Holy Week: Wednesday

Jesus continues His daily teaching in the Temple.

• Luke 21:37-38

With Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread approaching, the chief priests, elders, and scribes plot to kill Jesus.

• Matthew 26:3-5
• Mark 14:1-2
• Luke 22:1-2

Satan enters Judas, who seeks out the Jewish authorities in order to betray Jesus for a price.

• Matthew 26:14-16
• Mark 14:10-11
• Luke 22:3-6

Source: Paul McCain, Cyberbrethren

No Christianity Apart from the Church

It always perplexes me when a self-professing Christian turns his back on the body of Christ gathered around Christ in His Word and Sacraments, does his own thing (or nothing at all), and then tries to justify it. A Christian is not the body of Christ unto himself. He has been adopted into a family. And that family necessarily gathers together around Jesus Christ to hear Him and receive His good gifts in Word and Sacrament regularly and faithfully. The Third Commandment reveals this truth:

Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. [Exodus 20:8]

What does this mean?  Martin Luther rightly tells us: “We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and God’s Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it” (Small Catechism).

The ungodly excuses that keep people away from the body of Christ gathered around Christ in His Word and Sacraments include the following:

• I can be a Christian without organized Christianity.
• I can read the Bible and pray on my own.
• I can praise God by the way I live.
• I don’t like continually hearing about sin and repentance.
• I have more important things to do.
• I am a good person, unlike all those hypocrites at church.

Yesterday we even heard a new excuse, from none other than the President of the United States of America. In an interview with Today’s Matt Lauer, President Obama said that he does not plan to find a church home in Washington D.C. because, in his own words, “we are very disruptive to services.”

Excuses aside, God the Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel into a family. In our relationship to the Father, we are His “beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). In our relationship to the Son, we are “His bride” (Revelation 19:7). In our relationship to each other, we are “the household of God” (Galatians 6:10). Which is to say, we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Every Christian knows that someone who cheats on his wife over and over again, without repenting and seeking to amend his ways, has a dying (if not dead) faith. Every Christian knows that someone who steals from his company week after week, without repenting and seeking to amend his ways, has a dying (if not dead) faith. Yet there are a lot of self-professing Christians who fail to hold God’s Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it … and think nothing of it! Who are we to render the Third Commandment obsolete? Who are we to bend and twist God’s will so that it is more in line with our sleep patterns, our children’s sports schedules, and/or our sinful desires? Who are we to justify our lack of hunger and thirst for the wonderful gifts God so graciously gives us in His house, in the Divine Service, in His Word and Sacraments?

Simply put, the Ten Commandments are still God’s will for His people. And yes, we all fall short of God’s will in many ways. What, then, needs to happen? Repentance. Owning up to our sins, our shortcomings, our failures. Not making excuses or justifying ourselves, but confessing that we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed and then seeking His forgiveness and strength in Jesus Christ. And you know what?  That is exactly what God wants us to do! Repentance is a daily thing for God’s children. The Old Adam (our sinful nature) needs to be daily drowned so that the new man (Christ in us) can daily emerge. Only then can we live before God in righteousness and purity forever!

As you can see, the Christian life is defined by regular hearing of God’s Word, faithful reception of His Supper, steadfast learning of the apostles’ doctrine, participation in the fellowship of believers, and in the prayers (Acts 2:42). That is why Christians do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhort one another in the one true faith as we see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

By God’s grace, let us take to heart the Psalmists’ words and make them our very own:

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple. [Psalm 27:4]

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD. … Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, ever singing Your praise! … For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. [Psalm 84:1-2, 4, 10]

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! [Psalm 100:4]

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!” [Psalm 122:1]

Holy Week: Tuesday

Jesus’ disciples see the withered fig tree on their return to Jerusalem from Bethany.

• Matthew 21:20-22
• Mark 11:20-21

Jesus engages in conflict with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.

• Matthew 21:23—23:39
• Mark 11:27—12:44
• Luke 20:1—21:4

The disciples marvel at the Temple. Jesus delivers the “Olivet discourse” on their return to Bethany from Jerusalem.

• Matthew 24:1—25:46
• Mark 13:1-37
• Luke 21:5-36

Source: Paul McCain, Cyberbrethren

Holy Week: Monday

On Monday morning Jesus and the Twelve leave Bethany to return to Jerusalem, and along the way Jesus curses the fig tree.

• Matthew 21:18-19
• Mark 11:12-14

Jesus enters Jerusalem and clears the temple.

• Matthew 21:12-13
• Mark 11:15-17
• Luke 19:45-46

In the evening Jesus and the Twelve leave Jerusalem (returning to Bethany).

• Mark 11:19

Source: Paul McCain, Cyberbrethren

The Annunciation of Our Lord

March 25 is the day the one holy Christian and apostolic Church commemorates the Annunciation of Our Lord.

The angel Gabriel appears to Mary and announces that God has shown her favor and will use her as the means for the Messiah’s birth. So Mary conceives Jesus when the angel says: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). This same Spirit who hovered over the waters and brought forth creation (Genesis 1:2) will now “hover over” the waters of Mary’s womb to conceive the creation’s Redeemer. As the Holy Spirit comes upon Mary, she conceives Jesus “through her ear” (as Martin Luther says). The one who is conceived is called Holy, the Son of God. This is the moment of the incarnation of our Lord. The date of the Annunciation falls on March 25, because the Ancient Church believed the crucifixion occurred on that date. In antiquity, people linked the day of a person’s conception with the day of his or her death. Thus, in the Annunciation, the Church joined together both the incarnation of Jesus and the atonement He accomplished. [Source: Treasury of Daily Prayer]

Prayer of the Day:
O Lord, as we have known the incarnation of Your Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of the angel to the virgin Mary, so by the message of His cross and passion bring us to the glory of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn:
The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
With wings as drifted snow, with eyes as flame:
“All hail to thee, O lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady.” Gloria!

“For know a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee;
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,
Most highly favored lady.” Gloria! [LSB 356, stanzas 1-2]

Faithfulness, Not Numbers

“Would you learn that it is the saints, not the numbers, which make the multitude? Lead out to war ten hundred thousand men, and one saint, and let us see who achieves the most? Joshua the son of Nun went out to war, and alone achieved all; the rest were of no use. Wouldest thou see, beloved, that the great multitude, when it does not the will of God, is no better than a thing of naught? I wish indeed, and desire, and with pleasure would be torn in pieces, to adorn the Church with a multitude, yea, but a select multitude; yet if this be impossible, that the few should be select, is my desire. Do you not see that it is better to possess one precious stone, than ten thousand farthing pieces? Do you not see that it is better to have the eye sound, than to be loaded with flesh, and yet deprived of sight?”

Saint John Chrysostom

Bishop of Constantinople, AD 397-407

Commentary on Acts, chapter 3

(thanks for passing this along, Chad!)

Saint Joseph, Guardian of Jesus

March 19 is the day the one holy Christian and apostolic Church commemorates Saint Joseph, Guardian of Jesus.

St. Joseph has been honored throughout the Christian centuries for his faithful devotion in helping Mary raise her Son. Matthew’s Gospel related that Joseph was a just man, who followed the angel’s instructions and took the already-pregnant Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:24). In the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark, Jesus is referred to as “the carpenter’s son” (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). This suggests that Joseph had building skills with which he supported his family. Joseph was an important figure in the early life of Jesus, safely escorting Mary and the child to Egypt (Matthew 2:14) and then settling them back in Nazareth once it was safe to do so (Matthew 2:22). The final mention of Joseph is at the time the twelve-year-old Jesus visits the temple in Jerusalem for the Passover (Luke 2:41-51). Joseph, the guardian of our Lord, has long been associated with caring parenthood as well as with skilled craftsmanship. [Source: Treasury of Daily Prayer]

Prayer of the Day:
Almighty God, from the house of Your servant David You raised up Joseph to be the guardian of Your incarnate Son and the husband of His mother, Mary. Grant us grace to follow the example of this faithful workman in heeding Your counsel and obeying Your commands; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn:
We sing our thanks for Joseph,
     The guardian of our Lord,
Who faithfully taught Jesus
     Through craft and deed and word.
Grant wisdom, Lord, and patience
     To parents ev’rywhere
Who guide and teach the children
     Entrusted to their care. [LSB 517, stanza 14]

Ignorance

“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

Saint Jerome

c. 347-420

Prologue to the Commentary on Isaiah: PL 24,17

Rest for the Restless

Saint Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, once wrote: “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they find their rest in You.”

Restless hearts. Weak and weary souls. That’s us!

Jesus often encountered people who were harassed and helpless, “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Are not we to be counted among them? After all, we “labor for the food that perishes” (John 6:27). We “worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34). We look inward to our own strength and our own determination and fail to cast all our cares upon the Lord, to live from every word that proceeds from His mouth, and to take the good gifts He gives us in Word and Sacrament out there into the real world with us.

There is only one cure for restless hearts. “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden,” says Jesus, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Rest here, O weary ones. Rest here…

in Jesus’ wounds,

in Jesus’ body,

in Jesus’ blood,

in Jesus’ house.

Rest here, O weary ones. Rest here…

in Jesus’ words,

in Jesus’ absolution,

in Jesus’ Gospel,

in Jesus’ body and blood.

These, and these alone, will sustain you on your journey to the Promised Land. So come to God’s house and make the sign of the cross in remembrance of the baptismal grace that is yours in Christ. Confess your sins. Be absolved. Listen and take to heart the words of everlasting life. Add your Amen to the church’s prayer. Eat and drink the fruits of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and hell. And then return home with Christ’s blessing. All of these are wrapped up in Jesus words: “Whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

Did you expect anything less? Jesus is here, in His house, in His Word and Sacrament, to serve you, to give you rest, to deliver His peace, to bind wounds, mend broken hearts, and comfort troubled consciences, to restore the joy of His salvation, to create in you a clean heart and renew in you a right spirit, to forgive sins and strengthen faith.

No wonder Saint Augustine found his rest in Jesus Christ and Him alone. “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they find their rest in You.” May we do the same!