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| The video of the Trinity 2 service is linked here. |
The Second Sunday after Trinity, 2021
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The melodies are linked in the hymn name.
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
O Lord, I have trusted in Thy mercy:
my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.
I will sing unto the Lord:
because He hath dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm. How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord?
How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O God, the Strength of all them that put their trust in Thee,
mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness
of our mortal nature we can do nothing without Thee,
grant us the help of Thy grace that in keeping Thy commandments
we may please Thee both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul,
for I have sinned against Thee.
V. Blessed is he that considereth the poor:
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Give ear to my words, O Lord: consider my meditation. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Supper Rejected
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 #495 From Greenland's Icy Mountains
The Hymn #495 From Greenland's Icy Mountains
In Our Prayers
- Christina Jackson, Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader,
- The Bible Book will go to the final editor this week.
- The I AM Sermons will be developed after catching up with a number of overdue promises.
KJV 1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
KJV Luke 14:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Second Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks unto Thee, that through Thy holy word Thou hast called us to Thy great supper, and we beseech Thee: Quicken our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not hear Thy word without fruit, but that we may prepare ourselves rightly for Thy kingdom, and not suffer ourselves to be hindered by any worldly care, through Thy beloved Son. Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The Supper Rejected
Background for the Gospel, Luke 14:166ff
The details of the Parables of Jesus include parts that seem mysterious and troublesome. The same is true of the miracles. Checking out some land, test-driving some oxen, and being married are humorous excuses for not accepting a gracious invitation. So the least are invited when "the best" will not attend.
KJV Luke 14:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
This parable is based upon the long-practiced custom of providing a great feast. We had that in the small town of Sturgis, Michigan, where the county sheriff had a summer festival each year with lots of free food and notables, including our Congressman, David Stockman. We did not go and soon saw on national news that he became an advisor for President Reagan, Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Every time his name came up in the news, we thought, "We could have met him - for free!"
So the opening of the parable is familiar in many cultures. A great feast is attractive to everyone because of the food, meeting people. and seeing the the notables invited. In Canada we attended a boar's head dinner, where all the food was delivered in record time, except one chair stuck out a smidgeon and the server went flying - with the mashed potatoes, gravy and dinner-ware. The chairs were jammed together and inevitably, the table legs created an isthmus.
So this invitation was without cost, all the work and expenses provided at the beginning, no fees. "Come; for all things are now ready." How could this be refused when it was offered so graciously.
18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse.
This is aimed at the audience of the day and for all time, and it is aimed at all of us as well, clergy and laity, and especially the officials who seem so important in one group but are unknown otherwise. To show the great gap between God's gracious invitation and the various reactions, several humorous but damning excuses are offered.
The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
This is funny, because land does not move, and real estate is quite slow in changing hands. So this is very weak since the transaction is completed and he only wants to see it. We wonder - did he buy it without seeing it? Not likely, this shows how thankless the first person is.
19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove [test] them: I pray thee have me excused.
Nothing says emergency like having a new team of oxen to test. They are already bought and in their pen, so they are not going anywhere. This shows another aspect of giving no respect to the Gospel. The gap between some routine work and the great feast is astonishing. Children make up better excuses on the spot.
20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
This tests our credulity, but of course this parable is a mirror to show us what we can be like. Will his wife not let him? Or he cannot bear to take her along and share in the feast. Our minds wander, there are many related excuses, such as "my parents forced me to go to church" and "there is so much flimflammery going on in churches."
21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
The lord must be informed, and the information is not good. In fact, the responses are insulting. In looking at the Apostolic Church, we know that the Apostles and the pastors under them made great progress, even when confronting the hostile Roman Empire and the Pharisaical Jews. It is well known that the greatest success in Rome was with having prostitutes, thieves, and criminals of all kinds, plus the very poor and sick, repent and believe in Christ. This created the living parable of Christians peacefully dying in the stadiums when attacked by beasts and tortured in various ways.
22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
The Gospel has always been restless. It moved farther than Alexander the Great, going to England and to India. There is always room, and the Gospel has moved to all cultures and given people hope and peace.
23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
The rejection of the Gospel only moves God to do more in giving the Peace of Christ to more people. This happens in many ways.
War and mass movement shift old kingdoms around and carries the Gospel along new routes. Church history tends to focus on the papacy, which grew out of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The Bishop of Rome, using the universal language of the West - Latin, could manage and dominate the people of Europe, but not always. At the same time, the Eastern Roman Empire continued from its capital in Constantinople (Istanbul) and preserved the Gospel there.
The state churches of Europe were so stifling and caught up in their own glory that people longed for freedom and sailed for North America. They had the chance to start anew without the burdens of kings and queens being the heads of churches, and the Pope trying to manage everything himself.
Lutherans can see parallels in other church bodies that came over and established new denominations for their language and culture. There was a shift, starting in the 1880s to 1920, when many Protestant leaders were enticed by Evolution and by the magical new Greek manuscripts, both falsely promoted as The Latest and The Best.
For that reason, all of us have been subjected to the bad results of corrupting the Scriptures and the truths revealed there. Having been starved of the truth, we are that much more anxious to know more about it.
Salesmen call it the Take-Away. They say, "Oh, you don't have enough for this car." Response - Yes I do! "We are very short of this, because it is so popular." But I need one now!
So much has been taken away, that we relish the old truths, the old hymns and creeds, the old liturgies. Most of all, we want to know the purest meaning of the Word of God, not something dumbed down like Dick, Jane, and Sally (my much-hated 2nd grade reading books). Or hymns written for The Wiggles (the arky warky stuck in the floody muddy).
So much is out there to enjoy and to appreciate what has been shoved aside. For example, I learned how the King James came from Tyndale, who was so dominant in his translation that every English Bible after was a Tyndale - including the KJV.
Likewise, Luther established the German text of the Bible by his brilliance and help from a team of scholars. So Tyndale, fluent in German, lived and worked near the center of the Reformation - but always on the move.
Luther standardized German, and Tyndale + Shakespeare did the same with English. Tyndale died to give us the English Bible, and we are expected to turn away from the best English and read bad translations from people who hate the traditional and accurate Greek Majority Text.
Would you take music lessons from someone who wrote in his own book, "I hate Bach!" That is the Wescott-Hort statement on the Majority Text. Would you admire musicians who said, "We have killed Beethoven!" as Kurt Aland said about the Majority Text? On the academic side, they have, at colleges and seminaries. Among Bible readers, 50-60% favor KJV and New KJV. The precious NIV has 7% and the even more precious ESV, both Calvinist - has about 3%.
This congregation and readers consistently encourage more study and make it possible to send it out, bypassing the watchful dragons who censor, silence, and rejoice in their evil.
"A lie travels around the globe while the truth is putting on its shoes."
