Trinity 9 2023

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity, 2023. The Parable of the Unjust Steward

 

Bethany Lutheran Church

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The Hymn #613           Jerusalem the Golden       

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Behold, God is mine Helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.

He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in Thy truth, O Lord.

Psalm. Save me, O God, by Thy name: and judge me by Thy strength.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Gradual

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth: 

who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: 

that delighteth greatly in His commandments. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #426         The Lord My Shepherd Is - Watts

        

Unjust Steward - Unrighteous Mammon

The Communion Hymn #339        All Hail the Power

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #46              On What Has Now Been Sown

Prayers and Announcements

• Sarah Buck; Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader; Kermit and Maria Way.
• Ranger Bob is in the hospital after a very serious operation on his leg.
• Pastor Jackson has been kicked off the free Christian News list for criticizing Objective Faithless Justification and the horrible Beck Bible, which is no better than the Evil Four - RSV, NRSV, ESV, NIV.

            

 

KJV 1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Ninth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast bountifully given us Thy blessing and our daily bread: We beseech Thee, preserve us from covetousness, and so quicken our hearts that we willingly share Thy blessed gifts with our needy brethren; that we may be found faithful stewards of Thy gifts, and abide in Thy grace when we shall be removed from our stewardship, and shall come before Thy judgment, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

        

Unjust Steward - Unrighteous Mammon

KJV Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

Luther - First Sermon for Trinity 9

I. OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON.

1. This is truly a Gospel for priests and monks, and will bring them money, unless we prevent it. Before entering upon the consideration of it, we must accustom ourselves to the language used, especially the word mammon.

Luther's humorous introduction to this sermon should be noted and remembered, because this parable is a trap for those who do not understand it and difficult for those who try. Like all of the "hard sayings" of Jesus, this one opens up the meaning of the story, in an unconventional way. Two terms must be understood - the Unjust Steward and the Mammon of Unrighteousness.

1. Unjust Steward - Key Person

The steward - or manager - in this story is unjust, and not a believer. He is dishonest in his dealings and in his fake repentance. Nothing he does is commendable, and that is why the rich man appreciates the steward's dishonesty. We have to remember that the Rich Man only cares about cash flow, not honesty.

2. Mammon of Unrighteousness - Key Meaning

Mammon is not money but extra money, more than we have to have, beyond our normal expenses. That means it is neither bad nor good. 

Luther was very much against the righteousness of works, which is so easy for the bishops to use against the people. "Build this chapel to St. Matthew the Rotund and God will reward you with grace." 

In this parable the steward (manager) is seen by the others as being wasteful. They report him to the Rich Man, who threatens the steward with expulsion and its consequences, poverty.

3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

Unstated is the fact that the Rich Man did not become wealthy by being a choir boy, as they say. An estate owner would always be eager to capitalize on bargains, droughts, weather calamities, and changes in currency. A written bill has a lesser value as a debt than cash. A dishonest eye practice tried to make money from a bill when they had already admitted malpractice. The bill collector thought he had a pile of money to use, just for making a phone call - $800! I said, "They admitted their errors and canceled the $200 bill. You paid something for the piece of worthless paper, so you get to eat it." The bill collector was not happy since he wanted to cash in on the dishonesty.

8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

The founder of the University of Phoenix wrote in his book that he and other higher education businessmen routinely gave money to the right people to make their schools legitimate. The right people hold the power in granting certifications with its complicated rules and demands, varying state by state, a lot of hungry mouths to feed. The founder gave one lobbyist $500,000 to get one of those certifications done. Everyone in the education business knows. One LCMS college thought the sure way to success was something called HotChalk, an integrated system of online education in one package. Now they want their $300 million from the college.

9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Here we have to say, with Luther (see the linked sermon) that the conclusion is not parallel to the Rich Man and the Unrighteous Steward. This is a very condensed way of saying, In spreading the Gospel, share what you have with the poor.

Luther:

12. Luke has described the fruit of faith thus: Give to the poor and make to yourself friends. As though he would say: I will not now speak of faith, but how you should prove your faith. Wherefore do good to your neighbor, and if you can give from the heart you may be assured that you believe.

Thus the Scriptures speak at one time of fruits, at another time of faith.

Again, they also speak of fruits, when they teach, Matthew 25:42, how the Lord will speak to the lost on the last day: “I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was athirst, and ye gave me no drink,” and the like.

This means, you have not believed, as I will prove to you by your own works.

13. The Scriptures in some passages speak of the outward conduct, and in others of the inner. Now if you will apply that which is said of the outward to the heart and confuse matters, you pervert it and do wrong. Hence you must let the distinction remain, and observe it. These expressions: I have been hungry, thirsty, shelterless, naked, sick and in prison, and you have shown me no work of mercy, refer to the external conduct, and signify as much as: you have never exhibited any outward conduct by which you have shown your faith; and to prove this, I appeal to the poor as witnesses.

Therefore, faith alone must be present first to make us good, after that good works must follow to prove our piety. This now is one point, namely, concerning works.

14. The second point is far more difficult, when the Lord says: “Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.” You say, our adversaries cry: you say a person shall not do good works to obtain eternal life; behold, here it reads differently. Now, what shall we answer?

This is Jesus chiding the disciples to spread the Gospel by caring for the poor. The scribes and Pharisees stayed back because they wanted to treat Jesus as unclean. The poor crowded around Him and asked for healing and understood through His miracles that their sins were forgiven through faith, something far more powerful than the righteousness of works.

 CFW Walther's nephew read a lot of Luther - and it shows.

Trinity 8, 2023

 The Eighth Sunday after Trinity, 2023

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The melodies are linked in the hymn titles.

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH lyrics are found at the Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog.

The Hymn #261          Lord Keep Us Steadfast           

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

We have thought of Thy loving-kindness, O God: 

in the midst of Thy Temple.

According to Thy name, O God, 

so is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: 

Thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Psalm. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised: 

in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

Grant to us, Lord, we beseech Thee, the Spirit to think and do always such things as are right, that we, who cannot do anything that is good without Thee, may by Thee be enabled to live according to Thy will; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth...

The Epistle and Gradual      

Gradual

Be Thou my strong Rock: for an house of defense to save me.

V. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: 

let me never be ashamed. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Give ear, O My people, to My Law: 

incline your ears to the words of My mouth. Hallelujah!

 

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Hymn #268             Zion Mourns   

Wolves Wearing Vicuna

The Communion Hymn #463      For All the Saints

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #511                         Jesus Shall Reign

Prayers and Announcements

• The altar flowers are in memory of Christina Jackson, whose birthday was on July 20th. The Andersons (Randy, Ivy, Andy, Aby) traveled from the People's Republic of California to be here.
• Medical supervision - Sarah Buck, Kermit Way, Maria Way, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris. Doing well after surgery - Randy Anderson.
• Randy and Ivy Anderson, Andrea and Aby came to visit for Christina's birthday.
• Pray for honest, elections and renewed dedication to the US Constitution, where state legislatures control their elections.

              

KJV Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Luther's Three Sermons on Matthew 7:15ff - Beware of False Prophets

Eighth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast caused us to come to the knowledge of Thy word. We pray Thee: graciously keep us steadfast in this knowledge unto death, that we may obtain eternal life; send us now and ever pious pastors, who faithfully preach Thy word, without offense or false doctrine, and grant them long life. Defend us from all false teachings, and frustrate Thou the counsels of all such as pervert Thy word, who come to us in sheep's clothing, but are inwardly ravening wolves, that Thy true Church may evermore be established among us, and be defended and preserved from such false teachers, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Wolves Wearing Vicuna

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Sermon on the Mount

One of the clever ploys of the fake Biblical scholars is to call the Sermon on the Mount a "random collection of sayings." These wise wizards know more than the Holy Spirit!  However, Matthew 5-7 is a wonderful sermon, a unified address starting with the Beatitudes and ending with the Matthew 7:15ff warning and the House Built on Sand. 

Matthew 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

The Beatitudes are a sermon of their own, and the ending of the Sermon on the Mount offers two different-and-engaging illustrations of the future - 1) faith in false teachers versus faithful teachers; 2) faith having a firm foundation versus one washed away by current fads. 

The Lupine Liberal

Lupine means wolf. Ovine means sheep. Bovine means cow.

We should always remember that Jesus, the Lord of Creation, uses His own creation in His parables. No one knows the nature of these creatures better than He does. Sheep are sure-footed for feeding, good at converting plants into meat and fat, mild in temperament. Wolves are stealthy, armed with the strength and the jaws to slaughter sheep, gaining a rich supply of their needs by creeping silently up on the flock. A pack of wolves can slowly descend on a flock of sheep.

The lupine liberals have been stalking the sheep from the beginning. The moment the Gospel spread, after the Ascension of Christ, the opponents were energized to stop the growth of the Christian Faith. Many Jews were converted, because Paul was so energetic in preaching and teaching. That outraged the Pharisaical party even more, because the Gospel spread among their own people. The Gentiles also believed after hearing the Word of God, because the myths of Greece and Rome were so crude and so much like today's Hollywood, journalists, and higher education genius crowd. 

The lupine liberals of the last 200 years have chipped away at the unity and the truth of the Scriptures. One tool has been to glorify fake New Testaments as genuine, rare, and priceless. These are featured in all "scholarly" translations, books, and journals - Codex Sinaiticus, a crude forgery from the 1800s, and Codex Vaticanus, a Greek translation from Latin, promoted by the Church of Rome. The Evil Four plus Beck are these bogus Bibles: RSV, NRSV, ESV, NIV and Beck. Because the liberal scholars sanctified the fake sources, they were able to "translate" them and sell them for big bucks, each version contradicting the others while changing on a regular basis.

The purpose of Jesus' example is to show the destruction of His teaching will come from clever, stealthy, deceitful false teachers. St. Paul pleaded -

Acts 20:28-31, when he was about to depart from Ephesus, among other things, he said: “Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears.”

Bottom Line

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 

Fruit or fruits are a common terms for results - "the new plan was not fruitful." In gardening and farming, every effort is made to enjoy products grown and enjoyed. Many plants look good but they are bitter or even toxic. A bird caused an impressive plant that grew over six feet, attracting lady bug babies. Red markings at the base confirmed it was hemlock, a poison (no cure). One friend pulled out an unknown weed that put him in the hospital. I tugged on poison ivy and needed meds for a week.

Toxic plants and toxic teaching are parallel. They look impressive but they are horribly painful when given enough time to produce. The most "successful" false teachers are smoother than chocolate pudding. They are charming eager to spin something any way that suits their own needs.

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

America has many examples of evil plants developed or brought in, some promoted by our own government, now almost impossible to remove - kudzu, bartlett pears, one kind of blackberry, multi-flora rose. Like the famous Church Growth Movement (adored by LCMS, WELS, ELCA, and all denominations), the evil plants have spread without any benefit, and cannot be eradicated without an aggressive response.

At the "Free" LCMS-WELS-ELS Emmaus Conference, our Justification by Faith materials were ordered removed.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

We must trust in the value of sound  or healthy doctrine based directly on the Scriptures. Jesus and Paul compare false doctrine to sickness and cancer. The New Testament word for healthy is hygiene, but people get drawn to unhealthy teaching, which seems so delightful at first.

 David Scaer is The David P. Scaer Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology.

Evil is spread easily while Biblical doctrine is halted, examined, and frequently expelled by the very people who claim they are Bible scholars or Luther scholars or both.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Luther:

6. Here you may ask: why does God permit false prophets to come among his pious people and be the successors of his true ministers? Is he not powerful and strong enough to prevent it, so that the Gospel may continue pure and in its power? Of course he is. But he permits it in order to prove and preserve his own people, and to punish the unthankful. It is as St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:19 says: “For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you.” This means, that those whose faith is approved may become manifest, so that their spirit and word appear, and testify that they are true.

7. When God gives us his Word, his gifts and Spirit, it is not his will that we should be lazy, sleepy and idle. For if you have the true Word and its true meaning, the world will attack you on one side, and the devil will attempt to tear you from it on the other, not only by means of worldly tyrants who persecute the Word with the sword; but also by means of our own reason and the wisest people in the world. Thus God desires to develop you by his Word, and to give the Holy Spirit whom he has bestowed upon you something to do, so that you may learn that God’s wisdom is wiser than the world’s wisdom, that God’s strength is stronger than the strength and power of the world, which you will not learn unless you pass through this conflict with false teachers.

8. Wherever he permits the devil to create factions, he would thus stir you up, and say: Defend yourself, lay hold of the Word, and learn to experience God’s wisdom and power against the wisdom of the world and the lies of satan. Thus the strength and wisdom of God’s Word will appear, that you may learn that it is not to be conquered with power and wisdom; but it conquers, and puts to shame all power, cunning and wisdom opposed to it.

This is one reason why God permits factions and sects among us, who enter in as it were edgewise, as though they were beneficial and served to the end that the Word, the truth and Spirit prove themselves to be better and plainer; however aside from this factions and sects serve no good purpose.

The people I know have had similar experiences - 

• dealing with false doctrine, 
• wondering about false teachers and Bad Bible Boosters. , 
• challenging falsehoods and 
• given the Left Foot of Fellowship, the stink-eye, and total shunning. 

I am not alone. Those experiences have made some cower in fear, lest their clergy benefits be lost. Laity have told me they would be shunned by the entire extended family if they questioned Holy Mother Synod. Parallels to the Pharisees seem not to bother the abusive sect orthodoxy. Instead of bearing the cross, they are unbearably cross if anyone steps on their delicate toes.

As Luther wrote, the false teachers end up in sharpening our knowledge of the Gospel. We want to know that much more about the Scriptures and the Reformation. Physical exercise makes us hungry for food. Spiritual exercise makes us hungry for the truth of God's Word. I hate to say it, but thousands of words of theology today are entirely lacking the divinity of Christ, the miracles, and faith in Him. Many are deliberately mocking because they have no faith and want to spread their apostasy. I know two pastors who moved from Church Growth to  loudmouth atheism.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

This should be a truly frightening pair of verses for those who say, "But I was a charter member!"

Nor does it matter what one's siblings, relatives or great-grandfathers did for Holy Mother Synod.

The Great CFW Walther did many evil things, but the worst was his consistent false teaching of Objective Faithless Justification. 

Trinity 7 2023

 

 

The melodies are linked in the hymn title. 

The lyrics are linked from the Bethany Hymnal Blog.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH lyrics are found here.

The Hymn #480      Lord of the Worlds Above - Isaac Watts      

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Oh, clap your hands, all ye people! 

Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

Psalm. He shall subdue the people under us: 

and the nations under our feet.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth, we humbly beseech Thee to put away from us all hurtful things and to give us those things which be profitable for us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Gradual

Come, ye children, hearken unto me: 

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

V. Look unto Him and be lightened: 

and let your faces not be ashamed. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Oh, clap your hands, all ye people:

shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #400    Take My Life and Let It Be

           

Faith and Miracles

The Communion Hymn #313   O Lord We Praise Thee, Luther

The Preface p. 24

The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #12         This Day - Bishop How   

Announcements and Prayers

• Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader - 41st wedding anniversary July 10th. 
• Christina Jackson's birthday, July 20th. Andersons will arrive  here that day.
• Glen and Esther Kotten's first anniversary is Saturday, July 22nd. 
• Alicia Meyer's birthday, July 27th.
• Medical treatment - Matt Howell, accident; Kermit and Maria Way; Pastor and Mrs. Shrader; Sarah Buck; those dealing with metabolic and stress disorders.
• Best Buy sent a Geek Squad member to address sound issues and alternatives.

KJV Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Mark 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.

SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Lord God, heavenly Father, who in the wilderness didst by Thy Son abundantly feed four thousand men besides women and children with seven loaves and a few small fishes: We beseech Thee, graciously abide among us with Thy blessing, and keep us from covetousness and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things needful for body and soul, experience Thine ever-present help; through Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.            

Faith and Miracles

KJV Mark 8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 

The Gospel of Mark can be divided into two parts - 

1. The Miracles - Mark 1 - 10.
2. The Atoning Death and Resurrection - Mark 11 - 16:20.

This is my quiz where I described the disciples irritated with Jesus for praying alone when they had so much work to do. 

KJV Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

Jesus praying to the Father emphasizes the Two Natures of Christ - human and divine. If you do not worship the Savior regularly, you are suggesting you are better than Jesus. He worshiped, prayed, and taught in the synagogues all the time. These verses also illustrate that the disciples at this stage thought the work was mostly miracles but Jesus combined the miracles and teaching to prove the divinity of His teaching - "with divine authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees." His miracles were so great that people rushed out of their villages to find Him. (Note the "rumor" in Isaiah 53 and Romans 10 - faith comes by hearing the Word (rumor).

When we study a Biblical text, it is essential to see the entire picture and to connect with the unified view of the entire Bible. There has been far too much of picking a verse or two and making a case for a particular idea. 

• The Bible is the Book of the Holy Spirit (Luther) and 
• not a jar of fortune cookies with useful quotes (most Biblical "scholarship" today).

This miracle shows how God provides all we need when nothing at all seems to be there. Secondly, the miracles deepen our faith in God's unlimited mercy and power. The great fallacy today is that miracles belong to the past and many reject the truth of those events. It is not just the "Biblical scholars" who reject the miracles, but also the church members who have been conditioned to follow the "scholars." The worst examples are not just ELCA, but also LCMS, ELS, CLC, Eldonuts, etc. The ELCA worships Barth and Tillich, the rest bow to Walther and Pieper - even down to the Pope himself.

3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?

The people followed Jesus at the risk of fasting and fainting, so much that they endangered their lives by being so far away from food. Jesus presented the problem to the disciples, similar to the logic of Project Management. The facts are - nothing to eat - and - how can these people get bread in the wilderness. They have water, because they are stopped  where the vegetation is green - an oasis. In the American West, formations that hold rainwater are called tanks, as in the White Tank Mountains.

There is not enough money, not enough food, not enough for clothes, not enough for education. The disciples despair about obtaining enough food for the multitudes in the desert.

5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.

I can imagine the downcast looks when they said, "Seven." The finance committee would say, "Seven - IF we are lucky." I named them - at one church - after the movie - The Bad News Bears.

If we look at Creation - a word that makes many cringe, so I use it all the time - Creation Garden - God clearly organizes everything in a miraculous way. Every part of the Creation Garden has its own role, at the least, and carries out all kinds of beneficial duties. The rabbits walk casually by me, a few feet away, because they are not afraid. The timing of plants is astonishing. I grow for bees and butterflies - pollinators - and they show up from the earliest suggestion of spring. The humble Poke and Joe Pye Weeds improve the soil while providing flowers that turn into fruit. Each plant has more stations than I can count, more flowers that turn into buds that turn into fruit or seeds (Poke berries have seeds).

Luther reminds us that God is the best farmer, the best animal minder, the best miner for minerals, the best everything. Without the miraculous abundance we would fail to have good food and good water to drink.

Get To Work!

6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.

We do two things in error. One is that we demean what is there, as if it is not enough and will never do. We discourage ourselves, as if God could not handle our needs. "What is that among so many?" Clergy think the building is not good enough or grand enough or filled with enough people. Members will make sure the new church has a kitchen large enough for a hotel - but that is not enough, either. Guaranteed - the church fridge will always have one jar of ketchup, one of mustard - just what everyone needs in an emergency. (I have tested this in many different churches - two condiments, nothing else.)

Faith in Jesus Christ is not a shopping list. Just as the Bible teaches the "faith of Jesus," so our faith in Jesus sets the work of God in motion.

KJV Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 

κατα την δυναμιν (dynamite) την ενεργουμενην (energy, efficacy) εν ημιν

     21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus             throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The Holy Spirit is always building us up in the Gospel, in the faith of Jesus. This comes from Jesus Christ and glorifies His Name.

8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.

The more they ate, the more they had to eat, so they had seven baskets full - but before they barely had enough for a few.

Soon the Pharisees were questioning Jesus, who had provided miracles greater than Moses. But it was not enough for them, and there never will be enough. We only need to wait for what God has already set in motion. 

The key is to express our thanks for everything God has done for us, for every person. Secondly, we should express our concerns within the family and among those we know.