Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
O almighty God, who hast knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O almighty God, who hast knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Oh, fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him.
V. They that seek the Lord: shall not want any good thing. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden: and I will give you rest. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Many Blessings from God through Christ
Today we remember - Walter Boeckler, who supported Luther's doctrine and independent congregations; Gary Meyer, who participated in our first Ustream services; Brenda Kielher, who with her parents Cliff and Cleo Kiehler, helped start Bethany in New Ulm, Minnesota; and Gladys Jackson Meyer, who supported Bethany from the beginning and enjoyed helping out. Carl Roper supported independent congregations from the beginning. Carol Olson, Lori Howell's mother, who worshiped with us, passed into eternal life on October 8th. Christina Jackson met her Savior August 22nd. Besides these, we have many others we name in our hearts, beloved, deeply missed, children, relatives, friends.
In Our Prayers
- Pastor Jim Shrader continues his medical care, as Kermit way does.
- Randy Anderson had a lung biopsy.
- Those with diabetes and similar conditions, and ongoing cancer care.
Epistle
KJV Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundredand forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim weresealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeonwere sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issacharwere sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Gospel
KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
ALL SAINTS' DAY
O almighty and everlasting God, who through Thine only-begotten and beloved Son, Jesus Christ, wilt sanctify all Thine elected and beloved: Give us grace to follow their faith, hope, and charity, that we together with them may obtain eternal life: through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Blessings and More Blessings
KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Introduction, Matthew 5:1ff The Beatitudes
Most of my reading is the Bible, books about the Bible, and lately books about how our Bible came into being and was kidnapped by the apostates. One particular feature of the Bible is the reason for the highway robbery - The Scriptures are the unique, actual Word of God, His declarations to us in the plainest possible words, yet so extensive in spiritual blessings that we cannot absorb them in a lifetimes.
This really annoys the apostates, those who once believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior. To get even, they work over the books of the Bible, even verse by verse, to find fault and compare the Bible unfavorably to the works of pagans. One conservative said to the opponents, "Yes, the Greeks wrote about eternal life, but that came from their myths, which are not a source for Christians. We look at eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the first of all rising from the dead."
So the critics of the Bible declare that the Sermon on the Mount is not a sermon at all, but a collection of sayings. They get people to look at verses and soon the meaning has been erased and replaced with man's ideas about man.
The Sermon on the Mount begins with Jesus taking up the rabbinical posture of sitting down to teach people from the mountain. Like preaching from the boat, this gave them an opportunity to hear every word and see Him talking. This sermon begins with the Beatitudes, verses so beautifully shaped that each one could be a sermon by itself. No translation has come up with a phrase better than "Blessed are the..." and changing to "Blessed are ye..." twice at the end. I color-coded them from Lenski's commentary, to emphasize the beauty of the passage.
The Beatitudes and the Parable of the Last Judgment (chapter 25) are parallel to each other. The Beatitudes teach the blessedness of believers in Christ, while the parable distinguishes between the believers and those who only provide lip service about following Christ.
There are nine Beatitudes and some count them as eight because persecution is the topic of the last two. Groups of three in the Bible relate to the Trinity and those characteristics that belong to the Christian - faith, hope, and love (in Paul's letters six times).
Lenski, Matthew, p. 191 -
"The first four beatitudes look toward God, the next three toward men. These treat of three virtues which mark the godly as blessed. “The merciful” are, of course, the same persons as those referred to in the previous beatitudes. Luther well says that in all the beatitudes faith is presupposed as the tree on which all the fruit of blessedness grows."
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is just the opposite of the dominant, powerful types who are so proud of their status and influence. Jesus drew the poor in spirit to Him, and the disciples left everything to follow Him. This reminds us of the classic statement in Isaiah 66:2 - God will look upon those who are poor, and contrite in spirit, and tremble at His Word. Many will laugh at the person or family who have suffered many indignities, illnesses, hardships, and losses. One person said, "God must really hate you!" and laughed. But God loves what the world despises, and no one is more powerful and faithful as God is. And no one is more fickle than the world is. As Luther said, the person who believes in Christ already has heaven and earth. The added advantage is - the advance gift people will seldom call for support.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
The list of those we have lost, in the bulletin, is extensive but not complete. There are many more. Except for one classmate, all my friends from high school have seen their mothers pass away. All of them say, "I wish I could spend one hour with my mother right now. I miss her so much." They may not have been so grateful during their teen years. I was not, but I had the chance to live with her, care for her most basic needs, and see my classmates talking about my mother as their favorite teacher of all time.
Those who lose a loved one and do not have the comfort of faith in Jesus Christ are truly bereft, as our doctor told us. He said, "I am bereft and so is my wife." We were sitting with Jewish people and we were talking about children, so our daughters came up. One man said, "They (meaning Christians) handle death better than we do." The pain is great, but so is the comfort.
Lenski points out this is also the mourning over past sins. The burden the world feels is from realizing their sins and having no relief from the inner torture caused by them. There are many false remedies. Look at all the cleansing rituals available for very high prices, because people grow weary of self-torture. Mourning and confessing our sins can articulate that sorrow and the relief that comes from the Atonement, the innocent Son paying for our sins with His rejection, humiliation, torture, and death.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Jesus was meek and lowly, and He has been raised above the level of all mortals, because He was the man who gave up everything for our salvation. Who is more exalted?
In the same way, God watches over His own. I have experienced so many reverses that I can see how others have done the same thing. Life looks hopeless for a period of time and a strange combination of events, all within God's control, create a new opportunity. In each situation there are many blessings unique to that time in life. My friends in New Haven laughed that my first call was in Cleveland, nicknamed "The Mistake on the Lake," but all of us used the Cleveland Clinic, which was a short drive from our parsonage.
Bethany Lutheran Church started because the CLC Growthers wanted me out, so we were in New Ulm with no living quarters, no job, no prospects. Several people and a church helped us into a house and we bought a parcel of land for the church, then built the chapel. Two synods gnashed their teeth. Our saying, from the Joys of Yiddish, was "God will provide but will He provide until He provides."
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
What the world cannot give comes to us through the Word, through the visible Word of Holy Communion and Baptism, through the invisible Word of teaching and preaching. They are the Means of Grace, so those who realize this are recipients of grace upon grace. God's grace and love satisfy us, but we hunger for more because of the peace, joy, and love that come from the Gospel in us and those who share the same faith.
This Beatitude reminds me of the Feeding of the Multitudes, because they had so much that baskets were left over, perhaps so they had something to take on the way home. So we think well of the last experience with the Word of God and carry that with us to the next worship opportunity. Nothing proves the value of listening and receiving God's grace more than that longing for more.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
I have noticed that the synods which repudiate Justification by Faith (WELS, ELCA, LCMS, ELS, CLC, etc) also have an obsession with punishing people repeatedly and showing no signs of mercy, gentleness, or forgiveness. One sect president will not join with another because someone read him the riot act over 50 years ago.
That the paradoxical result of those who say they teach all Gospel, because everyone in the world is forgiven. The organizations, like ELCA, never tire of scolding everyone for all their crimes against Mother Earth and every other entity they can imagine.
Bishops seem to fashion themselves as God's avenging angels, always angry that something is not up to their standards. I noticed that among the biggest (ELCA) and the smallest (ELDONA). Fish hats and big sticks to carry are supposed to intimidate and impress us, but they accentuate the ridiculous. "Blessed are the meek."
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
This is definitely true of children, even more of children baptized into the Faith. The more disabled a person is, the more that person has the same attitude. The less they have in this world, the more they see the world to come. I have also seen that in the elderly and infirm.
One man was always eager to see me when he had heart attacks. He was severely weakened and in pain. Each time, as he grew stronger, he was less and less eager to see me and hear the Scriptures. He was close to God when he was about to cross over, but not afterwards.
In confession and forgiveness we see God, because the weight of sin is removed, and sin is drowned in the ocean of God's grace. Forgiveness reminds us of the purity of the Son of God, who was without sin and yet treated as all sin.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
As Lenski noted, the peacemakers are not those who compromise Biblical doctrine for the sake of outward peace. The Book of Concord rejects that kind of peace. True peace comes from forgiveness through Christ, and those who experience this peace also want to remain in complete understanding of the Word of God. For instance, people can discuss and debate Biblical doctrine - as the true Church always has - to become more astute and aware of Biblical truths.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
The last three verses are aimed at the disciples listening to Jesus, because all these difficulties will become true for them. There is an instant hatred that comes from unbelievers at times, and that is disappointing, unnerving, and crushing at times. The early church did not write up the disciples to any extent, but it is clear that most of them died violently because of the Faith, including the Apostle Paul. Perhaps John lived longest in Ephesus so that became the Mother Church with his wisdom and guidance.
But this will be increasingly true of all Christians as we move toward the end of time, whenever that is. Luther explained this very well in his statement from the Romans commentary. We do not know something is God-pleasing until it is persecuted and reviled and mocked. When that happens, it is shocking and disappointing.
