Luther for the Busy Man

THE WEEK OF SEPTUAGESIMA - SUNDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 20:1-16Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. Matthew 20:10The Gospel comes with a levelling action and makes all men equal in sin, so that those who perform many works count for no more than the open sinners and must also become sinners and hear themselves describe in Paul’s words, “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). No one can be justified before God by what he himself does, by his works.At this stage, men look around and begin to despise those who have done practically nothing. They ask themselves why all their pain and labor should count for no more than the laziness and loose living of others.They also begin to complain to the householder because they do not think it is fair. They actually blaspheme against the Gospel and become quite hardened in their work-righteousness. They love the favor and grace of God and have to content themselves with their temporal reward. They must trudge off with their denarius into condemnation because they served merely for their hire—they were not concerned about any eternal blessing. So, they receive this hire and nothing more.The others, however, must acknowledge that they have not merited either the denarius or the favor shown to them; they received more than they bargained for. These remain in faith and are saved, and, in addition, they also have enough here for their temporal needs. For all depends on the goodwill of the householder.SL.XI.511,6AE 76,317PRAYER: Preserve us, O Lord, from the hypocritical notion that we can become much better than others and thus reach a position where we may claim your blessings and mercies as merits. Keep us ever mindful of Christ’s death, not for the righteous, but for sinners. Amen.

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - SATURDAYLESSON: JOHN 17:20-26I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word. John 17:20Another advantage of confession is that it provides you with an opportunity to confess your errors and mistakes and to seek counsel for them. Even if there were no other reasons for it, and God did not at the same time speak to us there, I would not like to do without confession for the simple reason that it provides me with a good opportunity to open up to my brother and make my complaints and concerns known to him. It is a wretched thing for conscience to be burdened in the grip of fear without knowing where to turn for consolation.It is very comforting for two people to get together and help each other with advice and consolation. This is a brotherly procedure and also a mark of Christian love. The one discloses his troubles; the other heals the wounds that have opened up before him. I would not trade this for the wealth of the whole world.This confession should not be commanded and recommended in such a way that people are going to develop a bad conscience by gaining the impression that they must practice this confession before attending Communion. On the other hand, we should not disregard this confession. We can never hear too much of God’s Word and have it so firmly established in our hearts that it becomes impossible to establish it more firmly.SL.XI.588,11AE 76,437-38PRAYER: Make your Word a bright and shining light for us, O Lord, a true means of salvation, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - FRIDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 18:15-20If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. John 20:23In confession, you have the advantage that the Word is applied to you personally, as is also the case in the Sacrament. In the sermon, the Word is proclaimed to the whole congregation, and although it may have impressed you in various ways, it may not have struck you in its full import. But in confession the Word is directed to you alone; it cannot miss you.Should you not be very happy to discover a place where God speaks to you individually? If we could actually receive a message directly from an angel, we would all probably be prepared to rush to the very ends of the earth.Are we not crazy, wretched, and ungrateful for closing our ears to the message that is always so readily available to us? We have the Scriptures which attest that God speaks through us, and that, when God speaks to us through men in the Scriptures, it is just as though God Himself were speaking to us from His own mouth. Christ declares: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). He has also given us the assurance: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). It is God Himself who pronounces the absolution, just as it is God who baptizes a child.Will you claim that you have no need for confession? Even though you receive the assurance of forgiveness in the Sacrament, you should nevertheless still practice confession, because here God is dealing with you personally.SL.XI.587,10AE 76,437PRAYER: We thank you, Lord Jesus, for the personal comfort of forgiveness which you have made so readily available to us in the words of absolution, both collectively and individually, for your mercy’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - THURSDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 18:23-35If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9As stated above, no one should ever be forced to private confession, but for various reasons it is still good and advisable. You should never despise the Word of God, no matter how often you hear it, but be eager at all times to receive and accept it. God has brought it about that His Word has gone forth into all the world, filling all corners, so that wherever you may go you will find God’s Word everywhere. Whenever I proclaim the forgiveness of sins, I am proclaiming the true Gospel. For the sum and substance of the Gospel is that he who believes in Christ will obtain the forgiveness of sins.Every time a Christian preacher opens his mouth, he is bound to speak a word of absolution. We should always be eager to accept this proclamation with joy wherever and whenever we hear it and thank God from the bottom of our hearts that we can hear this proclamation in so many places.This is also the important factor in private confession. It is not your act that is the important thing here, but what the pastor proclaims to you in this act; his declaration that our sins have been forgiven, his absolution. It does not matter whether this absolution comes from a pastor in the course of his duties or from any other Christian. The Word which is proclaimed to you here is not man’s word but God’s Word. Here, in the context of absolution, it is just as though God Himself were speaking to you through your pastor or your Christian brother.SL.XI.586,8-9AE 76,436PRAYER: Awake in us such reverence and respect for your saving Word, O God, that we value it wherever and whenever it is offered, especially also in the simple world of absolution heard from a Christian brother, for Christ our Savior’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - TUESDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 12:1-8Confess your sins to one another. James 5:16As Christians we confess our sins not only to God but also to our neighbor. This is a confession of love as the first is a confession of faith. James writes of this confession to our neighbor when he says, “Confess our sins one to another.” In this confession, you acknowledge the wrongs you have done to your neighbor. Christ has outlined the procedure which we are to follow in His Sermon on the Mount: “If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to our brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court” (Matthew 5:23-25).Christ here gives instructions to both parties. The one who has given offense should ask for forgiveness; that one who has been offended should be ready to forgive. This confession is necessary and commanded like confession to God. God will not bestow His grace on anyone and forgive him his sins if he is not prepared to forgive his neighbor. Our faith is not right if it does not produce this fruit, namely, forgiving the neighbor and requesting his forgiveness. Otherwise, we must not come before God. If this is not a fruit of your faith, your faith, as well as your confession to God, is not in order.SL.XI.585,6AE 76,435PRAYER: Bestow your grace upon us in such measure, O God, that we are duly humbled and readily confess our sins to our neighbor, forgiving him his sins against us, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - MONDAYLESSON: PSALM 145:13-21Let both grow together until the harvest. Matthew 13:30The Gospel (of the weeds among the wheat) shows us what action we should take against heretics and false teachers. It is not always possible to eradicate them and destroy them. Christ expressly declares that we must allow the weeds and the wheat to grow together.We must base our whole action here on the Word of God alone. In this connection it is possible that the one who is in error today may be right tomorrow. Who knows when God’s Word will touch a man’s heart? If he is burnt or otherwise dispatched, it becomes quite impossible for him to be corrected; he is removed from all influence of the Word of God, and a man is lost who might otherwise have been saved.This is the reason why the Lord says that precautions should be taken, so that when the weeds are gathered the wheat should not be rooted out with them. This would, indeed, be a horrible thing for which we could not answer before God.What foolish people we were for so long for believing that we could force the Turks to believe with the sword, the heretics with the fire, and the Jews with death, trying to root out the weeds with our own strength and power! We acted just as if we were empowered to control men’s hearts and spirits and make them godly and orthodox when God’s Word alone can do this.SL.XI.506,4-5AE 76,304PRAYER: Grant us both knowledge and grace, O Lord, that we may never presume to interpose ourselves in any context where your Word alone should be the one and only factor that can help our fellowmen and your kingdom, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF EPIPHANY V - SUNDAY LESSON: MATTHEW 13:24-30 The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. Matthew 13:24,25 This Gospel teaches us how the kingdom of God, or Christianity, fares in this world, especially with respect to its doctrine. It must never be our hope and expectation that there will be nothing but orthodox Christians and the pure doctrine of God’s Word on this earth. There must also be false Christians and heretics so that the genuine Christians may be proved, as Paul reminds us when he says to the Corinthians, “There must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized” (1 Corinthians 11:19). This parable does not speak of the false Christians who are failures as Christians only outwardly in their lives. He is speaking of those who are false to Christianity in their doctrine and faith, who go under the name of Christians, who make a fine show in playing the hypocrite and are really injurious. It is a question of conscience, not just of outward action. The servants who can recognize the weeds among the wheat must be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. The whole point here is that we should not be surprised or dismayed if false doctrine and wrong faith of various kinds make their appearance in our midst. The devil is always present in some way or other among the sons of God (Job 1:6). SL.XI.506,3 AE 76,303 PRAYER: Sanctify our hearts and lives in such a way, O Lord, that we may not harm your kingdom in any way by hypocrisy, but in all things prove ourselves good seed, for Christ the Savior’s sake. Amen.

EPIPHANY IV - SATURDAYLESSON: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8To impute absolute perfection and sinlessness to the saints is a fruit of carnal thinking and devotion. On this basis, men do not measure the saints by God’s grace, but according to their own person, worthiness, and grandeur. This is quite contrary to the way in which God measures men. God measures men in accordance with His gifts. God never allowed John the Baptist to perform any miracle such as many lesser saints are reported to have performed (John 10:41). In short, He has often performed through lesser saints what He has not done through the great saints.When Christ was twelve years old, He concealed Himself from His mother and allowed her to be mistaken and lacking in knowledge (Luke 2:43). On Easter Day He showed Himself to Mary Magdalene before He showed Himself to His mother and the apostles (John 20:14). He spoke to the Samaritan woman (John 4:7), and even with the woman taken in adultery (John 8:10), in a more friendly manner than He showed towards His mother. Peter falls and denies Christ, but the murderer on the cross acknowledges Him and believes in Him.In these and similar remarkable examples He wants us to estimate the saints according to His indwelling Spirit so that we should not simply judge them according to their person. He wants to dispense His gifts freely, according to His good pleasure, as Paul declares (1 Corinthians 12:11), and not according to our ways of thinking.SL.XI.484,14-15AE 76,287PRAYER: All that we are and have, O Lord, is of your mercy and grace alone. Pour out your Spirit upon us that we may ever continue to live in the light of your grace, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

EPIPHANY IV - FRIDAYLESSON: PSALM 31:1-8When I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10The Gospel (of the stilling of the tempest) consoles and emboldens us in two ways. When we encounter persecution for the sake of God’s Word, we may say, “Christ is in the ship, and, therefore, the sea and the wind rage, and the waves fall on the ship and try to sink us. But let them rage! God’s purposes stand fast: the wind and the sea owe Him obedience. Persecution will last no longer than He wills it. Even if persecutions come upon us, they must still be subject to Him. He is Lord of all things, and hence nothing can really harm us. O that He would help us, so that we do not become faint-hearted in unbelief! Amen.”The fact that the men marveled and praised the Lord because the wind and sea were subject to Him indicates that the Gospel, God’s Word, spreads further and further and becomes stronger through persecution. Faith also increases under such conditions.This seems very strange when we compare this situation with secular benefits. These decline when misfortune strikes and opposition is encountered; they increase under good fortune and peaceful conditions. Christ’s kingdom is strengthened in tribulation and declines under peace and comfortable conditions, as St. Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians: “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).SL.XI.504,16-17AE 76,288PRAYER: Lord God, our loving heavenly Father, make true the assurances of help and support, which you have so often given us in your Word, so that, in every need, we cling to these assurances in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

EPIPHANY IV - THURSDAYLESSON: HEBREWS 4:14-16And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Matthew 8:27In the Gospel of the stilling of the tempest (Matthew 8:23-27), we are reminded where to seek consolation and help in the hour of need. This is not available to us in the world; human skill and might offer no protection.Christ alone is the helper in the hour of need. We must turn to Him in all our needs with trust and confidence, as the disciples do here. Had they not believed that He would help them, they would not have awakened Him and cried to Him for help. True, their faith was still weak and mixed with much unbelief. They experienced a certain amount of hesitation in committing their safety and lives into His keeping. They were not so sure that He could rescue them in the midst of the sea and snatch them from the jaws of death. The disciples could not command or demand help because of their faith.From all this we can conclude that God’s Word has no master or judge; it requires no protector apart from God Himself. It is His Word. Therefore, just as He has sent His Word forth without human merit or counsel, so He also wants to operate with it and protect it without human help and strength. The man who puts his faith in human help loses out in two directions: he finds no help from God or men.SL.XI.503,14AE 76,288PRAYER: Be near us and help, Lord Jesus, in every hour of need, especially when our faith weakens, for the sake of your mercy, truth, and grace. Amen.

EPIPHANY IV - WEDNESDAYLESSON: ROMANS 5:1-5For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. 1 John 5:4Must we not declare that faith which can withstand such mighty enemies as death and the devil, and carry off the victory, is something surpassingly great and wonderful? It is, indeed, as John says, “the victory that overcomes the world.” 1 John 5:4.Not that all this comes to pass in peace and quietness. This involves a battle which cannot be fought without bloody wounds. In this strife the heart also feels sin, death, the flesh, the devil, and the world so strongly, that it cannot help thinking that all is lost, that sin and death have gained the victory and the devil is on top. It feels little of the power of faith.This is also the state of affairs in this Gospel of the stilling of the tempest (Matthew 8:23-27), when the waves not only buffet the ship, but actually engulf it. It appears that the ship must go down and sink. All this time Christ is lying asleep. There is no hope of life here: death is on top and has scored a victory. Life is lying vanquished. But this is only how matters stand if one judges solely by appearances. As disciples of Christ, we must not draw conclusions and act simply on appearances, but by faith.SL.XI.500,6AE 76,284PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, appearances and experiences in this world so often belie our hopes as your disciples. At such times fill our hearts with courageous faith and hope which never falter but cling even more firmly to you when dark clouds hover above us. Amen.

EPIPHANY IV - TUESDAYLESSON: 1 PETER 5:6-11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:11Who can withstand the ragings of the devil with his countless cunning suggestions and insinuations by which he hinders God’s Word, faith and hope, and occasions so many errors and sects, and so much seduction, heresy, despair, and superstition – abominations without number? Over against the devil, the whole world is like a spark of fire in a spring of water. The world perforce is subject to the devil, as we also see, hear, and comprehend.But faith gives the devil something to think about. It not only withstands his temptations, but also exposes his villainy so that his treachery does not succeed at all. He becomes wearied and gives up. We see this also today from what is happening with indulgences.Similarly, no one can appease and quiet the slightest sin; it keeps on biting and gnawing at one’s conscience so that no help would come even if the whole world would comfort and stand by such a person. He would have to be consigned to hell.Here faith emerges as a real hero; it quiets all sins even if they were as many as the whole world has committed.SL.XI.500,5AE 76,285PRAYER: We know that your salvation, O Lord, is sufficient for the needs of all sinners. In this confidence grant us the strength of faith to withstand all the wiles of the devil when he tries to fill our hearts with unbelief and to rob us of the faith that saves us. Amen.

EPIPHANY IV - MONDAYLESSON: JOHN 15:18-27Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. 1 John 5:4God so arranges matters that our faith is not called upon to concern itself with unimportant matters, but with matter which exceed the competence of all men, matters such as death, sin, the world, and the devil.There is no one in the whole world who can withstand death. All men flee from death and quake in terror before it. Nevertheless, they are overtaken by death. But faith remains firm and stands up against death which gobbles up the whole world. It conquers death and devours this ravenous glutton.So also, the whole world cannot constrain or suppress the flesh. It is in control of the whole world and what it wills must happen, so that the whole world is fleshly. But faith takes hold of the flesh and subdues it. Faith bridles the flesh into obedience.Similarly, no man can endure the raging, persecution, blasphemy, reproach, hatred, and jealousy of the world. Every man gives way and becomes exhausted. The world gains the upper hand and carries off the victory. It makes a mockery of faith and treads it under foot, and even finds joy and pleasure in all this.Faith alone is the victory that overcomes the world.SL.XI.499,4AE 76,284PRAYER: We know, O Christ, that by your glorious resurrection from the dead you have conquered and destroyed death as far as we are concerned. Keep us ever mindful of this truth, especially in the hour of death and amidst the ragings of the world. Amen.

EPIPHANY IV - SUNDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 8:23-27Why are you afraid, O men of little faith? Matthew 8:26In what does the unbelief of the disciples consist? It sees no more than it feels! Life and safety are no longer in their feelings – there is nothing here but the waves crashing over the ship, and the sea which threatens all kinds of danger and death. While they feel all this, and concern themselves with it unremittingly, the terror, the trembling and the faint-heartedness do not abate. The more they pay attention to all this and feel it, the harder does death and fear drive them on and threaten to engulf them at every moment.Unbelief cannot rid itself of such feelings, and it cannot think otherwise even for a moment. It has nothing at all to which it can cling for comfort. Unbelief can have no peace and quiet even for a moment. This is how things will be also in hell where there is nothing but sheer trembling and terror without end.Had there been real faith among the disciples, they would have put the wind of the waves of the sea out of their minds. Instead of allowing the wind and the storm to claim all their attention, they would have remembered God’s might and grace pronounced in His Word. They would have put their trust in them as though they were on a firm rock in the midst of the moving waters, as though the sun was shining brightly and all was peace without any storm at all.SL.XI.498,2-3AE 76,283PRAYER: You know, O God, how often we are beset in this life by various trials and temptations. Strengthen our faith through your means of grace, that we may always emerge from these trials chastened and strengthened, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

EPIPHANY MONDAYLESSON: 1 PETER 3:13‒17 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10It is a good thing for us that God so rules and orders matters that the Sacrament should not be without persecution. For He instituted it that it might be a password and distinguishing mark of Christianity whereby we may be recognized. For if we did not have it, we would not know where Christians are to be found, who the Christians are, and where the Gospel is bearing fruit. But when men attend the Sacrament, we can see who those are who have given ear to the Gospel, and we can also observe whether they lead Christian lives. The Sacrament is a distinguishing mark from which it can be seen that we confess God’s name and are not ashamed of His Word. When I go to the Sacrament and receive it under both the bread and the wine, I am bearing witness to the fact that I am taking the Gospel quite seriously. If we want to confess Christ, we must receive the Sacrament in both kinds, so that men may know that we are Christians with a deep concern for the truth of God’s Word. If we lose our life in this confession, we must suffer this, knowing that God will make a more than adequate recompense to us as far as life is concerned. It is quite in order for us to suffer persecution here. If we found nothing but honor everywhere, we would never find ourselves in a truly confessional situation. So we remain in our normal sphere, incurring shame and disgrace. Sometimes we are even threatened with death for the Lord’s sake, as was the case also in the early Church.SL.XI.591,15PRAYER: We thank and praise You, Lord God, heavenly Father, for the great honor and distinction You bestow upon us in regarding us as worthy to suffer and even die for Your sake, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

LESSON: REVELATION 7:9‒12Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. 1 John 5:4You cannot train the youth in particular for God’s kingdom without proper schools nor uphold the Word of God without preaching it from the pulpit. If one allows schools and the pulpit to decline and disappear, one can only expect a Sodom and Gomorrah to eventuate. One must expect also results like those which fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah when these cities cast off the restraints of God’s Word and no longer listened to pious Lot or tolerated him. The prophet Ezekiel faced a similar situation when he prophesied concerning Jerusalem, “As I live, says the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty, and did abominable things before Me; therefore I removed them, when I saw it” (Ezekiel 16:48‒50).This is how matters stand on all sides today. Every man—the peasant, the burgher (citizen), the nobleman—gathers together nothing but money; he keeps on scraping in his greed, gluttonizes and imbibes and carries on just as if God were nothing at all. No one takes up the beggar’s staff of the poor Christ, but rather tramples it underfoot. As in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, all obedience, discipline, and respect will go by the board. No amount of admonition and preaching seems to have any results, and evils seem only to increase so that it does not appear that we can continue like this much longer. SL.XI.1898,32‒33PRAYER: Give us courage and strength at all times, O God, to carry on bravely in the midst of pressing difficulties and even indifference and opposition. Prove Yourself to be God for us by giving us a faith that really overcomes the world, for Christ the Savior’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: MATTHEW 10:32‒33We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body. 2 Corinthians 5:10Those hearts are established and sure which await Christ’s judgment seat joyfully and with a good conscience. For they belong to the group and fellowship of those who believe in Christ, and demonstrate the fruits of their faith in the love and goodness they bestow on the poor, or in the patience with which they suffer with them. He who does not have this faith will not practice these works of mercy on his fellow Christians. But he who does these works, and does them because he believes that he has a faithful Savior and Redeemer in Christ who has reconciled him to God, must also have a good and friendly heart towards his neighbor and even towards his enemies, helping them whenever he sees them in need. To be sure, he also has his own sufferings in the opposition his faith encounters from the devil and the world. He who is thus minded, I say, should be joyful and in good spirits. He may well already apply to himself the blessed and joyful judgment, “Come, O blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). He may well regard himself as “one of the least” of Christ’s brethren, one who has himself suffered hunger and thirst or has served the hungry and the thirsty and shown them mercy, as Christ has shown him mercy.SL.XI.1894,24PRAYER: Of Your mercy and grace, Lord Jesus, give us at all times a loving heart life Your own heart so that we abound in fruits of faith to our brethren and fellowmen, for Your name’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: 1 THESSALONIANS 2:11‒13You are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:7Our Lord, come! 1 Corinthians 16:22See to it that you are always numbered among those who are good and merciful for Christ’s sake, or suffering for His sake. Then you can await the last day with joy and not be afraid of the judgment. For He has already drawn you out and set you up among those on His right hand. We who are Christians should have the earnest desire and hope that the judgment would come, as we also pray in the words, “Thy kingdom come” and “Thy will be done” and “Deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:10, 13). Hence we shall also rejoice to hear the words, “Come, O blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). For this judgment we are waiting. This is one of our chief concerns as Christians. For the sake of this hope, we suffer oppression both from the devil and our own flesh, who try to upset our faith and joy in this regard. Then, too, we have to endure the tyranny and enmity of the world. On all sides, we are forced to see and to hear the wanton malice which the devil and the world continually stir up against the Gospel, and so much wretchedness here on earth that we should become thoroughly fed up with this life and cry, “Come, dear Lord, come and redeem us!”SL.XI.1893,22‒23PRAYER: Lord Jesus, as Your disciples we look forward with joyful anticipation to Your coming to carry out Your work of judgment and to receive us to Yourself. Of Your mercy and grace, keep us ever steadfast in the faith so that Your glorious coming may be for us the consummation of all our hopes and joy, for Your love’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 143:7‒12“Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” Matthew 25:34Why does Jesus use the fifth commandment to assess our works of mercy and to point out how men have failed in this respect? Those of us who have been called as Christians have obtained mercy through our Lord and have been rescued from God’s wrath and eternal death, receiving in place of all this a gracious God who bestows all that is good upon us in time and eternity. He wants to remind us that we have received all this from God, not only for our salvation, but that we should also regard it as an example to be followed in our own conduct. Because God has shown us mercy that we are not lost in body and soul, we should always act in such a way towards our neighbor that we never come into conflict with the fifth commandment, which basically demands love and mercy. We should do this not merely for the sake of the commandment, or any threat of judgment, but because of the example we have received in the exceptionally high and rich goodness that God has manifested to us. This example should not remain without fruit, just as God’s work of redemption is not without power and fruit. Although the majority of the hearers may become worse after hearing the Gospel, there must always be some who grasp it correctly and abide by it. For He tells us that He will separate them into two distinct groups. Some of the hearers will prove themselves to have been devout and godly hearers who obey this commandment.SL.XI.1893,21PRAYER: Bestow such a measure of grace upon us, O Lord, that our faith overflows in love and goodness towards our fellowmen, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: MATTHEW 10:40‒42“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will say to those at His left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Matthew 25:40‒41If such a terrible and drastic condemnation awaits those who have neglected works of love towards their brethren, what is to become of those who have not only neglected such opportunities, have given Christ nothing, have rendered Him no service at all in His poor ones, but have even robbed them of what they had and forced them into hunger, thirst, and need and, in addition, have even persecuted, hounded, captured, and murdered them? Such men are so incontrovertibly wicked and damned into such depths of hell with the devil and his angels that He no longer thinks of them here or speaks of them in particular. But it can be regarded as quite certain that He will not forget such robbers, tyrants, and bloodhounds just as certainly as He will not forget or leave unrequited those who have suffered hunger, thirst, destitution, and persecution, more particularly for the sake of Christ and His Word. Even here he does not actually forget the latter, although He is speaking in particular to those who have had mercy on those in need and have helped them. On these He bestows high and glorious praise when He says, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).SL.XI.1891, 17PRAYER: Lord God, we thank and praise You for the clear warnings of Your Word in which You urge upon us an earnest and consistent profession of our faith. In Your mercy and grace, grant us also such obedience of faith that we may always be certain of receiving our Lord’s approval when He comes to judge the living and the dead. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 19:11‒26“As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to Me.” Matthew 25:45What do you think that Christ on His judgment seat will say in all brevity to such an unchristian lack of mercy? This is what He will say: “You want to be called a Christian and you make your boast of the Gospel. Did you never hear this sermon which I Myself preached warning you what My judgment and final sentence would be? ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me’ (Matthew 25:41‒43). Why have you disregarded all this and acted more disgracefully and more unmercifully against your own brethren than a Turk or a heathen? Are you thinking of making matters right for yourself by offering the excuse, ‘When did I see my brother in any of these situations or conditions?’ Here your own conscience will remind you that there were those of your acquaintance who preached to you, or poor scholars who should have been taught and trained in the Word of God, as well as persecuted, poor, and needy Christians, who should have been given food, drink, and clothing, and also visited.” Surely we should hang our heads in shame over against our parents and forefathers, the lords and kings, princes and others, who so richly and benevolently gave gifts even to a point of excess to churches, parishes, schools, institutions, hospitals, and the like, as a result of which neither they nor their descendants became any poorer. What would they have done if they had had the light of the Gospel which we have received?SL.XI.1890,14‒15PRAYER: Lord our God, in Your Gospel of salvation You have supplied us richly with the most precious gifts and blessings that we can ever enjoy. Strengthen us at all times with Your grace that we may make full use of all these blessings in love towards our brethren and fellowmen, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXVI - SUNDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 25:31‒42“Men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” Luke 13:29‒30In this Gospel, great prominence is given to good works as proof of the possession or absence of true faith. Those on Christ’s right hand at the judgment, the sheep, have proved the genuineness of their faith in works of love to needy brethren. Those on His left hand, the goats, who have been rejected for eternal punishment in hell, have proved that they really had no saving faith at all by the absence of such works of love to their brethren. Here Christ also indicates that there are many among those regarded as Christians who actually become worse than heathen after hearing the preaching of the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins and of God’s grace through Christ. Christ Himself declared, “Many that are first will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 19:30). At the final judgment, it will become quite evident that many of those who should have proved themselves to be true Christians because they heard the Gospel actually became worse and more unmerciful than they were before. One sees clear evidence of this on all sides today. Previously, when good works were enjoined under papal perversions and false acts of worship, everyone was ready and willing to do good works. A single prince or one city was able to provide greater and richer endowments and alms than can be provided today by the joint efforts of all kings and the Emperor. Today the whole world has learned nothing else but to lay others under contribution, to practice oppression, open robbery, and stealth by means of lies, deceit, usury, overcharging, and other pressures. Every man tries to gain an advantage over his neighbor, as though he regarded him not as a friend and even much less as a brother in Christ.SL.XI.1888,9‒12PRAYER: Never let our faith die as a result of greed and selfishness, O God, but let it always be in us a real power unto salvation, productive of many good works, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - SATURDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 24:36‒44“For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.” Matthew 24:27Christ means to say here: “Do not believe it if some attempt is made to make you believe that Christ is limited to this place or that place and someone tries to lead you from faith to works. I warn you not to fall away from pure faith. You do not know at what hour I will come again. When no one is really expecting it, I will suddenly be here again as quickly as a flash of lightning lights up the heavens. Those who have not kept the faith will then be lost. See to it that the day does not come upon you unawares. Be strong in faith so that you do not become lazy and sleepy and the devil tears you away from faith.”These words are simply written down here one after the other, without order. Matthew heaps up everything here without order. So the following words do not really fit in very well here: “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together” (Matthew 24:28).What He means is that we should not ask for the exact place where Christ will come again. “No matter where I am, we shall probably find each other, as we say, ‘Wherever there is a body, there the eagles will gather together.’ Eagles do not fly to some particular spot that they have selected for themselves; but wherever there is a body they gather together. Hence those who are Mine will doubtless find Me. Where I am, My chosen ones will also be.” This text speaks of the end of the Jews and of the world. Matthew mingles this with the signs of the last day. Luke writes of these matters quite clearly.SL.XI.1883,29‒30 AE. 79:324-336PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You have taught us clearly in Your Word that this world will end, and that Your Son Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Keep us strong in faith so that we are always prepared to meet Christ when He comes again, trusting in His merits and clothes in His righteousness, for Your mercy and truth’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - FRIDAYLESSON: LUKE 17:22‒37“If they say to you, ‘Lo, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; if they say, ‘Lo, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” Matthew 24:26At the time of the holy fathers, like Anthony and others, shortly after the time of the apostles, the error of which Christ spoke here had already arisen, although strongly opposed by Anthony. Everybody became interested in the wilderness, and many thousands of saints made their homes there. This kind of devotion soon gained such repute and publicity that Jerome and Augustine became its adoring devotees and could not praise it highly enough. If we look at this business without blinkers on, however, we see that Christ’s words here in the text are absolutely opposed to it, and that among all these thousands there were many heretics who must have been damned. Although there were also holy people in the deserts who escaped being seduced, the example they set was certainly dangerous and not to be held up for emulation.The Christian life must not simply be linked with the desert but must be allowed freedom to develop everywhere. Christ lived His life here on earth in the midst of the world, and so also did His apostles. It is Christ’s will that we should step out into the world even today to preach publicly and exhort men to come to Christ. Those who went out into the wilderness simply forsook their fellowmen and refused to stay in the world because they thought that they were being called upon to suffer too much in this world. They chose their own ascetic way of life because they wanted to be higher-ranking Christians than the others who remained in the world.SL.XI.1882,28AE. 79:324-336PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, it is Your will that we should spend our lives in the midst of our fellowmen here in this world. Give us at all times the insights and the love to really serve our fellowmen in a way that will bring them, together with us, to the enjoyment of the blessings You have prepared for us, through Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - THURSDAYLESSON: JOHN 6:66‒69Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12Christ’s words lie before us plain and clear. We must believe them and let them stand. We cannot get over them, even though the holy angels in heaven opposed them. Is not Christ holier than they are, and should not His Word have as much authority as theirs? He does not speak of many, nor of the large body who always make up the majority, but of the smallest group made up from the elect. These are going to stumble to such an extent that there is every likelihood that they could be misled. He warns us not to cling to them when we see them clinging to mere externals. If they never err, then Christ cannot be quite truthful in making this announcement. Hence, even if all the saints were to come forward and tell me to believe in the pope, I will still not do so, saying, “Even though you are the elect, Christ has said that there will be such terrible and dangerous times that even you will err.” We must cling alone to Scripture and God’s Word which declares that He is not here or there. I must be where He is. He is not necessarily where my work or particular rank is. Anyone who teaches me otherwise deceives me. Hence, I repeat, there is no point in raising the objection that the holy fathers and teachers held such and such a view, and lived such and such a life, and therefore we must hold the same views and live the same lives. The only argument we admit runs as follows: “Christ taught and held such and such views, and therefore we must also hold these views.” Christ has more authority for us than all the saints.SL.XI.1881,27 AE. 79:324-336PRAYER: As Your beloved children, heavenly Father, we must always believe and obey You rather than men. Fill our hearts with such trust and confidence that we always obey Your Word, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - WEDNESDAYLESSON: MARK 13:14‒23“False Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24These are choice, earnest, but also terrible words that these preachers of works will push such teaching into the people with such outward glitter and emphasis that even the saints who stand fast in the faith will not be able to guard themselves against it, but will join in error with the rest. This is indeed what happened. The dear fathers, Augustine, Jerome, together with St. Bernard, Gregory, Francis, Dominic, and many others, although they were holy, nevertheless all fell at times into error, as I have often demonstrated elsewhere. Their error was the error of their time. Together with their contemporaries, they tied Christianity to certain external practices, and they pushed matters so far that they adopted such practices outwardly in their lives. We see this in the books of St. Bernard. He writes very poorly in reply to questions on the monastic vocation. But when he writes freely out of his inner Christian spirit, he is a fine preacher whom it is a pleasure to hear. This is also the case with Augustine, Jerome, and Cyprian, the fine Christian martyrs. When they were asked a question about the Law or external ordinances, whether one should observe them this way or that, they flopped right into things so that they came very close to being misled. This is still one of the chief objections we hear from our opponents. “Could so many holy men and teachers have erred, and could God have forsaken the world to such an extent?” they ask us. They do not see how this passage really turns them topsy-turvy.SL.XI.1880,26 AE. 79:324-336PRAYER: We know how easy it is, heavenly Father, for even outstanding believers and teachers to fall into error. Guide us by Your Holy Spirit into the truth and keep us in it, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - TUESDAYLESSON: GALATIANS 3:10‒14“If anyone says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.” Matthew 24:23We should know and understand this passage and similar ones very well. There have always been those who have tried to gain currency for their ideas of the kingdom of Christ by attaching the Christian Church to external, visible features and circumstances, or even by identifying it with certain prominent leaders, claiming that the kingdom of Christ is wherever a certain leader is to be found. Their chief objective is that we should find them and be influenced by personal relationships and particular styles in our religious persuasions. In other words, everything is decided by external factors. Monasteries and ecclesiastical institutions have often been influenced in this way. “If you accept our way of life,” they say, “eat as we do, dress according to our direction, pray and fast as we do, you will atone for your sins and be saved.” Christ gives us a good description of this kind of thing here. He is aiming His remarks especially at all the monasteries, religious ranks, and all the special works with which they try to help the souls of men. He warns us to be on our guard and not to allow ourselves to be torn from the foundation on which we stand; namely, that we do not become Christians by any of these institutions, ranks, or works, but are saved from all evil and brought into His kingdom through His blood alone, if we believe in Him. He removes from our sight everything temporal and external, and with one word strikes down all doctrine which does not preach faith purely, and all living which is not governed by the correct doctrine of faith. He says here in brief, “If anyone says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.” He means to say, “Be on your guard against everything that leads you to works; for it will deceive you and tear you away from Me.”SL.XI.1879,25AE. 79:324-336PRAYER: Lord Jesus, protect us at all times against all false doctrine and misunderstandings which would modify our faith and trust in You alone and direct us to our own vain works and merits, for Your mercy and truth’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - SUNDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 24:15‒28“When you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle.” Matthew 24:15‒18 In this chapter we have a description of the conclusion and end of two kingdoms—the kingdom of the Jews as well as the end of the whole world. These two the evangelists Matthew and Mark toss together without observing any due order as the Gospel of Luke does. All that these evangelists want to do is to give and to relate the words of Christ; they do not trouble themselves with what He spoke first or subsequently. But Luke takes special care to write more clearly and with more order, and reports this whole discussion twice. First, briefly in chapter nineteen he speaks of the destruction of the Jews at Jerusalem, and then in chapter twenty-one he reports these two matters in succession. You must know, then, that Matthew here wraps together and takes up at the same time the end of both the Jewish people and the end of the world, and cooks this up into one broth. If you want to understand it, you have to separate and draw out each part to its end, that which is spoken of the Jews and that which is spoken of the whole world.SL.XI.1870,1‒2 AE. 79:324-336PRAYER: Lord Jesus, guide and direct us by Your Holy Spirit so that we may always accept Your Word given us through men and in human form as the Word of truth and salvation, for Your name’s sake. Amen. Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - MONDAYLESSON: LUKE 19:41‒44Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3:16‒17When Christ ascended into heaven, He did not lock up His kingdom in the land of the Jews; He spread it out into the whole world through the Gospel which was preached and heard everywhere. But, like the Jews, we deny and persecute God’s Word and put to death the Christians who confess and preach it. The Romans were the first to do this, but their example has been continued by the pope, the bishops, princes, monks, and priests right up to our day. For five hundred years or more, no one was permitted to preach God’s Word without, at least for appearance sake, reciting the text of the Gospel from the pulpit. But these preachers mostly extracted the doctrine of men from these texts or dragged it into these texts. Whenever anyone raised objections to this, he was silenced with fire and sword. Daniel’s word about the “desolating sacrilege” is certainly important also for us. This “desolating sacrilege” is the false doctrine current in the Church, that men must save themselves by performing all the works imposed on them by the Church and its hierarchy, and by falling in line with all the machinery that has been set up in the Church to force men into obedience to this “desolating sacrilege.” The pure doctrine of the Word is the doctrine which we proclaim—that we are saved from sin, death, the devil, and all misfortune through Christ and established in God’s kingdom through the Word and faith.Where this is preached and believed, Christ dwells and reigns in the hearts spiritually without means. There the Holy Spirit also dwells with all the blessings and fullness of God’s riches.SL.XI.1875,17‒19AE. 79:324-336PRAYER: O Lord our God, You have warned us in no uncertain manner that false doctrine can be sacrilege. May we never fall into the sacrilege which sets aside the clear truth of Your Word and substitutes for it the doctrine of men, ending in spiritual sin. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXIV - SATURDAYLESSON: TITUS 2:11‒14He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of His own mercy, . . . through Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus 3:5‒6He who wants to have a cheerful conscience which does not fear sin, death, hell, or God’s wrath must not push this Mediator, Christ, out of the way. He is the fountain overflowing with grace who imparts temporal and eternal life. Open your heart and accept Him as your Mediator and you will have all you need. He gushes and flows forth and can do nothing else but give, flow forth, and gush, if only you can believe it. You have the right to the name Christian only when you are a Christian in receiving; otherwise, if you want to give much, you are no Christian. This is the rich, precious Word which Paul praises so highly and can never praise enough, that God intermingles His Son so graciously among us that He pours out His grace over all who accept it.From all this it follows that if a Christian does good works and manifests love to his neighbor, he does not become a Christian or acquire a godly status thereby, but he must first be a Christian and have acquired a godly status, and then good works result. He certainly does good works, but his good works do not make him a Christian. The tree brings forth or produces good fruits; the fruits do not make the tree. So here also, no one becomes a Christian by good works, but through Christ alone.From all this you should understand what kind of people Christians are and what their kingdom is. As a group, they cling to Christ, and with Him they all have the one spirit and like gifts. On this basis Christians are all equal; the one does not have more in Christ than the other.SL.XI.1839,11‒12PRAYER: Lord God, our heavenly Father, give us a faith that is ever active in works of love to or neighbor, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXIV - FRIDAYLESSON: GALATIANS 1:6‒9“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8This week’s Gospel (Matthew 9:18‒26) teaches us that Christ is elevated as the greatest and highest person in the whole world, not to terrify men but that He may be able to bestow all earthly and heavenly blessings upon them so that all men should rely on Him, trust Him, and always look to Him as the source of all blessings. When a certain sin is terrifying my conscience and the preachers of the Law come forward and want to help me with works, they accomplish nothing at all. Christ is the only one who can help me here and no one else. The others only make matters worse, even if it were St. Peter or St. Paul, or even Mary, the mother of God. Christ alone is successful here because He has been ordained by God to make proclamation that my sins are freely forgiven me, without any works or merit, out of pure grace, through faith in this Savior, Jesus Christ.If I accept this proclamation, I have the consolation that my sins are forgiven me before God and the world. If I cling to this proclamation with my whole heart, I am a Christian. I give thanks to God through Christ who keeps on giving me the Holy Spirit and His grace so that sin does me no harm either in this life or before God’s judgment seat on the last day.SL.XI.1838,9PRAYER: We thank and praise You, heavenly Father, for the wonderful gift of full and free salvation in Christ. May we never turn from this one sure source of salvation to any manmade plans of salvation, which are always full of uncertainties. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXIV - THURSDAYLESSON: GALATIANS 3:23‒29To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God. John 1:12If one takes the word in its strict meaning, we should always recognize a Christian from the fact that he receives from Christ alone and has Christ in him, for that is what the term “Christian” basically means. Just as one calls someone “white” from his whiteness or “black” from his blackness or “big” from his bigness, so also a Christian is named from Christ whom he has in himself and from whom he receives good. If, then, a Christian receives the name “Christian” from Christ, he can never be called a Christian from his works. Similarly, it follows from this that no one ever becomes a Christian from his works.Therefore those who ply our congregations with their commandments, works, and statutes are seducers who cannot possibly make Christians out of men. Although they profess the Christian name, they still want to load us down under the dead weight of the commandments and works which they set forth. According to works, I can be called a faster, a prayer-maker, a pilgrim, but not necessarily a Christian.Even if you wove all your works together and added the works of all others to them, it would not necessarily mean that you have Christ and were entitled to be called a Christian. Christ is completely separated from and higher than any law or human commandment. He is God’s Son, prepared only to give and not to receive.SL.XI.1837,7‒8PRAYER: You are our all, Lord Jesus, and in us all. Without You we are nothing. Grant that we may ever abide in You and You in us in the tie of faith and love, for Your name’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXIV - WEDNESDAYLESSON: EPHESIANS 4:11‒16“Abide in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4‒5Christ is set before us in this Gospel (Matthew 9:18‒26) as an inexhaustible fountain at all times running over with pure goodness and grace. And for such goodness and kindness He takes nothing at all. The godly who recognize such goodness and grace thank Him for it and praise and love Him. The others may even load Him with mockery. That is how they repay His goodness and grace.A man cannot be called a Christian simply because he does much; he is a Christian because he receives from Christ and draws on Him, and suffers Christ to bestow His blessings upon him. When anyone has ceased receiving from Christ, he is no longer a Christian, so that the term Christian has relevance only in receiving and not in giving and doing.A Christian is one who has received nothing from anyone else but Christ. If you have regard for what you are doing, you have already lost the Christian name. It is true, of course, that one must do good works, helping others with counsel and gifts. But no one can be called a Christian from such works. Thereby no one becomes a Christian.SL.XI.1837,6PRAYER: Lord Jesus, give us ever of Your fullness and thus equip us as Your children to always bring forth much fruit, for Your name’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXIV - TUESDAYLESSON: PSALM 145:8‒13When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them. Matthew 9:36In this Gospel (Matthew 9:18‒26), Christ is pictured to us as mingling with the people and drawing all men to Himself by His sweet doctrine. They could really have clung to Him with their whole hearts and entrusted themselves to His goodness with high hopes of receiving both spiritual and bodily blessings from Him. You do not see Him taking anything from those whom He has benefited. To be sure, He gets nothing but mockery and scorn. Blessings go out from Him; He receives mockery and scorn in return.This is now preached and reported to the whole world so that men may learn to know this man aright, that we may know how to become Christians, not how to become pious and godly. Others, who teach outside the Gospel, bring men under various pressures to inculcate piety in them, such as the books of the heathen masters and the secular law books. The legends of the saints also urge men to live as the saints lived.It is not the business of the Gospel to make men pious, but to make Christians of them. Being a Christian is far more than being pious. A man can be pious without being a Christian. A Christian has nothing to say about his piety; he finds in himself nothing good or pious. If he is to be pious, he must look elsewhere than in himself for true piety.SL.XI.1837,4‒5PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, as our helper, friend, Redeemer, and Savior, You are for us the treasure beyond all compare. The message in Your good news is altogether sweet and lovely. Abide with us so that we may enjoy You and Your blessings now and forevermore. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXIV - MONDAYLESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 4:1‒6We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:23‒24God has determined it as His will that all men should adhere to the one man Christ, hope in Him, and take hold of Him if they are really concerned about their salvation. They should know nothing about anyone else except Christ crucified, who alone is the mercy seat put forward for us by God, as Paul says (Romans 3:25).Up till now, one man has clung to this saint, another to that one; one man has been attached to Mary, another to St. Barbara, and there have been any number of sects and orders. But no regard at all was paid to Christ; only His name was retained. We have had many intercessors, all of whom we should have abandoned and clung to Christ alone.St. Paul declares that the Gospel concerning God’s Son was promised through His prophets (Romans 1:2). He sets up very tight and narrow limits to make it clear that in the Gospel there is only one matter of real significance, namely, this one person, Jesus Christ. He who knows this can be thankful to God that he knows where to look for consolation and help and where to place his confidence. Such a man will also despise and reject all contrary proclamation.SL.XI.1836,3PRAYER: Lord God, You have not left us any room at all to doubt what You offer us in the salvation provided for us in the Gospel. You have made it quite clear that all this is available to us by faith alone. Make us strong in faith, that we may always cling firmly to our only Savior, in whose name we also ask this. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXIV - SUNDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 9:18‒26The gospel of God which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel concerning His Son. Romans 1:1‒3You know that the Gospel is nothing else but the proclamation of the one single person who is called Christ. Although at various times many other books have been written and many sermons have been preached on many different people, both heathen and Christians, and, indeed, even on the mother of God, St. Peter, the angels, and many other saints, they are not Gospels. That only is the true Gospel which holds up Christ before us and teaches us what good we are to expect from Him.At times the Gospel makes mention of John the Baptist, Mary, and the apostles. But this is not the Gospel in the strict sense. Mention is made of these people to point out more fully whence Christ came and what His office is. What we read of John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary in Luke’s Gospel is not written for their sakes, but solely for the sake of the person of Christ. Everything that is found in the Gospel is related to this person only.In St. Paul’s epistles, nothing is written about the saints; everything concerns Christ alone. The evangelists describe the miracles and wondrous signs that Christ performed. They do not describe a single work of John the Baptist or Mary. They are interested only in what Christ Himself achieved, how He helped people in body and soul, and how people became attached to Him as a result.SL.XI.1834,1‒2PRAYER: We praise and thank You, heavenly Father, for the wonderful gift of Your Gospel of salvation with its revelation of salvation in Christ alone. Implant Your Gospel in our hearts in such a way that we really find Christ there and cling to Him with all our hearts now and always, for His name’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil–Gospels, 5:326-343.

THE FOURTH WEEK IN ADVENT - FRIDAY LESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 1:12-22 Among you stands one whom you do not know. John 1:26 When John says here, “Among you stands one whom you do not know,” he means to say, “Do not direct your eyes too far into the future! He of whom the prophets have spoken has already been among the Jewish people for thirty years. Take heed and do not let Him go! You do not know Him, and I have come to you to show Him to you.” When John says, “Among you stands one,” he is following the manner of Scripture which says, “A prophet will arise” or “appear” (Deuteronomy 13:1). Similarly, we are told in Matthew that false prophets “will arise” or “appear” or “come forth” (Matthew 24:24). God also says to Israel, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among you, from your brethren.” Deuteronomy 18:15. It is John’s office to demonstrate that such establishment, appearance, arising, and awaking has been fulfilled in Christ; He has already come forth in the midst of their brethren as God has promised, and they know it not. It is also part of John’s office as an evangelical preacher to comfort men by showing them how to get rid of their sins. This he does by pointing them to Christ, the coming Savior. SL.XI.112, 41 AE 75,183 PRAYER: Open our hearts by your Holy Spirit, O Lord, so that we are at all times fully awake to the completed work of our Savior and find our full salvation therein. Amen.

THE FOURTH WEEK IN ADVENT - THURSDAYLESSON: LUKE 15:1‒10“Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said. John 1:23The special office of John was to make straight the way of the Lord, to humble the whole world and tell it that all men in general are sinners, lost, damned, poor, needy, and wretched and that no life, no work, no estate is so holy, beautiful, or creditable that it does not deserve damnation.The only way in which this wretched condition can be changed is by Christ the Lord’s indwelling, activity, and life, and where He becomes everything and is everything through faith. Men must be brought to realize that they need Christ and His grace, and they must partake of this grace with all eagerness.Where preachers proclaim that the whole of our works and life are nothing, you have the true voice of John crying in the wilderness and the pure, unalloyed truth of Christian doctrine.This is also what Paul means when he says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is what it really means to him, and to prune out and bring to naught all presumption. This is what it means truly to make straight the way of the Lord.SL.XI.107,27AE 75, 180PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, You have assured us that it is Your will that all men should repent and accept Your salvation in Christ. Humble us at all times in true repentance, and thus prepare us for Your salvation in Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE FOURTH WEEK IN ADVENT - WEDNESDAYLESSON: ISAIAH 40:1-11They said to him then, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’, as the prophet Isaiah said.” John 1:22, 23This is the second part of John’s confession in which he confesses who he is after denying any suggestion of being Christ, Elijah, or a prophet. What he means to say is: “Your salvation is much closer than the presence of any prophet might suggest; do not look so far back into another age that is past. The Lord of all the prophets is here Himself; there is no need of a prophet here. I am this Lord’s forerunner. He is following in my footsteps. I am not prophesying about Him in the capacity of a prophet, but I am crying out as His forerunner, to make room for Him and a way for Him, so that He may enter in.I do not say, “Behold, He is about to come,” like the prophets, but I say, “Behold, He is coming and is here. I am not speaking words about Him, but am pointing to Him with my finger, just as Isaiah proclaimed long beforehand that such a cry would arise in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3). That is who I am, and not a prophet. Therefore, stand aside; make room and let the Lord Himself walk among you personally, and look for no more prophecies concerning Him.”SL.XI.106, 24AE 75,178PRAYER: We thank you, O Lord, for the full and complete testimony of your prophets concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation, a testimony for us to accept in full confidence and assurance. Amen.

THE FOURTH WEEK IN ADVENT - TUESDAYLESSON: MALACHI 4:1-6And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, I am not.” John 1:21In the question whether John was Elijah, the Jews were evidently referring to the prophecy of Malachi. I am of the opinion that Malachi had in mind no other Elijah but John, and that there are no grounds for assuming that there would be a return of Elijah the Tishbite who ascended into heaven in a flaming chariot (2 King 2:11).The words of the angel Gabriel spoken to Zechariah, John’s father, also support this opinion: “He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.” Luke 1:17. In these words one sees that the angel Gabriel is referring to the prophecy of Malachi and quotes the same words of the prophet who also says that Elijah will “turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” Malachi 4:6. Had Malachi prophesied a different Elijah, the angel would certainly not have applied his words to John.He followed the same course with the Virgin Mary when he applied Isaiah’s words to her: “Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son.” Isaiah 7:14. These words Gabriel applied to Mary when he said: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son.” Luke 1:31.In his work as the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist would be a real Elijah preaching repentance to prepare men for Christ.SL.XI.101,14AE 75,174PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to you, O God, for the great cloud of witnesses who have witnessed to your Son and the salvation you have prepared for us in Him. Amen.