Today’s Reading: Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
(Psalm 66:1-2a, 17, 19-20; antiphon: Isaiah 48:20b)
Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44; Luke 14:1-24
Send it out to the end of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” (Isaiah 48:20b)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You can almost taste it! Freedom is right around the corner. Summer is coming and the chains of school requirements are about to be cast off. You are ready for whatever the summer has in store for you. Your emotions are running high. The final exams are almost here, or maybe they have already passed and now it is just a matter of biding your time until that final bell rings. In the end, freedom is close at hand.
As Isaiah writes to the people of God, he reminds them that freedom approaches for them as well. The shackles of slavery are about to be removed and their shouts of freedom will abound. The one doing the freeing is the one true God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God who will deliver them. He will redeem them from the bondage of the Babylonians. No longer will they be subject to the godless people who have held them captive, but instead they will return to their land, a land flowing with milk and honey. A land given to them by their God. Redemption is at hand.
In sin we are held captive to the requirements of the Law. The Law requires us to be perfect in every aspect. On account of our sinful condition it is impossible for us to keep the Law. We are in need of being redeemed. We are in need of being freed from the righteous requirements of the law for our salvation. In Christ we are set free. In Christ the shackles of the righteous requirement of the Law have been taken off. Christ has fulfilled the Law for us. We shout for joy and sing His praises as He has given to us our freedom.
In Christ we look to the day of His glorious return. We are prepared for His return in the waters of Baptism. In the Sacrament of the Altar we look back and proclaim His death while at the same time we look forward to His glorious return on the Last Day. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear; Arise, O Sun so longed for, O’er this benighted sphere. With hearts and hands uplifted, We plead, O Lord, to see The day of earth’s redemption That sets Your people free! (“Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers” LSB 515, st.4)
-Rev. Timothy Davis is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.
Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch
Over eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ’s earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God’s people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.
