Sermon for 7/18/21: Seventh Sunday After Trinity

 CLICK HERE for the audio file.

CLICK HERE for the video file.

 

Compassion for Fools

Mark 8:1-9

 

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

How is it that the multitude who came to hear Jesus found themselves so utterly unprepared for basic bodily needs? How is it that they were drawn out three days without food and were unable to return home, lest they perish on the way? Jesus was certainly aware of what was happening, and yet He did not warn them. It was not sinful pride and self-reliance that has caused this situation at all. They were caught because the One who feeds the birds of the air and fishes of the sea had purposely drawn them out. It was His words, His teaching that caused them to forget all other things. His words and His teaching were responsible for the seemingly hopeless situation.

And in this very context, as the responsible party, our Lord tells the disciples: “I have compassion on the multitude.” How is this the case? Why did He not tell them before it was too late? Even two-hundred days’ wages worth of bread would not be enough. How can such a crowd be satisfied?

God in His wisdom turns the world’s wisdom on its head. His compassion is not a sappy, bleeding heart sympathy. His compassion is a sincere and lasting love. It is real concern for the ongoing reality and eternal fate of mankind. It was this compassion that caused our Lord to place these hearers into such dire straits. He has them right where He wants them. The reality is that they would be just as helpless if they were tucked away in their beds with full bellies and full cupboards…but they might well not know it. They might think they were in control. But there in the desert, with grumbling bellies and too far to return, they know their helplessness. The hunger that gnaws at the 4,000 is the mark of death. They must eat or they will die. There is no place for them to turn. They cannot provide for themselves. They are helpless.

These words of Jesus—words that so lifted them out of this mundane existence that they forgot all other things—now seem to turn on them. Now more than ever they realize their frailty, their inability, their weakness. In contrast to the serenity of Jesus and His perfect obedience, their guilt shows forth like a beacon. And so it is that the Lord provides, as the Lord always does, and by His grace and mercy they realize it and give thanks for it.

The reality is that we are the frailest and weakest of God’s creatures. We cannot eat raw meat or draw sustenance from grass. We are the only animal on earth that requires clothing for survival. But despite all that, we are also the proudest of His creatures. While the donkey knows his master, we rebel against the goodness of God. We think ourselves wise and shrewd, good and decent, when we are nothing of the sort. We boast in our supposed “street smarts” and extra measure of “common sense.” Like the Pharisee in the Temple, we scan the room and think, “I am more than the equal of any man here. I am smarter. I am stronger. I am better, and all should honor me and see that I am of great worth. I am prepared.”

But our “street smarts” disappear in the middle of the night when your car breaks down in a bad part of town with your cell phone dead. Our “common sense” is shown in failed marriages, troubled children, our indebtedness, our pettiness. What if your neighbors could hear you yelling at your children, fighting with your spouse, lusting for their children, coveting their possessions? It is a thin veil of respectability that we hide behind. No one of us has kept the Law. No one of us can stand on his own.

Repent. Be emptied of yourselves. Feel the hunger pangs that cannot be satisfied by mere bread. Turn to the God of compassion, who provides the ram in the thicket, the spotless Lamb who suffers God’s wrath so that we don’t burn. Find satisfaction in Him that the world cannot give. Find peace that passes all understanding. Rest in the forgiveness of sins and justification of your soul, for you are precious in God’s eyes. Feast upon the very body and blood of Christ, given and shed for you—food too good for this creation, but loving provided in mercy. Your Savior comes, meek and lowly, riding into our sanctuary on common bread and wine.

So what do you do? You do nothing. You simply bask in His presence, in His compassion, as you are served by Him, your Servant-King. Let go of the wheel and enjoy the ride. Feast in the desert on bread you did not earn. Lose yourself in His words. Be drawn out, and there you will find your true calling as a child of God upon whom He ceaselessly dotes and fusses, for whom nothing is too good. This is His glorious compassion. Thanks be to God. He does all things well. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

HYMN: To God’s Great Law You Must Adhere

Since I started writing hymns, I’ve had the idea of working on the Six Chief Parts of Luther’s Small Catechism. It’s not that I think I can necessarily improve on Luther’s catechetical hymns. It’s more that I think I can say things in a different way. Anyway, I finally found an in for the Ten Commandments that appealed to me, so I got to work. Initially I thought I would build on the first stanza of “The Law of God Is Good and Wise,” which is why I chose the meter and tune I did. But then I thought I should do something original. As always, feedback is love.

To God’s Great Law You Must Adhere

1. To God’s great Law you must adhere

In perfect love and holy fear.

Here is your guide for ev’ry day

To keep you steadfast on your way.

2. No other gods you have than Me.

In Me your fear and trust shall be.

Love God alone with all your heart

And from My Word do not depart.

3. Do not misuse My holy name

To bring upon it grief or shame,

But call on Me in any need,

And I am glorified indeed.

4. Remember ev’ry Sabbath day.

Receive My gifts with thanks, and pray.

My Word is precious. Oh, give ear

To keep as holy all you hear.

5. Give honor to authorities.

They are My gift; do not displease

Father and mother, child, but pray,

Cherish, respect them, and obey.

6. “You shall not murder,” says the Lord.

Live not in anger by the sword,

But help your neighbor in distress.

Speak words of love to heal and bless.

7. Be faithful to the one you wed,

And keep as pure the marriage bed.

Live not in lust, but holiness.

One flesh in faith the Lord will bless.

8. Steal not your neighbor’s property,

Nor seek it out dishonestly,

But help your neighbor to maintain

All by God’s grace he did obtain. 

9. Speak no offense, nor seek to shame,

But dignify your neighbor’s name.

God grant you grace, lest you betray

Anyone by the words you say.

10. Scheme not to take your neighbor’s house,

Nor tempt his workers or his spouse.

From thieves and swindlers, evil foes,

Help him retain what God bestows.

11. In Adam’s sin are all conceived.

No sinless life can be achieved.

Sinners transgress with ev’ry breath,

You merit nothing but your death.

12. So place your trust in Christ alone.

Sinless, for sin did He atone.

Baptized in Christ, His grace confess:

His righteousness, your holy dress.

13. God grant you faith, so you believe

His boundless mercy you receive.

With works of love, a saint you live.

Marked as forgiven, you forgive.

(c) 2021, Alan Kornacki, Jr.

LM

ERHALT UNS, HERR (LSB 579)

Ten Commandments; The Law; Life in Christ

Sermon for 7/11/21: Sixth Sunday After Trinity

 CLICK HERE for the audio file.

CLICK HERE for the video file.

 

“All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall”

Matthew 5:17-26

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

The hymn we just sang is one of only two hymns to be quoted in our Lutheran Confessions. In the Formula of Concord, concerning disputes over the doctrine of original sin, it is said: “Through the fall of Adam man’s nature and essence are entirely corrupt.” In the original German text of the Formula, the text of the opening stanza of this hymn is quoted verbatim. It states the reality that we are born in sin and bound to die.

 

All mankind fell in Adam’s fall;

One common sin infects us all.

From one to all the curse descends,

And over all God’s wrath impends.

 

Adam fell into sin when he tried to be like God instead of remaining in the image of God. This sin has come to us all. We fell with Adam, and we are as guilty as Adam with our own faults. It is no wonder that today’s Gospel expands on the 5^th Commandment, “You shall not murder.” We might be tempted to think that we haven’t killed anyone. And yet, Jesus says: “Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to the judgment.” And every Adam, like you and me, has had unrighteous anger; we have killed our brother through our anger, and we must repent!

 

Through all our powers corruption creeps

And us in dreadful bondage keeps;

In guilt we draw our infant breath

And reap its fruits of woe and death.

 

Corruption creeps through the talents and treasures we have been given, leading us to use them for our own glory. So sin brings “dreadful bondage,” a bondage to Satan and to hell. And, yes, even that cute little newborn, who is passed from doctor to nurse to be placed in a towel and rubbed somewhat vigorously to trigger the first breath of life—that is actually the infant breath of death. Each day draws us one day closer to the grave.

 

From hearts depraved to evil prone

Flow thoughts and deeds of sin alone;

God’s image lost, the darkened soul

Seeks not nor finds its heavenly goal.

 

As surely as the common cold leads to coughing and sneezing, so the disease of original sin leads to actual sins of thought, word, and deed. Our hearts are depraved. As we read in Genesis, just before the flood, “...Every intention of the thoughts of (man’s) heart was only evil continually.” From sinful hearts “flow thoughts and deeds of sin alone.”

Have you ever been told that a “real” Christian only prays from the heart and not from a book? Do you see why that might be a problem? When you look at your heart apart from Christ, you find nothing but corruption and death! By themselves, our hearts will offer us nothing more than darkness, death, and devil.

 

But Christ, the second Adam, came

To bear our sin and woe and shame,

To be our life, our light, our way,

Our only hope, our only stay.

 

Notice how this stanza and the stanzas that remain display the incomparable rich blessings of Christ. He is the second Adam. Adam’s sin brought death to all, but Christ brought life and light to all. St. Paul writes in Romans 5: “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.” Adam was our death, our darkness, our lost way. Jesus, however, came to lift the curse and restore our life with God. His death crushed Adam’s curse of death and has brought life to us.

 

As by one man all mankind fell

And, born in sin was doomed to hell,

So by one Man, who took our place,

We all were justified by grace.

 

Jesus took our place before God the Father and gives us a special gift: his own righteousness. “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The scribes and Pharisees thought they were righteous through their works, but they were still stuck in Adam’s sin. The righteousness of Christ is a gift of grace, not earned by works. Everything Jesus is and does counts for us before God. He washes us clean in Holy Baptism, forgiving our sins so that we stand justified before God. And now, as a guarantee, He gives us His body to eat and his blood to drink ”for the forgiveness of sins.”

 

We thank you, Christ; new life is ours,

New light, new hope, new strength, new powers.

This grace our every way attend

Until we reach our journey’s end.

 

We thank God for his gifts and we rejoice that these gifts have no end. Several key words describes these gifts: life, light, hope, strength, power. They echo the original creation where God gave all of these gifts to mankind before the fall into sin. And now, through Christ, they are being restored in an even greater measure, though for now they are given in the midst of sin and death. And so we pray, “This grace our every way attend until we reach our journey’s end.” Here we express our yearning for the return of Jesus that has been promised to us, praying that we will live each day in repentance and faith, until God, by his grace, brings us to heaven and to the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

                  

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

PARODY: Get the Coffee Started

 My second coffee parody, dedicated to my addict friends…

(I only mock because I love you.)

Get the Coffee Started

Parody of “Get the Party Started” by Pink

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

Get the coffee started. I’m a grumpy old man

Till I’ve had my coffee; then I’m human again. 

Don’t you give me decaf. Man, that stuff’s a disgrace. 

Pour it in my mug? I’ll throw it back in your face. 

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

(I’m wakin’ up, I’m wakin’)

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

Get the coffee started. Monday morning’s the worst. 

Got my weekend hangover. It’s like I’ve been cursed. 

Pull up to the window, get my Starbucks to go.

Try to work without it and my horns start to show. 

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

(I’m wakin’ up, you better)

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

Get the coffee started.

One cup’s not sufficient for a smile on my face.

Till I’ve had my third cup, best stay out of my space.

Once I’ve had a pitcher, we will be okay;

I can act all human for the rest of the day.

Though it might taste nasty, the caffeine suits me fine.

You can be my pusher; run an IV line!

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

(I’m wakin’ up, I’m wakin’)

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

(I’m wakin’ up, I’m wakin’)

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

(I’m wakin’ up, you better)

I’m waking up, so you better get the coffee started.

Get the coffee started, oh.

Get the coffee started right now.

Get the coffee started.

Get the coffee started.

Get the coffee started right now.

Sermon for 7/4/21: Fifth Sunday After Trinity

I don't often preach on the Old Testament on Sunday morning, but this text really spoke to me as I was reading the Propers for the Fifth Sunday After Trinity. 

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

CLICK HERE for the sermon video.

“On the Mountain Before the Lord…”

I Kings 19:11-21

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

To use the language of modern psychology, Elijah was a victim of spiritual burnout. With the help of God, he had just won a great victory over the prophets of Baal. After such a contest, you might think that everyone would end up confessing that the Lord is God. But that didn’t happen, and Elijah saw that as just one more piece of evidence that he was a failure as a prophet. And on top of that, Queen Jezebel, infuriated by Elijah’s victory over her prophets, issued a death warrant against Elijah. Understandably, Elijah fled.

It’s important to understand why Elijah ran. His flight was not really prompted by fear. Far from Jezebel and her agents, out in the wilderness all by himself, Elijah plunked down in the dirt and asked the Lord to take his life; he wanted to die. His courage and determination had melted away—not so much because of the threats of his enemies, but because his spirit had been broken by their impenitence. Elijah had faithfully done the work the Lord had given him to do and, in spite of much good that had been done, the people still rejected the Lord and His way. Elijah had grown severely disillusioned. In response, God’s angel told Elijah to rest, and he provided the prophet with food and drink in the wilderness; then he told the burned-out Elijah to keep going. The Lord was not yet finished with Elijah. The Lord spoke to Elijah in a whisper—“a still small voice”—and Elijah heard and recognized the Word of the Lord.

You and I have experienced times and situations in which we have extended ourselves greatly, above and beyond the call of duty, only to end up bitterly disappointed. We did everything we thought we could, seemingly to little or no avail. After a while we had the opportunity to step back and analyze. And what did we see? While aspects of that situation stood outside the realm of our control, we also had to admit that our own sins and flaws helped to mess things up. We did not completely trust the Lord to take care of the matter. We can be left, sort of like Elijah, stewing in our own juices, indignant with God, even as guilt comes crashing down upon us for faithlessly presuming that He must dance to the tunes we choose.

          We are told in Epistle to the Hebrews, “In many and various ways, God spoke to the people of old by the prophets; but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.” The Apostle John called Jesus “the Word.” In Him we have the Word from God that we need most of all: the word of forgiveness that comes from His cross. “It is finished,” Jesus said there. After He rose from death, He breathed on His disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” It may be a comparatively quiet voice that speaks the word of forgiveness to us today; it may seem almost inaudible due to the noise of this evil and dying world; yet this is the very Word we need to hear. The Lord is in this Word with all His saving power.

          God’s Word works! To Elijah’s surprise, there were still seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal. By God’s grace these people had kept the faith. All of them were going about their business quietly, like a low whisper. And they could do this because they had heard the Lord’s voice in His Word, and His Word worked.

          God’s Word works today, too, when God’s people make the good confession. This is true even in times of adversity—and sometimes especially when they confess God’s Word in times of adversity. When our way seems difficult; when there isn’t that calm and quiet that really should characterize life in the Church; when there seems to be so little, if any, tranquility; we can still be comforted to know that the Lord is at hand in our difficulties. Like Elijah, we may not like where we find ourselves after some especially bitter experience. But do not underestimate God’s power in this. If we are driven back to His Word and the comfort it gives, then the bitterness becomes a blessing, however well disguised.

You will never go wrong clinging to the Lord and His Word. Even though He does not seem to bring decisive victories in this world, the fact remains that, in Jesus Christ, He has overcome this world. God’s Word yields the victory for all eternity. As St. Paul said: “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” So keep your ears open. Listen for His Word. God isn’t finished with you just yet. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

         

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 6/13/21: Second Sunday After Trinity

CLICK HERE for the audio file.

CLICK HERE for the video file.

Invited

Luke 14:15-24

 

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 “None of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” This Parable of the Great Supper, as it usually called, might well be renamed “the Parable of the Contemptuous Guests.” Inevitably, it leads to a question addressed to each of us: “What kind of guest are you?” You think that God’s Kingdom is a future prospect. The truth is, the Kingdom of God is a present and pressing reality, and it calls for your response now! Long ago God called Israel to be His people. And now, at the accepted time, He has renewed His invitation to share in His kingdom, only to see it deliberately neglected and rejected by His own people. So now God opens the doors of His kingdom to all the despised and lost children of God.

Jesus spoke this parable to the churchmen in Israel, men who professed the faith of the people of God. But this same story has not lost any of its punch, any of its relevance for the Church, the people of God now. Through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Kingdom of God was thrown open to all who will receive it in faith. But just like in the parable, the invited guests, finding more important things to do, were quick to make excuses for their absence. Basically, the excuses are the same.

The first man was purchasing an estate, and had to go and inspect it and, thus, could not come. How many now are so preoccupied with increasing their material possessions that they have no time to hear the voice of the Lord, calling them to come into His kingdom, which is man’s highest and richest blessing? Elsewhere Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The voice of God is there; it is found in His divine Word. But we prefer the noise of our coins jingling in our pockets, the clamor of the noise coming from our technological marvels.

The second man was buying some oxen to work his fields, and he needed to try them out before closing the deal. How often are our churches half empty on Sunday morning because we think we need to put in an extra day of labor, as if the six God gave us are not enough? What are people doing today, whose fathers and grandfathers would have been found in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s day? Are they polishing their tractors? Are they getting the boat ready for a day on the lake? How easy it is for a new brazen image, an idol made by human hands, to so control our thoughts and actions that we can find no space for God in our lives.

The third man had just gotten married and thought it inadvisable to leave his wife to attend the banquet. Of course, the word “wife” stands for all the joys of married life and a home of one’s own, and those joys are many. And it is beyond dispute that these are among the finest earthly blessings which our good God gives us. But it is also one of the great tragedies of life when good things like these are allowed to shut out the claims of God. It is sad, but all too often true that husbands and wives become the biggest stumbling blocks for their spouses, and either by their demands or their own lack of attention to God and the Church, pull them away from the Lord they have loved and served in the past.

Worldly possessions, business preoccupations, domestic ties; as good as these things may be in their proper sphere, they are still the things that can render us deaf to the claims of God’s Kingdom. How easy it is for us to become so absorbed in the things of time that we forget the things of eternity. We can be so busy making a livelihood that we have no time to make a life.

One point that is made in this parable is that no one is excluded from the kingdom of God except by his own doing. We totally misunderstand this parable if we do not hear it telling us urgently, “Now is the accepted time!” So there the invitation stands. “Come, for all things are now ready.” Our Lord Jesus Christ pleads with us to accept the invitation extended by the Father in heaven. It was in His hanging on the cross that He said He would draw all men to Himself, and the blood that flowed from His wounds paid the price of our admission. And we are now preparing our answers. You can refuse and say, “Please make my apologies for me, for I have other matters right now that need my attention.” Or you can answer, “I know the need of my heart and soul. I am weary of my sins and need the forgiveness that only my Savior can give me. O God, You have offered this treasure to me in Jesus Christ, Your dear Son. Now, by Your Holy Spirit, let me receive it, that it may be mine, now and forever.” As Jesus Himself said in the first of those Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—that is, blessed are those who know their need for God—“for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

   The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 6/6/21: First Sunday After Trinity

CLICK HERE for the audio file.

CLICK HERE for the video file. One of these days I'll figure out the blurriness thing.

 

Beggars and Gates

Luke 16:19-31

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

This text is not about money. Yes, Jesus tells the story of two men whose lifestyles were extremely different. However, both were beggars: the one at the gate of the rich man, the other at the gate of heaven. And Jesus draws the contrast between these two men rather sharply. It was not only that the one was rich and the other poor. The rich man lived in a luxury that was evident to all. He dressed in the finest clothing money could buy, and his table was a feast at every meal. Then there was Lazarus, the poor man, who barely had the means even for the bare minimum of daily life. But that’s just the background; this text is not about money.

Then both men died, and the contrast between them, as Jesus described it, was just as sharp. If it seemed to be about money before, it definitely was not about money now. Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham, a way of describing heaven. The rich man was consigned to hell and its endless torment. And there was no way to cross from one to the other. The rich man’s life was an utter failure—not by typical societal standards, of course, but by God’s standards. Even though he was rich, it was not having money that condemned him. After all, Lazarus rested in Abraham’s bosom, and Abraham was wealthy beyond reckoning. Merely being wealthy neither saves nor condemns anyone. The rich man’s failure lay in his not meeting the responsibilities his wealth had given him. It’s not that he was cruel to Lazarus; he just didn’t see him. It was the kind of blindness that grows out of an absence of the awareness of God which also leaves one unaware of his neighbor. He failed not because he was wealthy, but because he had shut both God and man out of his life.

This story paints a vivid picture of the consequences of such failure. After both men had died, a great gulf showed up between them: so great that it was impossible to cross from one side to the other. That gulf did not appear suddenly after death; it had been in the making for a long time. Every time the rich man went out of his gate and ignored Lazarus lying there, the gulf grew wider and deeper. In this life there was still time to change that situation. But with an awful finality, death sealed the judgments of God. “Send Lazarus.” It was a pathetic cry of isolation. He had no one to help him. Now he was the beggar at the gate of heaven.

If you have been given wealth, God has given you a privilege to use responsibly. If you will only look, there is a Lazarus at your gate. The world is full of people whose lives cry out for help, whether it’s a mere crust of bread or a drink of water, a home to live in, or just a place where life can take on some meaning. Above all, there is a Lazarus at your gate who needs the Gospel, so that he may no longer live in darkness but in the light of saving grace.

There is a responsibility that goes with possession. As Scripture teaches, “no man lives unto himself.” And this is especially true when we have received the greatest of all gifts, Jesus Christ. We have His Word; we have His forgiveness. What is more, as Christians, we are members of a community that has the right to expect something from us. In his “Treatise on the Blessed Sacrament,” Luther points this up so clearly. He sees the fellowship of Christians coming into focus especially in the Lord’s Supper. It is two-fold, he says: “On the one hand, we partake of Christ and all the saints. On the other hand we permit all Christians to be partakers of us, in whatever way they and we are able, so that through this Sacrament all self-seeking love is uprooted and gives place to love that seeks the good of all, and through this mutual love there is one bread, one drink, one body, one community; the true union of Christian brothers.”

But such concern for others never just happens. It grows out of knowing and having the forgiving love of God in Christ. Having that love makes today, and every day, a day of opportunity. God speaks; we hear His voice. The rich man had ignored that voice. The same was true for his brothers. If only something dramatic could happen, something like Lazarus returning from the dead to warn them! But God said, “No. They have My Word, and that is enough.” We, too, have His Word, and it is enough for us.

Two beggars, for whom eternity brought the justice of God, stand as reminders to us, not only of the obligations that come with blessing, but also the joy that accompanies that life and salvation in Jesus Christ, which we have the privilege to offer to others. God grant us joy in sharing the fruits He has given us—and especially the fruits of faith and forgiveness. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

HYMN: Shine, O Christ, Our Light in Darkness

Last year, while everything was shut down, I wrote a text asking the Lord to sustain us during our pandemic diaspora. Well, now that things are starting to open up again, I was asked to write a text about our return to normalcy after the tragedy of the pandemic. This is my attempt to answer the request. As I wrote, I had Matthew 10:28 in mind: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” It seems as though there are many who are so afraid of dying of the virus that they neglect their spiritual nourishment. 

As always, feedback is love.

Shine, O Christ, Our Light in Darkness

1. Shine, O Christ, our Light in darkness.

Shine with Your unearthly light.

Overwhelmed, Your people call You,

Wearied by our daily fight.

Going forth from tribulation,

We cry out to You, O Lord, 

Praying You bring joy from sadness,

Praying for Your peace restored.

2. Lord, we fear what ails our bodies,

Terrified of earthly death.

Help us trust Your mighty mercy

To sustain our ev’ry breath.

Grant us courage! Grant us wisdom,

Lord of life, to praise Your name,

Fearless in the face of peril,

Free from sorrow, free from shame.

3. We, Your saints, seek blest communion,

Fellowship, we two or three:

Gathered in Your name, O Jesus, 

Where You condescend to be.

Bring Your children back together,

By your gifts of grace renewed:

Purified in holy water;

Blood and body, Christ, our Food. 

4. Shine, O Christ, our Light in darkness.

Send the night of dread away.

Calm our doubt and anxious trembling.

Hold the fear of death at bay.

Send to us Your Holy Spirit:

Helper, Comforter, and Friend,

Till that Day we rise, perfected,

To the joy which knows no end.

87 87D (Pick a tune)