HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Lord, keep us joyful in Christ our King! On this last Sunday of the Church Year, we rejoice in the fulfillment of God’s plan for our salvation through Christ our King — the King who once came as a sacrifice; the King who still shepherds us day by day; the King who will conquer all our enemies. Rejoice in his reign and look forward to the day when every knee will bow with us before the King of kings and Lord of Lords!

As we approach the end of all things and the great Day of Judgment, we want to be sure we have it all straight. The readings for this Sunday help us prepare by their detailed description of what is to come, so we will not be afraid as we look and long for the day of his appearing. Instead, clinging to his grace in Word and Sacrament we strive to live as those who know what to expect at the end of it all.

The attitude of the unbeliever to talk of judgment by God can only be denial or terror. But the attitude of the child of God is formed by the Word of God. In faith we can look forward to that day of publicly hearing God’s “not guilty” verdict which brought us to faith in the first place. There’s no better preparation for death and judgment than clinging to that gracious verdict, and no better life than the one that has that verdict as its center and motivation.

Lord, keep us faithful to your Word! The Festival of the Lutheran Reformation of the Church emphasizes the true Church’s unfailing reliance on the Word of God and unflinching testimony to it in the face of persecution. Jesus promised to pour out his Spirit on the Church that we might be God’s mouthpiece even before kings. Today the Church prays that the Lord give us the strength to be faithful and the peace of knowing our lives are secure in his hands.

Jesus Christ came into this world to serve as our great High Priest, sacrificing himself on the cross to gain eternal rest for us in heaven. Our response to this love of Christ is humble service to him and our neighbor.

Our material belongings are blessings from God. Yet sometimes they can also be temptations to not put God first. A young man in our Gospel reading for today felt he had done a good job of keeping God’s law. Jesus showed him, however, that because of his attitude about material possessions he hadn’t even begun to keep the First Commandment. In fact, it’s impossible for anyone to be saved by the law. Only God can save us sinners. And in his Son, he has!

The closest we can get to a mirror of the love of God for us is the mirror of the love that he wants us to have for one another in the family. The goal of family members is to reflect the love of God for us in self-giving love for one another. How tragic that in our society such a mirror is so clouded! There is much to repent of and much to strive toward.

The gifts of God are so rich and varied that the devil uses that very generosity in God to stir up jealousy and envy. Expect it in others; find it in yourself as well. That weakness makes it crystal clear that our need for the Savior is a constant one. It also makes clear that our struggle against our own flesh gives us much more difficulty than the persecution from the world.

See how deeply the love from God penetrates our heart and soul. We are called to reflect that intense and all-embracing grace in our attitudes toward those around us. Our ambition is to be not the promotion of self, but the imitation of Christ. We learn how fixed we are on that when we face opposition and struggles.

God never promises us an easy life in this world. We have our crosses to bear. But we bear them gladly and with confidence, because God has given us the faith that produces fruit and that knows we have eternal life.

Unbelief mocks and says that if God did all things well and was the source of all good, then he shouldn’t allow misery and need. But especially in need and suffering God does all things well; that truth is the center of our quiet confidence. It is the reason for our hope based on the promises of God and earned for us by the work of Christ and its eternal consequences for us.

Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. The emphasis in the readings for this Sunday is the truth that all God pleasing obedience must begin in the heart. As so often, the Prayer of the Day affords us a good summary of the thoughts for the day.

It is not only the outsider who turns aside from the Wisdom which is Christ. Many who have heard the Word with us also go away when some part of it conflicts with their own thinking. God, keep us always from the ignorant arrogance that thinks our wisdom is greater than yours!

The lessons for today encourage us to examine our spiritual diet. In order to stay alive spiritually, a person needs the real Bread which is Jesus Christ. The only way to receive this special nourishment is through his Gospel in Word and Sacraments.

If it were just us weak sinners, we could never do what God requires of us. But today we see that Christ, the bread of life, calls us to faith through his Gospel, giving life and strength to follow him in this world and to overcome our flesh and its sinful desires.

Last Sunday we heard of God’s generosity to us and through us. Today we are reminded that his generosity in material things should serve as a reminder of his even greater generosity in spiritual things. As Augustine said, “There is nothing visible or transitory that does not point us back to something more important that is invisible and imperishable.” Our readings encourage the response of an attitude adjustment in us that includes a reordering of our priorities.

The word of God has renewed our relationship with him by connecting us to the one who feeds body and soul.

As the Word of God called us last Sunday to receive God’s messengers because their message is from God, so this Sunday both preachers and hearers are urged to always remain faithful to God’s Word.

During the past eight weeks the emphasis has been on the creation of faith and its preservation in spite of the suffering and persecution that seem to contradict the promise. Now the second cycle of the Pentecost season begins with an emphasis on the response of those who hear the Word. Those who have the Savior in his Word share him by sharing his Word.

The Word of God is powerful and efficacious. By means of this Word, the Holy Spirit works faith in the heart. Nevertheless, man is still able to reject God’s powerful Gospel message. May we always proclaim his saving message of salvation in spite of the many who reject it, because whether they believe it or not, God will be glorified and his plans will be worked out.

Last Sunday we saw that faith does not eliminate suffering from our lives. This Sunday we see that the suffering includes even death. The unbeliever who has only tears and despair in the face of death vainly hopes in his fear that death ends all. The Christian clings to the One who has overcome death for us even when faced with death.

We have seen that faith gives evidence of life. But sometimes the evidence challenges faith. The fact that Christ lives and lives in us is no guarantee that we will never face fear or disaster. Quite the contrary, he has promised we will have troubles. Today we see one aspect or fruit of our faith: we trust in Him even when outward evidence argues against trust in him.

The work of the gospel is invisible, but real. It is hidden, but with results that can be seen — even if the power behind those visible results remains a mystery. That is the truth of the kingdom of God hidden within the heart. Has faith made a difference in life, or is it something apart? Faith that is the result of the living seed of the Word is alive and gives evidence of its life.

In the kingdom of God we are to live according to his will as expressed in his law. But even in the directions given for our lives in the law, we see Christ for us. For the law does not benefit God; it benefits us. The Third Commandment (“Remember the Sabbath”) is a pre-eminent example of the point.

Confirmation is a reminder of the blessings we have received from the Lord in our baptisms, in our Christian training, and in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. We are reminded to always stay close to this caring and loving God by always staying close to his holy Word and Sacraments.

The Bible clearly teaches us that we have one undivided God. Yet there are three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are all fully God. In this God alone we find our beginning, our redemption, and our restoration to everlasting holiness.

Come, Holy Spirit! The Spirit is given on the first Christian Pentecost in fulfillment of promise and prophecy, and he continues to come to his faithful through Word and sacrament. Thus the Church never ceases to be renewed and to grow.

Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to the Father's right hand to rule over all creation for the good of all who believe in him and now calls us to be his witnesses to everyone.

The infinite love of God is our motivation and power to love him and each other. Such love shows itself in listening to what God says in his Word, defending it from falsehood and reaching out with it to others.

Faith always believes the promises of God and always produces fruit to thank God for all he has done for us.

On “Good Shepherd Sunday” our attention is fixed on Jesus the Good Shepherd of the sheep. His care and concern are recognized by those whom he has called as his sheep. Even in suffering, his sheep know his care for them and follow him.

With his perfect life, innocent death and glorious resurrection, Christ paid for all our sins and won for us eternal life. Therefore, it is our privilege to share this good news with the rest of the world.

The fact of Jesus’ resurrection is our assurance that we have eternal life. Our faith, based on our risen Savior, gives us what we need for this life and for the life to come. Through his Word we receive our faith and the strength it needs. In our risen Savior, we have the victory and want to live like people who know that.

He’s risen! Jesus, our crucified Savior has risen from the dead. His resurrection dries our tears; he has risen for the poor and lowly, the weak and undeserving, for you and for me!

The Hands of the Passion Series: Nail-Pierced Hands
Darkness descended on the world that day as God draped Creation in the darkness of mourning. For the Light of the world was flickering out. Though guiltless, he was tortured and cursed; though innocent, he died among criminals. Who could ever call this day “good?” Only those who know the truth of the cross: “Sing my tongue the glorious battle; sing the ending of the fray. Now above the cross, the trophy, sound the loud triumphant lay. Tell how Christ, the world’s Redeemer, as a victim won the day.”

The Hands of the Passion Series: Hands of Humility
Christ shows us the full extent of God’s love for us. The Church calls this day Maundy because of Jesus’ “new” command in the Gospel lesson that his followers love one another (it is the dies mandate). Christ shows the full extent of his love in service and in sacrifice. He loves us more than life and feeds us his body and blood to prove it. Reconciled to God, we then follow his command to love one another.

The Hands of the Passion Series: Hands of Praise

Lent began with an almost equal focus on the sinner and the Savior. But increasingly and now in Holy Week the focus is on Christ. The readings for today want us to understand once and for all who it really is who has come to save us, so that with all confidence we may do as the Prayer for the Day suggests, follow him from Holy Week to Easter, from earth to heaven.

The Hands of the Passion Series: Hands of Self-Preservation

The readings today tie Lent with both Epiphany and Easter. In them Jesus shows his glory as a saving glory but a glory that is hidden under a blanket of suffering and a veil of humiliation.

The Hands of the Passion Series: Hands of Brutality

Traditionally this Sunday was called Laetare, “Rejoice” Sunday. We rejoice in the middle of Lent that God has so fully and so perfectly taken to heart our only real need as sinners and satisfied it in Christ.

The Hands of the Passion Series: Hands of Hypocrisy

Lent shows us that God is serious about his Word — all of his Word. The law shows we deserve only God’s wrath and punishment. But Jesus Christ came into this world in response to God’s promise, to live and die as our substitute. He led the perfect life we could not live and died in our place, to give us salvation — all according to his Word.

The Hands of the Passion Series: Hands of Misguided Zeal

Lent has to last a while and come around every year if for no other reason than this, that it is so hard for us to get the points made so strikingly in Lent. This Sunday we see God’s seriousness in Lent in this: Salvation and suffering go hand in hand, for Jesus and for us too!

The Hands of the Passion Series: Hands of Betrayal

Jesus Christ came into this world to live and die as our substitute. He led the perfect life we could not live because of sin and died in our place, suffering the vengeance of all our sins. No one can take from us the salvation that is in Christ Jesus nor separate us from the love of God that we have through Christ.

Jesus Christ, who humbled himself to come into this world to save us, never lost the glory he has as the Son of God. We see his glory shining in his saving message of salvation, and that glory reflects off us and shines to others as we share the Good News.

Because of sin, there are sufferings and struggles in our lives. But Jesus shows his authority over sickness, Satan and sin. His good news heals our most serious disease (sin) and frees us to serve our Savior in a life with real meaning.

Why follow him? Jesus shows his glory by his triumph over the devil. When he walked this earth for us, he sometimes did that openly for all to see. He still does it just as effectively but in a less public, less obvious way. Just as his victory made manifest his glory then, so it does now. Just as then, so now, everything is accomplished through his Word.

Jesus shows his glory in the kind of people that he calls to serve him and in using the gospel to make them willing to follow him. Some he calls to a full-time following that leaves behind secular vocations. To all however comes the call to follow him with a willingness to abandon everything should faithfulness require it.

God’s Word is powerful. It makes changes in the hearts and lives of those who hear it, and calls them to be followers of Christ who fulfilled everything necessary to put us back together with God.

The long-expected Christ has arrived; the waiting is over as the Son of David is anointed. The Father’s approval sounds from heaven and book-ends the season of Epiphany, when with the Holy Spirit and with power it thunders again on the Mount of Transfiguration as the Son is revealed in glory.

The Eastern Church celebrates January 6th as the Nativity of our Lord. For the West, the Epiphany of our Lord is the continued celebration of the birth of the Savior of Nations. So bright is the dawning of the Son, so great is the fullness of his glory, that his light not only fills the dark streets of Bethlehem, but the ends of the earth. Jew and Gentile alike gather to worship him who is born ruler of Judah and Shepherd of all Israel.

There are two great miracles of Christmas: the one that God has become man for us and for our salvation, and that he in grace reveals the first miracle even to me and blesses me with all its benefits.

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Just as Mary, on the very first Christmas, we too meditate on the mystery of Christmas. Christ was born in order to live, die and rise from the grave for us! The Word became flesh and through faith we see his glory! Glory to God in the highest!

What’s the best way to prepare for Jesus’ coming? It’s not with frantic doing. It’s not with a focus on what we have done or promise to do. It’s not with how we will pay back what he comes to bring. The best preparation for Christmas is a readiness to receive.

In this season of Advent (Coming) we focus on the three “comings” of Christ: his coming into this world as a baby to put himself in our place and to pay for our sins, his coming in glory at the last day to take us into the full enjoyment of our salvation, and his coming into our hearts through the power of his word which gives us faith and makes that salvation our own. And all three of these comings lead us to REJOICE....

Since Jesus’ coming is sure and so important, he sends out forerunners in the footsteps of John the Baptist who help us to make proper preparation for his coming. They do that with a message not their own. They do it with the message that he himself has given. Pay close attention to those heralds of the coming Lord, the prophets and apostles, and to the pastors and teachers in our midst who have succeeded them to get us ready for his coming.

Keep watch! The unexpectedness of Christ’s coming doesn’t change its certainty. We know he is coming with judgment on the unbelieving world and grace and rescue for his people. We are filled with hope, with love, and with light. With anticipation in our hearts, we long for the fulfillment. “Come, Lord Jesus! Amen!”