Trinity 19

 The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2023

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn # 334 -      Let Me Be Thine Forever - Selnecker, Concordist                                
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Say unto my soul, I am thy Salvation: The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth.

He delivereth them out of their troubles: He is their God forever and ever.

Psalm. Give ear, O My people, to My Law: 

incline your ears to the words of My mouth.

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

Collect

O almighty and most merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldst have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual 

Gradual

Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense: 

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song: for He hath done marvelous things. Hallelujah!

The Gospel 
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #370      My Hope Is Built                                 

Your Sins Are Forgiven Through Faith

The Communion Hymn #376                Rock of Ages
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 #261       Luther - Lord Keep Us Steadfast  

Our Prayers and Announcements

• In treatment - Lori Howell, Sarah Buck, Kermit Way, Pastor Shrader, Doc Lito Cruz, Callie (seizures), Aaron (rare disorder, surgery, beaming smile).
• Flowers for Brett and Amy Meyer's 34th anniversary last week, Michael and Amanda Meyer Oak  second anniversary tomorrow.
• Pastor Jackson's 75th birthday today, Platinum Silver Sneakers Award.

Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity

O mighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Son Jesus Christ didst mercifully help the palsied man both in body and soul: We beseech Thee, for the sake of Thy great mercy: Be gracious also unto us; forgive us all our sins, and so govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not ourselves be the cause of sickness and other afflictions; keep us in Thy fear, and strengthen us by Thy grace that we may escape temporal and eternal wrath and punishment, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

Your Sins Are Forgiven Through Faith

KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

The healing miracles of Jesus have various settings, which give us a different emphasis or perspective. Every detail matters in a story so brief. First of all, we are told that friends brought this man to Jesus. That means they already had so profound a faith that they carried him to give their friend a miracle of healing. "Faith comes by hearing the report" (Isaiah 53 and Romans 10) and doubtless they heard about Jesus' healing ministry and already believed in Him as the Savior. No matter how far they carried and helped him, they exhausted their efforts. Who would not give up and say, "We tried but it was too far" or "We wanted to get you closer but the crowd was too great." A short distance anywhere would be tough, on a sunshiny day, it would be torture. 

On the other hand, they suffered with (sym-pathy, suffer with) their friend and wanted him to enjoy the same life they enjoyed. Others may have flocked to Jesus out of curiosity. They wanted to give their handicapped friend a new life and did whatever they could to let him be blessed by Jesus Christ.

I have known the daughter of my father's landlord since high school, over 50 years. Her daughter's son Aaron was born with a very rare disorder - so he is very fragile. " the ablation caused his heart rate to drop substantially and they could not get it back up." He entered the hospital for heart surgery and everyone worried and prayed for him in the Name of Christ. Many of us checked in to add more prayers for Aaron and his family. Yesterday he not only responded well to the heart surgery but came home grinning.

There are many miracles that happen continuously and many we get to see ourselves if we only open our eyes. Jesus saw the faith of the friends (1) and said to the paralytic (2) "Do not worry son, your sins are taken away from you."

The power of the Word of Christ cheered the man  and healed the paralytic at once. 

3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

This reminded me, in a small way, of how Lutherans pastors have responded to Lutheran quotations on Ichabod. One said, responding earlier to the very high page counts, "That's only because you copied Luther's Sermons into the blog!" Others said, "You quoted Roman Catholic dogma, which is why that is the page with the most readers!" I only had two responses to them . One was that no one else was quoting Luther. The other was that no one was writing about problems with Roman Catholic dogma.

Jesus knew what was in the hearts of the friends and the paralytic, but also within the hearts of the scribes. The friends and paralytic had faith; the scribes had evil. That should make all the difference in the world, whether we think about heavenly things or about going against the Gospel.

5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

Every point of the Gospel is attacked over time. Some said, in the Jewish Encyclopedia, "The rabbis also performed healing miracles." Others said, "When the sick felt good they displayed their faith in Jesus - it was not a miracle." Others claimed, "If you have the power of positive thinking, you can do anything." (Schuller's Crystal Cathedral is now a Catholic Cathedral.) Still others claimed the "Son of Man" was not Jesus but another figure. The lady professor who reversed her opinion on that topic was canned by her prestigious English university - for agreeing with the Scriptures.

I am going over those alternatives to show how people have gone against the clear teaching of the Scriptures, especially in the name of academic theology. They show how the Word hardens their hearts, and they pay a terrible price for that (though often quite comfortable to be on the side of apostasy).

Jesus told the paralytic to rise up, take up his cot, and carry it to his house. That was not so much for him but for the crowd and the skeptics. However, it must have felt good. The Bible often provides a visual example for the lesson. A man is carried or dragged or helped to see Jesus - he is absolved of sin and walks away with the burdensome cot in his arms. 

7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

As Luther said, many hear about Jesus and know something about Him, but faith is utter trust in Him. Likewise, many wear the robes and heavy crosses, and brandish their titles, but they do that to lord it over others. In the Greek New Testament, Jesus' own words,  the word "lord" is also the verb "lord," and we still use both today. The synod presidents, district presidents, circuit pastors, and bishops lord it over others, saying "I have this office from God, so you must obey me." One pastor said this quite plainly, "I cannot disagree with the circuit pastor, because the Holy Spirit elected him." (or should I write Him?) It is much easier to bully than to teach according to the Word of God. False teaching is not improved if someone has the office of teaching. All those who say they teach the Word of God must also subordinate themselves to that Word.

Jesus said, 1. Be of good cheer and 2. Your sins are forgiven. because forgiveness of sin is the greatest of all blessings. That is why we confess our sins, speak what we believe, and receive the visible Means of Grace in Holy Communion. I often borrow this from Luther because it is so significant. The sermon can float over our heads and be only partially grasped. But the elements of Holy Communion, the consecrated bread and wine, are distributed individually and cannot be ignored. They not only connect us with the Last Supper but also with the special meal before the Israelites left for the Promised Land. Everything in the Exodus is centered in the Son of God - the Son of God speaking from the Burning Bush (Exodus 3), the blood on the doorposts, the innocent lamb, the cloud and fire leading them, the bread from heaven, the water from the rock, the Commandments, and the bronze serpent (John 3:16; Numbers 21).

Grace comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ, nowhere else, and it is not partial or temporary.

 KJV Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5

Justified by faith means declared innocent by faith, and therefore we have peace with God. Faith appears in two verses together - justified by faith having peace - and also access by faith into this grace.

                                                          Romans 4

Imputed means counted

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

 The End

Trinity 18 2023

 

 

 "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" Mark 4

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2023

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

 

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn # 239                 Come Thou Almighty King                         

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Reward them that wait for Thee, O Lord: 

and let Thy prophets be found faithful.

Hear the prayer of Thy servants: and of Thy people Israel.

Psalm. I was glad when they said unto me: 

Let us go into the house of the Lord.

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

Collect

O God, forasmuch as without Thee we are not able to please Thee, mercifully grant that Thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

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

The Sermon Hymn #261        Lord Keep Us Steadfast   

  Master, Don't You Care?

Communion Hymn # 145               Jesus Refuge of the Weary  Savanarola

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 #503   Rise Crowned with Light - Pope   

        

Announcements and Prayers

• Medical care: Lori Howell, Sarah Buck, Randy Anderson, Pastor Jim Shrader, Doc Lito Cruz; stress and metabolic disorders; Callie, seizures.
• Congratulations and God's Blessings - 34th Wedding Anniversary - Brett and Amy Meyer.
• Carl Roper - 80th Birthday. Carl was in Reserves Navy for 6 years. Then he was in Reserves Army until after Desert Storm when he was called up for duty 9 months. He served that time in George training troops to go over seas. He was in counter intelligence. When Pres. Bush Senior came to visit the troops, Carl stood behind to guard him. Carl retired with 30 years of service. Yes, he was in the military!

 Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

    

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

 Graphic based on Norma Boeckler's Art

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Thy will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech Thee, shed Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Thy Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him, and in willing obedience to Thy will lead holy lives on earth, until by Thy grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Special Sermon - Faith versus Fear, Based on Epiphany 4 (Matthew 8:23-27)

Mark 4:35-41

KJV Mark 4:35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

I often think of this passage, because Luther wrote about it so eloquently. The opposite of fear is not courage, but faith in Jesus Christ.

Fear is a gigantic force within our lives, ranging from one experience to another, based on daily issues, like health, jobs, 

relationships, weather, and national, international events. We also have genuine fears about the evils that are around us, which can be magnified by those who foster them. That includes Satanic lore, active promotion of the occult, and signs of Christianity shrinking back to make way for the devil rather than the Savior. Without effort we can find in the newspapers men dressed as women, teaching children their real meaning of Christmas, as "pastors" of that Lutheran church.

Jesus invited the disciples to go on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They were sailors who were used to the stable boats that carried commercial loads (the miraculous catch) and a number of passengers. Even the greatest and best sailors are hit with sudden, deadly storms, which happened to them.

There is no sense of direction, only bad things happening, everyone cold  and beaten down by the icy winds and water.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

The boat became swamped with water and easily sunk by waves and winds. Many know the song about the Edmund Fitzgerald (Yale graduate) a ship owned by Northwestern Mutual. The huge oar ship sank in a storm suddenly and mysteriously. 

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Jesus was in the back of the boat - asleep on a pillow! That seems remarkably careless. But isn't Jesus always near us though He may seem to be absent? The disciples were accusing Him of not caring! Isn't that our attitude when things are going wrong, or are terrifying, or are dangerous?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

A mother rabbit goes into a freeze position when threatened by a noise or something else. The baby bunnies instantly hide behind her and join the the frozen position, less likely to be prey. Then they all go back to eating their food and drinking their water. Jesus rose and rebuked the wind - rebuking was what Peter said to Jesus and Jesus in response to Peter. The sea could have kept up its energy in threatening all the ships, but Jesus said "Peace!" and saved the lives of the disciples and those in ships. The winds stopped at once and the sea was completely calm - truly a miracle for the crowds and disciples to see and experience, from death to life with Words from the Son of God.

Lenski, p. 200

How could a former carpenter help these expert sailors when all their skill was at an end, and death in the roaring waves was their certain fate? In the providence of God this storm brought to expression such faith as they really had. Completely at the end of their resources, in which they had always taken great pride, they now throw themselves upon Jesus as their only hope. They forget that he had never sailed a boat ; they think not of human but of divine ability in him. They abandon all human help, the best of which they had in their own skill; they throw themselves utterly into the divine hands of Jesus. That was faith. But their terror, the resorting to Jesus only in their extremity, their fear of death in the waves, are not faith but littleness of faith and are in glaring contrast with the calmness of Jesus.

Fears can crush us, and they can be really self-crushing. We can easily go over every possible danger, repeating them and making them even worse. They are often quite real, and some people (Job's long-lost Comforters) will eagerly emphasize how real they are. I got an announcement, "Courses are being consolidated." What does that mean? I asked. Silence, they replied. Nothing changed for me, but I had vivid thoughts of frying burgers, scrubbing cars, and shoveling organic fertilizer.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

The opposite of fear is not courage, but faith in Jesus Christ. Luther expected to die, because the Church of Rome was very good at executing people they did not like. God protected him while the Reformation built up across Europe through the printing press (a co-inky-dink, you imagine?). Consider this - the Roman Catholic Emperor needed the Germans to fight against the Muslims, so the Catholics were compelled to let the Gospel take root.

Jesus gave His disciples training over three years so their faith grew. Even then, they were shocked that He rose from the dead and came before them in a locked room. We have lifetimes to learn what is clearly stated in the Scriptures, but we let our outward experiences overwhelm faith at times.

Paranormal

There are plenty of reasons to believe that the world of Satan overlaps the Kingdom of Christ. The underworld's intention is to bring as much people - or as many souls - as they can. No one needs to research the Paranormal because the minions of the Devil are legion, without count. They are like those who drove the Gadarene swine to Fuller Seminary after leaving the possessed  person.

The aim of the Paranormal is to replace Jesus Christ with their Father Below. Already the mainstream denominations - including all the Lutherans - are too weak to stand against the old, evil foe. They are afraid of losing what they had and lusty for the alternatives to the Christian Faith.

The key factor is fear, the opposite of faith in the Savior.

One expert claimed that gorillas scream and pound their chests when they are afraid. I am not going to test that because I have seen that happen with lawyers and other bullies.

One lawyer for a hospital blew up when I asked if the surgeon had a substance abuse problem. He tore off his glasses (just like the movies) and began spewing four-letter words at two of us pastors. I told the mother, "You won." She did not see that. I said, "He was afraid and proved it." A week later the medical bill was reduced to zero.

Two other lawyers did the knuckles on the desk routine. I was helping people get outrageous bills reduced (two different states). Each man stood up, leaned on the desk, did the gorilla pose and shouted at the top of his voice. Both bills were greatly reduced.

Fear is highly motivating when someone seems to be a wee bit dishonest. I learned from Bethany Joan Marie (in a crib) that I could say, "I already talked to my attorney" and get good results.

Having faith in Jesus Christ necessarily brings the cross. We do not have to look for it - it is already on our backs. We can see that when someone gets all kind of help and retaliates with viciousness. Ask any minister, especially when he has dealt with synodical officials.

Some people can be especially annoyed with the Paranormal. Our best move is to ignore those events and to trust in the help of Jesus Christ.

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

If we look back we can see how the Savior has protected and helped us, in the most improbable ways. One comment from this passage is - Apparently that pillow was always there in the boat. Jesus was asleep on the pillow, but not unable to help them. He repeatedly said to His disciples - "Have you no faith?" Those experiences test us and make us stronger. At the End of Time, it will be far worse than now. "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"

Trinity 17 2023

  

The Hymn #198    He's Risen, He's Risen             

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Righteous art Thou, O Lord: and upright are Thy judgments.

Deal with Thy servant: according to Thy mercy.

Psalm. Blessed are the undefiled in the way: 

who walk in the Law of the Lord.

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

Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations 

of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God; 

through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: 

and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.

V. By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made: 

and all the host of them by the Breath of His mouth. 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

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

The Sermon Hymn #457         What a Friend We Have

 Access through Faith in Him

The Communion Hymn #315:8-11      I Come O Savior       

8. By faith I call Thy holy Table

The testament of Thy deep love;

For, lo, thereby I now am able

To see how love Thy heart doth move.

9. What higher gift can we inherit?

It is faith's bond and solid base;

It is the strength of heart and spirit,

The covenant of hope and grace.

10. This feast is manna, wealth abounding

Unto the poor, to weak ones power,

To angels joy, to hell confounding,

And life for us in death's dark hour.

11. Thy body, given for me, O Savior,

Thy blood which Thou for me didst shed,

These are my life and strength forever,

By them my hungry soul is fed. 

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 # 361                  O Jesus, King

                      In Our Prayers 

• Those dealing with diabetes and metabolic disorders; Sarah Buck, Lori Howell, Randy Anderson, Kermit Way, . 
• Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris went to Columbus, Ohio, for the funeral of his sister Charlotte.
• Brett and Amy Meyer celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary on October 7th.

              

 Norma A. Boeckler's Christian art books

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.

Access through Faith in Him

KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.

Two things worked against Jesus, in the eyes of the Pharisees. One was His popularity with the crowds, based on His healing miracles and His teaching. The other problem was His way of refuting salvation based upon works of the Law. According to Lenski, Jesus came because of the invitation, and this was a meal, not just eating some bread. We still use the term "break bread" as a term for a large meal. Jesus came because the Gospel is the opposite of the Law, and His work was to oppose the false notions of salvation by the Law.

Although many talk about, teach, and advocate grace and forgiveness, our society is dominated by the works of the Law. People will warn others against walking on linoleum of the school's emblem - even funnier - barriers are around this sacred symbol so all know - do not put your unclean shoes on this sacred letter. Meanwhile, all kinds of things happen and they are excused by "we are known for our shenanigans." Modern Pharisees watch to make sure their one law is observed 100%.

2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.

As we will be exploring on Vimeos, there are good ways to understand and appreciate details in the Scriptures. In this case, the emphasis is not on the  man and his thoughts, but on the Pharisees observing the scene. Jesus makes a point about their Law.

3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?

From this verse we can see that this is a large gathering of people and leaders. It was normal for Jesus to heal people who were very sick, and this took place in various ways. Rather than just healing the man, Jesus asked a religious question. Is it against the Torah to heal this man on the Sabbath?

4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 

This should have created a yes or no answer from the leaders because that is the nature of Jewish law, to have discussions and decisions. They had a sizeable crowd and a good audience to hear and to observe.

5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things.

The Law crowd could not answer because they knew how everyone felt about having an animal fall in a pit. On the other hand, they prided themselves on their strict observance of the Law. Jesus not only healed miraculously but also showed His power in front of the Law salesmen. So this is clearly an event where Jesus emphasized the meaning of His work and Word while others were afraid to be on one side or the other, knowing their Law attitude would make the crowd very upset.

7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Luther:

24. The Papists have commented on these verses in their own way and twisted this Gospel, saying: Yea, the Pope is to be the least or youngest, sitting at the foot and serving others; but that is to take place in the heart.

They pretended to sit at the foot and to serve others as the humblest; but withal they lorded it over all emperors, kings and princes, yea, trampled them in the dust; just as if emperors, kings, princes and rulers should not also possess in their hearts the humility of which the Lord here treats. They thus put on airs and make a show of their carnal interpretation. If they had any humility in their hearts their lives would bear testimony to it. Christ speaks here not of outward humility alone, for the inner is the source of the outer; if it is not in the heart it will hardly be manifest in the body.

25. Therefore the Gospel aims at making all of us humble, whatever and whoever we may be, that none may exalt himself, unless urged and elevated by regular authority. That is what the Lord wants to inculcate by this parable, directing it to all, be they high or low. In this spirit he reproves the Pharisees and others who desire high places and are ambitious to get ahead of others. They may accept honors when regularly elected and forced to accept high places. I make these remarks to contravene and discredit their false spiritual interpretations.

This parable not only describes the Church of Rome, with so many men pretending to be humble while parading their humility, but also the acts of being in charge of everything, demanding honor, and making sure of one's place in life. Even the disciples argued over who would be first when Jesus reigned over the world.

The Gospels prove that the most important part of Jesus' earthly ministry was His suffering and pain on the way of the cross, not only the horrible punishment, but also the mockery and shame. The Beatitudes are the opposite of human behavior because they are the teaching of the Savior.

The last Beatitude is the ultimate cause for joy (rejoice) because it was Jesus' work in giving us eternal life - 

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.

Then we are blessed and rejoice because the prophets were persecuted the same way.

Faith in the Savior

Our basic response to needs is the law rather than faith in Christ. People want honor, security, and a peaceful life. The path is not trust in the material things - and honors - but trust in the Savior. 

The Gospel comes to us, because nobody would make this up for themselves. In various ways, either from baptism or being taught, the meaning of Christ grows in us the way yeast grows in dough. Without the yeast, the dough may be baked, but it is hard as a rock, more like a brick or a weapon and having no taste. But with the introduction of yeast, the mix lifts itself up on bubbles and creates a delicious food that fills the room. Some are thinking about it now and saying, "That's a baker talking."

Faith Is Access to Christ

But the point is - faith in the Savior. That is access to God's grace, the meeting place with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, miracle worker, one who raised people from the dead, and rose Himself after dying from the cross and ascending to Heaven.

Whenever possible, I make a point of meeting famous people. My first was Richard Nixon during his first campaign. In Walmart-land I made a point of meeting two Chief Executive Officers and some others. The CEOs were a bit shocked and not welcoming that I walked up to THEM and shook their hands. I really thought that was funny, because one CEO kept saying to his workers at the meetings, "The customers are paying your checks." And I got to know one of the Walton heirs, supposedly worth $50 billion. She asked me to take a group picture of the heirs, so I did that, and took my own picture.

Compare that to total access to grace through Jesus Christ, any time, any place. That is so often overlooked by people - or even denied. Each one of us can call on the Savior and He will answer. He gives more than we can imagine and begins His help before we even think to ask. That is why we teach children to pray, to encourage that access to grace as they grow. Our daughters could not speak, but when the nurses tried to teach them about Jesus, the girls made it clear that they already knew. 

The End