September 25, 2010 - Saturday of the 16th Week after Trinity
Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17
Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, And teach me Your statutes. (Psalm 119:124 from the Introit for Trinity 17)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The prayer in the Introit for tomorrow is answered throughout the Divine Service. Here we ask for the Lord to deal with us according to His mercy. He does that when the pastor absolves us. He does that when we hear the very words of God, when we hear the preaching of Jesus and when we are given the Body and Blood of Jesus to eat and drink. All those gifts are the Lord dealing with us according to His mercy.
When the Lord deals with us by His Word and Sacraments, His means of grace, He is dealing with us through Jesus. And when He deals with us through Jesus He is dealing with us according to His mercy. Take away Christ and there is no mercy, just the holy and righteous anger and judgment of God, ready to smite sinners.
But where Christ is, there is God's mercy, because there is the One who took our sins and carried them to Calvary and got rid of them. There is the One who rose from the dead for you. There is Jesus, who has ascended to the right hand of God and holds your righteousness safe until He comes again on the Last Day to awaken you from death.
Your life will be filled with things that will make you doubt God's mercy. You will wonder if God is even paying any attention to you at all. Fights with parents, trouble in school, a boss who hates you, the sickness or death of a friend, and on and on. The conclusion you might draw is that God is NOT merciful.
That's why in the Divine Service tomorrow, you'll be reminded of His mercy once again―not just reminded but given His mercy. His mercy actually put upon you and given to you by His gracious Jesus-delivering gifts. Deal with us according to you mercy. He does! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
All glory to the One Who lavishes such love; The triune God in love Assures our life above. His means of grace for us are gifts He loves to give; All thanks and praise for His Great love by which we live! (LSB 602:6)
Questions or comments regarding the Reflections may be sent to the Rev. Mark Buetow, Reflections Editor, reflections@higherthings.org.
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