Wednesday of the 12th Sunday after Pentecost

Video of Divine Service 

Wednesday of the 12^th Sunday after Pentecost

 

Collect of the Day: Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than we either desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Your mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things that we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

 

The Epistle is from First Corinthians, the 15^th chapter.       1 Corinthians 15:1-10

15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ² and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. This is the Word of the Lord

 

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 18^th chapter.                            Luke 18:9-14

⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Sermon: O Lord, your Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. 

 

In his letter to the church in Corinth, we heard the Apostle Paul explain the origin of the Good News that he proclaimed to the church in Corinth. “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received.” The Apostle is clear. He is not sent with his own story to tell. He is sent out to tell the story of Jesus that he first received from other people. While he did see Jesus on the road to Damascus, the instruction that he received about the Lord Jesus came from others. Now that Jesus has Paul’s attention, he is ready to receive Good News from our Lord’s Apostles and disciples that Jesus is the Christ, the long awaited and hoped for Messiah. Jesus was not an unwilling victim of political intrigue. Jesus’ death has real world implications. As the lamb was once slain for the forgiveness of the faithful’s sins upon the Altar in the Temple, Christ Jesus’ death on the cross was a sacrifice for the sins of all people. The significance of Christ’s sacrificial death is amplified by his burial and then resurrection three days later. 

 

The Apostle Paul was privileged to meet Jesus briefly. He was also privileged to meet and learn from Peter, the other Apostles, and then five hundred men who followed, heard, and believed in Jesus as the Christ. He spent significant time around them. In the process he received a proper way to read and interpret the Old Testament so that he can see with fresh eyes the Christ who is shown throughout the Scriptures. 

 

We too have received the content of the Christian faith. Parents, church members, teachers, and Pastors all have a hand in teaching us Christian doctrine. Doctrine is not only what we confess with our lips, but also evident in our prayers. As Jesus’ parable explains to us, we can receive or learn a God approved way to pray as well as a false way to pray. 

 

What the Pharisee received from his teachers is that he is already righteous. He is to pray with the confidence that a man who knows his position with God ought to pray. He is confident that by his own efforts he is justified before God. Because he is righteous on account of his own efforts of piety, he can honestly pray that which most of us find deeply offensive: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

 

The Pharisee was taught badly. He received false anthropology and theology. Jesus makes clear to us that the man presumes a righteousness that he does not have. He is a sinner. God has not declared him righteous. Bravo that he is not like other men. But he is like men who live without faith in Christ to redeem them. While the Pharisee may not know Jesus as the Christ yet, the Pharisee has forgotten the most important teaching of the Old Testament. God confers righteousness upon Abraham on account of Abraham’s faith in Him. God confers a covenant upon His people and declares them righteous. They can never be righteous or worthy of God’s covenant on their own. These are the gifts of God for those with faith. God confers His gifts upon them. 

 

Jesus elevates the example of the despised but faith filled tax collector. The tax collector admits his sin. As a sinner, he confesses that he can only ask for the Lord’s mercy. He assumes nothing before God. God is the one who justifies the tax collector. God is the one confers righteousness upon the tax collector. 

 

Jesus takes up the cross to lift up all who have faith in him as the Christ. We are humbled before the Lord. We confess that we need His mercy because we are sinners. We can be nothing but sinners with faith. On account of the faith that moves us to pray, “God, be merciful to me a sinner,” Christ covers us with his shed blood, and we are declared righteous before our heavenly Father. Christ justifies us through faith. 

 

We give thanks that we have received the Good News through the witness of the Holy Scriptures, the writings of the Apostles, and the learning of our teachers and pastors. We rejoice that Christ promises to exalt us. We know our place before the Lord. We are ever in need of His grace for we are sinners before a gracious God. 

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.