Brothers and sisters, I hope you can attend the February 5 service to hear God’s Word and receive His gifts. The service begins at 10:30. Bible study and Sunday School begin at 9. You are also encouraged to mark you calendars for Ash Wednesday, February 22. We will resume evening midweek services and continue through the six weeks of Lent.
On Sunday we will be following the order of Divine Service setting 1 beginning on page 151 in the LSB hymnal.
The hymns chosen for the day are #873 Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies: #526 You are the Way, To You Alone; #698 May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfill: #729 I Am Trusting Thee Lord Jesus; and #917 Savior Again to Thy Dear Name.
Scripture readings assigned by the lectionary are Psalm 112:1-9, Isaiah 58:3-9a, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, and Matthew 5:13-20.
Psalm 112 speaks of the confidence and blessings enjoyed by those who are “righteous”. The psalmist describes the righteous as people who are just and generous. They are not afraid for they trust in the Lord. Equipped and motivated by the Holy Spirit, those who trust God attempt to imitate His virtues. So the basis of righteousness is not the works of God’s people, but rather their trust in Him. We might say faith is of the heart: what or who we rely on for security, happiness, identity, and purpose is the god of our heart. Faith in the true God motivates His people to do good works, including those we can observe. Works don’t result in faith—faith results in works. The psalmist is confident that those who fear the Lord will receive present and future blessings—with some of them being earthly material goods. As Jesus once said, ‘seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you.’
In the Old Testament lesson Isaiah 58:3-9a, God speaks through the prophet, lamenting that His people are wanting to be considered righteous while they are busy doing unrighteous things. For example, the people say ‘We fast. We act humbly. Why doesn’t God give us credit and reward us for that?’ God points out that when they fast, they spend their time grumbling and fighting. God condemns those who do works to justify themselves. Instead of works that draw attention to ourselves, God says He prefers works of charity that focus on relieving the needs of our neighbor. As Luther pointed out, God doesn’t need our good works, but our neighbor does need them. So as members of God’s household we should imitate His mercy by supporting and helping our neighbor. When we claim righteousness while at the same time fighting and oppressing others, we distort the gift of God’s mercy. How can we overcome this? Look to Jesus. Realize what His love and sacrifice means for you. Pray to God, and He will open His Word to you to show you the way.
In the epistle lesson 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, St. Paul distinguishes between the ‘wisdom of this age’ and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The wisdom of this age teaches us to rely on personal ability, and political, economic, or physical power. This wisdom of the world is what we are generally taught if you want to get ahead and be recognized. In one way or another the goal of the wisdom of this age is to be in charge. But the wisdom of the Spirit leads us to be humble, to submit, to acknowledge our weakness and inability to overcome our sinful condition. The wisdom of the Spirit leads us to rely on Jesus and His power. And His power is shown in a surprising way—by dying for us. Rather than struggling to demonstrate how worthy we are to receive God’s notice, we are to admit that we are totally unworthy. Anything we receive from Him is a gracious gift, especially forgiveness and eternal life. These are gifts paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus. The stubborn “wise” of the world won’t accept this. But the Spirit has revealed the impact of Jesus’ life and death for you, that you would believe and be saved from God’s condemnation of sin.
The gospel reading, Matthew 5:13-20 is a continuation of reading through Jesus’ so-called Sermon on the Mount. After listing the “beatitudes” describing the blessings to be received by His disciples in the present and in the future, Jesus speaks of their identity, and of the expected response to His message. Jesus says His disciples are salt and they are light. These metaphors are used to describe how they ought to “season” and “illuminate” the world around them. That is, they are to live out their identity—to do what Christians are to do. Mixing metaphors, we Christian trees are expected to bear Christian fruit. Grasp this—you are not ordinary people. You are not like everyone else in the world. You are a child of God! You have been chosen by God. You have been baptized into Christ. The Holy Spirit lives in you! He has worked faith into you and gathered you into His Church. So you should imitate God’s grace, and do good works that the world would see them and glorify Him. We do good works not to be saved from sin, but we do them because we are saved. Works are done in gratitude for God’s grace. The righteous live by faith. Scribes and Pharisees erroneously imagined themselves righteous because they were obedient. And to the world they probably seemed very godly. But without faith in God, our works are nothing more than filthy rags. So to be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees we must live by faith. We don’t redefine or relax God’s Law, but turn to Jesus who has fulfilled the Law for us. In response to His humble service, we His disciples also serve.
COLLECT: Almighty Lord, keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith so that, relying on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Contact us if you have prayer requests or questions about the scripture lessons. Also contact us if you would like to know more about the Lutheran understanding and application of God’s word.
