Trinity 2023

 

Jan Verhas  (1834–1896) 

The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2023

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Worship

Hymn #428        I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus    

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto Thee daily.

For Thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive: 

and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee.

Psalm. Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, hear me: 

for I am poor and needy.

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

Collect

Lord, we pray Thee that Thy grace may always go before and follow after us and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Gradual

The heathen shall fear the name of the Lord: 

and all the kings of the earth Thy glory.

V. When the Lord shall build up Zion: 

He shall appear in His glory. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: He is their Help and their Shield. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

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

Sermon Hymn #341       Crown Him with Many Crowns

Jesus - The Source of Grace and Compassion

Communion Hymn # 313      O Lord We Praise Thee

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
Hymn #657             Beautiful Savior   

                    Prayers and Announcements

• In our prayers - Randy Anderson, Sarah Buck, Lori Howell, Pastor Jim and Chris Shrader, Dr. Lito Cruz.
• Dr. Kermit Way - 84th birthday.
• Next Sunday, Memory - Carl Roper's birthday, 

 

                     Luther's Sermon on the Epistle, Ephesians 3:13-21        

KJV Ephesians 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 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 [dynamis, dynamite, Holy Spirit] that worketh [energy, efficacy] in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

KJV Luke 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst send Thy Son to be made flesh, that by His death He might atone for our sins and deliver us from eternal death: We pray Thee, confirm in our hearts the hope that our Lord Jesus Christ, who with but a word raised the widow's son, in like manner will raise us on the last day, and grant us eternal life: through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Jesus - The Source of Grace and Compassion

KJV Luke 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

The Gospels have three examples where Jesus raised the dead - the widow's son, the young girl, and Lazarus. Jesus Himself rose from death, and that is His ultimate victory, and the miraculous continues to this day.

The Age of Rationalism began with opposing the miraculous. Halle University was established to promote Pietism - individual holiness - and became a scholarly source for mockery about Jesus Christ. 

This rationalism continued and grew from the ordained mocking the Scriptures and picking only those passages they favor. People add to it with their personal preferences. What was rejected before becomes accepted, and the scoffers are called great scholars.

The best antidote to the loss of faith is a knowledge of the Scriptures. The Word of God always has the power to build faith, as it says in Isaiah 53 and Romans 10. "Faith comes by hearing [the Word of the Gospel].

Jesus combined the power of His preaching with the proof from His miracles.

12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 

This verse is very touching, because the woman lost her husband and now only had a son to help her - and he was being carried out for burial. As Luther said, she might have been content to still have a wage earner, but that was suddenly gone. Women had very little earning power, and she was now alone and lonely. Some disciples and many people followed Jesus to that city gate. Besides that, the people of the city came out with the casket to support the widow in her sorrow. 

The scene reminds me of the future in the Gospels, with city people coming to meet Jesus at the gate of Jerusalem and guests from the funeral following, so He was surrounded by those who heard about Lazarus and those who saw him live again.

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

Luther:

3. Now all this has been written to the end that just as here this deed of mercy befell this widow freely and entirely of grace, only because it solicited Christ’s sympathy, so from this we can draw the general rule that applies to all the merciful deeds of God, that they all overtake us without our merits, even before we seek them. He lays the foundation and makes the beginning. But why does he pity us? In this way it continues to be the grace of God. Otherwise, if we deserved it, it would not be grace. And if it be of grace, then we can say to him: Thou art a gracious God, thou doest good also to them who deserve it not.

The more we see through God's eyes, the more we understand faith in Jesus Christ. He is all grace and mercy, so He does not demand merits to make us worthy of His miracles. He is all kindness and forgiveness. 

Looking back, we can see the blessings that came from difficult and painful times. 

Luther:

4. This sermon seems easy to us, but where are they who mean it with their heart? If we believed that everything comes to us from God’s grace and mercy, we would daily run and rejoice, our hearts would continually rise and dwell in heaven. When we once get to heaven we will see that this is true. Now no one believes it. The god of this world, the devil, has such great power on earth that we do not see the work of God nor know it. 2 Corinthians 4:4 Therefore we do not appreciate it, we misuse God’s mercies, and are entirely unthankful to him. 

14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

This is a demonstration of the miraculous. No one asked Jesus but He responded to her sorrows. We have three recorded examples of Jesus giving back the lives of people, witnessed by many people, scoffed at when the young woman was about to be raised from the dead. Perhaps there were many more, certainly many more miracles so the Holy Land was filled with examples and filled with people who either witnessed them or heard about them. And yet people could easily be fickle instead of steadfast (like the Steadfast Lutheran who started a group by that name and was the first to run away). Other equally amusing names and titles are used today.

16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 17 And this rumour 

(ο λογος ουτος ) of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

This one miracle spread across the entire region, just as the Gospel of the Risen Christ spread across the world.

Another Life

I have been thinking about people who talk about losing a life, losing a person, especially in light of the widow's son. She doubtless had great blessings from that second life as a continuation of his first life.

If we believe in Jesus Christ and His Gospel, there are two lives, from a point of view. There is certainly sorrow, pain, and a kind of insanity which is unlike anything else. I doubt whether any believer feels normal - or sane - after a loss.

However, there is another life for the Christian believer which is even more glorious than our mortal lives. God gives us a memory which repeats our happy times and blessings, as much as we want. The difficult moments are also tinted with the feelings of everything wonderful and transcendent. 

For no cost at all, we bring up - in our memories - impossibly great events that had to have come from God's guidance and circumstances. And they pop up as well, part of that jumble of memories arriving like spring flowers.