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| Graphic by Norma Boeckler |
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Against the Professional Religious Establishment
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 #651 Be Still My Soul
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 #651 Be Still My Soul
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| Graphic by Norma 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.
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| Graphic based on Norma Boeckler's |
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.
Against the Professional Religious Establishment
KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
Many would like to frame the Gospels as the Jews against Jesus, resulting in the crucifixion. That gives a false impression of another religion against Jesus, as if that could not happen today. But the vast majority of His followers were Jews, and the Roman establishment does not enter the picture until the end.
The real theme of the Gospels - and the entire New Testament - is faith versus unbelief. The worst opponents came from the religious establishment, from the great, the wise, the holy, the scholars.
Even today, the hottest opposition and the greatest numbers of opponents do not come from the atheists organizations and the American Humanists, but from the Protestant and Catholic clergy, the college and seminary professors, and the professionals who may not have a church job but teach their version of Christian theology at the great universities - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Duke, U. of Chicago, etc. The mainline eccelesiastics - with honorary and earned doctorates - lead the forces for radicalism, apostasy, and persecution of believers.
When Jesus taught, the Scribes and Pharisees, the religious establishment - sometimes the Sadducees too - gathered to criticize and condemn Him.
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?
This question is interesting, because Jesus also asked it when leading into the Parable of the Good Samaritan. If they asked Jesus, and Jesus asked them - with the same result - then this is a crucial summary of the Law. Naturally, the answer is from the Old Testament, because that was the only Scripture at the time. The New Testament came to be written soon after the death and resurrection of Christ - but not yet. The entire work of the Old Testament is to prepare Israel and the world for Christ, so Jews had the advantage of seeing the well known Promises fulfilled in Christ. Secondly, which is the case today, believers need to know the Old Testament to see how perfectly Jesus was promised centuries in advance, with passages so perfect that anyone can see they are about Jesus and only Him. Children see that right away in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.
Other prophesies were about that time and later - the sop of bread offered to the traitor.
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.
This is famous for being the summary of the Old Testament, whether it comes from one side or another. However, the truth of the statement is based on faith rather than righteousness through works, which is where most get stuck. And that leads to pretending obedience or making up a grand show of holiness. Luther called it "head over heels" in holiness.
Luther's point about this is that faith in God leads us to love Him and follow His commandments out of faith and love. Abraham was tested and he showed ultimate trust in God by being willing to follow the contradictory and absurd demand that he sacrifice. Therefore, God provided a substitute - a ram caught in a thicket.
This is a foreshadowing of Christ being offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, which comprises a large part of John's Gospel. Rather than constantly condemn man for sinfulness, God provides a remedy and healing in forgiveness through trust in Christ.
Jesus gave the opponents a question and led them into an obvious conclusion -
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.
This question and answer are too easy, because Jesus knew their nature and thoughts. Anyone would have given the same answer to this, at that time. The implications though are great.
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.
This seems like a verbal puzzle, but it is easy to put together. How can David's son be his Lord? That implies a much greater role than descendant of David. Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God, is much greater than David, who was the model of the great warrior-king, religious leader of Israel.
As we can see from the final chapters of John, the reason for the tensions between Jesus and the religious establishment were based on His role as the Son of God. His teaching of believing in Him as righteousness. The summary above implies that, and the religious leaders knew that. While they were making Jesus out to be a political threat to Pilate as the supposed "King of the Jews," they slipped and said, "He makes Himself out to be The Son of God." I capitalized The because when Greek omits "the" which is rare, it is akin to us saying THE... as opposed to a son of God (Like Moses, Buddha, etc - Movie - "Oh God").
This debate took place with Jesus openly claiming to be the Son of God, teaching everyone faith in Him, and the opponents knowing it and trying to silence Him - or just ignore Him. Nothing kills a good debate than one side turning away in silence. It is a major sign of defeat, but designed to say, "You are not worth talking to or debating with."
So this is the tactic of the Protestant/Catholic religious establishment today. For instance, they like to exclude John's Gospel from all discussions, because the rationalists have taught them to do so.
If the Fourth Gospel is the capstone message of the Four Gospels, with the historical narrative taught in the first three, then John's Gospel is central to the entire Bible. Everything is done and spoken in St. John "so that they might believe." This happens in words and miracles, in providing that Jesus was fulfilling the Old Testament.
Not only that, Jesus predicted how He would die, and the disciples realized and stated that this was true, so Jesus own sacrifice was part of this system of proofs. That did not happen on God's behalf, but ours. We do not have a few proofs, but hundreds of proofs.
The entire Bible is like those strange illustrations which show two things at once. If we focus on the obvious, we do not see the main picture. Our brains are altogether fooled. If we can shift our focus, the real picture is sharp and clear.
So Psalm 22 is utterly strange and contradictory, so odd next to the beautiful 23rd Psalm.
Isaiah 53 is so unlike Jewish expectations of the Messiah that the paraphrases used (Targums) actually reversed the message (just like the NIV and ESV today). If we focus on the Atonement, both passages are so clear it is a wonder that the entire world does not acknowledge this.
In a way, it does, but in opposition. The entire world, minus the believers, finds all kinds of scholarly and official ways to dismiss both passages - and others.
- "This is not Messianic."
- "This does not promise what people learned in Sunday School."
- "Don't make faith a work. That is against grace."
Opposition is a sign of truth, because unbelievers are shaken by the Gospel, even when and especially when they are clergy and theologians.
So the message of this Gospel is one which makes the Summary of the Law come alive. Why should we love God with our hearts, minds, soul, and heart? Because Jesus is our loving Good Shepherd who became the Passover Lamb for us. And yet as the risen Lord He continues to help us and guide us, strengthening us in prayer and also is being the agent of all that God does.
The second part is based upon the truth, that God has done everything for us and continues to help us. There is nothing we can do for Him, but we can help our neighbor as the natural response to God's abundant blessings.
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| Graphic by Norma Boeckler |
