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| Norma A. Boeckler |
Septuagesima Sunday, 2018
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
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
The Sermon Hymn #479 Zion Rise
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #479 Zion Rise
The Marathon Race
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 #409 Let Us Ever Walk
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 #409 Let Us Ever Walk
1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 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.
KJV Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Septuagesima Sunday
Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy holy word hast called us into Thy vineyard: Send, we beseech Thee, Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may labor faithfully in Thy vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Thy word and do Thy will, and put our whole and only trust in Thy grace, which Thou hast bestowed upon us so plenteously through Thy Son Jesus Christ, that we may obtain eternal salvation through Him, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
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| Norma A. Boeckler |
The Marathon Race
1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
Paul wrote using the images of the Roman Empire, and he also called upon the well known passages of the Old Testament. The Greeks were the ones to get games going, and they were more than the Olympic games. They had others as well. The games were so important that they would suspend their war and meet for the competitions.
The marathon race, which we have in various places, is based upon the story of the runner who raced to Athens to announce the victory at Marathon.
So the Romans took over the idea of athletic competitions, and they were well known, large, public events.
Lenski - 1 Corinthians
The second and the third runners might obtain public mention, but they did not receive the coveted prize. In the smaller, local contests more than one prize- was offered. Paul at once makes the application: So run that you may attain. The tertium comparationis is not the entire contest so that the Christian race would have all the corresponding counterparts, many running with all their might... "So do you run," Paul writes, like these prize winners, that you may capture the prize (aorist, actually capture).
So why study Greek and Latin? Because we see the influence before us, every day.
The Christian life, which is called sanctification, is the immediate result of Justification by Faith. Those who concentrate on a feeling are going to be disappointed when everything seems to go wrong and the Gospel Word brings the cross rather than a tangible reward.
That race begins with the moment we first believe. For many, that is when they were baptized as infants. For others, it starts at their conversion as adults, when this is sealed with Holy Baptism. In both cases, the individual is either nurtured in the Gospel or not. Everything done to support the faith of the individual is good, even though there are many twists and turns in life.
As many realize today, most of the institutions created in the past to teach the Christian Faith have changed. Nobody announced the change. No one published the plans. But the results are clear enough now. The attitudes of secular society are adopted as the norm and the Scriptures are mocked in every way. So someone can go to these schools and churches with the best intent and find a slow process where the good is replaced with the bad.
That is why the Scriptures do not exalt institutions and organizations of man. Everything can fail, fall apart, or turn bad. The Word of God never fails.
Running the race means starting with the best source of energy. I doubt whether runners or swimmers start with a bowl of Coco Puffs and a glass of Tang. Athletes figure out what works best for energy and strength. Otherwise, they are going to drop out. Every competition is a marathon, in one way or another, even in sprints.
One boxer was known for training, then training even more, than adding onto that. The results were beyond question. No one was close to him in endurance.
Navy SEALs do the same, training to the breaking point and beyond, to have that ability to stay away and complete the mission, no matter what the hardships. I had one SEAL in my night class who would get sleepy. I said, "I thought you were trained." Yes, but those days are long past.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
Everyone is away of this in athletics. Too many of anything will be harmful - protein, weights, stretching. This life we have is the most important matter of all - how we live according to the teachings of God, the example of Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We see how devoted people are to winning in athletics. Paul says, then if a corruptible crown matters, how much more does an incorruptible crown matter?
That is why I am going to concentrate on teaching at Bethany and producing useful books on Biblical, Christian doctrine. The colleges and seminaries will not do it. Congregations can, but they often focus on their immediate audience. By blogging, publishing books, and employing Ustream, we can reach anyone.
One part of this is teaching the New Testament in Greek, partly to start Greek literacy among laity and clergy, but also to teach the New Testament as it is written.
There is also time and opportunity to teach doctrinal classes on the basics, such as Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant.
If we are taught wrong, we have to unlearn the errors. That is true in sports too. Many of the finest points are basic to winning. Likewise, Luther pointed out that a small error in the beginning blossoms until an enormous blasphemy when left alone for a long time.
Walther learned error from his bishop, who was an evil man with brain disorder caused by his venereal disease. By venerating Walther, many have corrupted the teaching of the Scriptures, so that they read the Scriptures without understanding.
Worshiping institutions and people - that is so wrong. That is where many start and stop. It is true because an institution said so, because a person said so. If we let someone become a pope, then the Scriptures are no longer the ultimate authority.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Paul took his work seriously and did not want to become a castaway, an apostate who turned away from the Faith. That has happened many times over. I looked over a class of Lutheran seminarians who graduated years ago. I spotted one who became a loud-mouthed atheist, a few known Church Growthers, others who advocated false doctrine. They heard and said all the right things at one point - Scriptures alone - but added on was - do not rock the boat.
Sprinting a few yards is nothing if the race is not a marathon. I have read about an Australian who can shuffle-run for days at a time. Obviously they are studying him. But in a marathon, the sprinter is going to be out front at first and carried away later.
This passage is in perfect harmony with being a steward of God's grace. We cannot measure anything. We can only be faithful. Tis funny how Luther reacted to that passage. He said the bishops were always naming all the buildings and institutions started, when they mean nothing at all - it's all material and easy to measure. God's Word means just teaching the mysteries, the doctrines revealed by the Holy Spirit.
5. Paul here points to himself as exemplar and hints at the cause of failure, viz., lapse from love and the use of the divine word in a wilful, ambitious and covetous spirit, whereas the faith which worketh by love is lacking.
Under such conditions, false and indolent Christians run indeed a merry race; yet God’s Word and ways in which they are so alert and speedy are merely a show, because they make them subserve their own interests and glory. They fail, however, to see that they race uncertainly and beat the air.
They never make a serious attempt, nor do they ever hit the mark. While it is theirs to mortify ambition, to restrain their self-will and to enlist in the service of their neighbors, they do none of these things. On the contrary, they even do many things to strengthen their ambition and self-will, and then they swear by a thousand oaths that they are seeking not their own honor but the honor of God, their neighbor’s welfare and not their own.
Peter says ( 2 Peter 1:9-10) this class are blind and cannot see afar and have forgotten they were purged from their old sins, because they fail to make their calling sure by good works. Therefore, it comes about that, as Paul says, they run uncertainly, beating the air. Their hearts are unstable and wavering before God, and they are changeable and fickle in all their ways, James 1:8. Since they are aimless and inconstant at heart, this will appear likewise as inconstancy in regard to works and doctrines. They undertake now this and now that; they cannot be quiet nor refrain from factional strife. Thus they miss their aim or else remove the goal, and cannot but deviate from the true and common path. “But I buffet [keep under] my body, and bring it into bondage [subjection].”
Under such conditions, false and indolent Christians run indeed a merry race; yet God’s Word and ways in which they are so alert and speedy are merely a show, because they make them subserve their own interests and glory. They fail, however, to see that they race uncertainly and beat the air.
They never make a serious attempt, nor do they ever hit the mark. While it is theirs to mortify ambition, to restrain their self-will and to enlist in the service of their neighbors, they do none of these things. On the contrary, they even do many things to strengthen their ambition and self-will, and then they swear by a thousand oaths that they are seeking not their own honor but the honor of God, their neighbor’s welfare and not their own.
Peter says ( 2 Peter 1:9-10) this class are blind and cannot see afar and have forgotten they were purged from their old sins, because they fail to make their calling sure by good works. Therefore, it comes about that, as Paul says, they run uncertainly, beating the air. Their hearts are unstable and wavering before God, and they are changeable and fickle in all their ways, James 1:8. Since they are aimless and inconstant at heart, this will appear likewise as inconstancy in regard to works and doctrines. They undertake now this and now that; they cannot be quiet nor refrain from factional strife. Thus they miss their aim or else remove the goal, and cannot but deviate from the true and common path. “But I buffet [keep under] my body, and bring it into bondage [subjection].”
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;
The Exodus is The Story for the Old Testament and central to everything in Judaism. Reminding people is good for them, because Paul is concerned about extremism in Corinth. In the Exodus, all the people were protected by God.
A vast number of them left and experienced the miracle of the parting of the sea. Nevertheless, almost all of them fell into evil. So what began was not the same as how it ended.
That is a warning for the Corinthians, and we can see the same in church history. Entire countries and regions have passed from Christian Faith into secularism and atheism. And they pay a terrible price for it, because the Gospel brings many intangible and tangible blessings.
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
The Exodus is filled with physical signs for the Israelites and with the Word of God. God uses earthly things with His Word because we remember better and understand better that way.
I was talking with Norma Boeckler about this. Although I have gathered over 3,000 quotations, copying them word for word into a database, I remember them best when united with a graphic.
The Medieval cathedrals used pictures in the stained glass and very few words, to tell the story of the Bible. Today we have graphics sent all over the world. I use them in teaching all my classes.
Norma and I have 400 friends in common on Facebook, because they enjoy her Biblical art so much. So the long-serving pastor in Perryville, Missouri, said to me, "How do YOU know Norma Boeckler?"
When God unites the image with the Word, both are very important. They are the instruments, the Means of His Grace. God could do things any way He wishes, but He chooses to limit His grace to those Instruments or Means - the Invisible Word of teaching and preaching, the Visible Word of the Sacraments.
The Exodus is filled with images of Christ. If we do not catch that from Exodus itself, we read it in the New Testament. The Rock that followed them was Christ.
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.
Here are references or prefiguring of the Sacraments. The word for Rock used here is very important. Greek has many types of rocks.
Peter's nickname was more like Rocky - a rock. This rock is a rock ledge.
So when Jesus said, "You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build My Church," He could not possibly be saying He would build His Church on Peter (individual rock). And not on Peter's confession either, which was just the opposite at the trial of Jesus. The Rock is Jesus Himself. On this Rock-ledge I will build My Church.
The true Church is built on Christ Himself. And this falling away in Exodus is a warning example of what will happen many times over in the Christian Church.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Jesus said, "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?" That is not triumphalism with more and better and bigger churches, but a prediction of apostasy, borne out by the Pastoral Epistles.
This lesson does not mean everyone has to know Hebrew and Greek. In fact, many of the worst know Hebrew, Greek, German, Latin, and French. The key issue is knowing the truth of God's Word and honoring that Word by faithfulness to the Spirit's message to us.
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| Norma A. Boeckler |
