The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity - 2024. The Powerful Ephesians Epistle

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The Hymn #37            Lord Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee              

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Righteous art Thou, O Lord: and upright are Thy judgments.

Deal with Thy servant: according to Thy mercy.

Psalm. Blessed are the undefiled in the way: 

who walk in the Law of the Lord.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations 

of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God; 

through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: 

and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.

V. By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made: 

and all the host of them by the Breath of His mouth. 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #260         O Lord Look Down

 The Unity of the Triune God

The Communion Hymn #315:8-11      I Come O Savior       

8. By faith I call Thy holy Table

The testament of Thy deep love;

For, lo, thereby I now am able

To see how love Thy heart doth move.

9. What higher gift can we inherit?

It is faith's bond and solid base;

It is the strength of heart and spirit,

The covenant of hope and grace.

10. This feast is manna, wealth abounding

Unto the poor, to weak ones power,

To angels joy, to hell confounding,

And life for us in death's dark hour.

11. Thy body, given for me, O Savior,

Thy blood which Thou for me didst shed,

These are my life and strength forever,

By them my hungry soul is fed. 

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 # 361                  O Jesus, King

                    In Our Prayers 

In treatment - Dr. Lito Cruz and family, Sarah Buck, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader. Alicia Meyer - throat difficulties. Lori Howell - remission! 

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.

The Unity of the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter from prison, knowing he was considered guilty and still under a death sentence. The New Testament is not a history book but the revelation of God's will, revealed to us so that the Christian Faith would continue and thrive, not only surviving but expanding around the world. Paul was a Roman citizen so he had a lot of standing in the system. A weakness was not his Jewish background - Rome accepted that. Paul was considered a trouble-maker because so much conflict came from his preaching.

    This letter was his final statement in writing, and even now we do not know exactly what happened at the end. Did he have another missionary trip or not? We have so many books full of the tiniest details, but God did not turn this into This Is Your Life (a famous TV series).

    The calling reference is about the Lord Jesus Christ inviting people to hear and continue in the Gospel - faith in the Good Shepherd. Faith is the opposite of fear. The disciples felt fear that when Jesus stilled the storm, walked on water, and was taken prisoner. "Do you not care if we die?" That is the opposite of faith. Something bad happens and faith flies out the window.

    We are all fragile when fear wells up in our lives. We have a national, bizarre election going on. It is easy to look at those details and think, "Yes, this is the beginning of the end." If we listen to the mainstream news, we can go crazy. Like Paul, we do not know. Only God knows.

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

    These are attributes of Jesus Christ. He had all the power - and still does - and yet He only uses that power for healing and bringing back life. When I look at the painting by Norma Boeckler about the girl raised from death, I think of two daughters with no diagnosis (plenty of medical bills); another with fragile bones, even missing ones; another girl with every seizure medicine and operation possible - but wrecking a college education - because all her measures failed, even the latest and best. I can also name three successes in our little congregation - a newborn, a mother and daughter.

    The way our Good Shepherd works is through protecting His flock and driving away the predators. We strengthen that by calling upon the Savior in all the situations we know - including our own. The old TV show, multiplied many times has the distraught person ask, "What can we do, Doctor?" He always says, "There is nothing left to do but pray." There are many ways to communicate with Jesus Christ, starting in the morning, when it is a good time to go over immediate needs for others and ourselves. The end of the day is the best time to remember everyone for various reasons, to ask for help for ourselves, to ask for forgiveness and give thanks for so many blessings from Our Savior. Some may fall asleep because it is so relaxing, but that is better than staying up all night worrying.

    What makes a congregation strong is not money, property, or community esteem, but study in the Scriptures, worship, and the Sacraments. Thus the True Vine bears fruit, the gifts of the Spirit.

3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

    The meaning of this verse is either very difficult or very clear, derived from knowing how much divine wisdom is placed before us. We live in an era where people offer snips of messages aimed at making bits of knowledge into slogans of absurdity. Everything is iconic, so that is the word of the day, meaningless and annoying. The unity of the Spirit is clearly taught throughout the Bible, starting with Creation. The Father commands and the Son executes the commands, as taught by the Holy Spirit. The unity of the Spirit is the Three Persons of the Trinity together. 

    Proof of spiritual blindness is revealed in the modernists' rejection of the Trinity, because they cannot find the word "Trinity" anywhere in the Bible. This same group of intellectualoids rejects the divinity of Jesus Christ, His miracles, and Justification by Faith. The scandals outnumber their "campus count" and the known scandals. The modern Leftwing saints also drive away the faithful so they can include as many radicals as possible, exclude the rest, and drain the endowment funds. 

    The Spirit is always at work in the effective (energized, efficacious) Word, which plants and builds the Word. The same Holy Spirit hardens the hearts of those who deny that the Scriptures God's Word. I shocked some people by reminding them that Acts 8:27 is erased from many new Bibles. 

    The unity of the Spirt in the bond of peace is another way to say we are gathered by the actual Word of God and drawn together by one common theme - the Son of God dying for the sins of the world, rising from the dead, ascending to Heaven, and responding to our worries, fears, losses, and benefits. Do not worry - ignoring the Proverbs can always be replaced by modern self-help books (and the old ones too).

Denying the divinity of Christ will always cheer up the apostates who want their lack of the Christian Faith watered down to nothing. Not all of the clergy, professors, and Church Growth experts are apostates. The faithful will rise from the ashes of their pride.

    Pardon me for chuckling but the last 50 years have meant that roughly 7 (seven) seminaries have merged into the Lutheran School of Chicago, and that the 7-way merger limped along with the McCormick Presbyterian Seminary, moving like a rat-king (Luther's image, which really does exist). Those 8 are now housed at the CTU (Catholic Theological Union), much like the conglomerate in California where the similar seminaries are also collapsing, moving. 

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

    Reading and hearing God's Word opens us up to the brilliant simplicity and depth of God's Word. This section names the Holy Trinity, names the unity of all Paul is revealing through the Word of God, and names the seven ones within this remarkable passage.

    I get to teach the Psalms as part of the Old Testament course, and the students discuss their favorite. The students come from all over, all kinds of vocations, military, and grandparents, plus younger graduate students. The most named Psalm is the 23rd. One student was struggling to describe how this Psalm can be so simple and so moving. I pointed out that the Bible has about 500 examples of sheep and shepherding. With a little software, people can track these passages, which help us understand how close our Savior is to us at all times.

    

    

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 17 Epistle - To guard against such disaster, Christians should be particularly careful to give, in their conduct, no occasion for offense, and to value the name and honor of their God too highly to permit blasphemy of them.

 

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity.— Exhortation to Live According to the Christian Calling, and in the Unity of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:1-6.

7. To guard against such disaster, Christians should be particularly careful to give, in their conduct, no occasion for offense, and to value the name and honor of their God too highly to permit blasphemy of them. They should prefer to lose their own honor, their wealth, their physical wellbeing, even their lives, rather than that these, their most precious possessions and greatest blessings, should suffer disgrace. Let them remember that upon keeping sacred the name and honor of God depends their own standing before God and men. God promises (1 Samuel 2:30), “Them that honor me I will honor.” But pursuing the opposite course, Christians bring upon themselves God’s sternest wrath and effect their own rejection and shame. For he says further: “They that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” And in the second commandment God threatens certain and terrible punishment to abusers of his name; that is, to them who do not employ it to his honor and praise.

8. Well may every Christian examine his own life to see if he is careful to guard against offense to the Gospel and to regulate his words and conduct by God’s first commandment, making them contribute to the honor and praise of the divine name and the holy Gospel. Weighty indeed and well calculated to cause complaint are the sins to which every Christian is liable in this respect; well may he avoid them lest he heap to himself the wrath of God. Especially need we be careful in these last and evil times when the Gospel is everywhere suppressed by great offenses. Man was created to be the image of God, that through this his image God might himself be expressed. God’s image, then, should be reflected in the lives of men as a likeness in a glass, and a Christian can have no higher concern than to live without dishonor to the name of God.

ADMONITION TO SPECIAL CHRISTIAN VIRTUES.

9. Such is the first part of Paul’s admonition concerning the general life of Christians. He goes on to make special mention of several good works which Christians should diligently observe: humility, meekness, longsuffering, preservation of the unity of the Spirit, and so on. These have been specially treated before, in other epistle lessons, particularly those from Peter. Humility, for instance — mentioned in today’s lesson — is taken up the third Sunday after Trinity; patience and meekness, the second Sunday after Easter, and the fifth Sunday after Trinity.

From Boomers to Bust - Shrinking University Results - The Four Waltherian Cults - LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic),

 

The new home for Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, called A School in Motion. The Catholic Theological Union has cleverly bundled together a beehive of academic drones.

Saving Planet Earth while smoking weed.

50.7% of college applicants to Cook County's 98 universities were admitted for fall 2022

Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, University of Illinois Chicago stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 33,747 students.

U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.

This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.

NCES shows that enrollment data was not available for 19 institutions in Cook County, including Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, National Latino Education Institute and Catholic Theological Union at Chicago.

***

GJ - The registrars know that telling everyone about their enrollment shrinkage will only drive away more potential students. Online studies have also kept many at home to earn money. 

No, I don't follow Notre Dame football.

I drove 100 miles round trip for Notre Dame studies, which were free. Waterloo Seminary was $150 tuition for the first year, and married housing was very inexpensive. LSTC tuition!!!!

WELS and LCMS bragged about their DMin degrees from Fuller Seminary, a higher number than their own seminaries. This accelerated the downfall of both sects - and the ELCA as well.

ELCA Shrinking and Merging Seminaries - 

All in One Internet Promotion

"Brett, we are doing the best we can."

Where Does LCMS Start And End? Holy Mother Synod!

 

From Rolf Preus, Co-Editor of His Father's Justification (by faith) And Rome

"It's not that Concordia doesn't owe some loyalty to the LCMS.  It's rather that the BOR statement spoke of the LCMS in terms that apply only to the one holy, Christian, and apostolic church.  She is the Jerusalem which is above who is our mother.  (Galatians 4:26)  We confess in the Large Catechism, on the Creed, third article (paragraph 42), "For, in the first place, He has a peculiar congregation in the world, which is the mother that begets and bears every Christian through the Word of God, which He reveals and preaches, and through which He illumines and enkindles hearts, that they understand, accept it, cling to it, and persevere in it."  We should not refer to a synod as our mother."   

***

GJ - Rev. Dr. Matt the Fatt Harrison wants to hang onto Concordia University in  Texas, but I would dump that property as soon as possible. CTX! - get it? Missouri hates the Book of Concord, so every little or big synod entity has to be fasioned Concordite.

"We confess in the Large Catechism"

We can overlook the hundred or so Preus boys who have endured the continued inbreeding of Rambach-Stephan-Walther dogma in their synod. Everywhere they look or listen, one of the relatives is singing their favorite hymn (in Norwegian) "How Great We Art."

Rolf should know better, because he is listed as an editor of Justification and Rome. ELS loyaltists thought it was Just A Vacation in Rome. That shows how devoid of scholarship the Little Norwegians are.

Rolf Hisself continues to argue against the book he edited, more importantly - against the Book of Concord, which always teaches Justification by Faith in harmony with the Scriptures. 

The windbags of the deceased Synodical Conference (LCMS-ELS-WELS-Fuller) are blind to the Scriptures and enchanted by the Enthusiasts. They even have their own Fuller-lite training facility in WELS, some of the worst examples charging money for their own clergy to be more like them.

This relative of the Preus clan was a seminary professor for CFW Walther - his book still a classic in Objective Faithless Justification humor. Ed Preuss looked for a vision and saw a brilliant red sky, so he joined the Church of Rome and became a famous scholar for them. And yet The Four Waltherian Cults - LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) continue to honor Mr. Ed.

Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry - Alec Satin - New Releases

 

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Vindication of Luther Against His Recent English Assailants by Julian Charles Hare

“When a man has taken a leading part in the conflicts of his age, it will often happen that… the feelings with which he was regarded during his life, will cluster around him after his death… Now perhaps there is no one in the whole history of the world, against whom such a host of implacable prejudices and antipathies have been permanently arrayed, as against Luther.

Hare, Julian Charles

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History of the Old Covenant by J H Kurtz

“(This is) one of the best contributions towards the explanation of the Old Testament with which Germany has enriched our common theological literature. Comprehensive and trustworthy in its information, exhaustive in point of research and learning, fresh and vigorous in thought and style, throughout marked by sobriety and good sense; above all, thoroughly evangelical in its tone.

Kurtz, J H, Alfred Edersheim

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Sayings and Doings of Luther by John Gottlieb Morris

“Of thirteen hundred and forty-three books… written on the subject of Luther… not one is like this one… Some may think that I should have given my authorities and references; but as the book was (made) for plain readers… the mention of which would have interrupted the narrative and been of no service.

Martin Luther, John Gottlieb Morris

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Watchwords for the Warfare of Life: Quotations of Martin Luther

“The selections in this volume have all been freshly translated from Luther’s own German or Latin, with the exception of the extracts taken from the sixteenth century translation of the Commentary on the Galatians.

Martin Luther

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Why are you a Lutheran? by Benjamin Kurtz

“Those who know nothing of (Lutheranism) can here learn everything that is desirable to know, and those who know us well, will be pleased to find the whole matter so conveniently arranged.

Benjamin Kurtz

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 17 Epistle - "The ground of all doctrine, of all right living, the supreme and eternal treasure of him who is a Christian in the sight of God, is faith in Christ. It alone secures forgiveness o£ sins and makes us children of God. Now, where this faith is, fruits should follow as evidence that Christians in their lives honor and obey God."

 

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity.— Exhortation to Live According to the Christian Calling, and in the Unity of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:1-6.

TEXT:

EPHESIANS 4:1-6. 1 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, 2 with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

THE CHRISTIAN CALLING AND UNITY.

1. This, too, is a beautiful sermon, delivered by Paul to the Ephesians, concerning the good works of Christians, who believe and are obedient to the doctrine of the Gospel. In the knowledge of good works Paul desires Christians to grow and increase, as we learned in the epistle for last Sunday. The ground of all doctrine, of all right living, the supreme and eternal treasure of him who is a Christian in the sight of God, is faith in Christ. It alone secures forgiveness o£ sins and makes us children of God. Now, where this faith is, fruits should follow as evidence that Christians in their lives honor and obey God. They are necessary for God’s glory and for the Christian’s own honor and eternal reward before him.

2. Paul, remembering the imprisonment and tribulations he suffered because of the Gospel and for the advantage, as he before said, of the Ephesians, gives the admonition here. He would have them, in return for his sufferings, honor the Gospel in their lives. First he names a general rule of life for Christians. “To walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called.”

THE CHRISTIAN CALLING.

3. The chief thing that should influence a Christian’s outward walk is the remembrance of his calling and appointment by God. He should be mindful of why he is called a Christian, and live consistently. He must shine before the world; that is, through his life and God’s work, the Word and the name of Christ the Lord must be exalted. Christ exhorts his disciples: “Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.

4. Similarly, Paul would say: “You have received God’s grace and his Word and are a blessed people. In Christ all your needs are blessedly supplied. Be mindful of this and remember you are called to a far different and vastly higher life than others know. Show by your manner of living that you seek a higher good than the world seeks — indeed, that you have received far greater blessings. Let your lives honor and glorify the Lord who has given you such blessings. Give no occasion for dishonoring your treasured faith, or for scorning his Word. Rather, influence men by your godly walk and good works to believe in Christ and to glorify him.”

5. Let the Christian know his earthly life is not unto himself, nor for his own sake; his life and work here belong to Christ, his Lord. Hence must his walk be such as shall contribute to the honor and glory of his Master, whom he should so serve that he may be able to say with Paul, not only with respect to the spiritual life — the life of faith and of righteousness by grace — but also with respect to its fruits — the outward conduct: “It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20. The Christian’s manner of life may be styled “walking in Christ”; yes, as Paul elsewhere has it (Romans 13:14), “putting on” the Lord Jesus Christ, like a garment or an ornament. The world is to recognize Christ by his shining in us.

6. But the so-called Christian life that does not honor Christ makes its sin the more heinous for the name it bears. Every sin the people of God commit is a provocation of Jehovah; not only in the act of disobedience itself, but also in the transgression of the second commandment. The enormity of the sin is magnified by the conditions that make it a blasphemy of God’s name and an occasion of offense to others. Paul says in Romans 2:24: “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” So a Christian should, in his life, by all means guard the honor of God — of Christ. He must take heed that he be not guilty of blaspheming that name and of doing wickedness. The devil, aided by the world, construes every act, when possible, to reflect upon God’s honor and glory. His purpose is to manifest his bitter hatred against Christ and the Word; also to injure the Church by charging offenses, thus deterring unbelievers from embracing the Gospel and causing the weak to fall away.

Reformation Seminary - John 6 First Part

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KJV John 6

1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle ["sign" from God] that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. 16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,

17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. 18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew. 19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid. 20 But he saith unto them, It is I; [I AM] be not afraid. 21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 17 - "All this is intended to help and strengthen our hearts and consciences. In this way our Lord himself teaches us how we should humble ourselves and be subject one to another."

 

Luther's Sermons - Luke 14:1-11.
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Christ Heals the Dropsical Man on the Sabbath, and of Humility.

25. Therefore the Gospel aims at making all of us humble, whatever and whoever we may be, that none may exalt himself, unless urged and elevated by regular authority. That is what the Lord wants to inculcate by this parable, directing it to all, be they high or low. In this spirit he reproves the Pharisees and others who desire high places and are ambitious to get ahead of others. They may accept honors when regularly elected and forced to accept high places. I make these remarks to contravene and discredit their false spiritual interpretations.

26. But now they go and mingle and confuse spiritual and worldly things, and claim it is enough if they be humble in heart when they strive for the chief seats. Nay, dear friends, heart-humility must manifest itself in outer conduct, or it is false. All should therefore he willing to take a lower seat, even to throw themselves at the feet of others, and not move up higher, until urged to do so. Anyone who regards this rule, will do well; but he who disregards it will come to grief by so doing. That is what our Lord desires to impress upon his hearers as he closes this parable. “For every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

27. St. Augustine adds a comment here which I wish he had not made, for it savors of vanity, when he says: “A ruler must not abase himself too much, lest his authority be weakened thereby.” This is heathenish and worldly, not Christian; but we can pardon it in such a man, for even the saints on earth are not yet entirely perfect.

28. The sum of this Gospel then is: Love and necessity control all law; and there should be no law that cannot be enforced and applied in love. If it cannot, then let it be done away with, even though an angel from heaven had promulgated it. All this is intended to help and strengthen our hearts and consciences. In this way our Lord himself teaches us how we should humble ourselves and be subject one to another. [However concerning this virtue, what true humility is, I have said enough in former Postils c.] Let this suffice on to-day’s Gospel.

The Four Walther sects do not know this either! so they should repent, go on a diet, shave their heads, and give up their fat salaries.