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February 25th, 2023

2/25/2023

his Sunday is the first Sunday within the Lenten season. And the Gospel reading for this Sunday goes back to before the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. It is actually the first event after the official beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It is his time in the wilderness, forty days to be exact, being tempted by Satan. This, indeed, seems to be an initial low point. This, by the way, also has the ‘high point’ of the middle temptation, that of Jesus on the ‘top of the temple’—talk about a LITERALLY high point—and being tempted to throw himself down from that high place. (In the Gospel according to Luke, this is the last of the three temptations.)

The writing of last week included what is known as the Lord’s Prayer. The use of the word ‘therefore’ within this sermon has been significant. Jesus indicated that the righteousness of his followers must be significant. And this only happens when gifts are given out through Jesus. He has the Maker of heaven and earth as his Father, and he allows us to call him ‘Our Father’ as well (or ‘the Father of us’).

What follows is a somewhat-literal translation of what follows in the Sermon on the Mount after the topic of prayer [The first six verses of this text happen to be part of the reading for Ash Wednesday; Matthew 6:16-34]:

Now when you fast, do not become as the hypocrites, gloomy; for they disfigure the faces of them, so that they appear to the men, fasting. Amen, I am saying to you, they receive the reward of them. Now you, fasting, anoint of you the head and the face of you, wash, so that you may not appear to the men, fasting, but on the contrary, to the Father of you, the One in the secret; and the Father of you, the One seeing in the secret, will repay you.

Do not treasure up for you, treasures on the earth, where moth and rust remove, and where thieves dig through and steal; now treasure up for you, treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust removes, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal; for where is the treasure of you, there will be also the heart of you.

The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, if is the eye of you single, all the body of you shining will be; now if the eye of you evil is, all the body of you dark will be. Therefore, if the light, that in you darkness is, the darkness—how great.

No one is able two lords to serve; for either the one he will hate, and the other he will love, or one he will hold to, and the other he will despise. You are not able God to serve and mammon.

Because of this I am saying to you: Be not anxious for the life of you, what you may eat or what you may drink; nor for the body of you, what you may put on. Is not the life more than the food and the body more than the clothing?

Look intently at the birds of the heaven, that they sow not nor reap nor gather into barns, and the Father of you, the heavenly, feeds them. Do you yourselves not excel more of them?

Now who of you being anxious is able to add to the stature of him cubit one? And concerning clothing, why are you anxious? Learn from the lilies of the field, how they increase; they do not labor nor spin, now I am saying to you that not Solomon in all the glory of him was clothed as one of these. Now if the grass of the field today being, and tomorrow into an oven being thrown, the God thus enrobes, not much more you, few-faiths?

Therefore, do not be anxious saying, “What may we eat?” or “What may we drink?” Or “What may we put on?” For all these things the nations seek after; for knows the Father of you, the heavenly, that you need these things all. Now seek first the kingdom of the God and the righteousness of him, and these things all will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious into the morrow, for the morrow will be anxious of itself; sufficient to the day, the evil of it.

There is a gentle movement toward the direction of God as Father. It is a gentle movement away from ourselves and toward something much better. (To help to see this, the words ‘God’ and ‘Father’ are in bold.)

What follows is a brief summary of the text above: There are those who try to be better than others. One way to do this is to look for treasures. We often look for treasures, and this is usually based on what we see. But Jesus helps us to have a better starting point. He says we can only have one master. And Jesus says, ‘Because of this’—by the way this phrase is rare within this gospel account—'do not be anxious.’ The use of ‘Father’ and ‘God’ after this is much more positive. And as this gospel account progresses, we will get see what the Father in heaven gave for us to see in Jesus.

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February 18th, 2023

2/18/2023

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This Sunday is the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany, with that manifestation theme dedicated to a specific focus; it is named ‘the Transfiguration of Our Lord’. The gospel text for this Sunday [Matthew 17:1-9] is at approximately a halfway point into the ministry of Jesus according to this gospel account, and that text is an important one since it is literally a ‘high point’ along the way of Jesus, as he finishes his work at the cross and the tomb.

The writings for the last few weeks have looked at another high point in the ministry of Jesus, that of the Sermon on the Mount. Most recently we have looked at that contrast between what was said in days of old and what Jesus was saying at that very moment in time. As the sermon progressed, Jesus called God not just ‘my Father’, but ‘your Father’. And the very last point of last week’s portion had the command to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

It should be said this part of last week’s sermon had the first use of ‘therefore’ with an actual command. There were two mentions of the word ‘therefore’ before this, at 5:19 and 5:23, but they are connected only to the possibility of a reality, a conditional sentence. The use of the ‘therefore’ at 5:48 is a significant one and one that is grounded in reality: ‘Therefore, be perfect….’

If the sermon had ended there, that would have been interesting. And that would be a particularly difficult command, especially since such a difficult command was one that was grounded in reality. But thankfully the sermon does not end there. And it is interesting that the next section of the Sermon on the Mount has to do with how the Christian is related to others. Christianity is not an individualistic religion, although sometimes there is that perception.

One way in which connections to others have been made—although somewhat dismissed—is what is known as the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is not only prayed with other Christians, but in it there is a connection to Jesus as well. He is the Head of the Church. And he was the One who said we could call the creator of heaven and earth OUR FATHER. (It should also be noted that the middle word of the Lord’s Prayer is another high point. The word is usually translated as ‘daily’, but it has no previous history, so a translation of such a word is a difficult thing. The first part of the word is a prefix usually meaning ‘over’ or ‘above’. The second part is essentially the same word as ‘substance’ in the Nicene Creed. The word ‘supersubstantial’ is used below, and it is essentially a word in the Vulgate manuscript of the text. It is nice that Latin words sometimes make suitable English words as well.)

What follows is a somewhat-literal translation of this next section of the sermon [Matthew 6:1-15]:

Now take heed the righteousness of you not to do before the men in order to be viewed by them. Otherwise, reward not you have with the Father of you, the One in the heavens. Therefore, when you do merciful deeds, not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by the men. Amen, I am saying to you, they received the reward of them. Now you, doing merciful deeds, not let know the left of you what does the right of you, so that they may be of you, the merciful deeds, in the secret. And the Father of you, the One seeing in the secret, will repay you.

And when you pray, not you be as the hypocrites, because they love in the synagogues and in the corners of the open streets, standing, to pray, so that they appear to the men. Amen, I am saying to you, they received the reward of them. Now you, when you pray, enter into the private room of you, and having closed the door of you, to pray to the Father of you in the secret. And the Father of you, the One seeing in the secret, will repay you. Now praying, do not utter empty words as the nations, for they think that, in the multiple words of them, they will be heard.

Therefore, do not be like them, for he knows, the Father of you, of what things you have need before you ask him. Therefore, thus pray you:

Father of us, the One in the heavens, let be hallowed the name of You. Let come the kingdom of You. Let happen the will of You, as in heaven, also on earth. The bread of us, the supersubstantial, give to us today. And forgive us the debts of us, as also we ourselves forgave the debtors of us. And not bring us into temptation, but on the contrary, rescue us from the evil.

For if you forgive the men the trespasses of them, he will forgive also to you, the Father of you, the heavenly. Now if not you forgive the men the trespasses of them, neither the Father of you will forgive the trespasses of you.

The most important connection is to God himself, and Jesus is there for that purpose. There is a connection to others, but it is made through God, our Father, and the Father of Jesus. The use of ‘therefore’ in the text above leads us away from others and toward ‘Our Father….’ If we try to make it up by ourselves, we usually fail.

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February 11th, 2023

2/11/2023

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This Sunday continues our walk through the Epiphany season, and we are getting closer to the end. This Sunday is the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. We have been progressing through the Gospel according to Matthew. The first part of what we will be looking at this time is the gospel text for this Sunday [Matthew 5:21-37].

The transition in titles for God in the earlier part of the so-called Sermon on the Mount went from God to Father, and not just to ‘my Father’ but ‘your Father’ (or ‘the Father of you’). And Jesus put himself in the center of that difference. He also said that he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.

Then Jesus drops the big ‘goal’ that a person’s righteousness has to exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees just to enter the kingdom of heaven—and not just to be great in the kingdom of heaven. I am pretty sure that he got the attention of the disciples with that statement. Now Jesus is going to make a contrast between what they have heard in the past and what he now says to them. Some of the previous generations were going in a different direction than what the text was originally giving. Below [Matthew 5:21-48] is what follows after that righteousness statement (in a somewhat-literal translation):

You heard that it was said to the ancients: “Not you shall murder, now whoever murder, liable he will be to the judgment.” Now I myself am saying to you that all being angry with the brother of him liable he will be to the judgment, now whoever says to the brother of him, “Raca,” liable he will be to the Sanhedrin, now whoever says “Fool,” liable he will be into the Gehenna of the fire. Therefore, if you offer the gift of you upon the altar, and there you remember that the brother of you has something against you, leave there the gift of you before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to the brother of you, and then, coming, offer the gift of you. Be well disposed to the opponent of you quickly while you are with him in the way, lest you the opponent deliver to the judge and the judge to the officer, and into prison you are thrown. Amen, I am saying to you, by no means you shall come out from there until you repay the last kodrantes.

You heard that it was said, “Not you shall commit adultery.” Now I myself am saying to you that all seeing a woman toward to desire, already he committed adultery with her in the heart of him. Now if the eye of you, the right, scandalizes you, tear it out and throw from you, for better to you that perish one of the members of you, and not all the body of you be thrown into Gehenna. And if the right of you hand scandalizes you, cut out it and throw from you. For it is better to you that perish one of the members of you and not all the body of you into Gehenna go away.

Now it was said, “Whoever dismisses the wife of him, let him give her a bill of divorce.” Now I myself am saying to you that everyone dismissing the wife of him, apart from a word of fornication, makes her to commit adultery, and whoever a dismissed one marries, he commits adultery.

Again, you heard that it was said to the ancients: “Not you shall swear falsely, now you shall repay to the Lord the oaths of you.” Now I myself am saying to you not to swear at all, neither in the heaven, because throne it is of the God, nor in the earth, because footstool it is of the feet of him, nor into Jerusalem, because city it is of the great King, nor in the head of you swear, because you are not able one hair white to make or black. Now let be the word of you, “Yes, yes, no, no.” Now the excess of these out of the evil is.

You heard that it was said, “Eye instead of an eye, and a tooth instead of a tooth.” Now I myself am saying to you not to oppose the evil; but on the contrary, who strikes you into the right cheek of you, turn to him also the other. And to the one wishing you to judge and the tunic of you to take, allow him also the coat. And who shall compel you mile one, go with him two. To the one asking you, give. And the one wishing from you to borrow, not turn away.

You heard that it was said, “You shall love the neighbor of you, and you shall hate the enemy of you.” Now I myself am saying to you: Love the enemies of you and pray on behalf of the ones persecuting you, so that you may become sons of the Father of you in the heavens, because the sun of him he makes to rise upon evil and good, and he rains on righteous and unrighteous. For if you love the ones loving you, what reward have you? Not also the tax collectors the same do? And if you greet the brothers of you only, what excess do you; not also the gentiles the same do? Therefore, you be perfect, as the Father of you, the heavenly, perfect is.

The above is a long section. Even with all these words, Jesus continues to keep their attention. He goes into some detail about what it means that he came and how that changed things, how he came to fulfill things (See Matthew 5:17).

What does that mean? Jesus came, first of all, to point out how difficult it was to be holy. And if some of God’s words do their job of pointing out sin, Jesus remains as the One they can trust for salvation and rescue. And he is the one who stands (or sits, in this case) ready to connect them to this special Father of theirs, the One who is in the heavens, who is also sitting, but on a very special throne.

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February 5th, 2023

2/5/2023

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This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. We are getting closer to the end of this season. And we continue in our progression in the Gospel according to Matthew. The text for this Sunday is Matthew 5:13-20. Last week we looked at the last historical present that will be in the text for a while, that Jesus SAYS to Simon and Andrew to come follow him.

Jesus’ words continue to be important within the first sermon that he gives, what is usually known as the Sermon on the Mount. There have been books written just about this sermon, and the Concordia Commentary on this gospel account has approximately 200 pages given to this sermon.

What may be helpful is to see how Jesus refers to God, the Father, within this account. Below are the first verses of this section, the texts from this past Sunday and the present Sunday. To help you out, all the references to God, the Father, are in bold.

Now seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain. And he, sitting, they came toward him, the disciples of him. And opening the mouth of him, he taught them saying:
“Blessed the poor in the spirit, because of them is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed the mourning, because they themselves shall be comforted. Blessed the meek, because they themselves shall inherit the earth. Blessed the hungering and thirsting the righteousness, because they themselves shall be satisfied. Blessed the merciful, because they themselves shall receive mercy. Blessed the clean in the heart, because they themselves shall see the God. Blessed the peacemakers, because they shall be called sons of God. Blessed the having-been-persecuted ones for the sake of righteousness, because of them is the kingdom of the heavens.”

“Blessed are you when they reproach you and they persecute and they say all evil against you, lying for the sake of me. Rejoice and be glad, because the reward of you, much in the heavens; for thus they persecuted the prophets, those before you.”

“You yourselves are the salt of the earth; now if the salt be tasteless, in what shall it be salted? Into nothing it is strong, still except being thrown out to be trampled down by the men. You yourselves are the light of the world. Not it is able, a city, to be hid on a mountain situated. Nor do they light a lamp and place it under the grain-measure, but on the contrary, on the lampstand, and it lightens all those in the house. Thus, let shine the light of you before the men, so that they may see of you the good works and they may glorify the Father of you in the heavens.”

“Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets; I came not to destroy, but on the contrary, to fulfill. For amen I say to you, until pass away the heavens and the earth, one iota or one point will certainly not pass away from the law, until all things happen. Therefore, whoever loosens one of the commandments of these, the least, and he teaches thus the men, least he shall be called in the kingdom of the heavens. Now whoever does and he teaches, this one great shall be called in the kingdom of the heavens. For I am saying to you that except shall exceed the righteousness of you, more than of the scribes and Pharisees, by no means you shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens.”

The transition from God to Father is interesting. Nowhere does Jesus call himself the salt of the earth. But he certainly calls himself the light of the world in the Gospel according to John (see John 8:12). And the light we have as Christians certainly comes from our Father in heaven.

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