October 20, 2024
Today’s Reading: Mark 10:23-31
Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 19:1-20; Matthew 15:1-20
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:25-27)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You may have sung the hymn “What is the Word to Me” before. I used to think it was a question. It’s a statement of faith. “What is the word to me With all its vaunted pleasure When You, and You alone, Lord Jesus, are my treasure!” (LSB 730:1)
Truth is, it is easier to believe in God’s love when you have what the world calls “treasure”– when you have money and everyone else loves you, or when you are getting “A’s” in everything and are always knocking it out of the park. But what about those times when you are not? What about those times when you are poor, and it seems like no one likes you? When you are not getting good grades and are always failing at everything? What about those times when all you see are your sins, and you can’t find any reason at all to believe in God’s love? What then?
Jesus. That’s what then. Jesus on the cross for you. Jesus in your Baptism for you. Jesus in holy Absolution for you. Jesus in the sermon and in the Word for you. Jesus in the Supper for you. Jesus is how God calls you treasure, His treasure. This Jesus is how God saves you from all your sins. This Jesus is how God comes to you and declares you righteous in His sight and as His dear child.
If this salvation depended on you, it wouldn’t be possible. Thank God His salvation does not depend on us at all. It depends on Jesus. Jesus only. Jesus always. Jesus period. Not everyone else loving you, but God loving you. Not you saving the day, but God saving the day for you. Not in anyone having what the world calls treasure, but in God having what He calls treasure– you.
Jesus not only makes this salvation possible; He makes it yours. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
O God, Your divine wisdom sets in order all things in heaven and on earth. Put away from us all things hurtful and give us those things that are beneficial for us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
-Rev. Bradley Drew, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.
Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.
In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.
