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| Norma A. Boeckler Christian Art Books |
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| The video for the Jubilate service is linked here. |
Jubilate, The Third Sunday after Easter, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Note - the hymn lyrics are linked to the Bethany Lutheran Hymn Blog on the hymn number; the tune is linked on the hymn's name.
The Hymn #586 A Pilgrim and a Stranger - Gerhardt
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Make a joyful noise (Jubilate) unto God, all ye lands: sing forth the honor of His name; make His praise glorious.
Psalm. Say unto God, How terrible art Thou in Thy works: through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Almighty God, who showest to them that be in error the light of Thy truth to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness, grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion that they may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. The Lord hath sent redemption unto His people. Hallelujah!
V. It behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead: and thus to enter into His glory. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #288 Lord Help Us Ever To Retain - Loy Translation
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Sermon Hymn #288 Lord Help Us Ever To Retain - Loy Translation
Pilgrims and Strangers, For a Little While
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 #464 Blest Be the Tie That Binds
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 #464 Blest Be the Tie That Binds
Prayers and Announcements
- Treatment and recovery - Christina Jackson. Recovery - Mary and Lori Howell.
- Prayers for Alec's brother and another brother.
- Our DEP Trump and the military justice system.
- The Anderson family is visiting and should arrive, d.v., later today.
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| Norma A. Boeckler Christian Art Books |
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness dost suffer Thy children to come under Thy chastening rod here on earth, that we may be like unto Thine only-begotten Son in suffering and hereafter in glory: We beseech Thee, comfort us in temptations and afflictions by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not fall into despair, but that we may continually trust in Thy Son's promise, that our trials will endure but a little while, and will then be followed by eternal joy; that we thus, in patient hope, may overcome all evil, and at last obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
KJV 1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
KJV John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Pilgrims and Strangers, For a Little While
Introduction
We do not discuss Peter's letters as much as Paul's, but Peter was very important and his letters are at the top of Luther's list for consideration. Peter was given a three-fold absolution by the risen Lord, when they had been fishing as if they were not commissioned to be apostles. That truly human response - to make sure they were ok by going back to work - was subtly challenged by Jesus. When they all got to shore with their fish (food first, work later), they found the Lord had already prepared a meal.
We have so many invented ideas in the church from fable-makers, but this one is overlooked. Jesus demonstrated to the apostles that He could take care of them. In other words, trust in God's grace instead of ignoring previous examples of His miracles.
That does not mean that fruit, meat, and bread would fall from the skies into their laps, but that wherever they went, God would provide.
This letter was written by Peter when he was in Rome. Nero had started fires when he blamed on the Christians. A savage persecution was building, and Peter would be captured and put to death. His letters should be read as the inspired writing of a prominent leader facing death and eternal life.
The writings of the first generation were sent out, copied, and re-copied for posterity. This seems haphazard by our standards, but the New Testament was kept alive and circulating by those who valued its content. Persecution only spread the Gospel faster because surviving Christians moved on to safer areas and took their copies with them.
KJV 1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
This powerful phrase - pilgrims and strangers - comes from Psalm 39:12 -
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner (pilgrim), as all my fathers were.
This would have been remembered by most, because the Psalms are so significant in worship. Much later, after the Reformation, Gerhardt wrote a hymn based on the same passages, Psalm 39 and 1 Peter 2. He was certainly a pilgrim, forced out of his congregation in Berlin, barely staying alive, losing most of his family, and finally having a call - in a congregation that treated him badly.
So here was Peter, expecting his own death, in the capital city of a ruthless pagan empire, where his religion was being blamed on the fires. What better scapegoats - the Christians. The greatest empire of the world versus a small group of believers being killed and chased out. But Rome lost, fell into total disarray, and Christianity grew, preserving the Gospel in the Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantium.
The Byzantine Texts
I will be writing about this in The Bible Book. The Byzantine Empire began (as a separate entity) almost 300 years later, thanks to Constantine, who wanted his capital to be Christian, not pagan. This Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire lasted 1100 years until the Ottoman Empire defeated it.
Byzantium was not only Christian, but Greek. We have around 5,000 Greek manuscripts, and almost all of them are the Majority or Traditional or Received Text. Those are the names used for this group of New Testament texts. But Wescott and Hort decided that two and only two texts would be used as guides, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. Why? Because Hort "hated" the Traditional Text. This was done secretly and dishonestly, but their example stuck.
All your precious NIV, ESV, RSV, TEV Bibles are based on Horton's hate.
Abstain from Fleshly Lusts
Peter, facing death, knew how seductive Rome was. We should know that from our society, where there are "37 genders" and the only sin is taking the Bible seriously. Pagan religion, child sacrifice, and ritual prostitution all go together. Some people joined many cults in the Roman Empire to make sure they had the right one. The were somewhat like our J. D. Sallinger, who rejected the Judasim of his rabbi father and had a new Eastern religion every month or so.
12 Having your conversation (conduct) honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
This is not stretching a point. If the Romans were told that Christians were criminals, their conduct would tell the Romans the falsity of the charge. Visitation is more simply expressed as the "day of your examination." There will come a time when, no matter how they have been treated, the Christians' good works will cause people to glorify God. In fact, their peaceful death in the stadiums stunned the pagan Romans who expected them to run from beasts and scream in terror. The calm of Christians praying as they died shook the pagans and they began converting. Their slaves carried the Gospel in their hearts and conversations, and so did the converted thieves and prostitutions. The Gospel moved from the bottom up.
13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
We do not always enjoy laws or the ways they are enforced. When the Romans gave up their republic and submitted to emperors, citizens no longer had the rights they once enjoyed. Christians had to submit because rebellion would do them no good and would cause much harm - providing an excuse for emperors like Nero. The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius would make any gossip columnist today blush.
15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
It is easy to have neighbors who are suspicious of the minority person, the one who is not a Mormon, or the one who is not a Mormon and is a Christian minister. There are many other examples like that, and the majority look upon the minority with suspicion. Some people have an automatic hatred of clergy because they have known clergy who did not live up to the calling. Some people are even suspicious of those who belong to the same synod but come from "another state" just as pastors speak of those who graduated from "the other seminary." It is a combination of sad and hilarious.
The wise advice from Peter is silence foolishness with self-disciplined behavior and respect for authority.
Police in my classes told me how to respond to their fellow officers - "Yes, sir, yes sir," three bags full. It works wonders compared to insolent talk and actions. When I avoided a ticket going to class, the students asked, "Do you use your Jedi thought control talk?" I ask online students to respond in their messages to me "in a kindly, sensitive, and gentle way." And they do.
18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward (harsh). 19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
Perhaps not many fit the category of servants, but when working for others it is very much like that. Corporations can be heartless, thankless, and really cold-hearted at times. Some bosses in particular are difficult to endure, but they come and go like the weather. I saw so many immediate supervisors that when one was bad, I thought, "Wait a minute, just wait and fit in as much as possible." One accused me in writing of leaving my class early, giving the date. I wrote back, "The school was not open that day."
20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
Sometimes we have it coming to us, so we should be bragging. The ending reminds us that putting up with rebukes for doing what is right - that is pleasing to God.
For a Little While
The Gospel and Epistle go well together, which is not always true. The Gospel uses a little Greek word mikron - a little while - seven times, to remind us that everything is just for a little while.
John 16:16 μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με οτι εγω υπαγω προς τον πατερα
When we grow impatient about anything annoying, uncomfortable, painful, or obnoxious, it is just for a little while. If we just note that this is true, then we will also treasure every peaceful, loving, enjoyable moment - because time rushes on.
Shakespeare (Oxford) call them "mewing and puking babes" a good description of the good and the unpleasant, but we miss those babies, then toddlers, then young children as the days rush by.
There are many losses in man's time, but none in God's time. We move from one state to another as Christian believers, so we have great lasting treasures if they are spiritual. The more we value the eternal, the less we dote on the temporary.
