September 8, 2007 - Saturday in the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 34:1-4, 8-11,  4-33; Colossians 2:8-23

“How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord.”        (Psalm 84:1, from the Introit for Trinity 14)

Do you consider it a blessing to be in the Lord’s house? Do you consider yourself blessed to be there? Well, if you don’t, then you should. Think of what goes on in the Lord’s house…

You gather with fellow sinners – a bunch of shady people coming to a sunny place. All who come use the same hymnal. All sing the same hymns, chant the same psalms, and pray the same prayers – in unison, as one (okay, there’s some 4-part singing, and that’s really cool!). All have the same faith and confession. All hear the same readings from the Lord’s Word, readings which remind us of the Church Year which unfolds the life of our Lord Jesus.

All listen to the same sermon which is an unpacking of one of the readings, usually (and most appropriately) the Gospel. The sermon expounds upon the text, shows you your sins, reminds you that you deserve God’s wrath and displeasure, temporal death, and eternal damnation. And then the Gospel is delivered – the sweet balm of healing to the hurting soul – that God sent His Son, Jesus, to take away your sins and give you the sure and certain hope of everlasting life in Him.

And then there is the high point of the service: Holy Communion. Here you have Christ’s real, true, and physical Body and Blood placed into your sinful and dying bodies in order to give you tangible forgiveness of sins and strength to live your life to the glory of God and the benefit of your neighbor.

You receive the benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you… And you are sent away filled, strengthened, forgiven, and charged up. Indeed, what a lovely place!

Holy this temple where our Lord is dwelling; this is none other than the gate of heaven. Ever Your children, year by year rejoicing, chant in Your temple.        (LSB 916:2)

The Reverend Gregory Schultz, pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, IL, is the author for this portion of the Trinity season.

Questions or comments regarding the Reflections may be sent to the Rev. Mark Buetow, Reflections Editor, reflections@higherthings.org.

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