The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melodies are
linked in the hymn name.
The lyrics are linked
in the hymn number.
The Lord is my Light and my
Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon
me: they stumbled and fell.
Psalm. Though an host should encamp against me: my heart
shall not fear.
The
Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that
the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance that Thy
Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ.
Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Struggle Continues
In
Our Prayers - Announcements
- In treatment - Mary Howell, Rush Limbaugh, Christina
Jackson
- Being tested - Pastor Jim Shrader
- New Lenski pdfs - Ask Pastor Jackson
- Luther's Galatians almost ready for print
KJV Romans 8:18 For I reckon
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the
creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature
was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath
subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth
in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which
have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
KJV Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore
merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be
judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be
forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down,
and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with
the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And
he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both
fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one
that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that
is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote
that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine
own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then
shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
Fourth Sunday After Trinity
Lord
God, heavenly Father, who art merciful, and through Christ didst promise us,
that Thou wilt neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive us all our
sins, and abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul: We pray Thee,
that by Thy Holy Spirit Thou wilt establish in our hearts a confident faith in
Thy mercy, and teach us also to be merciful to our neighbor, that we may not
judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all men, and, Judging only
ourselves, lead blessed lives in Thy fear, through Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God,
world without end. Amen.
The Struggle Continues
KJV
Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
The
normal attitude toward suffering is to get rid of it in various ways. School is
tough - drop out. Work is dreary or painful - find another vocation. Physical
pain - find relief. Emotional pain - that is much harder to address. The
Roman Empire added confiscation of property, persecution, torture, and death to
this list.
When
Paul or another writer says "For...", it means that the current
passage explains what went before. We suffer with Christ so that we are
glorified with Him.
Suffering
should not be a shock to the Christian, because Jesus said, "Take up My
cross and follow Me." If someone refuses to do that, he is not a follower,
but more of a renter, someone who can go away at any moment and leave a mess
behind.
3.
The high prerogative of heirship, Paul faithfully enjoins, is dependent on a
sacred duty. Let him who would be Christ’s brother, and joint-heir with him,
remember he must also be a joint-martyr and joint-sufferer with Christ. The
apostle’s meaning is: Many are the Christians, indeed, who would be joint-heirs
with Christ and gladly enjoy the privilege of sharing his inheritance, but who
object to suffering with him; they separate themselves from him because
unwilling to participate in his pain. But Paul says this will not do. The
inheritance follows only as a consequence of the suffering. Since Christ, our
dear Lord and Savior, had to suffer before he could be glorified, we must be
martyrs with him, with him be mocked by the world, despised, spit upon, crowned
with thorns and put to death, before the inheritance will be ours. It cannot be
otherwise.
A consistent sympathy is essential to Christian
faith and doctrine. He who would be Christ’s brother and fellow-heir must also
suffer with him. He who would live with Christ must first die with him. The
members of a family not only enjoy good together but also share in their ills.
As the saying is, “He who would be a companion in eating must also be a
companion in labor.”
In Pilgrim's
Progress, the burden carried is sin, life is a great struggle, and life
continues as a struggle until crossing over. However, to compare struggles is
no good. As one lady said when people told her they had it worse - "Your
pneumonia will not cure my cold."
We do
not like to struggle. We have a word for struggle, based on the Greek word -
agony.
For
example, many people say they do not publish what they want to write because
they are afraid of rejection. A writer's magazine taught me how to make a game
of it.
- Create an album of
rejection letters.
- Tend it carefully.
- Keep going until it is
plenty large.
- The fear will go away
and checks will come it.
Lenski, Romans, p.
529:
“For” = in order that
you may understand the better what has just been said about our suffering
together with Christ and our also being glorified together with him. All of this
will become clearer when we view ourselves in the midst of the entire suffering
creature world which longs for our glorification at the last day.
Do not occupy your mind
exclusively with the little suffering which you individually endure but see
this vast creature world groaning, and we with it, but having all its hope
centered in us as the sons of God, centered upon us and on our
deliverance.
Fear is so prevalent in us that
people will become afraid even when they have already proven their ability. For
example, I have had many adult students who were articulate, humorous, and
clear in class discussions, while seated in the room. However, when they stood
up to deliver a talk, they looked at the same people and began to feel
terrorized, so much they could barely talk. That could be described as a trust
issue - they were so inflamed by fear they did not trust their classmates
enjoying the talk.
That also paralyzes the frustrated
perfectionist - "If I publish this, people will laugh and be scornful
about its faults, my faults."
There are countless nasty
experiences and horrible people to endure in life, so the Spirit teaches us
through Paul that suffering can be faced and will be reality whether we choose
to name it or not.
19
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of
the sons of God.
There
are many kinds of afflictions but the worst ones are connected with the Faith,
bearing the cross. For the innocent, it is shocking that supposed good citizens
and good church members would lie in wait to pounce on a minister. However,
that is a universal experience. Whenever the Gospel begins to take hold and
show results, people become suddenly alarmed and angry, always finding
something to attack. As Luther said, those who love the Word will love the
person who brings it to them. Those who hate the Word will also hate the one
who teaches it.
Denominational
leaders will say, "Don't get people upset. You can always read sermons out
of a book." Ministers tell themselves, "If I avoid being so strong on
the Scriptures, I will be more popular and get the benefits popularity.
Likewise,
people gain from being part of the crowd instead of opposing the wrong
direction our society is taking. The Seventh Day Adventists talked about this
over 25 years ago. They pointed out how vast numbers of people could be changed
by introducing new concepts steadily. Although I only have old family
connections with SDA, their observations were exactly what happened to
Lutherans. A liberal from a Left-wing denomination (Donald McGavran, Disciples
of Christ, World Council of Churches) introduced concepts and terms that took
all of Protestantism and some Catholics into another field altogether, so these
terms are now "scripture" and the critics of it should be burned at
the stake:
- "God wants HIS
Church to grow."
- Test the soil before
sowing the seed.
- Form cell groups (aka
koinonia, small, lay-led, affinity)
- Pipe organs are last
century instruments.
- Church Growth eyes see
what the church needs to grow.
- Making people busy keeps
them in church.
16.
Here is the second point of consolation. Paul holds up as an example to us the
condition of the whole creation. He exhorts us to endure patiently, as the
creature does, all the violence and injustice we suffer from the devil and the
world, and to comfort ourselves with the hope of future redemption. Remarkable
doctrine this, unlike anything elsewhere found in the Scriptures, that heaven
and earth, sun, moon and stars, leaf and blade, every living thing, waits with
sighing and groaning for the revelation of our glory.
Creation itself is waiting for the completion of God's plan,
so we naturally participate in the universal experience of groaning in labor
(travail).
20
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of
him who hath subjected the same in hope,
There
is a vast difference between humans and creatures. We think about our lives,
look back at the past, consider the future. Creatures simple do their assigned
work. Earthworms do not register disgust at eating soil and rotting vegetation.
Bacteria actually digest the food for earthworms and get free rides everywhere.
But worms do not say, "Whee! We went several inches yesterday. This is
getting to be exciting."
The
reason we can eat is this patient adherence to the software embedded in every
living thing. We have that but always in a way that is changed by our
attitudes. Our supervisors would like us to be like soil creatures that are
always improving the soil, never unhappy, never stopping to wonder about their
purpose.
But
we do that because God gave us minds for reflection and thoughts about the
future. Because this world is in its labor pains,
we
can watch and participate to some extent, being faithful to the Word of God.
It is
not a delusion. Everything is going downhill. There is a final point, but it
may be 100 or a thousand years away, maybe tomorrow too.
21
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know
that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
The
difference between man and the creatures is this - we have free will and can
sin. The animals do not sin but carry out their duties as embedded in them from
Creation. But everyone is in this together, so the difference in mankind is not
only faith but willingness to bear the cross.
Some
people think sympathy only means saying, "I feel your pain" while
moving on. But sympathy means literally to "suffer with" someone, not
to be the religious person who takes note and walks on the other side of the
street.
Some
people even delight in the pain of others and rub it in. That is not walking
with the Savior, the way of the cross, but joining with the bystanders in
mocking.
If we
trust in God and find ourselves mired in a painful situation - such as illness,
rejection, lack of income, etc - we should rejoice that God has given us this
particular cross to bear.
Rejoice
may seem too strong but Luther called it the "dear, holy cross" - not
an obstacle but a blessing. When this is connected with the Word itself (not
simply an affliction), then we know it is being awarded great glory by the
unbelieving world. Being a Lutheran, for example, is like bearing all the
crosses but never given any credit for any good thing. Example - academics
should be Left-wing apostates: they are approved. A faithful Lutheran is under
suspicion.
Having
a disorder is not the cross by itself, but hearing the attitudes of others is.
Some blame the patient or the parents or the hometown or the food eaten or not
eaten. It is an automatic, always on, connection with heaven, because it leads
or forces one into thinking about eternal life and the meaning of our time on
earth.
Emotional
disorders can certainly be a cross because our emotions bend and move us in so
many ways. What others see as weakness can be the greatest strength or
paradoxical blessing in someone. Being able to connect with someone on an
emotional level is not automatic and does not come easily. But those who
are most attuned to emotions can quickly communicate with others in pain.
That communication might be with words, but it also includes many other factors
or approaches,such as prayers, hymns, presents, etc.
23
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to
wit, the redemption of our body.
23.
We have plain authority for the interpretation of the groaning of creation in
Paul’s further words, “the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own
will.” He thus makes all creation — sun and moon, fire, air, water, heaven and
earth with all they contain — merely poor, captive servants. And whom do they
serve? Not our Lord God; not for the most part his children, for they are a
minority among those ministered unto. To whom, then, is their service given? To
the wicked — to vanity. The created things are not, as they would be, in
righteous service. The sun, for instance, would choose to shine for Paul, Peter
and other godly ones. It begrudges to wicked characters like Judas, Pilate,
Herod, Annas and Caiaphas the least ray of light; for it is useless service,
yielding no good. To serve Peter and Paul would be productive of pleasure and
profit; well may its benefit be bestowed upon these godly ones. But the sun
must shine as well for the wicked as for the ungodly. Indeed, where it
fittingly serves one godly individual, thousands abuse its service.
The case is similar with gold and other minerals, and with all the articles of
food, drink and clothing. To whom do these minister? Wicked desperadoes, who in
return blaspheme and dishonor God, condemn his holy Gospel and murder his
Christians. This is wasted service.
Gold animates the entire world. Right now people are looking
for the fabled Lost Dutchman's Goldmine, outside Phoenix, and spend years
exploring the desert for it. Like all the treasures of earth, gold serves a
great and noble purpose but is mostly abused by the greedy. The People's
Republic of China has been caught using over $1 billion in fake gold to
generate real income.
We should not be surprised at all about the suffering we
experience and see around us. We should be like nurses (a figure used by Paul)
and be eager to listen and to help when others have pain of any kind. No one
likes to see it because we suffer with it. I had the chance to see people after
operations. They got sick from time to time. I held the pan and went wup-wup
with them, almost joining them. But that is part of visiting. Our neighbor is
Christ, even the least of them.
