The Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 2021
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
The melodies are linked in the hymn name.
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
The Hymn #530 Thy Ways O Lord
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: Thou hast been my Help.
Leave me not, neither forsake me: O God of my salvation.
Psalm. The Lord is my Light and my Salvation: whom shall I fear?
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O God, who hast prepared for them that love Thee such good things as pass man’s understanding, pour into our hearts such love toward Thee that we, loving Thee above all things, may obtain Thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Behold, O God, our Shield: and look upon Thy servants.
V. O Lord God of hosts: hear our prayer. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. The king shall joy in Thy strength: and in Thy salvation, how greatly shall he rejoice! Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 649 Jesus Savior Pilot Me
The Care and the Work
The Communion Hymn #350 Jesus the Very Thought (St. Agnes)
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 #52 Almighty Father, Bless the Word
Prayers and Announcements
- Kermit Way, Christina's brother-in-law.
- Pastor Jim Shrader and his wife - medical concerns.
- Christina Jackson is much stronger and walking well. She appreciates your efficacious prayers.
- The Bible Book is being edited for the second printing, adding information and reducing typos. Amazon rule - the author and illustrator get their copies last.
KJV 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
KJV Luke 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
Fifth Sunday After Trinity
O Jesus Christ, Thou Son of the living God, who hast given us Thy holy word, and hast bountifully provided for all our temporal wants, we confess that we are unworthy of all these mercies, and that we have rather deserved punishment: But we beseech Thee, forgive us our sins, and prosper and bless us in our several callings, that by Thy strength we may be sustained and defended, now and forever, and so praise and glorify Thee eternally, Thou who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The Care and the Work
Background for the Gospel Sermon, Luke 5
Halle University turned from Biblical Pietism to Rationalism in one generation. Halle was the source of Objective Justification (Rambach), which future Bishop Stephan learned there. In Halle's rationalistic phase, one "scholarly" book about Jesus had a chapter on "Fish Stories," which even in German meant - fables, tall tales, exaggerations.
This is a litmus test, the miraculous catch of fish, distinguishing those who believe God can do this through His Word, or distrusting this and anything miraculous. I knew an LCA pastor who was leaving the denomination. Not knowing much, he tried to makethe Book of Concord as equal to the Scriptures. Soon after that, he had trouble with the miracles and joined the United Church of Christ, a Left-wing sect that believes nothing and teaches universal salvation for all religions.
Miracles encourage believers and turn unbelievers into mocking fools. We must be careful to understand where the problems come from. As Luther says, "1. This Gospel is easy for those to understand who believe, and it presents to us two thoughts, namely: Faith in its relation to temporal blessings, and faith in its relation to eternal blessings."
KJV Luke 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
The first problem was that Jesus was trying to teach a multitude, which was difficult on the edge of the lake. The setting is quite vivid. We have seen similar crowd scenes live or on TV. The speaker will always try to get up on stairs, so people can see and hear him. In those location, Jesus was at a low position but not a problem for the Logos, the Creating Word. Two fishing ships were nearby. Here the details are sparse but significant. The fishermen were not in the ships but washing (and repairing) their nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
Jesus got into one ship on His own, Simon's ship, and asked him to take the boat out a short distance from land. So far the rationalists are calm, nodding their heads. As rabbis (and modern bishops) do, Jesus sat down to teach from that position. That focused His voice toward the crowd, who could heard well and observe from the rising shoreline.
Before anything new happened, Jesus was preaching the righteousness of faith in Him. This began to work on Simon, whose life would be changed by the sermon and the meaning of the sermon.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
Jesus, knowing and seeing that the men had caught no fish, commanded the men to launch into the deep water and lower the nets for a shoal of fish. Simon doubted whether anything would work, but the sermon had given him enough faith so that even with his excuses, he agreed to try. He would let down his let.
This is a good example of Jesus preaching and performing a miracle, the miracle confirming what He had preached with the authority of God. (He preached with divine authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees.)
Simon had faith in Jesus but grave doubts about this teacher's knowledge of fishing. They labored all night, these muscular, tough, and disciplined fishermen, but they caught absolutely nothing.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
Luther makes a distinction here. God cares for us, and we work. Work and care are the two divisions. In this case, Simon was full of care and did not really want to work again. Nothing is more discouraging than failing and trying to start again glum, angry, and discouraged. But Jesus got Simon over the barrier and refusal - as in, get real, there are no fish. And we should know. Simon had enough faith at this point to say, "I will try" because of Jesus' Word.
The tendency of no faith is to care, to make sure there is a good result, even if that is illegal. That leads people into positions where they can feather their nests with feathers plucked from others. Luther speaks of monks, priests, bishops, and the pope. We can see the same squandering of money and love of luxury among the district presidents, who talk about their winter meeting but do not mention the resort in the Caribbean where they stay.
If anything threatens their life of luxury, they exhibit the wrath of God - as they pretend.
But here, Jesus has all the care and the disciples the labor. That is how it should be. We labor in this world, and God cares about us. The message is, as Luther distilled it - Man does the work, God does the care. In a great pun, both in Greek and English - "Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you."
Why do churches cancel midweek Lent and Advent services? "Because no one will come." Definitely if there is no service. But "no one" means - not enough for my ego.
Why not write a book? "No one will read it." Definitely someone will, but best-sellers are usually mass-promoted and superficial.
"We will never have children." My Parker cousin had his first child after 25 years of marriage. A jokester, he told everyone, "We wanted to see if the marriage would work out." My Moline friend had no expectation of a child at his late age. Now at the age of 70 he is celebrating his son's graduation. In between, he had a disabling disorder and his business burned to the ground.
Wanting to do something for the Gospel and being discouraged is a case of taking the care away from God and blunting the labor. Kids love to throw seed all over the yard, and the garden. No one has any idea what will happen. I ordered 2000 Borage seeds because they are good for bees and beneficial insects. As the rain began to fall some weeks ago, I walked around casting the seed everywhere. (In Greek the word for casting is the same as throwing. It was said they cast poor Lazarus before the rich man's house. The Surfer Dude Bible translates that as - They dumped Lazarus at the gate, like a bag of bones.) Back to the borage - now the seeds are sprouted and rooted, growing everywhere but not blooming yet. They will bloom, set seed, and drop seed to start again. I did the labor, but God provided the string of circumstances to make it prosper.
Who knows where our little projects will go? Who listens to sermons or reads them? Some do. Who reads the old books? No one did until they wee unearthed like treasures on a desert island. I bought one book because it was another Lenker Luther book, but it was printed so small I could not read it. If that became readable in some fashion, many would enjoy seeing it.
Pastors pose for videos underneath shelves of very expensive books in brand new condition. Where is the labor? They adlib nonsense from seminary, knowing their peers are just as deluded.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
When Simon Peter experienced this great miracle, he became fully aware of being before God, who sees all and knows all. He felt too sinful to be in the presence of the Savior, the Son of God.
3. Therefore this is an example that all who believe will have enough for their temporal needs; but those who do not believe can never get enough and have no rest in scheming how to secure riches, by which they fall into all kinds of vice. Then comes to pass what Paul in 1 Timothy 6:6-10 says: “But godliness with contentment is great gain; for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out; but having food and covering we shall be therewith content. But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
In the same way, God cares for our spiritual needs and guides us through positive and negative people and experiences, to benefit us in ways we cannot predict or imagine. Many educations programs ask along the way, "Who was your best teacher?" And that is good, but it is also good to consider why a bad teacher was so terrible. And also - how a teacher could be disliked so much and have such a powerful impact anyway. That does not seem fair, but many people have acknowledged that.
Difficult, trying, negative, and disastrous experiences never look or feel good at the time, but God alone can transform them. The worst may never go away, but that may be the fulcrum for helping many others with understanding and compassion.
10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
17. If you have now learned to know God, then refuse him nothing whatever; that is, if we behold the great treasures, then we should not despair. It is proper that we know ourselves, and the more thoroughly we do this the better; but you must not reject grace because of your sins. For if you find that your conscience struggles and would drive you to despair, then you are most comfortable and fortunate; then you will find the consolation in your conscience, and say like Micah 7:18-19: “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and casts their sins into the sea and drowns them?” All gods that do not take away sin are idols. Therefore Micah well says, that there is no God like our God; for other gods wish to discover righteousness, but our God brings it; God the Lord brings it and does not discover it. Therefore you must not despair, although your conscience struggles and feels its sins; for the more disgraced you are, the quicker God imparts grace.
18. Now the great multitude of people go and dress themselves like the kitten does, and think God will then accept them. No, the Scriptures praise God that he takes away sins and casts them into the ocean. We cannot help our sins by our works nor become righteous by means of any power within ourselves: God, and no one else, will do that, without merit and without works, out of pure grace; as in Isaiah 43:22 he says: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake: and I will not remember thy sins.” And thus it must be, or you will never obtain a cheerful conscience. Therefore when Peter said, “I am a sinful man,” he did right. It is true he had indeed cause to fear and humble himself; but he was constrained not to reject God, but to accept him.
