Category: Worship

The vineyard is frequently used in Scripture to denote a special place in God’s creation. To have a vineyard and enjoy its fruit is a blessing. When the prophet Isaiah speaks of the goodness of the Lord, he says that God’s favored people “shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Isaiah 65:21). Vineyards were planted with a fruitful harvest in mind. We are the Lord’s planting, and we eagerly await our harvest home.

We always want to know why. The rulers of the people wanted to know why Jesus was saying what He said and doing what He did. But Jesus challenged them with His Word and with the prophetic voice of John the Baptist. Why did they not listen, and why did they not repent? Why do we not listen and repent? Jesus told a parable of two sons—one whose words were yes but his heart was no, and the other whose words were no but whose heart said yes. We are called to listen. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we shall be saved.

A part of us expects justice from God. We think that fairness ought to reign—that each of us should get what we deserve. But this is a dead end. God does not give us what we deserve but acts with mercy and grace beyond belief. He is scandalously generous and lavish with us—giving us what we do not deserve and have not earned. We are tempted to ask God for equity and what we deserve, but God is determined to give us so much more in Christ. Only in faith can we learn to let God be God, to honor His generosity with the only response He desires: faith and thanksgiving. Today we pray the Lord to break through to our hearts and minds with His abundant grace and to rejoice that He is more than fair—He is merciful!

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Forgiveness is filled with questions. How often must I forgive? Is there a limit to the grace of forgiveness? What is the connection between God’s forgiveness to me and my forgiveness to others? The answer to these questions lies in Christ. As our heavenly Father has forgiven us, so do we forgive one another in His name. This forgiveness is clearly and beautifully shown in the example of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers and then forgave them because of God’s mercy.

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“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus’ disciples asked. Our Lord responded by welcoming a child into His midst. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Children are highly valued by our gracious God because they are completely dependent. On their own, they have nothing, yet they need everything. This is true for all of us in our relationship with God! On our own, we have only our sinful, broken lives and are unable to please God and fulfill His commands. Yet, in Jesus Christ, we possess everything we need! Forgiveness of sins and the guarantee of life forever with God are freely given to those who turn from their sin and receive the forgiveness earned by our crucified and risen Savior. In Jesus, we are, like children, completely dependent. We have nothing to offer, yet everything we need is ours to receive from the gracious hands of our Savior.

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In the quiet refuge of this sanctuary, it may be easy to forget that we live in a world that has been marred by sin, cursed by death, and filled with wickedness. Although we confront it every day, this very present evil will not overcome us. God’s desire is for us to be saved and delivered by His Son, Jesus, so that we are enabled to love, to live, and to overcome evil with good. In our worship service today, we receive the same Jesus who once overcame evil by carrying His cross to suffer for our salvation. Trouncing over all the evil we will ever face, our risen Savior lives to love, to bless, and to deliver us as His people.

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God’s people have gifts that are signs of His loving presence and demonstrations of His gracious power. In a sermon preached in 1538, Martin Luther observed, “Whoever comes to faith can only say that the Holy Spirit comes when and where and to whom He pleases at the time He pleases. He comes when and where He pleases and also gives a person as many gifts as He pleases” (WLS § 2057). As people in whom the Spirit dwells, we have the joy of discovering special gifts of God in one another and in ourselves as well. May that mutual discovering and celebrating be truly God pleasing in every way!

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The African American spiritual “Give Me Jesus” begins “In the morning when I rise, Give me Jesus,” words that remind us that our Savior, Jesus, is with us at all times. The same truth is expressed in another hymn in which English hymnist Timothy Dudley-Smith writes: “Christ be my Leader by night as by day; Safe through the darkness, for He is the way.” Jesus Christ, whom we confess in the Creed, is always there to comfort and to guide us. Our songs of praise, whether new to us or old favorites, can well express our thanksgiving for His loving care.

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With those poetic words from years ago, English hymn writer Edward Dayman describes God the Father at work. He not only created us and rules over us, but He is also known to us in His giving—the giving of the daily blessings we receive and, most important, the giving of His Son to be our Savior. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, we bring to God our praises as part of the good service of our lives. The heavenly Father awaits our response to His gracious giving!

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Miracles tend to be big things in our minds. But the miracles Jesus does are more often tied to the simple things of ordinary life—like food! Jesus provides the simple things of life in miraculous ways. That is one of the things the five thousand learned when Jesus took a light lunch and fed thousands. It also confronts us here in simple water that becomes the means to new and everlasting life, or in simple bread and wine that feeds us the flesh and blood of Christ, or in efficacious words that accomplish what they say. But this is also true in our daily lives, as our Good Shepherd supplies all our needs of body and soul.

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