coming soon, May 2025
Devotion
Week of May 4, 2025 (3rd Sunday of Easter)
Psalm 103:13: As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
A sudden fall. A skinned knee. A quivering wail. We’ve all experienced this scenario in some fashion, whether we were on the hurting or the comforting end. The young child who looks to her father for help from the shock of pain is an example of how God's people are to look to Him for comfort. Pain is a messy business. Have you ever looked into the face of a sobbing person? Stared in the mirror when you were the one crying? It’s a visceral, vulnerable sight – face red and tear-stained, mouth open, inhibitions gone. To see our child in such a state usually brings about a helpless rush of tenderness and compassion. We want to comfort and protect. We want to take away the pain. In the Gospel of Luke, we see our Lord responding similarly. He and his disciples come to the small town of Nain and witness a funeral procession. The dead man is the son of a widow – her only source of support. She has no husband. And now she has no son. She is in desperate grief with an uncertain future; the townspeople mourn with her. “When the Lord saw her,” Luke tells us, “He had compassion upon her and said to her, ‘Do not weep’” (Luke 7:13). In Greek, this word compassion is splagchnizomai, literally meaning, “his gut moved.” In answer to her grief, He comes forward and touches the platform where the corpse lies. In Jewish terms, this makes Him unclean. His next words echo those He speaks at Lazarus’ tomb: “Young man, I say to you, arise” (Luke 7:14). In other words, Be resurrected! Just as He touched death for this woman, removing her grief and pain with His word of power, He has touched death for you, removing its sting by His three days in the tomb. Death could not hold Him, nor can it hold you! He has given you a new birth in Baptism, through which “you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Rom. 8:15). In Christ, God is no longer only your Creator; He is now your Father, making you an heir of His compassion, grace, and glory (Rom. 8:17). In Hebrew, the word “fear” in the context of our SOW verse this week is better translated as “trust.” Just as the child with the skinned knee trusts that her father will help and comfort her, in Christ, you can trust your heavenly Father's care for you amid the skinned knees, the diagnoses, the troublesome relationships, and the toils of this earthly life. Give Him your pain and mess, trusting that He is with you as you "walk through the valley of the shadow of death" (Ps. 23:4a).
Pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for the compassion and mercy You have already shown me. Forgive me when I do not trust You as I ought. Help me to cast my burdens upon You, to trust that You are with me, and to trust that You have made me an heir to Your Kingdom in Christ. Through His Spirit and in His name I pray, Amen.
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Week of May 11, 2025 (4th Sunday of Easter)
Acts 16:31: And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16 is riveting reading! As the Holy Spirit continues to grow the New Testament church, Paul and Silas head to Macedonia to continue sharing the Good News of Jesus. After a high-profile Gentile conversion, a higher-profile exorcism lands the two missionaries in jail (vv. 11-24)! But this turn of events doesn't frustrate Paul, who has learned to be content in all situations (Phil. 4:11). Instead, he uses it as an opportunity for worship, "praying and singing hymns to God" as other prisoners listened late into the night (v. 25). As often happens in Scripture, worship of the Living God paves the way for miracles, and this time is no different. The very foundations of the prison are shaken in a tremendous earthquake, prison doors are opened, and the chains of the prisoners are cast off (v. 26). The Philippian jailer awakes in terror, believing all the prisoners escaped in the ruckus. He's ready to kill himself in despair that he has failed in his duty (v. 27). But out of the darkness, Paul's voice assures him that all prisoners are present, and the jailer, trembling with fear, asks, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (v. 28-30). While our circumstances might not be so dire, we often find ourselves asking the same question: "what must I do to be saved?" That question, friends, is the Law written on our hearts. The Law says Do. But the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, says Done for you! This is exactly the answer that Paul and Silas give to this despairing man: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" (v. 31). In other words, Receive in faith what has already been accomplished on your behalf. What do you think happened next? The missionaries spoke the Word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house, "and he was baptized at once, he and all his family" (v. 32-3). Mere moments ago, the jailer was ready to end his life in utter despair. Now, his chains of sin and darkness have been cast off. The doors of eternal life have been opened to him through Jesus. After receiving this Word in faith, he moves from terror to rejoicing (v. 34). No matter your sins, your failures, your circumstances, Jesus has done it all, for you. He has endured the pain of the Cross in your place, bearing your sins to the grave, where they remain dead and buried. He has risen from the dead for your justification, reconciling you to God. He has called you His own and placed His name upon you in Baptism, giving you the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit's work. Rejoice! Echoing the psalmist and the Philippian jailer, you can say, "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!" (Ps. 30:11)
Pray: Lord God, Heavenly Father, You alone are worthy of thanks, praise, and worship! Forgive me when I, like the Philippian jailer, give in to fear and doubt because of my circumstances. In Your great mercy, You have given Your Son to bear all my sins to the grave, raising me to new life in Him. You have taken away my mourning and clothed me with gladness in the waters of Baptism. May Your Spirit guide me into ever singing Your praise! Amen.
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Week of May 18, 2025 (5th Sunday of Easter)
John 16:22: So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
In our SOW from the Gospel of John, Jesus gives His disciples a roadmap of what is to come. He will leave them. The Holy Spirit will come. They will be hated as He has been hated. They will rejoice. Wait! What? How can such contradictory ideas be true? Jesus compares this sorrow to what a woman goes through when giving birth. Such pain is sudden, acute, overwhelming - and limited. In other words, the pain of childbirth does not last forever, but eventually fades upon the birth of the long-awaited child. Some say that women experience a sort of "blessed amnesia" after giving birth, forgetting the pain they endured for the "joy that a human being has been born into the world" (John 16:21b). This joy is anticipated long before the birth, but only fully realized once the child has been delivered. Likewise, our faith is centered upon the person and work of Jesus - what He did for us upon the cross of Calvary almost two thousand years ago, what He is doing for us now through His Spirit, and what He will do when He returns in glory. Our joy is not fully realized now but tempered by the reality of life on this side of heaven as the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh continue to beset us. At times this sorrow can feel acute and overwhelming. Sometimes it seems that we will not be able to endure. Yet, just as with the woman who is preparing to give birth, we know that our sorrow is limited! It will not last forever. As we wait, we are given the Holy Spirit's presence so that we may "run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:1b-2). In the meantime, He has applied His promise to us in Baptism and nourishes us with His very Body and Blood at the altar. He gives us His living and active Word as a light to guide us in this valley of darkness (Ps. 119:105; Ps. 23:4a). Finally, He gives us His people, the Church, so that we may realize we do not run this race alone. He's given us not only a roadmap for our journey, but an entire navigation kit to meet every need along the way!
Pray: Lord God, Heavenly Father, You hold our times in Your hands and are the giver of all good gifts. We thank You and praise You for the gift of faith You have given us. We also thank You for Your gift of the Church, that through it we may have fellowship and encouragement, being nourished by Your Word and Sacraments. By the power of Your Spirit, strengthen us to run the race You’ve set before us with endurance as we await the joy of Jesus' return in glory. In His name we pray, Amen.
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Week of May 25, 2025 (6th Sunday of Easter)
Colossians 3:2: Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Have you ever been on the wrong side of a disagreement? It's a terrible feeling, isn't it? Our SOW verse this week echoes a time when Peter was on the "wrong side" of our Lord's will. In Matthew's Gospel, we read that Peter had just confessed Jesus to be "the Christ, the Son of the living God;" this pleased Jesus so much that He called Peter "blessed," then said, "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 16:16-17b). Peter must have felt so privileged to receive these words from his Lord. But there was an unexpected catch. Jesus began to show His disciples what it meant that He was the Christ - that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and raised again on the third day (Matt. 16:21). Peter didn't like or understand this plan! In fact, he hated the thought of his beloved Lord being so mistreated by the Jewish authorities. And for Him to die? Unthinkable! "Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 'Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you'" (Matt. 16:22). Imagine Peter's shock when Jesus turned to him and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (Matt. 16:23). What confusion Peter must have felt in that moment. Although Peter meant to honor his Lord by his words, he was thinking of earthly things when he rebuked Jesus. First-century Jews expected a powerful Messiah, a valiant warrior like King David, who would lead Israel into victory against Rome. This Messiah would reinstate the Kingdom of God among them. Peter and the other disciples seemed unable to comprehend Jesus' true message about His work and the Kingdom of God. Yet, throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus consistently taught through parables, miracles, and sermons about an upside-down Kingdom that defied all earthly expectations. His Kingdom included not only Jews, but Gentiles; the least, the unexpected, and the lowly. Leper and lawyer alike were invited into this Kingdom. It valued humility, not power; weakness, not strength. Death was the required entry to receive life in this Kingdom. Faith like a child's was the only currency accepted. Like Peter, we are often tempted to put our hope in the things of this world because they are familiar, tangible, and seem trustworthy. They help us feel in control. But "the world is passing away along with its desires" (1 John 2:17). This world is not where our hope is found! In Baptism, you "have been raised with Christ…for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:1, 3). This upside-down Kingdom is yours through His work on the cross, His Spirit at work within you, and His gifts of Word and Sacrament. The cosmic argument has been won through Christ, and that is the best side of all.
Pray: Father in Heaven, thank You for sending Your Son to die for us so that we may be included in Your Kingdom. Forgive us when we forget that Your Kingdom is not of this world. Give us wisdom through Your Spirit so that we may desire Your will and set our minds on things that are above. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.