of the conversation of heaven: the plan of God for the salvation of man and the means by which Jesus would work out that merciful plan. The heavenly hosts—the angels and the whole community of saints—waited in eager expectation for the working-out of the timeless plan of the Father in time, but that does not mean they necessarily waited in silence. The heavenly conversation, now glimpsed at on the mountain of Transfiguration was about Jesus’ departure, the conversation was about the Passion to come, the conversation was about the awesome reality that holy justice required the ultimate payment, the conversation was most certainly about the Son of God paying the price for sin: the death of the Son as the all-sufficient sacrifice.

As much as the disciples wanted to, they could not remain on the mountain. Too soon Moses and Elijah were gone, the glory of the almighty Son was again hidden, and the glimpse of the Lord’s reality—a reality that confirmed the promise of God for a life after death—was gone. None record it, but the descent down the mountain was probably fraught with emotion, and the memory of what the disciples had seen likely sparked contemplation and conversation, and prepared them for the hard days soon to come.

We too cannot stay on the mountain of Christmas, Epiphany, and Transfiguration. Certainly the most ancient and most joyous season of the Church Year is yet to come, but between these two great liturgical mountains is the hard wilderness, the penitential valley of Lent. The Sundays of Gesimatide provide a deliberate descent during which we can contemplate both the mountaintop experience above and the coming wilderness journey below. It is an opportunity to gradually adjust to the change in altitude and the change in attitude. Septuagesima (70-some days before Easter), Sexagesima (60-some days before Easter), Quinquagesima (50-some days before Easter) are the angel-like hands of the Church Year that would keep us from dashing our feet against the stony pavement of Lent.

Septuagesima

O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L18)

Exodus 17:1–7
Psalm 95:1–9 (v. 6)
1 Corinthians 9:24—10:5
Matthew 20:1–16

Sexagesima

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L19)

Isaiah 55:10–13
Psalm 84 (v. 4)
2 Corinthians 11:19—12:9
Luke 8:4–15

Quinquagesima

O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers and having set us free from the bonds of our sins deliver us from every evil; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (L20)

1 Samuel 16:1–13
Psalm 89:18–29 (v. 20)
1 Corinthians 13:1–13
Luke 18:31–43

Jesus is the great I AM, the eternal God revealed in the burning bush to Moses. His name causes His enemies to draw back and fall to the ground. For all who do not call on His name in faith will fall to their own destruction. Yet He who took up our humanity submits to their capture, saying “Let these go their way,” so that none of the disciples given Him would be lost. For Jesus came that they and all of us who bear His saving name might be released from the powers of darkness. This victory is won not by the sword but by sacrifice.

John 18:12-27
Jesus is led away in chains as if He were a dangerous criminal. For His teaching threatens those who are self-righteous. He is questioned by the religious leaders and then slapped in the face for the answers He gives. They are not really looking for answers but excuses to execute Him and to justify their deeds. We also slap Jesus in the face whenever we try to justify ourselves and don’t humbly pay attention to preaching and His Word.

Peter has three chances to confess that he knows Christ. Three times Peter fails. He would have to live for a while with the awful emptiness of his disloyalty and failure. We know that weakness of the flesh, too, when we deny Jesus with our words or behavior, seeking to avoid negative consequences to our reputation or our income or our life. Apart from Christ, Peter can do nothing, in spite of his good intentions.

Jesus had told Peter this would happen. Jesus did so not only to cut brash Peter down to size, but also to teach Peter that His love would remain despite Peter’s sin. Peter would call Jesus’ words to mind when the rooster crowed and weep. But he would also realize that Jesus didn’t reject him even though He knew this about him ahead of time. So also with you-Jesus knows you and how you will stumble and falter. And yet He doesn’t reject you; He sticks with you despite yourself. The rooster’s crow is not only a call to repentance but also a call to faith in Jesus’ constant love.

John 18:28-40
The Jewish leaders do not want to enter Pilate’s Praetorium, especially during this time of the Passover, lest they be defiled by being in a Gentile building. But they are already defiled within by their sinful motives and desires. So also, we are all too often concerned about outward righteousness and appearances, when the Lord looks at the heart and desires the inward righteousness of faith. To be undefiled is to confess your sins for what they are and to trust in Him who is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jesus stands before Pilate. Pilate received His authority from God. And now God in the flesh humbles Himself to be placed under this authority. The Judge of all men is being judged by a man. Judgment should be based on truth, but the only thing Pilate can say is “What is truth?” All fallen human beings are liars, the Psalm says. But Jesus is Himself the truth. He is reality. He is the way things are, the truth of God’s mercy shown to those who have not deserved it.

Pilate finds Jesus innocent, no fault in Him at all. But the crowds don’t want Jesus, they want Barabbas. The violent robber goes free that Jesus might rob us of our sin by being violently executed. The one who took life lives; the One who gives life dies. This is God’s good and gracious will, that Christ should die in the place of sinners. Jesus goes to death in our place, so that we might live forever in His place, in His kingdom, which is not of this world. Pilate’s plan to release Jesus fails. The Passover Lamb will be sacrificed by the Father to take away the sin of the world.

John 19:1-16
Pilate brings a bloodied and humiliated Jesus out before the people and says, “Behold the Man!” Jesus is the only real Man, the only one whose masculinity has not been corrupted and diminished by His own sin. He is the real Man who lays down His life for His beloved Church, His elect Lady. He allows Himself to be scourged and mocked and treated inhumanely in order to rescue her. He bears her thorny curse to release her from it. “By His wounds we are healed.” Those who are less than men cannot stand the sight of Jesus and cry out “Crucify Him!”

Such people of this world follow those with the power and the influence. “We have no king but Caesar,” they say. But earthly rulers fail you, as it is written, “Trust not in princes, in mortal men who cannot save.” Only this King, Jesus, can save. He exercises His authority not be being served but by serving, giving His life as a ransom for His subjects. He saves not by killing but by being killed, sharing in our mortality so that we might share in His immortality.

John 19:17-24
Jesus is crucified at Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. His cross, like a dagger, is here stabbed into the Skull. And in this way death itself is killed. Though His feet are pierced, yet those same feet crush Satan’s head and pulverize the power of the grave.

The religious leaders don’t like the fact that Pilate put the title over our Lord’s head, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” They ask him to change it. But the earthly authority whom God has established says, “What I have written, I have written.” God even causes this pagan ruler to proclaim the truth. Jesus is the King of the Jews, that is, the King of all those who are the true children of Abraham, who trust in God’s promises in Christ, and who are credited with His righteousness by grace alone.

Christ is naked on cross. He bears our shame. We try to cover ourselves with the flimsy fig leaves of blame and denial. But God strips away our excuses. The darkness must be exposed to the light. The sin must be laid bare. And so Christ hangs naked, covered with our shame, so that we might be covered with His seamless garment of righteousness.

John 19:25-30
Jesus honors the woman who bore Him, who nursed Him, who raised Him. And He honors His disciple, who stood by Him with His mother in this difficult time. “Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.” Jesus’ words create a bond closer than family and bring comfort to those who mourn. Mary and John here picture the church and the pastors who care for her. They are given to receive and honor each other according to the word of Jesus.

Then Jesus says, “I thirst.” He is parched, dried out by the arid barrenness of our sin. He becomes bone dry for us so that through Him we might we be drenched with living water, doused with His Spirit in baptism and the Word, drinking up His mercy in the cup of His Supper. He thirsts for you, so that you might learn to hunger and thirst for His righteousness.

Finally Jesus says, “It is finished.” That’s all one word in Greek-it is finished. It is the last Word, the Word that declares that all has been fulfilled; everything has been accomplished to secure your salvation and win your forgiveness. Nothing more needs to be added. The job is done, finished, paid in full, a completed gift given to you, no strings attached. These are good words for you to remember when you are in doubt about your salvation, or when you are afraid of death. Remember and believe what Jesus said, “It is finished.” You are perfected and complete and at peace in Him.

John 19:31-37
Jesus does indeed die as the Passover lamb, for it is written of the Passover lambs in the Old Testament, “You shall not break one of its bones.” The blood of the Lamb again stains the wood. The cross is the Church’s doorpost and lintel. Inside the house of God, we are safe. Death passes over where the blood of the Lamb has been applied.

A soldier pierces Jesus’ heart, and from His wounded heart flows water and blood-a fountain for cleansing from sin and impurity. John emphasizes that he’s telling the truth about this; he wants you to pay attention. For the church has her life here, in the wounded side of Jesus, from which flows the water of baptism and the blood of Holy Communion. In those sacraments all the blessings of the cross are given to you. The church is the new Eve, created from Jesus’ side as He sleeps the deep sleep of death.

John 19:38-42
We finish where we began: in a garden. Our Lord is buried in the tomb. By His rest in the tomb He has sanctified our graves and made them a place of rest, a place of sleep from which our bodies will awaken. The holy Seed has been planted in the garden. From this seed immortal life will take root and germinate and bloom. This is a new tomb, in which no one had yet been laid. For Christ is the firstfruits of them that sleep. Be buried in Christ by faith, that you may be raised with Him when He comes again.

This translation is based on the English translation that appeared in a 1906 collection of Luther’s writings, titled Lutherans in All Lands. An alternate translation may be found in the American Edition of Luther’s Works, Volume 42, pgs. 7ff.

The original edition of the text is found in the Weimar Ausgabe as Ein Sermon von der Betrachtung des heiligen Leidens Christi in WA 2:136-142.

By Martin Luther

Wrong Ways to Meditate on Christ’s Passion
Some people meditate on the Passion of Christ and become angry at the Jews. They sing and go on and on about Judas too. [1] They are just doing what they always do. They love to complain about other people. They spend all their time condemning their enemies. I guess this is a meditation of sorts, but not a meditation on the sufferings of Christ. It is just a meditation on the wickedness of the Jews and Judas.

Other people who like to talk about the benefit of meditating on Christ’s Passion miss the point. Something Albertus [2] said can be very misleading. He said that thinking about the Passion of Christ is better than fasting a whole year or praying through the Psalms every day. Some people blindly follow him, take his comment literally, and then act contrary to Christ’s passion. They are just looking out for their own interests, trying to get out of doing other things. They superstitiously decorate themselves with pictures and booklets, letters and crucifixes. Some of them even go so far as to imagine that by doing these things they are protecting themselves against drowning, burning, the sword, and all sorts of other dangers. [3] They try to use the sufferings of Christ to prevent any suffering from coming into their life, which is of course entirely contrary to how life really is.

Then there are the people who like to sympathize emotionally with Christ. They weep and wail over Him because He was so innocent. They are like the women who followed Christ from Jerusalem. He rebuked them! He told them that they should weep for themselves and their children. They run headlong into the Passion season thinking they are receiving great benefit by pondering deeply on things like how Jesus left Bethany, or the pains and sorrows suffered by the Virgin Mary. [4] They meditate on these things for hours and hours on end. But they never get any farther. Somehow they don’t reflect on Christ’s actual suffering and death. God only knows if they are doing this more to sleep than to watch and wait with Christ. [5]

People like this include fanatics who try to teach people that they receive a great blessing from simply attending the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, standing there and watching it being performed. They try to tell people that simply showing up and watching a Mass, automatically works blessings, by the very act of doing it. They would lead people to believe that the Lord’s Supper has nothing to do with faith in the promise of the Lord’s Supper, or being worthy to receive the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper was not instituted for its own sake, as if simply doing it was the point. It was given for the purpose of meditating on the Passion of Christ. If we don’t do this, we are turning the Lord’s Supper into a human work. We are making it a useless thing that we do, no matter how good it may be in and of itself. What use is it to you that God is God, if He is not God for you? What use is eating and drinking if they are not beneficial for you? We should be afraid of thinking that we will become better simply because we celebrate the Lord’s Supper a lot, while all the while failing to receive its true benefit.

The Right Way to Think About Christ’s Passion
When we meditate on the Passion of Christ the right way, we see Christ and are terrified at the sight. Our conscience sinks in despair. This feeling of terror needs to happen so that we fully realize how great the wrath of God is against sin and sinners. We understand this when we see how God sets sinners free only because His dearly beloved Son — His only Son — paid such a costly ransom for us, as Isaiah 53:8 says, “He was stricken for the transgressions of my people.”

What happens to us when we see the dear Child of God struck down like this? We realize how inexpressible, even unbearable, is the Son’s total commitment to saving sinners. How else can we feel when we realize that a person so great as Christ went out to meet this fate, suffering and dying for sinners? If you truly and deeply reflect on the fact that God’s Son, the eternal Wisdom of God, suffers, you will be filled with terror. The more you reflect on it the deeper you will feel this way.

You should deeply believe, and never doubt, that in fact you are the one who killed Christ. Your sins did this to Him. St. Peter struck terror in the hearts of the Jews when he said in Acts 2:36-27: “You crucified Him!” Three thousand people were filled with terror. Trembling in fear they cried out to the Apostles, “Dear brothers, what should we do?” Therefore, when you look at the nails being driven through His hands, firmly believe that it is your work. Do you see His crown of thorns? Those thorns are your wicked thoughts.

Look! When one thorn pierces Christ, you need to know that more than a thousand should pierce you. They should pierce you for all eternity even more painfully than they ever pierced Christ. When you see nails driven through the hands and feet of Christ, know that you should be suffering this for all eternity, with even more painful nails. Everyone who looks on Christ’s sufferings and forgets about them, thinking they are of no worth, will suffer such a fate for all eternity. The Passion of Christ is a mirror of what is to come. This mirror is no lie and no joke. Whatever Jesus says will happen, completely.

Bernard [6] was so terrified by the sufferings of Christ that he said, “At one time I thought I was secure. I didn’t know a thing about the judgment that had been passed on me in heaven, until I saw that the eternal Son of God had mercy on me. I saw that He stepped forward and offered Himself on my behalf, receiving my judgment and taking my place. I can no longer feel so carelessly when I realize how serious the sufferings of Christ are.” This is why Jesus commanded the women, “Do not cry for me. Cry for yourselves and your children” (Luke 23:28).

It is as if Jesus is saying, “Learn from my death what you have earned and what you deserve to receive.” It is like a little dog is being killed in order to frighten a large dog. This is why the Prophet said, “All generations will lament and wail more than Him.” He doesn’t say they lament Him. They are lamenting for their own fate. This explains why the people were filled with terror in Acts 2:27, as I’ve already mentioned, and said to the Apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” The church sings, “I will ponder this diligently and then my soul will languish.” [7]

A person should carefully consider this point. The benefit of Christ’s sufferings depends entirely on a person coming to know himself well and being filled with terror to the point of death. If a person does not reach this point, the sufferings of Christ will really not benefit him. Christ’s sufferings naturally make all people alike. As Christ died horribly in his body and soul for our sins, so we must, like him, die in our own consciences because of our sin. This does not take place through a lot of words, but by means of deep thought and a profound realization of our sins. Let me illustrate my point. Let’s say an evil person kills the child of a prince or king without bothering you, and you continue singing and playing as if you were entirely innocent. Then you are arrested and convinced that you were the reason the child was killed. You would be horrified! Your conscience would strike you deeply. So, you should be even more upset when you consider the sufferings of Christ. The Jews who killed Christ, and have now been judged and banished by God, were merely the servants of your sins. You are truly the one who strangled and crucified the Son of God through your sins.

If anyone is so cold and unfeeling that he is not terrified when he views the sufferings of Christ, he should tremble with fear. You must become like the pictures of Christ’s sufferings. It can’t be otherwise. Either here in time or in hell for all eternity. At the moment of your death, if not sooner, you need to fall into terror, tremble and shake with fear, and experience all that Christ suffered on the cross. It is terrible to wait until you die to do this. Pray to God and ask Him to soften your heart now and so you can meditate fruitfully on Christ’s passion. It is impossible for us to meditate on the sufferings of Christ by our own ability or power. God must plant these sufferings into our heart. This meditation on Christ’s suffering, as with all doctrine from God, is not given to you so that you can go off and do your own thing with it. No, you should always first search for God’s grace and long for it. On your own, you can’t do anything. Everything depends on God’s grace. People who never view the sufferings of Christ correctly are the people who never call upon God and ask him to help them. Instead, they try to consider Christ’s suffering on their own and end up regarding Christ’s sufferings in a purely human and unfruitful way.

Let me say this very clearly and openly for all to hear. Whoever meditates on Christ’s sufferings the right way for a day, an hour, even for fifteen minutes, is doing something far better than fasting for a whole year, praying all the Psalms every day, or listening to one hundred masses. The right kind of meditation on Christ’s suffering changes a person’s character. As in Baptism, a person is newly born again through such meditation. Then the sufferings of Christ are accomplishing their true, natural and noble work. They kill the Old Adam. They banish from us all lust, pleasure and security that we might think one of God’s creatures can give us, just like Christ was forsaken by all, even by God.

We need to realize that feeling born again is not something that is up to us. It may be that sometimes we will pray for it, but do not receive it just then. We should not despair, but keep on praying. At times it comes when we are not praying for it. God knows what we need. He will do what is best. It is free and unbound. It may be that when our consciences are causing us distress and we are deeply unhappy with our lives and what we have done we do not realize it, but the Passion of Christ is doing this to us. On the other hand, some people may think they are meditating on Christ’s Passion, but they become so caught up in thinking about themselves that they can’t work their way out of it. The first group are truly meditating on Christ’s Passion, others are just making a show of it and it is false.

The Comfort of Christ’s Suffering
Up to this point in our discussion, it is as if we have been in Passion Week and Good Friday. Now we come to Easter and Christ’s Resurrection. When a person, whose conscience has been filled with terror, understands his sins in this light, he needs to watch out that his sins do not remain in his conscience, for then nothing but pure doubt will result. Just as our sins flowed out of Christ and we became aware of them, so we should pour them back on Him again and set our conscience free. Make sure you do not bite and devour one another with sins in your heart, running here and there with your own good works, trying to make satisfaction for them, trying to work your way out of your sins by means of indulgences. It is impossible! Unfortunately, it is still the case that many people, far and wide, think they find a refuge in such satisfactions and pilgrimages.

Take your sins and throw them on Christ. Believe with a joyful spirit that your sins are His wounds and sufferings. He carries them and makes satisfaction for them, as Isaiah 53:6 says, “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Peter says in 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree.” In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul says, “For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” You must rely on these verses from the Bible with all your might, even more when your conscience tries to kill you. You’ll never find peace if you miss this opportunity to quiet your heart. You will have so much doubt that you will despair. If we dwell too much on our sins, going over and over them in our conscience, keeping them close to our hearts, soon they will become too much for us to manage and they will live forever. But when we see our sins laid on Christ and see Him triumph over them by His Resurrection, and fearlessly believe this, our sins are dead and become nothing. Our sins don’t stay on Christ, but are swallowed up by His resurrection. Now you see no wounds, no pain, no sight of sin at all in Him. That is why Paul says in Romans 4:25 that Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” In His sufferings Christ made our sins known and was crucified for them. By His resurrection He makes us righteous and frees from all sin. If you are not able to believe then pray to God for faith. This is entirely up to God. He gives faith at times very dramatically and openly, and at other times, secretly and quietly.

Therefore, here is what you need to do. First, stop looking at Christ’s sufferings any longer. They have already done their work and have terrified you. Press forward through all difficulties and see His friendly heart. Look how full of love God’s heart is for you. It was this love that moved Him to bear the heavy load of your conscience and sin. If you do this, your heart will be sweetly loving toward Him. The assurance of your faith will be stronger. Ascend higher through the heart of Christ to the heart of God and then you will see that Christ would not have been able to love you if God had not willed all this in His eternal love. Christ is obedient to this love, and so loves you. In the heart of God you will find a divine, good, fatherly heart. As Christ says, you will be drawn to the Father through Christ. Then you will understand what Christ meant when he said in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son.” This is how we know God as He wants us to know Him. We know Him not by His power and wisdom, which terrify us, but by His goodness and love. There our faith and confidence stand unmovable. This is how a person is truly born again in God.

When your heart is set on Christ, you are an enemy of sin, because of love, and not because you are afraid of being punished. Christ’s sufferings should be an example for your whole life. You should meditate on them in a different way. To this point we have considered Christ’s Passion as a sacrament that works in us. Now we want to consider the sufferings of Christ in a different way, in a way that is something that works in us when we suffer. When the day comes that sickness and sorrow weigh you down, think how little it matters compared to the thorns and nails of Christ. If you have to do something you don’t want, or can’t do something you want to do, think about how Christ was led about by others, tied up as a prisoner. Does pride attack you? Look at how your Lord was mocked and disgraced along with murderers. Do sexually impure thoughts and lust come your way, thrusting themselves on you? Think how bitter it was for Christ to have his tender flesh torn, pierced and beaten, again and again. Are hatred and envy at war within you, or are you seeking vengeance? Remember how Christ prayed for you, and all of his enemies, with many tears and cries. He had more reason than you to seek revenge! If any trouble or adversity trouble your body or soul, take heart! Say, “Why shouldn’t I also not suffer a little since my Lord sweat blood in the Garden because of his anxiety and grief? I would be a lazy, disgraceful servant if all I want to do is lie in bed while my Lord is forced to do battle with a painful death.”

This is how you find strength in Christ and are comforted when you struggle with all kinds vice and bad habits. This is the right way to meditate on the Passion of Christ. This is the fruit of His suffering. That is why somebody who meditates on Christ’s passion, in this way, really is doing something better than hearing the whole Passion story read, or reading all sorts of Masses. People who make the life and name of Christ part of their own life are truly called Christians, as Paul says in Gal. 5:24: “Those who are in Christ have crucified the flesh with all its passions and lusts.” We need to meditate on Christ’s passion, not with lots of words or with a showy display, but put it to true use in our lives. Paul admonishes us in Hebrews 12:3, “Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Peter says in 1 Peter 4:1: “Since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.” But this kind of meditation on Christ’s passion is not used much. It is very rare, although the Epistles of Paul and Peter are filled with it. We have changed the essence of meditation on Christ’s Passion into a show, and simply painted meditation on Christ’s passion in letters and on walls.
To God Alone Be the Glory!

Revised translation by:
Paul T. McCain
The First Sunday in Lent
February 29, 2004

Notes
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright @2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1. Luther is alluding to a medieval German hymn, Wretched Judas, What Have You Done?
2. Albert Magnus (1193-1280) was a Scholastic theologian, a teacher of the most famous of all such theologians, Thomas Aquinas.
3. Luther is referring to the practice in his day of carrying around all kinds of Christian “trinkets” in a superstitious way as good luck charms, intended to ward off all sorts of dangers.
4. Much was made in Luther’s Germany about Christ leaving the home of his friends and supporters, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Veneration of Martha was widespread throughout Germany at this time.
5. Contemplations on all the events surrounding the actual crucifixion, such as meditating on Christ leaving Bethany, or on the suffering of the Virgin Mary to last up to five hours. Many times they would last even longer and people would fall asleep.
6. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), was a Cistercian monk, mystic and the founder of the Abbey of Clairvaux. He was held in high esteem by Luther, who often quotes him.
7. This could very well be from Bernard of Clairvaux hymn Salve Caput Cruentatem, later loosely paraphrased by the most famous of all Lutheran hymn writers, Paul Gerhardt in his hymn, O Sacred Head Now Wounded.

A Note About this Text
April 5, 1519, Martin Luther sent a copy of his essay titled A Sermon Concerning Meditation on the Holy Sufferings of Christ to his friend George Spalatin. Within five years, it had been published in twenty-four editions. It was enormously popular. It was translated into Latin in 1521. Later, when Luther put together helps and sermons for preachers, it was included as the sermon for Good Friday in the Church Postil of 1525.
This translation is based on the English translation that appeared in a 1906 collection of Luther’s writings, titled Lutherans in All Lands. An alternate translation may be found in the American Edition of Luther’s Works, Volume 42, pgs. 7ff.
The original edition of the text is found in the Weimar Ausgabe as Ein Sermon von der Betrachtung des heiligen Leidens Christi in WA 2:136-142.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, look with favor upon us your children, forgive us all our sins, and comfort us with the promise of resurrection to life everlasting; through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn “Who Trusts in God a Strong Abode”; Lutheran Worship 413

Who trusts in God a strong abode

In heaven and earth possesses;

Who looks in love to Christ above,

No fear that heart oppresses.

In you alone, dear Lord, we own

Sweet hope and consolation,

Our shield from foes, our balm for woes,

Our great and sure salvation.

Though Satan’s wrath beset our path

And worldly scorn assail us,

While you are near, we shall not fear;

Your strength will never fail us.

Your rod and staff will keep us safe

And guide our steps forever;

Nor shades of death nor hell beneath,

Our lives from you will sever.

In all the strife of mortal life

Our feet will stand securely;

Temptation’s hour will lose it power,

For you will guard us surely.

Our God, renew with heavenly dew

Our body, soul, and spirit

Until we stand at your right hand

Through Jesus’ saving merit.

Message

The season of preparation has begun. Easter is 46 days away. Today is Ash Wednesday. I am reminded the FUNERAL SERVICE when the body is committed to its resting place: “We no commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

A form of those words are spoken for the very first time in the garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God says to them – “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are

and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)

Remember, O Man, that you are dust. From dust you came. To dust you shall return.

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. A stark reminder of from whence we arose and to whence, all other factors being equal, we shall return. We are by nature and deed – a walking, talking, thinking, doing dust bags.

There is not much value in dust and ashes. In fact it is often less than worthless – it is a hindrance and a liability. You can’t make it pretty by painting it, or smell good by spraying perfume on it. Dust is dust, ashes are ashes – and the plain fact is they both are largely to be avoided.

And that is us too. When all is said and done – our righteousness is like rags upon us; our virtue is but a spray of perfume upon thoughts, feelings, and deeds that are best buried and forgotten.

Ash Wednesday presents us with our own funeral; the inescapable fact that we will die. The inescapable fact of what we are.

But “Listen, I [will] tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor15:51-57)

It is Ash Wednesday, and while we gather to remember who we are, we also gather to remember who God is – and what God has done for us in and through Jesus.

We gather – because – all other factors are not equal.

God has given us a way out of our plight of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust”. It is the way of the Cross. The death of Jesus was God’s way of placing infinite value upon that which would otherwise be worthless. Today it is for us to know and realize that God has chosen to give us some other life than that which leads to the dust heap and the ash pit. In the cross God gives us the life of His Son Jesus.

Remember, O Man, that you are dust. From dust you came. To dust you shall return. And by the Grace of God in Christ Jesus, from dust you shall rise!

Having put us to death with His Law, God raises us to faith and life in Christ with His Gospel. Therefore standing on the threshold of Lent we look forward with expectation of the Coming Day when the transient nature of this world and our own declining dustiness will be taken up by the God of Grace who would not see us abandoned to the grave.

“I am the resurrection and the life” [says Jesus]. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

Remember, O Man, that you are dust. From dust you have come. To dust you shall return. And by the Grace of God in Christ Jesus, from dust you shall rise! Let our eyes and faith fix upon Him and not be moved. For He has taken up our dustiness, died our death, and His Life is ours. This is the heritage of all those who believes in Him.

Let us pray:

God of all grace, you sent your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to bring life and immortality to light. We give you thanks that by his death he destroyed the power of death and by his resurrection opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Strengthen us in the confidence that because he lives we shall live also and that neither death nor life nor things present nor things to come will separate us from your love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now, and forever. Amen.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Heavenly Father you have graciously provided for your people by the establishment of the church, the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Protect and strengthen all those who put their hand to any good work in your church, Pastors ___________; Teachers and commissioned ministers ____________; the congregations of _____________ as well as the work of __________ District and __________________. Grant that, as it be your will, the words and actions of those who toil in your name witness faithfully to the Gospel by which we have been saved.

Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer.

God of all comfort, keep the weak and the infirm, the lonely and those in dispare under your caring wing. Especially do we remember ___________ and all those who are being persecuted on account of your Son, especially our Lutheran brothers and sisters in Haiti

Amen.

Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Hymn “Christ Is the World’s Redeemer”; LW271

Christ is the world’s Redeemer,

The lover of the pure,

The font of heavenly wisdom,

Our trust and hope secure,

The armor of his soldiers

The Lord of earth and sky,

Our health while we are living,

Our life when we shall die.

Christ has our host surrounded

With clouds of martyrs bright,

Who wave their palms in triumph

And fire us for the fight.

Then Christ the cross ascended

To save a world undone

And, suffering for sinful,

Our full redemption won.

Down in the realm of darkness

He lay, a captive bound,

But at the hour appointed

He rose, a victor crowned.

And now, to heaven ascended,

He sits upon the throne

Whence he had never departed,

His Father’s and his own.

Glory to God the Father,

The unbegotten One,

All honor be to Jesus,

His sole begotten Son;

And to the Holy Spirit,

The perfect Trinity,

Let all the worlds give answer,

Amen so let it be.

The Lord bless us, defend us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.